A/N: The beginning of this chapter will be a little confusing, but stick with it and it will all make sense, I promise! Also, please make sure you've read Chapter 20 before you read this one or it really won't make sense! (I updated 20 and 19 on the same day, so 20 might've been lost in the shuffle for some of you). I know my story is not exactly in a happy place right now, but I hope you'll stick with it. It's a zombie apocalypse, after all – it can't all be sweetness and light and smut! (Don't worry, though – there's more of that to come, even in this chapter!)

I've been getting some really nice comments and lovely compliments on my writing lately, so I just want to say thanks so much. It means a lot to me! I've never done fanfiction before and I'm having so much fun just writing this stuff down as it comes to me and letting the characters take me wherever they want to go. It amazes me that there are real people out there reading and enjoying the result! Much love to all of you.

Carol pulled her Cherokee into a tight parking space and smiled. She couldn't wait to see Sophia coming out of the school building. All day she'd worked on getting the house clean and perfect, and she'd put up purple and pink streamers in the dining room. The cake was ready and all their friends were coming over at seven o'clock. Sophia had invited three girls and one boy from school, and of course Lori and Rick would bring Carl and the baby.

"Will Daddy make it home in time for the party?" Sophia asked on the ride home.

"Of course," Carol answered with a comforting pat on her daughter's knee. "He wouldn't miss it for the world. But you know your daddy. This was the first day that's been nice enough for him to go bowhunting. He promised to be back for the party, though, sweetie."

Carol called in the pizza order when they got home, glad she'd decided not to cook a big dinner. Making a cake had been enough, and who didn't like pizza? Daryl arrived long before the pizza and guests, disappointed in his unsuccessful hunt but thrilled to see the birthday girl.

"Daddy!" Sophia cried when he walked in, and he held out his hands, laughing.

"Whoa, girl! I'm filthy, don't come near me until I've had a shower. That goes for you too." He winked at Carol.

"Well, hurry up then," she said, giving him a little smack on the ass.

When Sophia had settled in front of the TV to kill some time before the party, Carol followed Daryl up the stairs and into their bedroom. As soon as they entered the room, he turned around and placed his hands on the door behind her, shutting the door and trapping her in place. "You're beautiful," he whispered before pressing his lips against hers. She'd hoped he would like this dress, a sleeveless black one with a low V in the front. He slipped a hand inside the bodice and found her nipple, making her gasp.

"Daryl," she warned. "Sophia. . ."

"If thirteen years of parentin' ain't taught us how to fuck quietly, we ain't ever gonna learn," he whispered, his fingertips still teasing her nipple. "'Sides, you're the one makes all the noise." She chuckled until his mouth claimed hers again, his fingers increasing their pressure. He slipped her dress open to expose her breasts, bending his head to take one nipple into his mouth and suck gently. "I missed you all day," he said, when he released her nipple and raised his face to hers again. "I rushed home so we'd have time for this. . ."

He reached under her skirt and slid her panties down over her hips and she stepped out of them quickly, her breathing heavy now. She parted her legs a little as he slid a hand up her inner thigh and she moaned softly when his fingertips reached her center. "Always wet for me," he murmured as his fingers entered her and his lips and tongue went to her throat. Her hand went to the back of his head as he licked and sucked her skin, and then he whispered in her ear, "I'm gonna fuck you right here. . ."

He unfastened his pants and then quickly grasped her hips and lifted her up. God, he was so strong, Carol thought. She felt him sink into her as she held onto his shoulders and used every ounce of restraint she could muster to keep from crying out. Her back pressed against the door, making it rattle a bit in the frame. She hoped Sophia would stay focused on her TV show and wouldn't hear it.

Daryl fucked her hard as he sucked and nipped at her neck. When her orgasm came, it was as powerful and strong as ever, and he held her still as he thrust into her deeply, finding his own release. Carol was always amazed at how much passion they still shared after more than fifteen years together.

"You can leave those panties right there on the floor," he whispered in her ear. "I want to look across the table at you tonight and know you're hot and wet and ready for me to fuck you again."

"Daryl, this dress is too short for that," she said, laughing. "This is our daughter's thirteenth birthday party. I should be a little bit decent, shouldn't I?"

He shook his head slowly, a mischievous glint in his eye, then turned and headed for the shower. The panties stayed on the floor.

The party was a success. Sophia was happy, the cake was delicious, and everyone had a good time. The baby was gorgeous, and Carol and Daryl loved reliving Sophia's newborn days by holding her and playing with her. Rick and Lori seemed happy. Carol was thrilled that they had moved past the issues they'd had during Lori's pregnancy. Carol could hardly remember now what that had all been about.

When they were all gathered in the living room watching a movie, Daryl's hand on Carol's knee making her wish time away so they could head to their bedroom, there was a sudden loud knock on the living room window.

"What the hell?" Daryl said, shooting up. Rick was already next to the window, carefully moving the curtain just enough to peer out.

"Another walker," Rick said.

"Walker?" Carol asked, looking around at the faces of everyone she loved. "What's a walker?"

The loud knock came again, but this time it sounded like someone hurling their body against the door. "Tell me," Carol said, bewildered at the fear and confusion on everyone's faces as they stared at her. "What's a walker?"

The garage door rattled on its frame. Carol shook her head to clear her thoughts and peered out one of the windows. A walker was slamming his body into the garage door over and over. They were never going to give up on getting to her, apparently. She shook her head again, clearing her mind of the fantasy she'd been having. Another hallucination. A reverie as inconsequential and meaningless as the particles of dust she could see floating in the small shaft of sunlight from the top of the garage door. She'd seen the sun go down and come back up twice now in this hellhole.

Carol had drunk one of the two beers and had found an old bag of stale potato chips in the glove compartment of the car. Those were all gone now, and she was saving the beer for a truly desperate moment. She'd drunk handful after handful of the coppery water from the rusted can, desperately trying to stay hydrated. She'd peed over and over in a bucket that she kept under the steps, wiping herself with dirty rags. She'd managed to sleep off and on in the back seat of the car, with moth-eaten blankets thrown over her body. When the walkers grew quiet, she dared to peek out the windows in the hope that she could finally escape, but there were always several of them wandering around in front of the house, and who knew how many were in the area? She was weak and starving and her only weapons were the hammer and wrench and whatever other tools she could find. She knew that trying to escape now would mean certain death, but she also knew that at some point she would have no choice. She had tried picking the lock on the door to the house many times, with nails, with a safety pin she found in the glove compartment of the car, with a stick, with anything she could find. Nothing worked. She thought about breaking the glass of the little window in the door, but it was too high and too far from the doorknob for her to reach in and open the door anyway. She decided to wait it out, hoping the herd would finally move on in search of an easier meal and she would be able to find her way back to Daryl and the others. Maybe they had all managed to escape the herd and they were looking for her now. She tried to stay positive but looking at the four walls of the garage for more than two days straight had begun chipping away at her sanity.

Carol climbed back into the back seat of the car and curled up. Now that the walkers were quiet again, she could hear the sounds of the rats scurrying around in the garage. She swallowed her feelings of revulsion and focused on getting back to sleep. Sleep was her only refuge now. She hoped for more dreams, more fantasies of a different life. One she'd never even had a chance to live. In every dream, Sophia was alive and well and she and Daryl were in love. Awake, she had to face the reality that there was no more Sophia. And maybe there was no more Daryl anymore either.