I don't own any of this, I wish I did, but sadly I just made up the story line. This one gets a bit graphic so you've been warned. Enjoy, and review, please!

Everyone watched as Rick walked off. They were all scared and Carol wasn't for sure if it was because of the walkers and cold or Rick, Carol knew that she was scared but more of Rick then the walkers. She wasn't afraid to die anymore, not since Sophia had died. Now part of her wanted to die, to be with her daughter in a better place and where she wouldn't have to worry about being torn apart and ate. But the other part of her of her wanted to keep living, to keep going, to keep fighting. Not just because she was scared to opt it out, but because of Daryl. He has given her strength, strength to keep fighting, strength to keep going. He's the only reason why she was still here today, still fighting and trying her damn best to keep going. If it wasn't for him, the day that Sophia walked out of that barn would have been Carol's death, she would of died that day, would of let her own once living daughter kill her, but he saved her, not Rick or Shane, or even Dale. No, it was Daryl who had made the move to reach out and catch her, and who held her while she watched her little girl be put down right in front of her. That was Daryl. A good man. A man of honor.

Carol sighed as she looked at the now dying fire, she could see her little girl in the flames, looking at her with those big blue eyes and with that soft sweet smile that she always gave. It almost seemed like it was real, that her daughter was still alive and standing there smiling at her, but that was only a dream. Her Sophia was dead and gone, yet in a better place.

Daryl watched as Rick stalked off, blaming them for him killing Shane. That was all on Rick, yeah Shane was crazy, and yeah he had threatened most of all of them and he scared them but hell, he wasn't nothing that Daryl couldn't handle. All of Daryl's life he been put through hell, he was beat, cussed and even stabbed. Shane wasn't nothing compared to Daryl and Merle's pa', he could hit you once and it would cause ya' not being able to move for a whole week. Shane was hard headed but a fucking pussy, he didn't have the balls to put up a good fight.

Daryl watched the others, everyone was now asleep somewhat, which left him and T-Dog up. T-Dog was on watch and Daryl was only up cause he didn't feel the need to sleep, not with them being out in the open when another herd could blow through. Daryl then moved his focus over to Carol's lying form, he wasn't sure why he was constantly watching her, he felt protective of her, he knew that but why? He's never felt like protecting someone, he's never even cared about anyone but himself. He wasn't a good men, he couldn't protect her and threat her like she deserves, he's already failed her once. Yeah, he worried about her, he even cared about her more than anything else, but he'd never admit it. He cared about what happened to Sophia, he searched every single day for that little girl, got an arrow to the side and a bullet to the head in the fucking process, but all he wanted was to find that little girl and put her back in her mamas arms and watch as Carol smiled again. That's all he wanted and yet he failed, failed Merle, failed that little girl, and failed Carol. Which caused him a pain inside his chest, it killed him the day that Sophia walked out of that barn, it pained him to see the hurt and failure inside Carol's eyes, all this time that little girl was inside that barn. The whole fucking time!

Daryl looked at Carol again and watched as she shivered, knowing that it was getting colder out, and it was beginning to turn winter, which meant less game and colder days. They needed a place inside, where at least where they could be shielded away from the cold air and whatever else that winter was to bring at them.

Daryl signed as he stood up and walked over to Carol's sleeping form, she looked so peaceful, almost as if the world never changed, that the world they new before was still here and that her little girl was safe and sound. "what the hell Daryl? Stop going soft!" Daryl groaned at that thought, he was defiantly going soft, Merle would kick his teeth in if he saw this, Daryl looked down once more watching as she shivered again. "DAMNIT!" he cursed silently and then he began pulling off his jacket, he gently laid it on top of her and watched as she pulled the jacket closer toward her body, he then picked up his crossbow and glanced over at T-Dog who stood on top of the stone wall glaring at him with a small grin on his face, Daryl gave him the Dixon stare before stalking off into the woods.

The sun was beginning to rise, which meant everyone would be awake soon and heading out to scavenge for supplies and maybe find some shelter. Though Carol wouldn't get her hopes up, was any place safe now? They thought the farm would have been, but their lucky ran out.

Carol was the first up, she signed as she sat up and rubbed at her eyes. She looked down as she felt something touch her leg, she gasps. Daryl's jacket. She looked around noticing him lying further away from everyone, "when did he..." she stopped herself as she stood up, she nodded toward Hershel to who was now on watch. She walked over to Daryl and laid the jacket on him. He needed it more than her anyways, they couldn't lose him, they needed him. She needed him.

Carol signed again and headed to go talk with Hershel, who was she kidding, Daryl wouldn't want her. "your damn right! That redneck don't want your ugly old ass. You can't make anyone happy! Can't even keep our daughter safe! You fucking bitch! You deserve to die!" Ed's words screamed loud and clear inside Carol's head, he was right. She couldn't do anything right, let her own daughter get lost. Ed was dead and gone, but yet his ghost still lingered inside her head.

