Hey! Thought I would update this before I went to bed. Hope you are all having a great weekend! Thank you all for reading! It's really appreciated! =)

Chapter Eleven

Andrea pulled her out the door before she could even manage to say anything to anyone. She knew that it was coming. Her and Daryl could barely have a conversation without Andrea and Merle watching them. It was frustrating.

"You were making out with him!" Andrea said loudly when she finally stopped walking. They were in the back yard now, close to the wood pile.

"It just happened," Carol mumbled lamely. "It isn't like you've never kissed a guy before. You were all over Merle on the couch last night."

Andrea's eyes were wide and so was her smile. "But that's me! And what I saw was not just kissing. You two were..."

"Kissing," Carol deadpanned as she crossed her arms over her chest. Andrea looked like she was seconds from bouncing up and down with her excitement.

"You weren't just kissing! You were making out with Daryl Dixon. He was all over you! And you loved it!"

Carol groaned and then sat down on one of the logs. "It started out as kissing," she muttered.

"Was it good? It looked good!" Andrea sat down next to her.

Carol felt her face flush. How many times had she dreamed about kissing him? And this was a hundred times better than any dream she had had. The feel of his lips on hers and the way he had touched her. Just thinking about that had her heart doing double time. It had been amazing. She never thought anything could feel so good. "It was okay."

Andrea snorted and bumped her with her shoulder. "So, finally! Carol finds herself interested in the opposite sex."

"We're just friends, Andrea," Carol said quietly.

"I'm your friend and I've never caught myself between your legs with my tongue in your mouth. Are you going to have sex with him?"

Carol's head shot up, her eyes wide. The truth was, she would have. All he would have had to do was keep doing what he had been doing and she would have gladly done it. "Of course not! You know, you're way too excited about this. Shouldn't you be off daydreaming about his brother or something?"

Andrea sighed. "I would be but I'm too excited for you. This is a big deal, Carol! And if he is anything like his brother then it's going to be incredible."

Carol groaned and stood up. "Are we done now? You know everything that happened. We kissed. That's it. Can we go inside now. We're being rude."

Andrea huffed and let Carol pull her up from the log. "Fine. But if anything else happens I want details. I always give you details."

"I never want the details," Carol said as they made their way around the side of the house.

As soon as they made it to the front door it opened up and Merle and Daryl's father stepped out. He paused and offered them a small smile. "You ladies have a nice evenin' now," He said as he walked away.

They watched the man climb onto a mean looking motorcycle and rev the engine loudly. He waved once and then the headlight cut across them as he backed it up. Carol didn't waste anymore time. She hurried into the house, Andrea right on her heels.

Daryl was no where to be seen but the look on Merle's face when he looked up told her instantly that something was very wrong.

Andrea sat down next to him. "You okay?" She asked quietly, the look on her face was full of genuine concern and Carol couldn't help but wonder just how close Andrea and Merle really were. She almost felt guilty for not asking Andrea about their strange relationship.

Merle looked right at Carol and then shook his head. His face was grim. "Looks like the party's over girls. We're probably gonna be headin' out to Savannah come mornin'. The old man wants my brother with him and Daryl won't fight him over it. I'm gonna be wherever he's at."

Carol felt her chest grow tight and a lump formed in her throat. She stormed off towards Daryl's bedroom, blinking away traitorous tears. She didn't cry. She never allowed herself to do that. Even at their lowest she had faced it all with her chin held high. She slipped into the room without knocking. She never knocked anymore.

Daryl was rifling through a dresser drawer, not even turning to look at her but she knew he had heard her come into the room. She could tell by the way his broad shoulders tensed. He shoved some clothes from the drawer into a duffel bag that was sitting at his feet. It was then that she realized that it was true. They were leaving. Not just leaving. Moving all the way to Savannah. She wanted to say something but the words were stuck behind that painful lump that was making it hard to swallow. What would her and Andrea do without the Dixon brother's around? Ever since they had met them she hadn't even truly contemplated being away from them.

Once the bag was full he sighed and finally stood up. When he turned around she couldn't gauge his mood because his eyes stayed trained on the floor. He had done that a lot in the first few weeks they had been there but she wasn't used to it now.

When he finally looked at her his eyes went wide and he took a step towards her. "What the hell, Carol," he muttered in a rough voice.

She didn't know what he meant until he stopped right in front of her and used the rough pad of his thumb to swipe across her cheekbone. It came away wet and worried blue eyes met hers. She looked away, turning her head, suddenly ashamed that she was having a weak moment right there in front of him. He was the last person in the world that she wanted to see her cry. "I got something in my eye," she lied but her voice chose that moment to crack.

"Merle told ya we're leavin' in the mornin'?" He asked gruffly, his eyes slipping away from hers.

She nodded and felt another tear escape her. She didn't even care anymore. So what if he saw her cry tonight? It wasn't like she was likely to see him again after tonight anyway. It didn't much matter anymore. She didn't understand until that moment how much he had grown to mean to her. She relied on his rare smiles and the way he seemed to be more at ease with her than with anyone else that came around. She would miss how he would take her with him in the mornings on a hunt even though he knew that she'd scare off every animal in sight.

