This one didn't come easily. It's not as saucy as previous chapters, but hopefully that's not too disappointing.

Carol all but skipped back up to the group by the fire pit. She knew she was smiling like an idiot, but figured everyone would just think she was happy about having a safe place to sleep and a little space to move around without immediate fear of walkers. That was true, too, but mostly she was tickled with herself about leaving Daryl in a fit. Goodness knew he deserved it after last night.

She hummed to herself as she stirred up the ashes and added in bits of wood to build the fire back up. Once the rabbit was cooking over the heat, she wandered the yard looking for dandelion greens to fill out their breakfast. Carl still made faces, but everyone else was always happy to have something to eat that wasn't a rodent and didn't come out of a battered can. The fresh eggs, bread, and vegetables from Hershel's farm seemed like a million years ago.

She glanced across the yard as she noticed movement in the corner of her eye. A scowling Daryl stomped his way up the hill toward the group around the fire, wiping his bloody hands on his pantlegs and glaring at everyone as he approached. She strangled the laughter that tried to bubble up her throat and carefully kept her face turned away. She watched from under lowered lashes as he shoved the bowl of squirrel bits into a startled Lori's hands. He pulled his crossbow from his shoulder and sulked his way over to where Rick, Glenn, Maggie, and T-Dog were huddled, discussing their strategy for safely pushing in to the prison.

Once he was safely absorbed in the discussion, she allowed herself a moment to watch him openly. He squinted at Rick with his arms folded, chewing his lip as he listened intently. She wondered if he even knew he did that or if it was an unconscious habit. He did a lot of that kind of thing – chewing his lip, biting his thumbnail, licking his fingers clean after eating. It was sexy as hell, but she was pretty sure he didn't realize it. She was definitely sure he didn't know the kind of thoughts it put in her head. She'd be willing to bet his lips and tongue were very...versatile.

"Hey."

Carol started at the unexpected voice in her ear and realized she'd been staring. She tried for nonchalance. "Hey, Beth."

"Lori sent me to fetch you. She wants to know if you found anything."

"Sure, honey. I'll be right up." She held up the bunch of leaves in her hand and smiled.

Beth scrambled back up the hill to where Lori poked at the meat over the fire. Carol sighed. Beth looked so pale in the morning sun, and Lori was thinner than ever, despite her swollen belly. Even Carl had dark circles under his eyes. She wished she could give them more than a handful of scrubby weeds for breakfast. They'd be screwed without the meat Daryl provided. Her own stomach rumbled loudly as the smell of cooking rabbit drifted her way. She crouched down and plucked the last few dandelion leaves in front of her before making her way back to the fire to help finish cooking breakfast.

Once the squirrel was nearly ready, Beth called the rest of the group over to eat. After breakfast, they were going to start fighting their way into the mass of walkers in the inner prison yard. Everyone's nerves were getting the better of them, and though they were hungry, most of them had to be encouraged to eat. That fell to Carol, of course. She twisted her mouth into a smile and resigned herself to the task of mothering everyone...again. She didn't mind acting the caregiver – she kind of liked it, actually – but she wished she didn't have to feel the guilt when she couldn't provide everything they needed or the fear that came with any task like the one they faced today.

Everyone was restless. No one could sit still, so most folks milled around the fire, picking at their food and making awkward attempts at small talk. Carol drifted through them with the bowl of meat and greens, offering smiles, encouragement, and bits of food.

Daryl watched her silently from just outside the group with folded arms and stormy eyes. She approached him, smiling softly, and held the bowl out to him. His eyes never left hers, but he made no move to accept the food she offered. After an uncomfortable moment, she looked down and turned away. Yikes. Now she felt a little bad about what she'd done earlier. She'd have to apologize later. For now she moved on to try to wheedle Lori, Beth, and Carl into taking a few extra bites.

After the food was gone, Rick gathered them around for one last walk-through of the plan. Carol watched him as he somehow managed to calm nerves and build up both confidence and hope for his people. He really was a much better leader than she'd originally given him credit for. What they were about to do was terribly risky, but they were as prepared as anyone could be.

Once everyone was sure of their job, the group separated to make final preparations, gathering knives, pipes, fireplace pokers, and whatever else they had that could be used to kill a walker at close range. Carol set about putting out the fire and packing up their supplies so they could move into the prison as quickly as possible once it was cleared. She wiped down bowls and pans, gathered the few utensils they had, and tucked everything away into the packs. She rolled up the last few blankets and added them to their pile of belongings.

She picked up her tire iron and turned to go join the others gathering at the fence, and nearly crashed headlong into Daryl as she turned. She gasped.

"Good lord! You need to wear a bell around your neck! You shouldn't go around sneaking up on people when they're carrying pointy objects."

"Pretty sure I can handle anything you can dish out."

She smiled slowly as she caught a twinkle of humor in his eyes. "Is that so?"

"Mmhmm."

Together they turned toward the fence, but before they'd gone more than a few steps, Carol brushed her fingers against the back of his hand to stop him. "Hey. Promise you'll be careful in there today. Make sure you come back to me, all right?"

He huffed a laugh. "Well, shit, there goes my plans for the day. Here I was lookin' to get myself killed."

"That's not funny!" She punctuated her words by poking his shoulder. "I'm serious. You watch your ass in there!"

He reached over suddenly and gave her butt a firm squeeze. She yelped in surprise. At the fence, several heads turned their way. She blushed.

"Only one ass I got my eye on," he murmured. He gave her cheek a familiar little pat and went to take his place with the group.

She watched him go with the fingers of one hand pressed to her mouth to keep it from hanging open. This little game of theirs had definitely taken a turn, and he seemed to be taking to it well. Maybe a little too well. Carol bit her lip and tried to hide a smile. She couldn't wait to see where things would go from here.