Daryl traced his finger along the property lines for a few of the houses. Merle was following every move and nodding along with him. Mac on the other hand was scowling. He wasn't happy about this. He kept saying they were going to start finding trouble. Daryl didn't disagree. Something in the pit of his stomach was telling him that there was something coming. He was going to talk to Carol about having things put together in case they had to leave in a hurry. Having things that if they did have to leave in a hurry already together would be a matter of life and death.

"Daryl I'm telling you if we start going too far out then we get over into the-" Mac stopped mid sentence and pursed his lips. "I think if people are out there they are going to be more trouble than they're worth."

"Most of them." Merle laughed. "You should have seen that first group we ran into. There was this dumb ass cop in it, Shane, he had the hots for Carol."

"You kill him?" Mac questioned.

Daryl bristled, "No."

"No he just beat the shit out of him. Carol clawed him like a pissy little cat once." Merle guffawed.

Daryl snorted remembering both his son and Merle telling him about Carol doing that. Mac nodded and Merle started telling him all about the group. Daryl wasn't sure what happened to them and really wasn't interested. They didn't give two shits when he'd turned up missing and he didn't care if they were okay. He had other priorities that came before them.

"Daryl?"

All three men looked over as Ruby stepped into the room. She had a frown on her face. She was already dressed for bed and had her glasses pushed up in her hair. She looked frazzled though and Daryl pushed away from the table. Ruby came more into the room and then looked at the other two. Both got the hint and left. Daryl watched with a brow raised. Any time his mother ever looked like this it didn't bode well for him and that made his stomach churn.

"I know you're old enough to take care of yourself and that you have been for years." Ruby started and caught his hand. She patted the top as she held onto it with her other. "But I worry."

Daryl wasn't sure where this was coming from. He studied her and she didn't seem outright upset and he knew that if she was his mother didn't care to say something. Ruby pulled him to the door and shut it before pushing him to take a seat. She took one next to him and Daryl watched as she adjusted her robe over her night clothes.

"You love Carol."

He felt his face heat up but she wasn't asking him a question. She wasn't even looking at him. No, his mother was speaking aloud to herself. He leaned back and waited.

"I know you do." Ruby smiled and looked at him. "You look at her the same way your father always looked at me. The way my dad looked at my mother."

"Have you been waiting all these years to say something like that to me?"

Ruby gave him a sly smile but shook her head. Her blonde hair that was starting to grey spilled around her face framing it. He chuckled at her and knew she was only half telling the truth. The woman hated every girl who looked at her sons way. No one was ever good enough. He hadn't expected her to take to Carol like she did. He also wasn't surprised when Carol wasn't scared of his mother like every girl who knew the woman. Maybe that was it though because he'd actually heard Carol put his mother in her place and tell her to mind her own business.

"She's going out there with you tomorrow isn't she? I know she is because there isn't a way I could let Will walk out there without me if he were here." Ruby sighed and it sounded forlorn. "She loves you too you know, she loves your son, and she's a good mother."

Daryl felt his throat tighten. Any time his father was ever brought up it did. Hearing his mother talk about him though always bothered him. She never recovered from the sudden death of William Dixon. None of them had. He was a great man that sometimes when Brian would smile or Logan laughed he seen his father in them. Hearing her now talking about him when the world was so terrible just made him miss him that much more. It made him remember the sound of sirens in the distance and the smell of leaking gas. The feeling of his seat belt biting into his chest and holding him in place even as he struggled to breathe. It was a lot to take in because he'd drowned those thoughts out for a long time with drinking and he'd not thought about that night at all.

"I'm just...I'm worried about her being out there. I know she's strong. Anyone who ever meets that woman knows she is." Ruby met his eyes. "But I know you have sex."

Daryl's eyes widened and his face reddened. He stared at his mother like she had a second head. "I'm not sixteen."

"No your not." Ruby smiled at him and laughed. "You are a man though and I feel it necessary as your mother to ask you if there is a chance she could be pregnant?"

