A/N: I'm not quite sure when I will wrap this up, but definitely before the new season premiers. Hope readers are still enjoying it.

[*]

Al looked over his shoulder at Henry and Sasha as they headed, talking and laughing, toward the pond to hunt ducks. He turned his attention back to the trail and muttered, "Some friend."

Daryl didn't say a word. He concentrated fiercely on the sign cutting. He didn't blame Al for being irritated with Henry for his friendliness toward Sasha, when the man knew exactly how Al felt about her, but he also didn't blame Henry for responding to Sasha's flirtations, when he was painfully and suddenly single and she was a hell of a lot more worthy of respect than most of the women in this Kingdom.

Truth be told, Daryl didn't think much of the women outside his group. Gloria was all right, if you didn't count that mortifying kiss she'd planted on his cheek his first day back from the hunt, or the fact that she'd left Henry's heart shattered in a hundred jagged pieces. She had her moral code, her duty to her first husband, and she was direct and outspoken - someone he could understand. He was growing fond of Savannah, but she was blood after all. The rest of these Kingdom women, though, he couldn't relate to on any level. They were part of the background scenery, as far as he was concerned. Maybe they had their individual virtues, but Daryl hadn't gone through the furnace with them, the way he had with his own people.

Al crouched down. "Are those bear prints?"

Daryl got on his haunches beside him. "Black bear, I reckon. Unless ya got somethin' else in Virginia."

"Not unless it came from the zoo. Or migrated." Al stood and looked around the forest. "With so few people, the nature of the land is changing. I am sure there were no wild pigs in these woods before."

Daryl walked beside the prints, shifting leaves with his boot-clad-foot, and craning his neck to study the sign. In the distance, the sound of gun shots echoed near the pond - one, two, three, four, five. "Sounds like duck for dinner," he said. "Hope they don't draw walkers, like when we found Jason."

"I am unconcerned," Al said. "There are so few of the creatures left in these woods, and, in small numbers, they are easier to kill than most game." Al hiked on, saying, "I have never eaten bear meat."

"Tastes like whatever the bear was eatin'," Daryl replied. "If he's been feastin' on berries, he'll be sweet. This is the best time to hunt 'em, too. More fat. Gettin' ready for the winter."

Al looked down at the diverging trail. "So we go for the bear rather than the deer?"

"Yeah. Somethin' different."

They found two bears. It wasn't easy confronting them with only crossbow and spear, but they brought one down. The other escaped. They field dressed their kill and dragged it back on the sled to the pick-up, where Sasha and Henry were already waiting, sitting on an outstretched blanket and eating lunch. Sasha was reaching over to wipe something off Henry's cheek when Daryl and Al approached, and she quickly dropped her hand, while Henry shot into a standing position, exclaiming, "Good on ya! That's some real meat there, mates. We'll have to hang that in the smoke house for a bit."

"How many ducks y'all get?" Daryl asked.

"Seven," Sasha answered. She pointed to the remaining lunch snacks. "Hungry, gentleman?"

Al sat beside her, while Daryl just leaned down and grabbed himself a protein bar and then jerked his head to motion Henry to follow him. They walked a little ways from the truck.

"What is it?" Henry asked.

Daryl, chewing on the protein bar, reached his free hand into his pants pocket and pulled out the engagement ring. "She don't want it," he muttered around his food.

Henry took the ring in his hand. "Oh, I'm sorry. It's not completely over is it? What happened?"

Daryl swallowed. "Nah, mean she don't want a ring. Ya keep it. We're still gettin' married."

Henry looked relieved, smiled lightly, and slipped the ring into his front shirt pocket.

[*]

When they returned to the Kingdom, after delivering the bear to the butcher's table, Daryl and Al ran into Maggie in the hallway on their way to the locker room. Daryl nodded to her. He was glad to see her out and about and looking healthy, because she'd missed the last three communal meals due to nausea. She seemed to have evening sickness rather than morning sickness. Sasha typically took her a plate after the banquets, because they roomed together.

