Chapter 26

The Governor walked Naomi outside after they were finished eating. Naomi noticed Merle watching them from a distance.

"Tell me Phillip...that man...I mean Merle...do you trust him?" Naomi asked.

"Absolutely...he's crude and rough around the edges but he's proven himself to be quite valuable...although refereeing between his and Milton's petty arguements gets exhausting after awhile." The Governor told her. "Why do you ask...has he done something to upset you?"

"No...not exactly...I just don't know how to take him...one moment he scares me to death and the next minute he seems almost...nice...it's just unsettling." She told him.

"If he does anything to bother you let me know but he won't hurt you...not unless I want him to..." He stated.

Naomi whipped her head to look at him startled.

"Teasing...I'm just teasing...you know I'd never hurt you..." He reassured her.

Naomi awkwardly laughed. "Of course not..."

"Come, I'll give you the grand tour..." The Governor stated.

"Actually Phillip...if you don't mind I'm really exhausted, I'd like to lay down for a bit." Naomi said.

"Of course...you probably don't remember your last good night's sleep...how insensitive off me. Take as much time as you need..." He walked Naomi to the door of the rooming house but stopped her just before she entered. "But Naomi...when we're in public and in front of others be sure to address me as the Governor..."

Naomi remained silent and watched him leave. She glanced back over and saw Merle walking in her direction. She quickly went inside and up the stairs to her room, shutting and locking the door. Just a short time later she heard a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" She asked.

"Merle...gotta talk to ya..." Merle stated.

"I'm tired...I'll speak with you some other time..." Naomi remarked.

There was a long pause but Naomi could feel he was still on the other side of the door.

"Fine...suit yerself..." And she heard him walk away from the door.

She walked back over to the bed and laid on her back. She couldn't help but instantly relax feeling the softness beneath her. Soon she closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep.

.

"When can I use the crossbow?" Caleb asked as he croutched down behind a tree with Daryl.

"Sssshhhh!" Daryl replied softly as he took aim then fired. The bolt pierced into a squirrel and it dropped to the ground.

"When yer big enough to hold it on yer own and not talk when yer supposed to be quiet!" Daryl remarked as he nudged Caleb. "Now go get it..."

Caleb rushed over to it and started to pick it up but heard a low gutteral growl as he looked to his right. Sitting behind a tree had been a walker hidden from view. It reached out and lunged towards Caleb causing him to stumble backwards, falling.

"CALEB!" Daryl didn't have time to reload the crossbow and took off as fast as he could. He swung back the crossbow over his shoulder then swung forward as hard as he could, knocking it back. Daryl dropped the crossbow, pulled the knife from the sheath on his belt and jumped on top of it, stabbing it through the eye socket.

Daryl climbed off, picked his crossbow off the ground and reached for the bolt sticking out of the squirrel nearby.

"Caleb you al..." Daryl looked around but didn't see Caleb anywhere. Panic filled every ounce of his body. "CALEB?!"

Daryl took a few steps forward, frantically scanning the area. He took a deep breath and regained his focus, studying the ground for a sign of his tracks. Soon he picked up his trail and began to follow it. It lead a few feet away towards a large tree. He followed it around and found Caleb curled up in a ball with his knees to his chest.

"Dammit Caleb! Why didn't ya answer when I called?" Daryl couldn't help but be angry as he knelt down and grabbed Caleb by his arms, jerking him close.

"You're hurting me..." Caleb whined but Daryl quickly released his grip, horrified by his own roughness with him.

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry Caleb ya just had me so scared...I thought somethin' happened to ya." Daryl stared at him trying his best to fight back his own tears as Caleb cried.

Caleb flung his arms around Daryl's neck and he wrapped his strong arms around the boy's small frame. His thoughts immediately went to his own father and he remembered the times he had gripped him roughly and then some but there were no hugs or apologies afterwards...only more bruises.

"I'm sorry Caleb" Daryl just kept repeating himself not knowing what else to do. "I was just scared...I didn't mean to hurt ya."

Caleb slowly pulled away from him and wiped his tears away then looked into Daryl's eyes. "Thought you never got scared..."

"Course I do...I get scared all the time." Daryl told him. "Ya can't run off like that...I can't have ya get lost."

"Is that what happened to Carol's daughter?" Caleb asked.

"Yeah...it is..." Daryl stated softly but quickly rose to his feet. "Come on before the others worry...we gotta get back...hit the road."

Caleb nodded to Daryl as he followed him closely back to camp.

