Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.

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Carol tucked Mika and Charlotte into bed that night after making dinner for them all. She changed into a t-shirt and long, loose pants, sitting downstairs with Daryl. She inhaled deeply and ran a hand down her face, lifting her eyes to meet his, and he tried to think of something to say, but nothing came to mind. He could only look at her mutely, and she could only do the same.

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Beth walked across the street and jogged over to the door, hearing the joyful noise of little kids playing and laughing, and she knocked on the door. She only waited about a minute before Rick opened the door and smiled a greeting at her.

"Hey. I wondered when you'd be by." He moved aside to let her inside the house. "Aaron's daughter is over here to play with the kids, but you can still see Judith."

"That's fine by me. I'd love to meet RJ." She smiled widely at him. "I knew there was something special about you and Michonne. I just didn't know what it was exactly at the time."

He chuckled. "Yeah, guess love finds all us when we don't expect it."

"That's very true." She entered the house and saw Gracie and RJ playing with a train set, supervised by Michonne, and she couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by love at the sight of the children. She knew she would be surrounded by them one day, but she didn't know how. She thought maybe they would be her own, but now she wasn't so sure that would happen, so it was good to see it still happened without her. It warmed her soul.

"Judy." Rick called out towards the stairs, knowing she was upstairs with Carl, and he waited for a minute before she came to the top of the stairs. "C'mere." He climbed up them to help her down, and she accepted his aid, looking at the woman at the door. "This is an old friend of yours."

"I know." She smiled at Beth and walked over to her once her dad put her on the ground. She looked her over thoroughly. "Your hair got short."

"Oh, yeah?" She grasped the short locks and chuckled, kneeling down to be at level with the girl. She looked so like Lori with those big brown eyes and dark locks, the shared pale skin of her brother and mother riddled with freckles from the afternoon sun. She was lovely, the perfect image of Lori, a living memorial of the woman. Only stronger, alert eyes, and Beth would bet money she had a spot to hide should the walls crumble or danger arrive. She was a survivor, and Beth was glad for it. "It did. You…you remember my long hair?"

"Of course." She grinned proudly. "I dreamed about you. I just didn't know who you were until Mommy told me."

Her eyes stung at those words, and she returned that grin. "I used to take care of you like you were my own."

"I know. Mommy told me that, too." She stepped closer and grasped her cheeks, little fingers brushing over the scar on her cheek, and she frowned. "Are you okay?"

"I'm gettin' there."

Carol exhaled deeply over her cup of coffee, seeing the clock read after ten in the morning, and Daryl confirmed the time with a sun dial sitting outside. She almost laughed when he told her how he knew the time so confidently, and now they were in the front room—Carol sitting on the stairs and Daryl on the floor by the door, legs up. They hadn't spoken since the dinner, and they drifted off in the living room a few hours ago, but now it was time to speak. To come clean. It was the perfect time for it.

"I think we need to talk." Daryl looked over at her. "Look, about my kissin' Nina—it isn't what you think."

"Then what was it?" She lifted her eyes from her cup of coffee. "An accident?"

"Yeah, sorta." He knocked his knees together once then set the cup down to the right of himself. "I was drunk. Hell, I didn't even know it was real until last night. I thought I was dreamin', thought I was kissin' you, but… it wasn't a dream. It wasn't you. I'm sorry. I don't feel any way about Nina other than friendly. You're the only person I…"

"The only person you what?" She shifted on the step and drank from her cup to avoid the tremble burning through her body.

"You know exactly what." He climbed to his feet and marched over to the steps, grasping the cup gently from her hands and leaning down to kiss her.

"Wait." She squirmed away, setting a hand on his chest. "Please, wait."

"I've waited three years, please don't ask me keep waitin'." He bumped his forehead against hers, eyes still shut, lashes fluttering. "I love you."

She smiled and grasped the back of his neck. "I still love you, too." She moistened her lips and tried to keep from crying. "But there's so much here."

"What do you mean?" He dared to open his eyes.

