AN: Here we are, another chapter here.

I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think! (And Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who celebrates!)

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"Nothing like seeing Eli can make me realize how long it's been since I was here last," Madison said, food suspended in mid-air on her fork. "When I was here last—Carol you were on your leave with him and he was so new."

Hope laughed with everyone else and Eli covered his face with his hand at the thought that he'd once been anything that could be described as "new".

Her aunt had made them a nice meal. Instead of taking their guests to the dining hall to eat with everyone, she'd prepared them their own special meal to eat at their table. Hope had helped to bring a couple of extra chairs and make room at the already crowded table for two more to eat. There was always room at the table, and Hope liked to see it when it was brimming over with people. Her favorite meals were the ones that they ate in their home. So much so, in fact, that she could usually snuggle her aunt into having at least two or three meals there a week, even if it was Hope that was sent down to the dining hall with her brothers and cousins to carry plates back and save Carol the cooking time.

But Carol had cooked all this from scratch and those were Hope's most favorite meals of all. The new and exciting company only made them that much better.

"So you haven't even met Yoka before," Tyreese said.

Madison shook her head. She glanced at the girl and offered Yoka a smile which Yoka returned.

"We've met now, of course," she said.

"Nathaniel was maybe four?" Michonne offered. "The last time you were here?"

Hope remembered the last time that Madison had been there. She remembered every time the woman had come to their community. In the early years of the Southern Hold, Madison and her family often visited the Central Hold seeking advice. Hope remembered the late nights when her parents would stay awake and talk with Madison and Victor. She remembered falling asleep to the lulling sound of conversation taking place in the living room—talk of important things that weren't the things of children.

Hope remembered Victoria and playing with the girl. Victoria would always bring treats for everyone—though probably it was her parents that brought the treats and allowed her to hand them out—whenever she came for a visit. She would sleep with Hope and Judith and they would stay awake and laugh in the bed until Caw came down to tell them that it was time to sleep and she didn't want to hear another word coming out of the room.

Hope remembered Nathaniel, too, but her memory of him was very different than the young man that he'd become. Of course, Hope recognized that she'd been quite different so many years before as well.

"Is your family complete now?" Madison asked, directing her question to Carol. Carol reached a hand out and touched Yoka's shoulder.

"We're always open," Carol said. "But with so many couples younger than us wanting children—we're willing to let them have whoever needs a home. We don't want to take away that opportunity from anyone else."

"We've expressed that we're open for..." Tyreese said, pausing a moment to search out his words. "We're open for any children who might—offer a bit of a challenge to other parents. That's been our motto since—since after Noelle came to us, I believe. We've expressed that we're open for that. If anyone needs us, we're still open for that."

"If everything goes as planned," Michonne said, somewhat interrupting and drawing the focus back to her, "you and Victor will be here for the romp this summer. You'll participate, won't you?"

Madison laughed to herself. She didn't exactly nod her head and she didn't exactly shake it. She wasn't committing one way or another immediately.

"I think we might be a bit too old for it," Madison said. "I'm not sure—I've got a lot of romping left in me."

"Nobody's ever too old for the summer romp," Daryl said with a laugh. "Hell we got people damn near twice my age participate. You old enough to court, you old enough to romp. You young enough to remember you alive? You young enough to romp."

"It's the first year we'll be doin' it," Hope interjected quickly. "On account of we just got declared for courtin' this year."

"We always do a feast and festival to welcome in the spring," Madison said. "But Victor and I haven't taken part in years. Once it was—tradition? We didn't have to participate to keep the community together. We just sort of fell out of participating. We headed everything up. Gave the speeches. But we didn't participate as much."

"Well, this year, you romp," Michonne said with a laugh. "You can make a fool of yourself with the rest of us."

"What's a romp?" Nathaniel asked.

