AN: Here we go, a little chapter to get us started in the next time jump. There will be flashbacks from here out, but I'll mark them when they happen.

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

10 YEARS LATER

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"Carol!" Daryl called as he came through the house and into the kitchen where Carol was working on getting breakfast ready for him. "They somethin' I did that I don't get no coffee this mornin'?"

"No," Carol replied. "I just forgot…I'm sorry…there's a lot…I have a lot on my mind this morning."

Daryl leaned around her while she was shuffling food around to fix his plate and kissed her on the cheek.

"S'alright, I got it," he said. "Fix you one too?"

"Might as well," Carol commented. "Two strips or three of bacon?"

"Always three," Daryl said. "Unless four is an option…"

Carol chuckled.

"Four it is," she said. "I'm not too hungry today anyway."

Daryl fixed himself some coffee and took it, along with her cup, to the table to wait until she brought the plates and sat down with him. She brought the plates, but went straight back to the kitchen to start cleaning up, apparently distracted enough to forget that she needed to eat at the moment…and Daryl already had the gut feeling that he knew what was going on. It had been going on regularly since they'd gotten married, nearly nine years before.

He got up from the table and went into the kitchen.

"What's on your mind?" He asked to her back.

She shook her head.

"Don't shake your head no at me," Daryl said. "I asked you what's goin' on…talk ta me."

Carol turned around and she wore the deep frown that she got whenever she was trying not to cry. It wasn't going to be a great day…it would be alright, but it wasn't going to be great.

"Happened again," she said, shrugging slightly. "Always does…"

Daryl stepped forward and hugged her and she wrapped her arms around him tight.

Every month for nine years they'd hoped and prayed and everything else that she'd turn up pregnant. She wanted them to have a baby so bad that it consumed her and the only way that she got distracted was waiting for it all to begin again and dreaming that this month would be the one. And so far every month it had been a letdown.

Daryl wanted to have children with Carol, he really did, but if they never had children he could be fine with that. He wanted a baby…a dozen of them if that's what she wanted…just because she seemed to need it to be completely happy, and he wanted that happiness for her.

He'd taken her to doctors…more and more…even driving to North Carolina with her once to see a guy who claimed to be a specialist. But they all said the same thing…there was no way that they could explain why she hadn't gotten pregnant. She was healthy, she could have a baby…and when they spoke to Daryl in private about the fact that she had already given birth he explained that she'd had the baby when she was young, but she didn't remember it.

Because that was one thing she never remembered and Daryl thought it best not to tell her that she'd once had the thing she wanted so badly and it was gone from her for good.

He knew better, though, than to tell her that it didn't matter to him. He knew better than to say that if they didn't have children he wouldn't mind. He'd done that once, trying to make her feel better, and she'd had some kind of panic attack that was bad enough he'd been afraid she'd actually die…and since then he wouldn't dare to say something of the sort.

"Carol…I hate you bein' like this…what do you gotta do today? Maybe you just need ta…take it easy?" Daryl asked.

He never knew what to say or how to act when she was like this. It tore his heart out that he couldn't fix it and guarantee that she had a baby and that was the end of it.

Carol pulled away and shook her head, forcing on a smile. He wiped at her eye with his thumb.

"I'm fine," she said. "Andrea's coming…we're going to finish up those dresses…I promised they'd be done today. Then I've got to start getting things together to have dinner ready for you tomorrow night. You do remember it's your special day, don't you?"

Daryl smiled and reached for her again, hanging his arms loosely around her waist.

"I do…but, Carol, if you want we can do it another time," Daryl said. "Maybe Andrea ain't the best thing for you right now…"

"It's your birthday," Carol said. "And you're going to have a nice dinner…and that's all there is to it. And Andrea…and Merle…and…Alice and Melodye…and…"

"All the damn brood?" Daryl threw in.

Carol nodded her head.

"Everyone's coming for your dinner," Carol said. "It's set. And I'm not going to ruin that for you. I'll be fine. It just…hit me this morning and I just needed a minute, but I'm fine…"

Daryl frowned.

She was fine, but she wasn't fine.

Carol was always "fine". He was pretty determined that if she somehow cut off one of her own limbs she'd argue that she was fine to keep him from being worried. But he could tell that she wasn't fine because she never was when she knew there wasn't going to be a baby this time. And she was never fine with the stupid church women asked her time and time again when she was going to have a baby…shouldn't she have a baby by now…a woman her age should have already started their family…and so on and so forth.

Daryl leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead.

