Before The War

A/N: Hello lovelies! I've been thinking about this for a while, and decided to make a nice little one-shot. It does contain spoilers about all of season 3, including the upcoming episode, but if you are on tumblr, you've probably seen the preview. Anyway. Hope you enjoy!

"We're going to war." War. Carol had a strong feeling that this would happen sooner or later. Being honest with herself, she never thought the negotiation would work. She glanced over at Daryl, who nodded to his brother before walking away. Eventually, everyone cleared the room except for her and Hershel.
"What do you think about going to war?" Carol walked over to the older man, still holding onto the rifle strap.
"Being honest, I think we should try our luck on the road. I hate to say it, but I'm not too confident that all of us will survive. Remember what Andrea said? It is clear they have more people than we do. I don't want to risk my daughter's lives over something we can avoid." Hershel had given her a very resonable answer. She understood. She didn't want to lose anyone in this group, but there was one person in particular that she didn't want to lose.
"I agree with you Hershel. We should try our luck out there, even though this place is secure, that doesn't mean it's safe from The Governor. Sadly you and me, we're outnumbered. Everyone else wants to fight, so if we must, than it's what I'll do. I will do anything to protect our family." Carol placed a hand on his shoulder, and then walked away.

Carol could hear Merle coming down the steps. "Are you with us?" She asked.
"Sure." Sure? That wasn't good enough for her.
"I don't mean occupying the same space." Carol turned around to look at him. "Are you with us?"
"I'm here for my brother." Merle leaned on the railing.
"Well Daryl is here for us." Carol said quietly. "It's time to pick a damn side." She saw him grin. "You're either with us, or you're out. Daryl is with us because we're his family. Just because you are his blood, doesn't make you family." Carol stood up and walked over to the stairs. "So, are you going to fight with us?"
"I guess we'll wait and see." Merle smirked, and walked away. Carol sighed in frustration. She couldn't think about Merle right now, she had something to do.

Daryl was sitting on the bed in one of the cells near his perch. He was sharpening his knife when he heard footsteps. He looked up and saw Carol walk in. He didn't greet her, and just looked back down.
Carol sat on the chair beside the bed. "Your brother." She said quietly, and he looked up.
"What 'bout him?" Daryl asked.
"I don't know if he's willing to fight with us. He's only here because of you." Carol looked down at her hands.
"I know." Daryl growled. "But he'll fight with us. No way he'd go back to The Governor."
"I hope you're right." Carol looked up at the ceiling. "What do you think, about going to war?" She looked back at him. She could see in his eyes that he was worried, just like she was.
"We gotta protect what's ours. 'Sides, I want the son of a bitch dead." Daryl looked up at her. There was no way he would let The Governor get away with almost killing them. Not a chance in hell.
"I know we do." Carol sighed. "I just don't want anyone else to die. We've lost so many already."
"If we don't do anythin' we'll keep losin' more."
Carol nodded. They sat in silence for a while. Carol was thinking. She almost lost Daryl when he went off with his brother. She understood his decision, but that didn't mean she wasn't hurting. She was glad when he came back. Now, she might lose Daryl again during this war. She couldn't even begin to think about what life would be like without him around. He was the reason she had become so strong. He was the reason she was still alive today.
"You alright?" Carol snapped out of her thoughts. She hadn't noticed Daryl got up from the bed and was beside her. She also hadn't noticed the few tears that rolled down her cheeks. She quickly wiped them away.
"Yeah, fine." She gave him a small smile. "Just a little scared."
Daryl looked down at the ground. "You ain't the only one." He said so quietly, that if he wasn't right beside her, she wouldn't have heard him.
"It's okay to be scared." She placed a hand on his shoulder. She knew Daryl never liked to talk about his feelings. "We just have to be strong. You taught me that." She smiled when Daryl looked up at her.
"Guess I did." Daryl gave her the smallest smile. He was completely caught off guard when Carol gently pressed her lips against his. He felt her arms wrap around him. Part of him wanted to run far away from her, and the other part of him wanted to kiss her back. His heart was racing as he slid his arms around her. He kissed her back with everything he had. Her lips were so soft against his. Daryl didn't know what made her do this, but he was certainly glad she did, because for the longest time, he wanted to, but never got the courage. After a few moments of pure bliss, Carol finally backed away from him, but their faces were still inches apart. She gave him a small smile.
"Sorry." She said quietly, but the smile was still on her face. "I didn't want to go to war without doing that first."
"Don't gotta be sorry." Daryl smiled back at her. Carol let out a small giggle, and pecked his lips.
"Good, because I wasn't actually sorry." She winked, and stood up. She looked back at him, and then walked away.
Daryl smiled to himself, and went back to sharpening his knife. He had new motivation to win this war. He needed to stay alive, because he still had unfinished buisness with Carol.

A/N: Unfinished buisness, if you know what I mean. I hope you enjoyed the short little one-shot. R&R lovelies!