So sorry this took so long. Here is a small update to move this story along. Thank you for reading xxxxxx

Sophia sat on her booster chair singing along with the music which was 311 'Beautiful Disaster." As Carol and Tara ate a late lunch that day to make up for Carol sleeping through brunch that morning. They were talking about work a little bit and waiting to hear from Andrea who hadn't surfaced at all yet. Tara sat her cellphone down on the table after texting Andrea again.

She was still with Merle they figured.

"I don't know Carol, she probably turned off her phone anyway."

"I'm sure she did." Carol replied. "We won't hear from her until six am tomorrow when she clocks in."

"Good for her." Tara looked at Sophia to make sure she was busy with her fries and singing and then she winked at her. "Good for you too."

Carol grimaced. "I don't know; I think I just complicated my life ten times as much now."

"Nope, I see it getting ten times easier now." Tara remarked taking a bite of her sandwich.

'Don't Tread on Me.' Came on and Sophia started singing that song too. Tara reached over and rubbed the top of her head. "You really know your 311, kid huh?"

Sophia nodded. "Mommy's favorite, can Daddy come see 311 with us?"

Tara grinned at her godchild. Every summer Tara and Carol went to see 311, Carol took Sophia for the first time last summer to see them. She had been almost four, she went from Carol's shoulders, to Andrea's to Tara's all night long.

They had created a monster with this child who loved rock and roll and reggae, just like her mother.

"We can ask him, ok sweetie." Carol said.

Just then Michonne and Andre came in the door and the waitress, Karen came over with a booster seat for Andre and Michonne plopped him in it. He was a year older than Sophia and they played together all the time. Sophia's face was lit up as soon as she saw them walking in.

Karen took Michonne's order and the three friends raised their glasses to each other.

"Where's Andrea? I brought her birthday gift." Michonne said.

Tara shrugged. "Haven't seen her since last night, she went home with Merle Dixon, I don't know if you know him. And in other news Carol got L-A-I-D last night." Tara spelled out the words and Carol's eyes grew wide, but not as wide as Michonne's.

"Excuse me?" Michonne said taking a sip of her drink.

"It was D-A-R…"

"Ok Tara we get the idea." Carol said rolling her eyes towards Sophia who was paying more attention to Andre then them.

"Well." MIchonne said. "Isn't this interesting, I'm in court for three days and look what chaos erupts."

Karen returned with their food and chicken fingers for the kids. She placed the dishes in front of them and they started eating.

"Andrea goes MIA and Carol banged her baby daddy." Tara said. "Business as usual."

"I told you never to call him that." Carol hissed looking over at Sophia to make sure she didn't hear.

"Well, I hope it was good." MIchonne said smiling.

"Stop." Carol said. "It was a onetime thing."

Tara gave her the sure sign. "Sure."

"Alright, I don't know, he wants to try, maybe I do too. I don't know," Carol looked over at Michonne. "Do you miss Mike?"

"Miss him? Hell no, he's a great father but a lousy boyfriend." MIchonne said. "No I don't miss him at all."

"Daryl wasn't even your boyfriend right Carol? More like a booty call." Tara said.

"You know…" Carol started to say and then she stopped, Tara was being a wise ass and as much as she didn't want to admit it she was funny.

"So what if he was a booty call, so what if he still is, it's all about what you want." Michonne said. "This is 2015."

Carol tilted her head towards Sophia. Then her phone beeped with a text. She held it up for them to see. It was from Daryl.

~What are you wearing?

The three women giggled like they were at a high school dance.

"Yup, we are twelve.' Tara said as she handed Sophia and Andre each a fry.

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He called her that night and she sat on the porch talking to him well after Sophia was down for the night. He told her about going to see their mothers and how he had wanted to make a new start with her and Sophia.

Carol wasn't as confused as she thought she would be. The lunch with her friends had opened her eyes to some facts.

She could do what she wanted, they could be whatever they wanted to be. She was so used to doing it all alone that the thought of someone else helping her was foreign at best and downright scary truthfully.

But Carol had already known when she let him put her up on that car that they were going to try again. It wasn't for him or for Sophia either, this time it was for herself.

They made plans to spend the next day together, the three of them and see where things went from there.

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They took Sophia to the park the next day together and then were meeting Merle and Andrea for dinner, which should have been weird but surprisingly wasn't. It was funny how things could change and fall into place without feeling strange.

Andrea was dating Merle it seemed and she and his brother were trying to be a family. It was business as usual and Sophia was taking it all in stride. She had already invited him to 311 as soon as they got in his truck that morning.

He didn't even know who that band was, but he was all in for it, that kid had him wrapped around her finger already.

Carol got up from the table to go to the bathroom before Merle and Andrea arrived. Sophia was in her booster chair across from him with some chicken fingers.

"Daddy?" She said to him and his heart leapt right into his throat again. She had started calling him that right away and it made his heart sing every time.

"Yes sweetheart." He said feeling his heart fill up with unabashed joy.

"Will you marry us? Mommy and me?"