This chapter is again twice as long as it should have been but I hope you'll bear with me. Some violence against women, lot of fluff and some mild smut ahead, so you have been warned:)

Thank you all so much for reading, following and reviewing!

Carol saw Daryl hurrying toward her with panic expression and she closed her eyes tight compelling herself to stay calm. But when Mike's grip roughened and became painful, she reacted on a pure instinct, grabbed Mike's arm and pushed it off her chest firmly. The room suddenly became so quiet that the loudest sound was Daryl's unsteady breathing.

Mike's eyes widened and Carol gulped, cursing her own stupidity. If he looked furious before, it was nothing compared to his expression now. He immediately raised his hand and Carol cowered in expectation of hard blow.

When Daryl finally caught up with them it was too late. The first slap left a burning left mark on her right cheek and she stumbled but regained her footing. She slowly shook her head to get rid of the ringing in her ear. She heard Daryl's growl and he stopped the next blow just a few inches from her face twisting Mike's arm behind his back.

"I won tonight ya asshole! Ain't somethin' clear 'bout this?" Daryl was exhausted and sore from the fight but the sight of Mike hitting Carol shot pure adrenaline into his blood and he could hardly control himself now.

"She attacked a man Dixon. Mike was doing the right thing. You are next, carry on with it," Alan's cold voice didn't allow any objections.

"Carry on with what?" Daryl asked cautiously, already feeling a creeping fear settling in the pit of his stomach.

"She attacked one of us," Alan explained tilting his head like a teacher explaining something to his slow-witted pupil, "and she needs to learn a lesson. She'll be beaten until she's out cold. Then you can do whatever you want with her. You won the fight after all."

He heard Carol gasp behind his back and he suddenly felt the wave of nausea hitting his body as a tidal wave, sweeping all his strength and hopes away. When he hesitated, Mike stepped out again.

"Alan, he's bein' too much of a pussy, I'll do it," he offered eagerly.

"No!" Daryl finally found his voice and turned to Carol slowly.

Her eyes were wide with fear and he flinched at the sight of Mike's angry red handprint of her right cheek. Carol gave him hardly visible nod and he didn't miss it. He raised his hand but let it fall against his side again.

He couldn't do it. He swore he would never hurt her, he swore to protect her from anything that could trigger bad memories of her miserable life. He simply couldn't become the person who would inflict the same pain on her on purpose.

"You have five more seconds Dixon. This is how things work here. If you don't like it, get out and try your luck somewhere else," edgy tone of Alan's voice clearly showed he was losing patience with him.

Daryl looked back at Carol and her blue eyes locked with his. They didn't need the words to understand each other and he knew exactly what her determined look meant. He didn't miss slight twitching of muscles in her arms as she was trying to prevent herself from reaching out and urge him on. Prompting him to hit her, encouraging him to hurt her the way he'd promised he never would. He closed his eyes and swallowed hard. He started to tremble when he balled his hand into a fist. Daryl knew he had only one try. He knew he would never manage to watch her being tortured and hurt by other men. It needed to be him who knocked her out with one accurate blow.

Carol was terrified to death but her heart ached when she was watching Daryl. He was breathing hard, his chest was heaving and the haunted expression on his battered face brought fresh tears to her eyes. He'd already proved hundred times over how much he cared for her safety and what was asked of him now was against everything he'd been trying to achieve so hard. When she took in Daryl's glassy-eyed stare and trembling hands, Carol had realized how overwhelming her love for the man in front of her was. She tilted her chin up encouraging him wordlessly.

"Dixon?"

Daryl raised his hand again and his stomach dropped when his eyes slipped from his clenched fist to her delicate face and wondered how on earth he was going to estimate the power of his blow. He saw Alan walking toward him from the corner of his eye and he swallowed hard. He had no time. He looked into Carol's eyes one more time mutely conveying his apology and drew his arm back to punch her.

When his fist collided with her chin he swore he was the one receiving the blow because his innards clenched painfully and he gasped, blinking back the tears that suddenly stung in his eyes. He heard her teeth click and her eyes rolled back into her head when she collapsed to his feet before he managed to catch her.

He heard a snort behind him and turned to face Alan.

"OK, at least you can throw a punch Dixon. Clean that mess," he looked at Carol and turned to leave once again, "show's over guys."

