The next few chapters are very D & T heavy with hardly anyone else or any action. Just kind of heaps of fluff as they hang out. But I promise the action will pick up in a few chapters time.

Chapter 23 - Cupcakes and Snakes

"What? Why are you staring at me?" Carl filled up the pigs' water trough, then flicked a suspicious look over his shoulder at Tahlia who was standing a few feet away, hands on her hips and head tilted to the side as she studied him.

"You've grown. You've definitely grown."

Carl laughed. "Shut up, Tahly! You were only gone for two days!"

"I'm telling you, you're taller!" she insisted as they started towards the chicken coop. "So, what did you get up to while I was gone anyway? Tell me everything, spare no detail!"

"Yeah, coz so much happened while you were away." he deadpanned. "I fed the animals, brushed the horses, sat in the courtyard, read some comics. Same as every day. Repeat, repeat, repeat."

"Aw, man. It's tough for you huh?"

"No!" Carl said quickly, not wanting to sound like he was complaining. "I mean, it's just the way life is now, right? Things are different. I guess we're pretty lucky compared to some."

"Dude, you don't have to give me any of that shit. It's totally ok to be pissed about how things have turned out. About getting a bit of a raw deal. You're a teenager in the apocalypse stuck with a bunch of boring adults and no teenagey stuff to do. That sucks!"

Carl nodded, grateful for her understanding. "It does suck!" he agreed. "When I was younger, I'd imagine being a teenager and wonder what it would be like. You know, with dad being a cop, I'd hear so many stories about kids he'd pick up and the bad stuff they were getting up to, and some of it sounded kinda... fun to me. I wondered if I'd be like that. If I'd ever sneak out and get drunk, or go joy riding. Do something to get arrested." He laughed at that. "Imagine the look on dad's face." Carl then glanced up at Tahlia and said ruefully, "Bet you did all that stuff."

"What, get drunk, go joy riding and get arrested? Mm yeah, I did actually."

"You got arrested?!"

"Yes! For being drunk and joy riding! And... setting a car on fire." she added sheepishly.

Carl let out a hoot of laughter. "Awesome!"

"Dumb, more like. Not my proudest moment. I was very easily led. A bunch of us thought it would be fun to head out on the backroads and muck around, and there was this abandoned car, so we set it on fire. The police came, we got taken in for vandalism. But we got off with a warning in the end." She picked out a couple of eggs from inside the coop and put them in a bucket. "So, you know, at least you're don't have to worry about getting led astray by the wrong crowd."

"Not like I have a choice of crowds to run with." he replied, eyes downcast.

Tahlia squeezed his shoulder. "Aw buddy. You want me to lead you astray? Get some booze and cigarettes and set stuff on fire?"

Carl laughed again. "You know, sometimes you really don't seem like an adult."

Tahlia snorted at that. "You calling me immature?" She propped her hands on her hips in mock-offense.

"No! Just like... not as serious as most other adults. And cooler."

"Good save." Tahlia nodded in approval, then knelt in the grass as Butter came leaping over to her. "But I feel for you. I really do. It's pretty rough not being able to do all that 'normal' stuff. To not have much to do or a bunch of friends to hang out with. Ooh, what about the new girl, Elise? She's your age!"

Blushing, Carl dropped his gaze to the ground. "She's 16."

"Hung out with her much?"

"Not really, just said hi and stuff."

"Would you like to hang out with her?" Tahlia asked in a sing-song voice, and Carl elbowed her.

"Shut up."

"Sounding like a teenager now! Hey. I got you something." Tahlia reached into her back pocket and pulled out a Swiss Army knife. "Here. I cleaned it up as best as I could. Thought that instead of having a signature weapon, you could have 33 signature mini tools!"

Carl's eyes lit up. "Awesome, thanks Tahly! This is so cool!"

"You can use the corkscrew for that bottle of wine you're going to steal and get drunk on." she joked as they started back up towards the prison. "Right, I'm gonna go and see Hershel, see what's happening in the infirmary. You wanna come with?"

"Yeah sure! Maybe I can find some stuff to cut up with my tiny blades!" Carl grinned as he flipped the knives out.

"Ooh, look who it is!" whispered Tahlia conspiratorially as she caught sight of Elise leaving the courtyard. "Hey, Elise!" she called out, and Carl immediately elbowed her.

"What are you doing?!" he hissed.

Tahlia ignored him. "Elise, how're you doing honey?"

The teenager smiled shyly as she started over towards Tahlia and Carl. "I'm ok, just had some food, now was going to..." she shrugged.

"Do you like horses?"

Elise's eyes lit up. "Yes! I love horses!"

"Oh, awesome! Because I was supposed to be going with Carl to give the horses a brush, but I have to shoot to the infirmary instead."

"But we already-" started Carl then quickly shut his mouth at Tahlia's pointed look.

"So I was wondering if you wouldn't mind giving him a hand? You'd really be helping me out. Only if you're not busy of course."

"No, I'm not busy! I'd love to! If that's ok?" Elise aimed the last bit at Carl.

