Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead. Do not own the characters. Just writing for pure amusement.

A/N: So this was supposed to be Carol and Merle, too. But then I got to writing Carol and Daryl, and I just couldn't stop. Sorry for the delay, I had to take the time to flesh out a few more notes for the upcoming chapters, and then to write this one. I'm fairly pleased with how it turned out. Little bit of a filler chapter. But it was needed to transition the story. Slightly on the comical side, though I will admit, I am no comedian.

This chapter seriously came to be over one tiny line in my notes: Possibly write in Andrea visiting again, wanting to set up a meeting. How? I cannot even begin to tell you. LoL

Hope you all like. As always, would love to hear how you feel about it, too!

Chapter Eleven

Disappointment washed over her as they all gathered in the common room during Andrea's second visit. She was desperate and panicked, pleading with Rick to reconsidering a negotiation, barely meeting Carol's gaze after she revealed that the Governor was still alive and that he wanted to talk. The group shuffled on their feet with unease, and Andrea regarded only Rick, her body rigid and determined. She leaned into him, and he folded his arms over his chest, looking away.

Carol remained dumbfounded, unbelieving and for the first time, doubting Andrea's true allegiance. "You didn't find time to be alone with the Governor?" Carol surprised herself by asking, interrupting Andrea's persuasive speech against Rick. She stilled, and her gaze found the floor. Carol knew then that she had.

"I did."

"Then why?"

Andrea's eyes met Carol's, filled with frustrated tears that began to spill over the brim. "Because I couldn't do it, Carol. I'm not a killer."

"He is," Carol countered. "He wants to kill us all."

Andrea shook her head, "There's another way." She looked at Rick, who was now looking between the two girls, catching their riddled conversation and wondering what could have been planned without his knowledge. "Rick, he's willing to talk. He just has to see that you're not a threat. Maybe we can stop this now."

Rick refused to answer her, his eyes still going back and forth between Carol and Andrea. Carol looked guilty, he decided. Like she had suggested a course of action that might not have been the most honorable. "What happened here?" He asked. "What did Carol want you to do?"

"Nothing." Both girls said in unison, too quickly to set his mind at ease.

"Tomorrow. Noon." Andrea went on, handing over a map that dictated the meeting place. "Here." Rick sighed in reluctance but took the map from her hands. He went to open his mouth, but Andrea quickly cut him off. "Please, Rick. It's our only hope. Phillip will be there. He's willing to talk. And maybe, just maybe, this can all work out for both of us."

Rick nodded and folded the map, tucking it into the back pocket of his jeans. "I can't make any promises, Andrea. I need to talk this over with my group. If we think it's a good idea, we'll meet you there at noon."

There was sadness in her eyes when she nodded, one that reflected the disconnect she now felt with a group she used to be a part of. She reconciled with the fact that, ultimately, this disconnect had been in response to her own decisions, not theirs. She could have stayed with them after her first visit. They could have all planned out how to take down the Governor together, and they would have welcomed her back with open arms. It wasn't like she didn't want that.

She knew now, more than anyone, how much of a danger he could be. But there was still a man in there that had lost so much, and she'd be lying if she said she didn't want to save him, too. She had seen humanity in him once. She only wanted to find it in him again. They could have been happy together, as hopeless as it sounded. She could have helped him heal, turn over a new leaf and start to mend his open wounds.

"Let me walk you out, ma'am." Axel offered, and Andrea smiled at him, nodding to accept his offer. She had turned up in the same dusty brown corrections car that they had loaned her the first time, and she willingly let Axel lead the way as he took her back to it.

Carol scooped up the baby, rocking her gently and turned to make her way back into the cell block. Her mind was still racing, wishing Andrea had been strong enough to end this the night she had been with him. With every day that passed, the threat of the Governor scared her more and more. She feared for herself and for her family. As cold and ugly as this new world was, she was really beginning to love the company that constantly surrounded her in it. The last thing she wanted to think about was the threat of losing it all.

