AN: Here we go, another chapter here.

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

1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111

Carol and Daryl treated the announcement like it was a long awaited movie, and Carol was pretty sure they weren't the only ones. In anticipation of the event, Carol had put in an order and requested that a variety of snacks be delivered to their tiny home, and she arranged all of them on the coffee table in their little living room while Daryl finished his shower.

Everyone had been let out of work early and the late meal of the day had been served early to rush everyone home in preparation for the televised announcement.

"Daryl, come on!" Carol called. "You're going to miss it."

"She's gonna talk for an hour or so, I bet," Daryl said. "If I missed a minute of it, I guess you could fill me in."

He came anyway, though, and settled down onto the couch. Carol accepted the pillow he brought her and she arranged it so that she could lie across the couch with her head in his lap, using him as a human recliner. In his normal manner, Daryl rested his palm on her stomach like he still hoped that the babies—of which Carol felt there was relatively little proof—would do some kind of trick for him. Carol didn't reprimand him, though. She'd rather him feel involved, as touching her seemed to make him feel, instead of distanced from their shared experience.

"You turn the volume up?" Daryl asked, watching the same repetitive screen on the television as they normally did.

"Should be loud enough," Carol said. "It's hard to judge when nobody's talking."

"You sure it's on the right channel?" Daryl asked.

"There isn't another channel," Carol said with a laugh. "Just be patient. It'll start in a minute."

And Carol was right. After a few more moments of watching their glorified weather channel, the screen cut to a close up of Samirah's face. It appeared that she was sitting in some kind of office, but whoever was working the camera was focusing on her and not her surroundings.

"Citizens of Woodbury. You all know me. I'm Samirah, though many of you call me Sam or Sammi. Please take a moment to adjust your volume," Samirah said through the screen. Their volume didn't need to be adjusted, so Carol and Daryl simply sat and waited for her to continue. Daryl leaned up and got the bowl of popcorn off the table, somewhat smashing Carol in the process. He put it so that Carol could reach it if she wanted some and munched on the kernels while Samirah kept repeating her greeting so that everyone could be sure that they were ready to listen. Finally she seemed to determine that enough time had passed for everyone to be settled, and she continued. "Citizens of Woodbury, as you know, Wave Thirty Three is shaping up nicely as a project. Most citizens who wish for employment have found jobs throughout Woodbury. We're currently in the process of expanding our clinic to provide more room for patients and a more comfortable environment for those patients. In the future? We hope to expand the clinic further to create a state of the art birthing center for our mothers-to-be to welcome our newest citizens. We're planning the building of a school at the moment and, with any luck, we'll be expanding to bring in more citizens. Throughout our community, we currently have sixty-five couples who are cohabitating. Of those sixty-five couples, we have twenty-seven who currently say that they are happy enough with their partners that they would consider a life together outside of the project. The area of reproduction has been an important issue for Woodbury. We've had some ups and downs in that area—all of which we've been assured are natural and expected, though no less lamented—and currently we have eleven confirmed and thriving pregnancies in the community."

"We're in all them categories," Daryl pointed out. "I think we're winning this."

"Shhhh..." Carol hissed at him.

He laughed at her, and in response to her shushing, rested a popcorn kernel on her lips so it would fall into her mouth when she moved them again.

"Our longest successful pregnancy, at this moment, is currently in the second trimester," Samirah said. "We also have, here in Woodbury, the first confirmed pregnancy of multiples since the turn—and that's inside and outside this community."

Daryl patted Carol's stomach.

"That's us," Daryl said.

"That's popcorn," Carol pointed out around the popcorn that she'd now begun to munch on. "Babies are farther down." Daryl moved his hand following her instruction and patted again. "Don't pat too hard," Carol warned. "I don't want to have to get up to pee."

"Every day we're moving closer to accomplishing the things that we need to accomplish to prove that Woodbury is a community for life," Samirah said. "It's a community for peace and togetherness. A community of people who have a strong interest in the future of our nation and in the advancement of our nation. Every day we're moving closer to proving that those imprisoned as Wilds can be rehabilitated and can be successfully reintroduced into society. And we absolutely, absolutely could not do this without the cooperation of the citizens of Woodbury and your efforts."

