AN: Here's a little chapter for you. It's sort of a transition/extra information chapter. Basically it's one of those nice little chapters that just contains some stuff that needs to be thrown out there to tie in some future stuff.
I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think!
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Daryl offered to drive Merle to work mostly because Tyreese was sending him out to work with some of the others in some row house development that was clear on the far end of Sweet Junction and pretty damn close to the Greene farm. The drive would have put Andrea more than out of her way, but for Daryl it was more or less the same direction he was going anyway.
So Merle had met him in the driveway and was riding with him to work.
"Ya need ta fuckin' lay off Carol's ass," Daryl growled at Merle while they were riding.
Merle chuckled in response.
"Ain't jokin'," Daryl said. He sighed. "She's damn sensitive 'bout this shit an' if ya keep callin' her fat I'm the one that's gotta deal with that shit."
"She is fat, Derlina," Merle said. "Or ain't'cha noticed?"
Daryl growled at his brother and rolled his window down a little, lighting a cigarette while balancing first one hand and then the other on the steering wheel.
"She's fuckin' knocked up an' that's my kid," Daryl responded. "An' if ya don't stop callin' her ass fat I'ma make damn good an' sure I make ya life a fuckin' livin' hell if ya ever knock Andrea up."
Merle howled and cracked his own window, lighting a cigarette as well.
"Now that shit ain't gonna happen, 'cause Andrea an' I know where the fuck babies come from," Merle said. "'Sides, Andrea already thinks she's as big as a damn house…don't reckon it'd be too damn hard ta convince her of it."
Daryl shook his head. Carol had woken up in no better mood than she'd gone to sleep in. Then she'd griped the whole time she'd made breakfast and barely eaten a slice of toast, looking at him like he was just as bad as fucking Judas Iscariot for suggesting she might ought to eat another.
"Just hang that shit up, OK? Damn…ya ain't got no idea how damn much it pisses it her off," Daryl said.
Merle hummed something and then chuckled.
"Fine…" he said. "I don't know 'bout pregnant women, but like I said, Andrea's obsessed with fat too…don't know what the fuck her problem is neither. She wants ta get fuckin' buck ass naked an' be talkin' ta me 'bout some damn dimple here or some shit there…don't even know I can't even see the fuckin' shit she's pointin' to over the fact that my brain's done good an' damn set on her tits."
Daryl laughed in spite of himself. He didn't like to think of Andrea naked…he liked thinking of his brother naked even less…and anything beyond simple nudity almost made him want to bleach his brain. He assumed, though, that some things were just universal.
"Reckon it's differ'nt when they get all pregnant though," Merle said.
Daryl nipped at his thumb, his cigarette balance between his fingers.
"Pfffttt…ain't no damn different…'cept her damn tits is even better now than they were," Daryl said. "An' lately she's been makin' me feel like she's gonna wear my fuckin' dick out."
Merle growled.
"Ya ain't man enough, Derlina?" He asked with a chuckle.
"Ya ain't got no damn idea what I'm talkin' 'bout…but'cha fuckin' lil' fat speech ended that shit too. Wouldn't even let me in the fuckin' room this mornin' while she was gettin' dressed 'cause now ya done fuckin' called her ass fat an' that's apparently made her fatter than she was yesterday mornin' when I last seen her ass naked," Daryl said.
Merle shrugged, flicking his cigarette butt out of the cracked window and cranking it up.
"Then I earned ya dick a break," Merle said with a chuckle.
"Just lay the fuck off…an' I mean that shit," Daryl warned, following suit with his own cigarette butt.
Merle sighed.
"Fuckin' women…Fine, Daryl…ain't gon' say nothin' else 'bout'cha wife's ever expandin' ass…" Merle replied.
"Merle…" Daryl growled.
Merle chuckled again.
"Last one…I swear…" he responded.
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"Daddy in his office?" Michonne asked Carol, coming through the doors from where she'd stepped out to run a few errands. She dropped a paper bag on the desk beside Carol.
"He left about fifteen minutes ago," Carol offered. She turned her attention back to what she was doing at her desk.
"He left you here alone?" Michonne asked. "You're not supposed to be here alone…"
Carol sighed.
"He's been gone not even fifteen minutes," Carol said. "No one's even been by the door."
"What if Ed had come by?" Michonne asked.
"I've got my gun in my purse," Carol offered. "And I really think that not even Ed would mess with me today."
"Mmm…" Michonne grunted.
She'd come in that morning, taken care of a few things while shut in her office, and then disappeared to do errands. She and Carol hadn't spoken until that moment more than the light greeting shared in passing.
"Rough day?" Michonne asked.
