AN: Here's another chapter. I hope that you enjoy!

It should be said that I know nothing about where things are located and I'm just making that stuff up, so suspension of disbelief is always appreciated!

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

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Carol hadn't asked Daryl why they were making the trip to Alexandria. She hadn't protested in any way except to say that she thought they should go by the Kingdom to tell Henry where they were going and when they expected to return so that he wouldn't be concerned or read things incorrectly. Her worries were quickly soothed, though, when Ezekiel and Henry brought them the rig and team that they'd be using for the trip, along with more supplies they were planning to use to ready their little home for long-term residence and self-sustainability.

Daryl had given her all the time she'd needed to pack what she wanted to take, prepare the wagon, and say her goodbyes to Henry and Ezekiel both. He'd checked in with Henry to make sure the young man—because much of the reason he was doing this was to prove that he was every bit as much of a man as anyone else—understood what they were hoping for. They discussed fences, storage, and livestock shelters.

And when Carol was ready, they loaded the wagon and set off for Alexandria.

Alexandria was a day's ride when they moved quickly and planned the trip to last no more than a day. This included leaving early and figuring in meals that could be eaten on the road to avoid stops. They had prepared for none of that. When it was nearing dusk, Daryl had chosen a farmhouse along the road that looked promising because it had a barn and fences that were still standing where he could easily leave the team for the night. Carol had cleared the barn while Daryl had cleared the house. At the last moment, they'd decided to keep their team company, and they'd made a bed in the hayloft of the barn using items from the house. They'd packed anything else that they'd really liked into the wagon. Daryl had caught them a rabbit, and Carol had prepared it with some of their travelling food to make a dinner that was as good as any that Daryl could really recall having eaten before.

They harnessed the team as the sun came up, Carol prepared a breakfast from a couple of squirrels caught in quick and simple snares that Daryl had set the night before, and they started off to finish their journey to Alexandria.

Daryl knew that Carol was excited about the trip, but he could also tell that she was nervous. She was quiet and, by now, Daryl knew that Carol had different types of "quiet". Still, he didn't push her to talk. He understood what made her nervous. They were going to see Michonne—their oldest friend in this world, and the one who had been with them through so many things—and they would be telling her about their relationship and their baby, along with the truth about Carol's marriage to Ezekiel, all at once. It was enough to stir up a few nerves.

Daryl, oddly enough, felt entirely calm about it. Maybe it was because he knew Michonne wouldn't show disapproval even if she felt it. Maybe it was simply because he knew that Carol needed him, at that moment, to just be the quiet and calm one of the two of them.

Their arrival had clearly been seen by one of the people that were keeping watch. The gates opened for them like they were automatic as they arrived. Daryl drove the team directly inside the walls of Alexandria and didn't stop it until he knew they were fully clear the gates. He set the reins and locked the wheels, certain that the well-trained team would wait until they were unharnessed or given further commands.

The gates were closed behind them by people that Daryl didn't know well enough to care about—these days he tried to care very little about people that weren't truly important to him—and he looked around for any familiar face in the small crowd that passed to have a look at the new arrivals to Alexandria.

Carol sat on her seat, too, and looked around.

Daryl saw her smile start, though, before he ever actually picked out Michonne's figure walking toward them.

Michonne looked every bit as much like royalty in Alexandria as Ezekiel pretended to be in the Kingdom. She was scowling, at first, because she didn't immediately recognize them. She walked toward them, straight backed with the hilt of her katana peeking over her shoulder. Clearly, she'd been clearing Walkers or doing some other such activity—or, since she looked pretty clean, maybe she'd been simply preparing to go out for something.

As soon as she saw them, though, the angry scowl that made the woman seem unapproachable melted into a warm smile and her steps quickened like she might run to toward the wagon. Daryl got down first, and walked around to meet her as she approached. He stuck a hand out in greeting, already knowing how she would react. She looked at his hand, frowned at him before letting the frown melt back into the smile and then she wrapped him in a tight hug.

"I didn't know you were coming," she declared.

"We were hoping to surprise you," Daryl said. "That OK?"

"You're always welcome in Alexandria," Michonne declared. "You know I've been trying to get you to move back here."

She pulled away from Daryl and looked at Carol. Carol was half leaning in her seat and she smiled warmly at Michonne.

"Carol!" Michonne declared. "Where's Ezekiel?"

Daryl reached his hands up in Carol's direction. The rig was a high one and he'd already told her that, though he trusted all of her abilities, he preferred her to let him at least have his hands near her for security as she climbed up and down the side. Carol quickly got up, turned, and made her way down the side. She didn't need Daryl as she stepped securely onto the ground, but he preferred to at least know that he'd offered her some protection against falling.

Michonne hugged Carol and, pulling back from the hug, her eyes immediately drifted down to the small change in Carol's body that barely presented itself as proof of their eventual arrival.

Michonne smiled at Carol's belly before bringing her eyes up to meet Carol's and smile at her.

"Is this…?" She said, clearly afraid that she might say something to insult Carol.

Carol's smile and the red that flushed through her cheeks, though, made it clear that she wasn't insulted. She pressed her hand over her belly before Michonne followed suit with her own hand.

"It is!" Carol said with more enthusiasm than Daryl had heard her use in a while. His heart fluttered a little and he was already patting himself on the back for making the decision to take this trip. They had only just arrived and already he could clearly see that it was doing Carol some good.

"Oh—Carol!" Michonne said. Her enthusiasm was clearly not faked. "I'm so—happy for you! Where's Ezekiel? He must be over the moon!"

Carol stepped back from Michonne like she'd been burned and Michonne's face immediately registered her concern. Daryl cleared his throat.

