Carol measured the instructed amount of baby powder in tea spoons and filled the bottle three-thirds of the way with water. Screwing the lid on, she shook the bottle back and forth for twenty seconds. Ideally, the formula should have been warm, but there was no electricity. Luckily, Judith didn't seem to mind. She drank greedily in the crook of Carol's arm, her sweet lips puckering with every sip. She held her chubby little hands high, brushing her tiny digits against Carol's chin, who smiled at the baby's gentle touch. Beth watched over her shoulder, beaming. They were in the "dining room", and Hershel's pencil was still lying on the table. He'd left to take a nap and took his sketch with him.

Suddenly the door behind them burst open with such ferocity Beth jumped out of her skin. Carol whirled around only to see Daryl stomping across the room towards the stash of water bottles. He grabbed one, ripped off the plastic lid, and guzzled half the bottle.

Carol and Beth were looking on wide-eyed, and when he was finished he kept glancing at Beth and then back at Carol, holding his gaze on her a few seconds longer. He needed to talk to Carol alone. He hoped she'd get the message. Fortunately, she did, and she quickly transferred Judith and the bottle to Beth.

"Why don't you go feed her some more outside, hmm? I'll be right out."

Beth nodded. She took Judith and pushed the door open with her back. A ray of sunlight cut through the dimness, exposing the dust particles fluttering through the air. When the door closed, the two were left in the typical murky half-light.

Carol turned back to Daryl, who was clenching his fists. A fire had ignited in his eyes. His jaw was clenched. She kept her distance as she tried to console him.

"Whatever he said to you doesn't matter. We all love you an' need you an'-"

"'s not that!" he snapped, lunging a step forward. Carol jumped a step back. "'s somethin' else…"

He began pacing, eyeing the door leading to Cell Block C as if he were waiting for someone to splinter it open. In a split second, without even thinking, he pulled his arm back and rammed his fist into the rock-hard wall. Carol gasped, clasping her hand over her mouth as Daryl winced in agony. She rushed over, grabbing his forearm to examine the damage. It didn't look like he'd broken anything, but his knuckles were already turning purple. He ripped his hand away.

"Listen t' me: Merle's watchin'. An' he's listenin'. An' he ain't gonna be happy if he sees me hangin' 'round you. So you gotta make me a promise: you gotta promise me you gonna stay the hell away when he's around."

Carol stared, astounded, at Daryl. Her mouth hung open and her arms were folded. She couldn't bring herself to agree.

"This is ridiculous," she said at last, dropping her arms to her sides, shaking her head. "You can't let him bully you. He's jus' gonna have to accept-"

"You don' get it, do you? If he thinks I'm betrayin' him by replacin' him-"

"Jus' stop, Daryl, you're not makin' any sense. Merle is locked up. He can't get out. He can't hurt us."

"Yeah, he's only locked up 'till he ain't. You don' know what he's capable of, Carol!" he yelled. There was a moment of silence as he caught his breath and tried to calm himself. He ran his fingers through his hair, making it even messier. Then he grabbed Carol by her shoulders and pulled her close. He stared directly into her eyes and spoke in a hushed tone. "I swore to keep you safe, an' tha's jus' what I'm gonna do. I ain't askin' much. I'm jus' askin' please."

He released her and backed away. She was visibly unhappy as she soundlessly nodded in agreement. He smiled weakly, trying to find something to say to lift her spirits. But there was nothing. The situation was dreadful no matter how he looked at it.

Daryl patted Carol's shoulder, but it was so gentle he wondered if she'd even noticed. He wished he were more comfortable around her, but it was hard when he was constantly afraid of hurting her. She was small and fragile and still recollecting the shards of her heart. It seemed every time she put another piece back in place, another one was chipped away.

"I'm gonna go now," he grumbled as he turned to leave. He grabbed the handle of the door and turned back to face her. There was defeat in her eyes. "Better go the other way." He nodded towards the door Beth had used to exit with Judith. He shuddered at the thought of her stomping into the cell block and announcing to Rick out loud that Daryl and Carol were talking alone in the other room.

Daryl planned to run off to some uncharted part of the prison and cut down as many walkers as possible. Not only would it help blow off some steam, but he may be able to find an isolated space where he and Carol could meet up each day and be safe from his brother's probing eyes. But just as he was about to leave, Carol spoke up. Her voice had brightened and he could almost hear her mischievous smile.

"Aren't you gonna kiss me goodbye?"

Daryl paused, both hands pressing lightly on the door. He hesitated before answering over his shoulder.

"Naw. Ain't no good at that."

Then he left, without a single idea of the next time they'd be able to talk openly.

.:|:.

Carol hadn't seen Daryl since the ordeal in the dining room. He wasn't out hunting because his crossbow was still on his perch, leaning against the wall. Therefore, they had no fresh meat to cook and Carol was forced to dig into their emergency stash. But bags of beef jerky and jars of peanut butter weren't exactly adequate ingredients for a meal, so she and Beth were scratching their heads over what to cook for dinner.

"Do we have any oatmeal left?" Carol asked. Beth rummaged around the other sack frantically.

"Not much."

