[center]collaboration[/center]


April laughed at Darric and Bella as they left  the dance floor and she reached out and grabbed Hector's hand in hers. Lilly was still chasing grasshoppers next to them. Leaning back against Hector she looked at the group and wrapped his arms around her happily.

[color=ed145b]"So my love it seems that we are now a trio instead of a pair. And like most parents we didn't get a choice in becoming parents." [/color]She said with a grin. [color=ed145b]"Are you up to being Lilly's Daddy?"[/color] She smirked knowingly.
 
April could feel the tension in his arms at the mention of being the little girl's father and she smiled. [color=ed145b]"I'll tell you a secret. the thought of being responsible for a small child is really scary to me and if I didn't have you I don't think I could do it."[/color]

Hector let a nervous smile crawl onto his lips as he cleared his throat. [color=a0410d]"Really? I thought I was the one scared about taking care of the kid,"[/color] he chuckled and looked to Lilly with a smile. As he watched her play he brought April closer to his side and looked back to her. [color=a0410d]"But who knows, this whole being a parent thing could be fun. I can actually say that I have a family,"[/color] he said as he gestured to Lilly. [color=a0410d]"A lively little girl,"[/color] he chuckled before kissing Aprils cheek. [color=a0410d]"And an amazing wife. Seriously, I hit the jackpot!"[/color] he laughed. 

Wife? April wondered if he had meant to say that or not. She looked up at him a moment curiously. [color=ed145b]"Yes you did. Lilly is a great little girl and I'm a great girlfriend. You are very lucky."[/color] She chose to leave it at that and let him persue it if he realized what he said or not. She reached up and kissed his cheek softly and about that time a grasshopper was shoved underneath her nose.

Lilly squealed in delight as the grasshopper jumped onto April's head. [color=fff200]"Mommy it's on your hair!"[/color] Lilly laughed her little butt off. April gave her as evil an eye as she could considering she was trying not  to laugh. The child's laughter was infectious.

As Hector watched the scene unfold he couldn't help but burst into laughter. He looked to Lilly and gave her a thumbs up. [color=a0410d]"Nice one trooper, looks good on her,"[/color] he chuckled as he gently scooped the grasshopper from Aprils hair. He grinned at April as he let the grasshopper hop from his hand and back onto the ground.[color=a0410d] "Oh come on, that was good,"[/color] he chuckled. 

One of the younger girls in the camp came over to pet Jax who was following Lilly like a true protector. She was about 16 or so and her name was Alicia. Lilly had met her earlier and she was tackled by Lilly while petting Jax. She provided a good distraction for Lilly and April smoothed her hair down hoping it wasn't sticking straight up from the grasshopper.

April stood up and looked at Lilly and Alicia.[color=ed145b] "Alicia? Can you watch Lilly til we get back? We won't be long."[/color]

 The teenager laughed and nodded. [color=6ecff6]"Yeah Sure!"[/color]  April grabbed Hector's hand and tugged him to his feet. [color=ed145b]"Come on old man!"[/color] She teased him. [color=ed145b]"Let's go for a walk."[/color]
 
 Hector chuckled and shrugged before looking to Lilly. [color=a0410d]"See ya in a bit trooper,"[/color] Lilly gave a small salute as the two walked off and Hector couldn't help but chuckle as he looked to April. [color=a0410d]"Im really liking this kid so far,"[/color] he chuckled. 

April was thinking that having kids of their own would be a lot easier now that they have Lilly to get them through the rough parts first. Without thinking about it she was walking towards the outter circle of the camp for privacy. Once they were alone she turned and asked him[color=ed145b] "So did you realize you called me your wife or was that just something you did on the fly without thinking?"[/color] Her smirk was teasing. 

Hector raised an eyebrow as he tilted his head in confusion. [color=a0410d]"Wife? When did I..."[/color] he froze as he realized what he had said earlier and felt his cheeks grow red with embarrassment. He hadn't realized what he said till now. He cleared his throat and gave a sheepish chuckle. [color=a0410d]"Oh right, I-I guess that sort of slipped. Ya know, in the moment and all,"[/color] he said before taking a few seconds of silence to think about it. "Though," he started as he scratched the side of his neck. [color=a0410d]"That wouldn't be entirely crazy, would it?"[/color] he asked and gestured back into the direction of the party. [color=a0410d]"I mean, with Lilly now in the picture we sort of fit that family picture. Could it hurt to make it official?"[/color] he finished with now a warmer set of cheeks.

April watched him go from striking out to a homerun around the field in about a minute. Her grin was about to bust right out of her but she held herself in check. [color=ed145b]"I dare say that almost sounded like a proposal."[/color] She chuckled a little and realized her smile was going to be stuck there the rest of the night. [color=ed145b]"Are you sure you are ready for such a big move?"[/color] She teased softly.

Hector took a deep breath and wrapped his arms around her waist before pulling her in close with a smile. [color=a0410d]"Hell you know me, I always dive in without thinking,"[/color] he chuckled before shaking his head. [color=a0410d]"No, but really, I feel it. This is something I want, I want true happiness. I want true love,"[/color] he whispered before pulling her into a hug and leaned close to her ear. [color=a0410d]"I want a real family and you and Lilly can give me that,"[/color] he whispered with a warm smile. 

