This chapter ended up being much longer than I thought it was going to be. This one is for those of you who suffered through the huge wait for some Caryl l-o-v-i-n. XD .I told you I was going to make up for it and so I did. Hopefully you will be satisfied. Those of you that missed the smut, anyway ;) Hope you all have a great Monday! =)

Chapter Seventy Three

Finding a suitable house wasn't as hard as Daryl expected it to be. Him and T-dog had spotted the place while the others were loading up the vehicles. It was just a low one story square building That had probably been pretty decent before the outbreak. The windows were all narrow and high up, which made it perfect. When they went into the first one they realized that there were more windows towards the back off of the kitchen and dining room areas with sliding glass doors that led out to an enclosed courtyard.

"Man, this is perfect." T-dog whispered as they checked the first apartment. "No Walkers could get in from the front unless they broke down the doorS, and we could even be outside without worrying about any of them showing up."

There were four apartments, each with it's sliding glass doors facing the courtyard, as secure as anything could be in this world. On one hand Daryl was ecstatic over this find. But then again, there was some nagging voice in his head that said that all of this had been too easy. Finding the store untouched and now finding a real place where they could bed down for a while with no worries. That nagging feeling was becoming a strange sense of dread that he tried to fight back.

"I don't know. Just seems like after losin' the farm it would be stupid to get our hopes up about somethin' like this. Ain't nothin' easy for us anymore, brother. It ain't natural."

T-dog stopped him with a hand on his shoulder as they entered another apartment. Daryl expected him to come off with some sarcastic shit but he was looking at him with a serious expression. It was rare for the two of them to have a serious moment. That's one of the reasons that his friendship with T-dog had become something that he was comfortable with.

"Daryl, sometimes you just have to enjoy the little things. Be happy about this, man. We can have a break. We deserve a break. Especially you. Wouldn't none of us been able to feed ourselves out there. You've kept us alive, brother. More than Rick has SO Just let go for a night or two."

Daryl frowned. He had never had a hero complex. He didn't want people thinking that he was some sort of savior because he wasn't. But he knew that T was right. He needed to breath for a while. Every nerve in his body was always coiled tight, waiting for the next bad thing to happen in a long string of bad things. But he couldn't loosen the dread in his gut, the irritating voice telling him to keep up that guard or pay dearly. But he didn't want to bother his friend with all of that.

"I didn't know you cared so much, T. Should we kiss now?" He smirked and then T-dog gave him a shove.

"You wish, redneck."

They deemed all of the apartments safe. Or what passed for safe now days. They even had the good sense to gather up wood for a fire in the courtyard, now that they could have a decent fire. They always had to keep the fires low when they were camped out in the woods. This was going to be a real treat.

They took what all they would need for the night into the apartments, including all of their guns and ammo, and then spread the vehicles out a bit just in case more survivors showed up in the town. They didn't want to find themselves facing down another group like Randal's while they were trapped indoors. Best to not draw as much attention to themselves by keeping all their cars parked in front of the building.

They hadn't seen any sign of any more survivors. As far as they knew they were the last ones on earth. And as far as Daryl was concerned that was just fine by him. They didn't need anymore people trying to force themselves into their group. It was hard enough feeding the ones that were already there.

"We all get bedrooms?" Sophia asked him as they stood in front of the glass doors that looked out onto the courtyard.

"I guess so. There's twelve bedrooms but you have to room with Beth. None of you kids are sleeping alone." Daryl said as he watched the others laughing and talking, looking relaxed for the first time in a long time.

"Okay." She said as her eyes followed his.

He glanced down at her. She'd been really quiet here lately. Hell, they had all been real quiet, but the good luck they had ran into today put everyone else in high spirits, but she was still just as quiet. Brooding, even. She's acting just like you, dumbass. He shook the thought and then nudged her. "What's eatin' at that head of yours, kid?"

The corner of her mouth turned up and for a second she looked exactly like her mom. "Nothin', Daryl. I'm fine."

Exactly what you would say. He thought. But something was bothering her. "You know you ain't gotta bullshit me, Sophia. I know somethin's wrong. Might as well tell me what it is, save us both a lot of trouble."

She sighed and sat down in one of the cushioned kitchen chairs. She laid her hands flan on the table and studied them for a few seconds before looking up. He sat down across from her after glancing out the doors once moor. Everyone was still accounted for so he met her eyes.

"It don't seem like you much care anymore. You don't have to act like your interested in what's going on with me." She muttered.

He frowned. He knew he had been an ass but he hadn't realized how much of an ass until now. He blew out a breath, not sure how to keep going. "You know that's bullshit."

She didn't argue with him. She looked him right in the eye, hers were narrowed and guarded but she finally spoke regardless of how mad she was at him. "Remember that huge fit I threw? Right after the farm?" She muttered as she looked away.

