A/N: Sorry for the delay for any of the readers reading this. Caught the flu.

Chapter Four

Hurt Feelings

Beth, Heather and Judy sat playing with large building blocks that Duo and they had brought back with them, along with some other toys they were able to find in a small toy store in the town a few miles away.

Toys weren't the only thing they brought back and not everyone was happy about it either.

Rick and the others had made it back an hour before Duo and them.

They all stood around the water truck. Some were glaring, some seemed distant, and a few seemed welcoming. Rick and Carol were not in the welcoming party.

Both had tight lips, their eyes glaring at the newcomer, and Daryl, who also wore an angry glare directed towards Rick and Carol.

"What the hell is ya'lls problem? Like we ain't taken no newcomers before," Daryl gave a pointed glance towards Duo.

"Problem, Daryl, is we don't know this woman. You should have held her someplace else 'till we talked with her. What if she takes off and brings other back? You've put us all in danger; you, Duo and Heero. You all should have been more careful. "

Daryl grunted. Duo and Heero nodded.

They both knew Rick was right, but it was too late to do anything about it now.

"We can't change what happened so now we deal," Duo broke in.

Daryl moved closer to the woman which caused Carol to grow angrier. She watched as Daryl got close enough that their elbows were brushing together. She huffed, rolled her eyes, spun on her heel, and stormed off. The others stared after her. Her reaction wasn't a Carol like reaction. She was always the shy timid and loving carol. The angry standoffish Carol was a sight. She looked over her shoulder back towards Daryl who was still looking down at the woman next to him. He acted as if he hadn't noticed Carol's exit. She huffed again and stormed into her tent, throwing the flap closed.

Carol paced from one side of her tent to the other kicking the blanket out of her way before she flopped down on the floor.

Outside, the group broke off as Rick, Daryl, the newcomer, and Duo and Heero stood talking things through. Daryl opted to keep an eye on the woman who said her name was Chrissy. Rick and the others glanced at each other, having the same thought, Carol isn't gonna be happy about this, but they all nodded. After they agreed, they all went their own way. Rick sat down with Judy and Carl joined his dad. Heero and Duo went to work sorting through the supplies and making a list of things they still needed. Later that day, they had a meeting planned to talk about moving on. They all felt they were still too close to a large city and it was only a matter of time before they became overrun.

Daryl and Chrissy sat together, talking. She explained that she'd been part of a small group that had just moved into the city; not their brightest idea. She and four others had gone into the city to look for supplies when they found themselves in the middle of a horde. The 4th member got himself killed. He panicked and ran ahead without looking and smacked into another group of walkers; they barely made it back to their car. They came to the bridge and Daryl saw the rest for himself.

She was surprised they'd just left her like that. She was hurt, but the group wasn't that tight. It consisted mostly of people that banded together over a short period of time. She was on a first named basis with only a few people; she had no real ties to them and made it clear she didn't want to go back. Not after they bailed on her and left her for dead. She wasn't expecting to live when she jumped off the bridge. She thought the fall would kill her but she'd rather go out with a splash than get torn to shreds in a violent bloody death. Daryl couldn't help but agree; he would have done the same and admitted he was urging her from afar to do just that. She smiled.

The people she was with only seemed to care about one thing; their life. If losing one saved them, they'd throw that person to the wolves. From the little time she'd spent with this group she could tell they all cared about each other and she hoped they'd allow her to stay with them. She didn't want to go back to the other group. She had no family there and no real friends.

And she was starting to really like Daryl. He was the only one openly welcoming and he stood up for her to what she guessed was the leaders of this group. And from the way they reacted to the way he stood up to them, she guessed he was an important part of the group himself.

That afternoon, Daryl left Chrissy with Carl and joined the others as they got together to talk about what their next move was going to be.

Rick and the others had found a prison in New Hampshire mostly clear of walkers. They had gone in and cleared a cell block and the cafeteria and the whole front courtyard. It was like a gift from God. For once they slept without fear of getting attacked in the middle of the night. Once they were rested they high tailed it back to New York. They went over the list of supplies and put together what they needed for the trip and what they'd need once they arrived. A run back to the city was planned to get what they could while the others packed up the camp and got everything together. They were going to leave once the group got back.

Daryl relieved Carl of watch duty and sat down with Chrissy.

Carol watched as Chrissy's face lit up. Daryl smiled back. He smiled. Carol's heart sank. She felt like she was going to throw up.

Maybe the only reason Daryl was with her was because she was his only choice. Beth was too young and the only other female up for grabs was Judy.

Now there was another grown woman; a better looking woman, a younger woman. Daryl was no longer interested in her. She felt like she'd been cast aside. Her whole perception of Daryl started to shift. Maybe he wasn't this amazing man, this kind and sweet and loving man she thought he was behind his hard, cold exterior he showed everybody. She watched for a minute longer before turning away. She walked to Rick.