"You sure? I don't mind if you wanna wait," Daryl said.

"And what, Daryl?" Carol asked. "Tell them…that I couldn't have your birthday dinner because I'm not going to have a baby? I'm never going to have a baby, Daryl…never…and if I start cancelling things because of that then you and I are never going to do anything."

Daryl frowned again.

"You're gonna have a baby," Daryl said. "Might not be right now…but hey…after all this is done? You an' me gonna celebrate my birthday together, right? You an' me gonna…"

He broke off and chuckled, pulling her to him and rubbing his hands up and down her back. She laughed and pushed at his hands, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Oh? Are we? We're having a late birthday celebration?" She teased.

He nodded.

"An' I mighta just been good enough that maybe God'll give me a late birthday present for the both of us," Daryl said.

Carol looked sad again, but she nodded.

"Maybe," she said like she didn't believe it at all. "Tonight we're going to study some, right?"

"Gotta," Daryl replied.

Carol nodded her head at him.

"Good…let's eat?" She asked.

He accepted the invitation to eat breakfast, not wanting to be late to work, and he pulled her to the table so that they could eat, him scarfing his food much faster than she was because he had to get out of the house…whereas her work came to her.

"Need me ta pick up anything today?" Daryl asked.

"I do!" Carol exclaimed, obviously having her memory of what she needed triggered by his offer to run errands for her after work. "I'm not going to be able to make it to the market…so I just need what you forgot to get yesterday."

He raised an eyebrow at her.

"What'd I forget?" He asked. "I got all you asked me for…everythin' you asked for…"

She shook her head.

"Not quite," she said.

Daryl almost snorted at her facial expression. She was "forgetful", at least that's what they called it, so she was enjoying this moment when it was Daryl who was floundering to remember something.

"What'd I forget?" He asked.

"What did you ask me for? For your birthday? What did you want?" Carol asked, prompting him and he chuckled.

He made a face at her.

"I thought I weren't gettin' that for at least a week…an' I didn't know you wanted me ta get it at the market…" Daryl responded.

Carol rolled her eyes at him.

"For after dinner? To eat?" She said, ignoring his comment.

"Your strawberry cake," Daryl said with a smile.

She nodded.

"I got all that for you," Daryl said. "Brought it all in…I'm tellin' you…"

She shook her head.

"No you didn't, Daryl," Carol said. "What's the main ingredient in strawberry cake? What do I really need for strawberry cake to be strawberry cake?"

Daryl laughed as the realization spread over him.

"Strawberries?" He asked.

She smiled and nodded.

"Yeah…OK…I'll get 'em…what else?" He asked.

"You need to go by the butcher's for the meat," Carol said. "I'd go but we'll never get those dresses done today if I do."

He nodded.

"Fine," he said. "I got that too…ain't no big deal."

He finished up his breakfast and drank down the hot coffee as though it weren't nearly as hot as it still was. He was just about to get up from the table when he heard the sound of heavy footsteps outside and Andrea came through the door with the youngest two of her brood, one riding on each hip.

Daryl got up quickly and offered to help her, but she shook her head, putting the oldest of the two down as he began his toddling walk around the house, always looking for things to get into.

Andrea and Merle had been married for eight years. They had five boys and Andrea was busy making what would likely be the sixth. Daryl had long since stopped trying to guess how far along she was with any of them since after the third baby he'd thought it was humorous that they waited to "tell everyone" until she was three months along and Daryl felt like he'd already known for two and a half months just by looking at her.

"Mrs. Jenkins has the other boys," Andrea said, "but she wouldn't keep Hank because he's got a touch of a fever and Allen is teething…she said she can't have that today. I'm sorry, Carol…"

Carol shook her head at Andrea.

"It's fine," she said. "They won't be too much trouble…do you want some breakfast?"

"I'd love some," Andrea said, coming to the table and sitting down, shifting around and settling the youngest of the babies in her lap.

Daryl got up. If Andrea had arrived it was his cue to leave because it meant he was running later than he'd imagined.

He leaned over and kissed Carol quickly before stepping around Hank and nodding at Andrea, giving her a look that he'd given her so many times before that she knew now what it meant without words. It meant tread easy…it meant that Carol wasn't feeling great…and it meant that once again they weren't starting some kind of brood of their own. Andrea flicked her eyes at him with understanding and then he took his leave of both of the women and stepped out the door to get started on his busy day, already looking forward to getting home and hoping that it was a good day for Carol…or at least the best kind she could have right now.