I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and is planning for a happy new year. Daryl has had the happiest Christmas of his life with Carol and their family. He is for the first time in his life actually becoming optimistic about starting another year.

Happy New Year

The Christmas tree had been dragged away and deposited in an area in which it could become cover for the local wildlife. Daryl had spent New Year's Eve morning hunting and brought back enough rabbits for a good rabbit stew for an early supper. They had a couple of bottles of champagne cooling on the back porch though Carol and Michonne weren't going to be allowed more than a sip. The electricity was going to be turned on to their part of McAllister Mountain this afternoon. Carl and Rick had scavenged a wide screen television that they had put on a rolling cart and a DVD player. They had a bunch of DVDs planned if the electricity worked.

Andrea was planning to make pizzas for the party tonight. She had laughed and said who needed pepperoni when you had deer jerky. The herb garden was now in small flower pots in the kitchen and Andrea would turn out a mountain pizza that they would all love.

Carol was insisting that they have cooked cabbage tomorrow for good luck. Her grandmother always cooked cabbage with a bit of silver in the pot because that would bring money to the family for the next year. Daryl thought the old woman must have eaten a ton of cabbage after Carol showed him what was hidden in the Nativity figurines. They had decided to hide the gold and gems in their bedroom. Daryl figured that somewhere down the road gold and gems would take the place of money. Daryl was going to eat the cabbage tomorrow even if cooked cabbage was one of his least favorite foods.

Daryl was taking the girls and Carl into town with him to check in with the sheriff and to let the kids hang out at the library for a while. Carol was taking a nap so that she could stay up past nine o'clock tonight and Daryl checked on her before he left. She was asleep curled up with their new puppy.

Emily had been given two of those mongrels by a grateful citizen of Adair when the electricity was turned on in their neighborhood. Both of the dogs should weigh about ten pounds when they were adults according to the owner and were a mix of poodle and a dog from a good neighborhood. Supposedly they were great walker detectors. They barked at everything that moved but walkers and when they began to panic and hide behind their owners you would know that walkers were around. Daryl thought that was a load of horseshit but the pup was cute as a button and it had attached itself to Carol right off. So, the tiny thing was smart enough to make up with his sweet and forgiving wife. She forgave the pup's mistakes around the house easily enough. Daryl couldn't resist giving her a kiss and pulling the covers up tighter before he left. Where would he be if Carol didn't have a loving heart? He picked up the pup and sighed, "This is my bed and I share it with Carol and our baby who is starting to take up more room in Carol and our bed. No room for you, my hairy friend".

Carol woke up and smiled at Daryl, "Don't be picking on Muffin. She isn't big enough to crowd you out."

Daryl looked at the black and white bundle of joy that Carol called Muffin. "Your grandmother picked out a king size bed for a reason I guess. This bed resembles a life boat some nights".

Carol laughed, "It isn't that bad. The girls only slept with me when you were gone and when Lizzie had those nightmares right before Christmas".

Daryl bent to kiss her again. "No scary movies tonight, I want to have you all to myself on New Year's. You, me, our baby, and this mongrel are enough. Don't get too much rest. I can't keep up with you now."

Carol blushed a bit, "Maybe you had better take a nap when you come back. I want you all to myself tonight and don't be throwing out that headache story again."

Daryl said, "I love a challenge and I have never had a headache in my life." He slid down toward the foot of the bed and grabbed her feet and began to massage them. Carol moaned a little. It felt so good.

The door was open and Lizzie popped her head in, "The earth can move after while Papa. The library will close if you keep playing footsies with Mama Bear. Get your ass in gear and let's roll before it gets dark." Lizzie darted back out before Carol could reprove her and Daryl hid a smile but continued the food massage for a bit just so he could watch Carol's face.

"She's right, get on out of here. I'll demand some pedolove this evening. Be careful". Carol watched Daryl go and knew that Lizzie might be impertinent but she loved her anyway. Poor girl, just starting to feel the pangs of adolescence and living in a house where three couples were screwing like rabbits all the time.

