There have been a few ideas I have gotten for this universe and I figured it would just be easier, creating a new story and adding a new chapter each time I write out one of those ideas.

...

Spencer came to get Beth in the middle of night when it was so cold and seemed like it would snow but none had fallen yet. Aaron was on guard outside – his name having been pulled for the first shift – and Beth and Daryl were asleep in their bed in their room off the kitchen. He tried to creep into the room as quietly as he could but Daryl was a light sleeper and as soon as Spencer put one foot into the room, Daryl's eyes were open and he was looking at him.

"Rosita's water broke," he whispered and after a moment, as if his tired brain needed that time to catch up, Daryl nodded and then gently shook Beth, whispering her name.

"Beth," he said and she murmured something, nestling closer to him, still remaining asleep. Daryl shook her gently again, his lips to her ear. "Beth, it's time," he said and those were the magic words to get her eyes to snap open.

She flew into a sitting position; all sleep instantly gone from her eyes when she saw Spencer standing there as if his presence there confirmed to her that she wasn't dreaming. She wore a pair of cotton shorts with lace at the hems and a thick cable-knit sweater that had once belonged to a man and that was so big on her, it nearly hid the fact that she was wearing anything underneath at all. She didn't change. She simply tugged on a pair of thick socks to wear downstairs and rolled the sweater sleeves up to her elbow. Daryl sat up as well, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, lacing on his boots.

After braiding her hair back to keep it from her face for however long this took, she then turned to Daryl. "Can you wake Anna? I'm going to need her," she said and he nodded, grabbing his coat from where he had hung it on the corner of the door that led into the master bathroom. Lastly, she took off her wedding ring so it wouldn't get bloody or lost.

Beth then hurried out with quickened steps, Spencer following behind, as they both went down into the basement where Spencer and Rosita slept. And after tugging on his coat and grabbing his crossbow, Daryl headed down the hallway and into the front little room that had once been an office for the man who had lived here. He poked his head into the room and saw that the candle had been lit on the table next to the bed and the little seven-year-old girl – at least that's how old they thought she was – Anna was already sitting up, tugging on a sweatshirt.

She saw Daryl in the doorway. "I heard," she mumbled, still sounding half asleep. She yanked on her own little boots and Daryl bent down, helping her tie them tightly, and then, she left the room and Daryl followed after her, both of them going down the stairs into the basement.

In the basement, they had the solar powered lamps and more candles so if the delivery was to happen at night, there would be enough light to guide them. Rosita was sitting up in the bed they had moved down there months earlier – taking it from another of the houses in the neighborhood – and she was already sweaty, her hair matted to her face.

When Rosita and Spencer had told the others that she was pregnant, there had been worry, of course, and fear. Women had been giving birth for thousands of years without hospitals but it was definitely a luxury they had gotten used to and so many things could go wrong during a birth. Beth did what she did though and dove head first into research and preparation. They all knew that Beth would be the one to deliver the baby; that of anyone, Beth was the best person possible to deliver the baby.

And when it had been warmer, Beth had gathered flowers and roots and herbs that she had read might help along the way and now that winter was upon them, everything was dried and stored properly, ready to be used.

Daryl stood at the bottom of the steps, looking uncomfortable, as Beth stood next to the bed, holding Rosita's wrist, keeping note of her pulse. Spencer was on the bed, sitting beside her, holding her hand, which she squeezed when a contraction ripped through her. She gritted her teeth together and squeezed her eyes shut, and Beth brushed hair back from her face.

"Start counting," Beth then told Spencer. They didn't have a watch and had to keep track of the contractions someway. She looked to Daryl. "Can you help Anna get a pot of warm water and then maybe, you should go help Aaron keep watch outside?"

Daryl quickly nodded, thankful for some sort of direction. This was Beth's show and they were all going to do whatever she said.

"And Anna," she began to say to the girl.

"I know," Anna nodded before Beth could finish and both she and Daryl headed up the stairs.

