'Got your lunchbox Daryl?' Merle could barely keep the gee off his face as Daryl moved around checking he had everything ready for the class trip. He put his drink bottle in the bag and then looked around putting on his leather jacket.

'Tell the teacher if you need to do a wee wee,' Merle told him, stepping out of reach of Daryl, 'Do you have a change of pants just in case?'

'Shut the fuck up Merle,' he looked around he'd already been growled at for swearing around Sophia today, Carol was feeling well enough to growl him.

'Well just in case make sure you go at morning tea and lunch time,' Merle ducked outside laughing because he was winding him up so much. Merle had laughed and laughed when he found out Rick Grimes grew a pair and made Daryl go on a school trip with Sophia and the teasing all weekend was funny. Now he was just being annoying.

Carol was up helping Sophia get ready. She'd been moving slowly over the weekend feeling better and more relaxed without being in hospital. She'd even cracked a smile of two and Sophia's antic's to try get them to buy her a puppy. They both were saying firm no. Daryl knew he could cave if Carol wasn't about.

'I'm choosing to ignore you,' Daryl muttered doing up the bag he was carrying.

'You going out on a date with Officer Friendly?' Merle asked him. 'A whole lot of loving going to be going on, does Carol approve?'

'Shut up Merle,' Daryl he told him, 'Just make sure Carols ok, right, make sure she's taking her pain pills, she thinks she don't need them but she does.'

'You want me to check her mouth?' Merle winked at him.

'If you have too, she thinks they make her sleepy, shes supposed to be sleeping lots,' he told him. Merle was annoying but he trusted him to look after Carol, Maggie would be there soon to help. He didn't know what Maggie was doing, she went home for the weekend and left them too it something about her parents, Daryl wasnt sure, but she had the weekend off since the club was closed. She was coming back today sometime.

'I make sure she takes them, do I have to hide them in her food or something?' Merle asked, Daryl just gave him a look.

'You wanna swap?' He asked knowing Merle didn't want to go on the trip.

'Nah, I'll make sure she naps ok,' he told Daryl

wandered off to check out if Sophia was ready, he went through and grabbed his wallet and phone. Carol was sitting on the couch listening to Sophia tell her her plans for the day that she would make sure Daryl didn't get lost anywhere and she would keep him safe.

'I know you will but play with some of the other kids ok,' Carol was fixing her hair putting it up in plaits for the day. Daryl was watching looking at them. He hadn't come right out to say he was nervous but Carol could tell he was a little. He'd admitted he'd never ever been on a class trip even when he was a kid, he watched them tapping his foot a little.

'You will be fine, just ask someone if your unsure of what your supposed to be doing,' Carol told him, he just nodded and looked at her a little. 'I'll be fine, Merles here, I'm going to watch some movies and stuff,

'K, you sure? You need anything?' He asked her, he'd already stood by while she showered, her bruising was starting to yellow, she'd let him hold and kiss her some this morning. He'd been so gentle helping her get dried, some parts of her were not that sore anymore.

'Yeah, I need you to relax, if you do, Soph will she won't ping off your nervousness,' she told him.

'K, you going to ring that lawyer? Bout the house? Ya stuff at your house?' Daryl asked her. They were going to take a bit of a road trip to go to her old home to get some things she couldn't bear to part with, stuff of her parents in the attic and some of Sophia's baby stuff she had hidden in the hopes of one day being able to get back to grab it. When they left she took clothes and some pots and pan's, blankets off the bed. Not much. She still needed to sell the house there and do something with all the stuff.

'Yes, maybe we could go next week? Its the school holidays? Will the club be open?' she asked him.

'This weekend it opens but we can go, Merle can run things for a few days,' Daryl told her, 'or we can fly down, box shit up and fly back be better for you?'

'Ok, let me think today, but we could leave on Sunday?' she asked him.

'Only if we fly and rent a car,' he told her, she nodded. She called out to Sophia to come give her a kiss, Daryl gave her a kiss, she pulled him in for a bigger kiss.

'Don't be doing that or I'm gonna end up with a problem in my pants,' he growled. Carol shook her head.

'Have fun, ... ummmmm Daryl... remember, have fun, and kids move fast,' Carol warned him.