Summary:

Carol has a moment of defiance. Both Carol and Daryl keep secrets. Training begins.

Carol sat on the porch in the dark. She knew that it would only be a moment before Daryl and Sophia noticed that she was no longer in the kitchen. They had gone on a mission to the hidden recesses of the storage closet the previous owners had left intact. Their bounty consisted of enough pieces of a board game where they could set up at the table and challenge Glenn and Maggie. The latter two were due to be there soon, and Carol had not been able to resist the tiny act of defiance of which] she was now partaking.

She lit one of Daryl's cigarettes and inhaled shallowly. She had smoked when she met Ed, but had immediately quit at his demands even though he continued on puffing like a chimney. She in no way intended to start the bad habit again, but found suddenly as she was standing alone in the kitchen that she was humming. When she had heard that she had stopped cold in her tracks. Who was that woman? She barely remembered her former self, and with Ed gone now a few days she had suddenly felt the need to defy Ed one final, tiny time. By now his corpse was long gone, chewed by walkers, but she could not help blowing a defiant puff of smoke in the direction of the wall where he had been unceremoniously been tossed over. She inhaled again more deeply, remembering the time that Ed had first laid hands on her. It was the last time she had smoked, out of fear and defeat.

Daryl may not want her to pick up a nasty habit, but was not going to dictate to her – she knew that. She also knew with certainty as she inhaled again that he was coming up behind her silently. He reached over to her and took the pack and lighter. Instead of reacting as Ed had in anger, he chuckled in understanding. He shook out one of his own and lit it, inhaling deeply. He got a kick out of her tiny act of rebellion, however late in the game as it may be.

"How is it that you can chuckle when you smoke these all the time? I feel like I am gonna pass out now or puke" she said. "Guess it's been too long". She continued to smoke it down though – not giving up her resistance.

"Yeah, they taste like shit but it's hard to give up."

She laughed, had the last couple of drags and put the butt in her pocket. She didn't want Sophia to see her smoking.

"Soph's got Monopoly set up. She has some mighty strong words bout kickin' Glenn's ass tonight" he scoffed.

"She's picking up the Dixon mouth already? I was hoping to avoid that at least a little bit longer" she tisked teasingly.

"Naw. She's all proper and polite still. She's a spitfire though. She's gonna be a hell of a fighter. Gonna give this world something to argue 'bout for sure" he smiled.

Her smile faded a bit. "I want her to fight to keep herself and others safe. I do. I want her to fight like hell and never give in to anybody. I want to know she will never be defeated against the walkers or this world. I just don't know how to make her strong enough inside. She is so young in her way. Too much Ed I guess."

"Don't think you're getttin' out of this woman" he said. "Tomorrow you and Soph begin training with Michonne, Glenn, Abe and I. Gotta toughen ya up."

"I have to see Denise in the morning for my appointment" she reminded him. She smiled then added "then I am all yours".

They had settled into a staggering, intense relationship since that first night. It had only been a few nights spent together, but she was already finding all new ways to smile with him. He never pushed her physically, and simply was there for her. She found herself awakening to ideas that she had not entertained in years. She didn't mean simply physically, although God knows that was enough of a reason to sit up and notice. She felt she was breathing for the first time in well over a decade. Breathing with a kind of intake that infused her with an emotional life again. She knew that he would always be there for her – regardless of their relationship. That deep realization had caused her to open her heart a fraction for him. That crack in her cautionary heart had already allowed her more happiness that she had ever had in her married life.

Sophia in the few days since knowing Ed was gone for good had began to come out of her shell. She was always on the lookout for ways to chum up with Daryl. While she had cheerfully acknowledged Daryl's father role, she hadn't called him dad again. Carol knew that with her little girl though that Daryl was a dad in every way, and Sophia knew that too. She had acted on her request to Daryl, and started calling him D.D. Carol knew it was his initials, but she also knew that it was as close to 'daddy' as Sophia would get right now in her day to day vocabulary.

"Sophia doesn't have to meet with Denise, so you two can go get into trouble together with Glenn first thing. I will be along after the appointment."

He didn't ask questions. He knew something was going on with Denise that Carol had not told him about yet. He would wait until she offered the details herself. He knew she would. Sooner or later. He bent down and kissed her chastely and went in search of Sophia. He wanted to make sure she was ready for tomorrow. He already had a present for her. He hoped it would help her feel more confident in herself. He hadn't told Carol about it - yet. He fingered it softly in his inside vest pocket. He wouldn't break the spell of tonight though. Tonight was for Monopoly and big talk. Tomorrow was about survival for his girls.

"That's it Soph. Put your hand on my chest and push as hard as you can. Come on girl, you can push harder than that. Never even made me move. Plant your feet and shove as hard as you can."

"D.D. this is weird. I don't know why I gotta be pushing you around so hard."

