"Are you serious?" Lilly sounded so surprise. "Meredith? I can't believe it."

"All women need someone to scratch their itch," Tara replied. "I prefer mine to be another woman, but that's a different matter."

Lilly smacked her and gestured to Meghan.

"Like she listens to me anyway." Tara snickered. "Hey, Bob, you got competition."

He glared over the worn book he was head. Tara always liked to tease him about his relationship with Carol. It wasn't what she thought... "Are you drunk again?"

She held her hands up. "Just 'cause your woman isn't yours doesn't mean you take it out on me." She hopped up. "I'm gonna take watch since Carol's busy." She walked by Bobby and bent down. "Getting it on." She scampered off as he got pissed, snorting laughter.

Lilly shook her head. "Don't ever be like Aunt Tara, okay, honey?"

Meghan looked up from her game of chess. "Okay."

Alicia made her move. "Checkmate. And personally, I think it's good some of us still have a sense of humor."

"Not that kind of humor," Lilly replied.

Meghan moved the pieces back into the place. "One more game?"

"Sure."

– – –

Michonne, Maggie and Sasha took out the walkers that got through as Glenn, Bob, Rick and Tyreese dug a pit for the walkers to fall in to. Beth and Carl drew their attention over to the far gate with a few drops of blood and clanging pans, but it only worked so far.

They dug as quickly as they could, they needed a five or six feet deep pit, and with all of Glenn's digging skills, he was able to get them there faster. Not a lot faster, but still faster. They had one already dug, and most of the walkers had filled it, so it made the women's job easier. It still took a long while to dig it out.

Rick was furious with Daryl. Not only had he disappeared, but he neglected to tell anyone where in the hell was he going. Someone should've gone with him. He should have told someone where to look to find him if he got bit or killed. Daryl was making a bad habit of disappearing when they needed him. Rick hoped when he got back, he wouldn't leave again. He was already on Daryl's bad side, so it didn't matter if Rick forced him to stay in the cell block or not. He doubted Daryl would stay in the cell block, even if he forced him to. He wanted to know what the hell was going on with Daryl.

– – –

Carol rushed inside, Daryl jumped out of his seat, and she shoved him onto the ground. He groaned, and she kept her head down on his chest as she panted. He waited a moment, but nothing happened. He began to wonder how many times she was going to do this to him. Was it for fun now?

"Do you like gettin' me on my back or what?"

"Shh." She listened.

Headlights crossed the wall beside them, Daryl reached up and grabbed his crossbow, just in case, and Carol stilled as voices came. They weren't speaking English, but one of them was an American. She could tell by the lack of flow in his words.

They didn't come inside, just had a conversation then left. Carol waited for a long time before getting up. Daryl rolled over onto his knees and checked outside with her. They didn't leave anyone behind, and they were gone as quickly as they came.

She relaxed and sat down on the floor just inside the door, her knees upraised, hands in her hair.

"You're bleedin'." He crouched down and tugged the cloth of her pants back. "Looks like a scratch."

"It is." She saw the fear dancing in his eyes. "Barb wire hurts. I blame you. Had you not brought up the broken part of the gate a while, I wouldn't have jinxed myself and sliced my leg open."

"It's just from the wire?"

"No, a walker scratched me, and I'm lying so I can eat you."

"That ain't funny." He closed the door and went to the kitchen. "Got some rags in here." He sat down beside her and dabbed a bit of water on the rag before wiping the blood off. She winced a little. "It hurts, huh?"

"No, it's like kitten licks, really." She sighed. "This is getting old, Daryl."

"What is?"

She turned her head to look at him. "It's been two months since you came to my camp, and I really enjoy coming out there to talk to you, keeping in touch with the girls and everyone at the prison, but we're just holding each other bac—Ow!" She cried out as he dug the rag into her leg.

"Might be infect. Shame." He hid a smile.

"I just feel like we're putting each other in danger. I don't want that. I can't go back to the prison, and you can't leave the prison, so..."

"Flesh-colored or white?" Daryl asked.

"What?"

"Bandage. White ones hurt less when you rip 'em off."

"Flesh-colored. They last longer. Are you even listening to me?"

"Nope." He smoothed the bandage down. "You ain't gettin' rid of me, and I thought we talked 'bout you sayin' this shit."

"We did, but I was hoping you'd come around. Guess not." She stood up. "All right. How's Beth? I haven't seen her in a long time."

"Been busy with Rick and Lil Ass Kicker."

She nodded. "How are Lizzie and Mika? Good?"

"...yeah."

"That's good. I wish I could see them." She crossed her arms. "Think I can sneak over there without Rick tryin' to shoot me?"

"Maybe."

She sighed and pushed it away as she gazed outside. "Let's go on a walk. It's a nice day." She opened the front door and padded down the stairs. "C'mon."

