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Chapter Text

Chapter One

June 18th 1982

At the ripe age of eleven, Carol Reed decided she would be the next Christopher Columbus. There were new worlds out there to be discovered and, shoot it all, she'd discover them! So, after practically tearing apart her closet, Carol found her Strawberry Shortcake back pack and went to the kitchen to stuff it with enough snacks to last her a few days.

Carol's parents were both at work and when they returned, would most likely head straight to bed. They wouldn't notice her absence for a while. Normally, that would bother her, seeing as she was only eleven and strived for her parent's attention, but, now, she was using their absence to her advantage.

After all, out there Caroltopia was waiting to be discovered.

Zipping up her boots and slipping on her mother's old cargo jacket, Carol hoped she looked every bit the part of a famous explorer. People would write books about her and the adventures she'd go on and the lands she'd discover.

Taking a deep breath, Carol pushed open the screen door that led to the backyard and froze. How could she have forgotten? Racing back to her room, she grabbed a ratty, stuffed rabbit from it's spot on her pillows. She couldn't go anywhere without Mr. Snuggles by her side.

Daryl Dixon knew he was going to die out in these woods. It was day nine of being lost and there hadn't been a single sight of civilization. He was hungry, thirsty and tired. The night before, he had to sleep in a tree and was so scared of falling out, that he had barely got any sleep.

The only weapon he had on him was a knife he had stolen from Merle's room and that didn't do shit when hunting for game. Daryl had tried to snag an unsuspecting squirrel with the knife and had even gotten close enough to touch its bushy tail, but then he blinked and the little fucker was gone. Since then, he had resorted to eating berries which didn't help curb the hunger.

Damn you, Merle, for goin' to juvie, again and leavin' me with pa.

Fred Dixon was a bastard and held a particular hatred for his youngest son, even though Daryl was only nine years old and hadn't done anything to earn the hate. Nine days prior, Daryl had barely missed getting hit by a beer bottle aimed at his head and that's when he decided that he wasn't going to live there anymore and took off towards the woods. Luckily, his father had been too drunk to get off his ass and chase him down.

Everything had happened so fast that Daryl hadn't had the chance to grab any of his things or food. Now, he was on his own and was most likely going to die of starvation before he saw another human being, again.

Carol grumbled when she had to detangle another twig from her auburn curls. She'd been walking in the woods for an hour, now, and was starting to get blisters on her feet. Maybe this explorer thing wasn't everything she thought it'd be.

Stopping to sit on a fallen log, Carol hissed as she tugged of the boots and saw two patches of red on her socks where blood had soaked through them. Maybe it was time to head back home and read a book or watch a movie. Maybe she could pop in Raiders of the Lost Ark and pretend she was right there with Indiana Jones being awesome. The more she thought of it, the more it appealed to her. Perhaps in a few years, she'd try this whole exploring thing, again. Gingerly, she pulled the boots back on and stood up. But where exactly was home? Every single tree looked the same and she had no idea where she had came from.

"Great," she mumbled to herself and pulled Mr. Snuggles closer. "We're lost."

Daryl whipped out his knife when he began to hear footsteps. With putting his complete focus on surviving alone, he didn't once think about the possibility of crazy, axe murderers that called the woods their home. What if that was one coming up on him and make him his next victim? Oh hell no! He may have been stupid to run into the woods without a plan, but there was no way some crazy guy was going to kill him.

Raising the knife up higher, Daryl was prepared to strike as the footsteps continued to get closer. But instead of some hooded psycho crashing through the bushes, it was a girl. A girl with curly, auburn hair that held various sticks and leaves in it and who also held what looked like a stuffed rabbit close to her chest.

She looked up at him with the prettiest blue eyes he had ever seen and when she saw the knife in his hands, she squeaked, took a stumbling step backwards and fell on her butt. "P-Please, don't stab me!" Using the stuffed rabbit as a shield, the girl whimpered.

Instantly, Daryl was reminded of all the times he cowered before his pa and dropped the knife to the dirt. "Sorry," he quickly apologized and before he knew it, he was reaching down to help her up. Usually, he avoided contact like the plague. For being only nine years old, Daryl knew that was a bad thing but the only human contact he had in his life always brought him pain.

The girl shakily took his hand and stood up. "Thank you." Daryl saw that she was only slightly taller than him.

"Sorry about the whole knife thing," he apologized, again. "Thought you was an axe murderer."

The girl laughed, not unkindly. "I don't think there's any axe murderers out here." Then, her eyes grew wide with fear. "At least, I hope not." She hugged the rabbit closer.

"Are you lost?" Daryl bent down and picked up the knife, wiping off the dirt before putting it back on his belt.

"Yeah," the girl said. "You?"

"Yep," he answered and puffed up his chest. The girl was pretty and Merle had always told him to try and impress any pretty girl he saw. "I've been out here on my own for nine days."

"Wow, really?" The girl looked very impressed and Daryl was pleased with himself. If Merle were here, he was sure he'd be proud.

"Yep. The only weapon I have is this knife." He patted the knife at his belt.

"I didn't think to bring anything with me," the girl, mused. "But I do have food, if you're hungry." Smiling, the girl unslung the pink bag from her bag and unzipped the top.

Daryl's stomach growled loudly at the sight of crackers and other snack foods stuffed inside the bag. The berries he had managed to find earlier hadn't done anything for his stomach.

The girl smiled, having heard his stomach and held out a handful of wrapped snacks. "Here, I have plenty." The smile didn't waver when he snatched the treats and immediately set on unwrapping them. "The name's Carol, by the way."

"Daryl," he said around a mouthful of crackers.

Carol settled in front of him, crossed her legs, and took a bite from a granola bar. "Maybe after we're done eating," she said after swallowing a bit. "We can help each other find our way home? I'm sick of being Christopher Columbus."

"Who's Christopher Columbus?" Daryl asked and reached for a second package of crackers.

" 'In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue'. You don't know that?"

Daryl felt his face heat up. He had just finished the third grade and would be in fourth grade in September, but he never really paid much attention in class. The teacher had thought him stupid and never called on him, so he'd just spent his time willing the minute hand on the clock to move faster so he could go home.

"Oh, that's right," Carol said and Daryl waited to hear the dreaded words, 'You're just a stupid hillbilly', but they never came. "I think you learn that in fifth grade. How old are you?"

"Nine," he answered. "I'll be ten in September, though."

"So, you'll be in fourth grade, then. Now, when you get to fifth grade, you'll know something before everyone else." Carol smiled and pulled out two water bottles from the bag and handed him one. He guzzled half of it in one drag.

"How old are you?" Daryl thought it was only fair he'd ask her age, too.

"I just turned eleven in May."

"Eleven and you still have a stuffed animal? Aren't you a little too old for that?" The words were out before Daryl could stop them. Just because he wasn't allowed to have any toys of his own didn't mean he could make fun of her for having one.

"Mr. Snuggles is my best friend." She hugged the animal close and glared at him. "I've had him since I was five and I plan on keeping him until I'm at least forty! So, no, I am not too old!"

The pair slipped into silence and Daryl regretted what he had said. This had been the first person he had had an actual conversation with since Merle had left, which had been four months ago.

"I'm sorry," he finally said. "About what I said about...Mr. Snuggles."

"You're forgiven," Carol said curtly and stood to brush off the crumbs from her pants. "If you're ready, we should start trying to find our way back. I think it's going to be dark soon."

Daryl quickly got to his feet. There was no way he wanted to spend another night in the woods. At least, he would have company this time. "If we can find our way back to my house, maybe it'll be easier to find yours."

Daryl nodded at the plan. Truthfully, he didn't care what they did as long as he got out of these God forsaken woods and, as they started walking, he noticed that his ass was starting to itch something fierce.

Carol looked over at the boy silently walking beside her. Daryl. He seemed nice and Carol was glad that she was no longer lost by herself. Now, as they walked, Carol studied Daryl. It was obvious he had spent several days in the woods. Most of his exposed skin was covered in dirt and his hair was a tangled mess of leaves, dirt and twigs, much like her own.

For being nine, Daryl was tall for his age. He was only an inch or so shorter than her and she was one of the tallest kids in her class.

"So," she said, wanting to end the silence. "Why did you decide to go into the woods?"

Carol noticed the way Daryl hunched in on himself when she asked the question and she wondered if she had said something wrong. Daryl stuffed his hands in his pockets and kicked a rock.

"You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to, Daryl. I'm sorry."

Daryl took a deep breath. "I ran away from my house. If'n I didn't, my daddy would have beat the shit out of me."

Carol gasped. Her parents pretty much ignored her, but she'd rather have that than have them beat her. "I'm so sorry, Daryl." She moved to touch his shoulder, but he flinched away before she could make contact.

"Don't want your pity."

Carol winced. "I'm sorry," she said, again.

"And you can stop apologizin', too." He grumbled.

"I'm-" She stopped herself.

"So, why was your ass out in the woods?" Daryl decided to keep the conversation going and watched Carol blush.

"I wanted to be the next Christopher Columbus. I was going to find Caroltopia."

"Caroltopia?"

"Never mind. It was stupid." Carol quickened her steps and Daryl had to run to catch up with her. "All I want to do, now, is go home and hide myself under my covers. I bet my parents won't even know I was gone."

"Well," Daryl mumbled. "That'll make two of us."

An hour later, Daryl noticed that Carol's steps seemed to quicken and she had a smile on her face.

"I know where I am, now!" Without another word, she broke into a run and Daryl had no choice but to follow. It didn't take long before they were crashing through some bushes and found themselves in the middle of a back yard.

"This your house?" Daryl looked in awe at the two-story building in front of him. His house was no bigger than a trailer.

"Yep! Do you want to come in? I don't think my parent's are home and I can make us grill cheeses."

Daryl wanted to say yes so badly, but looking down at himself, he saw that he was filthy and he didn't want to drag that into Carol's nice house. "I should head back."

Carol's eyes softened and she stepped closer to him. "You don't have to go back, Daryl. Not now, anyway."

"Naw, I need to head back and take a shower. Uh, thanks." He brought his thumb up to his mouth and gnawed on the skin there, ignoring how dirty it was. "Uh, it was nice meetin' you, Carol."

"Yeah," Carol nodded, her eyes sad. "Nice meeting you, too."

Daryl felt her eyes on his back as he made his way to the front of house. If he knew what street she lived on, then he'd be able to find his way home. Before he could start down the road, someone called his name. He turned and saw Carol running up to him, sans backpack and with Mr. Snuggles in her arms.

"Wait!" She called and stopped in front of him, slightly out of breath. "Here." She thrust the stuffed animal in his face. "You can have him."

Daryl looked at the animal and then Carol, quizzically. "But ain't he your best friend?"

"No anymore," she smiled and looked him straight in the eyes. "You are."

For the rest of that summer, Daryl and Carol would walk to each other house's and hang out. Daryl never had a friend before and Carol was starting to become the best thing to ever happen to him. She never made fun of him and didn't care that sometimes he'd wear the same clothes for several days or that he cussed. That day, he had taken her stuffed rabbit, cautiously and now, it sat in his room. When he was away, he carefully hid it in his closet so that his pa wouldn't see.

Then, one day, Merle was suddenly back. Daryl was just about to leave to visit Carol when he ran straight into his older brother.

"Pack up your shit, baby bro. We're gettin' the fuck outta here."

Their pa had left the night before and was currently on some kind of bender and Daryl knew that he wouldn't be back for several days. Not asking any questions, Daryl went to his room and packed what little belongings he had and met his brother in the living room.

Merle grabbed Daryl's bag from him. "Come on." Then, he walked out of the door.

Things were happening fast. Daryl didn't know where they were going and what they would do when they got there, but that didn't bother him. What bothered him was that he was probably never going to see Carol again, the only friend he had.

Racing to his room, he grabbed Mr. Snuggles and ran out the back door. If he didn't show up at her house, Daryl knew Carol would walk over here and meet them at a large oak tree they had dubbed as a headquarters of a sort for their many adventures. He placed the stuffed animal on the first branch, knowing that Carol would see him. Daryl wished he could write her a note and tell her what was going on, but Merle was honking at him from the front of the house and he knew he'd better get a move on before Merle came looking for him.

Just as we about to run to Merle, something caught his eye. Growing a couple feet away from the base of the oak tree was a Cherokee Rose. Picking it, he knew Carol would love it and went to place it in Mr. Snuggles arms. Carol would know who it was from. Then, with one last look, Daryl was off running to Merle's truck.

As he watched the scenery pass by through the window of the truck, Daryl knew he'd never see Carol, again, and to his surprise, tears blurred his vision. Quickly, he blinked them back lest Merle saw them and gave him hell.

Chapter Text

Chapter Two

August 8th, 2010- 28 Years Later

Quarry- Daryl

From the time he was nine, Daryl never really had a place to call home. Sure, there had been run down apartments and shitty trailers, but none of those places had been permanent and Daryl never felt like he belonged there, either. He and Merle had constantly moved from place to place and always within the state lines of Georgia.

When the world ended, they had been heading back to their hometown to check up on their old man. They never made it, though. Somehow, they had ended up with a group of survivors that made a camp near a quarry just outside of Atlanta. The group was led by some ex-cop and it didn't take much for Daryl to find out he didn't like the man. Shane Walsh hadn't made it a secret that he disliked having the Dixon brothers living among them. Merle would most likely share his feelings about the arrogant prick, if he weren't always high.

Taking advantage of Merle's inebriated state, Daryl would grab his crossbow and go off in the woods to hunt. Merle wouldn't be happy if he knew that his little brother was hunting, not just for them, but for the rest of the people in the group, as well. Besides the canned shit the Asian kid brought back from his runs to Atlanta, the rest of the group was pretty useless when it came to obtaining any type of fresh meat. Daryl was a hunter and he figured that he might as well provide for his fellow survivors with food. For all they knew, they could be the only living people left.

With a string full of squirrels and a rabbit, Daryl made his way across the camp until he stood in front of the rail-thin woman with long, brown hair who had seemed to put herself in charge right alongside Shane. Daryl didn't like her much, either and had almost walked on her and Shane fucking in the middle of the woods. Surprisingly, with the noise they had been making, no walkers found them. Daryl shuddered at the memory.

At the sound of his footsteps, the skinny woman looked up at him from where she sat on a lawn chair watching her son follow Shane around. Fear and disgust flashed in her eyes and she didn't even bother to greet him. Daryl scowled. Here, he helped feed the whole damn camp and yet, they all still looked at him as if he was going to kill them all in their sleep. Sometimes, he didn't even know why he bothered, at all. He should just let these uppity assholes fend for themselves from now on.

"Brought you all some meat," he growled and thrust the dead rodents into her face. The way her face scrunched up in revulsion lightened his mood and caused him to smirk. It was clear Miss High and Mighty considered herself above eating squirrels, but meat was meat and if she wanted to starve, then it was on her.

"Carol has dinner duty, tonight. Take those over to her." The woman pointed to the other side of camp where a shorthaired woman sat with a skinny blonde girl. Her daughter, he assumed. They sat kind of far away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the camp and Daryl wondered if they were like him and liked their quiet.

Daryl had only seen the woman briefly during his time at the quarry, mostly she kept to herself and constantly had the skinny blonde girl attached to her side. Daryl couldn't help but feel like he knew her from somewhere. Now, he knew her name and it only intensified the feeling. But, for the life of him, he couldn't figure out where he had seen her before. In he and Merle's travels, they had come across many women, but for some reason, Daryl knew he hadn't meant her in a bar or anything like that.

With hesitate steps, Daryl approached Carol, who was quietly laughing with her daughter and playing with the girl's blonde hair. The little girl saw him approach before her mother and immediately stopped talking, brown eyes going wide with fear. That made him halt in his steps. It didn't bother him that much when adults looked at him with fear, but a little girl? He hated that shit. The last thing he'd ever do would be to hurt a kid. Especially, with how he had grown up with an abusive father.

"Sophia, honey, are you okay?" Carol asked, concern written on her face. Turning, she looked to where Sophia's attention seemed to be glued on.

When Carol turned to look up Daryl, he was met with the prettiest blue eyes he had ever seen. Once again, he found that he couldn't move from his spot. His feet would not move no matter how hard he told them, too. He knew those eyes from somewhere. Jesus Christ, this was going to kill him! This woman was somehow connected to his past and for the life of him, he couldn't remember from where.

"Uh...Carol?" Daryl winced at how stupid he sounded. His voice had come out all raspy, since it had been awhile since he had spoken more than a growl to anyone besides Merle.

"Yeah, that's me. Is there something you need?" Unlike her daughter and Shane's woman, Carol's eyes didn't show any fear of him. Daryl relaxed under her soft blue gaze.

"Uh, the bit-, I mean, lady over there said you had dinner duty and I brought you all some squirrel." He didn't thrust his kills in her face, but held them out to her, politely. Dixons usually didn't do polite, but to treat this woman any other way just felt wrong.

Carol's eyes widened and she stood to her feet. "These should feed the whole camp!" She looked at him and smiled. "Thank you."

Daryl felt his face heat up and all he wanted to do was get out of there. No one had ever thanked him for bringing food before and it felt...nice. Especially, since it had came from the pretty woman in front of him.

"Ain't nothin'," he scoffed, sounding like some bashful, teenage boy and not a grown ass man in his prime.

Carol took the string from him, with no disgust, despite the dead, glassy eyes of the squirrels and turned to Sophia. "Come on, honey. Let's get these ready for everyone." Wrapping an arm around the girl, she began to walk away. Daryl realized with a start that he wasn't ready to see them go.

"Uh, wait," he called, surprising the hell out of himself. "Do you know how to skin 'em?"

Carol turned back to face him, slightly surprised. "Yes, I do. My husband tried hunting once. Brought back a rabbit and I looked up online how to skin it."

"Psh," Daryl snorted and took a step closer. He tried to ignore when Sophia huddled closer to her mother. "Here, I'm goin' to show the right way to do it." Gingerly, he took the squirrels from Carol and led the way to a nearby picnic table. Carol only hesitated a second before she and her daughter followed him.

Daryl knew that it had been a bad idea to sit with Carol and Sophia the moment an overweight man with an ugly as sin face began to approach them from where he had been sitting on top of the RV taking 'watch'. Daryl had taken a peek at him when he had first presented the squirrels to the thin woman and had noticed his head slumped on his chest. The man had been sleeping! It was a miracle a herd of geeks hadn't stumbled onto their group.

Daryl also didn't like the cocky swagger to the man's walk. Personally, Daryl thought the man looked like a pig and should have nothing to be arrogant about. A walker would be able to get a full course meal out of him.

Carol most have noticed when he had paused in his work and turned to see what had gained his attention. Instantly, she froze and dropped the half-skinned rodent to the table. Daryl didn't like that reaction and wondered who this man was to her and for the first time, he noticed the gold band on Carol's left hand. Shit.

The man approached the table and roughly grabbed Carol by the arm, not caring that Daryl was right there watching it all. "What the hell is this?"

In an instant, Daryl was on his feet. Pain flitted across Carol's delicate features and that was sure as hell not okay with him. "Get your fuckin' hands off her." He made sure his voice was low and menacing, so that he wouldn't draw attention to himself from the other members of the group. The last thing they needed was for Shane Walsh to saunter over and assert his authority.

"This is my wife and I can do whatever the hell I want with her." Carol was then, forcefully dragged to her feet. A pained cry escaped her lips and Daryl nearly leapt across the table to strangle the man. Wife or not, the bastard had no right to hurt her.

"Ed, please," Carol begged as she continued to get dragged away. Sophia remained at the table, clutching some sort of stuffed rabbit and had tears streaming down her cheeks. "I still have to finish making dinner for everyone." The fat man, Ed, stopped yanking on Carol's arm and leaned down to whisper something fiercely in her ear. Daryl's jaw clenched when he saw Carol shudder at whatever Ed was saying.

Daryl grew so angry; he felt the blood in his veins begin to boil. No man should ever lay his hands on a woman. He had seen enough of that with his daddy and mom before she died. But he didn't do anything to stop Ed and that made him angrier. All he did was watch as Carol ripped her arm away from her husband and walked by the table, eyes downcast when she stood in front of him.

"I-I think Sophia and I can handle the rest on our own." Carol's voice was no louder than a whisper. "Thank you for the help, Daryl."

Daryl knew that he was being dismissed. Glaring behind Carol at Ed, who had grabbed a lawn chair to sit and watch his wife and daughter with, Daryl grabbed his crossbow and stomped away from the dysfunctional family. It didn't occur to him until much later that he had never told Carol his name and yet, she still had known it.

"Where the hell have you been?" Merle was up and poking his head out of his tent when Daryl stomped into their camp.

"Huntin'." Daryl threw over his shoulder and went directly to his own tent. The last thing he wanted to do right now was talk with Merle, who, from the looks of it, was just coming down from one of his highs.

"Where's the meat? I'm starvin'." Merle crawled out of the tent and took a seat on a log by their fire pit. There were a few glowing embers from the fire Daryl had started the night before and Merle had grabbed the sharp stick near his feet to prod at the coals.

"At the camp. One of the women is cookin' it." Daryl didn't feel like mentioning Carol by name. Merle didn't need to know that he had actually cared to find out. It would only add the list of things Merle gave him shit about.

"What?" Merle stood up and nearly toppled over at the sudden movement. The drugs still in his system were making him a little uncoordinated and Daryl was lucky that they weren't causing his brother to lash out in anger at him. Before the world ended, Daryl would avoid Merle like the plague when he was like this. Now, he couldn't leave as much because he had to make sure Merle didn't cause trouble at the camp while he was gone. "Ya didn't bring back any for us?"

Daryl sighed and turned around. So much for escaping to his tent for the evening. Merle seemed to be in a chatty mood. "Figured I'd go down there later and grab us a couple plates." As an excuse, he continued. " 'Sides, I'm gettin' fuckin' sick of cookin'." He didn't dare bring up the fact that he was also sick of the fact that Merle didn't do shit around the camp. Daryl didn't feel like exchanging blows, because he knew that's what would happen if he brought up Merle's lack of work.

"The bitch cookin' my food better know how to do it right, then." Merle grumbled and sat back down on the log. Reaching down, he grabbed the stick, again and began poking at the mostly burnt logs in the pit.

As much as Daryl wanted to defend Carol, he kept his mouth shut. Merle would ask questions and Daryl knew that he wouldn't want to answer them.

Later that evening, Daryl emerged from his tent and saw Merle slumped in his spot, clearly fast asleep. Daryl just rolled his eyes and stretched, grimacing when his back cracked. The time spent in the seclusion of his tent had been spent reading a book. That was another thing he kept from his older brother.

Daryl Dixon liked to read and had since he was nine years old. Growing up, he hadn't had the chance to actually own any books but somehow he had been able to get a hold of a copy of the Adventures of Tom Sawyer. To this day, he still couldn't remember who had given him the book and carried it around wherever Merle would drag them next. Despite the fact that it was a children's book, Daryl would find quiet moments in the day, go into his tent and read a few pages.

His stomach chose that time to protest its emptiness and Daryl knew that dinner should be cooked by now. Or, at least, he hoped it was.

When he walked into the main part of the camp the smell of cooked meat invaded his senses and his stomach rumbled again. Most of the group seemed to be huddled around a table and Daryl figured that was where the food must have been laid out. He wanted until everyone cleared out before he grabbed two plates and filled them up with whatever meat and other food that was leftover.

Turning from the table, Daryl nearly collided with someone and was about to cuss him out when he saw that it was Sophia, Carol's daughter.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

Sophia didn't say anything and just glared at him. Well, that was new. Just a few hours before, she had looked like she'd piss her pants if he got anywhere near her. What had changed since then?

"Sophia! Say you're sorry." A soft voice scolded and Carol appeared behind the girl.

"It's all right. My fault, anyway. Shouldn't have turned around so fast." His mouth went dry when he finally looked at Carol's face. On her cheek was a fresh bruise. Daryl knew exactly who had given her that bruise and was two seconds away from stomping over to the fat bastard's camp and kicking his ass.

Carol gave him a smile, even though her daughter still glared. "Well, I hope you enjoy your meal."

Daryl found himself smiling back, something very rare for him and chose to ignore the bruise on Carol's cheek. From the way, she kept her head tilted away from him, he knew that she hadn't wanted him to see it. "Smells mighty good. I'm sure it'll taste mighty good."

Carol blushed and moved past him with Sophia.

"Uh, you two have a good night, now." Before they could respond, Daryl was walking back to camp, ears burning. On his way, he passed Ed sitting in his lawn chair chowing down on his meal. Grease was smeared all over the man's face and Daryl nearly lost his appetite. The asshole was lucky Daryl's hands were full, but he vowed that the next time he saw Ed's ugly face he'd beat it in.

A Week Later

Turns out, the next time Daryl saw Ol' Ed he had been half eaten by some geek. Still angry with fucking' Rick Grimes for leaving his brother and with Merle who was just gone and hadn't thought to come back for him, Daryl still found he was taking an immense amount of pleasure in watching Carol slam a pickaxe into his fat, ugly head.

Chapter Text

Chapter Three

Quarry- Carol

Carol knew that if they hadn't found the quarry group sooner or later, she and Sophia would be dead. She knew that Ed would have left them in a second if it meant saving his own worthless life. Even before the world ended, Carol had been called useless countless times and according to Ed, could never do anything right. At first, Carol had believed all those things. In high school, she had been a shy girl with hardly any friends and when Ed came along, she had jumped at the chance to date him. No boy had ever shown interest in her before.

Everyday for the last thirteen years, Carol had regretted that decision.

The only thing that she didn't regret about her marriage to Ed was Sophia. Sophia was the bright light to her bleak, dark world.

The Peletier family had been fortunate to run into Shane, Lori and her son, Carl, on the highway. Without them, they would have probably driven right past the quarry and found themselves trapped on the road with snarling walkers gnashing their teeth at them. Ed didn't like being at a camp with so many other people. Mostly, because he wasn't in charge. So, every night, he would take out his anger on Carol.

Quarry life was simple and one could almost forget the world had ended when they stepped out of their tents and into the serene atmosphere. Carol sometimes pretended it was a vacation of some sort when she'd walk with the other woman to wash their laundry in the crystal clear water of the lake. Some nights, Carol even considered sneaking out of her tent and walking down to the lake to skinny dip. No one else would be there, but if Ed found out there would be hell to pay. She would never leave Sophia in the same tent as her father, though. Never ever.

The man was sick and began to make eyes at his own daughter. Carol knew that if she ever saw Ed place his hands on Sophia, she'd kill him. She didn't care if they kicked her out of the group. If it meant saving her little girl, she wouldn't hesitate.

Ed made sure that they were separated from the main camp and made sure his wife and daughter stayed near their campsite. To his chagrin, though, the other members of the group did not stay away from them.

Carl had been the first to approach them and ask if Sophia could play. The boy seemed nice and was around Sophia's age, so Carol had said yes. So, after, Carl's mother, Lori, made a trip to see Carol and asked if she could help fix dinner some nights. Wanting to feel useful, Carol had agreed.

Ed had somehow been wrestled into the watch rotation, most likely by Shane. Carol knew the man was a big stickler on people doing their part and she could stand by that. So, for a few hours every couple days, she was free from Ed's beady eyes watching her every move.

One hot afternoon, Carol and Sophia sat together in their campsite quietly talking and laughing with one another. Later, Carol would go to the main fire pit and started cooking up dinner, but for now, she was allowed to relax. She threaded Sophia's soft hair through her fingers and smiled as her daughter animatedly told of her of something that Carl had done the day before.

Just then, a shadow fell over her daughter's face and her eyes grew wide in fear. Carol only saw that look when Ed was around. "Sophia, honey, are you okay?" She turned and was surprised to see a man standing there.

Daryl.

The name came out of nowhere and Carol knew she had never been properly introduced to the man. He and his brother stayed to themselves in their own campsite.

"Uh...Carol?" He asked as his teeth worried his full, bottom lip.

Carol was shocked he knew her name. "Yeah, that's me. Is there something you need?" She couldn't help but notice how handsome the man was.

"Uh, the bit-, I mean, lady over there said you had dinner duty and I brought you some squirrel." He held a string of the dead animals almost shyly. Carol was surprised that a gruff man like him could act shy.

The number of squirrels on the string shocked her and Carol stood up. "These should feed the whole camp!" Last night's meal had consisted of one can of ravioli per person and the thought of having actual meat, caused Carol's mouth to water slightly. "Thank you."

Carol could tell that he hadn't been thanked very often by the way his face flushed at her words. "Ain't nothin'," he had scoffed and looked down at his shows. She was reminded of a bashful teenager.

With the smile still on her face, she took the string of squirrels from his hand and turned to Sophia, who had been watching the whole scene with a hint of fear in her brown eyes. Carol knew she'd have to talk to her later. For some reason, even though he had a rough exterior, Carol knew this man would never hurt them.

"Come on, honey. Let's get these ready for everybody." She wrapped an arm around Sophia's skinny shoulders and began to lead her to the nearest picnic table to their camp. She was surprised, though, when the man,Daryl, called after them.

"Uh, wait," he said. "Do you know how to skin 'em?"

Carol turned and faced him, shocked that he had continued to speak with her. "Yes, I do. My husband tried hunting once. Brought back a rabbit and I looked up online how to skin it." Ed had gone hunting with a bunch of friends and had brought back a skinny rabbit. Carol knew there wouldn't be enough meat on the thing to make a decent meal, but she hadn't wanted to anger him. So, she looked online on how to skin it and cooked the thing.

"Psh," Daryl snorted and walked closer to them. Carol felt Sophia huddle closer to her hip and placed a reassuring hand on her arm. "Here, I'm goin' to show the right way to do it." Softly, he reached out and grabbed the string from her. Carol could only watch in silence as he began to walk toward the table and after a moment of hesitation, she followed him.

They skinned the animals in silence. Sophia watched in morbid fascination as they peeled the fur away from the squirrel's skin. Carol put a fully skinned squirrel in Sophia's face and laughed when she squealed and jumped away. From the corner of her eye, Carol saw Daryl crack a smile.

Just as quick as that smile appeared, though, it was gone and he was looking at something behind her. Carol didn't want to turn around, but she did and froze. Ed. Of course, he'd catch her having a moment of fun and with another man, no less.

Quickly, he was on her and yanking on her arm. "What the hell is this?" There would be bruises in the morning. Another one she'd have to figure out how to hide.

Daryl was on his feet with his hands clenched in fists. "Get your fuckin' eyes off her." His voice was low.

"This is my wife and I can do whatever the hell I want with her." Another yank and she was on her feet. A cry of pain escaped her lips before she could stop it. She couldn't help it, though. It felt like he was going to pull her arm out of its socket.

"Ed, please." She hated how pathetic she sounded and especially, in front of Daryl, too. "I still have to finish making dinner for everyone."

Ed stopped pulling and leaned in close. Carol fought the urge to turn her face away in disgust. "Fine, bitch," he whispered harshly. "But, once you're done you're going to pay for hanging out with that redneck piece of trash."

Carol shuddered at the words, nodded and ripped her arm forcefully from his grasp. She'd pay for that, too, but didn't care. Approaching the table, she kept her eyes downcast. Embarrassed that he had just witnessed everything. "I-I think Sophia and I can handle the rest on our own," she whispered. "Thank you, Daryl."

Daryl huffed and without another word, turned and stomped away. Carol was surprised to find out that she was sad to see him go.

The slap she received for being 'a stupid whore' hadn't surprised her. Like Ed promised, the moment she had finished cooking the meal and went back to camp, his hand had made contact with her face. The force of it had driven her to her knees and Sophia had come running.

"Next time you better think before talking to redneck trash," Ed snarled and walked away. Sophia clutched her arm and cried softly into her shirt.

"Mommy?" Sophia whispered once Ed was completely gone. "I'm sorry daddy hit you."

Carol smiled through the pain and pulled her daughter close. "It wasn't your fault, Sophia, so you have no reason to be sorry. Now, why don't you get yourself some food and then you can go sit by Carl."

Sophia stood up and hesitated a moment. "Are you sure?"

Carol nodded. "Yes, honey. Go and have some fun, okay?"

With a final smile, Sophia was racing off to the food table. Carol watched and winced when she nearly ran into Daryl, who looked like he was gathering food for himself and his brother. Walking up to them, Carol noticed the angry look her daughter was shooting at Daryl and placed kind hands on her shoulders.

"Sophia! Say you're sorry."

"It's all right. My fault, anyway. Shouldn't have turned around so fast." His eyes widened when he looked at her face and Carol quickly looked down. Of course, there would be a mark from where Ed had hit her.

Instead of continuing to feel ashamed, she gave him a smile. "Well, I hope you enjoy your meal."

Then Carol witnessed something beautiful. Daryl smiled back at her. This rough man was continuing to surprise her. "Smells mighty good. I'm sure it tastes mighty good." No one had ever complimented her cooking before and she felt her face flush.

As she walked past him with Sophia, Carol heard him say, "Uh, you two have a good night, now." Before she could respond back with something similar, Daryl was already off walking back to his camp.

"Sophia Ann," Carol scolded once they were alone. "Why were you looking at Daryl that way? Running into you was an accident!"

Sophia had never acted that way before and Carol wanted to know why it had started with a man who had been only nice to them. Daryl could have cussed her daughter out for not watching where she was going, but he had been the one to first apologize and take the blame.

"He's the reason daddy hit you."

Carol's mouth dropped open in shock.

"If he hadn't come over and talked to you, then daddy wouldn't have gotten mad and he wouldn't have hit you." Sophia looked down at her ratty sneakers and Carol dropped to her knees in front of her.

"Listen, here, Sophia. Daryl is not the reason why he hit me, understand? He probably would have done it even if Daryl hadn't come up to us." Carol tiled Sophia's chin up to look at her. "Daryl is a nice man, Sophia. I know you've seen him and his brother act up a little around camp, but sitting with us, today and helping us skin those squirrels showed us the kind of man he really is."

Sophia nodded. "I'm sorry."

"It's all right, honey." Carol stood up. "I think Carl's waiting for his best friend to join him, so hurry up and get a plate." She winked and watched her daughter grab some food and head over to Carl, who was sitting with Lori and Shane.

Tonight, she'd eat dinner alone.

That night, Carol lay awake in their tent. Ed snored next to her and Sophia was curled on her side on the other side of the tent. Her mind went back to some of the events that had happened earlier that day. Mostly the events that dealt with a certain redneck. For some reason, the man seemed so familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"Mommy?" Sophia's soft voice called to her and Carol's reverie was broken.

"Yes honey?" She crawled quietly to her daughter and settled beside her. "Are you having trouble sleeping?"

"No," she turned and faced her. "How did you know Daryl's name?"

"What?" Carol asked, confused.

"When I was talking with Carl, I mentioned him and he had no idea that's what his name was. He said him and his brother never introduced themselves."

Carol lay still. How had she known his name? "I don't know, Sophia. I...don't know."

A Week Later

The blisters on her hands stung, but she didn't care. In fact, she relished in them. Her soft hands weren't used to the ax's rough handle and she had driven it into her dead husband's head numerous times. The bastard was finally gone from their lives and she'd bare the torn skin on her hands with pride.

Chapter Text

Chapter  Four

CDC- Daryl

Daryl didn't like the look of Jenner from the first moment he saw him. Then again, he was suspicious of most people nowadays. The doctor looked defeated with being the only one left in the whole facility and Daryl could tell that it weighed heavily on the man's shoulders. He wondered how long it would be before the guy snapped. Hopefully, they would be long gone by then. If there was anything he was certain of, it was that no place was permanent. Even before the world had ended, Daryl had known that. He had watched his childhood home burn down in flames, taking his mother with it and when he was with Merle, they were constantly on the road and didn't stay in one place for long.

Merle was gone, but nothing else had changed. The quarry had been thought to be a sanctuary and look at what happened to it. It had been overrun with walkers. Now, they all thought they'd be safe behind the CDC's thick walls, but Daryl couldn't help but think differently. No matter how hard he had tried to shove the thought back, Daryl couldn't help but feel like something bad was going to happen. Growing up the way he had, those feelings would usually be right.

Jenner was speaking to them as they all crammed into the elevator. Somehow, Daryl found himself smashed into the corner, but found that he didn't mind too much when he saw how near Carol and Sophia were. Since the quarry, Daryl had started to keep on eye out for them. With Ed being dead, they had no one to look out for them. Lori had Rick and Shane (Now, that was a situation Daryl was just waiting to explode.). Jacqui had T-Dog and Andrea had Dale, even if she never asked for it. So, Daryl had taken it upon himself to look after the widow and her daughter. Besides, he had nothing better to do and maybe, if he spent more time around Carol he'd finally figure out where he had seen her before.

The elevator came to a complete stop after a few minutes and when the doors slid open, the group filed out. Daryl stayed to the back, but still made sure to keep close to carol. Jenner led the way through the hallways and Daryl watched Carol wrap an arm around Sophia and lift her head to speak.

"Are we underground?" It was the first time Daryl had heard her talk since they had come to the CDC.

Jenner gave her a brief glance, but didn't slow his pace. "Why? Are you claustrophobic?"

"A little."

"Don't think about it, then."

From the corner of his eye, Daryl watched Carol close her eyes and take a deep breath. It was clear that she hadn't liked Jenner's answer. Sophia, then, turned to her mother and patted her arm gently and whispered, "It's going to be okay, mama."

Carol gave her daughter a small smile and squeezed her hand lovingly. Daryl continued to watch the scene, transfixed. It was clear that the pair loved each other dearly and it made him envious of how close they were. He had never had that kind of relationship with his mother before she died.

Jenner was speaking again and Daryl figured he should start paying attention in case something important was said.

"There's hot water for your showers, but go easy on it." Something like that. Daryl hadn't had a hot shower since the world had ended. Quick and cold dips in the quarry lake had been the only thing that kept him clean. Not that he stayed that way for long. From the looks on everyone else's faces, they were all, too, excited to finally be able to have a hot shower.

Jenner showed them the rooms that were available for them to sleep in and Daryl couldn't care less where he slept, as long as he had a roof over his head and didn't have to sleep with one eye open. If only Merle could be there...

Then again, having Merle around would not be such a good thing. Especially in such a confined space. Merle never liked to play nice with others and it only would have been a matter of time he'd piss someone off. Most likely Rick or Shane. Which would have probably equaled them kicking him out and Daryl would have had no choice but to go with him. He knew his brotherly obligations. Merle, obviously, did not. He was some where out there with their van and hadn't even come back to get him.

Before anyone could go to their rooms for the night, they all agreed to gather in one of the old dining rooms and prepare a meal. The kitchen only held canned foods, but the women had a ball with all the different ingredients and made a meal worthy of the Last Supper, which for them it very well could be. Wine was poured and even Carl and Sophia were allowed a sip. They made faces at the taste and their mothers laughed softly. Daryl remained silent the whole time and nursed a bottle of Southern Comfort he had commandeered to himself.

Of course, Shane had to ruin the moment with his stupid questions and it wasn't long after that when people started to get up to go to their rooms for the night. Daryl had been the first to leave. Shane got on his nerves and the less time he heard him talking, the better. So, it wasn't soon after he finished his meal did he find himself lying on the couch he'd call his bed and still sipping on his bottle of Southern Comfort. It felt nice to finally be able to just relax.

The sound of running feet down the hallway had him jerking from the couch and reaching for his crossbow. He just knew that this peacefulness couldn't last. However, he reached the door just as Sophia and Carl ran past.

"Fuckin' kids," he muttered and turned to get back to his bottle when he heard a feminine voice from his doorway. Despite not having heard it much, Daryl knew exactly who it was. Carol.

"Sorry about that," she apologized.

Daryl turned all the way around and was surprised to see her right there, freshly showered and smelling so fucking good. She wore a robe that hung down to her knees, but his eyes were drawn to what she wore underneath the robe. Carol was wearing a tank top that was now showing a generous amount of cleavage. He wondered if she even realized it.

"They just really wanted to check out the rec room Dr. Jenner told them about." Her eyes weren't on him, so she couldn't tell where his attention was focused on at the moment.

"S'alright." He finally tore his eyes from her chest, heat flaming at how perverted he was acting.

Carol smiled and continued to stand there. She bit her lip as if thinking of something else to say to him. Daryl wondered if he should just walk to his couch and leave her be.

"Daryl," she finally said and Daryl hoped he hadn't seen him start when she said his name. "Do I..." She paused for a moment and wrapped her arms around herself. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

Daryl was shocked by the question. He knew that she had looked familiar to him but didn't know she felt the same. All he wanted to do was blurt out Yes! Maybe they'd finally be able to figure out where they had known each other from, together. Instead, his traitorous mouth said, "Uh, no. I don't think so."

Disappointment flashed across Carol's face and Daryl wondered if it was because she was disappointed that they may have not known each other before. It confused him. Why would she have wanted to know him before? There was nothing good about him and she was a nice, respectable woman. He would have mostly tainted her somehow if he had known her.

"Oh, um, okay, then," Carol said, softly. "Well, then, I should probably go find out where the kids went. I promised I'd look after Carl for Lori while she talked with Rick." She seemed reluctant to go and Daryl knew that had to be his mind playing tricks on him. Why would she want to stay and chat with someone like him? She had just gotten rid of one asshole. "Enjoy the rest of your night, Daryl."

Daryl nodded and mumbled. "You, too." Feeling like some kind of creep, he watched her walk all the way down the hall and disappear around a corner before he went back to his room. The bottle of Southern Comfort was now more than half-empty, since most of its contents had spilled on the carpet when he had leapt from the couch. Instead of resuming his drinking, he gathered some of his clothes and headed to the bathroom for a much-needed shower.

The warm water had felt amazing on his skin and Daryl just wanted to stay under the hot spray for hours, but he heeded Dr. Jenner's warning and went easy on it. Toweling off and glancing at himself briefly in the mirror, Daryl reveled in being clean. It wouldn't last long, he knew, but he was going to enjoy it while it lasted. Walking into his room with nothing but a pair of sweats, Daryl decided that he wouldn't spend the rest of his night drinking and would go to the rec room to see what was down there. Hopefully, Carol and the kids would have called it a night by the time he'd get down there.

Slipping a cotton t-shirt over his head, Daryl didn't even bother with socks or shoes and made his way down the hallway. Going the same way he had seen Carol go earlier, he hoped he didn't get lost. Turning the corner, he started to hear voices, mostly childish laughter, and knew he must have been getting close. But it was obvious, Carol and the kids were still in there and he wondered if he should turn around and come back later.

Just then, Carol poked her head out of the doorway and looked straight at him. Too late. "Oh," she said, surprised. "Hi."

"Uh, hey."

"I just looking to see if Lori was coming, yet. She told me she was only going to talk with Rick for a few minutes."

"Haven't seen her, either."

Carol shrugged. "Did you come down here for something?"

"Thought I'd check out what was in there. Didn't know you and the kids were still here. I can come back later, if you want."

Carol's brows furrowed. "Of course, you can come in, now." She took a step back from the doorway and motioned for him to enter. "I was just reading a book. Carl and Sophia are playing Sorry. I'm sure they'd love it if you played with them. I'm not much for board games."

"Uh, me neither." He followed into the room and saw Carl and Sophia huddled over a board game on the floor. They looked up when they heard his voice and Daryl was surprised when Sophia gave him a small wave. The last time they had interacted, she looked like she had wanted to kick him. So, he awkwardly returned the wave and focused back on Carol, who had taken a seat on the couch with a book in her hand.

Behind the couch was a whole wall of books and Daryl went to it. His tattered Adventures of Tom Sawyer was still in his pack back at the room and he had finished it, again, back at the quarry. Maybe there was something here that would gain his interest and this time, he wouldn't have to hide his reading habit from Merle.

"It's mostly science fiction stuff." Daryl nearly jumped when he heard Carol's voice behind him. She was turned on the couch, facing him. "It's still better than Dale's collection."

Daryl snorted. He had never asked to borrow one of Dale's books, but he had heard the people around the camp complaining about them, so he just stuck to Tom Sawyer. Skimming the titles, he said, "So, what are you readin'?"

"Hmm," she heard her hum. "The Time Machine by H.G Wells. I suppose its...interesting, so far."

"Here's another one by him," Daryl said and pulled out a thin book. "War of the Worlds. Ain't that a movie?" He turned to her with the book in his hand.

"Yeah, but I've never seen it."

Daryl shrugged. "Neither have I. It has to be good if they made a movie about it, right?" Clutching the book in his hand, he walked around and took a seat on the far end, leaving plenty of space between him and Carol. She looked surprised to see him sitting there, but soon got over it and went back to her book.

Their quiet reading was interrupted when Carl suddenly exclaimed, "I won!" Sophia glared at him and moved to put the game back in its box. Carol looked on with a fond smile.

"Let's play another game," Sophia suggested. "I'll beat you this time!" Carl took the box and stood, Sophia followed suit and then, bent down to pick up her stuffed rabbit from the ground.

"How come you carry that thing around everywhere?" Carl asked.

"It use to be my mom's. She gave it to me when I was five."

Daryl looked over at Carol, who was still watching the two.

"Aren't you twelve, like me?" Carl asked. "Isn't that a little too old to still have a stuffed animal?"

Time stopped, then and Daryl saw himself when he was little. He was lost in the woods and talking with a pretty girl with auburn hair and blue eyes. In her hand, she clutched a stuffed rabbit. The same stuffed rabbit Sophia now held.

"Carl," his eyes jerked over to Carol, who was now speaking. "You can never be too old for a stuffed animal. Especially, Mr. Snuggles. Right, Sophia?"

"Right!" Sophia announced proudly and gave her mother a wide smile.

The damn bunny's name was Mr. Snuggles? Carol looked at him, then, with her pretty blue eyes and everything clicked. Now, he knew exactly why Carol had looked so familiar to him.

Without a word to anyone, Daryl stood up and fled.

-Flashback-

A young Carol and Daryl trekked through the woods, careful to not go to far. Being lost once was enough for the both of them. Daryl looked over at his friend and rolled his eyes when he saw that damn rabbit clutched in her arm. She had insisted that Daryl bring him along and the moment Mr. Snuggles made an appearance, Carol was reaching for  him.

"Can't believe you wanted to bring him with," Daryl grumbled.

"I miss him," she said and then, carefully hoped over a fallen tree.

"You can always take him back whenever you want."

"No, I gave him to you, Daryl. He's yours now and I just get visitation rights." Carol giggled and Daryl cracked a smile.

It had been two and a half months since they had been lost in the woods and Daryl and Carol had spent that time just hanging out with one another. Today, Carol had walked to his house, after making sure his pa wasn't home, and together they had decided to take a walk through the woods. They made sure they marked a trail for themselves so that it would be easy to get back.

"There's a river up here, somewhere." Daryl continued to pick his way through the trees and underbrush, Carol not far from his side. There was also a bush of pretty flowers he thought Carol would like, too.

A  vicious  growl behind them had Daryl and Carol freezing in their steps and slowly turning around. A mangy looking dog stood there, teeth bared and snarling. Daryl instinctively pushed Carol behind him. If the dog lunged, it would get him first.

"What do we do?" Carol whispered, fear laced in her voice. "Should we run?"

"No," he whispered back. "It'll only chase us if we do. We'll have to scare it off somehow." Daryl looked around him, but still managed to keep one eye on the snarling beast in front of him. If it attacked them and had rabies, they would definitely be in for a world of hurt.

"There," he said and pointed to a long stick by Carol's feet. "Hand me that. If it comes at us, I'll hit it with the stick and hopefully, that would be enough to scare it away."

"O-Okay." With a look at the dog, Carol slowly bent down to pick up the stick and handed it Daryl, who wielded it in front of him like a sword.

The dog continued to growl and inch toward the pair. Carol hid behind Daryl, a hand clutching his arm, tightly. Daryl was scared, too, but he wouldn't show it. He was going to protect Carol. No matter what.

Daryl swung the stick as the dog crept closer and was surprised when it made contact with the dog's nose. It yelped, but instead of lunging at them, it turned and ran away. It all was over so fast that Daryl had to let out a nervous laugh. Carol joined in and Daryl dropped the stick and faced her.

"My hero," she smiled and suddenly, she was smashing her lips to his.

Daryl remained frozen in his spot. What the hell was he supposed to do? He'd never been kissed by a girl before.

Carol quickly stepped back, saw Daryl's wide-eyed expression and immediately, her face fell. "I'm sorry!" She quickly said. "I shouldn't have done that."

"It's all right. I jus' wasn't expected it." What he didn't tell her was that he had liked it. "Come on, let's get out of here before that dog comes back." They were both relieved with the subject change, but that kiss still reeled in both of their minds.

Daryl never did get to show Carol those flowers, because two days later, he was on the road with Merle driving as far away as they could get from their pa's house.

-End of Flashback-

Daryl practically ran the rest of the way to his room with the book still clutched in his hands. On the way there, he past Lori but didn't even bother to glare at her. So, that was where he had known Carol from. She had been his best friend during the summer he had turned ten. How could he have ever forgotten her?

She had been his first kiss.

Did she remember him? Well, obviously not. She would have said something earlier, but she had said that he looked familiar. Maybe she would slowly come to realize it...or he could tell her. Then, what? It was clear they had both changed from that time in their lives. Would they just fall back into the relationship they had before, even it had been almost thirty years ago?

Daryl couldn't deny the attraction he felt towards the woman, though. When he was nine he had thought her pretty and now, he was almost thirty-eight, he thought her beautiful.

Now, Carol had a daughter and a dead bastard of a husband. She'd been nice and talked with him, but could she ever want to have a relationship with him? Groaning, Daryl picked up the abandoned bottle of Southern Comfort. He had just figured out who Carol was and now, he was thinking about possibly getting to sleep with her. God, he was horrible.

It turned out, just like Daryl suspected, that their safety was once again jeopardized. Jenner was batshit crazy and planned to have them all go up in flames. Oh hell, no. He had just found out who Carol was and there was no way he was going to die without her at least knowing.

Taking a look at Carol's sobbing face and the way she clutched Sophia close to her, Daryl picked up an ax and ran to the doors, hoping somehow he could get them all of there to safety. Despite his furious hacking at the doors, nothing happened and he only grew angrier. In one of his not so fine moment, he had gone after Jenner with the ax and had to be restrained by several men of the group.

Thinking about Carol and Sophia dying was causing him to see red.

After everything, it was Carol who had saved them all. If it hadn't been for that grenade in her pack, they would have all gone up in flames.

...Just like his momma...

Walkers milled around outside and Daryl rushed forward with two axes in his hands and cut down any walkers that got near. He didn't allow himself a moment of relief as he sat in his truck until he saw Carol and Sophia climb into Carol's Cherokee.

That had been too close. Way way too close and now, they were on the run again. Fucking great.

Chapter Text

Chapter Five

CDC- Carol

The large concrete building of the CDC stood before them and Carol made sure to keep Sophia close as they waited for s sign that someone was here. Walkers were closing in on them, after they had heard the loud banging and yelling of Rick. Carol didn't know what to do if they were attacked. She had no weapon and no fighting skills. The only thing she could do was put herself in front of her daughter to make sure the walkers got her instead of Sophia.

"Mama," Sophia buried herself more into Carol's side. "I'm scared."

"It's okay, honey. Everything will be fine." Carol tried to reassure, even though if she wasn't sure what was going on at the moment. No one was answering their pleas for help and Rick was starting to get hysteric. After all, he had a wife and son to think about.

Shane kept trying to pull his friend back so that they all could all start going back to their vehicles, but Rick was having none of it. The yelling was attracting more walkers and Carol was starting to get nervous. Looking over her shoulder, she saw how close Daryl was all of a sudden and for some reason, instantly felt safer. This man didn't owe her anything, but he was right there, rifle out and ready to kill any walker that got too close.

Just then, the doors started to open and a collective sigh of relief went throughout the group. No one hesitated to rush inside. Carol made sure to keep a firm grip on Sophia. They would be safe indoors, but she was still going to make sure to keep on eye on her daughter. They hadn't finally gotten rid of Ed's bastard ass to suffer if one of them were to die.

The man that called himself Edwin Jenner looked...odd, Carol observed. Something wasn't right with the man. He looked defeated and that gave Carol an uneasy feeling. They all had agreed to give a blood sample and Carol was right back to hovering around Sophia once she had her blood taken. The needle had hurt, but it was all worth it to stay inside the large building.

Soon, the group was moving and loading into a huge elevator. Carol's palms began to sweat at the sight of the enclosed space and she had to fight to keep her breathing in check. Sophia was at her side and Daryl was at her back. She didn't want to let on how frightened she felt standing in the elevator. She had never done well with small spaces.

The elevator ride lasted only a few minutes but that nothing to slow her beating heart. Following everyone out of the elevator, Carol couldn't help but ask if they were underground. Oh God, the thought of it nearly caused her to shudder.

Jenner just looked at her from over his shoulder. "Why?" He asked. "Are you claustrophobic?"

"A little," she answered. Actually, it was a lot, but she wasn't going to say that aloud. They all should fear walkers, not hallways and rooms that were underground.

"Don't think about it, then." This of course made Carol start to think about it even more.

Sophia squeezed her hand and gave her a smile. "It's going to be okay, mama." This time it was her daughter comforting her.

Squeezing Sophia's hand back, Carol gave her a small smile. Everything would be okay; she just had to calm herself down and not think about it. She could do that.

Just think of something else, Carol.

Like they had a mind of their own, Carol's eyes slid over until she could see Daryl out of the corner of them. Showing off those massive biceps in that sleeveless shirt were giving her something great to think about. How would it feel to be wrapped up them? She knew she'd feel safe. Her cheeks started to burn when she realized who she had been thinking about.

Daryl wouldn't want a washed up old widow like her. Just because Ed was dead and she was free, didn't mean she could start looking at other men. Especially a gruff and extremely handsome one.

"There's hot water for your showers, but go easy on it." Those words immediately got her mind off Daryl and to the fact that a hot shower would simply feel heavenly. Sophia even looked up at her with excitement at what the Dr. Jenner had said.

After being shown the rooms they would all be able to stay in, the group decided to meet in one of the dining rooms to cook up meal. Carol left Sophia with Carl and Lori and followed Jacqui to the kitchen where they would prepare the meal. Looking at the stove brought a large smile to Carol's face. When was the last time she had cooked on a real stove? Jacqui looked just as excited as her and together, they got to work fixing a meal worthy of the Last Supper.

"You know that man out there has been keeping a good eye on you," Jacqui said conversationally, but with a conspiring smile.

Carol laughed. "Jacqui there's a few men out there, which one are you talking about?" Deep down, she knew.

The woman made a tsking sound. "You know who I'm talking about, girl. Daryl, of course. I thought he'd split when they didn't return with his brother, but he's stuck around. Pretty close, too, especially when it comes to you and your daughter."

"I think you're just seeing things so you can gossip about them," Carol tried to laugh it off and nudged her friend lightly in the side.

"It isn't anything to be ashamed about, Carol. I wouldn't mind if that man kept an eye on me." Jacqui laughed.

"Why me, though?" Carol's face turned serious. "I'm not...pretty and plus, I have a daughter. Why would a man looking like that want anything to do with me?"

"Oh, Carol, honey." Jacqui wrapped an arm around her friend. "You're beautiful and now that Ed's gone you have nothing to worry about it. If I were you, I'd go after him."

"Okay." Carol only agreed because she knew it was what Jacqui wanted to hear. Daryl wasn't interested in her in that way. He was only staying near to make sure nothing bad happened to them. That was it and nothing more. Despite his brother being an asshole, Carol knew that Daryl was a good man and this was his way of proving it to her. He was protecting her and her daughter, even though he didn't have to.

