A/N: So, I hope you all enjoyed the previous chapter, and liked a glimpse of stronger Carol. She's not fully there yet, but she's getting there. I still enjoy exploring her weaker side, like when she hides herself while joyfully crying in the beginning of her POV, but openly cries when she's feeling guilty about Ed's death (she's not yet used to accepting and expressing her happiness and freedom, so she feels the need needs to hide those feelings, where as she's so used to feeling at fault about everything , that she doesn't think twice about showing her guilt)

Ok, now that I've said that, I want to get to my last thing, which is thanking my wonderful reviewers, so thank you: futuredweller, SilverWolf84, Guest, definitelywalkerbait, HGRHfan35, peonies01, and tracys dream :) You guys are awesome!

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Chapter 11: Following the Leader

Daryl dropped his crossbow to his side, scowling at blue eyed girl in front of him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing in here alone? Get back to camp with your Ma." Daryl ordered gruffly to the child standing in front of him, her large blues eyeing him questioningly. He stared at her, letting the silence hang between him, and waited for her to turn around and head back the way she came. "Come on," he muttered, passing her to lead the way out of the forrest, expecting the girl to follow.

"You found my daddy, didn't you?" she asked from behind him in a surprisingly strong voice. Daryl stopped in his tracks, and turned his head to look at her.

"What makes you say that?" He questioned, his back still facing her.

"You came out of the same place in the woods my Mama ran from, and you had blood on your tools. You must have at least been there when they found my daddy. Why else would you be burying him? The only other person that knows is Mr. Walsh, and he came in this morning to tell my Mama. He wouldn't have told anyone else about my daddy before us, so you must have already known, since you were already in the woods when my Mama ran in," the little girl explained in a matter-of-fact tone. He slowly turned to meet her gaze. Girl is fuckin' observant.

Daryl found himself nodding his head after a few seconds. "Yeah, I was there when we found your daddy this morning," he admitted, and then lied, "Must have passed out in the woods, er something. Think I saw an empty bottle by his body when we found him."

The little girl scrunched up her face in confusion. Daryl barely heard her whisper, "Her bruises are usually so much worse when he's drunk."

Daryl scoffed to himself They would have been. The girl's eyes jerked back up to meet his own. "What did you say?" She asked, alarmed.

It was Daryl's turn to look confused, before realizing he must have said his thought out loud, but that didn't stop him from playing stupid. "Didn't say nothin'," he muttered, looking to the side and fidgeting with his crossbow.

"What do you mean 'They would have been?' Did you stop him from hitting her?" The little girl questioned him, stepping into his personal space. Daryl took a step back, but let his eyes meet hers once more, regretting it instantly.

"I heard something when I was huntin' that night. Couldn't just sit there like an idiot, with your Ma gettin' beat to shit. Wouldn't be right," Daryl found himself explaining once again, shocking himself at how he easily told the little girl the truth.

"You...You stopped him?" She whispered, looking at him in awe.

"Told ya. It wouldn't 'ave been right fer me to just let 'im hit her like that an' do nothin'," Daryl said again, feeling incredibly uncomfortable as he stood there.

He suddenly found himself with an armful of the little girl, as she rushed into his chest and hugged him tight. "You saved her," she said into his chest, giving him an extra squeeze, "Thank you. Thank you so much."

Daryl's eyes widened as he looked down at the dirty blonde head buried in his form, not knowing how to handle the situation. He ended up deciding on patting her back awkwardly with the hand that wasn't currently holding his crossbow, and waited for her to release him from her grasp. "Ain't nothin'," he quietly said as she hugged him. "Let's get you back to your Ma," Daryl said when the little girl finally let go. He turned around and started walking in the direction of the camp. "Bet she's worried sick about you." He could hear her small footsteps hurry forward to follow him, but stopped in their tracks after only a few paces.

"Where is his body," She asked him quietly.