Daryl stared ahead and his eyes locked onto a bottle of whiskey on the bookshelf. How long had that bottle set there? It was the bottle Merle bought him when Logan turned one year old. It'd been there that long unopened. Now he felt like tipping it back. Why hadn't he thought about Carol's chance of getting pregnant? She hadn't said anything and he knew that was no excuse for the situation they could be in. It didn't work like that and if Carol was pregnant this was just as much his fault. He swallowed thickly and tried to listen to what his mother was saying but it was no use. It was like the sound dropped out of the world. He could see her talking but not hear.

"Daryl?"

He looked back down and Ruby was looking at him in concern.

"Want me to get you something to drink?"

Daryl shook his head, "No." His voice was hoarse.

"If she is then you shouldn't worry so much. You're a great father and always have been."

"The world fucking ended." Daryl bristled. "The world ended and if I got her pregnant it's a goddamn death sentence."

"Hardly." Ruby shook her head, "Women have been giving birth for longer than they had hospitals. If it comes to that we'll manage."

Daryl couldn't help it but to get mad at her blase' attitude. He glared ahead and forced himself to not look at her. She hadn't been like this when Mary was pregnant. No she slapped him. She'd slapped the fuck out of him while he'd been hungover. That was the first time he'd caused his mother to cry. It was something he hadn't forgotten and it pained him to know that while she'd cried he heard her say his father's name. Now though she looked serene but just a little frazzled. She almost looked fucking eager. As if there wasn't enough kids running around here already.

"Why haven't you slapped me yet?"

Ruby startled him by laughing. He looked over then and her hand cupped his face. "Oh honey..." She laughed again, "You're a married man now. I can't go around slapping you for getting your wife pregnant; not I'll leave that to her."

Daryl stared at her hard. Everyone kept saying that. Carol was his wife. That he was her husband. They didn't even say it in a joking manner anymore. It was like it was understood and that anything other than this was just a lie not to be accepted. He'd heard Logan and Brian both talking about wedding rings the other day and he'd stared at them until they shut up. It didn't bother him. It long since stopped. He was use to Merle doing shit to him when he wasn't there to defend himself. He just hadn't expected Logan to go along with Merle putting Daryl up on the auction block for Carol to swoop in on when he'd been in Atlanta. Yet they did and now even she grinned at him when they said things in front of them.

"I'm not really married to her and you know it." He kept his voice quiet.

"Yeah well she's not a nasty whore like Mary that will likely do drugs and hurt the baby either, is she?" Ruby snapped. "That woman in there loves you, loves your son, and your horrible brothers who give her crap constantly. She's taken Brian in like her own and even those girls. You couldn't ask for a better hearted person Daryl."

"You aren't getting what I'm saying." He said.

"No I am. I'm not upset Daryl because you aren't a kid having a kid."

"The world ended."

"No, it didn't. We're still here."

He looked over at her and shook his head. He stood feeling sick to his stomach now. There was no point in freaking out though. None. He couldn't do shit until he knew for sure if she was. Thankfully they were going out tomorrow and he'd make sure to grab a pregnancy test even if she said she didn't need it. He knew now that Ruby was frazzled at the thought of Carol being out there and potentially pregnant. He was more worried about Carol maiming him for trying to leave her behind. It'd do no good. She would go herself and just hunt him down. No, he'd take her and keep her attached to his fucking hip.

He opened the door and walked into his bedroom. He didn't say shit to either of his brothers who were waiting on him outside the room. He didn't look at his mom. He walked in his room, shut the door, stripped on his way to the bathroom and stood in scalding hot water. It burned and distracted him from the pain that was starting behind his eyes. He had a migraine coming and wasn't that just fucking great.

"Daryl?"

Carol's voice was soft. He heard the door creak open about the time he finally cut the water off. He hadn't even looked over to see if Logan was asleep on the bed. Daryl stepped out and Carol handed him a towel. Her face was concerned and he dried off quickly.

"Logan just left. He woke up when you came in the room." Carol answered his unasked question. "Didn't you hear him talk to you?"

