A/N: Ah, Sims 3 have taken over my life so yeah, but it did put me in a good mood to write, anyway, love you guys! Almost 200 reviews, 138 follows and 64 favourites! That is insane, you are all amazing and I appreciate every single one of you, even if you just read :D You make it so worth it.

Daryl woke with something nudging him. He wasn't quite sure what it was but all he knew was that it was keeping him from sleeping. He slowly opened his eyes and tried to focus on something. He could feel that he was hunched over and that his arms were his pillow but he couldn't quite remember where he was or why. It was only when there was movement nearby that he seemed to have some recognition of where he was.

He straighten up, realising that he was still sat on the floor and had been hunched over, leaning on the couch as he slept. It was Carol who had nudged him. She was still waking up but she must have shifted in her sleep or just as she woke. He didn't say anything and just waited for her to wake herself up properly.

"Daryl?" He reached out a hand and gently squeezed hers. She squeezed back gently before turning her head to face him. She smiled slightly as soon as her eyes found him. "You slept here?"

"Dozed off," he nodded.

"What happened?"

"You can't remember?" he questioned with a frown.

"It's a little hazy," she admitted. "I'd rather you told me so I can be sure."

"We went lookin' for materials for the fence."

"I remember that," she agreed. "Did they sort the fence?"

He shrugged. "Dunno, I've been here, but when Hershel came in to check on you he said they were sortin' it out."

She nodded, seemingly lost in thought. "That's good."

"Anyways, at the site you was off a little from us, by some structure," he explained. "You shouted to me and I ignored ya, asked ya to wait a second."

"There were walkers," she continued, as if remembering. "And the last one stumbled… I was trapped."

"Yeah." He nodded, refusing to look at her. "Couldn't get ya out too quick. You've got some stitches, minor cuts and bruises… Then some not so minor ones."

She tried to squeeze his hand again but he retracted it. He felt nothing but shame and guilt. If he had just listened to her and paid her some attention straight away then she wouldn't be hurt. If he hadn't been so intent on his stupid fight with Glenn then he could have gotten to her before any of this happened.

"Daryl, you did nothing wrong," she told him. "It was unavoidable. So quit blaming yourself and help me up."

His head shot up, eyes meeting hers. "Why?"

"I want to see how bad I look," she explained. "Plus my body is going numb lying like this."

He got up and stood near her head. Carefully, and a little unsure, he bent down. His arms hooked under her arms. Hers came up to wrap around him as he lifted slowly. Once she was sitting up straight he moved and lifted her up into his arms. She readjusted the blanket that was covering her before he carried her over to the mirror that hung above the fireplace. He set her down in front of it but stood directly behind her just in case.

Firstly she wrapped the blanket around her like she would a towel. She didn't move much after that, just looked down at herself. She checked the stitches she had been given, the cuts that had been cleaned and the bruises over her body. As she stretched her ribs felt a bit tight but she didn't think it was quite enough to complain about. Once she had twisted just slightly this way and that, she looked in the mirror.

As her reflection came into view she almost gasped. She just about managed to stop herself. No wonder Daryl couldn't look at her. One side of her face might as well have been a giant purple bruise. She carefully prodded at it with her finger, trying to assess it herself. It didn't hurt quite as much as she had expected but it definitely wasn't far off as bad as it looked.

"That got worse," Daryl mumbled from behind her. "Hershel says everything else is alright though."

She nodded her head before turning around. She wrapped her arms around his middle and laid her head on his chest before he could object. She squeezed him, ignoring the pain it caused through her body until he hugged her back.

"You're not allowed to blame yourself."

"But I do," he argued.

"I don't care, I'm putting my foot down."

Despite himself he chuckled. "You are, huh?"

"Yeah, I'm taking charge," she said sternly as she pulled away slightly to look at him.

He bit his lip. "I'm on board."

She reached up on her tip toes, resting her hands on his shoulders for support, and pressed her lips to his. She squeezed his shoulders as she put more of her weight on him. Her lips pressed harder against his, her tongue flicking out against his bottom lip.

"Can't do that," he said, pulling away from the kiss. "You're hurt."

"Not that badly," she argued. "It just looks bad."

"Still, let's lie down or somethin'."

She sighed, giving in. "Fine, but can we go home?"

He tried not to smile but instead just nodded. He grabbed the clothes that Maggie had brought over for her. He went to wait outside the front of the house while she changed. He was counting in his head, planning on going back in to help her outside, but before he could she appeared there. She had pulled the shirt and ankle length skirt on. It was soft and light material that Maggie thought would be more comfortable just now. The blanket was still there, wrapped around her shoulders. She had slipped into some flats that must have been left.

"I found them," she said, looking at her feet as they stood on the front step. "They looked clean and more comfortable."

"Carol?"