Daryl sighed softly before he turned to meet her face once again. It wasn't his place to show her where her Pa was buried; she should be doing that sort of thing with her mother. But her could see the determination in her eyes, and knew she wasn't going to back down without a fight.

"Ain't my place to show you," he told her, but he could see her resolve strengthening.

"Please. I have a right to know where my Daddy's last resting place is, and I don't want Mama to go through that pain again. I don't want her to have to face him again, even after his death," she pleaded with him, and Daryl could see the faint tears beginning to brim around her eyes. He groaned in frustration as he felt his own resolve weaken instantly.

"Fine!" He said quickly, "But don't even think about gettin' your ass lost. You stay next to me unless I say otherwise," he ordered, searching her eyes, even after she nodded her head, to make sure she understood. He gave a sharp nod of his own head, and then lead the way deeper into the forest, towards Ed's body.

The two travelers walked silently side-by-side through the woods, the natural sounds of the earth surrounding them. Daryl enjoyed the now quiet little girl to his left, as she had kept her mouth shut for the past five minutes. Ain't so bad when she's not yappin' 24/7.

They finally arrived to the spot where Ed's corpse was buried, and Daryl looked over at the little girl, only to find her gone. His eyes went wide with panic, until he saw her already making her way towards the freshly turned dirt in front of them. She was walking slowly to her father's grave, shaking slightly as she went, and Daryl noticed her hands were balled up into little fists. She stopped when she reached the edge of his grave, and kicked the dirt that covered him.

She was silent for several minutes, just staring at the patch of dirt, before she finally spoke, "He wasn't a father. He was a monster." Daryl watched her, understanding her lack of warm feelings towards her father, and satisfaction now that he was gone.

The girl stayed there, glaring at her father's grave for another minute, and then walked back to the spot by Daryl's side. "You ok?" He asked her, not understanding why he felt the need to make sure she was alright.

"Yeah . . . Better than a girl should when she's at her father's grave," she said, giving a half hearted laugh, letting it die in the silence.

"Let's get you back now," Daryl said, righting his crossbow in front of him.

"Sophia," she said, looking at him. He narrowed his eyes in confusion. "My name is Sophia. Sophia Peletier," the girl repeated, extending her hand to him.

"Daryl Dixon," he responded, shaking her small hand, and watching it get engulfed in his much larger one.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Dixon," Sophia said, smiling up at him with a wide grin on his face. "Where are we headed to next?" She asked, still grinning.

"WE ain't going anywhere," he said turning towards the camp, "You are goin' back to your Ma where you belong."

Daryl watched her little face scrunch up into a frown, smirking to himself at how she looked more cute than annoyed.

"Please, Mr. Dixon," she begged, giving him the largest puppy dog eyes he'd ever seen, "I won't be any trouble, and I promise not to get in your way! I just want to watch."

"Yeah," he grunted, "And people in hell want Slurpees. I already told you no. I ain't nobody's baby-sitter, kid." He started walking back to the camp, her voice following him.

"Please, please, please!" She continued.

"No! Your ass is going back to camp," Daryl said, still following the path to camp.

"Please! I'll stay quiet, and won't stop you from hunting, I just want to watch you! What's wrong with that?" She cried, still a few paces behind him. Daryl tried ignored her as he continued forward, deciding to give her the silent treatment. When he didn't answer after ten seconds, she continued. "I mean, you must get lonely, and I'm sure you could use somebody to help you carry your kills." He continued to stay quiet, so she kept on talking. "And it would probably be helpful for me to know how to hunt for my own food now. I doubt that-"

"FINE!" Daryl cried out, stopping her mid sentence. "Jesus Christ, kid, fine. But you better do better at shutting the hell up than that, or else I'm turning our asses around."

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Sophia smiled up at Daryl, pretended to lock her lips with an imaginary key, before she tossed it over her shoulder. The older man rolled his eyes, and turned around to head deeper into the woods, Sophia quickening her pace to match his own.

