A/N: Hi my lovelies ...sorry for the delay in publishing this week. One of my "editors" has been M.I.A. with work, and I just didn't want to wait any longer, so I hope this chapter is okay. Hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving! xoxo~ Lis

For three nights, Daryl sat up in the tree overlooking his bedroom window. Perched high, hidden in the leaves that were now beginning to change colors and fall. For three nights he watched and waited, and for three nights he saw and heard absolutely nothing. Desperately, he wanted to believe it was a fluke, and maybe it was, but Daryl doubted it.

The barn was finished now, and the fence reinforced with the spikes Sasha had spent days sharpening. Right now Maggie and Glenn were in the loft of the barn, watching the rear portion of the property, and Tara and Tyrese were out front in the tree house, Tara just finishing her sweep, had passed by him about five minutes ago. Daryl was loathe to admit that Eugene had been right about the upward trajectory or whatever the hell poppycock babble he'd spilled that day at the gas station, as the Walkers had not been an issue. A few strays here or there, but nothing substantial. Thankfully.

It was the living Daryl feared the most.

He could see Beth moving through the window, the outline of her form passing by the makeshift curtains she had hung, heading towards the fireplace to put another log on, reminding Daryl how damn cold and miserable he was out here perched in a God damned tree. He was tired and he missed her something fierce, barely seeing her the last three days that he had set up his post here. Figures. He asks her to move into his room with him and then only spends one night with her and three alone in an uncomfortable tree.

He knew he needed to do this, though. He needed to protect her and everyone else, and so he had stayed. Just how long he had planned to do so, he had no idea.

He passed the time as he usually did, making a mental checklist of shit that still needed to get done and thinking of Beth. His favorite being the latter. His mind kept going back to the last night he had spent with her, the more he reflected, the more he realized that his dominate actions that evening were carved out of jealousy. Why, he could not fathom. Beth was an attractive girl and he was certainly no fool, he knew he wasn't the only one who had noticed. And Noah had never been anything but respectful to either of them, even noting that they were in a relationship.

Daryl snorted. A relationship. He never thought it would be word he'd use when referring to himself. But here he was, sitting in a tree in thirty degree weather in the dead of night, waiting to ambush an unknown enemy, and pondering on his relationship with Beth Greene. If he wasn't so damn irritable, he'd probably laugh.

A rustling below set the hair on the back of his neck standing. Daryl raised his bow, adjusting himself on the branch and scanned the ground around him for the source of the noise, his scattered thoughts all but forgotten for the moment. A rabbit darted out from the tree line and into the lawn, clearly visible in the moonlight, and Daryl blew out a breath of relief.

"I should shoot ya," he mumbled quietly, more to himself than the rabbit, as it hopped back into the brush and out of sight. He wondered if that was the same rabbit that dumb one-eyed mutt had been trying to catch last week, as he willed himself to relax. Might be a good idea to set some more snares tomorrow, it had been awhile since they had sunk their teeth into real animal flesh.

The snapping of a twig brought him back to full attention, his eyes once again immediately scanning his surroundings for the source and landing on Carol coming around the back of the kitchen, a steaming mug in her hand.

"Psssst Daryl," she whispered, scanning the tree line, searching for him.

Daryl considered staying out of sight, not wanting to give up his cover, but decided against it, the hot contents of the mug too enticing. Throwing his bow on his back, he swung down from the branch, hopped out of the tree and headed towards the back door.

"To warm your bones," Carol greeted him, handing him the mug.

"And give away my position," Daryl grumbled, accepting the mug that was filled with hot chocolate, to his delight.

"Have you considered that whomever our resident peeping Tom may be, was watching when you climbed up in that tree and that's why you haven't seen anything?" Carol asked, playing devils advocate. "You need a better spot, one that you don't give yourself away by climbing into it in plain sight," she suggested, pulling her sweater tighter around herself to stay warm.

Truth was, Daryl had already mulled over that possibility.

"You sure it's not one of our own? Gabriel? Noah maybe?" Carol asked.

Truth was, Daryl had already mulled over that possibility too.

