Chapter Text
Time kept coming and going, and before you knew it, three years had passed since you moved to that small town to work in that small school, with no idea that you were going to meet Daryl there, who, by now, you were pretty sure was the love of your life, and Sam, the nicest kid, that called you aunt now.
Truth be told, sometimes, after all that time, when you thought on him, you felt as if he were your kid, more than a nephew, and you thought the same happened to Daryl.
One morning, though, you were harshly reminded that he was, indeed, not your kid.
You were heading out of the classroom for the break, when the custodian, the same one who was always nice to you, came looking for you.
“Y/N, Sam’s at the infirmary, I knew you’d want to know,” he told you and you felt your heart leaping to your throat.
“What?! What happened?!”
“I don’t know…I just heard that he was there…”
“Okay…okay…” You were trying not to freak out but not succeeding. “Thank you for telling me,” you said before rushing the tiny infirmary.
When you walked there, though, you didn’t saw Sam, only the school nurse talking to a teacher who seemed to be writing a report.
“Where’s Sam?!”
“At the hospital,” the nurse explained and your fear grew. “I think he might have a broken arm and I don’t have the equipment for that here.”
“I come from leaving him there,” the teacher said.
“You left him alone?!” You panicked and the teacher rolled his eyes at you.
“Of course I didn’t, Daryl’s there, we called for him,” he explained, and it was good that Daryl was there, but that meant that some time had to pass since Sam first got hurt.
“Why nobody told me anything until now!” You snapped.
“We called Daryl, who’s his family and his contact…you are not.” The teacher shrugged, but you had the suspicion he might have done it on purpose, he was one of those who never liked you.
“Oh, screw you,” you couldn’t help but snap again, you couldn’t care. “You all know I’m Sam’s aunt…I’m going to the hospital, send someone to watch over my classroom.”
“You can’t leave like that! It’s not a family emergency…not officially!” The teacher called after you, but you kept walking.
*
Once at the hospital, you had to fight with the woman at the hospital reception too, as you tried to see Sam.
“I’m sorry, madam, but you are not listed as a family member here.”
“Well, I am!” You didn’t want to snap at a woman who was doing her job, but you were very upset at the whole thing.
“Y/N” You heard a voice calling for you and you saw Tulip’s mom, who was a nurse and who you saw almost every day when she still came to pick up Tulip from your art activity, walking to you.
“How’s Sam? She won’t let me in,” you said, so upset that you could cry.
“He’s okay, don’t worry,” she tried to stop you from panicking. “It’s not a broken arm, but he sprained it. Daryl’s with him, so I’ll go tell him that you’re here and if you go with him you can see Sam, nobody will stop you, okay?”
“Okay…okay, thank you,” you said rubbing your eyes.
Soon, you saw Daryl ahead, approaching you, and you rushed towards him. “How’s Sam, they didn’t let me in.”
“He sprained his arm,” Daryl told you, just like Tulip’s mom. “But he’s okay, don’t cry,” he told you, and you realized that even though you had tried to stop it, your eyes were wet, you’d been so worried and upset. “Come here, let’s go see him,” he said softly, wrapping an arm around your shoulders and walking you to see Sam.
He was sat down on a chair, his arm on a sling but he was looking good…and yet you were still scared.
“Sweetheart, are you okay?!”
“Yes, but I sprained my arm.” Sam nodded, grimacing when he tried to move the arm. “At least is the left so I can paint and shot the slingshot…”
“What happened?” Nobody had told you anything…though you hadn’t asked either, you just had wanted to see Sam.
Sam didn’t answer, looking down.
“He got into a fight,” Daryl said for him.
“What?! You hadn’t gotten in a fight in years!” You knew that some kids still pestered him sometimes, and that some teachers were harsh to him, but it had gotten better than when you first started working at the school, and he wasn’t bullied as he used to. “You know that if something happens, you come tell me.”
“I know…but they were sayin’ somethin’ ‘bout you…” Sam said, still looking down, and now you also felt guilty that he’d snapped and gotten hurt because some kid might have made some mean comment about you.
