AN: Update six.

Seriously, your comments are great!

Oh and dining room tables in the last chapter? Yeah that was supposed to be a chair from the table…whoops…LOL

A billion typos are probably happening here…

Last one for the night…I think…

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Michonne let Andrea in, glad that Lincoln was closed up in the bedroom. If he started barking and woke Carol up after the long process that getting her to sleep had been, Michonne might have considered stuffing the dog.

"Keep your voice down," Michonne said. "All the babies are asleep and I don't want a single one waking up."

"Should we talk outside?" Andrea asked.

"It'll be fine, just keep it low," Michonne said.

They made their way into the living room and sat side by side on the love seat.

"What did you tell Daryl and Merle?" Michonne asked.

"What was I going to tell them?" Andrea asked, shrugging. "All you told me was that you urgently needed to talk to me, so I told them I had a friend who needed help. Now are you going to tell me why I'm here right now?"

"We have a problem," Michonne said. "A very big problem."

"We as in who we?" Andrea asked. "We as you and me?"

Michonne nodded.

"We're the only two adults around here from what I can tell, so we have a problem," Michonne said.

"What is it?" Andrea asked.

"How do Dixons feel about paternity?" Michonne asked.

Andrea wrinkled her brow at her.

"I don't know. How am I supposed to know that?" Andrea asked.

"I didn't know if they might have mentioned it," Michonne said. "Because our problem is that Carol's pregnant."

Andrea's eyes went wide.

"Oh God!" She said. "You're not serious…"

"Oh I'm serious," Michonne said. "I don't kid about shit like this. She's in the guest room, sleeping finally. She's been crawling around on her hands and knees in the bathroom for most of the night. I tried to feed her some broth because it's nice and soothing and warm. It took her five minutes to drink it and about an hour and half to feel like she was done throwing it back up."

Andrea made a face.

"Is that normal?" Andrea asked.

Michonne shrugged.

"Some women get morning sickness really badly, others hardly get it at all. Apparently for Carol it's more like all day sickness and it's making her its bitch," Michonne said.

Andrea snorted.

"Oh God, I shouldn't laugh about that. If I ever get pregnant God will punish me for laughing," Andrea said.

"So, what do we do? Because we've got to figure out what this stupid fight was about and fix it. Neither damn one of them has any communication skills and now Carol's pregnant and Daryl doesn't even know about it," Michonne said. "We fixed it once before, we can fix it again."

"I don't feel like we fixed it," Andrea said. "I feel like we held it together with string and duct tape because if we'd really fixed it then I don't think it'd be broken this quickly."

"Well get the duct tape because it's come undone," Michonne said. "Carol doesn't even want to tell Daryl. She's insisting that she's going to do this on her own and she doesn't want his help."

Andrea sighed.

"The annoying thing about it is that they both want the same damn thing," Andrea said. "They both want to live in some fucking fairy tale world together."

"So what happened?" Michonne asked.

Andrea shrugged.

"I honestly don't know other than Merle happened and change happened and Daryl decided to go all mini Merle. He freaked out because everything was changing. I don't know what Merle said to him, but he got it in his head that Carol was going to kick him out or run him off or something and he decided he'd get the jump on her and turn tail before she got the chance. Now he's stomping around the apartment acting like he hates everyone who ever lived and he won't talk to a soul," Andrea said.

"Well he may be right, at least now," Michonne said. "Carol's acting like she doesn't want him around anymore. First she was all heartbroken that he was gone and now she's gone total anti-Daryl and doesn't want him near her."

Andrea bit her lip.

"I told Daryl to talk to Hershel Greene. He's like his hero or something. I know he hasn't done it yet, but Hershel could probably get through to him if anyone could," Andrea said.

"And Carol?" Michonne asked. "Do you happen to have something in your magic bag of tricks to get her off of this war path?"

Andrea shrugged.

"Michonne, I can't say I blame her. Daryl literally backed out. No warning, nothing. He walked away and he didn't look back. If she's hurt about it then I'm not surprised," Andrea said.

Michonne rubbed her temples and got up from the couch.

"I need aspirin and a drink, you want anything?" Michonne asked.

"I'm good," Andrea said.

Michonne disappeared and came back a few minutes later with a glass of wine. She sat down on the couch.

