A/N: Hello everyone!

I need to send a special shout out to some of my most loyal readers-LadyNebula, Dixonrocks, HGRHfan35, itsi3, peonies01, Peta2, AffairWithACrossbow, and BLulcy-You guys have not let me down, and I thank you for all your kind words and support...it's so much fun to read your reviews too!

Anyway, we're going to be back to the duel POV's in this chapter. Carl and Tyreese are also featured in these scenes with them. I especially love the one with Daryl and Carl because I get the impression that on the inside, Daryl feels like a thirteen-year-old boy. He has NO idea how to handle girls or sex or any of it and he's really just trying desperately to sound like he knows what he's doing. I could be wrong, but from what I've heard of Norman Reedus talk about the character, it sounds like that's how he envisions it too. One of my favorite things Norman has ever said was that if a girl ever came up to Daryl and tried to kiss him, he'd be like "EEEEEEE!" Personally, I'd love to teach Daryl a thing or two;) *giggles wickedly*

Disclaimer: I own nothing affiliated with The Walking Dead…if I did, their names would go as follows…Dick, Beryl, Mori, Pandrea, Ben, Saggie…j/k

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Ch9.

Daryl had been lying when he'd told Herschel that he had things he needed to do. Seeing as how his ankle was still useless, he couldn't to a whole hell of a lot of anything. Herschel probably knew that too. Man was too insightful for his own good.

In reality, Daryl just needed to go somewhere to think where he wouldn't be interrupted. He'd never been more confused in his whole life. The sudden change in feelings for Carol was driving up the damn wall. It wasn't like he hadn't looked at her before, but now it was different.

It was too real.

Finding a place to go hide by himself was the tough part. He knew that Rick had mentioned something about finding another section of the prison when he was cleaning up more blocks recently, but he didn't know exactly where he'd meant. Daryl wasn't stupid enough to just go roaming around the place on his own either. He made his way out to the side of the prison where the storage dock was. He guessed it was where they brought in supplies for the prisoners. It wasn't too far from the main area, but it was far enough where he wouldn't have to worry about anyone looking for him. Not that anyone would actually be looking. The one person who'd care if he went missing wasn't even around.

If he could just go out and go hunting again, maybe he could make some sense of all of it. That's when he did most of his thinking, even though most people probably thought he was just out there trying to kill things. It was a skill, but it also helped him focus on what was important. He could put things in perspective out there in the woods. Right now, he felt more than useless. Daryl had considered himself a lot of things in the past, but one thing he'd never been was lazy. Sitting around waiting for something to happen wasn't in his nature at all. In fact, it almost bothered him more than the thought of Carol out on the road.

After a good hour of sitting around trying to figure things out, he still didn't know what the fuck to do. Maybe if Rick was here, he could get some insight. He was about the only other person Daryl trusted not to laugh his ass off about the whole thing. At least he knew what it was like to have women issues. Lori'd given him all sorts of problems back when she and Shane were still alive. Daryl didn't know the whole story, but he'd gotten the impression that Lori thought that Asskicker may not have been Rick's baby. He'd seen her with Shane before they discovered that Rick was still alive, and knew damn well that something had been going on there. Guess anything was possible, but either way, she was his responsibility now.

Daryl always figured that if he ever hooked up with someone with a kid, he'd treat them like his own. Wasn't the kid's fault their parents couldn't make things work. Hell, he would've been grateful for his own mom to go off and find a nice guy that'd treat them right. For a moment, Daryl actually found himself wondering if Sophia would've minded if her mama had ended up with a guy like him. He really hadn't spoken to her much when she was alive, but he got the impression that she wasn't too impressed by him. Maybe she had been scared of him after all. Then again, maybe she thought that he was no better than her daddy.

He hadn't exactly made a good first impression back at the camp, but he also hadn't cared what people thought of him back then. He hadn't planned on sticking around long enough for anyone to find out. When Merle disappeared, the plan had changed. It took Daryl a while to realize that he wanted to be in the group. Sophia going missing was almost like his chance to prove himself to them. He'd told Carol that he was out looking for her daughter because he didn't have anything else better to do, but that wasn't the whole truth. He just hadn't figured it out yet.

It's about the only thing I have figured out.