“That’s no excuse to get into a fight!” You said, you knew that most teachers were going to blame Sam and that someone was probably writing a report about it at that moment. “Right?” You looked at Daryl.
“Mmh mmh.” He nodded but didn’t seem very convincing, and you got the heavy suspicion that he agreed on shutting up people who said something bad about you, but you decided not to comment on that at that moment.
Sam was still looking down and you took a deep breath, trying to calm down. “Sweetheart…thank you for caring for me, but if someone says something bad about me, it’s still not worth getting into a fight, okay? You know I don’t like it.”
“I’m sorry,” Sam said, and before you could say anything else, Tulip’s mom walked into the room.
“Daryl, I need you to fill some papers, can you come for a minute?” He asked and Daryl nodded, following her out.
“Are you mad?” Sam asked you and you let out a sigh, running a hand through your hair.
“I’m…I’m upset and I was very scared, I didn’t know what had happened to you and I was very worried.” Not being able to see Sam right away for, apparently, not being family had upset you even more.
“I’m sorry…”
“I know, sweetheart….just don’t do it again, okay? I was very worried,” you told him, and when Sam nodded, you hugged him, mindful of his hurt arm. “I’m going to see how Daryl’s doing with the papers, okay?”
“Okay.”
You kissed Sam’s forehead and walked to the hall, where you found Daryl, seeming to be filling some reports. Once he finished, he turned around and seemed a bit surprised to find you there looking at him.
“We can take him home, come on,” he told you but you didn’t move…you had tried to appear calm for Sam, but you were still very upset at the whole thing.
“You have to marry me,” you blurted out and Daryl blinked at you, taken aback, before frowning.
“…what?”
“They didn’t let me see him because I’m not family…what if it happens again? What if you can’t come first? I love that kid like he were mine, but they won’t list me as family, you have to marry me,” you ranted and it made sense in your head.
“Y/N, yer family, okay? Ya know ya are,” Daryl told you softly. “We, uh…we can talk ‘bout this later…let’s get Sam home now, okay?”
“Okay…okay…” You nodded, you were starting to realize how you had just exploded, upset, and you were starting to feel very embarrassed about it. “Let’s go…”
*
Back at home, once you were sure Sam was okay, or as okay as he was going to get, you left Daryl dealing with him while you went to the backyard, sitting down under the squirrel tree with a book. You felt like, before, when you were so upset and scared, you had probably overwhelmed Daryl and Sam, and you wanted to give them space, and give yourself time to calm down.
You had been there for a little while when Daryl approached you, sitting down next to you.
“How’s Sam?” You asked, closing the book.
“Okay, playin’ with the cat with the other arm,” Daryl told you.
“Okay…okay, good…” You chewed on your lip and let out a sigh. “I’m sorry about how I freaked out before.”
“Nah, nah, don’t be…” Daryl told you, wrapping his arm around you. “I got scared too, when they called me.”
“I can’t believe I asked you to marry me in the middle of a hospital hall,” you said, hiding your face on Daryl’s chest as you felt like dying from embarrassment, and Daryl snorted.
“I mean…sounded more like demandin’ than askin’…” He joked and you groaned aloud, trying to hide even more.
“I’m sorry…”
For a little bit, Daryl was silent, and you were starting to relax again when he spoke. “But, uh…ya wanna get married?” He asked, taking you by surprise.
“Do you?” You asked, still hiding your face.
“I asked first…”Daryl said, sounding shy too.
“Technically, I asked first,” you said forcing yourself to pull away from Daryl’s chest to look at him. “I…if you marry me, I’d be Sam’s family officially, if something like this happens again, I think it’s useful, you know, to have that on paper…But also…yeah, I’d like to be married to you…” You said, pushing past your shyness. “But if you don’t want to, it’s okay, it really is.”
“Nah, uh…yer right, it’ll be good to have that on paper,” Daryl nodded. “And uh…I want us to marry too.”
“Yeah?” You asked, almost forgetting how to breathe, and Daryl nodded. “I…I want to marry you, but I don’t want you to feel like you have to do it or like you’re forced to it.”
“I ain’t.” Daryl shook his head. “I want to marry ya too.”
