Waya watched the kids as they searched the terrain around the Castle. He, Seth and Adrian decided to have a little 'guy time', like Rand and her woman friends. It wasn't football and beer, but it was something. Seth figured Daryl wouldn't think they were ambushing him if they brought Tsula and Mark with them.

He was proud of Tsula. And Mark. And Jenny. They were the future. Now Daryl was going to have a child. The announcement had been low key. Helen had decided to have a small 'shower' for Michonne and Daryl. Rand had rolled her eyes and flat out refused to do any kind of stupid games. The men, their core group of himself, Seth, Adrian, Tom, Mark, Bradford and Jake, just rolled with it. They mostly served the food and filled the drinks while Daryl and the core group of women; Michonne, Helen, Janet, Tsula and Jenny, had exclaimed over the 'gifts' the couple received. Rand's gifts, a telescope and a compass, and where the hell she'd gotten them they'd never know, had Tsula and Mark playing with them for hours. Michonne had laughed and cried a little. All of the residents had stopped by for a bit to enjoy the occasion. It was nice to see more of those 'ridiculous' rituals surviving this bullshit.

"What?" Daryl looked at him, Seth and Adrian.

"Well, the women have 'lunches'. We thought we'd have 'scouting' trips," Seth answered. "You know, boy scouts and badges and shit."

"No football and beer," he huffed. "I was never a boy scout."

"Me either. That was an American thing," Adrian commented. "My mates and I did football."

"Daryl?" Seth frowned.

"Nah. Wasn't a boy scout," he muttered.

"I was. Eagle Scout actually," Seth hummed. "Built character."

Daryl looked ahead to see Tsula and Mark looking at the ground for tracks; animal, human and walker.

"Look, Daryl, we're not trying to make you talk about your feelings and shit," Waya was smiling a little when he turned his head back. "We want you to know we're your friends. And if you want to talk about something, we'll listen."

He hunched his shoulders a little. He'd never had friends. Merle, but Merle was his brother. Then he was gone. "Thanks," he muttered.

"My mates and I, when I was in the service, would go out to the pub, have a few pints and watch football," Adrian said. "Complain about the women in our lives, our commanding officers, the government."

"My buddies and I would do the same. Seems ridiculous now," Seth knelt down on one knee, watching the kids.

"My friends and I would do the same thing. Sometimes it helped get me through the crap going on in my life at the time," Waya commented.

"This may sound bad, but sometimes I don't miss it," Seth admitted.

"Really?" Adrian raised his eyebrows.

He sighed. "I miss our old way of life but not the bullshit that went with it, you know? Asshole politicians, asshole subordinates, asshole commanding officers, asshole terrorists."

"Bills. I don't miss those," Waya smirked. "No student loan payments for me."

"I don't miss bills, either," Adrian seconded. "Daryl? What don't you miss?"

"Any of it," he snarled and headed toward the kids. He didn't miss any of that shit from his past life. Merle. He missed Merle. He had a better life now then he did before. He stayed away from the stooges and spent more time with the kids. After Tsula and Mark took down a doe he helped them butcher it while Waya and the other two took care of the walkers. After wrapping up the meat Daryl tossed the innards around and left the rest of the body where it fell. Adrian doused it with something, vinegar he noticed when the smell reached his nose, doled out the packs and hustled the kids away. The smell wouldn't hold them for long. If at all. It was somethin' they hadn't tried yet.

After they reached the castle he took the packs and went inside the freezer. When he came back out he saw the stooges just standin' there.

"What?" he barked.

"We thought we'd wind down with a drink in the solar," Adrian held up the bottle.

He stared at the bottle then Waya, Seth and Adrian. They hadn't said much to him after he blurted out he didn't miss nothin'. He didn't. He shrugged and followed Adrian down the hall to the solar. Waya took the bottle and poured them drinks, while Seth, Adrian and him sat down on the sofas. After passing them out Waya sat down.

"You're good with them," Seth acknowledged.

"Good with who?" Daryl looked up from his glass.

"The kids."

"Aye. A natural," Adrian smirked.

"Do you have names picked out yet?" Waya raised an eyebrow before sipping his scotch.

He shrugged. "Nah. 'Chonne wants to wait."

"Until the birth?" Seth asked.