Beth, herself, felt her heart hammering in her chest but she wasn't going to show how scared she was. She could do this. She had been reading any book she could get her hands on over the past few months and no one knew flowers and herbs like she did. When she had been younger, there had been one of their cows, pregnant and in labor, and she had helped her daddy and Maggie with the birth. No, Rosita wasn't a cow but at least Beth had done something like this before. She just had to keep a clear head and stay calm and they would all get through this.

She refused to allow her mind to dwell on Lori tonight.

She went to the foot of the bed and instructed Rosita to bend her knees and spread her legs and after squirting her hands with antiseptic from the nearby bottle, Beth took a look just as another contraction ripped through her body.

"Three minutes," Spencer informed her and Beth nodded.

She looked to Rosita and gave her a smile. "It's happening fast."

"Thank God," the woman muttered, already feeling exhausted and blinded with pain.

Daryl and Anna returned then and Anna set the bucket of water down on the floor next to Beth as Daryl set the wood crate down that Beth had put together. The birthing crate, they called it.

Taking out her mortar and pestle, Beth quickly took some carnation petals and crushed them, adding them to a cup of warm water. Rosita didn't ask. She simply drank it down when Beth handed it to her without waiting for an explanation.

"Carnation reduces stress and fatigue," she told them all.

She then took out the hyssop they had been growing that summer. It had been an absolute miracle of God when they had found the packet of hyssop seeds since they were native in Southern Europe and the Middle East and not to Georgia but they found a pack – Spencer, Daryl and Aaron had been doing a lot more runs that summer – and were able to grow their own. Hyssop had been used as far back as Biblical times and helped with blood circulation. The last thing any of them wanted was Rosita to get a blood clot.

Rosita tossed that back, too, as if taking a shot.

"Okay," Beth took a deep breath. She crushed up some peony petals. "For muscle pain, cramps and menstrual discomfort. It's the best I can do," she then said, handing Rosita the cup once more and Rosita gulped that eagerly down.

"It's better than nothing," Rosita smiled at her.

"And then, just because…" Beth then gave Rosita some ginger. "Okay. We'll see how it goes from here on out to see if you need something more." She looked to Daryl. "She's probably going to scream…" she then said and Daryl nodded, swinging his crossbow into his hands.

"Aaron and me will handle it," he grunted to them all. "You just worry 'bout down here."

He gave a small smile to Rosita then before turning and heading back up the stairs.

"Anna, make sure you keep Rosita as cool as you can," Beth told the girl and Anna nodded, her face set with determination at her task, and she went to the side of the bed, taking a cloth and dunking it in the bucket of water, she wiped at Rosita's sweaty face with it.

"Can I push yet?" Rosita asked after another contraction and gripping Spencer's hand as tightly as she could, probably breaking it but she didn't care right then and he was smart enough to not complain about it either.

"No!" Beth instantly shook her head and said the refusal too hard and hurried. "Don't push until I tell you, Rosita. You're not wide enough yet and if you push…"

She thought of Lori. She couldn't help it. She hadn't been in the room when Lori had given birth but one night, Maggie had confided in her what happened; of Lori pushing too soon and tearing and bleeding out in the process. Beth was not going to let anything happen to Rosita or this baby. She could do this. They all could.

Her heart was pounding and she was so scared and she could just imagine how Rosita was feeling. But Rosita was trusting her – they all were – and Beth wouldn't let any of them down.

Outside, in the darkness, Daryl found Aaron walking the fence along the back of their yard. It was so cold, their breath appeared in front of them with each exhale; sharp white clouds that disappeared centimeters in front of their faces. One of their latest projects was adding another layer of insulation to the garage so their goat and chickens wouldn't freeze to death in this weather. Beth joked that maybe they were entering another ice age because none of them could remember the South ever being this cold during the winter but Daryl didn't know how much of a joke it actually was. Without so many people around anymore killing her slowly, the earth seemed to be setting itself right to where it wanted to be again.

"How's it going in there?" Aaron asked once Daryl came to stand with him.

"Beth's handlin' it," Daryl said, taking a cigarette and lighter out of his pocket.

