Chapter Two

Carol hadn't expected a repeat of what had happened that night in the cold. They hadn't gotten away from the herd unscathed. They had lost two people and it had taken a toll on all of them, Maggie in particular. Hershel and Beth simply hadn't been fast enough. There had been little time to mourn, since they were constantly on the move, but everyone was a little quieter after that. Everyone seemed to start living in their own heads a little more than they had previously.

Daryl did stay a little closer than he had before that night. They didn't talk about what happened because they had to focus on surviving and finding a stable place for Lori. The memory of that brief heated moment stayed with her though. She thought about it a lot. He seemed to make it his mission to make sure she started looking after herself more. One night when she had been about to offer Lori half of her meager rations he had looked up at her sharply before she had ever opened her mouth, like he had sensed what she was about to do, and had glared at her.

She wasn't afraid that he would do something to hurt her for giving her food away but she did not, for one second, think he wouldn't throw one of those fits he was famous for. So, to avoid the scene he would cause, she had sighed and finished her food.

She didn't miss the fact that he had shoved his own bowl into Lori's hands before stalking off for watch.

It was little things like that; the small changes in him that seemed so enormous to her, but went unnoticed to the rest of them, that had her falling down a slippery slope when it came to the man. He watched out for her as best he could. He made sure she didn't freeze, made sure she got her share of what little food they managed to scrounge up, made sure she was armed and knew how to use the weapon. He was still rough, still impatient with her for the most part, but there was a new look in his eyes when they met hers that had her feeling like just maybe, once things settled down, there would be something new awaiting her, wherever they ended up. If they managed to survive, of course.

"We have to split up," Rick said, ripping her from her thoughts as they rested for a while around a low fire. The coldest of the weather had broken, telling her that months had passed since that night.

Daryl was sitting next to her, his knees pulled up to his chest as he stared into the flames. "What the fuck do you mean, split up?"

Rick eyed all of them in turn. "We have to find somewhere... permanent. We can't keep doing this. The more eyes out there scouting different places, the faster we'll find something."

Carol frowned. "You mean all of us just go? Alone?" She was a lot tougher than she had been but there was no way she thought she was tough enough to go out there by herself. She didn't think any of them were. Except maybe Daryl, who had the survival skills he had needed long before the world turned.

Rick shook his head. "I was thinking we take groups. T-dog can go with me, Lori and Carl. Maggie, Carol, Glenn. I figured you, Daryl, would be able to cover more ground if you were-"

"Carol's goin' with me," Daryl said, his blue eyes boring into Rick's, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Rick's brows pulled together. "I thought-"

Daryl stood up then. "You must've thought wrong then. When do we split up?"

Carol stared at the flames, not saying a word but she could feel curious eyes on her. She refused to look up to meet any of them. Her heart had sank when Rick had suggested them splitting up but his plan made sense. But she hadn't expected Daryl to demand to take her with him. She would slow him down. She wasn't like him. Hell, now that Hershel and Beth were gone, she was probably the weakest link in this group, after Lori anyway. Even Carl was a better shot than her.

But she kept her mouth shut. She didn't want to be stuck playing third wheel to Glenn and Maggie anyway. They were both strong and capable so her being there certainly wouldn't make or break their progress. They would be fine.

"Carol? Is that what you'd rather do?" Rick asked, at least offering her an out if she needed one.

She nodded and stood up herself. "That's fine. Where and when do we meet back up?"

Rick and Daryl shared a look but finally Rick just shrugged. "A week? That would give us all time to spread out and look and then get back."

They all agreed on a place to meet up in seven days. Whoever got their would wait on the others an extra three days for any stragglers before heading back out, either to continue the search or lead the others to anything they found. If no one else showed up in that amount of time, it would probably mean that it was because they hadn't made it. They agreed to leave a note just in case.

Daryl stuck to the woods for the most part, just like she knew he would. And just like she knew she would, she slowed him down. He bypassed terrain that he would normally be able to plow through easily, but since he had her with him, he would have had to move slower. She felt miserable because she knew he had to be regretting the hell out of his split second decision by now.

They were silent for a long time, both focusing on their footing and the sounds around them. She felt like they had to be miles and miles away from any sort of civilization by now but she didn't comment on it.

"Looks like you've been suckin' on a lemon," he muttered, grabbing her hand and pulling her up and over the trunk of a fallen tree.

She scoffed. "No I don't."