"Yeah. Said people did it before sonogram machines. We got one. Ray don't really know how to use it yet so we're waitin'."

"Huh. You haven't talked about it?" Waya pressed.

"I mean, yeah, we talked about a few different names."

Adrian sipped. "Hmm. Did you and Michonne want to move out?"

"What?" He yelled. "What the fuck? Where in the hell would we go? Fuck you. Me and 'Chonne was here first. Hell, even Rand."

Waya clapped him on the shoulder. He shrugged it off then Waya grabbed his arm, squeezing it. "Daryl, we don't want you and Michonne to leave. We asked if you wanted to move. As in, move to one of the outbuildings. Seth, Adrian and I would be willing to help you remodel one of them for you, Michonne and your baby. I know from when Tsula was born babies take up a lot of space. Some of my friends and I added on to my sister and her boyfriend's house. The rooms are big, no doubt. We were just wondering if you wanted more room is all."

Seth furrowed his brows. "We wouldn't do that to you, Daryl. Or Michonne. You're our friends. We want you stay here in the keep, but like Waya said, babies take up a lot of room."

"Think about it," Adrian suggested. "You and Michonne don't have to make a decision right away. We'll help you whenever."

"Personally, I hope you stay with us, but this is your family. You need to make sure you do what's right for your family," Waya emphasized.

Daryl narrowed his eyes at Waya. Waya was his friend. Seth and Adrian too, he guessed. They'd been through some shit together. He trusted them. "I'll ask her, but, yeah, I wanna stay here."

"Good."

After they just sipped their drinks and talked about the Castle, until the second drink when Daryl finally got the balls. "How do you do it?" he blurted out.

Adrian frowned. "Rand?"

He shrugged. "Yeah. Tried watchin' you three, so I could. You know what? Forget I asked."

"Learn something?" Seth laughed.

"Fuck you, Seth."

He laughed harder. "Calm down, Daryl," he finally choked out.

"We manage," Waya answered dryly.

"We'll talk about most anything with you, Daryl, but not our women. We don't want to know about Michonne," Adrian sniffed.

"Good point," he admitted.

"Did you and Michonne want a girl or a boy?" Seth asked.

"It don't matter to us. A healthy baby."

Adrian raised his glass in a toast. "Hear, hear."

Michonne walked into the office to see Rand sitting at the desk and staring off. Then she wondered when the idea of an office became normal. She shook her head. It didn't matter. The three of them shared an office. Rand didn't react when Michonne sat down in her chair. She watched as Rand idly tapped the side of the laptop.

Michonne thought she'd gotten to know the woman who had climbed over a brick wall and, in essence, became the second person she followed. Rand was a good person. Michonne liked her, not just as a good leader, but as a friend. Their conversation a few months ago had led to others. She smiled a little as she remembered some of the 'girl time' lunches Helen had instituted with herself, Janet and Rand. It was nice. And almost like before.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah. You?" Rand wasn't really seeing her, but was still off in her own little world.

"No."

Rand paid attention then. "What's wrong? Is it the baby? Something in the castle? The horse? The livestock? Jonathan Wilmer?"

Michonne snickered. "No. He's still a dumb ass."

Rand grimaced. "He is. Sometimes I'd like to drop him off where you found him. If he says 'if I ran this place' one more time, I'm doing it. You know what? If he ran this place we'd be dead."

She had to admit Rand had a point. "Threatening to set him up somewhere he could lead has calmed him down some."

"I hope so. Fuck that guy sometimes. So," she sat back in her chair. "Are you okay? You need something for the baby? Aside from a doctor?"

Grady Memorial had ended up being a bust. When the Four got there everyone was a walker or dead. They did come back with chocolate, coffee, tea, sugar and creamer.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes. Why?" Rand raised her eyebrows.

"You were sitting here. Staring at nothing."

Rand let out a breath. "Yeah." She stared at Michonne. "It's July."

Michonne waited.

"It finally sunk in. We've been here over a year. It's been three years since this." She let out a strangled laugh. "Happy Anniversary. Or maybe it's birthday."

It was her turn to raise her eyebrows. She knew she and Daryl had been here a while. They'd survived their first winter and were making plans for the upcoming one. "Over a year?"

"Over a year," Rand confirmed. "I never thought I'd make it this long."

