AN: Here we are, another chapter here.

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

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"Knock knock!" Andrea called through the locked screen door.

Carol was expecting her. She made her way to the door and flicked the lock up, allowing the door to open. She smiled at the woman who, dressed in a suit and high heels, didn't look like she belonged in the trailer park where Carol was currently residing.

"Come on in," Carol said, suddenly hyper-aware of her appearance. It was her day off, and she was trying to clean the trailer. She didn't have much, and she couldn't really improve the quality of the trailer, but she could at least keep it clean. In contrast to Andrea's business suit and heels, Carol was wearing worn out black shorts with an oversized and well-worn t-shirt. Andrea wore a face full of makeup that, more than likely, was about to melt off in the late summer heat, and Carol was bare-faced. Andrea's hair was carefully styled and clearly well-maintained with color-treatment products while Carol had never bothered with hers, for a number of reasons, and the barely-there hair she had from the last time she'd shaved her head was growing in mostly gray.

Carol felt self-conscious, but she knew that wasn't the blonde's intention. She was, technically, at work. In this moment, it just so happened that she was mixing business with pleasure, and Daryl was her client.

Andrea smiled at Carol and came in when she was invited. Carol noticed her looking around, and Carol was embarrassed by the shabby state of her trailer. She waved Andrea toward the little table in the kitchen that had, like a few other items, come as part of the "fully furnished" tag attached to the little rented space.

Andrea sat down and placed the leather portfolio she'd been carrying under her arm on the table. She produced a pen from inside the cover and took out some papers before readying herself with the notepad.

"I'm sorry for the mess," Carol said. "And—because I look like such a mess."

"You look fine," Andrea offered reassuringly.

"I thought I'd clean up a bit," Carol said, still not feeling quite as "fine" as she'd like in the presence of the woman.

Andrea looked around her again. Carol couldn't quite read her expression, but she felt like there was something there—concern or disapproval, perhaps. Andrea hummed, but didn't put voice to her concerns.

"Well—this shouldn't take long," she said.

"Would you like—something to drink?" Carol asked. "I could make coffee or…I've got sweet tea."

"No, thank you," Andrea said. "Feel free to have something, but I'm fine."

"I'm fine," Carol said, taking a seat across from Andrea.

"So—basically, I just need to go through a few things with you that we discussed the other night," Andrea said. "Do you—have that information I asked you for?"

Carol jumped up quickly and found the small stack of papers that she'd gathered together for Andrea. She passed them over and watched as Andrea went through the stack and took inventory of what was there.

"I'll be contacting your lawyer," Andrea said. "I'm certain you may want to continue working with her in the case of your divorce because you have some familiarity with her, but I'll let her know that Daryl will be taking over payment of your phone."

"I hate that he feels the need to pay my bills," Carol said.

Andrea smiled at her and looked somewhat sympathetic.

"He doesn't hate it," Andrea said. "I can assure you that everything Daryl's offering to do, he wants to do."

"He's just afraid that I won't have the baby," Carol said.

"He just wants to make sure that the baby has the best start it can—and that means that he's concerned that its mother is well taken care of. You need a phone for emergencies, appointments, and for keeping in touch with Daryl. He's more than happy to take over the bill for the time being. And—look at it this way, the money you're saving on bills is money that you can start putting away for your future."

"I really am grateful…" Carol said.

"He is, too," Andrea mused. "We all are."

The comment struck Carol.

"We?" Carol asked.

"Don't think that Merle and I aren't grateful," Andrea said. "We are. Daryl's—well—he's always been the sweet one. That's what my husband jokingly says. He's…sensitive, though I don't think that he'd choose to use that word, exactly. Merle would love nothing more than to see his baby brother happy. We both would. And this is important to Daryl. So, we're very, very thankful that you're willing to help him with this."

"Anybody would be…" Carol offered, a rush of warmth having flooded through her chest at the blonde's words and the sincere sound behind them.

"If you think that, then you might be a bit naïve," Andrea said with a laugh. "But—there's no harm in that."