The meal and wine was being enjoyed by all until Shane opened his mouth and dampened the merry mood they were all feeling. Carol just wanted to go to their room and escape everything. Couldn't there be a night where they weren't reminded of the hell they lived in, now? Couldn't her daughter enjoy a day where death was brought up?

Carol let Sophia take the first shower and happily stepped in when she was finished. She didn't think she had felt anything so good in her entire life. She never wanted to leave.

Unfortunately, she knew she couldn't stay in there forever and with reluctance, grabbed a towel and stepped into the steamed-up bathroom.

Walking into the room she and Sophia shared, she saw that her daughter was sitting on the bed, legs jiggling. At the sight of her mother, she jumped up. "Mom!" She exclaimed. "Carl came by and wanted to know if you can take us to the rec room while Carl's mom talks to his dad."

Carol smiled and folded the towel. "Of course, honey. Let me put on my robe." Grabbing her robe, she slipped it over her shoulders. Underneath the robe, she wore a pretty low cut tank top. Ed hated it when she wore them, but now that he was dead, Carol decided she could wear whatever she felt like wearing.

Sophia ran to the door, flung it open and started talking animatedly to Carl, who had been waiting there.

"Race you!" Carl declared and the two were off running. Carol didn't have the heart to tell them to stop. They were having fun and she didn't know when would be the next time they'd feel like that again.

Carol wished she had at least told them to keep the noise down when she saw Daryl open his door and check the hallway, crossbow in hand. The man had thought they were under attack and she felt bad for disturbing him.

"Sorry about that," she apologized and stopped in front of his room.

Daryl had been walking back into the room, but stopped and fully turned to face her. Carol wondered why his eyes got wide at the sight of her and when they slid down to her chest, she felt her face go hot and she couldn't look at him. Was he really looking at her chest?

"They just really wanted to check out the rec room Dr. Jenner told them about." She was surprised to get out the words without stumbling over them. This man made her feel things she hadn't felt in a long time and she wished she knew why he looked so familiar. Carol had pushed that thought from her mind while at the quarry, but now it was coming to her full force when she had looked into his blue eyes.

"S'alright," he finally said and when Carol looked up, he was no longer looking at her chest. Part of Carol was relieved and the other part...well, she didn't dwell on that part.

Standing there looking at each other, Carol finally got up the courage to ask, "Daryl. Do I..." She paused, took a deep breath and wrapped her arms around herself. "Do I know you from somewhere?" Please say yes...

Daryl seemed to be conflicted after she asked the question. "Uh, no. I don't think so." He finally said and Carol felt herself deflate. She thought for sure there was something familiar about him. Maybe it had all just been wishful thinking.

"Oh, um, okay, then," She said, softly. "Well, then, I should probably go find out where the kids went. I promised I'd look after Carl while she talked with Rick." She didn't want to leave, but she had Carl and Sophia to look out for. "Enjoy the rest of your night."

Carol felt like a teenager at the giddy feeling she got when Daryl mumbled, "You, too." She was almost forty years old for Christ's sake! She had no business feeling this way.

When Carol finally reached the rec room, Carl and Sophia had already raided the shelf full of board games and started setting up for a game of Sorry!. Carol smiled fondly as the two friends chattered away. The CDC was good for them. Here, Carl and Sophia were allowed to act like children. Carol pushed away the uneasy feeling she had been feeling since they had walked through the doors and forced herself to look at the shelves of books behind the couch. They were all science fiction, a genre she wasn't particularly interested in, and she grabbed the first book that caught her eye. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells.

Reading about time machines seemed...interesting.

Several minutes ticked by, Carol was focused on her book and the kids were engrossed in their game. Carol started to wonder where Lori was. She had said she only needed a few minutes with Rick and that had been at least twenty minutes ago. Maybe she was coming. Setting down her book, still open, Carol got up and went to look out the doorway. She was surprised, pleasantly, when she nearly came face to face with Daryl. He looked just surprised as her.

"Oh," she said. "Hi." Carol, then, took the time to briefly give him a once over. It was clear that he had just gotten out of the shower. His hair was still slightly wet and his shirt clung to his chest because of his still damp skin, which Carol didn't mind at all. Then, she noticed with amusement, that he wasn't wearing any socks or shoes on his feet.

"Uh, hey." He had come to an abrupt stop when Carol had poked her head out and now, shuffled in place. Carol found it endearing.

"I was just looking to see if Lori was coming, yet. She told me she was only going to talk with Rick for a few minutes."

"Haven't seen her, either."

Carol shrugged. "Did you come down here for something?"

"Thought I'd check out what was in there. Didn't know you and the kids were still here. I can come back later, if you want." He answered, looking very unsure of himself.

Carol felt her brow furrow in confusion. What did he mean come back later? He was acting as if she didn't want him around. "Of course, you can come in, now." She took a step back from the doorway and motioned for him to enter. "I was just reading a book. Carl and Sophia are playing Sorry!. I'm sure they'd love it if you played with them. I'm not much for board games." For some reason, Carol really wanted to watch Daryl sit down with the kids and play with them.

"Uh, me neither." Daryl followed Carol into the room and cast a brief glance at Carl and Sophia playing their game. Both of them looked up when they had heard his gruff voice and Carol swelled in pride when her little girl actually waved at the taciturn man. Carl, having being told by his mother to stay away from Daryl and his brother, barely glanced at Daryl before his attention went back to the board.

Carol was glad to see that Sophia was no longer angry with Daryl and seemed to realize that he wasn't a bad man. She concealed a chuckle behind her hand when she watched Daryl wave awkwardly back at her daughter.

After watching the little scene between Daryl and Sophia, Carol walked back to the couch and her book. Peeking over the top of her book, she watched Daryl walk to the back of the couch and look at the selection of books.

"It's mostly science fiction stuff." She offered and turned around to face him. "It's still better than Dale's collection."

Daryl snorted and trailed a hand over the spines. "So, what are you readin'?"

Carol was shocked that he had wanted to know. "The Time Machine by H.G Wells. I suppose its...interesting, so far."

"Here's another one by him. War of the Worlds. Ain't that a movie?" He turned with a thin book in his hand.

"Yeah, but I've never seen it." Ed didn't allow her to go out much and that was a movie she wouldn't have taken Sophia to.

Daryl shrugged. "Neither have I. It has to be good if they made a movie about it, right?" Carol watched as he walked around the couch and settled on the far end of the couch. She was surprised he hadn't just left the room and for some reason, she felt like a teenaged girl when they both sat to read their books both written by the same author. Did that mean he liked her? Immediately, Carol shook that thought away and brought the book back to her face to read.

Their silent reading was interrupted a few minutes later when Carl declared that he had won. Carol set aside her book and watched Sophia glare at her gloating friend. She started to put the board and pieces back into the box.

"Let's play another game, " Sophia suggested. "I'll beat you this time!" She was confident when Carl took the box and stood. Following his lead, Sophia stood up too but stooped down when she saw Mr. Snuggles fall from her lap.

"How come you carry that thing everywhere?" Carl asked, which caused Sophia to clutch the animal tighter to her chest.

"It used to be my mom's." Carol detected a hint of pride in Sophia's tone. "She gave it to me when I was five."

Out of the corner of her eye, Carol saw Daryl put down his book and look at her, an odd expression written on his face.

"Aren't you twelve, like me?" Carl continued his questions on Sophia's bunny. "Isn't that a little too old to still have a stuffed animal?"

"Carl," Carol decided to intervene with a smile at the boy. "You can never be too old for a stuffed animal. Especially, Mr. Snuggles. Right, Sophia?"

"Right!" Sophia's brown eyes sparkled as she agreed with her mother.

Carol felt the couch shift slightly when Daryl suddenly tensed. She looked over at him, to see if there was something wrong. Daryl only looked at her briefly before he stood up and fled the room. Carol watched his retreating form and wondered what was wrong. She debated getting up to follow him, but then Lori breezed into the room.

"Some people are so rude," Lori muttered. She smiled when she saw Carol and approached her. "Sorry about being late. Things with Rick lasted...longer than I thought they would."

Carol noticed how wet Lori's hair still was and she understood. "It's all right. You don't know when you'll be able to shower again." Carol winked and the two friends sat back on the couch to watch their children begin a game of Battleship.

"So, why was Daryl in here?" Carol knew the question was going to come up sooner or later. It was no secret that Lori didn't like Daryl, especially when he had gone after Rick with a knife for having left his brother handcuffed on a roof.

"He came in to get a book and read." Carol ignored the way Lori's eyes grew. 'And then, for some reason, he left suddenly and with no words. I think it might have been something I did, but I don't know what."

Seeing Daryl sitting there had done something to Carol. She knew he liked his space and thought that once he found himself a book, he'd leave the room, but he surprised her when he sat on the opposite end of the couch. He was willing sitting by her and it caused Jacqui's words to come back. Maybe Daryl wasn't just being a good man by keeping on eye on them. Maybe he was actually interested in her.

Ha. That outrageous thought almost caused her to smile cynically but she didn't want Lori to ask about it.

"It must have been something bad because he was really booking it down the hallway." Lori chuckled and folded her legs underneath her on the couch.

Carol sighed. What could it have possibly been? They had been silent up until Carl had announced he'd won the game and then, all of Carol's attention had been drawn to her daughter. Maybe later she'd ask him and apologize for whatever it was.

"Carol," Lori had sidled right up to her. "Listen, I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but I care for you and I don't think you should be around Daryl. He's been known to be unstable and...I don't want you to get hurt."

Carol shot to her feet. "Daryl wouldn't hurt me!" Sophia and Carl stopped playing at the sound of her outburst, but Carol didn't pay them any mind. "I'm grateful for you, Lori, I am. You're a great friend and I know I haven't known Daryl long, but he's a good man. He's got a vicious temper, but deep down, I know he's good."

Lori looked ashamed for a moment. "I'm sorry, Carol. I just don't want to see you get hurt, especially now that Ed is gone."

Carol gave her friend a grateful smile. "I'll be fine, Lori. Thank you for caring." Turning to Sophia, she made sure the game of Battleship was over. "Come on, Sophia. It's late. Let's get to bed."

Sophia nodded, bade Carl goodnight, clutched Mr. Snuggles to her chest and followed Carol out of the room.

Breakfast that morning was quiet as many of the group supported hangovers from their drinking the night before. Carol was glad she had only one glass of wine with her meal and now, was happily eating some of the eggs T-Dog had cooked up with Sophia. Sleeping on a bed had done wonders for her mood and she had gladly volunteered to do the dishes.

One thing that bothered her, though, was the fact that Daryl hadn't joined them at the breakfast table. Carol had hoped to pull him aside after the meal and apologize for whatever she had done the night before.

"Mom," Sophia spoke from beside Carol. "Do I have to help you with the dishes?" Her nose scrunched up in disgust. Doing the dishes was one chores Sophia had never volunteered to help her mother with when they were home.

"Of course not, honey." Carol smiled and stood up. "Why don't you go back to our room and get dressed, okay?"

Sophia looked relieved and happily nodded before taking off down the hallway. Carl wasn't far behind and Lori was standing up to collect the empty plates people had left behind.

"We're too nice to our children," Lori grinned. "We should have had them do the dishes, while we propped our feet up and relaxed."

Carol laughed and followed her friend into the kitchen where they filled the sick up with warm water. Carol washed while Lori dried.

They were done in a matter of moments and were off to their rooms to get changed. Carol wished they had been able to clean their clothes while they were here, but Jenner had told them to go easy on the hot water and she'd rather use it for a shower.

She had just slipped a shirt over her head and checked herself in the mirror when the lights went out. Sophia screamed from the bedroom and Carol was running to comfort her. Luckily, there were some emergency lights that automatically kicked in, but the rooms and hallways were still in semi-darkness. Keeping Sophia close, she opened the door to see everyone else doing the same. Jenner walked by and numerous questions were thrown his way.

Carol got a sinking feeling in her stomach.

This could not be happening.

Finally, after finding some place safe, it was going to be ripped from them, again, and this time they were all going to go down with it. Carol clutched Sophia's sobbing form to her chest and looked up at Jenner. "Please," she begged, tears streaming down her face. "My daughter doesn't deserve to die like this!" No one deserved to die like this...

Jenner bent down to her level and tried to explain his reasoning for his insane decision, but she didn't want to listen. She stood up, keeping Sophia close and walked away from him. She would not be near the man who was planning to have them all killed.

Daryl was furiously hacking away at the door with an axe and Rick was trying to convince Jenner to let them leave.

After awhile, Jenner finally relented and the doors slid open. The group wasted no time in getting through. Carol gripped Sophia's hand and ran, but they weren't completely free, yet. No matter how hard they tried, the men of the group could not break through the glass windows that led to the outside.

Carol, then, remembered the grenade she had taken from Rick's pocket and with a shaky hand gave it to the man himself. Fortunately, the grenade broke through the glass and they were running to their vehicles. Daryl ran in front of her and Sophia and cut down a path through the walkers.

Carol owed this man her life several times over, now. All she had to do now was find a way to repay him.

Chapter Text

Chapter Six

Daryl

Daryl's hands shook as they gripped the steering wheel of his truck. He kept his eyes on the caravan of vehicles in front of him and made sure not to look at the still smoldering remains of the CDC. Thirty more seconds and they would have all been still in there if it hadn't been for Carol. They would have all gone up in flames if she hadn't pulled a fucking grenade from her Mary Poppin's bag. Seriously, that bag seemed to have everything.

Jacqui and Jenner had decided to opt out in the fiery explosion. Daryl would rather get bit by a walker than go out that way. Quick death or not. He tried not to think about his mother and how she must have felt when... Nope, he couldn't think about it.

Chewing on his thumbnail, a nervous habit he had since he was small, Daryl kept on eye on the vehicle in front of him. He didn't care where they were headed as long as they got far away as possible from the pile of rubble that was now the CDC. The plan was probably to go to Fort Benning and while the idea of being surrounded by hundreds of other refugees; Daryl would gladly stay there if it meant he'd be safe and if he was able to stay near Carol.

Now, that he knew who she had been to him so long ago, Daryl's need to protect her and Sophia grew even more than before. Carol had been his best friend and the only person who hadn't cared that he was some dirty redneck with a horrible home life. Since he remembered Carol, all his memories of that time spent with her came flooding back to him. It was as if he had built a wall around them the moment Merle's truck drove away from their old home and now, seeing Carol's beautiful blue eyes again, had torn it down.

Daryl still wasn't sure to do about her, now that he knew who she was. Should he keep on pretending as if they had never been friends? Surely, she had changed since he was eleven and she had a daughter; there was no way she'd want her daughter to be around a man like him. Right?

He was so deep in his thoughts about Carol that he almost rear-ended the vehicle in front of him, which had stopped. They had only been on the road for a few minutes, so they couldn't have found a place already.

Rick and Shane stepped out of the RV, followed by Glenn. T-Dog made his way from his church van and joined them. Daryl debated if he should join them, but didn't know if they'd want the 'violent redneck' to devise a plan with. Rick turned, hand shielding his eyes from the sun and when he spotted Daryl's truck, he motioned him over. Masking the shock from his face, Daryl stepped out of his truck, grabbed his crossbow, since he didn't go anywhere without it, and made his way to the group of men, cautiously.

"We're discussing what our next move should be," Rick informed him once he got near. "If you have any suggestions, we'd like to hear them."

Shane made a noise and rolled his eyes. Daryl chose to ignore him. The last thing the group needed right now was to break up a fistfight. Daryl knew Shane was just butthurt that since Rick had made an appearance; Rick's wife had gone around ignoring him.

Clutching the strap of his crossbow, Daryl shook his head. "I got nothin'."

"Shane wants to go to Fort Benning," Rick started speaking again. "I think we should do it, but first, we'll need a place to rest a bit. The women and kids are quite distressed after the recent events, as they well should be."

"What about the nursing home?" Glenn spoke up and suggested. "Do you think G would let us stay there for a night? It is on our way to Fort Benning."

Rick nodded his head. "We could do that. Rest for the night and head to Benning." He looked over at his best friend. "How does that sound to you, Shane?"

Shane ran a hand through his hair. "Sounds good to me, but what if these people don't let us stay. What then, Rick?"

"They'll let us in." Rick stepped forward, making sure to maintain eye contact with Shane. "We have to try. We can't all sleep in the cars, tonight and with everything with the CDC, they all need someplace to rest safely."

Shane looked like he was about to say something to argue, but changed his mind at the last minute. "All right, Rick. Let's go." T-Dog, Glenn and Daryl all looked at one another, all thinking the same thing. Why had they been allowed to this meeting if it was only going to be hashed out by the two officers? Glenn had made the suggestion, but that was all he had done. The rest of them just stood around and looked pretty.

Carol

Carol stopped her Cherokee when everyone else stopped their cars. She looked out the window to see the men gather in a group by the RV. Sophia unhooked her seatbelt and crawled into Carol's lap to look outside, as well.

"What do you think they're talking about, mom?" Sophia's big brown eyes looked up at her.

Carol smoothed down her daughter's frizzy blonde hair. "I don't know, honey. They should tell us when they're finished talking."

"Do you think we'll finally be safe wherever we're going?" Carol's hand stopped moving on Sophia's hair. She couldn't answer this question truthfully.

"I don't know." Carol hated saying that. Sophia deserved a definite answer, but no one really knew if they'd ever be safe.

"Mr. Daryl will keep us safe, though, right?" Sophia's question was innocent, but caused Carol to freeze. Daryl had taken to staying close to them, but Carol knew she couldn't expect him to always keep them safe. It wasn't his responsibility. Now, with Ed gone, not like he did anything to protect them to begin with, Carol knew she had to learn to handle some kind of weapon.

The group of men dispersed and moved their separate ways. Carol was surprised when Daryl turned towards the Cherokee and began walking over to them.

Daryl didn't know what he was doing. He had turned; saw Carol looking out her window at them and then, his feet started moving in her direction. Sophia was huddled on her lap and the pair watched him approach. Getting closer, Carol rolled down the window.

"Is there something wrong, Daryl?"

Daryl's mind went blank for a moment. Why had he come over here, again? "Uh. Jus' wanted to let you know that we're headin' back to Atlanta."

"What?" Carol's hands gripped the door. "Why? Isn't it overrun?" Sophia whimpered and gripped her mother tighter.

"There's a nursin' home, there, full of decent people. They'll let us stay the night and then, tomorrow we'll head to Fort Benning." Daryl hoped that his words would ease their worry.

"Is that the place you found when you were all looking for...Merle?" Daryl noticed the hesitation before Carol spoke his brother's name. She wasn't sure how he was going to react to it. His name still stung to be heard, but Daryl was starting to accept the fact that he was never going to see Merle again.

"Yeah, it was. They're good people. We'll be safe, there." Hopefully.

Both mother and daughter visibly relaxed at the news and Daryl hoped what he said was true, for their sakes. With the life they had lived before the world had ended, Carol and Sophia deserved, more than anyone, a chance to relax and be carefree, at least for a night.

A sharp knocking on glass had Daryl whipping around. Shane was sitting in the passenger's seat of the RV and was gesturing angrily at Daryl. Daryl resisted the urge to flip the man off and turned back to Carol.

"I gotta go. Shane's throwin' a fit."

Carol reached out the window and grabbed his shoulder before he left. "Thanks for keeping us in the loop. And...thanks for everything else you've done for us, so far. We appreciate it." Sophia nodded eagerly at her mother's words.

So, Carol had noticed how close he kept by them and didn't seem to mind. Daryl ducked his head when he felt his face flush. "It ain't nothin'." He didn't wait for her to say anything else and turned to jog back to his truck.

When he passed the RV, Shane called out the window. "You're lucky we didn't leave your ass behind, Dixon. We're wastin' daylight here." This time Daryl did flip him off before climbing into his truck.

Carol let the RV drive in front of them. T-Dog had been the one to lead them all away from the CDC. Besides, Carol, Sophia and Daryl, T-Dog had been the only one who hadn't piled into the RV when the CDC blew up. They had left Shane's Jeep behind. It was clear they had no place in mind when they fled the explosion, but they knew they had wanted to get as far away from it as possible.

Sophia slid back into her seat, buckled up and picked up Mr. Snuggles from where he had fallen on the floor. Carol, even though it was just a stuffed animal, was glad that Sophia had been able to save the rabbit. It was the one thing that Sophia clung to in all those horrible years spent with Ed and it really calmed her down in the dark moments of their lives.

"Mommy, do you think Mr. Daryl likes you?" Sophia turned her skinny body to face her mother more, brown eyes wide with innocence.

"Of course, honey. We're friends."

"Mom!" Sophia cried, exasperated. "That's not want I meant. Do you think he like likes you?"

Carol felt her face heat up. "No, Sophia. He doesn't like like me."

Sophia sighed loudly and fell back into her seat. If Carol didn't know any better, it looked like Sophia wanted her and Daryl to get together.

Daryl knew there was something wrong the moment their caravan of vehicles pulled up to the entrance to the nursing home. No one came out to greet them. They had to have heard them drive up, especially if they had someone on watch.

Grabbing his crossbow, he joined everyone else who was gathering by the RV. Lori and Carol stood by their kids. Daryl noticed that whenever Carol was out in the open with Sophia, she had contact with her in some way. They had clasped hands while running from the CDC and now, Carol had an arm wrapped around her daughter and held her close.

"Stay behind us," Rick looked Carol and Lori in the eye. Shane's mouth tightened in a thin line at the scene and Daryl smirked at the man. Shane was an asshole and Daryl was enjoying seeing him stew over the fact Lori wasn't interested in him, anymore.

"Daryl?" Rick looked at him. "You ready?"

Sliding his crossbow off his shoulder, he held it up. "As I'll ever be."

What they found in the courtyard had Daryl's blood turning to ice and a bad feeling to settle in his gut. The yard was full of bodies. Some were dead and others were reanimated, feasting on the dead. Daryl recognized some of the bodies from when he was here, earlier.

Someone gasped behind him and he turned to see Carol covering her mouth with a hand. Sophia turned her face into Carol's chest, whimpering at the sight. "What happened?" She looked at him, blue eyes wide with fear. That was a look he never wanted to see in them.

"Let's get inside," Rick said before Daryl could answer. "I don't like being out in the open." No one argued with him and the men stayed in front to scout out the rest of the building.

Taking Glenn, Shane and Daryl with him, Rick led them to the second floor. T-Dog stayed behind with the rest of the group. The first thing Daryl noticed when they searched each room was that the bodies all had bullet holes through their skulls. Walkers didn't do this. People did and for all he knew, they could still be hanging around ready to get them.

Once they cleared out a few rooms for them to stay the night in, Rick motioned for them to head back. Leading the group to the cafeteria, which they had cleared out earlier, he broke the news to everyone.

"There's no one alive, here."

"What happened?" Andrea looked around at the bodies. "Looks like they got overrun."

Daryl couldn't help but make a noise. It was clear that this wasn't done by walkers and Andrea, having been a lawyer, should have been smart enough to know that.

The blonde woman turned to him, a haughty expression on her face. "Something to say?"

"Yeah," he spat, hating the way she was looking at him. Like he was stupid. "How about observant?"

"Observant? Big word coming from a guy like you."Andrea rolled her eyes. "Three whole syllables."

"Andrea!" Carol spoke from where she stood behind everyone, an angry expression on her face. "That was uncalled for!" Everyone looked at her in shock. Daryl spared her a glance before zeroing back on Andrea. No one had ever stood up from him before and he'd make sure to thank her later.

"Walkers didn't do this. Geeks didn't show up until after all this went down." He gestured to all the bodies. "Somebody attacked this place, killed all these people, took whatever they wanted. They were all shot in the head, execution style." Daryl looked at each of them. "Y'all worried about walkers? I'd more worried about the people who came and did this." Then, he looked Andrea right in the eye. "Get a dictionary. Look it up. Observant." Putting Andrea in her place, he pushed past Glenn and Rick and left the room.

Chapter Text

Chapter Seven

After a light meal of stale potato chips and warm bottled water, Daryl grabbed the bottle of alcohol Shane had found and went to relieve T-Dog from watch. Lori had warned them about taking it easy on the booze, but he was no lightweight and he figured he deserved to let loose after the week he had.

Shane was supposed to be the next on watch, but Daryl couldn't stand one more moment in the cramped room they all decided to lay down in. The Grimes family was huddled together, Carl smashed between his parents. Shane sat near by and stole glances at the family when he thought no one was looking. Glenn and Dale sat together talking quietly, while Andrea sat off by herself. She was still unhappy with the decision Dale had forced on her. Then, there was Carol. She sat in the corner of the room awake with Sophia curled by her side, sound asleep.

When he stood up to take watch, she looked up and gave him a smile. A smile started to twitch on his lips, however, he stopped it from becoming full blown and just nodded before slipping out the door.

Setting his crossbow down first, Daryl took a seat at the top of the stairs and took a long drag from the bottle in his hands. A warmth settled in his stomach and he leaned against the hand rail. It was going to be a long, boring night, but at least he wasn't inside the stuffy room with everyone.

Especially when many of them weren't making it a secret that they didn't like him. Andrea was still sore from earlier, even though she had deserved it, Shane and Lori gave him more dirty looks than normal ones. T-Dog and Glenn were weary around him because of Merle and Dale didn't go out of his way to talk with the youngest Dixon. The only person who willingly talked to him was Carol. Not that he minded. She and her daughter were the only people he could stand in this group.

"May I join you?" Speak of the devil. Daryl turned and saw Carol standing behind him. Somehow, she had opened and closed the door without him knowing. Her hands were wringing in front of her, an unsure look on her face.

Sliding his crossbow behind him, Daryl held out a hand to the now empty spot beside him. He hadn't expected company, but Carol's company was greatly welcomed. Especially after what she had done earlier. Carol had stuck up for him against Andrea and no one had ever done that for him before.

Carol smiled and moved to settle next to him. The staircase was narrow and their shoulders brushed against each other, but Daryl didn't mind.

"I thought Shane had watch after T-dog," Carol said and turned her head to look at him. "You should be in there trying to get some sleep."

"So, should you. Besides, it's too crowded in there for me and I decided to take Shane's watch. He'd rather keep on eye on Lori than a staircase, anyways." Fuck. He hadn't meant to say that. Lori was Carol's friend.

"You noticed that, too, huh?" Carol wrapped her thin arms around her knees and turned her attention forward. "They need to be careful about that, now that Rick's back. With everything the man's been through to get back to his family, he doesn't deserve what Lori has done to him." Carol sighed. "I understand she thought her husband dead, but to jump into another man's arms so soon?"

Daryl remained silent and listened. With the exception of Sophia, Carol didn't speak much to anyone, either. Sure, she spoke to Lori and Jacqui, when she was alive, but Daryl noticed that she didn't really go out of her way to speak to anyone. Which apparently wasn't the case with him.

"She should consider herself lucky to have a husband so devoted to her." Daryl could hear the pain in Carol's voice. He knew that Ed had been anything but devoting, unless it came to a beating. Daryl's fists clenched. "I know she's ignoring Shane, now, but it's only a matter of time before everything comes out in the open."

"Yeah." Daryl winced at how articulate he was tonight. This was Carol. He had always been able to talk to her before. Well, that was before she had grown boobs.

They fell into a comfortable silence. Daryl racked his brain for something to say. He was afraid that if they didn't start talking soon, Carol would leave and well...he didn't want that.

"Carol?" Daryl rarely ever called people by their names. For some reason, it felt too intimate, but he did like saying Carol's name. "Wanted to thank you."

"Thank me?" Carol's delicate eyebrows rose in surprise and her pretty blue eyes widened. "For what?"

"If it wasn't for you, we'd all would have been incinerated."

"You should thank Rick for that, not me. It was his grenade." Carol didn't look at him and Daryl knew that she hadn't been thanked for much in her life and yet, from what he saw at the Quarry, she did a lot for everyone.

"No, it was you. You took the damn thing and brought it out when we needed it the most. Everyone here owes you their life."

"Except you." Her voice was so low that if Daryl hadn't trained himself to hear every little noise he probably wouldn't have heard it.

"What?"

"I've noticed how close you've hung around me and Sophia. You've been looking out for us since Ed was killed and I appreciate it. Running from the CDC, you cut down those walkers in front of us and I consider that you saving our lives, Daryl."

He shrugged. "It's ain-"

She grabbed his shoulder suddenly. He didn't even flinch at her touch. "Don't you say it wasn't anything, Daryl Dixon. My daughter is the only thing I have in this world and watching you go out of your way to protect her, well, it shows me how great of a man you are."

No one had ever called him a good man. Especially when he was seen with Merle. He was always looped into whatever his dumbass brother did and even though, he didn't do half the shit Merle did, he still got the same reputation.

"Since we're on the subject of thankin', I should thank you for sayin' what you did to Andrea."

"What she said was uncalled for, Daryl. Everyone should know that. You're not stupid." She leaned close and Daryl couldn't move. "To tell you the truth," she looked around, a smile on her face and acting like she had some big secret. "I think you're the smartest one in this whole group."

What? Ha. All those years ago, she had asked if he had known who Christopher Columbus was and he had no idea. Every kid in America knew who that was. "Pfft."

"It's true!" Carol turned serious. "If this group were to split for some reason, I would follow you." Her face turned red and she didn't look at him. Daryl froze at her words. She would follow him?

"You'd trust your little girl with me?"

"Hell yes," Carol said resolutely.

Daryl felt his heart flutter in his chest. God, he was turning into such a pussy. Two words from Carol and he felt like he was going to have a heart attack.

"Do you remember back at the CDC when I asked if we knew each other?" Daryl nodded, unable to speak. "You said no, but...I can't help but feel that we've met before and I'm going to find out from where."

We were best friends almost thirty years ago. Daryl wanted to say. We were lost in the woods together. We became best friends. I saved you from a wild dog. You kissed me...

He kept his mouth firmly shut.

Carol didn't look like she was done speaking, but the sound of the door opening had them both turning around. Sophia stood in the doorway, rubbing her eyes sleepily. "Mama, I had a nightmare."

Carol stood up, instantly going into mother mode. "All right, honey. I'll be right there. Just let me say goodnight to Mr. Daryl."

"'Kay," Sophia mumbled and walked back into the room.

Carol looked down at him. "Thanks for talking with me, Daryl. I appreciate it." She walked up the step and stopped. "Oh, and it is pretty crowded in there, but if you decided to come in and sleep, Sophia and I made a space for you. If you want it."

"Oh," Daryl looked up at her. "Uh, thanks, Carol."

"You're welcome." She placed a gentle hand on his bare shoulder. "Goodnight."

"Night," he mumbled back and listened as she walked back to the room and closed the door. It took everything in him to not jump to his feet and follow Carol back inside.

Fuck. He was getting ridiculous.

-Flashback-

"Pick out anything you want, Daryl!" Carol's voice drifted over to him from where she was an  aisle  over. Instead of his focus on the row of candy in front of him, Daryl kept an eye on  the  attendant behind the counter who was giving him a glare. Even at nine, no one liked the youngest Dixon.

Carol walked into his aisle a bottle of Coke in each hand. "Come on. My dad gave me five dollars and I plan on spending it all in here. Now, grab whatever you want."

Candy was a rare thing in the Dixon household and Daryl had no idea what to get. "What do you want, Carol?" There were too many choices and Daryl didn't want to grab anything that Carol didn't like, After all, it was her allowance money they were going to spend.

"I like everything! Just grab whatever you want, my hands are f ul l." She held up the two cold bottles of Coke in her hands.

Daryl chewed on his thumbnail for a second, felt the hot  glare  of the attendant still on his back and reached for the candy bars in front of him.

"Well," He jumped at the voice. "What do we have here?" Two boys around Carol's age walked up behind Daryl. Carol looked like she recognized them.

"Is that little Carol Reed?" The boy farthest away, from the pair sneered. Both boys were big for their size, but Carol was also tall for hers and stood just a few inches shorter than them.

"It is.  What do you want, Josh?" She looked at the other boy, the one closest to Daryl. "Sam?"

Sam laughed. "Oh, nothing, really. I just want to know why you're hanging out with this trash?"

Josh stepped closer. "Why don't you ditch this loser and come hang with us?"

Daryl had his head down and clenched his fists. Merle would have had the two boys laid out on the ground and crying to their moms. Daryl couldn't do that.

"Um, no thank you!" Carol said with a bright smile that dripped with fake sweetness. "Now, if you'll leave us, we're trying to pick out some candy."

Josh grabbed one of the Daryl's arms and Carol was instantly there, shoving him away. She had set both bottles down on the ground when the two boys had approached them. "Don't you touch him."

Josh and Sam just smirked and looked at one another. Sam crossed his arms over his chest and looked at Daryl. "So, you're going to let a girl do your fighting?" Sam elbowed Josh and they laughed.

"You should be lucky Daryl isn't fighting you because if he was, you'd each have broken noses and running to your mommies. You do know his bother is Merle Dixon, right?" Carol looped her arm through one of Daryl's. "And, of course, he's taught his brother all of his fighting ways."

Fear flickered briefly across Sam and Josh's face. They, of course, knew all about Merle Dixon and the last thing they wanted was to tangle with someone just like him. Josh was the first to put back his tough face. "You know what, forget you two, then. You can have each other and Carol, you aren't that pretty, anyways." He nudged Sam. "Come on. Let's get out of here."

Carol watched them leave the store with a smirk on her face. "Good riddance." She turned back to the candy. "Back to business, Daryl. Now, pick."

Daryl was startled awake by the sound of people moving around. He opened his eyes and was met with the gray wall of the room they all had slept in. Nearby, Carol sat with Sophia, who had just woken up and was now, stretching. Carol gave him a sleepy smile before turning back to her daughter and smoothing down her blonde hair.

Two hours after Carol had left him last night, Shane had come out to finally take a turn at watch and Daryl had no choice but to go into the crowded room. Just like she had said, there was a space for him to lie down near Carol and Sophia. It was near the wall, but no where near anyone else. It was perfect to him.

"Okay," Rick announced to the room . "Let's all eat a quick breakfast and hit the road. I want to get to Fort Benning before night fall."

Everyone mumbled their agreements.

A small bag of chips landed in his lap and Daryl looked up to see Carol passing out the remaining vending machine food to the rest of the group. The chips weren't much, but at least they were something. A bottle of water appeared in front of his face. He looked up and saw that it was Sophia holding the bottle out to him. "Here you go, Mr. Daryl."

"Thanks," he mumbled and took the water. The rest of the group sat around in small huddles and spoke in sleepy mumbles to one another. Daryl stayed right where he has woken up, leaned against the wall, and watched Carol walk around the room passing out breakfast with Sophia not far behind.

To his surprise, once they passed out all the food, they walked over to where he was and sat down.

"Morning, Daryl." Carol smiled and opened her bag of Doritos. "I hope you slept well."

"Um, yeah, I did. Uh, did you?" Daryl felt awkward asking how she slept, but he wanted to return the sentiment.

"I did. Thank you." Sophia watched the exchange between the two adults. A smile began to spread across the little girl's face. Daryl didn't like the look of that smile. It reminded him of the smiles Merle would get when he started to think up one of his 'good ideas'.

Daryl was finished with his chips and when he looked over to Carol, he froze. She was sucking the Dorito powder off each of her fingers and the sight was causing some blood to rush south of his belt. Fucking great. He needed to get out of here. Crumbling up his garbage, he stood up. The only place he could go was the hallway.

"Daryl, wait." Carol's voice stopped him before he could open the door. "I was wondering if you could go with me. I wanted to check some of the rooms to see if there are any blankets, pillows or any other supplies we can use."

That was the last thing he wanted to do, especially with his little problem. However, he found himself nodding and waiting out in the hallway for Carol to make sure all of her and Sophia's meager belongings were packed and ready to go.

She slipped out the door and gave him a bright smile. "Ready?" The way she was asking, it was like they were going on a stroll through a park and not scavenging the rooms of dead patients.

"I guess." He grunted and swung his crossbow to hang across his back. Rick, Shane, Glenn and him had cleared out the area the day before and hopefully, he would have no reason to use it, but Daryl didn't want to be caught unprepared.

"I was wondering, Daryl." Carol stood slightly behind him when he opened the first room. "If you could teach me how to use a weapon."

Daryl stopped and looked over his shoulder at her. "What?" His eyes narrowed.

"I need to use a weapon, Daryl." Carol skirted around until she stood right in front of him. "I need to learn how to protect my child. You're a good man, but I can't always expect you to constantly keep on eye on us."

Daryl didn't like the idea of Carol having to use a weapon, but he knew where she was coming from. Reaching down, he unstrapped the knife at his belt and he handed it to her. "Here."

"But this is yours." Carol said, taking a little step back. "I can't take it from you."

"Well, you don't have a weapon of your own and I have another one in my truck."

Carol gingerly took the knife from him and tested its weight in her hand. Daryl almost thought she'd give it back, but then she looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you. When, we get out of here maybe you can teach me how to properly use it? Maybe at Fort Benning?"

He nodded. "Sure. I can do that."

Then, Carol did something totally unsuspected, but not unwelcome, she went up on her tiptoes, placed a hand on his shoulder and kissed him on the cheek.

Fifteen minutes later, Daryl and Carol returned with arms full of blankets and pillows. Daryl's cheek still tingled from the unexpected kiss and that was all he could think about as they searched each room. Carol had chattered on and he'd only half-listened, but she didn't seem to mind.

"Oh, this is wonderful," Lori gushed when she saw the pair. Completely ignoring Daryl, she took some of the blankets from Carol. "It's going to be getting pretty chilly soon and I'm sure they can use more blankets at Fort Benning."

"That's what I was thinking, too." Carol smiled. "That's why I asked Daryl to come with me and grab some." It was clear that she was trying to get get Lori to acknowledge that Daryl had helped out.

Lori looked briefly at him and her smile wavered, before returning her gaze back to Carol. "Well, Rick wants to leave soon, so I'll take some of these with me."

"Okay and I'll take the rest." Sophia walked up to them after Lori turned to go back to Carl and Rick.

"Hi, mom." She had Carol's bag hanging from one shoulder and a bookbag of their belongings in the other. "Hi, Mr. Daryl."

Daryl grunted his greeting and went to the wall where his bag of belongings laid. Everyone else was ready to go and he made sure to stay close to Carol and Sophia as they exited the building.

Daryl threw his bag into the back of his truck, where Merle's bike was still tied up. Turning around, he was surprised to find Carol standing right behind him. She jumped back when she saw how close she was to him.

"Somethin' you need?" He asked.

"Rick wanted to get rid of either mine or T-Dog's vehicle and they picked mine, so I was wondering if I could ride with you? Sophia is in the RV with Carl and I thought it was way too crowded for me."

"Uh, sure." He pointed to the book bag in her hand. "Want me to take that?"

"Oh, um, yeah. Okay." She handed it over and watched him put it in the back of his truck. Then, walked around the front and climbed into the passenger's seat. She was slightly nervous to be sitting so close to him, but also felt excited. Daryl seemed to actually like talking with her and she saw it as a sign that maybe he liked her. Maybe not like like her, but like, like a friend and she was okay with that.

Daryl opened the door glanced at her very briefly before starting the truck.

"How come you don't ride the bike?" She asked, hoping to start a conversation. Daryl just shrugged and chewed on the thumbnail of his left thumb. Carol felt a strange sense of...familiarity when she saw that and for the life of her, she couldn't remember why she all of a sudden felt that.

As subtlety as she could, Carol carefully looked over at Daryl as he drove. There was something about him and she knew she was close to figuring it out. The day he and his brother had walked into the Quarry wasn't the first time Carol had set eyes on him. Daryl Dixon had been part of her past somehow and she was going to find out from exactly when.

Chapter Text

Chapter Eight

They had been on the road for a half hour and Carol had long since stopped trying to talk with him. Daryl figured it was because he answered her questions with shrugs and one word. He was still trying to cope with having Carol sitting so close and for such a significant amount of time.

Now that she was silent and looking out the window to her right, Daryl took the opportunity to look over his guest. The tank top she wore was covered in ugly flowers, but the scoop neck did show off a bit of cleavage and the cross necklace she wore dangled just above the neckline. Daryl's eyes traveled up the long, elegant expanse of her lovely neck. Hell, he was going to get into an accident if he didn't tear his eyes away, soon. But God, she was beautiful.

Keeping his gaze averted last long. This time his eyes traveled downward and that's when Daryl noticed the way Carol's hands wrung in her lap. Looking up he saw that his suspicions were confirmed and Carol was gnawing on her bottom lip. These were all the same signs of nervousness she had twenty-eight years ago.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

Turning from the window, Carol fixed him with an irritated glare. "So, now you want to talk?" Daryl just shrugged, realizing too late that it only made her angrier. "Listen, Daryl, if you didn't want me here, then you could have just said so."

"Damn, I was jus' askin' what was wrong. Shit. Forget I even said anything." Daryl wasn't expecting Carol to be angry with him and snapping back was his knee jerk reaction, which he had regretted immediately.

Carol shifted in the seat and sighed. "I'm sorry, Daryl. I didn't mean to snap at you."

"Somethin' is botherin' you, then?" Daryl had trouble reading people, but for some reason, he had been able to read Carol easily. Always had been. It was probably because Carol usually wore her emotions on her sleeve.

"It's Sophia," Carol said. "You're probably going to think I'm crazy, but this is the first time I'm not able to see what she's doing." She laughed quietly. "That sounds crazy, doesn't it? I'm overreacting, aren't I?"

When Carol looked at him, Daryl knew that she was waiting for him to answer. "Naw, you ain't overreactin'. You're jus' bein' a good mama. That little girl should consider herself lucky because she can't get into any trouble under your watch. That little Grimes boy, though, his mama doesn't keep a good eye on him and he's goin' to find himself in a whole heap of trouble."

Carol hid a smile behind a hand. "Actually, I'm the one who keeps an eye on him most of the time. I don't mind, though, since he and Sophia are such good friends."

"Sounds like you got yourself a handful, there," he smirked. "You deserve a vacation."

"And what exactly would I do on a vacation, now, Daryl." Daryl shrugged because he really had no idea how to answer that. "Oh no," Carol poked him hard in the arm. "We aren't starting that again, Daryl. Use your words."

"I ain't got any words for that." Daryl forced down a smile that threatened to show on his face and they fell into a comfortable silence. Talking with Carol was surprisingly easy and he had been worried about her being so near. He was a damn idiot.

"Oh!" Carol suddenly exclaimed which caused Daryl to jump and swerve the truck. They were lucky they were the last in their caravan of vehicles. Carol realized what she had done and flushed. "Sorry. I just remembered that I had some granola bars in my bag and wondered if you'd want one."

The meager breakfast they had before they left earlier that morning had done nothing to curb the hunger and the mention of the granola bars had Daryl's stomach growling. "Uh, yeah, sure. I'll have one."

"Okay." Carol reached behind them into the cab of the truck and grabbed her bag full of everything. Daryl smirked when the scene of Carol pulling that grenade from that bag came to mind. "Oh, shoot." She muttered softly to herself, but Daryl heard.

"What?"

Carol held up Sophia's stuffed rabbit. "Sophia must have put this in my bag before we left. She's probably missing it, right now."

"She doesn't go without that thing often?"

"No, it's like her best friend. She took it everywhere. School, the store and even outside when she played." Carol smiled fondly at the stuffed animal.

Sophia is just like her mama, Daryl thought. Especially when it comes to that damn rabbit.

"Well, here you go," she handed him a granola bar and took out another for herself.

Daryl took the offered bat with a nod. "Thanks." Unwrapping the bar, he finished the thing in three large bites but before he could swallow the last bite, he found himself pressing on the brake when Dale's RV slowed down and came to a stop in front of them.

"What's going on?" Carol only had eyes for the RV and looked ready to bolt when they came to a complete stop. Daryl placed a hand on her arm to stop her. The action only shocked him slightly.

"Stay here. I'll see what's goin' on." Grabbing his crossbow from behind him, he opened the door, cautiously.

"But what about-?"

"Your daughter? I'll check up on her, too."

"Thank you." Carol braced her hands on the dashboard and watched him through the windshield. Daryl made sure to go to the RV, first. The door swung open right when he got there and Dale stepped out.

"The hose on my RV went out, just like I said it would." With toolbox in hand, the old man brushed past Daryl and moved to the front of the RV. Glenn wasn't far behind.

Once he was sure no one else would be coming down the steps, Daryl stepped inside and looked around. Sophia and Carl were sitting at the table, a card game laid out in front of them. Sophia waved at him. "Hi, Mr. Daryl."

"Uh, hey." Daryl nodded, awkwardly. "I'm jus' checkin' up on you for your mama. You two stay in here, all right?" The young girl nodded and turned back to their game, but Daryl wasn't done. "And you," he pointed at Carl. "That goes doubly for you." He left the RV without another word and walked up to where Rick and Shane huddled together. They had been riding in T-Dog's van.

"What's goin' on?" Daryl asked when he got near.

"Well, Dale's RV needs repairs," Rick started. "And it looks like we've run into a snare of vehicles, so we'll be here for awhile."

Shane barely waited until Rick was done talking before he stepped forward. "I say the woman stick around here and scavenge supplies from the vehicles nearby and we go work on moving some of these other cars off the highway." Daryl didn't find anything wrong with that plan and looking at T-Dog, he saw that he didn't have a problem with it, either.

"All right, I'll let Lori know," Rick walked over to the van where Lori was sitting.

"I'll go get Carol," Daryl mumbled, grabbed the strap of his crossbow and walked back to his truck. Carol was still sitting in her seat with blue eyes open wide and alert. When she saw him approach, she opened the door and jogged up to him. Daryl tried to keep his gaze locked on her face and not...other parts of her body.

"So, what's going on? Sophia okay?"

"She's fine. She's in the RV playin' cards with Carl and told them to keep their asses there for now and we ran into a snare on the highway, so me and some of the men are goin' to try clear while you and Lori scavenge for supplies nearby." Once again, Daryl found himself talking more than he usually did and once again, it was with Carol.

"Okay, I think I'm going to have Sophia with me, though. I want to keep on eye on her." Daryl could understand that and nodded.

"Still got that knife I gave you?"

Smiling, she patted her hip. "Yep. It's right here."

"Good. I know I haven't taught you how to use it properly, yet, but if you see any walkers all you gotta do is shove that thing through its eye and that should do the job."

Carol looked a little disgusted, but she nodded. "Okay. I can do that."

Daryl reached out to grab her shoulder, but stopped halfway there. Carol didn't say anything at his hesitation and reached for his shoulder, instead, before brushing past him and heading towards the RV and her daughter. His eyes followed her and may have traveled lower to the sway of her hips, but Daryl would never admit to it.

"Yo, Dixon!" Daryl immediately lifted his eyes and looked to see who was calling him. It was T-Dog. The black man jogged up to him. "We're together and Rick wants us to go up farther ahead to start the clear up, there."

Daryl wasn't too thrilled about being paired up with someone, since he liked to work alone, but working with T-Dog was better than working with Shane. The man had it out for him and the last thing Daryl wanted to do was start a fight while being so vulnerable in the middle of a highway. Taking one last look at Carol, who had grabbed Sophia from the RV, Daryl made his way to T-Dog and together they walked a ways down the highway.

Luckily, for them, the snare wasn't that large and the job to move all the vehicles shouldn't take them long. Daryl was relieved. He didn't like staying out in the open for long.

"Sophia, honey, you stay close to me, you hear?" Carol made sure to make eye contact with her daughter so that she understood the importance of the situation. Sophia nodded, clutched the stuffed rabbit to her chest and followed Carol obediently.

Carol looked over at Lori was standing in the shade of the RV awning, Carl was up chatting with Glenn who was left in charge of fixing the RV and Dale was on top of the RV keeping watch.

"Doesn't this feel wrong to you, Carol? Taking stuff from these people's cars?"

In response to that, Carol popped open the trunk of a small SUV and began to rifle through what was there. "They aren't going to use them, Lori, and we will."

Lori blew out an annoyed breath and called over to Carl, who walked over to her reluctantly. "You stay by me, Carl. Understood?" The boy nodded but didn't seem to be really paying attention to his mother.

"Mama, look at this!" Sophia held up a beautiful red shirt she had found in the trunk. "I think it's your size. Here."

Carol took the piece of clothing and held it up to her chest. It did look like it would fit. She looked over at Lori, who just gave her a look and Carol felt her face heat up. She moved to put it back but Sophia's small hand stopped her.

"What are you doing, mama? Keep it. I'm sure Mr. Daryl would like to see you in it."

"Sophia!" Carol couldn't believe what her daughter just said.

"What?" Sophia's brown eyes were opened wide in innocence and Carol was wondering where this side of her daughter had been all her life. Carl ran up to them, then, a box in his hand and a smile on his face.

"Sophia, look what I found! It's Connect Four."

Sophia looked up at Carol and bounced on her toes. "Can we play, mama? Please?"

Carol smiled and ruffled the girl's hair. The CDC had been the last time the two children were allowed to be kids. "All right, but you two stay right there." She pointed to a space of asphalt that was less than five feet away. "If I move out of the line of sight, you move with me. Got it?" She used her mom voice and both kids nodded.

Dale used his binoculars to keep an eye out for anything. Looking up ahead, he saw Daryl and T-Dog working to move some of the trucks and cars that blocked their way. The men worked quietly and efficiently. Then, looking over at Rick and Shane, he saw that they were doing the opposite. The two stood close together talking animatedly and Dale wondered what was going on. Shane was a hothead and it was only a matter of time before something escalated between him and Rick. Rick was choosing to ignore the signs, hoping that his best friend was still the same man, but Dale was afraid something drastic was going to have to happen for Sheriff Grimes to see the change in his former deputy.

Making a 180 turn, Dale looked behind them and froze.

Walkers. Hundreds of them. Immediately he dropped flat on the top of the RV and hoped the others saw them, as well.

Carol had just searched another car and now, had a bag full of clothes that would fit her and Sophia, when someone grabbed her and pushed her to the ground. It was Lori.

"Lori? What's going on?"

"Get under the car, Carol. Walkers." The other woman hissed. Oh God, where was Sophia? Carol tried to get to her feet to get her daughter, but Lori shoved her to the ground and practically dragged her under the SUV.

"Lori, where's Sophia and Carl?"

"I saw them get under a truck by the RV. Now, be quiet."

Carol couldn't believe this. Sophia was somewhere she couldn't see and there were tons of walkers shuffling by. This was her worst nightmare come true. "Lori," she whispered. "I have to get to my daughter. Now."

"You'll get torn to shreds if you get out from underneath here." Carol knew it was right and tears sprung to her eyes.

Oh God, Sophia, please be safe, baby.

T-Dog was hurt and with blood spurting everywhere. Fucking great. And it was thanks to Daryl's quick thinking that they hadn't been ripped apart, but lying under the dead body was anything but pleasant. Reanimated dead feet shuffled by and Daryl was just waiting for one to find his hiding spot.

What were Carol and Sophia doing right now? He hoped they were safe and wished that he had been near them to make sure.

It felt like they had been lying under that SUV for hours. The last few undead stragglers had walked by several minutes prior and Carol didn't waste time to get out from underneath the vehicle and run to where Lori had said Carl and Sophia were.

What greeted her caused her heart to stop.

Carl was by himself.

Lori ran up to him and gathered her son in her arms. Carol grabbed the cross necklace around her neck and twisted it. "Carl, where's Sophia?" She barely was able to keep the hysteria from her voice and tears were sliding down her cheeks.

Carl was crying, too. "She was so scared, Carol and she didn't wait for all the walkers to pass, even though I told her not to go." He pointed to the woods. "Two walkers saw her and she ran into the woods."

"Oh God," she ran over to the railing and looked frantically around. Rick and Shane were instantly there.

"What happened?" Rick demanded.

"My baby!" She cried. "She's in the woods with two of those things chasing after her." Rick didn't waste anytime, vaulted over the railing, and ran into the woods.

"What the fuck is goin' on?" Carol turned and saw Daryl running up to them, crossbow clutched in his hand. His eyes landed on her and before she could stop herself, she was launching herself into his arms.

"Oh God, Daryl. It's Sophia!" She began to sob. "She's gone."

Chapter Text

Chapter Nine

August 15th 1982

Daryl hadn't expected a visit from Carol today, but when he walked out of his house ,  he saw her sitting by their tree. "What's going on?" He asked when he got near. Carol had her knees up to her chest and head buried between them. She looked up, eyes red rimmed from crying, and gave him a watery smile.

"Hey, Daryl."

Sinking down beside his friend, Daryl nudged Carol with his shoulder. "Are you okay?" His eyes raked over her and saw that she was wearing a dress, a black one. Daryl had never seen Carol wear a dress before.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Daryl could tell that Carol was trying to put on a strong front, but then her chin started to quiver and she quickly buried her head between her knees, again. Daryl had no idea what to do. Was she crying? And if she was, what was he supposed to do to make her feel better?

"You're not fine, Carol." Daryl shifted and faced her fully. "Uh, you can tell me what's botherin' you, if you want."

Carol began to talk but  her knees muffled the sound  and he didn't understand a word she had said.

"Uh, Carol? Can't hear you."

She lifted her head and wiped the stray tears on her cheeks. "I said, I just came back from my grandma's funeral." Straightening out her legs, she smoothed down the black dress, which reached just past her knees. "That's why I'm wearing this."

"Um, uh, you look real pretty in it." Daryl felt his face flame and looked away. It was true, Carol did look pretty and he figured he'd do Merle proud and tell her so.

Carol's eyes widened slightly. "Thank you, Daryl."

"You're welcome," he mumbled. "So, your grandma, huh?" Daryl decided to change the subject and knew that she had probably come by to talk about the funeral.

"Remember when my mom called me in the other day while you were over a few days ago?" He nodded and she continued, "Well, that was to tell me that my grandma had passed away." Carol sniffed and tears glistened in her eyes, again. "She was my only grandparent left, Daryl."

"I'm sorry." Daryl didn't know what else to say.

"I didn't get to say goodbye. I didn't even know she was sick!" Carol started to sob, then, and Daryl began to panic. Now, what? He had never seen Carol cry before and he didn't know what to do to make her feel better.

Gnawing on his thumb, Daryl just watched as his friend cried her eyes out and felt bad. What did his mama use to do when he cried? It had been so long since she had been alive and it took him awhile to think of a time when he had cried in front of her. Finally, he remembered and with hesitation, he shifted until he was kneeling on his knees and wrapped his arms around Carol's shaking shoulders.

Instead of squirming away from his touch, Carol turned and wrapped her arms around him. Daryl flinched at the contact, but kept telling himself that it was only Carol and relaxed. The collar of his shirt was getting soaked, but he didn't care.

"Thank you, Daryl," Carol whispered into his neck. " I'm glad you're my best friend."

The idea, alone, of having a sobbing woman in his arms should have freaked Daryl out, except he knew Carol and he knew how to calm her down, at least a little. She had been his friend, still was and now, her daughter was missing. Ignoring his previous aversions to touch, he wrapped his arms around Carol and pulled her close. He ignored the looks the other members of the group were giving him. They weren't use to seeing this side of him. The side that he had only reserved for Carol.

Carol clutched him closer and Daryl felt her hot tears soak through the course fabric of his sleeveless shirt. Pulling away, he held her at arm's length and made sure to look straight into Carol's watery, blue eyes. "Carol, look at me," he said softly when her gaze had skittered down to the ground. "I'm goin' to find her. I'm goin' to find Sophia and bring your little girl back to you, all right? I promise." Daryl couldn't remember the last time he had ever made a promise and this was one he was going to make sure he kept.

