Here is Chapter 4. Another run to the mall. :) I love sending them on outings together. You never know what may happen. Let me know what you think. Thank you for the reviews/comments so far. Hugs and cheers, Kat

Carol woke up before he did. Peeking up from where she lay, she saw that he was slumped on his stomach across the couch, his arm hanging over the edge just touching her mattress, his lips contorted from being smushed against the cushion. It was impossible not to smile, seeing him like he was - vulnerable and unguarded. Her eyes didn't linger on him for fear that he'd wake and find her watching him.

She pulled her blanket back, except it wasn't her blanket – it was the quilt from the couch. Somehow it must've slipped off him and onto her or he'd covered her up. He didn't appear cold in his pull-over hooded sweat shirt, but she covered him back up with it on her way by.

It was dead quiet as she started some coffee noticing they didn't have much left. Hopefully they'd be able to bring some back today as well as some treats for the kids maybe.

Lori padded out and met her at the sink, running a hand through her thin hair as she yawned. "Mornin'." She said with a smile. She had been the only person who hadn't tip toed around her since Andrea and Michonne had left.

"Mornin'." Carol murmured. "How are ya feelin'? Still dizzy?"

Lori nodded. "I'll be fine once we get those iron pills. I remember getting this way after Carl, just not as bad."

Carol rubbed her thin arm. "We'll find you some. How 'bout otherwise?"

"She was quiet last night. I couldn't have asked for an easier baby with what this world's turned into."

"Judith is a blessing. All three kids are." Carol said, speaking of the baby, Carl and Beth.

Lori leaned her hip into the counter and her eyes darted to the floor quickly, then she nodded over to where the couch had been turned around. Carol followed her stare and the two exchanged glances, then they both laughed quietly.

"I wanted so badly to come out and see what was going on last night, but I was afraid I'd wake the baby up."

"It's a wonder he didn't." Carol whispered. "Movin' that big couch around."

"He cares for you."

Carol's arms went into her defensive stance, crossed under her breasts and she shrugged. The smile was replaced by a frown of confusion and a furrowed brow.

"I know it's new for both of you, and you both went through a lot before all this, but the way it is now? You gotta grab onto any spark of happiness you can get. He's not gonna admit it easily. He's a tight lipped kind of guy but hang in there."

Lori wasn't one to hold back her thoughts, so Carol wasn't surprised that she'd confronted her about it. It made sense, what she'd said but Carol was hardly looking to snag a man at this stage of the game. That kiss kept springing into her mind, though – his lips on hers his tongue pressing into her mouth, urgent yet determinedly patient.

"I've lost ya." Lori teased .

"I'm fine. I don't wanna believe you're right. There's so much more we need to focus on right now." She noted sadly.

Lori gave her hand a squeeze. "One day at a time." She said with a firm smile. "Coffee's ready. What can we scrounge up for breakfast before you two take off? I'll help today."

They used the last of pancake batter mix to make pancakes, and canned honey that had been left behind in the cabin. Daryl was up next, the others followed, slowly making their way toward the smells of food in the kitchen.

She smiled when she set his plate in front of him and a cup of coffee. His hair was all ruffled, some of it sticking straight up and he had her blanket wrapped around his shoulders.

"Thanks." He mumbled through a mouthful.

She resisted the urge to touch his shoulder, got her own plate and shoveled the food in as quick as she could so she could be ready to go by the time he was.

The truck was parked out front and ready when she finished lacing her hikers. It was still a bit chilly out so she pulled on her light jacket and grabbed the bat. Daryl met her on the porch with something in his gloved hands. It seemed to be a roll of wire or something.

"Lemme see that." He said in a soft voice reaching for the bat.

She let him take it from her hand and watched as he wrapped barbed wire around the tip, pressing it firmly into the wood.

"Just don't let it scrape up against ya."

Carol gave him a nod and followed him out to where Rick stood at the truck. Maggie was close behind with a bag of food.

"It's all we can spare at this point." She said apologetically.

Carol took it from her and was surprised when Maggie hugged her. "Be careful."

She gave her a squeeze back. "We'll be fine."

"Remember, if anything happens, it gets past sunset and you can't get to the truck, hunker down for the night and start out in the morning."

Daryl shook Rick's hand and eyed her. She knew if they didn't make it back for whatever reason, they couldn't risk anyone to come and save their asses. The thought made her shiver. Still she pulled herself up in the truck, shut the door and yanked the seat belt across her lap.

"You got the list?"

She took it out of her pocket and laid it down on the bench seat between them.

He glanced down at it and turned onto another dirt road that connected to the one coming into where the cabin lay. The buds on the trees were blooming, she noticed, now that he was driving slow enough for her to see. The last time they'd done this, he'd driven like a maniac but she'd been sure then that he'd wanted to get the whole trip over with.

"So ya like to read."

"Yeah."

"I was askin' cause I always see ya with a book if there are any around."

"I haven't been an avid reader in years." She told him. "My mom owned a book store, a long time ago in Atlanta."

He made a grunting noise to let her know he'd heard her. After a long bit of comfortable silence he said, "When we get there, I'm gonna sit up on the highway where there's less geeks and we can see where the best place is to get in."

