Dear God! I woke up with the worst headache ever! After copious amounts of coffee it's totally gone so I feel great and I'm all jacked up and thought, I'm gonna update. Somewhere out there is someone who would like to read the next chapter and since I'm having a good morning now, I feel the need to share. So, here you go. Thanks for reading and I hope you all have a kick ass day!

Chapter Ten

Carol was relieved to finally hear his heavy boots on the stairs. When he opened the door his face was flushed and he looked like he was ready to strangle someone.

"Are you okay?" She asked worriedly.

He shook his head and sat a bag and two cups on the counter before handing her a pair of jeans and a shirt. "Sophia is downstairs with my brother and Piper."

Carol gasped as she hurriedly put her jeans on. "Did she see you?"

"She knows everything."

"Oh my God!"

"Yeah, that's what she said."

"She knows I'm here? That I've been here with you all night?" Carol felt like she was about to hyperventilate.

He nodded. "They were here when I pulled up. She saw the car. She saw the clothes. She even saw what you did last night."

"What the hell do you mean she saw what I did last night?" He turned around and she gasped again, her hand going to her mouth. "She saw that?"

He nodded.

"And she knows I'm the one that did that! I don't even remember..." She paused and felt herself flush. She remembered now. "What am I suppose to say to her?"

He shrugged right before she turned her back to him and pulled his shirt off that she had been wearing.

"What kind of role model am I?" She fretted as she buttoned her shirt. She had forgotten to tell him to grab her any underwear but that was the least of her worries right now. "I cheated on her father and she knows. She saw evidence of it! I can't believe I let this happen!" When she turned around he was leaning against the counter, looking down into the dark liquid in the cup as he stirred it around.

"I kinda initiated it. No sense in blaming yourself," he said once he finally looked up.

"I'm the one that insisted on staying. You tried to talk me out of it. I got so caught up in just feeling free. It was stupid."

"Well, least you finally made it to the regretting it stage." He almost sounded... sad.

"Trust me, I regret her knowing what I did, not that I did it. That selfish son of a bitch has had this coming for a very long time. He's lucky I didn't do this years ago. Being with a real man was amazing..." She felt her face flush.

His eyebrows shot up at that.

"I need to get down there and get her home. We need to talk about this but damned if I have a clue what to say to her."

He nodded and then handed her the other cup. "You'll think of somethin'. She's seems like a good kid."

When she took the cup from him their fingers brushed and she felt a jolt. How could this man have such an impact on her? It didn't make any sense. When she met his eyes she could have sworn that he looked like he wasn't ready for her to go. "I'm gonna go ahead and go." Now it was her turn to feel sad. God, what was wrong with her?

He nodded. "Yeah. That's probably the smart thing to do."

She hesitated, glancing at the door before her eyes landed on him once more. "Do you think I'll see you again?"

The corner of his mouth turned up slightly, making him look impossibly young. "You wanna see me again?"

She bit her lip. "It would be incredibly stupid to see you again."

"Yeah. It would," he agreed.

She realized with a start that the thought of not seeing him again was a little painful. She knew what this had been but she couldn't shake the thought that he had been more attentive than Ed had ever been. Not just in bed either. Like offering to go get her clothes. Bringing her coffee. Looking at her like she was more than just some kind of inconvenience.

"You alright?" He asked after she didn't make a move to leave right away.

She nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine."

"You know, if you ever need somethin'..."

She nodded. "Thanks. I guess I'll see you around, Daryl."

He reached for the shirt that she was still holding but he grabbed her hand instead, pulling her closer. She didn't fight it. She didn't want to fight it, even though she knew she should. He seemed to hesitate before he pulled her all the way to him and then his hand slipped from hers, gripping the shirt and pulling it out of her grasp. He was going to kiss her again and she knew it but he had stopped. As much as she wanted to kiss him again, she was glad he had put the breaks on. He was obviously the smarter of the two. "See ya around, Carol."

She turned away then and headed out the door, barefoot. She paused on the landing, looking down the stairwell for a few long moments before she turned back around. She walked right back into the room. He turned from the counter, giving her a questioning look.

She walked right up to him, grabbed the sides of his face and pulled him closer, not caring how stupid it was. His hands slid up the back of her shirt and he deepened the kiss when she tried to step away. She didn't fight it because she didn't want to. After a few heated minutes she finally, reluctantly pulled away. "Okay, I'm gonna go ahead and go now."

His eyes were dark as he nodded. "Yeah, that might be a good idea. I'd hate for you to lose your clothes again."

