A/N: Just wanted to say a quick thanks to GuiltyBystanders! You've been a huge help! Thanks so much! Love. ~Helen

A knocking at the door woke Carol up. She groaned and opened her eyes to see Glenn standing in the doorway. He looked rather uncomfortable with the scene before him. A shirtless, sleeping Daryl held Carol close to his chest. Their legs along with the sheets had become tangled together, creating quite the interesting reaction from Glenn.

"Uh…" Glenn shifted awkwardly. "Daryl's turn to watch." Carol sighed and sat up, quickly covering Daryl's torso and scars from Glenn.

"I'll go." Carol murmured, pulling on a jacket and grabbing a hand gun.

"You sure that's a good idea?" Glenn asked, following her from the room.

"I'll be fine." She said, then turned to him. "But you won't be if Daryl catches you sneaking into our room when he's asleep." She felt her cheeks get hot when she realized she'd said their room. She laughed at herself. Of course it was their room. Their room, their bed. She smiled a little at the thought and headed outside.

They'd set up two guard stations. One in front of the two houses and one in the back. Carol, this time, was in the back. It was still dark out, the air was cold, but tolerable. She sat on top of the platform they'd set up, staring out into the trees. She thought back to the conversation she'd had with Malory earlier that day. They'd been doing laundry when she'd asked about Daryl. Malory had been under the impression that Daryl and Carol were a couple. Apparently Carl, Brent, Beth and Sharona didn't have much else to talk about. Carol had quickly cleared it up that they weren't a couple. However, when Malory asked what they were, Carol couldn't answer.

In reality, she didn't know where she stood with Daryl. He was her friend, but was more than that. He was one of the only reason she was able to get over the death of Sophia. He'd been with her through her weakest and strongest moments. He was with her when she'd smashed Ed's face in when he'd been bitten. He was there when she lost Sophia, both times. He was there every night when she woke up with nightmares, and he'd hold her. He never asked for anything in return, he even declined her help on occasion. When she thought about it, she didn't even know how'd they'd become what they were. The first time she'd ever talked to him, she'd managed to wander upon Daryl and Merle's argument in the woods. Merle didn't see her, and after he'd stormed off, Daryl saw her. He yelled at her to get lost and if she told anyone what she'd heard she'd regret it. She laughed at that memory. She wasn't afraid of him then. Not like she was afraid of the others in the group at first. She'd always seen something different in Daryl. Something that was better than Merle. She supposed, when it came to her and Daryl, there wouldn't ever be a definite answer. There'd always be a grey between their black and white. And she was okay with that.

"You shouldn't be out here alone." A familiar voice grumbled behind her. She felt a smile spread over her face as she turned to see Daryl walking towards her, carrying a blanket.

"I'm alright." She said as he climbed onto the platform. "I can watch if you want to sleep."

"Can't sleep any more." He lied. She knew he lied. He draped the blanket around her shoulders and she happily accepted it, pulling her knees to her chest so her legs were covered also.

"How'd you sleep?" She asked as he sat down next to her. He shrugged.

"Fine. You?"

"Fine." She replied simply. They sat in silence for awhile as the sun crept slowly over the top of the trees. "He wasn't always abusive." Carol said randomly. Daryl looked at her.

"Ed?" He asked. She nodded.

"I was just thinking about him. And you." He tensed slightly and she looked at him. "How you're different. How I know you'd never become him."

"What do you mean?" He asked. She looked away from him and took a deep breath.

"When I first met Ed Peletier, he was the sweetest man I'd ever known." She began. "He was kind to me. Gave me things all the time. Always complimented me. Made me feel special. I married him and I couldn't have been happier. My family and him got along amazingly. And then I got pregnant. We were the happiest couple you'd ever know." She laughed a little and shook her head. "Then one night I woke up and I knew something was wrong. I just knew. Ed rushed me to the hospital. I lost the baby." She paused and looked at him, her eyes blinking back tears. "Ed was crushed. We both were. We wanted a baby more than anything. We waited about a year before trying for one again. And just when we were about to give up hope, I became pregnant with Sophia. But the second Ed found out I was pregnant, he became scared. He thought I was going to lose the baby again, he couldn't bare that loss. He went out and got drunk. He came home angrier than I'd ever seen him. He told me it was my fault that the baby was lost. Told me I was a horrible mother and that it'd be better if Sophia died too so she wouldn't have a mother like me." Tears poured down Carol's face, but she kept talking. "That was the first night he'd ever hurt me. He hit me hard enough to leave a pretty damn good bruise. He apologized the next day, though. I forgave him. And everything was okay until Sophia was born. The second night we'd had her home, she wouldn't stop crying. Ed didn't like that. He hit me again. I guess since he'd done it once, another couple times didn't matter. It never stopped after that. After he realized he had that control over me, he used it. He stopped being a husband and became an owner. I stopped talking to my family and friends so he'd stop hitting me. I didn't have the money to leave with Sophia. And by the time I did, I was stuck. I had no one because they'd all given up on me. I'd given up on me."

She looked at him then. Her face soaked in tears with more to come. Her lower lip trembled slightly and she looked like a broken woman. Daryl had never felt himself hurt so much before. He reached out instinctively and grabbed her, pulling her to him and holding her.

"Carol." He whispered in her ear. "I will never give up on you." She pulled away slightly and looked at him. He smiled to her and she smiled back. And then, without warning, she kissed him.

A/N: A Kiss! Exciting? Maybe? Please review! Love. ~Helen