Author's Note: Thank you for all the reads and reviews. Apologies for the gaps between updating now, I hope this massive chapter makes up for it. Find me on Tumblr and Twitter under SepticLovebite!

TWDTWDTWD

Maggie volunteered to take the children in with her and Glenn for the night. The offer came from nowhere and Carol was taken aback. She almost refused, because she didn't think Maggie realised what she let herself in for, but Daryl shot her a look that suggested she better not dare to refuse it, so she compromised by accepting the offer when it came to Katie at least. One child at a time was probably safer for the young couple. Besides, even though she woke every few hours with Joe, it was Katie that wore her out more. If Joe woke up long enough to cry out for his feed, Katie woke up with him and she was far harder to get back to sleep.

The little girl was not overly excited by the prospect of a sleepover with Glenn and Maggie, although she did not react as badly as Carol had expected. Carol retired to the bedroom immediately after dinner, taking Joe with her, making the others promise to call her if Katie became upset. There had been too much turmoil in the young girl's life and she did not want to make it worse for the sake of a couple of hours sleep.

Still, it was nice to just sit on the bed, no chores to complete, just sitting in one of Daryl's shirts that she had commandeered as her pajamas, laughing at Joe as he rolled himself about, trying to sit up properly. He was such an easy child, really, all things considered. He seemed relatively untouched by the death of his parents so far and was generally easy to keep content, as long as he had his pacifier and bottle.

He was a beautiful child too. Wavy dark hair, that when he got older Carol knew was going to grow rapidly and all over the place. Wide eyes that were only a shade off of black, framed with thick black lashes that would make any woman envious. Tan skin and chubby limbs, just like a baby should be. When he giggled, dimples appeared at his cheeks and it was hard not smother him in kisses everytime he did.

Eventually, he began to tire and she gave him a bottle before settling him down on the bed to sleep. She used two pillows either side of him, just in case he rolled anywhere, although he usually never moved more than a couple of inches. She knew Daryl didn't like sharing the bed with the baby, but she hated to leave him in the car seat in when she didn't have to. It wasn't doing him any good. She'd have to hope there would be a cot for him when they got to the state park.

Carol knew she should have gone to bed herself once Joe had fallen asleep, catch up on her own rest, especially since she would be going into town the next day, but she couldn't sit back when she could see the jumble of clothes in the corner of the room, all in need of folding and packing.

Daryl joined her as she was cramming the last of the dirty things into a holdall, ready for washing when they had time. Not in this place, maybe not until Nebraska, but if that was more than a few days away, then she hoped not. He shot her a disapproving look and she just shrugged, zipping the bag closed with a little effort.

"Ya supposed to be gettin' some rack. And ya shoulda given Maggie him too." He nodded his head towards the baby, speaking in a whisper so as not to disturb him.

"He is the easy one. Besides, it would be too much for them to have both him and Katie. And they might not have wanted to have him in their bed, he can't be in that car seat for the whole night." She unbuttoned her pants, sliding them off and folding them onto the chair. "I don't even know why Maggie offered."

Daryl didn't say anything to that and she looked at him curiously as he kicked off his boots. She wanted to ask him if he had anything to do with that. She wouldn't normally assume such a thing, but his silence had her looking to him and there was something a little off. But she decided to remain silent on the matter, his jaw was set firmly and she quickly realised he would not answer her truthfully anyway.

She slid into the bed, pushing the baby over a little to make room for them both, settling the blankets around her hips. They were both silent as Daryl pulled off some of his layers, weapons, sliding from around his waist.

"If ya wanna get away for a few hours, we could just go huntin' instead. Don't have to go to town to get a break." He broke the silence first, hands fiddling with the knife in it's sheath that he had just taken off.

"It's okay. I should go." Her head came off the pillow to watch him as his hands twitched, almost nervously. "They're my responsibility. It's only fair I go get their things."

"Goin' into town ain't ya job. That's mine. With the other boys. It's our job to watch out for the rest of you. Kids included." Carol opened her mouth to protest but he cut her off, sitting next to her on the bed. "It ain't some sexist shit or whatever. You don't know shit about workin' your way outta twenty Walkers, just like I don't know shit about gettin' blood outta jeans. You ain't got nothin' to prove here."

"It isn't the same thing, Daryl." She sighed and rubbed her hand over her face wearily. "Even without that, I should still go anyway, it'll just be quicker."

"I don't want ya to go." His voice turned softer, his hand reaching out to touch her arm.

