A/N: This is a story about an affair, there's lots of things that go along with that. Things like guilt and telling lies, that's the nature of what is. I'm trying to keep it realistic and entertaining, so these things may come up. If you don't like it please don't read.

I'm entertained, that's for sure. I hope you are too. Sorry it's so short, but I wanted to get this out today. While I had time.

PS: I am aware finding a hotel on a holiday weekend in a resort town on short notice isn't likely, but I want it my way. Lol.

A BIG Thank you to Magenta's Nightmare for your unwavering support of all my crazy stories and if you don't read her stuff, go read it, like now. It's fabulous.

"Sophia is going camping with Andrea this weekend, and the Girl Scout troop. She's troop Mom."

Carol was on the phone with Daryl on the Thursday before Labor Day, and she had been packing Sophia's bed roll as they talked on speaker. She had been afraid at first to skype with him or put him on speaker in case Ed ever came home. But she was right by the window so she kept watch and he had called her already and said he was going to the gym, so she felt safe. Sophia was at camp.

"Can you get away?"

"What?"

"We could go somewhere, anywhere you want for the weekend."

Her breath caught in her throat at the idea of having him for more than just a few hours. All summer they had been sneaking around and seeing each other for only a few hours at a time. Ed had no clue, not that he cared. But she knew Lori had some suspicions. It wasn't anything she could put her finger on, she never came out and asked, she just brought him up way too often in their conversations, as if Carol would come out and say,

Oh him, yeah we have a thing going on.

Maybe one day she would tell Lori. But not today. She almost told Andrea, but chickened out a few times.

Some weeks they couldn't see each other at all and that sucked. But it was, what it was.

A whole weekend, could she do that?

She wanted to, desperately.

"Where could we go?" She asked him.

"How about Savannah, it's far away enough so, you know..."

He meant they could actually go out in public together and not be afraid. She knew what he was trying to say, no looking around to make sure no one was around. No made up excuse in case they saw someone they knew, as to why they were both in the same place. No meeting in Barns and Noble just to see each other's face, when she could only get out for a few minutes.

They could even hold hands, like a real couple did.

She felt dizzy at the thought. Savannah was three hours or so away, Andrea was picking Sophia up at ten am on Friday. They couldn't take the same car, of course, in case there was an accident or something, but they could follow each other or meet there.

"I can take care of everything Carol, all you have to do is show up." He said and she was already nodding her head.

She didn't know how she was going to pull this off, but she was going to. She would tell Ed she was with Andrea that was simple. It was time to tell Andrea, just in case.

"I have to call Andrea before he gets home from the gym, do it, I'll text you later. " She said.

"Ok consider it done." He said.

"Ok text you later, and Daryl?'

"Yeah."

"I love you." And she hung up quick, they hadn't said that to each other, but she felt it. She knew he did too. At this moment though she was so overcome with the fact that he was doing this and rearranging his weekend to take her away, she just had to say it to him.

Daryl stared at the phone in his hand for a minute, she hung up before he could say it back. Did she thing he wouldn't say it back, or was she trying not to put pressure on him.

It didn't matter, he loved her totally and completely. He couldn't wait to say it back to her.

/

Carol left the house and walked five houses down to Andrea's house. Andrea was a single parent of one daughter, they had known each other since Caroline and Sophia were in first grade. They became fast friends and met for coffee once in a while. If Carol was asked who her best friend was Andrea would be it. She trusted her not to run her mouth to people about things. But she was still worried about being judged.

It was nice through the years, to have her so close.

She made no excuses for what she was doing. Not to herself or to Daryl, she knew what society thought of what they were doing. But she couldn't stop. That was the truth of it. It wasn't even about the sex, although that was dynamite, she had an emotional connection to him that she wanted all her life with someone.

They just met too late.

So she sat down in Andrea's kitchen, while Caroline and Sophia were at camp for the day and laid out her whole sorted double life to her, over two coffees and a fruit salad Andrea had made.

For her part Andrea didn't say one thing until she was done. She explained how she wanted to go away with him for the weekend, but had to be sure Andrea would keep Sophia at her house after the camping trip until Carol could come get her. She told her why she had to stay with Ed until Sophia was sixteen.

"So all summer you've been with this 27 year old guy, a friend of Rick Grimes'?" She asked.

Carol nodded, Andrea knew Rick and Lori, she sometimes dated Rick's partner Shane Walsh, but they were off right now. No hard feelings between them, they would probably work it out, they always did.

"He's 27? " She asked again. "When you do it you do it right don't ya?"

She laughed.

"Carol, I don't care what you do, if you thought I would judge you, then you don't know me very well." She said. "I'm a little impressed."

Carol blushed deeply.

"We all know what a douche Ed is, please I'm surprised you didn't get something on the side a long time ago." She winked.

"No it's not like that, I love him."

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that. Love makes you weak Carol, remember that." She said. "Be careful with your heart my friend."

/

She texted him later that day to tell him, Andrea was going to call her later when Ed was home and say she needed her to go on the camping trip. She could leave in the morning and wait for him in Savannah until her got out of work.

He texted back, the name of the hotel, and that he took half the day off, then added, I love you.

That made her smile.

She committed all the info to memory and then deleted all the messages, like she always did. She hated deleting his I love you.

But it was, what it was.