"No doubt about that," Aaron said with a slight nod and small smile. "A baby," he then said softly, looking over the fence to the darkness of the woods that laid out before them. "No matter what, life keeps going."

Daryl nodded and took a puff from his cigarette. He thought of Lori and the day Lil' Asskicker had been born; how he and Maggie had had to race and find the baby something for her to eat.

Hopefully, that wouldn't happen this time. Hopefully, Rosita would still be here to feed the baby. There was no reason why she wouldn't be. If anyone could get a woman through childbirth safely nowadays, it was Beth. There was pretty much nothing that girl couldn't do. She could even make them goat cheese and bake them bread. Delivering a baby would probably be a walk in the park for Beth. The baby and Rosita would both be safe and healthy and Aaron was right. Life would keep going. They had everything they needed here. Fences and trenches, weapons, food and water. Hell, they even had some livestock to help them with their diets. Daryl even got a full night's sleep some nights. And now, they would have a baby, too. It still was amazing to him if he stopped and thought about everything they had been able to do since the prison and finding this place.

Rosita screamed. She couldn't help it.

Beth kneeled at the foot of the bed, telling her to push, and Rosita did, screaming the whole time. Spencer had situated himself behind her, his back against the bed's headboard and Rosita's back to his chest, both of his hands holding both of hers and letting her push back against him, doing his best to say words of encouragement in her ear.

"It's okay," Beth told her over the noise. "You're doing great!" She then assured her. "Take a minute to breathe and don't push again until I say."

And when Rosita did push again, she screamed.

They had all known the labor wouldn't be a quiet one and they had expected walkers to be drawn to the noise. They normally lived quietly and they dealt with walkers every day but it had been a long time since more than four at the fences. Aaron continued handling the back as Daryl went to the front to handle the walkers there. He drew his knife out and worked on putting the eight walkers down as Rosita screamed again from inside. It was such a quiet night, he wondered how far her screams were being carried. At least they didn't have to worry about getting living people's attention. Screams were a normal sound nowadays and if a person heard someone else screaming, they stayed away. There was no good reason for screaming.

"Anna, the knife," Beth ordered to her. "Hold it over the flame like Daryl showed you to."

Anna nodded and quickly took one of the hunting knifes, bringing it to one of the candles so she could sterilize the blade.

"You're almost crowning, Rosita," Beth told her. "Are you ready to push again?"

Rosita didn't even hesitate before she was pushing and screaming again. Beth wasn't going to think of how disgusting it was – seeing the baby's head start to crown. It was natural and it was a miracle; a miracle she was in the middle of helping.

"Keep pushing, Rosita!" Beth called to her over the screams.

Rosita pushed her hips forward as she pushed her back against Spencer's chest and squeezed his hands, another scream tearing from her throat. She could tell when the baby was out, slipping into Beth's hands, and she collapsed with exhaustion against Spencer. It was quiet for a passing second and they both craned their necks to see Beth rubbing and patting the baby's back, clearing its mouth, and then, like a crack of lightning, the baby's cries filled the room.

And with that, Rosita burst into tears.

"It's a boy," Beth smiled at them both, tears in her eyes, shock slowly seeping over her body.

She had done it. They all had. Rosita was fine and there was a healthy baby, screaming his lungs off. They did it.

"Anna, the knife and get the blanket, too," she said and the girl quickly passed Beth the knife so she could cut the umbilical cord and then hurried to get the soft blanket from the birthing crate that they had washed especially for the baby to be wrapped in.

Beth was careful as she cut the cord and wrapped the baby in the blanket and then with a smile and tears, she passed the baby into Rosita's waiting arms. The baby was still crying but that didn't matter because it sounded like his lungs were absolutely healthy and both Rosita and Spencer looked at their son, both laughing and crying in amazement.

Anna was staring at the baby in amazement as Beth began cleaning up. The room was so hot, it was almost stifling despite how cold it was outside and it smelled of blood and sweat. Just a second ago, that baby had been inside of Rosita and now, it was here, in her arms, his cries finally quieting down. It was amazing. A baby. An actual baby.

