AN: Here we are, another chapter here.

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

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Michonne stood near Milton on their porch. Andrea was closed inside the house, but she was watching from the window. They had all been warned that absolutely no disobedience would be tolerated this day. Anything that could be perceived as a threat to the Governor would be met with a bullet and the guards on duty weren't aiming to injure.

There were more guards than Michonne had ever seen in Woodbury at any one time before. The community was crawling with them. They'd come in on small busses that were currently parked outside the gates so that the numerous men in uniforms would have a way to get back to their homes and stations after everything was said and done and Woodbury returned to its normal state of calm. Michonne was certain that fewer guards had been present when they were sorting them upon their arrival to the community. Fewer guards, even, had been present when they'd brought the maximum security prisoners to Woodbury and marched them, shackled, through the streets.

The Governor had never paid a visit to Woodbury before. He was coming today, though, because he wanted to see the community. He wanted to witness the progress that was being made. And, Michonne was sure, he wanted to see his very first Wilds up close and personal. Woodbury was, after all, a little like a petting zoo. They were all relatively tame and restrained without the messiness of the prisons.

Woodbury provided a picturesque setting in which to see the animals in their natural habitat.

The Governor had agreed that Wilds, as long as they were properly assimilating into the fabric of society, should be given the right to marry. Daryl had petitioned time and time again for that right and Milton had finally gotten it passed as something that would enhance the project. The Governor would make some grand show about marrying Daryl and Carol and then everyone else who wished to wed would be allowed to do so.

The invitation to marry had even been extended to Andrea and Michonne as long as they agreed to follow through with their obligations to the project—obligations that they both fully intended to comply with as long as those who were in charge of them kept up their end of the deal.

From their porch, they had the perfect view of the Governor's arrival. The guards at the gates opened them for his limousine to pass inside and the long car chose a spot where the Governor clearly wanted it to be parked. The man got out of the car and Michonne found herself somewhat disappointed.

The Governor of what was left of the world, as far Michonne knew at least, and the man that they called the "one true power" was just a man like any other. He wasn't even that impressive. Honestly Michonne hadn't expected him to be some kind of otherworldly creature, but it had almost felt like he might be. Instead, he was just an average man of average stature. There was nothing remarkable about him except the fact that he held great power.

He smiled as he got out of the car, flanked by several bodyguards, and he waved for anyone that could see him. Then he made a beeline directly for Milton's house. He smiled all the way there and he smiled as he mounted the steps.

"So this is where you call home, Milton," the Governor mused.

"It is," Milton confirmed.

"It's a very nice house. And this is—is this A?" The Governor asked, gesturing toward Michonne.

"No, Governor," Milton said. "This is Michonne. Andrea—A—is inside. I'm lifting her solitary confinement only for the weddings."

"Lift it early," the Governor said. "I want to meet her. I don't feel like waiting."

Milton nodded.

Andrew had already been removed from the house to give him the opportunity to get settled where they'd be doing the weddings. He liked Alice, so he'd gone readily in her care with Willomen to keep watch over the child and make sure that no other guards felt the need to discipline him if he should be come loud or a little unruly during the ceremony. They would be caring for all the wild-born children that had been returned to their parents.

Andrea was in the house alone, and when Milton opened the door she took the customary stance of backing away from the door with her hands up in the sign of surrender. The Governor peered in at Andrea.

"Can I touch her?" He asked, looking at Milton.

"I assure you, she's tame," Milton said.

"Perhaps you should ask her," Michonne said, "if she wants to be touched. It's only polite."

The Governor looked at her. For just a moment she wondered if she'd overstepped a line. She hoped it wasn't one that was going to earn her an execution. He simply laughed, though. He offered a hand out in Andrea's direction.

"Come on out," he offered.

Andrea took his hand and stepped out of the door. She was dressed in a pink and white dress that matched the shirt that Michonne wore with a pair of dress pants. Michonne felt crisp and clean in her outfit, but Andrea looked lovely. She looked soft and delicate.

She looked entirely unlike Michonne had ever seen her before.

The Governor looked her up and down.

"So—this one is the one," the Governor said with a smile.

"Yes, Governor," Milton responded.

The Governor pressed his hand against Andrea's belly like every man who never respected a woman's boundaries might feel like he had permission to do.

"How far along are you?" The Governor asked.

"Thirty weeks," Andrea said.

The Governor smiled at Milton before he reached a hand up and touched Andrea's face. Michonne watched her, but Andrea didn't flinch away from him. She knew that to do so might very well end badly for both of them.

"Beautiful. There were certainly some perks that came with the job, aye Milton? I might volunteer to work with your little project for the second child," the Governor said. "It would be good for it, right? Not too many people could argue the legitimacy of your project if the father of the child was their Governor."

Michonne looked at Milton. It didn't appear that he liked that idea very much, but she wasn't sure how much control he had over the situation. At least there would be a good deal of time before such a decision had to be made, so Michonne figured he'd have more than enough time to put his super-human brain to work to come up with a decent idea why it was that Andrea didn't need to birth any children that weren't fathered by him.

The Governor left Andrea alone for a moment, but it was only to turn his attention to Michonne.

"What about this one?" The Governor asked. "What did you say her name was?"

"Michonne," Milton said. "She's one of the other citizens of Woodbury. The second in my household group."

"Are you expecting?" The Governor asked her.

Michonne sucked in a breath. She almost made a comment about being amazed that he was choosing to speak directly to her, but she chose not to.

"Not yet," Michonne said.

"Why not?" The Governor asked.

