After stopping at the nurses desk to make sure they knew to page her as soon as her patient woke up Carol made her way outside. It was a typical cool Georgia night and this was her favourite time of year. She didn't spend a lot of time outside so she truly relished the quiet moments like this that she could wander and enjoy the fresh air. If only her mind was as calm and peaceful as the night.

The hospital had a walking path that was close to two miles long if you followed it all the way out and around the property. On a nice day it could almost get crowded with staff trying to get a few moments of fresh air on their breaks. She set a brisk pace and followed the path all the way around. Even after being on her feet all day she didn't really notice the fatigue until she was almost back to the staff entrance. It was time to get some sleep.

As she was going in there was a tall male nurse coming out. He'd asked her out once and she'd declined, but thankfully they really didn't see each other enough for things to get awkward because he worked in Psych and she rarely ventured anywhere near that wing of the hospital. "Night Tobin," she said politely. "See you tomorrow." Chances were she wouldn't see him, but she made conversation anyway.

"Nope," he grinned. "I'm off for a couple days. Going hunting. First chance I've had to get out this season.

Instantly a rush of adrenaline flooded her and Carol's heart started to beat with anxiety. It wasn't safe for anyone to be out in those damn woods right now, but she didn't know how much she could say with Rick still looking into things. "You should head up to the Tennessee border," Carol blurted out. "I've heard they aren't seeing too many around here but there are tons up that way."

"Oh yeah?" Tobin seemed intrigued by her lie and she felt guilty. But it was better he come home empty handed then in a body bag. Besides, maybe there really were lots of deer up near the state line. "I might just try that then."

"I'm dead serious," Carol added, hoping her emphasis would convince him to hunt far away from the local areas. "I know it's a bit of a drive but it'll be worth it - I promise."

"Thanks Car… uh, Doctor Peletier," he said. "I appreciate the tip." They lingered a moment but the way he was looking at her was making her uncomfortable. Carol knew she was a bit of a badass at the hospital because she was a great surgeon, so she was used to the looks of admiration from colleagues, but this was different. He was really smitten with her and she had no interest and didn't want to lead him on.

"Well goodnight," Carol said, quickly rushing inside to get away from him. She headed straight for the on-call room and was asleep in no time, until her pager woke her up just before 7am. She jumped up and went to the sink to splash her face with water, then she quickly rinsed her mouth with some strong mouthwash to at least tame the morning breath until she could properly take care of it.

"You patient is waking. He's been in and out for a few minutes so I expect he will be fully alert soon," Sasha explained as Carol approached the nurses desk. "We're just on shift change, any chance you want to stay with him while we swap off info?"

"Of course," Carol nodded. She didn't let on that she preferred it that way anyways. Finally she would get to find out the man's name. She tried to shake off the bubbles of excitement she was feeling by reminding herself he was a patient and therefore off limits, but still they remained. As she walked to his room she said a silent prayer that he had a wife or girlfriend waiting in there with him so she could completely rid herself of these feelings she was having.

The room was empty when she entered, just him in the bed - well, sort of. "Oh my God, what are you doing?" She bolted to the side of his bed where he was sitting up and looked ready to climb over the bed rail.

"Are you my nurse? I need help to get outta here. And where the fuck are my clothes?" he asked, looking around the room.

"Just relax sir," Carol said, trying to soothe him. "You just had major surgery… You almost died."

"I just want to go home," he said, trying to move again, this time he winced in pain. "I wanna see the doctor," he grunted, squeezing his eyes shut and breathing through the, very likely excruciating, pain.

"That would be me," Carol replied. It wasn't the first time someone had assumed she was a nurse. He opened his eyes and looked at her weakly, his cheeks burning. "Doctor Peletier," she added, making his blush deepen further.

"Sorry, I ain't.. I mean I didn't…" he started to mumble an apology.

"You're not the first and won't be the last," Carol shrugged it off. "It's okay."

The man sighed and slumped back onto the bed. "So when can I go home?" he asked softly.

Carol looked at him sadly. He had wild in his eyes like an animal that shouldn't be caged. "I'm afraid it's going to be a while," she admitted. "That pain you just felt - that's with a huge dose of morphine every 4 hours. If we let those drugs wear off you'll be in agony." His face somehow fell even further than it already was. "We also need to keep you on IV antibiotics for a few days to make sure you don't get an infection. And then there's a chance you'll need another blood transfusion and there's likely going to be some rehab…"

"Just stop," he said weakly. The tone was a bit angry, but it wasn't sharp - but that may have only been because he just didn't have the energy.

"I'm so sorry," Carol said genuinely. It was never easy to tell someone they would be stuck in the hospital a while. She wanted to scream at the part of her that was dying to smile at the thought of seeing him around for several more days. "Is there anyone I can call for you? Your wife? Girlfriend? Family?" Dammit, she could have just said family.

"Nah," he shook his head.

Carol wasn't quite prepared for that response. Often there were elderly patients that didn't have family, but he couldn't have been more than 40, 45… This was indeed strange. "You sure? There's no one you want me to inform that you're here?" He shook his head and she decided not to push any further right then. Hmm, no wife… no girlfriend… seriously, stop it! She was having a full argument going on inside her head. "Listen, I'm going to let you rest for a little while and the nurses will come in to check your vitals and make sure you're comfortable. But the police have been waiting to take a statement so I won't be able to hold them off too much longer…"

"Huh, usually it's my brother Merle they want to talk to," he mumbled.

"Excuse me?" Carol replied. "Did, uh, did you say Merle? As in Merle Dixon?" He nodded. "So you - you're Daryl?" He nodded again. It all started to make sense - the crossbow, the leather vest - and somewhere there was a motorcycle too. Why didn't she clue in earlier they belonged to the one and only Daryl Dixon? Her heart started to beat wildly again. Daryl. Dixon. He was what many called white trash and more polite people just called a bad boy or backwoods loner. So many stories over the years. He was the kind of boy your mama tells you to stay far away from. But she wasn't a child and he wasn't a boy any longer. He was a man - one of the most handsome men she'd ever seen. And she couldn't do a thing to shake the connection she felt to him or the attraction.

"Hey Doc?" his voice caught her attention. "You said you're coming back right?" This time it was her turn to nod. His eyes were fluttering and his voice was fading, but she was quite certain the last word he said was, "good."