A/N: Hey guys, I'm sorry this is late! Enjoy! Feedback is always appreciated.

-Set three years after Judith Grimes' birth-

If there was one thing that never, ever failed to make Carol laugh, it was how Judith, who was now somewhere around three years old, called Daryl "Uncle Doll". Carol and Rick had taught Judith to call Daryl "Uncle Daryl" since she could talk, but she could never pronounce it correctly. So, from the time she was two, it was always "Uncle Doll".

Much to Daryl's irritation, now the entire group was using Judith's nickname. Glenn had been the first one to do it, and the look on Daryl's face had sent Maggie and Carol into fits of uncontrollable laughter. Quickly enough, the entire group caught on. Carol thought Daryl was going to scream.

Judith was the only one whom Daryl permitted to call him that. Still, Carol couldn't help but laugh at Daryl's expression of pure exasperation whenever anybody but the little girl utilized the childish nickname. She did notice, however, that his patience with Judith was endless. While Beth and herself would often get tired and worn-down by her crying that often went late in the night, Daryl always wanted to step in and take her. His gentleness and soft words were so unlike him, Carol would often stop and stare as he rocked her or fed her.

He, of course, still called her "Little Ass Kicker". Carol found this out when one day, Judith came hurrying down the steps during breakfast, her brown curls bouncing in her excitement. She had a silly grin on her face as everyone stopped what they were doing to see what she was so excited about.

"Unc-uncle Doll said dat my name in't Judif!" she panted, out of breath from her excited sprint down the stairs. "I'm Little Ass Kicker!" And with that, she jumped into a goofy fighting stance, balling her tiny hands into fists and putting them up by her face. The mock-angry expression on her face sent everyone, even Rick, into hysterics. From up above on the balcony, Daryl was already in tears of laughter.

Caring for Judith was a group effort. While Rick was her true father at heart, the entire group was her family. Even as time went on, it still pained the group every day that little Judith would never meet her mother. Carol didn't want to ever be called "Momma" or "Mommy", but at Rick's insistance, Carol quickly became "Momma Carol", just as Beth became "Aunt Beth" (however, to Judith, it was "Momma Car" and "Aunt Beff").

And, of course, Daryl was "Uncle Doll".

But what warmed Carol's heart more than anything was Judith's relationship with Daryl. Rick had so much responsibility, even after three years, and could not be the active father figure in her life as much as he wanted to be. He had come to accept this, and no longer felt saddened or angry with himself whenever he saw Daryl outside, playing ball or "monster" (her new favorite game) with her. To Carol, seeing Daryl this way was shocking. For as long as she'd known him, she had never seen him act so...warm. Or fatherly. Of course, he was still Daryl Dixon, and sometimes accidentally let a few choice swear words slip around her.

The group had lost track of the months and days years ago, but Carol estimated it must have been sometime in late April or early May by the warm weather. Daryl, Glenn, and Maggie were outside. Maggie and Glenn had wandered off somewhere, and Daryl and Judith were playing with a ball outside. Carol stepped outside and leaned against the door entrance, watching the two of them. It had been a while since Daryl and Judith had spent any time together, and it was nice that he was happy to play her goofy, childish games. She walked out to the yard, giving Judith a hug.

"Momma Car do you wanna play too?" she asked hopefully. "I-I'm tryin' to to hit Uncle Doll with the ball and he always falls down!"

Carol glanced at Daryl, who just chuckled and shook his head.

"Watch!"

With that, she chucked the ball as hard as her tiny arms would allow her, hitting Daryl in the chest. He gave an exaggerated cry of mock anguish, stumbling to the ground.

"You got me again, squirt!"

She laughed in delight, running over and pounding her tiny fists into his stomach, giggling and laughing.

"Auuuugh! Oh no! Little Ass-Kicker strikes again!"

Carol laughed, shaking her head. "Hey Judith, do you mind if I talk to Uncle Daryl real quick? I'll let you guys finish your game real soon."

"Okay!" she stood up and kicked her ball as hard as she could in the direction of the prison.

"Lil' Ass-Kicker saves the day!" she cried, and ran after the ball. Carol laughed, and Daryl shook his head.

"Kids."

They stood there for a moment, watching Judith kick the ball around in silence. After a moment, Carol spoke.

"I was talking to Rick," she said. "About Judith. She's been asking a lot of questions...about the walkers."

"Wouldn't surprise me," he said, turning away from Judith to face Carol. "I mean, God, it's been years since we've had anything we couldn't handle. But everyone still talks about it. Has she even seen any walkers before?"

"Not up close, but she has from a distance. They scare her. She was frightened by them. We forget that this has been...life, for us, for the past five years. But no one's ever really explained what those things are to her."

"She's three years old, Carol. What the hell are we supposed to tell her?

"I know, and that's my point. But she hears Glenn, or her father, or you and I talking about them from time to time and she picks up on things. She's smart. She asked me if they were come into the prison and get us. What was I supposed to say?"

Daryl sighed.

"But she told me that you could scare them away. You have a better bond with her than even her father does, Daryl."

Daryl stared at her. "What?"

Carol frowned. "Haven't you noticed?"

"No...I mean, I care about the little squirt," he said, shrugging. Feelings were never an easy topic for Daryl. "But...I'm not her father. I can't be her father."

"But you are, in a way. And Rick appreciates that, even if it does hurt that he can't be there for her as much as he can or should. You're the father that Rick can't be. She feels that every time you two play together.

