Daryl walked back to the fire and sat down next to the sleeping Carol. He felt slightly jealous of her ability to sleep at this time. Sure, he'd slept in the woods alone before. But that was before the world ended. He smirked. That seemed like an entire lifetime ago. It seemed like all he'd ever known was the apocalypse. Walkers and surviving.
He looked at Carol. They hadn't spoken since what he'd said. She'd went off to one side of the clearing, him to the other. Eventually she retreated back to the warmth of the fire and drifted off. She laid there, her arms crossed over herself, shivering in the cold. He sighed and pulled his jacket off, draping it over her. She stopped shivering almost immediately, making him laugh.
He didn't know what it was about this woman that made him feel so comfortable. She was kind, and caring. He at first thought she just needed someone to cling to after Sophia was gone, but that couldn't have been it. He'd tried pushing her away, all but screaming in her face to leave him alone. Carol was persistent. As if she could sense him thinking about her, she stirred. He looked at her, then laid down. She didn't fully wake up, just shifted slightly, pulled his coat further up towards her shoulders. He smiled softly and watched her as she drifted back to sleep.
~X~
Carol opened her eyes the following morning. Her first thought was she was hungry, cold, and tired. She shrugged all that off though when she realized she was cuddled up to Daryl. Her head was resting on his shoulder, his arm was wrapped around her, resting on her waist and her arm was draped across his middle. She could tell by his breathing that he was awake, but she was hesitant to move. She'd obviously cuddled up to him in her sleep, but this was unwanted physical contact on Daryl's part and she was unsure how he'd react.
"Bout time you woke up." He grumbled. She breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, raising her head. She saw his eyes were tired. It was obvious he didn't sleep at all. She looked at the fire, which was still burning rather strong, warming her legs. She looked back to Daryl. He laid on his back, one arm behind his head, the other still around her. She sat up reluctantly and stretched. He did too.
"How long you been up?" She asked, knowing fully well he didn't sleep a wink.
"Not long." He lied. She frowned, but brushed it off. Her stomach growled loudly and she quickly placed her hand over it.
"Here." He tossed her another energy bar.
"How many you got left?" She asked, opening the bar.
"That's the last." She paused. Then grabbed both sides of the bar and broke it in half, holding the one half out to him. He shook his head.
"You eat it. Ya need the food." He said.
"So do you." She argued. He shook his head again. She sighed. "Daryl Dixon. Eat the god damned food." He raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm not eating it. If you don't it's going in the fire." She threatened, raising an arm over her head, ready to throw the bar. He sighed and reached out and grabbed it. She smiled triumphantly. He ignored her. They finished their food, put out their fire and moved on.
~X~
By mid afternoon they'd made their way to a small stream. Daryl insisted they hunt and fish for food, obviously not optimistic about rejoining the group. Carol didn't argue. At least she had him. Daryl waded into the water while Carol stood on the bank. Grabbing his crossbow from his back, Daryl shot into the water, impaling a fish. Carol clapped with excitement and Daryl smirked. He grabbed the arrow, pulling the fish off and threw it onto the bank next to Carol. He waded for a bit more and got another fish, earning another round of applause from Carol.
"We're gonna eat good tonight!" She said with a smile. He laughed a bit, throwing the fish to the bank. "Can I try?" Daryl paused and looked at Carol. She stood with her arms crossed, looking shy and slightly embarrassed that she'd even asked. He sighed and nodded. Her face lit up, reminding him of a child.
"You break it, you're done for." He said, pointing a finger at her as she made her way out to him. She laughed. He handed her the crossbow carefully. She shifted it in her hands, raising and lowering it, testing it's weight and size. Finally she raised it, aiming it. He watched her as she smiled and fired, hitting a rock. He smirked and she frowned.
"Dammit." She muttered.
"Did I mention that you're making me more arrows if you break all these?" He asked, making her punch his arm playfully. She raised the bow again, shooting, actually hitting a fish this time.
"Yes!" She cried, throwing her hands up, nearly dropping the crossbow. He quickly grabbed it from her, causing her to laugh. She reached down and grabbed the arrow, raising it out of the water with the fish. She glanced at the still alive fish, gasping for air. She couldn't bring herself to pull the fish from the arrow, so she tossed the fish, arrow and all towards the bank. Instead they landed in the water.
"No!" She laughed. As if the fish suddenly came to life it began to swim, the arrow still protruding from it's back. Carol quickly raced forward to grab the arrow, hitting her foot on a rock in the process and falling towards the water.
Daryl quickly pulled her out of the water, her clothes soaked through. She shivered uncontrollably as the bitter cold air met her. Daryl carried her out of the water and set her down on the bank, she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep warm.
"Take off your shirt." Daryl commanded.
"Excuse me?" She asked.
"Just do it." He grumbled, shrugging off his jacket. She did as he commanded, taking off her long sleeve shirt and the tank top underneath, attempting to cover herself however she could. She looked at Daryl and her eyes grew wide. He'd taken his shirt and his jacket off and was now handing them to her. She opened her mouth to protest but he cut her off.
"Put them on. It's freezing and you're soaked. You need to get warm before you get sick." She sighed, knowing he was right. She pulled the shirt over her head and slipped the jacked on. She looked at Daryl, who she realized was standing very uncomfortably next to her, his arms covering his bare chest.
"Thanks." She said, looking toward her feet.
"We should go back." Daryl said quickly. She knew he meant back to their small clearing and she nodded. He motioned for her to lead, and she obeyed, grabbing the two fish he'd caught off the ground, carrying them with her. She tried to walk normally, fully aware of a shirtless Daryl Dixon behind her. She tried to not turn around, but couldn't help it. Glancing over her shoulder, she could almost feel his discomfort. Her cheeks heated and she looked away. They continued walking in silence.