Michonne wasn't sure she'd make it this long, either. "Yeah." She could relate. "Over a year."

"I mean, I looked at the date when we powered up the laptop. My only calendar since my phone died. Just as an 'oh really? It's been that long?' and started making suggestions to you. Today, I did the same thing and it hit me. We've been here over a year. I'm surprised I'm still here."

"Why?"

Rand rolled her eyes. "I'm not the leader type. I seem to recall a conversation we had on this topic. You insinuated you weren't either. There were times I wanted to punch you and Daryl in the face."

Michonne grinned. "Thank you for holding back."

Rand snorted. "You're welcome. I…don't know if we should acknowledge this feat or not. We haven't had any dick sightings in months. We're becoming self-sustaining foodwise. We have good people. It's a busy place."

She shrugged. It was a busy place and it wasn't a busy place. They were planning to harvest all the crops they'd raised while Tom and Helen were pouring over the canning supplies and books they'd had the run team take from the closest towns. Jamal and Bradford were planning to use one of the greenhouses for hemp once they found enough plants, so they could make their own rope and cloth. Janet started a list for sewing machines and craft supplies so they could start making their own clothes and gifts for Christmas slash Boxing Day slash solstice slash Hanukah slash just because. She thought another 'ridiculous' ritual would be nice and everyone had agreed with her.

Daryl, Waya, Adrian, Seth, Jake and a few others just finished a smoke house to replace the small smoker they'd found in Bridgewater, so they could cure more meat. They had three trading partners; Linda, Robert and Juan and a monthly trail patrol. She and Daryl were still Rand's advisors. They'd both stepped back from doing runs and Rand was using Jake, Monica and Terry temporarily.

She and Daryl. Together. Sometimes it hit her out of the blue they were together. It had taken a long time for Michonne to get over the bullshit he'd been a part of in Alexandria. She nodded to Rand and left the office.

She took her boots off when she reached their room and laid on the bed. Over a year. She'd been with Daryl almost six months, she thought. She rolled to her side and looked at his side of the bed. It was empty. Michonne knew he, Seth, Adrian and Waya took the kids out and he'd be back later.

Over a year played in a continuous loop in her head. The next thing she knew she woke up and felt an arm around her waist. She sat up fast.

"You alright?" Daryl sounded sleepy and sat up with her.

She sighed and laid back down. "Yeah."

He slowly lowered himself beside her and she moved close to him. "What time is it?"

He put his head on her shoulder, probably to look at the clock on the night table. "Early. Missed dinner. Rand said she'd make ya somethin' if ya got up. Ya didn't." He paused. "Is it the baby?"

"What?"

"Are you tired 'cause of the baby?"

She laughed softly. "No, Daryl. I'm not tired because of the baby," she kissed his throat and settled into the arm he'd put around her. "We've been here over a year."

"What?" he repeated her earlier question.

"Rand was telling me today. Or yesterday. We've been here over a year."

"Huh. That long. Shit," he muttered.

"She wondered if we should acknowledge it or something."

She could feel him shrug. "Don't know. What'd ya think?"

"I…don't know. Should we celebrate?"

"Maybe we should. Just us."

"Mm. Maybe we should," she echoed.

"Damn. Over a year?" Daryl burst out a few minutes later.

"I know. I came in here and thought of everything we'd done and gone through since we found this place. I must have fallen asleep."

"Thanks. For lettin' me stay," he told her quietly.

"Well," she teased. "You killed walkers and people because they were threatening you."

"Those are some stupid ass questions," he laughed softly.

"Are you happy here?"

"The hell, 'Chonne?" he asked her without any heat in his voice. "Dumb ass question. Yeah. Got you. Got a baby on the way," he rubbed her expanded stomach, "got food, weapons, people that know what the fuck. Friends," he tacked on quietly.

"Friends?"

He sighed. "Yeah. Friends. Rand asked me the same thing after you told her about the baby. She said she'd never had friends growin' up. Me either, except Merle." Michonne felt him shrug again. "Think we're friends. Waya. Seth. Adrian, even though he can be an ass."

"Adrian can be an ass," Michonne agreed.

"Still a good guy."

"Was Rick your friend?" She surprised herself with the question. They'd, except her asking about Carol, stopped talking about Rick and the others after he told her he was there, with them.

