I just came back from a working trip and even though I have a couple of FF to update, I wanted to start writing this. I want to thank Starbuck777 for giving me this idea. Even though I love reading non-AU stories, this one is an AU, like most of my FF, just because I feel more comfortable writing Carol and Daryl in AU territory. I try to keep them In Character as much as I can though. I have some things planned out for this one but I'm not 100% sure where is it going yet. All I know is Carol's relationship with Ed will play a big part in this one, so it might turn a little dark at times. I hope you like the first one anyway and reviews are always nice and encouraging! :)

Have the best of weekends!

S.-

Daryl let out a deep breath. Fewer things he hated more than going to the grocery store, or any store for that matter, and watch people walk away from him and give him odd looks. Apparently in this fucking city no one had to get his hands dirty for a living and they seemed to think guys like him were only allowed to spend their time working on their roofs. Otherwise, it was better to think they didn't exist.

He shrugged and shoved his dirty hands in his pockets, figuring he'd at least make it quick. He thought about getting the hell out of the place and just ordering a pizza, but the truth was it wasn't only food he was needing. That he could provide himself, but his… house, if it could ever be called that, was screaming for him to clean it and he couldn't recall the last time he'd threw bleach or some shit like that in the bathroom. He couldn't say he gave a fuck, because he'd be lying. He couldn't say it didn't feel nice walking inside a clean, tidy house that smelt like flowers and all that shit, like most houses he worked in were like, but sometimes he just found no reason to do it, not when all that shit hole was was a place to lay down and get a few hours of sleep whenever he got back from work or from a hunting trip, or from the local bar; whenever he chose not to just grab the tent and sleep in the woods, which felt much nicer than his own place if he had to be honest.

So there he was standing in front of zillions of different cleaning products, each one with a specific label that made the task of grabbing the first one he ran into much more complicated. He sighed, his eyes travelling along the shelves in search for an universal one or something, and then he felt something hit him on one side. He was ready to curse and tell whoever decided to attack him with the shopping cart to fuck off, when he turned around and saw a tiny woman, who looked even smaller behind all the food and stuff that filled her cart.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I wasn't looking", the woman mumbled, her cheeks instantly turning red. Daryl looked at her up and down, pretty sure he had never seen the woman before, something about the way she was dressing making him curious. She looked almost like she belonged to a different time, with some sort of gray old lady skirt that went past below her knees, and a loose long sleeved light blue blouse. Her face features, though, were soft and delicate, and showed she couldn't be older than 40. He shook his head, attempting to stop staring, and fixed his eyes on her bright blue for a second.

"'s alrite", he growled, focusing back on the cleaning products in front of him. He saw her mirror him out of the corner of his eye, the sudden company making him uncomfortable.

"There's so many of them. And they claim to be all different when they all do the same", he heard her comment in a tired voice, probably more to herself than to him. Her words, though, made him chuckle, and if he'd been any more chatty he'd probably said he agreed, but he grabbed one instead, without even looking what the hell it was, and kept on walking down the cleaning corridor. He turned around, though, to give one last look to the strange woman who was still standing there, her hand on her chin, probably thinking about which product to take. She suddenly turned her head and gave him some sort of small smile. He frowned. This was probably part of the normal interaction in the supermarket, because people, everyone but him, always seemed to need to fill silence with random conversation. Well, at least she hadn't started to walk faster or given him some creepy look like other people did. That must have been what caught his attention to begin with.

Once he decided he'd spent enough time in the supermarket, even though he'd barely gotten everything he needed, he quickly walked to the cash register. They were all pretty full for a Sunday morning and he cursed and headed to the emptier one. Right before he got there, he saw the same woman who'd been talking to him position herself right ahead. Fuck his life. He couldn't believe it. She'd bought so many things it'd have been smart to use two carts, and now he'd have to wait forever to get the hell out of there. Surprisingly, she turned her head to look at him.

"Go ahead, I've got plenty of things", she told him, motioning with her hands for him to walk past her.

He watched her for a second, considering her offer, but for some reason he shook his head.

"'s alrite. Got no hurry", he murmured, and she gave him a confused look.

"You sure?" she insisted.

He just nodded and brought his thumb to his mouth, lifting his eyes to reassure her it was alright.

She was almost finished when he saw her bring her hands to her head.

"Oh my god! I'm sorry..", she said suddenly,

"Excuse me?" the cashier said.

"I just.. I forgot to pick something up, something very important… I'm so sorry, I can't believe I just forgot. Do you mind? It won't take me more than 10 seconds, I promise", she explained, her eyes drifting from the woman to Daryl.

"No big deal. Jus' huh, jus' go ahead", Daryl told her. He saw the young woman in the cash register laugh a little and give him a conspirational look, which he ignored. Maybe it'd have bothered him coming from anyone else, from fuckers who thought they could just make him wait because he was a damn redneck… but this woman, she seemed oblivious to his appearence, to his last name, and it made him feel strangely comfortable, like if they knew each other, although, once more, he was positive he'd never seen her before.

