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:

He felt soft gentle hands at his shoulder shaking him awake. Daryl's eyes fluttered open at the sound of his name being called. He had to blink to try and refocus as he groaned feeling the creak and pop of his bones. Definitely could feel the wear and tear of day-to-day life as it was kicking in. Sitting up he yawned stretching his arms up to arch his back a little. When he was done yawning, he absently scratched at his chest, cracking an eye open to glance at Carol who sat crouched by his side.

"I'm up." He groused yawning again, before pushing to his feet.

His neck felt stiff having slept on the hard cushioned floor. And he was sure that he had slept on better in the past. Scoffing at the thought as it had been the floor of his own bedroom that he was thinking of with the plush carpet. Merle having claimed his bed to use for a quick fuck with one of the local waitresses at the bar down at the edge of town. It seemed to be a recurring trend with Merle whenever it was he returned from juvenile hall or a stint in jail. Always the same.

Shaking his head at the thought, Daryl rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and doing his best to get his bearings. Being woken up wasn't something he enjoyed even if it was Carol. It seemed to throw off his natural routine, but being locked in the bathroom was not part of the commonplace morning necessities.

Rolling out his shoulders as he sauntered over towards one of the stalls pushing one of the doors open. The loud crick of his neck echoed in the empty bathroom and a sigh of relief fell from his lips. His eyes scanned the inside of the stall observing the numerous different scrawls of writing graffitied over most everything. Several of the passages were those of desperation.

"Garrett I made it to Savannah. I'll find you."

Unzipping the fly of his pants, he steadied himself with a palm flat against the cool of the wall as he relieved himself. His eyes kept returning to the walls reading the other notes that had been left behind in hopes that someone might find them. He wondered how many others had sought refuge here… whether or not they had made it out alive. It didn't matter.

When he finished, Daryl zipped himself up and stepped out from around the corner and towards the sink that was empty of glass. There was quite a bit of blood on the wall and sink from the night before. Fingers gingerly brushed at where Carol had bandaged him up and saw the small bloom of red that was coming through. He'd gone and fucked up his hand, he was sure of this as the sting of the shredded skin kicked in full.

Wincing at the pain in his hand, the muscle in his jaw went taut and he had to shut his eyes to control the grunt of pain that tried escaping his lips. Daryl couldn't let Carol see that his hand was in some sort of pain. Not when they were planning their escape. He had to keep his cool and bite down the sting. That's what Dixons did.

The knob turned more times than he would have liked before a few dribbles of water spilled out of the faucet and onto his hands as he tried cleaning his hands— somewhat. When he had somewhat gotten into his groove of normal morning habits, Daryl returned his attention to Carol who had remained rather quiet save for the occasional statement or two, which elicited a grunt from him.

Daryl was weary. Mentally exhausted from the night's conversations… arguments… the touching and confessions. All had worn him down and he simply just pushed through it all. He wanted out and back inside the prison walls. He would deal with whatever repercussions awaited him upon his return— stand his ground by his decision, whatever it was they aimed to do to Carol or himself. For now, he tried steeling himself for whatever was lurking on the other side of the bathroom wall.

Carol:

Carol smirked when he told her that he was up. He was always a bit crabby when he was woken up. She kept her place on the floor, not at all eager to get this part of their day started. All roads lead to the prison, and she wasn't sure she was ready for that, but she made a commitment. She wasn't about to be another person that left him. Not when she could help it. If the others chose to kill her or turn her out again, then so be it. It was what it was. And she knew damn well that she'd take whatever punishment they saw fit.

She watched as he tried to work out the kinks in his neck and back. She waited for him to step into the stall before deciding that she needed to get up and move about herself and work the stiffness out of her own joints. She pushed herself up off the floor, pulling the pack with her. She suggested, "There's granola bars. Out of date, but it's better than nothing, right?"

She reached in and grabbed one for herself and tore open the wrapper and took a small bite, unsure if her body would let her keep anything down. She was a ball of nerves for damn sure. She sat the back pack into the sink that held all the glass from the night before. It wouldn't be used for anything else anyway. May as well serve as a table.

She managed to get down half the bar without her stomach revolting and shoved the remainder into her mouth then. She chewed slowly, needing something to do with her mouth so that she didn't open her mouth and say the wrong thing right out of the gate. She watched as he emerged from the stall. Her head wasn't turned toward him, but her eyes were. She took him in as he inspected his hand, but she remained quiet for now.

They had to get out of there, and that was all that mattered at the moment. There was time to check out his hand later. Preferably when they were behind the fences at the prison. She let out a soft sigh. "So what's the plan, Daryl?" She already knew he had one. He wouldn't have slept otherwise. "You just give me direction, and I'll do whatever it takes. No fuss."

She stepped closer to him, unable to really stay away. In the daylight, she could see all of his features, and it was like a magnet that was pulling her forward. She swallowed the lump in her throat. She touched his arm gently then and let it rest there for a moment. "I just wanted to say that no matter what happens when we get back…thank you. Thank you for coming to get me. For wanting me back. I know I don't deserve that from you after what I did, but I, uh, mean that. Truly, I do."

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!