Daryl gently shook Etta awake when they arrived at the CDC. She grabbed her backpack full of medical supplies and pulled out her handgun as they stepped out of Daryl's truck, ready to face whatever was next. They ran up to the entrance and, unsurprisingly, the entire building was locked down. Etta was a ways behind Rick when he started banging on the door and walkers began to appear. She felt a moment of self-doubt when the doors didn't open but she continued towards the entrance anyway. The others were about to leave when Rick shouted "I saw the camera move."

Etta was now at the entrance and pushed Rick aside. "Candace…Edwin… Please, it's Etta Weaver. Do you remember me?" Unlike Rick's banging and shouting, when Etta addressed the camera the doors opened almost immediately and she rushed inside.

"Etta, is that really you?" Edwin asked. "I could very well be seeing things right now."

"I'm really here," she replied with a smile. "It's good to see you, Edwin."

He looked at the other members of the group. "You will all submit to a blood test. That's the price of admission." As they were heading towards the elevators he told Etta "It's good to see you, too."

Etta was getting her blood drawn and she expected Candace to come bursting through the doors with a million and one questions but reality fell short of Etta's expectations. "Edwin," she said quietly. "Where's Candace?" The look of absolute agony he gave her was more than enough as an answer. "God, I'm so sorry."

She didn't have a chance to console him any further because he had finished drawing her blood but she hoped she would get a chance to talk to him later. She couldn't believe that Candace was dead, though; she had always been a tough woman, someone you wouldn't want to get into any sort of disagreement with.

Etta and Daryl dumped their things haphazardly in the room they would share and he eagerly walked ahead of her to what would undoubtedly be the best dinner any of them had had in a long time. Glenn fell into step beside her. "Have you told him, yet?"

Etta sighed. "Yeah, you know I thought that burning walker bodies was the perfect time," she griped. "I'm telling him tonight," she informed Glenn. It wasn't as if she and Daryl had been given much private time together and she had slept for most of the way there.

"Well, good luck, I guess."

She nodded her thanks as they stepped into the dining area and she sat next to Daryl. All the others were having a very raucous experience, which was likely due to the amounts of alcohol being consumed. Etta wasn't about to get wasted like the others, and the smell of whatever Daryl was drinking was making her nauseous. She kept glancing at Jenner, who sat away from everyone else, thinking to herself how different he seemed from when she had last seen him.

Eventually she couldn't take the smell anymore and sat beside Jenner, which drew Rick's attention to him. "I don't think we've properly thanked our host."

While the others were celebrating, Shane decided to change the subject. "So when are you gonna tell us what the hell happened here, Doc? All the other doctors who were supposed to be figuring out what happened…where are they?" At this, he glanced at Etta. It wasn't an accusatory glance, just a curious one.

"We're celebrating, Shane. There's no need to bring this up now," Rick said.

"Well that's why we're here, right? Answers?"

Edwin glanced at Etta before answering Shane's question. "When things got bad a lot of them just left. When things got worse, the military got overrun, the rest bolted. Many couldn't face walking out the door, they…opted out. There was a rash of suicides. That was a bad time. I just kept working…hoping to do some good." Candace. He was working for Candace. Etta could see that now.

Shane glanced at her. "And you? You said you were working at a facility, too?"

Now Jenner was even curious. "I was on vacation when things got crazy, so I was surprised when I got a call from Ben, my boss, to go to Atlanta. Apparently, they were calling people in from all over and when I got to the facility in Atlanta things were every bit as bad as they had been made out to be. The facility was a disaster zone full of the dying and the dead. Walkers were chained to hospital beds and sometimes they would get close enough to the living to bite them. We were so desperate for staff that they had brought in med students to work under us. We believed the disease was viral but that was as far as we got. A few days later, I left the main floor of the lab for a few minutes. Just before I returned, military ran onto the lab floor and shot everyone. A few seconds later and I would have been dead. Ben found me and apparently someone owed him a favor so we escaped Atlanta in a helicopter with three others.

