Daryl offered to pick Carol up on his bike Friday morning, but she declined - something about dress shopping afterwards for the mixer. Stupid mixer, Daryl thought. He liked the way it felt to have Carol on the bike with him, hugging his waist. But he also liked the thought of seeing her in a dress - so maybe it wasn't going to be all bad.

His crabby mood had him flying way over the speed limit, but Daryl didn't notice until he saw the lights of the cop car pulling him over. He moved to the shoulder and turned off the bike while screaming curse words in his head. Not only was he about to get a big ass fine, but he was going to be late for the meeting where they were getting scripts for the first two episodes. Daryl took off his helmet, looked at the ground and waited for the officer to approach.

"Dixon? Seriously?" A familiar voice spoke. He looked up and saw Shane standing there. "Dude, you were going almost double the limit. I could take your license and your bike right here."

"Please don't," Daryl said quietly. It was so strange to see Shane in full uniform, on the job.

"I'm not gonna Asshole, but fuck Daryl… slow down. You're damn lucky it was me," Shane warned.

"Thanks Man," Daryl said with relief. "Hey, how come you ain't on the way to the meeting?"

Shane sighed, "Trying to get in my last few shifts before I take a leave to film." He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "I picked my scripts up last night. Wait until you read it…" His voice trailed off.

"Good or bad?" Daryl asked.

Shane shrugged. "Your part's just fine, pretty sure you don't appear until episode 3, you'll get the first 3 scripts. Actually, I'd say they nailed your character," he added with a chuckle. "But Episode two I'm already doing my first love scene." Daryl hadn't even thought about that possibility and his face started to burn at the thought. "With Lori," Shane added.

"Lori? The fuck?" Daryl was shocked. What the hell were the writers doing? Or was there something in their past that he didn't know about?

"You'll see when you read it. Gonna be fucking awkward though. I've known that woman half my life. She's married to my best friend… her kid is my Godson…" Shane actually looked nervous, which was a stark contrast to cocky guy he usually was.

"It's just acting," Daryl said. But he knew it wasn't going to help make Shane feel any better. "Sorry Dude."

Shane looked at his watch. "You better get going or you'll be late. Slow down though," he added, waving as he headed back to his cruiser.

Daryl realized that if they were getting the first three scripts they were actually getting the first half of the season. There were only 6 episodes in total.

With the brief delay Daryl was the last to arrive. They all looked at him when he walked in the room. He quickly scanned for Carol and was relieved when he saw she had saved him a seat.

"Okay, looks like we can begin," one of the writers said, standing up. "You're getting the scripts for the first 3 episodes. We usually only do one at a time, but some of you… He looked at Daryl, don't appear until episode 3 and we wanted you all to have real scenes to practice with the acting coaches." Daryl was handed a thick stack of booklets. He took one and passed it on to Carol. "This is the script for episode 1. It mainly features Rick, a brief appearance by Shane and then Morgan and Duane who most of you haven't met yet." A black man and what appeared to be his son waved and smiled. "They're only appearing in episode 1 at this point so many of you won't have the opportunity to work with them. Hopefully the mixer tomorrow will allow everyone to get acquainted."

A second stack of booklets was passed around and then a third until they each had 3 scripts in front of them. They were told they had an hour to read through the scripts and discuss amongst themselves before the writers would return. Daryl glared at the scripts. He hated reading. When he glanced around everyone else seemed excited and had started flipping through them, including Carol. Following suit he opened the third one and started looking for his name. When he finally found it he wasn't impressed. "I ain't really gonna throw squirrels am I?" He muttered. "This is stupid," he grumbled under his breath. He read a bit more and finally clued in that Merle's character could be in serious trouble. Daryl flipped quickly through the script, starting at the beginning this time. "What the hell…" Carol gave him a sideways look - she was probably reading from the start like he should have been.

Daryl threw the script down on the table, getting a glance from pretty much everyone sitting around the table. "Are you okay?" Carol leaned over and whispered.

