"How many babies have you delivered?" Rick asked anxiously.

He already knew the answer but he couldn't help asking anyway.

"This is my first," Carol replied from the foot of the bed, careful to keep her expression calm.

Even if it was her first time helping with a delivery, Carol was still the most qualified person in Alexandria. She was a mother herself and she still remembered the lessons Hershel had given her in preparation for Lori's delivery; lessons she never got the chance to use.

However, now was not the time to remind Rick of that part of their past. He was nervous enough as it was.

"Mine, too," Eugene spoke up, peering curiously over Carol's shoulder.

Rick raised an eyebrow, still not entirely sure why Eugene was present at all.

"But, I assure you, I have read The Practical Manual to Labor and Delivery a grand total of seven times, cover to cover," Eugene assured the room.

"AAGHHHHH!" Michonne gritted her teeth as another painful contraction gripped her body.

Rick gave her his hand and she clutched it with all her strength, like a sailor on a sinking ship, holding on for dear life.

"The contractions are coming more quickly. It won't be long now," Carol said.

Michonne squeezed her eyes shut, grimacing from the pain. Rick felt the cold anxiety in the pit of his stomach bubble up and spread through his chest. He hated sitting there unable to do anything to help.

He stood up abruptly, "I'll go get a –"

"No!" Michonne interrupted, yanking hard on his hand, "You stay right here!"

Rick obeyed, sitting back down again. He risked a glance at Carol who, as expected, gave him a harsh glare.

'Get your shit together, Grimes!' Carol's cool blue eyes ordered him.

Rick had no choice but to swallow his fear and rise to the occasion. The woman he loved more than anything in the world needed him to be strong.

"I'm here, Michonne," he said softly, rubbing the back of her hand, "You've got this."

"Here," Eugene handed Rick a small towel, which he used to wipe the sweat from Michonne's forehead.

"We're almost there! Come on, Michonne! One more big push!" Carol encouraged her friend.

Michonne screamed as she pushed again, concentrating all of her strength on this one goal.

"Oh my!" Carol's excitement got the best of her as she caught the baby in her hands.

Michonne collapsed back onto her pillow in relief. Rick felt his heart pounding in his ears. Then the sound of a baby crying filled the room and he could breathe again.

Eugene was ready with sterilized scissors to cut the umbilical cord and a warm towel to clean up the baby.

"Congratulations," Carol grinned, looking up from the baby in her arms, "You have a beautiful baby girl."

She stood up and carefully transferred the bundled infant to Rick's waiting arms.

Looking into his daughter's tiny round face for the first time, the cold fear that had sat in the back of his mind for months suddenly dissipated. Despite his nightmares of history repeating itself, Michonne was alive and well and his baby daughter was blinking up at him. His fear was replaced by a new, fierce love.

Rick turned, feeling like he was in a dream. Michonne reached out her arms and Rick settled their precious bundle onto her chest.

Michonne's smile radiated the same love and relief that Rick felt.

"She's beautiful," Michonne breathed, tears in her eyes.

Eugene finished cleaning up and left to tell everyone the good news. Barely a moment after he left the room, Carl burst inside.

"Michonne?!" Carl rushed to her side and hugged her.

"I'm okay, Carl," she assured him, "Everything's okay."

The teen pulled back and breathed a sigh of relief.

"I wasn't worried," Carl lied, smiling at Michonne and the baby.

Despite being happy that Michonne and his dad were together, Carl took the news of her pregnancy pretty hard, barely talking to anyone for days. Finally Michonne cornered him and, correctly guessing that he was thinking about what happened to his mom, did her best to alleviate his fears.

They were safe in Alexandria, safer than they ever were at the prison. And on top of that, Michonne told him, there had been no complications with Andre's birth.

Michonne ruffled his hair affectionately.

"She's so little," Carl said, peering at his new baby sister, "and cute!"

The baby girl, her cries now quieted, was blinking curiously at the world. Her coloring was a little bit lighter than her mom's but she clearly had Michonne's eyes, in addition to chubby cheeks and thin wisps of hair on her head. She was very cute.

There was a knock at the door and Maggie poked her head in, "Are you taking visitors?"

Rick glanced at Michonne, who nodded.

"Come on in," Rick said.

Maggie entered the room, holding a squirmy Judith on her hip, followed closely by Glenn and Daryl. Glenn stood at the end of the bed beside Carol, smiling widely.

"Congrats, brother," Daryl said, clapping Rick on the back and smiling as much as Daryl Dixon ever smiled.

Judith stretched her arms out towards Michonne and Maggie set her on the bed next to her mother.

"Judith, this is your baby sister," Michonne told the toddler gently.

Nobody was sure how Judith would react, after being the only baby in the whole community for so long.

"Baby?" the little girl questioned, eyeing the tiny bundle in Michonne's arms with a mixture of confusion and curiosity.

"What are you going to name her?" Maggie asked.

Michonne looked up at Rick.

"It's your call," Rick told her, suddenly realizing that they had never even talked about names. The past few months had been a whirlwind.

Besides, he thought, Michonne did all the hard work. She deserved to choose the name.

"Her name is Desiree," Michonne said thoughtfully.

"Pretty," Carl said, nodding approvingly.

Judith leaned her face in close to Desiree's, curious to see who this new baby was. Desiree opened her mouth in a big smile, which made Judith giggle. Carl kneeled by the edge of the bed and let Desiree wrap her tiny hand around his finger.

Michonne watched them with a tired smile on her face. She looked happier than she had in months, probably happier than Rick had ever seen her.

Rick looked around him and saw the faces of all the people who he loved most in the world. They had lost many more along the way but the people right here in this room were his family.

His vision started to blur. He blinked several times but it didn't help.

"Rick?" Michonne asked him, concerned.

He gave in and wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

"Dad? Are you okay?" Carl asked.

Rick nodded, struggling to compose himself.

"I'm so happy," he said, resting one hand on Michonne's arm and wiping his eyes again with the other.

"Me too," Michonne said sincerely, her own tears of joy threatening to spill over.

"Stop it, you two," Glenn said, teasing, "You're going to make Daryl cry!"

Everyone laughed and Carol elbowed Glenn in the side.

After a few minutes, Carol said, "Let's give Michonne some time to rest," and ushered everyone out of the room.

Rick stayed behind, holding Michonne's hand once more. Her eyelids were already getting heavy.

Before the door swung shut, they heard Carl saying aloud, "But really, was it too much to ask for a brother this time?"

............................

BONUS TRIVIA:  What song is baby Desiree's name inspired by?

BONUS TRIVIA 2: What episode of Firefly am I referencing?