His eyes studied her sleeping figure, huddled under that ancient, thin blanket he had picked up earlier in the day. Daryl sat idly by her on the hard floor of the boxcar they occupied, intently studying the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. Moonlight washed through the grime covered windows in the boxcar, and showered her face in its light. She was perfect, to him. Everything about her was just, perfect. Her flaws, oddly, were what he cherished most about this woman. The way the worries of the previous day seemed to fade, but never completely disappear as she crawled deeper into sleep. How she stood at a measly 5'1, the stubbornness that seemed etched into her personality, carefully woven between her impeccable smile, and the way she would tease him.

It was in the afternoon, as the sun had reached its highest peak in the Georgia sky, and was beginning to climb down again, when he found her. Well, them. Tyreese, Mika, Lizzie, and Carol. His heart had about stopped when his eyes fell upon her, and had sweeped her body as he had combed for any sign of injuries, and finally, in what seemed like weeks since he had last seen Carol, was he able to breathe right again.

The small group and Daryl had made their way back to a train station, decided to spend the night there, deeming it a decent place for protection. It had a weak gate around it, and there weren't many walkers nearby anyway . Ever since, Daryl was having more trouble than usual ripping his eyes away from her.

Beth had been bit in the previous days, gone without a trace now. Daryl had been saddened, as it seemed everything was being stolen from him, everything snatched away, and now Beth, the girl he saw as a sister, someone he needed to lookout for was dead. And the feeling that he had failed, failed again, failed to find Sophia, failed to keep Carol safe, failed to keep the prison safe. Failure. It had occurred to him more than once that this was all some sick, twisted joke god, or nature or some shit like that was playing on him. Hell, he'd never been a believer anyway. But then, Rick came back without her. His woman. His person. And that was it, he was done blaming something like a higher power on the world going to shit, on people being taken from him, he wanted her back. Daryl needed Carol back.

And then she had appeared, and when he had seen her petite figure, standing next to Tyreese, gun in one hand, and the other which rested on Lizzie's head, and he had about forgot everything that he had, in his mind, failed to do. Daryl hadn't bothered fighting the grin that had surfaced his lips as he took her in, not that he would have won that war anyway.

He had refused to leave her side since.

"No." Her voice snapped him out of his reverie, Daryl's eyes instantly snapping over to Carol. She lay, asleep still, though worry poisoned her expression, her usual velvet sounding voice masked by a sleepy tone that sounded somewhat, distraught.

"No, Ed, no!" She mumbled, and then, Daryl knew. Carol's husband, the man that had beat her senseless, day after day. If he hadn't died at the quarry, Daryl would have slowly dug an arrow through that damned man's forehead. Carol tossed in her sleep, the nightmare that had plagued her dreams causing her to turn.

Daryl, who sat cross-legged, only a few feet from her reached out, not thinking before he did as his fingers trailed her forehead. Carol instantly snapped awake at the touch, her blue eyes wide with something that seemed like fear, though it faded as she realized it was Daryl. The cold air around her licked her skin, nipping and forcing a reluctant shudder. Daryl pulled his hand back, startled by her sudden movements, how quickly she was jerked from the thick haze of sleep, and pulled into the harsh world in which they lived. She stared at him, seemingly understanding what had happened, knowing that Daryl had sat beside her, and knowing that she was having nightmares about Ed again. There weren't many nights Carol had real dreams, usually she didn't dream at all, but when she did, they were about him. Ed. Or Sophia, the daughter that had been ripped away from her grasp. Daryl gazed back at her, their blue eyes meeting the others. Silence filled the air between them for a while, Daryl's gaze dropping to the ground. Just as Carol was about to turn and go back to sleep, tired, and even from waking so quickly, still felt the warm embrace of sleep urging her to close her eyes once more.

But Daryl, instinctively, almost, reached out and caught her shoulder lightly. He gulped, taking in a breath of chilly air. "You know, I ain't gonna let anyone hurt you." Daryl said gruffly. "Ever." He muttered, chewing nervously on his cuticle. "Never gonna let anyone touch you wrong." Carol watched him, her eyes meeting his once again. She gave him a warming smile. "I know." She responded quietly. "Just a dream." She then assured him.

Daryl struggled to keep a smile from his lips now. He didn't smile often, though when he did, it was always because of Carol. She was genuinely, the only one who could make him smile, just the mere thought of being near her made him want to smile. He loved when she smiled, and found himself eager to put one on her face every opportunity he got. A warmth flooded through his body. Her smiles, honestly, reminded him of sunshine and warm days, and if she was all he had in this cruel, insane world they lived in, he would be more than okay that.

She was his everything.

Carol looked at him a moment more, before reaching out, extending her hand towards him. He stared at it for a while, not fully processing what she wanted him to do. Nervously, to say the least, Daryl took it, her fingers lacing through his. He wanted to stay in this moment, just sit and stay, and much to Daryl's pleasure, Carol closed her eyes again, hoping to drift into sleep for a few more hours before the sun came up.

He watched her, every time his gaze swept her face, it would linger on her lips for a few moments, just as it always did, before almost painfully tearing his gaze away. He continued to do this, his glance flickering down to look at her soft hand, intertwined with his rough, calloused one, every few minutes. He felt a smile tug at his lips. Carol was on the verge of sleep, Daryl who thought she was already well asleep opened his mouth again to speak. "Cause you're mine." He spoke slowly, quietly. This was his woman, the woman he wanted to kiss all over, to hold in his arms, even if it was the most awkward experience he had ever had. This was the woman he wanted to feel her lips on his, the woman he wanted to hold for the rest of his life, even after that, and she was his. Carol, was the woman he loved, in the most loving way humanly possible. 'like a damn romance novel' His own words rang in his head, and then he realized, with Carol, he didn't care if they were a romance novel, just as long as he had her, as long as she was his, and he was hers.

"Cause, cause….Cause I fuckin' love you, dammit." He said, still gazing at her. The woman he thought was asleep, slowly turned and looked up at him, all blue eyes gazing up at him, and that smile he loved so much, appeared on the lips he was so desperate to kiss. "I love you too, pookie." `