"What looks good, lil' bro?" Merle hoisted his young companion up of the ground and placed the kid on his shoulders.

Atop his older brother's shoulders, Daryl felt like he was at the highest place in the world. He could see everything from there. Daryl's eyes swept over the fairground.

"Pettin' zoo!" Daryl declared, yanking on Merle's hair (which had been quite curly at the time). Merle headed over toward the petting zoo, all the while balancing a four-year-old Daryl on his shoulders. Once they reached their destination Daryl scrambled down to the ground to see the animals.

"Safe t' pet?" Daryl asked, reaching out his hand to one of the animals.

"Yeah, 's a petting zoo, ain't it? – Go on, give 'im a pat." Merle shrugged. Daryl's eyes lit up like it was Christmas and he petted each of the animals in turn.

"Daryl? You listening?" Lily's voice rang in, effectively jerking Daryl out of his thoughts and snapping him into the present. Shit, he hadn't been listening for the past two minutes. His blank expression must have been answer enough for Lily. "I said, did you ever go to the fair?" She placed her elbows on the dining table and rested her chin in the palm of her hand.

"Yeah, when I was real little. Don't 'member it too good, 'cept for the petting zoo." Daryl answered. He and Lily sat in silence for a few seconds before she started up about how excited she was for the fair and how she'd never been to one before. Damn it, that stupid fair thing is happening today. Daryl winced. He glanced at the clock that hung on the kitchen wall, by the looks of things they had about fifteen minutes before they were due to see Carol and Sophia. Daryl, to say the least, was less than excited to attend the fair. He never really got the appeal; flashing lights, obnoxiously loud games, screaming children and game-runners trying to con you out of your money. Sure, the fair was plenty fun if you wanted to go blind, deaf and broke. He heaved a sigh and began stacking the dirty dishes from breakfast in the sink. He'd do them later.

Lily jumped out of her chair. "We should go wait out the front for Sophia and her Mom." Feeling overly excited, Lily jumped up and down on the spot. Daryl reluctantly agreed to waiting out the front.

-Line Break-

Sophia could barely contain her excitement, she thought she was actually going to explode. She jumped up and down by the window.

"Mom! Mom! Lily's ready! Lily's ready!" Extending her index finger, Sophia pointed at the house across the street. Carol couldn't help but chuckle at Sophia's excitement, she came to stand behind her daughter at the window. Surely enough, there they were. Lily was animatedly talking to Daryl while he nodded his head and glanced toward Carol and Sophia's house. Carol felt Sophia tugging on her arm.

"Okay, okay c'mon. Grab a jacket though, it'll get cold later." Carol instructed her daughter and the two slipped out the door.

The cool morning air was refreshing and made Carol feel wide awake, the trees on the front lawn swayed gently with the breeze and the only sound was the humming of cicadas, Sophia waved Lily over and soon the two families all stood united on Carol and Sophia's front lawn. The two girls waited expectantly next to their respective guardian. There was a quick exchange of 'good mornings' between the group before they got into things.

"Okay, your car or mine?" Carol asked. Daryl took a moment to debate before realizing they wouldn't all fit in his truck, unless two people wanted to ride in the truck bed, which he highly doubted.

"Won't all fit in mine." He piped up, glancing over at the truck parked in his driveway. Carol followed his gaze, she squinted against the bright rays of morning light and her eyes finally landed on Daryl's truck. She nodded, there was no way they'd all fit in that tiny truck. Carol ushered everyone toward the car, she slipped into the driver's seat and Daryl the passenger's side seat. The girls sat in the back and chattered away excitedly about what they wanted to do and what they didn't want to do, and what they'd never tried. Carol reversed out of the driveway and drove toward the fairground.

Daryl was almost completely distracted by how clean Carol's car was. It was the most spotless, cleanly car he'd ever been in and he felt slightly out of place in it, soon enough though the car rolled to a slow stop and the two girls jumped out first, followed by the adults. There, just through the gates, was the fair. Just as Daryl had predicted it; flashing lights, obnoxiously loud games, screaming children and game-runners trying to con him out of his money. None the less, he pressed onward.

Sophia and Lily seemed pretty pleased with the fair. Their eyes were nearly popping out of their heads as they scanned over the fairgrounds, they grabbed each other by the hand and promptly began running from one booth to another, investigating each of the games. It was decided that the teacups was first on their checklist of things to check out and Daryl was pretty pleased with that. It gave him five minutes without having to listen to either of the girls squawking at each other and it was only a buck fifty for the whole five minutes. As soon as the girls were out of earshot Carol heaved a sigh.