His head was starting to hurt again. Too much thinking would do that to ya. Deciding he'd had enough quiet time, Daryl headed back outside. He needed to find something else to do to occupy his time until they got back. As he made his way back out to the blacktop, he noticed that Carl was on watch duty with his Beretta holstered at his side. Poor kid had to have been dying in the heat, but if he was, he sure wasn't letting on about it. Carl turned around just as he approached; peeking out from underneath his hat.

"Hey Daryl. How's the ankle?"

"Been better." He walked up to the fence. "How long you been out here?"

"Not long. It's getting hot though."

"Sure is."

"Were you in the prison?"

"I was at the storage dock." He admitted. "Just trying to kill some time."

"You worried about the others too?"

"Naw." He lied. "Just bored. Can't do much of anything I wanna be doing."

"I know that feeling." Carl laughed. "Every time I find something fun to do, someone's yelling at me to stop."

"Well I won't do that to ya."

"Thanks."

Daryl played with the sleeve of his shirt. "You seen Beth today? I know she was wantin' some help with those kids earlier."

"No, and I don't wantto see her."

Daryl was surprised by his irritation. "Why?"

Carl huffed. "Because she thinks of me like one of those kids in her class. She's more interested in men now."

Daryl remembered how Carol had said that Beth was developing a crush on him. Carl obviously knew about it and wasn't taking it well. As much as he wanted to laugh it off, the last thing he needed was another person mad at him.

"You know I don't think about her like that, right?"

Carl sighed heavily and shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah…I guess."

"She may not want to think it, but she's still a kid herself." Daryl looked down at him. "Can't imagine what it's like to have to grow up in all of this. I had a shitty childhood and that was before the world went to hell."

"Yeah well, it sucks." Carl said dryly. "My dad says it'll get easier, but I don't know if I trust him anymore."

"Your dad's doin' the best job he can. Man's got a lot on his shoulders."

"I know."

"And you're doing a great job guardin' the place too." Daryl added. "Been a big help to everyone with it."

"I like it best out here by myself."

He chuckled. "Yeah I hear that."

"Is that why you've been hiding in our tent?"

Daryl couldn't put anything past this kid. "Yeah, I guess. Thinking 'bout moving back in for a while though. There's no shade down there and it's getting awful hot."

"You could share Carol's bunk. I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

"How'd you know she wouldn't mind?"

"Cause I've seen how she looks at you."

"And how's that?"

Carl grinned. "Like she wants to get you alone and rip all your clothes off."

Daryl snorted. "That's bull."

"It's true! She told my mom one time!"

He made a face. "You being a peepin' tom or somethin'?"

"No, it was an accident. I overheard them talking one night back at camp." Carl replayed the scene. "They thought I was playing with Sophia, but I came back to get a drink. They were in the tent and I heard Carol tell my mom that she wanted to take you somewhere and rip off your clothes. Then they started laughing."

Damn, this kid was gonna make him blush. "She probably just wanted to scrub me down 'cause I tracked mud into the RV or somethin'."

"That's not what it sounded like to me."

"Yeah well…mind your own business."

Carl looked up at him hesitantly. "So you and Carol aren't together then?"

"No. Why?"

"Cause I see you look at her sometimes too."

Daryl scoffed. "I'm allowed to look at people ain't I?"

"But you care about her, right?"

Hell, this was uncomfortable. He should've just hid for the rest of the night. "Yeah, I guess."

Carl paused. "You should tell her. She'd want to know."

He squinted. "You tell Beth how you felt?"

"Yeah."

"How'd that go?"

"She said she wanted to be friends."

"Trust me, it'd end the same way for me. Maybe worse."

Carl looked up at him. "In the end it didn't go the way I wanted, but I'm still glad I was man enough to tell her." He paused. "You should tell Carol because you want to. Damn the consequences."

Daryl was slightly shocked by his statement, and quickly realized that this was no boy standing next to him. Carl was smarter and braver than most of the grown men he'd ever met. Rick had nothing to worry about as far as he was concerned. His son was gonna be an honest man.

"Maybe I'll take your advice someday."

"You should."

Daryl pushed against the fence. "As soon as my ankle heals up, I'm taking you out for another trackin' lesson."

"Really?"

"Yup."

"I'm ready." Carl said confidently. "I promise I'll make you proud."

Daryl smiled and pushed his hat down over his face. "You know, Beth's gonna regret what she said to you. She's missin' out on one helluva guy."