"Fine," Daryl grumbled, picking up the script for Episode one. Blah, blah, blah, he thought, reading through the episode that was pretty much all about Rick. Well that was a waste of time, Daryl mused, reaching for Episode 2. Halfway through the second script he was hooked, reading faster and faster to see what was going to happen. It was so conflicting because it was hard to separate people and characters when they were all so similar to the character they portrayed - hell, the characters were developed from their personalities. He couldn't help glaring at Rick across the table after reading what happened with Merle. "Fucking Dumbass," he hissed to himself when he got to the part where T-Dog dropped the key for the cuffs.

By the time Daryl got to the end of the Episode 3 script he felt sick to his stomach. His hand… Merle cut off his fucking hand… Daryl let the script fall to the table, as if it was grotesque and he didn't want to touch it. The most insane thing of all… they had really, truly nailed Merle's personality. Cutting off his own hand to escape was actually something Daryl could imagine Merle doing in a moment of desperation. But what did it mean? Was Merle going to die? Was he already dead? And they would find his body in Episode 4?

"I need to know what happens next," Daryl said, nudging Carol.

"Shh," she hushed him. "I'm not done yet."

Daryl watched her face for a moment and realized she was just getting to the part where Carol is abused by her husband Ed. He could tell it was bothering her by the look in her eye and the way her body seemed so tense all of a sudden. He reached under the table and found her hand, looking around to make sure no one was paying attention. Carol looked up and gave him a little smile of gratitude. He squeezed her hand and went to release her but Carol wouldn't let him go. This scene was bothering her more than he realized at first.

Daryl had an idea. "I need a smoke," he announced. The hour was almost up, but there was enough time to step outside for a quick cigarette. He gave Carol a look and hoped she understood.

"I could use some fresh air," she said. "I'll join you." She stood up and they headed out of the room. Most were so caught up in the scripts they didn't even notice.

Daryl could have used a smoke, but he didn't need one. He was more concerned about Carol. He led her down the hall until he found a door to the stairwell. Daryl opened the door and poked his head in to find it empty. Perfect. He nodded and Carol followed him in. "You okay?" He asked immediately.

"I'm trying to be," Carol replied, but he could tell by the way her voice shook that she wasn't.

"Maybe they can take that part out," he suggested.

Carol shook her head. "They already talked to me about it and I agreed, right from the start when they cast this Ed character." Daryl didn't like the look in her eyes, it made him feel ill. She shouldn't have to feel this way about a job. It made him angry at the writers for putting her in this position and at that fucker Ned for scarring her like he had. "I just didn't expect to feel this way," Carol added. She was close to tears but seemed to be holding them off. "It's not me - it's a character. We're just acting, it's not even real. I've been hit before, many times - I've endured that pain… and this is completely different. It's not going to hurt. It's not going to send me to the hospital… So why am I being so stupid about this?"

"Don't," Daryl said, shaking his head. "You feel like you do for a reason. This ain't just no big deal - it's huge. And it's hitting too close to home for ya." He took a breath. "I was mad at Rick for handcuffing Merle to the roof," he added quietly. "I know it's not real, just like you, but we can't help how it feels." Daryl knew he wasn't great with words or advice, but he hoped his admission might make her feel a little better.

"If we're this upset just reading it… what's it going to be like to actually act out the scenes?" Carol whispered, looking at him in a way that was begging him to console her.

"It's gonna be okay," Daryl assured her. "It will." He didn't know what else to say. He didn't even know if he was speaking the truth, but it was what she needed to hear and it made her smile so all he could do was hope to hell he wasn't lying.

"Hey, I know this is a lot to ask… and if you say no I'll understand," Carol started. "I just… I really don't want to be alone today. Will you, um… will you come shopping with me?" She asked. "If I had anything nice to wear I would totally skip the shopping altogether, but I don't so I've gotta go," she continued to ramble.

There wasn't much Daryl hated more than shopping so he shocked himself with his reply. "'Course I'll come." When Carol wrapped her arms around him in a hug of gratitude Daryl was pleased with his decision.