This one shot covers a manner of sins. Daryl's absence from the prison as he hunts down the Governor with Michonne, Carl's friendship with Sophia, prison life, the Daryl I want to see and most importantly, how I envision Carol came to call Daryl Pookie.

I think we all need a little bit of fluff given the last two weeks. I'm really angry about the events of the last two episodes. This was an attempt to alleviate the pain.

I don't own TWD and I don't own Garfield. But you already knew that.

"Look Carol!" Carl's hands shook with excitement as he barreled over to her and dropped a stack of old newspapers in her lap. "Comics!"

Carol smiled at Maggie, excusing herself from their conversation as she glanced down at the yellowed pile of newsprint in front of her. Somewhere in the prison, Carl had managed to find what looked like months upon months of newspapers, all turned to the comics section. "So I see. That's a great find Carl."

"Yup-p," Carl grinned back, annunciating the 'p' with a pop. He plopped down next to the group's matriarch, leaning into her side as she leant over to ruffle his hair. "Just wait til I show Michonne when she gets back, she's going to love them!"

"She will," Carol agreed as she flipped absentmindedly through the pages. Carl's best friend had been something of a sore spot to Carol recently. The katana wielding woman had left the prison five weeks earlier in search of the Governor, Daryl at her side. Carol had no claim to the red neck, that she knew. But it didn't change the fact that she missed her best friend terribly and was desperate for him to return. They had been due back the week prior and the worry festering in the pit of her stomach was growing by the day. Shaking her head, she told herself to leave it be. Daryl and Michonne would return when the circumstance allowed and when they were ready. She had no right to begrudge the pair anything. "Why don't you take them down to Michonne's cell so you can surprise her when she gets back?"

Carl studied Carol, seeing her smile fault slightly when he had mentioned Michonne. He might have only been fourteen years old but he knew that Carol missed Daryl when he was gone. He had heard his Dad and Michonne when they said had said goodbye, watched as his father had given the warrior woman a tight hug, wishing her well. He had seen Daryl fidgeting nervously as Carol handed him parcels to load into the saddle bags of Merle's Triumph, snickered to himself as Carol launched herself up on her toes to brush her lips gently against Daryl's cheek. He'd seen Daryl bring the woman to his chest in an awkward one armed embrace, telling her something that made her cast her eyes to the floor with a brief nod. As Rick stepped back he clapped a hand to Daryl's shoulder, disturbing the moment as the red neck dropped his arm from Carol's shoulders so fast it was as if he'd been burned. Carl had kept watching, unseen, as Michonne indicated to Daryl that it was time to leave, nodding a farewell to both Carol and Rick as she climbed upon the bike riding bitch. As they roared down to the gate, he'd seen Carol glance morosely at Rick as the pair headed toward him and he turned on his heel and he ran before he was found to be spying. "I thought you might want to look at them too. It's Garfield."

Surprised, Carol dropped the paper she had been looking at. "I'm not really into comics sweetie. But thank you for thinking of me."

"I thought..." Carl's voice was scratchy as he looked up at her beneath lowered lashes. "Sophia told me once that Garfield was her favourite comic. She said that on the weekends you would make pancakes and you would read her Garfield. I thought... I thought that maybe we could look at them together. You know, for Sophia."

Carol's heart skipped a beat as her breath caught in her throat. Sophia. Carl was right. Her beautiful baby girl had always loved Garfield, ever since she'd been a little girl. Sophia loved all animals, but she had a special affinity for cats. When her baby was just five years old, they had taken a special trip to the cinemas to see the lasagna loving feline. It had been a lovely day, Ed having been out of town on business at the time. After the film Carol had taken Sophia for ice cream and to the park. It was a memory she held dear, especially now her little girl had passed. "You're right. She did love Garfield. Did she tell you that we once had a kitten? Sophia found her in the park one day, cowering under a bush. The poor thing was half starved and shivering, so Sophia picked her up and tucked her in her coat to bring her home. We named her Arlene, after Garfield's girlfriend."

