[Finished] Living Among the Dead

26. The Next World

"What are you doing up?" The gruff voice startles me.
"What?" I ask, playing dumb.
"You ain't s'posed to be up yet."
I wave a hand at Daryl dismissively, "I can not stay in that bed a minute longer. I'm bored out of my mind. And Carl; Carl of all people is allowed up. He was shot!"
"Your pregnant."
I roll my eyes, "I'm pregnant not dead."
"Well I don't want no kid o' mine dead 'for it even gets the chance to live." I try to glare myself into getting my way; but Daryl points upstairs, "Get."
I start my way back upstairs before hesitating, "Sev said your leaving for a run with Rick."
"Yup."
I sigh, "Why did Sev tell me and not you?"
"Why'd ya tell a man tryin' to kill us you's was pregnant before you told me?" He snaps.
"I didn't know how to tell you, I was waiting for the right time..."
"The right time woulda been before you ever left the gates to be bait for a herd o' walkers."
I throw my hands up, "And we know that it wouldn't have been any safer if I'd have stayed here! Hell, at least we were together! We got back to-"
"Go lay down. I gotta go." He turns around without a second glance and leaves.
"He'll come around," I hear Glenn say from up the stairs.
I turn around and look up at him, "I don't know if he will..."
"He's just found out he's going to have a kid, he's scared. Probably more than I am seeing as your much more reckless than Maggie."
I make my way back up the stairs so I'm next to him, both of us looking down onto the landing, "I've done the whole raise a baby thing... three times, and this year I lost more than half of them... I know it sounds horrible but I don't have a whole lot of hope that I'll get to raise this one... that she'll have the opportunity to grow up... and if she does, what kind of life am I bringing her into? What kind of a person am I to bring another child into a world like this?"
Glenn sighs, "Wow. Thanks."
I glance at him, before rubbing a hand down my face, "I didn't mean that..."
"No, you did." he corrects me, evenly.
"Glenn, I'm sure you and Maggie will be fine. Your kid is going to be fine. You two are smart, you think logically. I run on mostly instinct, and selfish intentions... Mase, he got his dad's kindness, but a kid born from Daryl and I... we both are suspicious of everything, and he also runs on instinct... our kid, she doesn't have a chance at not being reckless."
Glenn puts a hand on my shoulder, reassuringly. "Daryl and you are smart, and cautious. Any child of yours will be born to survive in a world like this."
I don't meet his eyes as I thank him and walk to my room to rest some more. Actually wanting to listen to Daryl. Not wanting to make him any angrier at me than he already is.

"Their home! Their home!" Mason comes running into the bedroom and wakes me from a much longer nap than I'd planned on taking.
"Rick and Daryl?"
"Yeah! They carried some man to Denise's, but Daryl told me to 'get'" He copies Daryl's gruff voice and I smile.
"Sorry about him, lovie." I say, opening my arms and offering Mason to come lay down with me.
"Mom, I'm too old to climb in and cuddle with you."
"You are never too old to cuddle your mom," I reply.
He shakes his head, "Whatever. Hey, you know Carl got to name Judith, right?"
I shake my head, "No, I never knew that."
"Yeah, he named her after one of his teachers... I was just thinking, could I name your baby when it gets here?"
I shrug, "I mean, if Daryl's okay with it... the baby won't be just yours and mine. He has a say as well."
"If it's a boy I want to name him Hunter, and if it's a girl we could name her Hope." Mason says, basically ignoring my reservations towards his naming the baby.
I run my hand along my stomach all the same, my brain smiling at the name Hope. We could all use a little bit of that these days.
"We'll talk to Daryl," I respond.
"Are you two fighting?"
I sigh, "Kind of... we'll be okay."
He nods, "Don't drive him away, okay?"
"What do you mean?"
"You don't like people... you like to push them away, but don't push Daryl away."
I smile, "I'll try not to."
I hear scuffling and Daryl pokes his head through the door and hastily orders, "Stay in here and be quiet. Don't come out 'til I say so."
I nod, and Mason agrees softly.