"Which means we'll have to drive past it and come back from the west." She noted.

He appeared impressed that she remembered. They hadn't reached the mall yet and he stopped the truck on one of the back country roads. His hands froze on the wheel.

"What-"

"Shh - " He whispered, throwing it into park. Getting out, he went to the back of the truck bed and began going through what they'd brought. She watched him through the back window, wondering if she should get out and see what he was going on. Before she knew it, he leaned back in, grabbing his crossbow.

She couldn't believe it. He was going to hunt?

He put his finger to his lips and edged his way into the woods off the road. Within a minute he came back.

"What was all that about?" She whispered.

He got in and closed the door quietly, started the truck and kept driving. After a minute of silence, he looked over at her. "There's a trail leading in there."

"Walkers?"

"No not spread out enough to be. They'd be all over the place. Someone's gone through there, I'm sure of it but the trail goes back a ways. Fresh tracks."

"You think Andrea and Michonne?"

He shook his head. "More than two and I don't like them being so close to where we're bedded down."

Carol stared out the window. The only survivor they'd come across other than Randall was Michonne. And she'd been decent – she wasn't out for blood, only Daryl's goods. A small smile played on her lips.

"What'cha smilin' about? This ain't funny."

"I don't think it is." She said defensively. "The thought creeps me out – other groups close by. You never know. Michonne seemed okay." She'd been hesitant to bring her up.

"I know what you're doin'." He said, agitated.

"I'm not doin' anything. I was just sayin'- "

"Ya don't need to say anything. It would've helped to have her and Andrea around, sure but not when they didn't have the good of the group in mind." He gave her a sideways glance and spoke softer when he said, "I wasn't into her if you gotta know - ever."

Carol took a deep breath in and let it out quickly. "I never asked – "

"Ya didn't have to." He said quietly and now he was smilin' – well just a little.

She gave him a look, narrowing her eyebrows, upset that she'd been caught being jealous. Daryl read people too well she decided. And she despised the fact that it was true.

Daryl had been watching her a little too much today he decided. Why she couldn't see that he cared for her was beyond him. He'd never been good with love and shit. He was usually good at figurin' people out but with Carol he was stumped. He had no idea what went on in her head sometimes, but he'd sure as hell been tryin' to figure her out.

They sat up on the lip of the highway watching the bastards roam around, bumping into each other. Finally she pointed. He was waiting for her to see what he saw about five minutes ago.

"Right there. That's our in."

He pretended he hadn't noticed. "Looks like you're right."

She pointed to a small access point they could back the truck right up to and a single door he could easily unlock. As many times as he'd been there, that area had always been surrounded by walkers, but now it was clear.

"Once we drive in there, you know the drill. They'll follow the noise, but they might not make it over that way until we're in. Hang on tight."

He drove the wrong way down the exit ramp pushing the truck past sixty. On his way through he took out several walkers, wincing as one got caught under the front tire on Carol's side. It shook the truck and threw her his way despite her seat belt, but she grabbed onto his shoulder to keep from banging her head off it.

"Not done yet." He warned, taking a sharp left around the corner, nearly clipping the sidewalk. Once he steadied the truck, he kept going, bringing it up to fifty. The door was only twenty feet away. The breaks squealed in protest as he locked them up and jammed it in reverse to get to the door.

"I see two." She told him, latching onto the bat, exiting the truck before he could.

He went for the door as she reached in the truck bed for the duffel bags. "I got the bags."

"I'm in, come on." He yelled, but when he turned around one had gotten too close. She dropped the duffels, swung and brought the bat down on its skull, dropping it to the ground with a sick thud. With one swipe, he latched onto her arm pulling her backwards freeing the barbwire from the thing's head bringing rotting flesh and muscle with it as he yanked. She reached with her free hand and picked up the bags she dropped.

Once the door was shut he pushed her behind him, squeezing her between the door and his body. Inside it was dark, but quiet. The stood like that for a minute waiting before he felt her hand slide into his, snapping him away from his thoughts. "Come on; let's see if we can find anything on the list in here."

She gave his hand a squeeze, moving to his side but he held tight to it as they walked through the store, finding a lot of what they needed. One of the bags was packed full within a half an hour. They got that one loaded in the truck and walked toward the front of the store that lead out to the main corridor of the mall.

"It's either the Vitamin store here, or we try for that other plaza that has a Target and a pharmacy." He whispered to her, watchin' the geeks millin' around the hallway.

"There are more of them than last time."

"Cause that crazy fucker in the convertible blew a hole in the wall."

"I remember. I was right here with ya." She reminded him and pointed. "It's two stores over from that one. If we can make it across the main hall without any of them seeing us, we can stick to the shadows, creep along the edge there 'til we get to that smaller hallway. I'll bet there's a door to the back of the store."

"Getch'r gloves on." He said, pulling his on too.

