(I know that the majority of these chapters are happy and sweet and a lot of people love angst, but I can't bring myself to write many chapters like that. The show keeps my emotions enough edge. This is my place to go and have happy moments for some of my favorite characters.)

Daryl and Carol spent the rest of the morning running around grabbing the rest of the things she needed for the new house and stocking up on groceries for the place. They went back to her new place and put the groceries up and he helped her hang the up the curtains and blinds. They just left the comforters and bed sheets in the closets.

"I'm gonna head out." He said once they had everything in place. "T-dog's cousin is coming into town and he wants all of us from work to go out with them."

She looked out the window, it was still sprinkling some, but she figured he would be safe enough driving home now, so she didn't protest. "Okay. Drive safe." She said. "Oh, by the way, are you still panning to come by tomorrow and be here when we show Sophia the house?"

"Wouldn't miss it." He assured her.

()()()

Daryl went back to his house to change clothes and while he was there he took the opportunity to throw a pile of clothes in the wash. While he studied the pile of clothes that had built up, he realized how little time he actually spent here. If he wasn't at work, he was most likely at Carol's or sometimes Rick's. When he wasn't there he was out in the woods. The house was pretty much somewhere he just slept at.

While he was waiting on his clothes to dry he rummaged through the fridge. There wasn't really anything in there. Just a few slices of cheese and some sandwich meat. Good job, dumbass. He thought to himself. You helped Carol get food earlier and you didn't think to get anything for yourself. He wasn't really in the mood for a sandwich, so he just decided that he would get something at the bar later when he met up with T-Dog.

()()()

It was close to 8 when Daryl arrived at T-dogs. Abraham's truck was already there and so was Oscar's. He knocked on the door.

"Damn Dixon, bought time you got here." T-dog joked. "We didn't hear your bike."

"I drove my old man's truck. Didn't want it to start pouring down like it did last night."

"Yeah, we were a little worried about you driving home in that." Rosita said. "I see you made it okay though."

"Wasn't so bad." Daryl said. Not mentioning that he didn't go home last night and that he had stayed with Carol.

T-dog gave him a strange look, but didn't say anything.

Another man walked into the kitchen where all of them were standing.

"Oh, Daryl, this is my cousin, Bob. He just finished up a stint in the service. He was a medic for six years. Now he is thinking about moving here."

"Good to meet you." Daryl said. Nodding at him.

"Daryl's been working with me the last few months." T-dog said while looking at Bob. "He's a hard worker. My neighbor Rick introduced us."

"Are we gonna sit here and talk all night or are we gonna go get some beers?" Abraham asked.

()()()

They went to one of the bars downtown. It had several pool tables, dart boards, and it served food like nachos, hot dogs, fries, corn dogs and hamburgers. It reminded Daryl of a place that would have been right up Merle's alley if he was home. He had been to many like it over the years, but bars weren't really his thing. They were way too crowded.

Once they got in the bar, Daryl immediately went after food. He was starving and hadn't eaten since he left Carol's this morning.

He joined the rest of the group in the back of the bar with a thing of loaded nachos in hand.

"I'm guessing Carol didn't feed you before you left?" T-dog joked.

"Not since this morning." Daryl said absentmindedly

T-dog looked at him suspiciously again, but Daryl didn't notice.

"Is that your girlfriend?" Bob asked.

Daryl blushed a little and looked down. "Nah, just a friend." He said and then stuffed his face with more Nachos.

Abraham ran to the bar and brought beers back for everyone. They teamed up and played a few games of pool. Teams consisted of T-dog and his cousin Bob, Abraham and Rosita, and Daryl and Oscar.

Daryl had been relatively quiet tonight, he was around a new person and in a crowded bar, so he wasn't exactly in his comfort zone.

He was on his third game of pool by now. He and Oscar were playing against T-dog and Bob. Daryl and Oscar were winning. He downed his second beer as Oscar made sunk the eight ball for the win.

"Can we play?" He heard a female voice say.

He looked up and saw a light skinned African American woman. She was wearing jeans, a dark gray sweater and boots and had her hair pulled back into a bun. She had a dark skinned Caucasian woman with her, who had curly dark brown hair. Daryl didn't know either of them.

"Hey, Sasha. It's good to see you." T-Dog said as he pulled her in for a hug.