An uneven gait of two separate pairs of boots followed after her, and she knew immediately that Rick and Daryl were on her tail. She hadn't expected that he'd let his questions regarding their earlier conversation go. But she wished he had. She felt almost ashamed to think she'd suggested it, though she couldn't bring herself to regret it. It was a new world, one where sometimes being ruthless meant survival.

"You going to tell us what you said to Andrea?" Rick finally asked, and she turned to see the two men in mirrored stances, their hands resting on their hips, regarding her quizzically. Daryl chewed methodically on the inside of his cheek.

Carol sighed, sitting down on the stairs leading up to the perch and pulling Judith tighter to her chest. "What do you want to know?" It was no use trying to fight it; she knew both of them well enough to know that they wouldn't have left her alone until she answered them. It was going to be embarrassing, to admit what she had suggested, but there was no point in trying to avoid it either.

"What did you want her to do?" Rick clarified.

She looked between the two men, wondering how she could phrase the things she needed to say. There was no easy way to say she'd urged Andrea to proposition herself to the Governor. And there was no way they would even be able to believe the suggestion had come from her. But in that moment, when it was just the two of them, there was no way she could have not suggested it. Andrea was the only one that could have so easily ended this, saving everyone that she loved from a world of hurt, torture or death.

"I told her to sleep with the Governor and then kill him." She steeled herself, uttering finally with a sort of confidence she'd never be able to convince herself that she even possessed. The men gaped, their jaws visibly dropping from the shock, laughter reflecting in their eyes. Carol remained stone still, her serious gaze never waiving, her grip on Judith firm and comforting.

Rick shook his head, his hands still on his hips. "I'm sorry, what?"

Carol bristled. "You heard me."

The two men laughed then, and Carol stared on, wide-eyed and in shock. She couldn't even begin to understand what was so funny about her conversation with Andrea. She had suggested that she kill a man in cold blood. They weren't killers. Why weren't they more disappointed in her?

"What?" She asked finally, when their laughter had died down and the others began to filter into the cell block around them.

"Just a shock, I guess." Rick answered.

"Ya can't exactly go around whoring people out, Carol." Daryl agreed, his eyes sparkling. He was teasing her, but it really only made her want to punch him.

Carol narrowed her eyes at him, "I know that. That's not what I was trying to do."

The others stared at her with wide eyes now, slowly putting the pieces of both conversations together. "What?" She said again, regarding them all as she stood and handed the baby over to Beth. "Andrea's pretty. She already has a relationship with this Phillip. She was starting to see that he is a bad man. I saw an easy way out." She spoke, her frame straight and on the defensive. "I'm not going to apologize for what I said to her. I'm just sorry she couldn't go through with it. It could have saved all of our lives."

She turned her back on them and scaled the steps, quickly disappearing behind the door to her cell. Her posture was rigid, and they all looked to Daryl as the only person that could have settled her. "Nope," He said immediately. "No way in hell am I gonna go get my head bit off." He was shaking his head and clutching is crossbow a little tighter.

"Awe, but, baby brother, she looves you. I think she'll be real gentle with your head."

Daryl scowled, narrowing his eyes at his older brother, who was standing in the doorway to the common room, an evil smile playing on his lips. "God damnit, Merle. You sick fuck." He wanted to lunge at him, but too many people stood between them. Merle laughed, and Daryl had never wanted to put a bolt through his brain more than in that moment.

"In a completely unperverted way, I think Merle's right." Maggie said gently. "She's upset, probably a little embarrassed. I think you're the best one of us to try and talk to her right now."

"Fine." He growled. "If it means ya'll will shut the fuck up, I'll be right back." Daryl turned, taking the steps two at a time, gripping the railing with one hand to pull himself along. He could feel all of their eyes on him, watching him intently until he had ducked into Carol's cell, knowing that it was his brother's stare that burned him the most. All at once, without the watchful gaze of several pairs of eyes, Daryl felt like he could breathe again.

