Credit for this chapter's subtitle goes to Walter, puppet and figment of the wacky mind of comedian Jeff Dunham.

Welcome To Wal-Mart. Get Yer Shit & Git Out, by MissMishka


They made it as far as the exit for the supercenter before traffic snarled to prevent the vehicles from going further. They were able to see the sign from the roadway, as well as the parking lot.

After taking the time to get the convoy turned in preparation of a quick departure, the group reconvened in the RV to sort out weapons.

Carol gravitated toward Daryl and she wanted to apologize, but wasn't sure what for, so she said nothing as she brushed her shoulder against his arm.

He turned his hand to grab her wrist when she would have shifted away and he edged them as far from the others as the camper would allow.

"You're staying," he bent to order, speaking low and harsh in her ear.

She decided then that the only truly regrettable fact of not having ridden in with him was that they hadn't had this argument through in private.

"You said it yourself, I have to carry my weight," she turned to argue softly, sharing his obvious desire not to air grievances in front of the group. "I'm capable of going in for supplies. It's not like I'm going alone," she turned her wrist in his clasp to flirt with the idea of holding his hand, her fingers fluttering against his. "You'll be there with me."

He stopped the tickling motions of her fingers with a hard grip around her hand.

"We've no idea what this place is like," he pressed his forehead to her temple and spoke into her ear only. "I can't have you distracting me if it's a hot zone."

"It's always going to be a hot zone anymore," she twisted her face around to look at him sadly. "We're never going to know how bad the situation is. But," she raised her free hand to brush her thumb over his jaw, "if you're going, then so am I. I thought we'd settled that."

He turned from her caress, clearly upset at her using his earlier words against him. He stared past her to the group, teeth visibly gritting as his jaw flexed.

"It's just as dangerous to stay behind," she was hesitant to play devil's advocate, but felt it a necessary evil. "The vehicles are open and exposed here, waiting for you to come back. If another herd were to pass through here…"

His head snapped back for his eyes to glare icy fire at her as the words deliberately trailed off. A muscle ticked in his jaw and she could see the scenarios forming and playing in his head.

"Fuck," he bit out, his eyes promising retribution before he stomped forward to the table where all the weapons were spread out.

Carl and Dale would be the only ones staying behind, so the pickings were slim to arm everyone.

Carol watched Daryl flick his gaze over the sharp weapons, not bothering to glance at the guns. He bit his lip in consideration for a moment before he picked up a machete. He then immediately turned and shoved the weapon in her hand.

She wrapped her fingers around the hilt instinctively, feeling the weight of his gaze more than the unfamiliar metal tugging at her arm.

With his look he told her she had damned well better intend to use it before he released his own hold on the machete and she experimented with her grip on the handle while she silently told him that she would do just that.

Before they left the camper, she slid back to the bedroom and emptied the contents of her purse into the top drawer of the dresser, knowing the bag would be needed for collecting new supplies. She hated the idea of leaving any of the items behind, but there were several unnecessary things she had hoarded in the depths of the shoulder bag and this was an outing that required necessities only.

That was at the forefront of her mind as she left everything behind with the exception of a single grenade. She didn't want to think of how badly this outing could turn, but if the unthinkable were to happen, as it seemed to like doing in this world, she wanted to be prepared for them all.

As they walked away from the vehicles across the pavement to the grassy median that separated interstate from shopping center, she wondered at her resolve to tag along.

Daryl was at the front of their procession with Glenn at his side, the former watching for threats and signs of Walkers nearby while the Korean turned his skilled eye to looking for the best way to get them all in.

To Carol it looked like a straight and obvious path. Cut across the median, down then out of the dip in the earth then hit the pavement of the parking lot and run for the store to limit their exposure in the open. The men seemed determined to be more deliberate and methodical about it, though, and Carol followed where they led.

After skirting the edge of the culvert, they slowly made their way to the edge of the parking lot and found cover against the side of a parked eighteen wheeler.

The trailer bore the Wal-Mart logo and Carol thought of suggesting they break it open to see what it might contain. As she looked back across the distance they'd covered from the RV, she decided, though, that she didn't much care for the idea of rummaging without something shield them from any watching eyes.

She bit her lip as the guys communicated with a series of eye and hand signals that looked intense and emphatic, but made absolutely no sense to her. She looked to Andrea and Lori to find both women following the signals with watchful eyes and the occasional slow nod to indicate they got the gist of whatever.

Not finding any solidarity there, she looked to Maggie and found a similar frown on the girl's face as she watched the interaction. As if sensing Carol's look, the young woman turned to her with a shrug and roll of her eyes and Carol let a smile slip at someone else finding the posturing a little bit amusing in the circumstances.

"Focus," Daryl snapped suddenly from her side, startling the grin from her face. "This ain't no Sunday picnic. You pay attention or you get someone killed."

He stalked off after that, his body quick and quiet as it slid around the rear of their barricade to be the first of the group to venture out into the open. She imagined him alone and exposed and felt ice freeze her spine straight as a steel rod.

One by one they crept to the back of the trailer then burst into the open to race across the parking lot to the nearest abandoned vehicle. As soon as he had someone to cover his back, Daryl would dart again into the unknown dangers that might be on the other side of the vehicle, exposing himself to risks that had Carol a nervous wreck within minutes.

