Small time jump here because apparently while writing this, I got as sick of the too slow slow burn as I'm sure all of you are.

Chapter Thirty Seven

Things changed after that day.

Daryl was more careful than he had been before. Things didn't get heated or out of hand. For the next few weeks, she slept in his bed. All they did was sleep. He didn't kiss her. She didn't kiss him. They fought about dumb things. They made up quickly. There was a quiet harmony that filled the house, but there was a constant underlying tension that only him and Carol had to deal with. An almost visible sexual charge in the air any time they were in a room together. Especially at night.

He knew it wasn't going to last. He knew that something was going to happen and things were going to get out of hand again. The truth was, he was kind of ready for exactly that. Before, they hadn't even been sure that they would be able to live together and make it work, so he'd been anxious about letting things get out of hand, just in case. But now, after things had slowed down and they were able to get their bearings, his worry was ebbing.

Being smart and taking things slower had been the right move. It drove him insane and he took his fair share of cold showers, but it had been smart. It had been the right thing to do, putting the breks on, because of the kids.

Buck worked out their schedules. They basically worked together but Carol went in and got off a few hours earlier than him. She was home by three, he was home by five. And she was one goddamn domesticated lady too. No sooner than he walked in the door, food was on the table. Sometimes he felt like he was in some kind of fucked up family sitcom.

Or it would be if not for that fucking tension. It wasn't bad. It was... weird. She'd get close and his pulse would quicken. His adrenalin would spike. Sometimes his hands would get sweaty and he would get this weird feeling in his chest. He didn't know why he was ignoring it. He didn't know why he had been so willing to fuck her that one night but was now pulling back. He just thought it was for the best. And really, it was.

He pulled up to the house and killed the engine. He was surprised that Damon's car wasn't in the driveway. Usually that boy was breaking his neck to get to the damn table. Sophia was too but it was less for the food and more the conversation. It was good for them. It was something stable that he was pretty sure they all looked forward too every day.

The house was silent when he stepped through the door. The living room was empty, the kitchen was empty. He thought maybe they were all out somewhere but then he heard a sound coming from down the hall. He walked that way and then the bathroom door opened up and Carol stepped out.

He frowned. Her eyes were red rimmed and troubled and she was looking down, not even noticing him standing a few feet away. He started to panic, she'd obviously been crying and the kids weren't here. Something must have happened.

"What's wrong?" He asked, his voice a little too loud.

She gasped and looked up sharply. He'd startled the hell out of her and her hand went to her throat. "Jesus! Don't do that to me ever again!" She barked, her eyes like saucers.

"Where the hell are the kids?" He asked, ignoring her outrage.

She walked past, waving her hand dismissively. "I sent them out for pizza or burgers or whatever. I didn't feel like cooking."

"Well, if the kids are alright then what the hell is wrong with you?" He asked, following her into the kitchen.

She sighed and opened the fridge, pulling out a container of cold roast beef and plopping it noisily onto the counter. "It's nothing, really."

He scowled, leaning against the opposite counter, eying her. "Well it's somethin' cause your eyes are all red and your mopin'."

She ignored him, pulling more containers out of the fridge and keeping her back to him. He waited there with his arms crossed as she busied herself. When she turned around she shoved a plate at him. He took it, but he didn't even look at it. He kept watching her as she walked past him and left the room.

He huffed, shaking his head and sitting down at the kitchen table with his food. He wouldn't complain about the sandwich because she was good enough in the kitchen to even make a regular sandwich something to be impressed with. The potato salad was left over from the night before but it was just as good as it had been last night.

As long as he knew the kids were okay he wasn't going to hunt her down and force her to tell him what was wrong. She had been perfectly fine when she had left work earlier. He fished a beer out of the fridge after rinsing his plate off and went to sit around on his ass in front of the TV for a while. It was kind of his nightly ritual. It had been even before Carol and Sophia had shown up. Usually Carol followed him but she was busy when he entered the room.

"What the hell are you cleanin' for? And don't tell me no bullshit like you're fine or nothin' is wrong because you do this when you're either nervous or pissed off. What the hell is going on?" He grumbled, hands on his hips.

She turned around, her blue eyes looking sad and then she shrugged. "Andrea left."

He almost rolled his eyes and told her that that was a good thing but he remembered that she had obviously been upset enough to cry about it so he shouldn't be a dick. He had to be a good guy at the moment and he hated that shit cause the truth was, he hadn't been able to stand Andrea and she hadn't been able to stand him. "You wanna talk about it?" He muttered, hating the thought of actually having to sit there and talk about it.

To his surprise she grinned at him. "You are amazing. The last thing you want to do is sit here and talk to me about my woes."

He shrugged. "No I don't but I don't want you moping around and fuckin' up my good mood." At least she wasn't going to make him listen to her talk about it.

The smile slowly died on her face and she looked down at the dust rag in her hand. "I guess it's just that she's always been around. She was there when I was a scared little kid and she was there when I was a broken down house wife, despite Ed trying his damnedest to keep her away. Then she took my kid in when I went to prison. I know you don't like her but she's my best friend, other than you," she tried to throw him a playful smile but it didn't reach her eyes. "I feel like since I've gotten out I haven't been a good friend to her."