She knew how jumpy he was so she didn't know what made her do it but before she even gave it a second thought she threw herself at him. Her arms wrapped around his neck tightly and she buried her face in his shoulder. He instantly froze up, like she knew he would but right before she could pull away and apologize she felt his arms go around her, pulling her closer and holding her there tightly.

He relaxed against her and she suddenly couldn't remember the last time she had felt so safe. Before her parents died. Almost ten years ago. "I'm gonna miss you," she muttered into his shirt that was quickly growing damp.

He sighed into her hair and his arms tightened around her. "Guess that means you ain't interested in comin' along, huh? I didn't figure you would be."

She opened her eyes and pulled back enough so she could look at him. She didn't dare let his words give her hope, just in case she had heard him wrong. "What?"

He looked down at her and shrugged, "Buck said all four of us could go. I didn't think you'd want to since..."

"We can go too? Andrea and me?" She couldn't hide the shock in her voice.

He nodded. "Thought Merle would have told ya that part."

She shook her head.

He searched her eyes for a few long moments while she let this new knowledge sink in. "So, will you go too?" He asked. It was the way he phrased the question that had her stomach fluttering madly. He didn't ask if she wanted to go. It was almost like he was pleading with her to go.

She nodded and then stepped away. "Yeah. Yeah, I'll go to Savannah with you."

His eyes widened. "No shit?"

She grinned and then wiped the stupid tears off her face. "No shit. Can I borrow a shirt?"

He frowned and then snatched the first shirt that was on top of the clothes in the opened duffel bag. "What for?"

"I don't have anything to sleep in. If your dad is coming early then we have to get to sleep. Turn around." She ordered quickly and he did what she said.

"You're goin' to bed in here?" He choked. He turned around, facing the wall.

"I already told you that, Daryl, remember?" She said as she quickly unbuttoned her own shirt and stripped it off, tossing it in the corner of his room before she pulled his shirt over her head.

"But where the hell am I gonna sleep? I ain't sleepin' out there while them two are doin' god knows what right there on the couch."

"You can sleep with me. We're both adults. It's no big deal," she said as she shimmied out of her pajama bottoms. His shirt stopped mid thigh and that was longer than most nightgowns now days anyway. She hated sleeping in them. They made her itch. She crawled into his bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. Her teeth were chattering already since the door to the room had been closed and none of the heat from the fireplace had been able to seep in. "Okay, I'm decent."

He turned around, eyes a little wide as he looked over at her. When his gaze fell onto her pants in the middle of the floor they widened further.

"Well?"

He looked at her, "Well what?"

"Do you sleep in all those clothes?" She asked lightly, holding back a laugh at the panicked look on his face.

He looked down at his fully clothed body and then back at her before nodding.

"Seriously?" She raised one eyebrow at him.

He nodded again.

"You don't even take your shirt off?" She was almost disappointed. She already told herself she wouldn't kiss him again. Not while she was in his bed wearing nothing but his t-shirt and a pair of panties.

He shook his head, his face flushing.

She rolled over onto her side and propped her head up on her hand. "Why?" She was only trying to pick on him but the look that came over his face had her wishing that she had just kept her mouth shut. He really did look like he was about to bolt out of the room. She sat up then, unable to hide the regret on her face. "Daryl, I was just messing around. You don't have too..."

"Scars," he muttered, watching her eyes.

She felt almost sick to her stomach that she had caused that haunted look in his eyes. She already knew that. She had had a glimpse of them before but never wanted to ask him about them. Of course that was why he was about to panic. She felt horrible now. She didn't want him to think that he had to hide anything from her. She pulled the blanket back and crawled back out of bed, not minding the way his eyes raked over her body before he swallowed hard. She walked towards him and didn't stop until she was standing only inches away.

"Do you trust me?" She asked in a soft voice.

He nodded slowly, eyes not leaving hers.

"I'm not one to judge another person, Daryl. If you want too you can take off your shirt. It's just me." She whispered and then tension in the room seemed to grow thick.

His nostrils flared and then so subtly she almost missed it, he shook his head.

She took his hand then and turned around, leading him to the bed. He followed behind her willingly and didn't make a sound as he crawled over her, fully clothed. He was on his back when she reached over and turned the lamp off. She settled in with her back to him, feeling miserable for causing him any kind of pain. He stayed perfectly still for a long time so she reached behind her until she found his hand and laced his fingers through hers, tugging lightly until he rolled over.

She placed his hand on her hip and then gave his fingers a squeeze. "You won't have a choice but to show me someday, Daryl," she said as his breath ghosted through her hair.

"How ya figure?" He whispered as the tips of his fingers flexed into her hip lightly.

She scooted back until she fit herself perfectly into the groove of his body, his chest a solid wall behind her back. "Because someday, I'm gonna get you out your clothes." She said it to make him laugh and it actually worked because she heard a surprised chuckle escape him as he relaxed against her. What she hadn't been prepared for was the rush of heat that seemed to flood her lower body at the brave words she muttered.

"Good luck with that," he whispered into her hair.