"OK, so Carol's got all the right in the world to be pissed that Daryl decided to exit stage left," Michonne said. "Do you think she'd respond, though, if we got Daryl to actually talk to her? To explain why in the world he does the fucked up things that he does?"

"I guess it's worth a try," Andrea said.

"Fine," Michonne said. "Does Daryl work tomorrow?"

"I think so," Andrea said.

"What time does he start?" Michonne asked.

Andrea shrugged.

"He leaves a little before eight, but I don't actually know when he works," Andrea responded.

"Go home and get some rest," Michonne said. "I've got a call to make in the morning and I might need you for interpretation later…or maybe just to help me hide the bodies if it comes down to it."

Andrea laughed and shrugged.

"Whatever…you know where to reach me," she said, getting up. "I'll let myself out."

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"You got a few minutes, son?" Hershel asked, approaching Daryl in the barn. Daryl was opening a bag of feed to dump into the barrels that were almost empty. He turned around, wiping his face.

"You the boss," Daryl said. "I reckon I got all the time ya need me ta have. What'cha need me ta do?" He asked.

"I just want to have a little talk with you," Hershel said.

Daryl had no idea what Hershel wanted to talk to him about, but he sincerely hoped he hadn't done anything wrong. He was starting to feel like things were pretty shitty these days and the last damn thing he needed was to be looking for another job in this Billy squat town.

"I ain't done nothin' have I?" Daryl asked, trying to scan his memory for any request that Hershel might have made that he hadn't complied with.

Hershel smiled and shook his head.

"No, son, nothing like that," Hershel said.

Daryl shifted his weight, waiting for the old man to begin talking. Hershel looked at him, though, like he had some kind of expectation.

"What'cha need ta talk about?" Daryl asked. He didn't have anything that he felt he could say to Hershel, so he wasn't sure what the old man might be coming to him for council for.

"Why don't you take a walk with me?" Hershel asked.

Daryl shrugged and followed Hershel out of the barn. They started down across the fields and Daryl walked in silence behind the old man trying to figure out what he could possibly have on his mind.

"How are things with Carol Ann and that dog she's got?" Hershel asked.

Daryl shrugged a little.

"Fine, I reckon," Daryl responded.

Hershel turned to him a little.

"You mean you don't know?" Hershel asked.

Daryl shook his head.

"Ain't seen her in a bit," Daryl responded. He knew that Hershel had a soft spot for Carol, and he didn't really know if he wanted to open the whole can of worms about the fact that they weren't exactly speaking. Hershel continued on, and Daryl followed him until they came to the edge of the property where there was an old tree that had a roughly made stone bench sitting under it. Hershel sat down on the bench and motioned to Daryl to join him. Daryl sat and fished in his pocket, plucking out a cigarette. "Ya care if I smoke?" He asked. Hershel shook his head, so Daryl lit the cigarette.

"This farm used to be my daddy's old farm," Hershel said.

Daryl nodded a little.

"You know what he used to call this old tree?" Hershel asked, looking behind him at the tree. Daryl shook his head. He wasn't even sure what kind of tree the old thing was. "He used to call it the courtin' tree," Hershel said. "He said that under this old tree was the first place he ever kissed my mama."

Daryl nodded his head. He didn't really care about what Hershel was saying, but the old man was paying him so he couldn't exactly leave.

"I brought Jo out here when we were first dating," Hershel said. He chuckled. "I brought her out here a few times, actually. This was where I proposed to her."

Daryl didn't respond.

"Do you know that when Jo and I were dating we broke up four times?" Hershel asked.

Daryl shook his head. He didn't know how he would be expected to know that, but the detail surprised him. He couldn't imagine Hershel and Miss Jo breaking up even once, less likely four times. Hershel smiled at him.

"The first time we broke up it was because her parents thought that she could do better than being a farmer's wife," Hershel said. He was looking at the ground instead of at Daryl, so Daryl didn't respond. "They were probably right, too. Jo had the attention of most of the boys that we went to school with and some of them went on to be doctors…moved on to better places than Sweet Junction."

"Why'd ya break up after that?" Daryl asked.

"The second time," Hershel said, "was because I kissed Mary Jane Harper at the Sweetgrass Festival and Jo saw it."

Daryl was surprised.

"Why'd ya kiss her then?" He asked.

Hershel chuckled.

"I suppose because I could," Hershel said. He shrugged. "When you're young you do things sometimes, just because you can do them."

Daryl supposed that was reasonable.