She wanted to follow him more closely, but she had somehow ended up near the rear of the rotation as they cycled across the pavement.

Daryl kept the lead, with his deadly quiet bow at the ready for threats. He was followed by Glenn or T-Dog who were followed by Lori or Andrea who were followed by Shane. Then Maggie and Carol alternated turns while Rick brought up the rear.

She was content enough with this methos as they moved quickly from cover to cover. She felt them to be nearing their goal and was pleased with the progress as she looked back at the ground they had crossed.

Then Shane suddenly ground to a halt at the bumper of a minivan and held up a hand to stop Carol when she would have raced after him to the vehicle. Everything in her froze at what that palm meant, raised and turned toward her in an obvious signal to wait.

Rick read the look on her face and he moved immediately forward to the front of the car to communicate with Shane from the cover provided by the vehicle. She slid back the side of the car, not realizing that she was shaking until Maggie put a calming hand on her shoulder. She kept her gaze on Rick as she reached up a hand to cling to the anchor offered by the girl.

Part of her wanted to cover her mouth and cry, but she was able to stifle it.

A pause in their approach did not mean Daryl was in danger, just that he had urged caution. He was overly cautious when the group was at stake. She forced herself to acknowledge that and nearly bit through her lower lip in relief when Rick finally tapped her shoulder to indicate it was clear for her to go on to the next cover.

After the minivan was a sports car and from there she skirted two downed Walkers as they moved toward a pickup truck. She nearly stumbled over those bodies, seeing the single hole of an arrow in the head of one and a more violent bashing in of the other's skull.

She wondered if Daryl had taken them both down himself or if the second could be credited to Glenn or T-Dog.

It seemed an endless repeat of those actions, the group cycling quickly for a few cars then another nerve-racking pause to sweat through. She had never really realized how damned big a Wal-Mart parking lot was. She remembered all too well how hard it could be to find a good parking space, but it had never really struck her before this endeavor just how many spaces they made available for parking.

Daryl waited inside the gaping entrance to the store, the automatic doors frozen in an open position that did not bode well for their security inside the building. He seemed to be doing a head count as each member of the group that burst through the opening after a flat out run from the last car in the handicapped space to the entrance.

All she wanted to do was fling herself in his arms and sob her exhaustion and relief, but his eyes warned the ordeal was far from over. She saw his relief, too, though, and she drifted toward him as the group took a moment to catch their breath and everyone reassured themselves that each person among them was present, breathing and unbitten.

Assignments had been given before they left the Winnebago, so no instructions were needed or given in the entryway.

After what felt like only a minute to recover and brace for the next leg heads started to nod one by one and Carol knew what each bob meant.

They were ready.

Daryl waited to give his nod of agreement until after she had given her consent and with that final indication of preparedness, Rick nodded decisively and moved to the front of the group.

The Deputy peered intently into the chaos of demolished aisles and fallen bodies. When nothing stirred, he waved his wife forward and Lori moved quickly to his side. The man took a moment to stare into his wife's eyes and the emotion conveyed by the man was enough to make Carol look away.

She found Daryl watching her intently and felt her breath catch.

She sensed the others peeling off to go to their assignments. Rick and Lori went to the left, Shane and Andrea to the right, their assignments to check what remained of use on the sales floor. Glenn, Maggie and T-Dog went straight to the back to the most obvious entrance to the stock room, where they would all eventually gather.

She and Daryl lingered, though, frozen in that stare. His eyes finally darted to the empty space around them. She sensed he was ready for them to begin their assignment, the pharmacy, and she turned to look up at the layout to gauge where it would be located in this particular store. He tapped her wrist and jerked his chin to the left, indicating he'd already determined the location.

When she went to move in that direction, he stopped her with a careful hold of that same wrist. She looked back at him in askance and he stepped in close until light barely had a way to get between their bodies.

"Grip it like a bat and just hack away if you have to," he instructed quietly as he guided her hands to hold the machete firmly.

She looked into his eyes and saw his worry and wished then that she had been stronger to alleviate some of his doubts in her ability to do this.

"I won't let anything get you," she promised, hands flexing to get familiar with the weapon she held.

His jaw flexed and that muscle ticked in his cheek as he shut his eyes at her promise. She wondered how she could have possibly said the wrong thing with such words then his eyes sprang open just before he grabbed her face between his palms and he slammed his mouth down on hers.

The crush of his lips was too brief for her to get more than an impression of hot, chapped skin, but the contact hit her harder than any intimacy she'd experienced in her life.

He pulled away and stared into her dazed eyes for a heartbeat.

"Don't let anything get you," he ordered before he turned quickly away.


A/N: That kiss has been epic in coming and OMG, I just had to have him say *that.* Sorry for the lags in updating. Life and fannish distractions have been pulling at me a bit. I hope to get back on track and have Alamo Girl to help me with her lovely spoiler and episode talk.

We are just TWO WEEKS OUT, fanatics! 2x08 is going to break me and I cannot wait. If you haven't seen the FX UK promo, google it because the CARYL flash just shatters me and my tumblr dashboard has been loading up all day with gifs and other goodness about these two!