Carol woke up way hotter compared to how it was when she fell asleep, feeling the sun burn through her eyelids and reaching her eyes, she knew it was time to face yet another grueling day. Rolling over on her side, she realized she ended up on Daryl's sleeping bag, only no Daryl was there. Sighing, and popping her joints as she began to sit up, she was greeted with a face that she didn't want to see first thing in the morning.

"Morning sleepy head," Shane loudly and all too happily said. "We 'bout ready to go in there and get our hands dirty. Some breakfast has been set aside for you and –" Shane abruptly stopped and glanced down. Both he and Carol realized that Daryl's poncho was tucked around Carol's body. She didn't remember this act being done but it did make her feel warmer then she already was.

"… and, how 'bout you send me a sweet little send off before I go in that probably packed prison, huh?" Shane finished.

Carol glanced around and could see that she truly was the only who had slept in. Why did nobody wake her?! Today was a big day! She saw Lori hand Carl a crow bar, and the men, along with Maggie were double checking all of their weapons and rehearsing their plan of attack. Looking over, she saw Daryl looking over Rick's shoulder at her and Shane talking. Carol couldn't quite place that look on his face but he looked nervous, suspicious maybe? He was glaring holes into Shane's back which made Carol smile while also wondering if Shane could feel his hard stares.

"Carol?" Shane impatiently asked while she was looking at Daryl.

"Uh, oh yes, 'morning Shane. When is everyone going inside?" Carol asked while refusing Shane's help to get her up. Once standing, she began to walk over to what little breakfast there was, not particularly caring if Shane answered her or not. It wasn't that Carol completely disliked Shane, but she couldn't forget his attitude towards her lost daughter and she wondered what is was that happened these past few months on the road that made him notice her more than usual. Carol forgave Shane for all the wrong he's done, but it didn't mean that she could forget it either; also, she mainly forgave him for her own sake. Since she was already late for things, Carol quickly scoffed down her breakfast, suddenly feeling a hand clamp over her arm while simultaneously feeling his eyes shift their attention to her. She always felt Daryl's eyes on her, but it was comfort that she had never known before. It wasn't controlling or manipulative like Ed's stare was, it was curious and protective, and it just made Carol love her best friend more.

"Carol, you don't have to eat so fast. We'll be doin' most o' the work anyway. You just gotta stand on the other side of the fence and look pretty—but not too pretty so I don't get distracted," It was then that Carol realized that Shane was shamelessly flirting. He had a cocky smile and his chest was puffed out, probably to show off his all too buff figure. Carol glanced over at Lori and saw her looking. Carol came to the realization that Shane was feeling lonely and probably wanted to make Lori jealous. Carol suddenly became disgusted by Shane's approach. Though she never liked the man, a little attention was undeniably nice for a woman; but now she just felt like a chunk of meat. Typical Shane style, knowing no other approach to any woman.

"Shane," Daryl's rough voice came up from behind Carol, and she turned to silently thank him although he was sending daggers with his eyes to Shane.

"Get your ass movin', Rick needs to talk to ya real quick before we head on in." Daryl said, watching Shane cast one last smirk towards Carol then headed to Rick near the entrance fence.

"Why didn't you wake me this morning," Carol asked, she wasn't mad at Daryl but she wanted to make sure she was doing part for the group.

"I was jus' about to if ya were still sleepin' in. 'Sides, doesn't matter no way, you needed the sleep and you're up now," Daryl calmly replied back. Carol was transfixed to his steel blue eyes as they squinted down to her. Daryl glanced down at her hands, saw her empty plate of food, handed her her crow bar then began to walk towards the fence.

"Oh Daryl," Carol suddenly said causing Daryl to quickly turn around. "Thank you for the poncho. I was very warm." A little too warm but the gesture was sweet nonetheless.

"Yeah," was all that Daryl grunted back before retreating to the fences to get ready. The man would forever be an enigma to Carol and she couldn't help but love the roller coaster ride that she was constantly on with him.

Carol stood by Lori, watching as the stronger members of their group cleared out the prison yard and continued on into the prison cell. Everyone went back to their sleeping area to pack up their belongings, having complete faith that they would able to clear out the cells.

"So, what's going on with you and Shane?" Lori sharply asked Carol. Carol was in no mood for bullshit this morning, everything hurt. She had a nightmare about Sophia, she was hungry, tired, aching, she couldn't even smell her own odor without wanting to gag, and now she was feeling partly attacked as her supposedly friend was instigating problems.

"Nothing is going on between us Lori. It's probably because the only time you give Rick attention is when Shane is near you. What's going on between your two men? I thought you've chosen, and if not, you need to, because that baby is just about ready to pop out." Without waiting for any snarky remarks, Carol bent down to pick up her belongings and began to fold Daryl's poncho. It was a burning hot day in Georgia and this very simple act caused her to begin to sweat profusely.

"I chose my husband," Lori said silently while sitting down next to Carol and helping her pack up her belongings.

