Chapter 9

Author's Note: A new reader brought it to my attention that I have an inconsistency between Chapters 1 and 3, in which Carol mentions calling Lori to find out if Rick knows anything and then having no idea who Rick is when they hear from him over the CB. I had meant to edit that bit in Chapter 1 about her calling Lori, because I came up with a different idea. It was a glaring mistake, and I can't believe I didn't edit it out like I thought I would. So to be clear: Carol does not know the Grimes', but they might interact later on. Thanks for reading!

By morning time, Carol noticed her ankle felt much better. She was able to move it, and when she got up to use the bathroom, she was able to walk relatively easily. When she came back in the house, she noticed Daryl kneeling by the fire place, starting a small fire so they could make some coffee.

"Morning," Carol said softly, causing him to jump a little. "Sorry."

"S'alright. Sleep ok?"

"Yeah," she said with a nod. "My ankle's much better, too."

"Good. You feelin' up to a ride today?"

"A ride?" she asked, a hint of surprise in her voice.

"I'm gonna take Sophia for some more lessons…if it's alright with you. Thought you might wanna go, too. Get outta the house for a while."

"Sure." She moved slowly across the room and came to stand next to Daryl as he knelt, stoking the small flames until they there was a nice, warm glow emanating from the hearth. He stood and nearly jumped at how close she was, and she smiled a little. Daryl was certainly jumpy this morning, but when she saw the way he looked at her, the way his gaze dipped from her eyes to the dip in her robe, she knew he was ok with that closeness.

She took a bold step toward him now, and she stood on her tiptoes to gently press her lips to his cheek. She felt him let out a slow breath, before he turned and pressed his lips against hers, reigniting the sparks from that very first kiss. Carol moaned softly when his hands tugged at her waist, bringing her against him, feeling the way his calloused hands came up her neck and framed her face, his tongue gently probing her mouth, as she opened up to him, her teeth gently nipping at his bottom lip when he'd begin to pull back, letting him know she needed more of him, and he happily obliged.

Her thumbs gently poked through his belt loops, and the pads of her fingers stroked over the skin just above his pants. His breath hitched in his chest, and she gently tugged at them. She backed up a little, and he went with her, pressing her against the door frame, the edge digging into her shoulder.

She broke the kiss momentarily, her breath ragged. She opened her eyes, dragging her gaze up to meet his, and a grin tugged at her mouth. He leaned down again, his confidence growing, needing to taste her, needing to feel her mouth against his. She moaned softly as their bodies pushed against one another. Her hands were in his shoulders and his neck now, pulling him in as deep as she could, her nerve endings scorching at the contact and yearning for more.

"Okay," she whispered softly when his hand moved down her back and somehow ended on her ass, "we should stop."

"We should." She wasn't certain if he was asking a question or agreeing with her, so she kissed him once more and pulled back, her chest heaving as she fought for breath.

"She'll be awake soon," Carol noted.

"Oh." He looked toward Sophia's room and nodded. "Ok." Carol smiled a little and reached for his hand, giving it a little squeeze. He watched as she turned and headed off to get ready for the day, and he thought his heart might beat out of his chest. She was like a drug. He just wanted more of her, and as she walked away from him, he realized he already missed her. He'd never felt his kind of closeness with a person before, and it was very new and very scary being vulnerable with a person, getting close enough to feel their heartbeat against his own. He wanted more of it, but a big part of his was anxious about the next step.

He swallowed hard and stuffed his hands into his pockets before heading outside to gas up the truck for their drive today. Mindless work, it might have been, but he was willing to do anything to try and keep his mind on anything other than the distracting, amazing feeling of Carol's body pressed against his, her lips against his, her tongue dancing with his own.

Sophia woke shortly after Daryl headed outside, and within twenty minutes, the truck was bouncing along the hilly Georgia highway down the mountain. Daryl bypassed the field he'd taken Sophia to yesterday, since it was overrun by walkers. A few miles down the road, there was a field that only had a few strays. Carol surprised the hell out of both Daryl and Sophia by taking a knife firmly in her hands and going after one walker, easily bringing it down with a quick thrust to the skull. The walker dropped, and Carol wiped her knife blade on the damp grass. When she stood, straightening up and heading back to the truck, she saw them both staring at her in awe. She smirked to herself and hopped into the bed of the truck.