"you alright?" Carol looked up at Hershel. He was a good guy, decent, honest, and he was very protective of his daughters. "Carol?" she looked at him and tried giving him a small smile. "yeah...I'm fine." she watched him as he nodded. "so...seen anything?"

Hershel looked back out into the field, "nope, seen only one walker, but it didn't see us. Kept on walking. It surprises me that there aren't many around us." Hershel looked back at Carol.

Carol nodded, you would think that the herd that hit the farm could of found its way here, or that other walkers would be close by. "yeah." she then pulled her sweater closer around her body, it was just starting to turn morning and yet the cold air was still up and about.

Hershel moved his focus toward the ground, "Carol, I'm sorry about what happened to your little girl. I had no idea that she was in there, Otis...Otis put those people in there."

Carol nodded filling tears start to build up, every time she thought about her little girl, she seemed to cry. "it's okay, I believe you. I know you didn't know." she paused glancing over at Maggie and Beth who were both sound asleep. "I'm sorry about your wife and your step son and all of your neighbors and friends." she felt bad for Hershel, he had lost more than her that day. Even if they were all dead and been dead for a while, Hershel didn't believe that. He believed that there would be a cure, that they could be saved. But then Shane had murdered them all. Hershel had lost so much that day, and yet he still is with them.

Hershel looked toward Carol and then at his daughters. "all we have is each other. I have both of my daughters, which I'm thankful for. Then I have y'all. We have to count on each other now, were all in this together now."

Carol nodded turning her head and looking at Daryl's sleeping form, she singed and looked back at Hershel. "don't give up." Carol looked at Hershel confused, "don't give up on him, he'll come around. He's just scared, he doesn't look the type to have had anyone to fight for him before." Carol then looked down "it's just so hard sometimes, I mean..."

Hershel looked at her, he could tell that the redneck meant a lot to her. He didn't know the story behind them, or even if there was one, but he could see that they cared for each other in more ways then most people. Hershel didn't know much about the redneck, only that his name was Daryl, Daryl Dixon and that his brother was named Merle. Though, according to Rick and the others, Merle wasn't as calm as Daryl, which Daryl wasn't always calm either. A least until that little girl went missing. Hershel could tell that Daryl and Carol had had became close, and she seemed to ring out the better side of the man. Hershel has watched as the man pushed Carol away, he could tell that the redneck wasn't use to comfort, hell he reminded Hershel of himself. When Hershel was young his father never paid him with comfort, it took him forever to learn to let someone in, but he did and now he has two wonderful daughters. "Carol, I reckon he's never had comfort, it's all new to him and it scares him." Hershel paused lifting Carols chin so that she was looking him in the eye. "trust me, he will realize what you mean to him."

Carol nodded slowly wiping away the the stray tear that had fallen. She wanted to believe that she meant something to Daryl, but she just couldn't pull herself to believe that. "Hershel, do you honestly believe that?" she watched as he looked toward the sky, "Carol, I'm not blind he cares for you. More than you realize, but I don't think he's ever had comfort before in his life. He cares for you, just like you care for him."

Carol looked at Hershel, "it's just that...he's did so much for me, and my little girl." she paused choking back the sob that threatened to spill "he's did more for her than her own daddy ever did in his whole life, just by searching for her."

Hershel nodded, he could tell that she was abused by her husband, even if he never got to meet him, which was a good thing. Hershel saw both Daryl and Carol as equal, they were both damage and they both needed each other. "Daryl's a good man, I don't know him well, but I can see it. Just like Glenn's a good guy for Maggie."

Carol laughed a small laugh, "yeah, Glenn's amazing and Daryl is great, even if he doesn't realize it himself."

Hershel patted Carol on the back gently, "yes he is, and you already proved it to him." Hershel looked toward the others who were slowly starting to rise, the sun was up higher now, shedding light across the sky, the trees and the fields. The birds were up and singing, the morning air was just beginning to turn warmer. He looked toward Carol who was staring up into the sky. "guess it's time."

Carol laughed and nodded. "guess so."

TWD-TWD-TWD

Everyone huddled around the dead fire, awaiting for the plans of the day. Everyone was starved and thirsty and tired. When Rick finally approached he looked tire, worn out and weak. Daryl signed, hell they all looked like that.

"okay, we need to pair up. We will e heading out to scavenge whatever we can fine, try and find a safe place." Rick paused looking toward everyone "we need food, medicine and weapons. Anyone disagree?"

"what about when we find something? How will we let the others know?" Carl had asked, had to give the boy pros though, Daryl thought.