"Then act like you've chosen him because he's your husband and not just somebody that you're stuck with." Carol lightly responded back. She did not want to argue with Lori and she definitely did not even have strength to fight back, but she was feeling accused of something that hasn't happened between her and Shane and she had enough strength to defend herself on that.

"When did Carol get so tough? Been hanging around Dixon way too much," Lori laughed while Carol helped Lori get to her feet so that she wouldn't fall on her very pregnant belly.

"He's good for you Carol," Lori said in an honest tone. But Carol was already feeling a little paranoid, perhaps she just needed a decent night's sleep, but she couldn't help but feel that Lori was pushing Carol to Daryl so that that drew attention away from Shane.

"If only I could get so lucky," Carol said with a smirk, ignoring her latest ill thoughts and she walked away to help the others organize things; officially ending the conversation with Lori.


After Glen had gathered the remaining group outside, they all walked in with amazement. Sure, they were staying in a prison in the state of Georgia, but it was spacious, hard walls which would protect them, it was cleared out, there were multiple cells so that they didn't have to be all over each other and they had actual beds with actual mattresses, they had bathrooms, showers, windows which provided light and darkness; in summary, Carol was completely overwhelmed.

"It's secure," Lori tentatively asked; ruining Carol's dumfounded happiness. Before Rick could answer her, Shane spoke up, "Well come on now, 'course it is Lori. Ain't nothin' is gonna happen to nobody. We sleep in the cells."

"I ain't sleepin' in no cage. I'll take the perch," Daryl claimed. Carol couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that she would no longer be sleeping near him after all these months on the road, but she understood his reasoning.

"Come on," Lori ushered to Carol; leaving her only son to stay with his father and not his mother. As they ascended the stairs, Carol pulled out Daryl's poncho and placed it on his lap, lightly placing her hand on his shoulder as she walked past him. Daryl didn't react or jerk away like he normally would and that made Carol happy. Although it was most likely to be noon, the group was exhausted and they all settled down in their claimed cells to catch some decent hours of sleep.


Carol awoke to light tapping on her cell door. She sprung up on the top bunk and reached under her pillow to retrieve the knife that she had there, dropping it when she realized that it was Daryl who was poking his head in.

"Oh sorry," Carol lightly said while mixing a laugh with a yawn.

"It's alright, nice seeing ya having your guard up. Just don't go throwing your knives blindly otherwise we gonna have a bit of a problem," Daryl lightly responded back while helping Carol down from her top bunk than sitting down in a nearby chair. Curious to what he was doing, Carol glanced down to notice that Lori wasn't in her bunk.

"Everyone is already up. Figured I outta wake ya before ya bite my head off," Daryl said while looking down at his boots.

"What time is it," Carol asked lightly while playfully swatting at Daryl's arm.

"'Bout three? Everyone is feeling kinda restless so Rick wants to go on ahead, and dig deeper. See if we can find some food before we end up starving to death… nice nap though," Daryl said while biting at his thumb nail.

"Anything I can do," Carol asked although she already knew the answer when Daryl just raised her head and gave her that "really" look, which she found to be adorable.

"Yep! Just stay here and look pretty," although Carol knew he was just mocking Shane from earlier, she couldn't help but blush at his recent bold actions and a laugh erupted from her without even realizing it, causing Daryl to give a light laugh in response.

"Hey, I just wanted to make sure if everything was alright? I heard Lori running her mouth to Shane and asking 'bout ya earlier to him," Daryl said to Carol, which caused a groan from him. Carol sat down opposite of Daryl on Lori's bed and looked down at her hands which were between her knees.

"I think Lori is just feeling a little lonely, she's probably nervous about the baby almost being here. I honestly don't really know where she's going with that, but I'm not bothered by it," Carol finished.

"Alright, just checkin'. Should probably head on down, the more we find out 'bout this place the better. And you could use some more meat on your bones," Daryl said with a half smirk before leaving her cell, followed by Carol closely behind him.

"Sleeping beauty is finally up to give me my proper send off," A happy Shane exclaimed.

"You've only been up no more than half an hour, dumbass," Daryl grumbled to Shane before pushing past him to retrieve his crossbow. Carol said nothing but smiled at Daryl's remark while she stayed on the last step of the stair well and threw her arm around Beth's shoulders. The young girl made her think of what Sophia could've been like at her age, soft and gentle, yet determined and helpful. Shane grumbled as he turned to follow Rick, Daryl, T-Dog, Glen, and Maggie to the dark unknown void that the walker-filled prison had to offer.


A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews already! This is my first every TWD fanfic (Well fanfic in general) but I absolutely love TWD- specifically CARYL and I've had this idea bouncing around my head for a while. I hope to do this story justice! I have a general direction with where I want this story to go, but it is definitely going to be a long story. I find that I absolutely love short powerful CARYL fanfics, but I always want to read more! And I plan on taking this throughout season 4- I may do some time gaps but I really enjoy a slow build and I don't want to rush into anything too quickly in case it ruins anything. Okay, thank you again and keep the reviews coming! Give me helpful critiques or if you have any ideas that you would like to see play out. I should have another chapter or two by tonight! :)