"Bye," she muttered and then he kissed her again, quicker this time.

"Bye," he grinned.

She steeled herself before she walked through the door that would lead her to the garage. She could do this. She could face her daughter after everything she had done last night. Sophia probably had no respect for her now and she would probably be in a state of shock that her mother had done something like this, but they could work through it.

She opened the door and was greeted by a tall muscular man dressed in black jeans and wearing the same type of vest that Daryl wore. His hair was cropped short and it somehow made his appearance that much more intimidating. This must have been Merle. He turned away from the work bench and met her eyes unflinchingly. The slow smile that spread over his face had her feeling like a bug trapped under a glass.

"Carol," he nodded by way of greeting.

She swallowed hard and then nodded, glancing around the large open space. "You must be Merle."

He nodded. "That I am."

"Where is Sophia? We really should head home."

Merle nodded towards the door that led outside. "Her and Piper are out there."

Carol couldn't stand there and chat with him all day. She felt like there was a chasm growing between her and Sophia the longer she avoided talking to her. She felt like a horrible mother. She hadn't done a lot with her life. There wasn't much she had accomplished that she could be proud of but she had always tried to be the best mother she could be. She was proud of the woman Sophia was becoming and since Ed surely couldn't take credit for that she felt like she could. And with one stupid decision that was ruined. She was no kind of role model for her daughter. Sophia was probably humiliated.

She squinted in the early morning sunlight and heard laughter to her right. Sophia and Piper were leaning against the side of the car, smiling about something. Carol took another step towards the car, wincing as she walked across the gravel with her bare feet.

"Morning," Sophia said with a small smile.

Carol studied her face and other than the fact it was a bright shade of red, she didn't seem too traumatized. "You ready to go?"

Sophia nodded and glanced down at Piper, who Carol just realized was a whole head shorter than her. "I'll call you."

"Right on, square." Piper grinned and then walked towards the door. "See ya around, square's mom."

"Bye Piper," Carol said quickly. She finally made it to the car, hoping that there was still skin left on the bottom of her feet.

Before they pulled away she turned to Sophia, who was looking straight ahead. "Are you okay?"

Sophia turned her head, her eyes searching Carol's. "Are you?" She asked, her voice nothing but curious.

Carol ran a hand through her hair. "No, I'm not. I didn't mean for any of that to happen. I certainly didn't mean for you to find out about it. I'm so sorry-"

"Stop," Sophia said angrily. "Just stop."

Carol blinked, not used to hearing so much emotion in her daughters voice. She opened her mouth to say something else but Sophia was speaking before she could.

"I know what you did was technically wrong, okay? And I know more details than I care to ever know. But don't tell me you're sorry. There isn't a reason for you to be sorry."

"Sophia, you aren't old enough to-"

"Mom, I'm old enough to know how miserable you are. How miserable you've always been. I see it and I hate it. I hate the way he talks to you and I hate the way he treats you. So what if he hasn't hit you in a while. The fact that he's ever hit you makes me hate him."

Carol was stunned at her outburst but she stayed quiet because it didn't look like Sophia was finished.

"You cheated on your husband. Okay? You can feel a little guilty about that because that's just how you are. But don't look me in the eye and tell me that you're sorry when I know that you aren't. You deserve to be treated good. You deserve to have a man make you feel... anything but sadness. You did what you did but Ed shattered the sanctity of your marriage the first time he ever hurt you so don't ever apologize to me again. Not for going against a man that treats you like shit. Not for letting yourself be happy for one stupid night."

"Can you really look me in the eye and tell me that what I did wasn't horrible? Sophia, I barely know him. I don't want you to think that doing things like that is okay because it isn't. Not for any reason."

"I don't care that you haven't known him very long. How does he make you feel?"

"Sophia, that isn't what-"

"Answer the question."

Carol bit her lip, wanting to be honest at the moment but not knowing how to talk to her child about something like this. "I feel... good. I mean, not about what I did but... He's kind. He doesn't look like he would be but he is. It's nice to just be treated kindly." She cleared the lump out of her throat. He made her feel a whole lot of other things too but she couldn't explain those things to herself so she wasn't going to try to explain them to her daughter. "I'm not used to being treated like that."

"Mom, just leave Ed. We can make it on our own. I can get a job after school and help you out."

Carol stared at her, her eyes wide. "It isn't that easy."

Sophia's eyes softened and she looked more like the girl Carol knew. "I have a feeling that whatever happened up there, that isn't over. Leaving is going to be a lot easier than you think."