Michonne hesitated to answer him and was quite relieved when Milton did the job for her.

"Gestation hasn't occurred yet for Michonne," Milton said. "As it is a biological process, we expect it to happen at different times for different citizens. Our doctor—Alice Walker—is much better at explaining the process. She can tell you all that you need to know about all the women who are in gestation here."

"That sounds fascinating," the Governor responded. He laughed to himself. "But maybe some other time. It's a beautiful thing to see, though," he said, turning back to look at Andrea. "Absolutely breathtaking. All these women so full of life. There's so much hope surrounding it, don't you think? Andrea?"

Andrea nodded.

"I feel hopeful," she responded.

"I do too," the Governor said. "I do too. And you're certainly doing your part."

"Anything I can," Andrea responded.

The Governor turned then and started down the porch steps. His guards were standing at the bottom of the steps and, as soon as he was on the ground, Milton started down the steps after him and gestured to Michonne and Andrea to follow. Michonne took Andrea's arm and walked with her down to the street level. They followed the Governor as he walked through the street, waving his hand at everyone who watched from their porches and waited until they were given permission to head to the center of their community where the ceremonies would take place.

"I'm anxious to meet the woman you've got here that's going to have twins," the Governor said. "It's practically a miracle. Are both babies still viable?"

"They are," Milton confirmed. "Our doctor reports that the pregnancy is progressing well. The mother is showing no signs of difficulty carrying the twins."

"Excellent," the Governor said. "And no attacks lately either?"

"I'm reluctant to say that there's ever been a confirmed attack here," Milton said. "We've had a few complaints by guards, but nothing that really constitutes as an attack as we know categorize it."

"No fatalities," the Governor said.

"None for guards or personnel," Milton said. "We have had one death in an attempt to escape, but that was a citizen. We've had a few suicides as well. All of them were citizens."

"Suicides?" Michonne asked.

Milton eyed her and she was reminded that it was really better if she stuck to the practice of being seen and not heard for a while.

"Well at least the population will be growing here enough to make up for those losses," the Governor said. "When should we expect the first child to be born?"

"Andrea should deliver first," Milton said. "She has...she has..."

Milton stammered for a moment and Michonne took a chance at speaking again to try to help him.

"Ten weeks," Michonne said. Milton looked thankful for the help, so Michonne assumed she'd read him correctly.

"The twins should be born after that," Milton said. "Then we'll have several babies that should come within close range of each other."

"The twins," the Governor mused again. "I'm anxious to meet the mother of the twins."

"She'll be the first you marry," Milton said. "She's part of the honored couple here today."

"The couple that was so determined to have the right to marry?" The Governor asked. Milton quickly confirmed it. "Excellent!" The Governor said, sounding genuinely excited. "It's really moving that they wanted to marry so badly and, personally, I find it quite impressive that two Wilds would find something like that important."

"Citizens," Milton corrected. "We call them citizens here. It's vital to the assimilation project that they not be addressed with titles that place them in undesirable categories."

The Governor laughed to himself.

"Citizens," he echoed. "I can't wait to meet the citizens that would fight so hard for marriage rights—especially since they happen to be the first twin pregnancy as well."

He didn't have to wait long, either, to meet Carol and Daryl because they closed in on the area of Woodbury where they'd have the ceremony, and the two of them were already there waiting with the guards who were surrounding the area to keep watch against the possibility that anything might happen.

The Governor waved as he approached and offered a hand out in Daryl's direction.

"You must be the groom of honor," the Governor said.

"Daryl," Daryl offered.

The Governor smiled, then, and shifted his attention to Carol. He offered her a hand and when she took it to shake it, he pressed his hand to her belly with the same familiarity that he'd used with Andrea. Also like Andrea, Carol knew better than to flinch away from the man's touch.

"And you are..."

"Carol," she filled in.

"The mother of twins," he said. "Beautiful. And you're the father of twins."

Daryl laughed to himself.

"That's uh—that's how it works," Daryl said. "She's about to be my wife. They're my kids."

The Governor laughed.

"You have to excuse me. You all have to excuse me," he said. "It's been some time since we were surrounded by—by the miracle of life. Before Milton came to me to discuss this project, I honestly started to think we'd never hear of another pregnancy again. Babies were starting to become something we considered almost mythological. But here? I can almost feel a different energy to your little...town? Community? The moment I walk in."

Michonne let out the breath she was holding.

She wasn't sure she cared for the Governor, but he was the man in charge. He was, ultimately, the highest power that there was and, as such, they must indulge him his idiosyncrasies to a great degree.

And, so far, he'd done none of them any harm—even if he did make Michonne's hair stand up on the back of her neck.

The Governor addressed the guards that were gathered there.

"Bring the rest of the citizens," he said. "Let's prepare for the ceremony and the reception. This is a day to celebrate for the Wilds...citizens...of this community. Citizens that, we hope, will one day see themselves fully reintegrated into society. May today be the first great step in that journey forward for them."

The guards started to take action and to decide who would stay there and who would go to bring the rest of the citizens of Woodbury to the center of the community. The Governor, looking around at them, made eye contact with Michonne again and smiled at her. She did her best to return his smile. Then she wrapped her hand around Andrea's and tugged her in the direction of Daryl and Carol so that they could all stand together and wait for the rest of Woodbury to be gathered together.

Whether or not the Governor was there, and whether or not she cared much for him, he was right about one thing. This was a day for celebration for all of them.

And it did, in a lot of ways, feel a good deal like a step toward becoming human.