Lori walked up to them, then, and placed a comforting hand on Carol's shoulder. "Rick's going to bring back, Sophia. You'll see and she'll be just fine." Daryl scowled as the woman wrapped an arm around Carol's shoulder and led her away from him.

Carol looked over her shoulder and gave him a shaky smile. That was enough to set his heart racing. In her eyes, Daryl could see the faith she had in him. Without another word to any of them, he climbed over the rail, slid carefully down the embankment and ran into the woods, hoping that when he came back out he'd have Sophia.

It didn't take long for Daryl to find Rick's tracks. The two shuffling tracks of the walkers after them were also easy to spot and followed closely with Rick's. Daryl hoped the man had located the girl and was now, trying to lead the walkers away before heading to the highway. He shuddered thinking about the possibility of Sophia being by herself in the woods. As a child, he had been terrified when he'd been lost, those eight days before Carol found them, and back then, there hadn't been any man-eating monsters lurking around.

Rustling to his left had Daryl whipping out his crossbow and taking aim. Instead of a walker appearing between the trees and underbrush, it was Rick. Covered in blood and by himself.

Daryl gritted his teeth when he saw no little girl in sight. "Where's Sophia?"

"I left her by a creek less than a quarter mile from here," Rick bent over and rested his hands on his knees. Daryl knew that the man wasn't use to so much running, especially after being shot and laid up in a hospital. "I had to lure the walkers away," he continued. "Told her to stay put until I got back."

"Show me where," Daryl said. He hoped that Sophia had the good sense to stay put. The last thing they needed was for her to be off somewhere in the woods. Daryl knew he was a good tracker and was confident in his abilities, he had made sure to learn them after his own time in the woods. However, it was growing dark and if Sophia was off running around by herself, it would be difficult to find her before nightfall and Carol didn't need to go the night without knowing where her daughter was. It would destroy her.

The trek back to the creek was made in silence. Daryl was keeping an eye out for any stray walkers and Rick for the landmarks that would lead them to where he had left Sophia. What greeted them when they finally reached the creek was an empty creek bed.

"Shit," Rick cursed and ran a hand through his hair. "I told her to stay put."

Daryl felt like he was back on that roof in Atlanta expecting to see Merle, but only finding his hand instead. He had expected to see Sophia where Rick had put her and now, was looking at an empty space. Daryl searched frantically around, hoping to find some of her tracks.

"We have to find her and soon," Daryl growled at Rick, who was still in disbelief. "It's goin' to be gettin' dark soon."

"We have nothing to go on, Daryl. We don't know where she went." Rick had been a cop, not a tracker.

"If I find her footprints, I'll be able to locate her. Jus' look around for small tracks." Daryl was both angry and annoyed at both Rick and Sophia. Rick shouldn't have left her alone and Sophia should have known that someone was going to come back for her and stayed put.

"Daryl!" Rick called from where he was on the other side of the creek. "I think I may have found something." Daryl hopped down to the bank and sloshed through the water to reach Rick. Looking down at where Rick pointed, Daryl was sure that the small footprints were Sophia's. The girl was going the opposite way of the highway.

"They're Sophia's," Daryl confirmed. "Let's go."

"Wait!" Rick grabbed his arm, but quickly let go when Daryl turned to glare at him. No one touched him. Ever. Well, except for Carol. "It's getting dark, Daryl. We need to head back to the rest of the group. Tomorrow we can all come out here and look for her."

"Fuck that," Daryl muttered and turned back around to follow the tracks, again. Once again, Rick stopped him.

"Look, we can't be out here. We won't be able to see worth shit once the sun goes down." Rick was making a compelling argument, Daryl had to admit, but that was Carol's girl out there scared and alone.

Daryl still hesitated, though. He knew that it would be harder to pick up the trail, again in the morning and Sophia would be even further ahead of them. "I can't jus' leave her out here." He didn't realize how soft his voice had gotten until Rick gave him a sympathetic look.

"I understand, Daryl. I do. You can't risk being out here at night, though." He ran another hand through his hair, which Daryl was beginning to see was what he did when upset. "Someone needs to tell Carol what's going on. I've seen you two...and I think it would be best if she heard it from you."

God, Carol. This was going to break her and Daryl wouldn't be surprised if she never talked to him again. After all, he had promised he'd bring her daughter back and now, he was going to return empty-handed.

"Sophia is a smart girl," Rick said and led the way back to the highway. "I'm sure she'll find someplace to hold up for the night and we'll pick up where we left tomorrow morning."

From the brief interactions with Sophia, Daryl could tell that the girl was smart. Running from her hiding spot had been done out of fear and at her age, Daryl would have probably done the same. Tomorrow was a new day and they would have more sunlight and manpower to scour the woods looking for her.

Carol had never left her spot by the rail. Lori leaned against the closest vehicle and watched her friend carefully. Carl had been there for a while, but his mother set him back to the RV to rest. When Rick and Daryl appeared from the shadows of the woods with no Sophia, Carol felt her world crash and burn around her. She had to grip the metal rail to keep from collapsing in grief. Sophia, her poor baby, was still out there by herself. Or... No. She didn't want to think about that option.

Lori met her husband at the rail and gave him a fierce hug. Everyone else had gathered around when Dale had announced that he spotted them coming from his perch on top his RV. Daryl had eyes only for the ground and Carol only had eyes for Daryl. Rick looked between the two and ushered everyone away and briefed them on what happened quietly.

Daryl approached Carol with hesitate steps and she steeled herself for the worst possible news. "'m sorry, Carol." Fresh tears came to her eyes and she covered her mouth to muffle a sob. "Promised I'd bring her back. Found her tracks, though." He looked up at her hopefully. "I'll go out at first light and pick up where I left off."

Carol sagged in slight relief. She had been afraid that Daryl would tell her Sophia was dead. It still frightened her that her little girl was out there on her own, though. In all her twelve years, Sophia had never been on her own. Carol had always hovered nearby and now, she could quite possibly be running for her life. Please, Carol prayed to God. Please don't let my baby die, Lord. She just got set free from her daddy and she has a chance to be herself, now.

"I'm going to stay here for a while," she said quietly. "Just in case she finds her way back." She would keep her constant vigil until Sophia was back safe.

Daryl nodded. "I'll stay with you." Walking over to the vehicle Lori had been leaning on, he hopped on the hood and sat.

Carol smiled gratefully and turned her attention back to the woods. It had grown considerably darker since the two men had returned and now the trees and bushes looked like one, huge black mass and somewhere in that mass, her daughter was alone and scared.

Daryl gnawed on his thumbnail and watched the woman in front of him more than he did the woods. He had been surprised that she hadn't gotten angry with him for not returning Sophia to her. She had accepted his apology, even though there was clearly pain and sorrow in her eyes. He couldn't imagine what she was going through right now.

He wondered if he should tell her of the time he was lost in the woods. She'd definitely remember who he was, then, or he hoped. After a few minutes of debate, Daryl decided not to tell her, now. Maybe there would be another chance for that. Maybe after they found Sophia safe and alive.

Yeah, he'd tell her, then.

Sophia had never been so scared in her short life. The nights her daddy would come home drunk and yelling didn't even compare to being chased by two creatures that hungered for her flesh. Mr. Rick had found her and despite her urgings to shoot the things, he didn't and made her stay hidden by the creek. He had told her to stay put and she had planned to do just that, but then another one of things had fallen down the bank right by her hiding spot and she knew she had to run.

Now, it was almost completely dark and Sophia had no idea where she was. She was lost. Clutching Mr. Snuggles closer to her chest, she whimpered when she heard something rustling to her right and kept running. Something dark and big loomed in front of her and Sophia almost wept when she saw it was a house.

She had no weapon and opening the door to the rickety house, she hoped there would be no walkers inside. Listening carefully, she slipped inside. Nothing growled or lunged for her, so she found that an extremely good thing. However she was going to take precautions. The living room was the first room she walked in and she grabbed a blanket that was draped over the back. The kitchen was the next thing and she was surprised to see two cans of sardines on the counter. Her stomach grumbled and she was glad she actually liked sardines.

She grabbed them and walked straight to the small pantry right there in the kitchen. This would be where she'd sleep. With the door closed firmly shut, she hoped no one or thing would be able to tell she was in there. Opening the sardines, she used her fingers and ate them quickly. She'd save the other one for later since she didn't know how long she'd be there. Hopefully, someone would come looking for her soon.

Chapter Text

Chapter Ten

September 4th 1982

Carol wasn't in her backyard waiting for him like she usually did every Saturday since they had started school two weeks ago. Daryl still went to the local elementary school and Carol was now at the middle school, so they were hardly able to see each other during the week anymore. He'd never admit it aloud, but Daryl missed hanging out with his best friend everyday like they had in the summer. Why couldn't he be just like Merle and quit school? Because Carol would be still in school, that's why and she'd be disappointed if he'd quit. Daryl never wanted Carol to ever be disappointed in him.

Walking over to Carol's swing set, Daryl sat down on one of the swings and used his foot to gently swing him. Hopefully, Carol would come out soon. It wasn't like they had anything planned for the day, he just felt a tad bit awkward sitting by himself in her yard. There were no cars in the driveway, which meant Carol's parents weren't home, so they wouldn't know he was there. Daryl wondered if she had ever told her parents about him. How would they react of they knew their daughter was playing with a Dixon? Probably forbid her from seeing him again. There wasn't much love for the Dixons around there. He had his daddy and pa to thank for that.

When Carol still hadn't appeared after several minutes, Daryl decided that he'd knock on the door. Maybe she was still sleeping. It was well after noon, but Daryl knew that Carol liked to sleep in whenever she could. More often than not, they wouldn't hang out until after eleven during the summer. Daryl was an early riser and would always wait for Carol by their tree.

A few minutes after he knocked, the door was flung open and Carol stood there with a large smile on her pretty face. "Happy birthday, Daryl!" She exclaimed.
Daryl was shocked. He had completely forgotten that he had told her about when his birthday was and he never thought she'd actually remember it. No one in his family, not even his mother, had remembered his date of birth.

"Come in," Carol stepped to the side and motioned for him to step into the house. When he hesitated, she sighed, wrapped a hand around his, and tugged him in. Daryl stumbled with the unexpectedness of it and Carol giggled. "Finally, got you inside." She let go.

"Yeah," he mumbled. "Against my will."

"I guess you don't want your present, then." Carol said flippantly and crossed her arms over her chest.

Daryl's head snapped up. Carol had gotten him a present. "What?"

"You heard me. Now, take off your boots and follow me." Daryl quickly did as he was told and was soon following Carol into what looked to be her kitchen.

Something smelled good and his mouth began to water. All he had for breakfast that morning had been a stale piece of toast and now, his stomach was starting to protest its emptiness.

"Smells good," he said and stood in the doorway. Carol had gone to the stove and began scooping something on to two plates.

"I made grilled cheese." She turned with a plate in each hand. "Is that okay? I mean, it is your birthday lunch, after all."

"'S'fine." It was more than fine, actually.

"Good," she gave him another bright smile and set one of the plates down. Daryl quickly took the seat and Carol sat across from him. He didn't waste any time digging into his meal. That was when he found out how much he loved grilled cheeses.

"Do you like them?" Carol had only taken two bites of her sandwich and he was almost done with his.

"Yeah. They're really good. Thanks."

Carol smiled triumphantly and continued to eat her lunch. When Daryl was finished with his meal, he sat and looked over at his friend. Was this all a dream? Was he still asleep on his shitty mattress at home? Because everything Carol had done for him today had been something no one else had ever done. How had he gotten so lucky to have met someone like her? Nothing good had happened to him in all of his ten years, except for her. Instead of cursing the day he got lost in the woods, Daryl thanked God, or whoever was in charge, for it.

Crumbs were all that was left on their plates when Carol stood up and gathered the dishes. "Are you ready for your cake?"

"Cake?" Daryl asked, trying to remember the last time he had ever had cake. Probably never.

"Yeah, silly," Carol giggled. "Are you ready?"

"Uh, yeah."

Carol did a little dance and moved to the corner of the kitchen. She stood there for a couple minutes and fiddled with something. Daryl waited patiently, which was actually proving to be difficult, for Carol to come back with the cake.

When she turned, Daryl was surprised to ser face illuminated by candlelight. The small, circular, slightly lopsided cake in her hands had ten glowing candles stuck in it. Carol moved slowly to the table and cautiously placed the cake down in front of him, all the while singing 'Happy Birthday' to him. Daryl flushed red and kept his eyes on the flickering flames in front of him.

"Okay," Carol said after she finished her song. "Blow them out and make a wish."

Daryl thought for a moment, closed his eyes and with one breath, blew out all ten of the candles.

"Now," Carol clapped her hands. "Before we dig in, how about you open your present?"

There was no way Daryl was going to object to that and he watched Carol leave the kitchen to return a few minutes later with a small, wrapped package in her hands. The wrapping paper was covered in multi colored balloons and 'Happy Birthday's all over it. He wanted to save the paper, so he could have something to always remember this day, but he knew if he were to bring it home it would be ruined.

"Open it already!" Carol said with an impatient huff and took the seat next to him. Daryl shot her an annoyed look and moved to rip the paper to reveal his gift.

"A book?" He asked, lifting the object in his hands and read the title. Adventure of Tom Sawyer.

Carol's face fell. "If you don't like it, I can take it back and get you something else. I just say it and thought of you. I'm-" Daryl covered her hand with his.

"Shut up," he said with a grin. "I like it." His school had its own library, but he was always too chicken shit to actually check out something. Now, he had a book of his own. Opening it, Daryl smiled at the slight resistance the flap had at being open for the first time.

"Okay, good," Carol said with relief. "I've read it before, so I think you'll like it."

"I think I will, too." Daryl flipped through the pages and Carol watched him.

"Okay," she stood up. "Time for cake!"

A couple hours later, Daryl decided that it was time to head home. Carol's parents would be home, soon, and he didn't want them to see him. After putting his boots on, he turned towards his friend and gave her a hug. It was the first hug he had ever given anyone and Carol must have known this because she gave a little squeak of surprise when he wrapped his arms around her. She hugged him back.

"Thank you," he said. "This was the best birthday I've ever had."

"You're welcome, Daryl. Just remember, though, that you'll have to do the same when it's my birthday." She winked.

"Deal."

"Well, have a goodnight and I'll see you later."

"Okay." Daryl left Carol's house with a smile plastered on his face.

Less than three weeks later, he was in the truck with Merle driving away from the town he and Carol lived in and with a sinking heart, he realized that his wish was never going to come true, now.

~C-D~

Everyone had gone their separate ways to various vehicles to call it a night except for Daryl and Carol. Daryl sat on the hood of the truck nearest the rail and Carol was still standing in the exact same spot she had been in when they returned without Sophia. Daryl could barely keep his eyes open and he knew that Carol had to be just as exhausted as him, especially with everything that had happened today.

"Carol, come here," he said, his voice sounding hoarse with misuse. Carol looked over her shoulder and in the moonlight, he could see them shining with unshed tears. Not having Sophia there was really tearing her up inside and the guilt festering inside Daryl grew.

"What is it, Daryl?" Carol asked when she stopped to stand in front of him. Thoughts of his guilt were forgotten, for now, and he felt his mouth go dry when he saw how beautiful Carol looked in the moonlight. The light was making her pale skin glow and her eyes looked silver. Kissing her was the only thing he could think of doing right now, but knew that probably wouldn't be a good thing. Not until Sophia was found.

"Y-You need to get some rest," Daryl finally managed to choke out. "I can still keep watch, if you want." Truth was, he was dead on his feet but he would keep a vigilant eye on the woods if Carol wanted to sleep.

"I can't," Carol sighed. "Not even if I wanted, too. My mind is going a million miles an hour."

"Well, at least, hop up here and get off your feet." Daryl patted the metal of the hood.

"All right." Carol braced herself on the hood and hefted herself up. Daryl wrapped a hand gently around her bicep for support and soon, she was sitting close to him. So close that their shoulders brushed and he was reminding of the night before at the nursing home. It seemed like so long ago, now, when really it been barely twenty-four hours.

"You should really try to get some rest, though. Tomorrow is goin' to be a long day." Daryl nudged her gently with his shoulder.

"I need something to get my mind of...Sophia. Like a book or something." Carol's mouth tipped up in a slight smile. "There's no way I'm going to read the God awful books Dale has, though. So, it looks like I'm going to be up for awhile."

An idea came to Daryl's mind and he hopped off the truck, leaving his crossbow beside Carol. "I'll be right back, all right?" Carol nodded and watched him leave with wide eyes.

Daryl used to the moonlight to pick his way through the tangle of vehicles that led to where his truck was still parked. Luckily, no one had decided to use the vehicle as a place to sleep and he opened to the door to grab his pack from the back. Climbing into the truck, he reached for the glove department and grabbed the small flashlight he kept there.

When he walked back to Carol, he dug around in his back and handed something to her. "Here," he said. "Maybe readin' this will help you get some sleep."

Carol took the book and squinted in the moonlight to try to read the title. Daryl clicked the flashlight on and handed it to her. "Adventures of Tom Sawyer?" She smiled. "I haven't read this in forever." She looked back at him, eyes shining with tears again, but Daryl suspected that they were of the happy kind. "Thank you, Daryl."

Daryl hopped back next to her and chewed his thumbnail. "No problem."

~C-D~

Carol side-eyed the man who was laid back on the windshield next to her with his hands behind his head and eyes on the sky above them. This man had showed her more kindness than her worthless husband hand in the fourteen years they had been married and the thing was...he didn't have to be. Daryl Dixon didn't owe her a thing.

When his gaze shifted to her, she quickly went back to the book in her hands. The tattered, well-read book that sparked something in her mind. Carol knew she had read the book before but she couldn't explain the familiarity she felt with this particular copy. It was like she had held it before and she knew that couldn't be true because this was the first time she had ever seen it before. Right?

"Is it helpin'?" Daryl's voice startled her.

"W-What?"

"The readin'. Is it gettin' your mind off..." He trailed off, probably not wanting to bring up Sophia.

Carol knew that nothing would ever get her lost daughter completely off her mind but reading about Tom Sawyer was helping and she felt her eyes start to droop silently. "Yeah," she answered. "It is."

"Good." Daryl looked back up at the sky. "And when you're ready to sleep, go ahead. I'll keep watch."

"Okay," Carol closed the book and slid forward enough so that she was leaning against the windshield, as well. "This won't break with both of us on it, right?" She turned her head to look at him.

He looked back at her with a smirk. "It shouldn't. Just don't move around too much, though." The flashlight, which she had set beside her after turning it off, rolled off the hood and crashed to the pavement below. Carol winced at the sound but didn't make a move to get it. Neither did Daryl.

"Sorry," she whispered and made sure that his book was secure in its spot underneath her leg.

"'s all right."

They fell into a comfortable silence, but Carol was determined to break it. At least, for a few more minutes. "Can I keep your book until I finish it?" Reading the book was making her think of her childhood and she enjoyed it.

"Course. Keep it as long as you like. Probably read it at least five times since the world went to shit, anyways."

"Wow, that many times, already? Most have have been pretty bored, huh?" She flipped lightly through the pages. "Maybe Sophia can read it when we find her." Carol made sure to say when because in her heart she knew that if anyone could find her little girl it was the man beside her. Maybe after she finished the book, Carol would figure out why it seemed familiar.

Curling on her side, she settled down to sleep, when something was practically shoved in her face. "Here." Daryl was handing him his pack. "It only has some of my clothes in so it should make a good pillow."

She took it with a smile. "Thank you." She placed it underneath her head and closed her eyes. "Goodnight, Daryl."

"Night, Carol."

Chapter Text

Chapter Eleven

When Daryl woke up the sun was just barely peeking over the horizon and there was a weight settled on his left side. Glancing down, he was surprised when his chin brushed against something soft and with a slight floral smell. It was Carol's hair. Carol had moved from facing away from him to practically laying her lithe body all over his. Daryl didn't mind, though. In fact, a certain part of his body was enjoying Carol's nearness immensely and he had to subtlety shift his hips away so she wouldn't wake up and feel it. He'd be mortified and she'd probably never talk to him again.

"Daryl..." Carol clutched his shirt and moaned in her sleep. Daryl felt his face heat up. Was she dreaming about him? "Sophia! Please, baby..." This time the words came out in a frightened whimper and her fingers began to dig into his chest. Daryl winced at the sharp pain, but didn't move to pry the fingers off.

Gently, Daryl started to shake Carol's shoulder, hoping that it would rouse her. "Carol," he said softly. "Carol, come on, now. You have to wake up. You're havin' a nightmare." He continued shaking her shoulder and her whimpers started to tamper off.

Carol's eyes began to slowly open and Daryl smiled when she looked up at him. Smiling had been something he'd never done much before, but now, he found that he could always smile at the woman currently in his arms. When they were kids, she'd always had a way to make him smile or laugh at something. Carol had been a ray of sunshine in his bleak, dark world.

For a second, it looked like Carol was going to smile back at him, but then seemed to suddenly realize where she was lying. On his chest. She quickly scrambled away from him and in her haste, didn't realize how close to the edge of the hood she was and would have toppled over to the hard pavement below if Daryl hadn't grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him. Now, she was back to where she had started on his chest.

"Gotta be careful, now." Daryl chuckled and steadied Carol to sit beside him. "That would have been a nasty fall."

"Yeah," Carol craned her neck to look back over the edge. "It probably would have hurt a lot." Gripping his forearm, she squeezed. "Thanks for saving me, Daryl."

"Ain't nothin'" He shrugged and was startled when Carol lightly slapped his shoulder.

"Stop saying that, Daryl!" Carol glared. "When you save someone it 'ain't nothin'' and I'm not just talking about saving someone from taking a tumble, either. I saw T-Dog earlier and if it hadn't been for you, he'd be dead."

Daryl knew he couldn't have just let T-Dog get ambushed by a bunch of walkers while he looked on, so he had done something and that something had been to throw an already dead body on top of him.

Carol's face turned even more serious. "I know people in our group don't try to get to know you and they're missing out. They're missing out on how wonderful of a man you are, Daryl." The last part was said so softly, Daryl had to lean forward to hear. "Daryl," a hand cupped his cheek and it startled him, but he didn't move. "How come I've been the lucky one to see this side of you?"

"Because," he started to say and Daryl knew that right then, he was going to tell Carol everything. "Twent-" The door to the RV slammed open, just then, and Glenn climbed down the stairs, oblivious to the couple who were just about to have a moment.

Carol's hand slid from his cheek, reluctantly and she climbed off the hood to greet the young man. Daryl hoped Glenn knew how lucky he was that Carol was still around because Daryl was about to show the Korean how much of a not good man he could be.

It was late morning by the time everyone else had gotten up and fed. Daryl was growing impatient as the sun began to grow steadily higher. He could have been out there by now looking for Sophia. However, Rick had told him that they were to all look for the little girl as a group. Daryl hadn't been happy out that, either. A group would slow him down and Sophia needed to be found as quickly as possible.

From his spot by the guardrail, Daryl watched Carol walk up to him while she put her bag full of everything over her shoulder.

"We're going to find her today, aren't we, Daryl?"

Daryl nodded sharply. "'specially if I got anythin' to say about it." Carol smiled warmly at the confidence behind his words.

The rest of the group finally joined them, with the exception of Dale and T-Dog, who was still suffering from the deep cut in his arm. Rick had changed back into his sheriff's uniform, with the hat and everything. He looked like every part of a man in charge.

"Is everyone ready?" He turned to ask. Daryl snorted impatiently and already started to climb over the rail. Carol followed close by and would have taken a tumble down the embankment if Daryl hadn't been there to grab her.

"You just keep saving me from taking a fall, don't you?" She asked with a smile and brushed off her knees from when she had fallen on them.

"Ain-" He started, but stopped when Carol shot him a glare. "Uh, you're welcome?" He said, instead and Carol nodded with a smile and patted his bare shoulder with affection.

"Okay, Daryl found a set of Sophia's footprints by the creek I left her by," Rick said, immediately taking charge once everyone had safely gone from the highway to the woods. "That's going to be where we'll start our search. Hopefully, she didn't go far and found someplace to go to for the night."

The group stayed close together with Rick and Daryl leading the way and Shane and Glenn bringing up the rear. Lori made Carl stay near her and refused to let him go up ahead with his father. They were on a mission and they couldn't allow for any distractions. Carol had been thankful for that. She wanted to find Sophia as soon as possible.

It didn't take them long to make to the creek and for Daryl to relocate the footprints again. "She went this way." He motioned to everyone once he stood up from his crouch. What he didn't say was that her footprints were spaced out, as if she had been running. Luckily, no other prints were following her, so at least he knew she hadn't been chased by a walker.

From the way the tracks veered all over the place, Daryl knew that the girl had been frightened as she ran and had no idea where to go. They continued to follow the tracks until the sun was directly overhead and sweat began to pour on all of their bodies. Carol looked physically and mentally exhausted as each minute ticked by with still no sign of her daughter.

Daryl wanted to say something to reassure her, but didn't know what. Maybe he could bring up that he'd been lost in the woods for nine days and had been just fine. Slowing his pace done, slightly, he allowed Carol to catch up with him. He was about to open his mouth to speak when the sound of ringing church bells echoed through the woods.

These damn interruptions! He thought furiously. However, that thought was quickly wiped away because someone had to be ringing those bells, right? And that someone could very well be Sophia.

Everyone hesitated only a second before they took off in the direction of the bells. Daryl and Rick led the group as they ran, Carol not far behind. Daryl couldn't help but smirk. She had always been a fast runner and had beaten him in numerous races when they were kids.

When the reached the church they found, to all of their disappointments, that the bells were set on a timer and the place was empty. Carol had excused herself to go sit inside and Daryl, still angry with the empty discovery, followed her, if only to get away from everyone. He wasn't one for going to church or anything. JC had never done much for him, but Carol had always been religious and a few times had tried to get him to go to church with her. Of course, her parents would be there as well and Daryl had declined each time she'd asked.

He stayed to the back of the church while Carol walked right up to the statue of Jesus on the cross. Lori had slipped in a few minutes later and settled in the front pew to keep an eye on her friend. Daryl didn't like Lori much and the feelings were mutual, but he knew that the woman had always been friendly to Carol.

Lori and Daryl remained silent as Carol prayed to God for the safety of her child. Daryl couldn't hear what was being said, but when Lori turned to look at him and give him a soft smile, he wondered if Carol had mentioned him in her prayer.

Crossing his arms, Daryl stared at the ground after that. This was not how things were supposed to go. Sophia was supposed to have been found already and Carol should have been shedding happy tears instead of sad ones.

The door to the church creaked open and Glenn poked his head in. His glance went first to do the two women sitting on the first pew by the altar and then, it focused on Daryl by the wall. "Hey, Rick wants you outside so we can discuss what to do next."

Daryl grunted, pushed off the wall and followed the younger man. The rest of the group was huddled together and Daryl couldn't help but notice the angry way Shane stood, hands on hips and a scowl seemed to be permanently carved into his face. Rick greeted him once he got closer and Daryl returned it with a nod. He liked Rick. Shane was a different matter, though.

"All right, everyone," Rick got right down to business. "We all know that we need to find this girl and since we'll be losing light in a few hours, Shane and I have decided that we need to split up." Daryl immediately liked the idea and knew that was how it should have been in the beginning.

"That way more ground can be covered," Rick continued. "Shane and I will go back to where we were when we heard the bells and Daryl," he made sure to make eye contact with him. "I want you to head back to the highway with Glenn, Carl and the women. Sophia may very well be waiting there for us."

Now, that was part of the plan that Daryl didn't agree with. He knew he'd be a better help if he was out with Shane and Rick. So, he opened his mouth to protest, but the doors to the church opened and Carol and Lori stepped out. Lori had a supportive arm wrapped around the other woman, who was sniffling quietly. Daryl's heart ached seeing Carol like this. When everyone went to the two women, Daryl stayed behind and so did Rick.

"Look, I know you're not happy with the decision." Daryl turned to give the man a narrowed eyed gaze. "But I think you need to stick around Carol, for now. Like I said earlier, I know that you two have been getting close and she's going to need someone to lean on until her daughter is found."

"Ain't that what your wife is for?" Daryl snapped, taking out his frustration on Rick even though, he knew that the former sheriff didn't deserve it.

Rick sighed. "I also need this time to talk with Shane. I don't of you've noticed, but for some reason he's been acting differently."

Daryl snorted. Of course, he had noticed and he knew why, too. Shane was pissed that Rick was back and Lori was no longer his fuck buddy. It didn't take a genius to figure that out, but Rick probably didn't know about the affair that had been going on since he came back from the supposed dead.

Daryl knew he should be feeling grateful for what Rick was asking of him. It meant that the man trusted him to get his wife and kid to safety and to take on a semi-leader role. Shane would have never given him the opportunity and with Rick, as well as Carol, Daryl was starting to feel like maybe he did belong in this group.

Just then, Carl came running up to his dad, practically jumping in place with excitement. "Dad, mom said I could go with you and Shane to look for Sophia if you said yes. So, can I? Please?" Daryl rolled his eyes at the boy and decided to go check on Carol before they made their trek back to the highway.

Carol spotted him approaching and broke away from Lori and Andrea to meet him halfway. "Hey," she said softly.

"Hey," he mumbled, not knowing what else to say.

"So, what's going on, now?"

"We're splittin' up. Shane, Rick and Carl are goin' to continue lookin' for and then, Rick wants me to take back everyone else to the highway."

Carol just nodded and wrapped her arms around herself. The tears remained in her eyes, though and she wasn't going to allow them to spill. "Okay."

"We'll still be lookin' for her. On our way back." Daryl hoped that he could reassure somehow but this was going on day two of her daughter being missing.

Sophia had laid huddled in the pantry for must of the morning, sleeping off and on. When she had finished the last tin of sardines, she decided that maybe she should check around the kitchen to see if there was any more food. There was no way her stomach was going to be satisfied with just one tin of sardines. She hoped there was more food in the cupboards so that she wouldn't have to leave the safety of the house to find anything.

She had decided that she'd stay until someone found her. They had to be out there looking for and it would be only a matter of time before they'd find this place and her.

Daryl and company had been walking through the woods now for an hour and he knew that they'd be coming up on the highway soon. Carol walked to his left after leaving Lori's side after the woman had snapped at her. Daryl nearly told the woman off for speaking to Carol that way. The woman had just lost her damn daughter and she had every right to glare at the man who had left her behind.

Lori liked to think that she had Rick's back on all of his decisions and yet, she was the first one to question any of the decisions he made. The rail thin woman was a walking contradiction. She claimed to support everything her husband did until he actually made any type of decision, then she was all over him. She pushed Shane away in every way possible and yet, Daryl had caught her glancing in the other man's direction that suggested she had feelings for him more than just friendship

Andrea, too, had seemed to also have a problem with the 'first lady' since she had been given a gun and no one else had been. They each had knives and Daryl had his crossbow, but a gun would have been the most effective if a walker were to surprise one of them.

Everyone was tense and if they didn't get back to the highway soon, they would all soon start to snap at one another. So, they walked along in silence.

However, that silence was soon shattered by the sound of a gunshot echoing through the trees.

Chapter Text

Chapter Twelve

Lori was the first to react to the gunshot, eyes wide and a hand clutching the strap of her backpack. "Oh God, what was that?" The question had been rhetorical because they all knew what the sound had been and as far as they knew, Rick and Shane were the only ones out there that had a gun.

"Maybe they ran into a walker and had to put it down?" Glenn suggested with a shrug, not overly concerned.

"By just that one shot? Rick knows that sound attract walkers. Why would he risk taking a shot for just one of them?" Her eyes had gone wide and frantic. Carol detached herself from Daryl's side and went to comfort the woman.

"I'm sure everything is fine," Carol soothed her friend. Daryl rolled his eyes at the two. Carol had just lost her daughter and now, she was comforting the woman who had spoken harshly to her just moments before. However, he knew Carol had a kind heart and would gladly reach out to comfort others.

"Carol, he has Carl with him. What if something bad has happened?" Lori clutched Carol hand tightly in her own.

"Figure we would have heard more gunshots if they were in trouble," Daryl grumbled. "Now, let's get a move on so we can make it back before nightfall." He ignored the glare Lori gave him and turned to begin walking. Glenn and Andrea followed him. Eventually, Lori and Carol did, as well. He was responsible for these people and the sooner they got back to the highway, the better.

"She's worried, you know?" Carol soft voice was suddenly at his side. "That is her son and husband out there."

"And boyfriend," Daryl smirked and from the corner of his eye he watched Carol's mouth tip up in a small smile before disappearing behind a stern mask.

"Daryl, that was mean!" She elbowed him.

"'s true," he mumbled. "Why you so happy anyways?" Daryl instantly regretted his words when guilt flashed across Carol's face.

"It's helping me not think about Sophia," she answered. "What kind of mother am I, Daryl? I should be acting worried sick, but here I am joking around."

"Hey," Daryl wanted to wrap an arm around her shoulders, but didn't want to do with the others around. "It's okay. I'm sure that little girl of yours doesn't what you to be miserable."

Carol gave him a weak smile. "I'm trying to be strong. That's what she'd want, but the worry is eating me up inside and I hope Rick and Shane find something to let me know she's at least all right out there somewhere."

Daryl knew that he should be the one out there instead of the two former police officer's and Carl. He was the tracker. He had found Sophia's footprints and he was supposed to be the one to bring Carol back her daughter. He owed her that much for being his friend all those years ago.

"I'll look for her once we get everyone back to the highway."

"Let me come with," she pleaded softly and as much as Daryl wanted her to be with him, he knew that he'd do better on his own.

"Carol," he started, but stopped when she raised a hand.

"I understand, Daryl. I'll stay back at the highway and stick close to Lori. She'll be worried sick until Rick and Carl come back." Daryl nodded and they continued to walk along in silence once more.

However, that silence was soon broken when the sound of something galloping through the woods caught all of their attentions and Daryl turned to see a damn horse coming there way. On top of the horse sat a woman with shorthaired woman and a baseball bat slung across her back.

"Lori? Lori Grimes?" The woman looked over at them, eyes searching. "It's Carl. He's been shot." Instantly Lori was racing towards the horse.

"I'm Lori. Take me to him." She was swung effortlessly on top of the horse.

"Whoa, we don't know this girl," Daryl stepped forward, hoping he was able to stop the two woman from galloping off. "You can't get on that horse!"

Lori ignored him and urged the younger woman to go. Before they turned to race off, the rider told them off the house where they were going to and how to get there. With slightly dumbstruck faces, they all watched Lori ride off with the mysterious stranger.

"Great," Daryl muttered. "Just what we need." One kid was missing and now, the other one had been shot. Couldn't they get a fucking break? Turning to Carol, Glenn and Andrea, he motioned for them to get move on.

"Hey, Short Round!" He called when he noticed that Glenn hadn't moved from his spot and was still staring in the direction the horse had gone. "Get your ass in gear!"

Glenn jerked out of his stupor and began following them.

Guilt still ate at Carol for the way she had been acting with Daryl, even though he had said it was okay. Sophia was still out there probably scared, hungry and wanting her mommy. Now, Carl was shot and she knew that Rick and Shane were most likely no longer looking for her daughter. Daryl had said he'd go out and continue the search once they got back to the highway and for that, she was grateful. She wanted to come with, but knew that she'd only get in his way and that was the last thing she wanted to do. Especially with Sophia's life on the line.

"We're back." Daryl announced when the guardrail of the highway came into view and as they got closer, they could see Dale standing on top of his RV. He waved when he saw the group but Carol saw the way his face fell and the look he gave her when he saw that there was no Sophia among them. He looked away from her, though and quickly descended the ladder when he saw Andrea.

"Everything okay?" He asked Andrea, effectively stopping her from shutting herself in the RV. "I heard a gunshot. Was that one of you?"

"You took my gun, remember?" She snapped and walked into the RV without another word. She was still smarting from what Dale had done at the CDC. Carol had watched the exchange and felt bad for the old man. He had really thought he was doing Andrea a favor by saving her from a fiery death. It was a shame that she hadn't seen it that way.

"Where's Lori?" He finally asked when he realized that Andrea wasn't going to be coming out of the RV anytime soon.

"Some girl just swooped in and took her," Glenn spoke up, still mystified but the young woman's earlier sudden appearance.

"Carl was shot," Carol clarified. "The young woman on the horse took Lori to her house where Carl is."

"Is this place nearby?" Dale asked and then pointed over to T-Dog, who was huddled against the RV with a blanket wrapped around him. "The cut on his arm has gotten infected and he needs some medical attention."

Daryl snorted from behind everyone. "Why didn't y'all say anythin' before." He began to walk over to his bike, which was still tied down on his truck, and grabbed something from one of the bags on the sides. "Got Merle's stash." He held up the bag full of pills. "Bound to be somethin' in here that'll help." It didn't take him long to pick out a bottle and hand to Dale.

"Glenn, I think you should take T-Dog's van and take him to this place you were talking about. The medicine will help some, but he's still going to need some care. Carol you should go with, too."

"No," Carol shook her head. "I'm staying here. Sophia is still out there."

"Fine." Dale nodded. "Looks like it's just you and T, Glenn. We'll make our way up there eventually."

Glenn looked like he was going to protest but then looked and saw how bad T-Dog really was. If he didn't get any more help soon, then he'd die.

When they left, Carol moved to Daryl's truck. Daryl was rummaging around on the bike and stopped to look at her when she approached. "Can I sit in your truck and read a bit?"

"'Course. I'm goin' to be leavin' here, soon." He hopped down from the back of the truck and made his way to her.

"But it's almost dark."

Daryl held up another flashlight, this one was bigger than the one in her hand. "I have this."

Carol placed a hand on his shoulder. "Be careful out there, Daryl. I don't know what I would do if..." She paused. "I can't lose you, too."

"You ain't goin' to lose me," he gripped her hand in his. "And you ain't goin' to lose that little girl, either cuz I'm goin' to bring her back to you."

She smiled and squeezed. "I know you will."

When Daryl passed the RV, his crossbow slung along his back and the flashlight lighting his way, he nearly jumped when the door to the RV slammed open and Andrea stomped out. She took on look at him and said, "Wherever you're going, I am, too." She had given him no choice in the matter and was now following him back into the woods.

"Dale is driving me crazy," Andrea said as a way of explanation as they picked carefully through the woods. "He's been acting like he's my dad and I can't take it! He forced me to leave the CDC and then, he took my gun."

"The old man cares for you." Daryl figured that Andrea wasn't going to shut up anytime soon and decided that he'd indulge her. They hadn't reached the creek bed and Sophia's footprints, yet, so he figured he'd allow her to get everything out she'd bottled in.

Carol was a fast reader and wasn't surprised to find herself finishing Adventures of Tom Sawyer only an hour after Daryl had left to look for Sophia. Carol had seen Andrea join Daryl, but also had seen the way she had practically forced him to allow her to come and wasn't upset.

Thumbing through the last few blank pages of the book, she was surprised to see something written on the very last page. The handwriting looked very familiar and it read:

Daryl,

Hope you enjoyed this book as much I did! Maybe one day we can go on grand adventures just like Tom and Huck! :)

Love, Carol.

Chapter Text

Chapter Thirteen

August 26th 1982

"Thought you said that you done with lookin' for Caroltopia," Daryl grumbled from behind his best friend. Together, they were walking through the woods behind Carol's house and making sure to mark the trees as they passed them so they wouldn't get lost again.

"I did," Carol answered and turned to give Daryl a bright smile with blue eyes shining. "We're not looking for Caroltopia, we're looking for Caryltopia."

Daryl had to stop in his tracks, confusion written all over his face. "Didn't you jus' say the same thing?" Carol had literally just repeated herself or so he thought.

Carol stopped when he did and turned all the way around to face him. "It isn't the same thing, it just sounds the same. Caroltopia is named after me and Caryltopia is named after us." When Daryl's look of confusion only got worse, she continued. "I'm saying Caryl as in C-A-R-Y-L, which is our names mashed together. The C-A is from my name, the Y-L from yours and we share the R."

It didn't take long for Daryl to finally figure it all out and when he did, he crossed his arms over his chest. "How come it can't be Daroltopia? It sounds like my name, but it's really both of ours."

"Because I thought of it first, that's why!" Carol huffed and crossed her own arms.

"All right, all right." Daryl held up his hands in surrender. He knew Carol could be very stubborn when she wanted to and didn't feel like fighting with her over something she obviously felt strongly about.

"Good!" She smiled and turned to flounce back down the small trail they had been walking on. Daryl once again started to follow her and grumbled. Carol had him wrapped around her little finger and boy, did she know it.

They hadn't gone far when Daryl looked up from his feet and saw that Carol was no where  in sight. "Fuckin' great," he muttered. Lost, again. "Carol!" He called hoping that she wasn't far and  still  could hear him.

"Dar-ACK!" She didn't sound very far away and at the sound of her surprised yelp, Daryl went off running.

"Carol!" He yelled. "You okay?" Looking frantically around, he still couldn't see her.

"Yeah," came her slightly muffled reply. "Just slid down this hill." Daryl looked to his right and spotted a slight raise in the land and when he trotted over to it, he had to hold back a laugh. Carol laid on the bottom of the hill, which had led to the bank of a creek, covered in dirt and leaves. From the looks of it, Carol had tried to grab on to some branches as she made her tumble. It hadn't even been a steep hill and that made Daryl finally let loose with his laughter.

"This isn't funny, Daryl." Carol grumbled as she climbed to her feet and brushed herself off.

"You have to admit that it is," said Daryl when he carefully climbed down the hill to join her and pulled a stray twig from her hair.

Once Carol deemed herself presentable, she decided to look around the area she had literally stumbled into. The creek was small, probably only went up to their knees at its deepest point, but the water was clear. Several trees and bushes overhang the bank from positions scattered on the hill and gave the couple some nice shade from the hot Georgian sun.

"I think we may have found Caryltopia," she whispered. This would be the perfect place to come to and just hang out with her best friend. They had even marked a trail and everything so they wouldn't get lost to it. "Do you like it?" She turned to gauge Daryl's reaction.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool. Can we eat lunch, now? I'm starvin'."

Carol rolled her eyes , slid her Strawberry Shortcake bag from her back,  and sat down crossed-legged on the dirt. Daryl followed suit. "Everything is probably smashed because of my fall." She pulled out a sandwich, which had been somewhat flattened.

"Don't care," Daryl grabbed and unwrapped it. "It's food."

"I guess you're right." Carol sighed and took out her own  sandwich . Peanut butter and jelly and it looked like most of the jelly had been oozed out of it. "Looks like only your sandwich survived." She put the sandwich to the side and declared it uneatable.

"We can share." Daryl ripped his sandwich in half and handed it to her. Carol took it with a smile.

"Thank you."

Daryl just shrugged. "Ain't nothin'." Together they sat side by side in silence and watched the creek flow gently. It was so peaceful and Carol was glad that Daryl was there to share this with her. He really was her best friend in the whole world.

"Daryl, you know you're my best friend, right?" She asked and didn't look at him.

"Yeah," he answered. "You're mine, too."

She smiled at that. "Let's make a promise, right now, that no matter what happens in our futures we will never forget each other."

"Okay," Daryl said. Carol held out her hand with the pinky up. Daryl did the same and together, they made that promise.

Staring down at the handwriting in front of her, her handwriting, Carol realized, then, that she had broken their promise. Daryl had been that boy in her past she could never put a face or name to. Daryl had been her best friend way back when and now, she was finally starting to realize it.

Did Daryl know? Was that the reason why he had been so kind to her? But why wouldn't he say anything and why would he tell her that they hadn't known each other before when she'd asked?

Daryl was just being kind to her because he was a good man, a man she had always known he'd grow up to be. Maybe those few months together hadn't been as important to Daryl as they had been to her. One day he had just been gone and for a while, Carol had been a wreck. Her parents had noticed the change in their daughter immediately, despite not being around much. She had gone from being a chatty, carefree girl to a quiet, shy thing that would stay in her room most of the time. Over the years, she pushed Daryl so far back in her mind that eventually, she had forgotten about him completely.

Now, with just a few simple words written in the back of a children's book, everything had come rushing back to her. Tears pricked Carol's eyes and she gently closed the well-read book.

Daryl should have been Sophia's daddy.

Even at the young age of eleven, Carol had known that one day she would marry Daryl Dixon. If only he had stuck around. She would have never met and married Ed, then. However, she knew that she could never blame Daryl for that. The thought hadn't even crossed her mind. Marrying Ed had been her own stupid decision and she had had to live with it.

But now, Ed was dead and Daryl was back in her life.

"So, what's up with you and Carol?" They hadn't been in the woods five minutes before Andrea opened her big mouth.

"Ain't nothin' goin' on with me and Carol," Daryl grumbled. Couldn't she mind her own damn business?

"Well, you're out here in the middle of the night looking for her daughter."

"A child goes missin' and you look for her. There's no way I was goin' to stay back at the highway with my thumb up my ass when I knew I could do somethin' to find that little girl."

"We don't even know if she's still alive," Andrea said. "It's been two days."

"I was lost in the woods for nine and I made it out okay," Daryl blurted out. "Was only nine years old, too. No one looked for me." Carol found me, though. But there was no way he'd tell Andrea that.

"So, you're looking for Carol's daughter because you were lost in the woods once and not because she's newly single?" She even had the nerve to smirk at him. The nerve of this woman. She had basically called him stupid back at the nursing home and now, she thought it was all right to tease him?

"Shut up," he growled and walked faster, not caring that he was leaving her behind. He would have looked for Carl if the boy had gone missing and he didn't even like the kid. Andrea was just being too damn nosy for her own good.

Carol had been dozing off in Daryl's truck, waiting for his return, when the door was suddenly wrenched open. She immediately went to her knife but stopped when it was Daryl that climbed up into the seat.

He gave her a half smile of approval and turned to set his crossbow in the back within easy reaching distance. "Good job," he said.

Carol sheathed the knife and let her eyes roam over Daryl. He looked defeated and worn out. "Anything?" She asked, already knowing the truth. If Sophia had been found, she would have been sitting with them in the truck.

"No. I'm sorry." He refused to look at her.

"Don't be." Carol moved across the seat until she was almost pressed against his side. "You're looking for her and that's all that matters." When Daryl finally looked up at her his eyes widened to find her so close. Carol wondered how he would react if she were to kiss him. Probably flee. Even though he hadn't done that when she'd first kissed him all those years ago.

"Should get some rest," he mumbled as he moved closer to the window and farther from Carol. From the looks of it, Carol's words hadn't reassured him much and guilt was still weighing heavily on his mind. "Tomorrow Dale wants us to go to the Greene farm. Don't want to, but we're vulnerable out here and it'd be nice to have a base of some sorts to come back to after a search."

"I can ask Shane or Rick to bring me back here later to see if Sophia made it back."

Daryl nodded. "We can make a big sign to make sure that if she makes her way back, she stays there until we can get her."

Carol smiled. "Good idea."

Daryl just shrugged and turned to lean his body against the door, getting ready for sleep. Carol turned to do the same thing on her side with a sigh. It looked like she wasn't going to get much out of him, tonight.

"There's a bed in the RV," his gruff voice broke the silence. "Andrea's on watch and Dale sleeps in the front seat."

"I'm fine here, Daryl."

"You sure?"

Carol rolled her eyes. "I'm positive."

When Daryl returned with Andrea back to the highway, he felt like the biggest failure ever. He had found no signs of Sophia and was probably no closer to finding her than he had been earlier with the group.

Andrea, thankfully, had remained silent for the rest of their search and didn't get in his way like he had thought she would. He suspected that she needed those moments of silence away from Dale. The man was constantly making sure she was fine and Daryl could see how that could get annoying fast.

They hadn't been out long, but looking for a pair of tracks with just a flashlight had proven difficult and Daryl realized that being out at night was probably not a good thing. So, with reluctance, they made their way back to the highway. Dale had seen them coming from on top of his RV and Andrea told him to get some rest while she took watch. The old man had looked about ready to argue, but thought better of it and climbed down from his perch to get inside his RV.

Daryl had made his way to his truck. When he'd opened the door, he'd been surprised to see Carol there with her knife out and ready. He couldn't help but feel a swell of pride. She was learning.

That feeling was soon replaced by shame when she asked about Sophia. Every minute that girl was missing weighed heavily on his mind and he couldn't help but feel like he was the girl's only chance of survival. He had the hunting and tracking skills. Rick and Shane were cops but probably had never deal with a missing persons involving having to search in a dense forest.

Carol continued to surprise him, when instead of anger that her child had still not been found, she reached over and comforted him. She had even decided to stay in the truck with him. Even though Carol didn't remember him, he felt a spark of hope in his chest. It had been twenty-eight years since they had last seen one another and they had each changed so much since then and yet, they had somehow went right to being friends once again. Sure, they weren't as close as all those years ago, but Carol went out of her way to seek him out, joked with him and didn't treat him like the redneck trash he was.

Daryl often wondered if he and Carol had never met in the woods and hadn't shared that same, terrifying experience, would they have become the friends they had? Daryl couldn't help but wonder if this was his answer.

Chapter Text

Chapter Fourteen

August 26th 1982

"You're hurt, too, Carol," Daryl grumbled and winced when Carol started dabbing rubbing alcohol on the scrap on his elbow. He already sported a bandage on his left knee, where there was a hole in his pants, and one on the left side of his face. Carol didn't look any better than h e did .

While they were exploring Caryltopia, they had come across a rocky section of the creek and decided to carefully walk across it. However, Carol, who was prone to clumsiness, had gotten her foot caught between two rocks and started to take a table. Daryl had grabbed her and they'd both gone down together.

When they finally made it back to Carol's house, they were bleeding from several  minor  cuts on their bodies and since Daryl refused to go inside, something Carol was still working on, she brought the first-aid kit outside and began to tend to his wounds first.

"I know and I'll get them when I'm done with you!" Carol scolded lightly and then reached down to grab a  Band-Aid  for his elbow. "This is my fault, anyway." She ripped open the small package and carefully placed it over the stinging cut. "If I hadn't gotten my foot caught, I wouldn't have fallen and you wouldn't have come down with me."

Daryl snorted. "Ain't like you planned on fallin' in the first place. Jesus." In the short time they had been friends, Daryl had immediately caught on to how caring and compassionate Carol was. She would always look out for him, tend to any wound he had and, even though he didn't talk about him much, always listened when Daryl would talk about his father.

There had been one time Daryl had come over to play with a cut lip and swollen cheek. Carol hadn't asked any questions as to where he'd gotten them  ( she already knew) and went inside to bring out a bag of frozen peas and a towel to clean up with.

Once the swelling had gone down, she'd taken the items back inside and came back out ready to play.

Daryl loved Carol. She was the best friend he had ever  had and  without her, he knew his already bleak life would have been much worse.

"All right." Carol clapped her hands and admired her work. "My turn." She reached down to grab a  cotton  ball and the rubbing alcohol, but Daryl stopped her.

"Let me." Gently he took the supplies from her hand, stood up and motioned for Carol to take the seat he had just vacated. "It's only fair, right?" He quirked a smile. "You take care of me and I take care of you."

"I guess." Carol shrugged and shifted nervously in the seat. They didn't touch that often and usually, Daryl was the one with the aversion to it, so he wondered what waking her so  nervous , now. Did she not want him to touch her?

Leaning close, he began to dab at the scrap on Carol's chin. Instead of wincing at the burning sensation, her face flushed a deep red and when Daryl looked up, she quickly avoided her gaze. Hmm, he thought. What was that supposed to mean?

"Everythin' okay, Carol?" He took a slight step back. "I ain't hurtin' you, am I?"

"N-No," she stuttered. "You were doing fine."

"All right," he said,  skeptically . "But you best tell me if I hurt you, got it?" She nodded as an answer and he reached to put a Band-Aid on the scrape and carefully smoothed down the edges of Carol's soft skin. The flush never went away the whole time he was doctoring her. In fact, it may have even gotten darker the longer he tended to her cuts.

What did that mean?

The next morning, after a quick breakfast that Carol, and with the help from Andrea, prepared the four were off. Dale and Andrea led the way in the RV and Carol and Daryl followed behind in the truck.

Carol's eyes never left the tree line and Daryl knew that Sophia would show up at the last second so that it didn't seem like they were leaving her behind. They had rigged up a sign and left supplies on one of the cars near the rail hoping that if Sophia made it back to the highway, she'd see it and stay put until someone came and got her.

"Once we get settled at the Greene's, I'll go out and look for her," Daryl broke the silence in the cab, hoping that his words would calm Carol. She turned to give him a grateful smile and slide a hand across the bench to clasp the hand he set beside him.

It didn't take them long to find the farmhouse and they pulled up to the front. Lori had been sitting on the porch steps, but stood when she saw them approach. The moment the truck stopped, Carol was out the door and giving the thin woman a warm hug.

Daryl climbed out of the truck and watched the scene with a frown. He knew Carol was a caring person and was only trying to comfort Lori over her son, but the woman had just snapped on Carol the day before saying she had no right to blame her husband for leaving Sophia behind. Of course, he didn't think Carl deserved to be shot and felt sorry for the boy, but there was no way he'd comfort his mother.

"That stupid idiot just shot my son, Carol. He shot him." The hugging woman pulled apart but Lori still held Carol by the shoulders.

"I'm sure it was an accident, Lori. He probably didn't see him." Carol tried to reason with the distraught woman.

"He shot him, Carol!"

Daryl had enough and stepped forward. The woman had every right to be angry over what had happened to her son, but he'd be damned if she was allowed to be a hypocrite in front of his face and to Carol, no less.

"What the fuck, bitch?" He said, angrily. Both women turned to him with shock written all over their faces. Luckily, Dale and Andrea had gone inside with the rest of the group and it was just them two.

"Excuse me?" Lori asked, a hand going to her hip.

"Daryl?" Carol stepped forward. "What's going on?"

He ignored her and continued to stare right at Lori. "I can't believe the damn words comin' out of your fuckin' mouth. Jus' yesterday you were snappin' on Carol cuz she looked at Rick with blame for leavin' her daughter out there by herself. She didn't say shit to you about it, but you bitched at her for a look. Now, you're goin' on and on about a man shooting your son by accident and think it's fuckin' okay? I don't care if you're treated like the first lady around here, I won't stand for that shit and I'll call your ass out on it every time."

Lori was speechless, but Carol was angry. "Daryl!" She cried, "Her son just got shot!"

Daryl reeled back a little at the sharpness in her tone. He didn't think Carol would have been happy with him, but didn't think she'd be pissed. So, he reacted without thinking and snapped back at her, "Yeah, and yourdaughter is still missin'. At least she knows where Carl is." He knew he should have stopped when he heard Carol gasp, but he was just so angry. "Well, I guess that's the last time I stick up for your ass." Stomping to the back of the truck, he grabbed his pack and a tent he snagged from a jeep back on the highway. It was a tent meant for more than one person and at the time, he had thought that maybe Carol would join him in it. But now... He wasn't so sure. She probably hated him now for the things he had said to her and her friend.

His stupid mouth always got him in trouble.

Carol gnawed on her bottom lip as she watched Daryl stop away with his tent. She had wished that she hadn't said anything to him about the way he was speaking to Lori, he had been defending her after all, but now it was too late to take the words back.

"See," Lori finally managed to say. "That man is definitely out of control and dangerous to be around. Carol, this is why you shouldn-" Carol held up a hand and effectively cut Lori off.

