The New World 5

As a clearing in the woods came up, Rick told the group that they'd be staying here for the night. When the group made it to the clearing Sabrina sat down on a log a little ways away from the group with a worn out sigh. Looking around she saw Daryl standing by her, Carl sitting down with Judith to give her a drink, Rick was talking to an out of place Tara, Maggie and Glenn were with each other...like usual, Abraham's gang were with each other, while Tyreese, Bob, Sasha and Carol kept a look out. Sabrina took Daryl's hand as she looked up at him and tugged him gently down to the log.

"Daryl, what were the Terminus people going to do to us?" She asked lowly as he sat next to her.

"Shorty-"

"Daryl, please?"

Daryl let out a tired sigh as he looked over to his wife. "Cannibals."

"You mean-" Sabrina became white as a ghost.

"Tha's righ'. If we stayed on their good side, we were gonna end up eatin' other humans. Bu' since we go' on their bad side, we were gonna be the food."

Sabrina's mind was reeling and her stomach was turning, she was glad they got out of there. Daryl seen the distress in her face and quickly changed the subject.

"Didn't ya have somethin' ya wanted ta tell me?"

She pushed the horrible thoughts and images out of her head when her husband spoke. Hearing his question made Sabrina nervous, she swallowed a lump in her throat, letting out a shaky breath.

"Well um..." Sabrina played with the hem of her worn out shirt. "Daryl...I'm pregnant."

"Yer wha'?" He asked blinking in confusion. "Ya took a test at the prison 'nd it said ya weren't."

"That test was wrong. That night we found Rick, I decided to take two at the same time and they both read positive. It explains why I've been throwing my guts up."

She watched Daryl's face turn white but it still remained expressionless. Silence past them for a few moments before Sabrina spoke up again.

"Daryl?...You're making me nervous, say something. Please."

Daryl ran his hand through his hair as he got up. "I'm gonna go find some food then take watch. Ya need some sleep." Before Sabrina could comment, he was already over to Rick talking him that he was going to find food and take watch.

Sabrina sat there in shock, she couldn't believe that Daryl blew her off like that. Back at the prison when she took the test, she heard sadness in his voice when the results were negative. She knew bringing a baby into this world wasn't a smart move and could be dangerous for everyone but it was too late now. Letting out an irritated sigh, Sabrina sunk off the log and to the ground, pulling out a blanket to cover herself up. She was too upset to eat, all she wanted to do was cry and be left alone. Hours later Sabrina felt a hand on her back, rubbing gently, opening her eyes with a groan she looked over to see Daryl.

"What?"

"It's time ta ge' up 'nd movin'."

Sabrina sat up, letting the morning rays hit her face as she seen Daryl put a plate of cooked squirrels on her lap.

"Ya need ta eat. We wan' the baby somewha' nourished 'nd healthy." He said getting up.

"Daryl, don't distance yourself from me because of this." Sabrina watched him shift the crossbow before walking away without another word.

Letting out a sigh, Sabrina ate the few squirrels that were on her plate before standing up, folding the blanket and putting it in her bag. Once the group was ready, they followed Rick further into the woods, not really knowing where they were going. Sabrina seen Daryl talk to Rick real quick before taking off in a different direction. She wanted to follow after Daryl but she didn't, Sabrina shook her head and kept following the group. She couldn't understand why he was so pissed at her, getting pregnant wasn't entirely her fault, it took two to tango. With each passing minute, her mind wandered deeper into the pregnancy situation. How was she going to survive the birth? Lori didn't and Hershel wasn't with them anymore. So giving birth was going to be twenty times worse and scary. She was brought out of her thoughts when leaves rustled and everyone brought their weapons out.

"We surrender." Daryl's voice came as he walked back to the group with a whole bunch of squirrels strapped to him.

The group relaxed and began their journey again. Sabrina walked by Daryl's side silently as he talked to Rick.

"No tracks. No nothin'."

"So whatever you heard last night..."

"It's more wha' I felt. If someone was watchin' us, there would have been somethin'."

Sabrina looked up at Daryl curiously as Rick whistled softly, telling everyone to keep close and started talking with Abraham.

"What do you mean you felt someone watching? Could it have been an animal?"

