Outlive | Daryl Dixon ²

𝐥𝐱𝐢. 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤

Andy's next response was hesitant, faltering under conflicting loyalties. But in his eyes, Astrid glimpsed a flicker of shared desperation, a yearning for redemption. After a pregnant pause, Andy acquiesced. "Okay," He murmured.

Silently, the group of four Alexandrians then observed as Andy disappeared into the confines of the nearby RV, effectively joining their cause. After, Astrid's attention shifted to a nearby picnic table, where another cache of supplies lay in waiting. She tugged the box toward her, but before she could even take a step, the burden was lifted from her grasp by none other than her hunter.

"I've got this," He reassured.

Astrid squeezed his forearm. "Thanks, honey," She whispered.

Nonetheless, Astrid still trailed behind Daryl and held the door open for him to ascend into the RV. With ease, she followed suit and sunk into the cushions of one of the double couches as she awaited the arrival of their companions. A moment later, Daryl settled beside her and draped an arm around her shoulders. As she leaned further against him, one of her hands went to rest on his upper leg while the other lifted the small sonogram before them.

"That's a sight I'll never get tired of," She hummed.

Daryl took the sonogram in his own calloused hands, his eyes tracing its details with a reverence reserved for sacred relics. He opened his mouth to speak, to perhaps note a playful thought regarding their son, when a sudden flurry of footsteps announced Bailey's arrival. With a wide grin, she claimed her place on Astrid's other side, her eager hands reaching out.

Passing the sonogram over to Bailey, Daryl could not resist a tease. "Looks like a girl, huh?" He scoffed.

Bailey's laughter echoed through the cabin as she bantered back, "I'll make it true if I say it enough."

Astrid smiled playfully, her gaze dancing between two of the most important people in her world. How entirely lucky was she to call them hers?

Just then, Astrid glanced toward the RV's doorway, and startled at the unexpected return of Jesus. No longer was he loading supplies, but rather adding his own personal belongings to the Alexandrians already gathered stack. What had compelled him to join them? To leave the safety of Hilltop behind all over again? When he noticed Astrid's curious stare, he chuckled. "You've still got my knives," He informed as he lowered himself into the space on Bailey's other side. "I'm going to need them back."

Understanding sparked in the Dixon woman. Meanwhile, around them, the confines of the RV grew increasingly crowded. With the newly added Andy and Jesus, Michonne had opted to sit in the back, forcing the others on their couch to cram tighter together. By the time all were settled, Astrid was practically sitting on Daryl's lap.

Soon, the RV roared to life, and in the next breath, it was leaving the towering walls of Hilltop in its wake. A heavy silence settled over its occupants. Each heart seemed to beat with the influence of his or her own thoughts, the rumble of the engine the only sound to be heard for nearly the first twenty minutes of the drive. But then, Michonne broke quietude. "Let me see them!" She exclaimed.

Her hands outstretched to both Daryl and Astrid, and Glenn and Maggie, awaiting both couple's sonograms. Instantly, tears glistened in Michonne's eyes as she beheld the fragile promises captured within the black-and-white images.

Slowly, a smile, radiant and pure, blossomed across Michonne's face as she clasped Astrid's hand. "I'm so happy for you." Astrid smiled in return to her dearest friend, and proceeded to survey the RV's back cabin as she and Maggie's sonograms were passed carefully from hand to hand.

Hope reflected in all their eyes now, and as Astrid's stare caught Glenn's from across the narrow walkway between their couches, she held it warmly. So many phases of this world she and him had endured together. From Atlanta, both within the city and outside it. To the Greene family farm, where they had protected each other upon their first fight against the living. Then to making the prison their first real home, and how they had—quite literally—kept each other from Death's door amidst the mayhem of cell block A. So many obstacles, so many truths, so many rises and falls within each stretch of their intertwined existence, and it had all been leading to this next phase now; together again as they both embraced the path of parenthood.