AN: Awww I'm happy to see there are some of you still reading this one. If you had to go back and start over because I made you wait so long I do apologize. Thank you all so much for your patience, passion and commitment. To those of you in the US Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow. Enjoy the holiday with your families. To everyone else that has to work… it's only one more day until Friday :) XOXO

Chapter 7

Carol was frozen in shock, at least she thought she was until she realized she was already instinctively kissing him back. She also quickly realized that… she was enjoying it, maybe even more than she should be. She barely knew him… yet in the few days they had been together they had experienced more than many others would in weeks.

Daryl was leaving and he wanted her to go with him. Carol hadn't really appreciated the magnitude of it all until his lips met hers. Not only did he want her to leave with him - there was a pretty big reason for it… Daryl had feelings for her.

Carol didn't have time to think about everything she was feeling because the second their lips parted it was go-time. He drew back and searched her eyes for understanding. Carol gave it with a nod and with that they sprung into action.

She quickly gathered anything worth taking and threw it into her backpack. Daryl added several things that he had grabbed and they were off. "Stay close," he whispered as they snuck quietly down the staircase. "Hopefully no one notices the backpack," he added. Daryl paused at the bottom of the stairs. "Should uh, maybe make it look like we're out for a stroll," he said. Carol saw his cheeks flush as he offered his hand. Oh that kind of stroll, she thought, placing her hand in his, biting back a smile. This wasn't the time for teasing. "Ain't far," Daryl said, leading the way outside.

Carol followed, enjoying the comfort of having his rough, warm hand in hers. Her heart was beating wildly, stomach in knots. Clearly it could be bad, very bad, if they got caught leaving. That in itself was one hell of a warning sign. People should be free to come and go as they please, but that obviously wasn't the case.

Daryl led the way to an alley. There were a few others outside but no one seemed to notice them. Once they were in the shadows of the alley Daryl could have let go of her hand, but he didn't and she was thankful.

"Psst," they heard as soon as they emerged out the other side. Carol saw Merle waving at them by a gate. She also saw their weapons in his hand and hadn't even clued in that they were headed out there with no way to defend themselves. The governor had explained that they don't carry weapons when they are behind the walls and Carol handed handed over her only protection without a second thought. She wondered how long it had taken to get Daryl to part ways with the crossbow? Probably much longer because he was smart and instinctive. Carol knew she still had a lot to learn.

Merle handed over her gun and knife and she saw him give Daryl the crossbow and his own knife. "But ain't he gonna know you helped us?" Daryl asked.

"I'm a great liar, you know that. And…" Merle produced a pair of handcuffs. "You're gonna cuff me to the fence before you go." Carol smiled, Merle was a lot brighter than she gave him credit for. If she was being honest she had seen him as nothing more than angry, redneck trash, when they were back at the quarry. There was always something different about Daryl, no matter how gruff he tried to appear. It didn't come from the same place as Merle's dark side and it wasn't always there. There were times he let his guard down and Carol knew that most of it was an act with Daryl - likely his way of trying to fit in with his brother and keep the rest of the world out.

"You could change your mind," Daryl said. "Come with us…" Carol felt her heart start to ache for what Daryl was about to go through. To lose his brother, find him and then lose him again had to hurt so badly.

"You gotta get your ass outta here," was Merle's non answer. "Here," he handed Daryl a set of handcuffs. He reluctantly took them and chained Merle to the fence. "You're in good hands," he said to Carol.

Daryl looked away shyly. "I know," she replied, looking at her handsome hero. "Thank you, for helping us," Carol said sincerely. She leaned in and gave Merle an awkward hug and then stepped back. Daryl was still hesitating and Carol realized he was trying not to cry. "I'll take care of him," she whispered to Merle. "Promise."

"Get outta here," Merle said gently. Carol could tell he was emotional as well. "Remember all the things I taught ya," he added as Daryl took one step towards the gate. "Don't hesitate when you take a shot, only drink dark whisky and… never waste a hard on." Carol wasn't sure whether to cringe or laugh - Merle was truly a character. Daryl chuckled and took her hand again as they slipped away into the night.

They ran blindly for a while, trying to get as much distance as possible from Woodbury just in case the Governor or someone found Merle quickly. After about 30 minutes of running and walking rest breaks they stopped to catch their breath.

Daryl moved around behind her and started digging in the backpack. He produced a flashlight and turned it on. The moon was bright but the flashlight provided a much better path to follow. "What's the plan?" Carol asked.

"Merle said the chopper went east, maybe they know something… thought we would start heading that way too. But for tonight we gotta find a safe place to sleep," Daryl replied.