And when she finally got back, which actually didn't take her long, Daryl had to supress a laugh at the sight. Her arms were wrapped around two 12- packs of canned beer like her life depended on it. She certainly didn't look much like a drinker, but who was he to judge, he thought as he lifted his brows at her questioningly, but she just smiled nervously and started to pack her things.

5 minutes later he was inside his truck and ready to get the hell out of town straight to his place, which was far away and pretty near the woods, probably the only good thing about it. He started his truck and drove in a particularly good mood, thinking of the roasted chicken he was going to cook as soon as he got there. He drove a few blocks, his eyes covered by his sun glasses to avoid the summer Georgia sun, when something caught his attention. Something that had been catching his attention the whole damn morning actually.

"ya gotta be fuckin' kiddin' me", he said to himself as he slowed down, his eyes fixed on the small woman walking on the sidewalk, all her efforts apparently focused on carrying those 6 huge bags along, something Daryl was sure she wouldn't succeed in. He saw her drop half the bags to the floor with a frustrated expression, and he just couldn't help it.

"Ya ok over there?" he yelled from the truck, leaning his body over the window.

She jumped a little at the sudden sound, and turned her body to look at him.

"I'm fine", was all she said, benting down to pick up the bags.

He chuckled and stopped the car. Unless she lived right at the end of the street, there was no way she could be fine. Hell, he probably couldn't have carried those bags himself.

"Ain't look like it. Why dontcha jus' take a cab?" he asked her, lifting his sunglasses up.

"got no money for a cab", she told him, her arms tangling in a nest to keep the bags from falling again, which covered half her face so he could barely see her.

"Ya tellin' me ya bought all kind of shit back there yet ya ain't got money for a cab?" he asked curiously, his lips curling in a little smirk.

"Yes", she said simply.

"C'mon", he said, gesturing with his head for her to walk over. "I can give ya a ride, where ya live?"

"I said I'm fine!" she yelled back, and started to walk a few steps.

Daryl sighed. He didn't know much about this woman, but he could already say she was stubborn as hell. And he didn't know what drove him to help her either, probably just the sight of her having trouble and urge to take those things to wherever she was heading. Either way he got outside the track and walked to her.

"Jus' lemme help ya", he said, his voice coming out softly.

Her blue eyes narrowed as she stared at him, but she finally nodded and handed him one of the bags.

"It's fine, realy. I appreciate it though", she said once more, a soft smile playing on her lips as her eyes flicked all over his face.

They silently got inside the car, and Daryl was surprised by the fact she wasn't talking at all. Usually that was his role, being the silent one whoever he happened to be with.

"Ya never said where ya goin'.. kinda need ta know", he said after having driven for two minutes straight down the town's main road.

"Doesn't matter. Wherever you can leave me is closer than I was", she told him, and he snorted loudly.

"Ya makin' no damn sense ya know? I could turn right or left.. hell I could drive this road fer an hour or jus'take tha highway… how can any road lead ya closer? Ya got nowhere ta go?" he asked, amused, thinking this woman was by far the hardest person to figure out he'd ever met.

"About a mile down this road. You just leave me there. I'm going less than two blocks far from there", she commented, her voice calm and kind of absent.

"Well, alrite", he said, defeated, his fingers tapping the steering wheel a little impatiently.

"What's your name?" she asked all of a sudden, turning her head to look at him for the first time ever since they'd gotten inside the truck.

"Daryl".

"Daryl…", she repeated, staring at him. "I'm Carol".

"So ya throwin' a beer party today? Ya acted like it was a damn life or death issue, forgettin' yer beer cans", he said, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. He wasn't one to ask so many questions but this woman was really bringing his curiosity up, and he felt the need to ask or say anything that might lead him to figure out more things about her.

"Believe me. It is.", she stated, her voice turning slightly somber. He turned his head and gave him a confused look.

"I'm walking from here", she added, and he just stopped the car, deciding he wouldn't push the conversation or insist any further. He looked around and spotted a dirt road that seemed to lead to a neighborhood, probably where she lived. It occured to him then it made sense she didn't want him to drive him straight to her house. She didn't know him, after all.

"Ya sure ya gonna be alrite?" he couldn't help but ask her. And he wasn't just asking about her carrying all those bags on her own. He felt there was something else. Maybe it was her eyes. Maybe they were kind of sad.

"Thank you, Daryl" she said, avoiding his question but smiling at him reassuringly, as if she could sense somehow his unspoken impressions about her. She opened the door, taking a minute to grab all her bags, and gave him one last look before closing it behind her quickly.

She stood next to the road and waved at him, and he got the feeling she didn't want him to watch the direction she was going. He started the car, scratching his chin as he drove, unable to stop thinking about this woman and their weird encounter.