"What colour was she?" Carl asked curiously, fingering one of the comic strips on the floor. Carol smiled, lowering herself out of her chair to sit down beside the boy. "Sophia never told me she had a pet. My mom never let me have any. I wanted a dog but she said she was allergic."

"He," Carol corrected gently, hiding a smile. Lori was many things, but allergic to dogs was not one of them. "Sophia was certain that Arlene was a girl. We took her to the vet to make sure that she was okay and the vet told us that Arlene was actually a boy. We were so embarrassed. The vet said it happened all the time and not to worry. I told Sophia that Arlene might prefer a more manly name but she was adamant that we kept calling him Arlene in case he got confused. He was a beautiful little kitty, a silver tabby with green eyes. He followed Sophia everywhere."

"That's funny," Carl laughed. A haunted look suddenly appeared in his eyes as he remembered his lost friend. "Sophia always wanted to be right. No matter what, she never could be wrong. Mom said that I should just let Sophia have her way. She said that a woman was always right." He shrugged. "It was easier arguing with her."

"She got her stubbornness from her Daddy, I'm afraid. Ed wasn't a very nice man but he was a proud man. Sophia learned from an early age that she needed to stand up for herself." Carol added wistfully, taking the small boys hand in her own. "I remember the day she came home from school and Arlene had gone missing. She was devastated. We searched for weeks and found nothing. Hopefully he found another nice family to take care of him."

Carl squeezed Carol's hand. He hated to see her upset. He knew that she missed Sophia a lot, just like her did. Just like he missed his mom. "Carol?"

"Yes Carl?"

"I miss Sophia."

Her heart clenched again, tears starting to dot her vision. She bent down and dropped a kiss on Carl's forehead. "I know honey," she whispered brokenly. "I miss her too."

The pair sat in a comfortable silence as it began to rain outside, a chill sweeping through the concrete cell block. Carl unconsciously shuffled closer to Carol, curling into her side as they listened to the wind howl in the yard. It worked to quiet the moans outside, providing welcome relief from the calls of the dead. They stayed there cuddled on the floor as the others pottered around in their cells, Rick's voice echoing down the hall as he spoke baby talk to Judith, cooing as she babbled back at him senselessly. Down the way Herschel sat with Beth and Sasha while Glenn, Tyrese and Maggie patrolled outside.

"She had a teddy bear named Pookie."

"Pookie?"

"Pookie," Carol confirmed wryly. Sifting through the papers she pulled one from the stack and pointed out the brown teddy bear Garfield was hauling through the comic frame by frame. "She got him for her sixth birthday. Pookie was brown, just like the bear in the comics and he had pink pads on his paws. The only thing she loved more than Arlene, even more so after he ran away, was Pookie. No one was to touch her teddy bear. Just like Garfield in the comics, she was super protective of him. I went into her room after school one day to find her with a pair of scissors in her hands, Pookie in the other."

"What was she doing?" Carl asked incredulously. "I thought you said she loved Pookie!"

"She did. Pookie meant more to her than anything in this entire world. When I asked her when she was doing, she told me she had to cut out one of his eyes." Pointing to the paper again she proffered it to Carl, who squinted to see it more clearly in the dim light. "Garlfield's Pookie was missing an eye, so obviously Sophia's Pookie had to be missing one too."

He was aghast. "She cut out his eye?"

"Oh yes. Sophia took it all very seriously. Pookie had to be authentic."

Silence settled over them again as Carl started to read the comic strips, pointing out bits he found funny, declaring Nermal, the small grey tabby to be his favourite character. Sasha passed them on her way back to the kitchen, draping a blanket around each of their shoulders and leaving them with a kerosene lantern so that they could see. Carol smiled at the young women in thanks, moving it closer to Carl to protect his eyesight. He was growing up so fast. She knew the others were worried that he was maturing too quickly, leaving his childhood behind. He had lost his mother in horrifying circumstances, he had shot a young boy in cold blood. He had shocked her today, when he had thought of her feelings before his own and she was grateful. When Daryl was on the road, she tended to isolate herself from the group, tucking away the pieces of a lonely woman she didn't want them to see. She was stronger now than she had been at the quarry. Even more so than she had been at the farm. She didn't need anyone's pity. All she needed was a little compassion and she had found it in her daughter's best friend and a stack of damp papers. Idly, she brushed Carl's hair out of his eyes and wondered where Pookie was now. When they had rushed to leave the house at the world's end, Sophia had been distraught, unable to find her constant companion. But she too, had thrived without her bear. Until she'd disappeared into the woods, never to return.

