Late at night around the bonfire, everyone took turns discussing foods that they missed. The food Carol missed the most was s'mores. Making them was one of Sophia's favorite things to do. He was lost in her eyes as he watched them from across the fire as she was speaking of the happy times with her daughter when she was still alive. He would have given anything to give her more time with Sophia.
Daryl was out hunting one morning and was sent off course by a large group of walkers coming his way. He found himself in a small campground that their group had never been to. He hoped no one else had been there looking for supplies. The lodge was sure to have batteries and some rope. Both the front was barricaded, but the back door was unlocked.
Daryl couldn't believe his luck. The whole building was untouched. There was a section with toys, a section with fishing supplies, and best of all, a whole shelf devoted to makings s'mores that was fully stocked. He grabbed just enough to make her some of the treats tonight and planned to return the next day with one of the pickups and someone to help load all of this stuff up. Maybe he'd even bring her back here with him. She didn't go on runs much anymore and would like a change of scenery.
He had the first watch shift of the night. The clouds were blocking the moon and stars which made it pretty dark outside. He didn't hear or see anything for a few hours. After a while, he was disturbed by the sound of a door creaking open behind him. He smiled at sound of her footsteps.
She walked over to where he sat by the glowing embers that remained and curled up at his side. He took the blanket she had with her and wrapped it around her. He loved these moments, when the others were sleeping and they didn't feel the need to hide their relationship. They just enjoyed their privacy.
"T-Dog woke me up with his snoring again," she volunteered. She loved the man dearly, but he sounded like a yeti when he snored. She wouldn't admit it to him, but she couldn't sleep when he wasn't near. Because of that, she would often visit Daryl on watch just to be near him. If he knew the real reason why, he didn't say anything about it.
"Lucky for you everyone else is still sleeping to the sounds of Chewbacca. I've got a surprise for you," Daryl said. He broke a branch off of the tree he had been sitting against and asked Carol to hold onto it. He walked over to his bike and dug something out of the saddlebags.
"Close your eyes," he requested. He slid a few marshmallows onto the branch. It felt like Christmas morning to him, just the anticipation of her reaction.
"Open 'em," he whispered.
"Oh my god, Daryl Dixon, where did you find all of this?" she asked.
She was so excited she looked like she just received a shiny new bike from Santa. He wished he could give her more to smile about. She deserved to smile more he thought.
Daryl held out the graham crackers and chocolate for her so she could put together her s'more. She took a big bite and her eyes went wide.
"You'll regret this soon, Dixon," Carol said with a smile. "Have you forgotten what sugar rush is?"
The sounds Carol made as she tried to speak with a mouthful let him know just how much she appreciated him bringing everything back. He didn't see it as anything extraordinary to do something special for her when she did so much for everyone else. She insisted he try a bite, but he refused. This was all for her and he was determined to sit back and watch her enjoy her s'mores.