Remember Me (Daryl Dixon)

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Normal

SIX MONTHS LATER

"What does it say?"
I could feel Maggie's eyes watching over me in an impatient manner. If I knew what it said, I would tell you.
I didn't even want to know what it said, really. I wasn't ready for this and neither was Daryl. I don't think any of us could possibly be ready for this.
I held the small piece of plastic in one hand while trying to balance Judith in the other. Her constant wiggling and tugging on my hair wasn't helping me concentrate.
I took a deep breath and looked down at the test. I honestly could've jumped for joy in that moment.
"I'm not pregnant," I replied with a sigh of relief. I was honestly so grateful that I wasn't. Judith was enough, I couldn't handle another baby. I could hardly handle myself sometimes.

Maggie let out a sigh of relief as well. She had a previous scare a few weeks before me. Maybe we were just having bad luck. Or maybe it was just all of the stress messing with my body. While the prison was secure now, we were having a pretty big problem with walkers. They weren't spreading out anymore, they just kept coming.

And as for The Governor? Nobody had seen or heard a word about him since he attacked the prison. We assumed he was dead or far away. I had hoped it was the first one. I was just upset that I didn't get to kill him myself.

I shoved the test to Maggie. She had promised she would be able to get rid of its existence. The last thing I needed was Daryl thinking he would be a father or my father thinking he would be a grandfather. Kids just weren't in the cards for anyone right now. It would be so selfish of me to bring a child into a world like this.

I walked out of the cell with another word as I continued clutching Judith. She was getting far too heavy to be carried all of the time. Or maybe my arms were just weak. Carl began approaching me with his hands out for her. Thank you so much. My arm is going to fall off.

I smiled at him as I handed Judith over. She was overjoyed to see her brother's face for the first time that day.

"Where's your dad?" I asked him as he took her off of my hands.
"Outside," Carl replied as he sat Judith on his shoulders. It always made me uneasy when he did this. I had an irrational fear of her tumbling off of him and hitting the ground, but it never seemed to happen.

"And Daryl?" I asked as I began heading towards the doors.

"Also outside," he spoke before walking away with Judith. I cursed under my breath as I saw her almost lose her balance. He caught her but he couldn't catch her every time. I shook my head as I pushed the doors open and began walking outside. I could see Daryl standing with Carol in the distance. They always seemed to be together, but I didn't worry about it. Carol was like a mother figure to us both.

After all she had been through, she was still so tough. I wished I could have that ability. I had lost my mind ages ago, but I just got used to it.

I began walking in their direction as I looked over at the other people. They were all crowding around the food and chattering away. It was really weird having all of these people here. I was so used to the people I already knew. Plus Daryl and I could hardly get alone time anymore. There was always a child that would wake us in the middle of the night and claim he heard walkers under his bed.

Daryl and Carol both turned around as they heard my footsteps on the grass. Carol greeted me with a smile as Daryl just stayed blank. I was honestly used to that. He didn't show emotions around people. He had that reputation to maintain.

"Elizabeth," Carol said with a small smile. "I was looking for you earlier."
I smiled back at her as I reached both of them. I knew exactly why she was looking for me. She was trying to make sure I didn't tell anyone about the self-defense lessons she was giving the kids. I would obviously tell Daryl, but I didn't see the problem with it. The kids needed to learn self-defense. If anyone had a problem with it, they didn't understand how things worked now.

"Likewise," I said. "We need to talk about that thing."

"That thing you don't approve of?" she asked as she glanced at Daryl for a second. She didn't want him to catch onto our conversation, but he did. I could tell he knew something was up.

"That thing I want to help with," I replied before clearing my throat. Carol smirked at me a bit when she realized that I approved of what she was doing. I even wanted to be a part of what she was doing. The kids were learning so much from her.

"I'll be off then," Carol said after a moment. "I'll find you later, Elizabeth."

I nodded at her as she walked past me, glancing at me once. I waited for her to walk a few feet away before I stood beside Daryl and continued watching the others.

"What's that about?" Daryl mumbled as he looked over at me. I shrugged as I moved my gaze out to the prison yard.

"Carol's giving self-defense classes to the kids," I said as I crossed my arms over my chest. "She thought I would frown upon it."

"Do you?" Daryl asked as he continued looking over at me. I shook my head rather quickly. "Of course not. I think it's a good idea, don't you?"

Daryl simply shrugged at my question, "don't care."

I scoffed at him and nudged his shoulder with mine. "You mumble too much."

He nudged me back and I almost fell. He was much stronger than he looked. Sometimes he didn't even know his own strength.

"I gotta get going. Going on a run with the others," he mumbled at me, ignoring my frustration with that. I wanted to join him on the run, but I knew I would have to stay and take care of Judith and Beth. Beth was much stronger than she used to be, but I still liked to think I was her role model. I still liked to take care of her.

"Just be safe," I said quietly as I looked over at him. Daryl nodded before walking over to me and planting a small kiss on my forehead. He wasn't into the idea of kissing me even though my father approved and everyone suspected something was going on between us.

I frowned realizing that was the only affection I would be getting before he left. I watched him walk towards Zach as Beth walked away from him.
I quickly met up with her as she walked towards the entrance.

"Beth," I said aloud as I approached her with a smile. She smiled as well once she saw me. I hadn't really seen her all day. "I know you want to join me for lunch."

Beth bounced over to me cheerfully once she heard my offer. "Only if you act like a true gentleman."

I shot her a teasing grin as we both walked over to the food. For once, I didn't feel so bad.
I was actually happy.