The More Things Change

Carol slept the sleep of the just and the mildly intoxicated. She slept later than usual and woke up when Michonne knocked on her bedroom door and announced, "Time to get your skinny white ass out of bed. You have been slacking way too long, girl. Get up, we need to work out."

Carol glanced at Daryl's side of the bed, no Daryl. Judith wasn't in her portable crib. She dressed quickly and went to join Michonne at the kitchen. All signs of last evening's debauchery were cleaned up and the coffee was made. Michonne slid Carol an already filled up cup and she took a grateful sip. Andrea and Beth were leaning on their elbows looking a little worse for wear.

Michonne viewed them scornfully; apparently Super Woman was also above being hung over. She shook her dreadlocks and handed out some protein bars. "Most of the menfolk have gone into town to talk to other menfolk about whatever the hell menfolk talk about. Rick took Judith to Jo so that we could get some sleep. Glenn and Jon are out at the barn trying to see what needs to be done there. Carl and Arya are with them". Maggie came down the stairs shielding her eyes from the bright morning sun.

Soon they were outside in the yard with their weapons working out under the cruel and malicious eye of Michonne. She went easy on them at first but soon they were being pushed as hard as ever. Carol enjoyed the workout; they had been too busy surviving to take the time to work out with their weapons. They worked until Michonne decided that they had sweated out all of last night's alcohol, most of the electrolytes in the body, and at least a day's worth of calories. Carol noticed that Emily was standing at the gate and she staggered over to her as the work out ended.

Emily wanted to invite them over for some food. Jo was making something light for lunch. Carol protested, "She doesn't have to feed us all the time". Emma laughed, "She loves to cook and she needs to keep busy today." Carol gave her an inquiring look and Emma went on, "There was an incident last night in the town. A couple of drunks got killed by a car, they turned and we lost some people and the men are doing a house to house search to make sure everything is okay. We think they'll be back soon, so take a shower and come on over."

Carol felt an immediate twinge of worry for Daryl; his shoulder needed to heal and chasing down walkers was dangerous. The other women were listening now and she couldn't give in to fear. "We'll be there as soon as we shower, but for certain we do the cleaning up".

Jo had lunch just about ready when they got there; Judith was sitting on Emma's lap and playing with a toy. Jo greeted them with a hug and a smile; she acted as if she hadn't a care in the world, but Carol noticed that Jo kept glancing at the kitchen clock.

Carol and Emma walked up to the barn while they were waiting for the men to come back from town. Carol had not a chance to see the barn from the inside; it looked like a very well kept barn from the outside, but she could see that from the inside it was a compact but complete home. The kitchen floor was tiled but the rest of the house still just had the subflooring. Glenn gave her the tour. He and Jonathan had spent the morning sorting out what was there and what was needed. The bathrooms were in place, all the plumbing and electrical was done throughout the house, but the walls weren't finished, the floors weren't in place. The windows had not been put in place, the solar arrays had not been put in, and there was a lot to do. Carol smiled at Glenn, "Welcome home, now get to work". He looked at her earnestly, "Carol, all this belongs to you." Carol smacked him on the head, "Have you not figured out by now that all this belongs to us? My grandmother wanted you to have it, I have a house, and we'll probably have to build some more, but this one is for the Green Team right now. It's time to go get something to eat. Where are Carl and Arya?"

Arya had been showing Carl around the mountain. She wasn't supposed to be out of the compound unless she was with an adult but Jonathan and Glenn had gotten so wrapped up in the house that they had forgotten about Carl and Arya. Carol was worried about them being out roaming around with walkers on the prowl. Carl's old habit of disappearing might be coming back, but she also knew that he was always carrying weapons and knew how to use them. Emma was a little panicked and they all went outside to look for them. Carl and Arya were just coming back down the path from the mountain. They all walked back to the house together.

The men were going in the gate ahead of them, and they followed in and locked the gates. Daryl waited at the steps for Carol; she lightly touched his shoulder and looked at Daryl. "Hershel looked at it and changed the bandage. He said it looked fine, "Daryl said. "What about the walkers?" Carol asked. "We tracked them down and we think we got them all. Let's go eat, no one got up to make breakfast this morning," Daryl said grumpily but his eyes were teasing. Carol gave him that sideways look and promised, "I'll make it up to you later". Daryl followed her into the house with a smile on his face.

Lunch was sandwiches and drinks in the center courtyard again. Ashton waited until everyone had eaten and then asked for their attention. He filled everyone in on the walker situation; it had been handled quickly and everything was back to normal. He had met with militia leaders this morning and they had been concerned about their level of preparation. The battle at the prison had opened their eyes to the danger of being overrun by war lords like the Governor or by walker herds. One of the trucks ferrying some of the fighters back yesterday had to fight their way through a large herd of walkers, and they had gotten through only by some quick maneuvering of the truck driver and by unloading all the ammo they had to clear a path. They wanted to combine all their forces into one fighting group and they wanted Rick to lead it.

Rick stood up, he told the group that it wasn't just him they wanted; they wanted all of them to be part of the MMB. He needed them; he had tried and failed in the past when he tried to take on too much. He needed their help and these people who had went to battle with them needed their help. Carol knew that they would join this bigger fighting group; she had a strong feeling that it was why they had been were supposed to come here. Everyone in the group had suffered so much pain, lost so much, but they had come through as stronger people.