"We camped outside the city for a few weeks and one day when I left to go look for food, I came back to walkers eating the others." She appeared to have some trouble keeping her composure. "Ben was one of my best friends... Anyway, I had no supplies so I returned to the city and there I ran into Glenn. He left before I did and I was attacked. The Vatos rescued me and you all know the rest of the story."

"You two are such buzz kills," Glenn moaned.

Etta stepped out of the shower and as she was drying off, she mentally kicked herself for only bringing one change of clothes with her from the nursing home. But, the medical supplies took precedence. She had an oversized flannel shirt that was pretty comfy so she supposed that would have to do as far as pajamas were concerned. Right after she had finished getting dressed Daryl stumbled into the bathroom, reeking of booze.

The smell, at least for Etta, was so completely overwhelming that she had to run to the toilet to avoid throwing up on the floor. After she had lost her entire dinner, she covered her nose and mouth, turning to Daryl, who had stared at her the entire time with a dumb look on his face. "Please put that stuff away. The smell is killing me." She rushed out of the bathroom hoping to escape the stench of what Daryl had been drinking.

Daryl was left feeling shittier than he had felt in his entire life. He hadn't realized the smell made her sick; the thought hadn't even occurred to him. He had been drunk around her many times before, sometimes even more shit-faced than he was now but the smell had never made her sick. Then he remembered: she was pregnant – at least he thought she was – and the thought had escaped his mind after about half a bottle.

He put the cap on the bottle and stepped into the shower, hoping he could wash away the smell. As he brushed his teeth, trying desperately to remove all traces of the booze, he marveled at the fact that he felt even shittier now than at dinner. He hadn't known that Etta had to watch Ben being eaten alive and he cringed at how difficult that must have been for her to watch: her best friend eaten alive. He pulled on a pair of pants and ran to their room, hoping to see her there, only to find it empty.

Etta walked down to the kitchen, trying to find something to eat. (Not only because she had heaved up her dinner but also because she hoped a little food could make Daryl more sober.) As she rummaged for snack foods, scoring a few boxes of somewhat substantial crackers, she found Jenner standing there. "So things were bad everywhere," he sighed.

"I didn't know how bad things had gotten here. My facility was one of the first to fall when things went to hell." She walked over to him and hugged him, feeling as if he needed it. "I'm sorry about Candace. She was an incredible woman."

He nodded, still having trouble talking about her. "She was an incredible woman – dead set on finding a cure. She spoke highly of you, said that you could be her one day."

"I'm not nearly as intelligent as Candace was."

He laughed. "I don't think anyone was, but that wasn't what I meant. You were good, Etta, and she liked working with you because the job would get done quickly and efficiently - I'm not surprised that they called you in during the outbreak. Ben always said 'Etta's the best there is when it comes to the weird shit'." This received a laugh from Etta. "I'm sorry about him, too. Ben was a good guy."

She smiled. "He really was."

"There were a few surprises when I looked at the blood tests," he awkwardly informed her.

"Let me guess: my blood?" She already knew what he was getting at.

He nodded. "You had high levels of hCG."

"That sounds about right. Shitty timing, right?"

"I would agree that now is not a good time to be pregnant. Is the man you sat with for part of the dinner the father?"

"Daryl's the father, but he doesn't know. We were separated up until just recently and we just haven't had a chance to talk yet. Which reminds me: I better find him so I can try to get him somewhat sober. It was good talking to you, Edwin."

He waved goodbye, staying in the kitchen and watching her go.

As she walked through the hallways of the CDC, she recalled how Edwin had been acting since they had arrived at the CDC. He was just…off. She supposed it wouldn't be abnormal for someone who had just lost their wife to display bizarre behavior: he had been jittery, quick to break eye contact, and appeared altogether uninterested in any sort of contact with the others. He had always been more socially awkward than most people so Etta expected the grief had probably just amplified this trait.

