They sat on the couch watching a TV show together after sophia had settled in for the night. Daryl's eyes were focused on the tv, but he was not really paying attention to what was going on. As he had done all day long, he kept running different scenarios over in his head on how they could set Merle up and all of them to led back to needing Carol's help. Carol was the one that Merle wanted and as much as Daryl hated to do it. He knew it would be hard, but they might have to take her up on her offer to help bring Merle out of hiding.
When the show ended, Carol sat up and turned to face him. "Okay you didn't pay attention to that TV show. Penny for your thoughts," she said.
"I was trying to come up with a plan for Merle and as much as I hate to admit it I am starting to agree with you. You might be just the bait to lead him to us." Carol was surprised to say the least. Daryl's change of heart made her realize how desperate they were to end this situation. "I will call Rick in the morning and see what we can get started. The quicker we get this taken care of the quicker you and I can concentrate on where we might be truly going."
He caressed her cheek softly as she said, " I know how hard this decision was for you and I promise I will do my best. I also want to be able to focus on you, Sophia and I and not have Merle hanging over our heads."
The next morning Carol woke up and discovered Daryl downstairs in the kitchen already on the phone with Rick. "Okay, so we'll do that," said Daryl as he took a sip of coffee. "See if you can find a rental house in town that she could be pretend to be renting out. Make sure it has plenty of closets for us to be able to hide in when she meets him there. Agent Romanov is already on her way up here to stay with Sophia while this whole thing goes down. I will talk with Carol and explain Romanov and how she works. That should put her mind at ease as far as leaving Sophia with her. Make sure you call me as soon as you guys find a location and check it out. Remember only let the core group know. We still don't know which agent leaked Carol's information to Merle to begin with. I mean it Rick; you, Shane, Sasha, Glen. Ok, thanks."
He set his phone on the counter as Carol walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around him. She placed her cheek against his back and didn't say anything for a moment as she enjoyed the quiet and the warmth against her.
After a minute she said, "I heard you on the phone with Rick and it sounds like plans are under way."
"We're working on it. I'm hoping to hear back from them by later this afternoon. We have someone coming up the mountain that I need to talk with you about because she will be the agent that stays with Sophia while the rest of us are at the fake house with you and Merle."
Carol looked out the windows of the Four Seasons porch and saw the sun was already brightly shining in the sky. "Why don't we bundle up and take our coffee outside to talk. It looks like it is going to be a lovely day."
"Sounds good," said Daryl as he turned himself to face her for a good morning hug. Looking down into her blue eyes he found himself saying, "I can't believe that I agreed to this. I'm terrified that I'm not making the right choice."
"I know it's scary, but I promise you everything will be ok."
After bundling up and grabbing travel mugs for their coffee, they made their way outside. They sat down on the glider swing and looked out onto the lake. Daryl waited for a moment before he began to talk.
Carol could see his hesitation as he said, "The agent that will be coming to stay with Sophia is Scarlett Romanov. She and I had a pretty serious relationship a few years back and I just wanted to give you a heads up before she came up here. I do not have feelings for her anymore, but I cannot say the same thing for her. I wouldn't have her come up here if I didn't think she was the best choice for taking care of Sophia while we are gone. She can be a little overwhelming at times and I didn't want to give her the opportunity to make you feel uncomfortable before I had the chance to talk to you. I promise you Sofia is in good hands, but don't let Scarlett get the best of you. I'm interested in only you and I seriously want to see where this relationship can take us."
Carol sat quietly absorbing what he had said. "You should know by now that I completely trust your judgement," said Carol as she grasped his hand. "If you think she can take care of Sophia then I won't have any trouble with her." She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss before she continued, "I better get back inside before Sophia wakes up."
"You know how much she loves this swing," he added. "If she's awake, why don't you bundle her up and bring her out here with us. She would think that was pretty cool to be sitting on the swing in her pajamas."
Carol chuckled, "I didn't think of that, great idea!"
A few minutes later she returned with Sophia in tow. "Look Arro, I drinkin hot chokit!"
"Hot chocolate is yummy, Sophia. Come sit over here so you can be snuggled with mom and me."
Sophia tried to pull herself up on the swing but her legs weren't quite long enough, so Daryl reached over and snuggled her up next to him. Carol sat down on the other side of her and the three of them stared out at the lake as they began rocking back and forth. Sitting in the calm, they really had no idea how much their world would turn upside down the following day.
As Merle zipped his duffle bag closed he yelled, "Are you two losers ready yet? We need to get to the airport and catch the plane in the next hour. Now that we have narrowed down what state that bitch is in, we should be able to find her exact location within the next 12 hours. I'm thinking after we put her six feet under we could sell her daughter to the black market and get a pretty decent price for her."
Stepping out into the hallway and made his way toward the kitchen. Philip and Gareth were standing there with their bags ready checking their tickets. "Yeah Merle, we're ready to go," said Philip as placed his bag over his shoulder.
Garrett scrolled through his phone until he found the exact number he was looking for. "Do you want me to call them and see if anyone out there is looking to purchase a 3 year old American girl?" Merle laughed and said, "Absolutely. Let's see how high we can get the bid before we make the sale. I'll make sure to let her mama know what our plans are for her daughter before I put a bullet in her head."