Carol grunted her response and pretended that the work she was doing, from the looks of it financial records, was fascinating.
"I brought you a muffin…" Michonne offered. "When I passed by, Lula was putting out her freshly baked sign and I couldn't resist. I got Daddy a cranberry one…but I guess he'll get it tomorrow."
Michonne picked up the paper bag and opened it. She dug around in it, coming out with a chocolate muffin that she sat to the side.
"I got you blueberry and banana nut…I didn't know which one you'd prefer," Michonne said. "Although, if you're having a bad day I'll give you my chocolate one, but the caffeine really isn't good for the baby."
Carol glanced at her a moment.
"I don't want the muffin," Carol said. "You can have all of them."
Michonne raised her eyebrows.
"These are Lula's muffins," Michonne said. "Fresh baked…fresh…really fresh. Are you sick?"
Carol snickered in spite of herself at Michonne's reaction to the fact that she was refusing the muffin.
"I'm on a diet and I don't need a muffin," Carol responded.
Michonne leaned against the desk, peeling the paper wrapper from around the chocolate muffin.
"A diet?" Michonne asked. "Did you fail your glucose test? Because I failed the first one I took with Angie, but after that I didn't have any problems…I guess the test was faulty."
Carol glanced back at Michonne who was indulging in the muffin now.
"I didn't fail my test," Carol said. "I passed the test. My sugar is fine."
She looked back at the sheet of paper she'd been working over, though she hadn't made a bit of progress since she began.
"So eat the muffin…you're pregnant…not dieting. Did your doctor tell you to diet?" Michonne asked.
Carol sighed.
"No…I told me to diet," Carol said. She dropped the pencil loudly on the desk in front of her and turned her entire chair at an angle to face Michonne. "I've gained fourteen pounds, Michonne."
Michonne stared blankly at Carol.
"So?" She asked after a second.
Carol went wide eyed.
"So? So I've gained fourteen pounds in six months!" Carol said. "That's terrible…and it's unhealthy…and it's because you bring muffins in here all the time…and danishes…and everyone is always telling me to eat more of this and eat more of that…and because of it I've gained fourteen pounds!"
Michonne chuckled.
"Fourteen pounds really isn't all that much," Michonne said. "If you're losing your mind over fourteen pounds then I'm not even going to tell you how much I gained with Angie…and it was even worse with Celine. Fourteen pounds really isn't bad."
Carol frowned at Michonne.
"What?" Michonne asked. "You're nothing but bones and belly anyway…fourteen pounds isn't hurting a thing. If your weight was off, your doctor would tell you…trust me. Besides, even if you thought you weighed too much…which you don't…they always tell you to talk to your doctor before you start a diet, and that's doubly true if you're going to go on some diet while you're pregnant. You don't just up and decide not to eat."
Carol rolled her eyes at Michonne but didn't respond verbally.
"Keep doing that," Michonne said. "Your eyes will stick that way."
Carol chuckled.
"I think you've had too much sugar," she offered. "Either that or you're just too happy for me right now."
"Wedding stuff," Michonne said, taking another bite of her muffin.
"Have you got everything planned out yet?" Carol asked.
Michonne only had two weeks to go to get everything ready for the wedding and she would be inclined to freak out if it wasn't prepared well in advance, especially since the invitations were already printed and ready to be sent out before too long.
"Almost," Michonne said. She swallowed hard, apparently having a hard time getting the muffin down without anything to drink. "I was thinking…you know how I asked you and Andrea to be the bridesmaid and the matron of honor?"
Carol nodded.
"Well, I was thinking that in two months you might not want to be standing on your feet that long in front of a church," Michonne said.
Carol smiled.
"Are you ditching me?" Carol asked.
Michonne shook her head.
"Not ditching you," Michonne said. "I was going to see if you wanted to bring the girls down the aisle. I want them to be the bridesmaids, but let's face it, they'll never make it all the way down on their own. This way you could bring them down and when they get down to the end you could just go and sit on the front row instead of having to stand up there."
Carol nodded.
"Sounds like a good idea," she said. "I'm probably not going to be elegant enough for your wedding anyway."
Michonne rolled her eyes this time.
"Forget it," she said. "Be the matron of honor. Stand up front for the entire thing…"
Carol swatted Michonne on the thigh since it was the closest part of her body to her.
"I'm just teasing," Carol said. "I think you're right and it would be better for me to just bring the girls down. I was a little concerned about it, but I didn't want to say anything to you if you had your heart set on the way it was."
Michonne nodded and polished off the muffin, leaning around to toss the paper wrapper into the trash can under the desk. She dusted her hands off and wiped at the corners of her mouth with her thumb, being currently without a napkin.
