A/N: okay! So the new episode was epic. I won't ruin it for anyone who has yet to See it, but it was awesome. Now, to the next chapter! Love. ~Helen
Carol stood in the kitchen preparing dinner when Lori walked in. Carol had her back to the doorway where Lori stood. Neither one of them spoke until Lori cleared her throat. Carol looked over her shoulder at the woman.
"I'm sorry." She said softly. Carol didn't reply. "Will you please say something?" Lori asked after a long moment.
"What do you want me to say?" Carol asked. "I said everything earlier."
"Can we talk about it?" Carol sighed and turned to face her.
"Talk about what? You apologized. It's done and over. Time to move on." Carol said, hands on her hips.
"Are you okay?" Lori looked unsure of herself, nervous.
"I'm fine." Carol replied simply, turning her back to her food. Lori stepped to the counter to help her. They worked silently as the sun lowered outside, a blanket of darkness covering them. Finally a car pulled into the driveway, the headlight shining in the womens' eyes. Carol smiled as she and Lori headed outside. The reached the driveway as three people climbed from the car. Carol froze.
Carl climbed from the driver's seat and Glenn stepped out from the back. Rick walked to their side of the car and his eyes scanned the group, landing on her. Her hand rested on her stomach, easing the knot that was forming within. Her breath became uneven and she grabbed Lori's arm to support her shaking legs.
"Carol," Rick began, walking towards her. She watched him, wide eyed. She began shaking her head as tears formed in her eyes. "He's fine." Rick explained quickly. "We found a small house in the woods. Daryl wanted to stay the night before we brought you and the rest of the group. Make sure it's safe." Carol let out a relieved breath and closed her eyes. She opened them again and took a step forward.
"Don't you ever scare me like that again, Rick Grimes!" She hissed, hitting him in the chest and making him stumble backwards. She took another deep breath. "You left him in the woods? Alone?"
"We tried to convince him to come back." Glenn said.
"He wanted to make sure it was safe." Carl added.
"Well we have to go to him then." Carol said.
"We'll head out in the morning." Rick explained.
"We're not leaving him out there alone!" Carol argued.
"Carol," Lori began. "If anyone can survive in the woods alone, it's Daryl."
"He isn't superman." Carol said bitterly. "He isn't indestructible. He's one man against an army of walkers. We need to go tonight."
"It's too dark out now." Rick said. Carol groaned.
"Then I'll go alone!" She turned to head to the house when Rick grabbed her arm.
"You ain't gonna find it on your own." He told her.
"I'll go with her." They all looked at Carl. Rick and Lori both opened their mouths to protest and he cut them off. "I know how to get there. I drove. Me and Daryl know these woods pretty well. I'll take Carol. I won't be alone. Besides, if it's safe for Daryl to be alone, then the three of us should be okay." His parents looked nervously at each other.
"Carl-"
"Please?" Carl interrupted again. "Daryl and Carol will take good care of me. Just like when we did the run."
"I'll go with too." T-Dog said, stepping towards them. Rick and Lori looked a bit more relaxed.
"Fine." Rick said at last. "But you do everything Carol tells you, understand?" Carl nodded. "Now go get your stuff."
~X~
Daryl stood on the deck outside of the cabin. He'd only seen two walkers and that's when he was walking the perimeter. None of the walkers ventured towards the house since he'd been there.
He'd told the others he wanted to stay behind and clear the area. Make sure it was safe to bring a pregnant woman and kids. That was only half true. In reality, he wanted time to think. Think about how easily he could've died. How easily he would've left the world behind. Left the people he cared about. Or more specifically, one person.
He needed to focus on survival, not the woman smothering his thoughts almost every second of the day. Except, having her around was now part of his survival. Not that she was walker bait, like Merle used to call her and a few others. She was stronger now, could hold her own. He was proud of her for that. Except she was so much more to him than another group member, but he didn't know how much more. She'd always been his friend, he supposed, but he'd never given it much thought. To him she'd always just been Carol. Carol summed up everything she'd ever been. The morning that she'd kissed him replayed in his head. He liked how the kiss felt. It made him feel more than anything else had. It made him feel alive. He'd do it again in a heart beat. He sighed, knowing it wouldn't happen. To her, he'd always just be Daryl.
Head lights flashed before him and he quickly raised his bow. The truck came to a stop and Daryl aimed to shoot, just as Carol stepped from the passenger seat. He gave a small smirk before firing. Carol let out a small scream as the arrow landed at her feet. She sent an angry glare to Daryl, who laughed at her.
"Next time, don't sneak up on me." He called, coming down the stairs towards them. "What are ya doin here?"
"Carol was worried about you bein alone." T-Dog explained. Daryl raised an eyebrow.
"You're alone in a forest of walkers, a long way from camp. It was justifiable." She defended. He shook his head at her.
"Okay. Whatever. There's four bedrooms in the house, so we'll have to figure out how-"
"Oh, hell yeah!" T-Dog yelled, interrupting Daryl. "Finally! Bout time I got first pick of rooms!" They all laughed as T-Dog rushed to the house.
"That's the only reason you came, isn't it?" Carol called after him. He just sent a smile their way before disappearing into the house.
"Now that Brent's gone, I suppose I'm back to sharing with my parents." Carl sighed, following T. Daryl was surprised to see that Carol had packed all his things as well, as they brought their things into the house. There was a room downstairs with a bed and a couch that Carol and Daryl chose. It was small, but comfy. They unpacked and settled in as T-Dog took over Daryl's watch.
