'Did I try in every way to show her every day, that she's my only one…'

Daryl decided the best course of action for the present, was to take no action. Instead he recruited Carl and Beth as his ambassador's to report back how Carol was feeling throughout the next couple of days.

As soon as Hershel decreed that Carol was fit enough to return to mainstream population, Daryl organised a hunting trip to ensure that there was fresh meat on the table every night. He had Maggie set aside the best and most nutritious of the meats to make up into tempting meals to encourage her appetite. He took over the duties of organising requirements for the town runs and slipped in little extras for her, like an extra pair of socks or a book by her favourite author; having Carl or Beth present them to her as a surprise.

It took Carol a couple of days to notice Daryl's conspicuous absence, and she just figured that he was beginning to regret their slight flirtation. She couldn't blame him after all, he must have seen the extent of her scarring when he was wiping her down and it must have been a complete turn off. She was also beginning to feel a little smothered by all of the sudden attention, and finally snapped when Beth came in one afternoon with yet another trinket in the form of her favourite brand of tea.

"I don't need another cup of tea, Beth! These supplies should be going into the central stores, I appreciate the gesture but y'all need to give it a rest." Carol realised how shrewish she sounded, and leant over to offer the startled young teenager a hug. "Sorry, Bethie. I didn't mean to take it out on you, I just need to get back into the swing of things around here. I'm not an invalid and I'm sick of being treated like one. I need to see Rick and get back onto the watch rota and start pulling my weight again."

"Ummm – he's in the kitchen, but it's Daryl that's been doing the rota lately, not Rick." Beth said hesitantly, wondering whether to tell Carol that Rick had been badgering Daryl for days now for Carol to restart her duties and that Daryl was still insisting that she wasn't up to it.

"Okay, sweetie." Carol squeezed Beth's arm in passing and headed over to the kitchen area in search of the elusive Daryl. As she neared the doorway she could hear the low masculine tones from within.

"I'm tellin' you Rick, I don't feel comfortable with her bein' out there. It's too soon…"

She pushed open the door and strolled into the kitchen to take a seat at the table in between the two men. "Don't you know it's rude to talk about people behind their back?"

"Good to see you're up and about, Carol." Rick leant over to place a swift kiss on her cheek, completely ignoring the black scowl sent over by Daryl at his actions.

"Oh, I've been fine for days, although you wouldn't think it – the way SOME people have been carrying on." Carol sent an arched look over at Daryl who just shrugged his shoulder.

"Haven't got a clue what you're talkin' about. I was jest sayin' to Rick here, that it's past time you took watch rota again."

"The heck you were!" Rick blustered, causing Carol to burst into laughter and she reached across the table to pat Daryl's hand.

"Honestly guys, it's very sweet of you to be concerned, but I'm absolutely fine and need to be doing something constructive with my time." Daryl twined his fingers with hers for a moment before pulling his hand back and clearing his throat.

"Okay, I'll pair you up for the next couple of shifts…" He held up a hand to stay her protests. "You can pair up with me so that I can keep an eye on you, that okay?" She smiled in return and conceded to his demands, knowing that it stemmed from his concern. "Okay, when do we start?"

"No time like the present, I was due to take over from Tyreese in a short while anyways." Daryl pushed back from the table and waited for Carol to join him at the door.

"Catch you later, Rick."

"Yeah, later." Rick shook his head at the sight of the pair of them leaving to take the watch. It never ceased to amaze him at the lengths Daryl would go to with this small woman; and yet he still couldn't tell her how he felt.

Carol and Daryl slipped back into their routine quickly when they reached the watch tower. Daryl taking a seat on the floor next to the door, with Carol sitting at a small table dealing out a pack of cards for solitaire. Hours passed and the day slipped away into night.

"Thanks for the socks and the book." Carol said quietly, she could see Daryl's posture change, becoming stiff and unwielding. How did she know that it was him? Had Carl or Beth slipped up?

"Don't know what you're talking about… what book?" Daryl continued to stare out into the night, eyes constantly scanning the darkness looking for potential threats. Carol lay down the deck of cards and moved across to sit next to Daryl on the floor. He reached up to the hook and removed a fleecy poncho and placed it across her legs before turning back to face the fence.

"I remembered a conversation we had about it, you made fun of me for thinking that Colin Firth was completely hot as Mr. Darcy, and there was a little inscription on the inside of the front cover, too."

"Huh…how a Brit can look completely hot wearing skin tight pants, I will never know…" Daryl hissed between his teeth as he realised that he had unintentionally revealed that he was indeed the mysterious benefactor. Carol smiled into his shoulder, and reached down to squeeze his hand.

"Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks."

"Welcome." Daryl didn't pull away from her touch, nor did he move closer. Carol just flipped the poncho over to cover both their legs and they remained just like that; hands clasped and shoulders touching until Glenn and Maggie relieved them at half past twelve.