The afternoon was spent working; the men went to help at the barn. Rick and Tyreese began to move the solar arrays over to the barn while Emma and Jonathan began to organize the arrays. Glenn, Maggie, and Daryl worked on drywall. Daryl had hung enough dry wall in the past to keep them from making mistakes in hanging it. He showed them how to tape and mud it as well.

Carol, Beth, Andrea, and Michonne worked at the house. Beth went to the basement and organized the food storage area so that they would have a better idea of how much they had and what they would need for the winter. She soon gravitated toward the barn and Jonathan. Carol and Andrea exchanged a smile as they watched her leave with water for the barn workers. The workers needed water and Beth needed to have some fun in her life.

Carol and Andrea did laundry, cleaned the house, cooked dinner, and made notes on items they would need for the winter. Warmer clothes would be needed, shoes and boots, coats and jackets. Carl was growing like a weed; he would need all new things. They talked about scavenging runs back toward larger metropolitan areas. Carol laughed about their talking about going back down into the lowlands after they had worked so hard to get out. Andrea mused, "The more things change, the more they stay the same".

Michonne cut the grass and trimmed back all the bushes in the yard. She also cut all the brush back from the fences. She washed the windows on the outside and checked out another outbuilding that they had overlooked because it was behind some trees. It had potting soil, heirlooms seeds, and the materials needed to make a greenhouse.

Daryl returned to the house before the others and took a shower. He changed into clean cargo pants and a blue shirt. Carol remembered that Daryl had worn the same clothes the day that he had begun to patch up their rift. He had come into the cafeteria that morning looking so handsome that she had to keep reminding herself not to be a doormat. She loved him more now than she did then and that blue shirt still worked for her. Andrea and Michonne joined Daryl at the counter to watch Carol finish dinner. Carol felt a surge of happiness; just hanging out with people that you love while you cooked dinner was a pleasure that she had never had. The others trooped in, and the house soon filled with hungry people and lots of noise.

They ate dinner at the long table, everyone talking and taking their time. They ate slowly enjoying the meal and the companionship. Andrea had made apple pie for dessert; she was an indifferent cook but loved to bake. Joaquin showed up as the pies were being cut, and a new round of teasing began. Maggie and Glenn did the dishes and cleaned the kitchen.

Joaquin filled them in on the news. No more walkers had been seen in the area. Hershel was coming back tomorrow but was going to stay with Ashton and Jo. They were also inviting anyone else who wanted to stay to move into the renovated garage. Beth, Maggie, and Glenn agreed to move in tomorrow. There was reluctance on their part; they wanted to be close to Hershel but they also wanted to stay with their group. Glenn was resolving to work harder on the barn house tomorrow.

Carol and Daryl went for their walk. Canary met them at the door begging to go and Judith held up her arms for Carol to take her. Carol picked her up and looked at Rick, he nodded his assent. Daryl looked a little perturbed at the addition of Canary and Judith. Daryl led Carol up the steep path to the lookout point at the top of the hill. He took Judith from Carol and shifted her to his uninjured arm. They took their time, stopping to look at the hills and talk about their day. There was a large flat rock at the summit and they sat there to enjoy the sunset. Judith sat on Carol's lap and Canary went to sleep by Daryl's leg. It was a spectacular view; Carol commented on the golden glow of the light as sunset neared. Daryl said, " I read somewhere the hour before sunset is called the golden hour. It's supposed to be good for taking photographs. I think it's called elfin light." Carol laughed, "I thought this place was magic when I was a little girl. I thought elves lived here in the woods. Elfin light and magic times, Daryl".

Daryl shifted his position slightly to see Carol a little better. Judith decided that she wanted him and he slid her over to his lap. Carol wished that she had a camera; the image of Daryl with Judith on his lap while Canary slept at his side was so sweet that she leaned over and kissed him.

"I had this all planned you know," Daryl shook his head, "It's not exactly like I figured, but it still seems like I ought not waste any elfin light and magic times". He pushed Canary off his leg and slid Judith back to Carol. He got down on his knees in from of Carol and pulled out his looted engagement ring, "I love you, Carol Ann McAllister, I promise to do my best to deserve you for the rest of my life. Please take this ring and marry me."

Carol looked at her Daryl, the golden elfin light made him even more handsome to her, "Yes, I will marry you". He slipped the ring on her finger, the golden light catching the diamonds and making it appear even more beautiful. Judith made a grab for the ring entranced by its brightness. Daryl moved back to her side and kissed Carol while Canary crawled on his lap.

Daryl had the wedding all planned out. Next week, right on this rock, at sunset, Hershel would perform the ceremony. Daryl figured that they could bring Hershel up the hill in a four wheeler. Reception at Ashton and Jo's house. Carol asked, "Did your book the reception hall before you asked me?" Daryl just laughed, "No, but I figured that there was no way in hell Jo wouldn't be doing the reception." Carol admired her ring; he had chosen well when he looted it.

They spent a quiet few minutes together, just the four of them watching the world say goodbye to another day and then they walked took the long and windy path that would take them home.