"I wanted to talk to you about something else," Michonne said.
Carol raised her eyebrows at Michonne to ask what it was instead of actually voicing the words.
"Ty's little sister is coming to spend the weekend this weekend," Michonne said.
Carol shrugged a little.
Tyreese's little sister went to college about two hours away from Sweet Junction and a couple of times she'd spent the weekend with Tyreese and Michonne. She'd spent the weekend with him frequently, so it was understood, before he moved in with Michonne but her visits had been more sparse since the two of them had started living together.
"I was thinking we should do a big dinner," Michonne said. "We can do it anywhere really…my house, your house…Andrea's if she wants to show it off. I think it would be nice if Sasha got to meet everyone."
Sasha knew about everyone, at least in theory, but when she came for the weekends they usually didn't venture too far outside "family plans" that Tyreese made and Sasha hadn't actually met the Dixon family.
"You mean everyone like who everyone?" Carol asked, raising her eyebrows again and sitting back to absentmindedly trail her fingers over her belly.
"Merle…Daryl…you…Andrea," Michonne ticked off on her fingers. "Maybe ask the Greene's over?"
Carol shrugged.
"Do you think she's really ready to meet everyone?" Carol asked. "I mean do you want her to meet everyone?"
Michonne groaned a little.
"I mean…Tyreese and I are getting married in a couple of months. If Sasha's going to be coming to visit frequently, then she needs to meet everyone. I'm not ashamed of my friends," Michonne said.
Carol chuckled.
"And we appreciate that," Carol said. "Still, I recognize that…well…we might all be a little much for someone. If you want to do a dinner, though, then I think it's a great idea. We'll invite everyone. We'll make it a big affair and try to make her really feel welcome. We can do it at my house…or really wherever you want."
Michonne gnawed at her lip.
"Let's do it at yours," she said. "At least there we've got Lincoln to entertain the girls, and I don't really know what kind of a housekeeper Andrea is."
Carol chuckled again.
"She's a good housekeeper," Carol offered, "or at least she tries to be. Merle gives her a run for her money."
"I bet," Michonne said.
"We can do it at my house, though," Carol said. "It's no problem."
"Can you tell Merle to be on his best behavior?" Michonne asked.
Carol sighed.
"I can tell him, but it's Merle. You might want to give her some kind of prep course on what to expect from Merle," Carol said. "Maybe prepare her so it's not so bad if he forgets he's on his best behavior."
Michonne chuckled.
"Am I making a huge mistake?" Michonne asked.
"You mean asking her to dinner with everyone?" Carol asked.
Michonne nodded.
"What kind of a girl is she?" Carol asked.
Michonne shrugged.
"She's sweet," Michonne said with some hesitation. "She's a little judgmental maybe. She's not quite as accepting as Ty is. She's the little sister…"
"Spoiled? Pampered?" Carol offered.
Michonne sighed.
"I don't want to say that because it sounds like I disapprove of her, and I don't," Michonne said. "I just mean that she's sweet, but she's not like Ty."
Carol smiled.
"Very few people are," she said.
Michonne nodded.
"Warn her ahead of time, maybe," Carol said. "It'll lessen the shock. I'll make sure my crowd knows to be on their best behavior…no nudity and no public sex…I'll ask the men to wear shirts at the table and I'll ask Andrea not to swing from the light fixtures."
Michonne scoffed at Carol's joke.
"And I'll even put my shoes on," Carol offered, winking at Michonne.
Michonne shook her head.
"You're not right sometimes," Michonne said.
Carol smiled.
"I know…but that's why I fit in around here," Carol said. She straightened up a little. "All jokes aside, though, we'll do our best not to embarrass you. It'll be a nice dinner. She shouldn't be too mortified."
Michonne sighed and stood up from her position.
"You know…it really isn't her that I'm all that worried about," Michonne said. She laughed lightly. "I think I've been more tense about thinking about how she might upset one of my friends…"
"Then we'll be sure to put our tough skin on before she gets there too," Carol said. "It's important to you to impress Tyreese's sister…and that means it's important to us. Just have a little faith."
"I've got all the faith of a mustard seed," Michonne said with a smile. She sighed and pushed the paper bag at Carol. "Stop with your stupid diet mess and eat a muffin. I've got a few things to get done."
"I don't want the muffin…" Carol protested.
"Eat it," Michonne said, starting down the hall. "If you don't eat it then I'll cram it down your throat…" she called.
"Warming up for the dinner party?" Carol asked with a chuckle.
"Eat the muffin or you're going to find out," Michonne called back.