Daryl bent down and scooped up tiny woman as gently as he could. She was out cold and he was again unpleasantly surprised how light her form was. He glanced at large bruise that had already started forming along her chin and quickly averted his eyes in shame. He hadn't been saint but he had never hit a woman. Until now when he'd been forced to hurt the woman he'd cared for more than he'd ever cared for anyone else, more than he'd cared for himself. He swallowed hard and tried to control fierce anger bubbling in his blood as he was carrying her to one of the rooms.

When he closed the door, he lied her down on bed gently. Her shirt rolled up a bit and he frowned at the ribs protruding from her pale skin. She was far too skinny. He placed his palm against her forehead and sighed in relief, she wasn't burning up. He covered her with thin blanket and went to common kitchen to fetch something to eat. He was in no mood for eating but he was going to make sure she would eat everything he could find. The last thing she needed was to wake up with hell of a headache and starve.

He was piling the plate with some stale bread and smoke-dried meat he'd found when he heard the door creak. He turned around sharply and saw younger man he hadn't noticed before. The man nodded friendly and motioned to his plate.

"Ya must be starvin', I don't blame ya. Good fight today," the man tried to be friendly but Daryl was nowhere near to friendly chatting and returned his attention to the food.

Several seconds of awkward silence passed and man cleared his throat.

"I'm Josh by the way. Ya are Daryl Dixon, right?"

Daryl just grunted, not even bothering to turn at the man again.

"Who ya gonna pick tomorrow?"

That was something that finally caught Daryl's attention. He was in man's face within a second.

"Ya wanna fuck her too? I'm gonna beat fuckin' daylight out of ya if I have to, do ya get it?"

Josh just raised his hands in placating gesture.

"Just askin'man, just askin'."

Daryl grabbed the plate and headed out of the room followed by Josh's long thoughtful look.

When Daryl returned to the room, Carol was still unconscious and his stomach clenched again. He knew he would screw it up, he knew he wasn't going to estimate the power of his blow right.

He put the plate and bottle of water on the table and walked over to the sink wetting the cloth he'd found there. He pressed it gently against her chin, hoping the cold water would reduce the swelling. She didn't even flinch.

"Come on woman," he muttered under his breath, desperate to see her eyes, "I need ya to wake up."

When he was watching her laying there motionlessly his chest tightened. He tried to sort out his feelings, which were torturing his body and mind, but failed miserably. Anger, loneliness, self-pity, love and fear, all of them blended in bizarre mixture that was paralyzing his every move and poisoning his every conscious thought.

Daryl watched in concern as the bruise on her chin started taking deeper shades of blue. He jumped up to his feet and furiously hit the wall several times. He hissed in painful satisfaction when he felt the skin coming off his knuckles as if he could punish the hand that had brought her pain and distance himself from what he'd done. When he finally vented his aggression, he took one of the chairs and sat down in the opposite corner, as far from her bed as he could get. The pain was going to be the first thing she would feel when she woke up and he didn't want to loom over her just to remind her immediately he'd been the one to cause it.

The minutes were passing by in torturing pace. Daryl was lonely. There had been times he was proud he never needed anybody. Solitary, a lone wolf abandoned by everybody who should have cared for him, yet getting over this weakness and growing stronger than ever before.

But long time ago he'd stopped pretending he didn't need her. He didn't know what had hit him but he needed her like sun needed a bright summer sky. He longed for her like moonlight longed for a water surface to reveal its beauty, he was seeking her like first shaky petals of spring flowers were seeking first rays of sun.

It had taken him a long time to face and recognize why he was so calm in her presence, how she managed to sooth and take away most of his anger and restlessness and replace it with serenity. Now, almost four years after he'd lad his eyes on her for the first time, he couldn't imagine his life without her. His imagination simply lacked the power to picture how the life without her smiles and shining eyes, her teasing and her understanding and love would look like. Daryl groaned in frustration burying his head into his hands.

Lost in his own despair, he missed the first time Carol's eyelashes fluttered. It was a soft moan that made his head shot up and body tense. Carol moaned again when a mother of all headaches hit her body like hammer. The events of last couple of hours came crushing in and she tried to sit up quickly, her eyes darting across dark room, searching for Daryl. She let out a relieved sigh when she spotted his slouched figure in one of the corners.

He got up and slowly walked over to her bed, pressing two aspirins into her palm and holding out a bottle of water, both she accepted gratefully. Her heart sank when she spotted his tortured expression.