April listened intently to his words and something he said made her doubt him just a little bit. She looked down at his beard and asked him calmly. [color=ed145b]"We can give you a real family and happiness so you want to get married?"[/color] April felt like he was proposing to her because of Lilly not because of his feelings for her. [color=ed145b]"I don't have to marry to be her mom. Don't worry you can still have your family without the vows that it fine. You don't have to marry me just because of Lilly." [/color]

Hector shook his head and chuckled. [color=a0410d]"Im not marrying you because of Lilly, Im marrying you because I love you. Your the person who pulled me from my lonliness, you gave me reason to live, you showed me what it was like to be wanted. Hell after our first month together I wanted to ask you to marry me!"[/color] he laughed before clearing his throat to continue.[color=a0410d] "Look, the point is I love you and I want to be with you till the end. I want to be your husband and I want you to be my wife,"[/color] he stated as he lowered himself to his knee with Aprils hand gently in his. [color=a0410d]"So, want to make it official?"[/color] he asked with a grin.

April had tears in her eyes and she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him with a dozen small kisses all over his neck as she hugged him. [color=ed145b]"Yes! It's always yes to you."[/color] Her tears overflowed and she was crying with joy. She pulled back and said, 

[color=ed145b]"Now look at me I'm a mess."[/color] April wiped her eyes and embedded herself into his arms and laughed at their craziness. 

[color=ed145b]"So you know Darric is gonna laugh at this timing don't you?"[/color] 

She laughed wondering how Darric was going to do as the best man and the man giving away the bride with the flower girl trailing him the whole time. She chuckled as she looked into Hector's eyes. 

[color=ed145b]"Should we wait til we get back to the town or have the camp priest do it now, out here on the mission?"[/color]

Hector thought for a moment before grinning. [color=a0410d]"Lets wait until we get back home, it would make it all the better when I say I do in that old church in town. I want to get married in our home and no where else,"[/color] he chuckled before realizing something. [color=a0410d]"I just thought of something, we need to set up a room for Lilly. Ya know make it more homey and welcoming!"[/color] he said with several ideas flowing in his head. 

April smiled at the light in his eyes. [color=ed145b]"Yes we do and I am sure she will want to help us with that."[/color] Her mind went to a pink bedroom with a princess canopy bed and a million toys. 

Hector chuckled as he rubbed his beard. [color=a0410d]"We could set up small targets for her slingshots while finding some of those old posters used to recruit troopers. Ya know the one with that guy stomping a walker down. Oh, oh we could even set up a punching bag! Girl can practice on her jabs,"[/color] he said as he gave a few quick jabs of his own. 

April chuckled and dodged his play jabs. She could see that he was getting excited about all of this. [color=ed145b]"Do you still want to live in town or should we talk to the leaders about us moving further out? There are plenty of places with a huge house and lots of land with outbuildings and stuff if we want to try our hand at farming or ranching. I'm sure Darric and probably Bella could be convinced to join us easily."[/color]

Hector let the image float within his head and could hold back his ear to ear smile. [color=a0410d]"Yeah, yeah that sounds perfect!"[/color] he laughed. [color=a0410d]"Just imagine, a two story house with plenty of land around for whatever we wanted. A few animals and a little farming, I could do that easy. It would be just like those pictures from back then where a happy family lived without any worries. Perfect!"[/color] He chuckled. 

[color=ed145b]"Well the mission is almost over. I think after we check out this town we should head back and talk to the leaders about retiring us to being farmers and letting us get Lilly and and the gang and move out to a new home. I guess we could get married somewhere in there too."[/color] She said grinning from ear to ear. 

[color=ed145b]"We probably don't want a small child on our honeymoon so I think Uncle Darric will be on munchkin duty."[/color] She said training her fingers lightly over his chest with a smirk.

Hector smirked as he wrapped his arms around her waist and chuckled. [color=a0410d]"Sounds good to me," [/color]he said as he pulled her in close. [color=a0410d]"I was actually thinking,"[/color] he paused for a moment as he tried to find the right words. [color=a0410d]"Maybe... maybe we could help give Lilly a, well, a little brother or sister,"[/color] he said. [color=a0410d]"I mean if we are retiring it couldn't hurt, right?" [/color]

April leaned back and looked him in the eyes. She was searching for the joke. [color=ed145b]"Did you hit your head? Aren't you the same guy who didn't want to have kids for ten more years?"[/color] Seeing the expression on his face April grinned. He was serious and he couldn't have surprised her more if he had decided to bite off his own foot.

[color=ed145b]"You are serious aren't you?" [/color]The happy glint in his eyes was very informative to April. For her Hector was easy to read. They often had conversations where she asked questions and he never said a word but just reacted subtly and she always knew what he meant. April threw her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. When she pulled back she was breathing heavily and she was a little flushed. 

[color=ed145b]"I suppose we need to get back to Lilly and talk to my brother and Bella if they ever come out of her tent."[/color] She straightened her shirt a little still pink faced from their kisses. [color=ed145b]"If you keep me this attracted to you we will end up with a hundred kids."[/color] She murmured. 

Hectors excitement for the future was almost to much for him to contain as he grinned towards April. [color=a0410d]"Hundred kids? Sounds like a work out, but hell I'm up for the challenge!"[/color] He laughed. [color=a0410d]"But lets only tell Darric and Bella about this, I want it to be a bigger surprise for the rest,"[/color] he said. 


[@joker892]