It had been many years since Sophia died, but yet Carol knew she didn't need to mention how much of a father he had been even to Sophia.

Daryl looked frustrated. "What are you saying? I'm no father to anyone! I care about that kid, of course I do, but I'm no dad!"

"Daryl, no one's expecting anything from you. I just want to make sure you realize that you're important to her.

"I don't want that responsibility of being called dad."

"All I'm saying is what she looks like to you," Carol said gently. "When the time comes, it's going to be you that she'll call to chase the nightmares away...the ones that are real, and in her imagination. Rick is trying so hard, but you know what position he's in even now."

Daryl had been focusing so intently on Carol, that neither one of them noticed Judith wander closer and closer to the outside fence. From the time she could walk, there was one rule that was drilled into her over and over and over again: stay away from the fence. Over the years, the group had almost successfully cleared out the area of about fifteen miles of any walkers. But it was not uncommon that a few stragglers would wander near the secure perimeter of the prison from time to time. So above all, the rule to stay away from the fence unless there was an adult. This was the most important rule, and whenever she was outside, everyone agreed that all eyes were to be on her. They had been successful in this so far; there hadn't been a single close call yet.

The piercing scream sent a wave of panic washing over Daryl and Carol. They whipped their heads around towards the source of the sound. Judith was frozen in place, staring straight ahead at a walker that had picked up the sound of her footsteps. Angry, ugly, and snarling, it pressed its face against the fence, sticking its fingers through the holes in a desperate attempt to reach the young girl. She was far out of its reach, but close enough to see it in detail. Rooted to the spot, she continued to scream in pure terror, tears pouring down her face.

Daryl and Carol sprinted as fast as they could toward Judith. Daryl reached her first, shoving her behind him and taking the walker out with his crossbow. By the time Carol caught up, panicked and close to tears, Daryl was kneeling in front of Judith who was now hysterical with fright.

"Judith. Listen to me. Did it touch you? Goddammit, did it touch you?"

She shook her head, heaving in sobs. Her hands shaking, Carol turned her around and inspected every inch of her for signs of a scratch, her heart racing in her chest, fearing the absolute worst. Nothing. Carol took Judith in her arms, hugging her tightly as Judith sobbed and cried, shaking all over. Picking her up, she carried the hysterical girl into the prison, fighting the urge not to cry herself. How could she have possibly be so stupid as to take her eyes off of her?

"It's okay baby, it's okay...sssssshhhh..."

"Carol. Let me take her."

Carol, her eyes filling with tears, handed Judith to Daryl who cradled her like a baby in his arms. He walked ahead of her, Judith's sobs turning into shaking, hiccuping breaths. The sun was just beginning to set over the treeline as they finally made it back inside.

Rick and Glenn were due to be home from a supply run soon. Maggie, Beth, and Hershel were out on a walk. Judith had stopped crying, but was still trembling, even when Daryl laid her down on her small bed, small enough to fit inside Rick's cell alongside his. There were plenty of cells that Judith could use close to everyone else's, but even now, they had to be cautious. As Carol hesitantly made her way into the room, she stopped in the doorway as Daryl began to sing in a low voice.

"Hey Jude

Don't make it bad

Take a sad song

And make it better..."

Carol stood in the doorway, listening as Daryl sung Judith into a peaceful sleep. She knew Judith would undoubtedly have nightmares tonight. Carol found herself once again gulping back tears. She felt awful. Carol could barely handle the first time that she experienced a walker, and she had been a grown woman. Judith was only a toddler. She had gotten lucky, she could have-

Carol shoved the thought out of her head, the very thought making her feel violently sick to her stomach.

When Judith had finally drifted off to sleep, Daryl stood up, sighing to himself. He spotted Carol leaning against the doorway, and shifted uncomfortably.

"I sing like shit," he grumbled, not meeting her eyes as they left Judith's room. Carol didn't answer. He sung beautifully, but she wasn't in the mood to talk. A dull, nauseous ache resided in her stomach at the thought of what could have happened. She would have to tell Rick.

"Daryl?"

He turned back to her as he headed upstairs. "What?"

"W-what if...what if it had gotten her? What would we-"

"Shut up!" he snapped suddenly, looking enraged. Carol hadn't seen this angry in months. She recoiled at his sudden outburst, more so startled than anything else. He stalked forward. For one tiny moment, she thought he was going to hit her. Some fears, she would realize later, never truly went away. But he didn't lay a finger on her. Instead, he shoved his face up at hers, glaring at her angrily.

"That is not going to happen, you understand?!"

He refused to acknowledge any alternative. It was too painful and too scary. Judith was always going to be alright, no matter what happened, as long as he was there. Carol gently took his hand, hoping to calm him down, causing his face to go slightly pink.

"I know," she said. "She'll be okay...we'll be okay."

His face softened and he nodded curtly, deciding to sit beside her at the table outside the cell. She kept hold of his hand, and he made no move to pull it away. Despite the nausea in her stomach, Carol found herself wondering what would happen to the group if Judith died.

There would be no group anymore, she realized. For the past three years, little Judith had been a beacon of hope for the remaining survivors. She smiled, she laughed, she cried, and it gave everybody a sense of purpose. Everyone now had one goal: keep Judith safe and happy. If they failed that goal, what was to become of them?

Carol rested her head on Daryl's shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her, drawing her closer. As they sat there in the silence of the prison, Daryl began to softly sing the remainder of the song;

"...Remember

To let her into your heart

Then you can start

To make it better."