"Because we the damn Wilds," Daryl offered with a snicker. He choked himself on a piece of popcorn and rearranged Carol again as he reached for his drink.

"Our development here hasn't been without some incidences," Samirah said. "And we know and understand that nothing comes without some setbacks. However, we want to avoid as many problems as we can. We ask you, as citizens, to keep that in mind as we move forward in our project. Tomorrow we will begin offering more freedom to you. In the morning, when officers usually come around to release those of you who eat breakfast outside of your homes, all homes will be unlocked. The doors to your homes will remain unlocked throughout the day tomorrow. All citizens will be allowed to come and go as they please in Woodbury without escort or permits. There are some exceptions, however, and you should listen closely to these. The information will also be posted on your regular broadcastings. The fenced in area of Woodbury is off limits to all unauthorized citizens. You should remain clear of the area. Be advised that the fences are electrically charged and the voltage is high enough that you could be severely injured should you touch them. Guards will be posted there and they will escort you away from the area should you choose to ignore these warnings. You will also be issued a warning. The clinic will be open tomorrow, and walk-ins are welcome, but you should anticipate a wait if you don't have an appointment. If you need an appointment, you can call at any time and you'll be given the earliest one available."

"We're going to be swamped tomorrow," Carol said.

"You?" Daryl said. "Hell, we're gonna be tryin' to keep people outta our work area."

"The warehouse is off limits to citizens due to capacity regulations," Samirah continued, clearly reading from a piece of paper, the top of which was barely visible in the camera shot. "Any orders that you might want to put in should be handled as they normally would. In the future we hope to have a window service available, but tomorrow the supply warehouse will operate as usual. We're anticipating larger than usual meal crowds tomorrow, so those that work in food preparation will be released from their homes early and should report to work no later than four in the morning to begin preparations for breakfast services. Meals will continue to be served in shifts depending on the amount of people present. All citizens must return to their own homes immediately following dinner and houses will be briefly inspected and re-locked before dark. During the day, citizens are allowed to visit each other and enter into other homes. However, there's a four citizen limit for each house at any given time. Anything beyond that, at this time, will be considered by the officers as unauthorized gathering and will be broken up. Citizens involved will be issued a warning. If everything goes smoothly, the free hours will remain in effect and, at a later time, will be extended."

A voice came from off camera and, for a moment, Samirah turned her face entirely away from the camera. She stood up, leaving the table where she was seated, and disappeared for a moment off to the side. Whoever was holding the camera didn't follow her, though, and they said nothing about the disturbance.

"This is the worst movie I've ever seen," Daryl said.

"Stop it," Carol said. "I'm just glad we're getting some of that freedom they promised us."

"Freedom to go to work and eat," Daryl said. "You wouldn't think we'da had to wait so long for that. Still, I wonder why the hell they're gonna be walking around breaking up groups of four or more."

"Not breaking up groups, Daryl," Carol said. "Not allowing more than four at a time in a house. I think you'd be alright in the street, but I don't think they want us really congregating together in private too much. You never know what we could be planning, after all."

Carol teased him by waving her fingers at him in the same way she might if she were telling him a scary story. He smirked at her.

"We could be up to all kinds of shit," Daryl said. "Except they'll shoot us all and keep on goin' with them that's left."

Samirah returned with more paper in hand and sat down at the table again. Carol redirected her attention back to the television and when she moved around to get comfortable, Daryl readjusted the pillow that had shifted from behind her head during her wallowing around.