"Can't say fer sure 'bout Gabriel, but sum'thin' tells me he ain't ballsy enough ta come out here alone in tha dark," Daryl answered her. The priest was a coward through and through. He kept to himself mostly and did not agree with the group killing Walkers, even though "Thou shalt not kill" didn't really apply to anyone who was already dead and trying to eat your flesh.

"And Noah?"

Daryl shook his head. "Couldn't a been. Brought him after."

"After what?" Carol prodded.

"Seen a face in tha window," Daryl admitted, deciding to confide in her. "Tha night Bob died. No one knows, just you an' Rick. Time line jus' don't add up."

"Rick talk to you about Sasha?" Carol asked, changing the subject.

"'Bout her goin' outside tha fence without tellin' no one?" When Carol nodded, Daryl went on, "Yah. Not sure what were s'posed ta do 'bout it, though."

"It's Tyrese's problem if you ask me. She's been warned, she knows the dangers. If she doesn't care, why should we? Rick's still too damn busy trying to save the world," Carol stated, calmly, despite the venom of her words, and gingerly sipped from her mug.

Daryl lifted his own mug, his hair cloaking the disbelief in his eyes. He was having trouble accepting this new, more hardened Carol and couldn't pinpoint exactly when this change had occurred. Or maybe he just hadn't noticed it before because he had changed too. Awkward silence stretched between them for a few minutes, as they both pretended to survey their surroundings, Daryl kicking the dirt at his feet and Carol readjusting her sweater again.

"Why ya gotta do that?" Daryl finally asked her, as he brought his mug back down.

"Do what?" Carol asked.

"Cut Rick down all tha time. He didn't ask ta be tha leader. He ain't perfect, christ, no one is, but he's done alright by us. Alright by you," he added with inflection.

Carol was silent a moment, contemplating his words. "He's gotten us farther than I ever thought he would," She admitted. "I'll give him that. But it's only a matter of time before this place falls too."

"Wouldn't kill ya ta have a lil' faith," Daryl replied, Beth's words ringing in his head as they spilled from his lips.

Carol laughed, "Since when did you become so enlightened?"

"Since when did ya become so cynical?" Daryl threw back at her.

"I'm not cynical Daryl, I'm a realist. Having faith never did anything for me, and it sure as shit never did anything for you."

Daryl shook his head. "Ain't true."

"Enlightened, faithful Daryl who will follow Rick into the bowels of hell ..." Carol let her words trail off.

"Tha hells tha matter wit ya?" Daryl demanded. He'd been trying to keep his cool, but Carol seemed dead set on picking a fight tonight.

Carol shrugged, taking another sip from her mug. It didn't take long for the awkward silence to creep up on them once again, Daryl now regretting his decision to reveal himself, wishing he would have just stayed in the tree, the cold be damned. Long gone were the days where conversation came easy between him and Carol, they were buried back at the prison with the charred bodies of Karen and David. He had forgiven Carol, like pretty much everyone else, she had redeemed herself by risking her life to save them all from Terminus, so yes, Daryl had forgiven her, but he would never forget.

"So I see Beth moved in to your room while you were away?" She observed, keeping her tone light, but Daryl did not for one second miss the accusatory undertones disguised in her voice.

"I asked her to stay wit me. Simple as that," Daryl snapped. "Ain't discussin' this wit no one no more, least of all you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Carol snapped back, insulted by his words, her eyes seeking him out, looking for an explanation and finding none.

She scoffed then, surprising Daryl. "You think I'm jealous?" She asked. "Am I acting jealous? Maybe I am," she shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe it does eat at me just a bit. Not in a romantic way," she laughed, the sound bitter and hollow, biting at Daryl's ears. "We used to be close. I believed in you before any of these people. You were my friend first, so yeah ...maybe that does bother me just a little bit."

"We're still close-"

"We're not," Carol interrupted him, "and you know it. But I was weak back then. I didn't think I could be strong without you. Now I know that's not true," she sighed. "I don't need anyone. And besides we're too much alike you and I," Carol continued after a long sip from her mug. "We're damaged Daryl. All we know is how to push people away."

