I've had a super busy weekend so I'm sorry I haven't posted! Hope all of you have enjoyed yourselves and thanks for reading! =)

Chapter Fourteen

Carol had never seen her daughter act like this before. Both of her kids were happy go lucky. They didn't throw fits or get in those moods that a lot of kids their age did. But when Lily had woken up and discovered that Daryl had left she cried again and then she just moped around. Even Jake couldn't get a smile out of her.

It worried her.

It was nearly ten in the morning and the girl hadn't done much of anything but sit on the couch and ask what time it was. It was clear that not having a father around had effected the kids more than she had thought. Jake was better at keeping his emotions in check, just like Daryl. But Lily was all girl and apparently wasn't willing to let go of her new found misery.

"Lily, get your brother! I need your help," she called into the living room, making a snap decision. She couldn't stand to see the girl like this all day.

They came in a few minutes later and eyed the stuff on the table. "What's all this for?" Jake asked, climbing onto one of the chairs.

Carol smiled and left the room, going to the garage and wheeling in a large cooler. "Lunch," she said simply.

The kids shared a look and then their eyes went back to her. "This might be too much," Lily said. "I'm still not very hungry."

Carol shrugged. "Your dad works with eight other guys, plus the boss. We need nine of the biggest sandwiches we can make." She pushed two packages of hoagie buns towards them. "Wash your hands and get to work. We're gonna load up the cooler and we're having lunch with your dad today."

They shared another look and then the three of them eagerly got to work. It wasn't that she wanted to coddle her children, even though she wasn't beyond that. But she thought it would be good for all of them to do something nice for all those other poor men that worked as hard as Daryl did out in the sun. Not to mention she had a bad habit of buying too much food anyway.

After wrapping up the last of the sandwiches in wax paper and then bagging it, adding bags of chips and leftover cookies that her and the kids had made a few days earlier, the cooler was full and she barely managed to manhandle it into the back of her SUV.

~H~

Daryl kept catching the other men staring at him and it was starting to grate on his damn nerves. None of them said much but they were all acting a lot different today. Merle, of course, wasn't there but no one asked about it because apparently he actually had told Russel that he was going to rehab. At least he pretty much had an excuse for not being there, even if it was a lie. Maybe he wouldn't get fired. Russel was a pretty good guy for the most part.

Daryl was feeling off today and it took him a few hours to realize the reason. He was in a bad mood. Not that he was always in a good mood at work, but ever since the day he started, this had been his escape. He wanted to be at work. He loathed his days off, with all of that time to think. And now, all he wanted to do was go the hell home.

Home.

It was weird that he could think of that house as home. It was nicer than anywhere he had ever expected to live. He should have felt out of his element but he didn't. It was where his family was and so that was just home to him now. That made sense because they had called the damn van home for a while.

One day. Just one day and everything about his whole existence was completely changed. His outlook was different. His priorities were different. The way he perceived his surroundings was different.

"Bout lunch time," Shane said as he walked past him.

"Bout fuckin' time," Daryl grumbled.

"Gonna be starting that project out in Atlanta on Monday. You ready for the change of scenery?" Shane asked. This mother fucker was always about small talk.

Daryl shrugged. He hadn't had a chance to really talk to Russel about quitting yet. He was dreading it. The guy had been a great boss and had given him a lot of opportunities to move up. Now he was one of the main masons on the whole crew. Russel had trained him personally but he was looking forward to see where this new life of his was headed. He had a lot of plans now, a lot to prove to his kids and to himself. He had a lot of lost time to make up for when it came to Carol and he was wanting to start on all of it now.

"Man, you won't be shruggin' when you get there. Me and your brother were knocked stupid by the woman that came to the door."

Daryl stiffened, his jaw clenching.

"Legs went on for miles, man. Some kinda french accent or somethin'. She was a knockout and a half."

He relaxed. Shane was going on about Avery. He didn't give a damn what the man said about that crazy woman.

"And the one that actually owns the place, ass on that one that would make your mouth water. Big blue eyes and a mouth on her that makes a man think of all sorts of dirty things. And real sweet too. Had a couple of rugrats but you sure as fuck couldn't tell it by looking at that body of hers."

Well, it was official. Before he left work today, he was gonna beat Shane Walsh's brains out. "How bout you shut your fuckin' mouth and get some work done," he grumbled.

Shane just laughed, shaking his head. "I think you need to loosen up. I tell you what, if I strike out with her, I'll send her your way. Don't hold your breath though. I don't strike out often."

Daryl just shook his head, deciding that it was better to ignore him than rip his tongue out of his face and shove it up his ass.

"Time to eat, fellas!" Russel called after a few tense moments. "If you brought your lunches you might as well put'em up. We got company today," the old man added.