"Sorry for the interruption," Samirah said. "As I was saying, groups of four are the largest allowed groups inside a private residence at any one time. Please be aware that officers will be patrolling all day tomorrow—and every day to follow. You're not required to have a permit to come and go normally, but you do need to be aware of your behavior. Violence of any kind will not be accepted. That includes violence against officers and against your fellow citizens. The gate areas are off-limits and we'd like to take the opportunity to remind citizens of the tragic events that occurred recently. Please do not try to leave Woodbury. You're citizens here, but you're still prisoners to the government. We encourage everyone to enjoy their freedoms, but don't abuse them. Instead of inciting violence, as some may feel inclined to do, get to know your neighbors. Congratulate an expecting couple. Take the opportunity to see everything that Woodbury has to offer and to consider things that you might want to be a part of to make it better. We're accepting your suggestions. But, above all, respect yourselves and respect others. Let's keep Woodbury a peaceful community and let's remain focused on the good things we have in store. Let's remain focused on making Wave Thirty Three a success that moves us all toward a brighter future."

Samirah stopped again, clearly interrupted once more, and looked off camera. This time she didn't leave the table and Carol could hear the somewhat muffled sound of a man's voice. Samirah nodded her head at him and looked at the camera again.

"And please note, as well, that the area surrounding the Mamet house are off limits. It's the large government property near the gates. There will be a guard stationed there. No citizens are allowed access to the property without an issued permit," Samirah said. "Violation of that rule will result in the violating citizen being issued a warning."

"There's a surprise," Daryl remarked blankly.

On camera, Samirah smiled as genuinely as she could, but Carol could tell that the woman didn't really care for the job of making announcements.

"I hope that everyone enjoys their freedom tomorrow," Samirah said. "And I hope it continues for many days to come. I'm here to help you in any way that I can. I will be in Woodbury tomorrow and I hope to have the chance to interact with many of you as you go about your day. Just remember—be safe. Woodbury is a peaceful community with a bright future. We want you all to be here to enjoy that future. This announcement will play again throughout the evening."

To close out her announcement, Samirah smiled and waved at the camera. She held the stance a moment and then the broadcast cut out. Rather than starting over right away, the screen returned to their normally anticipated screen and Carol noticed that it had already been updated to reflect rules that they all needed to be aware of.

Carol stayed where she was and read through the rules as they scrolled, but there was nothing there that was shocking or surprising in any way. Then she shifted around and sat up so that she could share the couch, normally, with Daryl.

"I'ma go to work with my freedom," Daryl said with a laugh. "What'cha gonna do with yours?"

"Go to work," Carol said. "Carry my permit to the Mamet household and eat lunch with Andrea. Meet you for dinner? That is—if you're willing to eat with me once you have your freedom."

Daryl cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Why the hell wouldn't I be?" He asked.

Carol smirked at him and shrugged her shoulders.

"You're supposed to be getting to know your neighbors," Carol said. "Maybe—you want to get to know some of your female neighbors. Shop around a little?"

Daryl frowned at her.

"You're an assole," he said.

Carol laughed and Daryl cracked a smile before he swallowed it down again.

"I'm just saying the door is—well, it's literally open for you tomorrow," Carol said.

"I ain't even entertaining you right now," Daryl said. "Get up."

To illustrate his words, Daryl got to his feet and began gathering together all their snacks that hadn't been eaten.

"Where are you going with my cheese curls?" Carol asked. "I haven't even opened them!"

Daryl laughed to himself.

"Calm down, you gonna get 'em. Get up. Come on," Daryl said.

"Where are we going?" Carol asked.

"That was the worst damn movie I ever seen," Daryl said. "And we got all these snacks. So we're goin' to the bedroom. Game night. Gonna play board games."

"Which one?" Carol asked, tucking her pillow under her arm and helping to gather up the items that Daryl couldn't carry.

"Does it matter?" He asked as she followed him toward their bedroom.

"I don't guess so," Carol said. "But not Monopoly. We have to sleep tonight."

"Not Monopoly," Daryl said. "That's your rule. Wanna know my rule?"

"What's your rule, Daryl?" Carol asked, already preparing herself for what his tone of voice told her was going to be a ridiculous rule.

"Whatever the hell we're playing?" Daryl responded. "We're doing it naked. Buck ass naked."

Carol laughed to herself.

"And this is why I'm ninety percent sure we won't typically have guests in our home," Carol said.

"Don't matter," Daryl said. "I never liked people in my house in the first damn place."