"We've both changed. This love hasn't, but we have, and I need to know that we're still able to be together as a couple. We have a child—two children now. This is no longer about us. It's about them, and I can't be with you if I think for even a second, we'll become too involved in our romantic relationship. We have to put them first." She stroked the back of his neck with her thumbs. "I'd love to let you kiss me and take me upstairs to my bedroom. I'd love to be with you in every possible way until we have no energy left, but I can't do that."

He pulled away, nodding somberly, eyes glistening with moisture, with agony. "Yeah."

"I'm not saying never, Daryl. I'm only saying not yet." She searched his eyes. "I do still love you, so please, give me time."

"Give you time." He scoffed and stepped back. "I've given you four years of "what ifs" and "maybes" and "God pleases", and here you are. It's better than anythin' I coulda come up with 'cause we got a daughter. We got two of 'em, and all you want to do is keep space between us. See, that isn't love. That's fear."

"I have a right to be afraid."

"Of what?" he demanded. "Of me?"

"No, of course not you." She stood up to try and draw him back to her, but he wouldn't let her come any closer. "I just need time to consider the pros and cons. You have to agree that's the smart thing to do here. I don't know you anymore. I mean what I said when we first spoke. Time has changed us both as people, and I don't know who time has made you. I want to find out as friends. I want to explore a new level of intimacy with you now before we jump back into bed together. I don't want the instant gratification. I want…. I want love and a family. I want all I never had with Ed and more than we had at the prison. I want real."

"What we had was real," he corrected. "We—we loved each other. It wasn't shackin' up in the A block for kicks and screams. It was us and it was real. It was lovin'."

"I know it was, but all I'm saying is let's get to know who we are now. Let's start over instead of continuing with the childish thought that we are who we were. Do you get that?"

He exhaled and groaned. "Back to square one then? I can't even hold you? Or kiss you? When that's all I wanna do?" He searched her eyes now. "I'm dyin' to be with you again—and no, I don't mean sex. I mean holding your hand, kissin' you, talkin' to you like we used to. The sharin' and the closeness. I miss you. You're right in front of me, but I miss you."

"You miss a dead relationship, and I mean that in a good way. We can build a new—a better relationship with the girls and with each other. I'm not saying we have to lose anything. I hope we gain something. I truly do, because I love you and miss you so much, too. It isn't just one-sided, trust me."

He reached out and caressed her cheek. "Let me move in here. I'll take the spare bedroom, and we can start over."

"I can't." She closed her eyes, a tear falling free. "I just can't trust myself to not fall back on old habits."

"Carol, please—"

"Don't make me say yes, because you're guilting me into it." Lachrymose eyes met his, and she shuddered. "Just give me time. A couple weeks at the most. I need to….build up a resistance to you before you can move in. I want to take this slow, so please, bear with me."

He nodded. "Couple weeks?"

"Give or take."

"Only take." He smiled a little. "Only take. You ain't gonna be able to keep me out come two weeks, so build fast."

"Yes, sir." She laughed softly, and he chuckled, lowering his hand. "God, I missed you." She closed the space between them and embraced him tightly, his arms locking around her shoulders instantly. She felt his nose in her hair and she smiled against his breast, burying her face here in his chest. He smelled of coffee and home, and she longed to kiss him, to savor him and to take him upstairs and relive every moment in A block.

She knew she couldn't, but it was tempting. Which was the whole point of the next couple of weeks. She had to drive the temptation out of herself. They had to move slow and steady, because they had two girls to worry about now. They were parents to a three- and thirteen-year-old who would be put first no matter what occurred among Carol and Daryl and their relationship. They had to be adults about it now, driven by love and thought and sense. Not the lust-driven, horny teenage mess they mostly were at the prison. Adult love with adult responsibilities. It made for a beautiful and lengthy relationship, or so she hoped.

"Heeeyyy." Mika was grinning like a total idiot at the top of the stairs. "Good morning."

Carol inhaled deeply one final time and released Daryl. "Good morning. Do you want breakfast?"

"I can make something for everyone, so you two can stay and talk and hug." She padded down the steps and giggled at Daryl. "Maybe kiss."

"Would you just scoot on?" Daryl playfully shoved her towards the kitchen, blushing like he had went Merle caught him checking on one girl or another. "Jesus H."