"I have no clue where they get all that energy from," she chuckled, smiling brightly at Daryl, who was nodding slowly in agreement. Carol returned her gaze to the girls, who were now sitting in their own little teacup together. "They seem to be enjoying themselves, though." Carol observed.

"Don't get what's so fun 'bout it myself, I mean, spinnin' 'round in one of them lil' tea-cups." Daryl crossed his arms and shifted his weight to one side, he could see Lily waving at him and smiling. When he looked back at Carol she looked positively gobsmacked.

"You've never been on teacups?" She asked, her head flicking back and forth between Daryl and the teacups ride. He answered with a simple, 'nope' and went back to watching the slow-moving ride. "Well, we're going to have to fix that." The corners of Carol's mouth tugged up into a mischievous smile. Daryl raised his eyebrows, what was she implying? The two fell into a comfortable silence with Carol glancing at Daryl every now and then, or him glancing at her, or both of them waving to the girls. The five minutes ended and the girls jumped off the ride.

"Again! Again!" They cheered in unison, looking to their respective guardians with wide and hopeful eyes. Daryl and Carol agreed to let them go on the teacups one more time. This time, however, Daryl would be going with them.

Daryl wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh hysterically or curl up in the foetal position and cry. Slowly spinning around in a giant, rainbow coloured teacup was simply not enjoyable. The fact that Lily and Sophia wouldn't shut up was also irritating and hilarious all at once. From their teacup they waved at Carol and as soon as the excruciating five minute spin was over, Daryl jumped (a little too eagerly) from their teacup and ran to Carol, the girls in tow. Lily and Sophia led the adults over to another ride they wanted to try and the adults were once again glad to have the children out of their hair for a few moments. Carol waved to Sophia as she and Lily were strapped into the ride.

"You have to admit, you looked pretty badass in that teacup." Carol jested, struggling to stifle her laughter. Daryl was quite shocked, he didn't expect a word like 'badass' to come out of Carol's mouth, then again, he also didn't expect her to have him forcibly ride the teacups.

"I guess it wasn't my cup a' tea." Daryl immediately wished he hadn't said that. Bad jokes, really? What was he doing? He was relieved and surprised when Carol laughed.

"Were you making a joke, Daryl?" Carol giggled, turning her body fully to face him, he nodded and she laughed again. Daryl willed himself to think of another joke, if only so he could make Carol laugh again, but he couldn't think of one so he just stood there like an idiot, watching the girls scream and giggle as the ride flung them about this way and that. The ride ended and the two girls – who looked quite shaken – managed to stumble their way over to the adults. All four agreed perhaps it was best if no more rides were ridden for a while and opted instead to check out the games area.

"That one with the darts looks cool!" Lily exclaimed, she'd never seen so many games or so many toys in one place.

"We should play." Sophia enthused, a bright smile appearing on her face. Carol and Daryl nodded and let the youngsters lead them over to the darts booth. They paid the guy at the booth, three dollars for five darts, and the girls set off to win a prize. Lily had never played a dart booth before, so she was pretty lousy at it, Sophia was also rather terrible but they looked like they were having fun.

"Oh gosh, that one actually hit the target!" Lily giggled when one of her darts hit the board.

"You've gone pro!" Sophia replied, tossing another dart at the board.

"Yeah, you can be my partner, though. Synchronized dart throwing is all the rage, nowadays." Lily nodded, her face completely serious. Daryl was finding it quite difficult to follow their banter, it just didn't make much sense to him at all and so he watched them in silence. He was actually starting to tune out.

"Daryl, you have a go!" So much for tuning out. His eyes snapped down to Lily. He mumbled a quick 'huh?' and Lily repeated herself. "Have a go, it'll be fun! You'd be real good at it, I bet!" Lily tugged on the hem of his shirt.

"Mom, you should have a go too!" Sophia suggested. Carol looked at Daryl and shrugged. Why not?

Five minutes later, Daryl was crowned King of the Darts. Five for five, he'd landed every dart almost straight on the bullseye. The girls were pretty impressed with the display and clapped and cheered, he felt odd having so much praise for something so insignificant. He was also loaded with prizes, which he felt embarrassed about. He was quick to pawn off the stuffed animals to the girls. He handed Lily a little rag-doll, Sophia was given a little toy panda bear and Carol was awarded a stuffed frog.