When she stepped into the room she and Daryl were sharing she found him sitting on the floor rubbing his face anxiously. "What has your panties in a bundle?" she asked.

His head shot up, only just noticing her. "God, I'm sorry Etta."

"For the thing in the bathroom?" He nodded profusely. "It's really not that important. I just had to leave because I didn't want to throw up again." She shook the box of crackers she had brought. "Now, I'm going to try to sober you up a little."

"It's not okay, though. You're pregnant – I shouldn't be making you sick."

Etta jolted in surprise. How the fuck could he know? Had Kristen told him? Was she showing? "You know?" she asked, incredulous. "Am I showing that much?" She knew her middle had filled out a little – especially past handful of weeks – be she hadn't thought it was obvious with the shirts she wore.

He shook his head. "I found yer test in the trash after ya left fer Atlanta. So I guess yer still pregnant; I wasn't sure when I first saw you again."

"I'm still pregnant." Now her heart was beating in anticipation of how he was going to react. Why was she so nervous? It was just Daryl, the man she had been sleeping with for the past two years. She loved him and he loved her, so why should she be so anxious?

"Why didn't ya tell me? Did ya plan on endin' it without tellin' me?"

"Of course not, Daryl." She was actually a little hurt that he thought she would have done that. "I had only known for a day when Ben called me to Atlanta. I took the test the morning after I got home. You were passed out in bed because you and Merle had been out all night, so it wasn't like you were going to walk in and catch me."

"So why didn't ya tell me then? After I woke up?"

"I was still trying to process it, Daryl; it's a lot to take in. I had been planning on telling you and talking about it while I was on vacation but then Ben called. I figured I wouldn't be gone too long and we would talk about it when I went home again. That obviously didn't happen."

Hearing her explain it made him feel like an asshole. It made enough sense that she hadn't told him the first second she knew about it. He finally stood and pulled her into a hug. "Do I still stink?"

"No, you're fine now."

"Good." He gently brought her to the floor again and opened a box of crackers. "I should probably sober up a little 'fore we talk 'bout this. You eat, too."

They ended up sharing the entire box and by the time they finished, Daryl felt as if his head was a little clearer. "I'm sorry fer snappin' at ya. I shoulda known ya planned on tellin' me but I jus' figured ya wouldn't want a kid with me."

She shook her head as she scoffed and pulled something out of her bag, tossing it at him. "Does that answer your question of whether or not I want to have a baby with you? I want it to be healthy."

He looked at what she had tossed him: a bottle of prenatal vitamins. "So ya wanted ta have a kid with me?" He found that difficult to believe; after all, he wasn't exactly father material.

"Honestly, when the test came back positive, I didn't know what I wanted. Besides, I didn't know what you would want, either. After the outbreak I was even more terrified than before because clearly the end of the world complicated things a little bit. But when I was separated from you, I realized that even if I never saw you again I would have a part of you with me and that made me happier than you can ever imagine. The thought that I was pregnant with your baby helped me get through all the shit that was going on after I left Atlanta. I want this baby," she said firmly. Daryl was getting a strange look on his face. "Do you?" she asked.

"I don't know if that's such a great idea." He began biting his nail anxiously. He hadn't expected to hear her say she was happy to be pregnant with his kid – his kid. When he turned to her he felt like an asshole again when he saw her face fall a little.

"That's fair," she replied slowly. "I guess you never wanted kids?" Etta couldn't exactly blame him: children had been the last thing on her mind before the outbreak.

"Nah, it's not that. I like kids but I just never thought that I should have any."

"Why?" She seemed genuinely confused.

"I jus' don't think I would be the best person fer the job. Yer gonna make a great momma, Etta. I'm happy that yer the mother of my kid. I don't think I'd be a good father, though."

