OUTLIVE.
❝The dead were never the enemy.
It was the living. ❞
THE WALKING DEAD.
DARYL DIXON.
BOOK TWO of the LANCASTER SAGA.
[ SEASONS 4 - 6 ]
*****
*I do not own The Walking Dead or any of its characters. I simply write to write. Astrid, any addi...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
[ lv. never to absolve herself ]
october 13th, 2012
➸➸➸
"SEE THAT BRIGHT ONE? Yeah, that's the North Star. It's at the end of the Little Dipper. If you get lost at night, just find that star. It'll lead you home."
Under a celestial canvas, sitting side by side on a porch swing, Astrid smiled gently at Carl, who held Judith close, guiding her tiny hands toward the distant stars. With every word Carl spoke, Judith's warm, brown eyes sparkled with delight. As a protective big brother, his voice alone was surely a source of happiness for the little one.
Perhaps, Astrid mused, her own child would find joy in Bailey's voice someday.
The young Stratton girl, perched nearby on the porch railing, also absorbed Carl's tales of the skies with the same enjoyment as Judith. As her hazel eyes reflected in the moonlight, Astrid again could not help but be captivated by Bailey's natural beauty, wondering just how she would continue to grow.
Together, they all gazed into the silent streets of Alexandria. Hours had passed along a slow, slow day. Daryl and Rick had not returned yet from their run, and their absence—especially that of her husband's—had begun to fuel Astrid's worry as it started and festered in the back of her mind. Always, now, she might think he was never coming back.
"Thinking about Daryl?"
Carl's question pulled Astrid from her thoughts. She ran a hand through her hair, nodding. "Yeah," She admitted. "How could you tell?"
Bailey, turning to face them, chimed in, "You put your hands on your stomach. Every time you talk or think about Daryl now, you do that."
Astrid instinctively glanced down, naturally finding her very hands resting on her lower abdomen. She realized, too, that had been doing that more often. "I just wish he was home," She sighed, pulling her jacket closer against the chilling wind. "It's never easy watching him go, and it's even harder waiting for him to come back."
"But he will," Carl reassured. "Just like my dad. They always come back." A long moment of silence followed, and he continued, "You don't have to be afraid of having this baby."
Astrid frowned. "Who says I'm afraid?"
"You didn't have to," Carl insisted. "I know you think about my mom. Trust me, I do every day too. But that shouldn't stop you from being happy. You're having a baby, Astrid. You and Daryl are starting a family. That's something to be happy about. Not something to be afraid of."
"I don't know how to raise a child, though," Astrid protested, her voice softening. "How will I know when it's hungry or needs to be changed? What about when it cries and attracts a whole horde? Or what if it gets sick, and we don't have the proper medicine? How do I keep this baby safe when Daryl and I can hardly keep ourselves safe?"