He stopped suddenly, his hand shooting out to stop her but it was unnecessary because as soon as he had halted she had grown still. She didn't ask him any questions but she didn't panic. She could tell by his demeanor that there wasn't anything to fear. He'd heard something but it wasn't a walker.

He raised the bow and let a bolt fly. When he lowered it he looked at her and grinned. "You hungry?"

She nodded, following him. He reached down and picked up his kill and she found herself laughing. It was probably the skinniest turkey she'd ever seen but that didn't matter. Since it was only the two of them they would both be fed with some left over.

It didn't take him long to build a fire and while he was busy with that she decided to put some of those skills he had passed down to her to use. She had the bird cleaned and ready by the time he had a good enough fire going.

They ate in companionable silence, leaning against a log with their knees up. Both looked at ease but she knew that he was paying just as much attention to the noises around them as she was. He didn't try to kiss her again and she tried not to let that fact depress her. They couldn't do anything that would put them in danger and she had to consider the fact that this time, with no one else around interrupt, things would possibly get out of hand quickly.

"Why did you want me to come with you? I know that I'm only slowing you down."

He kept his eyes straight ahead, chewing slowly before sucking his fingers clean, which was very distracting since she'd had a taste of his mouth and wanted much more. He shrugged. "You ain't slowin' me down."

She sighed.

He glanced over at her. "Look, you're a hell of a lot better than you were before. You can take care of yourself and I know it. But Maggie's distracted and Glenn is gonna be lookin' out for her. If you went with them you would end up bein' the only one payin' attention to anything. If it's just them out there then they'll be a lot more on their toes."

She accepted that answer with a nod. She was actually a little surprised. She was sure that the only reason he'd insisted on taking her with him was because, in his own way, he cared about her and didn't want anyone else to take on the task of looking out for her. "Well, I'm glad. Now I can keep watch while you get some sleep. We can switch off."

He nodded again and that was the end of the conversation.

~H~

They walked for three days and Carol was starting to feel like she was in the middle of an area the size of the amazon rain forest. They had crossed several roads and some tracks but he never turned off onto any of them. She had no idea what he could have been looking for but she wasn't going to bother him with questions.

They were an efficient team. They worked well together because they had a good idea how the other thought. Being with him out here like this was easy, if not a little frustrating. She was starting to feel her spirits plummet. They were alone. They had been alone for days and he hadn't made the slightest move on her.

She felt stupid that it even bothered her. They had to stay vigilant. They had to keep their heads clear at all times. Just because they were in the woods didn't mean they were safe. They took out walkers all the time. But it was still frustrating. She decided to push her feelings aside and keep her chin up. She wanted it to happen again but that didn't mean that he felt the same way. What had happened that night had happened because of the situation they had found themselves in. It didn't mean that he wanted anything else.

She finally looked at him and was about to strike up a conversation but she noticed that he was studying the terrain with a different look. She scanned the area but didn't see anything amiss. She didn't hear the telltale shuffle of walkers approaching.

Instead of asking him what he was focusing on so hard she started paying closer attention to the area around them. She needed to learn everything she could from him without badgering him with constant questions, so she had learned to read his expressions and then worked on following his eyes. But right now he was looking everywhere.

She glanced down at the forest floor. She should have noticed before now that the land they were walking wasn't as difficult to navigate as it had been before. The trees here were a little smaller and the underbrush, though lush enough to trip her up if she wasn't paying attention, wasn't as thick.

"Why are the woods different here?" She asked in a low voice.

He glanced over at her, a small smile on his face. "You noticed that too, huh?"

She nodded, her eyes scanning again. "There has to be something out here. Maybe an old homestead or something. It would at least be a place to bed down for the night. Maybe we can both get a good nights sleep."

This, for some reason, won her an out right smile from the man. She tripped over a tree root because she couldn't look away from his face when he was looking at her like that. She cursed but righted herself before she could fall on her face and make herself look like a fool.

"You're observant," he said. "But I don't think it's a house. Me and Merle scoured a lot of woods before the world went to shit. We've stumbled onto a lot of old houses but I don't think there would be one this far in from the road. I mean, we're about four miles in from the highway, maybe even five. "

"So, what it is?" She asked, still flushing from her near fall.

He shook his head. "I ain't sure. There's too much land that was cleared out here for it just to be an old house. Maybe..." He shook his head again. "Hell, I'm stumped."

"I'd feel a lot better knowing what we were about to walk into." She said, moving a little closer than she needed to.

He shrugged. "We're gonna find out one way or another. One thing I can say is, at least from this direction, ain't been any people out here. That's something at least."