He nodded. It had been pretty funny as far as he was concerned. He hadn't realized she was still holding onto all of that. "It wasn't that bad. Everybody has themselves a fit every now and then. Hell, your own momma tried to kick my ass today. And you know how calm she always is."

She smiled but it didn't hold much humor. "You think it's always gonna be like this? Always scared and running?" Her face fell as she studied him.

He wanted to tell her no. He wanted to say that they would be okay after a while. But he'd told her more than once that he wasn't going to lie to her. He wasn't going to start now. "I don't know. Maybe this is all we get. A few bright spots in the dark, but mostly just the dark. I wanna tell ya that it wont be this way forever but we'd both know I was lyin'. But you know I ain't gonna let nothin' happen to you, right?"

She nodded but still looked grim. "I feel so stupid for saying the things I said that day. I was so mad at everyone for treating me like such a kid. And now all I want to do is have the chance to be one. I wanted to prove to you that I could help take care of everybody. I wanted to prove to you how tough I was. But I'm scared all the time. Even when you're right there. I'm scared."

Daryl didn't think anything could have hurt him more than the words coming out of this girls mouth. This was one of the things he feared the most. He never got to be a kid either and he was still one fucked up mess because of it. He was better but he was far from over the tragic excuse for a childhood he had lived. And here she was, living her own hell and he just had to stand there and watch. He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat.

"You're one of the toughest people I know, kid." he said quietly. "You ain't gotta prove shit to me. And I wish I could fix it. Make your life better, but I can't. All I can do is try like hell to keep ya breathin' and I don't need you tryin' to help take care of everybody here. That falls on me and that falls on Rick."

She nodded and then slid out of the chair and then right into his lap, tucking her head in under his chin. "You do a good job, Daryl." She whispered.

He snorted. "If I was doin' a good job then we wouldn't be havin' this conversation kid." He said into her hair.

"You didn't cause the world to end." She muttered.

They sat like that for a while before she finally stood up and grabbed his hand. "We're missing the party. Might as well enjoy it while it lasts right?" She smiled at him when he just grunted at her. This time it was a real smile.

~H~

Carol couldn't keep the smile off her face as she lounged back in the patio chair. She knew it wasn't going to last long but she was going to relax for as long as she could. She should have wanted to be indoors after spending so much time outside but the sun was beating down on her face and there wasn't a threat of Walkers at the moment. For just a little while, she was going to enjoy herself.

Everyone was happy for now. The buzz of conversations drifted in and out of her ears, she wasn't able to focus on any specific one.

They had discovered real running water in the store so everyone had used the sinks to wash up, leaving both bathrooms a wet soapy mess since they all had to basically use water from the sinks and just pour over themselves. The men did the same in the mens room. Carol felt a little sorry for them since there were so many more men than women. They were also able to pick up new clothes which she was very grateful. Washing up in a cold creek just to put filthy clothes back on was not her idea of fun and it was too cold to wash them and wait for them to dry. Especially since there was nothing else to put on while they waited.

Daryl and Sophia finally came out to join the rest of them. Sophia smiled and gave her a wave as she walked over to the boys who instantly moved apart so she could take her usual seat between them. She had been worried about the kids. They had all done almost the same thing that Daryl had done. They kept to themselves, not saying much unless it was to one another. Today was the most she had heard from any of them in a long time. Surprisingly when Duane wasn't with Carl and Sophia he was spending his time with Merle. The man looked after him just like he did Sophia and Carol was proud of him for letting go of his racist ways. The boy needed all of them. He was left alone in the world and now they were the only family he had.

Daryl looked down at her and smirked but she could tell that there was something off. Before she could ask him what was wrong he threw his leg over the seat and settled in behind her so she was lounged back between his legs, his arms around her waist and his lips next to her ear. She relaxed her back against him, soaking in the heat radiating off his chest. She closed her eyes and smiled even wider.

"We gotta stop runnin'. We gotta find a real place and we gotta find one soon." He whispered right into her ear. Nothing he said was meant to turn her on but his hot breath pouring over her neck caused a slow burn to start in her lower stomach.

"I thought that's what we were doing. Trying to find a place to stay." She murmured.

"You know I love you, right?" His voice dropped below a whisper and she felt the muscles in his chest tense a little.

She frowned, noticing how her heartbeat picked up as a sense of dread filled her. "Of course I know that."

"And you know I love Sophia. I don't say it but I do. I couldn't love her anymore if she was mine. As far as I'm concerned she is, and I believe she feels the same way."

"You're starting to freak me out, Daryl." She whispered as she covered his hands, that were locked around her waist, with her own.