"The third time we broke up was because it was Jo's turn to be foolish. She thought she wanted to court some boy. I don't even remember his name…" Hershel said.

"And the fourth?" Daryl asked.

"I was late to our wedding," Hershel said. "Jo was as mad as a wet hen and she had every right to be. I went out drinking the night before to celebrate the wedding and no one remembered to get up on time to be at the church. She broke up with me right out behind the church, just screaming and crying and telling me her daddy was right and she never should have agreed to marry me."

"How'd ya get her back after that one?" Daryl asked. He couldn't imagine a woman would overcome something like that very easily.

"I said I was sorry," Hershel said, laughing a little.

"That's it?" Daryl asked.

Hershel nodded.

"I let her have her hissy fit. Then I told her I was sorry. She wasn't satisfied, of course, so I marched right into that church and walked right up to the front and I confessed my sins to everyone waiting there. Jo, she was standing in the back, she just listened. When I was done, I went back down the aisle and told her that I wouldn't do anything like that again. I'd always be on time and I wouldn't hurt her feelings or scare her into believing I wasn't coming when she thought I should be there," Hershel said. "She agreed to marry me."

"An' then ya was always there?" Daryl asked.

Hershel laughed. He shook his head.

"Oh no…I was just getting started," he said. "More than once I broke every promise I ever made to that woman, and she broke more than one or two to me."

Daryl didn't understand any of this.

"Why ya tellin' me this?" Daryl asked.

"Because, son, someone told me that you kind of thought you wanted to be like me one day," Hershel said. "And I'm flattered that you would want to be like me, but I think you need to understand a little more about who I am if you're going to decide you want to model yourself after me. You might find out we're already more alike than you think."

"Andrea told you that?" Daryl asked. He should have known she'd go sticking her nose where it didn't belong.

Hershel shook his head.

"No, Daryl. I haven't talked to Andrea. Now, would you like to tell me what it is that makes you think you want to be like me?" Hershel asked. "I know that you want to have a relationship like mine, but what is it exactly that you think I have?"

Daryl felt his face burn. He didn't really want to talk to Hershel about what he thought about things. He felt kind of foolish trying to put these things into words.

"Ya happy," Daryl said. "You an' Miss Jo, y'all always happy an' smilin' at each other."

Hershel chuckled again.

"We are happy, Daryl, we're very happy…but we're not always smiling. Just like every couple we have our ups and downs. It's going to happen any time two people try to make a life together. You're two halves and you try to make a hole, but the pieces never quite fit perfectly," Hershel said.

"So how come ya been married so long if ya don't work together right?" Daryl asked.

"Oh we work," Hershel said. "Just because something isn't perfect, doesn't mean it's no good. We just know not to give up. There's a reason that we started out together, and there's a reason that we ended up back together every time we broke apart. We just have to remember that for as bad as we think it is when it's bad, it's that good when it's good…and all in all, the good outweighs the bad."

Daryl sighed.

"So who called ya?" He asked.

"It doesn't matter," Hershel said. "Do you want to tell me what happened with you and Carol Ann?"

Daryl shrugged.

"I don't really know what happened," he said. "It got outta hand, I reckon."

"I see," Hershel said. "How did they get out of hand?"

"Carol's changin'," Daryl said. "She's got her a new house an' she's goin' ta school an' she's wantin' ta be somethin' big…she ain't gon' want me for long…"

"So you decided to run while you could still do it with your pride?" Hershel asked.

Daryl didn't think it sounded good when Hershel put it that way. He wasn't sure if that was exactly what he'd intended to do or not.

"I just figured that if she was gonna end up gettin' tired a' me too, I'd just go ahead an' take care of it," Daryl said.

Hershel nodded.

"Sounds reasonable," Hershel said. "If you know that she was going to decide to just up and get rid of you, of course it makes sense to go ahead and do it yourself, right? I mean that way you're in control of when it happens. You did know for sure that she was going to do that, right?"

Daryl chuckled at the facial expression Hershel made at him.

"I'm sorry I done it now," Daryl said. "But I ain't sure how ta fix it. I don't know how ta live in her new world an' I don't want her realizin' that I ain't what she wants me ta be."

"What's so different, Daryl, about this new world that Carol lives in that wasn't there before? What's changed since the day we sat on the back of the truck and you asked me about her hound dog?" Hershel asked.