Daryl opened his mouth to answer her but his throat decided to strangle him so he shook his head instead. Carol gave him a worried look but smiled at him instead of asking what was wrong right then. Daryl nodded at her and walked into his room. Carol was right behind him. She crawled on the bed and he took her in as he dressed. She was in his shirt from earlier before he'd gotten nasty from splitting wood. Carol often done that though; getting his shirts he'd just pulled off and sleeping in them. He ignored the burning in his chest and the tightening in his groin when he noticed she only had on panties with the shirt.

"Are you feeling okay?"

Daryl crawled into the bed and flipped the light off. "Yes."

"Well that's a lie." Carol laughed and crawled on him. He grunted as her weight settled onto his groin. "Did something happen?"

Daryl could faintly see her in the pale light coming in. Her eyes were bright and fixed on him. "Carol are you able to have kids?"

Carol stilled on him and for once that overwhelming heat that was pressed to his cock from her straddling him didn't have him wanting to throw her down and fuck her. He instead watched her. Carol was looking up and out the window. Her finger was tracing his sternum though.

"Is that something you want?"

Daryl stared at her hard. "That isn't answer to my question."

Carol smiled down at him. "I'm not barren if that's what you're asking but I don't have high chances of having a kid either." When he just stared at her Carol shrugged. "My mom had trouble getting pregnant with me and like her mother before her. It runs in our family. My doctor warned me of the same thing. Told me I would likely never have a child of my own unless I adopted."

Daryl swallowed and stared up at her. How many times had they had sex? He was fucking sure. Goddamn. He wasn't keeping count but now he felt like he should have been. He also felt like shit for bringing something up that was clearly a sore spot for her.

"I was engaged to be married once." Carol leaned down over him. Her chest pressed into his. "He was...nice at first. It was around the time that my doctor told me how much trouble I would have. I told him. He had a right to know since we were getting married."

Carol's voice was tight and Daryl wanted her to stop talking. His hands landed on her thighs and he pulled her up his body more. Carol straightened out her body slightly on his and more of her weight pressed into his groin. He ignored the rush of heat that went through him at the contact. It wasn't the time or place for him to be thinking about the shit he was.

"I got pregnant. It was a miracle and even my doctor said so. He warned me to be extra careful and was giving me all these rules to follow since it'd be a chance pregnancy. " Carol's voice was off. "I told him and I thought he'd be happy. He was so upset when I told him what my doctor said about my chances." He watched as she studied his face and traced his jaw. "You're a good man Daryl. An amazing father and your so good with the girls. I'd love to have met you years ago."

"You tell me at least six times a day I'm an asshole."

"You are." Carol laughed and laid her head in the crook of his neck. "I broke the engagement off when he hit me and knocked me down. I lost the baby. I made sure I was on birth control after that and that any man who I slept with wore condoms."

Daryl tensed and his arms came up around her. He couldn't imagine being told that Mary had miscarried his son. A pain the likes of which he'd never known burned in his chest and his arms tightened even more on him.

"I'm sorry." His voice was hoarse and he knew his words couldn't do shit for the pain that she likely felt. It was a physical ache to take away the pain that she'd carried for years.

"Don't apologize for what he done." Carol rubbed her face against his rough jaw and exhaled. "He was a monster and I should have seen it sooner. It's in the past."

Daryl stared ahead his fingers tracing patters on her sides where his arms were locked around her. Carol sounded like a cat purring and he fought smiling. SHe was stronger than people gave her credit for, stronger than he even though. He would have likely killed Mary if she'd done something to hurt his son like that. He would have snapped then easily and even now if that woman hurt his son he knew he'd lose it. It made him glad he'd sent her away.

"So no, the chances of me being pregnant aren't high. Never were." Carol smiled. "I was a lot younger then, I had that to my advantage, and Daryl I'll be honest with you." She pushed herself up. Her forehead was pressed to his and her lips barely brushed his with each word she said. "If I do come up pregnant with your child I wouldn't regret it."

Her mouth pressed into his before he could respond and she sunk her hand into his hair. He groaned as she deepened the kiss. When she pulled back her face was bright and her lips bruised.

"I just regret that we weren't together sooner."