"I don't know shorty. Jus' had tha' feelin'."

Sabrina was waiting for his had to lay on the small of her back reassuringly but it never did which caused her to frown more. Looking around, she seen that everyone was lost in their own land before looking back to Daryl.

"Daryl, quit trying to pull away from this situation. This isn't entirely my fault, it takes a woman and a man to make this happen." She hissed lowly so only he could hear.

Daryl was about to say something until a man's scream echoed through the woods. Carl coaxed Rick to go to the screams, which everyone else went too. When they got to the clearing the group saw a black man in a preacher's outfit on top of some boulders trying to stay away from a few walkers. Carl shot one, Rick tackled and stabbed one, Carol stabbed one and Daryl fired an arrow through one's head.

"We're clear. Keep watch." Rick said to the group before looking back to the guy. "Come on down."

The black male came down from the boulders slowly, looking uneasy. Sabrina went over to Daryl as the guy landed on his feet.

"You okay?" She called out softly to the guy.

He closed his eyes, turning his head and threw his guts up. Sabrina scrunched up her nose and turn to Daryl, seeing him scratch the back of his head in a 'really?' type fashion.

"Sorry. Yes. Thank you. I'm Gabriel." The man finally spoke after he collected himself.

"Do you have any weapons on you?" Rick said, getting to the point.

"Do I look like I would have any weapons?" Gabriel chuckled nervously.

"We don't give two short and curlies what it looks like." Abraham piped up.

"I have no weapons of any kind. The word of God is the only protection I need."

"Sure didn't look like it." Daryl spoke softly, finally resting a hand on Sabrina's back.

Sabrina jumped lightly from the sudden contact, she crossed her arms and hid her smile. She wasn't going to let Daryl off the hook that easily. She turned her attention back to the situation at hand with this Gabriel character.

"I called for help. Help came." Gabriel was greeted with silence so he spoke again "Do you have- have any food? Whatever I- I had left, it just hit the ground."

"We've got some pecans." Carl extended his arm with a towel full of pecans.

"Thank you." Gabriel said taking the towel then looked to Judith when she cooed. "That's a beautiful child. Do you have a camp?"

"No. Do you?" Rick asked hastily.

"I have a church."

"Hold your hands above your head." Rick instructed. Gabriel done what he was asked and Rick searched him for weapons. "How many walkers have you killed? Turn around."

"From what we just witnessed I'd say none." Sabrina mumbled.

Gabriel turned around and Rick searched him more. "Not any, actually."

"How many people have you killed?"

"None." Gabriel answered another one of Rick's questions.

"Why?" Rick asked as he finished the body search.

Sabrina's eyebrow rose curiously to Rick's question, something in Rick changed...

"Because the Lord abhors violence." Gabriel said.

"What have you done? We've all done something."

"I'm a sinner. I sin almost every day. But those sins, I confess them to God, not strangers."

"You said you had a church?" Michonne chimed in, trying to give Gabriel a break from the intense interrogation.

Gabriel looked to Michonne and nodded a bit.

"Then let's go before we burn up out here." Sabrina said smiling softly.

Rick nodded, telling Gabriel to lead the way. It was silent for a few moments while the group followed Gabriel.

"Hey, earlier, were you watching us?"

"I keep to myself. Nowadays, people are just as dangerous as the dead, don't you think?"

"No, people are worse." Daryl said.

"Well, I wasn't watching you. I haven't been beyond the stream near my church more than a few times since it all started. That was the furthest I've gone before today. Or maybe I'm lying. Maybe I'm lying about everything and there's no church ahead at all. Maybe I'm leading you into a trap so I can steal all your squirrels." Gabriel chuckled at his obviously bad joke.

The group slowed down and Daryl circled Gabriel a bit, which made the man nervous.

"Members of my flock had often told me that my sense of humor leaves much to be desired."

"Yeah, it does." Daryl said giving the guy a warning look.

The rest of the journey was quiet, they finally made it out of the woods and to a small white church named St. Sarah's Church. Gabriel went up to the steps and was about to open the doors until Rick spoke up.

"Hold up. Can we take a look around first? We just want to hold on to our squirrels." Rick went up the stairs with his hand extended.

