Hope's POV

I lay on my back, staring at the ceiling of my bedroom. I can feel the baby kick every now and then, eliciting a groan from my lips.

"You know, you could come out soon," I mumble, running a hand over the mound.

I sigh and roll onto my side like some kind of bloated walrus, my back aching horribly. I'm so done with being pregnant. All I want is to finally hold my baby, but he or she still isn't coming.

I look out the window, seeing that the sun is setting. My window is open, allowing the wind to flow through and give the room the crisp feeling of outside. I don't get to go outside much, mostly since it hurts to walk for too long and Daryl is being super protective.

My heart aches, a sudden wave of sadness crashing over me as my eyes grow teary.

"Rick, I can't go out tomorrow," Daryl's voice says from outside, and I can just tell that he's on the porch.

"Daryl, it's just another walker run. You lead a few of them out-" Rick starts.

"Hope's a few days away from havin' a baby. I need to be here for her," my husband argues. "Talk to me later."

The door slams downstairs as I hear Rick's loud sigh of discontent. His boots smack against the wood of the deck as he heads away, while I hear Daryl's light tread on the stairs.

"Where are ya, angel?" he calls, a slight tease to his voice.

He enters the bedroom, making me roll over once more and face him. His small smile falls when he sees my expression, protectiveness flooding his baby blues.

"Darlin', what's with the long face?" he mutters, moving to the bed and sitting down on the mattress beside me. "I hate seein' the happiest girl I know lookin' so down."

I sigh as I blink rapidly, trying to keep the tears away. "I'm not a girl, Daryl. I'm a woman, and I'm getting old and fat," I say, unable to stop the stupid hormones that are making me feel this crappy. "I've got bags under my eyes, my freckles look more like dirt spattered on my cheeks than actual freckles, and my feet are swollen. Not to mention that my back aches from carrying this baby and I'm sick of being pregnant." I sniffle and shut my eyes. "I just want my baby..."

I feel Daryl's rough hand caress my face, his lips touching my forehead lovingly.

"Well, for an old lady, you're pretty sexy," he teases.

I shove his chest weakly, my eyes opening again as I pout. "I feel like the exact opposite of sexy."

He laughs, making my frown deepen. It's like he's finding joy in my discomfort. What a jerk.

"Hope, you're adorable," he mutters. "Seriously, even when you're cranky I find you irresistible."

To prove his point, he leans over and nuzzles my neck, kissing my jaw. I relax beneath his touch, the way I always do, but I still feel like a corpse that's been rotting for weeks.

"Now...your feet hurt?" he murmurs.

I try to look at them, lifting my leg and being just able to see my toes over my baby mound.

"They've always been so big..." I say. "My parents used to tease me once...called me their little Bigfoot."

"They ain't that big," he returns, settling down and starting to rub them gently. "Maybe this'll help. There ain't much I can do." He keeps working, his tongue poking out of his lips a little. "As for the bags under your eyes, we've all got those nowadays. I still think your freckles are cute...and you're not fat, you're pregnant. Those ain't the same thin'."

I sigh, finding the massage quite relaxing, despite how ticklish I am on the bottoms of my feet. I rest for a while, Daryl remaining silent and focused as he works.

"How was work?" I ask.

"Work. I'm leadin' walkers around. What is there to say?"

"I don't know." I furrow my eyebrows a little. "Gee, Hope. The sun was so pretty today. Maybe one day I'll bring you outside instead of letting your skin return to its pasty Canadian standard."

He laughs at that comment, looking up at me through his shaggy bangs. "If you wanna go outside, you just gotta ask."

My face snaps into a pleading, puppy dog look. "Can we? Please?"

He stands up, moving to my side and scooping me into his arms as if I weigh nothing. I wrap my arms around his neck, exhaling sharply at the baby weight on my stomach again.

"Thanks babe," I murmur.

He kisses my lips, brushing our noses together a little. He smiles lovingly as I wrinkle my nose, my lips puckering as I smile a little.

"Don't you worry, angel. You'll be just fine," he assures me. "Let's go visit some friends, yeah?"

"Sure." I rest my head against his shoulder as I breathe in. "And you're showering again tonight."

He frowns. "Do I have to?"

"I'm not sleeping in the same bed as you when you smell like sweat and walkers."

He rolls his eyes as he turns and heads down the stairs. "Fine..."

It isn't long before we're back outside, the sun's rays still visible above the tree line. Daryl sets me down on our porch bench, allowing me to relax into the cushions.

"Thanks," I whisper.

He sits down next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulder as he nods. "No problem."

We sit in silence for a moment, looking at the neighbourhood and the trees and the sky. If it wasn't for the knowledge of what's been going on around here for the last few months, I'd think everything was at peace. There's no Rick and Deanna scaring the Alexandrians, no attempts to lure walkers away from a giant canyon, no fake personas or unhappy people. Just a community...

"I want this place to survive," I admit. "For the sake of Theo or Melody. I just want him or her to grow up in a safe place, or at least have some time before we have to move on."

"You really think that'll happen?" Daryl asks.

I'm silent for a moment. With all my heart, I want to believe that it will. That somehow, Rick and Morgan will work together and teach the Alexandrians how to protect themselves, that the strange people that carve W's into walker foreheads will leave us alone...that's all I want.

"You know how naïve I can be," I whisper. "But...I don't think this place will be able to stand for as long as I want it to."

Daryl nods, the last rays of sunlight burning out as the sun dips below the horizon. I yawn a little and snuggle against my husband, my nose brushing his neck.

"I want snuggles," I murmur.

He smirks a tiny bit. "I want more than that, darlin', but that'll have to wait until little Dixon comes along."

I kiss his cheek. "Will snuggling me work for now?"

He turns his lips against the side of my head, brushing his hand over my stomach as he nods.

"Yeah, it'll work just fine."