Carl shrugged. "Yeah, I don't mind. Come on then." As they started back down the hill, Carl shot a quick look back at Tahlia who was wearing a huge grin, and she gave him a thumb's up. He flushed a little and gave her a grateful smile.

In the afternoon, Tahlia wandered down to the vehicle bay to find Daryl. "Hiya cupcake! Got a minute?"

Daryl looked up from under the bonnet of the Land Rover to see Tahlia approaching, book in her hand, smile in her eyes. His stomach tightened involuntarily the way it seemed to do now when he saw her, but he did his best to ignore it as he wiped his hands on the rag hanging from his back pocket.

"Cupcake?" he repeated distastefully.

"You prefer muffin? Sweetpea? Snickerdoodle?"

He shook his head in faux-annoyance. "How about... Crusher?"

"Hmm... no... you're definitely more of a... jelly bean." she teased.

He balled up the rag and threw it at her. "And you are still a giant pain in the ass."

Tahlia grinned and hitched a shoulder. "So! I've just been up with Hershel, and he wanted me to see if I could find some of these plants so he can make some herbal remedies, tinctures, stuff like that. And you, our guru of the woods, are the best person to ask about what I might be able to find out there. Maybe you could point out what you've seen?" she asked hopefully.

"Alright, let's take a look." Daryl took the book from her and leafed through the pages. "That; that; that one..." he folded the corner of the pages down on the plants that he was familiar with in the woods. "Not that, or that at this time of year..."

He did his best to concentrate on the book although he was acutely aware of her standing at his side, arm brushing against his, the scent of her rising up around him.

"That's about what I seen the most of. Stuff you should be able to find nearby."

She laid a hand on his arm quickly in thanks. "Thank you, cupcake! Appreciate it. I'll see what I can forage." With a flash of that warm smile, she started towards the gates.

"Ya goin' now?" he called after her.

"Got nothing else to do this afternoon."

"Want me to take y'out there?" he offered, almost shyly.

She turned back to him, shielding her eyes from the sunshine.

Yes.

"Aw, no, I couldn't ask you to do that, you're busy-" she gestured to the car he'd been working on. "And I'm sure you're sick of the sight of me after that run."

He shrugged, his expression neutral. "Was plannin' on checkin' my traps sometime anyways. We could just do it all at once."

"Alright!" smiled Tahlia, a little fire of happiness stoking in her belly. "If you think you can handle my bad juju, then let's go."

"Take the bike." He jumped onto the Triumph and started it up. "C'mon."

Tahlia swung herself onto the bike behind Daryl. Looping her arms around his waist she gave him a big squeeze. "Aww, this is nice! You can get hugged all the way to-"

"Don't make it weird!" he warned over his shoulder as he shifted his body side to side until she loosened her grip.

Tahlia laughed and dropped her hands to hold onto the bottom of his jacket. "Ok, ok. We'll work up to the bike hugs."

She could feel the obstinate grumble resonate from his chest as he gunned the engine and shot down towards the gates.

They rode out on the highway for a bit, then Daryl pulled the bike over into a small opening in the trees, wheeling it out of sight of the road, then beckoned for Tahlia to follow as he led her back to the roadside.

"Here, look – red clover all 'round here by the road. Likes a lotta sunshine. Get this on the way back. I got a couple snares through here."

Obediently, she followed as they trekked through the trees for half a mile or so. Stopping, he gestured to a small empty snare he had set up in a thicket, briefly explaining how it worked and how he'd made it. Further on, he collected two rabbits from two more snares, and reset them before moving further into the woods.

Tahlia had fished a bag of M&M's from her pocket and was trying to throw them one by one into her mouth as they walked.

Daryl glanced at her. "Where'd ya get them from?"

"Won them off Tyreese playing Gin Rummy. Want one?"

"Naw."

Tahlia lobbed one at the side of his head anyway, then grinned at his glare. When she went to toss another up, he flung a hand out and batted it out of the air into the scrub.

"Hey!" she said indignantly, then threw another at him.

Daryl ducked then swung around and grabbed her wrist. Although she dropped the bag, she flicked her hand in a circle and quickly broke his grip. They eyed each other up warily for a moment, memories of the last time they'd tussled firing in their minds, and Tahlia raised a brow.

"Re-eally?" she said with a knowing smile. "You want me to dominate you again, don't you?"

And if it hadn't been for that permanent look of amusement on her face, that would have come across as a very alluring proposition.

"Ya just got lucky that time." Daryl drawled, then dove at her and she skipped out of the way, jumping back towards him as she spun around to slap him lightly on the cheek.

They carried on like this for a few minutes longer, Daryl grabbing at Tahlia, Tahlia twisting away. He stepped to the side, slightly unbalanced for one second, and she launched forward at him catching him off-guard, and hooked an ankle behind one of his, shoving his shoulders and tripping him backwards to the ground. Kneeling over him with her hands still on his shoulders, she gave him a cheeky smile.

"Dominated." she sassed.

He gave an disgruntled growl, but was quietly impressed that she had him down.