Hope bit the inside of her mouth not to laugh at the young man's lack of knowledge about the ways of the Central Hold of the Highland Settlement. She'd never been to the Southern Hold, at least not to her knowledge, though, so she didn't know their customs. Maybe their traditions were different. She knew, for certain, that their dress was at least a little different—at least for riding—because Madison had switched out the clothing she'd been wearing at her arrival for something that showed she was a married woman only after Hope's mother had shown her to the winter cabins to leave her saddle bags for the evening.

When her uncle didn't quite stifle his laughter over Nathaniel's question about their customs, Hope turned her attention to Tyreese.

"It's a—romp," Tyreese said. "Honestly if you've never seen a romp? I don't think anyone could explain it so that it made any sense."

"It's a celebration of love," Michonne said. "Of new love and—old love, too. It's a celebration of attraction to your chosen partner and...well, it's a physical representation of the fact that...I don't know. That' you can never stop pursuing your partner."

"It's a reminder that you have to refresh things sometimes," Carol interjected quickly. "That you have to pursue your love in the beginning, but you can't stop just because you've caught them. It goes on forever."

Daryl laughed and shook his head.

"It's that. You both right. It's that. But—hell, it's more'n that. It's—a celebration of relationships and love and...damn animal sexuality. And it's some of the most fun that everybody has all year long. We fill the whole damn hillside up. And when we're done? Them that can be separated long enough to use they lips for more'n kissin' get to drinkin' and eatin' until they just about fat as ticks," he offered.

"It never caught on in the Southern Hold," Madison said with a laugh, eyeing Michonne from across the table.

"Why was that?" Michonne asked.

Madison laughed to herself.

"Mostly because—we never introduced it," Madison said.

"We give you some of our best traditions," Michonne said, "and this is how you repay us."

"You know they uncultured swine in the Southern Hold, 'Chonne," Daryl responded.

Hope laughed along with everyone else. As far as Hope knew, the Central Hold and the Southern Hold had never been at war with each other. They were sister communities. The Southern Hold was born because of the Central Hold. Her own parents had helped to establish the sister hold in the same way that they'd helped settle the Mountains. They'd helped in the same way that Carl was trying to slowly build the Western Hold just beyond the Mountains with negotiations, all of which Hope heard them talk about a great deal, with a group that was squatting there for the summer.

But that didn't mean that there weren't a great number of jokes about the differences between the communities.

"The romp, for us—for those who are just starting their courting?" Isaac offered. "The romp is mostly a time to declare courting intentions and to—to really say you're sure about who you chose, you know? It's tradition. Those that come out the romp together are usually those that are set to be married. Or—you know, those that already are married."

"You can romp too," Hope offered quickly to Nathaniel. "You been declared?"

Nathaniel nodded at her. He offered her a smile that showed her nearly every one of his teeth.

"Last year," Nathaniel said.

"Then you can romp too," Hope said.

"Can I, Mama?" Nathaniel asked.

Madison looked at him and shrugged her shoulders.

"You're a man, Nathaniel," Madison said. "Romp if you want. Don't romp if you don't want to do it. It's up to you."

"I haven't chosen anyone," Nathaniel said. "I have a lot of possible ladies that I might ask to be my wife, but I haven't chosen one that I like the best."

Some laughter erupted around the table that Hope didn't really understand. She didn't know why it was so funny. From the expression that crossed Nathaniel's face, he didn't understand it either.

"He's serious," Madison offered. "My son—he has at least four of the young ladies in our community and he's courting them one at a time in—he's almost set up a rotation."

The laughter rang out again.

"Choosin' a mate ain't no easy task," Hope said quickly, wishing to defend their guest. Even though she'd been taught that Madison and Victor were practically family, it didn't mean that they shouldn't treat their guests with all the respect due to a visitor.

"It ain't," Daryl said, coming to her rescue. "You right, Hope. It ain't no easy task to decide who you gonna spend the rest a' your life with. Not if you doin' it right. You know, though. When you love somebody? You gonna know they right. And—if you just runnin' around chasin' down girl after girl? You might as well keep runnin', 'cause you ain't settled on one you like yet."

"I like them all," Nathaniel said to Daryl.

Tyreese made a loud humming noise that drew everyone's attention.