"You too." She replied. "This is my friend, Karen. She just joined the force and she's my new partner. I'm showing her around tonight."

Great. He was going to be hanging around more cops. Did they all just decide to gravitate towards him now?

"Nice to meet you." T-dog said. He introduced Sasha to his cousin Bob and then to Daryl. Then he introduced her partner, Karen to everyone.

"So, Daryl", Sasha said. "You're Rick's friends, right?"

Daryl nodded. "Yeah, do you work for King County PD too?"

"Yeah. I've worked there for a while. I know Rick and Shane pretty well."

Everyone sat and talked a while and went and grabbed a pitcher of beer.

Daryl had poured himself a cup and casually sipped on it while everyone else was downing theirs. He noticed that Sasha and Bob seemed to be hitting it off pretty well. They were laughing together and leaning into each other. He would never understand how you could just meet someone and let them touch you or be in that close of proximity to you. Yet, they made it seem completely normal, and deep down, he knew that it was.

Sasha's friend Karen kept trying to talk to him and she even moved up and sat beside him. He was trying not to be rude, but he wasn't exactly gauging her in conversation. He would give brief one word answers and he made sure not to make eye contact with her. Instead, he pretty much stared down at his cup of beer.

Karen and Sasha excused themselves to the bathroom and when they returned, Sasha suggested that they play a round of pool. She said it should be her and Bob against Daryl and Sasha.

Daryl rolled his eyes, but before he could protest, Bob agreed that it was a great idea.

Sasha seemed to be a natural at pool and Bob was pretty good too, Karen seemed like she didn't have the slightest clue as to how to play.

"You think you could show me how to shoot?" She asked Daryl as she eyed him seductively and gave him a smile.

"You just aim at the ball. Like this." Daryl said as he leaned the table over and shot at the red number 5.

"I still don't think I get it. Why don't you come show me?" She said as she reached for his arm and tried to pull him towards her.

He flinched and pulled back immediately. In the process he knocked Bob's beer off of the pool table and spilled it all over his shirt. "Shit." He said.

"I'm so sorry." Karen said. Let me get you some towels. She was about to walk towards the bathroom but he stopped her.

"It's fine. I got it. I'll be right back."

He went in the bathroom and grabbed some paper towels and started to dry off his shirt. He was getting tired of this woman not taking the hint. He hadn't shown the slightest interest in her at all, but she just kept trying to get his attention. It's not that she was an ugly woman, he just wasn't into her. He wasn't like, Bob. He couldn't just meet some girl he barely in the bar, hit it off, and take her home. That just wasn't him. Besides, the only girl he wanted he couldn't have anyway.

Once he stepped out of the bathroom he let T-dog know he was about to head out. His shirt was still wet and he was ready to go. Besides, he was gonna meet up with Rick tomorrow at Carol's house and make sure that all the furniture got delivered.

"You sure you don't wanna stay?" T-dog asked.

"Nah, that's alright. I'll see you guys Monday. Nice to meet you all." He said to Sasha, Bob and Karen.

()()()

Once he was sure Daryl was out the door and on his way and it was just T-dog, Abraham and Rosita at the table with them, Oscar spoke up. "I'm starting to think Dixon might be gay. Karen was all about him and he didn't even bat an eye. Damn near acted scared of her the way he jumped when she touched him. I'm gonna go show her how a real man appreciates a woman, he said smugly."

After Oscar got up and headed towards where Bob, Sasha and Karen were, Abraham looked at T-dog. "Do you think he's gay?" He did act really funny around Karen.

T-dog shook his head. "No, I don't think he's gay, and I know for a fact he stayed at Carol Peltier's house last night."

"What?" Rosita asked surprised. "How do you know?"

"I let my dog out to pee last night. I was sitting on the front porch waiting to make sure she did her business and get her back inside as soon as I could since it was pouring down. I noticed Carol pull into the driveway really late. It had to be after one. There was a guy with her. I wasn't sure who it was, but I kept my eye on him. I wanted to make sure it wasn't her ex-husband, Ed. The guy was too short though, and more built."

"So, that doesn't mean it was Daryl." Abraham pointed out.

"No, it doesn't. Except when I went to get my mail this morning I saw him and her getting into her car together. And earlier when I said she must not have fed him tonight, he said, not since this morning."

