Daryl realised his shirt was undone as they walked back to the canteen, but he didn't realise he had left his leather vest in the boiler room until he had been sitting in the canteen for some time.

'Damn,' he breathed aloud, causing Carol to look at him.

'Where're you going?' she asked him as he stood up, shouldering his crossbow.

'Forgot somethin',' he muttered.

'I want to get another sweater from my room,' Carol said, standing up, 'I'll come with you.'

Daryl looked at her for a moment, assessing, then nodded. He glanced to Beth, who was sitting with her sister, before leaving the room. His stomach did a strange flip as he looked at her.

'So where we going?' Carol asked, falling into step beside Daryl as they headed down the dim corridor.

'Boiler room,' he said.

Carol nodded, rubbing her hands along her cold arms.

They walked the rest of the way in relative silence, exchanging a few sentences on the current state of the prison and the hurricane.

They reached the boiler room and Daryl ducked in, heading over to where he had left his vest. He picked it up, pausing for a moment to run the cold fabric between his finger and thumb, his mind wandering back to the shared intimacy of himself and Beth in the same spot.

'You came here with Beth?' Carol asked. She was standing in the doorway, holding the door open.

'Mm,' Daryl nodded.

He turned around and walked past her through the door, leaving her to let the door close behind him. Daryl shrugged his jacket back on as they headed towards the cell block, appreciating the heavy feel of the leather against his body.

Carol entered her room ahead of Daryl, rummaging in her bedside cabinet for a thicker sweater. Daryl stood just inside the room, crossbow in one hand, looking idly around the small, dark room.

'So,' Carol said, fluffing her hair back up with her hands after having pulled the sweater on over her head, 'tell me about you and Beth.'

Daryl looked at her, frowning. He hadn't expected her to mention Beth, but even the sound of her name seemed to send a shiver down his spine. Carol raised an eyebrow.

'Or you going to tell me there's nothing to tell?'

Daryl bit the inside of his cheek, the phrase 'there isn't' on the tip of his tongue. However, it died in his mouth, escaping instead as a sigh. He ran a hand down his face then sat himself down on Carol's bed, his face in his hands.

'I dunna wha' t'tell ya,' he grumbled.

'You've been spending a lot of time with her,' Carol said. She was standing in front of him, her arms folded across her chest.

'Mm.'

There was silence between them as Daryl kept his head in his hands, struggling with his inner anguish.

'Daryl, I'm your friend,' Carol said softly, clearly sensing her friend's turmoil. 'What have you done?'

Daryl looked up over his hands to her. She was watching him with a guarded, cautious expression, her arms folded across her chest.

'I ain't done nothing,' he said defensively, then he sighed and shook his head slightly. 'I kissed her.'

'Hm,' Carol nodded lightly, 'you're a good man, Daryl, with a good heart,' she said, 'but this doesn't seem like a good idea.'

'Never thought it was,' Daryl grunted, 'not f'one minute.'

'Beth's a lovely, kind girl, but she's so much younger than you,' Carol said softly, 'this is a dangerous line you're treading.'

'I know,' Daryl said.

'Can't you get off?' Carol asked.

Daryl looked at her, his eyes searching the concern on her face. He stayed quiet for a while, watching his friend, the first person who had been kind and open with him in all of this, when others mistrusted him.

'No,' he said honestly.

'You like her,' Carol said. It wasn't posed as a question.

Slowly, Daryl nodded.

'And she likes you?'

'I don't – I guess,' he sighed, running a hand down the length of his face.

'You're playing with fire,' Carol said, shaking her head. Daryl couldn't help but smile at that; he had thought the very same thing himself.

'I can't see Hershel being accepting of this, whatever this is,' she waved her hand at Daryl who looked at her, tilting his head slightly, 'his baby girl sleeping with a grown man twice her age.'

'I ain't sleepin' wi' her,' Daryl snapped.

'Yet,' Carol said under her breath.

'What do y'take me for?' Daryl growled, his temper rising, 'it's not like that. Ain't about that.'

