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"Is going to be a fun journey then, the family together"
"No it's not tia Rosita, they are leaving us here!" Rj complained
"We would love to go with you two, but this time we can't take you with us, maybe next time ok?" Connie said, getting on her knees to talk with him better
"Ok, and we do a picnic!"
"Yes, we can make one!"
"And read stories! And play! And play more!"
"Yes, yes, we will do all that and more!" Connie said with a big smile to the kid "Now go play with your friends!"
Rj hugged her and Daryl one last time and then ran to were Gracie and the other kids were. Judith waved goodbye but stayed were she was
"What's going on with Judith?" Rosita asked
"She's mad we not taking her" Daryl answered and Connie nodded
"She'll understand"
"You okay with them right?"
"Yeah, I love having them with me, and they love Coco, they'll have fun"
"Thank you again" Connie said and Rosita smiled and shrugged
"We're ready!" Lydia said getting to where they were
"Let's go then!" Connie said and then waved goodbye to Rosita and one last time to the kids
"The water is so good!!" Lydia said when she put her hands in the water to wash her face
It was getting late so they stopped to make camp. Kelly and Daryl went hunting while Connie, Lydia and Elijah prepared the place they would sleep in. Now they were all together and while the food was getting done they were talking and just having a little fun time, the few walkers they saw were already dead and this zone seemed to be a pretty calm one, with not many of them
"Oh it really is good" said Kelly when she put her feet on the water
"Mom, dad, come to the water! Come here Dog!!" Lydia called them and Dog went running to her but he was going so fast he got in the water and splashed it in everyone that was around
Connie and Daryl looked at each other and started laughing at the scene in front of them. After some minutes Elijah, Lydia and Kelly also started to laugh and Lydia was the one to start a water fight. Dog, not happy with the fact his dad and his mom weren't soaked, ran towards Connie and jumped on top of her. She laughed and got up, pulling Daryl with her. They all started to play with the water while they laughed
"Maybe this wasn't our best idea, now we don't have other clothes" Lydia said while using Daryls clean poncho to try and dry herself (everyone tried it, it was really not working)
"It was your idea!" Elijah said turning to her and she looked at him and tried to look mad but she kept smiling
"You continued it! And really, Dog started it!" the two of them kept having a little fight over it and Connie and Kelly smiled looking at them, they were really so obviously crushing on each other, Connie turned to look at Daryl and found him with a frown on his face looking at the two and she started to laugh
"So you're that type of dad?"
"I ain't no type of dad"
"Oh yes you are, she is now your, our daugther, and you don't want her dating do you?"
"God woman" he said and walked away and Connie laughed again, he would never admit it
"They remind me of us. Dancing around the fact we liked each other" She said, walking besides him "Is good to see her happy"
"Yeah... it is"
"And I think Elijah makes her happier, is great to see her like this with someone, after Henry"
"I guess. Why is he here again?"
"He's the one that knows where we're going. And don't worry, I'll have the conversation with her"
Daryl looked at her terrified and she just laughed and walked to where the others were
"Hey, how are you wearing something different?"
"I gave her the pants I had in my bag and I put on this other shirt" Kelly said
"I gave her my jacket" Elijah said and Connie looked at Kelly
"So this is how you treat me now? The clothes I put on your bag don't even come to me, you wear them and give them to Lydia" she pretended to be mad about it
"If you're cold you can just make out with Daryl , you won't even need the clothes"
Lydia and Elijah laughed at Kellys joke and Connie punched her sisters shoulder
"Come on, food is ready" Daryl said getting close to them
They all started eating and talking and telling stories to each other. Daryl looked at Connie while she told a story, she looked beautiful at the light of the fire. It was amazing seeing her like this, talking and talking and Kelly was interpreting because Elijah still didn't know much sign language but Daryl wasn't listening to Kellys voice, he could only hear Connie. Her language was beautiful and, done by her, all looked just so perfect, it was amazing to think one day he looked at her signs and didn't understand them, didn't understand her, but now he knew every word she was saying and he could talk to her in that same language. She looked at him when she finished and he smiled, she smiled too and got closer to him. Dog got in between them and that made the others laugh, Daryl said a "bad dog" and Connie shaked her head and petted the dog with love. After they finished Elijah offered to be the first watch and then it would be Lydia. Dog stayed with him while the others went to sleep. Daryl and Connie had a separate little place and were just laying down together
"I have something to tell you" Connie said with a serious face and he looked at her worried
"You ok? You hurt?"
"No no, I'm ok, I'm good, I wanted to tell you this after this whole adventure to get supplies but now, I want to tell you now. Yesterday I found out I am pregnant"
Daryl stared at her without any reaction for a couple minutes
"You sure?"
"Yes, probably have been for a month"
He nodded
"You... Will be ok?"
