thank you for the reviews so far! They're really appreciated! I did a bigger paragraph on what Carol was thinking, hope you like it.

Carol felt slightly on a high for the rest of the day. His kiss had left her feeling elated. If that's what she got out of months and months worth of needling down his emotional barrier, she would definitely carry on. That afternoon, she was preparing the food for both her own group and the other when she realised something. They were running out fast. Trying not to let panic grip her, she carefully divided the food she had already prepared and distributed it between everyone. When she got a moment, she pulled Rick aside.

"There's not gonna be enough food to last us the rest of the week," she said quietly, not wishing to startle everyone else.

Rick nodded and, seeing Carol whispering to him, Daryl came over to stand with them.

"What's up?" he asked.

"We're running out of food."

Daryl looked at the remaining three boxes then nodded and said, "We'll need to go on a supply run." He looked at her. "You comin'?"

She was slightly surprised that he'd asked her to go with him but she nodded and smiled at him. He gave her a slight smile back then moved to go and sit with Merle. Carol saw the older Dixon give Daryl a nudge and then he laughed- his mouth wide open and tilting back on his seat. She smiled at the brothers but something was still stuck in the back of her mind. Would he end up leaving with Merle eventually? Would he really leave her? Carol swallowed and forced herself not to think about it.

...

Later, he found her in her cell and leaned against the door frame.

"You comin'?" he asked.

She nodded and picked up her knife. He handed her a gun that she slung across her body and gave him a short smile.

"Let's go then."

He saw her stretch out for the keys to one of the cars and he snorted.

"You think we're takin' a car?"

Carol grinned. "Oh right," she said, following him out to the fields.

Daryl hopped on his bike which hadn't been used- he hoped, thinking about Axel- for weeks. It made him smile as he settled on it again and he motioned at her to follow. She hesitated at first but slowly swung her leg across and got comfortable behind him. Daryl knew she never felt safe hanging onto the bar at the back so it didn't surprise him when her hands snaked around his front and gripped together. For the second time in a minute, he smiled. Kicking down the support pedal, he started the bike and they were off.

...

Carol loved being on the back of his bike. It felt so free and wild- something she never was with Ed. The excitement and adrenaline that came with being on the back of Daryl Dixon's motorbike with him made her feel like nothing was wrong in the world. No walkers existed. No apocalypse. But, if the apocalypse hadn't happened, would she have met Daryl? Probably not. Wouldn't she still be stuck in an abusive relationship with her dead husband? Yes. It was a selfish way of thinking, she knew. Then another thought came about. Something she thought about every day since it happened. Sophia would have still been alive. She wouldn't have been bitten. They would still be at home. Yes, she would have been beaten but wasn't that better off than her being dead? Was Sophia dying her punishment for marrying someone like Ed and giving birth to a little girl, knowing she would be treated just like her mother? These questions flew around her head and remained unanswered so she rested her forehead in between Daryl's shoulder blades, shut her eyes and squeezed him tighter. He was the only thing she had left and she wasn't going to lose him. Not after everything.

They arrived at a deserted shop off a main road and were instantly on their guard.

"We need baby formula as well!" she gasped.

Daryl nodded. "I'll scope around the place. Go on inside an' see what there is."

Carol slowly pushed open the door, trying to remain quiet but forceful at the same time. Once the door had budged open, she edged inside. The entire shop was only lit by the light forcing it's way in through two small windows at the front but, towards the back, it looked eerily dark. She brought out a torch and pointed it towards the shelves that held baby items. After she had stuffed five cans of it in her bag, she heard a noise.

"Daryl?" she called out.

No reply. Her heart quickened.

"Da-"

At that moment, a walker stumbled towards her. It looked as though it had already been shot with an arrow but it was still stuck in its back. With all the bravery she could conjure up, Carol leapt forward and impaled it's head with her knife. Quickly removing it, she ran back outside of the shop and straight into something. She shrieked.

"Jesus, woman!" he said, acting like he hadn't jumped as well. "Jus' me!"

"Where the hell were you?" she asked, her voice shrill.

He frowned then looked at her. "Are you hurt?"

"I... No- What?"

"Are ya hurt?" he asked, his hands turning her by her shoulders so he could check all over her body.

Carol was stunned but let herself be checked over. "I'm fine! Where were you?"

"There were three out back. One musta slipped past me," he said, frowning.

Her face softened. "Hey, it's alright. I'm fine, see!"

She demonstrated by throwing her arms out wide and turning around 360 degrees, happy when she met his smiling face again. He looked in the best mood he had been in for a while.

"C'mon, I'll check with ya this time," he said, making his way back into the shop.

...

They came out with dozens of canned food tins they had found in the back of the shop. Nobody could have been there since it all started. As they were enjoying what they had found, his ears picked up something. It sounded like multiple car engines. Well, nobody from the prison was coming out to find them. It had only been an hour or two.

"Get back in there," he said, pushing her back into the shop.

They crouched down inside and he kept a hand on her shoulder, keeping her in place, as he just peeked out of the window. The sight terrified him. There were three cars and looked like they belonged to the people of Woodbury and they were slowly coming to rest outside the shop.

"Shit," he whispered. "Go back in the supply room."

Still crouching, they made their way into the room. Daryl thought about his bike outside and hoped that they wouldn't bother. Just as the thought entered his mind, he heard voices.

"Hey, look at this bike! Someone try and find the keys!" one person shouted.

His heart was racing as he felt his pocket, checking that he still had them. He stood with his back against the wall next to the door with Carol on his right doing the same. His arm was keeping her in place as is locked over her stomach. Her own pulse was quick, he could tell. He knew she wasn't stupid but if he moved his arm it would feel like she wouldn't be in his control and something could happen. There were sounds coming from inside the shop now. The sounds of people rooting through whatever they could get their hands on.

"There's a room at the back, here!" someone called.

Daryl felt like he was going to be sick. If they came in here, there was no way he could defend himself and Carol. There was too many of them. His hand strayed down her arm and he grasped her hand in his, terrified that this would be their last moment. He felt her forehead lean on his shoulder and he wished he could move to comfort her and hold her.

The door burst open. His hand gripped Carol's harder.

"Shit! There's nothin' even in here! What a waste 'a time!" a man shouted from right next to where they stood, not even coming into the room.

Grumbles and shouts came from the shop and he heard the cars at the front start up again. They both visibly relaxed and exhaled deeply. He peeked out into the now deserted shop, took her hand and made a run for his bike.

...

Once they were back at the prison, it had gone dark. He pushed inside and made his way into the cells. Instead of following straight after him, Carol had sorted the food, arranged it into piles and given Carl the formula for Judith. She ignored everyone else and rushed into her own cell to see Daryl stood in the middle of it. As soon as he saw her, he rushed forward and grabbed her face, kissing her greedily. She went with it, gripping his shirt at the back and pulling him in and kissing him back.

"Thought we weren't gonna-"

She stopped him. "We're fine. Everything's fine." She stepped back and attempted to turn around again in her little dance but was cut off by him wrapping his arms around her waist and hugging her.

Her hands drifted up into his hair and he pulled back again to kiss her, thankful they were both still here.