Chapter 19

"She was out of it when we found her. She was curled up behind a bush, freezin', sick. Took her back to camp and got some antibiotics in her. She woke up and started goin' on about her mama and about a man named Daryl."

They sat around the small fire, listening to Rick explain how they'd happened upon Sophia. Sophia rested her head on her mother's shoulder. Her face was still pale, but she didn't want to go back to the RV and rest.

"The fire," Sophia spoke up softly, "it was my fault." Carol squeezed her daughter's hand. "I lit a lantern so I could see better when I was reading, and I heard a noise. I got up to see what it was, and the lantern fell. I grabbed the gun, and I ran out. There were walkers, and I couldn't get away, so I ran. I got turned around, and I couldn't find my way back. I'm sorry, Mom."

"Hey," Carol murmured, "you're safe, and you're here, and that's all I care about, ok?" Sophia nodded glumly, but Carol gave her a squeeze around the shoulders. "Look at me, Soph." Sophia stared up at her mother, her eyes wet with tears she'd been holding back. "You did exactly what you should have done. You got out, and you survived. I'm proud of you."

"When Rick brought her back," Dale chimed in, "she had a bad fever, and when that broke, she was begging us to find the cabin and look for you. We'd seen the smoke, so a few of us went out looking. We found the cabin, but we didn't find you two." Carol sniffled and nodded her head.

"So we pretty much put two and two together when you mentioned your bike," Glenn pointed out. "Sorry we manhandled you." He took off his baseball cap and ran his fingers through his hair. "We just wanted to make sure. When we saw Sophia's face, we knew."

"Thank you so much for taking care of her," Carol murmured. "Thank you…" She hugged Sophia again, and her gaze locked on Daryl's. He gave her a little nod, and she sniffled, smiling at him, a renewed hope twinkling in her eyes.

Dale made himself scarce keeping watch atop his RV the rest of that morning, while Glenn went about introducing Carol and Daryl to the rest of the camp. Of course, there was Rick and Carl and baby Judith, who looked to be barely a month old. There was Glenn's wife Sarah and their little girl Jenna, who proudly boasted that she was four-and-three-quarters old. Carol couldn't help the blush that crept over her cheeks when she met the couple she'd spied rolling around in the woods, Shane and Andrea. Andrea struck Carol as a woman who was quite territorial, especially given the way she kept an eye on Shane when he stepped forward to greet Carol with a handshake. He was kind of a flirt, and Carol noticed Daryl shift uncomfortably when Shane joked about it being nice to have another female around the camp. An older man named Hershel and his two daughters, Maggie and Beth made up the rest of the group. The word was that there had been far more of them, but attacks had desperately decreased their numbers.

Hershel was a veterinarian with some knowledge of medicine for humans, therefore he was certainly an asset to have around. His youngest, Beth, was doe-eyed and seemed to stay far away from all of the talk about walkers—geeks, as Glenn called them—and spent quite a lot of time scribbling in a little diary.

"You two planning on moving on?" Rick asked after all the introductions had been made. "With Sophia?" Daryl and Carol eyed one another. "I guess you need some time to talk it out. Look, whatever Glenn and Dale said to ya, you're welcome here. You're Sophia's people. She's welcome. You're welcome."

"Thank you," Carol said softly.

"Extra tent in the back of Dale's RV. You folks take that tonight. We're plannin' on headin' out, goin' north tomorrow. You wanna join us, you're more'n welcome. Just gotta pull your own weight with chores and supply runs, but we'd have you all.""Thank you," Carol murmured, giving Rick a little nod before he turned and walked away.

"They're nice people, Mom," Sophia offered. "Carl's my age. And his baby sister's so cute. And Mr. Grimes has been bringing me food. We should stay here." Carol looked over at Daryl.

"What do you think?"

"I'm ain't goin' nowhere without either one of ya," he pointed out, prodding the fire with a stick. "We got numbers here. We got more supplies, more weapons. Could be a good thing. Still think we need to find a place with walls.

"Maybe we should re-visit that gated community idea. It's been long enough now. There would be plenty of places abandoned."

"Or overrun," Daryl pointed out.

"But we have numbers now," Carol chimed in with a hopeful smile. "We could get in, clear the place out and patch up the walls. I really think we could do it."

