AN: Here we are, another chapter here.

I hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think!

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Henry warned Daryl and Carol both that he would be returning to the Kingdom for a few days, but he fully intended to return to the little house without much delay. He wanted to live his life in both places, and Daryl was thankful that he announced, so clearly, his intentions. Carol, Daryl knew, wouldn't mind where Henry wanted to spend his time or how often he wanted to traipse from one location to another. The only thing that would keep her awake at night was not knowing where Henry was, not knowing if he was angry with her, and not knowing if he intended to return.

Henry swiftly and easily put her doubts to bed. He would be with either her or his father—an individual who was likely to visit the little house as often as Henry did. He wasn't angry anymore, though he admitted to still needing time to adjust to the fact that his parents were living divided lives that, sometimes and in some ways, intercepted. And he fully intended to return with regularity. He didn't mean to be gone long enough to make his mother worry or miss him too much.

To try and make it clear to Henry, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he wanted him there and expected his return, Daryl had taken Henry out into the yard to look at the surrounding area. They could clear it. They could build additional fences. They could create farmland and even, across the road, room for a nice pasture. They could create something self-sustaining for their small family unit that would keep them from having to rely so heavily on the Kingdom to feed them. If they were fortunate, they could also produce something to give back to the neighboring community.

Daryl gave Henry responsibility—something the teenager seemed to be craving—in the form of asking him to make inquiries about acquiring the supplies necessary to build the fences and the barn. Then, he made the request of him that he return soon to help him start building the life that he wanted to provide for Carol. He reminded Henry that the sooner they started working, after all, the sooner Henry's mother could have a milk cow, and the sooner they could be sure that they would be able to count on planting a garden for the coming year.

When Henry left, he'd left happy with his assignment. He'd allowed Daryl to walk him back to the Kingdom to keep Carol secure in the knowledge that he was safe, and Daryl had allowed Jerry to haul him back to the little house in the wagon when Jerry had insisted on making the trip.

Dusk was beginning to settle around them as they arrived at the house, and it was cooling dramatically. When fall settled over Virginia, it brought with it a cool crispness that was different than the lingering summer that Georgia usually saw throughout most of the transitional season.

Daryl could smell the smoke in the cool air as they approached the house—evidence that Carol would have the fire going when he got there. He smiled to himself as they rode, realizing how incredibly domestic his life had become in the blink of an eye.

When he glanced at Jerry, the big man was grinning at him without shame.

"What?" Daryl asked. "What the hell you lookin' at?"

"His Majesty has told me how much you love the Queen," Jerry offered. "I'm glad to see you're so pleased with our approach to the residence."

Daryl shook his head.

"You aren't like a total headcase," Daryl said. "So, you understand it's all make believe, right? The whole—King and Queen thing?"

Jerry continued to smile at him.

"You understand that nothing's really any more real than we believe it to be, right?" Jerry offered.

Daryl accepted the man's words after a second of chewing them over.

"Known her for years," Daryl said. "Feels like—maybe even a few lifetimes. Doesn't seem like the same life now as I was living back then. When I first met her."

"And how long have you loved her?" Jerry asked.

"Usually I'd ask you to buy me a drink for we started talkin' this serious about my damn love life," Daryl offered in response. Jerry looked unbothered and undeterred. Daryl sighed. The man was large, he was friendly, and Carol had an incredible soft spot for him. Daryl already knew that he would count on the man to make him feel better by simply promising to stay near Carol if, for any reason, he had to leave her alone. He might as well count him as a friend. And, apparently, Jerry enjoyed a good love story as much as the next Kingdom-dweller. "I don't know if I believe in love at first sight, exactly. Maybe that's mostly because I had my hands full back then and she did too. But—it wasn't long after I met her that I…maybe love isn't the right word. But I knew something."

Jerry seemed satisfied with the answer. He smiled to himself and looked ahead as he slowly walked the horses down the road. It was familiar to Daryl and already starting to feel like home.

In the back of the wagon, a jug of milk rode along with two casseroles and two cobblers that King Ezekiel had insisted Daryl take to Carol. Daryl glanced back over his shoulder to make sure that the jug of milk hadn't tipped over and leaked into the back of the wagon. Carol would be pleased to see it. She'd mentioned milk earlier in the day—twice—and she could at least enjoy some of it that night.

"The Princess enjoys cobbler," Jerry mused.

Daryl hummed.

"Or Carol does," Daryl offered.

"The Queen has always enjoyed sweets," Jerry said, "but she's rarely indulged. It's the Princess that convinces her to eat what she wants."

"If that's the case, then the Princess is in the mood for milk, too," Daryl said, reaching behind him and steadying the jug that he feared would tip as they rolled over the slightly rough road. He could see the chimney of the house and the smoke rising up. They'd be there in a matter of minutes. He didn't want to lose Carol's surprise with the house in sight.

"I'll let the King know," Jerry said. "He'll be happy to have something to offer the Queen and the Princess."

"He'da found somethin'," Daryl said. "I'm sure."

When they reached the house, Jerry pulled the wagon to a stop outside the gate and locked the wheels so the horses wouldn't move forward. He took the casseroles and cobblers from the back when Daryl reached for the milk jug.

"I got it," Daryl offered, though he really wasn't sure how to carry all of it. Jerry didn't even entertain him. Instead, he immediately went toward the gate, shifted the four dishes in his arms, and opened the gate to let Daryl inside. Then he followed happily after Daryl with the food.

Carol met them both at the door and rushed to take the dishes from Jerry. He bypassed her entirely, though, and took them inside. Daryl followed after him and left the jug in the kitchen. For the moment, he ignored Carol's questions about what he'd brought, and urged her to say her goodbyes to Jerry since he knew the man expected her affections.