"That's quite a story," Daryl offered. "And—it ain't Ezekiel's."

Michonne looked confused and concerned. Perhaps she had reason to look that way. After all, what reason would she have had to suspect that Carol's marriage to Ezekiel had been nothing more than a marriage of convenience that would bring comfort to them both while making the Kingdom feel like there were more reasons to keep going in this world?

"Are you OK?" Michonne asked, catching Carol's arms. Daryl was glad that her concern was immediately heaped on Carol. Carol replaced her smile, but it wasn't quite as beaming as before.

"I'm fine," Carol assured her. "Wonderful. And—Ezekiel's fine, too."

"We were hopin' to stay a couple days," Daryl said. "Maybe even—like a week or two. If—if that's alright with you?"

"We've got plenty of room," Michonne said. "You'll stay with us."

"We can stay in a room anywhere," Daryl offered. "We don't want to be any trouble."

"You could never be trouble," Michonne said. "You'll stay with us. Judith and RJ will love it."

Daryl nodded.

"Let's get our things and we'll—fill you in on everything," he offered.

Michonne nodded.

"I'll help," she said. "We'll take the long way to the house. If you don't mind…I think I'd like to hear the story before Judith and RJ realize we've got company."

Daryl and Carol both nodded. It was only fair that Michonne know the story and have a few minutes to process it before she was thinking about how she wanted to present it to her small children. Daryl shouldered the majority of their bags. He offered Carol a light bag to satisfy the desire to carry something that her outstretched hand communicated, and h offered Michonne the one slightly heavy bag that he couldn't shoulder along with everything else.

Michonne gave the command to have their team cared for and the rig stored for the time being. Dog had run on ahead of them—making himself familiar with every hand willing to touch him and every surface waiting to be pissed on—and Michonne started the walk that would take them on a twisting route through Alexandria and buy them the time to tell their story.

When they were pretty much alone, Carol started it.

"Michonne—Ezekiel and I were never really married. Not in a…not…"

"Not in a biblical way," Daryl offered, laughing to himself.

Michonne walked almost sideways. She was half looking where she was going and half looking at them. She furrowed her brow at Carol.

"So, you were just…"

"Friends," Carol supplied. "Good friends. I mean—we love each other, but…" She sighed and Daryl let her have her moment. "We love each other, but I just couldn't love Ezekiel. Not that way." She took an interest in the ground she was treading like she feared she might trip over some obstacle. "I was already in love."

Without prompting and without hesitation, Michonne looked at Daryl. He felt his face grow warm. Michonne laughed to herself.

"I'd be lying if I said I was really surprised," Michonne mused. "But—how long? You were gone so much…"

"I'd go and visit him," Carol offered. She smiled sideways at Daryl and her cheeks ran pink again. "My Wildman in the woods," she mused. She shrugged her shoulders. "On one of those visits, I guess I took something back to the Kingdom with me. Though it took me a little while to know."

"It's yours?" Michonne asked. Daryl nodded. She smiled and stammered a second before she could fully form her words. "Congratulations…to the…to both of you."

Each of them nodded as a way of acknowledging her congratulations. They weren't entirely accustomed to getting congratulations. A lot of people liked to hear the story, but forgot the congratulations afterwards.

"There ain't too much more to tell," Daryl offered. "We're livin' in Carol's little house outside the Kingdom now. Henry's there fixin' it up as we speak. We're gonna build somethin' small to settle, but we're…we're still sorta part of the Kingdom. We're married. Newly married, I guess. A couple nights ago."

"We just decided to use the word," Carol said. "But not much has changed."

Michonne looked happy and then suddenly concerned.

"Siddiq can have a look at you," Michonne said.

"That's not necessary," Carol said.

"We'd more than appreciate it," Daryl said, doing his best to counteract Carol's words. When she eyed him grumpily, he shook his head at her gently. "A second, third, or four-hundredth opinion is appreciated. There's a lotta time to talk ahead of us, but a little reassurance is one of the reasons we come here."

"We've already seen Michael at the Hilltop," Carol said. "He's moving to the Kingdom for the rest of the pregnancy. He says—I'm about twenty weeks. It's a girl."

"He says she's healthy," Daryl said.

"He says the baby's small," Carol corrected. "Underweight."

"Because you ain't been eatin' enough," Daryl said.

"Or because she's not growing properly," Carol offered.

"Carol's blood pressure's up an' her heartbeat's not regular," Daryl said. "Mostly it's anxiety an' if we could just get her calm and consistently happy…"

"We don't know that it's not just a problem with the whole…I'm not exactly the age that one would choose to have a baby," Carol said.

Michonne looked back and forth between them like someone trying to keep up with the swinging pendulum of a grandfather clock that had gotten wildly out of control.

"We'll take your things with us. We'll go see Siddiq first," Michonne said, the moment she saw the opportunity to speak at all. "I remember when I was pregnant with RJ. A little reassurance can go a long way."

"That's all I'm saying," Daryl offered.

Michonne's face, though, made it clear that she wasn't to be argued with. She wasn't asking them—and really it was clear that she was looking most sternly at Carol. She was telling them how she expected things to be handled in her "home".

"And after we see Siddiq, then we'll get you settled at the house so we can really talk about everything you've got to look forward to! I can't wait to hear the rest of this story."

"That's really all there is," Carol offered. Daryl noticed that she didn't try to argue with Michonne at all as the woman started leading her toward the house where Siddiq had made his office.

"Trust me," Michonne said. "That's not all there is. I've still got plenty of questions."

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AN: I'll give the same disclaimer as always; I sort of make characters who I want them to be. I can't keep up with the show and their often inconsistent character profiles. I hope that doesn't bother anyone.

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