"We could," Sophia said with a positive nod. "Mr. Grimes and Mr. Walsh are really strong. They argue a lot, but they're friends, and Carl says when they work together, they get a lot done . Talk to them, Mom. I bet they'd like the idea, too."

"Ain't the worst idea I ever heard," Rick murmured, eyeing Carol, a little intrigued by this woman's thinking. "Why didn't you folks try it before?"

"When it all happened, people would have been doing whatever they could to protect their walls. But time changes things, and it might be safer to try now. Might even be safer to try one that's already over run, so we only have walkers to deal with."

"We're better off stickin' to the road, keep movin'. Gated community, we'd be sittin' ducks for the next group to come along and pick off," Shane spoke up, rubbing his hand through his hair. "Nah, we'd be best just movin' along."

"We stick together, we got the numbers. It could work," Daryl pointed out. "How are your people with guns?"

"Andrea's a great shot. Maggie, Glenn and Sarah, too. Hershel ain't too keen on it pullin' the trigger, but when it comes down to it, he gets the job done."

"What about that little blonde?" Daryl asked. "She alright?"

"She's a scared kid. Just gettin' ready to start college when everything changed. She stays close to her daddy and her sister," Rick murmured. "Helps with the little ones around the camp sometimes."

"She a good shot?"

"Ain't never picked up a gun before. I've tried. Shane's tried. Hershel's real protective of his girl though, but if you can get through to him, get through to her, then maybe she stands a chance of protectin' herself, helpin' out the group," Rick offered with a shrug. Daryl nodded, chewing his lip nervously.

"A'right." He looked at Carol and she gave him a little smile.

"Looks like we have some decisions to make," Carol murmured.

"We'll leave you to 'em. Just don't think too long. We'll be movin' out tomorrow," Rick offered quietly. He tapped Shane's arm, and the two walked off in what looked from a distance like a heated conversation. "What do you think?" Daryl asked quietly, chewing at his nails.

"I think numbers are a good thing. They took care of Sophia, so I'm willing to trust them," she said softly. "I'm not sure about that Shane. He seems like a bit of a hot head."

"Yeah," Daryl muttered. "Sophia trusts 'em. Says they're good."

"But she's twelve, and they saved her life," Carol offered. "I don't know, Daryl. We did alright on our own…"

"But?"

"But," she said with a little smile, "it would be nice to have…people, you know? Friends?" Daryl nodded. "Why don't we stay for a while. Travel with them. If we don't like it, we can go our separate ways."

"You and me and Soph?"

"Of course," she said with a smile, taking his hand in hers. "Does that sound ok?" He gave her a little nod before briefly brushing his lips against hers.

"Sounds good," he murmured. "C'mon. I'll help you get your tent sent up."

"My tent?" she asked.

"I thought you and Soph…"

"Sophia's still sick," Carol said softly. "Dale already said she could sleep in the RV. It gets cold at night, and she needs to stay warm. Besides, I don't want to be alone tonight." Daryl noted the tone in her voice, and a smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. "Will you stay with me?"

"I'll stay," he promised, brushing his thumb over her cheek and drawing out that beautiful smile on her lips that he loved so much.

He gently brushed his fingertips along the curve of her hip, his fingers memorizing the soft features as they lay entwined together under a blanket in the tent.

The camp was silent, save for a snore coming from a tent somewhere nearby. Carol giggled softly as she buried her face against Daryl's neck as his fingers tickled her damp skin. She brushed her hand against his thigh, giving him a little squeeze as a low moan escape his throat. They were happy and satisfied, and Carol knew that she'd wake up tomorrow knowing her daughter was safe and that her family was together, and she couldn't suppress the happiness that seemed to bubble forth with each of his touches.

"That was amazing," she purred, her hand flat against his stomach, the damp warmth spreading from her fingers to his belly and warming him all the way through. He pulled her in close, his hands running over her back, feeling the curve of her spine as he placed kisses along her neck and shoulder.

"Yeah," he murmured, laying back, yawning slightly as Carol nuzzled his ear with her nose. He felt her relax against him, and he kissed the top of her head, closing his eyes as her fingers danced along his stomach. "Could be good here, y'know? With these folks for awhile."

"Yeah," she said softly. "Sophia seems happy here. I want her to be happy. Are you happy?" She looked up at him in time to see the blush fill his cheeks again.

"You're with me, ain't ya?" he asked.

"I am," she promised, kissing him softly on the lips.

"Then I'm happy. All I need I got right here."