"Jerry's gotta be gettin' back to the Kingdom," Daryl said. "Gettin' dark an' he don't wanna get stuck out there with the team."

"I wish you weren't alone," Carol said.

She was suddenly much more concerned than she would have normally allowed herself to be. She would have, perhaps, hidden it better in the past. This time, she wrapped her arms very affectionately around Jerry's neck and hugged him, stepping up on her tiptoes as he hugged her back. He smiled, pleased with the affection, but looked at Daryl with raised eyebrows that told Daryl that he was also surprised by how much affection he was receiving.

"I'll be fine my queen," Jerry assured her.

She gave him a fake annoyed look, and Daryl thought he saw some dampness glitter in her eyes. She turned quickly to face Daryl.

"You should have asked for someone else to ride so that Jerry wasn't going back alone," she scolded.

Daryl laughed to himself.

"I'm not his keeper," Daryl said. "It was his choice to come alone. I didn't even ask for a ride. I was gonna walk back until what I was bringin' back just kept growin'."

Out of the corner of his eye, Daryl caught Jerry's movements. With a broad smile across his lips, Jerry rocked an invisible baby and patted his somewhat remarkable belly. When he patted his belly, Carol turned to see what he was doing, and he covered it over by pretending to scratch an itch.

"I'll enjoy the ride," Jerry said. "And I'll be back, safely inside the Kingdom's fences, before it's dark enough to worry. Sleep well."

Jerry offered Carol another hug, which she took, and then he patted her belly without invitation. She didn't seem to mind, though, and instead she smiled at his tender gesture. She walked him out to the porch and stood there watching until he'd stepped out of the gate, secured it behind himself, mounted the wagon, and started back toward the Kingdom. Then she called Dog back from his trip around the yard. He'd already pissed on everything, there was no need for him to linger too long.

When they stepped back inside, Carol went to the kitchen and let Daryl know that there was hot water, even though he'd already seen it on the stove when he'd passed through before. They had a metal tub that was large enough to use as a bathtub that Carol had snagged from the Kingdom when she'd first started staying in the house. Daryl pulled it down and helped her to put enough of the hot water and some cooled water to make a decent bath for herself.

Preferring to wash the old-fashioned way with a rag and a pot of water, Daryl simply stood on a towel in the kitchen and bathed—allowing the heat from the wood stove to keep the room warm for both of them—while Carol bathed, in the kitchen, in her tub. He certainly didn't mind the view, though she didn't seem to even notice him ogling her as she piled her hair high on her head and tied it up before stripping off her clothes and easing herself down into the metal tub.

She was incredibly beautiful, and Daryl wanted to tell her so, but the words got stuck in his throat. The words remained stuck there even as he dried and dressed in clean clothes, emptied Carol's tub, and put it back against the wall until she needed it again. When she'd left the room, he'd set about warming milk on the stove.

Daryl only managed to get his words unstuck whenever Carol came back from the bedroom where she'd exchanged her towel for a nightgown.

Daryl smiled when he saw her. Her hair was still piled on top of her head and tied there. Bits of it spilled out and curled around itself in places. In place of the hideous, over-sized monstrosity that she'd been wearing to sleep, she was wearing one of his long-sleeved button-up shirts. It was light blue and it was over-sized, but it hung over her body in a much more pleasing way. The shirt was large, even for Daryl, and it stopped just over the tops of Carol's thighs. The buttons that ran down the front of it drew a crooked line as they did their best to march over the slight swell of her stomach.

Daryl's stomach knotted up at the sight of her. She smiled at him.

"Better?" She asked. "You said you hated my nightgown, but...I didn't have anything else."

"Beautiful," Daryl said.

Carol laughed to herself.

"I didn't know you were so attached to the shirt," she teased. Daryl couldn't help but smile to himself at the way she wiggled a little nervously on her sock-covered feet.

"Weren't talkin' about the shirt," Daryl said. "You look—incredible. But I don't want you catchin' your death just because you walkin' around without pants."

"There's a blanket on the couch," Carol offered. "And the fire."

"Milk's warm," Daryl offered, pouring it into mugs. He had absolutely no desire to drink the milk—nor to eat any of the casserole or cobbler he fully intended to practically force Carol to consume in large quantities—but he'd have a little of everything because he knew that she wouldn't want it if she was the only one that was partaking.

Carol's soft smile renewed. She rubbed her hand over her belly. Daryl wasn't even sure if she realized she'd performed the gesture.

"That's what's in the jug? You brought milk for me?" Carol asked.

Daryl nodded his head.

"For you an' her," Daryl said. "And casserole so you don't got to cook nothin' tonight. And cobbler—'cause I know you both like it."

If such a thing had been possible, Daryl would have sworn that Carol's big blue eyes grew even bigger as she stood there looking at him. He felt a little overwhelmed by the feelings that surged up inside of him.

But they were safe, and she was happy, and it was time to start making this truly feel like their home. It was time to start accepting everything that neither of them had ever fully believed was possible.

Daryl picked up the mugs of warmed milk and squeezed them in his hands. He didn't want the milk to cool down too much before she had a chance to drink it.

"Let's go in the den," Daryl said. "Get that blanket. Don't want'cha to get cold."

Carol smiled at him, but she turned and left the kitchen at his request.

"Oh, I have a feeling I'll be plenty warm," she offered, obeying his request and heading for the living room while he brought the mugs.

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AN: This is an odd thing to say, but I'm kind of ignoring Carol's wig on the show, especially the old one. I always imagined Carol's hair would be curly (like Melissa's) if she were to grow it out. So it shall be in my story. I hope that doesn't bother anyone.

I hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think!