He turned around to walk back to his chair when her soft voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Daryl..."

Before she could continue, he interrupted her with insistent voice, quickly turning and kneeling beside her bed again.

"I'm sorry Carol, I'm so fuckin' sorry...I didn't want to, I didn't mean to hurt ya," he swore under his breath, desperate to make her understand how horrible he felt, "I'm gonna kill them for his."

He stopped his rant when he felt her cool hand against his cheek.

"Stop this Daryl," she whispered, "thank you."

"Thank me? Fuck, Carol I knew I punched ya too hard god damnit, ya still ain't thinkin'clearly!" Daryl snorted, shaking his head in disbelief, "are ya thankin' me for beatin' the shit out of ya? Or for my slow ass who didn't notice that the fucker was all over ya?"

Her head was throbbing but she waited patiently until he finished. She noticed muscles nervously coiling under his skin and her hand shot out and caught his wrist to hold him down just before he tried to jump up to his feet and retreat again.

„Daryl, now listen to me and listen well," her voice was firm but soothing at the same time and he nodded, obediently sitting on bed next to her.

„You fought for me. You took the beating for me. And I can never thank you enough for that. It was me who screwed it up by not staying calm when I should have," Carol said quietly and turning to face him she raised her hand and ran it gently over his busted lip, sending a jolt of unforeseen scorching desire right into Daryl's bloodstream. Carol was startled when he started blushing furiously and pulled back her hand quickly, dropping her eyes. What was she thinking? Poor man had just gone through hell because of her and here she was nearly molesting him despite knowing how uncomfortable he was with touching other people.

But Daryl just growled, caught her hand halfway through to her lap and pressed it back against his cheek wordlessly. Carol's eyes widened in shock but she couldn't figure out what it all meant because he dropped his eyes to the blanket she had laid over her knees.

Her eyes landed on his hand and she gasped at the scabs of dried blood on his knuckles.

"What happened to your hand Daryl?"

He just shrugged, not really eager to share he'd chosen self-harm to vent pent up frustration over her. His breath hitched in his throat when she slowly removed her hand from his cheek, took his injured hand into hers and pressed feather like kisses to each battered knuckle. All of a sudden Daryl had hard time to form a sensible thought as most of his blood immediately rushed south. But there were three words that still kept revolving in his brain regardless the circumstances.

"I'm sorry."

She raised her head and frowned at him.

"Daryl, stop..."

He shook his head impatiently and didn't let her finish.

"Ya don't understand...I'm sorry 'cause I ain't able to find the way outta this hole. Spent most of the day tryin' to think of somethin' but the whole fuckin' fence is guarded so heavily...We ain't gotta get out unnoticed."

He ducked his head. "I let ya down again," he muttered under his breath.

He watched her body stiffen and then relax again. When she turned to him, her eyes were bright and serious.

"Stop blaming yourself Daryl, you did what you could do and so much more."

He stared at her in awe. He'd just announced to this tiny woman that she could be raped and killed tomorrow and all she cared about were his feelings and self-esteem? He snorted and put his head in his hands again, he was at a loss, not knowing what to do and what to say. His leg started tapping against the floor in furious staccato rhythm as his frustration and paralyzing fear for the woman next to him were getting better of him.

He felt tiny hand on his thigh and Carol started rubbing gentle circles on his leg to ease his jittery movements.

"Daryl, stop torturing yourself. We'll survive this somehow. Because I know you did everything you could. Because I know you care."

He finally raised his eyes at her last words and shook his head slightly, earning a confused frown.

'Cause I love," he corrected her breathlessly and although these three words were not louder than a whisper, she didn't miss them.

Daryl's cheeks immediately flamed scarlet with embarrassment and he took deep stabilizing breath trying to figure out what made him blurt out something so stupid at this most inconvenient moment. He was frantically looking for something, which would sweep his embarrassing confession under the carpet and groaned in frustration when he couldn't think of anything.

Carol's eyes widened and she went stiff. Great, now she feels sorry for ya, Daryl moaned inwardly, just last nail to the fuckin' coffin. He quickly got up from bed just to be stopped by strong and determined tug this time. He looked down at their hands and saw she circled her fingers around his wrist so firmly that her knuckles were turning white.

