The sunlight shimmered off the crossbow while Daryl walked by the front of the farmhouse and he held onto the strap.
"Hey," made him stop as Carol ran to him and he barely smiled.
They had been on the farm for three weeks and even he admitted he was feeling like he was finally home.
"What's up?" he asked.
"Just wondering where you were going."
"I'm goin' on a run."
"Want me to tag along?"
"No. I'm good," he said with a small shake of his head.
"You sure?"
"Yeah."
"Be careful."
Daryl glanced at her as he made a tiny nod then he walked toward the woods.
Neither of them noticed Patricia and Hershel standing by the window as Hershel smiled and she looked at him.
"What's so funny?" Patricia asked.
"Nothing. They just remind me of how things were with me and…," Hershel said and she saw the sadness in his eyes.
"They're not married."
"They're not?"
"No. Rick told me Carol's husband was killed when their camp was attacked," she said, watching Carol walking away. Hershel knew his friend long enough to know what she was thinking and he laughed. "Now what's so funny?"
"You're going to play matchmaker, aren't you?"
"Maybe," she said as she headed for the kitchen.
"Heaven help them," he whispered then he looked out the window.
Later that day
Daryl walked by the bushes while he held onto the strap of the crossbow and he glanced around with his eyes. He was able to find a few houses, but none of them had much left inside them. He found only one or two plastic bottles of water, but he had finished them off. He walked through the grass when he saw a house and he crouched down.
He carefully headed for the house then he stopped when he saw something and he knelt down in the grass. Growing wild was a group of Cherokee Roses and he tilted his head to one side. He had seen the flowers before and he reached over to touch the soft petals. He went back into a crouching position when he headed for the house and he headed for the small porch.
Carefully standing up, he reached back for the crossbow when he held the crossbow in his hands and he pointed the crossbow toward the door. He headed for the door when he stopped, pounded on the door for a few seconds then he waited.
Not hearing anything, Daryl quickly opened the door, stood back then he peaked inside. In the dim light, he could see a room on either side of the small hallway and he could barely see the light coming from the room at the end of the hallway.
Cautiously, he headed inside the house when he looked in the dining room and he went in the room. After searching the room, he found a backpack as he picked the backpack off the floor then he headed into the kitchen. He placed the backpack against the wall as he checked the cabinets and he found some edible food. He also found some kitchen knives and plastic bottles of water and he used a clean cloth he found in a drawer to wrap the knives in and he placed the cloth, the plastic bottles of water and the food in the backpack.
A sudden sound from behind him caused Daryl to turn and he held the crossbow in his hands. He moved slowly toward the small cabinet door when he quickly opened the door and a broom fell to the floor.
"Shit," he whispered when he checked the cabinet again then he went to pick up the backpack. He headed down the hallway then he stopped at the door to the basement and he turned the door handle. The door was locked as he sighed then he headed toward the living room.
He searched the room as he picked up some paperbacks, a few boxes of ammunition and a box of camping matches and he placed everything into the backpack. He walked back down the hallway when he looked up the staircase and he frowned.
"Fine," he grumbled. He slowly walked up the stairs as he held the straps of the backpack in his left hand and he quickly peeked out from the top of the stairs to see if there were any Walkers. He saw there were four bedrooms as he placed the backpack down and he headed down the hallway.
He entered the main bedroom as he searched the drawers and closet and he found some clothes, a pair of work boots and another backpack. He placed the clothes and the work boots in the backpack then he carried the backpack out of the room. He went back into the main bedroom when he went into the bathroom and he searched the medicine cabinets. He found some pain killers, a few boxes with tubes of toothpaste inside, a bottle of aspirin and some toothbrushes still in their packaging and he shrugged. He also found some soap still in their wrappers, a few clean towels and washcloths. He placed everything in the towel, left the room then he placed the towel in the backpack.
He headed down the hallway when he walked in the bedroom and he saw it used to be a boy's bedroom. He checked the closet and drawers when he placed some clothes, underwear, socks, comic books and some sneakers into the backpack. He had also found some edible chocolate bars in one of the drawers and he placed the chocolate bars in the backpack.
He left the room when he placed the backpack near the first backpack and he went into the other bedroom. He noticed it was a girl's room as he looked through the drawers and the closet and he took some clothes, underwear and socks. He noticed something in one of the drawers when he remembered something Carol was talking to Lori about and he slid what he found into the pile of underwear. He also found some paperbacks and he smiled.
"Sophia might like these," he whispered.
He walked out of the room when he placed the paperbacks, clothes, underwear and socks into the backpack then he went back into the room. He brought out a pair of boots and a denim jacket then he placed everything into the backpack.