"I'll be damned". Abraham said. "That makes sense. He went to a lot of her kids soccer games."

"Why don't you think he told us? He always says they are just friends."

"Come on? She lives with Rick and Lori." T-dog pointed out. "You know how Rick acted when Axel seemed interested in her that time. Don't say I told you guys anything, okay? I don't wanan get anything started and put something between Rick and Daryl. They are grown and this is their business."

"You got it." Abraham and Rosita said.

()()()

The next day, Daryl met up with Carol, just like he said he would. They told Sophia and Carl that they had a little surprise for them. Rick's family piled up in Lori's SUV and Carol, Daryl and Sophia got in her car. When they got close to the street to Carol's new house Sophia started asking a lot of questions.

"Where are we going? Is this Daryl's house?" She asked curiously as they pulled up into the driveway and parked the car.

Daryl played along and let the way into the house. He unlocked the door, but none of the adults said anything.

"Why are we here?" Carl asked

Sophia noticed some pictures hanging in the living room. Ones of her and her mother and some of just her. She saw a picture of her and her mom sitting on a lamp stand by the couch and it hit her. "Is this our house?" She squealed.

"Mhm." Carol said with a smile. She had a tear in her eye as she watched how happy Sophia was.

"It's beautiful! Where's my room?"

Carol and Daryl led her down the hallway. She opened the door and noticed the green paint with the pink and brown polka dots on the wall. There was a beautiful white sleigh bed and a nice new white dresser with a mirror on it.

"I love my room! Was it already painted like this?" She asked.

"No, Daryl helped me paint it and all the other rooms too."

Sophia smiled and ran up to hug him. "Thank you, Mr. Dixon!"

She slammed into him hard when she hugged him. It almost knocked the breath out of him. He hadn't ever been hugged by a kid before. He didn't exactly know what to do. "You're welcome." He slowly put his arm around her and returned her hug. "Hey, check out the back yard." He said. "You and Carl are gonna love it."

Both of the kids bolted for the back door. Once they saw the tree house they immediately made a bee line for it.

()()()

Rick and Lori stayed over there for a long time watching Carl and Sophia play. Carol gave them an official tour of the house and the adults sat in the living room a while and the kids stayed up in the tree house.

"I'm really happy for you." Lori said. "But I'm going to miss having you down stairs."

"I know, I'm going to miss being so close, but I will still see you all the time. Sophia will still be with you in the afternoon on the days I work and you guys are welcome here anytime. I owe you both. You've done so much for me. I'll never be able to repay you."

"You don't ever need to." Rick said. "You're family to us. There isn't anything we wouldn't do for you and Sophia."

"I know." Carol said with a smile. "The same goes for you two, Carl and little baby Grimes there." Carol said as she reached out and touched Lori's belly. She was four months now and she was starting to show. They didn't know if they were having a boy or girl yet, and had decided that they didn't want to know. They wanted it to be a surprise."

()()()

Rick and his family, as well as Daryl, stayed and had supper with Carol and Sophia at their new place. Carl put in to stay the night and Carol agreed. Daryl knew he had to leave when Rick and Lori did because his bike was still at their house and he didn't have another way to go back and get it. He contemplated asking if he could swing back by, but he figured that would seem weird.

Carol walked outside to say goodbye to everyone and asked to have a minute with Daryl before they left. Rick and Lori went ahead and got in the car and gave the two some privacy.

"Everything you did, for Sophia and for me, to get this house ready. You'll never know how much that meant to me. I know there isn't much I can offer, but if you ever need anything, I'm here for you."

He nodded.

"I know I won't be next to T-dogs anymore and it isn't exactly on your way home, but whenever you wanna stop by for supper, just know you're welcome here."

"I have a feeling I'll still be stopping by a pretty good bit." He said. "I gotta cash in on all the meals you owe me for all the work I did."

She smiled. "Goodnight, Daryl."

"Goodnight." He said.

"You know?" She added as he was turning to walk away. "If you aren't ready to go home you can come back here. Sophia and Carl are gonna watch the newest Harry Potter movie, but I think I'm gonna get some popcorn and binge watch Breaking Bad. I mean you don't have to, just if you want to…"

"I'll be back over in twenty.' He said. As he turned around to walk to Rick's car he had the biggest grin on his face.