She felt him shift a little. "Called me his brother. After Joe. Thought he was. Turned on me pretty damn quick. Like you. Thought about it some. Rick? He wasn't always honest. From the beginning. We went to the CDC, after the quarry."

Michonne hummed a noise. "I didn't know."

"Yeah, we did. Some crazy as fuck doctor, Jenner, locked us inside. Was gonna blow the place up. With us in it. One of the women from the quarry camp, Jacqui, she stayed. Andrea wanted to stay."

"Really?"

"Amy, her sister, died when walkers invaded the camp. It's why we left. Anyways, after the farm,"

"Andrea told me some of it," she confirmed.

"Right. After we lost the farm, I think it was weeks after the CDC, we was on the road. That's when Rick took over and told us. Jenner said it don't matter if you're bit or scratched, you die and you turn. Thought about it after we talked. When you told me I needed to choose."

"You did," she reiterated.

"You shoulda. Rick? Think Shane and Lori fucked him up. When you left and I followed you? To make sure you was alright? I think he mixed us up with Shane and Lori."

"Who's Shane?"

"The one I told ya about from the quarry camp. He was a deputy with Rick. I guess they were partners."

"How do you get that?" she wondered. The most he'd said about Shane was the man was an asshole.

"Saw 'em once, fuckin' in the woods. Never told Rick. Told Merle."

"I wasn't fucking Rick," Michonne pointed out.

"Think he liked ya, 'Chonne. 'Til we got there. Kinda."

"Hm."

"Did you like Rick?"

It was her turn to shrug. "Rick? He can be inspiring. He has nice blue eyes. He's determined. Romantically? Maybe in the back of my mind, if Alexandria worked out, we could be together." She felt him tense. "After? No. I left for a reason. He's not trustworthy."

"I was part of it."

"You were. But you also said you didn't take any of the guns Carol stole from armory. You were trying, like Rick wanted us to try."

He sighed again. "Fuck."

She held on to him tighter. "Do you want to know why I stayed? After the Governor?"

"Thought ya did it 'cause it was a steady place while you looked for that cocksucker."

"It was, at first. I could have set up anywhere and done that." She kissed his chest. "You. Carl and you, anyway."

"Right," he drawled.

"It's true. You and Carl. Rick? He didn't trust me at first. You didn't either. But I got to know you when we were off looking for the dick."

"Didn't do nothin', 'Chonne," he reminded her.

"You trusted me, Daryl. After you stuck your crossbow in my face." She laughed quietly. "I thought, if things calmed down, after the Big Spot, if you didn't make a move on Carol, I'd try."

"Carol?" he practically shouted.

"Carol. You cared for her. Still care for her. She cared for you. Maybe she still cares for you."

"Been through some shit, me and Carol."

"Everyone's been through some shit, Daryl. You and I. You and Rick. Me and Rick. Me and Carl. You and Glenn. Me, you and Rand. The Four and us. You told me about Sophia and I feel for the woman. I know the pain of losing a child. But, Daryl? Everyone's been through shit. Except maybe the Alexandrians."

He huffed out a laugh. "Yeah."

"They were off the beaten path, like us. We've had a few dick encounters. Nothing we couldn't handle. We lost people. We're always going to lose people." It was her turn to shrug. "Maybe Rick was able to scare Deanna straight."

"You think about them?" he asked.

"Occasionally. When I left, I had to do it for me. I miss Carl and Judith, but Rick? He'd lie, cheat and steal for his kids. He should but he had others depending on him, too." She paused. "Did you want to go check on them?"

"What the fuck we gonna tell Rand, 'Chonne? The last place we were at our leader took over. Wanna make sure they're alright. Yeah."

"We don't have to tell her why."

"Nah. We talked about this. We're here. I don't wanna go out there like that no more." He rubbed her stomach again. "Don't want you goin' out there like that no more."

Michonne smiled in the dark and looked in the direction of their mantle. She could see it with the accent lighting she'd asked Daryl to put up. Her katana in front of his crossbow. "I love you, Daryl Dixon."

"Love you, 'Chonne," echoed before he kissed her forehead.

"Did you get anything?"

"Yeah, Mark and Tsula got a doe. Have some good meat for a while."