He checked the weight of the backpacks as he nodded then he looked at the last room. He walked to the doorway when he went inside and his eyes slightly widened.
The room was a baby's room.
He looked around the room as he picked up a teddy bear and he held the teddy bear in his hands. He looked through the drawers when he found some baby sleepers, some diapers, an unopened packet of pacifiers, an unopened package of plastic bottles, bottle rings and plastic nipples, a few plastic bottles of baby wash and baby shampoo, a rubber duck in its packaging, a few cans of formula and an unopened box of baby wipes. He wasn't sure why, but he took everything with him and he placed what he found in the other backpack. Placing the crossbow against his back, he picked up the backpacks and he headed down the stairs.
Leaving the house, he headed for the woods when he stopped, looked down at the Cherokee Roses and he smiled. He placed the backpacks down when he knelt down and he picked one of the Cherokee Roses. He carefully placed the rose in the backpack then he stood up, picked up the backpacks and he headed for the woods.
The Greene's Farm
"Daryl's back!" made him snort a laugh while Carl and Sophia ran to him and he carefully placed the backpacks down.
"What did you find?" Rick asked, walking closer.
"Stuff," Daryl said when he knelt down and he opened the backpack. Daryl slid the Cherokee Rose into his left hand as he made sure no one was watching then he stood up. "Where's Carol?"
"She's helping Dale with dinner," Lori said, pointing to the RV. Nodding, Daryl walked to the RV as Dale was walking out and Dale nodded at him.
"Carol still in there?" Daryl asked.
"Yeah. Why?" Dale asked.
"None of yer damn business."
Dale watched Daryl go inside when Dale caught sight of the rose and he frowned.
Daryl leaned the crossbow near the wall as he looked around and he found an empty beer bottle on the counter. He used some water to rinse out the beer bottle, filled the beer bottle with water, placed the rose in the beer bottle then he walked to where Carol was sitting.
"Hey," he said and she looked at him.
"Hey. Find anything?" Carol asked.
"Yeah."
Carol noticed he had something behind his back and she gave him a curious look.
"What do you have behind your back?" she asked and she swore he was starting to blush.
"It's… Uh… It's… Here," he said, placing the beer bottle on the table. She looked at the rose as she slowly moved the beer bottle closer and her eyes widened.
"It's beautiful," she whispered.
"It's a Cherokee Rose."
"I've never heard of that before."
"Well, the story is that when American soldiers were movin' Indians off their land on the Trail of Tears, the Cherokee mothers were grievin' and cryin' so much 'cause they were losin' their little ones along the way from exposure and disease and starvation. A lot of them just disappeared. So, the elders… They, uh, said a prayer. Askin' fer a sign to uplift the mothers' spirits, given them strength and hope. The next day, this rose started to grow right where the mothers' tears fell. I'm not fool enough to think there's any flowers bloomin' fer my brother. But I believe some bloomed fer yer little girl,"
"You do?"
"Yeah. When Rick an' I were lookin' fer her, I found a bunch of them growin' along the bank of the stream where we found her."
"You think they were a sign?"
"Maybe."
He watched her for a few seconds then the sound of footsteps made him turn and he saw Sophia running toward him. She had something in her hands as he cleared his throat and he moved back so she could go to Carol.
"Mom, look what Lori found in one of the backpacks!" Sophia said and she showed Carol six training bras. Carol looked at Daryl as he looked at his feet and Sophia smiled at him. "How did you know I…? That I…? That…? That I needed these?"
"I heard yer mom talkin' about it with Lori," Daryl explained.
"I'm surprised you knew what they were," Carol said with a tiny smile.
"Can we talk about that later?" he asked and she saw he was blushing.
"What do you have to say?" Carol asked, looking at Sophia.
"Thanks!" Sophia said, hugging him after she handed the training bras to Carol. They watched him walking out of the room after she had let go as he picked up the crossbow, went outside and he saw Lori and Rick looking at the baby things he had found.
"Hey," Daryl said.
"Hey," Rick said.
"Uh, Daryl, why did you take these?" Lori asked, pointing to the baby things.
"Dunno," Daryl said. He noticed the looks Rick and Lori were giving each other as he crossed his arms over his chest and he titled his head to one side. "Got somethin' to tell me?"
"I'm pregnant," Lori said. She noticed the blank look on his face as Daryl nodded then he walked away. He headed for his tent when he felt like he was being followed and he turned to see Rick behind him.
"Go ahead," Rick said.
"Go ahead an' what?" Daryl asked.
"Go ahead and ask if the baby's mine."
"It's none of my business one way or another."
