Fifteen

"Come on, Sophia!" Carl urged. "Catch me!" Sophia was red-faced and panting as she leaned against the big tree out back of the farmhouse.

"I can't," she huffed. "You're too fast."

"You always caught me before," he insisted.

"I can't. Not anymore." She wiped at her forehead, and Carl took off toward the barn again. "Carl! Wait!"

"You gotta catch me!" he yelled back. Sophia grunted in frustration and took off after the boy. Carol was sitting in a chair out by the old RV peeling potatoes when she heard all of the commotion. She looked up to see her daughter struggling to keep up with the game of tag Carl had started. Carol knew exactly what the boy was doing. He was trying to help Sophia build her strength and endurance back up. In this world, she was going to need it. She was still walking with a limp, but it was improving every day. Carol was thankful Sophia had a friend to help her.

They'd been on the farm a whole month, which was a lot longer than Carol had expected. She knew it was coming. Any day. They'd be asked to move on. So, she was trying not to get too comfortable. What few personal belongings she possessed were still neatly packed in a bag, and she always knew exactly where that bag was in case things went south and they had to make an escape.

"Hey there, Carol. How ya doin'?" Carol looked up and over at the voice that interrupted her thoughts. She was surprised to see Shane standing there with a bottle of water in his hand. He took a couple of big gulps before pouring the remainder of it over his head. He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed contentedly at the temporary relief from the sweltering heat.

"Just fine," Carol offered with a little nod.

"You seen Lori?" he asked. Carol had to bite back a little chuckle. The only time Shane approached her these days was to ask about Lori, and she wondered if he realized that.

"Uh, yeah. I saw her and Rick go into their tent about twenty minutes ago." She saw his gaze flash over toward the tents, and he took a step backward before tossing the empty plastic bottle into the trash.

"You and Sophia doing ok?"

"We're fine," Carol said with a little shrug. She narrowed her eyes at him when he chewed at his nails. "You ok, Shane?"

"Yeah. Just fine," he bit out, clenching his jaw shut before looking back over at the tents. "Hey, Carol?"

"Yeah?"

"You notice Lori acting funny lately?"

"Funny how?" Carol asked. She put down the paring knife and potato and stood up, wiping her hands on a towel.

"Don't know. Ah, hell, it's probably nothin'."

"I wouldn't worry. She seems fine."

"Right. Yeah, I'm sure you're right." He cleared his throat and ran his hand through his hair again. And just as he was about to walk away, Lori and Rick both emerged from the tent. Lori looked like she'd been crying, and Rick looked like he wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole. Carol stood then, and Shane took a step away. Lori looked up from across the camp, and her eyes bore into his. She shook her head and stalked off toward the house. Shane kicked at a clod of dirt and turned and marched off toward the house.

"The hell was that about?" Daryl asked, stepping up next to Carol. She jumped a little, and she let out a little laugh. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare ya."

"It's ok. I don't know. Shane kept asking me about Lori."

"Big surprise," Daryl snorted. Carol crinkled her nose at him.

"Then Lori and Rick came out of the tent looking like they'd been fighting."

"Damn, we got Days of our Dead goin' on around here."

"What?" Carol laughed.

"Like Days of Our Lives?"

"Yeah, I know what that is. I'm surprised you know what that is."

"What? Everybody knows that, don't they? Shit, Merle'd kill me for sayin' it, but every time he was nursin' a hangover, I'd find him spread out on the couch watchin' that shit."

"Oh, Merle watched it, huh?"

"Yeah. What? It was on the TV." Daryl shrugged, his cheeks flushing hot.

"I was more of a General Hospital girl myself. I had a thing for Sonny Corinthos."

"Ah, you liked the bad boys, huh?"

"How'd you know he was a bad boy?" Carol teased.

"Stahp," Daryl muttered. Carol couldn't help but tease him. He was in a surprisingly good mood for not getting much sleep the night before. Sneaking around with Daryl had its many advantages, but the downside was that they didn't sleep much. They typically slept lightly until just before sunrise before going their separate ways to shower and get ready for the day. Lori and Andrea had both questioned her recently about how tired she'd been, and she'd just shrugged it off by saying she needed to take vitamins. She felt bad that on the last supply run, Glenn had grabbed a bottle of women's daily vitamins just for her. She took them anyway, figuring there was no harm in staying healthy.

"I'm just trying to stay out of it," Carol shrugged. "Lori doesn't talk about it much. I just try to be a good friend. She knows I'm here if she needs me." She smiled and turned toward him. "You going somewhere?" She nodded to the crossbow draped over his shoulder.

"Oh. Yeah. Me, Rick, Jimmy and Glenn are goin' out by the creek. Guess there's a few walkers got stuck in the mud, and we're gonna go put 'em down. Ain't so much a threat, but Hershel don't like havin' 'em so close to the property."

"Ok. You'll be careful?" she asked.

"Always am," he promised. He leaned in like he was going to kiss her, and he hesitated, realizing they were out in broad daylight. Carol blushed, and when Daryl settled for pressing a kiss to her cheek, her heart raced. That was new. It was the first time he'd done that out of nowhere, and when he pulled back, she could see he was anxious and blushing again.

"It's ok. Nobody was looking," she grinned.

"Don't care if they were. 'Sides, I think everybody's busy watchin' a different channel." He nodded toward the house where Lori was pacing on the porch. Rick was nearby, leaning on the hood of Carol's Jeep Cherokee, furiously eyeing a map like it had personally insulted his mother. Shane was leaning against the barn door with his arms crossed and his eyes focused on Lori.

"You want me to come tonight?" she asked casually, nudging his foot with her own. Daryl blushed and ducked his head.

"Always want you to come." His face reddened the second the words left his mouth. "I—I mean…"

"I always want me to come, too," she teased. "Stay safe." He nodded.

"You, too." He brushed his hand over her arm, and his fingertips damn near set her skin aflame. She had never known just a simple touch to get her hot and bothered. At least, not until Daryl. She watched him walk away, and she found herself fanning her face with her hand. She stared down at the bowl full of half-peeled potatoes and silently cursed them. They only served to remind her that the day was still young, and tonight was too damned far away.