"He's a good man and the last few days haven't been easy on him." Carol turned to face her friend. "But the things he said were true. Your husband left my daughter out in the woods all by herself. I didn't say one word about it because I knew that his intention was to keep her safe from the walkers chasing after them and yet, you still went off on me. Rick shouldn't have left Sophia out there on her own. This man didn't mean to shoot Carl. It was an accident. I'll be damned if you treat me as a soundboard for your anger and not be allowed to do the same."

For the second time in the span of only a few minutes, Lori was speechless. Carol figured that the woman was not used to being spoken to in the way that she had. Carol knew that was a caring person and when she had seen the distressed woman, her first instinct had been to try to comfort her just as Lori had done when Sophia first went missing. However, she hadn't found it fair that this woman constantly contradicted herself. There would be things that she looked down on, made it known she didn't think it was right and then turned around and did the same thing.

They were both grieving mothers. Lori's son was possibly on the brink of death and her daughter was still lost in the woods. They needed to support one another at this time, but Carol could find it in her heart to go on comforting Lori when she felt so angry. Maybe she'd apologize later when things settled down a bit.

Maybe...

Now, she was going to grab her stuff from Daryl's truck, put it in Dale's RV and then, go find Daryl to apologize.

It didn't take long for Daryl to set up his tent and place his stuff inside, but he was still too riled up to go out and look for Sophia. Being this way could get him killed out there, so he decided to let off some steam and moved to take a look around their new camp.

Slowly the group, with the exception of Lori and Rick, filed out of the house and went to set up their own tents and places to sleep. Daryl ignored them for the most part and when he saw Carol walking to the RV, he quickly averted his eyes. He felt guilty about the words he had said to her and wasn't ready to face her, yet.

He walked past the house and decided to explore what was that. When, he thought he was near the edge of the property he heard running footsteps behind him and knew that they were too fast to be a walker. Turning around, he was surprised to see that it was Carol. She stopped when they made eye contact and gave him a tentative smile.

"Daryl?"

"Yeah," he growled and hated when she winced.

"I, uh, I just wanted to apologize before you left." She fiddled with the hem of her tank top. "You were sticking up for me and I shouldn't have snapped on you like that."

"S'alright." He managed to say, shocked that she had been the one to come up to him first and apologize. "I should be the one apologizin', though. Shouldn't have snapped on you like that."

Carol smirked. "But you aren't going to apologize for talking to Lori like that, huh?"

"Hell no!" He said, vehemently. Lori deserved every word he had said.

"Good." She stepped forward and grabbed his hand. So use to her unexpected touches, Daryl didn't flinch at the contact. "Be careful out there, okay?"

Talking with Carol had eased the tension in his body and now, he knew he was ready to go out looking for Sophia. There was still a few hours of sunlight and he hoped that he'd actually find something this time. "I will."

"Are you sure I can't come with?" Carol still hadn't let go of his hand.

"Uh," he shook his head. "I'm faster on my own."

"Okay." Going up on her tiptoes, she placed a kiss on his cheek, dangerously close to his mouth. "Be careful."

Retracing his steps back to the highway from the Greene farm hadn't been difficult, but was surprised when he passed a home hidden away between the trees. Something told him to look inside and he let himself start to feel hope that maybe Sophia was in there. That maybe some thing would finally go right in his search.

Walking up to the door, he kept his crossbow ready and opened the door quietly. The door squeaked a little on it's hinges and Daryl stopped to see if he could hear any movement from the inside. When he didn't he continued to push on the wood until he was fully inside the house.

Taking quiet steps inside, he kept his eyes sharp and alert. If anything were to jump out at him, he'd be ready. When he reached what looked to be the living room, he saw that something seemed to be curled up on the couch, underneath a wildly patterned blanket. Approaching it carefully, he reached out a hand but was completely taken by surprise when the blanket was whipped back and he narrowly avoided a knife slashing at his face.

Daryl looked down and saw that it was a little blonde girl who wielded the knife. Breaking into a huge smile, he barely stopped himself from launching at the girl to envelope her in a hug. "Sophia? Thank God, I finally found you!"

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Chapter Sixteen

August 31st 1982

"Sophia," Carol blurted out one afternoon as they relaxed in her backyard. Daryl was beside her on the grass and they both were lying on their backs and looking up at the clouds. An empty plate that had been full of freshly made chocolate chip cookies lay near them.

"Sophia, what?" Daryl's eyes never left the sky but his brow wrinkled in confusion at the outburst. They didn't know any Sophia's or he didn't, anyway. Carol was the only person beside his pa and Merle that he knew.

"I like that name." Carol turned and propped herself on an elbow to look down on him. "I think that's what I'll name my first daughter." Daryl looked at her and frowned.

"Ain't you a little young to be thinkin' about havin' kids? We're still kids ourselves."

Carol shrugged. "I don't think it matters. I just know one day I will be having kids and one of them will be named Sophia." She la y  back down. "So, do you like it?"

"What?"

"The name Sophia?" She nudged him with an elbow.

"Yeah, I guess. It s jus' a name, though."  His lids began to droop the longer they talked. The night before, his father had come home drunk and looking for a fight, so he'd hid from him all night and was too afraid to go to sleep.

"Yeah," Carol's voice  started  to fade as he began to fall  asleep . "It's a pretty name..."

Carol had hardly stopped touching Sophia since they'd been reunited. Now, she walked with an arm around her daughter's shoulders and made her way to the farmhouse. It was growing dark and she hoped that Hershel could give Sophia a quick look over to make sure she was completely fine.

Daryl walked slightly behind them, crossbow hanging against his back and within easy reach in case he needed to use it. Carol was grateful for this man. So very grateful. She wished she had realized who he was sooner. At the quarry, it had just been him and his brother. No one would go out of there way to talk with the Dixons and Carol knew that Merle was often high, so she wondered if Daryl ever got lonely. With Ed watching her every move, she knew she couldn't have kept Daryl company, even if she'd wanted, too.

When they reached the porch steps, they found Glenn and Lori sitting on the porch swing. They didn't seem to be talking with another and Lori's eyes were glued to the road Shane and Otis had driven down earlier. They were due back anytime. Glenn spotted them first and when he saw Sophia, he jumped to his feet and made a hoot of excitement.

The girl blushed when the younger man raced down the steps and picked her up in his arms. "You're back!" He cried and settled her back on the ground.

Sophia nodded, cheeks still flaming. "Daryl found me." It was clear that she wasn't used to this much attention.

Glenn looked over at Daryl. "Knew you'd find her." The hunter just shifted his feet and looked down. He wasn't use to the praise.

At his earlier cry of happiness, people began to filter out of the house to see what was going on and when they saw Sophia, they all broke out into smiles. Rick looked relieved to see that the little girl was safe and sound. Lori gave the girl a hug, but avoided Carol's eyes. She was still angry at the things Carol had said to her, but Carol knew she was never going to apologize. She hadn't said anything that wasn't true and neither had Daryl.

"I just want to see if Hershel will look her over real quick," Carol spoke up. "Is he free?" She looked up at Rick, who was standing by Lori at the top of the porch.

Rick nodded. "He can't do much for Carl until Shane gets back with the supplies." He wrapped an arm around his wife and pulled her close.

Carol guided Sophia up the steps and into the house. Patricia was in the kitchen and when she saw Carol with Sophia, she gave them a wide smile and quickly dried her hands on a towel. "I take it this is your little girl?" She knelt in front of Sophia and then looked up at Carol. "Looks just like you."

"Thank you," Carol smiled. "Is Hershel around? I'd like him to look her over. If that's okay?"

"Sure!" The blonde woman stood up. "I'll go find him for you." With a last smile at the two of them, she went off to another part of the house to look for the veterinarian.

"She's nice, mama." Sophia looked up at her and smiled. That smile faded quickly when her eyes settled on something behind Carol. Turning around, she saw that the room Carl was being held in was wide open and they had a good look at the boy in the bed. He was so pale that he almost blended into the sheets.

Instantly, Sophia started crying. That was her best friend in there and Carol knew that she would have reacted the same if Daryl had been in Carl's place.

Quickly, Carol gathered her daughter in her arms and made her turn away from the sight. "Is he going to die?" Sophia hiccupped into her chest.

"No, honey. Shane and Patricia's husband, Otis, went to get supplies so that Hershel can fix him up. He'll be fine." Tears welled in Carol's eyes. She didn't know that the littlest Grimes would be okay or not, but didn't want to upset Sophia any more.

Heavy footsteps approached them and Carol looked up to see the man who had allowed them to camp on his property. "I take it this was the little girl that went missing?" His face remained unchanging as he looked down at Sophia, tears still making their way down her cheeks.

Carol stood up and held her close. "Yes, this is her. I was wondering if you could take a quick look at her to make sure she's okay."

"All right. Let's put you up on one of the counters so I can get a better look at you." He led them to the kitchen and Carol lifted her to the countertop. With Patricia nearby, Hershel began his examinations. He started by asking questions about the girl's time in the woods and tears pricked Carol's eyes as she listened. Sophia shouldn't have to go through that, but she'd been smart and because of that, she was alive.

The screen door behind them made a noise as someone walked in and Carol turned to see Daryl standing by the doorway. He gave her a tiny nod and leaned against the wall. Carol wanted to go to him, to thank him more for finding her daughter and to ask him if he remembered her. Sophia had said that Daryl told her of his time lost in the woods and how he had been saved by a blue-eyed angel. Had he been talking about her? She blushed at the thought of being called an angel, especially by a man like Daryl. Ed had always told her that she had been lucky to have him because no other man would look twice at her. Maybe Daryl... She quickly turned away, hoping that he hadn't seen her red face.

"She's fine," Hershel announced. "Just needs a good meal and some sleep." Sophia hopped off the counter and walked to her mother.

"Thank you," Carol said, but only got a quick nod in reply. Talking quietly with Patricia, who was still glued to his side, he made his way to Carl's room. Lori had watched from the porch, grabbed Rick's arm and they walked inside the house and into Carl's room. The door shut behind them.

Carol was glad that her child was back safe and sound. She couldn't imagine what Lori was feeling. Actually, she could. Those first few hours that Sophia had gone missing, Carol didn't think that there was any hope that she would still be alive out there. However, Daryl had given her hope and she'd forever be grateful for him.

"Come on, sweetie. Let's get you something to eat and then, its bedtime." When her daughter protested, it was almost as if everything was back to normal.

Daryl silently followed them out the door but they all stopped when a pair of headlights zoomed to the front of the house. Shane and Otis were back.

Except...instead of two people climbing out of the truck, there was only one. Carol knew that meant Otis hadn't survived and her heart went out to Patricia. She had been so confident that her husband would return to her. She reached over and grabbed Daryl's bicep. "Let's get out of here. Please." She watched as Shane ran up the steps, equipment in hand and didn't give any of them a passing glance. Something was off with him, though, Carol sensed it and by the way Daryl was watching the other man, she knew he could sense it, too. Carol didn't want Sophia to be around that, right now, so she had urged Daryl to get them out of there and back to camp.

"Okay, Sophia been fed and is now, asleep," Carol announced as she emerged from the tent. Daryl was sitting by the fire he had built and watched as she approached him and sat down close enough that their arms brushed.

"She comfortable?" He asked. Earlier he had brought over every spare blanket they had and demanded that Sophia take them all.

"She was out like a light. I'm pretty sure she's comfortable. Thank you, Daryl." She made sure to look him in the eye. "For everything."

Daryl shrugged. "Weren't not-" Carol poked him sharply in the shoulder and gave him a stern look.

"Hope you weren't going to say what I think you were."

"'Course not," he mumbled, but gave her a shy smile. They fell into a comfortable silence and Carol liked the feel of having Daryl sitting so close. She and Sophia would always be safe when they were with Daryl.

Feeling brave, Carol leaned her head on Daryl's shoulder and waited. When he didn't shrug her off, she made herself a little more comfortable. That's when she noticed the sleeping bag on the other side of him. "Do you plan on sleeping outside?"

"Yeah. You and Sophia can have the tent," he answered. "I'll be fine out here."

"And here I thought you were planning on cuddling up to me while you slept," she teased and smiled when he stiffened. "You know, you don't have to sleep out here. There's plenty of room. Sophia and I will stay on one side and you on the other." She lifted her head and looked at him.

"Naw, I'm all right. Probably cooler out here, anyways."

"Yeah and there'll be more bugs." Carol shuddered at that. She absolutely hated bugs.

"Ain't like it's the first time I've slept outside." He wasn't looking at her as he spoke and she wondered if he was talking about when he'd been lost in the woods for nine days.

Carol decided then, that she was going to try and see if Daryl remembered her at all. "So, I finished Tom Sawyer. Read it cover to cover." She gauged his reaction and was disappointed with nothing changed. Either he wasn't getting what she was trying to say or he really didn't remember. But, he talked about that blue-eyed angel!

"Yeah? Did you like it?"

"I liked it when I was a kid and I still like it, now. I'm going to let Sophia read it. I know she'll love it."

Daryl shifted a little in his spot and leaned back on his hands, his legs stretched out in front of him. Carol didn't move and kept her body facing him. They were only centimeters apart and she resisted the urge to climb into his lap and demand he remember everything right now. She wanted her best friend back.

Biting her lip, she knew there was one thing she could ask him that would let her know for sure if he'd remember or not.

"So, Daryl," she said and waited until he looked at her before she continued. She even went as far as to widen her eyes slightly, to give him a better view at their color.

"Yeah?"

"Tell me about this blue-eyed angel of yours." When he stiffened and looked away, Carol had her answer. Even though she wanted to burst with happiness, she made sure to rein it in and allow Daryl to tell his story.

"Carol," he started. "Do you remem-?" Just then, Sophia burst from the tent, hair wild and beer bottle-turned- vase in her hand.

"Mommy! I forgot to give you this!" Carol heard Daryl sigh behind her and made sure that they would get back to their earlier conversation once Sophia went back to bed. Again.

"What is it, honey?" Sophia came to sit by her and handed her the 'vase'.

"It's a Cherokee Rose," she bounced in place. "Isn't it pretty?"

"Oh, yes it is, Sophia." She pulled her daughter close for a hug. "Did you know that it's my favorite flower?" From the corner of her eye, she saw Daryl straighten up and she got an idea. "Do you want to know why?" Sophia nodded her head eagerly and settled a little more into her side, ready for the story.

"All right, then. When I was eleven, I had this friend. He was the best friend I've ever had. We hung out almost everyday during the summer. We'd go on adventures in the woods, climb trees and even found a secret place we named after ourselves. He even saved me from a wild dog, once." She heard Daryl's breath hitch, but continued. "Then, one day, he was just gone." Tears unexpectedly came to her eyes as she relieved that moment so long ago. It had been the saddest day of her life. "I came to his house to see if he was there, because we were supposed to hang out, and didn't find him. So, I looked at this really big tree we'd always meet at and found Mr. Snuggles holding a Cherokee Rose and knew that it had been from him. I-I never knew what happened to him..." Until now.

Even Sophia's eyes were a little moist when she hugged her mother. "I'm so sorry, mama. I wished I could have met him. He sounds really nice. Especially since he saved you from that dog." Carol wanted to tell her that she had met him and that he was sitting right behind her, but decided she'd tell her daughter another time.

"He was nice." She wiped her eyes. "Now, you need to get to bed, missy. Tomorrow is going to be a big day." Sophia reluctantly stood up, then, kissed her mama and waved at Daryl before heading back to the tent.

Carol waited a few minutes before turning to face Daryl, whose eyes were watching her every move. Even though he hadn't gotten to fully voice his question, she had given him an answer with her story.

"Yes, Daryl," she said, softly and answered that question, again. "I remember you."

Chapter Text

Daryl could feel his heart beating double time in his chest as he looked at the woman who sat next to him. Had Carol just told him that she remembered him from all those years ago? He knew she had, but he couldn't find any words to say. Questions whirled through his mind. How long had she known? What made her figure it out?

"Daryl?" Carol looked worried as she moved closer. "Are you okay?"

"M'fine," he finally rasped out. In reality, he didn't feel fine. His heart still was still beating fast and he wondered if it would burst if it didn't slow down. He couldn't die, now, not when Carol finally remembered him.

"I'm sorry that I flung that at you, Daryl," she spoke softly and didn't look him in the eye.

He wanted to tip her chin up with a finger so that he could see her pretty blue eyes, but kept his hands to his sides. "It's all right. B-but...how?"

"How did I finally figure out it was you?" She looked up at him with a shy smile. "I've always thought you looked familiar, Daryl. Even back at the quarry. Then, you gave me that book to read and in the back, there was a little note to you from me and everything just came back."

A note from Carol in the back of Tom Sawyer? He had read that book a dozen times before and had never seen it. Carol must have noticed his confusion because she stood up from her spot and told him she'd be right back. Daryl watched her quietly disappear into the tent and return several seconds later.

"See?" She held the book to him, opened to the very last page. Daryl took it from her and read the little message.

Daryl,

Hope you enjoyed this book as much as I did! Maybe one day we can go on grand adventures just like Tom and Huck! :)

Love, Carol.

Daryl ran a hand over the page. How did I miss that? He didn't know he had spoken aloud until Carol answered.

"Don't know." She sat back in her spot with a smile.

If only he had seen this note sooner, then he would have figured out who Carol was earlier. It didn't matter, now, though. They both remembered and their friendship could continue from where it had ended twenty-eight years ago.

But did he want it to continue as it had before? Just friends. Or did he want something more with this woman? Back then, he had been too young to think of any kind of future with Carol and had always thought she'd want something more than a Dixon, anyway. Those thoughts hadn't stopped him, though, from developing a crush on his pretty friend. When she had kissed him after the dog incident, he'd been a little confused at first, but later that night he had replayed it in his head and decided he wouldn't mind if it happened again.

"What are you thinking about?"

Daryl's face flushed at the question and he hoped she would think it was because of the fire. There was no way he could tell her what he was thinking. What if she only ever wanted friendship from him and finding out he wanted more caused her to run? He'd never forgive himself.

"Jus' wonderin' why I never turned to the very last page." Closing the book, he set it to his side and focused on Carol. "I think I would have realized sooner who you were."

Carol shifted until her body faced him and she was so close that he could feel her body heat on his arm. "How long have you known who I was?"

Daryl felt sheepish when he answered. "Since the CDC."

Recognition flickered across Carol's face and she smiled. "When we were in the rec room, right? You ran out of there like you were being chased by the devil."

Daryl ducked his head. "It was a little...overwhelmin' to suddenly remember who you were," he admitted. "Always seemed familiar to me, too, but I didn't figure it out until you started talkin' to your little girl about Mr. Snuggles." He looked up at and gave her a shy grin. "She said the same thing to Carl that you did to me when we first met."

"About keeping Mr. Snuggles until I was forty?" Carol's smile grew even wider. "You remember all that?"

"Best time of my life. Course I did." After realizing what he had just said, Daryl looked away in embarrassment.

"It was the best time of your life?" She asked. "Then, how come you left without telling me? I went back to our tree everyday for almost a month, thinking that maybe you would come back. You never did." Daryl heard the sadness in her voice and his heart panged with regret.

"Merle came back that day and told me we had to go. Barely had time to get all my stuff together. I thought that leavin' your stuffed rabbit by our tree would be enough of a message."

"It was," Carol spoke softly. "But I think I just didn't want to believe that you were actually...gone."

"M'sorry."

"No, it's okay." Carol covered his hand with one of hers and looked at him with watery eyes. "You were with your brother and you got out of that house. You needed that."

Living with his pa had been hell. When he had first met Carol in the woods, it was because he had gotten lost trying to escape from him. Daryl had planned on living on his own, but going several days without food and water made him change his mind. At least when he was at home, he had been fed.

"Should have left a note or somethin'," Daryl mumbled, still feeling guilty. All those years of riding around with Merle and wondering what Carol was up to, came to his mind. It hadn't been until he graduated high school when he stopped thinking of her.

"Daryl, really, it's okay." She inched closer, even though he didn't think it was possible. Now, Carol was almost pressed against his side and he didn't mind at all. "We're here, now. Somehow, during all of this craziness, we found each other, again, Daryl. We were meant to be friends."

Friends. The word echoed through his head. Was that all they were meant to be?

Carol shifted and rested her back along the logs that sat behind them. Daryl took his sleeping bag, motioned for her to get up so that he could create a cushion for them and together they laid down on it and looked up at the sky.

"Remember that one night I snuck out and came over? We stayed up all night looking at the stars in your backyard and talking." Daryl felt Carol's eyes on him. Of course, he remembered that it night. He had been surprised when she knocked on his window late one night and asked him to come join her outside. She had never done anything like it before.

"It was a week before I left," he said. "You scared the shit out of me when you knocked on my window that late."

"I was scared that I had gotten the wrong window and when you appeared, I was so relieved." Carol laughed. "I laughed so hard at your face, though."

"Thought you were some kind of murderer tryin' to lure me outside," Daryl grumbled, getting caught up in the memory. He remembered feeling relieved when he saw that it had only been Carol and when she motioned for him to come out side her, he nodded and snuck past his snoring pa in the living room.

Carol had waited for him in the middle of the yard and without any lights, besides the pale light of the moon, he had barely been able to see her. He'd been shocked when he saw that underneath her arms she held a blanket and a pillow.

"Thought we could so some star gazing," she shrugged and dropped them to the ground.

"Uh, okay." He had agreed and helped his friend spread out the blankets. Thankfully, there was a little bit of wind, so they didn't have to worry about mosquitoes or any other annoying insects. Carol had picked the perfect night

Carol threw the pillow at one end of the blanket. "I only brought one," she said. "So, we'll have to share."

Daryl gulped as he watched Carol settle on her back and pat the spot next to her. They would be lying so close. Wiping his sweaty palms on his pajama pants, he quickly kneeled to the blanket and lay beside her, careful to leave some space between them. If Carol noticed how stiff her friend was lying there, she didn't say anything and pointed to the sky.

"Can you find any constellations?" She asked. "I only know a few you can see at this time of the year, though."

Daryl remained silent by her side and tried not to think about how close they were.

Just then, a weight was placed on his chest and the memory from so long ago faded. Daryl found himself lying on his back by the fire. Looking down, he saw that Carol had placed her head on his chest and had fallen asleep.

Feeling comfortable with her so close, Daryl allowed himself to go to sleep as well.

Carol was woken up a couple hours later by the soft sound of her daughter's giggle. Opening her eyes against the sun, she looked at her surroundings and saw that she had been nestled into Daryl's side.

"Did you sleep well, mama?" Sophia asked with a smirk on her delicate features.

"Oh, hush, you." She tried to scold, but smiled before the words came out. She didn't want to move, though, because she didn't want to wake Daryl up and also because she didn't want to leave the comfortable spot by his side.

"Hush up," Daryl's tired voice rumbled beneath her cheek, which was still on his chest. "Tryin' to sleep." He turned to his side, causing Carol to move with him and threw an arm around her. At Carol's wide-eyed look of surprise, Sophia started to laugh.

The sound woke up Daryl completely. When he saw Carol in his arms and Sophia standing a little ways away, laughing at the two of them, he quickly released her and scrambled to his feet.

"Morning, Mist-, I mean, Daryl," Sophia said brightly, but with mischievous eyes. "Did you sleep well with my mama?" Carol covered her face at her daughter's question, hoping that they couldn't see that it was flaming.

"Uh...yeah." He answered, and then quickly busied himself with the fire. Carol peeked through her fingers at him and noticed how tense he was. Embarrassed. She decided she give him a few minutes to himself.

"Come on, Sophia." She stood. "Let's go back to the main camp and see about breakfast."

"Okay!" She said, happily and followed her mother.

Daryl was glad that Carol had taken Sophia and went to the rest of the camp. He needed a moment to himself. Waking up to Carol was something he'd like to do, again, but not with Sophia standing above them like that. He didn't he had ever been so embarrassed in his life.

Seeing there was no hope in rebuilding the fire without adding anymore wood, Daryl got up and decided that he, too, would look for some breakfast at the camp. When he got there, Carol shoved a plate of scrambled eggs into his hands with a smile and went to eat with Sophia.

The rest of the camp seemed somber, though. Lori and Rick sat next to each other with their shoulders slumped as they ate. Both looked tired. Shane sat a ways behind them and kept his head down, but Daryl noticed that the man had given himself a haircut since the last time he'd seen them. Dale sat atop his RV eating and keeping watch at the same time. Glenn and Andrea sat near each other and both ate quietly.

Daryl took a seat away from everyone and began to eat his breakfast. The silence that hung over the camp didn't last long, however. Everyone was almost done with their meal when Rick stood to address them.

"Hershel would like to have a memorial service for Otis after breakfast. I think it would be best if we were all there, since he has done so much for us already." Quiet murmurs of agreement rippled through the camp and Daryl looked to Carol and saw that she had her arm wrapped around her daughter's waist.

Though, no one had known Otis, it seemed that they all had felt his loss. Daryl stood by Carol and Sophia during the service and watched each member of Hershel's family tearfully place a rock on his monument. Shane was the last to place a stone on the pile, wearing some of the dead man's clothes and when he turned to walk back to his spot, Daryl locked eyes with him and knew instantly that Otis's death hadn't been an accident.

Chapter Text

Chapter Eighteen

Patricia's husband was dead.

Carl was still injured.

They lived in a world where there were monsters that hungered after their flesh, and yet, Carol had never felt so happy in her life. She had her daughter back safe, Ed was gone for good and she had her best friend from so long ago, back in her life.

After the memorial service they held for Otis, Sophia had wanted to visit Carl, since the boy was now up and talking. Carol didn't want to deny her daughter from seeing her friend, so she had agreed and decided she would offer up her condolences to Patricia, privately. In the brief time they had chatted, Carol had felt a kinship with the woman. She'd seemed kind and even though they had been complete strangers, she'd offered up gentle words to Carol while waiting for Daryl to return.

Before heading towards the farmhouse, Carol placed a soft hand on Daryl's shoulder and told him where they'd be if he wanted to join them. He'd declined, like she knew he would. Just because he was comfortable around her and Sophia, didn't mean he was like that with other people.

"Know it's a little late, but I'm goin' to try to do a little huntin' to see if I can bring anythin' back for lunch or supper."

"All right." She squeezed his bicep. "Be careful out there, okay?" Instead of answering, Daryl gave her a nod, shouldered his crossbow and walked into the direction of the woods. Carol watched him go for a few minutes, hoping that he would be back soon, and then, focused her attention on Sophia.

"You ready to see Carl?"

"Yep!" She beamed and held her stuffed rabbit to her chest. Ever since she had been reunited with her mother, the rabbit rarely left Sophia's sight. Despite the fact that she was almost thirteen and deemed too old for stuffed animals, Mr. Snuggles remained an important part in her life. Just like he had been in Carol's life, as well.

With one last glance at the direction Daryl had gone, Carol let Sophia take her hand and lead her to the large farmhouse Patricia and the rest of the Greene family had retreated to. Lori was nowhere to be seen and Carol had to guess that she was with Carl and Rick had pulled Shane aside to talk over by the RV. Everyone else was going about their own business.

The shade from the trees did nothing stifle the Georgian heat and Daryl was sweating by the time he had reached the dense forest. No smart animal would be out in the heat and he knew that going out hunting at this time of day was a waste of time, but he needed to be alone to process the last several hours.

Talking the night away with Carol and waking up to find her snuggled into his side, was the best thing that had happened to him in a long time. True, something similar had happened while Sophia was missing but that had been before Carol had figured out who Daryl was.

However, he knew he wouldn't be able to enjoy her proximity for long. Daryl didn't know what he'd been thinking when he grabbed the tent and intended for all three of them to share it. They weren't a family. They were friends. Just friends.

Daryl sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He told himself he would be all right if Carol decided that their friendship was perfect the way it was and neither one needed to take a step further. But meeting again during the apocalypse had to be fate. Right? There had to be a reason why he and Carol were allowed to reunite again after so many years apart.

Something wrestled in the leaves to his left and despite being deep in thought; he was still alert and swung his crossbow around. It was a doe. A small one, but would be big enough for their group.

"Hello, dinner," he whispered with a smirk before letting a bolt fly.

When they reached the porch, Maggie had been sitting on the swing with Glenn and let them in the house. Sophia broke from Carol and walked into Carl's room. Peering inside, she saw that the boy was up and talking with his mother, but paused and smiled when Sophia entered the room. It was clear that Carl wanted to throw his arms around his friend, since it was the first he had seen of her in several days, but was still too weak to do much moving.

Carol gave Lori a wave and a small smile before leaving the room. There was still tension between the two mothers but Carol wasn't going to completely ignore the woman. She was still going through a hard time. Just because Carl was up didn't mean he was completely out of the woods, yet.

Thinking about woods, Daryl came suddenly to her mind. It wasn't the first time his handsome face graced her thoughts that day and it wouldn't be the last. Ever since she had told him about remembering who he was from her past, something had shifted. They had been making their way to becoming good friends before the reveal and now, there was something deeper in their friendship. From Daryl she almost thought she felt a longing for something more but he'd never want a relationship with her, especially since she had a child. Right?

She didn't like she did twenty-eight years. Heck, she didn't look like she did ten years ago. Her hair was short, now and it was no longer the auburn color she had loved when she was a kid. Why would he go for a woman like her when there was a woman like Andrea in camp?

The sound of someone sniffling broke Carol from her depressing thoughts and she looked up to see Patricia standing at the window in the kitchen. No one else was with her and her gaze seemed to be focused on something outside.

Carol approached her cautiously and when she got close enough to touch, she placed a gentle hand on the woman's shoulder. However, she didn't expect Patricia to break down and cling to her. A stranger. But she accepted the sobbing woman in an embrace.

"I'm...sorry about Otis." That was all Carol could think of to say. She was sorry that the man had to die the way he did, but he died a hero. Without him, Hershel would have never gotten the equipment needed to save Carl.

"All those times he went hunting, I never thought there would be a day where he would never come back!" Patricia sobbed into Carol's shirt. "I-I wasn't prepared for this."

"No one ever is," Carol said. Ed's death had been a blessing and she hadn't had to prepare for it. She was glad that the bastard was gone and had gone out in the worst way possible. Eaten alive by hungry walkers. Any other type of death would have been too good for him.

Patricia straightened up and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Your daughter is back safe, though." She gave Carol a weak smile. "That's a blessing and I'm happy for you."

"Thank you." Carol smiled. "Daryl found her."

"Just like you said he would. If I were you, I'd snag him before someone else does. He sounds like a good man."

Carol blushed fiercely at what Patricia was suggesting. "We're just friends." If you stop being a coward, maybe you can be more than that! A part of her brain scolded her.

Once again, Patricia gave her that look that suggested she knew more than she was letting on. "Thanks for letting me cry on you, Carol." The subject of Daryl was thankfully dropped.

"I'm glad I could be there for you. I know we don't know one another very well, but if you ever need to talk, just find me."

Tears glistened in Patricia's eyes and she nodded. "I will. Thank you."

On the way back to camp with the doe dragging behind him, Daryl passed his little campsite and the tent he'd set up there. He decided that once he dropped the deer off for someone to start skinning, he'd go back and move the tent. Carol and Sophia should be closer to the rest of the camp and he had no business keeping them out there.

Dale had mentioned that he had an extra tent in his RV earlier and Daryl was going to see if the old man would let him have it. He'd tell Carol that it was safer for her and her daughter to be closer to camp and that he was staying on the outskirts because he would be going out hunting early in the morning. Something told him that Carol would not believe his excuse but would accept them anyway. She had the uncanny ability to see right through him, sometimes.

Of course, when he got back to camp no one was around, except for Dale, who was on top of his RV. Daryl knew he had no choice but to skin the animal on his own. "Ain't no one around when there's work to be done," he muttered and settled down to get to work on the doe.

"What you say, man?" Somehow he had not heard the heavy footsteps of T-Dog approach him from behind. He turned to the larger man and held up his knife.

"Wanna help me do this? I have to ask Dale somethin' real quick and then, I'll be right back." Daryl stood up, handed T-Dog his knife. "Do you know how to skin a deer?"

The other man shrugged. "Done it once or twice and it isn't like you're going to leave me to do it by myself." His eyes narrowed, then. "You aren't leaving me with all the work, are you?"

"Naw, man." Daryl almost smiled. "I'll jus' be a few minutes and I wanted someone to start on this so that we can have some of it for supper."

T-Dog sat done on the bench in front of the deer and began to work. "Venison does sound mighty good, right now."

Daryl left the man to do the work and set off to find Dale, who was on top of his RV. "Hey!" He called up to the older man, hoping that he could hear him. When Dale's face peered down at him, he got his answer.

"Something I can do for you, Daryl?" He slung the rifle back to his back and let his binoculars hang around his neck.

"Do you still have that tent you were talkin' about earlier?"

"I do, but don't you already have a tent?"

"That's Carol and Sophia's. Goin' to move that one closer to camp, but I'll still need one for myself."

Dale's eyebrows furrow together. "Is there a problem between you two? You both seemed fine earlier." That was Dale. Always trying to get into everyone's business. However, Daryl wasn't going to get angry over it. They were a small camp and no matter what, they would know each other's business.

"Everything's fine. I just want them closer to camp. It's safer."

Dale still didn't look convinced, but knew he wasn't going to get much more out of Daryl. "It's inside." He gestured to the side door of the RV.

"Thanks," he said and stepped inside. The tent was leaning against one of the cabinets and Daryl made a grab for it.

"Thought you were sharing a tent with Carol." Andrea had been sitting at the table, disassembling her gun once again. Daryl hadn't noticed her there and had only eyes for the tent when he stepped in.

"Ain't none of your business, but she's got Sophia, now, and they should have their own tent closer to camp." Daryl hoped that this would be the last time he explained this to anyone. It really was none of their business, anyway. It was just a damn tent. Before Andrea could ask any more questions, he escaped the RV and headed towards his campsite.

There, he planned on setting up his tent, then he'd go back to help and T-dog skin the deer and after that, he planned on enlisting the man's help to take down Carol's tent. Daryl hoped to do all this before she and her daughter came back from the Greene's house.

Carol sat in with Sophia and Lori in Carl's room when Patricia had left her to speak with Beth. The two mothers sat in silence and watched as their children spoke softly to one another. It brought tears to Carol's eyes to see that Sophia still had a friend in this world.

"Okay, honey," Carol finally spoke. "It's getting late and I need to see if they need help cooking dinner."

"All right, mama." Sophia stood to follow her mother to the door, but turned to go back to Carl before they completely left the room. "Here." She held out Mr. Snuggles. "You can have him, if you want. He'll keep you company."

The tears threatened to spill after witness the scene. It reminded her so much of her childhood and when she had given the stuffed rabbit to Daryl. Would they have a friendship like she and Daryl had? She hoped so. Daryl had been the best part of her childhood and now, that they were reunited he could be the best thing, again. Behind Sophia, of course. Never had she felt so lucky.

The world had to end for Carol Peletier to feel truly happy, again.

The tent was gone.

That was the first thing Carol noticed when they made it back to Daryl's camp. In place of their tent, stood a smaller one that would no way fit all three of them. Had Daryl moved it? Was he sick of them all ready? Gut settled in her stomach. Maybe there was a reason why Daryl had never said he remembered her. Maybe he had wanted to forget her.

"Mama, are you okay?" Sophia squeezed her hand and looked up with worried brown eyes. "You look like you're about to cry? Is it because our tent is gone?"

"I'm fine." Quickly, she blinked the tears back. "There's nothing wrong. Maybe Daryl-"

"Moved your tent closer to camp." Daryl walked up behind them and answered Carol's question. "Figured you'd want to be closer to everyone else." Though he was talking to both of them, he only had eyes for Carol. "Put it right near the Grime's tent."

"So, when Carl gets better we'll be close to him!" Sophia hopped up, excitedly.

"That's why I put it there, kid." He looked down and smiled.

"Thank you, Mr. Daryl." Sophia giggled and Carol was left wondering what was going on between her daughter and Daryl. Whatever it was, it brought a smile to her face to see the way Daryl treated her daughter. Not like a nuisance, like Ed had.

"So, did you catch anything while you were out, Daryl?" Carol wanted to keep the conversation going.

"Yep. A good-sized doe. Me and T skinned it and everythin'. All it needs, now, is to be cooked."

Carol crossed her arms. "Is that my cue, then? You just came up here to tell me I should get my butt cooking."

"What? Uh, no. Course not." He looked so flustered that Carol had to laugh at him. She remembered how easy it was to tease him.

"I was just playing, Daryl." She placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed.

"Should know that by now," Daryl mumbled and gave her a shy smile.

"Sophia, why don't you go see if Dale will let you see through his binoculars, now." The little girl had asked about them earlier in the day, but Carol hadn't let her bug the older man, then. Now, she was using it as an excuse to be alone with Daryl, which would be something she'd feel ashamed about later.

"Okay!" With a wide smile and wave goodbye, the blonde girl was racing towards the RV.

Daryl watched her go and Carol watched him. "Just wanted to tell you, Daryl," she spoke and stepped closer to him. Glad that he didn't move back. "We haven't seen one another in twenty-eight years. We have a lot to catch up on." With what she hoped was a flirty smile, she turned on her heel and walked back to the rest of camp.

Chapter Text

Chapter Nineteen

"How much trouble would you be in if your parents caught you sneakin' out?" Daryl cocked his head to look over at his friend, wh o  had smashed her jacket into his side and was using that and part of his stomach as a pillow. They were lying in Daryl's backyard gazing at the stars, which had become a weekly thing for them since the first time Carol had knocked on his window. Now, the visits were schedule and Daryl would no longer get the shit scared out of him every time she banged on the glass.

"Don't know." Daryl felt her shrug. "I never get in trouble, so I have no idea what they'd do. Probably ground me or something." Carol turned to her side and faced him. "Why?"

"Jus' wonderin' what you were riskin' to come see me. Uh, I mean, the stars." Daryl hoped that Carol couldn't see his cheeks flame in the dark. More and more, lately, he found himself getting easily flustered around her and he wasn't sure what to make of it.

"Hmm," Carol tapped her chin in mock thought. Thankfully, she was choosing to ignore his  embarrassment . For now. "Let's just say I'm risking my...first born child."

Daryl went up on his elbows and peered down at her. "You mean, your precious Sophia?" He decided to play along.

"Yep," she giggled. "So, how does it make you feel knowing I'm risking so much to see you-wait, I mean, stars." Of course, she'd bring up his slip-up.

Daryl shrugged and mumbled. "Don't know." Truth was, it made him  feel...special.  He knew that she'd get in some kind of trouble if she w as  to get caught and yet, she still snuck out every week to see him at night.

Instead of teasing him more, Carol sat up and smiled. "Well, I should probably go before I do get caught and they really take away my first born child."

Daryl scrambled to his feet when she did and handed Carol her jacket. "Goodnight, Daryl." She closed the gap between them and kissed him lightly on the cheek. Close to the corner of his mouth. He didn't know how he was going to manage to speak after that.

"G-Goodnight, Carol. See you tomorrow?" Summer was rapidly coming to a close and Daryl hoped Carol would spend the last few days of it hanging out with him.

"Of course!" She beamed. And with one final wave, she was off sprinting in the direction of her house, a small flashlight in hand to light her way.

Carol couldn't help but feel like a teenager; again, after she checked to make sure Sophia was sleeping for the fifth time and zipped the tent quietly behind her. It was clear that her daughter would be out until morning, but Carol wanted to make sure that she was really sleeping before she left.

It wasn't like she planned on being out all night, just an hour at the most. All she wanted to do was talk with Daryl for a bit before calling it a night for herself. All day she had wanted to get a moment alone with him, but it was not to be. After supper, she volunteered to wash the few dishes they'd used for supper. Despite having done the cooking, no one stepped in to help and they'd all gone their different ways.

Sophia had gone back to their tent to get ready for bed and Carol had seen Daryl climb on the RV, relieving Dale on watch. Just an hour before, she had heard his footsteps climb down the ladder and head back to his camp. Sophia had still been up and Carol didn't want to leave until she was asleep.

Daryl was probably asleep, too. The trek out to his camp was most likely a waste of time and once she saw that he wasn't awake, she would have to turn right around and come back to her tent. Carol hoped he was still awake. A small part of her even hoped that he was still awake and waiting for Carol to visit him.

Up ahead, Carol saw the glowing flames of Daryl's fire and her steps quickened. However, once she got closer, she saw that the campsite was empty and the flap to his tent was open, reveling that it was empty, as well. Where was he? Should she start to panic?

"Tryin' to sneak up on me, again?"

The voice came from behind Carol and she jumped in surprise. Daryl made his way into her line of vision and smirked at her wide-eyed expression. "Looks like I was the one who scared you, this time?"

Carol narrowed her eyes at him. "You know I hate it when you do that!" When they had been little together, Daryl always had the knack for walking without making a sound and would always take advantage of it when it came to Carol.

Daryl chuckled and sat down on one of the logs surrounding his fire. "So, what brings you to my lovely campsite?" His head was craned back to look at her.

"Hm, well, it would have been our campsite if you hadn't kicked me and Sophia out." Carol took the seat next to Daryl and nudged his shoulder, playfully.

"Figured you snored, so I was savin' myself the insanity of never gettin' any sleep." She was surprised that he was able to continue on with the teasing. He was getting better at it.

"I do not snore. Ask Sophia!" She elbowed him, again, when he started to laugh. It was so good to hear his laugh that she didn't want it to ever stop. Even if it was at her own expense.

"Maybe I will." Still smiling, he looked over at her. "So, why are you really out here?"

Carol settled more into her seat and reached her hands closer to the fire. It was chilly and she hadn't thought to grab her jacket. "I told you that we have twenty-eight years to catch up on and I thought we could start, tonight."

"All right." Daryl settled more into his seat, too. "Where did you want to start? I'm warnin' you, though. I ain't got much worth sayin'."

Though the words were said in a light tone, Carol could feel something even deeper behind them. Something like, shame. "I don't believe you." She was going to try to keep the mood light. Carol wanted Daryl to know that there was nothing in his life to be ashamed about.

"Was with Merle the whole time. All I did was follow his ass around." Daryl wouldn't look at her as he spoke. "And that's it. That's what I've been up to for the past twenty-eight years. Jus' fuckin' excitin', isn't it?"

"Well, for the past fourteen years, I was married to an asshole. That doesn't sound any better."

Daryl snorted, but Carol could see the corners of mouth lift up a bit. "Ed gave me Sophia," Carol continued, softly. "That was the only good thing that came out of marrying him. He gave me my little girl. I'd never regret those years with her." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "I just want to thank you, again, for bringing her back to me. I don't know what I would have done if she'd been...killed out there."

Daryl shrugged. "I would say it wasn't nothin', but you'd probably punch me. Again."

"Still might for your smartass," she teased and the curse word sounded a bit odd coming from her mouth.

"Seriously, though, it wasn't anythin' Carol. I know that little girl means everythin' to you and I would and will do everythin' in my power to keep her safe." At his words, tears misted in Carol's eyes. How could Carol have forgotten him? Even twenty-eight years later, Daryl still had that same fierce protectiveness he had when he was young.

"Thank you, Daryl."

"Okay." Daryl leaned back a little and rested his weight on his hands. "Let's talk about somethin' different. Tell me everythin' you did after I left." After Merle dragged me away from the best part of my life.

Carol scooted even closer to him. "All right."

Minutes passed, or had it been hours? Daryl had never talked so much his entire life and with Carol, everything seemed to pour out of his mouth like vomit. Everything that had happened in the past twenty-eight years, he told her. Despite what he had said earlier, that time hadn't been spent just following Merle around.

His senior year of high school, Merle had been thrown in jail, again, for jail possession and Daryl had to quit school to find a job and pay the rent on the shitty house Merle had gotten for them. Five years were spent in that house. Alone.

"You must have been lonely," Carol said.

"Nah, I liked it. Didn't have Merle constantly on my ass and I liked working on the job. I was good at."

"Then, what happened?" Carol was completely enthralled with Daryl's life. At first, he had been confused. His life had been shit and there was no reason for her to actually want to listen about it. But the more he talked, the more something inside him felt better. He missed this. Missed talking to someone that understood and didn't judge him.

"Once Merle got out of jail, we were on the move, again. He didn't like to stay in any place long. Probably because of all the trouble he got himself into. Before the outbreak, he was back in jail. When we showed up at the quarry, it had only been about a week since I broke him out of that jail."

"You'd do anything for him, wouldn't you?" Carol had tilted her whole bad to face him and held up her head with a hand.

Daryl nodded. "He's my brother. Course I would."

"I understand." She gave him a smile.

"Now, tell me about you," he said. "How did you wind up with a guy like Ed?" He winced. "Shit, sorry. Never mind."

"No, it's okay." Carol sighed. "I was so stupid. Naive. I meant him when I was twenty-five and it didn't take long for him to convince me to marry him. No man had ever shown me the attention he did. Throughout high school and college, I kept to myself. I was tired of being alone, though, and when he asked me out, I said yes. Everything else went down hill from there."

"But you had Sophia," Daryl reminded her.

A soft smile graced Carol's face and it made her look even more beautiful. "But I did have Sophia."

At that moment, Carol yawned. A large, jaw cracking one she immediately covered her mouth and flushed. "Sorry."

"It's okay." He sat up and stretched. "We only got a few hours until sunrise. Probably should go and get some sleep."

"Yeah, I probably should." With reluctance, she stood up. Daryl followed. "Thanks for talking with me."

"No problem. I always liked talkin' with you." He was glad his back was to the fire and she couldn't see his flaming cheeks. However, what he had said was true. Talking with Carol had always made him happy when they were little.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then." Carol stepped over a log and began to walk away. "Goodnight."

"Wait!" He startled himself with how loud he sounded.

"Yeah?" Carol looked confused when she faced him.

"Uh." A hand went behind his head and he looked at his boots. "Found a little pond at the end Hershel's property. I think it's somethin' you'd, um, like to see. Do you, uh- Would you like to get see it sometime...with me?"

"Okay!" She beamed. "How about tomorrow?"

So soon? Daryl had no problem with that. "Sure."

"It's a date, then." Carol gave him one last wave and made it back to the rest of the camp. Daryl was left to watch her go, and his heart was beating rapidly in his chest.

Calming himself down, Daryl smiled and turned to his fire. "It's a date."

Chapter Text

Chapter Twenty

"It's a date."

Carol didn't know what she had been thinking when those words slipped from her mouth. Especially since she had said them to Daryl. The man she had just realized was her long, lost friend. Friend being the key word. Sure, he had smiled and bid her goodnight after the words were spoken but Carol had no way of knowing if he was really smiling because of them or because it was the polite thing to do. They were just words and nothing to obsess over, but she wanted to know if Daryl was cringing at them like she was, now. There was no way he'd take those words to heart. No matter how much she wished he would. They weren't teenagers, anymore. The world had ended and a date was something that would probably remain in the past. There was no time for dates in the apocalypse.

God, she was really over thinking things. Maybe a few hours of sleep would help clear her mind. All Daryl was going to do tomorrow was show her a pond. There was nothing romantic in that, right? He was probably showing her so that she'd have a place to wash clothes or bathe. Maybe he was only showing her so that she'd spread the word to everyone else in camp. Yeah, that had to be it.

Carol was not going to allow her hopes to get up. She had done that too much in her life, to only have them crushed every single time. Ed had liked to make her think things would go well and then, he'd turn around and destroy every ounce of hope she had. Sophia had been the only reason why she had not ended up completely broken. Without her daughter, Carol knew she would not have survived long in her marriage to Ed. She hated to admit it, but things had gotten very dark in the time before she found out she was pregnant. Carol didn't like to think about them and pushed those thoughts from her mind. Ed was gone and so was the living in fear of what he'd do to her. Now, she lived in fear of the monsters that wanted to feast on her flesh and somehow, it was better. Ed could be unpredictable. Walkers were not. And with Daryl's help, she and Sophia would be prepared to deal with any that they came across. They would no longer be helpless. They would be strong and Carol was going to make sure of that.

"Mommy?" Sophia's voice startled Carol as she tried to enter their tent as quietly as possible. She had been sure that her daughter would be out until sunrise.

"Yeah, baby?"

"Where were you? I woke up and didn't see you in your sleeping bag." As Carol's eyes adjusted to the darkness of the tent, she saw that Sophia was sitting up on her bedding. One side of her blonde hair stuck to her head and the other stuck up. If only she had a camera...

"I, uh, had to use the bathroom." She wasn't ready to tell her daughter that she'd snuck out of their tent to go talk to a man. What kind of message would that show her nearly teenaged daughter? When Carl recovered quickly, visiting him in the middle of the night would be a big no no.

Sophia seemed to believe the lie and lay back down on her sleeping bag. Carol sighed a quiet sigh of relief and crawled to her own bag. In a few hours the sun would be up and a new day would start. Daryl would show her this pond and they would still resume their friendship. Nothing would change and she was going to make herself be okay with that.

When the sun finally appeared above the horizon, Carol had gotten barely any sleep. Even the light snoring from Sophia couldn't comfort and lull her to sleep. Knowing that sleep was impossible at this point, Carol decided that she might as well make use of her wakefulness and left the tent to start breakfast.

Unfortunately, she didn't know what to make for the meal. There was so few canned supplies left and she didn't want to use them all up. Glancing in the direction of Daryl's camp, she wondered if he had gotten up to go hunting and would bring something back for their meal.

"Here." A voice startled her and Carol swung around to face the person it had come from. It was a young woman with short brown hair and light green eyes. A cowboy hat sat on top her head and Carol recognized her as the girl who had ridden the horse to inform Lori of Carl being shot and had taken her back to the farm.

"These are for you." The girl held out a basket and a quick look inside, Carol saw that it held several eggs. Breakfast.

"Thank you." Carol took the basket gingerly, not wanting to jostle its precious cargo. "I was just wondering what I would make for breakfast."

"I always collect the eggs in the morning and I figured y'all could use a few." There was more than just a few in the basket, but Carol wasn't going to say anything about it.

"My name's Carol" She shifted the basket to one arm and offered the other hand to the young woman.

"Maggie."

"You're Hershel's daughter, right?" Carol wanted to know more about the people who had been so generous to let them stay on their land.

"One of them. Beth, my younger sister, is up at the house still sleepin'." Maggie rolled her eyes with a smile. "Lived on a farm all her life and still has trouble getting up in the mornin'."

"Sounds like my Sophia." Carol chuckled, remembering how difficult it was to get her daughter up for school each morning.

"No amount of hollerin' can get her up, either." Maggie was clearly enjoying the talk about her sister. "The only person who can get her up, now, is Jimmy. Daddy doesn't approve, but Bethie's a smart one. Doesn't get up until she hears Jimmy's voice." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Being the youngest, she knows how to play our father. Now, he doesn't seem to care that Jimmy is in Beth's room every mornin'."

"Do you care?"

"No. As long as the door's open, that is." Maggie smiled. "Well, I should head back to the house and help Patricia with our breakfast. It was nice talkin' to you, Carol."

"Nice talking to you, too." Carol waved and watched the young woman leave. It really had been nice to have such a normal conversation with someone.

Carol jumped when one of the tents behind her opened up viciously, like the person inside couldn't wait to get out. She turned just in time to see Glenn pull his pants all the way up and fastened them. His head was sans baseball cap and his hair was in disarray. From the bags underneath his almond eyes, Carol could tell that he had just woken up.

"Was that Maggie just now? I thought I heard her voice." His eyes frantically searched the camp and surrounding areas. When he came up with no sight of Maggie, his shoulders slumped and he looked like a lost puppy.

Carol hid her smile behind a hand. They had only been there for a few days and it looked like Glenn was already in love. She wondered if the farmer's daughter knew about it.

Glenn disappeared back into his tent, probably to locate a comb and his baseball cap, and Carol went over to the fire that was barely alive. It took a little bit of coaxing, but soon she had the fire going good and found a cast iron skillet in one of the cars.

"Need any help?" She had heard Glenn's approach and didn't startle at his voice. She continued to crack eggs into the pan. "Not right, now. However, once I'm done cracking all these eggs, I'm going to need someone to take the basket back up to the house." Carol turned and faced him with a smirk. "Are you up for that?"

Going up to the house meant that he would see Maggie. Glenn happily agreed and didn't even wait until Carol told him she was done with the basket. Once she had grabbed the last egg, he had snatched the basket from the ground and went jogging to the house. Carol looked on at the young man with a fond smile.

Young love. Such a beautiful thing. If only she had been allowed to be the young and in love with the person she loved. They had only those few short months together before they were ripped apart and Carol mourned what they could have been.

No one stayed to eat around the fire.

Dale had stepped out of the RV, just as Andrea stepped in with a plate. She had been on watch half the night and was planning on resting. Dale would take her spot. Glenn had yet to return from the house and Carol knew Maggie must have invited him to breakfast. T-Dog wasn't up, yet, also having a period on watch the night before. Rick and Lori took their meals to the house to sit with Carl. That only left Sophia, who was still asleep and Daryl, who hadn't made an appearance that morning.

Carol scooped out three more plates, left a little in the pan for T-Dog and the other plate by the fire, and went to her tent. "Sophia Ann!" She called through the door. "You better be getting up."

A muffled, "No," answered her.

Carol sighed, set the plates on the ground and unzipped the tent. "You're lucky that water is in short supply, young lady, because I would be dumping a bucket on you, right now." Sophia's head buried itself more under her blankets.

"No, you wouldn't."

"You want to bet?" Carol smirked and snatched the blankets of her sleepy daughter. Instantly, Sophia curled herself in a ball, pillow over her face.

"I don't want to get up, mama. I'm still tired."

"Me, too, honey, but it's time to get up and things need to be done. Like laundry, dishes, visiting Carl, cooking..." Carol ticked off on her fingers.

Sophia instantly sat up, blonde hair sticking up everywhere. "We're going to see Carl."

"You are." Carol reached behind her and grabbed their plates. "You'll need to eat, first, and brush your hair."

Sophia's hand immediately went to the rat's nest on her head and winced. "Yeah, I'll definitely be brushing my hair when I see him." A tinge of pink coated her cheeks, which Carol had caught before she ducked her head towards her plate. Well, it looked little Sophia had a crush.

"What will you be doing, mama?" Sophia asked between bites of food.

"Just some things around the camp. Laundry, most likely."

"And visiting, Daryl. Right?" There was a mischievous glint in her eye and Carol didn't know if she liked it or not.

"Maybe. He didn't come down for breakfast, so I don't know what his plans are for the day. So, we'll have to see." Hopefully he hadn't forgotten about showing her to the pond. That had been the one thing she'd been looking forward to while she tried to sleep.

Instead of saying anything else, Sophia finished off her plate and stood to gather up her clothes to get dressed. Carol took the empty plate and exited the tent, giving her daughter some privacy as she changed.

At the fire, plate in hand, stood Daryl. His gaze was focused on the flames, but it seemed miles away. The fork in his hand seemed to move like a robot each time he took a bite of the eggs. Carol knew his mind was far away when he didn't hear her approach.

"Good morning," she said with a smile, which got slightly bigger when he jumped at the sound of her voice.

"Mornin'," he mumbled once he realized what Carol had said.

"I hope the eggs weren't too cold. I thought keeping them near the fire would keep them at least a little warm." Carol was fishing for things to say and hoped he didn't notice how nervous she was.

"They're fine." In response, he scrapped the plate clean and placed the plate back on the ground. "So, I was, uh, wonderin' if you were ready to...go?"

"Right now?"

"Yeah. If you ain't ready, I can wait." He gnawed on his bottom lip and Carol relaxed a little. Daryl was nervous, too.

"Um, let me walk Sophia up to the house and then, I'll be ready to go. Will I need anything?"

"Maybe your knife? Jus' in case."

