For notes and disclaimer, please see part one.

Previously, on the Walking Dead: Sophia wants to show Carol something. Daryl decides they're all crazy, and there's a thin line between being determined and annoying.

Safety

She reached out and grabbed her daughter, pulling her close when she felt the eyes on them. She could tell Sophia was about to say something; she hated to, but Carol clamped a hand over the girl's mouth.

Sophia stilled in the protection of her mother's arms.

Glancing around, she saw a pair of hungry, yellow eyes peer at them from behind a tree. The snarling growl was menacing, especially as the bear maneuvered itself on its thick paws. It crawled forward, its mouth open and salivating.

Like a shot, Sophia slipped from Carol's grasp and raced further along the creek bed.

With no weapons, no ability to stop the monster lurking across the way, Carol had no choice but to follow after Sophia again. Part of her wanted to make a stand, just to accept it; however, the overwhelming desire to save her daughter was undeniable.

At the fallen, rotting log, Sophia edged away from the banks. The path, long neglected, was laced with tangled, thorny brambles. They caught on the legs of Carol's pants, threatening to slow her, maybe even stop her with a fall, but determination edged her ever forward, climbing ever higher as she moved away from the creek.

Sophia's feet were sure, landing with precision in clearings, on flat, sturdy rocks.

Carol tried to call out to her daughter when the young blonde disappeared from her immediate vision again. No matter how loudly she cried, her voice simply couldn't carry. It was like it was being drowned out by something. She stilled for a moment, long enough to hear the thundering gait of the approaching bear. She had no choice but to hope she was following her daughter's path, logic telling her that the predator would've stopped, enjoyed its kill had it caught Sophia.

When the trees cleared, she could barely believe what she saw before her. For a split second, she wondered if she hadn't found an oasis, a mirage in the woods. The sun shone brighter, warmer. The colors appeared crisper, clearer. Everything was better. It was like before, in Sophia's Meadow, when a feeling of unyielding peace permeated her. She hadn't realized how high she'd climbed until she saw the rushing water, falling from a rocky outcropping some thirty feet above her, descending down into and feeding the creek where she and Sophia had been only minutes before.

Waving ferociously, the little girl was partially hidden, protected by the falling water from the rest of the forest.

Daryl began his descent into the camp only moments before Carol woke. He'd been waiting, watching. With little else to keep him occupied, he'd been keeping track of the placement of the moon and stars, the slow approach of dawn, all to estimate when she would stir, when her dream would end. After a week of observation, he'd nailed it fairly accurately.

As sleep left her, Carol gasped softly.

For a half a second, Daryl wondered if he hadn't startled her awake prematurely. A moment later, when she sat up, she was genuinely surprised to see him.

"Mornin'," she drawled softly, almost bashfully.

He dipped his head slightly in return, looking at her nearly expectantly.

She wasn't sure what that expression meant and took a minute to consider it as she got to her feet and "made her bed," as it were. Surely, he didn't want to hear her rambling about her dream, about what had happened in the night with Sophia. Although, she wished she could show him the beauty of the waterfall. She knew she'd never be able to adequately describe the exquisiteness of the scene.

"Well?"

She glanced up at him, her eyes searching his. "You... you want to know?"

He brushed off her shock. "Ain't nothin' else to talk about, is there?"

It was true; topics of conversation had dwindled over the weeks. Everyone knew what was going on, because the news only stretched to the fringes of their group. There was no President to follow, no Wall Street to blame for anything, not even the voyeuristic pleasure of taking about celebrities. There were only so many anecdotes that anyone could share before their repertoires were exhausted.

The smile that grew on her face reached her eyes at the realization that, on some level, he really did care, and then she began to gush. "Oh, Daryl, I wish you could've seen this place. That I could show you—that Sophia and I could show you..."

"That nice, huh?" he asked. There were places he'd have liked to have seen, things he'd have liked to have done in his lifetime. Those dreams died—they had to—when the dead started to rise. There was no point in going places, in experiencing new things when, every time he turned around, he had to struggle to survive.

"Even though there was this bear chasing us, it was... it was like it didn't matter, once we got to this spot."

He blinked. "Bears?" Of all the fool things to be afraid of at this point in life, bears weren't one of them. He wouldn't have minded snagging one, though. The fur might be beneficial for the coming winter, not to mention the bountiful meat.

"Considering," she began, gesturing around their camp, "I'll settle for a bear any day."

He couldn't begrudge her that, offering her an understanding half-shrug in response.

When silence descended on them again, just milling by the bike, she reached out, placing a hand on his forearm.

He was jolted slightly but settled as she offered a gentle squeeze. While she never said anything, he knew it was in appreciation. He still wasn't used to being thanked. It was still so easy, to quantify things as happening before the walkers or after them. As they stood there, in the dawning twilight, he realized the before didn't matter. People were gone. Lives were different. It was time to move on, to adjust to the current reality. There was a new world order, and if it was under Rick's dictatorship, then that's just the way it was. He needed to figure out how to operate within those confines.

He was beginning to feel like that meant trusting people, letting people in. He'd never done anything like that before, not really, but maybe he could let Carol in. A teeny, tiny bit.

Stay tuned...