Gabriel handed over the keys and Rick unlocked the door. Daryl told Sabrina to wait outside until the place had been checked. Sabrina nodded and leaned up against the wooden fencing waiting for the all clear. She heard Abraham talking to Gabriel about a bus in the back but didn't pay much attention. Minutes later Daryl came back out and motioned for her to come into the church. The group headed into the church and Sabrina sat down in one of the last pews. Sabrina smiled as Daryl sat down next to her and pulled her down so she could rest her head in his lap.

"I'm sorry for bein' a jackass the past couple a days Sabrina." Daryl said softly as he looked down at her, resting his hand gently on her stomach. "I was jus' surprised 'nd I'm worried..."

"I know Daryl, so am I." Sabrina said softly as she rested her hand on his. "We'll figure something out."

The couple shared a quiet and peaceful silence between them until Daryl finally spoke up.

"I should try ta find a bit more food 'nd water fer the group."

Sabrina nodded as she slowly sat up so he could get up. "That's probably a good idea."

Daryl opened up her bag and took out a couple of blankets, he wadded the first one up and put it on the pew.

"Rest yer head on tha'. I wan' ya ta ge' some rest."

Sabrina laid back down, putting her head on the makeshift pillow while Daryl covered her up with the other. "I'll be back shortly." He leaned over, capturing her lips in a soft kiss before heading out of the church.

Sabrina got comfortable as she heard Rick talk to Carl about keeping an eye open and having his guard up while everyone was going to get supplies. After the church was closed and locked up, Sabrina closed her eyes with a sigh and fell asleep. A few short hours later Sabrina woke up to see that night had fallen and candles were lit in the front of the church.

"Hey there sleeping beauty." Michonne joked. "Come get some food."

Sabrina laughed softly as she pushed the blanket off of her and went to the front to get a plate of beans. After getting a plate of beans she stood next to Daryl with a smile.

"Get everything okay?"

"Yeah. It was pretty peaceful fer once."

"I'd like to propose a toast." Abraham's voice rang out which caused everyone to stop talking. "I look around this room and I see survivors. Each and every one of you has earned that title. To the survivors."

Everyone cheered in their own way, Daryl and Sabrina sat down on the floor next to each other and started eating.

"Is that all you want to be? Wake up in the morning, fight the undead pricks, forage for food, go to sleep at night with two eyes open, rinse and repeat? 'Cause you can do that. I mean, you got the strength. You got the skill. Thing is, for you people, for what you can do, that's just surrender. Now, we get Eugene to Washington and he will make the dead die and the living will have this world again. And that is not a bad takeaway for a little road trip."

Sabrina rolled her eyes and looked over to Daryl with a 'Is he really ruining this happy moment?' look. Daryl grunted in response as he forked another bite into his mouth. Everyone was still silent as the redhead talked.

"Eugene, what's in DC?"

"Infrastructure constructed to withstand pandemics even of this foobar magnitude. That means food, fuel, refuge. Restart."

"However this plays out, however long it takes for the reset button to kick in, you can be safe there. Safer than you've been since this whole thing started. Come with us. Save the world for that little one. Save it for yourselves. Save it for the people out there who don't got nothing left to do except survive."

Sabrina and Daryl looked at each other, if they went and got this cured, that meant they'd live a normal life. Their unborn baby would be safe from those rotting corpses. They wouldn't have to be on the run every few minutes. Rick let out a chuckle and Judith cooed, which made everyone chuckle a bit.

"What was that? I think she knows what I'm about to say. She's in. If she's in, I'm in. We're in."

Everyone clapped in agreement and went back to their conversations. Sabrina and Daryl finished up their food and threw their plates away before heading back to the pew that they were at earlier. Sabrina rested her head against Daryl's leg again as he sat down.

"It's going to be a long road trip but it's going to be well worth it." Sabrina said softly.

"It is. We won't have ta worry 'bout those walkers anymore. Our baby will be safe." Daryl said.

She smiled brightly, leaning up she captured his lips lovingly before resting her head against his leg again. Sabrina let out a soft sigh feeling Daryl's fingers run through her hair. A short time later Sabrina fell into a peaceful sleep again, one she hadn't been in for a long time.