Three days went by without Carol seeing Daryl and at first she was mad at him for avoiding her. Then she began to wonder if it was in fact, she who was avoiding him.

She decided that she didn't have time to dwell on it, instead focusing her energy on her chores. Like all the cooking and preparation she still had to do.

"Hey, Carol, you seen Daryl round here?"

She pushed a large tray into the refrigerator, bumping the door closed with her hip before turning around to face Rick. "No," she said truthfully.

Rick's brow furrowed. "Alright. If I see him I'll tell him you're looking for him?"

She shook her head, reaching to place another tray in the oven. "You don't have to."

He cocked his head. "Everything okay?"

"Just fine," she said, a little more coolly than she'd intended.

He sighed. "Alright. I'm takin Judith over to Jessie's. See you tonight?"

She smiled softly, not quite meeting his eyes.

It was only a few minutes after he'd left that the door on the side re-opened.

"I said get out of my kitchen and stop distracting me!" She called in a teasing tone.

"Distractin ya from what?" A low voice said with a grunt.

"Sorry," she said, pulling off her oven mitts and grabbing a spatula. "Thought you were Rick. He was asking for you, a couple minutes ago."

Daryl shrugged. "Saw 'im out front. Somethin smells good." He reached to tug on a foil-wrapped bowl, but Carol swatted her spatula across his knuckles.

"That's not for you. It's for the party tonight," she scolded lightly.

He held his hands up in surrender. "Party?" He said wrinkling his nose.

Carol nodded. "At town hall, tonight at seven. Supposed to be pretty fancy. I'm catering, of course."

"Of course," he said, trying not to roll his eyes.

"What?" she asked, eyebrow raised.

"You gonna put on a fancy dress to?"

"Actually, I haven't decided what I'm going to wear yet." She looked at him thoughtfully. "You know, you should come."

He studied her for a moment, like he was trying to decide whether or not she was serious. "I… uh…. me an' Aaron…. were gonna just…."

"Oh," she said softly, lowering her eyes.

"Hay," he said, taking a few tentative steps towards her. "Why don't ya just ditch this thing an' come over by Aaron with me?"

She shook her head. "I can't do that. You know I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because. People expect me to be there. Besides, it's Maggie's first event that she organized. I'm mostly supporting her."

He shrugged. "Alright."

She stirred something in a bowl for a few seconds, trying to get lost in the mindless work, but he stood behind her, eyes boring into her. "What is it now?"

He moved right beside her, leaning into the counter. "All this," he said, gesturing with his hands. "This… political shit. Just ain't you."

She looked up at him, biting back an unkind retort and sighing softly instead. "You said we get to start over, move on. Maybe this is who I am now."

XXXXX

Daryl stood with Rick on the porch, taking a long drag from a cigarette. "You goin ta this… thing tonight?" He asked gruffly.

"Yeah," Rick said. "I got a late shift, but I'll stop in late. Don't really see how I can get out of it. Besides, it's probably best to keep an eye on as much of the activities as possible, dontcha think?"

Daryl shrugged. He looked up when he saw Carol across the street, engaged in conversation with one of the men he'd seen try to talk to her earlier that week. She was smiling a sweet, exaggerated smile, laying it on real thick, and he knew she knew they were watching. She put her hand on the bastard's arm, her eyes twinkling for a moment when she locked her gaze on his, and winked when she saw him looking.

Daryl's eyes narrowed as he exhaled. "Rick, you notice anythin different bout Carol?"

Rick looked to where Daryl's gaze was directed and waved. "I don't think so. Why, you notice anything different about Carol?"

"Pfft," Daryl huffed, stubbing out his cigarette in an ash tray that had been fashioned near the railing.

XXXXX

There was upbeat music playing and a large crowd that had already gathered when Carol walked up the steps to town hall with Michonne and Glenn, all carrying armfuls of catering trays.

Maggie showed them where to set the food and they stood in the corner, scanning the space for people they recognized. After awhile, Carl showed up with his new friends and they all dragged Michonne by both hands to the dance floor.

The corner of her mouth tugged upwards as she watched. She wasn't sure how long she'd been staring wistfully, but suddenly a large form appeared in front of her.

"I don't suppose you'd want to dance?"

She looked up with a smile. "Actually, I would. Thanks for asking, George." She let him lead her away, her eyes still scanning the crowd even as they moved to the beat. She tried to pay attention to what her companion was saying, but thankfully the music was fairly loud and he didn't try to talk too much.

The song ended and another began and George didn't show any signs of wanting to stop so she continued to sway, hoping she didn't appear too distracted as she watched other people's faces. She spotted Glenn and Maggie on the far side of the room near the podium, frowning when she realized that they appeared to be in a heated discussion.

The third song ended and the music changed and George held out his arm, palm outstretched towards her, but another movement to her left caught her attention and her eyes narrowed as they landed on Aaron and Eric, slow dancing at the edge of the dance floor.

"What's the matter?" George asked.

She shook her head. "It's nothing, I just thought-"

"Mind if I cut in?"

Her heart stopped and she turned her head, eyes widening in genuine surprise. "Daryl," she breathed.

He was gazing at them expectantly and George backed away. "Uh, yes, of course," she answered quickly.

She took his hand, leaning closer to him. "What are you doing here?" She asked, once George was out of earshot.

"Same as you," he said, suddenly nervous as he rested a hand on her waist. "Tryin."

She offered him a gentle smile as she placed one hand on his shoulder, the other in his and pulled him closer.

"I didn't think this through," he muttered.

"It's okay," she said softly. "You're fine. Just do what I do."

He was painfully awkward, and a little clumsy as they swayed slowly. She tried to take the lead, but he stepped forward at the same time she did and ended up stepping all over her feet, their foreheads bumping into each other. She couldn't help laughing and she placed a hand over her mouth trying to hide it.

"Ah, who'm I kiddin?" He muttered. He looked up at her with his head cocked to the side. "Ya wanna get outta here?"

She nodded, still laughing a little behind her hand.