"Daryl…"
"Look. I saw how she an' Shane were actin' back at the camp. Even saw them havin' sex when I was out hunitin' in the woods."
He hadn't meant to hurt Rick, but the sadness in Rick's eyes told him he had.
"Sorry."
"No. It's ok. I asked her about Shane. She told me they were having an affair. Not that I blame her. She thought I was dead."
"Still ain't right."
"Yeah."
"Have you told Shane about the baby?" he asked as Daryl looked at Shane talking with Andrea.
"Not yet. We did tell Carl."
Nodding, Daryl walked away while Lori headed for Rick and they watched him walking toward the woods.
"What were you talking about?" Lori asked.
"I asked him if he thought Shane was the baby's father," Rick said.
"What did he say?"
"He knew about you and Shane. Even saw you two having sex…."
"He was spying on us?!"
"Keep your voice down," Rick said, looking to see if anyone was listening. "No, he wasn't spying. He just saw you while he was out hunting."
Lori walked back to the table as she looked at the baby things, picked up the sleeper with little brown bunnies on it and she smiled. She checked the other sleepers as Rick walked to her and he slid his arms around her waist.
"Want me to talk to Daryl after he gets back?" Lori asked.
"Yeah," Rick said and he lightly rubbed the small baby bump.
The pond
Daryl walked through the tall grass when he saw the small pond, a small dock and a boat and he walked to the small dock. He looked into the water as he looked at his reflection then he sat down. He placed the crossbow down to his right as he dangled his lower legs over the end of the dock and he looked out at the water. He felt the wind moving through his hair and the heat of the sun on his skin as he leaned back and he used his arms to support himself.
"Are you gonna come over or not?" he asked after a few seconds.
"How did you know I was here?" Carol asked while she walked out from behind a tree.
"I smelt you."
"I took a shower," she teased while walking closer and she sat down next to him.
"I smelt yer clothes."
She sniffed her shirt when she smelt a strong scent of cow dung and she coughed.
"Should've stayed downwind."
"Yeah."
They sat in silence while Carol studied his profile and he glanced at her. She noticed he was feeling uncomfortable as she looked away and he sat up, folding one leg under the other.
"What happened with Lori and Rick?" she asked, looking at him.
"They wanted to know why I brought somethin' back with me," Daryl said.
"What was it?"
"Just some stuff," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. She knew better not to push him. Daryl looked down at his hands in his lap and he folded his fingers together.
"How did you know what a training bra was?" she asked a few seconds later.
"Uh…."
She waited for him to continue as he sat up a little bit then he sighed.
"When I was Sophia's age…," he started then he cleared his throat. "My friends an' I snuck into the girl's locker room while the girls were in the shower. The girls started screamin' an' the gym teacher started yellin' shit at us. My friends just stood there, laughin' their asses off. Me? I didn't know what to do. So, I grabbed the first thing I saw an' ran."
"You took some girl's training bra?"
"Yeah."
Carol tried to picture a young Daryl sneaking into the girl's locker room as she softly smiled and he turned his head away.
"What happened next?" she asked and he glanced at her.
"We got a month's detention an' I had to give the trainin' bra back," he explained. She gave him a tiny grin as he shrugged and they became silent. "It's alright to laugh. Merle teased the hell outta me until I punched him in the mouth."
"I'm not Merle," Carol said, moving closer. "And neither are you."
"You sure about that?"
"Yes," she said. Her fingers brushed the back of his left hand as he looked down, but he didn't move his hand away. He got up when he walked over to the boat and he noticed there were two wooden paddles inside. He looked out at the water as his mind showed him in the boat with Carol and he was gently paddling the boat. Carol stood up and she walked to him. He blinked his eyes a few times when he looked up at the sky and he checked the position of the sun.
"We better go back," he said. She saw he had his right hand out as she took his hand and they headed up the dock. She felt him lightly squeezing her fingers as she smiled and he shyly smiled back.
The camp
The sky was growing dark as Dale, Glenn and T-Dog watched Carol and Daryl heading into camp when Dale noticed Carol was holding Daryl's hand and Dale frowned.
"That is not right," Dale said and T-Dog frowned.
"What are you talking about?" T-Dog asked.
"That."
T-Dog and Glenn looked at Carol and Daryl when T-Dog smiled and Glenn's eyes slightly widened.
"When did that happen?" Glenn asked.
"Dunno," Dale said.
"I didn't even know they liked each other."
"Me neither," T-Dog said.
"Should we do something?"
"If we are going to, it has to be soon. I won't let Carol be hurt again," Dale said. Dale walked away while they watched Carol and Daryl and T-Dog softly laughed.