He caught up to her as she made her way across the yard. He smiled a bit as she stretched out her arms, enjoying the cool fall air, and he took that moment to enjoy the way her pants hung around her hips. There was something about the way she moved, when her many layers weren't covering the curves any man would love to appreciate, that made him think about them being...more. He wasn't sure. Carol was a verbal tease, and he was pretty sure that little ginger had feelings for her. He didn't tell her, but he checked in on her from time to time, and that damn ginger clung to her side like a damn leech. It made him so...annoyed. He felt like Carol was his—not his woman, not something he owned—just his. He felt like he was the only one who could be this close to her. He tried not to let his emotions get the better of him, because it was all in his head. Or so he hoped.

Carol walked ahead of them, almost rushing, and she heard Daryl moving quickly to catch up. She looked behind her, he eyed her, and she took off. He automatically followed her. He never remembered her running this fast, but he was still faster. He fell into step with her, and they ran until she finally stopped in the middle of a field. There was a river to the left and some trees by it. She dropped down under the shade of the tree, though the yellowing leaves were few.

"Don't get in the water." She shielded her eyes with her hand from the sun. "Walker city down there."

"Why'd you lead me here?" He dropped beside her, catching his breath, sitting so close their shoulders knocked together when he sat.

"Because I need away from the scent of rotting flesh and that stuffy house." She rubbed her arms and inhaled deeply. "I miss the scent of freshly mowed grass." She pulled her legs to her chest. "I miss the farm."

He squinted at her.

She rested her head on her knees. "I can't remember a place where we didn't lose people. That first camp with Amy, the Morales and everyone, the CDC, the farm, the prison, my camp." She shook her head. "It's all soiled, isn't it?"

"Don't know 'bout that."

"We buried so many people." She tried to keep the tears away, but somehow...in this place with Daryl, it all came back to her. "We both lost the most important person to us in the worst way."

He didn't say anything.

"I had a...dream last night." She met his eyes. "You all were at the prison, and Phillip came with cars and weapons that outnumbered you again, and he killed someone. I don't remember who, but you all were scattered and—and lost and—"

"Hey, hey, hey." He tentatively set a hand on hers. "It was just a dream. Don't mean nothin'."

She sniffed. "But it does." She wiggling her fingers through his, and he tensed. "It means you and the others need an escape plan. If something happens, if someone threatens you and you can't win, you need a plan. Somewhere to meet up, like the highway after the farm was lost—only intentional."

"He's comin', ain't he?"

"I don't know." She released his hand. "He's been on edge lately, and I can never get him alone." Meghan was so clingy to him. They'd all grown so close these past few months, but all Carol saw in him was the bastard that killed Andrea, Axel, Merle and God knows who else. It was getting under her skin to live with a snake in the nest. She would put an end to him. She had to. If he was planning an attack on the prison, she had to stop him before he did. Judith was there and her girls and Rick's people. She would never put them in harm's way, especially not the Governor's harmful way. She would die before she let that happened.

"You know somethin'," he pressed. "What ain't you tellin' me? Is he comin'?"

"No."

"Is that why you dragged me out here? So I wouldn't be there when he came?" He shot up, and Carol grabbed his hand. "Lemme go!"

"You're misunderstanding." She jerked him down, and he hadn't expected her to use such strength, because he fell right beside her, face first into the grass. "Oops."

He sat up on his knees and glared. "Oops? Man, I'm gonna—" He grabbed a handful of leaves and chucked them at her.

"What harm's done? You're never clean." She sat up on her knees.

"Try to be." He wiped his face off, and when he moved his hand, her face was right there. His neck burned, and it started moving upward toward his cheeks. She reached out and touched his brow, it stung so he must've had cut there. Her skin was so warm though, and he didn't mind the slight stinging.

"I think you'll live." She started to sit back when he grasped her hand, and the joking left her eyes.

"Don't." He leaned over and kissed her. Two years with this woman and he could no longer contain himself. She overwhelmed him with scent, sound and sight, and he wanted even. He wanted to overwhelm her for once. She had no idea the affect she had on him, but he was going to make sure she didn't forget it.

It was like a teenager's first kiss, a momentary brushing of lips, but only for a moment. He didn't give her a chance to pull back. He shifted and grasped the back of her neck gently, bringing her face closer to his, kissing her deeply.

Daryl was surprised when she gripped his shoulders and climbed onto his lap, her hand caressing his cheek as she opened her mouth to his. Her soft tongue glided over his, he groaned and gripped the cloth at her hips, pulling her closer, wanting to feel her body aligned with his.

"Daryl." Her breathy, desire-laced moan of his name—just his name—made the blood in his body rush downward, and there wasn't enough. There wasn't enough skin, there wasn't enough room, and there wasn't enough time. They were both breathing heavily, bodies burning, aching for more as their lips met for another passionate kiss.

