A/N: Hello there folks! I've decided to put out chapter 2 a little earlier than scheduled. We really haven't gotten into much of a story yet, but there's definitely more to come. I'm feeling super inspired!

A HUGE thanks to all the supporters out there. I haven't attempted something this huge in years, so I really appreciate it when someone takes the time to stop and let me know they like my work. As the amazing Sally Field once said, "You like me! You really like me!"

Also, for those of you wondering, there is going to be a reason for why Daryl hurt his ankle. I got in a huge argument with a friend of mine who was debating that Daryl Dixon would NEVER just trip and hurt himself, but when I explained my motives, she changed her tune. Hopefully you guys will think it's plausible too, but that's a little further down the road.

Okay, now on with the story!

Disclaimer: I own nothing pertaining to The Walking Dead.

Ch2.

Daryl's ankle was starting to swell, and he grimaced in anger. He couldn't defend anything now. What a fucking waste of time. He'd always assumed they'd have moved on by now, but then people started settling in and they mended the perimeter, and he started to realize that they were planning on sticking around. It made him question whether he wanted to stick around himself much longer. He'd always done better on his own. Maybe he'd been a wild cat in a past life or something. That's how he felt sometimes-always on edge and ready to pounce.

Life wasn't meant to be lived in a cage surrounded by people gawkin' at ya.

He needed to get his mind off his anger and just figure things out. That's why he'd come out here in the first place, to be where he loved. Out in the open. He'd spent most of his life looking up at the stars. Knew them like the back of his hand. They'd gotten him outta plenty of scrapes in the woods when he was lost and didn't know which way to go. It was where he'd learned to track too. Go for enough days on your own starving of hunger and thirst and you got real good at finding animal tracks that would lead you to your potential next meal. Squirrel meat had saved his scrawny ass more than once.

"I heard you needed a tent."

Daryl looked up, realizing quickly that it wasn't a man's voice. "Where's Rick?"

Carol got to the edge of the slope and dropped the bag next to him. "Sorry, Judith was crying so Rick took over and asked me to bring this down to you. Mind if I sit?"

He shrugged. "Free country."

"It's a beautiful night…" Carol planted herself in the lush grass and looked up. "One thing I don't miss about the city…you could never see the stars."

"I can't stand cities." He groused. "Nature and me always got along better."

"Oh I believe that." She chuckled. "I'm sure you know all the constellations too don't you? The only one I can ever see is the big dipper."

"That's Ursa Major, the great bear." He replied. "Have you ever heard the Iroquois legend about the great bear?"

"No."

Daryl leaned back. "See, the bear represents the four corners of the bowl, and the three stars that make up the handle were for three men who were huntin' her. They say that this bear woke up from sleepin' all winter and she went out to gather some food. What she didn't know was that she was bein' tracked by three warriors who followed her all through the spring and summer until finally in late autumn they caught up to her. So she goes up on her hind legs to defend herself, but before she can attack, one shoots her with his arrow and she falls back dead. The blood from the wound fell onto the leaves and stained 'em red, and they say that's why the leaves change color in the fall."

Carol looked over in amazement. "That's quite a story."

"Always stuck with me. Guess that's why I became a hunter."

"Where did you learn so much about Native American legends?"

"My ma. She was part Cherokee."

"Did she tell you the story about the Cherokee Rose too?"

"Yeah. I'd just gotten a whuppin' from my paw and I was howling something fierce, so she sat down and told me that story. I guess she wanted me to feel like maybe I didn' have it so bad or somethin'."

He suddenly felt uncomfortable, and by the looks of it, he wasn't the only one. Carol was looking away from him, off to the other side of the prison gates. She was probably thinking about the time he brought her that damn flower. He didn't know what had possessed him to want to tell her that story when her daughter had gone missing, although it seemed to help at the time. In the end it didn't matter though.

When those doors to the barn flew open and he saw little Sophia come out all covered in blood, he damn near had a heart attack. He could hear Carol behind him running up to go to her, but he couldn't let her do that. He reached and pulled her down to the ground with him to shield her from it as best he could. Watching Rick put a bullet in Sophia's head was one of the worst things he'd ever seen, but if it'd come down to him having to do it, he would've stepped up. Even if she hated him for it.