“So then…we can get married,” you still couldn’t believe it, and it seemed to make Daryl smile softly, and he reached to stroke your head.
“Yeah, we can.”
You could just grin at him, unable to put in words the way in which you were feeling, the butterflies in your belly, the happiness, the excitement, and so you settled for just wrap your arms around his shoulders and kiss him.
*
If you said that your wedding with Daryl was small, it’d still sound bigger than it was, a little ceremony with only two witnesses, Sam and Merle.
You knew that Daryl preferred it that way, it suited him, but while you planned it, he’d been all the time asking you about it, making sure that it was the way you wanted it, especially when you said you weren’t inviting your family…after that, you had to reassure him that it was not because of him, or out of embarrassment, or any of those silly things that he got in his head, to the point that you’d half-joked, half-threatened on inviting all your extended family.
You just didn’t feel like having your mom’s family there that day, you knew they’d get in your nerves and that you would feel judged and wouldn’t be able to relax and enjoy it with them around. Besides, they still didn’t get your relationship with Daryl…but you were past caring.
You were planning on just calling your mom at some point to tell her that you were married now…you’d probably get an earful from her about not having invited her and her family, about how weird you were to her eyes, but you didn’t care.
You had thought about inviting some friends, but finally decided against it, wanting the wedding to be something small and private, just for Daryl and you. You’d call some friends soon and tell them, and if any of them wanted to meet for some drinks to celebrate, then that was okay.
That night, you were in bed, smiling contently as you stroked Daryl’s hair and back while he lied over you. You glanced at your white, simple dress, that you had carefully left on a chair, and at your new ring, your smile growing.
“We’re married…” You said, finding it hard to believe even then, and Daryl hummed a yes, but then he lifted his head to look at you, frowning.
“Was it okay? The weddin’, I mean…I know it was small…”
“Yes, and I liked it that way,” you said. “Besides, we had one guest more than what I had expected.”
“Yeah?” Daryl’s frown deepened, confused.
“Yeah, your brother came with a prison guard,” you joked and Daryl snorted. Despite Merle’s usual comments around you, you were glad that he’d been able to come to the wedding, even if under custody, knowing that it was important for Daryl and Sam.
“Sorry ‘bout that.”
“It’s okay…quite an unexpected choice of date for your brother…” You kept joking.
“Yeah…ya better don’t say that in front of Merle.”
“I’m not planning on.” You chuckled. “But…yes, Daryl, I loved our little wedding, and I love being married to you, and I love you.”
Daryl didn’t say anything, just looked at you with a soft, shy smile, before he kissed you.
*
Another couple of years seemed to come and go, and before you knew it, Merle was coming back home on probation again.
You were glad on behalf of Daryl and Sam, but you were nervous and apprehensive too, knowing that Merle was moving to the Dixon’s cabin too…you weren’t sure how you’d deal with living under the same roof than Merle, but you were sure he was going to get on your nerves and annoy you more often than not, even if you both weren’t that much at each other throat anymore when a few times you had gone with Daryl and Sam to visit Merle at the prison.
You knew that Daryl was worried about that too, and so you tried not to make him worry more…besides, if the alternative to living with Merle in a cabin that sure was going to feel crowded, as Sam living somewhere else with Merle, then you’d rather have Merle around and deal with him as best as possible.
You hoped that this time, Merle would get his shit together for his kid, go sober and quit, or at the very least, stop dealing drugs…but you weren’t too hopeful, and you were sure that was going to be another source of fights between Merle and you.
This time, he arrived on a Saturday afternoon, while you, Daryl, and Sam were at home. The first one to notice was your cat, who ran to hide under Sam’s bed, and then, the front door was opening and Merle was walking in.
“Dad!” Sam left what he was doing and rushed to hug Merle.
“Hey, kid!” Merle hugged him before he approached Daryl, hooking an arm around his shoulders in that particular way you knew he did when he was trying to annoy Daryl. “Lil’ bro!”
“Hi, Merle,” Daryl greeted while trying to squirm away from his brother’s grasp.
“Hello, Merle,” you greeted, smiling as you looked at the Dixon’s.