So far they hadn't so much as seen a house, cabin, barn, car or anything they could hide out in. Carol was tired and scared they wouldn't find anything for hours. But in less than an hour they spotted a driveway and followed it to a little house. There didn't appear to be any sign of people living there so Daryl tried the front door. It was locked so he smashed it with the butt of his crossbow. "Gotta make sure it's clear first," he whispered. "Stay here."

"Oh hell no," Carol replied, drawing her knife out of the sheathe and following him inside.

Daryl gave her a look but didn't protest. He banged on the wall and yelled a bit and then they listened… silence. He repeated the process again and still nothing. He shrugged and did a quick sweep of the tiny house - it was completely empty. "I think we're good," Daryl said and finally she started to relax. "I put matches in your pack," he said. "Can you get em out? I saw a few candles we can light for tonight." Carol took off the backpack and started digging for the matches while Daryl took off to find the candles.

It was ridiculous but him being gone for even a minute made her jittery. Thankfully he was back quickly with 6 candles, and she was waiting, ready to light them. With all the candles going and spread out around the room it was well lit. They were standing in a cozy living room that looked completely untouched. "How is this possible?" Carol whispered in awe. "We aren't that far from Woodbury… wouldn't they have found this place?" She looked up at Daryl.

He shrugged. "Guess they missed it somehow or maybe they ain't been in this direction yet."

"Will they come looking?" She asked, suddenly changing course, needing to get her fears out.

"Might," Daryl replied. "But Merle will see our tracks - he's good, maybe better than me… he'll make sure they look in the wrong direction." Carol saw the change in his face when he said his brother's name. She knew exactly how he was feeling because the hopes of finding Sophia were nothing more than an ember burning in the pit of her stomach. There was still a tiny shred of hope she would likely carry her entire life - however long that might be - but she was starting to grieve because she knew chances were this cruel world had taken her baby away forever.

"It's okay to cry," Carol whispered. "For him… he's your brother. He helped us but now… you might never see him again - just like Sophia." As she spoke her name Carol couldn't hold back her emotions any longer. "I'm sorry," she whispered through her tears.

"Don't gotta be," Daryl replied. Carol looked at him and in the flicker of the candlelight she saw his eyes shining. It was then she knew it was okay to seek out comfort and give it back at the same time. She took a step closer, watching his eyes and his expression. When it didn't change she took another step, and then one more. Carol slipped an arm around him and placed her head on his chest. It didn't take long for his arms to circle her body and hold her tight. With her own body shaking with sobs she shouldn't have noticed that his was too, just slightly. But she did notice and she hugged him just a little tighter.

Eventually they both regained control of their emotions and at that point the hug got slightly awkward. It wasn't an embrace of comfort any longer - it was different. Carol was hugging him because it felt good and she became aware of everything she was touching and all the parts of him that were touching her. She felt her cheeks burn hot and finally she forced herself to step away. "Maybe, uh… maybe we should sleep?"

"Yeah, good idea… we can scavenge this place in the morning before we head out," Daryl agreed. He looked around. "Well, there's the couch or there's one bed in the room over there…"

Carol chewed her lip. She was feeling extremely co dependent now that they were out on their own again. "Um, do you think we can drag the mattress out here…" she asked, giving him an apologetic look. "I just don't want to be in different rooms," she admitted with a blush. Even after everything that had happened that day she was still paranoid he was gonna get annoyed and ditch her.

"I could just sleep on the floor," he offered.

Carol smiled. "Might be the last time we get to sleep on something comfortable for a while…" He nodded and led the way to the bedroom with the flashlight from his pocket. Between the two of them it didn't take long to get the queen mattress out of the room and clear a spot on the living room floor. It was pushed up right beside the couch in order to fit so they would practically be sleeping beside one another. Carol found sheets and blankets and made up the bed and the couch. "Your pick," she offered when they were both ready.

"You take the mattress," he said, clearly still being chivalrous, although the couch looked pretty comfy too. "I'll blow out a few of these," Daryl said, moving to extinguish several candles. The room quickly darkened and Carol took off her shoes and then got into bed. It felt amazing to stretch out on a real mattress. It had been a long time.

He left a couple candles lit so the room was cast in a dim glow. "Night," he said.

Carol replied and then lay in the silence for a moment. She had a million thoughts going through her mind, but there was one thing she needed to get out before she went to sleep. "Daryl?"

"Hmm?" he responded with a grunt.

"I'm not the last woman on earth, you know that - right?" she said. There was this part of her that was sure his attraction to her had a lot to do with the fact that it had been just the two of them, out there on their own - like they were again then, but with no idea what else was out there. They had found a community though, and it was very likely there were many others out there too.

"I know," he said softly. "But if you were… I'd be one damn lucky guy."