"So you gonna tell me why you're sleeping out here now?" Carol asked, breaking his train of thought. "You know no one wants you to feel like you're being pushed out."

Daryl huffed. "It's too damn crowded in there with all them old people. I know they can't help it, but it's gonna slow us down if more walkers get in or if the Governor comes back with a crew. Figured I'd better not get lazy or let my guard down. I'll just stay out here and keep an eye out for unwanted visitors."

She laughed. "So what, you're the bouncer now?"

"Hell no." he scoffed. "But I ain't nobody's hall monitor neither."

"You know Rick counts on you more than anybody." She gestured. "He'd be real upset if something happened out here and we weren't there to help you."

"I can take care of myself just fine. Been doin' it forever."

"And what about me?" She batted her eyelashes teasingly. "You just gonna leave me alone with all of those big muscled men in those tiny cells? What if one of them takes advantage?"

Daryl guffawed. "I seen you with that rifle. You'd have 'em on the ground before they knew what hit 'em. 'Sides, you know Rick'd never let anything happen."

She got quiet and he figured maybe she was amusing herself with the image of shootin' a guy in the balls if he tried anything with her. He loved the idea himself, mainly because he couldn't stand the idea of any of the men in camp laying a hand on her, friendly or otherwise. But then when he looked over at her, he saw sadness in her eyes.

"You all right? Did someone try something with you? Cause if they di-"

"No," she replied quickly. "No one tried anything. I was joking. Besides, with all the young women in the prison now, no one even looks in my direction. I'm the old hag who takes care of babies and does laundry and cooks."

"You ain't an ol' hag." Daryl scoffed. "You take care of everyone, but you ain't an ol' hag."

"Feels like it sometimes."

"Why?"

She looked over at him. In the moonlight, he could see her pretty eyes shining brightly at him. Sure, she had some lines on her face, and her hair was more gray than not, but she was still a looker. He figured maybe she hadn't been told so in a while.

"I haven't had a guy check me out in nearly twenty years. Even if they did, Ed warned them off real quick."

"Ed was a bastard an' thought he owned you." Daryl muttered. "I'm sure lots 'o guys used to check you out. Just didn' know it."

She tried to smile but he knew she was faking. He wanted to tell her that he'd been one of those guys himself, but he'd sound like a sonofabitch if he did. Instead, he decided to try and get up off the bank, but the minute he put pressure on his leg, it seared with pain.

"Fuck!"

"What happened?" She'd snapped out of her moment. "Is it your ankle?"

"Twisted it trying to put this damn tent up."

"Why didn't you tell me? I could've brought some supplies down."

He shrugged. "I know we're gettin' low. No sense in using up more on me."

"Let me see it."

"You ain't touchin' my foot."

"Stop being such a baby."

"I ain't a baby!"

"If it looks like a tantrum and sounds like a tantrum…"

"Shut up woman." He scowled.

Carol huffed. "Fine, then I guess I'm putting up the tent myself."

"You don't have to."

"If I don't, you'll have to sleep inside the prison again."

Daryl wanted to argue back, but she had a damn point. "Fine. I'll hand you the poles."

Carol could've cursed herself for attempting to put a tent up in the middle of the night using a flashlight. No wonder Daryl had hurt himself! If she'd been smarter about it, she would've talked him out of the whole thing and made him go back inside for the night. He needed to get some medical attention for his ankle too, but that was another beast entirely. He was so stubborn when it came to letting her touch him. He could have gotten a compound fracture with the bone protruding out of his skin and still wouldn't let her near him. She had started to wonder if he'd ever let a woman touch him before in his life. Of course, she couldn't say that, for fear that he'd completely shut down on her. When it came to matters of the heart and physical intimacy, he was as timid as a baby deer.

His comment about men checking her out had thrown her for a loop too. Sometimes she'd catch a quick glimpse of him staring at her, only to look away as soon as he was spotted. In her mind, she liked to think that he was admiring her, but the more realistic option was that he was trying to think of ways to keep her and the others safe. It was sweet, but it wasn't exactly what she wanted. She certainly didn't want Rick to have to save her either. He'd certainly done his share of that in the last year, but she thought of him as more of a brother than anything. Carol wanted her man of honor, and there was only one name on that list.

