Daryl awoke to the sounds of people chatting and getting ready to face the day and that's when he realised he had slept in. Usually he was one of the first people awake, ready to go out on a run or go hunting. But last night, with his arms around Carol and feeling the steady rise and fall of her chest against him, it was the most soundly he had slept in years. He sat up slowly making sure he didn't bother Carol at all, pulled his vest and boots on and opened the curtain to her cell slightly. He scanned the cell block discreetly so that no-one would see him leaving Carol's cell. Once he thought the coast was clear he stepped out as quietly as he could and walked towards the perch where most of his belongings were.
"Hey," Daryl kept walking, pretending not to hear whoever was calling out, even if it wasn't directed at him, "Daryl." He recognised the voice as soon as his name left their lips. Daryl spun around to see Carol's blue-green eyes staring into his, her clothes were rumpled from sleeping in them and the way she leant against the wall and said his name was telling him that he had to listen to what she was about to say. "Thank you, for last night. I was dreaming about Sophia and I-"
"I know. You said her name."
"Right. Well anyway, after I realised you were there I didn't dream again. I just want to thank you for that." And with that she spun on her heel and strode out of the room, confidence seeping from her every pore and happiness vibrant in the way she took her steps. Daryl let out a breath he didn't realise he'd been holding and let his back slide down the wall. He buried his face in his hands, blocking out the activity going on around him, soon enough the sounds of shuffling feet and cheerful conversations became muffled noise in the background. He didn't know how long he had been sitting like that, long enough for someone to notice and wonder because he felt someone sit down next to him.
"Hey, you okay?" Rick asked, sounding concerned, "You've been here for a couple of hours now… the others thought you were sleeping but I knew otherwise. I know- I saw you this morning." Daryl sucked in a sharp breath at Rick's words and looked his friend in the eye.
"Rick, I…"
"We can talk about it later. Want to come on a run? We're almost out of formula and it wouldn't hurt to pick up a few extra things." Daryl nodded in agreement. "Alright then. We leave in ten." Rick stood up and gave Daryl his hand, offering to help him up. He took it without hesitation and got to his feet.

Daryl found Rick packing supplies into the light green Hyundai and talking to Glenn about something. He was sure that Rick was just making sure Glenn knew what to do while they were gone but as soon as Daryl walked over they stopped instantly. Daryl pushed it aside, they had probably finished talking and it was just a coincidence. "Hey, Rick, you ready to go?"
Rick turned to look at him and flashed a smile, "Of course I am, I've been waiting for you!" Daryl turned away so no one could see him smile. It was a great, being here at the prison. Everyone finally felt safe and at ease so they all slowly found happiness again. Rick was smiling more and even Carl had managed to come back from the dark. Glenn and Maggie had found each other in all the chaos, Judith was growing up healthy and they were bringing in more survivors. Maybe life wasn't that bad. Maybe this was where they all belonged. It was safe here, they didn't need to live in fear anymore, but Daryl still didn't fully believe it. Look what happened at the farm. Something could happen at any moment so he was always on high alert. Daryl climbed into the passenger's seat next to Rick and they drove out.

They sat in silence for about an hour before Rick finally decided to say something, "So, are you going to explain what happened earlier?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Don't play dumb with me. I saw you walk out of Carol's cell this morning and I saw you slumped against the wall. So I'm going to ask again, what happened?" There wasn't a hint of anger or frustration in his voice, it was pure curiosity. Daryl looked over at Rick and although his eyes were focused on the road the way his eyebrows were arched told Daryl that he was waiting for an answer. Daryl sighed and puffed out his cheeks.
"Nothin' happened. I woke up earlier than usual so I was checkin' on everyone. Making sure they were okay."
Rick scoffed, "Daryl Dixon, do you honestly expect me to believe that? I know that you've had a thing for Carol for a while now and it can't be just a coincidence that you were only seen walking out of her cell. It wasn't that early, other people had already been up for a while." Daryl processed what Rick had just said. Had he really had feelings for her for that long? Were they that noticeable? Did Carol feel the same way for him? Rick must have noticed him thinking about those things because he reassured him that as far as he knew he was the only one who suspected anything.

They drove in silence for another good hour or so, passing fields and trees and the occasional walker or two. Daryl didn't know where they were going and he suspected that Rick didn't either, they were just looking. They finally came across a small town that only had a few shops; a chemist, general store, clothing stores and a camping supplier. It wasn't a lot but it was enough. There were also several houses on side streets that they could scavenge supplies from. Rick motioned that he wanted Daryl to go to the general store while he went to the chemist that was next to it. They walked towards each door and disappeared inside. Daryl lifted his loaded crossbow to his eyes just in case he came across any walkers and started scanning the shelves for anything worth grabbing. Most of the good things had already been taken but he did come across a few tins of baby formula which is exactly what they needed. He continued to walk up and down the aisles and grabbed whatever he thought could be useful; shampoo, painkillers, tampons, and a permanent marker. He hurried back to the baby section and picked up a plain white bib, "Perfect." He said to no one in particular. He leant against the counter and started writing on it with the marker. When he lifted it back up 'Lil' Ass Kicker' was written across it in sloppy writing. At that moment he heard footsteps behind him. He shoved the bib into his pocket and raised the crossbow fluently and followed the sound. It only sounded like one set of feet so he would have no problem handling it.

The footsteps got closer and closer, the walker was in the next aisle. Daryl leaned against the side of the shelves, shielding himself from the walker so he could strike when he was ready. He let out a few short breaths then turned the corner as quickly as he could with his weapon raised, just before he fired the arrow he saw that Rick had his knife out. The two lowered their weapons and exchanged looks of amusement.
"Jesus, Rick, I almost shot you!"
"And I was ready to stab you."
"What happened to whistling to each other?"
Rick just shrugged his shoulders, "Bit of fun I guess."
Daryl pulled the bib out of his pocket and held it out to Rick so he could look at it. "Lil' Ass Kicker? Still?" Rick was smiling from ear-to-ear which caused Daryl to give a small smile.
"It suits her don't you think? And now she can have personalised accessories."
"Daryl, I need you to tell me, how do you feel about Carol?"
Daryl felt blood rush to his cheeks instantly and found himself struggling for words. It's not that he was ashamed about his feelings for Carol or anything like that, he just didn't really know. He didn't know what she felt for him or what last night meant. She had been delusional, nightmares were haunting her so she didn't really know what was going on, but what if…
"I don't know, man. I don't know."
"You're too much sometimes, you know that right? Now let's go, we'll look through the houses another day." Rick patted Daryl on the back as we walked past him and out the door.