Her hands grasped at the strands of hair at the nape of his neck, her thighs around his hips, her body moving closer to him, seeking his touch. He groaned as she shifted, she murmured an apology, moving one hand from her his hand down his chest slowly, causing his skin to prickle with goose bumps. She reached down and undid his pants, he leaned forward so that they fell over, and Carol was underneath him.

It wasn't romance, it wasn't love, it wasn't the beginning of a relationship—it just was want. Completely unadulterated lust, dark need and hungry. They both breathing heavily as the afternoon sun revealed their activities to anyone in the nearby area, but they didn't care. It was almost like they couldn't stop, and they didn't want to.

He grasped her hands from the back of his neck and pinned them down into the warm grass, she looked up at him with tantalizing ocean blue eyes, and he kissed her hard. He slid his arms down her small body and her legs locked around his waist, and he grasped at the shirts she wore. They both wore layers, and neither of them had the patience to deal with them.

He broke the kiss to unstrap her boots, and he tossed them behind him, and together they unbuckled her belt. He removed them and seized her mouth once more, kissing her hungrily, savoring the taste of her mouth. Every fiber of his body was awakened by her touch, and he wanted to bury himself inside of her now.

And as if sensing his need, she removed his belt and they both fumbled with his jeans. She managed to free the metal button from the cloth and the zipper didn't matter. Leaning down, he grasped her panties and tugged them off before removing his own boxers. He grasped the back of her neck in his hand, bringing her mouth up to his, and she slid her fingers into his shaggy hair, running her tongue along his bottom lip. And they gave into their bodily desires.

Carol felt every thrust throughout her body, even her fingertips, and her harsh breathing mangled with his as he kissed her over and over, moving inside of her. It wasn't at all like she had expected. She always figured Daryl as an inexperienced, awkward man, but this was the most confidence she'd ever known him to have. He was more proficient that any man she had ever been with, which wasn't a large number. He made her body ache in a way she'd only heard about or read about and God did he feel...

He felt so...much inside her. He filled her in a way that was beyond their bodies, and it made the experience more meaningful that they had intended it to be. It wasn't lost on either of them nor was it regretted by either of them.

– – –

The cool night air blew over the water as it rushed downward, it wasn't as calming as it sounded, because all that she could see were walkers coming out of it like some scene in a lame-ass movie. She sat up and turned the small, battery-operated music player off. She sighed and found Rick in the doorway to her cell.

"Still can't sleep?"

"Not even a little bit." She moved over, and he sat beside her. "All I can see are walkers, all I hear are walkers." She ran her hands through her hair. "All I feel are their grabby fingers diggin' into some poor innocent, and that smell—"

"Beth, stop it. You aren't making yourself any better."

She sucked in a deep breath. "Is Judy up? Is that why you're up?"

"I waitin' for Daryl. He hasn't been here all day." He wasn't worried. Daryl could handle a few walkers, and he could handle people as well. He just wished he would come back soon. What's out there that's more important than protecting this group? Rick almost thought he found—but no. There was no chance of that. Daryl went out to...hunt or find himself or dosome other Dixon thing. He liked his space, and Rick could respect that, but not at the cost of their people. If Daryl isn't back by morning, it's assumed he moved on or died. He doubted both options.

"Daryl, huh?" She stood up and set the music player on the nightstand. "He's gotten so crazed since Carol." She faced him. "You notice that?"

"Yeah." Rick's hand twitched. "He doesn't trust me, sure as hell doesn't approve of my decisions."

"Can you blame him?" She put her hands in her back pockets, and he eyed her. "I think it wasn't about Carol. It was never about Carol. It was about how you made a choice and didn't even bother to tell nobody. Glenn, Sasha, Hershel, Daryl and Carol were the ones who make the decisions. I know you were tryin' to protect her and us, but...it shoulda gone through them. Now you got three of 'em against you. You needa sort it all out, Rick, and soon. The wind won't always blow in your favor."

He rose off the bed. "If you wanna sleep, keep thinkin' 'bout that." He walked out.

She picked up a pen and her notebook. She filled out a page before her vision went blurry and she passed out.

Rick peered into Beth's cell and picked up her diary from underneath her head and picked the pen up off the floor. He covered her up. He took the music player and went outside. He could hear the walkers, smell them as well, and he shook his head. He should've never let her go on that run.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and walked to the tower. He climbed up to the top and stepped outside, leaning against the railing. He put the earbuds in and pushed play as he watched for Daryl, the cool night air tugging at his thin shirt. She got one thing right. He needed to sort it out. He didn't know where to begin though. Maybe she help could with that.

The world goes to shit, and the women lose themselves along the way, but they get wise too. They get wise, the children get strong, and the men provide. That's how it goes. That's how it always goes. What was he proving now? And was it really such a high priority?