.

They headed down the road a few miles and came across an old house. All but Lori, Carol, Beth, Hershel and Caleb went in to clear it and soon they waved the others in. Lori was showing her pregnancy more and more each day and everyone was exhausted and hungry.

T-Dog and Glenn dragged out the bodies of the walkers they killed from the house. Everyone else settled into the large living room, setting up areas for their blankets and sleeping bags.

"I'll take first watch out front...Daryl you take the back..." Rick ordered.

"Wait... Rick can I have a moment with Daryl" Carol asked.

"I can take the back for a bit..." Hershel remarked as he grabbed a rifle and headed towards the back door.

"What is it?" Daryl asked.

Carol gently pulled Daryl into the kitchen for some privacy. "It's about Caleb..."

Daryl sighed deeply. "I can't do this...I've been tryin'...I ain't doin' enough for him...he needs someone else to look to...like Rick or even Glenn...Hershel...T-Dog...anybody else would be better for him than me."

"What? What are you talking about? You're wonderful with him and he adores you..." Carol told him somewhat confused.

Daryl started to chew on his thumb. "Didn't he say I hurt him?...Hell I almost got him killed over a damn squirrel...shoulda been more careful..."

"What?...What happened?" Carol asked, Daryl quickly realized Carol wasn't there to talk about what happened in the woods. Daryl explained to her what happened and how rough he had been when he found him.

"Oh Daryl...you're being too hard on yourself...you were frightened...and with what happened to Sophia how could you not be...you didn't do anything wrong." Carol reassured him. "But I wanted to talk to you about something he said to me..."

"What is it?" Daryl was almost reluctant to know.

"He told me...well he asked me since I don't have Sophia anymore and he doesn't have his mom, if I could be his new mom." Carol teared up as she spoke but fought hard to keep from crying.

"But his mom's not dead..." Daryl remarked in shock.

"He thinks she is...but he's afraid if he tells you that you'll be mad at him." Carol explained.

"He said that?" Daryl asked.

"Not in so many words but just the same it was pretty clear...but that's not all he asked...he also asked if I thought you could be his new dad." Carol told him.

Daryl turned his back to Carol. She watched the steady rise and fall of his shoulders as he breathed in deeply. He turned his head back to her. "What did you tell him?"

"I told him I'd be whatever he wanted me to be...and so would you..." Carol watched Daryl as he turned back towards him.

"Why the hell did ya do that? I ain't giving up finding her and I can't be nobody's father...why would you do that?" Daryl couldn't help but feel frustrated.

"Because Daryl...it's what he needs...some sense of stability...he needs us now...not his mom one day...he can't understand that...he needs here and now. Look at him...he's only a couple years younger than Carl but there is a world of difference between those two. He's digressing...acting more like a younger child than what he is because he can't cope with what's happened...Carl has both his parents and even before Rick came back, he had Shane...there was always consistency with him so when the world fell apart around him he was better equipped to deal with it and he's thriving...adapting... Caleb's father died...his mother abandoned him...he was thrown into a group of strangers, you included and he's not dealing well...can't you see that?" Carol pleaded with him as she started to cry.

"She didn't abandon him...they were gonna kill him, she had no choice..." Daryl snapped at her.

"In his mind she did...she gave him away to a bunch of strangers and when you went back for her she was gone...all he sees is she's gone...to him she is dead...either that or she doesn't want him but right now he's convinced himself that she's dead because he can deal with that more than thinking she didn't want him." Carol told him.

"BUT THAT AIN'T HOW IT IS!" Daryl was angry...he knew her words were untrue.

"You're not listening...I'm not saying I think that...I'm saying Caleb does...he needs reassurance and stability...that's what he's really asking for...not for us to replace his parents but for some sort of reassurance that we will protect him and won't abandoned him...he just wants to feel loved. He is still just a little boy."

"I'm done talkin'..." Daryl turned and walked towards the back door ignoring Carol calling out to him.

He felt sick to his stomach that Caleb lost hope. He knew he should be listening to Carol but he just couldn't...not yet...he looked back and saw Caleb run up to Carol as she exited the kitchen. Caleb took hold of Carol's hand and shoved the thumb of his free hand in his mouth. Carol looked at Caleb and smiled as she gently touched his cheek and then looked back at Daryl sternly.

He had never seen Caleb suck his thumb before. It must be part of what Carol was talking about. Daryl had to do something or Caleb wouldn't be able to survive. His head ached just thinking about it.