"Yes, it's a little more complicated since we are in the apocalypse and I'm 40 but the doctor said I'm healthy, which I know is thanks to you and Kelly, because you were the ones that took care of me after the cave, so I'll be ok"
He nodded again and kept thinking
"I know we didn't want it but, I wanna know what you think"
"Never thought I'd have a kid and now we have Lydia and I already don't know if I should be the one she calls dad and now I'll have a baby... I just don't know what to do"
"I get it. Your father was not the best and you don't want to be a bad father like he was, but that's exactly what makes you a good one. You want to be nothing like him, so you are more careful and more loving because of it. And I don't know what to do either. I was the one that took care of Kelly so I do know how to take care of babies but you do too, you're the best uncle those kids could ever ask for, I know you were there for Judith since day one. We can ask Aaron, or Carol, or Jerry and Nabila, or Rosita or Michonne when she comes back! I'm scared too, but we have a family that can help us and I know you will be an amazing father"
He looked at her and she looked at him, after a moment he smiled making her smile and kiss him
"So you want a girl or a boy?" Connie asked when he put his hand over her flat belly
"A girl, look like you"
"It can be a girl and look like you, you know? I think a boy with your beautiful eyes and your amazing hair would be the cutest little thing ever, I can make him a vest!"
Daryl smiled imagining it
"Still like the girl better"
"Ok, but what about names? You can't call her girl!"
"You take all the fun of it! Do you have a name in mind?"
"My mom was called Willow, I think I would like a name that is connected to nature, like Wind or River, it could be connected to us too"
"Ain't calling her Cave!"
"Oh no we're not calling her that! Maybe Ocean is a good idea, we were at Oceanside when you signed something to me for the first time" he smiled with the memory
"We could call her Bow, or Arrow" Connie laughed
"If we're going that way, we could call her Angel. And let's stop saying her, it could be a boy!"
"Ain't a boy I'm telling you" Connie laughed and shaked her head
"When do we tell Lydia and Kelly and the kids?"
"We could tell them when we get back, tell all them together, call Carol to tell her too. She ain't gonna leave me alone when she finds out, it was like that when we got together and when we started being Lydias parents"
"Oh I can already imagine it and I'll love it!" he rolled his eyes
"Kids will love it"
"Yeah, I hope Michonne comes back and meets the baby while it is still, a baby"
"Yeah me too. You should sleep"
"I know I know, I'll be hard to get some sleep in the future so I should sleep while I can, but I'm excited!"
They talked some more, about names and about how they would do this, until Connie fell asleep in Daryls arms and he just looked at her, smiling
"Dad look look, I teached Ocean the sign for my name and she knows it!" Judith said looking at Rick and then at the kid "Ocean, say my name" Judith signed and the kid did a similar sign to the one that was Judith name "See, she knows how to say my name!"
"Ocean say Rj!" Rj did the sign for his name and Ocean tried it but it wasn't good "She tried..."
"The only ones she knows how to do right are mine and Kellys" Lydia said and grabbed Ocean so the kid could sit on her legs
"Not fair! You live together!"
The adults laughed at the kids that kept trying to teach Ocean their name signs but she was ignoring them, paying more attention to her older sister. When Ocean was just born, Rick and Michonne got to Alexandria. They did a big celebration, Michonne was back and Rick was alive! It was all super emotional and, of course, they told them everything that happened. Rick was so confused with everything, his little girl was big and he met his son, there was new people and people he knew before and now weren't there anymore, Kingdom was gone and Hiiltop was slowly being built up again, his brother had a wife and a teenager and now a baby girl. It was a lot to take in. But now, after two years everything was great, they were living life and being happy
"Couldn't find her!" Connie said when she got back to the place they were doing their picnic, Ocean went to her mom when she saw her
"How weird! Maybe she went hunting?" Elijah said
"Want to go look for her?" Daryl asked
"She's probably with Layla" Lydia said
"But she said they would come to the picnic!"
"She just started dating her, they're probably hiding somewhere" Michonne commented and Connie had to accept it was probably true
"Come on, let's play with Dog" Daryl said and got up and called Dog. The kids followed him and after some minutes playing everyone got in in the game.
Kelly and Layla got there some time after and started playing too. When Connie got tired she sat down and just looked at them playing. Dog would always go towards the little girl that was more curls than anything, so they were all trying to pick Ocean in their arms and that way Dog would go towards them and they would won. Of course Daryl was the one winning now, because no matter how many times he got her in his arms and put her in the floor she would not get tired of it because it was her dad while with the others she would complain. They changed the game and now Gracie and some other kids where also playing and Connie noticed how Ocean was getting very confused with everything that was going on, she was very clever for a 2 year old, but when there was a lot of people everywhere that she couldn't hear, she would get confused and normally start crying. Connie was getting up to get her but Daryl got her first and walked towards Connie. They sat down together looking at everyone while they took care of their little baby. Daryl was trying to make her laugh and it was working, Connie smiled looking at how he was such a loving father
"I love you" she signed when he looked at her and he kissed her
"Family" he signed and she nodded smiling. This was her family, the best one she could have asked for