"we will all meet back at the same spot, and we will share what we find." Rick patted Carl on the head and then looked toward Daryl, "sound good to you?"

Daryl nodded toward Rick, "sounds good enough."

Rick nodded, "everyone pair up and lets head out." Rick looked toward Lori and Carl then, "y'all two are with me."

Daryl watched as everyone paired up, leaving him, Carol and T-Dog.

Before Daryl walked off he looked at T-Dog, "the women rides with me, I ain't riding with any guy on the bike."

"this is gonna be a great day." Daryl thought as he got on the bike, he was okay being paired up with Carol, but not so much with T-Dog. T-Dog was okay, but hell Daryl was better off alone. He signed as he looked toward Carol, "come one! We ain't got all day!"

T-Dog had gone with one of the other groups, so they drove out a ways while she clung to him, he was warm and comforting against the chill of the morning air and the fear that they wouldn't find anything, that they'd die out here torn apart like animals.

She wasn't afraid to die, but she didn't want to be eaten, she didn't want to die screaming and alone, to be honest if she had to die she wanted to go like Dale, with the only people left in the world that she cared about, and Daryl ending her suffering.

"I'm gonna see if that damn thing has gas." Daryl's voice broke her out of her morbid thoughts, she nodded.

"What can I do?" She asked, she knew she was more of a burden on him then a helpful partner, he did so well on his own, she was just slowing him down.

"Search the car, I don't wanna sit here any longer then we gotta." He told her parking his bike and turning it off so as not to draw in walkers. She let go of his waist reluctantly, shivering at the sudden cold on her front.

She looked over at the car it looked to be in pretty good condition considering, the people who'd been driving it had wired a big old deer guard to the front even. She looked through the windows to make sure there were no walkers in there, the passengers side window was broken, but otherwise it looked clean.

Daryl pulled a little gas can out of his saddle bag and a bit of hose and started to siphon gas, apparently it had some. Carol opened the door and started digging through the car. It was actually a pretty good find. She found a first aid kit, with a travel sized bottle of aspirin, sanitizer, peroxide, antibiotics, nitro pills, anticoagulant, coagulant, oxicodone, and sleeping pills, along with the basic first aid stuff, she set it on the seat and kept looking, she found two syringes full of adrenaline, and bottles of medicine she didn't recognize, this guy had been a veritable pharmacy.

The only other thing in the glove box was a lighter and a really old looking iron, the kind you heat up by hand. She turned to the back seat and pulled a duffel bag up into her lap. It had clothes, a tooth brush, toothpaste, which she opened and rubbed across her teeth, thrilled by the minty taste.

There were two bars of motel soap that she put in her pocket, and a handful of those little shampoos, a straight razor, and a buck knife. She pulled out some of the clothes to make room for the first aid kit and closed it back up, She went back to looking through the back seat, there was a compound bow with a dozen arrows, she didn't know how to use it, but she'd bet Daryl did, so she pulled them up to the front seat.

Other then that it was all blankets and food wrappers, she did find one unopened snickers that she took happily. She popped the trunk and moved the spoils to the drivers seat before she got out breaking the snickers in half.

"Are you hungry?" She asked, he had kinked the hose, and capped his little gas tank, and seemed to be waiting for her.

"None of us have eaten in a whole day, what do you think?" He asked looking up at her, she held out the bigger half of the Snickers to him, he took it with a laugh.

"Well hell, haven't had one of these in a while. You wanna hold this while I grab the bike there's more gas, and that thing's full?" He asked before he took a bite of his candy, it was hard for him not to smile at the good fortune they'd stumbled onto.

"Sure." She said wrapping her half back up and putting it in her pocket, her hand brushed his when she took it, and her heart skipped like a school girl. She shook her head slightly, it had been a long time since she felt like this, it was ridiculous out her at the end of the world.

Daryl ate the rest of his candy with a gusto, then regretted it, wishing he had savored it, but didn't dwell. He put the bike in neutral and walked it over, taking the hose from Carol, he deliberately wrapped his rough hand around the top of hers.

She was so soft, but she was cold, and he felt bad wearing his jacket while she shivered, he thought about giving her his jacket, but he didn't think she'd take it. He put the hose in his gas tank and let it siphon off the rest of the gas.

"What else you find?" He asked hoping it would include something he could have her wear to keep warm.

"Um, a lot actually, they must have been running, a doctor or something, they had lots of medicine and stuff, clothes, a straight razor, a knife, a bow, some soap and stuff, blankets, clothes." She told him, he left his bike for a minute and grabbed a long sleeve flannel that she'd pulled out of the bag. He handed it to her.

"Good, here, put this on you're no good to me if you freeze to death out here, check the trunk, I'll keep an eye on this." He told her, she pulled on the coat he'd given her with a small smile and went around to check the trunk.