Too bad he can't see it.

When Sophia had gone missing, he was the first one to go out searching and the last to come back. When he told her the story of the Cherokee rose, it brought her to tears because he understood exactly what she was going through. Daryl knew better than anyone what the pain of loss felt like, and even though he wasn't always good with words, he'd found a way to say exactly how he felt, and she knew it came straight from the heart.

Unfortunately now, he was getting impatient with her, so she pushed the thoughts from her head and focused on getting the tent vertical. After a few hairy moments, and a string of curses on Daryl's part, they finally got it all settled and laid back down in the grass to look up at the night sky. There didn't seem to be many walkers around the fence at the moment which was rare. She could hear the crickets chirping away and see the lightning bugs flying out over the field. For a moment, Carol forgot all about the craziness of the world and just let herself enjoy it. Even Daryl looked peaceful. She'd almost worked up the courage to finally ask him if he'd been one of the men who'd looked at her that way, when they were interrupted by the sound of two people laughing and running across the catwalk at the top of the hill.

"Glenn and Maggie, at it again." Daryl sounded thoroughly annoyed. "Those two sneak off to have sex more than a pack of rabbits."

Carol giggled. "It's sweet. They're in love."

"Ain't love, it's just stupid." He argued. "Ever since they got hitched, they've been runnin' off together, like they're on vacation or somethin'. If they don't watch their asses, they're gonna end up gettin' each other killed."

"Maybe it'd be worth it to them."

He looked at her like she had antlers. "What the hell does that mean?"

"There was a time when I would have risked life and limb for the man I loved." She said, remembering moments she'd nearly forgotten. "Maggie and Glenn know the dangers out there; they see it every day. But they love each other and they want to share it despite the consequences. It may look stupid and selfish to us, but to them it's all they have and they're making it count."

Daryl got very quiet, but continued to stare at her. There were days where she could read him like an open book, and then there were times, like now, when she had absolutely no idea what he was really thinking.

"I'm gonna head back up."

He frowned. "What about the constellations?"

"Can I get a raincheck?" She lifted herself off the ground and dusted off her pants. "I should go help Rick get everyone settled in."

"Yeah, whatever."

She turned to walk back but stopped and looked at him. "I'll come check on you in the morning, but if you need us you know where we are."

He leaned back against the hill, attempting to ignore her. She sighed and kept walking, only looking back when she got up to the top again. He was still there, muttering to himself to boot. She laughed, realizing that he'd probably been this way his whole life.

You're a stubborn man, Daryl Dixon.

Daryl tried to make it look like he wasn't paying attention to her walking back up the hill, but he was; all the while cursing himself out for bringing up the subject of love and marriage. Damn that woman for making him think about things like that. To him, being in love was just a way of deluding yourself into thinking you were safe, but Carol saw it as some kind of beacon of hope. Like being in love could define you or something.

Thinking like that would turn him into a total pussy. His first instinct had always been to tell people that he didn't need them. Now with Merle gone, he really was on his own for good. Didn't help that he could still hear his brother's nagging voice in the back of his head egging him on and telling him what he already knew.

You's damaged goods baby brother. No one wants a broken man when they can have a knight in shining armor.

He was damaged goods, and Carol deserved better. He knew he couldn't treat her the way she should be treated. She'd put up with so much shit from Ed over the years, so why would she want to have to deal with his issues now too? There had been a moment back when the Governor attacked that he thought he might have what it took to stand up and be the man she wanted, but then it was gone. She'd gotten into a new routine, and he was right back where he'd started-questioning everything.

Crawling his way over to the tent, he got in and zipped it shut behind him. He lay there looking up at the ceiling for what seemed like hours; his ankle throbbing dully. As he finally started to drift off to sleep, a thought crossed his mind.

He didn't know how much time he had left on this planet gone to hell, but whatever he did from now on, he would make it count. He would try to be the man she wanted him to be.

A man worth caring about.

A/N: You will notice as the chapters go on that I will be delving into a LOT of the backstory of these two characters, as well as of others in the show. I plan to have them interact with each other a decent amount because…well… they're never alone are they? Plus, I love the other characters just as much as I love these two. All right, gotta go work on chapter 3 now!