It was a few months after the former residents of Woodbury had integrated into the group. Along with them, several other survivors had been brought in by the likes of Rick, Daryl and Michonne. The prison was bustling with activity every day. The yard was filled with the laughter of children and the camaraderie of new found bonds.

Carol looked around the courtyard as she stood at the outdoor makeshift kitchen Rick and Glenn had fashioned together. It consisted of two large propane grills, which enabled Carol and others that helped with the kitchen duties to prepare hot meals to the large group of residents. There were several groups sitting around the tables nearby, enjoying the venison stew she had put together from the large deer Daryl had brought back from his hunting trip, along with some of the vegetables from Rick's garden.

Rick sat with Carl and was precariously bouncing Judith on his left knee while he tried to eat and entertain his bubbly baby girl at the same time. Carol broke out into a wide smile at the sight. He was having a heck of a time and Carl had his nose deep in a comic book, oblivious to his father's plight. Carol handed over the ladle to one of the other ladies as she quickly walked over to Rick, scooping the baby up into her arms and gave her a big kiss on her rosy cheek. Rick shot her a grateful look and began to devour his lukewarm food.

"Thank you for rescuing me. She can be quite the handful, especially when I am trying to eat." Rick said between mouthfuls. "Anytime, Rick. Anyways, she just wants her daddy's full attention. She is queen of your world. Get used to it." Carol chuckled as she lifted Judith over her head, the baby letting out a loud giggle. Rick and Carol had become closer over the past few months. She and Beth were the main caretakers of Judith and Carol spent a lot of time keeping Rick apprised of the goings on of the Council, the leadership of the prison headed up by herself, Glenn, Hershel, Sasha and Daryl.

Daryl. The hunter who had been so close to Carol for so long had come such a long way. Currently, he was gone with Michonne on another search for the Governor. He had been absent from the prison quite a bit, chasing after the Governor, hunting and supervising the runs for the group. His absence was keenly felt by Carol, she missed him a great deal, but her bond with Rick had grown ten fold in his absence. It helped ease her longing for his companionship. Rick was a great friend, they talked about their lives before the walkers, their kids, simple things like favorite movies and TV shows. They realized they had both been obsessed with the X-Files, and talked about their love of everything Mulder and Scully all the time. They had a great debate the other day on the X-Files movies. Carol had hated them, thought they cheapened the show, Rick had loved the movies, and he saw them multiple times at the theaters and had the DVD's.

Rick scooted over closer to Carl and patted the bench next to him. "Sit a spell. I feel like I haven't seen you all day." He said. "That's because you haven't. You have been elbows deep in the garden all morning. I thought you and I had a hot date with a baby and a bathtub. Wasn't I supposed to help you give Judith a bath?" Carol responded with a smirk. "I know. I got distracted by plants. By the time I made it back Beth had Judith bathed and ready. I know you were reading Jane Austen with some of the girls, so I figured I'd see you now at lunch." Rick ducked his head a little as he added, "You know I'd come and find you, I… I mean Judith and I love our Carol time." Carol felt a deep warmth spread throughout her body from Rick's words. They had come so far from the fall of the farm. Carol had her doubts for so long about his capability to lead, but now she couldn't imagine her life without him at the forefront of it. She was so grateful he was working through all his demons. Although, she would have preferred he be on the Council also, she understood his need to step back for the time being and be a parent for both the baby and Carl. She would have given anything to be able to step back herself and be a mom to Sophia. But that dream died over a year ago, on a rural Georgia farm miles away. Carol felt the familiar bubble of grief and she steeled herself for a moment and pushed it back down. She pulled Judith close to her and bent her head down and inhaled the sweet scent of baby wash and powder that emanated from the freshly washed little girl. Her scent, along with the heat that came off of Rick's body as his arm barely brushed her own, kept her from the momentary lapse into sorrow. When she looked up, she froze as the intensity of Rick's gaze burned into her. The warmth she had felt turned into an all out burn, pooling deep in her gut. She swallowed hard, but kept her icy blue eyes locked onto his. It seemed like a thousand words passed between them all at once, without a word spoken aloud.

This was not the first time they had looked at each other like that. It was happening with much more frequency, especially after the night Rick came into her cell with a portable, battery operated DVD player and the second (and in Carol's opinion, worst) X-Files movie. He also had a box of half melted snow caps they shared between them as they sat side by side, pressed against each other in her small bunk. The movie was as awful as Carol remembered it, but having him so close for 2 hours was a wonderful feeling. As the movie ended, they shared a charged moment. It was so quiet and dark and Carol swore he started leaning towards her until they heard Judith fussing from Carl and Rick's cell. He had abruptly got up and walked out and they never spoke of it. Especially since Daryl arrived back at the prison the next morning, gifting Carol with a new quilt set for her bunk, seed packets for Rick, a couple of anime novels for Carl and not one, not two, but three stuffed animals for Judith.

Carol snapped back to the present when she heard hollers from the front gate. Daryl and Michonne were back. Rick and Carol tore their gazes away from each other as Rick and Carl quickly stood up. Carl took off to go meet them. He had formed a very close bond with the swordswoman. She and Carl had their own comic book club and often could be found out in the makeshift stable area, brushing her horse, Flame. Rick hesitated in following Carl, looking back again at Carol as she sat, holding Judith as the baby nuzzled against her neck, worn out from all her earlier activities. "Go." Carol said in a low voice. "I'll take her back to your room and lay her down. She tuckered herself out." "You don't want to go meet them?" Rick asked, his brow furrowing. "I'm sure we'll find each other later. I want to get her inside where it's a little cooler. Go get the skinny and report back to me." Carol raised one eyebrow and smiled, getting up from her seat and began heading towards the door to the inside of the building.

Truth be told, Carol was glad for the excuse to not go meet Daryl right away. They had not been as close as they used to be. His constant trips with Michonne had produced an ache in Carol's heart that she was hesitant to acknowledge. Just as Carol and Daryl shared a connection of shared pain, Daryl and Michonne shared a connection of their lost loved ones. Combined with Michonne's similar strengths and commonalities with Daryl, Carol felt like a shrinking violet and figured it was only a matter of time before the two alphas became something more, if they hadn't already. Carol was certain that Daryl loved her, she just was certain it was a more familial love. Although he spent most of his time at the prison with her, either eating meals, sharing watches, coming to watch her at storytime with the kids, ending his nights sitting in her cell, cleaning his crossbow while she either read, sewed or performed some other mundane task. She figured it was because he thought she had no one else, that she was lonely. She was. She had been… that is, until she and Rick began spending more and more time together. The loneliness and ache she felt when Daryl was gone lessened more and more. She wasn't sure what it was that was happening between her and the former sheriff, but it was something she didn't want to stop. It made her feel guilty to face Daryl, and she scoffed at her ridiculousness. There was nothing between her and Daryl to feel guilty about, she scolded herself, as she stepped into the dimly lit cell block, the door closing with a thud, blocking out the sun, the noise and the view of the two men near the front gate.