Hearing footsteps, they all turned their heads to see Daryl and Aaron coming down the stairs and both men seemed to freeze when they saw the baby actually in Rosita's arms. They had certainly heard it but seeing it was something else entirely.

"It's a boy!" Anna happily exclaimed.

Aaron grinned and came to the bed to get a closer look and to congratulate Rosita and Spencer and Beth stood up, slowly, feeling sweaty and absolutely exhausted. Daryl looked at her for a moment as she looked at the scene with a faint smile on her face. Even sweaty with blood on her sweater, hands and arms, she looked amazing. And then, feeling his eyes on her, Beth turned her head and looked at him, her smile still in place. Daryl moved then, closing the space between them, and Beth seemed to instantly sink against him as he wrapped his arms around her. She didn't hug him in return though – not wanting to get blood on him. She exhaled a breath and rested her head against his chest and felt like she could fall asleep right then and there with him holding her up.

Daryl settled his eyes on the bed, almost shaking his head in disbelief. Rosita had done it and so had Beth. The baby was here, alive and healthy, and Rosita was still here, too.

"What are you gonna name 'im?" Daryl asked out loud, aware of the fact that his arms were the thing keeping Beth from dropping to the floor right then and he tightened them.

Spencer answered. "Aiden. After my older brother." He left the bed then and came up to Daryl and Beth. He wrapped his arms around them both and with a whispered voice, he said, "Thank you" as he gave his arms a squeeze.

And Beth and Daryl knew that he was thanking them for too many things – none of which actually needed thanks at all.

After a few more minutes, Aaron had to return to watch outside. He and Daryl had dispatched the almost two dozen walkers that had rambled up to their fences during the labor and all things were quite once again but they couldn't keep the yard unattended. Anna, too wired to sleep now, grabbed Aaron's hand and pled with him that she be on watch, too.

"'m gonna go get a bath ready for you," Daryl told her and she smiled up at him, letting him see how that was one of the best things she had ever heard.

He kissed her forehead and then headed up the stairs and Aiden, who had fallen quiet, began whimpering again. Beth knew how some people were bothered by crying babies. During church, with her family, Shawn would always sigh so heavily if a baby even so much as cooed anywhere in the room during service, but to Beth, there had never been a better sound. A baby was crying in their basement because the baby was alive as was his mother, Rosita still holding him securely in her arms and looking as if she had never seen anything more amazing.

"I think he's hungry," Beth said, coming towards the bed but with her hands still bloody, she didn't make a move to touch them.

Rosita nodded and after some adjusting, she was able to lift the tee-shirt she was wearing, exposing her chest. While Beth had read books on the delivery, Rosita had read the parenting books; everything she could get her hands on, putting much attention on breast feeding.

"Spencer, while Aiden's eating, you can take the cloth Anna was using and you can wash Rosita up," Beth suggested though it wasn't really a suggestion at all. "We'll get you to the bath tomorrow," Beth said, looking back to Rosita and Aiden. "Both of you," she added.

After a moment, Aiden finally took his mother's nipple into his mouth and began to drink and they all watched him for a moment. Rosita then lifted her head, looking to Beth with tears pooling at the edges of her eyes.

"You're amazing," Rosita said in a hushed voice and Beth felt her own tears building as she smiled and bent down, kissing Rosita on the head.

"Look who's talking," she replied.

…

There were two bathrooms in the house. The master bathroom connected to Beth and Daryl's bedroom was the larger of the two with a Jacuzzi bathtub where they stored all of the water collected from the rain barrels outside and when it snowed and they brought it inside to melt. They had found drying racks originally meant for clothes and had set them up, tying flowers and herbs to them, drying them out in upside down bushels and getting them through the months where they couldn't grow them outside.

The second bathroom was smaller and they took turns using that tub when they couldn't bathe themselves in the creek. It was a normal-sized tub and didn't use nearly as much water as the Jacuzzi tub did when they wanted to wash in a few inches of water.