Daryl had opened his mouth to talk but closed it when he heard Rick. "Yeah, she's awake."

They both turned to see Rick entering the Greene garden. He came right up to them. His hand rested on the top of Carol's arm while his other hand gently titled her head at different angles so he could examine her bruise.

"Looks worse," she shrugged.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"What's it with people blaming themselves?" she asked. "It could have happened to anyone, I was just the unlucky person. However, if it makes you feel better you can find a way for someone to take over my watch and maybe help with Judith?"

"I'll take care of Judith," he told her. "Beth still helps anyway. As for watch, don't even worry. In fact, for a few days you're to do nothing unless you can sit down and do it."

"I'm on board with that," Daryl agreed.

Rick gave Carol's arm a gentle squeeze before stepping to one side. Daryl grabbed her hand and led her away from the Greene house and over to their apartment. When they got to the steps he picked her up in order to carry her up the stairs. He only set her down when they were inside and by the couch. He sat down on the couch and reached out, placing his hands on her hips. As he laid back he carefully pulled her with him.

Carol let out a happy sigh as she situated herself between Daryl and the back of the couch. His arms wrapped around her as she rested her head on his chest. She did have a master plan but it all went to pot when she got comfortable. Before she could really argue with herself to get up and kiss him again she started to drift off to sleep.

When Carol woke this time she felt much better. She was surprisingly comfy and the initial shock of being injured wasn't there anymore. She smiled at Daryl who was awake, half beside, half beneath her. He reached a hand up and gently touch her cheek as she slowly woke up more and more.

"I'm sick of lying around."

"You need your rest," he told her.

"Daryl," she whined.

"What's wrong with lying around anyway?"

She moved so that she was lying completely on top of him. "It's boring and I've done enough of it."

"You're gonna be the death of me," he mumbled.

"Does that mean we can get up?" she asked hopefully.

"Y'know, I figured I'd be the kid in this relationship."

"Can't let you have the spot light all the time," Carol said, jabbing his chest lightly.

"You can be anything you want," he said, trailing his fingers up and down her back. "Gonna love ya just the same anyway."

She smiled at that, at warm feeling rushing through her. She pressed her lips to his before he had time to even think. His arms tightened around her as she slowly traced his lips with her tongue. His lips parted, giving her the access she wanted. Wasting no time Carol's tongue reached out to tangle with his. With every flick of her tongue Daryl felt changes in himself.

Despite not wanting to take things too far while she was like this he found himself more turned on than ever. He was battling with himself. On one side he wanted to hold her as tightly as possible and use as much force as he could muster, but the other side of him knew that he couldn't right now. He tried to just relax but it was damn near impossible. His hands were wandering and she was making it even harder to concentrate.

Carefully Daryl shifted away from her slightly. "When ya went to see Beth, said yous were talkin' about somethin', what was it?"

"You're asking this now?" she groaned.

He nodded. "Said I wasn't interested, maybe I am."

She raised an eyebrow. "Trust me Daryl, you won't be, I don't even know if I am."

"Then what's the problem?"

She bit her lip. "We were talking about kids, settling down."

Daryl gulped. He had wanted a distraction, a break, but he wasn't expecting that. "Oh?"

She nodded. "We were talking, Beth said I was good with her, she said she could see us having kids." She rolled off of him slightly. "I told her I wasn't sure, then I changed the subject to her."

"She sees us having kids?"

Carol looked up at him. Did he sound hopeful? "Apparently, I didn't think to ask much about it. Why?"

"You sure she said us?"

Now Carol understood. "Yes, Daryl, not just me, you too."

A smile slowly appeared. "Ya positive?"

She chuckled, lifting herself up a little kiss him. "I'm positive, now why?"

"Is that what ya want?"

She looked down, feeling a little bit uncomfortable. "Thought Sophia was it for me, especially after she was gone."

"And now?"

"And now there's no point."

"But is there a possibility?" he pressed.

She shrugged. "I'm happy either way. Why are you asking this?"

"Just makin' sure we're on the same page."

"And are we?"

"I'd say so."

She curled up against his side. She had been right. Kids wasn't something that Daryl wanted, or something he was jumping for joy about. It really did help her to stop her mind from wandering too far when it came to her relationship with Daryl. Plus, wasn't she too old? Been there, done that, and did she really want to go through the possibility of what happened to Sophia to happen again?

"Hey," Daryl said softly, shifting them so he could slip away and stand up. "We missed breakfast and lunch so I'm going to go and see if they have some left overs."

"You didn't eat?" she questioned, curling back up again.

"Couldn't, I'll be back."

Almost as quickly as he'd said it he was leaving the apartment. He jogged down the stairs and over to the big table. Maggie was there with Hershel, talking away to him. When he got there he noticed two covered plates.