They walked silently together, Sophia keeping quiet, and Daryl randomly letting an arrow fly, each time spearing an animal with it's head. She tried to ignore the horror she felt whenever she watched him wrench the arrows out of limpless bodies, and instead focused on the gentleness of her own footsteps and the sounds of the forest. The longer they traveled, the easier it became for Sophia to spot where the scurrying of small animals was coming from. She found herself whipping her head in the direction she could hear the animals, right as she heard the whiz of Daryl's arrow pass leave the crossbow.

Sophia still couldn't believe that her father was gone for good. The freedom she felt was incredible, and made her feel stronger than she ever felt was imaginable. He was dead. Her Daddy, her no good, abusive Daddy was finally in the ground where he belonged all along. She hadn't seen his lifeless body, but she knew that he wasn't coming back. Mr. Dixon wouldn't allow that, she could tell. She turned her head to stare at the man beside her, and couldn't help but smile. He had protected her mother from a living monster, and for that, she was eternally greatful. She had sees the understanding on his face earlier at the grave, and felt the curiosity welling up inside of her, but kept it at bay. Sophia could tell that privacy meant a lot to this man, and she didn't want to do anything to push his boundaries. So she walked, silently, and observed his every move as he hunted.

After thirty minutes of trudging through the woods, Sophia eyes fell on a series of bushes filled with small red berries. Her stomach growled as she looked at them, and she didn't need any more convincing to allow her feet to take her to the bushes. Without much thought, she reached out her hand to the bush to grab a handful of the colorful fruit.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!" Daryl cried, sprinting over to her side, and slapping her hand away from the fruit. "I told you to stay by my side, and instead you go wandering off." Sophia cowered in fear from the sheer volume and anger of his voice. She felt stupid. She had blatantly disobeyed his orders, and now she was going to pay for it. She stemmed the tears that were threatening to fall, and stared at the leaves below her feet.

"I'm, I'm sorry. I was hungry." She whispered, refusing to meet his gaze.

"So you decide that poisonous berries is the answer?" He questioned, causing her to raise her head.

"I didn't know they were poisonous," She said, wide eyed and staring at him with a dumbfounded expression. He stared at her quietly, reading her expression.

"Your daddy never told you how to survive in the woods? Never showed you what to eat and not to eat, and what plants to avoid?" He asked her, looking from one eye to the other. Sophia shook her head no as she stared back. Daryl straightened up, and Sophia had to crane her neck to look up at his face.

"That's climbing nightshade. Don't go eatin' it unless you wanna vomit for the next couple 'a days." He turned around and scanned the area. Sophia watched him stop for a moment, and then travel to his left, jerking his head to signal her to follow. "Here. These are just wild blackberries, and they won't make you feel like you're gonna die," he joked, and Sophia giggled. He picked a few of the juicy berries from the bush. "Gimme your hands," he said, waiting for Sophia to cup them before he placed them there.

"Thank you, Mr. Dixon," she said, smiling up at him after she plopped one of the blackberries into her mouth. She chewed and swallowed the fruit, enjoying the sweet and tart taste on her tongue.

"Come on," he grumbled, walking back along an imaginary path once she was by his side again. Sophia followed him as they went, eating her fruit, and absorbing any information he told her about poisonous fruits and leaves. By the time they were back at camp, she was knowledgeable about several different plants in the area, and felt a little more confident than she had earlier.

"Thanks for everything, Mr. Dixon," Sophia said, smiling up at the man by her side.

"Don't wanna catch you out in those woods by yourself anymore. And call me Daryl," he replied quietly, looking at her, and then eyeing his tent nervously.

"Sure thing, Mr. Daryl," she said, grinning, and then she sprinted off to her tent to write down all she had learned from her day in the woods with the man she now viewed as a hero.

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A/N: And there we go :) Our first little outing with Daryl and Sophia in the woods of Georgia. Hope you liked it. Please review, because I'm a review whore, and am desperate for reviews lol Little clips from the next chapter to those lovely people that do review :) See you all at the next one!