This started out as a role play between myself (gunslingerdixon) and my Carol rp partner untapdtreasure (nolongeraxburden), and it was mutually decided upon to share with the rest of FF as a fanfiction. So here it is! Enjoy!

If y'all are interested in following us just go to: nolongeraxburden. tumblr .com or gunslingerdixon. tumblr .com

Also: we own nothing in regards to The Walking Dead. All rights belong to the copyright holder.

Daryl:

"I know it's you, but that weren't you." He replied roughly shaking his head at her meek statement. Daryl was still curious as to how she had had it in her to do such a thing. He supposed if it was for the group that she could have easily done it. Hell, he had tried killing Jim when they'd found out he had been bit and several times he had come close to doing so. Granted, it was out of his own selfish indignance that he had tried to remove the threat, not because it was for the others. At the time he couldn't give two shits about them after what they had done to Merle. No tolerance for walkers. And there hadn't been any tolerance of it thereafter.

Daryl frowned at her as she began crying, chewing the inside of his cheek in slight anxiety. He disliked seeing people cry. He never knew what to do or really how to comfort them. In the past few years he'd found himself crying and it made him feel so weak. Dixons didn't cry. Weren't supposed to. He'd gotten smacked around by his Daddy as a kid when he did and it toughened him up to keep from doing so. The scar across his chest was proof enough of that. In spite of that kind of conditioning, Daryl had cried. All the times he had… Had been for Merle, but that didn't matter now.

Without hesitation, he brought his hand up that wasn't pressed against the wall and began thumbing away her tears with the rough pads of his fingers. "Stop cryin' yer eyes out. Ain't done no one a bit o' good." He growled softly, his brows furrowed in a confused wonderment at how her eyes shone so bright when she cried. There was a sparkled glint and the blues of her eyes seemed to glow with what little flicker of light caught on them.

"Remember, jus' a waste o' time all this hopin' an' prayin'." He chuckled a little to himself at the statement. "'Sides…" He paused ducking down a little using the light to see if he had gotten rid of all her tears, carefully taking her chin in his hand and gently turning her face back and forth. "I know yer sorry. Y'wouldnt be like this if y'weren't." He replied removing the last streak that ran the gamut of her cheek with his thumb wiping the wetness on the thighs of his pants.

When he realized what he'd been doing, Daryl quickly deflated and slunk down some, embarrassed by his fussing. His cheeks burned a crimson red and the slight tug of crooked crept faintly at the corners of his lips. It was very mother-hen of him and he wasn't quite sure if that was something he quite enjoyed. It made him feel very soft and gentle and he was very aware that he could be those things, but it was few and far between for such naturalism. He gulped the uneasiness of it down before removing his hand from her cheek.

"Y'don't have ta convince me none 'bout all this. It's gotta be the others." He replied clicking his tongue on the back of his teeth as he shrugged his shoulders knowing that Rick hadn't believed Carol was empathetic towards the loss of life that had been taken. It would be a stretch for the others to hold trust with her after this but it didn't matter to him. Daryl would do his best to protect her as he always did. It was their code and he would stick to it.

Stepping away from where he had her pinned to the wall, gently touching at her arm he tried getting her attention. "Buck up. We'll get it all settled." He drawled in reassurance offering the small curl of the corners of his lips in a faint smile. Daryl was sure she couldn't see from the dark and how little the smile would be visible but that was fine with him. He knew he was offering it to her and that to him was all that mattered.

Carol:

Carol's heart hammered louder and faster in her chest as his thumb slid across her face, wiping away her tears gently as he could. She felt her gut fill with heat and longing to be held and comforted by him. But she remained rooted to the spot, unable to show him what she really needed from him for fear of another rejection. Her eyes instead stayed locked on him as he spoke. He gently checked her for more tears, and she wanted to smile at how far he'd come, but there was still a serious matter at hand.

She was sorry. His fingers fell from her face then. She took a shaky breath and uttered softly, "Thank you." Her voice was raw with emotion. Her lips quivered some and exhaustion set in. Her body relaxed against the wall. "It wasn't because I didn't care about them. Daryl, I need you to know that. Don't care what the others think of me. Just you…" Her hands were hung loosely at her side. "When they died and no one was there? We'd have D block all over again." Her voice was steadier now. "That's all I knew." She swallowed back her emotions, sliding on a mask to get her through the rest of the night.

When he seemed to slink back and put a bit of distance between them, she watched with her breath held. She was just glad they weren't fighting anymore. Trading insults with him had been worse than any slap or hit Ed had ever given her. She swallowed back the lump as it formed in her throat. She raised her hand and let it rest gently to cup his elbow and gave it a squeeze.

"I can handle the others, Daryl. I'm not proud of what I did. I don't like what I did, but I won't hide from it either." She felt her voice was more confident than she truly was, but it needed to be done. She wouldn't have him ostracized with her because he felt he owed it to her to protect her. "Let me handle them, okay?" She dropped her hand, glancing around and giving a soft sigh.

"One of us should sleep. Then we switch. We'll need the rest whatever little bit we can get. Hopefully, we'll make it back to the bike, and then get the hell out of here come morning." She sighed again, not liking the idea of being in this tiny box of a room, but she'd suck it up and be strong for him.

"You got watch first?" Her body shifted toward him, brushing against him, and if she was honest with herself, it had been on purpose. It had been for her own peace of mind. She just needed him close. She ached to hug him, feel his body pressed to hers. Because when the day dawned and whether they wanted it or not, they were going to emerge two very different people. She had never wanted the darkness to linger more than in this moment. At least here, they knew where they stood with one another. Or she hoped she did.

Please review and let us know what you thought! Cheers!

*Note: This is also not 100% written by myself. I owe a lot of credit to my wonderful partner as she is Carol and does a phenomenal job. Send her some love too at untapdtreasure here at FF!