"I know. But it's going to be fine." She settled her head back down on the pillow, considering the matter settled. She pulled her arm under the covers, catching Daryl's hand in her own and pulling him down to her.

He didn't say anything, just slide next to her, careful not to jostle the baby sleeping peacefully at her side.

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One good thing about having kids around, Daryl noted, was that there would never be a need for an alarm clock. He wanted to get up early so that he and Carol could just get the trip over and done with quickly and Katie made sure of that. He didn't even hear the bedroom door creak open, or the slap of small bare feet on the wood floor. Instead he felt the tug on the blankets behind his back, on the edge of the bed. He shifted with a start and twisted around to meet the wide eyes of the little girl, hair sticking up in all directions, her pajamas creased.

She just looked at him for a moment and Daryl wondered what exactly she wanted.

"Go back to bed." His voice was quiet but hoarse from sleep, gruffer than he intended it to sound. It was good to be up early, but not this early. It wasn't even close to light yet. Katie shook her head, tugging on the blankets once more. "What?" Daryl asked again, Carol didn't stir beside him, but for once, he wished she would.

"Wanna get up." She stomped her foot a little and smacked his arm, although it didn't hurt, he pulled the limb away from her reach.

"Jesus fuckin' Christ." He mumbled under his breath, but he turned around to pull one arm free from the bed, grabbing Katie firmly by the waist and lifting her over onto the bed. He set her down underneath the baby's feet and Carol shifted and groaned sleepily at the unfamiliar weight that was fidgeting against her stomach. When she opened her eyes a touch, spotting the girl, she rolled onto her back and Katie made no hesitation to burrow her way between Carol and Daryl, tucking herself into Carol's side, effectively pushing Daryl out.

Carol smiled as she heard him tut with disapproval. This bed was far too small for four of them. She reached a hand over Katie to pull his arm over them both and he let her, although he was unresponsive.

"I promise it'll be roomier in Nebraska." She murmured to him and she felt his fingers curl around her hip in response.

Forty minutes later and all peace was destroyed when Maggie and Glenn came barrelling into their room, huffing and puffing. "Oh thank God. I thought we lost her." Maggie sighed in relief, slumping against the door frame.

"What the fuck? Get the hell out!" Daryl jumped up from the bed, jarring the others from sleep.

Glenn only laughed, hands up in surrender, probably due to sheer relief from having found Katie. "I'm pretty sure you aren't supposed to swear in front of kids."

"Glenn." Daryl warned, one finger pointing at the younger man.

Maggie's head disappeared from the door but Glenn only stood there, laughing still, not looking at him, but just at his shoulder. Daryl felt the small warm hands on his skin and turned his head, Katie's face was inches from his, pulling faces at Glenn from behind Daryl's shoulder. She stopped abruptly when Daryl turned to look at her and when he turned back to Glenn, there was no longer anyone standing in the doorway.

"I don't think you are supposed to swear in front of babies, you know." Daryl turned around and Carol was shuffling from the bed, a yawning Joe cradled in one arm. He just shot her a glare, standing up to pull on his shirt. "And that is exactly the reason why one child was more than enough for those two." She laughed as she said it and Daryl just mumbled something under his breath, which she chose to ignore.

"Let me get Joe's bottles made up and I'll be ready when you are." Daryl only nodded at her as he laced up his boots. He was somewhat amazed as he watched her pull her pants on with one hand, sliding the button into it's hole with ease. "Come on Kates." She held her hand out for the little girl, who took it reluctantly, staring up at Daryl as Carol led her from the room.

That kid weirded him out. The baby wasn't such a pain in the ass. He was pretty quiet and aside from the waking up in the middle of night for food, he was fairly content with his lot. Katie on the other hand, was already an obnoxious brat, at aged two. No matter how much he tried to ignore her, put a distance between them, she insisted on talking to him all the time, following him around the house. She reminded him of his old man's dog. No matter how times the bastard kicked the thing, it still came crawling back. Not that he kicked Katie, as much as he liked to on occasion.

He checked Carol's gun for her, making sure it was full and that everything was in order. It wasn't the only weapon he was going to give her. He'd considered giving her an axe of some sort, but he'd seen her lift one of those, way back when they first met and it was far too heavy for her. He settled on a knife not unlike his own. She would hate to have it and he didn't want to give it to her, he certainly was going to try his damnedest to make sure she didn't have to use it, but he wasn't going to let her go anywhere unarmed.