Daryl checked to make sure that the youngsters had put on their seat belts and they rolled toward Adair. He dropped the kids at the library knowing that the place was filled with teenagers and younger kids. It was their hangout. It was social time. He was going to check with the sheriff and visit Glenn at the power plant.

The sheriff saw Daryl come in the courthouse and motioned for him to come into his private office. Daryl thought about the times that some member of the law enforcement community would ask for his help in dealing with Merle. Good luck with that is all he could say.

This sheriff got right to the point, "Thanks for warning me about seeing all the walkers along the highway this week. We are getting more walkers coming up the hill. You would think that the cold would stop them, but it doesn't".

Daryl had to agree, "There are more roaming about on the highways and the towns along it. They aren't clumping up too bad but we need a plan to deal with them."

The sheriff looked at him expectedly, "We need to get the clans involved, put the word out that no one should be out at night, keep the windows boarded up, maintain the fences, and we need to train our fighters to kill without wasting ammo. Maybe did a big trench to deposit walker bodies in?"

Sheriff nodded, "I'll call a clan meeting for the second of January here at the courthouse at 10:00. You'll come with Carol and Patrick. Better have Jesse and Rick to be here as well. This may be the way things are going to be for a while."

Daryl nodded and went to visit Glenn. He and Emily were in the administrative part of the plan looking at plans for expansion. He talked with both of them about the extra dose of walkers that were coming through. Glenn nodded; he had heard stories today about walkers in places that had been walker free before.

Daryl went into the library to say hello to Connie and to locate the kids. He hung out at the desk and chatted with Connie until the kids dragged themselves away from their friends. He warned Connie to watch out for walkers and raiders. Electricity was both a boon and a bane. It was wonderful to have electricity at your fingertips but it had also brought a lot of new people in to town.

Daryl talked to the kids on the way home. They were good about always being armed and could use all sorts of weapons but it was important to realize that the threat was real. Carl nodded and Daryl knew that he would be on guard. The two girls looked serious and he hoped they meant it.

They ate supper early and enjoyed rabbit stew and biscuits. Everyone listened to the news that the walker threat had accelerated. It was still a happy family that gathered to celebrate the end of the year and to welcome the arrival of another year. The movies were all silly comedies and Daryl laughed until his sides hurt and the Mountain Pizza was great with the champagne.

They counted down until the New Year and Daryl kissed Carol happily. There were hugs and kisses all around and he noticed that Carl managed to give Lizzie a quick kiss. He was keeping his eye on that little shit. He remembered being that age a little too well to trust Carl.

The kids wanted to stay up and watch one more movie, but the adults were drifting off to bed.. Daryl checked every door and window twice. He and Jesse had checked on the barn and looked at the cameras. He gave Carl was last warning look and went to find Carol. Muffin was hanging with the girls and Carl in the living room and he hoped she stayed there.

Carol was waiting for him. He brushed his teeth and hurried to bed. It was icy cold outside but comfortable inside. "Remember how cold the prison was? Carol asked and he nodded as he moved closer to her.

"You never even volunteered once to come over and share some body heat." Carol teased.

"I've gotten a lot smarter this year," Daryl said smugly. "I am willing to share a lot more than body heat." He kissed her and she pulled him even closer. He pulled away and grabbed her feet. "I will just start where I was rudely interrupted by our daughter this afternoon." He massaged her feet and she asked, "The door?"

"Locked", he replied and he used a little more strength in his massage. "This time last year we were close but not this close. I had never kissed you, or massaged your feed, or touched you in so many interesting places." He released her feet and kissed her again, and she wrapped her legs around his legs.

Carol thought about the baby. She thought that she felt him move today. It was just a flutter but it was as if Michael had waved hello to her. He was alive and well and waiting his time. Daryl was demanding some of her attention right now and she gave herself over to him. She had found more happiness in the last year than she had ever had. She didn't think this life was ever going to be easy but there was joy in it.

Daryl stayed awake after Carol had fallen asleep with a contented little sigh. He counted blessings for a while and made his only resolution for the next year. He resolved to enjoy the hell out of every day. He had Carol alive and warm in the bed beside him with the baby tucked inside her body. Lizzie and Mika were safe and sound. He had this odd assortment of people who lived with them that he loved. He was a lucky man.