"You don't want them?" Carol asked as the small group navigated their way through the labyrinth of games. Daryl shook his head.

"Ain't got much use for 'em." He shrugged, watching Lily and Sophia chatter excitedly to each other. He and Carol followed along behind the two girls, letting them take the lead.

Dusk was setting in and the fairgrounds had quieted down, most the families had left several hours ago but of course Lily and Sophia had to stay and enjoy it right to the very last possible second. Presently, Lily and Sophia were snoring away, being carried across the parking lot toward the car. Lily had her legs and arms wrapped around Daryl, she was clinging to him like a koala bear. Sophia was clinging to Carol in much the same way. Gently, the two adults deposited the girls into the back seat before buckling them in. They shut the car door and stood in the parking lot, enjoying the fresh air and soft lighting.

"Are you in any hurry to get home?" Carol asked, wrapping her arms around herself. Daryl shook his head no.

"You got somethin' you gotta do?" He wondered, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Not really, it's just that the sunset looks really nice from here," Carol turned so she was facing the setting sun, Daryl followed her gaze and he had to admit that it did look pretty good from where they were. "It's kinda stupid, I know. We can go if you want." She finished, kicking at the ground a bit. Daryl honestly didn't mind staying, he told Carol so and she looked delighted to hear it. The two stood next to each other, not looking at each other, just watching the sun disappear behind the treetops. Carol cast a quick glance back to the girls.

"I'm glad Sophia's got a friend like Lily." She said with a nod.

"Yeah, 'm glad Lily's got Sophia. Maybe some a' yer girl's good manners will rub off on Lily." Daryl mused, his eyes still fixed on the sinking sun.

"Lily's a nice girl, she's very sweet. You raised her well." Carol thought aloud. Daryl felt a pang in his chest.

"Ain't raised 'er, 'm just mindin' her for the summer." Daryl insisted, feeling a need to correct Carol. Daryl didn't think he was particularly good with children anyway and he was sure if he had raised Lily her entire life, she'd probably be a little more messed up. Carol nodded.

"So, where's Lily's parents?" Carol asked, her face squishing up as she thought. Daryl really didn't want to tell people about Merle's whereabouts, he especially didn't want to tell Carol. She was the closest thing he'd really ever had to a friend – besides Merle – and he didn't want to go screw it up now. He decided to answer as vaguely as possible.

"Uh, her Mom's gone, her Daddy… he's just busy with some stuff. What about Sophia's Daddy? Where's he at?" Daryl changed the topic. He was actually genuinely curious to hear about Sophia's father. Daryl imagined a woman like Carol living with a nice guy in a nice house with their nice little girl, but Carol didn't wear a wedding band or anything.

"He's dead." Carol deadpanned, shrugging it off. Daryl fidgeted, he was glad Carol was looking at the sunset and not at him.

"'M sorry." Daryl mumbled, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. Carol shrugged again.

"Don't be, I'm not. It was a long time ago and I wasn't upset. He… for a long time, he hurt me – and I let him… he wasn't a nice guy… not in the end, anyway." Carol smiled sadly, she glanced briefly at Daryl, who had been watching her with rapt attention. The two let silence settle in as they watched the last of the light disappear, leaving them in the cool evening air. Suddenly, Carol said something, "It's so peaceful here... I feel quiet." Daryl wanted to say you can't feel quiet, but he couldn't.

Because he felt quiet too.

A.N: I'm sorry! This was just... My feels got the better of me. Anyway, happy (belated) Easter, I hope you all had a delightful day!

Okay, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and have as much fun reading it as I did writing it. Please don't bludgeon me with bricks. I felt very iffy on that last part, so I hope it wasn't too dodgy. Next chapter should be up soon.

Thank you for your sparkly reviews on chapter 5: mcmannusdixon, LopezG, texasbelle91, pharmtechgrl71, vickih and Mione788.

Thanks muchly to all the people who favorite and/or follow my story: vickih, tessuhhh, lismrox, cthammons, adelicateflower08, Writingismypassions, Stacey73, LucyC-96, BrucieBaby, Creed757, EmbraceYourFREAK, KabrinaStar, Lisab876, MSHK, Mione788, , Prodigium, Shaniqua Nunyadambidness, Tinkerbell99, bearhead, crystal2817, ferrisbueller, hockeydrmr9, lilhanna, melniewn, naenurse, nanashipsCARYL, protonefrid, smolderhalderxo, texasbelle91 and tyffany86.

~Boo~