All Out War

Chapter 13

We got to the infirmary and she led me to the restroom.

"It's on the counter," she said.

I took in some breaths. I had never thought I could feel so nervous about something that didn't have to do with our survival. I reached for the stick and slowly looked down. I exhaled.

"So, are you gonna tell Daryl now?" Tara asked.

"I'm gonna have to. Now that I know," I said.

Daryl then opened the door and came in. I quickly threw the stick in the trashcan nearby.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. What's up?" I said.

"How long ago did you two get back?" he asked.

"About 10 minutes before you did. Why?" Tara replied.

"Before I heard about, Amelia, I was wanting to come talk to you," he said looking at Tara.

"Yeah. You too. You were right not to kill Dwight. And I was mad at you for not doing so. But Amelia, helped me understand a different side of it. I'm not mad at you. We wouldn't have gotten this far without him. The thing is I know what you said but after this, I'm gonna kill him. I want it to be me," she said.

"Maybe it could be you and me both. And maybe we don't gotta wait so long. Amelia said she'd be up for it. But if you're feeling sick, I don't want to risk taking you out there," he said looking at me.

"I'd just follow you anyways. Dwight is gonna die. I want to be a part of that. So what did you have in mind?" I said.

Tara looked at me.

"Are you sure you're up for this, Amelia?" she asked.

"Yes. End this quick," I said.

"We'll head out tomorrow. It'll be dark by the time we get there if we take off right now. We should be able to see where we're going," Daryl said.

"First thing in the morning. Sounds good. It'll give us some time to get ready," I said.

"You got it," Tara said.

"I'm gonna go to Judith and Carl. Not sure if they've had anything to eat yet," I said.

"I'll come with. See you later, Tara," Daryl said.

He grabbed my hand and led me out.

"So. Are you gonna tell me why your lip was bleeding?" I asked when we got to our porch.

"Rick and I...well we sort of had a small argument," he replied.

"Define 'small'." I said.

"Punches were thrown," he said looking down.

"And what initiated it?" I asked.

"I didn't mean to, Amelia," he started.

"Hey. Look at me. Daryl look at me, please," I said placing my hands on his cheeks to make him look directly at me.

"I am not mad at you. Or even him. I just want to know what could have caused the two of you to fight. You're brothers but even brothers fight sometimes. I'm sure you and Merle had your fair share of fights. Am I right?" I said.

He half smiled.

"Yeah. We definitely did," he said.

"Tell me what happened," I said.

"We caught up to the assholes who had the weapons. They were taking them to the Sanctuary but Rick and I were able to stop them. The truck carrying them fell into a ditch. Once I knew Rick was alright, I went down to get 'em. I...I wanted to use the dynamite they had to blow a hole in the Sanctuary. Let the walkers flood in and make them give up faster. Rick wanted to follow the plan. We fought then the damn thing ended with the truck blowing up," he said.

"Any severe damage to either of you?" I asked.

"No. Just a few bruises," he said.

I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him closer to me.

"Is that what you want to do? Blow the place up. You yourself said that families are there. And after bringing Gracie out of that outpost...the thought of children getting hurt just doesn't sit right with me," I said.

"I don't want to hurt the workers. Blowing up the place is out of the question. We lost the dynamite," he said.

"Of course. That's how the truck blew up," I said.

"Yup. Maybe make a hole where there aren't any workers, it would help. And I want this over with," he said.

"You know the place better than any of us. And I hate that. You will never be forced into what you were when they took you there. I will never let that asshole take you away from me again. Even more so. I'm with you, no matter what you decide to do. I'm on your side, always. I fucking love you, Daryl Dixon," I said.

He lifted my chin and kissed me.

"Damn. How'd I get so lucky?" he asked when we parted.

"I ask myself that question every day. Now come on. Let's get something to eat," I said taking his hand and leading him into the house.

We heated up whatever was left over in the fridge. Carl had already eaten and made something for Judith. Night quickly came and my mind went to Rick. I wondered whether he had gotten to the Scavengers yet. What did they say or what did they do to him? Was he already on his way back? The uncertainty was driving me up the wall. I was in our room, laying down on the bed and holding on tightly to my necklace. The sound of the door opening and closing made me clear my head.

"Hey. Is Judith finally sleeping?" I asked.

Daryl came and laid down next to me.

"Yeah. I was able to get her to her room," he said.

"You're good with her," I said looking over at him.

"She's family. I'd do anything for her," he said.

"You really would, wouldn't you?" I said.

"Yup. Love the lil ass kicker," he said.

I chuckled.

"And she loves you. And there's...um...there's something that I've been meaning to tell you," I said.

He sat up and looked at me intently.

"You good?" he asked.

"Yes. I'm fine. Better than fine, actually," I said.

"You gonna tell me or am I gonna need to convince you to tell me?" he asked.

He then leaned over and started kissing my neck.

"Daryl..." I breathed.

He knew very well that with this, he'd convince me to tell him anything and everything. But I wanted to see exactly how long I could keep him in the dark. Before I could get the chance to see that, Judith started crying. Daryl stopped. I exhaled.

"She's gonna need you to put her to sleep again," I said.

"Yup," he said.

He kissed me quickly then headed out. Once I was alone again, I placed my hand on my stomach.

"Your father will be crazy about you," I whispered.

That pink positive sign gave me everything I needed to, to fight harder. I was now fighting for the future of this baby. Our baby. And no one would get between that. No one could stop me from fighting for him or her. Daryl and I were gonna have a baby. It was real. It wasn't a dream. This was happening. A smile spread across my face when I realized just how loved this baby was gonna be. How loved Maggie's baby was gonna be. I was still in disbelief about the whole thing. Who would have thought that I'd live to be able to have a child of my own? That I could find someone in this new world that we now know? To find love and be able to find the will to fight for that love after everything that's happened. I was going to be a mother...I would be a mother. I was gonna live to see that day. We all were.