AN: Hello all! I promise this will be the last "less-Chrsitmas-y" feeling chapter for anyone who is worried about that. I am so grateful to have reached so many viewers with my writing, and it makes me smile every day knowing that people keep coming back. As always, criticism is greatly appreciated, and I would love to hear what you guys think about what is transpiring ;) Many thanks and Enjoy!

I didn't get any of these characters under my tree, so, sadly, they all still belong to AMC, Robert Kirkman, etc.

Daryl and Carol were still gently swaying back and forth holding onto eachother gently. Carol bent her head down to Daryl's chest and he gently sighed into her hair, pressing kisses to the side of her head. She smiled into his vest and burrowed into his neck further, giggling softly,

"Shall we go join the others?" He gently pushed her away from him so he could look into her eyes, "Mrs. Dixon?"

This made both of them smile, and Carol's hands flew up to her cheeks in an attempt to cover her blush.

"Yer so goddamned cute." Daryl crushed her against his chest, nearly taking them both down onto the floor. She let out a huge 'Oof!' and he loosened his grip, quickly apologizing.

"Come on," she pulled her head off of his shoulder, "I don't intend for them to get wind of what we're going to announce tonight!" With that, she sauntered out of the room with a spring in her step. Daryl quickly chased after her and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Whadya mean, announce?" he asked as quietly as he could, but it was to no avail as a small girl with short brown hair came running at full speed towards them.

"Announce what, Uncle Daryl?" Judith gave him a saccharin smile and Carol giggled at the look on his face. He bent down to her level and put his hands on her slight shoulders. She was smiling at him and rocked back and forth on her heels in anticipation. He winked at Carol and then turned to smile sweetly at Rick's little girl,

"Now, I'm only askin' ya this 'cause the two of ya are so close. Would ya think it'd be okay if I married yer Auntie Carol? You know, like Glenn and Maggie?" He dropped his arms and took one of her little hands in his, a playful, pleading look in his eyes. He could see her gears turning and she cocked her head to the side, furrowing her brow.

"You mean you're not already?" She asked causing Carol to stifle a giggle behind her bandaged hand.

"Nah Jude," he looked up at Carol again and trailed off, "I jus' love her a lot, is all…"

The little girl smiled and withdrew her hand from Daryl's grasp. She looked to Carol and back to Daryl then back to Carol again. She didn't quite understand what it really meant to be married, and the two of them didn't blame her. The environment she was brought up in hadn't left much time for her to learn a lot of what went on in the old world. Of course they had taken time to explain everything she wasn't familiar with in her books, but puppies, pigeons, and rowdy schoolboys didn't exactly have to deal with marriage.

She made her decision after a pause and some 'careful' thought, "I say yes!" And with that, she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Daryl's neck. He picked her up causing her to squeal with delight as her held her to his chest. Carol approached the embracing pair and stroked Judith's hair, planting a small kiss on her temple. Daryl let her down and hunched over theatrically with his hand rubbing his back,

"One of us might be getting too old for that, kiddo," he moaned and she playfully shoved at his arm, "you're a lot bigger than when I first metcha'!"

Judith's expression became cautious when she saw a grin curl up onto Daryl's face. He immediately righted himself and grabbed Judith by the waist before she could protest, throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her off. Carol followed behind, not sure which of the pair was acting more the child.

"But yer not big enough to throw around a little bit!" He laughed as she beat at his shoulder, begging to be put down. He was walking towards Carl when one of Judith's shoes grazed his cheek, causing him to turn his head and narrowly miss another kick.

"Hey!" he barked, putting her down and rubbing his red cheek, "What was that for?"

"I'm not that little, Daryl," she beamed up at him, clearly proud of her work and happy to be on solid ground again, "and besides, Carol told me what you used to call me when I was a baby!"

"L'il asskicker!" Carol knelt to give Judith a high five and rose back up the peck Daryl on the cheek he was rubbing. He saw a deviant fire in her eyes as she pursed her lips and apologized to him. Had he any foresight, he would have shut her up immediately. He regretted forgetting the one other thing Carol had to use against him.

"Sorry Pookie." She said with that mischievous glint still in her eye.

Great, he thought, Just the thing I didn't want her to get wind of!

HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO

"Really?" Father Gabriel was sat cross-legged on the floor rubbing his eyes in the low-light of the afternoon. Daryl and Carol were kneeling across from him in the office, a small crate between them. He was their only option for someone to perform a quick ceremony like Daryl had suggested, and they went to him as soon as he took a break from decorating.

"I really don't know when we would do it…" He looked out into the store and then up to the forever darkening skylights.

"How about tonight?" Daryl asked eagerly.

"Please, Gabriel," Carol jumped in, in support of Daryl's idea, "you're the only one we know who can do it! It would be so nice. We've found this place and we are safe here, even if it is just for a little while."

"It's not like I'm about to deny it to you two," Gabriel laughed and stretched his back, "I'm just a little rusty. Considering this is a store, Carol, you could literally walk down an aisle." He laughed at his own joke, and Carol raised her eyebrows. "I can do it tonight." He flatly clarified and the two happily rose from across from him, turning around and leaving the office. They threw back and few thankful remarks and Gabriel nodded in acknowledgment.