By the time Beth came upstairs, Daryl had already filled the tub with about three inches and had been able to warm some of it by the fire before carrying it into the bathroom. He had even added one of those lilac bath salts that they had found and Beth sighed with relief when she came into the bathroom and saw the water and smelled the floral scent. It was almost dawn and it had been a long night and she was completely exhausted. But first, she had to clean herself up because she felt disgusting.

Daryl closed the door and she began immediately peeling her clothes off, leaving them on the floor for the time being, and she then climbed into the tub, gratefully sitting in the water that didn't even cover her thighs – not that that mattered – and Daryl sat down on the closed toilet, watching her as she drew her knees to her chest, hugging them, and rested her cheek on her arm. Even with blood and sweat on her skin, she was the prettiest thing he had ever seen and he knew that she always would be. Prettiest, smartest and toughest girl left alive, he knew without a doubt, and she belonged with him.

Beth's eyes were closed for a few minutes and he would have thought she had fallen asleep but then she opened them and smiled at him when she saw him watching her.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" She asked. "A baby."

His own lips quirked a little because it was amazing. He couldn't deny that even if he wanted to.

She picked up the bar of soap and washcloth and began scrubbing at her skin.

"Should be easier this time 'round," he mused out loud. "Rosita can feed the kid and it doesn' look like Spencer's gonna be losin' his mind anytime soon."

And Beth laughed at that even though she felt awful immediately after for doing so.

They were quiet for a few minutes as Beth washed herself and then slipped down, wetting her hair and massaging her scalp with shampoo. She laid on her back for a moment longer than she had to, looking up at the white ceiling, still able to feel Daryl watching every one of her moves. Putting her hand on the edge of the bathtub, she then pulled herself back up into a sitting position and turned her body so she could rest her chin on the bathtub's edge, looking at Daryl as he sat just a few inches away on the toilet lid, looking at her.

Sometimes, she liked looking at him. Just looking at him. And she would think about all of the days they had spent together up until this very moment; everything they had gone through together and everything they had been able to accomplish and build. Together. Always together. Of every person in their family and in the prison, there was a reason why he was the one she had gotten out with. Now, he wasn't only her husband. He was her partner in every sense of the word. It was because of Daryl that she felt like she could do anything.

She couldn't even imagine the kind of person she would be now if she had been with anyone else. What would have happened if she had run with Maggie? Maggie was her older sister and she had loved her but Maggie had insisted on always sheltering her and treating her like a child. With Daryl, he gave her the encouragement she needed to try and grow and better herself. No matter what she said she wanted to try next – whether that was trying to make goat cheese or finding an apothecary case – Daryl just nodded and did what he could to help her.

Without Daryl, she wouldn't have thought to even attempt most of these things. She certainly wouldn't had been able to deliver a baby. She loved Maggie but Maggie had always made her feel weak; like a burden. With Daryl, she felt like she could do anything in the world.

Daryl turned and grabbed a towel from the pile they kept on the sink counter and unfolding it, he stood up. Beth stood up then, too, water rushing from her body, and she carefully stepped out of the tub. Daryl wrapped her up in the towel, leaving his arms around her, and she tilted her head up to look to his face, his eyes already down, settled on hers.

She smiled then. "I'm going to have to start making breakfast soon," she said.

He smirked at that. "You're takin' the mornin' off, Beth. Think we're all big enough to be makin' our own breakfasts without you babyin' us."

"I like babying all of you though," she confessed though it wasn't much of a confession because Daryl already knew that. "Makes me feel important," she then said in a quieter tone.

Daryl stared at her for a moment and then was the one to lean down and press his lips to hers for a kiss that was a little bit harder than she had been expecting. It was short though and he pulled his lips back before she could properly reciprocate. His eyes stared intently into hers.

"You're the most important person left in this whole damn world," he told her lowly and she felt her stomach somersault as he leaned down and kissed her once more.

…

Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to review! (PS - like I did with The White House, if you have your own ideas you want to read for this universe, let me know and I will do my best to write them if I'm inspired enough!)