Carl giggled at something he found particularly amusing, pulling her from her thoughts. "Carol? Who was your favourite?"

She opened her mouth to answer, only to be cut off by a commotion at the blocks entry. The ball of worry in Carol's belly tightened and she exhaled loudly, body wrought with tension. Two figures shuffled in from outside, their arrival met with excited shouts and greetings. Carl scrambled to his feet and sprinted down the path.

"Daryl! Michonne!"

Carl threw his arms around Michonne's waist as the woman laughed, sliding her arms around the young boys shoulders. Daryl shot her a half-smile, knowing she too was excited to see Carl again. It was something she had talked about a lot, when she bothered to speak at all. "Hey kiddo. Miss me?"

He stood back and grabbed his chin thoughtfully, pretending to consider her question. "Nah. Me and Carol were doing just fine without you two."

Michonne raised an eyebrow in Daryl's direction at Carl's remark as the red neck toweled his hair dry, dripping all over the floor in the process. If he had heard the remark, he had nothing to say about it. Hearing her name Carol stepped forward, pushing a set of clean clothes in their direction. Michonne barely acknowledged the parcel as Daryl managed to snatch his clothes without even meeting Carol's eyes.

"Well in that case," Michonne drawled. "We might as well leave again tomorrow. Carol will make sure you stay outta trouble, right?

The colour drained from Carl's face. "I didn't mean it like that," he grumbled. "You don't have to go. Please don't go away again."

Rick stepped in, handing Judith off to Maggie who had entered inside with the new arrivals. "How about we let Daryl and Michonne dry off? See if we can't rustle them up something to eat? No one is going anywhere tonight or tomorrow. That rain has set in."

The crowd dispersed, Carol finding herself drifting back to their nest on the floor, picking up the papers and depositing them in Michonne's cell. Lost in thoughts of Sophia, she wandered down to her own cell, slipping a worn flannel over her shirt in an attempt to warm up. She slipped under the covers of her bunk, deciding to forego dinner in favour of some time alone. Thunder crashed outside as the rain continued to pour and she shivered, missing her baby as she thought about Carl's question.

She had never really liked Garfield. Garfield reminded her of Ed. He was slovenly, eating and sleeping his days away as cats are known to do and he picked on Odie mercilessly. She favoured Arlene and Nermal for different reasons, citing Sophia's affection for the first and the fact Nermal was 'the world's cutest kitten' for the latter. She supposed her favourite was Pookie. That little bear had brought Sophia so much happiness. She wished that Sophia could have brought Ed the same level of happiness Pookie had brought to Garlfield but that wasn't to be. Pookie represented her daughter's innocence, her compassion and her beautiful nature. He represented a constant companion, a selfless devotion and a memory that was now nothing but a dream. Pookie had been Sophia's first real love.

"Ya 'doin okay?"

Carol sat up, rubbing her eyes blearily against the light outside. Daryl stood before her, lantern in one hand, a plate full of food in the other. "I'm fine, thank you."

Many minutes passed as he wearily scratched his cheek, unsettled by the sudden itchiness of his beard. It had been a long time since he'd so been clean. It was going to take some getting used too. Sighing, he stepped into the cell and dropped the curtain she had up for privacy behind him. "Come I come in?"

"Okay."

"Brought ya some dinner. Ya need to eat." Daryl dropped the plate of food onto the desk Carol used as a dresser and placed the lantern beside it. Carol turned her back to him and curled up under her blanket, ignoring his presence. Uncomfortable with her actions he shifted awkwardly on his feet, unsure of how to proceed. "Sorry we weren't back sooner. Didn't mean for ya to worry." Carol shifted on the mattress, giving no indication she had heard a word he said. "Carol? Ya wake?"