Carol nodded and patted her hip. "Got it." The knife was already there. She had taken to carrying it around with her everywhere. The farm may seem like a safe place for them, but Carol knew that at any moment that could change and she would be prepared. She would defend her daughter until her dying breath.

"All right. Good. Meet me at my camp in a few minutes?"

"Okay. I'll be there." Scooping up the three plates, Carol placed them on one of the tables the men had set up and walked to her tent. Some one else could do the dishes and Sophia was probably ready to see Carl.

Daryl gnawed at the cuticle of his right thumb and winced when he bit too hard on the skin and a bead of blood appeared. He really needed to stop with the nervous tick, but it had been a part of him since childhood and old habits were hard to break.

There was no reason to be nervous, or so he kept telling himself. This time spent with Carol would be like every time they spent together. There would be no grand declarations of love. They would be just two people, twofriends, spending time with one another. It didn't matter that the place he was showing Carol could be considered a romantic spot, with the bushes of flowers surrounding the pond and the sturdy dock that allowed one to sit and relax. Daryl was just showing Carol because he knew she would like it and for nothing more.

"Are you ready to go?" For the second time that day, Carol managed to sneak up on him and from the look on her face; Daryl could tell that she was finding amusement in it.

"Uh, yeah." He bent to pick his crossbow from the dirt and secured on his back. Carol still had his knife strapped to her him and her bag slung across her shoulder. Daryl wondered what was inside the thing, but refrained to ask.

"How far is it?" Carol asked once they started to walk. Daryl was grateful that she didn't follow him, but walked by his side.

"Not far. Probably about a ten minute walk. Is that okay with you?" Worry trickled into his tone. What if she wasn't planning to spend a long period of time with him? What if she had other things to do and was hoping that this little trip wouldn't last long?

Fuck, he needed to calm the fuck down. He was started to sound like some insecure teenager on his first date.

"It's date."

The words made him wince. Carol had not meant for him to take those words seriously. It was just a saying and nothing more than that. This was not a date. It would never be a date. Not for them.

"Something wrong, Daryl?" The words were spoken softly, and when he turned to look at Carol, her pale blue eyes searched his face.

"Nothing's wrong." To dissuade her from asking any more questions he didn't want to answer, Daryl smiled. It wasn't a full-blown smile, those were rare, but it was enough to get Carol to return the gesture and be satisfied with his answer.

The next several minutes passed in silence and neither one of them minded. All those years apart, silence had become their friends. Silence had prevented them from getting hurt. And now, silence had become comfortable for them.

They walked through the last line of trees and Daryl spotted the pond. Carol gasped at his side when she saw it. "Are those...Cherokee Roses?" She asked and looked at him.

"They are." The entire pond was surrounded by weeds and tall gross, but Daryl had spotted the rose bush from a distance and instantly knew that he had to bring Carol here. She would love it.

"It's beautiful," she sighed.

Daryl grinned. Proud. "You haven't even seen it all, yet."

"I don't need to. I can already tell." Absently, she wrapped an arm around one of his and pressed her body close. "Thank you for bringing me here."

"Do you want to get a closer look?" Having Carol so close to him was causing his heart rate to accelerate, but he hoped she couldn't tell.

"Of course!" Carol beamed, let go of his arm, reached for his hand and began to tugging him towards the roses.

An hour later, Carol and Daryl had slipped off their shoes and were now, dangling them in the water from the dock. Carol had picked one of the roses and placed it behind her ear. She had tried to do the same with Daryl, but he had ducked out of the way and avoided her continuous advances.

There was no way he was going to have a damn flower in his hair.

"Thank you for bringing me here, Daryl," Carol said, again.

"You already thanked me." His gaze was focused on his feet, which were gently moving in the water.

"I know. Just thought I'd tell you, again." She stood up, then, and stretched. Daryl followed, thinking that she was ready to head back to camp.

"Can you swim, Daryl?" Something flickered in her eyes. Something...mischievous?

"Course I can. Don't you remem-" Two hands planted themselves on his chest and he found himself falling in the water. He came to the surface sputtering and spitting out the mouthful of water that had flooded his mouth. Carol was doubled over, laughing. Tears slid down her cheeks and Daryl didn't think he had ever seen anything so beautiful.

Too bad he would have wipe that smile off her face.

Swimming to the dock, he used his thankfully impressive upper body strength and heaved himself back on the wooden platform. Carol was still laughing, but was also keeping a weary eye on him. She knew he'd be wanting revenge.

"Didn't think I would be goin' for a swim today." Daryl sat back down and ignored the squishing sound his clothes made. "Might have come prepared." He took his shirtfront and wrung some of the water out. The whole time he was doing this, he kept his back to Carol.

"Was it a nice swim?" She asked. Daryl could tell she was holding in laughter.

"I suppose. Would have been nicer if I had someone to swim with." Lightening quick, he was on his feet and blocking Carol's only exit.

Carol squeaked when she saw that there was no escaping for her. The smile was gone and Daryl smirked in satisfaction. He took a step closer to her and she did the same, but that brought her right to the edge of the dock.

"Carol, sweetheart, can you swim?" In one motion, he gathered her in his arms and threw her into the water.

Daryl watched Carol swim up to the surface and spit out her own mouthful of water, before he joined her, again. Swimming up to her, he saw that she was glaring, but he just smiled. "You started it."

She didn't saw anything and look on her face relaxed into a grin. "I guess I did." Floating to her back, she spread her arms and swam a little distance away from him. "This is nice," she said and began to tread water.

Daryl joined her in only a few strokes.

"Wonder how deep it is?" Carol mused. Her head disappeared underneath the water and Daryl could do was wait for her to resurface.

When she did break the surface a few seconds later, she announced. "It's actually not that deep. But can we go to where I can actually touch the ground? My arms and legs are killing me."

So were Daryl's, but he wasn't going to voice it aloud. Instead, he followed after Carol and was relieved when his feet finally touched the muddy bottom of the pond. When he turned to finally face Carol, he was surprised to find her so close. She was so close that he could see drops of water in her eyelashes and watched as more drops slid down her cheeks and to the corners of her lips.

Lips he wanted to kiss. Wanted to taste.

Carol didn't protest when he wrapped an arm around her waist and tugged her body closer. Didn't protest when he cupped her cheek, titled his head and leaned in closer. Didn't protest when he finally claimed her lips with his.

In fact, she started kissing him back. Immediately.

Chapter Text

The feel of Daryl's lips on her own was hypnotizing. She never wanted the kiss to end. Not even if she needed air to fill her lungs. Daryl was kissing her and Carol had thought he would never see her more than a friend, but the way his mouth moved against hers said differently.

Carol didn't even know they had moved until her back bumped against the wooden side of the dock. Daryl's hand slid from her hair and he took a step back.

"I'm sorry," he said, breathless. "Did I hurt you?"

At first, Carol had thought that he was saying sorry for kissing her, but realized quickly that he thought that when she bumped into the dock that it had hurt. "No," she answered. In fact, she hadn't felt anything except for lips on hers and his hands on her body.

"Good." Daryl smiled a wide smile that showed off his straight, white teeth. Carol loved that smile. It disappeared, however, when he bent low to start kissing her, again. She didn't complain.

Daryl had never been so happy. For once, he hadn't been a pussy and he kissed Carol. As it turned out, he had nothing to worry about. Carol returned his kisses with just as much ardor and passion.

One of his hands had slipped to back of her head and the other wrapped around Carol's waist to pull her even closer. If that was even possible. She was pressed against every part of his body and Daryl knew that he wouldn't have it any other way. This was where Carol belonged.

Unfortunately, there came a time when the kiss had to end and Carol was the one to end it.

"I think we should head back." There bodies were still pressed impossibly close. "Lori may need help with dinner."

"You made breakfast. Lori can do dinner," Daryl grumbled. There was still no love between him and Rick's wife.

She quirked a smile. "I guess she can. But let's get on the dock and dry out a bit. Don't want people to think I fell in when we get back."

"You can always tell them, you were thrown in." Daryl teased and followed Carol out of the water.

"And I can tell them that you were pushed," Carol snarked back.

Daryl rushed behind her and picked her up just like before. Carol shrieked at the unexpected action. "Should I throw you back in?"

Carol playfully pounded her fists against his chest. "Put me down, Daryl. I want to get dry."

"What if I want to get you wet, again?" The words were out before he could stop them. Carol's face turned a deep red and Daryl was sure the color of his would rival hers. He hadn't meant to make it sound dirty, but it was clear that was where their minds had gone.

Without another word, Daryl out Carol down and together they walked to the dock. Lying down on her back, Carol patted the empty space near her and Daryl took it. The sun was high in the sky and the Georgia heat was already doing its job of drying them.

"I've wanted to kiss you for a long time, Carol." Daryl blurted as they lay on their backs. He tiled his head to look at her, she returned his gaze.

"Really?"

He nodded. "Even before I knew who you were."

Carol reached over and grabbed his hand. "Well, I'm glad you did. It's not our first kiss, though. Remember?"

"Yeah," he answered. That memory would never leave his mind and he never wanted it to. "You kissed me after I saved us from that dog."

"Thought you would stop talking to me after that," Carol chuckled. "But you kept going on like nothing happened." Together, they lost themselves in the fond memory.

"If only we could go back to those times..." Carol said, wistfully.

"If only Merle hadn't taken me away from you. Things could have been different. We cou-" Carol had rolled to her side and pressed a finger to his lips.

"We're here, now. It has to mean something that we would find one another when the world ended. Don't you think?'

Daryl couldn't help but agree. He could have easily never seen Carol ever again in his life, but it had been fate when he and Merle had walked up the quarry that day. They could have easily walked in another direction and never met any of the people camped there. It was scary how easy it could have been.

Once they were mostly dry, the pair began the walk back to camp. Daryl's hand inched to grab Carol's, but the idea of walking with clasped hands caused his palms to sweat and there was no way he would grab one of Carol's hands with one of his. Instead, after taking a deep breath, he wrapped a strong arm around her waist and pulled her close as they walked.

Carol gave him a wide, beautiful smile and leaned her head against his shoulder. They walked in silence, but being so close to one another was good enough.

When the camp came into view, Carol reluctantly detached herself from Daryl. "I'm going to get Sophia from the house." She answered the question in the Daryl's eyes. "She's probably wondering where I've been." Going on her tiptoes, she gave him a quick peck on the lips and headed up to the house.

Carol felt Daryl's eyes on her as she walked and smiled. It felt nice to be wanted. It felt nice to have someone kiss you and care about you. It hadn't been that way with Ed for a long time. She almost couldn't remember a time when it ever had.

Walking up the porch steps, she saw Glenn sitting on the railing with a guitar and Maggie stood beside him. Carol waved at the two and walked into the house. Patricia was in the kitchen, absently staring out the window and Carol would have gone to her, if Sophia hadn't walked out of Carl's room right at that moment.

"There you are, mama!" She said with a smile. Carl must have been doing better, today.

"Hey, sweetie. How was Carl?"

"Much better. He was sitting up and talking. Mr. Greene said he'd be able to get up and walk around, soon!"

"That's good," Carol said. She knew that Lori had to have been happy at the news.

"How was your day? Did you and Daryl hang out?"

Carol felt her face heat up. "Yeah, baby, we did."

"Did you kiss him?" Sophia asked. Brown eyes blinked up at her in a picture of innocence.

Carol started at the direct question. "What?"

"I said, did you miss me?"

Had she really just misheard her daughter? Carol smiled and shook her head in disbelief. "Of course, I missed you, honey." She reached for her daughter's hand. "Come on. Let's go see if there's anything we could do to help back at camp." Carol's gaze was focused straight ahead, so she missed the secret smile Sophia had hidden behind a hand.

Daryl paced in front of his tent back at his camp. The fire from the night before was now, just a pile of smoldering ash. His crossbow lay beside his tent and as Daryl paced, he kept shooting glances over to the main camp. It had been almost a half hour since he watched Carol walk up to the house to retrieve Sophia and several minutes since he had seen them return to the camp.

Carol had glanced in his direction briefly and gave him a little wave, before going off to help Lori with the meal. He didn't know what to do, now. Should he go over there and keep her company? They were together, now, right? And that's what...couples did. Right?

He ran a hand through his hair roughly. God, this shit was so confusing and he hadn't even begun to think about their sleeping arrangements.

Daryl froze. Were they going to share a tent? Was Carol going to sleep wrapped around him, now? The thought made him feel giddy. But what about Sophia? He sighed and took a seat by the burned out fire. He'd let Carol figure all that stuff out.

Dinner was another quiet affair. Carl was still on the mend, so that meant Rick and Lori were still mostly silent and deep in their thoughts. Glenn had come down to join them, with no Maggie and Carol couldn't help but notice he looked a little antsy. Something was on the young man's mind and she knew that sooner or later, they would all know what it was.

"Sophia, honey." She walked up to her daughter with two plates of food. "Do you want to go and eat with Daryl?"

The young girl nodded her head, picked up her own plate and followed her mother.

When they reached Daryl's camp, Carol had to stifle a giggle when she saw that Daryl was trying hard to not look like he'd been waiting for her. Seeing them approach, he hopped to his feet to meet them.

"Brought you some dinner." Carol held out his plate and when he reached for it their hands brushed. Pink tinged his cheeks and he turned away before Sophia could notice.

"Thanks," he mumbled. Then, looked over at Sophia. "Hey, kid."

"Hi, Mr. Daryl."

Carol watched the scene with a smile. Daryl ushered them to sit down by the fire, that had just started, and Carol made sure she sat close enough to Daryl that their arms brushed. He looked over at her and gave her a tiny smile. If they were alone, she would have kissed him, but they weren't. Sophia was right there and Carol didn't doubt that her daughter was watching their every move.

"Mr. Greene said that Carl could get out of bed tomorrow, mama." Sophia decided that she would start a conversation with them. Carol was grateful, because with Daryl so close, she didn't know what to say.

"That's good, honey." Carol was glad that the boy was doing much better. Sophia needed her friend back and his parents needed to have one last thing to worry about. Especially Rick, who had put it on himself to keep the whole camp safe under his leadership.

"S'real good," Daryl added around a bite of rabbit meat.

"I told him that you two went to a pond, today, and he wanted to know if you could take us once he was completely better."

Carol froze and Daryl glanced at her. "U-Uh, sure, honey." She hoped disappointment hadn't leaked into her tone. She wanted to keep the pond as her and Daryl's place, but she didn't want Sophia to get suspicious of them, so she had no choice but to say yes.

"Great!" Sophia squirmed happily where she sat. "It's been awhile since I've gone swimming. Right, mama?"

Carol nodded. After that, the three of them ate in silence. Every once in awhile, Daryl would sneak a glance at her and she return the look with a secret smile. Thankfully, Sophia was oblivious to the looks. When they all finished their meals, the sun was setting.

"Sophia, it's time for you to get ready for bed." Carol held up a hand and cut off her daughter's protest. "Take these plates back to camp and I'll be there shortly to join you."

Sophia grumbled as she collected the plates and headed back to camp. Carol waited until her daughter was out of sight before launching herself at Daryl, who had been expecting the move with smirk. They landed in a heap with Carol on top of Daryl. Daryl cupped Carol's neck and brought her face down, so he could kiss her.

Carol buried her hands in Daryl's hair and deepened the kiss. They were making out like a couple of teenagers in the middle of Daryl's camp and neither one cared.

"Wish you could stay with me," Daryl mumbled in between kisses.

"I can't leave Sophia alone."

"I know." Daryl sighed and looked up at Carol. Her blue eyes were open wide and she was taking gulps of air through kiss swollen lips. She looked beautiful.

"I should probably go." It was completely dark, now, and Sophia was probably waiting in their tent for her mother.

"Yeah," Daryl said with reluctance and climbed to his feet. Carol did the same, with the help from Daryl.

"I'll see you tomorrow." She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for another kiss.

The next morning had been just like every morning previous to it, except instead of silence as they ate, Glenn stood in the middle of the camp, hands twisting in nervousness.

"Uh, guys. There's walkers in the barn."

Chapter Text

Chapter Twenty-Two

"Walkers in the barn?" Daryl was the first to speak up. "Oh, hell no." For some reason, he had always known that this place was too good to be true. If the barn was full of walkers, then they had risked their lives, more than usual, every night they all slept there. That did not sit well with him.

"Rick," Shane shot to his feet. "You can't tell me that's all right!" He gestured wildly to the barn in the distance and for once, seemed to be on Daryl's side.

Rick lifted his hands up in a placating manner. "No, it's not all right. I'll talk to Hershel about it."

"No!" Shane nearly shouted. "I say we pack our stuff up and leave. Fort Benning is still out there and with Carl still healing, that should be a perfect place for him to fully recover."

"That's just it," Rick said. "Carl's still healing. Being on the road, again, wouldn't do him any favors. I'll just talk with Hershel and get this mess straightened up."

Shane just made a disgusted sound and left the camp. Everyone else had watched the exchange without saying anything, as usual when the two men went at it. It was clear that Rick and Shane were getting into more arguments than agreements and they were all waiting for one of them to finally snap.

Daryl knew that it would be Shane and if Rick didn't watch it, then it would not end well for him.

Rick looked over at the rest of the camp and settled his gaze on his wife. "I'll talk with Hershel. Maybe he'll let us get rid of the-"

"He won't." Dale stepped forward, his rifle slung on his shoulder. "He still sees those things as people. They're his family and he won't let you kill them, Rick."

"You knew about this?" The former policeman asked in disbelief.

"Glenn told me. Yesterday."

"And you kept it from us?" Rick ran a hand through his hair.

"I figured we'd survived one more night. We did."

"Is there anymore secrets that we should know about?" The question was directed at the rest of the camp. No one said anything. Rick shook his head and left the camp. Most likely to go after Shane.

Everyone seemed to lose their appetite, then, and they piled their plates on the nearest table and went their separate ways. Carol, Sophia and Daryl remained. Daryl looked pissed and kept casting glances at the barn. Sophia clutched Carol, fearfully.

"Do you think the walkers could escape, mommy?" Wide eyes full of fear looked up at her mother.

"I don't know." Carol pulled her daughter closer. "I don't like the idea that those things are so close to us, Daryl."

"Neither do I." Daryl picked up his crossbow from the dirt. "I say we burn it to the ground. Make sure every lost one of them things is taken care of."

At that moment, Lori walked out of the RV, and looked over at the trio. "Sophia," she called. "I'm going to go see Carl. Would you like to come with?"

Sophia looked up at Carol, with pleading eyes. "Can I?"

"Of course, honey." Carol smoothed down her daughter's frizzy hair. "Be good." She turned to Lori and mouth a 'thank you'. A visit with Carl was exactly what Sophia needed to get her mind off the walkers. Lori gave her a small smile and when Sophia ran up to her, she wrapped an arm around the little girl's shoulders and headed up to the farmhouse.

That only left Carol and Daryl.

"If we don't take care of them walkers, today, then I want you and Sophia to stay in my tent, tonight." He looked at her, bashfully. "If that's okay, of course."

Carol reached down to take his hand and squeezed it. "Of course it's fine. I've actually been looking for an excuse to find my way into your tent" she teased and when Daryl blushed, she rose up on his toes and kissed his cheek.

"So, what's on the agenda for the day? Hunting? Laundry? Kissing?"

"Hmm," Daryl mocked trying to think and pulled her closer. "I think I like the last one best."

Carol wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close. "Me, too."

"But let's not do that in the middle of camp." Daryl reluctantly released her. Just because his relationship with Carol had changed, didn't mean he wanted to broadcast it to the rest of the camp. He knew Dale was on top of the RV and that man had his eyes everywhere. "I think my camp has a little more privacy, don't you think?"

Carol didn't say anything and smiled as she took his hand to lead him back to his camp.

"Mrs. Grimes?"

"Lori, sweetie."

"Um, Lori, do you think my mom and Daryl are together?" The last word had been whispered, as if she thought she could be heard all the way back at camp.

Lori looked down at the young girl at her side. "What makes you say that, Sophia?"

She shrugged. "I just see the way he looks at her, sometimes, and its like the way Mr. Grimes looks at you. Not the way Mr. Walsh looks at you, though." Sophia's nose wrinkled and she shuddered, slightly. "It's...weird when he looks at you."

Lori stopped walking and stood in front of Sophia. "You've seen Sha-, I mean, Mr. Walsh, look at me...weirdly?"

Sophia nodded. "He only looks when you and Mr. Grimes aren't looking. I think it's weird cuz you're already married."

"Yeah." Lori looked somewhere far off. "You do know there is nothing between Mr. Walsh and I, right? We're just friends."

"I know. You love Mr. Grimes and would never do anything to hurt him." Sophia smiled. "So, do you think they're together?"

The other woman seemed distracted. "Who?"

"My mom and Daryl."

"Oh, um, I don't know, honey. They could be." They started to walk towards the farmhouse, again.

"I hope so," Sophia said, wistfully. "He makes me mom happy and I like seeing her happy."

Glenn climbed up the ladder of the RV after trying to speak with Maggie; his hair was still damp from when he had to wash the egg from it. Dale sat in his chair, rifle in his lap and gazed with his binoculars over the farm. When he heard Glenn approach, he set the binoculars down and gave the young man his full attention. He had always been fond of the man since the quarry.

"Do you think we should have told them yesterday?" Glenn sat next to the chair and looked up at his older friend. "They all seemed pretty upset."

"They would have been upset if we had told them, earlier. Especially Shane. That man is a ticking time bomb and I really wish that Rick would see that." Dale sighed. Ever since he had caught Shane pointing his gun at Rick, he kept a sharp eye on the other man.

"I think he might, he just doesn't want to admit it. Shane's his best friend and doesn't want that to change."

"It already has. The way Shane eyes Lori when she's not looking is going to get him in trouble."

"I know." Glenn leaned back on his hands.

"So, how are things with Maggie?" Dale changed the subject. He already spent most of his time thinking about the two former King County policemen and the woman in between them.

"Not good," he sighed. "She wasn't too happy that I told everyone about the barn."

"I guess it wasn't really our place to say anything, but it's our safety that was put at risk. She'll understand that, eventually. She's a smart girl."

"She is." Glenn's eyes took a faraway look.

"And she cares for you."

This caused Glenn to perk up. "Do you really think so?"

Dale nodded with a smile. "I've seen you two, together. I can see it. Just give her time and she'll come around."

"I hope so." He looked forlorn, again, but just as soon as that expression crossed his face, it lit up, again. This time with mischief, which was a look not seen as much on his face, anymore. "Guess what? I just saw something interesting."

Dale groaned. "Is this going to be another secret?"

"Yep! But it's not a serious secret." Glenn was animated as he talked. "Guess who I saw kissing in the middle of camp? Well, okay, they weren't exactly kissing, but they were pretty damn close!"

"Who?" Dale thought a moment.

"Daryl and Carol!"

"Glenn, I think you just nearly missed a butt kicking when you saw that." Dale chuckled, not really surprised that the two of them were taking their relationship to the next level. They had been grower closer and closer since the quarry.

"Don't worry. They didn't see me. I can be pretty sneaky." He grinned, smugly. "They must have realized that they were in the middle of camp, though, because Carol took Daryl's hand and lead them to Daryl's camp." He reached for Dale's binoculars. "Hey, let's see what they're doing!"

Dale kept them out of the younger man's reach. "Do you really want to chance the wrath of Daryl? Because I can guarantee if he caught you spying on them, he'd kill you."

Glenn slumped with defeat. "You're probably right."

"Well, I am the voice of reason."

Glenn stood up and stretched before shooting a mischievous grin at his friend. "Well, you are old, so you have to be!" He raced to the ladder.

"Hey!" Dale called after him. "I'm pretty sure I'm not the oldest one on this damn farm!"

Glenn just laughed as he descended the ladder.

Chapter Text

Chapter Twenty-Three

"Don't you think we're acting like a couple of teenagers?" Carol asked as Daryl tugged her to his campsite.

"Well, I figured since we didn't get to do this while we were teenagers, we'd make up for lost time." Daryl tugged her close and kissed her gently.

"I wished we could have been teenagers, together, Daryl."

"Same here." His hand had wound its way into her hair and he smiled down at her tenderly. Carol wanted to burst into tears with how beautiful this man was and with how good he was to her.

"I wish-" She started, but stopped. I wish you were the one I had married was what she had wanted to say. They weren't ready for talk of marriage, or whatever it would be called, now. They had just started this thing they had and Carol didn't want to ruin it with talk of marriage. Just because she was in love with the man, didn't mean he was there yet. Or would ever get there.

"You wish, what?" Daryl asked before burying his face in her neck and kissing up her jaw line.

"I wish we had a room in that house and...a bed."

Daryl's ministration stopped and he looked down at her, face red. "Yeah?"

Carol suddenly felt shy. "Yeah," she said, softly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for another kiss. "I want you," she whispered into his ear.

"R-Right now?" He looked nervous, but Carol noticed the way his eyes darkened and the way he pulled her almost impossible close.

"Is that okay?"

"Course. I just want to warn you that I'm probably no good at this."

"You'll be perfect, Daryl. Everything we've done so far, together, has been perfect. This won't be any different. I promise."

Daryl took a step back and gnawed on his bottom lip for a moment before grabbing her hand and leading her to the tent. Butterflies filled Carol's stomach with anticipation. This was really happening.

He unzipped the tent and allowed to enter first. Once they were both situated in the small tent, he zipped it back up and looked to her, waiting.

"Come here." She beckoned with a finger and lay down on his bedding. Daryl was hesitant, at first, but soon crawled to her and settled himself above her body.

"This okay?"

"Perfect." She smiled and started working on the buttons of his shirt.

"Goin' to warn you, though," he said as he watched her unbutton each button. "It ain't real pretty under there."

Carol had seen the long scar slashed across his collarbone and knew that there was probably more hidden under his sleeveless shirts. They wouldn't bother her. Ed had left his own marks on her skin.

"You're beautiful," she breathed as she pushed his shirt from his shoulders and admired the newly exposed skin.

"Isn't that what I should be sayin' to you?" Daryl smirked, clearly relieved that she wasn't mortified at the several scars that lined his body. She knew where he had gotten them.

"You can still say it," she said. "But I'd rather you used that mouth to kiss me some more."

Shane seethed as he stood in front of the barn. The moans of the undead made him even angrier.. They had all been sleeping next to this! What if the walkers had managed to break open the barn? What then? Rick wanted to make excuses for Hershel because he saved Carl and while that had been a blessing, the man could have very well killed everyone else.

Not that he cared for any of them, except for Lori and Carl.

The walkers banged on the door some more and he had to turn away in disgust. He decided to head back to the house to check on Carl. Maybe seeing the boy getting better would calm him down some. Make him feel less guilty for the life he had to take to save Carls'.

However, headed back to the house at that moment was a mistake. Looking up Shane saw Rick, Hershel and Beth's boyfriend Jimmy struggling with two captured walkers. The sight of that angered him even more than the sight of the barn that was full of the undead things. Rick hadn't talked to Hershel about getting rid of the walkers. No. The man was helping the crazy old farmer to collectthem.

Shane took off at a run. "What the hell is this?!"

Rick saw his best friend running towards him and immediately passed the pole to Jimmy. "Shane, listen." He held up his hands, hoping to placate his friend, but Shane was beyond placating.

"No, you listen!" Shane jabbed a finger into Rick's chest. "What the hell are you doing, Rick? You're helping him gather these things, knowing that they're all going into that damn barn?"

"Shane," Rick tried to pull him off to the side, but he shrugged his hand off. "Hershel thinks that they are still people. People with a disese that can be cured."

Shane couldn't believe what he was hearing and turned away from Rick and ran a hand across his recently shaved head. "Listen, Rick, we just need to go. Pack up our stuff right now and leave."

"We can't. Carl is still healing an-"

"So, you'll stay on a farm where some lunatic is keeping walkers?" Shane roared.

T-Dog and Andrea, who had been hanging by the house came running at the noise. Shane looked at Andrea. "Go and get the bag of guns." Andrea didn't hesitate and ran to the RV.

"Wait, Shane, what are you doing?" Rick looked a bit frantic.

"I'm taking care of a problem, Rick, since you won't." Andrea returned with the bag and wordlessly handed T-Dog and Shane a gun.

"Why do your people have guns?" Hershel yelled from where he still held the female walker with a pole.

Shane ignored him. "Since we won't leave, then I'm going to make this place safe for all of us."

Carol had just peeled off her shirt and was now, working on the button of Daryl's pants when his head shot up from where he had been kissing her collarbone.

"Did you hear that?"

Both of them paused and Carol tried desperately to slow her quick breaths. Then, she heard it. Someone was yelling. Someone very angry.

"That's Shane," Daryl growled and climbed off Carol to look for his shirt. "He's probably up to no good." Carol agreed and slipped her shirt back on, too.

"What do you think is going on?" She said once her head poked through the collar of her shirt.

"Don't know, but we better get down there before he fucks everything up." Daryl moved to unzip the tent and paused.

"What is it?" Carol asked, worried.

He turned, grabbed her chin and kissed her passionately. "This ain't over."

She smiled. "It better not be."

At the sound of yelling, Lori had shot to her feet and headed to the window. Sophia and Carl watched the woman, eyes round in worry.

"That's your father and Shane," Lori gasped and moved to the door. Sophia immediately hopped off the bed to follow. Carl, who had been fully dressed, followed slowly behind. They had been just about to go for a walk around the farm when they heard the shouting.

"No, kids. Stay here."

"No, Mrs. Grimes, I want to see what's going on." Sophia protested. "My mama can be out there."

"Yeah, and I want to see what's going on with dad," Carl spoke up and held his side, where the bullet had gone in.

Lori looked like she wanted to protest, but when more shouting could be heard, she just grabbed Carl's hand and went out the door.

"There's Sophia!" Carol cried when she saw her daughter standing behind Lori.

"Mama!" Sophia had spotted them at the same time and ran to hug her mother. "What's going on?"

"Looks like Shane is fixin' to but open that barn," Daryl observed. Rick and Shane were angering loudly, when Shane suddenly turned to the two walkers being held by poles and shot them. Everyone in the group at the sudden sounds of gunshots.

"Come on!" Shane motioned with an arm and ran to the barn.

"Stay here," Daryl urged Carol and Sophia. Carol grabbed him before he could run.

"Be careful." Her eyes were wide with fear, knowing that something could go horribly wrong and she could lose him.

He gave her a half smile. "I will." And then, he was off.

A few minutes later, Shane had made it to the barn, despite Rick yelling at him to stop, and smashed the bolt on the barn and flung the doors open.

Chapter Text

Chapter Twenty-Four

When Shane opened the barn's doors, they all had no choice but to shoot the walkers that came pouring out. Despite most of them being Hershel's family. It was either them or the walkers and Daryl was choosing the walkers. He had a woman and child to protect and he'd be damned, if he let some man's collection of walkers tear them away from him.

Daryl had been one of the few that didn't blink an eye and start shooting. Shane, Andrea and T-Dog had been right there along with him. Glenn had looked to Maggie for permission to start shooting and Daryl scoffed. It looked like he was already taking orders from the woman.

Hershel had sunk to his knees, with Maggie at his side, sobbing. Beth and Jimmy stood huddled together and the young blonde's sobs could almost be heard over the sound of gunshots.

Rick looked on, gun hovering at his side, but he never pulled it out. Didn't even move to shoot any of the walkers streaming from the barn. His family sat several feet behind him. Lori held onto Carl and tried to cover the boy's eyes as the walkers streamed from the barn.

Carol held a whimpering Sophia behind her back and told her not to look until the shots ceased to fire. This was the world they had to live in, now, but she didn't want to have her daughter exposed to the gory scene that was unfolding.

Daryl looked over at Rick, who hadn't made a move to shoot any of the walkers coming from the barn. Instead, his gaze was focused on Shane, who had a look of determination as he made head shots for as many walkers as he could. Daryl knew that the tension between these two was close to snapping, if it hadn't already, and the end result was not going to be good. Rick was leader and Shane wanted to be. Daryl was going to make sure he got Carol and Sophia away from that explosion.

It seemed like forever, but finally, all the walkers contained in the barn had stumbled out. Or...so they thought. Rick had moved up to the front line of shooters and looked down at the walkers massacred with a sigh. Daryl rolled his eyes. These things weren't people, anymore and there was no use gathering them up and keeping them in a barn.

A growl had them all turning back to the barn, once again. Daryl raised the rifle up to his eye, while Shane, T-Dog and Andrea did the same with their weapons. It looked like there was more hiding away in the darkness of the building.

But none of them were prepared for what walked out. It was a boy. Around eight or nine years old. The skin by his left shoulder had been viciously ripped out and now, he looked at all of them with white, flimy eyes.

"Sophia, don't look!" Daryl turned to watch Carol wrap her arms around Sophia and turn her back to the young child stumbling out of the barn. Lori was pressing Carl's face into her shoulder and tears glistened in her eyes at the sight of someone so young as a walker.

No one moved to take it down. Daryl lowered his weapon with a soft, "Fuck." The kid was so young. Were his mother and father looking for him, still? Had they been in the barn? So many questions reeled through his mind and with each passing second, he grew angrier and angrier with himself. He should end the poor kid's torture, but couldn't bring himself to lift his weapon back up. Looking around, he saw that no one else was able to, either. Except Rick.

The man looked at them all before taking a step forward and raising his gun to the boy's head level. Daryl couldn't take his eyes from the scene. Not even when Rick pulled the trigger and the young boy fell to the ground, dead for the last time.

August 1982

Carol and Daryl sat in their secret hideaway, Caryltopia, with socks and shoes off and feet splashing in the creek. Their shoulders brushed as they leaned back on their hands on one of the large rocks on the bank and basked in the little sun that crept through the trees.

"I wasn't supposed to be an only child," Carol blurted, as she was prone to do from time to time. Daryl had learned to expect these things from her and tilted his head to listen.

"Yeah?"

She nodded. "I was supposed to have a brother. He was born when I was two, but he died a few weeks after he was born. His name was Matthew. I don't remember him much, but we shared a room and I could remember that he would always cry."

Daryl remained silent, since he didn't know what to say.

"I remember climbing out of bed and tugging at my mother's night gown while she held little Matty and I would demand that she make him stop crying. I would demand that he would shut up so I could sleep. I was only two..." Her voice went far off and Daryl was surprised to see tears in the corners of her eyes. "If only I had known that I would have soon become an only child, again, and that I would never see my little brother, again."Carol let out a sob and Daryl started.

"Why are you cryin'?"

"Because I was a horrible older sister, Daryl!" She wailed.

"Hey," Daryl wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "You were only two. You couldn't help it. It ain't called the Terrible Two's for nothin'." Carol continued to cry louder and Daryl winced. Maybe implying she had been terrible wasn't a good idea.

"If it makes you feel any better, Carol, but I bet you weren't nearly as bad as Merle as an older sibling. When I was younger, he use d to put spiders and other bugs in my bed."  Carol's sobs began to subside. "I should have known that every time I walked into our room and hear his stupid ass laughing under the covers, to check to make sure he didn't fuck with my stuff. I never learned." He cracked a smile when he heard Carol giggle into his shoulder.

"If your brother had lived, Carol, I know you would have been the best big sister ever."

Carol wrapped her arms around Daryl and quickly kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Daryl, for making me feel better. There's a reason why you're my best friend." She hugged him close, again, and they stayed that way until it was time to head back home.

When Daryl reached Sophia and Carol, he was surprised when Sophia wrapped her tiny arms around his waist. Carol latched on to his arm and placed her forehead on his shoulder. Tears trickled down her face and onto his skin, while Sophia's tears dampened his shirt.

"You two all right?" He winced. What a stupid question? They were both crying on him. They were obviously not okay.

"Yeah," Carol lifted her head and gave him a sad smile before stepping away. "We're all right. I just...I can't believe that..." Suddenly, she crumpled to her knees and started sobbing. Daryl was immediately kneeling in front of her and Sophia clung to her side. Carol had shocked them both with her action. She had been so strong during the whole massacre.

"That could have been my baby, Daryl!" She reached out to cling to him. "That could have been Sophia!" If Daryl hadn't found Sophia in that house or if she had been bitten before he found her, then that could have very well been her. The reality struck him. This was his family, now.

"Don't worry, Carol. I'm goin' to make sure that nothin' happens to you or your little girl." He wrapped an arm around her and Sophia tugged the other arm, so they were all three in a circle. Daryl knew that this was very out of character for him, but he didn't care.

"I know you won't," she said, smiled and kissed him on the cheek before pulling him even closer, just like she had all those years ago.

Chapter Text

Dale, worried that the sound of gunfire would attract more walkers, walked over to his RV to take watch, leaving the rest of them to deal with the aftermath of the massacre. No one moved. Except Beth, who was still sobbing as she walked towards the gory scene in front of them. Everyone watched as she picked through the corpses lining the front of the barn and kneeled in front of one of them to turn it over.

From the way she chanted the word 'mom' in between sobs, it didn't take long for them all to figure out whom she was sobbing over. Daryl felt guilty when he saw that it was one of the walkers that he had shot, but there was no wound in its head, which meant...

Beth screamed when the thing that had once been her mother lunged and tried to take a bite out of her daughter's throat. Everyone moved at once. Jimmy tried pulling his girlfriend away, while Maggie pulled at the thing's arms to get it to release her sister, but it was Andrea who had finally put the walker down with a scythe through the brain.

Carol watched with wide eyes and a hand over her mouth, while Daryl cursed under his breath. He understood that the girl was grieving and hadn't been thinking about the dangers as she walked to her mother, but not being on alert at all times was one way to get killed in this world. Beth had been lucky that everyone had leapt into action as quick as they had or she would have been joining her mother.

"Mama," Sophia's quiet voice spoke up from behind the couple. "I want to leave. Can we leave? I don't want to see those things, anymore."

Carol quickly turned to tend to her daughter. "Of course, honey. How does a nap sound? Maybe Dale will let you sleep in his RV."

"Okay." Sophia nodded and reached for Carol's hand. Lori walked up to them, then, with Carl in tow.

"Can Carl join you? I don't think they'll let us back in the house. Especially after..." The dark-haired woman trailed off and turned to watch as they Greene family walked past them. Beth sobbed into Jimmy's shirt, while Maggie clung to Hershel, who seemed to be working on autopilot as they made their way back to the farmhouse.

"Of course, opposite ends of the bed, though." Carol pointed at the two young children with a smile, hoping that it would help ease some of the tension around them.

"Mom!" Sophia complained and stomped a small foot in embarrassment. Her whole face had even turned the color of a tomato and glancing over at Carl, Carol saw that his face was also flaming. Lori, however, hadn't seemed to hear and was off looking in the direction, Carol knew Shane and Rick were. From the sounds of it, they were arguing.

"Shit," Lori muttered and shot off, leaving Carol with Carl. Carol watched where the woman was running off, too, and saw that Shane was making his way up to the farmhouse with Rick desperately trying to stop him. The man was determined, though, and she could see that nothing short of shooting him would stop Shane from his mission.

Carol did not want the children to be witnesses to what was bound to go down in front of the Greene home. They had already witnessed a large number of walkers, who had been former Greene family members, get shot down, they didn't need to see anything else. "Come on, kids." She wrapped an arm around each of their shoulders and started to nudge them in the direction of the RV. Carl kept turning around to watch where his mother and father had run off, too.

A hand fell on her shoulder when she had walked only a few feet and she turned to see Daryl standing there. "Are you all right?" He asked, looking concerned. After all, she had just had a breakdown only a few minutes before.

"Yeah, I'm fine, now." She smiled, hoping that it would help him hear the truth in her words. "Thank you for asking."

He ducked his head bashfully, then looked up at her through the fan of his dark eyelashes. "Ain't nothin'."

Carol gently prodded Sophia and Carl in the backs. "You two go on to the RV. I'll be there in just a second."

The two kids looked at the two adults before starting their trek to the RV, their heads bent together as they started to whisper fiercely. Carol sighed, only imagining what they could be talking about. Hopefully, it wasn't about the gore they had just watched, earlier.

She finally turned to Daryl. "How about you? Are you okay?"

He looked taken aback, like he was shocked that she had asked him that question. "Course I am. Just had to kill a few walkers, ain't no big deal." Carol could see through his false bravado and knew that something was bothering him.

"It was seeing that little boy, wasn't it?" Carol stepped closer and he bowed his head, almost as if he wanted to place it on her shoulder, but they were in too much of a public place to do so. "You weren't expected that, did you?"

"Naw. Its just that kid was no more than nine years old! Since this whole thing started, I've never seen a child walker." He ran a hand through his hair, causing it to stick up in places. "And I thought that could have easily been Sophia. Hell, even Carl. I knew this world was shit and those things would go after anyone, but seeing that kid come out with half his shoulder missing..." He shuddered. "Shit, I feel like a fuckin' sap. And then, we almost lost another child when she decided to go see her mama." He fidgeted in place.

Carol reached over to cup his cheek and his fidgeting feet stopped. "No one expected that, Daryl, and because of you, my little girl is safe with me. I'm not going to allow anything to happen to her and I know you won't either."

"Wish I could kiss you, right now, but we got some little eyes on us." Daryl tilted his head slightly too the right and Carol looked over to see that Carl and Sophia had not gone into the RV, but instead, had stopped right in front of the door and watched them. When they saw Carol look at them, they quickly scurried back inside.

"Do you think they're on to us?" She asked, with a smile.

"Kids are sneaky. Do you care if they did...know?" Daryl looked unsure as he asked.

"No!" Carol quickly assured. "I want to tell Sophia, though, before she finds out on her own."

"Sounds like a good idea, then. And I know the girl likes me, so I ain't got a problem with lettin' her know." Daryl smirked and his eyes danced. Carol suspected that knowing Sophia liked him made Daryl happier than he'd ever admit.

"So, what are you going to do, now? I'm putting the kids down for a nap. Do you want to go to your tent to take one, too?" Carol's cheeks flamed when she remembered what they had been up to before Shane's angry shouts had them running.

Daryl's face mirrored hers. "Naw, I shouldn't. I think I'm goin' to help them clean up the mess by the barn. I helped make it, after all."

"Okay." Carol nodded in understanding. "I'll make sure Sophia and Carl get some rest and then, I'll come down to help."

"No." Daryl said firmly and grabbed her wrist before she could move. "I don't want you near that, just in case one of them undead bastards decides to not stay dead for a second time."

"I'll be fine. You gave me a knife, remember?" The knife she spoke of was strapped to her hip. She had almost forgotten in it in Daryl's tent in their haste to get dressed.

"Still, I don't want to risk it." Carol could see the fear of losing her in Daryl's eyes and she was nearly overcome with how much he cared for her.

"A-All right. I'll stay back, but I'll help bury some of Hershel's family."

"Okay, I can deal with that." He smiled, then. "Well, I should get to it. Maybe I won't have to deal with Shane and Rick, if I get started on the hard work." He turned to go, but Carol gripped his arm and made him turn around. Before she could chicken out, she went on her tiptoes and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

Daryl smiled a goofy grin and Carol giggled. "I'll see you later, Dixon."

Just as he did at the quarry, Daryl made sure that each walker had an extra hole in their brain before he set them off to be burned or buried. This time, however, Glenn wasn't in his face about who they buried and burned. No the Korean wasn't even their helping out. Instead, he was up at the house with his girlfriend, not that Daryl blamed him. After the events she had to witness, he knew that she probably needed a shoulder to cry on.

"We just need one more hole dug for Shawn," Jimmy called from where he stood overlooking the pile of bodies that still hadn't been moved. "He's the only left out of these guys that was part of the family."

That's when Daryl noticed the little boy still lying out. "Make that two!" He called to T-Dog and Jimmy, who had been in charge of digging the holes. T-Dog's head popped up from the grave he was currently working on.

"Why?" The big man asked.

Daryl pointed to the little boy with the scythe in his hand. "He's goin' to get a grave."

"It's almost dark. We don't know who he is and we won't be able to dig another grave before the sun goes down," Jimmy said. "And we can't leave him out here, so why not take him with the others-"

"No!" Daryl nearly shouted. "He's getting a damn grave." He threw down the scythe and reached for an extra shovel. "I'll dig it myself, then." He glared as he walked past the younger man and made sure, he left room for the grave met for Shawn and stuck his shovel in the ground.

The sun was almost all the way down when Carol ventured out to the graves. T-Dog and Jimmy had finished Shawn's grave about a half hour prior and Daryl had growled at them to get lost when they offered to help with the little boy's. They had just been feeling bad. When he had seen that he would be digging in the dark, he had walked to his tent and grabbed the battery-powered lamp he had there.

"What are you doing?" Carol knelt down beside him.

"What does it look like?" He snapped and instantly, regretted it. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"What's wrong?"

Daryl stopped shoveling and leaned on the shovel to look at her. The grave was about halfway up his shins. "No one wanted to dig that little boy a grave."

Without a word, Carol got up and grabbed one of the discarded shovels.

"What are you doin'?" Daryl asked.

"Helping." She hopped into what he had already dug and got to work. "That little boy deserves to be able to rest peacefully in the ground. In the morning, I'll even make him a headstone."

Daryl stopped Carol's digging to spin her around and smash his lips against hers. "You're amazin'," he said when they separated, slightly out of breath.

"Not as amazing as you, Daryl Dixon." She smiled, softly. "Now, let's finish this, so we can finally put little Sammy down to rest."

"Sammy?"

"We don't know his name and I thought Sammy would fit. He needs something to put on his headstone." Carol bit her bottom lip, suddenly looking very unsure. "Or does that sound too weird."

"Naw, it's perfect. I'm sure wherever little Sammy's parents are, they would be grateful for not lettin' him become an unknown."

A few tears slipped down Carol's cheeks before she could swipe them away. "They'll be grateful to you, Daryl, to care enough to make him a grave. You're such...you're such a wonderful man and I'm so glad we got to find one another, again."

Much later that night, Daryl and Carol trudged slowly to Daryl's tent. Carl and Sophia were in the RV with Andrea. They had obviously been more tired than they had let on, because they had not wakened up from their naps, yet.

"Wish I wasn't so tired," Carol said when they crawled into the tent.

"Why?" Daryl moved about setting up his sleeping bag so that it would accommodate them.

"So we could finish what we started earlier." She shed the thin cardigan she had on and that left her only in a tank top. Daryl tried hard not to look at the cleavage suddenly bared to him.

"We-We could always do it another time." Daryl blushed at his choice of words. He had said do it like a fucking teenager!

"I hope so." Carol settled down on the sleeping bag and looked up at him with a sleepy smile. "Come to bed, already." She patted the empty spot beside her and Daryl quickly shut off the lamp to crawl in beside her. He didn't hesitate to cradle her in his arms and bury his nose in her hair.

Carol patted the hand that had he rested on her abdomen. "Who needs a blanket when I have you?"

"Shut up," Daryl smiled and pulled her even closer before placing a kiss on her earlobe. "Night."

"Goodnight, Daryl."

Within seconds, the pair was sound asleep.

Chapter Text

Chapter Twenty-Six

When Carol opened her eyes, she was surprised to see herself standing in front of the barn, while Daryl, Shane, Andrea, Glenn, and T-dog fired shots into the heads of the walkers spilling from it. The noise didn't register until several seconds later and it almost deafened her. Looking next to her, she saw Lori on the ground cradling Carl in her arms. Hershel was on his knees in front of them, flanked by his family as they watched the scene.

Where was Sophia?

She wanted to yell up to Daryl to see if he knew where her daughter was, but the gunfire would have swallowed it up, just as it was swallowing up Lori's pleas for Rick.

Where was Sophia?

Daryl looked behind him at that moment and Carol took the opportunity to wave him over. He got an odd look on his face, but put his rifle down to his side and jogged up to her.

"Somethin' you need, lady?"

Lady? Daryl had never her that before. In fact, not that they were together, he would say her name more often.

"Have you seen Sophia?" The gunfire nearly swallowed up her words, but Daryl heard them and instantly, the confused look from before was replaced by a guilty one and his eyes shifted to his boots.

"Haven't found her, yet." He mumbled.

"What?" Carol hoped that the noise had caused her to hear Daryl wrong. So, she leaned closer and placed a hand on his hip. He hissed in pain and flinched back. Carol gasped at the sudden movement and covered her mouth in surprise.

"What's wrong? Did I hurt you? I'm sorry!"

"That's the side I got fuckin' shot with an arrow!" He looked annoyed, now.

"An arrow? When did that happen?"

Daryl looked at her in slight disbelief. "Really, lady? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I-I don't understand." Why was he being so rude to her?

"Just forget it. Damn." He walked away and muttered. "Don't even know why I walked over here in the fuckin' first place."

If Sophia wasn't still missing, Carol would have allowed herself to dwell on how Daryl had just treated her. The fact that he had nearly shouted at her, had brought tears to her eyes. What had she done for him to start treating her this way? Never had he gotten so mad at her before.

But if he wanted to be an ass, that was fine. She'd remember that, later.

Carol turned to Lori, hoping that maybe the other woman, or her son, knew where her daughter had run off, to. However, right as she opened her mouth to speak, the gunfire stopped and everyone's attention turned to the mass of corpses in front of the barn. Beth's high-pitched sobs could be heard clearly, now.

"Is that it, mom?" Carl's voice had Carol looking back at him. The boy was now trying to stand up from his mother's arms, to probably run to his dad, but Lori kept an iron grip on him. Carol didn't blame the other woman. The gore was not something a child should see. Hopefully, Sophia had found a spot to hide away, so she wouldn't have had to witness the massacre.

Just then, a tiny, soft growl came from the direction of the barn and for some reason, Carol's heart sank at the pitiful noise. Everyone in the front line raised up their weapons, again, but no one was prepared for what stepped out into the sunlight.

Sophia.

"No." Carol sobbed. It couldn't be. She had just walked her daughter up to see Carl before going to Daryl's tent, earlier. This couldn't be happening.

Without telling them to, her feet began to move and soon, she found herself running to the walking shell of her daughter. Before she could reach her, a strong pair of arms went around her and she was pulled to the ground, sobbing.

This couldn't be happening.

Sophia was fine. She had been alive the last time she saw her earlier that day.

But it was her. She was even wearing the same clothes, her favorite shirt and a pair of tan capris. She was exactly how she had looked earlier, except now, a part of her shoulder was missing and her eyes were a milky white.

But it was her. She was even wearing the same clothes, her favorite shirt with the rainbow and a pair of tan capris. She was exactly how she had looked earlier, except now, a part of her shoulder was missing and her eyes were a milky white.

"No," she moaned and bent her head down to the dirt. Daryl was awkwardly rubbing at her arm.

A gunshot rang out and Carol looked up just in time to see her daughter crumple to the ground with a bullet hole in her head.

Carol woke up screaming.

The noise jolted Daryl and was instantly reaching for the knife he kept close to his side.

"What's wrong?" His blue eyes frantically looked her over; trying to see of there was something physically wrong. Carol just shook her head and clung to him. It had all seemed to real and for a moment, she had actually thought that Sophia had been killed.

"Nightmare?"

"Yes. Where's Sophia?" She had to make sure.

"In the RV with Carl. They went there after the barn, remember?" He drew soothing circles on her back with his hand. "Was that what your nightmare was about?"

She nodded. "Sophia was in the barn and..." She sniffled and a few tears leaked from her eyes. "She had been bitten. Rick put her down."

"Fuck, I'm sorry." With one strong arm, Daryl hauled Carol until she was leaning fully on his chest, their bodies pressed as close as they could possible get.

"It was the worst thing I could have ever dreamed about, Daryl." Her cheek nestled just above his heart and the rhythmic beating of it was soothing.

"I know. But it ain't goin' to ever happen in real life. I promise." Daryl ran a hand up her arm and brought it up to her chin so that he could tilt her face to his. "I won't let anythin' happen to that little girl."

"I know." Carol smiled and leaned down to kiss him. The kiss got unexpectantly heated and Carol soon found herself on her back with Daryl hovering over her body and his mouth was attached to her neck.

"Do you want to, um, finish what we started...earlier?" She asked, slightly unsure on how he would react.

Daryl's eyes went wide, but she saw the way his pupils darkened. "If you want to."

"I do." She wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him down for another searing kiss. "I really really do." Her fingers crept from his hair and went to his shirt to start unbuttoning. Daryl watched with rapt attention.

"Hopefully, we won't get interrupted this time." He smirked.

"I won't let us." She pushed the shirt from his broad shoulders and ran her hands over his chest, marveling at how toned he was.

"My turn." Daryl leaned back and allowed Carol to sit up before he peeled off her top, leaving her only in a white bra. Carol bit her lip and then, with a deep breath, reached behind her and unclasped the garment. Daryl's eyes were glued to her chest and his eyes darkened further.

Together they eased back to the position they had been in before. "You're fuckin' beautiful."

Carol blushed. "You're only saying that because I took off my bra."

"Naw." He leaned down and placed a row of kisses along her jaw. "I've always thought that and I always will."

It didn't take them long after that to strip out of the rest of their clothes. Daryl looked unsure as he settled himself between Carol's thighs. She only smiled encouragingly.

"Uh, do we need...anythin'?"

At first, Carol didn't know what he was talking about when his eyes flitted down to their lower halves, she understood and shook her head. "No. Sophia was a difficult birth. The doctors didn't say anything about not being able to have any more children, but as soon as I was able, Ed tried for a boy. Twelve years later and I never became pregnant, again." The mood changed in the tent and Carol blinked back tears.

"I'm sorry, Carol." Daryl said, softly. "I know how much you wanted more kids."

"But I never wanted more kids with Ed." She wiped away the tears. "I was glad that I couldn't conceive, anymore."

"I-I would have liked to have a kid with you. Not now, of course, since you know...but-"

"I wish Sophia had been yours." Carol blurted and then, quickly covered her mouth.

"Really?" He asked in disbelief.

"You would make a wonderful father and I've always had a crush on you. I use to keep a diary and every time we would hang out, I would write it in. I even wrote 'Daryl and Carol Dixon' in a heart on several pages." Her face flushed, but instead of laughing, Daryl's face turned serious.

"I wish I had never left." He looked right at her and Carol gasped at the amount of emotion and love she saw shining in them. She pulled him down and kissed him.

"Daryl. Make love to me, right now. Please."

"Carl, you awake?"

"No," came the muffled reply from the bottom of the bed.

"Yeah, you are." Sophia nudged him with a foot and he flopped up to the blanket to glare at her.

"What do you want?"

"I can't sleep, anymore."

"Well, now, neither can I." Carl sat up and stretched. "And we're stuck in here because it's dark and everyone else is asleep."

"My mom would kill me if I went wondering around, now, anyways." She scooted over and made room so that Carl could sit next to her at the front of the bed.

"Do you want to talk about what happened today?" Carl looked eager to discuss it, but Sophia wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Not really. It was bad enough that I saw it."

"I hope Beth is okay." He said wistfully.

Sophia snorted. "I knew it! You have a crush on her!" She giggled into her hand.

"Do not!" Carl argued. Crossing his arms on his chest, he looked away from his friend.

"Yeah, you do. I saw the way you kept staring at her, earlier, when she came in to check up on you."

"Well, you have a crush on Glenn!" Carl pointed at her with a smirk. Sophia's face instantly went red and she opened her mouth to speak. "Don't even try to deny it. I know. Every time he would play with us at the quarry, you would laugh at everything he said. My mom says that happens, sometimes, when a girl likes a boy." He looked smug when he finished speaking.

"But he's with Maggie, now. So, you don't have a chance." He added.

"Well, Beth is with Jimmy, so neither do you!" Sophia shot back, angrily.