Carol raised herself on her knees so they were the same height and looked into his eyes. He warily noticed tears welling in her eyes and the panic in his face immediately gave away to worry. But Carol smiled at him and his chest tightened when she put both hands back on his cheeks and tilted her head slightly, exposing her lips and delicate neck.

Daryl thought he was having out of body experience. Her smell was intoxicating and the feeling of her touching him turned his legs into jelly. He was watching her long pale neck with rapt attention and he knew he couldn't possibly resist, he couldn't deny something he'd been longing for so long and what she'd been offering.

He bent his head and placed a soft kiss right under her chin. He couldn't help a satisfied smirk when her breath quickened. He desperately needed to taste her. He flicked out his tongue and her taste in combination with her soft moan sent his head spinning and he collapsed on bed next to her, his knees unable to support his weight anymore. Daryl gripped the back of her neck and pulled her closer to him peppering small nibbling kisses all over her neck. He pulled her flush against him and she fisted her hands into the back of his shirt, burying her face into his shoulder trembling violently.

When Daryl moved to her earlobe it was all teasing she could take. She tilted her head and pressed her lips against his softly. The kiss started as hesitant and gentle but the feel of his surprisingly soft lips against hers was so electrifying that her tongue immediately flicked out desperately seeking more. He granted an access to his mouth with a deep groan that made a wave of heat rush straight into her belly. She pressed herself hard against him and he deepened their kiss without second thought. She wrapped her arms around his neck pulling at his overgrown hair and his arms tightened around her as they were kissing heatedly.

The primal need for air forced them to tear away. Daryl felt dizzy, his mind trying to process everything that had just happened but he failed as his brain kept flooding his system with crushing waves of need and desire, which the beautiful woman next to him elicited and which he'd never experienced before.

He looked at her and his heart almost stopped at the sight of her. He could swear he'd never seen anything more beautiful in his entire life. She was staring at him uncertainly with her glittering eyes wide open, full lips red and swollen from their fervent kissing and her short hair standing in all directions from his ministrations.

"Fuck," he breathed out and ran a hand through his hair.

"I hope so," she smiled shakily and looked down at her hands shyly.

"Minx," Daryl chuckled and lunged at her again, this time claiming her lips confidently and hungrily.

She arched against him and Daryl groaned as she pressed herself against pulsating evidence of his need. There was no doubt they were made for each other. Nothing had ever felt so right, so perfect and so natural. The world around them disappeared and all that was left were feverish sensations rocking their bodies and overwhelming desire to melt into each other.

His hands started exploring her body tentatively, fingers gently dipping into her hip and wandering along her slender form. Her fingers started fumbling with the buttons on his shirt raring to feel more of his skin. When she finally managed to open his shirt she pulled it off his shoulders quickly and ran her hands across his bare chest taking time to marvel at the perfection of his body.

She'd been afraid that her violent and humiliating sex life with Ed ruined this activity for her forever but now she saw her worries were unfounded. The need and desire she felt for Daryl exceeded every emotion she'd thought she was capable of. She tore her mouth from his and pressed her lips against his collarbone running her hands over his nipples and stopping at his belt. The sound that started deep in his throat made her shiver all over.

Suddenly she felt him stiffen and he looked at her with passion hazed eyes. Her heart sank when strange expression rippled over his flushed face. She raised her hand to caress his cheek and pull him closer again but he shook his head clearing his throat.

"Not like this…I wanna…I wanted it to be perfect," he mumbled and hung his head miserably, "but here…knowin' that…. I don't want ya to remember the first time like this."

He wasn't even able to voice the horrors that could be awaiting her tomorrow and felt guilty for wanting her so bad despite their gloomy prospects.

Carol's eyes brimmed with tears again and she cupped his face, pressing her soft palm against his warm skin.

"Daryl, I want you, please," she whispered, "make me forget where we are. If something horrible happens tomorrow I need this…I need to remember love, I need to remember you."

Her tears spilled and she tilted her head to the side ashamed for her weakness. He quickly reached out and held her head in place while he bent down and kissed away the salty droplets from her cheeks. Her breath hitched at the gentleness of this gesture.

Daryl pressed her forehead against hers.

"I ain't gonna let them hurt ya. I ain't gonna let them touch ya Carol. I ain't sure how I do it but I will, I swear."

