A/N – I apologize for not getting this up yesterday. I had some computer trouble that prevented me from getting it finished, but here it is now. Hope you like it and I'll be working to get another chapter up tomorrow at some point. Please read and review. Thank you so much for all the kind stuff you've all had to say. I love your comments!

Chapter 38 – Taught Me Well

It's been two weeks at the golf course. The group has settled in well enough and there appears to be little threat at the moment, but Daryl is still planning their exit. Daryl had gone twice, once with T-Dog and once with Hershel, to the harbor to scout for usable boats. He figures a few more weeks and the group should be well-enough and stocked enough from a few supply runs to travel again.

Daryl felt her rising off the bed and rolled toward her. Stay 'ere… stay with me, damn woman. He reached out, snagging a bare thigh in his hands. He opened a sleepy eye and looked at her looking down at him. She grinned. "You can't tell me this is too early… you're usually up at the crack of dawn."

"Jus' wanna hold ya for a lil' bit longer... can ya blame me?," Daryl mumbled.

"I don't buy that. You just don't want me going on a run without you," Carol said knowingly. Daryl moved one hand higher up her bare thigh, caressing her skin, letting his fingers walk their way up to the spot where her soft, smooth skin met with her lacy panties.

"Don't understand why yer goin' without me anyway...," he said crustily. He slipped a finger inside her panties, and grazed the moist satiny flesh inside. Carol tried to stand firm but her eyes were glazing as he played, as he skimmed across her clit, and then slid inside her tight, waiting core.

He felt the shiver roll through her as he slid his finger in and out, swirling it gently. Her eyes were hooded, but she struggled to maintain composure. Carol crossed her arms and moaned softly before speaking again. "God, that's good… but we've been over this."

"Oh yea? Have we? Remind me again wha' we been over…," Daryl teased, increasing the speed of his finger frolicking inside of her. He could feel her clenching around his finger, feel the way her body sucked at him. He slid a second finger inside and kept the motion going. She gasped as a wave of pleasure hit her, and then her body shook, legs shaking, as she climaxed. The feel of her body squeezing tight on his fingers made his dick jerk, and Daryl smiled at the look on Carol's face.

It was like she couldn't decide between aggravation and amusement. As she released, her eyes were more closed than open, and she felt her whole body relax at the feeling. She felt his fingers pull out and move away, his movements agonizingly slow and titillating, and she opened her eyes. He was smiling at her, clearly pleased with himself. Carol pursed her lips and started to get dressed. "I'm still going. And now you've no one to blame but yourself for leaving you with a hard-on for the rest of the day," her voice was teasing as she said it.

Daryl chuckled. "Fair 'nough," he griped, rolling over and pulling himself up off the bed to stand before her… his boxers pitching a large tent before her eyes. She let her gaze travel across his muscular chest marked with scars that she could now identify with her eyes closed, and down his lean stomach to eye the bulge in his boxers. Her eyes lingered there and then moved back up to his face. His smirk was smug, and he said softly, "So sure ya goin' now, is ya?"

Carol bit down hard on her bottom lip and smiled around it. "I'm going," she said, "but you can bet your ass that I'll take care of that later." She spun on her heel and moved out of the room leaving Daryl laughing behind her.

Daryl kept laughing as he pulled his pants on and moved over to the crib they'd found for Rose. "Good, yer up a'ready. I gots a full day and don't want no bellyachin' from the likes-a-ya.," he prattled. Rose squirmed and babbled at him as he picked her up. The baby was probably the cutest thing he'd ever seen, not that he was going to admit it to anyone out loud or somethin' crazy like that.

He cradled Rose in his arms as he held the bottle to her mouth. "Yer momma's crazy, ya know," he said softly, "but she l'ves ya like nothin' I ever seen." Rose blinked at him as she drank, and he figured that was as good a 'go on' as he was going to get from a two month old. "Yep… guess I does to, ya know. L'ves ya, I mean. Ya know, lil' bit? Yer damn cute. Don't let nobody never tell ya othe'wise. And if they does, ya jus' tell me and I'll bust their stupid ass open."

Carol packed a bag of supplies to take on their supply run. It had taken a lot of debate to get Daryl to agree to let her go on a run without him. But she was sure she could do it; her confidence had grown with the crossbow the more moving targets she hit, and she'd proven she could use a gun well-enough in a pinch. Plus she'd gone on a couple runs since coming to Jekyll Island already – always with Daryl, of course. But Daryl had things to do here. They needed meat. The few staples they could snag on a run wasn't a good enough substitute for what Daryl could find hunting.

So after a long debate in front of everyone in the conference room, and then some continued debating in the privacy of their own room – before, during, and after a more enjoyable activity – it had been decided that Carol would go on the run with Alex, Andrea, and Glenn; and Daryl would go off hunting after getting Rose ready to spend the day with Maggie. Lori was planning to do laundry while Hershel and Carl attempted a drive to the harbor to snag a small fishing boat and see what they could catch on the water.

They loaded up the vehicles. They'd found it easier to take two vehicles on a supply run; that way if one vehicle went down – which had already happened once – they weren't stranded. Daryl wandered outside with Rose as they were loading up. Carol saw Glenn go over and embrace Maggie in the doorway to the building as Alex and Andrea finished getting everything ready. Carol went over to kiss Rose on the forehead and Daryl on the lips. Surprisingly, the kiss was searching and full of desire. Daryl wasn't usually one for public displays of affection. When they broke apart, Daryl kept his hand steady on the back of her neck, pulling her toward him so that their foreheads touched lightly together. "Be careful," he whispered.

"I will. You taught me well," Carol said softly, and kissed him again firmly. Then she turned and hopped into the passenger side of the vehicle Alex would be driving, while Glenn slid into the other car with Andrea.