"Sophia? Carl?" Andrea's voice sounded muffled through the door, but they both heard it clearly. "Is everything okay? I heard yelling."

"We're fine, Ms. Harrison. Thank you." Sophia called back and then, turned to glare at Carl and spoke in a fierce whisper. "I'm going to bed. I don't want to talk to you, anymore."

"Fine." Carl humped and crawled back to his side of the bed and hid burrowed himself back under the blankets.

Carol and Daryl laid together in the afterglow of their coupling. Carol felt boneless as she curled into his side and Daryl sounded like he was having trouble catching his breath.

"That was amazin'." He finally gathered enough air to say.

"Maybe we should get Sophia her own tent to keep across from ours, so that we could do this every night." Carol suggested with a smile.

"I'd be okay with that." He pulled her closer and closed his eyes. Together, they drifted off to sleep.

That morning, they were the last to come to the main camp or breakfast. Everyone else was there, except Glenn, who was up with Maggie at the farmhouse and Rick. Sophia ran over to her mother when she saw her and gave her a hug.

"How did you sleep, honey?" She asked and smoothed down her daughter's bed head.

"Fine. You?"

Carol resisted the urge to look over at Daryl. "Great. Now, are you hungry?"

"Yeah! Andrea tried to make some eggs, but I think she burned a couple."

"I'll go and help." Carol smiled and walked over to the middle of camp where Andrea was bent over the fire. When she saw Carol approach, she smiled gratefully and allowed her to finish up the rest of the meal.

Despite the events of the day before, the camp seemed peaceful, like everyone was able to breath better now that the threat in the barn was eliminated. However, when Rick came back to camp, the tranquility was shattered.

"Hershel's gone." He announced. "And, I'm going to go after him."

Chapter Text

The bomb shell that Rick dropped on them, again, caused the quiet murmurings of the camp to fall completely silent. They had all been trying to forget about the day before at the barn, but it was hard to hide the fact that the Greene family had watched them, all of them virtually strangers, shoot and kill the rest of their family. It didn't matter that they had all been dead already. Now, the patriarch of the Greene family was missing and this was something that could quite possible tip the Greene girls over the edge.

"Fuck," Daryl muttered next to Carol. "Can't we catch a damn break?"

Carol gripped his bicep and kept Sophia close. "Those poor girls. Their daddy sure isn't helping matters by just up and leaving."

"I'd say let him be if it weren't for those girls. He's a grown ass man, and no one should go after him like he's a damn run away kid." Daryl kept his voice low so only Carol could hear. "Rick's goin' to get an ear full from that wife of his for volunteerin' so quickly."

"That's just what Rick does," Carol said, remembering how quick he had gone after Sophia at the highway.

The pair went quiet when Glenn stepped forward and offered to go with Rick. It was obvious that Maggie was on the young man's mind, and it was sweet that he had volunteered to go find her missing father.

Rick nodded his head. "Thank you. We'll leave as soon as possible. I want to be back before dark. I'm sure Beth and Maggie would like their father back before then, too." Glenn walked up to the leader of their group and together, the two walked over to the green Hyundai where they would look over a map and formulate a plan.

Lori paced near by and when Carl saw that he was basically being ignored, he ran over to where Sophia was and asked Carol if they could play cards. Sophia didn't look exactly thrilled at the idea, but she followed her friend to the RV, anyway.

"One of these days, me, you and Sophia are goin' to get out of here for awhile and relax somewhere where we don't have to worry about all this drama shit." Daryl's hand ghosted over Carol's back as they walked to the picnic table. Breakfast seemed to be forgotten by most and plates still with food on them were littered all over the place.

"Hmm, that sounds nice." Carol said, wistfully. "You'd want Sophia with?"

"Course. I wouldn't trust her with these assholes, anyway."

Carol nudged him and smiled. "Be nice." Daryl harrumphed and grabbed the nearest plate of food and started eating, not caring if it was someone else's.

"Ed never really wanted Sophia around." Carol watched him eat, while she played with her hands in her lap. "That's why I asked. I'm glad you're comfortable around her, and it's clear that she adores you."

"No, she doesn't." Daryl's voice sounded gruff, but Carol still heard a bit of pride in it.

"Yes, she does. Even before we started to talk to one another, she would always ask me about you."

"Really?" He looked up, surprised.

"Yep." Carol nodded. "I think for awhile there, she was trying to be a matchmaker. She can be sneaking like that." She nudged him in the shoulder. "Well, it turns out she didn't have to do much."

Daryl's face flushed a deep red and it looked like he was done with the plate in front of him. Something was clearly on his mind, because the proud look from before was gone and was replaced by something else. "Can I ask you somethin'?"

"Of course." Carol's brow furrowed at his suddenly serious tone.

"Last night. Do you regret it?"

Shocked wouldn't have described the feeling that shot through Carol's body. Not only was she shocked, but tears instantly appeared in her eyes. What had made this man think that she regretted the events of the night before? By the way Daryl was slumping his shoulders; it looked like he was preparing himself for the worst possible answer.

She was glad that no one was around listening to their conversation. They were all focused in their own little world. Placing a hand on Daryl's shoulder, she spoke firmly, "Daryl Dixon, look at me." Slowly, he turned to face her.

"What made you think that I regretted it? God, Daryl, you made me feel things last night that I never felt in my thirteen years married to Ed."

"It's jus' I know I ain't good at these things. Relationships. I've never been on one before, and just keep thinkin' that you're goin' to be disappointed in me. Knew you would never tell me, so I thought I'd ask." The slump in his shoulders was still there, and he wouldn't look Carol in the eye for long.

"Well, listen up, Dixon." Carol cupped his cheeks and forced his blue eyes to look into her own. "I will never regret being with you. I swear. You were the best thing that happened to me when we were kids, and after Sophia, you are the best thing that's happened to me, now."

"Really?" His mouth curved up into a half smile and the uncertainty vanished from his face and posture. Carol would have leaned forward and kissed him if they weren't sitting in the middle of camp.

"Really, Daryl. And thank you."

This time it was his turn to look confused. "For what?"

"For telling me something that was bothering you, and not stewing over it for days. I'm glad you felt comfortable enough to ask me about it."

Daryl shrugged. "Figured I wouldn't get an answer anyway else. Also, if I ever disappoint you, or make you upset in anyway way, I want you to tell me, all right? I want to do right by you and that little girl."

Happy tears misted in Carol's eyes. "That's the best thing anyone has ever said to me."

Daryl looked proud of himself. "It's true. You and Sophia are my main priorities when it comes to surviving this world. I ain't goin' to let nothin' happen to you or her, and that's the damn truth."

"If we weren't in the middle of camp right now, I would throw myself at you." She wiped away the tears from her cheeks and smiled.

"How about we go back to my tent and you can throw yourself at me all you want." Together they stood up from the table. Lori was now in a heated conversation with Rick, Glenn was by the RV with Dale, T-Dog's laughter could be heard from inside the RV as he played cards with Sophia and Carl, and Shane and Andrea were no where to be seen.

"Looks like Shane and Andrea had the same idea as us." Daryl winked when he noticed they were missing, as well. Carol blushed.

They had just made it out of the middle of camp when someone started to yell Carol's name. Confused, Carol turned to see Patricia running towards them. It was odd to see her in their camp, since she had never visited before.

Tears coursed down the woman's voice, and looking behind her, Carol saw Maggie standing on the porch looking in their direction. Glenn had noticed her, and if he had, he would have been rushing to her side. Even from the great distance, Carol could tell that the girl looked distressed.

Oh no. Something was wrong.

"Carol!" The woman nearly collapsed into Carol's arms. Her blonde hair was in disarray around her head.

"What is it, Patricia?"

"It's Beth. Something's happened with her, and she's not responding to me or Maggie. All she's doing is staring up on the ceiling."

"What-What can I do?" She had never spoken to the young girl and had no idea on how to get her out of the open-eyed coma she seemed to be in.

"I don't know." Patricia admitted with anguish. "Hershel isn't here, and Maggie's devastated. The first thing I thought of was to come to you. I know it isn't fair. You don't know us, or Beth, very well. But I did-"

"I'll come. Let me get Sophia, and I'll come up to the house."

"And I'll tell Rick and Glenn to get their asses movin'." Daryl spoke up from behind her. Carol threw him a thankful look, and he squeezed her hand gently before going off to talk with Rick.

"You go on back to the house." Carol gripped the woman's shoulder comfortingly. "I'll be right up with my daughter."

"Thank you," Patricia whispered before turning back to the direction of the farmhouse.

Carol walked up to the RV, opened the door and poked her head in. T-Dog and Carl sat at one side of the table and Sophia sat on the other. Each had a hand full of cards, and when they heard the door open, they all looked at her.

"Something wrong, mom?" Sophia placed her cards down and scooted to the end of the bench.

"I'm going to need you to come with me, honey. Grab Mr. Snuggles and come on out." Carol looked up at the other two in the RV. "Sorry for interrupting your game, but this is really important."

"No problem, Ms. Peletier (Carol involuntarily winced at the sound of her dead husband's surname), me and Mr. Douglas can still play without her."

"I'm glad, sweetie." Sophia was in front of her, then, Mr. Snuggles clutched in her arms. "Ready?" The young girl nodded and followed her mother out of the RV.

The screen door slammed shut behind them, and both mother and daughter jumped at the sound. On the trek over, her mother had been silent, and Sophia began to worry a little. She had seen Daryl back at the camp, and her mom had smiled at him as they walked past, but no words were exchanged.

"Is everything okay, mom?"

Carol turned and kneeled and gripped Sophia's shoulders. "Sophia Ann, I have an important job for you." Sophia had never seen her mother look so serious. "Maggie's little sister, Beth, has gone into shock. She's not responding to either her sister or Patricia, and they are really worried about her well-being. Now, I don't know if this will work, but I want you to talk to her."

"B-But what do I say?"

"Talk about anything, honey. Your day, Carl, your old doll collection. Beth is very sad after yesterday, and I'm afraid she may hurt herself really bad, and I want her to know that even though things are different, now, she can still find happiness here." Carol held her tighter. "I want you to try and be her friend. She may not look like she's listening, but she is. Do you feel comfortable doing this? Be honest."

Sophia nodded her head, trying to look more confident than she felt. "I can do this."

Carol stood and pulled Sophia close in a hug. "I want you to know that no matter what happens, I will still be very proud of you for doing this."

"Okay, mom. I'm ready. Let's go."

Carol watched her daughter walk into the room where Beth lay looking at the ceiling with glassy eyes. Patricia and Maggie hovered behind her. She had filled them in as soon as Sophia had walked into the room. They weren't sure what to think of the plan, but were willing to try it out.

They watched as Sophia bypassed the chair by Beth's bed and climbed into the bed beside the older girl. Sophia settled her back against the headboard and looked down at Beth, who hadn't moved.

"Hi, Beth." The girl said cheerily and with a smile. "Do you want to hold Mr. Snuggles?" Sophia held out the doll in front of Beth. "He used to be my mom's, and she said that he used to always make her feel better. Maybe he'll help you." She tucked the rabbit in the space between the other blonde girl's arm and chest.

"My mom said I should come here and talk to you, and I hope you're ready for a long conversation because you're the only girl almost my age around here, and I have a lot to say."

Carol backed out of the doorway, proud tears threatening to spill over. Turning to the two women behind her, she saw that tears were in their eyes, as well.

"Your daughter is an angel, Carol." Patricia wrapped Carol up in a hug, and Maggie joined in. "Even if this doesn't help Beth before her daddy gets back, I'm sure she'll realize what a precious girl you have."

"Thank you," she said. Carol had always known what a sweet and caring girl Sophia was, and it made her heart burst with happiness to finally be able to see her daughter flourish.

Several minutes later, Maggie and Patricia went to sit in the living room, and Carol walked out to the porch, needed a bit of fresh air.

"How's the girl?" Carol would have jumped if she hadn't expected Daryl to be hanging around. He was sitting on the swing and was gently rocking back and forth. Carol joined him.

"Sophia is in there talking with her." Daryl arched a brow. "Well, she's actually talking at her. I'm hoping she can get Beth out of this state of shock."

"Glenn and Rick just left to get him back. I guess Maggie said something to Glenn earlier about how the old man used to have a drinkin' problem a while back, and they're goin' to check the bar in town." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I hope when he gets back, he feels fuckin' ashamed for leavin'. He should know that he ain't the only one hurtin' in his family after yesterday."

"Grief makes you do all kinds of things."

"Pfft. Like leavin' behind your two grievin' daughters for a drink?"

"I don't know what he was thinking, Daryl. I doubt he even knows." Carol leaned her head on his shoulder, feeling exhausted despite the fact that it was still early in the day.

"I'm just mad that all of this stuff couldn't wait to happen until after I had my way with you in my tent."

Carol chuckled. "Is that all your going to think about, now?"

"You're damn right." He pulled her close and kissed her soundly on the cheek. "I ain't ever goin' to get enough of you, sweetheart."

Chapter Text

September 1982

"I want to help people when I get older." Carol picked at a blade of grass as Daryl lounged on his back beside her. Together, they were sitting under their tree in Daryl's yard. "I want to either do that, or be a teacher."

"So you're sayin' once you  graduate  from school, you want to go back and teach it?" Daryl scuffed.

Carol just shrugged. "I don't mind school, and I think teaching would be fun. But my first choice would be to become a counselor or a social worker. I think I would like to help children who have had a difficult time in their lives, or ones whose parents don't pay much attention to them, you know?"

Daryl sat up. "Is this because of how it's like at your house?"

Once again, she shrugged. "I know my mom and dad love me, but it kind of makes me upset that we don't talk much. I should be able to go to my mom and tell her everything, but I just...can't. I mean, I don't think this will hurt me in the long run, but for those that it does, I want to be there to help."

Daryl fell silent and Carol took it as him being upset. "Oh, I'm sorry, Daryl!"

He looked confused. "For what?"

"Here I am going on  about  my parents and how I can't talk to my mom, and your poor mother..."

"Naw, its all right. She wasn't much of a mom, anyway." Carol gasped. "It's true. All she did was drink and smoke. Never paid too much attention to me and Merle, and then one day she was just gone. Burned up. I was sad for a little bit, but then I kind of just got over it."

"I'm still sorry." Reaching over, she grabbed his hand, briefly and squeezed. He didn't shy away from her touch like he had when they first met.

"You know somethin' Carol, you don't gotta wait until you're older to help people. Hell, you've already helped some." Daryl seemed nervous as he speak and refused to look at her. Instead, his gaze was focused on the ground.

"I have?"

"Yeah. You helped me in the woods that day."

"Daryl, that's not what I'm talk-"

"Ain't talkin' just about you helpin' me get out of the woods. Y-You talked to me, and didn't act like I was a piece of shit. You gave me your favorite stuffed animal and called me your best friend." Finally he looked up at her, looking much older than his ten years. "Uh, I guess what I'm tryin' to say, is that you made me feel like I was...worth somethin', even though you had just met me. A-And I know that's helped me get through these past few months, you know?"

Carol tackled him to the ground in a hug. "That's the kindest thing you have ever said to me, Daryl." She kissed him on the cheek.

"It's the truth." His voice was muffled, but he hadn't pushed Carol off, so she took it as a good sign and continued to have her arms wrapped around him.

"Daryl Dixon, do you want to know something?" She finally sat up and allowed Daryl to sit up, as well.

"What?"

"You're the best thing that has ever happened to me. I'm glad I got lost in the woods and found you. I can't imagine this summer without you there. Don't ever leave me. Okay?"

"Carl has a crush on you." Sophia continued to speak to the teenager, whose eyes were still wide open, but unseeing. "He would be so mad at me if he found out I told you, but I don't care. He makes me so mad, sometimes, and you're with Jimmy, so it's not like he even had a chance." Twenty minutes had passed since her mother had asked Sophia to speak with Beth, and she was starting to feel disheartened at the girl's lack of response to her ramblings. Not even the mention of Jimmy had roused her. Carol had said not to worry if Beth didn't respond to her talking, but Sophia had wanted so bad to be of help to someone. When she had gone missing in the woods, Carl had said that everyone had looked for her, and she wanted to prove herself, now.

"Beth, I know you're going through a tough time, right now. I don't know what I would do if I lost my mama. But you still have Maggie, your dad, Jimmy and Ms. Patricia, who all love you and want you to get better. They hate seeing you this way. I hate seeing you this way, and we barely know one another." Sophia sighed and blinked back tears. "I was lost in the woods a few days ago. I don't know if you knew that or not. I was lost and I thought for sure I was never going to see my mom, again. Then, Daryl found me. I-I think you're lost, right now, Beth, and you're going to need someone to find you. I just want to let you know that I'm here, and I'm going to keep talking to you until you tell me to shut up."

If Sophia had been paying attention to Beth's hands, she would have seen that the fingers on the older girl's right hand had begun to twitch.

Carol and Daryl still sat on the porch swing with Daryl using his foot to gently rock them back and forth. Carol had been dozing on Daryl's shoulder when she felt the comforting weight of his arm slide from her shoulders. Whining at the loss, she sat up to ask why he had moved and saw that he was looking out at the yard. Carol turned in time to see Carl bound up the stairs.

"Oh." Carol understood, now. Turning to Carl, who had walked up to them when he noticed them sitting there, she asked, "Does your mom know you're up here?" Now, that Carl seemed to have healed enough to run around, he found every chance he could to leave the camp. Much to Lori's distress.

"No, but you're up here, so she won't worry." Carol doubted that. "How's Beth?" Everything made sense, then. The boy had a crush on the older girl and had come up to check on her. Daryl snorted from behind Carol, and she rolled her eyes.

"Sophia is in there speaking with her."

"So, she's awake?" His eyes brightened and he reached for the door handle, ready to race inside.

"No, not yet, I'm afraid. Sophia's talking to her to see if she'll wake up, soon." Carol explained and watched as Carl visibly deflated at the news.

Carol nudged Daryl, and motioned for him to scoot over a bit so that there was room next to her for Carl. Daryl rolled his eyes, but moved. "Come here, Carl." She patted the empty space and Carl took it, and hung his head.

"Don't worry, honey. Beth is going to be fine. If my Sophia can't get her to wake up, your dad and Glenn went to get her father, and I'm sure he'll be able to help her." She wrapped an arm around the boy and pulled him close.

"I hope you're right, Carol."

"I think my mama and Daryl are together," Sophia whispered, as if there was someone else in the room with them. "They don't think I know, but I see the way my mama looks at him, and Daryl is always by her." She had grabbed Mr. Snuggles from where he had been at Beth's side and began to play with his ears. "They think they're sneaking, but I'm even sneakier."

"I'm glad my mama has Daryl, though. He's good for her. My daddy wasn't. My daddy was mean, and he use to..." She paused. "Nevermind. I'm supposed to be talking about happy stuff. So, how are you and Jimmy? I saw him in the living room when my mom brought me here, and he looked real upset.

Beth's left arm twitched and brushed against Sophia's leg. The younger girl glanced over just in time to see Beth blink.

"Beth? A-Are you waking up?"

Instead of staying glued to the ceiling, Beth's eyes looked at Sophia. "Did you say Carl had a crush on me?"

Chapter Text

"How old is Carl, anyway?" Beth's voice was slightly raspy from crying and misuse, but Sophia had never been more relieved to hear it. She hadn't failed her mother and she had helped someone. Even if it had just been by talking.

"Thirteen, like me." Sophia answered.

Beth wrinkled her nose and sat up in the bed so that her back rested against the headboard. Sophia joined her. "He's a little young for me."

"How old are you?"

"Just turned sixteen. I was able to have a 'Sweet Sixteen' birthday party before everything..." The older girl trailed off and got a faraway look in her eye.

Sophia, afraid that her new friend was going to relapse, quickly gripped Beth's hand. "Tell me all about it! I'm not going to be able to have one on my own."

The faraway look left Beth's blue eyes and she smiled, happy to tell Sophia all about the cake, presents and guests that were at her birthday party. Sophia was jealous of all the things Beth told her about, knowing she would never get to have those things. No cake, no mountain of presents. But it was making Beth happy to talk of her life before the Turn, and Sophia wanted her to be happy.

"Tell me about Jimmy," Sophia suggested when it looked like Beth was winding down. "How did you guys meet? And when did he ask you out?"

"We met in school, of course." Beth smiled at the memory. "He was a junior and I was a sophomore. He asked me to Homecoming and I said yes. We've been together for about...eight months, now. Two of those months, he's been here with us. His family... they..."

"I get it. You don't have to say anything, more." Sophia patted Beth's hand.

"I hate this new world." Beth said, vehemently and Sophia was surprised at how angry she sounded. "I know that this is how it's going to be from now on, but I don't think I could take anymore people I love dyin'."

"We're just going to have to be strong," Sophia said. "Daryl is helping my mama be strong, again. With my daddy, she...wasn't. Your daddy and your sister will help you, Beth. Jimmy, too. Things are bad, but we still have people that love us."

"You're right," she sighed. "It's going to be hard, but I'll try."

"Good, and I'm here, too. I know I'm probably a little too young to want to hang out with, but I'm here if you need me."

Beth smiled. "You're not too young to be my friend, Sophia. Now, Carl, he's a little too young for me to ever think about dating." The two girls giggled into their hands.

"What was that?" Carl's head perked up from its place on Carol's shoulder. He sat between Carol and Daryl on the porch swing, but leaned more to Carol. Daryl still scared him.

"What was what, sweetie?" Carol asked, but right after she asked that, she heard it, too. Laughter. Daryl had been dozing on his side of the swing, otherwise he would have been the first one to hear it.

"Do you think it's Beth?" Carl asked.

There was no way it could Maggie and Patricia, seeing as they had both been near tears when they walked into the living room. Plus the laughter was coming from the room behind them, the room Beth had been laid out in. "It could be her," she said and stood. "Maybe Sophia managed to get her up. Let's go see."

Daryl snorted awake when the swing moved as Carl and Carol stood up, and he looked at them, confused. "What's goin' on?" His eyes were still blurry from sleep.

"We think Beth might be up, now," Carol answered with a smile. Carl was already at the door and opening it. "Come on, let's find out." She held out her hand for him to take and helped him to his feet. Daryl stretched a bit before following Carol inside.

Maggie and Patricia stood outside the closed door leading to Beth's room. When they heard the trio walk in the house, they turned to them with bright smiles and Carol knew that Sophia had helped the other girl wake up and a swell of pride went through her.

"She's up!" Patricia walked up to Carol and grasped her hands. "I can hear her talking to your daughter through the door. She was even laughing!"

"Patricia stopped me from bursting in," Maggie joined them. "But then, I heard her laugh and I just stood there to listen. You're daughter is a God send."

The sound of a door being open had all three women's head snapping to Beth's door, just in time to see Carl opening it all the way. The boy could not be patient, and Carol resisted the urge to grab the boy by the collar and yank him back. Immediately, the giggles coming from the room stopped.

"Carl, what are you doing here?" Carol knew Sophia's voice, anywhere, and right now, it sounded a bit annoyed.

Once the door opened, Maggie and Patricia left Carol's side and filed into the room, too. When they were gone, Daryl replaced Patricia's spot on Carol's left side. "That little shit," he whispered, talking about Carl. "Can't ever wait a damn second."

"He just wanted to see that his friend was all right, Daryl. Can't fault him for that."

"Friend, my ass. I've never seen that boy talk to that girl, once. He's got himself a mighty big crush on her, though, and it ain't going to end well."

"Sophia has a crush on Glenn."

Daryl snorted. "She tell you that?"

"No, but it wasn't hard to figure out." Carol had noticed back at the quarry the way her daughter hung out to every word the young man had said. Glenn was a good man, taking time out of his day to play with Carl and Sophia, but he was too old for her little Sophia. Just like Beth was a little too old for Carl, right now. Plus, Beth already had a boyfriend.

"So, do you think Sophia is goin' to stay in there, any longer?" Daryl asked. Several voices floated back to them from the room as Maggie, Patricia and Carl all started to talk with Beth and Sophia.

"Don't know. Maybe. Why?" She gave him a sly look, knowing why he was asking.

"What to get out of here for a little bit?" Daryl wrapped an arm around her waist and forced her to face. "Maybe go back to my tent." He pressed his face into the space between her shoulder and neck and began to place small kisses and nips on the skin.

"And what would we be doing there?" Turning her head sideways, she allowed him more space.

"Play cards," he snorted. "What do you think?" He kissed his way up her neck and sucked her earlobe into his mouth.

"All right, then." She placed a hand on either side of his head and forced it up so they could be face to face. "Lead the way, Dixon."

But before they could even clear the porch steps, Shane's Hyundai flew into the driveway in front of the house. They stopped so fast that gravel sprayed them everywhere. Luckily, they were out of the way of the flying rocks. Carol looked over at Daryl, who was looking at the car, back straight with tension.

Glenn was the first to climb out, but instead of running up to the stairs and into the house to see Maggie, he opened one of the back doors. Rick got out from the driver's side and joined the younger man. Hershel climbed out the other side, opposite of Glenn and Carol sighed in relief. But who was on the other side?

Shane, Lori and Andrea had all seen the car zoom in and had run up to the house. Shane and Lori went straight to Rick, who made them step aside as they dragged a young man from the back seat. One of his pant legs was soaked through in blood and he was moaning in pain as they began to move him towards the steps.

"Who the hell is this?" Shane asked, stepping in front of Rick, who was definitely not in the mood for his friend and stepped around him.

"This is Randall," Rick answered and with Glenn's help, started to carry the man up the steps. "He was with a group of men who were shooting at us. Once Hershel fixes him up, we're going to get him to start talking."

"He shot at you and you brought him back?" Lori cried from behind them.

"She's right, Rick. Should have left the asshole to die." Their voices began to fade away as they all walked up to the house. Daryl and Carol just stood there, in disbelief with everything that had just happened in the matter of seconds.

"Dammit," Daryl cursed and started to head up to the house. "Interrupted, again."

Chapter Text

Chapter Thirty

June 2010

"What's the matter, boy?" Merle came up behind Daryl and slapped him hard on the back, which nearly caused him to topple over. They were standing in some dirty alley outside an even dirtier bar. At Daryl's feet l aid a kid barely old enough to drink.  Blood was seeping from his broken nose and one of his eyes had already been swollen shut.

"He's just a kid. Did we have to beat the shit out of him, like that?" Daryl's right hand stung from when he had landed the blow that had broken the kid's nose. It had been the only hit he had gotten in, not that he cared. If he had had his way, he wouldn't have touched the kid, at all. If he had his way, he would have made sure Merle hadn't laid a finger on him, as well.

"The little shit owes me money, and tells me he doesn't have it, yet, when I come to collect. Then, I come in here, and he see him wastin' it on some pretty girl like he's a fuckin'  Rockefeller ." Merle kicked the boy in the leg, which made him groan and curl tighter into a ball. "Now, he knows not to fuck with a Dixon." Leaning down, he took out the kids wallet and took all the cash inside. Merle counted it, and smiled. "Perfect. This is everythin' he owed me." He pocketed the money, and threw the wallet on the ground by the boy's head.

Daryl knew he should be happy. They had money to pay their rent, now. But he wasn't. They had to beat a kid for it. A kid who had gone out that evening, looking for some fun, and found himself curled in a ball in some back alley with blood dripping from his face.

"Come on, Daryl. Let's get us a couple drinks before callin' it a night," Merle called to him as he started to walk back to the street. "I say we deserve it."

"But what about him?" They couldn't just leave him there.

"Leave him." And that was exactly what Merle planned to do. "Come on, Darylina." Merle disappeared around the corner of the building, and Daryl took the opportunity to kneel beside the kid.

"Hey, look, 'm real sorry about all of that." He didn't know what good apologizing now would do. It didn't even make him feel better at saying the words. They came a little too late. The kid was already in a world of pain.

"Go to...hell. Piece...of trash ... Dixon." The words were spoken through bloodied lips. Daryl knew he should be angering at them. He knew he should roughen the kid up even more, like Merle would have done. But he couldn't.

He stood up. "Yeah, you're right I am trash." The last part was said more to himself.

Is that who you are, now, Daryl? Beating up a kid for money? A familiar girl's voice sounded in his head. It had been years since he had heard that voice, and for the life of him, he couldn't remember who it was.

No, it's not. This isn't me, he said back. This is my brother. This is the man my brother wants me to be.

You're better than this, Daryl. I know you are.

Without another word to the kid on the ground or to the voice in his head, Daryl followed after Merle, like he always did, and hoped that he could stop his brother from spending all of their money on drinks and women.

C-D

"Please, Ed, don't. It was an accident. Sophia just wanted to help!" Carol stood in front of her cowering twelve year old daughter as Ed towered over them both, hands clenched in fists and anger making his face red.

"Well, she should have stuck to watching her mama, because now my dinner is burnt."

"It was an accident, Ed. I'll make you something else."

"I'm hungry, now, bitch. Now, get out of the way, or you'll get the beating meant for her."

"She's just a child!" Carol stood her ground. Ed had never raised a hand to their daughter, and like hell was she going to have him start, now. She'd take all the beatings, as long as Sophia never had to.

"Fine, then." An ugly smile spread across his face, and he raised his hand. Carol straightened up and prepared herself for the blow. She would take a thousand hits before Ed could hit her child.

"So, what do you plan on doing with him, now that you brought him here?" Shane hadn't hesitated to get into Rick's face after they dropped off Randall with Hershel so that the vet could look at his leg.

"Don't know," Rick answered, honestly.

"We can't keep him here with us, not if he was with a group that tried to kill you. He'd probably turn on us."

"What do you have us do, then?" Rick was barely able to control his anger. They stood in the hallway outside of the room containing Hershel and Randall, but just around the corner, the rest of the group waited.

"Should have just left him out there," Shane said. Leaning forward, he lowered his voice. "You know what we have to do. He can't live, Rick. Not with Lori and the other women in camp."

"You want us to kill him? Shane, he's just a kid."

"But he was running with a bunch of killers, and I'm sure he knew exactly what he was doing with them." Shane's eyes blazed with anger. "I say we found out more of this group he's in, and then, take him out in the woods and-"

"How do you expect him to tell us anything?" Rick didn't even want to hear the next words he knew that were coming out of Shane's mouth.

"I'm sure you'll figure something out, Sheriff Rick." There was a challenge in the other man's eyes. "When he's all fixed up, we'll let him rest up here. I'll keep watch. But in the morning, his ass is going straight to the barn, and we'll get the information out of him." With those commanding words, Shane turned and left Rick standing there, trying to figure out where the old Shane had gone.

Hershel walked out of the room, then, with a bloody towel in his hands. "I've done what I could for his leg. Don't know how well it'll heal up, but it's the best I could do. He's out, now, and will probably stay that way until morning."

"Thank you."

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to check up on my youngest daughter."

Hershel walked into Beth's room, and Carl and Sophia walked out. Carol greeted her daughter with a hug and whispered praises in her ear. Daryl watches the scene with a smile, but his eyes harden when Shane comes up to him. Rick is standing a bit behind, in the opening of the hallway that leads to the room with the kid they had dragged in.

"Got a minute?" Shane asked.

Looking once more at Carol and Sophia, he nodded. "Yeah." The three men walk out onto the porch. It was pitch black outside and only the fire from the camp across the yard is seen.

"We're going to move Randall to the barn tomorrow morning. Could use your help." Shane started right away. The man had never asked him for help before, and Daryl narrowed his eyes.

"All right," he agreed.

"The boy's dangerous," Shane continued. "I don't trust him around, anyone. Especially the women and children."

This sparked something inside Daryl. If the boy was dangerous, he didn't want him anywhere near Carol or Sophia. "I got you. I'll help."

"Good." Shane nodded. "We'll be moving him at first light. Meet us there." With that being said, he slipped back into the house. Rick had been oddly silent through the whole exchange, and when Daryl looked at him, he quickly averted his gaze and followed his friend inside.

When Daryl finally walked inside the house, it was just in time to see Sophia yawn loudly. It was getting late. "Carol," he said, softly. "I want you both to stay with me tonight. Is that all right?"

Carol searched his eyes, wondering what was going on. "Of course. Is there something wrong?"

"Naw, just don't want you out of my sight while that kid is here. I don't trust him."

She pulled Sophia close, and nodded. "I understand."

Daryl looked down at Sophia, and smiled. "Come on, kid. Let's get you to bed."

"You want me to what?" Daryl snarled more out of hurt than anger. That morning, he had helped Rick and Shane drag Randall to the barn, where they tied him to one of the support beams. Then, Shane had turned to Daryl and asked him to do something he had sworn he'd never do again.

"We need you to question him, Daryl. His people may come after him, and we need to know what to expect." This time it was Rick who spoke, calmly, as if they hadn't asked him to beat a kid within an inch of his life and all for information.

"Why me?" Daryl knew exactly why. Hadn't he proved himself to these people, yet? Hadn't he shown them that he wasn't like his older brother? That he wasn't a monster?

"You know exactly why we asked you?" Shane was growing impatient. "You can't tell me you and Merle never did this before." Daryl was silent, which answered the other man's question. He felt so ashamed.

"Look we need this information, Daryl." Rick stepped closer, his eyes boring into his.

Daryl looked over at Randall, who was watching them with eyes full of fear. Whimpers left his mouth. They hadn't gagged him, yet, but the gag lay around his neck. Daryl made his decision, then.

"Forget it. I ain't doin' it." He was not going to have another kid's blood on his hands. Carol would be disappointed in him, and if Rick really wanted to get info from Randall, then he could do the dirty work himself. Taking one last look at the two former police officers, he shook his head in disgust and turned to leave the barn.

"Dammit, Dixon, get back here!" Shane ran after him, but his mind was made up.

"Dixon, I know a Dixon!" Randall's voice sounded frantic. "I know a Dixon." Rick turned to him, after watching Shane leave the building, still trailing after Daryl.

"You do?" He walked over and kneeled in front of the prisoner, that was what he was, now. There was no denying it. Not anymore.

"Yeah." He nodded vigorously. "His name's Merle and he's in our group. He wasn't with the ones who attacked you. He usually stays back, since he's still healing. His hand is gone, you know."

Rick straightened. Randall knew Merle. Randall had been in the same group with Merle, and probably knew where they were hiding out.

"Are you going to tell, Daryl?" Shane had come back in; his mission to bring Daryl back failed, and had heard the tail end of what Randall had said.

If Daryl knew his brother was near, he would probably go after him. Rick couldn't have that. They needed all the men guarding the farm as they could, especially if the able-bodied men of Randall's group came looking for their lost member.

"No. I think this is something we need to keep to ourselves," Rick finally said.

Another secret to keep.

Chapter Text

Chapter Thirty-One

"They wanted you to do what?"

Carol had been dishing out breakfast to the members of their group, when she had looked up and saw Daryl stomping back to his tent from the barn. She knew that he had left earlier that morning to help Rick and Shane with Randall, but obviously something had happened to make him upset. Passing the leftovers to T-Dog, she made sure Sophia was securely by Carl and Lori's side, and made her way to Daryl's campsite. What he had told her was shocking.

"They wanted be to beat up a kid, Carol." Daryl's hands shook as he paced in front of her. "Randall ain't no older than Glenn, and they wanted me to beat him senseless to get information." He looked up, and Carol saw the war in his eyes.

Carol took his shaking hands in hers. "You were right in leaving them like that, and they had no right to ask that of you. You're a good man, Daryl. A great man, and the fact that Rick and Shane don't seem to see that is...disgusting." She pulled him into a hug. Immediately his arms went around her waist and his chin rested on her head.

"He is dangerous, though. But...I knew beating him up wasn't right. The kid's scared shitless. I bet he'd talk without getting hit. Rick and Shane just need to figure it out."

"I agree." Carol looked up at him. "I'll admit, though, I don't know what should happen to him. This world is messed up if we have to decide the fate of someone so young, but if we don't, he could hurt us."

"I ain't lettin' anything happenin' to you or Sophia." Daryl cupped her cheek and stroked it with his thumb. "I promise."

"I know you won't." She went up on tiptoe and kissed him. "But you have to teach Sophia and me how to defend ourselves, that way if you ever get in trouble, we can save you."

"Pfft." Just like that, the tension was gone from Daryl's face. If only for now. "That's never goin' to happen."

"Hm. I hope not, but you'll never know." She stepped away from him and grabbed his hand. "Now, I know you didn't eat anything before you went to the barn, so let's go see if there's some breakfast left over."

Daryl's stomach rumbled, loudly. "Sounds good."

An hour after Daryl stopped away from the barn, Shane and Rick emerged from it and joined the group. The two men didn't look happy. Shane glared at Daryl, who was doing his best to ignore him, while Rick looked torn. Randall was still a problem, and no one knew what to do with him.

"We should have a meeting," Glenn suggested. "Maybe we could come up with ways to deal with him." There were quiet murmurs of agreement throughout the group.

"Why do we have to do anything? He's just a kid." Dale stood up.

"Yeah, a good who's running with rapists and murders," Shane snarled. There was tenseness between the two of them. "Say we just untie him and let him go. What happens when he runs back to his group and brings them here?"

"Our children wouldn't be safe," Rick spoke up. Carol gathered Sophia close at the words as Lori did the same to Carl. "Our women would definitely not be safe." He had eyes only for Lori, while Daryl looked to Carol. "And Shane, Dale, Glenn, T-Dog and I? Well, we'd be killed. No questions asked."

"Then what do we do?" Lori sounded desperate. No one blamed her. She had a child to think about.

"I suggested we take him out, blind fold him, so he doesn't know where he's at and drop him off. With no weapon and an injury, he may not have a good chance of survival, but-"

"It's still killing him!" Dale exclaimed.

"Then what would you have us do, Dale!" Shane shouted, losing his temper. "The kid's dangerous and you want to keep him around? You want to adopt him as your son, too?"

The silence around the camp was tense. No one knew how to answer the question of what to do with Randall, and Rick's suggestion seemed to be as good as any. Dale looked around for support, hoping someone would stand up and be merciful to Randall's plight.

No one stood.

Daryl may have promised never to harm a kid, again, but he wasn't stupid enough to think that Randall was completely harmless. There was something sneaky about the young man, and the sooner he was taken away from the farm and Carol and Sophia, the better. Hell, if Rick and Shane wanted his help to do that, he would do it, no problem.

"Fine," Dale sighed. "Take him out. Leave him to die. I don't care, anymore." With a disappointed shake of his head, he walked into his RV and closed the door.

"All right, tomorrow morning, Rick and I are taking him out." Shane looked at all of them, waiting for someone to object or get up. "It's settled, then." With an frustrated sigh, he stalked away from the rest of the camp, rubbing fiercely at his shaven head.

The rest of the day went by in a somber silence. Dale only emerged from his RV to take his spot on top of it for watch. Andrea had joined him for a little bit, talking softly to him, but even when she couldn't get him to understand what had to be done, she left.

Glenn spent most of his time in the camp. Maggie was still with Beth, it having only been a day since the girl had been woken from her catatonic state. To keep Carl and Sophia busy and minds elsewhere from the constant talk of banishment and death, he played a wide variety of games with them. He had even tried to teach them a bit of poker.

Carol watched as they struggled to learn the rules of the game with a smile. Sophia's adoration of the young man was evident every time she looked up to ask a question. She was a smart girl, and Carol had no doubts that she had known the rules the first time Glenn had given them. Carl, on the other hand, seemed to be struggling, but didn't give up.

"Do you think Beth plays poker?" Carol stifled a laugh at the young boy's question and the irritated groan from Sophia that followed it.

"Is she all you ever think about?" She snapped.

"Hm, I don't know if she plays poker, Carl," Glenn stepped in and diffused the situation, easily. "Next time I see Maggie, I can ask." At the mention of Maggie, Sophia sat lower in her seat and frowned.

Carol knew how it felt to lose her first crush. One day Daryl had been there, and the next...he wasn't. However, fate had allowed them to be reunited. Carol knew that wouldn't be the case for Sophia. Glenn was already deeply in love with Maggie, and if anything were to happen to the young woman, Glenn was still much too old for her little Sophia.

"You can ask her, now, because she's coming this way!" Carl pointed excitedly over Glenn's shoulder. Sophia's frown turned into a scowl when Glenn whipped around to watch as Maggie approached.

He met her halfway, and she kissed him lightly on the lips. However, instead of taking his hand and leading Glenn off somewhere, she walked past him and went straight to Sophia, who was still scowling at the ground.

Kneeling in front of the young girl, Maggie said, "Sophia? Beth wants to know if you wanted to have a sleepover with her, tonight?" Sophia's eyes widened and she looked over at Carol, who nodded and smiled.

"Okay!"

"Great!" Maggie stood. "Why don't you grab some stuff and I'll walk you over, if it's okay with your mom. I'm warning you, though, Beth has been pretty bored lately and she'll probably want to give you a makeover or something."

Sophia had never worn makeup or had her hair done before, so the idea of it happening tonight had her scurrying to Daryl's tent, where her stuff was. Carol followed with a laugh.

Daryl was sitting outside his tent, making new bolts for his bow when Sophia raced past him. Carol wasn't far behind.

"She's having a sleepover with Beth," she explained. "And she's really excited."

"I can see that." Daryl smiled and went back to his bolts. Beside his foot, he had a pile of about five or six already made.

Carol took a seat next to him and sidled close to his side. Daryl didn't seem to mind at how near she was. Together, they sat in silence and Carol watched him work.

After a few minutes, Sophia emerged from the tent, her pink book bag on her back and a large, excited smile on her face. She raced over to give Carol a quick kiss on her cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow, mom!"

"Love you, honey. And remember to behave yourself!"

"I will!" She called over her shoulder as she raced off to where Maggie waited for her by Glenn. From the Daryl's camp, Carol could see that Carl was pouting and knew that the boy had just been told that he couldn't join the sleepover.

Turning back to Daryl, she went back to watching him. The sun was lowering the sky and soon the only light he had to work with was from the fire.

"You know," Carol leaned up and whispered in his ear, which got his attention, immediately. "Sophia's gone, so that means we have the tent to ourselves, tonight." It had been hard, with Sophia sleeping with them the night before, for them to keep their hands to themselves. Carol longed to hold Daryl close as they slept, but they hadn't told Sophia of their relationship. So, she reluctantly kept to her side of the tent.

Daryl's eyes widened at her words and he dropped the bolts in his hand. "Why didn't you say somethin' earlier?" He stood up and pulled her to her feet. "We could have been takin' advantage of the privacy much sooner!"

Carol laughed happily as he dragged her to their tent.

Chapter Text

Chapter Thirty-Tw o

Rick and Shane left early that morning to get rid of Randall. Carol had been lying awake in Daryl's tent and heard the green Hyundai drive off. Daryl mumbled something in his sleep, turned on his side and pulled her close. It was very easy to fall back asleep in his warm and safe embrace.

A few hours later, Carol was woken up to giggles coming from outside of the tent. Daryl had left a little while before, whispering that he was going hunting, so Carol woke up alone and half dressed. Daryl must have put on a new shirt when he left because she still wore his...and nothing else.

The giggling continued, and Carol knew that it was more than one person. One she easily recognized, the other not so much.

"Sophia Ann," Carol called out. "What are you laughing about?"

"Nothing, mama." Another set of giggles followed quickly after, making it hard to believe that they were laughing over nothing.

Carol quickly located her clothes and slipped them on. She was very reluctant to take Daryl's shirt off, but they were keeping their relationship under the radar and wearing it would have been like her shouting out that they were together to everyone in the camp.

Poking her head out, Carol saw that Sophia and Beth were sitting around the smoldering remains of the fire. When the two girls saw her, they quickly stopped giggling into their hands and tried to put on straight faces, which weren't working out well.

Carol noticed that Beth was still looking a little pale, and was glad that she was at least outside, now. Hopefully, she would regain her color soon.

"Well?" Carol stepped out of the tent and crossed her arms. "You going to tell me why you two are sitting outside of my tent, laughing?"

"Don't you mean Daryl's tent, mama?"

Carol paused, for a second, and silently cursed. "Uh, yeah, this is Daryl's tent, Sophia. Since you weren't in ours, I got a little...lonely and came here." The excuse sounded lame and by the look Sophia gave her, Carol knew her daughter didn't believe a word she said.

"Aw, and he just let you stay in there?" Beth asked. "He seems kind of...gruff. Scary."

"He's not scary," Sophia was quick to defend. "He's just a little quiet. Right, mom?"

"Right, honey. Daryl and I have become friends, and he's not scary at all."

"Yeah, he is nice. Well, sometimes, I guess. He's always nice to me, though, and my mom. Right, mama? And I bet he's off hunting for meat to share with everyone, right now." Sophia said with a proud smile.

"My daddy has chickens he could share with everyone." Beth added with her own smile.

With everything that had happened with the barn, Carol wasn't sure if Hershel was feeling very hospitable to them, now. Though he had saved Carl's life and looked over Sophia, it was clear that he wasn't too happy that they were a group of people squatting on his land. Especially when they had weapons and a hothead like Shane a part of them.

"That's nice, sweetie," Carol plastered on a smile. "So, what did you two do last night?"

"Beth painted my nails!" Sophia thrust her hands at Carol, and she saw that they were painted a sparkling purple. Beth sported a set of yellow painted fingernails. "And she did my hair, but it's a little too short to do much with, so I'm going to grow it out."

Carol winced. Growing out her hair, meant one more thing for a walker to grab onto. One more thing for Carol to worry about if they were ever forced back out on the word. She didn't know how Lori and Andrea did it. For once, she was glad that her hair was short...even though she missed how long and curly it use to be.

"We'll see." Later she would tell Sophia of the dangers, but now, she wouldn't ruin the girl's happiness. Who knew how long it would last or if they would ever feel that way again.

"When do you think Daryl will come back, mama?"

"Probably soon," Carol answered. "He most likely left when the sun was just coming up. That's when all the animals come out of their hiding spots before it gets too hot."

"Do you think he'll bring back a deer?" Sophia asked, excited. At the quarry, Daryl had captured a deer twice, and Sophia had started to love the taste of it, which Carol was glad. In this new world, they could no longer be fussy of what they ate.

"Ew, I don't really like deer." Beth scrunched up her face. "Otis use to bring back the deer he hunted, and Patricia would cook it up, but I didn't really like it."

"Well, your chickens aren't going to last forever, Beth. So, you'll have to learn to like it." Carol was proud of Sophia at what she had said to her friend. The girl had been sheltered here and knew nothing of the hardships of life out on the road or in a quarry. Her daddy's chickens wouldn't last forever, and soon they would be relying on whatever Daryl brought back to camp, whether it was deer, rabbit or even, squirrel.

Beth sighed. "I know."

"Why don't you two go back to the house and I'll go help Lori with breakfast. Sophia, ask Hershel if there is anything that needs to be done around the house that you could do." When it looked like Sophia was about to complain, Carol fixed her with a look and she shut her mouth.

"You can help me feed the horses," Beth suggested with a smile. Sophia instantly brightened. She loved horses, even though she had never had the chance to ride one. She would always spend the most time with them at the fair. "And then, you can help me clean out their stalls." Sophia's smile disappeared and she grimaced, but she followed Beth back up to the house.

As soon as they were out of sight, Carol heard a noise coming from behind her and turned to see it was Daryl. In his hands, he held three dead rabbits by their tails. When she finally made eye contact with him, he smiled widely.

"I didn't think they would ever leave," he said before leaning down to kiss her. "The older one is a bit spoiled, huh?"

Carol took the rabbits from him. "You heard us talking, then?"

"Yeah. Was actually hidin' behind that tree. Didn't want them to see me."

She couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Of course you did. Big, scary hunter afraid of two young girls."

"I ain't afraid of them. Just wanted you all to myself." Daryl wrapped an arm around Carol's shoulders and kissed her temple.

"You had me all to yourself last night." She winked and ducked from his arm.

"I did, and it was a pretty damn good night."

"It's only because you saw me naked."

"So?" He settled his bow on the ground by the tent and followed Carol as they made their way to the rest of the camp. The smell of cooked food told them that someone had already started breakfast and they probably didn't need Carol's help.

They were surprised to see that it was T-Dog cooking over the fire. The smell of eggs had Carol's mouth watering. She set down the rabbits on one of the tables, where she would skin them later, and grabbed two plates for her and Daryl.

"Wow, T-Dog," she said as they approached the fire. "I didn't know you could cook."

The man shoveled a spoonful onto both plates and winked. "There's a lot you don't know about me, Carol. For all you know, I could be as good a hunter as Robin Hood back there." With a jerk of his head, he motioned to Daryl who was only a few feet behind them.

"Hm. Why don't I take you out sometime, and you can show me." Daryl spoke up. "Be nice to share the huntin' duties with someone else."

"Hey, man, I was kidding." T-Dog stood and stretched.

The pan was now empty, and it looked like everyone else had gotten there share and left. Lori was sitting on top of the RV with Dale, waiting for her husbands return.

"But if you want, I'd be willing to learn," he continued. "Figure I could do more around here than just keep watch."

"Well, now you can cook." Carol winked and handed Daryl his plate. "But, in all seriousness, you do a lot around here, T. You help protect the group. I wish I could do that."

"You can," Daryl said. "I'll teach you."

"I can help," T-Dog added. "Rick and Shane have wanted to get everyone together, even Hershel's family, to start learning how to shoot, but with everything going on, they haven't gotten around to it."

"Maybe when they get back, that can be the next group thing we talk about?" Carol suggested. She really wanted her and Sophia to learn how to use a weapon. On the highway, she had felt so helpless as her daughter was running for her life in the woods. She never wanted to feel that way, again.

"That's a good idea."

"Great!" Carol smiled.

"They're back!" Lori called out, suddenly, and began to climb down the ladder. Dale followed. "Rick and Shane are back."

Daryl and Carol stood there, plates in hand, and watched as their group moved to the house, where the green Hyundai was driving up to. Daryl leaned down and whispered into Carol's ear. "I wonder which one she is more happy to see. Rick or Shane." Carol nudged him in the ribs and he chuckled.

"You two finish your breakfast," T-Dog said turning back to them. "I'm sure they won't need you, and I'll fill you in on anything that is said."

"Okay, thanks." Carol said, and they moved to sit at a table.

"Oh!" T-Dog stopped walking and turned to them. "You're secret is safe with me."

Carol and Daryl looked at each other briefly before Carol called out. "What secret?"

"That you two are together." The man's smile was wide and showed off his teeth. "Gotta say, I don't know what you see in Dixon." He winked before turning and jogging up to the house.

"How do you think he knew?" Carol asked.

Daryl shrugged. "Don't know. I don't mind that he knows...if you don't." He looked unsure.

"I don't mind, at all." To prove her point, she leaned over and kissed him, not caring if anyone in there group turned and saw them.

Randall was only momentarily disoriented when he pulled the blindfold from his eyes. Luckily, they had unbound his hands, so that he had at least a fighting chance of survival. Though, he didn't know how far he would get on his injured leg if any walkers did show up.

Looking around, he was glad to see that he knew where he was. After all, he had grown up in the area, had even gone to school with Maggie, but hadn't told the two men who held him captive. Besides, there was no way in hell he was going back to that farm. They would probably kill him if he did. There was no way he was going back to that other group, either. Those men would get him killed, or kill him, someday. But where else was there to go? He had no weapon, no supplies and a leg he could barely walk on.

"Well, what do we got here?"

A raspy voice coming from behind him had Randall turning and throwing up his hands in surrender, but when he saw who it was, he relaxed. A little.

"It's...Merle. Right?" He asked, tentatively. The man looked pale, and the spot where his hand should have been was still wrapped tightly.

"You got it. And what the hell are you doin' so far out here, boy?"

The town they had looted the night he had a spike go through his leg was more than twenty miles in the other direction.

"It's a long story." One that he would gladly tell, if someone were wiling to listen. "Is Joe and the others around here, too?" Joe was the leader of their group of men. The man had a weird set of rules, insisting that his group 'claim' things to get them, including food and women. Luckily, the older man had taken Randall under his wing, since he was the youngest...and weakest. Randall knew that wouldn't have lasted, though. It was probably one of the reasons why they had just left him behind at the town.

"Naw. Left them motherfuckers a few days, ago. Didn't like Joe and knew I'd probably kill him sooner or later, so I left." Which looked to not have been a good decision, as the man was swaying a bit on his feet. The large wound on his arm was still healing.

"I ain't going back, either."

Merle laughed. "What a damn pair we make. A gimp and a one-handed man."

"We should be fine." Randall tried to be optimistic. Really, he just wanted Merle to agree to have him stick around. Their chances of survival together were slim, but it was nothing if it were just him.

"Naw. I think I'm better off alone, kid. Good luck out there." Merle turned and began to walk down the road.

Randall grew desperate. "Wait!" He called, but Merle kept walking.

"Don't even think about followin' me. I'd hate to kill you." The older man called over his shoulder.

"But wait!" Randall searched for something to make him stop. Something that would let Randall join him. Suddenly, something did come to his mind. "Merle, wait! I know where your brother is!"

That stopped Merle right in his tracks.

Chapter Text

Chapter Thirty-Three

June 25th 1982

It had been a week since Carol had met Daryl in the woods and she had not seen him since. Knowing that telling him that he was her best friend had probably scared him off, Carol tried to stop feeling sorry for herself. Daryl had seemed  extremely  skittish and  unused  to people his own age. She should have known she would have run him off by saying something like that. Well, now, she had learned her lesson and prepared herself for a very lonely summer, not unlike the summers of previous years when her parents worked more than they were home.

After making herself a sandwich, Carol decided that she would eat it out on her  swing set . It would be better than eating it by herself at the table, with the wall clock slowly ticking the lonely hours away. Opening the door to the backyard, she stopped when she saw a familiar boy sitting on one her swings.

"Daryl!" She cried. Unable to stop herself, Carol ran out to greet him and stopped short from throwing her arms around his neck. It would have probably chased him off, which was the last thing she wanted to do now that he was there.

Daryl started a bit at the excited cry of his name, but when she ran up to him, she saw a small smile playing at his lips. "Hey," he mumbled and scoffed the toe of his boot into the ground.

"I thought I would never see you again!" Carol was still unable to quell her excitement, some time during her run to Daryl, her sandwich had flown from the plate. She didn't care. This wild boy from the woods had come back to her house, he had wanted to see her, or so she thought since he was there.

"I  thought  about never comin' back, but..." He trailed off, obviously uncomfortable about something. "Anyways," he shrugged and looked up at her, eyes squinting in the sun. "What the hell do you do for fun?"

After that, Daryl came over often. Sometimes he would be waiting for Carol on her  swing set  and other time, she would beat him outside before he would make it over. Eventually, they even figured out a place to meet, an old oak tree far in Daryl's backyard. Sometimes they would even leave little messages or tokens in a small hole in the trunk.

A few weeks after Daryl had shown up in her yard, Carol and Daryl were lying in their backs being shaded by their oak tree. They lay side-by-side and their elbows brushed as they propped up their heads with their hands. They had been silent for a  while .

"Daryl?" Of course ,  Carol was the one to break the silence, but Daryl never seemed to mind. "If I tell you a secret, will you tell me one, too?"

Daryl turned his head to look at her, confused. "Uh, I don't really got any secrets...or at least, anythin' you would consider interestin', anyway."

Carol turned to prop up on an elbow. "I don't want to know one of your secrets because I want to hear something  interesting , Daryl. I want you to know that you could trust me with one, if you decide to tell me. I trust you, and that's why I want to tell you mine."

Daryl was silent for a moment. "All right. I trust you, too." Something in Carol told her that Daryl didn't trust readily, and the fact that he had said that aloud to her, made her heart soar.