He bit his lip and wracked his brain, trying to come up with something encouraging to say but he wasn't used to this. "It ain't like she's moved to China. It's a drive but you could go visit her. Fuck, you could go up there for the week instead of going with us."

She made a face. "Sophia would kill me if I tried to make her miss out on this trip."

His eyebrows shot up. "I never said anything about Sophia. She can still go with us. I wouldn't make that girl go to Atlanta."

She frowned. "Fine. I was using her as an excuse. I'd kill me if I made myself miss out on this trip."

He shrugged. "Then I don't know what to tell you. Other than you'll be fine without her. And you ain't been a bad friend to her either. She's been busy with this transferring shit and you've been busy with us. Y'all are grown women. She has a career and you have..." He wasn't sure what the hell to call it.

"I have a lot," she muttered, glancing around the room. "I mean, between work and the kids and picking up after you and taking care of the house, I'm asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. And she's been dealing with the move and twice this week she's driven to Atlanta and back to get her bearings with this new job. So you're right. I'm not being a bad friend. I'm being an adult."

He nodded. He didn't bother correcting her. She didn't sleep with her head on a pillow. She fell asleep with her head on him. "See, you're not some sort of asshole. You're busy. Can you stop the sobbin' shit now so I can drink this beer and sit around on my ass for an hour or so?"

She scowled. "I wasn't sobbing."

He shook his head, the corner of his mouth turning up as he finally flopped down on the couch, remote in hand. She followed him, like she always did. Her legs ended up draped over his lap, like they always did. So he couldn't really focus on a damn thing that the TV had to offer. That, too, was very normal.

~H~

Damon and Piper's friend Tyler met them at the burger place that Piper had insisted on going to. He was pretty nice but Sophia wished that it was just the three of them. She wasn't sure how anyone else from school felt about her and she was reluctant to find out. Tyler didn't seem surprised to see her with them so she figured that Damon had filled him in on things.

They were just about ready to eat when Sophia looked up and her heart sank to her feet. Nina and Aubrey, two girls from her old crowd, strolled in, laughing about something, their heads together. Sophia was sure they hadn't seen her yet and she wished that she had sat next to the window in the booth instead of Damon.

Piper kicked her in the leg from under the table. When Sophia looked up Piper shook her head. "Don't sweat them."

She nodded but it was much easier said than done. She felt her face flame, remembering the things all of those kids thought she did thanks to that jerk. She found herself moving a little closer to Damon. As soon as her thigh was pressed firmly against his, she felt a little better. At least she had him. He was a great friend.

"Sophia?"

She flinched at the sound of the disbelieving voice. She looked up at Nina, who was staring at her with wide eyes. "Hi, Nina," she said, her voice low. She tried to smile but finally just gave up. Damon had grown tense next to her and Piper was openly glaring at the girls.

"Where the hell have you been? You kind of dropped off the face of the earth. We heard Damon here knocked you up so your mom sent you to live at his house."

Sophia felt her face flame. "Well, you heard wrong."

"So, where have you been then?"

She shrugged. "Nowhere really. I've been working at the Dixon's shop for a few weeks."

The two girl's shared a look before meeting her eyes again. They were acting as though the other three weren't even sitting at the table. "Did you hear about what happened to Ron and Trey?"

Sophia shook her head, wishing the girls would just go.

Now it was Aubrey who spoke up and her voice was slightly accusing. "They got busted last week. They both got arrested for possession and distributing."

Sophia shrugged. "Well, that sucks for them."

Nina nodded. "Anyway, we already found another connection. You feel like hanging out?"

"Go," Piper said, her voice holding a razor sharp edge that even had Sophia stiffening.

Nina and Aubrey looked at her. "Excuse me?" Aubrey snapped, hands on her hips.

Piper took a long sip from her coke and then sat it down. Her eyes went to Sophia and then the corner of her mouth turned up before looking back up at the girls. "I said go. No one here is interested in anything you two bitches have to offer. Go powder your nose or blow some old guy for some meds. You're ruining my fucking appetite."

Sophia's eyes widened and she waited for the girls to say something else. She was shocked when all they did was give all four of them at the table a withering look and then stormed off towards the counter.

"They think you did it," Tyler offered once they were out of ear shot.

Sophia looked up sharply. "What? I didn't do anything. I haven't seen any of them."

He shrugged. "Don't matter. I heard it from a friend of mine. I guess they all think it was you that turned Ron in."

"Damn it," she mumbled, pushing the rest of her food away from her and sinking down in the seat. Why did this have to happen now when things had been looking so promising? She felt that old despair try to crawl back into her mind.

"Fuck them. None of those assholes are gonna say a damn thing to you. They're too scared of me," Piper said, her voice full of confidence.

Sophia frowned. She probably had a point but her and Damon weren't going to be with her all the time. She was going to have to face them all on her own eventually. All she could do was hope that she was as strong as everyone seemed to think she was.

"She's right," Damon said, his narrowed gaze on the girls at the counter. "If they know what's good for them then they'll just stay the hell away from you."