Daryl was silent, then. Any words he had been about to say, carried away in the mountain breeze. Carol was right. They weren't close anymore. She took a step toward him, reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder, but Daryl instinctively sidestepped her, the gesture seeming way too contrived.

She scoffed again, her eyes narrowing on him. "Look at you, you're doing it to me now, and you don't even notice it."

"If we're distant, take some responsibility for it too," Daryl growled back at her.

Carol continued as if he hadn't said a word. "Eventually you'll do it to her too and you'll break her young heart because she's playing for keeps. My concern is for her and her alone, dear Daryl."

Daryl clenched his fists, Carol's words lashing at him, stinging like the end of his fathers belt. "I'd never hurt her-"

"You won't mean to," Carol cut him off, "but you will. Right now you're having fun playing house, but what happens later? Eventually it'll cause a rift in the group. People like us, like you and me, we're better off alone, Daryl. And you know I'm right whether or not you want to admit it."

And just like that she was finished. She stood beside him, staring into the darkness, sipping from her mug as though they'd been discussing the weather.

Taking a step backwards, Daryl tilted his mug, purposely spilling the rest of its contents onto the ground in front of them, Carol taking a step back to avoid it splashing up on her. It was an immature gesture and he knew it, but he just couldn't find it within himself to care at the moment.

"Yer wrong," he hissed, eyes narrowed, jaw squared defiantly, as he returned the empty mug back to her and stomped up the back stairs, needing to distance himself from the person he had once felt closest to in this world.

She didn't say another word, and she didn't come after him. Old Carol would have. She'd of chased him down, told him he shouldn't run from his problems, she would have cared if she'd hurt his feelings. But old Carol was gone. And so was old Daryl.

Halfway through the kitchen, Daryl realized he didn't really have a destination in mind, he'd just wanted to distance himself from Carol. Perhaps her words held a ring of truth and that's what had gotten under his skin. He should go back out to his tree, except now his cover was possibly blown, and she was still out there. So instead, Daryl headed back to his room. Back to Beth, hoping she was still awake.

As he quietly crept into the room, he felt a sharp pang of disappointment that Beth was already asleep, covers tucked up to her chin and the dumb dog curled up at her feet. Willie opened his single eye and wagged his tail as Daryl closed the door and clicked the lock into place.

"Dog," Daryl nodded, returning the greeting as set his crossbow by the door where he always left it, and began removing his layers of clothing, stripping down to his underwear and slipping under the covers, careful not to disturb Beth.

Even in her sound sleep, Beth sensed his presence, turning towards him, wrapping her supple softness around him, and so Daryl clung to her, deriving comfort from simply having her in his arms. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and cradled her head against his chest, ignoring the tickling sensation of her breath stirring the hair there.

Carol was wrong. He was not playing house, he just needed Beth close to him, to know she was safe. It was beyond that, though. He didn't quite know how to explain it, but Daryl just didn't feel right when she wasn't near. And by feel right, he meant empty. A deep, almost painful void that rehashed memories of when she was taken. All the sorrow and loneliness that Daryl felt he was doomed to carry with himself forever, because he still felt the weight of that guilt, still blamed himself for what went down that night. Over a dumb dog. A dog Daryl was loathe to admit he was becoming quite fond of.

Stupid. Redneck. Asshole. Failure.

He didn't claim to know much about nothing, but he knew his feelings for Beth were genuine, which was pretty deep considering he'd never felt this way about anyone. Ever. Daryl knew in that moment, without a doubt and with absolute clarity, that he'd lay down his life and die to protect her. Even if it was from himself.

Instinctively, his arms tightened around her and she sighed in her sleep, her soft body literally melting into his, one of her legs sliding up and hooking around his, linking them. Tomorrow was the first day in awhile that he'd have some free time, and he planned to use it to his advantage, do something nice for Beth ...with Beth.

Willing his mind to clear and his body to relax, he settled deeper into the blankets, pulling them higher around him and Beth to ward away the chill of the night and finally succumbed to sleep in the arms of the woman he loved.