"Oh, they're for you," Maggie said. "Carol too."

"Thanks," Daryl mumbled. "You seen Merle or Rick?"

"Erm, Rick was walking the fence with Carl," Maggie said thoughtfully.

"And Merle is up by the breach in the fence, it's done but it needed secured and finished up," Hershel explained.

"Thanks, I'll be back for the food once I've spoken to them."

He didn't wait for a reply, he headed straight over towards Merle. He found his brother making the gap in the fence that would allow them to get between the fences. When it was done Daryl stepped forward. Merle wiped his hands and face with a rag before putting all the tools together. He put them to one side as he spotted Daryl. He straightened up and turned to face him.

Daryl stood there awkwardly, not too sure what to do. He only really wanted to know one thing, but it was the phrasing that he would have to be careful about. He wasn't in the mood for Merle, wasn't in the mood to have the piss ripped out of him.

"How much do ya reckon we'll end up like dad?"

"I was a drunk, hopin' that's as much like him as I'm ever gonna get," Merle shrugged.

"What about me?"

"Nah, if I hadn't of been around I would've said you're adopted."

"So you don't think I'm gonna end up like him?"

"I'm more likely to end up like him, why?"

"Just curious, thinkin' about it now I've got Carol."

"You'd die before ya did shit to her. Plus, you'd have all hell to pay if ya did."

"Ya gonna make sure of that?" Daryl smirked.

Surprisingly Merle nodded firmly. "Ya care about her, so I'ma protect her, even if it's from you."

"I hope ya mean that," Daryl told him.

Merle only nodded his head as Daryl started walking the fence, hoping to catch up with Rick. He did feel a lot lighter. Merle had known him the longest out of everyone here, and if he could be sure that Daryl wouldn't end up like there dad then that was good enough for him. As he thought he spotted Carl and Rick in the distance coming towards him. They were chatting away so he slowed his pace down a little to at least give them the chance to finish their conversation before he swooped in.

By time he was close enough to see every detail of them clearly they'd stopped talking. Rick noticed him standing there and stopped. He motioned for him to wait a minute before turning to Carl. They shared some words before Carl nodded and continued on walking. He and Daryl nodded at each other as they passed by. Once he'd gone Daryl started to walk towards Rick.

"Something wrong?" Rick questioned.

"I was just talkin' to Carol."

"She OK?"

He nodded, biting his lip. "Told me about a conversation Beth and her had."

"About?" Rick asked, clearly confused.

"About kids," he said awkwardly.

"Right..."

"And I was wonderin', when did you and Lori know it was the right time?"

Rick's eyes grew wide. "Are you thinking about...? No, that's not the point," he said, shaking his head. "Me and Lori, right... Well, I don't know. We had spoken about kids before but it wasn't really planned. We did try at some point but it didn't seem to work so we just went with it I guess. We stopped thinking about it and when we least expected it, there he was."

"Right," Daryl nodded. "But you were both sure?"

Rick nodded slowly. "Daryl, why are you asking me this?"

"Beth said she could see me and Carol havin' kids," Daryl explained. "I asked her if that's what she wanted, said she thought Sophia was it for her."

"So what? You want some but she doesn't?"

"I don't know," Daryl mumbled. "I asked if her wantin' more kids was a possibility, she was happy either way though."

"There you go, nothing to worry about, she's happy just like this."

"But she didn't seem so sure," Daryl complained. "She wouldn't even look at me properly."

"So you're thinking that maybe she does want things to change but she's too afraid to say?"

"I ain't ready for that," Daryl mumbled. "Well, not right this minute anyway but I feel bad that she can't even tell me what she wants. I was hopin' you could help me."

"Trust me," Rick sighed. "If I knew how to talk to women correctly I would've been a rich, retired man, not a Sheriff."

"So hope and pray?"

"Yeah," Rick chuckled. "When ya go back to her just talk to her, bring it up again. Sound a bit cheerful by the prospect of kids, but not too cheerful, so she knows you're OK with the idea but it's not like a life long dream or anything. Or y'know, just be completely honest with her."

That'll be a treat, Daryl thought to himself, but he smiled at Rick. Normally it would be Merle's voice in the back of his head mocking him, but this time it wasn't. It was a younger version of himself, laughing at the fact that Daryl was now in a serious relationship and was thinking about how or where said relationship could go even though he hadn't even had sex yet. Yeah, younger Daryl was laughing hard at that.

A/N: Sigh, I like serious Caryl sometimes. Ha, if the idea of kids ever because more than just an idea it will be very far in the future, and that depends on what you all think of the idea anyway :) I also want them to get it on after something serious. So that could be a conversation like they had in this chapter, good news, more drama... Just something that would push the two of them together and lead to them having sex. I'm totally open for ideas so don't be afraid to voice your opinion!

R&R