"That is complete and utter bullshit." He turned to her, not expecting such a strong reaction. "Daryl, if the only reason you don't want this is because you don't think you'd make a good father, then this discussion is over because you are going to be part of this baby's life. I wouldn't want anyone else to be the father of my children because you are amazing, Daryl. If you are half as good to our child as you are to me, then you will be a great father."

"Half as good as I am ta you?" he scoffed. "I jus' made ya sick and then accused ya of tryin' ta hide this from me. I ain't good ta ya."

She kissed him on the cheek. "You were being a human being, Daryl. You weren't trying to make me sick and you didn't know how long I had known. The human mind can conjure some pretty inaccurate scenarios when people are vulnerable. Besides, you were drunk. Daryl, I don't even know when the last time was you did something that upset me even a little bit, apart from maybe getting me pregnant." She linked her fingers through his and pushed herself up close to him. "Would you love this baby?" she asked.

He had only thought about it practically nonstop for the past two months, wondering if it was even possible for Etta and the baby to still be alive. The idea rarely left his mind. "I already do." Her face broke into a smile and tears swam in her eyes. "Did you mean everythin' ya said 'bout wantin' me ta be a father – 'bout bein' happy it's mine?"

"I meant every single word."

"I could try," he said finally. "I'll probably screw things up."

"We'll probably both screw up at some point. That doesn't mean you won't be a good father."

"Then I guess I'm in." This earned him a long, passionate kiss from Etta. "I jus' hope it don't look like me 'cause I'm one ugly asshole."

"I was actually thinking that I want it to look like you," she said with a laugh. "I suppose you have questions?" He nodded. "Then ask away."

"So how long have ya been pregnant?"

"I'm currently at about fifteen weeks – three and a half months."

"An' does everythin' seem…fine?"

"I was checked out fairly often back with the Vatos and as far as we could tell, it's healthy, though there wasn't any opportunity for ultrasounds or anything like that. Now that we're here, though, we can run tests, have an ultrasound, hear the heartbeat. We can even learn the gender if we want."

Daryl felt a little relief at the idea that they had chosen to go to the CDC now. There were two doctors here that had access to a lot of equipment, but there was one thing that was scratching at the back of his mind. "Jenner said ta go easy on the electricity, didn't he? Do ya think he'd be willin' ta let us use all the stuff in the labs?"

Etta shrugged. "Maybe not all the equipment, but so long as I don't power up the entire lab, I don't see why he wouldn't let me at least use one or two machines. Besides, I'm willing to bet that if all of us put our minds to it, it would be possible to get more power."

"I dunno, Etta. There's somethin' weird 'bout him."

"Edwin has always been a little weird but you have to understand that he is in a terrible place right now. Candace, the woman I talked about before we came here, isn't here. She died."

"Didn't ya say she was his wife?"

"Yes. Edwin is devastated – I can see it in his face. I can't blame him, though. I don't know what I would have done if I knew that you were dead, for sure at least. Anyway, I'm sure he'll let me use a few machines, if I'm quick, which I will be. He really is sweet and kind, even if he is a bit awkward."

They sat in silence for a while, each scarcely believing that they had actually managed to find one another, especially considering the chaos the world was in right now.

"You wanna know somethin'?" Daryl asked.

"What?"

"I didn't get yer cute little ass all to myself fer two weeks, like ya said I would."

"I wonder just how we are going to fix that, Mr. Dixon?"

"I can think of a few ways."

They began slowly removing each other's clothes, exploring the bodies they hadn't seen in two months, tracing both the new scars and the old. There was no rush, after all, so they could take their sweet time.

a/n: I know it has been forever and I really am sorry because I know how frustrating it is when someone doesn't update. But, life has been pretty chaotic since my last update and I haven't really been in a place where I felt I could write - especially at the level you all deserve. I have read every comment, though, seen every follow and favorite, and I am blown away by the positive response to this story. Thank you all so much for reading and, while I've learned to make no promises, I do have a few pages of chapter eight written and will try to update soon.