Daryl shrugged.

"A lot's different. She's moved into a new house an' it just don't feel like I fit there," Daryl said. "It don't feel like it's my house…and if what Merle says is true, then she's gon' start talkin' ta people that I don't know…people that ain't gon' think she needs ta be with someone like me."

"You mean like Jo's daddy felt about me?" Hershel asked. "Daryl, what do you feel about Carol Ann? Do you love her?"

Daryl hate that question most of all. He wasn't sure if he loved her or not. He wasn't sure if he really knew how he was supposed to feel when he loved someone. He loved his mama, but the way he felt about her was different than he felt about Carol.

He chewed at his cuticle, wishing he knew how to respond. It was supposed to be a simple yes or no answer and he knew that much, but he just didn't know which one was correct.

"How do ya know if ya love someone?" He asked finally.

Hershel looked at him a minute, like he was thinking. Then he smiled at him.

"That's a good question," Hershel said. "And I don't think there's a clear answer. I think it depends on who it is and how you love them. Love is always different. For instance the love I feel for Jo is different than the love I feel for my children. Let me ask you this…" Hershel paused and thought for a minute longer, "if I told you, sitting right here, that you'd never see Carol Ann again…ever…how would you feel?"

Daryl shrugged and shook his head.

"I don't know," he said. "Ain't a very good question."

Hershel chuckled.

"Do you miss her?" Hershel asked.

Daryl nodded. He did miss her. He missed nearly everything about her. Hershel nodded at him in response.

"What would you say if I said you had to spend the rest of your life, until you're even older than I am, waking up and looking at her every single morning?" Hershel asked.

Daryl shrugged.

"I reckon it'd be OK," Daryl said. "I don't mind wakin' up with her."

"So it's not waking up with her that you got scared of, right? You ran out because you were afraid of not waking up with her. Afraid that she wouldn't let that happen?" Hershel asked.

Daryl nodded.

Hershel smiled and squeezed Daryl's shoulder.

"I'm no expert, Daryl, and I've been wrong on many occasions, about many things, but I would venture to say that you're in love," Hershel said. "If you love her, there's a chance that she loves you, you know. And if she does love you, she's probably not going to ask you to go anywhere…at least not for a long time. Sometimes Miss Jo sends me out to the barn for a while, but she always lets me back in later."

"What if she changes her mind, though?" Daryl asked.

"What if she doesn't?" Hershel responded. "Why don't you try apologizing, Daryl? Give it a chance. You're worried that she might think you don't fit in her world, but instead of trying to fit in her world, why don't you help her shape that world to fit you? If you're in love with her, and she's in love with you, you'll make it work."

"How do I know if she loves me?" Daryl asked.

Hershel laughed a hearty laugh this time.

"One of the most interesting things about women, Daryl, is that they usually have a sixth sense of sorts about love. They use their emotions a lot. I bet if you came right out and asked her, she'd be able to tell you if she loved you," Hershel said. "Miss Jo was the first one to let me in on the secret that she loved me…and it wasn't long after that when I came around to realizing that I felt the same way."

"She ain't talkin' ta me right now," Daryl said. "I think I mighta messed up pretty bad."

"Late for your own wedding bad?" Hershel asked, winking at Daryl. "My sources tell me she'll probably talk to you, one way or the other. Should I let them know you're willing to apologize and try again?"

"This is the second time I had ta do this," Daryl said.

"It takes some of us a time or two to really figure out what we want," Hershel said, nodding his head. "Or four…that's a good number too."

Daryl chuckled.

"So are you willing to talk it out with my sources or what?" Hershel asked.

Daryl nodded.

"Yeah, I think I am," he said. "I just hope I know the right thing ta say."

"Oh, son," Hershel said, "you'll never know the right thing to say before you're there. In fact, most of the time you won't even know you've said the right thing until after you've said it. That's one of the fun things about relationships."

Daryl chuckled at the old man's grin.

"Sounds complicated," Daryl said.

Hershel nodded.

"That's what makes it all so exciting," Hershel said. He stood up and Daryl followed suit, heading back toward the house with him. "Daryl, I also heard that you have a brother."

"Merle?" Daryl asked.

Hershel nodded.

"Next time you need advice on how to do things my way, ask me…not Merle," Hershel said.

"Ya sure ya didn't talk ta Andrea?" Daryl asked.

Hershel chuckled.