'I'm sorry,' Carol said, rubbing her own face, 'it's just strange.'

'Yer telling me,' Daryl said, 'I never thought I'd be here, I mean wha's a girl like tha' see in a guy like me?' he waved his hands down at himself, shaking his head, 'I ain't got no business with a girl like her. I can't be sittin' here, my head all messed up, feelin' things f'someone I got no right feelin' nothin' for.'

Carol smiled at him then, walking towards him. She placed her hand on the side of his face.

'You're a good, kind, sweet and loyal man Daryl Dixon,' she said, 'what's not to like about you? Does she make you happy? Minus the stress and the worry. Does Beth Greene make you happy?'

Daryl looked up at her.

'Yeah,' he said.

'Then forget what everyone else thinks. You asked me before whether I thought he rules still applied in this world, was this what you meant?'

Daryl nodded.

'I can't answer you with confidence, but I don't think things are the same really, no. So she's younger, you care for her and you don't hurt her, I don't see the problem. And if it's not just sex-'

Daryl squirmed, feeling the heat flood to his face. He shook his head.

'People will come round if you want them to. But either way it's not their lives, its you and its Beth, if you care for each other, then hell, who cares? We need every ounce of happiness we can get these days.'

Daryl sighed, nodding.

'Rick said th' same thin'.' He said.

Carol tilted her head, musing over this. She smiled.

'Did he now?' she said, 'he's a wise man, sheriff Rick.'

Daryl chuckled, dropping his gaze to the floor and shaking his head. He was grateful to Carol's friendship; maybe she didn't entirely agree with his actions or feelings, but she cared about him and his happiness, and if she could see and understand things from his perspective, then maybe it wasn't so bad.

You gotta stop beating y'self up he thought to himself. There was no point being with Beth, holding her and kissing her, only to spend the next few days hating himself for it. It wasn't a purely physical thing, there was more there for both of them, at least he thought so. He cared about her. She was kind and sweet and she made him feel less despondent about life, made him feel lighter and more optimistic when she was around.

Something that felt that good couldn't be so bad, could it? He respected Carol and Rick more than anyone else in that prison, and if they thought so, well then maybe he could start thinking so too.

. . .

Daryl left the cell block with Carol, his mind in a slightly different place from before. The multitude of feelings that Beth elicited within him had been a growing source of discomfort for him, but Carol had somehow helped to quash the gnawing panic that had been slowly rising in his chest. He got the feeling she wasn't particularly impressed, but she had made him feel calmer about the situation.

They couldn't keep skulking around in boiler rooms though, he thought as they made their way back to the canteen, indulging in risky heavy petting like kids fresh out of high school -

which is exactly what she is his brain hissed bitterly.

Suppressing that thought Daryl followed Carol into the room, his eyes scanning the busy room for Beth.

She was sitting on the floor with the younger members of the group, baby Judith in her lap while Carl played with Judith's little hands. Daryl wandered over, dropping to his hunches beside Beth, who turned to look at him.

'Come out with me,' he said quietly, gently reaching out to Judith, who instantly grabbed a hold of his finger in her tiny fist.

'When th' weather calms down an' everythin' is sorted,' he said, 'le's get outta th' prison for a bit.'

Beth looked at him, her blue eyes searching his face, her head tilted to one side.

'Okay,' she said.

Daryl gave her his half smile, gently pulling back from Judith. He nodded at her, enjoying the way she bit her bottom lip as she watched him push himself back on to his feet.

She wasn't sure what he wanted or why he suddenly wanted to get out of the prison, but Beth was more than curious to find out. He had approached her and asked her, which was a little different for him. It interested her, she mused, as she watched him walk away, heading back over to Carol who she noticed was watching him. She was happy to get out of the prison with him, spend some time with just him, even if the thought of it scared her a little. But she couldn't stop the smile that spread over her lips as he turned back to the baby on her lap, secretly pleased and flattered that he wanted to spend time with her.