AN: Nothing new, I'm just fixing a few formatting problems to make it more readable...

'Sometimes late at night, I lie awake and watch her sleeping…'

It was in that same position that Rick found Daryl in a short while later. Hershel had taken him aside in the kitchen and had sent him along to try and persuade Daryl to go and get something to eat. Rick had a suspicion that Daryl was feeling a darn sight more than simple friendly concern when it came to Carol; although he would never allow himself to act upon those feelings and despite the fact that Carol clearly adored him. Looking at the way Daryl kept hold of Carol's hand, even in sleep proved more to Rick than any overused words of sentiments ever could. He stood in the doorway with a slight smile upon his handsome face, feeling almost as if he were intruding on something quite private. He coughed slightly to announce his presence and almost immediately Daryl dropped his hold on Carol and opened his eyes, at full alert like the hunter he was. "Wassit?"

"Hershel said you needed to eat…"

"Not hungry…"

"…So I brought you up a plate, this way you can eat and still take care of Carol at the same time." Rick continued, ignoring Daryl's protests and placing a plate of cold cuts down on the floor next to the man. He leant over to look at Carol's prone body. "How's she doing?"

"Better now, her temp's gone down and she's sleeping okay. Hershel said to wake her in a little while to get her to swallow some liquids." Daryl ignored the plate of food and reached over to tug the sheet a little higher up Carol's chest. Rick turned his face away, hiding his smile at the gruff man's caring actions.

"Have you ever told her how you feel?" Rick asked quietly taking a seat on the cot opposite where Carol was lying.

"You been at those magic 'shrooms again, Deputy Dawg?" Daryl muttered, picking at the tinned ham on the plate; not having an appetite but doing anything to avoid the question.

"Come on Daryl, you're good at a lot of things, but you cain't hide away from this forever. What would you have done if Carol hadn't made it today?" Rick pressed for an answer, Daryl kept his face turned away pretending an avid interest in the congealed meat. "My biggest regret is letting the situation with Shane get in between me and Lori. She died without me telling her just how much I loved her. Don't let my mistakes become yours too. I was too stubborn to forgive her and she was too pissed at me about Carl to forgive me, we wasted so much time..."

"Carol ain't Lori and she sure as hell ain't dyin' today!"

"Well what if it were something worse, or you lying on the bed? What would you feel like then? I'm just sayin' that I made a promise to myself to not let a day go past without tellin' my kids how much they mean to me. We've all lost so many people in our lives and we don't get that second chance to tell them how we feel."

"Christ Almighty, Rick you sound like you swallowed Country's Corniest Hits! Weren't that some old Garth Brooks song?"

"Hey – don't knock GB! The words are pure and the sentiment true. I heard Beth playing it on her CD player just after Lori passed and it struck a chord with me. Just think about it for a while…" Rick stood up from the cot and patted Daryl on the shoulder as he stepped over him on the way to the door. "Oh, and Daryl? When Maggie gets here, do me a favour and take a shower? Hate to be the one to say it – but you stink somethin' awful!" Rick dodged out of the way as Daryl threw the spare pillow at him, and continued down the corridor whistling the song they had spoken about as he went. Daryl went back to picking at the plate of food, mulling over Rick's words in his head. He hated the thought of revealing his innermost feelings to the world, but also hated the thought of Carol never knowing just how much he really cared. He sighed heavily and set the plate aside so that he could reach for Carol's hand once more. She stirred slightly on the bed and muttered something under her breath. Daryl leant forward anxiously.

"Carol? Come on, that's the way…" Daryl encouraged her to come around and was rewarded when she opened her eyes slowly and tried to sit up. "Oh no you don't, just rest easy for a bit. Settle back down…that's it." Daryl pressed her gently back against the thin pillow and smoothed the covers into place. "Try and stay awake, okay? I just need to get Hershel, ssh…don't try and talk." Daryl took a last look at her and crossed over to peer out of the doorway, he couldn't see Maggie or Hershel at first but then noticed them quietly conversing a few cells over. He waved them across to the cell and stood just outside the doorway whilst Hershel entered with Maggie to examine Carol more closely.

"Carol, can you hear me properly?" Hershel asked as he shone a small flashlight into her eyes to gauge her pupil's reaction. At her slight nod, he continued; taking her pulse and temperature. "You've had a close call, and you're in medical right now." Hershel stopped his exam at the slight tug on his shirtsleeve. He looked down at where Carol was looking at him with one eyebrow raised in question. "What happened? Well, it seems someone went on a double shift without properly taking care of herself…" Hershel leant into his bag and withdrew a small bottle filled with a colourless liquid. "Here, take a small sip of this." He raised the bottle to her lips and she took a swallow, closely followed by a sneer of disgust.

"What…?"She sputtered as the salty liquid hit her taste buds and wrinkled up her nose.

"It's water with a little salt and sugar to balance your electrolytes out. You were out in near Saharan temperatures, you've been giving your rations away and clearly not drinking enough. Needless to say you gave us all a fright, especially poor Daryl here."

"Daryl…why?" Carol knew that Daryl had been in the cell with her when she woke up but didn't remember much of what happened out in the yard. She did remember an attempt at a slight flirtation but then it was a complete blank…until a strange dream that involved Rick and Daryl dressed in matching Garth Brooks outfits singing something about regrets and loving someone…

"You near fainted clean away, if it weren't for Daryl you'd have been face down in the yard dirt." Maggie stated drily, watching a flush of colour rising over the hunter's cheeks.

"I feel fine now, can't I get up?" Carol struggled to raise herself up on her elbows and then let out a shocked gasp when she realised that she was only dressed in her underwear. She sank back down on the cot and pulled the covers up to her armpits.

"I think I'll go take that shower now. Carol, glad you're feelin' better." Daryl made his escape quickly, not wanting to stick around long enough for her to discover just how long they had been alone in the cell together. He wasn't quick enough however, to escape from the sounds of her aggravated yelling down the corridor after him.

"Daryl Dixon! You just wait….!"

"Guess Maggie told her that it was me that took her clothes off…" Daryl smirked a little at the thought and headed toward the shower block. As he stood under the cool spray he thought back on what Rick had said and wondered how he would have felt if Carol's condition had worsened or even worse if he lost her completely. "Shit! I guess the Deputy was right all along. How the frickin' hell am I gonna tell her without feelin' completely stupid?"