"After all this time…and I still haven't gotten any funnier." He shook his head and reached for his pack, which he found to still contain all he thought he needed to marry Mr. and Mrs. Hunter. He chuckled at his own inner dialogue and got up to stretch his tired legs. He would have to work on his jokes if he was going to be speaking in front of all of them tonight. This was a tough crowd.

HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO

Rick, Michonne, Tara and Abraham's group were the only ones to not have returned as the light in the store had begun to fade into mid-afternoon. Glenn and Maggie returned shortly after Carl and Judith had topped the last tree. Maggie was still wearing her opulent, purple collar and Glenn was carrying some of the most tangled tinsel the group had ever seen.

"Thought you were s'posed to untangle it and bring it here, man!" Daryl laughed from the back wall of their alcove.

Glenn and Maggie exchanged glances and Glenn chuckled at Daryl awkwardly, "Sorry, brother," Maggie turned and walked to where Judith was playing with a small penguin figurine, Glenn dropped his tinsel and spoke out of the side of his mouth, "we got a little distracted." Daryl gave him an exasperated look and Carol's hand flew up to her mouth in an attempt to silence her cackling. He smiled proudly and his eye's fell to Carol's left hand.

"I see Daryl was the first one to doodle on your cast, there…" He smiled, knowingly at Daryl and the hunter responded with his favorite finger.

Maggie approached with Judith in tow, both beaming at Carol.

"So, someone here told me the news," she thumbed at Judith and the little girl beamed brighter at the three adults sat against the wall, "congratulations, you two." She sat next to Glenn and twisted her own wedding ring on her finger.

"I'll bet you're both excited. Our first Christmas and a marriage in the same night." Maggie smiled kindly at the two of them.

"Yeah…" Carol trailed off and she quickly glanced at the jewelry Maggie was playing with.

Carol's eyes fell to the intricate setting of the stone, her gaze soon falling to the wrinkly gauze bandage on her finger. In another time, she may have been jealous of the pair next to them. She never got the chance to have nice things in the old world or this world, but she knew she would just worry too much about losing an expensive ring. Carl thought that Maggie had felt this way, too, because she tried several years ago to find a chain to hang her bands from on her neck. She had remarked to Glenn that, though it was symbolic, it was unnecessary. What really mattered was the man who had given it to her. She wasn't married to a shiny piece of jewelry, she was married to the man she fell asleep next to every night. Presently, she had yet to win that argument, but Carol loved that Daryl had been thoughtful enough to know that she could stand to live without a pretty trinket.

"Now don't go hurting yourself on that finger jus' so you got somethin' to remind you." Daryl picked up her left hand, inspecting his handiwork.

"You're right," Carol sighed, "I'll just never take this one off."

Daryl hung his head and he sighed pinching the bridge of his nose, "Jesus, woman, if you want a real ring, we can find a real ring."

Carol brushed his hand away from his face and leaned in to let her lips gently brush against his. She giggled at how flustered he had gotten.

"I've known how you've felt about me for years now," their eyes were smoldering with passion for eachother, "do you think I need a ring to remind me?" She pressed their foreheads together and maintained her sultry stare. It wasn't a huge gesture, but it was enough to catch the eye of the young woman to Daryl's right.

Maggie bent her head and whispered gently to her husband, "I think we should leave these two alone; they'll join us soon enough."

Glenn helped Maggie up and knitted their fingers together. She glanced quickly at the two adults still on the ground. She had figured Daryl a passionate man, but the scene on the floor was positively heartbreaking. She knew there would be no separating them unless it was by their own volition. It made her happy to see Carol, the woman who had helped her through the most, this happy and in love. Glenn began tugging her away, widening his eyes as if to say 'Let's go before this gets gross'.

The two went to join Carl and Father Gabriel. Judith was sprawled on the ground behind them playing with the tinsel like a cat. Maggie bent down to undo the mess she was making. Judith took this as a challenge and Glenn proactively began to untangle the other spools of tinsel far away from her reach. Maggie smiled at her husband and then turned to Judith, who was now making herself a choker to match the one Maggie had. She looked very pleased with herself, even though hers was more closely resembling a lei. This got Maggie thinking…

"Flowers!" Maggie struck herself on the forehead.

"What?" Carl heard her first.

"A wedding needs flowers! I saw a ton of fake ones just a few aisles back!" She stood up and offered her hand to Judith.

"Want to go help me find flowers for Auntie Carol, sweet pea?" She looked to Carl for approval and he hesitantly nodded.

"Take a knife with you, and don't forget a flashlight…" He turned back to his work and shook his head, "You know what? Actually, take a gun." Gabriel shot him a pained expression and he chuckled, "What?" he shrugged theatrically and Gabriel rolled his eyes.

Maggie approached the edge of the camp and waited for Judith to follow behind her. She grabbed a basket from a nearby display and took Judith's hand in hers. At this rate, Maggie believed they would be getting the idea to catch up on all of the forgotten birthdays, too. She smiled and remembered what Glenn had said earlier.

"It ain't about the stuff, it's about who you're spending your time with." She muttered under her breath.

"What, Maggie?" Judith had overheard her musings.

"Oh nothing, sweet pea." she sighed and smiled at the store now basking in the light of the setting sun. The sparkling fixtures caught just enough of the fading daylight to give off an air of something magic in their midst.

"Absolutely nothing."

Coming soon: Much more Christmas-y stuff and thangs and a little surprise for our group! :)