"Damn," T-Dog said and Glenn nodded.
"Looks like we missed dinner," Carol said while they walked to the table and Daryl barely swung their hands back and forth.
"Yeah," Daryl said and he watched Sophia walking out of the RV.
"Mom, Rick told Dale to save some food for you and Daryl," Sophia said, walking to them.
"Thanks, Honey," Carol said and Sophia smiled when she saw they were holding hands.
"Night."
They watched her quickly head for Carol's tent when she went inside the tent and Daryl looked down at Carol's hand. He wondered if he should let go of her hand while Carol lightly pulled him toward the RV and they went inside. After Daryl placed the crossbow against the wall, she led Daryl to the table as Daryl looked at the plates, silverware, napkins, glasses of water and the beer bottle with the Cherokee Rose and Carol felt him lightly squeezing her fingers.
"This looks nice," Carol said, letting go of his hand and she sat down.
"Yeah," Daryl said with a nod and he sat across from her.
"Feels like we're on a date."
She was teasing him, but the slightly scared look on his face made her feel like he wasn't used to dating.
"Ok. It's not a date. Just two friends having dinner," she corrected and he looked like he was relaxing.
"Looks good," he said, looking at the food and he placed the napkin on his lap.
"Yes," she said, placing the napkin on her lap.
They ate in silence, but Carol noticed he was looking at her from time-to-time and he had to remind himself to use the napkin instead of licking his fingers.
"You done?" he asked, placing the napkin on the table.
"Yes," she said, placing the napkin on the table. She watched him stand as he held his right hand out and she took his hand. He helped her to her feet as she picked up the beer bottle, wrapped their fingers together and he led her to the door. Picking up the crossbow, he led her outside while Andrea, Shane, Lori and Rick watched them and Andrea frowned.
"Are they holding hands?" Andrea asked.
"Looks like," Rick said with a small smile.
"That's disgusting," Shane said with a snort of air.
"No. It's cute," Andrea said.
"Talk about opposites attracting," Lori said. She started walking toward Daryl when Rick gently grabbed onto her right upper arm and Lori looked at him.
"Not now," he whispered and she nodded.
Daryl had seen Shane, Andrea, Rick and Lori looking at them when Daryl held on tighter to Carol's hand and she looked down at their hands.
"They're watchin' us," Daryl said. Carol turned to look at Shane, Andrea, Rick and Lori and she felt his mood changing.
"Ignore them," Carol said. They walked to her tent when he opened the tent flap and Sophia smiled at him.
"Did you like my surprise?" Sophia asked.
"You're the one who set the table!?" Carol asked.
"Yeah."
"I liked it."
"Me, too," Daryl said.
"Sorry that dinner was cold," Sophia said.
"Don't mind eatin' cold food."
Carol let go of Daryl's hand as his fingers moved from not holding her hand anymore and she headed for the small table. She placed the beer bottle on the table when she turned and Daryl seemed like he didn't know what to do next.
"Night," he said with a nod, turned and he walked out of the tent. Sophia looked at Carol as Carol shrugged and she looked at the rose.
Daryl headed for his tent when he felt like he was being watched and he turned to see Lori standing behind him.
"What do you want?" he grumbled.
"I just want to say…," Lori said, but she stopped when she saw the anger in his eyes. He opened the tent flap when he went inside the tent and he zippered the tent flap shut. "Daryl?"
"Go away."
"Look. You and Carol…"
She jumped back as he unzipped the tent flap, opened the tent flap, stormed out of the tent and he pointed his right index finger at her.
"Listen, Olive Oil. What Carol an' I do ain't none of yer damn business. So, take whatever you wanna say and shove it up yer ass," he said with a small growl then he turned, walked back into the tent, zippered the tent flap shut and she looked at the tent.
"I said not now," Rick said after he had walked to her and she turned to look at him.
"I was just going to tell him I don't mind him being with Carol and thank him for the baby things," Lori said.
"Instead, you ruined his date."
"It ain't no date. We were just two friends havin' dinner," came from the tent and Rick smiled.
"You sure?"
"Yeah…. No…. Dunno."
"It was a date," Rick thought and he and Lori tried hard not to laugh.
"Are you two gonna stand out there all night?"
"No. We're leaving," Rick said.
"Daryl? I meant what I said about me liking the idea of you and Carol being together. And, again, thank you for the baby things," Lori said. They looked at the tent when Rick led Lori away and Daryl watched them from the window of his tent.
"You're welcome," Daryl whispered and he placed the crossbow on the ground. He sat down on the camping bed when he took his boots off, went to rest on his back and he placed his hands behind his head.