"I'm givin' it a week, Carol. One more week of livin' like that. If we ain't found nothin' then we're splittin' from the group. I can't keep'em all alive but I can keep us alive. I can't have you both starvin' to death out there while Rick chases a fuckin' pipe dream."

Carol had grown perfectly still. Her eyes were the only thing moving as she took in the faces of the group. Her group. Her family. Her gut twisted painfully as her pulse quickened. How could he make a decision like that without talking to her first? He wasn't asking, he was telling. Andrea, T-dog, Dale, Rick... how could he say that they were leaving?

"And you don't think we should talk about this first? You think it would be okay to walk away and let our group die?" She hissed, making sure her voice never grew above a whisper.

He sighed into her neck. "If it means keepin' my family safe. The three of us could make it a lot easier than the 18 of us could."

She was suddenly out of the lounge chair and glaring down at him. How could he say this to her? Why would he think she would be okay with all this. "We need to talk." She snapped as she turned to storm off towards the apartment they had chosen to stay in.

The rest of the group had grown quiet and she knew they were watching her but she didn't care. He couldn't do this to her. He couldn't do this to Sophia. She yanked the sliding door open and continued to storm off to the bedroom they would be sleeping in.

When she heard him enter she spun around to face him. Her eyes instantly filled with tears when she saw the look on his face. He was just as torn over this as she was but what had made him make such a rash decision? What could be going through his head?

"Daryl, why? Why would you come up with this all on your own, like I shouldn't have any say in this at all?"

He looked at her, an unsure expression on his face. "What am I suppose to do? Have you seen how she's been these last few weeks? She's fuckin' terrified. I'm fuckin' terrified. I can't do it anymore. She needs a home. You need a home. I can't keep followin' Ricks lead and pretendin' that we'll be alright cause deep down, I know we wont. I'm gonna lose you or we're gonna lose her and I can't let that happen. I wont let that happen."

She saw the desperation in his eyes and it tore at her heart like something was trying to claw out of it. She let out a heavy breath. "Daryl, please." She begged. She would beg if she had too.

He sat down heavily on the side of the bed and ran his hands through his hair. "We ain't got a choice. Why the fuck can't you see that?" He asked in a broken voice. "You think I wanna leave them? You think I wanna leave my brother?"

His brother? The one weakness Daryl had other than her and Sophia was Merle. And the same went for Merle. She understood what he was saying but they couldn't leave them. She couldn't leave them. It couldn't come down to that. She would choose him, there was no doubt in her mind, if he left now she would follow him right into the belly of hell if that's what it took to be with him. But she didn't want to go. They all needed each other.

"How could you walk away from your own brother, Daryl?" She asked as she dropped to her knees in front of him, her fingers digging into his thighs. "It would kill him."

He shook his head, looking at her with tired eyes. "Merle'll be just fine. If he was a smart man he'd take Maggie and go on his own."

She reached up and cupped his face between her trembling hands. "Daryl, please. Just give it more time, okay. We'll all be fine. Just give it more than a week." She pulled his face towards hers and kissed him, her desperation clear in the way her lips moved on his.

He let her push him down as she crawled on top of him, never breaking that desperate kiss that was now fogging up her thoughts. She had to convince him that this was a bad idea. She had to make him see that leaving wouldn't solve anything.

"Will you please just think about this? Please?" She whispered when she finally pulled her face away.

He stared up at her for a long moment before finally nodding. She could tell that it pained him to let her have her way on this. She was finally able to relax against him and his hands settled on her hips. He looked sad. Like he was sure he was going to lose them now. She hated that look. She hated that look even more than she hated the thought of leaving.

"It's going to be okay. We're strong." She whispered.

He just kept on looking up at her.

"Will you please say something?" She needed him to tell her that they would be fine. They could have their group and they could survive.

"What am I suppose to say?" He asked miserably.

She didn't know what to tell him so she kissed him again instead. She needed that look to go away. She'd have rather him been pissed off than this. She wasn't used to this and she hated it. She deepened the kiss and his hands tightened on her hips.

"There you go." She crooned in his ear causing him to stiffen and then he guided her back and forth so she could feel the hard length of him under her. There was no electricity and although dusk was fast approaching she could still see his face well enough to know that his eyes were no longer sad. They were hungry. "This door actually locks, Dixon. You ready for round two?" She grinned.

He nearly tossed her off of him and hurried to the door. She stood up, facing the bed instead of him and pulled the shirt over her head. He was quick. Before she could even turn around he was right there, hot mouth kissing the back of her neck and hands gliding up her stomach, over her ribs until he was kneading both of her breasts, causing her to lean into his bare chest as her breath caught in her throat. His mouth never left her sensitive skin as he kissed down between her shoulder blades. He slid his hands back down and undid her pants, sliding them down her hips. She wanted to turn around but he held her firmly in place with one hand on her hip while the other slipped down the front of the black lace panties she had snagged from the store earlier that day.

