"Michonne and I are heading to one of the subdivisions we haven't tried yet to check out some houses," Andrea said. "Maybe we can find some running water. You want to come, Carol?"

Daryl looked up, glanced at Carol. "Um…sure," she said. No one ever asked her to go on runs.

"I just figured you'd like to get out," Andrea said. "You stay in the house too much." She was right, of course. The rest of the group still considered Carol weak and useless, unfortunately, except when it came to cooking and doing their laundry. She'd been forced to prove herself a few times in some hairy situations with walkers, but it would take a lot for everyone to completely change the way they viewed her. As much as they all seemed to care for her, only Daryl seemed to respect her for more than her domestic abilities, but even he seemed to believe she needed constant protection.

"I'm comin' too," Daryl said. Carol couldn't help rolling her eyes a little; she knew he was being overly protective. She would be safe with Andrea and Michonne. Besides, she was getting braver herself. She grabbed her knife and headed for the door, with Daryl following close behind. She had to admit she was happy he was coming along.

Andrea joined Michonne at the curb. "We thought we'd take Maggie and Glenn's car, so—"

"Nah." Daryl shook his head. "We're ridin'." He headed for his motorcycle and Carol followed. For a moment she felt an odd sort of pride, as if she were back in high school and the coolest boy had asked her to ride his motorcycle. She'd never had a moment like that in the past. Funny that it took the world ending for her to find these small joys. She felt silly for thinking it. Daryl made her feel like a woman, certainly, but she was reduced to a giddy girl sometimes by the excitement of her feelings for him. She wrapped her arms around him and held on tight, telling herself to enjoy it while it lasted.

They parked at the end of a cul-de-sac in a neighborhood not far from the houses where they'd settled. "We've checked out most of the houses around here and haven't found much," Andrea said, "so let's hope we have some luck today."

Michonne walked in front, then Carol and Andrea side by side, with Daryl following. Carol felt safe with Daryl behind her. At first she was self-conscious, wondering if he was watching her walk, but then she chided herself. It was ridiculous to think he wasn't keeping an eye out for walkers and concentrating on survival. She knew him better than that.

As they walked, Andrea told Carol a bit about what had happened to her in the months since the farm. Carol knew some of her story but she hadn't had many opportunities to talk to her, so she was happy to listen. Andrea spent most of her time with Michonne these days, and after hearing about how the strong, quiet woman had saved her life more than once, Carol could see why they were so close.

The first few houses they tried were empty of anything useful. When they crossed the street, however, they struck gold. Not only did they find a decent stockpile of canned goods and water bottles, but they also found plenty of clothes in the closets and, best of all, running water. Michonne ran to the next house to check and then came back to report that it had running water as well. They'd found a section of the subdivision that was still hooked to a working water line. Andrea and Carol whooped and cheered and Daryl even gave a smile. He cupped his hand and drank from the faucet.

"Oh my god, does this mean we can take showers?" Carol asked, hardly able to believe it.

"We should probably be pretty conservative, but I'd say a shower or two is in order," Andrea said, glancing at Daryl and chuckling. He scowled at her.

Carol busied herself looking through the bedroom closets while the others started loading up food and water bottles. They all needed some warmer clothes. They'd left the farm with nothing and hadn't found much since then. This house was a gold mine. She found a few jackets and several sweatshirts that would keep them all warm, and even found a few undergarments for them. She knew the women would love having extras. While she was folding the clothes in piles on the bed, she glanced up to see that Daryl was leaning in the doorframe, watching her. She smiled shyly. "So many clothes here," she said. "I'll never get used to wearing dead people's things, though."

Daryl shrugged. "They're just clothes."

"I know. But look at this." She pulled a short black dress out of the closet and held it up to her body. It was cut in a deep v-neck, sleeveless, and flared out from the hips. "How do you think she felt when she wore this? How many times did she wear it? Did she feel special in it?"

"Keep it if you like it," he said.

Carol looked down at herself, laughing. "Where would I wear something like this? Have I been invited to a party I don't know about?" She looked up to see his eyes raking over her hungrily, and she heard the words he was too shy to speak: You can wear it for me. She took a deep breath, then folded it and tucked it into the middle of one of the piles.

"Do you think Rick will want to move into these houses?" she asked, trying to alleviate the tension a bit. "Or will he still want to head for the mall?"

"I don't know," Daryl answered. "I vote for the houses."

"A shower would be nice," she said.

"Nah," he said.

"You don't want to take a shower?" she asked, giggling. "I know you don't mind being dirty, Daryl, but come on…"

"That's not what I meant," he said. "I like baths." He turned then and stepped into the hall, leaving her to imagine his naked form in a bathtub. She swallowed hard and closed her eyes for a moment, then went back to her work.

When Andrea and Michonne decided to head back to their house, Carol asked Daryl if he would mind waiting around for a few minutes while she checked the other bedrooms for children's clothes for Carl and maybe some baby things for Lori. "It won't take long," she said. "I want to make sure I get some things for them in case we don't come back out here for some reason."

"Why wouldn't we come back?"

"Daryl, you know as well as I do that nothing is certain," she said. "We kind of have to live in the moment these days." She flushed at her own words, aware that they'd been doing just that when they were kissing earlier that day.

She decided to throw caution to the wind then and stepped closer to Daryl. He gazed at her with a questioning look on his face. "Daryl," she whispered. "We're alone now. Why don't we take that bath?"

Daryl looked down. "Nah," he said. "We'd have to start a fire to get the water hot, and we should save the water until we talk to the rest of the group."

"Ok," she said quickly, turning away to hide the tears that threatened to fall. She was embarrassed to have been rejected, of course, and she felt like a fool.

"Carol," he whispered, and she felt him come up behind her and put his arms around her waist. He placed one hand on her stomach, lifting her shirt a little to feel her bare skin. Then she felt his lips against her neck, and she lowered her head back against his shoulder, arching her neck to give him access. He kissed her softly at first, at the same time rubbing her stomach in small circles with his thumb. Then his whole hand pressed against her stomach and she felt the tip of his tongue against her neck. He slid his hand under her shirt until his palm had found her breast. He stroked her over her bra, and she could feel her nipple hardening, pressing into the center of his palm through the thin material. His lips and tongue increased their pressure now and he was licking and sucking the skin on her neck, driving her wild. She put her hand over his and guided it downward a little, aching for him to touch her everywhere. His hand slid into the waistband of her pants. He didn't need to bother with unzipping them, since she'd lost so much weight and they hung on her hips. He hesitated then, and stopped kissing her neck for a second. His breath was hot against her skin. "Are you sure?" he asked softly. She nodded, unable to speak. His hand slid into her panties, his fingers cold and hard against her soft heat. Desire had rendered her slick and wet and ready for him, and he slipped a finger inside her, groaning a little against her neck. She wanted so desperately to see his face, to see if his arousal matched hers. She felt his erection pressing into her and knew how much he wanted her, but she wanted to see it in his eyes. He slid his fingers up and down against her, brushing softly over her clit and making her moan.

"God, Daryl…" At the sound of his name, he increased the pressure. He pushed his fingers deeper inside her and held them there, feeling her clench around him. She reached one hand up to grip his hair, holding on while she rode out her orgasm on his hand. He held her tightly against him, still sucking the delicate skin on her neck while she cried out.

He moved his hand to her waist again, then whipped her around quickly to face him, crushing his mouth to hers. She was breathless, barely able to stand, wondering what was next. She'd thought she would make the next move, and she'd even tried with that bath suggestion, but now she felt completely at his mercy. His mouth devoured hers, and she never wanted to come up for air.