Beth passed Carol the cardboard box. A white-haired man in a black hat smiled at them, but most of the image had been rubbed away and there was a hole in his face. Carol shook the box. There would be enough if she forfeited her own portion.

"Anythin' else?" she asked.

"Umm…" Beth rummaged around some more. "…twinkies?"

Carol couldn't help but laugh as she held out her hand. Beth confusedly handed her the box of twinkies. There were twelve in a pack and ten mouths to feed.

"What's so funny?"

Carol noticed the seal had already been ripped open. She dumped the twinkies out and did a recount. There were eleven cakes and twelve wrappers. The first suspect that came to mind was Carl.

"Nothin'. Jus' never thought I'd see these again, that's all." Carol smiled. Then she grabbed one and ripped the wrapper away. She broke the soft cake in two pieces, handing the larger half to Beth. The girl looked unsure at first, but she took it anyway. The two indulged, giggling with joy at the taste of sugar.

"This'll do for tonight, but tomorrow I'll make a run an' bring back everythin' I can carry. Can't rely on Daryl for everything…"

Then Beth's lips broke into a devious grin. "So you an' Daryl are talkin' again?"

Carol paused, looking over at Merle's cell. He was staring blankly in the other direction. He didn't seem to be listening, though, because he didn't turn his head at the mention of his brother's name. That or he was an expert eavesdropper. Carol didn't want to take a chance.

"We had some things to work out. Everythin's fine." She told the girl as quietly as possible and then gave a shy smirk. Beth returned it, though she seemed unsure.

.:|:.

Daryl turned up in the nick of time for dinner. He was doused in walker blood and a thick layer of dirt was caked onto his clothes and skin. He didn't seem too thrilled to be dining on oatmeal and twinkies, but he ate up anyway. He was starving, after all. Rick had granted Merle permission to join them at meals, and the sulking older brother didn't take his eyes of Daryl the entire time.

"Where've you been?" Rick asked, cradling Judith in one arm and using the other to spoon oatmeal into his mouth.

"Out doin' stuff. Needed a change o' scenery." Daryl replied half-heartedly.

"Why didn't you go huntin'?" was the dreadful but not unexpected follow-up question. Daryl shrugged absently. He could feel Merle's eyes on him but didn't dare look up. He was worried his gaze would naturally shift to Carol.

"I woulda if I'd known how low we was on food. But the prison's big and we ain't barely searched half o' it. Guess I was hopin' for some hidden arsenal."

"Did you find one?" Rick took another bite of oatmeal.

Daryl dropped his spoon into the bowl and slid out of his chair, making for his perch. "Nah."

.:|:.

"Can't sleep?"

Her voice came out of nowhere. Daryl had been deep in a thought, but the suddenness of her inquiry ripped him from distant lands and plunged him back into the icy water of reality. He stared at her, noticing the way the moon bathed her short tufts of hair in velvety silver and highlighted her cheekbones. His immediately glanced over at Merle's cell. Carol noticed.

"Don't worry 'bout him. He's out like a light." She assured.

He relaxed once more, sitting up in his blankets and scooting over to make room for her. She sat down beside him. She wore a white t-shirt and loose gray pants. They were specifically reserved for sleeping. Daryl just slept in whatever clothes were on his back at that moment. He couldn't help but notice Sophia's cloth doll was bunched up in her hands. He knew it had been her security blanket ever since he found it. He remembered when they would set up camp out in the open somewhere during the winter and he'd watch by firelight as her drowsy body rose and fell with her breath and see that raggedy old doll in her arms. He didn't know she still had it.

"Looks like you can't sleep neither." He noted, staring back out the window. She followed his line of sight. He was staring at something beyond the trees.

"Rest doesn't come easy when you're in the cell next to Merle." She muttered.

"Try sharin' a room with 'im." Daryl grumbled. She laughed softly, but her mirth turned to concern.

"I can't stop thinkin' 'bout what you said to me: 'bout Merle bein' dangerous. An' I know you think what you're doin' is for the best, but I don't like this. I think if we put our heads together, we can find some other way to-"

Daryl cut her off abruptly in a harsh whisper. "There ain't no 'other way', Carol!"

Carol's eyes fell and she started twiddling her thumbs. He immediately felt guilty.

"Look…you think I'm happy 'bout this? I'm not. But if we wanna make this work, we're gonna have t' do this."

She looked up and the sadness reflected in her eyes yanked at his heart.

"I'm jus' scared I'm never gonna get t' see you." She murmured in a shaky whisper. Then she rested her head on his shoulder, her breath tickling the crook of his neck. At first, he didn't know what to do. But then he timidly wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

"I'm here now, ain't I?"

He felt her nod and then Carol didn't respond after that. Instead she fell asleep. He knew she needed to get back to her cell before morning light revealed empty sheets, but he couldn't bring himself to wake her. Not yet. And not entirely for her own sake either. The peaceful rhythm of her breathing, the cadence of her heartbeat and the warmth of her body pressed against his provided a kind of satisfaction Daryl didn't know even existed. It wasn't until an hour later that he brought himself to help her down the steps and to her cell. That night he slept better than he had in a long, long time.