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Carol had been exhausted, both mentally and physically after the walker battle. She slept most of the way back, but the last hour or so she started feeling more refreshed and even found herself volunteering to drive the rest of the way back. Rick happily handed over the keys; looking as drained as she was. He hopped in the back and went to sleep aside of Michonne, who had been out for most of the trip herself. Tyreese kept her company for the remainder of the trip, which was a nice change. She'd realized that she'd never really gotten the chance to talk to him like she'd planned to a few days ago. They didn't speak much at first, but eventually she managed to strike up a conversation.

"So, I hope I didn't scare you too bad back there." She said looking over at him wearily. "I really wasn't trying to get us killed. I just went into survival mode."

"I believe you." He replied. "I'll admit I did panic when I saw that one had grabbed you. I thought you'd gotten bit for sure. That's why I was trying to get us out."

"Well, I appreciate you trying to help instead of running out the door screaming." She joked.

Tyreese chuckled. "Trust me, that's what I wanted to do."

"Well, I won't tell Sacha about your moment of weakness."

"Well, I plan to tell everyone I know how you kicked butt and took names. Sure you weren't a ninja in another lifetime?"

She shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe I was."

"Well, for what it's worth, you're a warrior in my book."

Carol smiled. It was nice to have someone look at her with appreciation and confidence again. For too many years, she'd undervalued herself, and it had nearly ruined her life. She was about to thank Tyreese for his words of encouragement when she heard a noise from the back seat. Looking up at the rearview mirror, she noticed that Michonne had somehow drifted over to the side and was now resting her head against Rick's shoulder. Rick was still asleep, but he definitely wasn't annoyed by the intrustion.

"Did I miss something?" She gestured to them while Tyreese looked back. "Do you get the idea that something's going on with them?"

Tyreese shrugged. "I don't know honestly. They do seem to like to go out and kill things together."

"I have a hard time picturing them together." Carol said honestly. "I want them both to be happy, don't get me wrong. She's just so…on guard all the time."

"I think she's got a lot on her shoulders, just like Rick."

"True. Maybe there's a bond there we can't see."

"Kinda like you and Daryl…" She didn't need to look over to know that Tyreese had a smirk on his face. "I know you said that you two weren't together, but no man looks at a woman the way he looks at you without having feelings for her."

Carol was starting to wonder if Rick had put him up to this, but she knew he wasn't the only one saying it. Everyone at some time or another had pointed out to her that Daryl's actions definitely meant something more than what he was saying. Why couldn't she let herself believe it was true?

"Yeah, well….it's…"

"Complicated, I remember."

"I know that sounds like an excuse." Carol sighed. "But I was married to a man whose only enjoyment in the world was torturing me and my daughter. Daryl comes from a similar background. We just get each other."

"Makes sense." He nodded. "But now both of you are too scared to make a move in fear that it'll go south just like last time."

"Okay…so maybe it's not that complicated…"

"Bottom line…" Tyreese looked at her genuinely. "You both deserve a chance at some happiness again. Just because the world imploded on itself doesn't mean that you deserve to live a lonely, miserable existence. Life is what you make it, and I know if it was me, I'd take any scrap of joy I could find and never let it go."

Carol took in what he said, but tried not to take it too much to heart. She would have loved to have acted on her feelings, but if she did there was a good chance that Daryl would pull away from her permanently. Whatever had happened to him previously, it had left a big scar.

"You're very wise. Were you a Minister by any chance?"

Tyreese chuckled, shaking his head. "Nah. I was a bouncer at a club, and I worked part time as a car salesman."

"So you've seen your share of conflicts then."

He laughed from deep within, so much so that it was contagious. "That I have…that I have."

Their commotion seemed to have woken up Rick, who seemed more than a little surprised to see Michonne's head on his shoulder as he tried to stretch. Carol watched his actions from the mirror and laughed. She imagined that Daryl would've had a very similar reaction himself.

"We'll be back soon." She informed him. "Tyreese and I were just practicing some jokes to warm up the crowd."

"Apparently I missed some good ones." Rick said leaning back again. "You'll have to fill me in."

A/N: Oh, I just saw a deleted scene from Season 3 (which I'm sure will be on the DVD…come on August 27th!) and it was of Carol talking to Merle. I have to say that I wish they'd shown it on the show instead of getting rid of it because it confirms everything about Carol that I have been trying to get through in this story. I won't give away what happens, but let's just say that Carol makes her feelings to Merle VERY clear and really drives it home. I suggest looking it up on YouTube immediately and watch the awesomeness!