He stood at first, just inside her cell, silent and wondering what his best move would be. If she knew he was there, she didn't let on, making no motion to greet him or otherwise make it known that she was even alerted to his presence. Carol sat upright on the bottom bunk, her feet planted firmly on the floor with her elbows resting on her thighs and her head in her hands.

"What do you want?" She said finally, looking up at him. Daryl tried not to appear like he was taken aback, suddenly skittish of the picture before him, but he was. She was crying, and he suddenly hated himself for laughing at her when she was only trying to help and save them all a gruesome fight.

"We wasn't laughin' at ya, Carol." He took a step toward her, and she looked down to the ground. "It was just a strange thing for us to hear. Yer the last person I'd suspect of ever wanting someone to do somethin' like that."

"We're not exactly full of options here, Daryl. This man has a whole army around him. Being backed into a corner might make you do a lot of uncharacteristic things." Daryl grunted, regretfully agreeing with that statement. Since the world had gone to shit, he'd done a few things he wasn't proud of. Randall came to mind. But then again, he'd done a lot of things that he was. Like looking for Sophia.

"I'm not mad," She sighed. "You can go back down and tell everyone that. It's just, what was I thinking? Putting that kind of pressure on Andrea like that?"

Daryl shuffled his feet, taking another tentative step toward her, his hands digging deep into his pockets. He was suddenly uncomfortable. It was obvious this woman needed some reassurance. He wasn't quite sure he could do that very well. "You wanted to protect tha group. Ain't nothin' to be ashamed of." She smiled at that, and he felt a little proud of himself. Maybe he could do this whole comforting thing. "Andrea knows that, too."

"Thanks, Daryl."

He nodded. "Gotta admit though," His feet kicking the concrete provided a relaxing white noise for the background of their conversation. "It was quite the shock ta know you told Andrea to do somethin' like that." Carol's head snapped up, her frown softening when she spotted the playful gleam in his eyes. He was teasing her again.

"Shut up," She said through a giggle, taking the pillow resting at the head of her bed and tossing it at him. He dodged it and grinned back at her. "You know, back at the quarry, the girls and I? We used to have some really telling girl talk. I doubt they'd be shocked at all by this."

Daryl raised his eyebrows, "Oh yeah?" He said stepping further into her cell. "Wanna talk about it?"

She laughed again, studying him carefully. Were they actually flirting? "Now you wanna talk, Dixon? Never been much of a talker in your whole life, but this you want to talk about?"

He nodded, taking a seat next to her. She smiled at the crooked grin that still played on his lips. "I'd like to know all those things ya'll talked about while scrubbing laundry."

She blushed, remember one conversation in particular. "Now that's not any of your business." She said, her voice light and teasing. She loved that there was this lightness in their friendship that a long time ago, she would have never believed could have existed. "Besides if I told you, it would completely tarnish this angelic reputation I've got going on."

"Now I really wanna know." He chuckled, looking at her. "Ain't got no doubt yer an angel, but I think there's somethin' more in there, too."

Carol stilled, her mouth falling agape, and he averted his gaze quickly, suddenly embarrassed by the slight over share. She watched him carefully as he refused to look at her, picking at a hangnail on his thumb, her heart swelling and threatening to beat right out of her chest. This feeling was beginning to become a constant when she was around him, gawking at him like a lovesick teenager, her pulse erratic and bordering on uncontrollable.

She was reminded again of how much their friendship had continued to evolve. Carol bumped his shoulder with hers and offered him a sweet smile when he finally, but bashfully, looked up at her through the fan of his lashes. Her heart swelled even more. She wanted him then, to cup his face in her hands and bring his lips crashing down to hers. This wasn't the first time she'd imagined a kiss like that, but it was the first time fighting the actual impulse almost became too impossible to bear.

But it was still too soon, even with the comment lingering between them. Daryl still wasn't ready.