She was sitting at the kitchen table when he went out to hand them to her. Maggie had the baby on her lap, feeding the little one something from a jar and Carol didn't stop to take a breath as she ran through her list. Times for feeding, sleeping, what not to do. It was exhausting just to hear it.

"Come on, let's just go." Daryl snatched the scrap of paper with the feeding time and pushed it in front of Glenn, who was making Katie's breakfast. "Just don't lose 'em, don't poison them. Easy."

Carol looked at him reproachfully before running her hand over each child's head. "Be good." She murmured to them. She didn't wait to hear a response before heading out the door behind Daryl, pace almost turning into a run as she heard Katie wail behind her.

"She'll be fine." Daryl told her as he started the engine on the truck. He passed her the weapons and she took them with shaking hands. "Just in case." He told her.

It didn't take long to get into town. The route they'd used the day before was fairly easy and Daryl only stopped a couple of times nearer the house they were currently residing in, taking out a couple of stray Walkers with his knife, just in case they got too close to the house.

Daryl parked the truck a little way from the superstore that he intended to take Carol and she was immediately hit with the stench of death. She had forgotten. She rarely had contact with Walkers anymore, Daryl kept it from her as much as he could and she remembered once again, exactly how much she owed this man. She forced herself to swallow the bile she could feel rising, hand flying to her waistband to check she had her weapons.

With a series of hand gestures, he told her where they were heading and what direction threats were likely to come from. She wanted to take his hand as they ran to the back door of the store and knew damn well that he would let her if she tried but she stopped herself from reaching out. They both needed their hands free in case they ran into trouble.

There were several bodies for her to jump over. She feared one would rise up and grab her ankles, as she had seen them do on occassion, but she followed the path Daryl set and avoided any trouble. There were two on their way in, they didn't have a chance to come near them before Daryl took them both out with his knife. He hustled her towards the door, flashing his light in there first before pulling her in, shutting it behind them.

Daryl knew where he was going, picking over the bodies of the fallen that had been taken out the day before. This place wasn't as bad some of the others they'd been to that day, but it was a big store with plenty of entrances and most of them were still open.

There was one in the store room, Carol took a sharp intake of breathe, ready to pull out her knife but he stopped her, going in himself to do it. As he walked back to her, he rolled over an abandoned shopping cart for her to fill.

"Quick as ya can." He murmured to her, leading the way onto the shop floor, remembering the right aisle from before. She stumbled on a dented can on the floor and her shoe squeaked as she righted herself. They both stopped then, holding their breath, listening for the dreaded groaning. After a few seconds, he nudged her on and once she got to the aisle she immediately sought out the things she wanted as stealthily as she could, her gaze occassionally flickering to Daryl, who was pacing behind her, crossbow in hand, watching each end for any unwanted visitors.

"I'm done." She whispered after a few moments. "I need the medical care stuff."

Daryl nodded and gestured towards the end of the aisle and she pushed the cart behind him, trying to ease the squeak that came from one wheel. The groaning that came from behind her was faint at first, neither of them heard it but then the hair at the back of her neck prickled and her breath hitched in her throat.

Her hand went to her hip for the knife before she could turn and she resisted screaming when the thing was upon her. Formally a man in a suit, with thinning hair and broken spectacles hanging from a chain around it's bloody neck, it lurched towards her and she pulled the knife free to lodge it in the first part of it she could reach, it's jaw. Before she could pull it out and stab the Walker again, a hand went to her neck and Daryl leant over her to push his own blade through the creature's rotting skull. It slumped to the ground as Daryl pulled his knife free and she managed to yank her weapon free before the weight of the Walker took her down.

"You ok?" He whispered, mouth to her ear and she nodded shakily. He nudged her elbow and gestured for her to keep going.

It was hard to keep her focus in the medical care aisle. Most of the things had been taken, but right at the end, she spotted the children's medicines and there was still a fair amount there. Most people would've skipped past them all together, their own group had, but Carol knew even children's medicines could be of use to the adults, at a push. So in went the liquid paracetamol, dissolving aspirin and band aids. Teething gel and a lone teething ring. Some sterilising fluid and hand sanitizer. The liquid painkiller that used to make Sophia as drowsy as anything when she was a child. It was a horrible thought, essentially drugging children to keep them quiet, but it might save their lives one day.

Eventually she thought she had exhausted the section of anything she could use and Daryl just shook his head in disbelief when he saw how full the cart was. She let herself give him a small smile in return and she stopped rolling the cart when she got half way down the aisle. Her eyes fell to the small square boxes, all in different colours and she looked back at Daryl, who was busy scanning the ends of the aisle.