"Okay, here I go." She took a deep breath. "Sometimes, I wonder if I'd miss my parents if they were dead. I barely see them, and when they are around, they don't pay much attention to me. I mean, I love them and they love me, but I'm so used to being on my own, I wonder if things would be any different if they were just gone."

Daryl didn't say anything. Carol bit her lip.

"I sound like a terrible daughter, don't I?" She finally said, taking Daryl's silence for disapproval.

"Nah, you don't. Most days I wish my daddy would die." He avoided her gaze and looked in the direction of his home. "That's my secret. Every night, I wish the bastard wouldn't stumble into the house, drunk off his ass, and find himself in a ditch, instead. Now, I sound terrible, but I don't care." Daryl sat up and curled his arms around his knees, avoiding looking at Carol.

"I don't think you're terrible, Daryl. I could never think that. I understand why that is something you wish." She remembered the first day they had met and Daryl had said he had been running from a severe beating from his father.

"Sometimes, I just wish it was just me and Merle, you know? When he's not in juvie, it is, but we always have our father breathin' down our backs. If he were to just be gone, then it could just be my brother and me."

"Don't forget me, Daryl. I'm here. You have me, too."

A small smile played on his lips. "You're right. I do have you, now, too. "  Finally, he faced her, this time a real smile lit up his face. It was the first time she had seem him smile like that and had vowed to make it happen more often.

Carol beamed. The heavy subject matter from before was placed to the back of their minds. It was still there, but for now, they would just enjoy one another's company.

"I have another secret," she announced.

"Yeah."

"You are my best friend, and we're going to be with each other forever!" It was a  bold  statement. An innocent child's statement, but she didn't care.

"That ain't a secret," he scoffed with a smirk.

"No?"

"It's," he faltered,  slightly , before taking a deep breath and said,  firmly. "It's  the truth.".

Rick and Shane had been successful in their drop-off of Randall and that was all they said about it. No one mentioned the swelling on Rick's cheek or Shane's split lip. Lori, however, looked guilty and retreated to the campsite, Carl in tow. The boy didn't look happy and Carol wondered if Lori was making him do some schoolwork, so she could get her mind off things, which reminded her that she hadn't been keeping up with Sophia's schoolwork, either.

Just as she was about to go up to the house to retrieve her daughter, Sophia walked out without Beth. When she saw her mother, she smiled and made her way over.

"Hi, mom." She gave her a quick hug and then, waved at Daryl, who gave her a small wave in return.

"Hey, honey. Did you have fun with the horses?"

Sophia made a face. "Feeding them was fun. Cleaning out their stalls? Not so much." Daryl chuckled quietly behind Carol.

"We all have to do our part to help out, Sophia," Carol said. "But I'm proud that you helped out Beth. It was kind of you. Now, I want you to go find Lori and Carl. I think she's going to go over some school stuff. I'm going to clean up breakfast and I'll be right there."

"Mooom," Sophia groaned. "Why do we have to do homework? I thought since the world ended, school did, too."

She fixed her daughter with a look. "Well, excuse me, that I wanted my daughter to at least finish the seventh grade." When the virus had began to spread, schools had started to shut down. Many thought if it as an extended summer vacation, since there had only been a few days before the school year ended.

"Fine," the young girl, pouted.

"Thank you." Carol smiled and kissed Sophia on the forehead before pushing her in the direction of the camp.

Once she was out of earshot, Carol turned to Daryl with her hands on her hips. "You could have helped out with that." She frowned.

"You know how much I hated school. I get why she's so upset. The undead are walkin' around eatin' the livin', and the girl shouldn't have to learn damn Algebra."

Carol glared at him, for a little bit, then dropped the act and smiled before swatting him playfully on the arm. "You're right, but I just want her to have at least a little sense of something normal, you know?"

"I get it." He wrapped an arm quickly around her shoulders and kissed her temple before stepping back. "I'm goin' to go out to the woods, again, to see if I can bring somethin' back for supper. See you later?"

"Wait, before you go." She reached for his arm before he could turn his back on her. "I just want to let you know that I think I'm going to tell Sophia about us." She waited for his response and almost expected him to panic a bit.

"Okay," he said. Calm.

"You're okay with that?" Carol asked, unsure.

"She'll have to know sooner or later, right? We can't keep it a secret forever." He shrugged. "Plus, she likes me, so I don't think she'll mind." He smiled, smugly.

"She won't." Standing up on her tiptoes, Carol gave him a quick kiss and shooed him in the direction of the woods. "Please be safe out there."

"Always am," he quipped over his shoulder.

Carol watched him until she could no longer see him.

Carl and Sophia were working on their math with a clearly distracted Lori by the time Carol had cleaned up breakfast and made it to one of the picnic tables in camp. Sophia looked up from where she had been perched over her work, pencil scratching across the paper.

"Hi, mom," she greeted. "Lori said that this was the last worksheet of the day, and then we could go. I'm almost done." She smiled proudly, and then bent over her work one more.

Carol took a seat to watch. "That's great. Once you're done, I would like for you to go on a little walk with me, if you want." Sophia was getting to that age where she might not want to hang out with her mother, anymore. End of the world, or not.

"Okay! Sounds fun. Hey!" She quickly covered her paper when she saw that Carl was taking glances at it, hoping to copy her answers. "Figure it out for yourself, Carl."

"Carl," Lori said, sharply, getting out of her daze. "Do you want me to give you more work to do?"

"No," Carl mumbled and with a glare at his friend, he hunched over his sheet and continued to work. Carol watched the scene with an amused grin on her face.

"Done!" Sophia announced and handed her finished sheet to Carol, who quickly looked over it. Truthfully, she wasn't looking very hard and didn't care at the moment if her daughter got anything wrong. Before the world had ended, Sophia wouldn't have used Algebra in real life and that was even more true, now.

"Good job." Carol handed back the paper and stood up from the table. "Are you ready to go?" She had no idea where they would walk to, nowhere far since they hadn't been trained to protect themselves, yet.

"Yep!" Sophia bounced on her toes when she joined her mother. With a wave at Lori, Carol stepped close to her daughter and the pair of them began to walk.

Carol felt nervous. She didn't know how to brooch the subject of Daryl with Sophia. They had been walking for several minutes, chatting about little things, and Carol had yet to bring up the man she had fallen in love with.

"Mom?" Sophia turned to her, then, a small smile playing on her lips. "You said that you had something to tell me?"

"I did." Carol sighed. It was now or never. "You know Daryl, right?" The question was stupid, but Carol was stalling.

"Yeah." Sophia was giving her an odd look. Of course she knew Daryl.

"Well, he and I are...together."

Silence stretched on for several seconds.

"I know," Sophia finally said with a giggle. "I saw you kiss him after the barn, and this morning you came out of his tent. I knew that you were lying when you said you got lonely and went to his. You were there the whole night."

Carol flushed at how easy they had been found out. Sophia had known for a while and hadn't said anything to her mother. At least, she knew that Sophia was all right with it or she hadn't thrown a fit when she found out, anyway.

"There's more. Daryl and I used to be best friends a long time ago. We met when we got lost in the woods by our houses."

"You were his blue-eyed angel!" Sophia looked up at her with awe.

"I-I was."

"And you're still his blue-eyed angel, now." They stopped at the edge of Hershel's farm. The house and barn were still within their sights, but both of them were unwilling to go any further just in case they were to run into trouble.

"I...am."

"I see the way he looks at you, mom. He thinks you're an angel. When his eyes land on you, they soften. He loves you." Carol had no idea that her daughter had observed so much.

"Are you okay with that?"

"Are you happy?"

"Yes." The answer was quick and simple. The only time she had been happier was when baby Sophia had been placed in her arms for the first.

"Then, of course I'm okay with you two. If you're happy, I'm happy." She leapt forward and engulfed Carol in a big hug. "Besides," she said, and looked up at her mother. "I like him."

"Good."

When they returned to the campsite, Sophia went off to find Carl, who looked to be bugging T-Dog who was sitting at one of the tables, skinning a deer...which meant Daryl was back from his hunt. Carol looked around and didn't see any sign of him. Not even at his camp. She was about to go on a search to see where he had run off too but Lori called her over and asked if she could help with supper.

Once the meat was cooked and ready to be served, Carol spotted Daryl coming from the direction of the house. He was wearing different clothes from before and he looked...clean. Carol gaped at him as he walked up to retrieve a plate. He only winked and sauntered off to find a spot a little ways from the rest of the group.

"Mama!" Sophia came running up to her just as she filled up her own plate with supper.

"Yes, honey?"

"I know I spent the night with Beth last night, but she asked if I could tonight, too." The young girl spoke fast. "Can I go? Please."

"Of course!" Beth needed the companionship, especially after her ordeal and Carol was glad that the older girl was seeking it with her daughter. Carl was a good friend to Sophia, but she wasn't a girl. He wasn't someone Sophia could tell girly things to.

"Okay! I'll see you tomorrow, then!" She kissed Carol quickly on the cheek and ran up to the farmhouse, where Beth was waiting for her on the porch swing.

Carol watched Sophia until she knew she was safely in the house before she joined Daryl at his spot. He watched as she approached, already done with his meal. He scooted over on his log and made room for her to sit.

"Sophia goin' to be at the house tonight?" He asked, curious.

"Yeah. Beth wanted her to stay, again."

He leaned down to whisper in her hair, voice laced with desire. "Good."

"So, you're sayin' my brother is still with the same group that left me for dead?" Randall and Merle had set up a small camp for the night only a little ways from where Randall had been deposited earlier that day.

"I guess. Was there a Rick Grimes in that group?"

Something dark flashed across Merle's face. Anger. Hatred. "Yeah. Sumbitch is the reason why I ain't gotta a hand, anymore."

Randall winced and looked at the bandaged stump on Merle's right arm. "Then, your brother is still with them."

"All right. That settles it. In the mornin', your scrawny ass is leadin' me to him. Where did you say they were, again?"

"The Greene farm. I knew Maggie from school. It's about eighteen miles out."

Merle leaned back, arms behind his head and fire causing shadows to flicker over his eyes. "You better rest up, then, boy. We're goin' to have an early start tomorrow."

Chapter Text

Chapter Thirty-Four

The nights were growing cooler as summer began to fade into autumn. Carol curled into Daryl's side as they lay in his tent. Despite the chill in the air, Daryl still wore his sleeveless shirts. He had always been that way, even back when they had been children together. Carol remembered those first few weeks of September she had taken out her long sleeve shirts and Daryl would always come back still in his sleeveless ones. Now, she wondered, if he had only worn them because they had been the only shirts he had. Lying close to him, though, she found out he ran hot.

"You're like me personal heater," Carol mumbled into the skin of his neck.

Underneath her hand, Daryl's chest rumbled as he chuckled. "Lucky me," he sad and pulled her closer. He lifted one of her legs so that laid across his waist.

"What are we going to do in the winter? You're body heat can only warm me up so much."

"Hm, I know somethin' that always makes you hot." His hand began to slide down to cup her ass.

Carol swatted it away with a giggle. "Every night?"

"Every hour if you want."

"As much as I like the sound of that, I don't think that's physically possible. Besides, we're not young, anymore. We'll have to sleep some time."

Daryl grunted. "I'd gladly sacrifice sleep, as long as I get to spend every waking moment with you."

Carol smiled. "Since when did you become such a romantic?" The words had nearly brought tears to her eyes. Ed would have never said such a thing to her.

"Since I met you."

She snorted. "And yet, when we were young, I didn't get one love poem recited to me." She had received flowers, though.

"Since I met you the second time, since you want to be all technical." Daryl huffed, but she knew he wasn't really mad or annoyed.

They lay together in silence for a little longer, and Carol even allowed Daryl's hand to slide back down to her ass. Outside the tent, the night was silent. No bugs buzzing, no moans of the undead and no voices from the living. It was almost as if they were in their own little world.

"Daryl?" Carol leaned up on her elbow and looked down at Daryl, whose eyes opened at his name. "We have to talk."

Alarm flashed briefly across his face and he sat up. Carol followed. "Talk about what?"

"Relax," she said and placed a hand on his knee with a smile. "It's nothing that you have to worry about."

Daryl huffed and looked away. "I wasn't worried."

"Right." Carol rolled her eyes and nudged him gently with her shoulder. "It's not like I knew you when we were young and knew every time you were worried about something. Or when you lied."

"You said you had something to talk to me about." Daryl changed the subject so it was no longer on him.

"We need to talk about our living arrangements," she said. "Sophia isn't going to spend the night with Beth every night."

"Why not?" Daryl genuinely wanted to know, but Carol gave him a look and he shut his mouth.

"Do you mind if we all stay in here? Or do you want us both to stay in our tent? Either way, I wouldn't mind. The decision is up to you."

"Well, in the winter, it's goin' to get pretty cold," he said and sat up. Carol followed. "If you want to stay in my tent, then I don't mind, but it will get cold."

"We'll get more blankets," Carol said, her smile wide. At first, she wasn't sure if Daryl would want to be in such close proximity to her daughter as they slept and she would have completely understood if he hadn't wanted to.

"Then, it's settled." Daryl lay back down and Carol curled into him, again. "But, do you think Sophia will spend the night with Beth some of the time?"

Carol just laughed.

When Merle woke up, he felt feverish and there was a throbbing in the stump at the end of his right arm. He knew he had left Joe and his group earlier than he should since his wound hadn't completely healed, but he hadn't liked the feel of the group. Something was off with them. Yeah, they reminded him a bit of the kind of people he kept company with before the world went to shit, but now, there were no rules. If one of them had gotten mad enough, they could kill someone and no one would do anything about. They would have probably applaud it. Merle remembered them coming back from a run, telling a story about a dad and his two girls. He shuddered just thinking about it.

The sun wasn't up, yet, and he looked over at the kid who had found him. Randall. His back was to Merle as he took his job of taking watch, seriously. What a pair they were. Randall had stitches in his leg and could barely walk and Merle was pretty sure his stump was getting infected. It would be a miracle to get to the farm where Daryl was. But he was going to try.

"You, uh, you ready to get moving?" Randall had turned to face him and saw that he was up.

"Let me get somethin' to eat and then, we can go."

With one hand, he reached for his pack and took out a can of beans he had taken from the group's supplies. There was a small fire going in a pit but he didn't feel like waiting for the beans to heat up. However, there was no way he could use the can opener to open the can, not with one hand.

"Boy," he called and held out the can to Randall. "Open this for me, huh?"

"Oh, uh, yeah." Randall took the can and the opener and opened it easily. Merle was envious of how easy task it was. Things like that would no longer be easy for him. A flare of anger went through him. Rick would pay for what he did.

Merle ate half the can and offered the rest to Randall, who eagerly finished it off. Once they doused the fire, they were off done the road, Randall, limping, in the lead.

When Daryl woke up, the right side of him was warm while the left was chilly. Carol laid curled on his right side, sleeping. He wished he could go back to sleep, but he knew he couldn't. Something felt slightly off.

Carefully, he detangled himself from Carol and walked outside of the tent. In the distance, he saw two figures standing around the fire by the RV. Shane and Rick. From where he was, Daryl couldn't hear what they were saying, but he could read their body language. There was a tension in the air. Daryl felt it and didn't know if it was because of two men or because it was something else.

Picking up his crossbow, he turned from the camp and stalked to the woods. He would get a little hunting in before Carol and the rest of the camp got up for the day.

A few hours later, he returned with a few rabbits. Everyone was up and Carol sat on a picnic table, brushing Sophia's hair. When the two of them spotted Daryl, they smiled and waved. Daryl felt his face heat up a bit and waved back, just as Glenn stepped out of the RV.

The younger man looked between Daryl and Carol and grinned widely. When Glenn turned back to Daryl, mouth opened to say something, the glare aimed his way from Daryl quickly shut him up and he scrambled up the ladder to join Dale on top of the RV. Daryl smirked at the quick retreat.

"How are my- uh, I mean, how are you two this mornin'?" The flush was back on his face and Carol was giving him a bemused look, knowing what he had about to say, instead.

Carol and Sophia were his girls...he just wasn't sure if that was a good thing to say in front of Sophia, yet. She had just found out about him and Carol being together.

"We're fine," Carol answered. "How was hunting?"

"Good." He placed the rabbits on the table they were at and then, took a seat. "Want to help me skin them, Sophia?" It seemed so long ago since he had sat with Sophia and Carol skinning squirrels back at the quarry. This time Carol didn't have to worry about her husband breathing down her back and Daryl didn't have to fight the urge to jump over the table to beat the guy to a pulp.

Sophia wrinkled her nose, but nodded. "Okay. You'll have to show me what to do, though. I just watched you and mom do it that one time."

She had remembered that day, too.

"All right." Daryl picked up the first rabbit and his knife. "This is what you have to do first..."

An hour later, Sophia was beaming as she stood beside Carol, who was slowly cooking the rabbits over the fire. Daryl saw the pride in her eyes, knowing that she was proud that she had done something to keep them fed. When Glenn finally came down from the RV, she ran up to him, bouncing on her toes when she stopped in front of him.

"Glenn, I helped skin the rabbits!"

Glenn smiled. "That's awesome! I bet they'll taste better because of it." He placed a hand on her shoulder before walking away. Sophia watched him go, a deep blush coloring her cheeks.

Daryl squatted down to Carol and whispered, "Well, I think they'll taste better because you are the one cookin' them." He felt satisfied when Carol's cheeks begun to turn the color of Sophia's. He stood and stretched.

"Oh, I was wonderin', if later, you and Sophia want to start some gun trainin'. I've been meanin' to start that soon."

"I'd like that." Carol smiled. "Sophia will too. It's about time we learn how to defend ourselves."

Later that day, Daryl took Sophia and Carol out, with Rick's permission (Daryl grumbled, knowing that he had to get the other man's saw so in what he could do with the guns, but it at least he had to deal with Rick and not Shane), they set up a row of glass bottles and began to shoot.

Daryl was surprised at the both of them. Sure, they missed there targets a lot, but there was potential there.

"Well, how did we do?" Carol turned to him after they finished their last round. They had been instructed not to waste too many bullets.

"Pretty good," he said, honestly. "Of course, you're still goin' to need a lot more practice if you want to be able to defend yourselves." The two women nodded, but when they looked at one another, they beamed. Proud of themselves.

When they got back to camp, it was growing dark and only a few members of their group sat around the fire. Sophia went to talk with Carl, but something seemed off with the boy and Sophia quickly returned to Carol and Daryl.

The tension from earlier had returned. The hairs on Daryl's neck raised, but when he looked around, he couldn't see anything that was a danger.

"Carol," he said and reached for Carol's arm. They were on the outside of camp and everyone would have to turn around to see them. "I want you and Sophia in my tent, tonight."

Carol searched his face. "Is there something wrong, Daryl?"

"I don't know," he answered, honestly. "Somethin' doesn't feel right. It could be nothin', but I want you two close, tonight."

Carol didn't question him further. Instead, she nodded and went to get Sophia. Daryl made sure to keep an eye on their surroundings as they made their way to his camp. He knew he should probably set up closer to the main camp, but he liked his privacy and he liked to think he could just lay there with Carol and forget the rest of the group was out there.

Sophia looked a little fearful as they walked and clutched Carol's hand, tightly. Carol turned to her daughter and said in a low voice, "Don't worry, honey. Nothing is going to happen, and if it does, Daryl will protect us."

Any other time, Daryl would have puffed his chest in pride, but he just hoped his gut feeling was wrong. No one else in the camp seemed to sense anything bad, so he hoped it was all just in his head.

But just as the three of them got settled into their tent, ready to drift off to sleep, there were shouts coming from the camp. Daryl told Carol and Sophia to stay put and left them with his gun. Grabbing his crossbow, Daryl went off running. The rest of the group seemed to be gathered around something in a field behind the RV and Andrea seemed to be kneeling over som-...

Dale.

As he got closer, he saw that Dale's stomach had been ripped apart. The man looked to be in so much pain. Rick and Shane watched as Daryl approached, Rick held his pistol in one shaky hand but didn't move to end the older man's life. Off to the side, Lori clutched a fearful Carl to her chest. Andrea was crying over the man who had cared and looked out for her.

"Please," she pleaded and turned to them.

Daryl knew what she wanted. She wanted someone to put Dale out of his misery, but Rick seemed frozen in place, the look of absolute sadness and shock on his face. Dale had been someone he greatly respected and now, he was dying. Daryl knew what he had to do.

"Hey, man," he said quietly to Rick and swallowed. He didn't want to do this. He had never killed a living person before. "Let me." He took the gun from Rick's hand and kneeled down next to Dale.

The man was in so much pain, he couldn't speak but his watery eyes pleaded with Daryl and he nodded when he saw the gun. Daryl lifted it to his forehead.

"Sorry, brother."

A lone gunshot rang out.

Chapter Text

Chapter Thirty-Five

Carol clutched Sophia tighter when they heard the sound of the gunshot. Whatever had the whole camp in an uproar, it hadn't been good and Daryl was still out there. Carol didn't want to cower in her tent, anymore. Instead, she slipped on her shoes, told Sophia to do the same, and together, they climbed out of the tent and went to see what was going on. Carol made sure she had the gun with her.

When they got near where the rest of the group was kneeling, Carol saw that Andrea was sobbing over a body... Dale. Carol gasped and quickly covered her mouth as tears sprang to her eyes. No.

"Who is it, mom?" Sophia's looked up at her. From where she stood, Andrea blocked the worst of Dale's body.

"It's Dale," she answered and pulled her daughter's face into her chest. "I don't want you to see, okay?"

Sophia wrapped her thin arms around Carol's waist. "Okay. I don't want to see, anyway. Mr. Dale was always nice to me and I don't want to see if those things ripped him up."

They had ripped him up. God, the pain the man must have been in before someone showed him mercy and put a bullet in his head. Carol looked around the small group that still lingered by the body. Glenn stood behind Andrea and looked to be crying, as well. Rick kept looking at the body, shaking his head and running a hand down his face. Lori wasn't there but Carol knew she had to be with Carl back at camp. Shane was nowhere to be seen and neither was Daryl.

Fear gripped Carol. Where had Daryl gone? They hadn't passed him on the way to the field, so she knew he wasn't back at their camp.

"Sophia, come on. We're going to go find Daryl." She didn't want to look at the body, anymore. Poor Dale. He had always been so kind to them, even back at the quarry when Ed had separated them from everyone.

"Do you think he was the one that shot the gun?" Sophia asked with wide eyes as she looked up at her mother.

"I don't know. Maybe. If he did, he did to end Dale's suffering."

"I know, mom. I know Daryl wouldn't want to see him hurting, anymore. That's the kind of man he is."

The mature words from her daughter caused tears to come to Carol's eyes and she tugged Sophia close in a hug. "He is a good man, Sophia. He's our good man. Now, let's go find him." If Daryl had been the one to end Dale's life, she wasn't worried for his physical safety. No. She was worried about how he was feeling, now. She needed to get to him and let him know things were okay.

Sophia smiled. "He is, isn't he?"

They passed the camp and the RV. Lori sat in a lawn chair by the fire and at her feet sat Carl. He didn't look up as they passed. His eyes looked haunted. Carol placed a hand on her friend's shoulder and squeezed.

"How are you holding up?"

"Fine," was Lori's quick reply but Carol could hear the tears in her voice and knew the woman wasn't all right. Later, she would speak with her, but now, she needed to know where Daryl had run off.

"Have you seen Daryl?" She asked.

Lori looked up and for once, didn't look disgusted at the mention of Daryl. "After Dale...he kind of just took off. I did see him go in the direction of the house. He might be in there."

Carol looked toward the farmhouse. Some of the bottom floor windows glowed. She wondered why he would go up to the farmhouse. Had he been hurt somehow and wanted to speak with Hershel?

"Sophia, let's go," she called over to Sophia, who had been sitting by the still oddly silent Carl.

"Okay, mama. See you tomorrow, Carl." The boy didn't say anything back and Sophia made a face before joining her mom. When they got far enough from the camp so no one could hear them, Sophia spoke.

"I think there's something wrong with Carl, mom. He wouldn't talk to me."

Carol looked down at her daughter as they walked. "Do you think he might just be upset because of Dale?"

"It might be a little because of that, but I think it's something else." Sophia bit her lip, looking worried. "I'm really worried about him, mom. I know we get into fights and stuff, but he's still my friend and there's really something upsetting him."

"Oh, honey." Carol wrapped an arm around Sophia's skinny shoulders. "How about tomorrow you pull him aside and talk with him? It looks like he needs a friend, and I know you'll be there for him. Just like you were for Beth."

"I can do that," she said.

"I know you can. You make me so proud." Carol looked up to the sky and once again, thanked God and Daryl Dixon for bringing her daughter safely back to her.

There was no blood, but he felt like his hands were covered in it. They were red, so red that they burned but Daryl still scrubbed. The old man hadn't said a word when he barged in the house and went straight for the kitchen sink. The blonde girl and the older blonde woman had stared at him for a little bit, both having been awoken by the gunshot. Maggie had left the house just as Daryl was walking in, looking for Glenn, and knowing that he needed her. However, when he didn't turn to say anything to them, they walked into the living room where Hershel was sitting in his armchair.

Was that a speck on his thumb? Fuck. Why wouldn't it come off?

Somewhere behind him, he someone knock on the door and if the blood on his hands would fucking come off he would have scoffed at whoever still knocked nowadays. There was a girl's voice saying Sophia and asking if she was all right. Still Daryl didn't turn around.

"Sophia, go with Beth, okay?"

Daryl knew that voice. Instantly, he dropped the washcloth down with a plop, but didn't turn off the water. Instead, he let it run over his hands, the cool of it soothing the burn.

"Daryl," the voice said, softly. "Daryl, are you okay?"

Carol. It was Carol.

He turned around and she was right there. He reached and pulled her close. She didn't fight him and wrapped her arms around him and squeezed.

"Dale." Was all he said.

"I know, Daryl. I know."

"I was the one who ended it for him." Daryl stepped back, but didn't let her go. "Rick...he couldn't do it, so I did. The guy was in so much pain, I just couldn't...You probably think I'm crazy, but after it was all done, I thought my hands were covered in blood. His blood. So, I came here to scrub it off."

"It's okay." Carol took his reddened hands in hers and kissed the knuckles. "Everything is okay, now. You did what you had to. You couldn't let Dale keep going on like that and I know he's thanking you, wherever he is."

"I've never killed a person before, Carol," he said. "I know he was dyin', anyway, but it still felt wrong, somehow, you know? We shouldn't have to do that shit, but that's the world we live in, now."

"Unfortunately, it is, but don't let this tear you up inside. You're a good man and what you did tonight makes you an even better one. You did something no one else could. You stepped up and showed mercy to a man we all loved."

Daryl placed his forehead on Carol's shoulder. The love he felt for Carol continued to grow. She always knew what to say to him to make him feel better about himself. Tonight had been rough and things wouldn't get better overnight, but he knew that they would as long as he had Carol with him.

"Why don't we head back to the tent and see if we can get some sleep?" Carol suggested and at that moment, exhaustion hit him and it was almost as if he could no longer keep his eyes open. He was about to suggest that they just fall asleep on the kitchen floor when the youngest Greene stepped into the kitchen.

"Daddy says that you two can sleep in the guest bedroom, tonight, if you want."

Carol looked up at Daryl and he looked back, nodding his head. "We'll take it," Carol said. "Thank you, Beth. Tell your father that it was really kind of him to offer."

"No problem. And Sophia can stay with me tonight so you two can be alone." A blush tinted her cheeks and she walked quickly back to the living room to let Sophia know what was going on.

It was almost as if the old man had known what he was thinking. There was no way he could make the trek back to his-no, their- campsite, now. It would probably be a miracle if he could make it up the stairs.

"What are the chances of you carryin' me?" He mumbled into the skin of Carol's neck. She giggled and pushed his shoulders. He swayed a little on his feet and she immediately went to steady him.

"You really are tired, aren't you?" She asked with a smile.

"Yes'm," he mumbled. All of the events of the night had hit him hard and now, he just wanted to snuggle with Carol. He was almost giddy at the thought of actually snuggling with Carol in a real bed. He hadn't slept in one since the CDC.

Patricia walked into the kitchen next. She looked tired and sad, Otis's death still weighed heavily on her. "I'm on my way back to bed. Beth and Sophia are playing a card game with Hershel, so I'll show you where that guest room is."

"Hold on a second, Patricia. Let me tell Sophia goodnight." She made sure Daryl was steady on his feet before she left his side and walked into the living room.

Sophia and Beth were sitting cross-legged on the floor around a small, round table and Hershel sat in an armchair. Each of them had a handful of cards and had serious looks on their faces as they looked at them.

"Bethie, do you have any...eights?"

Beth beamed. "Goldfish!"

Hershel mumbled something under his breath as Beth and Sophia giggled, and picked up a card to add to the already large number in his hands. Carol could tell that the last few days weighed heavily on the older man, but he was going out of his way to make the girls feel better and Carol liked the man, even more.

"Sophia," she said.

Sophia turned to look at her. "Yes?"

"Daryl and I are going to bed. We'll be in the guest bedroom. Don't stay up too late, okay?" She smiled. "And I hope you're winning."

"I am!" She beamed and giggled. "I don't think Mr. Greene has any good cards in his stack."

"You know what I think?" The older man, himself, said, "I think these two girls are ganging up on me." He winked at the both of them before looking at Carol. "You go on up and get some sleep. I'll keep a good eye on them."

"Thank you and thank you for the room. We really appreciate it."

"No problem, dear. Something not to good happened to your man in there. I figure I'll find out in the morning, but it looks like you two need a good, comfortable rest in a real bed."

"Thank you, again." She looked back at Sophia. "Goodnight, and I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight, mom." Sophia said and turned back to the game.

Carol went back to the kitchen and walked alongside Daryl as Patricia led them up the stairs to the guest bedroom that was at the end of the hallway. They thanked the blonde woman and went inside. Daryl slipped out of his boots and sprawled on the bed.

Carol slipped out of her own shoes and poked him in the side. "Hey, make some room for me."

Daryl grumbled and made some room for Carol. But once she climbed into the bed, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest. "Maybe if we get up early enough, I can have you in this bed," he whispered in her ear before kissing it.

"I don't think we've done...it in a bed."

"I think it will help me forget... It ain't goin' to feel right bein' happy with you in a bed, but I think we need to forget about the hell out there, sometimes."

"We do...or we'll go crazy." She turned in his arms and kissed him gently. "Now, get some sleep. We can talk more in the morning."

"All right. Goodnight, Carol. I love you."

She turned and pressed her back to his chest, again. "I love you, too, Daryl."

Chapter Text

Chapter Thirty-Six

Thankfully that night, Daryl was too exhausted to dream. It was bad enough to relive what he had done while awake, he didn't know what he would do if he had endure it in his dreams, as well. Of course, tonight had only been one night. Nightmares would surely plague him in the future. Nightmares of the look Dale had in his eyes before the bullet had ripped through his brain...the bullet Daryl had put there.

Daryl hoped that Dale would be the only person he would have to put of his misery, but with the world as it was that hope would become a wish that would never come true.

The sun was just barely peeking over the horizon when Daryl finally opened his eyes. He felt fully rested, but his head...and heart, still felt heavy. He shifted slightly in his sleep, not wanting to wake up the sleeping woman beside him.

"I was wondering when you would get up." Carol turned to face him, a smirk on her face. "You've been twitching for the past hour or so."

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"Bad dreams?" She asked, concerned.

"I didn't dream of anythin' or if I did, I don't remember it." And that was perfectly okay with him.

Carol curled into his side and placed her head under his chin. Daryl wrapped his arms around her, wanting to keep her close and glad that she was there with him. He was glad that she had understood what he had to do for Dale and hadn't looked at him with disgust. Daryl didn't know what he would have done if Carol wouldn't want anything to do with him, anymore. Especially now that he had after being apart for so long.

"Do you want to talk?" She asked. "I'm here if you need to."

"Naw. I don't want to talk. Not now." Using his strength, he hauled Carol up so that she was lying on him. Her breasts pressed against his chest and she looked down at him. With one hand she cupped his cheek and pressed a kiss to his lips.

"What do you want to do?"

"Forget. I want to forget everythin' that's happened in the past twelve hours and make love to the woman I love." Daryl trailed hand through her hair and pulled her down to kiss her before rolling until he was hovering over Carol.

"Is that...all right?"

Carol smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Of course. But we can't get too spoiled on being together on a bed. Who knows when we'll be able to have this opportunity."

"You think if I ask the old man nicely, he'll let us have this room?" Daryl buried his head in Carol's neck and trailed kisses up to her jaw.

She pushed at his chest halfheartedly. "Not if you call him an old man."

Daryl just smirked and continued to kiss Carol. "I love you," he said. "God, I love you so much."

"I love you, too, Daryl." Carol cupped his cheeks, her thumb caressing his jaw. "Now, no more talking and show me how much you love me."

When they heard the sound of others getting up and walking around in the house, Carol and Daryl gathered their clothing from the floor and left the room. Both of them would miss the privacy of the four walls and the softness of the bed, but the real world called to them and today, they would be burying a dear friend.

As they reached the stairs, Daryl stopped Carol with a hand on her waist and kissed her one last time before they faced the others. Soft giggles had them turning around just as two blonde heads ducked back into a room.

Carol chuckled softly at the two younger girls and Daryl glared. "Can we get at least a moment of privacy," he growled and began to descend down the stairs. Carol was close behind him.

"We did get a moment of privacy. A lot of moments, actually. Unless we had an audience earlier that I didn't know about," she teased and poked him lightly in the ribs as they reached the bottom of the steps.

"Shut up," he mumbled.

"Make me." She stepped closer to him and placed her hand on his shoulders.

Daryl about to do just that with his mouth when a creak on the stairs had him looking up at Beth and Sophia. The girls looked like they were trying hard not to laugh at them some more. He grumbled under his breath.

"Good morning, mom!" Sophia greeted and bounded down the stairs to give her mother a hug.

"Good morning, Mrs. Dixon," Beth said, slyly. Daryl's head jerked up and he narrowed his eyes at the girl before looking to Carol to see what her reaction would be. He was surprised to see that she didn't seem bothered by the name.

"I see you girls were up late gossiping, then." She released her daughter and placed her hands firmly on her hips to give the two a stern look. Daryl snorted and smirked. Busted.

"Of course not, mama." Sophia batted her eyelashes innocently. "Why would we do that?" Carol rolled her eyes and ruffled her daughter's hair affectionately.

"At least you two are up and not sleeping the day away. So, I won't complain."

The sound of the screen door opening had the four of them walking towards it. Rick stood just inside the house and gave them a solemn look. "Are you all ready? We-We're going to bury Dale and say a few words."

Just like that, the light hearted mood from earlier was gone and they were thrust back into the real world. Beth went to get her father and Patricia while Sophia wrapped her arms around Carol as they made their way outside. Daryl followed closely behind them.

The rest of the group was already standing around the freshly dug grave Dale's body now occupied. Glenn held his cap in his hands and tears glistened in his eyes. Dale had been like a father to him. Andrea stood not far from the younger man, eyes puffy and red. She had been the closest person to the older man.

Lori joined Rick, Carl not far from her side. The boy's eyes remained glued to the pile of dirt and Carol glanced down at her daughter to see that her eyes were glued on her friend. T-Dog stood behind Glenn, face stoic and Shane stood the farthest away. It was no secret how he felt about the older man and Carol was surprised that he was even there.

A few minutes later, the Greene family and Patricia joined them. Carol knew that it was out of respect. After all, they had all been present for Otis's death. Maggie went to Glenn and stood silently by his side while Hershel, Beth and Patricia stayed on the outskirts of their group. Not as far as Shane, but they made sure to fully integrate with them.

Carol reached behind her daughter's back and grabbed Daryl's hand. He gave her a quick look and squeezed before turning his attention to Rick, who had stepped forward to speak. Everyone listened to Rick's words as he spoke favorably and admirably about Dale. Glenn nodded at the words and Andrea sniffled as quietly as she could. Dale's death had been a hard blow to everyone.

When Rick finished speaking, they all stood there for a few moments, silent, with their heads bowed as they remembered the man. Daryl tried not to think about how he was the one that had ended Dale's life and held on to Carol's hand like a lifeline. If it hadn't been him to pull the trigger, it would have been someone else or he would have died eventually, leaving someone to put a bullet in his brain to stop him from reanimating.

It seemed like forever, but everyone finally dispersed from the gravesite. Andrea and Glenn had been the last to leave while Shane had been the first.

Daryl followed Carol and Sophia to camp where she would help Lori whip up something to eat. They couldn't really call it breakfast, since it was so late, but it was also a little early for lunch. Food was food, though, and everyone was hungry.

Before they reached the main camp, Rick called to Daryl and gestured with his head for Daryl to come talk with him. Thankfully, Shane was no where in sight. He reluctantly let go of Carol's hand, which he had been holding during the whole trek to the RV. She gave him a confused look but when she saw Rick standing a little way off, she understood and continued walking with Sophia to Lori and Carl.

"Is there somethin' you need?" Daryl skipped the pleasantries, knowing that Rick hadn't called him over just for a friendly chat and Daryl still hadn't forgiven the man for what he had wanted him to do to Randall.

"No." Rick ran a hand through his hair. "I just wanted to thank you for what you did for Dale last night. I know it wasn't easy."

"You would have done the same. Eventually." Daryl knew Rick hadn't hesitated at first to pull the trigger, but if Daryl hadn't stepped up to do it for him, Rick would have finally been able to do what needed to be done.

"'Sides, you shouldn't be the only one who has to do the tough shit," Daryl continued. As leader, he knew Rick had a giant burden to bear every day as he thought of everything that needed to be done to keep everyone safe. As one of those people, Daryl figured he could help out Rick once in awhile.

"But you stepped up before I could and that's why I'm thanking you." He reached out a hand, as if he wanted to place it on Daryl's shoulder, but thought better of it and let it fall back to his side.

"You're welcome, then."

The other man gave him a half smile. "Oh, Hershel pulled me to the side, earlier. He said that since the nights are getting colder, we could all move our things to the house. He said that he had a free room upstairs and said that if you want it then it's yours."

Daryl shook his head in disbelief. Maybe they had had an audience earlier and the old man had heard what he said.

"Tell him Carol and I will take it...and thank you."

"Carol and you?" Daryl winced. No one in camp, besides T-Dog, had known about their relationship.

"Yeah. I want to keep an eye on her and her daughter." The excuse was a weak one, but he really didn't care.

"Oh. All right. I'll let Hershel know. I think Andrea wants to stay in the RV and Shane doesn't want to settle in the house, so he'll probably stay out here, too." He continued talking as if he and Daryl were friends.

"What about that wife and kid of yours? They got a room?" Daryl inwardly groaned, hating himself for asking. If Rick said Lori and Carl didn't have a bed to sleep in and would make their beds on the floor, he would give up the room Hershel had offered him. Though he knew Carol deserved to sleep on something soft just as much as the first lady and her son...if not more.

"Yeah, we're staying in the room Carl was recovering in."

Daryl let out a sigh of relief. "All right. Sounds good." He shifted in place, feeling a little awkward. "Well, I'm goin' to grab some food before I go out to see if I can get us some meat for supper." He hadn't planned on hunting today but he just needed an excuse to get away from Rick. Maybe he would take Carol and give her some more gun practice.

"All right. Good luck out there, then and I'll talk to you later." Rick waved and Daryl strode off, heading to the fire and Carol.

Carol trekked quietly behind Daryl as they walked through the woods together. Daryl had some squirrel on his belt and was currently tracking a deer. Whether he would get it or not was a different story. It was no one's fault, however. There had been a few times he had forgotten that Carol was even there because she had taken to being silent so seriously. No, this deer was just being way too smart.

Finally, he gave up when they walked into a clearing and saw no deer in sight. Daryl estimated that they were about a mile and a half from camp. Good enough distance to get some target practice in.

"You want to shoot a little?" He asked Carol.

"Are you done hunting?"

"Yeah. I ain't gettin' that deer and I want to get back soon so that we have enough light to take down our tent and bring our things inside."

Carol smiled. "I still can't believe Hershel let us have that room."

"Actually, he let me have it and I decided to let you join me." He playfully bumped her hip and she glared at him.

"Careful. I have a loaded gun."

Daryl held up his hands in surrender and chuckled. "And I've been teachin' you how to use it."

"So, I definitely know how to use it." She turned and held up the gun with both hands. "What should I be aiming at, Mr. Dixon?" Daryl started at the name, remembering that she had been called Mrs. Dixon earlier that morning and hadn't seemed to mind.

Carol Dixon, that has a nice ring to it.

"Daryl?" Carol's voice was no longer teasing and she was giving him an odd look. He must have been standing there silent for awhile.

"Oh. Uh. I brought some cans. They're in your pack."

"Oh." Carol slung the bag off her back and took out three empty cans, surprised that she hadn't heard them but then saw that some of Daryl's clothing had been stuffed inside as well so they wouldn't rattle against each other.

"Here." He took the cans. "I'll set them up in one of the trees. Try to resist shooting me in the ass."

"Now, why would I want to destroy something so...perfect?" Daryl blushed as her eyes wandered down to his ass.

"Stop," he huffed, embarrassed. Carol giggled behind a hand and watched him stomp away. She knew how to get him riled up and had always been able to.

A few minutes later, Daryl joined Carol back at her side and pointed to three cans he had placed in the tree. "Now, this is a little different than just shooting on an even fence rail, but I know you'll be able to do it."

"I hope so, anyway." She held up the gun, bit her lip in concentration and fired her first shot. One of the cans, on the lowest branch, fell out of the tree and landed on the dirt. Carol beamed and Daryl was impressed.

"All right, the next one."

It took two shots to hit the next can and three for the last one. There was room for improvement, of course, but Carol was learning quickly and that helped lift a burden off Daryl's shoulders. He would protect this woman and her child to the day he died, but it helped if she were able to protect herself, as well.

"Again?" Carol asked.

"Okay." Rick hadn't given him many extra bullets, but he still had a few in his pockets and Carol still wanted to practice, which was more than fine with him.

An hour later, they made it back to camp. Daryl dropped off the game with T-Dog, who was in charge of cooking their final meal in the camp, and walked with Carol to their tent. They were surprised to see that it had already been taken down; their sleeping bags and blankets were folded neatly alongside it.

"I wanted to help." Sophia walked up from behind them. While they had been gone, she had been told to stick around by Lori and Carl.

"Lori was off talking with Mr. Shane, somewhere, and I asked Carl if he would help me take down the tent and stuff. He did...but he didn't say a word to me." Sophia looked upset. Sure, she had been hanging around Beth a lot lately, but Carol was still her best friend and his silence was bothering her.

"I'm sorry, honey." Carol pulled Sophia close. "Maybe Dale's death just hit him really hard."

Sophia sniffed and nodded. "That's probably it." She bent down and picked up a pack from the ground, copying what Daryl had just done.

"Let's get some of this inside and the rest can go in my truck."

After their meal, they all decided that it was time to head to the house and get some sleep. Andrea decided that she would be keeping watch for the half the night and Shane would take the other half.

Daryl was exhausted and more than happy to finally call it a night, especially since he would be sharing a bed with Carol, again. After saying her good nights, Carol came to the room, a troubled look on her face.

"What is it?" He asked, back leaning against the headboard of the bed.

"Lori's upset. Shane came by their room earlier saying that he wanted to show Rick something and instead it wait until morning, Rick went with him."

That sounded odd. What was there to see in the middle of the night? "Do you want me to find him?"

"No." She shook her head. "Rick's a big boy and for all we know, Shane could be showing him something important." She shut the door behind her, crawled into bed and snuggled close to his side.

An hour later, there was a loud banging on their door. Carol was the first to reach it and opened it to find a frantic looking Lori. "Lori, what's go-"

"Carl's gone."

In the faint distance, Merle could see the dim lights of a large farmhouse. "Is that it?" He pointed with his only hand.

"Yeah, that's it." Randall answered as he limped alongside him.

Merle smiled. They were so close. He would reunite with Daryl and they'd go off together and leave Officer Prick and the rest of the group behind.

Suddenly the loud crack of a gunshot had Randall and Merle stopping in their tracks. "What the fuck?" Merle looked around. The shot had been close by. Too close.

"Do you think they were shooting at us?" Randall sounded frantic.

"Shut up," Merle snapped and that's when he heard it. It wasn't another gunshot. No, it was the sound of shuffling feet. Hundreds of shuffling feet. He turned around and in the light from the moon he saw them.

At least a hundred walkers were heading their way.

Chapter Text

Chapter Thirty-Seven

"Lori, you need to calm down," Carol soothed and guided the distraught woman to sit on the bed she and Daryl had vacated to answer the door.

"Oh, Carol! I knew I shouldn't have let Rick go with Shane!" Lori sobbed. "Carl wanted to go, but I told him no. He must have snuck out when I was sleeping!"

"Of course, he can't fuckin' stay in the house," Daryl mumbled from where he stood close to the window, arms crossed over his chest. Carol glared at him and turned back to her friend.

"Maybe he found Rick and is safe with him," she said and rubbed comforting circles on Lori's back. "Soon, they'll come through the door perfectly safe." The words sounded wooden in Carol's mouth, but she needed to say them in hopes of keeping her friend calm.

Lori didn't say anything and leaned her head on Carol's shoulder. Carol looked over the top of Lori's head at Daryl and felt helpless. What was there to do? The boy had run off and no one knew what Shane had wanted to show Rick, so they didn't even know where to start looking.

"Do you want me to go look for him?" Daryl's voice startled Lori. She had almost forgotten that he was there. She turned red-rimmed eyes to him.

"Would you, please?"

His gaze shot to Carol, whose eyes were wide. "Yeah. I'll look for him." He moved to leave the room with his crossbow in hand. Carol didn't say anything to Lori and shot after him.

"Daryl, wait!" She stopped him before he went down the stairs and he turned to her. "Let me come with. Two eyes are better than one, right?" Her voice was shaky as she tried hard to not let the fear come through. She failed.

"Naw, I got this. 'Sides, you need to stay here with Sophia."

Carol reached out and grabbed his arm. "You can't go out there alone. You have no idea what is out there!"

"I'll be f-" He was interrupted by the sound of a gunshot. Both of their faces went pale. Everyone knew that sound attracted walkers. No one would fire a shot in the middle of the night. Unless they absolutely had to...

"That was Rick!" Lori came flying out of the room, eyes wide and a fresh stream of tears on her cheeks. "I just know it. Oh, God, there has to be a reason why he needed his gun!"

Daryl rushed down the stairs, Lori and Carol not far behind. Hershel and Patricia were in the kitchen looking worried and the rest of the group, except for Beth and Sophia, were in the living room, crowding around the window. Glenn broke free and ran up to them.

"Who do you think did that?" He asked.

"We don't know for sure," Carol answered. "But Rick and Shane are out there somewhere."

"What?" Glenn's eyes widened.

Suddenly Daryl was beside her, grabbing her arm, gently. "I'll be back," he said. "I'm goin' to see what's goin' on and to see if I can find the kid." He kissed her quickly on the cheek and was out the door before anymore could be said.

Glenn watched the whole scene, but instead of looking smug at witnessing Daryl's PDA, he looked panicked. "Carl's out there?"

Carol nodded. "He snuck out when Lori was sleeping to find his father."

Glenn shook his head. "Why can't he be more like Sophia? She, at least, stays in the house when told."

"She's a good girl," Carol said and smiled.

Several minutes later, Daryl burst through the door, by himself and eyes wild. "There's a herd."

That's when all hell broke loose.

Carol went racing up the stairs, along with Patricia, to get Beth and Sophia while the men and Maggie took whatever weapons they could find and went outside.

Carol shook Sophia awake and Patricia did the same. The four of them raced down the stairs, but not before Carol stopped in the room she had shared with Daryl to grab her gun and a knife. She pressed the knife into her daughter's hand.

"You do whatever it takes to survive, you hear me?" She made sure she had her daughter's full attention as she spoke. "Aim for an eye socket and jam the knife through. Can you do that?"

Sophia's eyes were wide with fear, but she nodded her head and clutched the knife in her fist. "Yes, I can, mama. But where are you going?"

"No where. I'm getting you safely in a car that will get you out of here and then, I'm looking for Daryl."

Sophia grabbed her wrist. "No! You can't do that. You have to get off safely, too."

"Don't worry, honey. I have a gun and Daryl taught me to shoot. I'll be fine. I promise." She leaned down and kissed her daughter's forehead. "Now, let's get going!"

They burst outside just as Rick and Carl ran up steps of the porch, eyes wide and frantic. Behind them, in the distance, she could see the numerous stumbling figures. Rick looked at Carol and Patricia. "Where's Lori?"

"Inside somewhere," Carol answered.

Rick shoved Carl at Carol. "Please, can you get him to safety? I need to get Lori." Without another word, Rick ran in the house and Carol had two children clinging to her arms, while Patricia, behind her, had one. She didn't know where to go. The vehicles were several feet away and she and Sophia had the only weapon.

Just then, a truck came to a screeching halt in front of the porch and the passenger door swung open. Maggie flew out and went to her father, who was in the front yard with his shotgun, refusing to move. "Get the kids inside!" She shouted before running off.

Carol didn't need to be told twice and she shoved Carl and Sophia into the passenger's seat just as Patricia started to scream. Carol turned around to see that two walkers had come up from behind them and one had sunk their teeth into Patricia's neck. Beth was screaming, too, and tugging on the woman's arm.

Carol wrenched Beth away and pushed her in the direction of the truck, hoping the girl had enough sense to climb in. Another walker attached itself to Patricia's arm and the pain was evident on her face. Carol knew what she had to do, but she didn't want to do it.

She raised her gun. Patricia saw it and nodded. "Please," she begged. Carol pulled the trigger and watched her friend crumple to the ground. Quickly, she put the two walkers down, before the tears could blur her vision.

Now, she knew how Daryl felt when he had to put Dale down.

"Lori!" Rick shouted through the house, searching each room as he ran past them. Carol had said she was in here. But where? "Lori!" God, please don't tell me she ran outside with those things everywhere.

"Rick!" Suddenly Lori was there, long brown hair flying as she wrapped him in her arms. "Where's Carl?"

"He's with Carol. She's putting them in a car and getting them out of there." He grabbed her hand. "Now, we have to do the same!"

When they went through the front doors, they were greeted with the sight of a trunk pulling away fast down the road, the one with Carl safely inside. Hershel was in the grass firing shot after shot with his daughter, Maggie beside him. T-Dog stood not far off with a handgun.

"We got to get them out of here," Rick said to Lori. "You grab Maggie and I'll get Hershel. T-Dog will follow." Lori didn't want to get separated from her husband, but she needed to help save her people.

"Shit!" Merle cursed and picked up his pace. The walkers were growing near and he nor Randall had a weapon to end them. Well, he had a knife, but if he stopped to start killing walkers he would be overrun in seconds.

"Wait!" Randall sounded terrified. "I can't keep up!" His leg was prevented him from running at full speed and Merle felt bad. He really did. There was nothing he could do for the kid, short of carrying him and if he did that, they would both be killed within seconds.

"Hurry up, man!" He called back. If they could make it to the farmhouse, then they would have some type of shelter and judging by all the gunshots he was hearing, they would also have someone there to protect them.

Up ahead he could see figures that weren't walkers. He could see the bright flashes as their guns went off. Almost there. He turned to tell Randall that. He looked back just in time to see a walker tackle him to the ground.

Merle couldn't do anything to help the kid. He felt utterly helpless and kept running.

There were dozens of walkers and they just kept coming. Lori grabbed Maggie by the arm and screamed that they needed to get out of there while Rick did the same with Hershel. "Come on," she coaxed Maggie. "We need to get out of here!"

"Not without my dad!"

"Rick is getting your father. Come on!"

A rotting hand grabbed Lori on the arm and she screamed, falling to the ground. More were coming and Maggie had her hands full. The sound of Hershel's shotgun could still be heard, but Hershel, T-Dog and Rick couldn't be seen.

Lori struggled with the walker as she heard Maggie do the same. Just then, the walker's head exploded and the body fell to her side. Blood sprayed across Lori's face, but she didn't care.

"Get up!" Someone was yelling and grabbing her by the arm. "Come on!"

It was Andrea.

More walkers stumbled close to them and Maggie quickly took them down before they could reach Andrea and Lori. "I can't see my dad, anymore. Or Rick. There's too many!"

Lori struggled to her feet and looked around. All she could see were walkers.

"Come on. I have the keys to Shane's Hyundai. We need to get in and go," Andrea took charge.

"But Rick," Lori protested.

"And Daddy."

"If we don't leave now, we'll all be dead and you'll never see them, again!"

They had no choice. They ran.

Daryl could have sworn he had heard his brother's voice. But it wasn't possible. His brother couldn't be here. Not in this mess.

Daryl felt like he had searched everywhere for the Grimes men and Shane, but to no avail. He had witnessed Jimmy try to make a run for the RV and got swarmed. Daryl could still hear the young man's screams as he was being ripped apart. There had been nothing he could have done for the boy.

"Help!"

The voice didn't sound familiar, but someone was yelling for help and Daryl was going to help. He ran to where the voice had come from and saw someone on the ground. A dead walker laid across him, a stick in its eye socket, while another tried to get to living human underneath.

Daryl shot a bolt through the walker's temple and tossed the dead walker off the struggling body underneath. He was surprised to see that it was Randall.

"You bit?" Daryl asked, checking him over with his eyes.

"N-No. Almost. But I stabbed the bastard in the eye with a stick." Daryl helped him to his feet and noticed the way he favored his leg, remembering that he had been injured before Shane and Rick had dropped him off.

"Come on. We gotta get out of here." The gunfire from the house had ceased, meaning that everyone had left or everyone was dead.

Carol...

No, she was strong and she had probably gotten Sophia off the farm a long time ago. At least, that was what he would keep telling himself.

"Where we goin' to go?" Randall asked. "I can't run and there walkers everywhere."

"My trucks over that way." Well, at least it was earlier. "We get to it and we get out of here. It ain't that far. Can you make it?" He didn't know what he would do if Randall couldn't. The young man had been running around with some bad people, but it didn't mean he deserved to die.

"Yeah. I can."

"Good. Let's go."

Fuck.

He couldn't believe his fucking luck.

Merle had reached the farmhouse to only be greeted by some old man, the black man who had dropped the handcuff key...and Officer Friendly. Sure, he had been looking forward to meeting them, to get his revenge, but not like this. Now, he was at the mercy of those two fuckers. Again. However, this time, his ass wasn't going to get left behind.

Officer Friendly's eyes registered shock when he saw Merle appear out of the darkness, but instead of aiming that nice pistol at Merle's head, he shot a walker that had been getting dangerously close to Merle's right side.

"Merle," he said in a way of greeting. If there hadn't been fucking walkers everywhere, Merle would have given Rick a few choice words in return. But right now wasn't a good time.

"We need to get out of here!" T-Dog shouted from Rick's right and when he saw Merle, his eyes widened.

"My truck is in back," the old man said and Merle noticed that he looked defeated as he lowered his shotgun. The farmhouse must have been his home.

"What are we waitin' for, then?" Merle cried. "We need to get the fuck out of here!"

Carol watched as the truck containing Carl, Sophia, Beth and Glenn disappeared from view. Sophia had grabbed at her, wanting her mother to hop in with them, but she had declined. Daryl was still out there somewhere and she needed to find him. If anything had happened to him...

No. She didn't want to think of that.

After shooting Patricia and the walkers, Carol had run. She didn't know where, but as long as she found someplace where there weren't any walkers that would be fine with her. She needed a place to be able to stop and think of what her next move would be.