"Rick I'd like to go on the run too."

Rick looked surprised, but nodded.

"Any reason why?" He glanced over at Daryl chatting with Chrissy and figured Carol just needed to get away.

"I just need to get out. Maybe I can find some new clothes for the group. Since I wash them I know everybody's sizes. "

Rick nodded again. He knew that wasn't her reason but he wasn't going to press it. He could see the pain in her eyes and he wanted to walk over and knock Daryl on his ass.

Daryl jumped into the front seat of the jeep, his crossbow in his lap. He didn't notice Carol in the back seat. Rick pulled the jeep to a stop outside the gate and waited for Kyle and Gavin. They both jumped in, situating themselves on either side of Carol. Daryl looked over his shoulder and glared.

"What the hell is this?" He jerked his chin towards Carol.

"She wanted to go." Rick put the jeep in gear and started to move forward.

"Like hell she is! Stop the jeep. She ain't going nowhere but back with the others. "

Carol's face grew red with anger.

"You are NOT my boss, Dixon. You don't OWN me. I'm nothing to you so don't try and control me, " She looked at Rick. "Drive."

Rick nodded and started for the city again.

Daryl was taken aback by the anger in Carol's voice and the hard expression on her face. Her words cut deep. He huffed, hurt, and spun back facing the road.

Inside the city, Rick parked the jeep inside the gated parking lot. They all piled out. Daryl moved to the ladder, not waiting for the others. They followed behind, slower. They chose a store they hadn't hit yet. After looking inside for any walkers or anyway for them to get in, they went to work.

They gathered the supplies they could find. Carol moved to the racks of clothes hanging in the back. She found a large duffel bag and began to fill it with heavy clothes for the group. It was almost winter; they were going to need them.

There was a corner of the store that had baby and toddler clothes. She spent more time there than anywhere else. By the time she filled the bag she could barely get it to zip closed. It was heavy. She had to drag it back to the door leading out to the roof. She began to doubt she'd be able to get it back to the jeep. Daryl walked through the door to wait for Carol. The others had already met back up on the roof. He saw Carol struggling with the bag and gruffly walked over and grabbed it, heaving it over his shoulder. He was surprised at how heavy it was. Carol glared.

"Don't do me any favors, Dixon," She stormed past him, knowing she really wasn't going to be able to haul it up the stairs and across a number of rooftops to the jeep.

Daryl dropped the bag and grabbed Carol spinning her back towards him. He glared at her for a moment, not really sure what he wanted to say; he just knew he wanted to know what her damn problem was.

"Woman?"

She yanked her arm free. Her right fist balled like she was going to hit him.

They glared at each other. Then Carol spun around and rushed up the stairs leaving Daryl alone. He reached down and grabbed the bag and followed.

They made it back without any problems. As soon as the jeep was parked back inside the gate Carol went to rush for her tent before she realized her tent was gone. It had been packed up. The cars were all moved forward, packed and ready to go. Daryl jumped out and grabbed the pack, shoving it into the back of the suburban. He slammed the gate shut. He turned just in time to see Carol jump into the back of the ford.

"Everybody ready? Everything packed up? "

Rick glanced around. Everybody nodded.

Gavin jumped into the driver's seat of the suburban.

Derrick was already in the truck with the water tank. Rick had the keys to the jeep.

Carl tossed the keys to the ford to Daryl.

"Great, " he huffed and got in.

On the road, Daryl looked into the rearview mirror and saw Carol asleep in the back seat, wedged between the door and the bags that were in the backseat with her. Carl was asleep in the passenger seat.

Daryl rolled his eyes.

They drove for hours not stopping. Daryl fumed the whole time trying to figure out what Carol's problem was. He wasn't use to her temper. He liked the fact that she had one; he thought it made her sexy. He just didn't like the fact that her anger was towards him. He didn't understand what changed. A few nights ago they were fine. They weren't open about their relationship, not yet anyways, but he thought she was happy with him. He thought they had something good going there. Maybe she changed her mind. Maybe he wasn't good enough for her. Maybe he lacked in another department. He punched the steering wheel, jolting Carl from his slumber.

"What? What's wrong? "He looked around franticly.

"Nothing Carl, everything's fine. Go back to sleep man."

Carl nodded, rubbing his face with his hands. He looked ahead at his dad's jeep and then behind them at the cars following, making sure everybody was where they should be.

Daryl looked back at Carol, expecting her to still be asleep, but she was looking at him, a pained expression on her face. It made Daryl's chest hurt.

God, what was this woman's problem? He thought to himself before he turned his attention back to the road.

A/N: Please review. Thanks ^_^