She laughed even harder and scurried to the kitchen, peeking back at them more than once. "Don't mind me! I'm cooking. Oh, look, eggs. Yummy."

"That girl." Carol shook her head and tucked hair behind her ears. "I should go and help her. Do you want to stay for breakfast?"

"I can't. I got the wall in twenty minutes." He picked up his coffee cup. "I'll be by for dinner, though. We can talk some more."

"I'd like that. We can talk about that family picnic." She hugged her arms to her chest and grinned at him. "Bring the kiddos along with us."

"Yeah, our kids, the Grimes kids, Beth, Noah, Hersh." He nodded and caught her grin on his lips. "I'll see you tonight. Maybe you could speak to Ty. He could always use more teachers."

"I think I'm better suited on the wall." She shrugged a shoulder. "You can't love me, and force protect me, Daryl. We talked about this."

"I know. It was really just a suggestion."

He departed from the house with laughter in his steps, and Carol joined her daughter in the kitchen, asking on how Charlotte was doing. Mika informed of her the dead sleeper, and they shared a laugh. They prepared breakfast and readied themselves for the day. It had been a rough night, but it wouldn't spill into the morning. Too much laughter for that to ever happen.

Beth departed from the Grimes' house hold, her hair braided back after RJ kept trying to play with it, and she jogged over to her house with Maggie and Glenn. They weren't at home right now. Glenn had patrol with Denise, and Maggie was speaking with Tara about some King coming to town soon to speak to them about treaties. It was going to go well for them. She was sure of it.

She entered the house. "Noah!" She waited for only a moment before he ran down the stairs and to her instantly to see what was wrong. She chuckled and grasped his cheek, kissing him deeply, catching him off guard.

"What's going on?" He caught her elbows and demanded once she'd stopped kissing him, though her lips met his once more—deeper than before, harder. He tried to fight her, to see what was going on, but he knew nothing was wrong. The more she kissed him, the more the world faded away, and the more sense didn't seem so important.

"I feel alive," she murmured against his lips. "Kiss me."

"Beth." He caught her hips and pulled her closer to him, initiating the kiss this time, and he found she still tasted of sweetness. He longed for such a joy, and he devoured every ounce she had to offer. He knew this wasn't a good time, but he lost himself to her. As he always had, because he loved her. He had loved her for years, and he would love her for many more should she let him.

Beth unbuttoned her blouse and let it fall down her shoulders, leaving her in only a white lace bra Maggie had given her, and she broke the kiss to gasp for air. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and rested her forehead against his. "Take me upstairs, please."

He rubbed his thumb across her lip. "Say you love me first."

She chuckled and grinned at him like sunshine and summer flowers, awakening every nerve ending in his body and reminding him of every good thing to live for. "I love you, Noah."

With that, they went upstairs to her bedroom, locking the door behind them and stumbling over to her bed. Beth landed on her behind, crawling backwards and kicking off her boots and jeans on the way, leaving her in only her underclothes. She helped Noah down to just his, and their mouth met again and again until the world had left them, and they were all the other knew.

It wasn't the first time they had made love. It wasn't the second or third either. They had been friends and loves for over two years, and they found peace in each other. It was the only goodness they had to enjoy while trapped in Grady, and they were punished for it. They still snuck away at night or in the middle of events to savor each other. To be free from Grady and its illness for only moments.

It wasn't intentional. Their first winter with the power out, they shared a bed. Most of the men who wanted Beth assumed Noah was gay or scared to not touch her, but after the third night of being so close and of sharing warmth and secrets, it just turned from friendly to needy to sex for the first time for both of them. It was awkward and clumsy, as Beth hardly knew about sex, and Noah had been told by his mother to wait until he was married. They both feared it would ruin their relationship, but as they figured out what felt good and how coming together as one made the world a little better, they knew it only added to the amazing relationship they already had.

Luckily Noah was in charge of laundry, so any mess they made was tended to by him the next day, and they were able to keep their activities secret for a good four or five months. But eventually they were caught by Dawn when she noticed Beth had vanished during the morning community service. She beat them both and told them they didn't belong to anybody but her. She ordered them to separate and moved Noah to an entirely different floor. They still found each other and ways around her stupid rules. It was the only haven that allowed them to escape Grady mentally. It was somewhere in the middle of that escape they found love and acceptance; they found family in each other, and it saved them time and time again.