“Y/N, darlin’, why don’t ya make yerself useful and make us men some sandwiches,” Merle told you, but whether he was joking or not, you knew he was just trying to annoy you on purpose too, like he’d done to Daryl.
“Sure, I’ve been told I make a great tomato and lettuce sandwich, I’m sure you’ll love those,” you retorted, knowing Merle would never eat such a thing.
“Yeah…my brother had to pick the only vegetarian in town,” Merle said, punching Daryl’s shoulder before looking at Sam. “So…where’s that cat ya haven’t shut ‘bout for years?”
“She hid when she heard you,” Sam explained.
“Oh, I see…she’s Y/N’s cat so sure she’s told her a lot of shit ‘bout me,” Merle joked…but something came you your mind, and you approached Merle, pretending that you were going to hug him as if you were welcoming him back home, almost snorting at his confused face, with only Daryl looking more confused.
“If you hurt my cat, if you say any mean word to her or about her, I’ll kill you and drop your body into the river in your own pickup…and you better not give Daryl and Sam shit either,” you threatened him, whispering into his ear before pulling back, and Merle gave you an amused look, nodding.
Merle walked around the small living room, looking around, before he looked at Daryl and you with a mocking smile. “I gotta say…after these years, I thought I was gonna find a little Dixon running around when I came back…if ya don’t know how to make one I can give ya some tips.”
His words took you by surprise, you hadn’t expected that coming from Merle, and you couldn’t help but tense at it, while Daryl shifted awkwardly next to you.
Kids were something Daryl and you hadn’t discussed, even if you had thought about bringing it up, you never dared, since Daryl had never said anything either, and so you’d always felt too insecure to bring it up, even though for a while now, you had found yourself wondering how it’d be to have a kid, besides Sam, a baby with Daryl, but you weren’t sure how Daryl felt about it.
Daryl wasn’t saying anything, Merle kept looking at you both, and you couldn’t bear the silence. “Well…for me, Sam will always be my little Dixon,” you said.
“I ain’t little!” Sam grumbled, and sure, he was still a kid, but he was not that little kid who you had first met anymore, but you meant it, he’d be little Dixon in your heart even when he were a teen and an adult, you were sure.
“And he ain’t yer kid either,” Merle told you, as if he knew that you felt Sam as yours and wanted to remind you that he was his kid. “Come on kid, let’s see if ya got better at shootin’ those cans.”
*
That night, you were sat down against the headboard of the bed, reading, when Daryl came into the bedroom, getting into the bed and lying down next to you. He placed a hand on your hip and you held the book just with one hand so you could place the other on his over your hip.
“Merle didn’t give ya much trouble today, yeah?” He asked you.
“No…nothing I can’t deal with…but I’m not making promises about tomorrow,” you joked and Daryl chuckled. “What he said…you know, about coming back and finding a little Dixon…”
“He’s just tryin’ to be annoyin’, ignore him,” Daryl said.
“Yes…but…” You left the book on the nightstand table and looked at Daryl, you’d been gathering the courage and fought your shyness and insecurity all day to finally have this conversation with Daryl. “Have you ever thought about it? Having kids?”
“I, uh…dunno…yeah…” Daryl answered vaguely.
“And?” You asked when he didn’t say anything, you didn’t want to push him, but you needed to know. “It’s…it’s something you’d want?”
“Ya want kids?” He asked you, and you stopped yourself from telling him that you had asked first, knowing that that argument wouldn’t take any of you anywhere, and you didn’t want to keep this in your head and overthink it.
“I…yes, I’ve been thinking about it for a while, and having a kid is something I think I’d like…to have a kid with you,” you said, honest. “But that doesn’t mean that if you don’t want to, I’d force you or push you to it, I won’t.”
“if I didn’t want kids and ya wanted them, if ya wouldn’t have them ‘cause of me, that ain’t fair ,” Daryl said…did that mean he didn’t want them?
“It wouldn’t be fair either that I’d force you to have kids if you didn’t want to,” you said. “Besides…I got a kid, Sam, you know I care for him as my own…even if Merle kindly reminds me he’s not.”