Three more pairs of headlights were soon spotted leaving the farm, but Carol was too far away to flag them down. Daryl had to be in one the vehicles.

With one last glance at the farmhouse, now surrounded by the undead, Carol took off into the woods, hoping that none of them followed her. She only had three more bullets left in her gun.

For her daughter and for Daryl, she would survive.

Chapter Text

I don't really like this chapter. I'm blaming it on school. It's turning my brain to mush! I hope you all like it, though!

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Glenn knew that he had been one of the last vehicles to leave the overrun farm. He knew he shouldn't have put unnecessary danger on the three young people in the truck with him, but he needed to know if Maggie was all right. However, he had been unable to spot a thing as he made a quick drive around the yard. There had been no sight of Maggie and no sight of any one else from the group. There had been plenty of walkers, though. Hundreds of them.

"We need to go back and see if Daddy and Maggie are still at the farmhouse," Beth's choked up voice spoke from where she was almost pressed against the door of the truck. Since they had driven away, the tears running down Beth's cheeks had not stopped flowing. The girl was frightened. Besides, seeing the walkers stumble out of the barn, she had never seen so many of them before. And she had witnessed firsthand what happened when they finally caught up with you.

"I'm sure they are fine, Beth," Sophia, who was pressed against Glenn's side and peered across Carl to her friend. "I saw Rick by Hershel. I'm sure he got him off the farm safely." She gave her a small reassuring smile, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"Glenn," Sophia said and turned to him. "Did you see where my mom went after she put me in here?"

"No, I didn't. I'm sorry." He had been too preoccupied with Maggie when she had hopped out of the trunk to pay attention to where Carol had gone after she had dropped the kids with him. Glenn felt guilty. He could have at least made sure she had gotten in another vehicle and got off the farm safely.

"I hope she's okay," Sophia said, softly.

"I bet she's with Daryl," he said, hoping that it would help ease her worry a little bit. "I doubt he would let her go off anywhere on her own."

"Yeah." The way Sophia said that word made Glenn know that she didn't believe him. Instead of saying anymore, he kept his eyes on the road, hoping to see a sign of where the other members of their group had scattered.

Glenn had nothing else to say that would ease any of their worries and continued to keep his eyes on the road. Normally, he was the much needed levity of the group, but now, he couldn't think of one good thing to say to the three others in the vehicle. Beth was still crying, Carl hadn't spoken a word and Sophia was pressed to his side, looking out the windshield with tears glistening in her eyes.

They all had someone out there they cared about a lot, but had no idea if they were still alive. Things couldn't get any worse.

Until they did.

The truck started to make a weird noise and no matter how hard Glenn pushed on the gas, the vehicle was steadily slowing down. Glancing at the dashboard, he saw with a groan that the needle was on E.

Finally, they slowed to a complete stop in the middle of a narrow road. Trees bordered the asphalt and for all they knew, walkers were gathered behind the trees.

Glenn slammed a palm on the steering wheel and three sets of wide eyes looked at him, wanting answers. "We ran out of gas," he said, flopping back in the seat and closing his eyes. "Looks like we're going to stay here for the night."

"But what about Daddy and Maggie?" Beth's voice was bordering on hysterics and it grated on his nerves a little.

"We'll have to wait until the sun comes up to start looking for them. I'm not taking you all out in the dark with only my rifle and Carl's gun as the only weapons."

"My mom gave me a knife," Sophia piped up. "But I think it's a good idea to stay in here for the night, too. We can't really see out there, now, and don't know what's can be lurking around." She looked over at Beth and offered her friend another smile. "We'll look for them the moment the sun is up."

"We will. I promise," Glenn added. "Now, we all should get comfortable. This is where we will be sleeping." The cab was cramped with the four of them smashed into the front bench seat. Carl wordlessly turned and climbed into the back seat. There was barely enough room for him. Beth stayed put and looked out the window and Sophia leaned her head against Glenn's arm.

"Is this okay?" She asked, sounding sleepy already.

"Yeah, it's fine. I said get comfortable," Glenn answered and leaned his head against the window before closing his eyes.

"Why the hell did you come back to the farm?" Daryl asked the young man beside him. "Didn't Rick and Shane say they'd kill you if they say you, again?"

They had been driving in silence for several minutes as they both tried to catch their breaths. Daryl had no idea where the rest of the group were heading. They had all scattered to God knew where, but he figured that the highway was their best bet.

He hoped Carol and Sophia were safe and together.

"Wait!" Daryl nearly stomped on the brakes and Randall looked terrified as he pressed his palms on the dashboard to keep from smashing his face through the windshield. "You didn't lead those sumbitches to the farm, did you?" If the young man had done what he had accused him of, Daryl wouldn't have thought twice about leaving him on the side of the road to die.

"No, I didn't!" Randall cried and pressed his back against the door of the truck, trying to get as far from Daryl as possible.

For some reason, Daryl believed him. "Then, why did you come back?"

"Your brother."

This nearly caused Daryl to drive off the road. "What? You know Merle?"

Randall nodded his head vigorously. "He was in the same group I was in when you found me, but he wasn't there that night. He was still healing from the wound on his hand. When Rick and Shane dropped me off, I ran into him and told him that I had seen you."

"So, Merle was at the farm with you?" He had really heard his brother's voice, then.

"Y-Yeah. He thought a walker took me down and kept running."

So, Daryl hadn't been going crazy when he had thought he'd heard Merle's voice. He had actually heard it. "Wait. How did you know that Merle was my brother?" Daryl knew that he and Merle had some similarities, but they didn't look that much alike.

"Shane said your last name when we were in the...barn, and I knew Merle's. I told them that I knew him, to see how they would react, but they didn't say anything and left."

"You told Rick that you knew Merle?"

Randall nodded. "Yeah."

"And he didn't fuckin' tell me..." Daryl said more to himself than to the young man in the other seat.

"I guess not." Randall shrugged, not sure what else to say.

Daryl gripped the steering wheel tighter and remained silent. He couldn't believe Rick would have kept that from him. Merle was his family, his only family and he deserved to know any information that was found out about him.

"Uh. I'm...sorry."

"Ain't your fault," Daryl muttered and kept his eyes fixed on the road.

For awhile, neither one said a word. Daryl was silently seething and Randall must have sensed the anger in his rescuer and decided not to say a word. The dirt road finally gave way to the paved road of the highway. In the distance, the sun was creeping up on the horizon and Daryl turned in the direction of where they had been stuck on the highway, what seemed like forever ago. Hopefully, other people from their group had the same idea.

He hoped Carol and Sophia were already there. Safe.

"We shouldn't have left them there like that," Maggie spat and stared out the window. The young woman had been reluctant to leave her father while the walkers were swarming them.

"We had to get out of there while we could," Lori tried to sooth. After all, she had left behind her husband.

"We had to my ass! We had weapons, we could have helped."

"Before or after you got bit," Andrea snapped. "I got you out of there. I got both of you out of there and the last thing I wanted to hear from you two is this shit. Some thanks would have been nice."

The woman looked at the blonde woman behind the wheel. Lori was the only one to speak. "Thank you, Andrea," she said, but it didn't really sound like she meant it. Andrea shook her head angrily and just focused on the road.

"Did you see where Glenn went?" Lori asked Maggie.

"No. I just know that he got out of there with Beth, Carl and Sophia. Knowing him, they're going to be safe." There was a hint of pride in Maggie's voice. She refused to look at Lori, though. Since Glenn had nearly died to get her morning after pills, Maggie hadn't wanted anything to do with Rick's wife.

When Lori realized that was all she was going to get out of Maggie, she turned to Andrea, another woman who she wasn't on very good terms with. God must be laughing at her, now. "Do you have any idea where to go? We never discussed where we should meet if we were all to get separated."

"I thought we'd head back to the highway. It's the last big landmark we were all at together."

"That's a good idea," Lori admitted.

"I thought so. Let's just hope everyone else though the same thing."

"Just my fuckin' luck," Merle huffed from the seat he had in the backseat of Hershel's truck. "I'm stuck in this vehicle with the last two people I've ever wanted to be stuck with. Officer Friendly and the piece of shit who dropped the damn key."

The 'piece of shit who dropped the damn key' sat across from Merle and didn't say anything. T-Dog just shook his head and ignored the obnoxious redneck. However, Hershel didn't have the same idea.

"Son, I'd appreciate it, if you didn't use that type of language in front of me," Hershel scolded from the driver's seat.

"I ain't your son, old man. And who the hell are you, anyway, one of them pastors?"

"Merle, can you just shut up?" It was clear Officer Friendly was wound pretty tight. Somewhere out there were his wife and son. Separated.

"You're the last person who can tell me what to do, officer." He thrust the stump at the end of his arm in Rick's face. "Does this ring any bells? Huh?" He sat back down in his seat when he didn't get any further reaction from Rick.

"I can't believe my dumbass brother is still with you lot. Especially after what you did to me. I almost didn't believe it when Randall told me."

That got something from Rick. "You met up with Randall?"

"Yep. We were in the same group and I saw him wanderin' on the road a few days, ago, and he told me about Daryl."

"But how did he know where the farm was?" Rick's brow was furrowed.

"He said he knew some girl named Maggie in school, so he knew where it was. Who's Maggie?"

"That would be one of my daughters. The oldest one," the old man spoke up.

"So, how did Daryl react when you told him Randall knew me? I bet you fought him to not leave the group to look for me," he said, smugly and crossed his arms over his chest.

The front seat was silent. Too silent.

"You didn't fuckin' tell him! That's low, even for you." Merle wished he could reach into the front seat, wrap his hands around Officer Friendly's throat and squeeze the life out of him, but he only had one hand.

"We needed him there. We couldn't have him running off to who knew where and leaving us one man down. Besides, I doubt he would have left Carol, anyway."

"Who the hell is Carol?"

"She's one of the women in the group. Daryl has been getting real close to her ever since he found Sophia, her daughter, when she ran off and got lost while we were on the highway."

Merle gripped the front seat with his one hand. "Are you sayin' my brother would choose a woman over his own brother? Ha. Fuck you, Prick. There ain't nothin' Daryl wouldn't do to find me. Once we meet up with him, again, I'm takin' him and leavin'. I'm sure there's nothin' this Carol can say to make him stay."

Carol felt like her lungs were about to burst, but she kept running. Behind her, half dozen walkers were following her and she only had four bullets left on her little pistol. Not enough to take them down and she had given Sophia her knife.

Sophia.

She prayed that Glenn had been able to get her and Carl and Beth off the farm safely. She trusted the young man, but any number of things could have gone wrong. Shuddering, Carol forced herself not to think of those things and to think of how she would get rid of the walkers stumbling after her.

Maybe she could find a tree to climb? But if the walkers spotted her climbing one, they would just stand underneath until she came down again. Maybe she could stop and use her bullets to get four of them and find out another way to get rid of them. She'd have to be a perfect shot, though. She didn't have any bullets to waste. So, that meant she had to allow them to get close to her, which didn't sound very good to Carol.

Carol stopped running and took a deep breath before turning around. The gun in her hand didn't shake as she held it up and waited for the walkers to come closer. When two of them drew near, she easily out bullets in their heads, but the other four were in a group and once she killed two more, the other two would be too close for comfort.

She was about to use the last two bullets when I flash of steel caught the corner of her eye and two of the walkers fell to the ground, heads split in half. Carol's eyes widened and mouth dropped in shock. Just as quick, the other two met the same fate.

"What...?" She breathed and looked at the dark figure in front of her. It was a woman, she could tell from the figure. On her belt, two jawless and armless walkers were attached by a chain and in the woman's hand, she held a long sword, now dark with the blood of the walkers she had just put down.

"Thank you," Carol didn't know what else to say.

The woman didn't say anything and tugged off her hood to reveal a head full of dreadlocks. "You're welcome."

Chapter Text

Chapter Thirty-Nine

In the dim light of sunrise, Daryl spotted the cluster of vehicles where they had been stopped briefly only several days before. The car with the message to Sophia was still there, as he knew it would be, but the message on the windshield was washing away. It didn't matter, though. They no longer needed it. At least, he hoped he didn't.

As he pulled his truck to a stop, Daryl saw that it was only him and Randall so far. He hoped everyone would think to meet up at the highway. He knew Carol would. She was smart.

"What do you think will happen when Rick and Shane see that I'm with you?" Randall, who had been quiet since he had told Daryl that Rick had known about Merle, spoke up.

"Don't know. The way I see it, they can't just take you out and drop you off, again. You ain't got no group to go back to, and there's also the fact that you got a bum leg, now. Speakin' of, let me see it to make sure you didn't fuck it up, anymore."

Randall pulled up his pants on his right leg. A white bandage was wrapped protectively around the stitches. Spots of red were seeping through the cotton and Daryl wondered if the boy had ripped a stitch or two in his tussle with that walker.

"Once Hershel shows up, we'll have him look at that leg, again."

"Okay," he said and pulled down his pants to cover his leg. Daryl hoped they wouldn't not be waiting there for very long. They had all gotten off the farm, or so he hoped, and they should all be on their way by now.

"All right, everyone. We need to get up," Glenn gently nudged Sophia, who was fast asleep against his arm. It didn't take long for her to wake and soon, she was nudging Carl and Beth. Glenn wasn't looking forward to taking his charges out of the relative safety of the truck and onto the road, but they needed to find the others. He needed to find Maggie.

Glenn opened the door and told the three of them to wait so he could check the area to make sure no walkers were about. "All right," he said once he saw the coast was clear. "Come on, out. Sophia, you said you had a knife?" At her nod, he continued, "Good, keep it out. Looks like Carl has a gun. Beth, look in the back. You need a weapon of some sort."

"But I don't know how to use it," the girl said. Her eyes were red-rimmed from her tears and her lower lip trembled.

"It's okay. As long as you have something, you'll feel safer." Glenn peered through the back windows and grinned. "Perfect. There's a crowbar back there. Grab it and let's get going. The highway is about a mile away, so it shouldn't take us long to get there, but we have to keep a sharp eye out for walkers. Okay?"

Beth climbed out of the truck, a crowbar clutched tightly in her hands.

"Everyone ready?" Glenn asked and made sure Carl, Sophia and Beth nodded. "All right. Let's go."

Daryl shot off the hood of his truck when he heard the sound of an approaching vehicle. Randall started from where he had been dozing inside the truck. Shane's green Hyundai pulled to a park beside them. Maggie climbed out of the passenger's side, followed by Lori and Andrea got out from behind the driver's seat.

"Carol?" He asked, hoping that she would climb out of the car next, along with Sophia.

"No, she's not with us," Andrea answered. "We lost track of her after she shoved the kids into another vehicle."

"Glenn?" Maggie asked. "He here, yet?"

"No, and Rick ain't here, either," Daryl said before Lori opened her mouth. "It's just me and Randall." Then, he turned to Andrea. "What the hell you mean you lost track of her? You didn't tell her come with you all?" Panicked settled in his chest.

"If you didn't know, Daryl, a lot of things were going on at the farm. It's not my fault if I lost Carol!" Andrea snapped and Daryl clenched his fists angrily, but he knew she was right.

"What about Sophia? You said she put the kids in a vehicle, who did she put them with?"

"They're with Glenn," Maggie answered. Daryl sighed in relief; he knew that they would be safe with the young man.

"Why the hell is he here?" Lori had peered through the truck's window and saw Randall in the passenger seat. "I thought Rick and Shane dropped him off somewhere far from here." She placed a hand protectively over her belly; as if afraid, the boy would jump out of the truck and do her harm.

"They did, but he made his way back."

"Why?"

Daryl didn't want to tell the three women that it was because Randall had been with Merle. He didn't want to deal with how they would react. If only Carol were there. However, when the three women looked to him, waiting for an answer, Daryl found that he had no choice but to say something.

Fortunately, at that moment, the sound of another approaching vehicle drew all their attention. "Please be Carol," he whispered to himself and walked forward, along with Maggie, Andrea and Lori.

It was Hershel's truck. In the front seat was Hershel, who was behind the wheel, and Rick. Lori was immediately at his side and hugging him fiercely. Hershel embraced Maggie, but a brief look around, told Daryl that he was looking for his youngest. T-Dog climbed out of seat behind Rick and Daryl felt for the man. He had no one running to him.

Then, the other backseat door opened and a man Daryl thought he'd never see again, stepped out.

Merle.

"My name's Carol." Carol stuffed her gun in the waist of her pants and held out a hand to the woman who had just saved her life.

"Michonne." The woman looked at her hand for a moment before finally shaking it. The two walkers behind her stumbled a little closer to Carol and she took a step back, even though she knew they couldn't hurt her.

"Are you alone?"

Michonne nodded.

"I'm trying to find the highway where I'm sure the rest of my group is meeting up. We got separated at a farm. Would you like to come with? I'm sure they would welcome you. Especially once they know you saved my life."

Michonne thought about it for a moment. "All right, I'll go with you. I think I've been on my own too long." There was sadness in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Carol said. She wanted to know more about Michonne and ask how many people she lost, but they barely knew one another and she didn't want to pry. Maybe one day they would become good enough friends that she would confide in her.

"By the way, Carol, you were going the wrong way to the highway." White teeth flashed in a smile. "It's that way." She pointed in a direction with her katana.

Carol knew this woman could be leading her astray, but for some reason she already trusted Michonne. "Well, good thing you came along, then, huh?"

"What was that?" Beth whirled around and raised her crowbar over her head. Sophia spun around, knife poised in the air and Carl had his gun out. Glenn stepped in front of all three of them, ready to take care of the walker that would step through the bushes. However, instead of a walker, a squirrel scampered out, chattered at them and ran away.

Everyone lowered their weapons with uneasy chuckles. "Where's Daryl when you need him?" Sophia said. "That squirrel could have been our breakfast."

"I would have even eaten it," Beth said, rubbing her stomach. "I'm starving."

"Me, too," Carl piped up. Three pairs of eyes swiveled to look at him. Since they had left the farm, he hadn't said a word. Now, he was looking at the three of them like they were crazy. "What?" He shrugged and turned to continue walking down the dirt road. That prompted the rest of them to start walking, again.

"How much longer do you think we have to go, Glenn?" Sophia looked up and asked.

"I'd say we don't have much more to go," he answered. "At least things are looking familiar now that it's getting lighter."

"Okay." Sophia nodded and then, raced up to join Carl, hoping to get him to speak more. Glenn hung in the back of their small group and made sure that nothing could sneak up on them. His job was to make sure nothing could hurt them and he was going to make sure that happened.

Everyone who hadn't been in the same car as Merle, looked at the man in shock. But Merle didn't have eyes for them; he only had eyes for Daryl. With a smug grin, he sauntered up to his baby brother, as if they had never been separated and flung an arm around his shoulders.

"What's up, baby brother, you miss me?"

Though Randall had told Daryl that Merle had come with him back to the farm, he still had no words now that he was actually looking at his older brother.

"Course I did," he finally answered.

"Not enough to look for me, huh?"

Daryl slipped out from Merle's arm. "I did look for you, Merle. Once I found out about you bein' left behind on that roof, I went back to get you, but you weren't there!"

"Well, I couldn't very well let myself die up there waitin' for you! I had to do somethin' to ensure my fuckin' survival and that was cuttin' off my damn hand!" He thrust the stump of his arm up.

"And then, I find out that you're still with the same group who left me on the damn roof! You should have cut all ties with them, little brother and went off on your own. You probably would have been able to find me."

Daryl's fists clenched at his sides and he gritted his teeth, wanting to start shouting, but knew that would draw attention from any nearby walkers. They already had the attention of everyone on the highway. All of them were standing a distance away, looking at the brothers uneasily. Daryl hated being looked at that way, like they were afraid he would go off the deep end or something.

"But now, that I'm here, we should get the fuck ou-"

"Daryl, have you seen Sophia and Carol?" Rick stepped forward and said. Merle turned to him with narrowed eyes. Daryl knew what the former sheriff was doing and was grateful, but he was still angry with him for keeping Merle a secret.

"No, I haven't seen them since the farm." The answer to Rick's question had been obvious, since Carol and Sophia were nowhere to be seen. "Since you all are here, now, I think I'm goin' to go lookin' for them."

"Who the hell is Carol?" Merle growled.

"I think you know who Carol is, Merle," Rick said, looking smug. Daryl wondered what had gone on in the truck as they made their way to the highway. What had Rick told Merle?

"Daryl, fuckin' answer me. Who's C-?"

"Daryl!"

Daryl whipped around just in time to catch a flying blonde girl. Sophia clung to him, her arms barely going all the way around his waist and her face was buried in his stomach. Behind her, Daryl watched Carl, Beth and Glenn approach the rest of the group from the woods to the side of the highway. Maggie immediately rushed to Glenn, Beth ran to her father, sobbing and Carl was greeted by both parents.

"Who the hell is that?" Merle asked, pointing to the girl still clinging to Daryl.

"This is Sophia. Don't you remember her?" Daryl turned to his brother and placed a hand on Sophia's shoulder. "This is Carol's daughter."

"You still haven't told me who the hell Carol is?" Merle's eyes were narrowed to slits.

"She's-"

"Sophia! Daryl!"

Carol came rushing out of the same woods Glenn and company had come out from, but farther down the road. She had to climb over the rail to get onto the pavement. Behind her, a woman with dreads, a sword and two jawless and armless walkers followed.

Once Carol was finished embracing Sophia, she stood up and moved to Daryl. Without a word to Daryl or a glance to Merle, she grabbed Daryl's face and brought it down to kiss him soundly on the lips. Daryl didn't care that they had an audience and kissed her back. It was quite possible that he could have lost her back at the farm, which was something he knew would hit him hard later that night. Right now, he was just relieved she was there.

When the kiss was over, Carol kept her arms wrapped around Daryl and Daryl looked at his brother, who looked frozen in shock. Wrapping an arm around her, he said with pride, "This is Carol."

See, I didn't keep them separated for long, but now, Merle is thrown into the mix.

Thanks for reading!

Chapter Text

Chapter Forty

September  1982

"Who the hell is Carol?"

That was the last question Daryl thought he would hear from his brother, but that was what he's been greeted with when Daryl finally woke up at the sound of Merle returning to their room with breakfast.

"What?" His eyes were only slits as he struggled to open them fully. The night before, their eighth night spent on the road, Daryl had been unable to fall asleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he dreamed of Carol and how she must have looked when she found out he was gone...and not coming back.

"While you were sleepin', you kept callin' out her name." Merle took a seat at the little table in their room and started feasting on their breakfast of powdered donuts and orange juice bought from the  convenience  store down the street.

"I would say you were havin' a wet dream, but you're too young for that." Daryl felt his face heat up. Even though he was only ten, he knew what his brother was talking about. Carol was too good for him to feature in that kind of dream for him.

"So, who is she?" Merle wasn't going to let him get out of not answering him.

"She was my friend," he finally said.

"Oh? You actually had friends at that school of yours?" He barked out a laugh. "We don't have friends, Daryl, if you didn't know. It don't matter know now, anyhow. You're never goin' to see her, again."

Daryl schooled his face into an unreadable mask, but on the inside, he wanted to cry. Dixons never cried. Not when they were beaten and not when they lost their mother to a house fire. But the thought of never seeing Carol, again, would have brought tears to his eyes if he were alone.

Merle stared open mouthed at the woman who had just openly embraced his little brother. Vaguely he remembered her from the quarry. Back then, she had a husband that watched her every move and a daughter that was glued to her side. Merle didn't think she would have survived this long, but obviously she was fighter or she had Daryl there to protect her all the time.

He couldn't believe his brother gotten himself a woman, especially this woman. Carol had a daughter for Christ's sake. No man would willingly saddle himself with a lady that already had a kid. At least no self-respecting one, anyway.

"This is Carol," Daryl beamed proudly as he held the woman close. Carol took one look at him and smiled, a reaction Merle wasn't ready for or expected.

"Merle, you're alive!"

"Course I am!" He snapped and ignored the glare Daryl gave him. "Ain't nothin' can kill me 'cept me. Though, I ain't completely whole, anymore." He shoved the stump of his hand in front of them. It was wrapped in white gauze, the last of what he had, and already yellow puss had oozed through the material.

Carol frowned and Merle smirked. The little lady is disgusted by me, just one more thing I can use to get Daryl to leave, he thought smugly.

"You should get Hershel to look at that." She stepped closer to look it over a bit. "It may be infected. We might have to go on a hunt for some antibiotics or something."

"Ain't got notin' to worry about, lady." He waved her off with his only hand. "It's just a scratch."Daryl threw his brother another icy glare.

"I hate to break up the reunions, but we need to get a move on," Rick broke away from Carl and Lori and announced to the group. They had lost three people at the farm, but had gained two. "We're vulnerable out here. We need to find a place to stay the night and hope we don't run into that herd, again."

"He's right, we need to head out," Daryl agreed. "I'll get the bike from the truck," he said this to Carol. "You and me can ride that while Sophia is in another vehicle. If that's okay?"

Carol was about to answer when Merle stepped between them. "Now, wait a minute. You and me have to have a conversation, baby bro."

"It'll have to wait," Daryl growled, pushing past his brother. "We have to get off this highway." Carol glanced once more at Merle before following Daryl to his truck and helping him get the bike down.

Merle spat on the ground angrily and stalked to Daryl's truck where Randall still cowered in the passenger's seat. Slamming the door shut with a growl, he caught Rick's eye through the windshield and instantly wanted to smash his smug face in.

Carol left Daryl's side to make sure Sophia got into the green Hyundai safely. Carl, Lori and Andrea were already inside and Sophia took the empty seat next to Carl, who briefly took his gaze from the window to give his friend a tiny smile. Things seemed to be looking a little better for the young boy.

"Carol, who is that woman that was with you?" Lori asked with a point of her finger. Carol turned to see the woman with her two walkers near the side of the road. So far, no one had seemed to notice her two 'pets'.

"That's Michonne. She saved my life." Keeping the conversation short, Carol closed the door to the Hyundai and walked over to the dreadlocked woman.

"Would you like to join us?" She asked, not caring that she wasn't considered the 'leader' of the group. Michonne had saved her ass and she'd be damned if Rick were to leave her behind.

The woman's dark eyes scanned the group before they settled on Carol. "It doesn't look like you need me here."

"We could always use an extra person with us and even if we didn't need you, I still would like you to come with. I owe you my life."

"You don't owe me anything. You would have done the same."

"I would."

"Is she coming with us?" Rick startled Carol as he walked up from behind her. "Because if she is, I'm afraid she can't bring her two...buddies."

"Not a problem." In one swift motion, Michonne lopped the heads of the walkers and then, stabbed them through the temple to stop them from moving completely. Rick and Carol stared at her in awe.

"Unfortunately, we don't have much room for all of us and looks like you'll have to hop in the truck with Merle and Randall," Rick said with a slight grimace.

"Sorry," Carol placed a hand on the woman's arm and squeezed.

"It's all right. I can handle them." With a nod at the two of them, Michonne walked towards Daryl's truck where Merle and Randall where. The young kid took one look of the warrior woman coming his way and immediately made room for her, nearly smashing himself against Merle's side, who didn't look happy about that at all.

"We can trust her?" It wasn't a statement and Rick was looking at her intently.

"Yes. She saved my life and she was alone out there. I think she's sick of being on her own." Carol vouched for Michonne. "Plus, we can always use the numbers. With Lori being pregnant, we'll have to prepare for a crying baby."

Rick's eyes widened. "You know about that?"

"A woman knows, Rick."

"Uh...right." He ran a hand through his thick hair. "Do you th-?"

"Yo, Officer Friendly, are we ever goin' to get a move on." Merle slapped the side of Daryl's truck with his good hand to get their attention. Luckily, he hadn't decided to honk the horn. Rick rolled his eyes.

"You need to watch out for him, Carol," he warned.

"You think Merle will hurt me?" She didn't think Merle would lay a hand on her, especially knowing her relationship with his little brother.

"Not physically. He wants to leave this group behind and he wants Daryl to go with him." She gasped. "Daryl won't do it, though. Not without you."

"I won't leave this group."

"I know you won't, but Merle is probably going to try his hardest to get Daryl to and I don't want you to fall for any of his shit, all right?"

"I won't."

"Good." Rick placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed before turning to jog back to the car that held his family. Carol turned to see Daryl straddling Merle's bike and watching them curiously. She gave him a bright smile before joining him on the bike.

"Everything all right?" He asked before starting the engine so he didn't have to yell.

"Yeah. Everything's great." She took her seat on the back of the bike and wrapped her arms around his waist. "This is my first time on a motorcycle, so go easy on a girl, huh?"

Daryl squeezed one of the hands on his abdomen. "You got it."

It wasn't until later that evening when they finally stopped their caravan of vehicles outside a spot of land that had a large stone fence circling it except for a spot in the front. Carol dismounted the bike and kissed Daryl quickly on the cheek before going to check up on Sophia. When Rick climbed from the green Hyundai, tension seemed to be rolling off him in waves and Carol wondered what had transpired between the passengers, mainly Rick and Lori, in that vehicle.

The group, all twelve of them, plus Michonne, Merle and Randall gathered together and waited to hear what they would be doing next. All Rick said was that they would be camping there for the night and walked off. Lori followed him closely.

Daryl went to see if there was anything useful in his truck when Merle grabbed his arm, roughly. "Finally," he said. "I need to fuckin' talk to you."

Daryl wretched his arm away and glared at him. "It can wait. Right now, I'm setting up for the night so we don't all freeze to death."

"You mean so you and Carol don't freeze to death," Merle said, mockingly. "I know who you'll be snuggled up against all night."

"And so what if I am," he challenged. "Are you jealous?"

"Naw, I'm not." Merle smiled, a smile that Daryl instantly didn't like. Without another word, he turned from his brother and stalked to his truck. Several feet away, he witnessed the exchange between Rick and Lori. Rick tried to embrace Lori, but she tore viciously from his grasp and walked away. Daryl sighed and shook his head. He had no time to wonder what the hell was going on with that couple, now and honestly, he didn't really care. As long as it didn't interfere with his relationship with Carol.

A fire was blazing in the middle of the stone wall and some of the group gathered around it for warmth. Rick was on watch, after announcing that he had killed Shane in self-defense and Hershel was on watch, as well, but on the other side of Rick. Merle sat off from the group, but kept his keen eyes focused on all of them, especially Daryl, who was sitting by Carol. Glenn and Maggie sat close together and Randall was sitting not far from them. T-Dog sat on his own, only a few feet from where Carl and Lori were sitting.

Sophia looked up from her spot by the fire to see Beth coming back from where she had been standing next to her father. Sophia got to her feet and went to greet her friend. She wanted to know how she was doing since their flight from the farm.

"Hi, Beth," she greeted with a smile. But Beth fixed her with a cold look, one she had never seen on the blonde's face before.

"Get away from me."

Sophia stood frozen and watched Beth brush past her to get to the fire. Of all the things Beth could have said to her, she never imagined that they would be anything so cruel. What had she done to her friend to make her treat her so?

"Beth?" Sophia called after her friend, but the girl ignored her and went to sit next to Maggie, snuggling close to her side. Her older sister looked slightly annoyed at the intrusion since she had been sitting so close to Glenn, herself.

Sophia felt her lower lip tremble, hurt by the brush off and the cruel words. She looked to her mother and saw how close her and Daryl's heads were bent and decided not to bother her. Carl looked half asleep in his mother's embrace. Sophia didn't know where to go. She just wanted to be held.

"Sophia, honey," a warm voice called to her, her mother. "Come here." Carol must have looked up to see Sophia standing there on own and held open her arms so Sophia could climb into her lap, which she did and buried her head in her mom's shoulder.

"Is something wrong?" Her mother asked, smoothing down her hair.

Sophia shook her head. She didn't want to tell her mom about Beth's cruelty, not yet. She wanted a chance to talk with the girl, again, to figure out what she had done to make Beth so mad at her. Besides, with Merle with them, now, Sophia knew her mother would soon have problems of her own.

"Are you tired?"

This time Sophia nodded her head.

"Okay, let's move closer to the fire." Daryl stood to his feet and helped Carol to hers. Sophia stood on her own. Together, they moved closer to the fire and laid down. Sophia huddled in her mother's arms. Daryl didn't join them, though. Instead, he handed Carol something, his jacket, and went to relieve Hershel from watch duty.

"He'll be back in a few hours," Carol said when she noticed Sophia's eyes following Daryl. Then, she took the jacket and spread it across them. It didn't cover them completely but it helped them stay a little warmer.

"Goodnight, Sophia."

"Goodnight, mom."

Hershel went to join the rest of his family when Daryl took his spot on watch. The air was chill on his bare arms, but he wouldn't take his jacket back. Sophia and Carol needed it more than he did, anyway. But it showed how desperately they needed to go on a run for supplies. They had nothing, not even food for breakfast. Daryl knew he could go hunting, but didn't know how much game he would be able to catch.

Turning his back on the group gathered around the fire, he scanned the inky darkness that surrounded them. So far, they had been lucky and there hadn't been a walker in sight. He hoped his brother was asleep, as well. Daryl didn't want to deal with him at the moment. Actually, he didn't want to deal with him at all. He was glad he was alive and they were together, but he knew if Merle were to have his way, Daryl wouldn't be with this group any longer and he couldn't just leave. Not without Carol or Sophia.

Something moved in the corner of his eye and Daryl swung to face it, bow raised. But it was only Rick, who held up his hands and froze when he saw the weapon shoved in his face.

"Can't be sneaking up on people, man," he growled. "You should have a bolt in the eye, now."

"Sorry," he said. "I just wanted to speak with you for a moment."

Daryl still wasn't happy with the man for keeping information about Merle from him and wondered what else Rick was keeping to himself. "What do you want?"

Rick seemed taken back by the slight hostile tone in Daryl's voice, but opened his mouth to speak, anyway. "I wanted to talk with you about Merle."

His brother was the last thing Daryl wanted to talk about. "What about him?"

"He's dangerous."

"I know," Daryl said. Really, that we nothing new to him. Daryl had known his brother was dangerous since he had been little.

"I don't know if I want him around my wife and child."

"What are you saying?" Daryl squinted his eyes at Rick. "You want him to leave?"

"I know he wants to, so I don't see the problem. Why not just let him?" Rick shrugged.

"Are you really that stupid? He won't leave unless I come with him and that ain't happenin'," he snapped.

"Listen, I know. But-"

"But what? What do you want me to do? The only solution to this problem is if Merle were dead and if," he got up in Rick's face. "You've even thought about killin' him, Officer, I will kill you."

Rick held up his hands, again. "Of course that thought hasn't crossed my mind, Daryl. He's your family." He sighed and ran hand through his hair, looking even more tired and defeated than before. "I guess we'll just see what happens with him being with us."

"I guess," Daryl said and turned away from him, ending the conversation. Now, he was going to use the solitude of watch to calm himself down before he bedded down next to Carol and Sophia. He knew Carol would be able to detect his anger and didn't want her to worry. So, he listened as Rick sighed, again, and walked away before focusing back on the inky darkness and taking deep breaths.

Chapter Text

Chapter Forty-One

The next morning, Daryl woke up warm, despite the chill in the air, and with his arms full of the woman he loved. Lifting his head, he saw that the fire was still going and that everyone was asleep, except for Glenn and Michonne, who were on watch. Sometime after Daryl had bedded down next to Carol and Sophia, the sword-wielding woman had taken Rick's position on watch. Though, no one knew much about the mysterious woman, they didn't object.

Merle was still asleep, which Daryl would take full advantage of. He needed to go out and hunt for some kind of meat, and if his brother were awake, he would have wanted to go with. There would be no telling what he would try to do while they were out there. At this point, Daryl wouldn't put it past Merle to try anything.

"Where are you going?" Carol turned to lie on her back when she felt Daryl move away from her body. The warmth most have been missed immediately.

"Out huntin'," he whispered, not wanting to risk waking up his brother. "I'll be back in a few hours. You and Sophia stay safe, all right." He kissed her quickly and wished he could have said more. Like to remind them to stay away from Merle, but he knew Carol was smart and would give his brother a wide berth. Especially since he had made it clear that Carol was not his favorite person at the moment.

"Be careful out there, okay? And come back to me." She gave him a soft smile and cupped his cheek.

"As long as I'm still breathin', I will." He kissed her, again, unable to resist the softness of her mouth. "I love you."

"I love you, too. Now, go and get us some food, hunter." Playfully, she pushed him away when he tried to kiss her once more. Surprisingly, Sophia had not been roused hearing their chuckles and soft laughter.

Finally, Daryl stood and with light feet, a nod to Glenn as he passed, he slipped quietly into the woods.

Rick had not slept well the night before. His wife had given him the cold shoulder, which literally left him cold. She would not let him touch her, not even to keep warm. She was still upset over the news of Shane, which he could not understand. If he had not killed the man, Shane would have killed him. Had she not understood that?

Climbing to his feet, he groaned as his muscles protested the movement. Everyone else looked to be up except Lori, Carl, Beth and Randall. Daryl was missing, but Rick knew he must have gone out to the woods to hunt, which he was grateful for. Despite their argument the night before, the man was still willing to feed them all.

"Glenn, Michonne, why don't you two get a few hours of sleep. I'm going to need you later to go on a hunt for supplies." The two of them nodded solemnly and went to lie by the fire. Glenn went to where Maggie was sitting and curled up to put his head on her lap.

Michonne went to a spot far from the rest of them, up against the stonewall, and leaned her head back. She still was not comfortable with them all and that was fine with Rick. He needed to get to know the woman more before he allowed her to continue on with them. Carol had vouched for her, but he wanted to make sure she could be trustworthy.

The rest of the camp started to wake up, then. Immediately, Rick took his role as the leader of their group seriously. "Sophia, Beth and Carl, I want you guys to collect some wood and kindling for the fire. Don't venture far from here, though, and stay in our eyesight."

The three of them looked up at him, eyes still blurry with sleep, but they heard the authority in his tone and didn't argue. Slowly, they climbed to their feet. Carl went to walk beside Sophia, while Beth walked right by the two and lead the way. There was something going on between their youngest members, but Rick didn't have the energy to deal with that at the moment. He already had too much on his plate, like keeping the group fed and alive.

"T-Dog and Hershel, I'd like you to take watch, just in case." Hershel nodded and got to his feet to head toward where his youngest daughter had gone off to. He would be making sure to keep a good eye on them.

"When Michonne and Glenn get some more sleep, they will be coming with me and Maggie to do some scavenging for supplies."

"Rick, I don't need to sleep. We can go now." Glenn spoke up from where his head was still on Maggie's lap.

"I can go, now, as well," Michonne spoke up softly.

Rick knew he should argue with them, saying that he wanted them to be awake and alert, but their need for supplies was desperate and he didn't want to waste any more daylight. "All right, gather what you'll need and we'll be on our way."

Lori was glaring at him from where she was sitting and Rick ignored it. He would not give her a job, knowing that she would help Carol with whatever the other woman decided needed to be done. Hopefully, Daryl would return with some meat and they would be able to cook a decent meal.

Michonne, with her sword strapped to her back, was the first to join Rick by the road. Glenn and Maggie followed soon after. To his credit, Glenn looked plenty alert and ready, despite having been on watch for some of the night.

"All right, Glenn and Maggie, you'll scavenge from any vehicles down this way while Michonne and I go the other way. Don't be out there for more than a few hours and don't use your gun unless you absolutely have to." They nodded. Luckily, he would have Michonne's weapon to use.

"We need everything. Food, water, clothes, tents and blankets. Anything you find useful, bring it back here. If you can hot wire a car and bring it back, that would be a good idea. We need to siphon gas, too."

"Got it," Glenn said with a sharp nod of his head.

"Be careful out there." He placed a hand on the young man's shoulder and squeezed.

"You, too."

"What's going on between you and Beth, Sophia?" Carl whispered as they watched Beth walk ahead of them.

"I don't know. Last night, I tried to talk to her and she told me to get away."

"That was mean. What did you do to her?"

Sophia shrugged. "I don't know! All I've been to her is nice. I need to talk with her and get this straightened out, because it's not right. If she's going to be mad at me, she has to at least let me know why she's mad."

"Do you want me to talk to her and see what's going on?"

Sophia looked at her friend sharply. "No! You'd probably take her side on whatever it is because you have a crush on her."

Carl looked hurt and mumbled, "I don't have a crush on her, anymore."

"What? At the farm, she was all you ever talked about. There's no way you can just stop having a crush on her just like that!"

"Well, I did," he protested. "I have a crush on someone else now." Too late, he realized what he had said and his face went red under the sheriff's hat.

"Who?" She asked. The only person he could have a crush on would be... "Oh my God! You went from having a crush on Beth to having a crush on her older sister!" Sophia laughed and covered her mouth so that the sound didn't carry very far.

Sophia walked away from her friend, still laughing softly to herself. Carl stopped walking and looked down at his shoes, ears still red from earlier. "No, I don't have a crush on Maggie," he said to himself. "I have a crush on you."

Beth was bent over picking up sticks about twenty feet from the stonewall. Carl had gone off a little ways to pick his own and Sophia found the opportunity to finally speak with Beth. Alone.

"Beth?" She said as she drew near, but just as she expected, the girl ignored her. It even looked as if she was picking up her pace so she could get out of there.

"You can keep ignoring me, but I'm still going to talk," Sophia said firmly. "I don't know what I did to make you mad at me, but it's not fair that you're treating me this way without at least telling me what I did."

Finally, Beth's head snapped up. Anger flashed in her eyes and she threw her bundle of sticks on the ground. "It's not fair, you say? Do you know what I think isn't fair, Sophia?" The older girl took a step closer to Sophia, eyes still flashing.

"What?"

"It's not fair that your mother disappeared into the woods, by herself and in the dark, to come back out completely unharmed. It's not fair that you have Daryl to protect you and your mom, now!" Beth was practically shouted. "I lost Patricia, I lost my boyfriend, and I lost my home! Nothing bad ever seems to happen to you! That's not fair!"

Sophia had to reign in her anger. How dare she? "You don't think anything bad has happened to me, huh? I lived my whole life with a dad who hurt my mom every day and a few months ago, he started to look at me...weirdly. My mom tried to be strong and hide the pain from me, but I saw it and I heard it, even when she tried to be quiet." Just thinking about it brought tears to Sophia's eyes.

Something in Beth's face flickered. Something like regret, but she didn't back down from Sophia.

"Daryl was her friend from when she was little and they were fortunate to find themselves, now," Sophia continued. "I think, with everything that my mother and I have endured over the last twelve years, we deserve some happiness. Not that you don't deserve it, and I'm sorry you have lost so much in such a short amount of time, but don't you ever say that having my mom with me and having Daryl protect us isn't fair." Sophia spun on her heel and walked away from Beth, leaving the blonde girl to collect the rest of the firewood and to hopefully think about what she had said.

"Sophia, are you all right?"

Sophia had stomped back to the camp and had been spotted by Carol, who had been sitting by Lori and was trying to coax a fire. Carl had returned just seconds before with his armful of kindling and sticks. She took a seat next to her mom and leaned into her side. Lori looked at her curiously.

"It's nothing, mom." She didn't want to say anything to her mom, but knew eventually she would get it out of her. Sophia promised to tell her later when Lori wasn't sitting only inches away.

"How come you didn't bring any sticks with you?"

"Beth said she could get the rest," Sophia lied. At that moment, the young girl appeared with her arms full. She avoided Sophia's eyes as she placed the pile by Lori's feet.

"Here you go, Mrs. Grimes," she said, softly before scurrying away to stand by her father. The older women watched her leave and Lori sighed.

"Poor girl. She's been through so much these past few days."

Carol wrapped an arm around Sophia and pulled her close. "We all have."

Lori agreed with a nod of her head. "We all have," she repeated. "It's about time things started to look up for us, right?" The smile she gave was weak and the words were unconvincing. However, Sophia knew that as long as she had her mom and her mom had her and Daryl, they would be able to get through this.

"Do you plan on sticking around with us?"

Rick and Michonne had just searched through their third vehicle when Rick finally posed the question. Things had been silent between them up until, then, and he couldn't ignore how well and efficient they worked. Michonne had been on her own for some time and knew exactly what to look for when she searched the cars.

"If you'll have me," she said and stood up from where she had been bent in the back of a rusty car.

"We will have you, but you'll have to contribute to the group."

Michonne raised an eyebrow at him as if to ask 'And what exactly am I doing now?'. "I didn't expect anything less." They fell into silence once more and continued to search.

It wasn't until they found a working vehicle that, by some miracle, had a full tank of gas when Rick spoke, again. "So, how long were you out there on your own?"

"Awhile," she answered.

"Were you always on your own?"

"No."

Rick sighed, realizing he wasn't going to get much out of this woman. "What happened to that group?"

Something shifted in Michonne's face, but before Rick could figure out what it was, she turned to the window and away from him. "They're all dead."

Chapter Text

Chapter Forty-Two

Daryl returned to the camp with two squirrels and a rabbit. It wasn't much, but at least it was something. When he walked past the stonewall, nodded a greeting to T-Dog, he saw that some of the members of their group were missing. They were most-likely off gathering supplies...or so he hoped. They had already lost so much in the past few days.

Carol was sitting by Lori and had Sophia leaned against her side. In front of them, a nice fire was going. Carol turned and saw him approach. A large smile spread across his face and when Sophia spotted him, too, she got on her feet and met him halfway.

"I'll take those," she said and grabbed the dead animals from Daryl's hands without even a scrunch of her nose. "I can start skinning them while you talk with my mama." She scampered off and sat by Lori, who looked ready to vomit when she saw the dead animals in the little girl's hand.

"You got a smart girl, there," Daryl said to Carol before pulling her close and kissing her in front of everyone. Ever since Carol had laid one on him the day before in front of everyone, Daryl had said fuck it and didn't care if everyone knew they were together. It wasn't like it would have taken them long to figure out, anyway, since they would be living practically on top of each other, now.

"I'm pretty sure she got it from me." Carol winked and took a step back from Daryl. "So, how was it out there? Did you run into any walkers?"

"Just two. Took care of them quickly. I wish I could have found some more game, though, but with winter comin', it's goin' to be pretty scarce for awhile."

Carol squeezed his bicep. "Well, we're grateful for what you did manage to bring back. We won't be going hungry, tonight." She went up on her tiptoes and kissed him quickly on the mouth. A giggle had the two adults turning around to see Sophia trying her best to skin the squirrel in her hand while trying to hold back a smile. Daryl felt his face heat up, then.

"I'm going to help Sophia with the animals. Why don' t you go talk with your brother? His eyes haven't left you since you walked into camp." Carol looked over his shoulder and Daryl didn't have to turn around to see who she was looking at. He could practically feel Merle's eyes boring holes into his back.

He didn't want to talk to Merle. In fact, he wanted to pretend that Merle wasn't even there. Carol nudged him gently. "Go," she said. "I know you don't want to, but the quicker you have this talk the better." Something flickered in Carol's eyes and if Daryl had blinked, he would have missed it. Was that insecurity? Was she afraid that Merle was going to somehow talk him into leaving the group? Well, he would show her that he was there to stay and that she would never have to fear him leaving. He had already done it once in his life, he would never do it, again.

To reassure Carol that he would be there. Always. He pulled her close and kissed her soundly. This wasn't just a normal kiss, it was a kiss full of promises and he hoped Merle happened to witness it because not even the devil himself could tear him from Carol and the little family he had found with her and Sophia.

Daryl didn't go right away to Merle, who was leaning against one of the walls. Instead, he went off to the side to clean off the three bolts he had used to kill their lunch. He made sure to clean each one thoroughly, taking his time. He could practically feel Merle's annoyance, but he didn't care. If Merle wanted to talk with him, then he would just have to wait until Daryl was ready.

When, finally, his crossbow was spotless, Daryl stood to his feet and took one last look at Carol, who gave him an encouraging smile, he walked over to where Merle was still stewing against the wall. About an hour before, Randall had gotten up and hobbled over to the fire. With his bum leg, he couldn't do much but had gone over to see if he could help the women with the preparation of their meal.

"It's about damn time you stopped makin' love to that bow of yours," Merle grumbled and stood to his feet. The wrap around his stump had more yellow on it than it had the day before. Obviously, Merle hadn't talked with Hershel about it, the stubborn asshole. If he really planned on leaving, how far did he think they would get once he got sick with an infection?

"The bow ain't the one I've been makin' love to," Daryl said back, momentarily surprised at himself. Merle must have felt the same because his eyes widened for a moment before they narrowed back into a glare.

"That's right. You've found yourself a piece of tail while I was gone. A piece of tail with a kid, too."

"So?"

"Well, it's goin' to be a bitch to leave them behind," Merle said as if Daryl had already agreed to leaving with him. "If you pack your shit, now, we can be gone before Officer Friendly comes back. We probably ain't goin' to have another chance like this for awhile."

"I'm not leavin'," Daryl said, firmly.

"What do you mean you aren't leavin'? You know I can't stay here, not with the guy who handcuffed me to a roof." Merle's eyes narrowed. "You're on his side, ain't you? You've become his little bitch."

Daryl struggled to keep his voice down and calm. "I ain't nobody's bitch. Hell, I don't even agree with half the shit Rick's done, but we're all still alive and some of that credit goes to him."

Merle laughed and shook his head. "Fuck, man. The way I see it, they're just usin' you here. Who went out and brought back meat? You. Ain't no one else got off their asses to do that."

"Including you," he snapped. "You can hunt just as well as me."

"With one hand?"

"And with a blindfold if you wanted to."

"You always gave me too much credit for shit," Merle chuckled. With those words, Daryl knew his older brother was right. Growing up, he had always known that Merle could do anything. He could keep them fed, clothed and with a roof over their heads. Back then, Daryl didn't know exactly how he was getting those things.

Many times they would have to leave wherever they were staying because Merle crossed the wrong person.

"Look, if we leave, now, I'll hunt and I'll find us a place that we can be safe. How about that?" Merle was fighting a losing battle.

"I ain't leavin'."

"Why not?"

"Because I love her! God dammit, Merle, I'm in love with Carol and I ain't leavin' her and Sophia behind!" The words were nearly shouted and Daryl felt the silence almost tangibly on his back, but he didn't turn around.

"You can leave, if you're set on it. But I'm not."

"What's so special about this Carol any-" Merle stopped and it looked as if a light bulb had gone off in his head. "Ohhh. She's that Carol. The one you was havin' them dreams about." Merle smirked and Daryl felt his face flush red. When he was ten, he hadn't dreamed about Carol like that, but just with Merle implying it made him embarrassed.

"I suppose I understand now. What did y'all do when you was kids, then? You were too young to start fuckin', so it ain't like she got a magical pussy or anything like that. Wait," he paused for a second. "Maybe that's why you're stayin' now."

"It ain't like that." Daryl couldn't and wouldn't tell Merle about the days he and Carol had spent together when they were young. Those memories were only for him and Carol. He wasn't willing to share them with anyone. Especially Merle, who would most likely turn it into some cheap thing.

"Well, then what is it like?"

Daryl wasn't going to answer that, either. He was done speaking with Merle. Just the few minutes they had been talking had mentally exhausted Daryl. "It isn't any of your business." He turned his back to Merle. "If you're goin' leave, then this is goodbye and if you don't, then all I have to say is that you're goin' to have to play nice with everyone." Without another word, Daryl strode away and went to sit by Carol. He needed to be near her to calm down a bit.

Rick and Michonne pulled up to the camp with their car just as Glenn and Maggie returned with their arms full. They had been unable to bring back everything they had found because many of the car they had scavenged from didn't have gas or wouldn't start. They offered to go back and get the rest once they deposited everything in the new car, but Rick told them that they needed to rest and eat, first.

Despite Glenn's earlier protests about not needing sleep, the moment he sat down to Maggie, his eyes nearly slid shut.

Once they were finished eating, everyone with the exception of the four that had gone out on the run and Merle, went to the car Michonne and Rick had brought back, and took out blankets and sleeping bags. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough for everyone, but with the nights growing colder it was better to double up, anyway.

Though they had a little time before it grew dark, everyone began to settle down as if it was time for bed. Daryl came back to Carol and Sophia with a sleeping bag in one hand and a blanket in another.

"You and Sophia can share while I take the blanket."

"The blanket won't even cover half of you," Carol snorted. "It's perfect for Sophia. You and I can share and Sophia can stay close to me for added warmth. Unless," she turned to her daughter. "you want to share a sleeping bag with Beth."

"No," she quickly said. "I don't. I want to stay near you guys, tonight."

Carol have her an odd look. "There's something going on between you and Beth, isn't there? When you two got wood this morning, you seemed off. Do you want to talk about it?"

Sophia shrugged and looked down. Daryl stepped in. "Did she say somethin' to you? Somethin' mean?" Since he had found Sophia in the woods, he had felt a protection for her. Even if Carol hadn't been his, he would have still felt the same about the little girl and if someone was being mean to her, he would put an end to it. Quickly.

"No, she didn't." Something in the way she said it, made Daryl believe otherwise.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Carol placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "I'm here."

She looked unsure for a moment, battling within herself if she should speak or not. Finally, she opened her mouth. "Okay. But you have to promise not to say anything to her. I already did." Daryl and Carol nodded and Carol ushered them somewhere away from everyone.

"What did she say?" Carol asked once they were settled. Sophia looked unsure, again, and looked between Daryl and Carol.

"She said it wasn't that fair that you went into the woods alone and came out alive and she said that it wasn't fair that we have Daryl to protect us, now. She doesn't think anything bad ever happens to me and she got mad at me for it."

"That little-"

"Daryl," Carol cut him off and turned to her daughter. "You know she has no right to be angry, don't you? Life can be unfair sometimes and it wasn't fair that she was taking out her anger on you."

"I know and I told her so. She had no right to tell me those things," Sophia said. "At first, I was upset that she was mad at me, but now, I'm at her. So, I don't want to go near her at the moment."

"That's fine, honey. Maybe she'll realize what she said and apologize for it."

"She better," Daryl grumbled, earning him a look from Carol.

Once everyone decided where they would be sleeping, Rick called them all over to the fire. Even Merle made his way over, though he still kept his distance.

"I would like to discuss our next step," he said. "I realize that the other day I came off as a dictator, but in order for all of us to survive, we need to work together." His gaze went immediately to Merle, who scoffed and looked away.

"The first thing we need to do is find shelter," Hershel said. "We're exposed out here and with winter coming, we're going to need to find somewhere we can stay at least a little warm."

"But do we just wander from house to house or should we look for somewhere permanent?" Rick asked, opening it up for everyone to have a say. "Shane suggested Fort Benning. Should we head there?"

"Fort Benning has gone to shit," Merle spoke up, surprising everyone. "The group Randall and I were in drove past there, hoping for shelter ourselves, and saw that it was overrun."

"Shit," Rick muttered and placed his face in his hands. They had been so close to going to Fort Benning, too. They could have all been killed.

"I may know a place," Randall spoke up. "Dave and Tony talked about it while we were on that run." He was talking about the run where Rick had killed Dave and Tony and Randall had gotten a spike through his leg.

"What is it?"

"A place called Terminus. Awhile ago, we came across a sign for it. It said 'Sanctuary for all'. We didn't get a chance to check it out ourselves, but it sounds like it would be a good place to stay."

Rick looked around at their group. "Did anyone else think of a place to go?" When no one answered, he looked at Randall. "Do you think you can show us one of these signs?"

Randall nodded.

"Of course, we'll have to check the place out before we settle there, to make sure it's safe. Does anyone have any objections?"

No one said a word.

"All right. Terminus it is."

To Be Continued...