Carol took Lizzie with her to go fine some pine sap to put on Daryl's arm to help with the infection while he stayed back with Mika and Judith.

"Does it hurt a lot?" Mika asked looking up at him as she held Judith close keeping her warm.

"Aint nothin' I can't handle."

"Why are you being so mean to Carol? You're making her sad."

"Carol is a big girl, she aint gonna lose sleep over anythin' I say."

"You were really loud and mean to her last night… It scared us…."

Daryl continued to stare up into the sky smoking his cigarette. He felt instantly guilty when he heard Mika say she was afraid because of him. One more thing to ad to shit he fucked up already, one more person he disappointed.

"Y…you won't hurt her will you….."

Daryl looked over at her a moment then back up. She thought he was going to hurt Carol… He was pissed at the woman but he would never lay his hands on her. He spent too many nights hearing his asshole dad beat on his mom to ever do that to any women…let alone her….

"You think I would?"

"No….but I never thought you would talk to her like that either….. That's not how you talk to someone who loves you." Mika said as she looked up and smiled seeing Carol and Lizzie returning.

Lizzie went over and took Judith sitting beside her sister and laughing together as Carol kneeled down beside him.

"This will help with the infection; hopefully bring your fever down."

He watch silently as she smeared the sap onto his wound flinching slightly as the burn got more intense.

She smiled apologetically at him and began to wrap his arm.

"Lizzie is a tough one….. You did good with her." He said not looking at her.

"Against people….."

Daryl looked over at her as if waiting for her to explain.

"You haven't seen it? She's confused about them….. She doesn't see the walkers for what they are she just thinks that their different."

"Mika?"

"She's worse…. She doesn't have a mean bone in her body." Carol frowned looking over at the girls.

"Carol….I….. "

She turned to look at him but when her eyes met his he quickly looked away and stood up. He had already pushed her away and he planned to keep it that way. They needed each other to protect the girls and to stay alive but they didn't need to be anything more than that. He couldn't let her in, he already let her closer than anyone and she got herself taken away from him. It was for the best he knew he wasn't good enough for her, she deserved someone who wouldn't let her down, wouldn't fail her at every turn, someone who would get drunk and treat her like shit.

"We best be goin' if we are gonna find shelter before nightfall."

She looked up at him and let a soft sigh escape her. It was like they were back to the beginning, before even Sophia. He wouldn't even look at her. She never thought he would want her but she thought she would always have his friendship and the fact he has taken that away has left a void almost as deep as the one left by her daughter's death.

"We need water… You stay here Mika can help me."

"I'm supposed to sit on my ass and let you and a little girl do all the work?"

"You're hurt we need you to get better….Just please." She stood up and placed her hand on his shoulder to which her jerked away and sat back down."

"Whatever."

As Carol and Mika walked through the woods in search of water and maybe something to eat Carol's mind was racing. She knew out of the two Mika was the weakest, but she was also the smartest. Her kind nature, the same as her Sophia, would get her killed if she didn't change it.

"Lizzie can carry more than me." Mika said pulling Carol from her thoughts.

"I know… But I wanted to talk to you."

"Did I do something wrong? I tried to keep Judith quiet when Daryl was mad but, I got scared."

Carol looked down at her remembering last night.

"It's nothing to do with that honey… You know you don't have to be scared, Daryl wouldn't ever do anything to hurt any of us."

"He hurt your feelings, me and Lizzie could tell. He didn't even care when I told him."

"Takes a lot more than someone yelling at me to hurt my feelings."

"He isn't just someone, we know you like him…. Like mommy liked daddy before she died. I remember when daddy would yell at mommy she would cry, then he would feel bad and buy her flowers. Daryl doesn't even care."

Carol kneeled down and looked her in the eyes, giving her a soft smile.

"I 'm sure he does, he just isn't good at being open with his feelings. Right now he has a lot of feelings going in his head and he just likes to be left alone." She hesitated before starting again. "It's not Daryl I need to talk to you about Mika….. It's about you, you need to toughen up."

"No I don't, I can run I'm good at that. "

"No! That's not enough. My Sophia ran and she isn't here anymore. Why do you think I was teaching the kids at the prison? So they could do more than that. Those people, they came in and hurt our friends stole our home."

"I'm not like my sister, I'm not messed up I can kill a walker. I can't kill people and I don't even wish I could Carol. I feel sorry for those people that did that to us."

"Why?"

"Because they probably weren't like that before."

(Authors Note: Again thank you to everyone who has read and or commented on my story. Responding to one comment this story is intended to be a romance so obviously there will be some mushy romance stuff. I don't agree with anything you said regarding Daryl not forgiving Carol and having short hair does not make you a lesbian and just because they have introduced a lesbian character doesn't mean now she will become one. With that said please enjoy )