If they had the other to return to, the beatings didn't matter. As long as Beth or Noah could tend to the other's fresh wounds and listen to stories and laugh at awkward moments it was worth it. They weren't afraid as long as they were together, and together they would stay, no matter what time or Dawn or the world brought.

"And the walkers gonna come by like "rawr, rawr," Charli walked like a walker towards Judith, "and then you come in with the knife and stop it, okay?"

She nodded. "I won't actually stab you, though, right?"

"No, 'course not. It's not a real knife, not like my mommy's, but it's just for practice." She cleared her throat. "Okay. You ready?"

"Yeah." She nodded.

"RJ?" She looked over at her friend, and he bobbed his head in agreement to his sister. "Cool. Let's practice!"

Walker RJ and Charlotte came in from both corners of the room at Judith, Judith listened to their little "rawr, rawr, rawr" then ran after RJ. She tackled him to the ground and poked him with the tip of the plastic knife. He complained that it hurt, and she giggled.

"Rawrrr." Charolette chomped down onto Judith's arm, and Judith groaned like it actually hurt him, and Charlotte shook her head. "You lose."

"Nuts." She handed over the knife and pretended to fall over head, sticking her tongue out and flinging her arms above her head. "Bleck."

"But don't forgot—since I bit you, you turn." Charlotte reminded her.

"Aaaahhhh." Judith exhaled deeply and rose up without using her hands, eyes snapping out, and she flung herself forward, crawling toward Charlotte now that she had the knife was the new human to be eaten. "Aaaahhhh."

Charli giggled and moved back from. "So creepy." She jumped back and gripped the plastic knife. "Sounds like before."

"What do you mean?" Judith stopped crawling and sat up. "Like before?"

"Walker don't speak, remember?" She put her hands on her hips. "But I'll tell you 'cause I like you."

"I like you, too, so I'll listen." She nudged her brother, who hopped up and sat to listen.

"Well, one when I was smaller…Mommy and I were caught by walkers." She could remember her mommy screaming her name as she ran through the house, not caring about attracting more walkers. Denise wasn't in the house at the time. Mommy said she was on a supply run, so it was just the two of them. They were trapped inside the house by walkers, and Mommy grabbed her from her room and hid in a vent. "They roamed all in the house and all through the room Mommy and I were in. I cried… a lot, put us in danger, and Mommy…. Mommy had to leave me."

"Nu-uh." RJ gasped.

"Why?" Judith didn't believe it. "I mean, no way, but why?"

"To save us."

Carol had to leave Charlotte alone in the vent, covering it with a blanket to keep the walkers away and forcing her to be alone in the dark. She locked the door just in case and lured the walkers away from the grove by noise. She slaughtered as many as she could, and blessedly Denise was on her way home. They worked together to clear a path back to the grove, and Charlotte was wailing. Two years old and pounding on the vent for her mommy, for Denise, scared of the darkness and the suffocating heat. It was truly a mother's worse nightmare—forced to abandon their baby to save that baby and themselves. It was a one-time occurrence, but it stuck with them both.

"But she came back." Judith played her hands on the ground in front of her and spread her legs, scratching her ankles on the rug. "I know she did."

"'Course. My mommy always comes back." She grinned and jumped down to wrap her arms around Judith's neck. "Just like your mommy will always come back."

"Yeah, they're just made like that," RJ confirmed.

"Yeah." Charli wrapped an arm around his shoulder and giggled. "Let's play again!"

"Okay, but let's be better!" Judith hopped up. "I'm gonna be the best survivor."

"Me, too." Charli thrust the plastic knife into the air like a torch. "The bestest!"

"Leave room for me, too," RJ complained.

They giggled and reset the game, Judith peered out from her hiding spot at Charlie in amazement and hoped to have more adventures with her as they grew up, and man, she couldn't wait to grow up and be in the world beside Charli and RJ. It was going to be one heck of a world, that was for sure. Their world, their future—to build and restore.