“Don’t let Merle get ya with that, ya’ve been takin’ care of that kid with me for years while Merle was in jail ‘cause he wouldn’t stop dealin’,” Daryl told you. “But, uh…ya want a kid…”
“Maybe…but not if you don’t,” you told him again.
“I…I don’t think I’d be any good at that,” Daryl said quietly. “At havin’ a kid, bein’ a dad…”
“What? Are you serious?” You blinked at Daryl but he just shrugged. “Daryl, you’ve taken care of Sam all his life as if he were your own kid, you love him like that, you raised him, and you did an amazing job at it, despite all the difficulties you had to face, which were a lot.” You wished Daryl saw it. “Sam is amazing, he’s not only one of the best kids I’ve ever known, but one of the best people, maybe I’m a bit biased…but I think it’s true.”
“That’s all him…not me…” Daryl shrugged again, and you reached to stroke his cheek.
“I think you helped a little…more than a little,” you said softly. “And I think…no, I’m sure that you’d be an amazing dad too, and I’d love to see you being one, to have a kid with you…but not if you don’t want to, not if you’re not sure, okay?”
Daryl nodded and then stayed silent while you played with his hair. You thought this was the end of the conversation, at least for now, it was bittersweet, but then, Daryl spoke again.
“I…I wouldn’t mind it…I think…havin’ a kid, maybe…but…I don’t want to fuck it up…” He said quietly, and again, you couldn’t believe he’d think that way, even if Daryl was always insecure and harsh with himself…if only he could see how he really was.
“There’s no way you could mess it up, love,” you told him, caressing his hair. “I know you’d be a great dad, I told you, you already raised a kid, all on your own, and did it more than great.”
“Wasn’t on my own these last few years…” Daryl murmured.
“Yeah…and I loved the chance to take care of Sam with you,” you said softly, stroking his face. “So, I know you’d be an amazing dad. If you don’t want to have kids, that’s a thing, it’s okay…but not if it’s because you think you’d be bad at it, or mess it up, or any of those things, because trust me, love, those are not true.”
Daryl didn’t say anything, and so you didn’t say anything else. You didn’t want to push him or press him, and you felt like he might not want kids but didn’t know how to tell you directly, not wanting to hurt you. It saddened you, but you weren’t going to force Daryl into something he didn’t want. You shifted to lie down on the bed, and Daryl kept holding you in silence, his arm around your waist.
“I, uh…” He whispered after a bit. “I think…I’d like a kid, with ya…maybe…”
You felt your heart jumping at that, but you still were afraid of Daryl maybe feeling forced to it. “You want it? Or it’s because I want it?” You asked him gently.
“Nah, I, uh…I’ve thought about it too, sometimes,” Daryl said quietly. “So uh…if ya don’t think I’d fuck it up…I’d want it, to have a kid with ya.”
“Yeah?” You asked, feeling like you might start bouncing out of excitement, and Daryl nodded, humming a yes. You shifted on the bed until you could wrap your arms around him and kiss his lips, and when you pulled back, Daryl leaned his forehead on yours…you always felt like melting when he did that. “Okay…okay…I’d love to have a kid with you, if you really are sure, and you absolutely won’t mess it up, you’ll be great,” you told him again before pecking his lips once more. “But…it’s not like we have to get at it right now, yeah?” You said, still not wanting to push Daryl into something if he wasn’t ready. “But now we talked, and it’s something we know we both want, at some point, and that’s now on the table, yeah? Maybe that’s enough for now.”
Daryl nodded again before kissing your lips, and then he snuggled to you, holding you tight for the night.
Little did you imagine, when you moved to that small town years ago, feeling so lonely and out of place, how your life was going to be from then on, and the happiness that you would get in your life.
Meeting Sam, the sweetest kid, that now you loved as your own and raised with Daryl…meeting Daryl too, someone as special as he was, getting to know him, falling in love with him, loving him as deeply as you did…marrying him…talking about having kids with him…you felt as if your heart might burst out of love.
You might live in a small town where gossip was the main pastime, married into the Dixon’s family which used to be in the center of that gossip, working on a small school where almost every other teacher was cold as ice to you…
…and yet, with Daryl in your arms, you knew you wouldn’t change a thing, you’d do it all again a million times in a second.