The bunk squeaked something awful as she gave an indignant sigh and rolled back over to face him. "I'm awake. And I worry every time someone goes out those gates, not just because it was you who was gone."

Taking the fact she was talking to him as a good sign, he walked forward and gingerly lowered himself to the bed. "So you worried bout 'Chonne too?"

She stiffened slightly. That was a low blow. "She can take care of herself."

His voice was barely a whisper. "So can you."

Carol sat up suddenly, opening her mouth to speak before she was cut off by the sound of Glenn and Maggie giggling as they walked to their cell. She swung her feet to the floor, maneuvering her body so that she was flush beside Daryl, their shoulders touching. He bumped her shoulder with his own and she smiled his half-smile back at him. Their legs touched as she swung her feet back and forward, trying to warm them in the frigid cold.

"Are you going out again?"

"No." Daryl didn't hesitate, answering her immediately. "'Chonne might. Think I'm needed here." He turned to meet her, lifting her chin so that he could properly read her face. "Sick of chasing ghosts. Want 'ta be close to home 'case something happens."

"Good."

He was so close she could feel his breath spill across her cheek. His free hand moved to her right arm, massaging it lightly. Her eyes fluttered closed as he inched forward slowly, wetting his lips with his tongue. She stilled, feeling the air around them tighten somewhat, the atmosphere in the tiny cell electric. Still wet from the shower and the rain outside, his hair dripped on to her sheets and tiny droplets ran down the front of her shirt on to her stomach, making her shiver. Leaning forward completely he nuzzled her nose, trying to calm her. Trying to make sure she was okay, to express his concern for her in the only way he knew how. Her mind automatically flashed to Sophia and her bear, reconciling the same qualities of their relationship to the one she had with Daryl. The companionship, the devotion, the promise of a growing love that would stand the test of time. Sensing her distraction Daryl closed his eyes and swept his lips across hers in a kiss so chaste she wasn't even certain it at happened. He leant in to try again only to be interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat at the door. Carol's eyes shot open and Daryl growled under his breath.

"Carol?"

Daryl dropped the hand caressing Carol's cheek into his lap, still grasping her other arm. Carol glanced at him questioningly before drawing her eyes to the doorway. "Hi honey. Is everything okay?"

Carl nodded slowly, pushing some dirt on the floor around with his foot. He glanced shyly at Daryl before continuing. "I just wanted to say goodnight. And to thank you, for earlier."

Carol smiled at him warmly. "You're welcome Carl. Thank you. I had a great time."

"Can I... Can I have a hug?" He blurted out, seeming very vulnerable all of a sudden. Shocked, Carol nodded and opened her arms. He flew into her embrace and hugged her tightly as she kissed his forehead. Carl automatically stepped back, torn between accepting the affection he craved and not wanting to seem weak in front of the bowman. "I'm glad you're back Daryl," he mumbled sheepishly, backing out of the cell. "Goodnight Carol."

"Hey Carl?" Carol called as he exited. "My favourite is Pookie."

Carl glanced back at her and grinned. "Just like Sophia. Neat."

The curtain fell against the cell once more as Carl exited and Daryl glanced at Carol, recognition crossing his face. "Ya wearin' my shirt."

She nodded, biting down on her lower lip. "Is that okay?"

"Looks good on ya. Keep it." Wrapping an arm around her waist he leant in for a third time, this time applying pressure as he kissed her firmly. "That okay?"

"Fine, thank you," she echoed her sentiment from earlier. Laying back down on the bed she stared up at him, overwhelmed by the days events. "Daryl. Would you.."

"What? Stay?"

"Please. I just.. It's been a long day. Carl found some comics and we were talking about Sophia and-"

He cut her off with a kiss, lying down next to her and reaching an arm across her hip to draw her back flush to his stomach. "Tell me tomorrow. Ya need ya rest. Ya can tell me all about whatever it was got you two all riled up."

Before she knew it he was snoring, arm wrapped around her torso so tight she couldn't have escaped if she had wanted too. Her memories of Sophia and Pookie would live on forever. Now she had the chance to make memories with a grizzly bear of her own.

"Thanks Pookie."