"Alright. Give ya that one." he conceded with a half-smile. "Next one'll be mine."

"I'll guess we'll just have to wait and see, won't we?" she teased, as she pulled him up before retrieving her M&M's and dangling the bag out to him, which, with a roll of his eyes, he took this time and helped himself to a few.

Further on, Tahlia crouched down to inspect some oyster mushrooms that were blooming from the side of a tree then suddenly she jumped back and gave a small squeal – which she tried to cover up with a cough - as a slithering brown body slid through the grass next to her.

"Just a brown snake." Daryl commented, watching it slide through the undergrowth towards him. He noted the alarm on Tahlia's face, and casually shoved his knife through the snake's head.

"Ya scared of snakes?" he asked, picking up the dead reptile and dangling it in front of her face, a smile tugging on his lips at the thought of the unflappable Tahlia having a phobia.

"No." she lied, taking two big steps away from him. "Just gave me a fright, that's all."

Daryl nodded graciously. "Sure."

"Let's go." Tahlia quickly started off through the woods, and Daryl jumped up to follow her, tucking one end of the snake into his back pocket.

They carried on for some way, Daryl still trailing behind, then a mischievous grin spread across his face as he tugged the snake from his pocket and tossed it towards Tahlia.

"So, I just want to -" Tahlia started, then something landed on her shoulder and she looked down to see a long brown body hanging off her. Her hand flew to her mouth as she stifled a scream and stumbled sideways frantically trying to brush it off, tripping on a tree root and falling hard on her ass.

"Get off, get off!" she whined as she scrambled backwards into the undergrowth to escape the reptile. It took her a long moment to notice that Daryl had his hands on his knees, guffawing heartily. Slowly she looked up at him, a dark blaze in her emerald eyes as she sucked on her top teeth bitterly, shaking her head in disbelief at his prank - but she'd never seen him laugh so hard, and as much as she tried not to, she couldn't help but laugh too.

Daryl grinned at her. "Thought ya weren't afraid of 'em?" he questioned innocently.

Tahlia grabbed a stick from the ground and tossed it at the hunter. "You. Asshole!"

Still laughing, Daryl leaned towards her and caught her wrist, yanking her up to stand. "Up ya get princess."

Once safely on her feet, she swatted him on the chest. "You are such a jerk!" But she couldn't keep the amusement out of her eyes.

As they carried on, she could hear Daryl chuckling to himself at the memory of her panic, and she turned around and smacked at his shoulder. "Stop thinking about it!"

"C'mon, that was a good one! You're all, 'Get off! Get off!" he mocked in a high-pitched tone.

Despite her best efforts to remain serious, she couldn't do it, so smiled and gave him a little shove instead.

"Serves ya right for trippin' me up." he grinned, accompanied by a shove of his own.

"I'm gonna get you back, you just wait."

He shook his head. "Won't be able to."

"Why not?" She looked up at him quizzically.

"Ain't afraid of nothin'." he told her, seriously.

"Surely there must be something!"

Shaking his head again, he tugged his crossbow higher up his back. "Well, if there is, I ain't found it yet."

In the courtyard that evening, Daryl was lost in thought, his eyes finding their way to where Tahlia and Michonne sat chopping vegetables. Michonne waved her knife in the air as she spoke, Tahlia listening intently, a smile playing on her lips.

He caught himself doing that a lot now. Seeking her out.

He didn't mean to, but it was like he had developed some kind of sixth sense for her, he was always unintentionally aware of her presence, what she was doing, who she was with.

"Daryl?"

From the seat next to him, Rick's voice cut through his reverie.

"Huh?"

"I was just saying that we should probably re-fence that section down beyond Tower 3. Think we've got enough materials around?"

Daryl nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Can pull some bits from around the exercise yard. Don't need that stuff there. Should be enough to put somethin' together."

Rick noticed Daryl trailing off and followed his line of sight to where Brody had appeared behind Tahlia, laying his hands on his shoulders, giving them a squeeze as he leaned down to say something, a cheeky glint in his eye. Both the women laughed, and Tahlia swiped at his arm. Daryl bristled at the exchange and forced himself to look away. He'd really like to fucking punch that guy.

"You ok?" Rick asked.

"Just don't like that guy." muttered Daryl, picking at the dirt on his fingernails.

"Right." Rick briefly wondered if it were Brody himself Daryl didn't like, or where Brody's interests clearly lay. "Haven't really got a feel for him yet, but I'll keep an eye out." He then nudged his head in Tahlia's direction. "You two seem to be getting on better since you went on that run."

Daryl shrugged. "Guess so."

"So?" questioned Rick. "How was it out there?"

"Bit messy. But alright."

Not to be deterred by Daryl's scant detailing, Rick pressed on. "And what was Tahlia like out there?"

Gaze still firmly fixed on his hands, Daryl shrugged again. "Bit stupid. Reckless. Huge pain in the ass." He paused for a long moment, then squinted up at Rick, a smile tugging on his lips. "And kinda fun."

Rick let out a surprised laugh at that, then nodded. "Good." he said. "Good."