"I've been naïve before," Carol said. "Though—maybe I wouldn't have chosen that word." Andrea hummed at her and stopped her work of looking through papers. "Stupid," Carol clarified. "That might be the word I would have used. My ex-husband…my marriage? The whole thing proves just how stupid I was."

Andrea's hand came across the table and patted Carol's arm.

"Don't beat yourself up for past mistakes," she said. "If we all sat and beat ourselves daily for everything we'd ever done wrong—everything we can see clearly in hindsight? We'd beat ourselves to death. I'm sorry that…that it sounds like you learned some things the hard way, but that's in the past, right? Don't wear your mistakes around your neck. They're too heavy."

"Is this a mistake?" Carol asked.

Andrea drew back like she'd been burned.

"Do you think it is?" Andrea asked.

"No," Carol said. "But—I'm not a good judge of anything, I don't think. I didn't know that my marriage was a mistake, either."

"If you think this is a mistake, and you're doubting whether or not you want to go through with it…then, I think we need to tell Daryl right away," Andrea said. Carol noticed her hands shaking slightly as she picked up her phone. Carol reached her hand across the table and stopped her from doing anything with the device. Andrea met and held her eyes.

"I want to do this," Carol said. "I do want a baby. I do want to be a mama. And—I believe that Daryl wants to be a daddy."

"He does. Very much so," Andrea said. "To be honest—I had even talked to Merle about…you know…if we didn't find anyone, and…what if I was to be a surrogate? We could seek out a donor egg, but…this way seemed less complicated, if we could find someone. Like you, I don't think I could have let the child go. Not even to be my niece or nephew. I want my own, so it would be impossible, I think, to give one up after I'd carried it and delivered it."

Carol nodded her understanding.

"It was nice if you to even think about it," Carol offered.

Andrea put her pen down and sat back in the chair—after she not-so-subtly checked the structural integrity of the chair—like she was about to tell Carol a story. Carol relaxed in her own chair, happy for some company and conversation. Her life, honestly, had been lonely—even when she'd been married.

"I won't bore you with the long story about my relationship with Merle," Andrea said. Carol nodded, even though she wanted to beg the woman to tell her the story—to tell her all the stories—for the connection that it would allow her. "But, suffice it to say, that when I married Merle, I essentially inherited Daryl. He's my brother-in-law but, in a lot of ways, Merle did a lot of the raising of Daryl. I guess that means that, even though Daryl and I are very nearly the same age, sometimes I feel like I've had something of a parenting role, from time to time, in Daryl's life. Like his brother, he's a little rough around the edges, and maybe that's one of the reasons that he's always had trouble really forming relationships with people; he's afraid they won't accept him, so he doesn't give them a chance. But once you get to know him? He's really one of the sweetest, most reliable, people that you'd ever want to meet. He wants a family of his own desperately, and I want him to have that."

"It sounds like you love him very much," Carol said.

"If I hadn't married Merle," Andrea said with a laugh, "I would have never let 'little brother' get away."

"Why Merle, then?" Carol asked. She was almost certain that Andrea blushed—of course, it could have been owing to the heat in the trailer. The window unit didn't do much, really, to combat the summer heat.

"Let's just say that Merle runs at just about my speed," Andrea said. "He keeps me on my toes, and I'm never bored with him. I didn't meet Daryl until I was already pretty much done for when it came to Merle."

"You'd been dating a while before you met Daryl?" Carol asked. Andrea shook her head. There was no doubt about it, she blushed.

"It was the morning after I met him," she said. "Please don't judge me. I just—I don't know. I was fairly new in town, I was reckless, and I just…thought he was so charismatic. When I woke up the next morning, he offered me pancakes and I met his little brother who, incidentally, was just about my age. Before I'd finished my pancakes, I was already thinking about what Merle's kids would look like and what our married life would be like." She hummed. "And now you think I'm a slut or…a complete idiot."

"No," Carol said. "I'm not in any position to judge anyone. We do the best we can, right? I think it's sweet, really. Did Merle feel the same way?"

"For all his bravado and all his pretending to be an untouchable ladies' man, I think so," Andrea said. "He was the—never going to get married type. The type that never asked anyone for a second date."