He knew her well now, knew every little spot to touch that had her legs trembling and her insides feeling as though she would catch fire from the flame that he could ignite just by the stroke of his finger. She felt him let go of her hip but she wasn't about to try to move now, not with him stroking her that way, she would stay as still as he wanted her too. His body moved away from hers for just a second and then was right back, pressed against her, naked and hard. His mouth found her neck once more and as soon as his teeth grazed her overheated skin her legs nearly did give out but he had one muscled arm around her slender waist, holding her against him as his fingers continued moving expertly over her.

When she was finally able to catch her breath he wretched his hand away from her and pushed the panties down. She didn't have a chance to even get her bearings before he started pushing her towards the bed. He stayed right behind her the whole time as she went to her knees on the mattress. She had never done it this way before. No matter how it began it never failed to end with him on top of her. And she almost smiled at how much him taking her this way really turned her on. When he pushed into her, so slowly she was sure it would kill her, she decided this was one of his best ideas yet.

"Fuck..." He breathed, drawing it out until it became a multi syllable word.

He kept himself under control this time. Unlike earlier by the road where every action was almost violent. This was so slow that she was almost sobbing as she begged him to go faster. But he didn't listen to her. Every time she tried to move faster herself he would pull away and then he would just start all over again, leaving her gasping into the sheets and almost cursing him for torturing her this way. Every nerve in her body felt exposed and tingled frantically at his slow paced strokes and her muscles were constricting wildly despite how much she longed for him to just drive himself into her as fast and hard as he could. There was something building though, something deep in the center of her body and he was coaxing it with every slow deliberate movement he made.

"Daryl," She gasped as he ran his hand down her spine.

He chuckled. "You're impatient, woman." He whispered in a husky voice. "This is gonna be good, I promise. I can already feel it..."

It almost reminded her of the day they had been on that dock. Him moving so slow but there was a purpose behind it and as he continued to move that pressure within her began to expand and before she even knew what was about to happen she heard him once more.

"Almost there," He breathed as his hands trailed once more down her spine, his touch so light it left her skin tingling as a trail of goosebumps followed in his wake. "You ready?" his voice was barely a whisper.

"Mmm Hmm," was all she managed before he gripped her hips once more in his rough hands and plunged into her so hard and fast it nearly knocked the breath out of her. And then she knew what he had been talking about.

He had been right, she had been almost there, that pressure, her coiled muscles and electrified nerves finally exploded inside her. She actually bit into the blanket under her to stifle the screams, and this time that was exactly what they were. She wasn't moaning and she wasn't crying out, she was screaming and there was no stopping so she clamped her teeth around the fabric and squeezed her eyes shut as the dam broke and she was filled with so much sensation that her brain wasn't fast enough to even keep track of where it was coming from. Her nerve endings, from the back of her neck all the way down were throbbing along with the orgasm that wracked her body so hard that she involuntarily clamped her legs together, her brain not being able to decipher if this was pleasure or pain, just knowing that whatever it was, it was too much, and acted without her telling it what to do. But putting her legs together only intensified the sensations and then he was pulling her legs apart once more, wrapping one arm around her waist then actually lifting her up until her back was pressed against his chest once more, never breaking stride, still pushing himself into her. She still hadn't came down from whatever planet she had landed on when suddenly his hand slid down and his finger grazed the already throbbing nerves and then worked quickly, building her up again before she was even finished with whatever it was that was happening to her.

His other had clamped down over her mouth, she wasn't even aware of making anymore sounds but she must have been. The only thing she could hear was his heavy breath in her ear and then her own blood rushing through her veins. And still his fingers moved and still he was filling her up, moving hard and fast. He shoved her face back down into the mattress and he grabbed her so hard that it probably would have hurt her if she wasn't so all consumed with other things at the moment.

"Oh fuck." He whispered. "Fuck fuck fuck, Carol." Her name tore out of his throat in a vicious growl. She felt herself clamp around him once more, as though her body knew exactly what to do for his as she felt the heat of his own orgasm pouring into her.

She rolled over onto her back when he finally pulled away from her. It was dark now and she couldn't see him. But she knew he was close, she could hear his heavy breathing mixing with her own.

"Wow." She muttered as sat up. She felt weak, like her bones had turned into some soft substance that could no longer hold her up.

He laughed and then he was there, pushing her back down, settling himself between her legs before he crushed her mouth with his. Her hands went to his hair, tugging gently as her legs locked around his waist. He kissed her for a long time before finally he pulled his face away.

"I heard somewhere that wow was about the best compliment a man could get." He said in a low voice.

"That's about all I can say about all that." Her voice was rough, and it caused him to laugh again.