It was a good plan. They waited, almost like waiting for a busy street to clear and finally found the opportunity to slip across the hallway. That was when it got hairy because once they were "out there"; there was no door to slip back behind. They tip toed in the shadows backs to the gated storefronts until they reached the dark hallway. It was pitch black. She stood in front of him, listening. "I don't hear anything. But that doesn't mean - "

Before she could finish her sentence he pulled her by the coat and brought her behind him, stepping out into the corridor and flipping on the flashlight he'd attached to his crossbow. Two nasties turned around and followed the beam of light, inching their way to them. Daryl took the one out with a bolt and Carol surprised him by running at the other with the bat. Two thwacks later, the thing was down.

"Daryl?" She asked a little further ahead of him than he liked.

He heard the knob spinning in her hand and his heart began thunking in his chest. He knew the door was unlocked before he shone his light on her. Green scaly hands reached out and Carol let out half a scream of surprise before springing into action and going after the thing, swinging with all she had, but then she left his line of vision, going through the door and by the time he reached it, it'd been slammed shut. "Carol!" He yelled, banging on the door not thinking about the walkers he might draw into the tiny hallway with him. The door opened toward the outside, so kicking it in wasn't an option.

"How many?" He panted, his hands splayed against the metal.

All he could hear were the sounds of a struggle. He ran back to the edge of the hallway bringing the metal gate across the entry way so at least nothing could get at him and it would buy him some time to get her out of there.

"Carol!" He yelled again, but all had gone quiet. His heart was now in his throat. Who knew how many she was dealing with on the inside. He pulled the bolt he'd wasted the one with out of its punky head and dragged it from the door by its legs. Laying flat on his belly, he tried to see under the inch wide opening at the bottom.

Her hikers - he could see her moving around, pacing back and forth. "Carol, what the hell? Can you get the door open from your side?"

"Daryl?" He could barely hear her from where she stood.

Then she crouched down like he was and reached her bloody fingers under the door. "I need your knife. I think I can get it open that way."

"You're bleeding."

"It's fine, just slide your knife under."

"Carol tell the the Gods honest truth." He said through gritted teeth.

"I'm okay." She insisted.

He was so afraid, seeing blood on her hands, being separated from her, unable to help. All that ran through his mind was maybe she'd been bit and she was gonna use the knife to finish herself off, but he slid the knife under the door trying believe what she said was true.

He stood up and waited, his breathing returning to normal when he heard the clinking of the knife in the keyhole. He heard her wincing on the other side, working the knob until finally the door pushed outward nearly knocking him over.

His crossbow went sliding across the floor into the body that lay nearby but he went forward throwing his arms around her waist bringing her to him without a thought, then pulling her away, drawing her hand up to look at where she was bleeding. "I can't fuckin' see nothin'." He complained.

"Its fine, I cut it on some glass from the counter when I took the one down."

"How many?" He asked again, trying to see in the dark, still gripping her against him tightly.

"What?"

"How many were in here?"

"Two." She told him.

He moved away from her, not wanting to leave her side, but he needed the crossbow for the light. "Need ta get that bandaged up." His voice was still full of panic.

When he got back she was rooting through the shelves for the iron pills with a small flashlight she had in her pocket, her coat sleeve over her bleeding fingers. He surveyed the damage; one walker bashed to fuck laying in a mess of what used to be the counter of the check out area. And another slumped in the corner, his busted head resting against the steel hook sticking out of the wall. She'd done good and all without a flashlight.

There were first aid kits, rubbing alcohol, peroxide and all he would need to fix her up in the back. She appeared before him with five huge bottles of iron pills lined up in her arms.

"Put them down, come here. I gotta check your cut."

She glanced around for a place to set everything down but he shook out a plastic bag and helped dump the bottles inside. In storage area they found two chairs and a table to sit at. The flashlight flickered every now and then but it gave him just enough light to see that it wasn't deep, just a slash across three of her fingers that would only require band aids.

He noticed the little wincing faces she made when he dipped the cotton balls in the alcohol and dabbed the cuts. "S'all right. Once we get the antibiotic ointment on, it'll take the sting out."

When he was done she held up her fingers in front of her, admiring his handy work. "Why thank you Dr. Dixon." She joked. "Really though, the one, it had me by the coat, I thought for sure he was gonna dig me."

"You're here. Nothin' happened." He said, feeling himself slide closer to her. "Ya did good, really. Did what ya needed to do."

The white light from the flashlight played eerie shadows across her features but it wasn't a trick of the eye when she moved closer to him. "Daryl." She whispered, reaching out with her cut hand. Clumsily, it landed on his knee and he jumped. "Sorry." She said in nearly a whisper, but he clasped his own over it before she could draw it away from him. The contact was so new and welcome. No one had ever wanted to touch him for the right reasons.

"Come here." He barely choked out, unsure of what his next move would be.

She made it for him bringing her hand up slowly to the side of his face – stroking where his hair fell over his ear. "Sorry I scared you."

"You're fine. It's all that matters - to me." He said, with more emotion coming through with those words than he'd meant to show. And with that, he did what felt natural to do – closed the space between them and moved his lips over hers, feeling the willingness on her part – which was something else that was new to him. She was okay. He'd never been so scared, but she was okay and they would make it out of there together.