"But he asked you for a second date," Carol supplied.

"Before I left that morning," Andrea said. "I thought he might stand me up, but he didn't. We only dated about five months before he proposed. He said that he'd changed his mind. He wasn't so hardheaded as to let something he knew he loved get away. That's pretty much all she wrote." She shrugged her shoulders. "Anyway—I didn't mean to tell you my life story. I only meant to say that I want Daryl to be happy. Merle does too. If you think that having a baby is a mistake because, maybe you don't want to have a baby, then I absolutely think you should call things off. But—if you're worried about Daryl not being a good daddy or not being true to his word, then you're worrying over nothing. I understand feeling like you're a bad judge of character, so I'll second for you. What you see with Daryl is what you get."

"Thank you," Carol said sincerely. "Thank you. I feel much better just hearing that."

Andrea looked relieved and she returned to her work and to making the notes she'd been making.

"Daryl's going to pick up your other bills for the run of the pregnancy," Andrea said. "Electricity, water, rent…"

"That's not part of the whole thing," Carol said. "I thought it would just be medical and a food allowance."

"You're broke," Andrea said. "You said so yourself. Based on our research, part of a healthy, successful pregnancy is being able to relax. You can do that better if you're putting money back for your future, and you know your bills are paid. Now—you can meet me after work or…we can go now. Whatever works for you. We're setting up the account so you'll have access to the money, and I can handle Daryl's side of the finances. We can route your bills directly to Daryl, so you don't have to worry about payments, but the account will give you access to your money for food and other expenses. And—please—if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. Daryl wants you to have everything you need."

"I don't want to take advantage like this," Carol argued.

"It's not taking advantage when it's offered, and when Daryl really wants to do it. Can I ask you something?"

Carol nodded.

"Is there—air in here? Are you just trying to save on your bill or…?"

"There's the window unit," Carol said.

"Carol—do you live here because you like it or because the price is right?" Andrea asked.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with trailers," Carol said. "Or trailer parks."

Andrea laughed quietly.

"As someone who lives in a trailer, neither do I. But, Carol? Your porch is about one termite away from caving in. There's a hole in the wall over there that's just about big enough for a racoon to come through."

"I think someone punched the wall," Carol offered.

"I'm sorry, but it smells in here."

"I'm cleaning today," Carol said.

"You and I both know that's not a smell that comes out with some cleaning spray," Andrea said. "I'm not judging you; I'm just asking why this place?"

"I can afford it," Carol said.

"You don't have to afford it now," Andrea said.

"But I do when all this is done," Carol said. "When—Daryl stops paying my bills? I've got money saved up, and I've got what he pays me, but I've still got to afford my life. And I'll have a child, so I've got to afford that, too."

"He will absolutely pay child support," Andrea said. "There's no question about that. I'll draw up the papers, but…that doesn't even have to go to court."

"I don't want to ask him to pay for something luxurious just because I'm not paying for it," Carol said.

"There's luxury, and then there's toxic mold, Carol," Andrea said with a laugh. "I'm serious. What if—I knew a place you could get for the same price, or even less, but it would be a healthy environment for you to live in? A good, healthy environment for your baby? Would you at least consider it?"

Carol frowned at her.

"Nothing ridiculous? I don't want to take advantage, Andrea, really."

"I know you don't," Andrea said. "And—Daryl knows that, too. Nothing ridiculous. Comparable size, but clean and well-maintained. Just a good environment for you to live, relax, and have a baby. Would you at least look at it?"

Carol nodded.

"I'll look at it."

"Great," Andrea said. "I'll arrange it. Then—let's say that I pick you up about…three? We'll go to the bank, get something to eat, and I'll take you by to see it."

Carol's heart beat fast at the invitation. It was business, she reminded herself, but it sounded like time with a friend—and she hadn't had one of those, really, since high school. Ed hadn't approved of her having friends.

"I don't want to put you through any trouble," Carol said.

"No trouble," Andrea said. "In fact, I'm already looking forward to it."

Carol smiled in response to that.

"Me too," she said, but she doubted Andrea could possibly mean it half as much as she did.