"Congratulations on your pending nuptials," she said.

"My what?" Daryl asked.

"Carol told me you two are getting hitched."

"Yeah. Hope ya can come to the weddin'. Gonna be real small."

"Glen, Jr. and I will be there," she said with a bittersweet smile. She rubbed her hand over her belly.

"How ya know it's a boy?" Daryl asked. He didn't think the Kingdom had those fancy machine things that could tell you.

"I don't. I just have a feeling."

Al stood beside Daryl, his head tilted slightly, and smiling as they spoke. Finally, he said, "I do not believe we have officially met. I am Alemnesh, but you can call me Al."

"Like the Paul Simon song," Maggie said.

"I am not familiar," Al replied.

"If you'll be my bodyguard," Maggie said, "I can be your long lost pal."

"Why are you in need of a body guard?" Al asked.

She laughed. "No, those are some of the lyrics. Of the song."

"Oh. You must play it for me one day." He held out his hand. "Pleased to formally meet you." As she shook, he glanced down at her belly. "How pregnant are you?"

"Shit, man," Daryl muttered under his breath. "Even I know not to ask a woman that."

Al's dark skin lightened with a blush.

Maggie chuckled. "It's okay. I don't mind. I'm in my third trimester now."

"Need ta get washed up and find Rick," Daryl told them, and left them standing and talking in the hall.

[*]

Rick was just putting up a sign that read "Range Closed. Re-opens at 8 PM for night shooting" when Daryl arrived.

"Sorry," he said. "Did you want to practice? I can re-open for an hour."

"Nah," Daryl replied, "but I probably should put a few rounds through my handgun soon. Haven't used it for a few days. Just wanted to talk to ya."

"Shoot," Rick said. "I mean..." He rolled his hands in a gesture the implied Daryl should talk.

Daryl leaned back against the lightly sanded wood of one of the shooting tables. "The double weddin' thing? That's a no go for Carol."

Rick nodded. "Fair enough. I'll wait to ask until after your honeymoon then. Where are you taking her?"

Daryl blinked and Rick laughed. "I ain't s'posed to do somethin' like that, am I? I mean, what could I do?"

"Champagne and flowers waiting for her in the apartment. That's what I'd do." Rick picked up his shooting bag and draped it over his shoulder. Daryl turned and walked with him back toward the school. He doubted Savannah could find him any champagne, but she might find him something.

[*]

That night, for the first time, Carol said no to fooling around. "I'm feeling crampy," she explained, hoping he wouldn't pout about it. She'd been spoiling him with sex ever since the first time they'd slept together. He might have started to take the frequency for granted. "I just want to relax and watch a movie with you."

"A'ight." He sounded a bit resigned, but he settled down on the love seat next to her, draping an arm around her shoulders, and putting his feet up on the coffee table. "What romance do I gotta suffer through this time?"

Carol grinned, leaned forward, and pressed play on the portable DVD player. "Just a little something I had Savannah find for me on her run today." She settled back against him as Seven Samurai came on the screen. "Hey!" Daryl exclaimed. "This is my favorite movie!"

"I know, Pookie. That's why I had her get it."

"But how'd ya know?" he asked, his brow adorably crinkled.

"You told me, remember? When we played Two Truths and a Lie on the prison tower?" She peered up at him to find him looking down at her with curiosity.

"If I'd of kissed ya that night, what would ya have done?"

"Kissed you back. And then...maybe more."

"Fuuuuuck."

She laughed.

"Did I really waste that much time?"

"You didn't love me then," she said with a shrug.

"Yeah. Yeah, I probably did." He kissed the top of her head and breathed in her scent. He settled his cheek on her head and asked, "Think yer uh...vistor's gonna be gone by Sunday?"

"Why?" she asked with a smile. "You think we should have sex on our wedding night?"

"Thought occurred to me," he admitted.

Carol turned and kissed him. "I think we'll have a good wedding night."

"Well don't talk through the whole damn movie," he said.

She shook her head and settled comfortably against him. She was asleep before the credits rolled.