"Are you saying that as a joke?" Tyreese asked. "Or because you mean it?"

Nathaniel looked at him like he wasn't sure he wanted to answer him. Her uncle appeared a little cross at the idea. The line between his brows was deeper than it normally was and Hope understood the expression on Nathaniel's face. She loved her uncle dearly, but when he was cross, just his expression had always been enough to break up even the worst tangle among them all.

"I mean it," Nathaniel said. "I like every one of the ladies."

Tyreese nodded his head.

"Then I would say those are words from a man who isn't ready to be married," Tyreese said, shaking his head.

"OK, but just 'cause you married don't mean you dead," Daryl said. "You can still look an' all."

"Excuse me?" Michonne interjected. She did her best to make her voice sound like she was just as cross as Tyreese had appeared, but her smile wouldn't let her get away with the show. "And just who are you looking at, Daryl Dixon?" Hope smiled to herself when she saw her father's skin run pink all the way to his ears and he somewhat ducked his head.

"This is a good damn chicken," Daryl said, harassing his food with his fork. "You done gone an' outdone yourself, Carol. You try your chicken, 'Chonne?"

"My point is that your partner—whoever they may be—is your partner," Tyreese said. "Your partner in absolutely everything. They enhance every part of your life. If you look at your future and you don't think—I'm not sure I'd have a future that I'd even want if it weren't for this person? Then you haven't chosen the right person. Don't you marry someone until you feel like—you want them for everything. You want them forever."

"I second that," Daryl said. "But I'ma add to it. I was kiddin' around about lookin'. Ain't gonna lie an' 'Chonne knows this, but it ain't that you don't never see no pretty girl again 'cause you do. Difference is? You don't care. You see 'em but you'd rather lose your right hand than lose what the hell you got 'cause it's so damn good to you. If'n you don't feel like if they was to come to you an' say—say either...either we gonna cut'cha right hand off or we gonna take her. If you don't feel like you would hear that an' you wouldn't even hesitate to put'cha hand right up there to say—take it, 'cause she's gonna be my right hand, but can't nothin' or nobody replace her?" Daryl stopped and shook his head at Nathaniel. "And I ain't sayin' it just to him," Daryl said, pointing at Isaac and dragging his finger around the table to cover everyone who was peeking at him with half an eye on their plates. "I ain't sayin' it just to him. But if you don't feel that way? She ain't the one for you an' you damn well better just sit down an' wait it out 'til she gets there."

"That's all fine and romantic," Madison said, "but—I think other things need to be considered too." The smile she'd been wearing earlier had faded and Hope could practically feel the fact that the one she was wearing now was one that she was forcing a bit more. "I'm not throwing anybody under the bus—even if I could. I'm just going to use myself. But—sometimes it's the egg that comes before the chicken and sometimes it's the chicken that comes before the egg. Not everybody's love was born before their relationship. Sometimes the relationship is—it's a choice. The partnership? It comes first, but it's a choice. Sometimes the love is like—a special surprise you get out of that choice."

"Love comes in different shapes and sizes," Michonne offered. "And everybody finds it their own way and in their own time."

"Thank you," Madison said. Michonne nodded at her. "However, I agree that it's best not to get married until you're—until you're sure that you feel something very strong for the person, even if it's not quite as strong as what it will become with care and with...well, with care. With nurturing."

"And on that note," Carol said, "finish your dinner. Circle will be starting soon and—Isaac? I'm sure that Nathaniel would enjoy going to circle. You'll take him with you?"

"You'll all go to circle," Michonne said. "We've got some things to discuss. Everyone goes to circle tonight."

"Even Yoka?" Eli asked quickly.

"Even Yoka," Tyreese said. "But—I want someone to hold her hand? Don't leave your sister up there and you get back before it's too dark."

"What's circle?" Nathaniel asked.

"Singing and dancing," Daryl said. "Happens damn near every night and it's one of the best ways you ever spent digestin' your food. So go ahead an' finish eatin' what you gonna digest."