"We're out, right?" She asked him, quietly, gesturing out to the rows of condoms, spilling onto the floor.

Daryl looked taken aback as he turned to face her, clearly not expecting this change of pace. "Uh, yeah, used the last one the other night." She nodded and reached down, scooping up four boxes, dumping them in the cart.

"Fuck that, the way we're goin', we'll be out by next week. I ain't askin' to get some off Glenn." Daryl grunted at her, reaching over and tossing another handful in.

Carol slapped a hand over her mouth to stifle the giggle that was begging for release. It was true though. He had brought two boxes the first time they had sex and when she thought about it, it really wasn't that long ago. A few weeks. If that. But it was new for both of them and she wondered if the desire to behave like rabbits would wear off. It had certainly slowed since the children arrived. But then in the state park, there would be cabins, so Daryl told her. Separate rooms.

She tossed in one last box and he gave her a grin as they made their way down the aisle. There were two more Walkers dragging themselves towards them. One was one it's hands and knees and she didn't hesitate to take that one out, knife, hitting the target right at the top of it's skull.

It wasn't easy and she suspected it never would be, but she felt a little proud of herself. Sure, Daryl wouldn't let her get hurt, but she did it herself. She wouldn't savour this chore, but she could do it if she had to.

They were back on the road three hours after they had left the house and Carol found that she was itching to make sure the children were alright. She was staring out the window when the truck lurched to a stop, sending her sliding forward, almost off the bench. They were on a road that was sheltered with trees, just a mile or so away from the house.

"Daryl, what are-" She was cut off when Daryl slide across the bench to close the gap between them, mouth slamming on hers. It took her a second, but she responded. Hands finding their way to his neck, pressing him close.

"I can't even remember the last time I got you to myself." He murmured into her mouth, pressing his lips back on hers as he yanked at her coat, pulling it from her shoulders.

"Aww, poor baby." She pulled her lips from his to utter the uncharacteristic sarcasm but he only chuckled, helping her pull her shirt over her head.

She hadn't worn a bra. He was grateful, one less thing for him to fumble with in his haste to get to her. His hands went straight to her tits, kneading the flesh as he pressed his kisses to her neck and she gasped as he pushed her up on his lap.

It took all of ten seconds for her boots, pants and underwear to hit the floor of the truck and for her to be grinding her pelvis into his.

"I hardly think it's fair for me to be the only one naked here." She managed to pant out as his mouth trailed down her collarbone to her chest.

"Shut up." He growled back, mouth covering one nipple briefly before he conceded and shrugged his jacket off, pulling his shirt over his head and tossing it onto the dashboard.

She reached over for the condoms on the other side of the truck and passed them to him to open whilst she fumbled at his pants, undoing his belt and he lifted his hips to pull them down enough for his dick to spring free.

Her delicate fingers went straight to his length as he pulled the condom free from the box and he let out a groan as she worked her hand up and down. He could see her head bending forward, ready to take him into her mouth, but he nudged her away to roll the condom on. Not that he didn't want it, but if there was any way he would come too soon, it would be her hot, wet mouth wrapping around him.

He held her by the hips and guided her on to him and she sunk down quickly, moaning as her ass hit his thighs. She clutched him tight, hands scrabbling at his back as she rocked on him and he pressed his face to her chest, teeth nipping at whatever skin he could reach.

When she came, she clenched her thighs together, locking his legs in place and her nails dug into his skin as she huffed out his name in his ear, so breathy he almost missed it, her cunt convulsing around his dick. She slowed only for a moment before picking up the pace again, letting him get his own release a few minutes later, coming with a groan.

They stayed in that position for a moment, savouring the peace and quiet. Eventually, Carol lifted herself up slightly, letting his soft dick free but he held her hips to his thighs.

"You can come on a run again." He told her, pressing one more kiss to the side of the neck.

"Might be too much action for little old me." She responded and he growled softly, teeth nipping at her earlobe.

Eventually, she clambered from him and let him straighten himself up before he started the engine. She pressed herself close, enjoying the feel of his free hand stroking her side as they drove back to the house. It was only when they were a few hundred feet away that she remembered that she had to put her clothes back on and she cursed at Daryl as he laughed at her fumbling with her shirt, slowing the truck to let her get herself composed.

Yes, he decided, she could definitely come along again.