More treacherous tears trickled down her cheeks and he caught them with his lips again. When he kissed her this time she knew he was not going to deny her anything. His hands started caressing her body again and she felt them on the hem of her shirt before he yanked it up in one swift motion. She helped him and pulled it over her head tossing it aside. Daryl groaned when he saw her bare flesh and tugged at her bra impatiently.

"Take that fuckin' thing off or I'm gonna rip it!" he ordered in passion strained voice and she obeyed immediately.

She watched in astonishment as his eyes darkened and he started fondling her breasts with his calloused hands. Her eyes rolled back into her head when his mouth followed the trail explored by his hands. His fingers and mouth raised goose bumps on her skin and she made a whimpering sound urging him on. He touched her everywhere and soon she was a moaning mess under his hands. He slapped her hands away when she started fiddling with the buttons on her trousers and pressed her wrists into the bed. She couldn't believe how aroused she was, she was afraid she could die if he should stop what was doing.

But Daryl was nowhere near to stopping. He unbuttoned her trousers and started pulling them down slowly kissing and licking every inch of her newly exposed skin. Carol fisted hands into her hair and shut her eyes tightly, suddenly terrified by strength of sensations shaking her body. No man had ever touched her like that and she couldn't believe how eagerly her body was responding, ashamed by moaning and whimpering sounds that were ripping from her mouth.

She clamped her hand over her mouth to stop herself from crying out when Daryl kissed her all the way to her toes and then settled with his head between her thighs.

"Look at me," his voice was soft but authoritative and it sent even more heat straight to her core, "ya are so fuckin' beautiful, ya know that?"

She didn't have strength to nod so she just stared at him with hazed eyes. She had no idea when he'd taken off his pants but he did and the sight of him made her mouth water. He lined up with her catching her lips in another deep kiss. When he raised his head and looked into her eyes nervously she gave him small nod and reassuring smile. No words were necessary when she opened her legs for him and he settled between them as it was the most natural position for them.

He watched her face attentively when he slowly surged forward. Her eyes widened and shut tight in the next moment when she buried her head in the pillow. He immediately opened his mouth to ask if she was all right when suddenly loud breathy moan answered this question for him. It was the most erotic sound he'd ever heard and he couldn't tear his eyes from her face when he quickly found a rhythm that suited them both and started thrusting forward. She grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him in for another deep kiss. Daryl couldn't help his own groans as their tongues battled while they were moving together in perfect synchrony. Carol arched her hips meeting him thrust for thrust and he gritted his teeth against even more intensive wave of pleasure that threatened to push him over the edge.

When he felt she was close he reached down between their joined bodies, she shivered violently and with loud moan arched her back almost painfully. When she tightened around him Daryl followed his own release quickly and collapsed on top of her growling into her neck. Her hands immediately went to his sweaty back, gently stroking scars she found there.

No words were necessary. When he raised his head and looked into her eyes, everything that needed to be said passed between them easily. When his erratic breathing calmed down, he leaned down and captured her lips in long lazy kiss before rolling off of her. He pulled her close against him immediately and threw a blanket over their sweaty spent bodies. She felt his nose nuzzling the back of her neck and in a few minutes she heard steady breathing letting her know Daryl fell asleep. She snuggled even closer to him and closed her eyes.

When she opened her eyes again it was pitch dark in the room. The corridor was still quiet and she knew they still had couple of hours before hell broke loose. She smiled when she felt rough hand slowly travelling from her shoulder to the curve of her hip. She found his lips in the dark and he grunted kissing her back slowly. She gasped when he threw her leg over his hip, pressed her against him and entered her easily. This lovemaking was slow and sensual and soon she was moaning into his mouth, quickly heading towards sweet release.

When she opened her eyes again the room was already bathing gloomy daylight. She felt tense Daryl next to her, his arms wrapped tightly around her tiny form. When they heard first voices, his arms even tightened but she pushed them away gently and got up. He jumped to his feet and threw his clothes on. She tried to control panic surging through her body when she was dressing up. The steps were quickly approaching their room. He pulled her to him and kissed her hard.

"Stay strong woman."

Uff…this is the longest smut I've ever written, I hope it wasn't sappy or simply plain stupid, I just felt they deserved some happiness after the hell I've given them. I plan about two more chapters before I'm done with this "one-shot". Regarding next chapter I'll just say one thing Daryl and Carol don't know about just yet – 'two nights' rule.