Author's note: This is the start of yet another story and this one is a Caryl story again! I really can't decide which pairing is my favorite from the walking dead, but this one is definitely up there. The one will be another AU. I just finished my other story, it's called Breaking Free. I recommend reading it if you haven't yet, I'm really proud of it! I hope you enjoy and leave me a review if you have time!

Disclaimer: I wish that I got to own this amazing awesomeness, but I don't so too bad.

Month 1

Carol clenched her teeth together while cooking breakfast for Ed. They had had a really rough night last night and she was still hurting all over. Probably bleeding a bit to, and now cooking this bacon she felt like she was just going to throw up. Ed had been in a bad mood all week, and it was like the man she had married just 18 months previously to this wasn't even here anymore. He had been so caring before, and such a tender heart, until one day he had come home angry and he had stayed angry since then.

Then he had started getting rougher in bed and started leaving bruises on her body while they were at it. Then she hadn't wanted to one day and he had gone ahead anyway, she had cried the whole time but he didn't even take any care to it. He had become a man that she didn't even know anymore, a shadow of the man she had once loved. He hadn't even cared when she said her stomach was upset this morning, when they were dating he would have rushed her to the hospital at any chance of their being something wrong. He had been so caring.

Carol looked down at the eggs and bacon in her pan in front of her, and she set it down on the table for Ed before running out towards the bathroom and promptly throwing her guts up. This had been happening for the last few weeks now and she was starting to think that she was going to have to pick up a pregnancy test, or go to the doctor; but she couldn't afford the doctors because Ed had insisted that she didn't work and now days didn't approve of giving her any money at all. Like he suddenly thought if she had more the twenty dollars of cash on her, she would bolt for it. Of course, Carol wasn't exactly sure that she wouldn't at this rate.

If this sickness was really what she thought it was, then she needed to think about getting away from him as soon as possible. At one time, she would have loved having kids, now it just seemed like a death sentence. This home was now not safe for a child and Ed wouldn't be a good father, not in the state he was in right now. He was dangerous at best and she wouldn't put it past him to simply try to hurt the baby or her in attempt to get it to stop crying. This place seemed dangerous for her now days and a baby would simply be doomed.

Carol stayed in the washroom until after Ed had left for work; she hadn't had the strength to god and face him at that moment. Though, as soon as he was gone, she became a woman on a mission, pull up the few bills she had stuffed at the back of shoebox in the closet and made sure to grab a coat for herself on the way out. It wasn't really cold yet, a beautiful late August day, but she liked to be prepared for anything. She hadn't been able to save much, just a few dollars here and there when grocery shopping, but she needed to do this and was afraid if she told Ed, he'd just get angry and beat the baby out of her. That thought alone made her stomach turn was again.

Her outside walk stopped at the small corner store at the end of her street, it wasn't really a high end place and attracted all kinds of people because it had a bar just a five minute walk away. It happened to be Ed's favorite bar as well, being only twenty minutes from their house. Still, this store was close to her house and she could walk there without probably, going to any other place would take her much longer and she really didn't feel like walking for a long time today. She headed into the store and stared at the pregnancy tests on the shelf, there were about ten different kinds and she had no sweet clue which one to get. She picked up the simplest looking one she saw and decided that that one would be good enough. They all did the same thing anyway.

The cashier eyeballed her while she was making her purchase and she couldn't decide if he was one of Ed's friends or not. She hoped not, because if he was it would cause some trouble. Carol just smiled at him sweetly and tried not to think about what Ed would do if he found out she was doing this. Perhaps he wouldn't' stop and take her life.

She was so worried about the cashier knowing Ed that she didn't even bother looking where she was going while leaving the store, and walked straight into a hard stomach. She dropped her bag and the only thing that kept her from completely wiping out was that hard stomach was quick and was able to wrap his hand around the small of her back and balance her. She made a quiet squeaking noise as it happened and turned red as well. The man who she had run into wore a frown, with pair of ripped jeans and a dirty plaid shirt that had its sleeves ripped off. He looked angry but still made sure that she had her balance before he let her go and even picked up her bag. Or she should say up the test and put it back into the bag it had fallen out of before handing it back to her.

"Ya should be more careful woman, you gonna 'ave an accident 'fore ya even sure that ya got one in the oven?" That sentence made her flinch, but for some reason she wanted to believe that she didn't he meant it in a mean way. Carol bit her lip before answering in a quiet whisper. "I'm sorry; I wasn't looking where I was going."

The man seemed to only frown more at her as she spoke. "Ya don't have to apologize ta someone like me lady." He answered. "I'm sorry, I'm just so glad I didn't fall." Carol was crying now, and certainly wished she could stop. She wasn't usually a cry baby, but for some reason she was suddenly so worried that this child might be hurt because of her. She wanted this child to be safe and know that no matter what, she would love it.

"Shit. Look lady, ya don't gotta cry, nothing bad'll happen on my watch. 'ere give me the bag back and I'll walk you home." The man was somewhat panicking now that she was crying, Carol could only guess that he just wasn't good with emotions. Probably didn't have to deal with a crying woman more than once in his life. Carol nodded her head to him, crying so hard that she wasn't able to speak. He took the bag back from her and let her grab onto his hand and walk with him down the street. Carol couldn't help but think it was really nice of this total stranger to do something like this for her when not even her husband would these days.

She stopped at the end of her drive way and looked back at the man for a second before taking back her bag and whispering a small, "Thank you, can I ask your name?" He just looked at her and even seemed to have a distant look on his face. She wished she could know what he was thinking, but not knowing was one of those things in life that people always wished they could do. "Names Daryl." He answered, and looked around their surroundings, "You should get back inside. Sure ya got many things ta do."

He was referring to taking the test and for some reason Carol really wanted to speak more to him before they parted ways and never saw each other again. "I have a husband." She spoke and Daryl nodded his head after she stopped for a few minutes, he didn't seem to mind talking right now. "He was so nice when we got married, but lately he's only been harsh and angry. It's like he isn't even the same person any more, and I always wanted children but now I'm not sure if I want to have to bring someone into this. Especially someone as innocent as a baby."

Daryl's eyes said he wasn't judging her as she spoke and it brought a weight off her chest to be able to tell someone this. "Thank you for everything today Daryl, I hope I see you around again." With that she turned and walked back into her house, not stopping or looking back at Daryl, but she could tell that he watched her until she closed the door. It was as if this total stranger cared.

She went to the bathroom to take the test.