Shane looked down at his watch. "Thirty minutes early. He must be feeling pretty damn nice today. That old bastard never gives us lunch early. And he sure as shit never brings us anything."

Daryl shrugged and turned at the same time Shane did. That was when he spotted Carol's SUV pulling into the lot. His stomach did a flip and he cursed himself for being a fucking sap. What the hell was she doing here anyway? Not that he wasn't happy to see her. The day had just became a lot more bearable.

Russel walked up to them then, smiling widely. "The girl that we're gonna be working for next week called me a few hours ago and offered to bring you slackers some lunch. I've met with her once before. Watch yourselves. She's a real sweet girl and the first one of you to make her feel uncomfortable is gonna end up dealing with me," he said sternly.

"Holy shit," Shane muttered. "I bet it worked. I threw on the charm the other day, man. I bet she came here to get to know me a little better."

Daryl rolled his eyes and watched as Carol hopped down from the driver's seat. She looked at him and grinned but from this distance Shane must have thought she was looking at him because he grinned and waved.

"You ain't got a snowball's chance in hell, Walsh. Give it up," Daryl said once she started walking towards them.

Shane snorted. "And you do? Give me a fuckin' break man. She's too much for you."

Daryl nodded, laughing lightly. "You're probably right." He stepped away from the other man and met her halfway.

"I'm not trying to smother you but Lily was having a horrible time today and I couldn't stand it."

He glanced past her, towards the SUV. "I told you it was awful," he muttered with a frown.

Carol smiled, "But this is okay, right?"

He nodded, meeting her eyes. "Yeah, this is alright. It's been a shitty day."

Her nervous smile turned into a wide grin and then her arms went around his neck. He felt the eyes of every man there on him and then his face flushed. "You're gonna get dirty," he grumbled, one arm going around her waist because he couldn't just stand there like a dumb ass with a woman hanging off him.

"We haven't even scratched the surface of dirty yet, Dixon," she said coyly and then kissed him right out there in front of God and everybody. But he kissed her back anyway, even though they were all watching.

He couldn't help it. He laughed. Besides, just because he wasn't comfortable with any public displays of affection didn't mean that he didn't get a little satisfaction out of knowing Shane was probably picking his jaw up off the ground right now. She finally let him go, grabbing his hand and dragging him to the back of the SUV.

"We made lunch. I figured that it was a good excuse to come see you anyway. And I feel good being able to feed all your hard working friends," she winked, knowing damn good and well that none of these assholes were his friends. She was about the only damn friend he'd ever had. Real one anyway.

"Dixon!"

He turned and saw Russel strolling towards them, questions written all over his face. He took a few steps and the back door opened up, Lily standing there grinning proudly.

"Daddy, I made you lunch," she nearly yelled in her excitement and Daryl noticed everyone turning to stare. Russel stopped in his tracks, his eyes going wide.

He ignored the others and turned to the girl. Now Jake was peering at him from over Lily's shoulder. "She didn't make all of'em."

She scowled. "I made his."

"How do you know he won't grab one of the ones mom made?" He countered.

"Stop being a jerk."

Daryl sighed and then grabbed the girl, pulling her out of the truck and then offered his hand to Jake, who took it without hesitation before he hopped down. With one kid on his hip and the other clinging to his hand he finally turned and faced the confused men that were making their way towards the truck.

"What?" He asked.

Russel scratched at his bushy beard. "Well, I was comin' over to see if Carol here needed some help and to ask her what the hell she thought she was doin' gropin' my mason. But looks like you have it handled."

"Hi, Russel," Carol said, stepping out from behind the truck.

Russel nodded. "Miss Reynolds. I didn't know that you knew anybody on this crew other than Merle and Shane."

Carol shrugged. "I didn't know I knew anyone from this crew either. But apparently, I do."

Russel eyed Jake and then Daryl and then studied Lily. "I might not be the smartest man in the world but... ain't this kinda scientifically impossible? I mean, if you only known each other a few days?"

Daryl snorted and then sat Lily down. "Long story."

"I can extend lunch a bit to hear this one, boy. I'm all ears," Russel said, the perplexed look on his face almost comical.

Now Shane had joined Russel along with a few of the others. Daryl groaned.

"It actually isn't that long of a story. We met five years ago when he picked me up when I was hitchhiking. We drove across the country. Two teenagers out exploring true freedom for the first time, you can probably imagine what we spent most of our free time doing. We parted ways after a month and then I found out that these to were on the way. He found me yesterday after Merle realized that the kids had to be Daryl's. And now, here we are."

The men gaped, Daryl groaned again and Carol grinned. This was going to be an interesting lunch.