"Daryl's turn."

"You just tag me out?"

"Yep. You're it," she laughed. She couldn't help but stare at his ass as he walked off, crossbow in hand and quickly put down the second walker, shooting it through the eye. Carol marveled at the way Daryl's muscles moved and twitched as he pulled the bolt out of the walker's head and wiped it on a red rag he had hanging from his back pocket.

"Mama?" Sophia asked after a few moments.

"Hmm?"

"You were staring."

"What? No I wasn't." Sophia snickered and reached for the shot gun in the back of the truck. "Whoa!"

"I gotta practice," Sophia pleaded. Carol sighed and glanced to Daryl who gave her a little nod.

"This ain't like the pistol, Soph," Daryl said sternly. He moved behind her and helped her position the shotgun just right, leaning the butt of it against her shoulder. She took a few slow, deep breaths before squeezing the trigger, clipping the third walker in the shoulder. It reeled back a little but continued forward after a moment. Sophia sighed in frustration. "S'alright. Try again." She nodded and worried her lip between her teeth, narrowing her eyes as she lined up her shot. She tried again and got it in the jaw. It kept coming.

"Little higher, honey," Carol murmured, offering her support. Sophia tried again, and the walker went down. She practically squealed with delight, jumping up to hug Daryl around the neck. He stumbled backward a little, and his eyes met Carol's. She just gave him a little grin and shrugged her shoulders as he patted Sophia on the back.

"Thanks, Daryl," Sophia said with a grin, kissing him on the cheek. "Now can I try the crossbow?"

"This kid's fulla surprises," Daryl chuckled, as Sophia made a grab for the bow. "Ah, no. No, you ain't ready for that. But your mama just might be." Sophia frowned in disappointment, and Carol shook her head.

"Oh no, that's alright. I'm ok with my knife here." Daryl handed a pistol to Carol. "I'm ok with this, too."

"Still need to practice, though. Practice makes perfect," he insisted, his gaze focusing on hers. She blushed a little and couldn't help but think about how each time they kissed, it was better than the last.

"Practice makes perfect," she agreed. "Alright." She got out of the truck bed just as another walker stumbled out from the tree line.

"You got this?" Daryl asked. Carol nodded, taking a few steps forward, extending her arms out, planting her feet firmly on the ground and aiming straight at the walker's eye. One shot disappeared into the woods, but the next took down the walker, leaving Carol with mixed feeling of pride and disgust in her belly. The idea that she was getting such a rush putting these things down worried her, and when she heard Sophia speaking quietly with Daryl about perfecting her shot, she spun around, feeling a little dizzy.

"Sophia," she said quietly.

"Yeah?" The girl looked to her mother, her hands tight around the rifle.

"I want you to understand that these things…they used to be people."

"I know that, Mama," Sophia said gently.

"Good, because we put them down because we have to, not because…"

"Mama, I wouldn't hurt a person," Sophia said gently. "But these things would, so we have to kill them." Carol let out a sigh of relief and nodded.

"Just don't shoot unless you have to. Don't get used to pulling the trigger, because if you get too used to it…" She wasn't exactly sure what was on the other end of that sentence, but Sophia handed the shotgun to Daryl.

"It's ok, Mom," she said softly. "Don't worry." Sophia gave Carol a little smile before climbing up in the truck bed. Daryl moved over toward Carol, his hand gently brushing over her shoulder.

"You ok?" he asked gently.

"I just…it's overwhelming, I suppose." He trained his eyes on her, waiting for her to continue. "My kid's playing with guns. And she likes it."

"She'll be alright. Rather have her ready for what comes next than not, right?"

"Yeah," she said with a nod. "I guess she can't stay a little girl forever." Daryl gave her hand a little squeeze.

"Just 'cause she's growin' up don't mean she ain't still your little girl." Carol's eyes welled up at that point, and Daryl leaned in without thinking and gave her a gentle kiss. She gasped softly at his display, and he gently ran his thumb over her cheek. She leaned into his touch, but it was all too brief, as Sophia jumped down from the truck at that moment.

"Walkers!" she called out, pointing over at the tree line, where at least a dozen of them were coming out, most likely drawn out by the sound of gunfire.

"C'mon," Daryl grunted, hoisting the weapons into the back of the truck, "let's get outta here."