"This is trainin' girl, you know that. Gotta be able to push away danger if your other options are gone. Now get in here and push me over."

"I can't push you over D.D., I am not strong enough."

"Bullshit girl. Ya gotta figure out how you would get yourself away from danger. Now come over here and push me over, and THINK."

Sophia thought a moment, then gritted her teeth. She pushed of the ground hard and launched herself at Daryl. It became obvious holding back in deference to her affection for him. Dayrl barely flinched when she made contact. He just looked at her and arched an eyebrow. She stepped back and took a run at him pushing him against his chest as hard as she could. He barely moved. She started getting frustrated. How could she manage to get him down? She was not strong enough.

"Think Sophia" she told herself. "Gotta think like a Dixon now to get strong." She took a few steps back and then smiled to herself. She launched herself again at Daryl, only this time she veered at the last moment and brought her boot up behind her to land hard in the back of his knee. Daryl folded in suprise, landing on the ground, but catching himself on the way.

"Good girl" he said smiling. "Ya thinkin' now. Most of these fuckers who are gonna mess with you are gonna be much bigger than ya. Ya gotta find ways to take them all down - walkers and men."

She stood over him, then suddenly tackled him. She was laughing and was proud she had brought him down. Daryl, not having any of it suddenly flipped them and pinned her to the ground. "What now Soph? You may have gotten the fucker down, but you didn't take 'em out. Now they gotcha pinned. Whadda ya do?"

Sophia struggled trying to lift her shoulders up. It was no use. She could not move at all. She then was very aware that she was trapped. Stuck. She froze for a moment. She started trembling and Daryl noticed the tears forming in her eyes. He felt like shit.

"I ain't gonna hurt ya none girl" he said, then helped her up. She ran away from him around the house.

Shit. Daryl hadn't meant to scare her. He went after her and found her on the porch sitting on the steps kicking at the pebbles.

"Soph?"

"I'm fine D.D. Just got scared a minute."

"It's ok to be scared, but ya can't let it freeze ya up or your in trouble."

"I wasn't scared of you D.D. Just bad thoughts happened when I couldn't move. I know Ed's toast, but still - being held down isn't exactly fun for me. Can't stop the bad thoughts then."

Daryl still didn't know exactly what had happened with Ed and Sophia - the details anyway. He didn't think he would be able to handle the details any more than the few passing mentions that Sophia had let drop. He wouldn't ask either. If she wanted him to know, he would know.

"Bad thoughts aren't exactly known for staying away" he said. "I got a lot myself. I need you to know that you can fight your way outta trouble though. You're a Dixon now - and Dixons don't take any shit. We fight. We may not be the biggest, but we always fight until we win. Dixons ain't known for being the brightest bulbs. You and your mama are 'bout the smartest of our lot. We are known for survivin' though. You are gonna survive, and I am gonna help you train up so you will be one of the baddest Dixons this side of the apocolypse."

"Are all Dixons foul mouthed like you?"

"Ain't gotta be. Just be tough."

"I ain't never been tough before. Guess since I'm a Dixon now that's gotta change. Does this mean I get a crossbow like you?"

He laughed. "We are gonna start weapons training later. Go get a stick."

"A stick?"

"I'm gonna teach you how to fight with a knife at first. You need to get comfortable with the movements first though before you get your weapon. Glenn's gonna come over later, and you can show him your moves that you will learn. First though, I got a present for ya."

He reached into his vest pocket and brought out the ebony handled daggar he had chosen for her. He saw the apprehension in her eyes at the idea of a knife - he guessed she was thinking of all the cuts that had been branded into Carol. But when she saw the beauty of the weapon she brightened. He handed it to her.

"This is yours Soph. We are gonna make it so you are so comfortable with it that it will become an extention of you. It is going to become a part of you, and you will never be without it. You can't be safe if it's not with you. Your mama is getting her knife training too, but I wanted to work with you first on it. This is not a weapon you share. This is only yours. Never be without it."

She looked down and saw that he had carefully and neatly scratched "Sophia Ann Dixon" onto the end of the handle in tiny lettering. She smiled. Is mama a Dixon now too?

He reddened. "Course she is girl. She's tougher than she looks and will make a damn fine Dixon."

"D.D., everything is happening so fast. It wasn't too long ago really that I was Sophia Peletier. Mama was Carol Peletier. I always hated that we had to carry Ed's name around. But, it's always been my name. How do you know we are ready to be Dixons?"

"Peletier is in the past now girl. Whether it's legal or not you and your mama are my family, and I ain't never felt like I wanted one before - not like this. So yeah, it's fast but it's true. I ain't goin nowhere and I will do everything in me to make sure you two are proud Dixons"

He glanced over across the street and his face lit up. Here comes your mama now. Why don't you go tell her ya knocked me on my ass?"

He smiled as he saw his girl run to his woman. Dixons indeed. One way or another.