A/N: Here's a little smut and a little cheesy fluff for you. I'm prolonging their time together but I suppose they'll eventually have to leave their little hideout…

Carol and Daryl spent the day sleeping, making love, rummaging in the kitchen to find stuff to eat, then making love some more. By evening they had thoroughly explored each other's bodies and Carol felt more comfortable with him than she ever imagined she would be. She marveled at how quickly things had changed between them, and she was terrified of losing the new ground they'd gained.

"Daryl, what happens when we go back?" she asked over a bowl of dry cereal they'd found in the pantry.

"Rick'll chew us out, I guess," he said between bites. "Wish we had milk."

"I mean, everyone will have questions," Carol continued. "They'll wonder what we've been doing here."

"None of their business," he said, "but I'm sure they can guess." He looked up at her with a little smile.

"I can't even believe this day, Daryl," she said, reaching for his hand. "It's been wonderful. Thank you so much for this."

Daryl pulled his hand back quickly. "Why're you thankin' me? You act like we're gonna get killed as soon as we walk out that door or somethin.'"

"No, that's not what I mean—"

"Well, what do you mean?" His eyes flashed in anger. "You think this was some kinda gift I gave to you? Nothin' in it for me? Are you kiddin'?"

"I was just trying to tell you how much this has meant to me."

"Well, don't act like this is all there is to it then," he said, calming down a little. "Some kinda one-night stand or somethin.' You think we're gonna go back to the way things were after this?"

"Well, that's up to you, isn't it?" she asked. She suddenly felt like she was walking on eggshells, like one wrong word would erase this entire wonderful day.

"Why is it up to me? It's both of us here. You're in this as much as I am. You think you don't have a say?" He stood up then and tossed his bowl into the sink, then stalked out of the room.

Carol didn't follow, because she was simply stunned. Did she have a say? All her life, she'd let other people make decisions for her. She'd let Ed rule over her because she was afraid not to, and before that her parents had told her what to do. And then when Sophia was born, her whole life revolved around her daughter. She'd never made any choices for herself. Being with Daryl was the first choice she'd ever wanted to make, and she had still left it up to him. She'd thought she was supposed to do that, but apparently he had other ideas. And he was right. Why shouldn't she have a say in this? She was tired of leaving everything up to other people. She'd even been leaving her own survival up to the rest of the group, especially Daryl, and she was done with that. She needed to learn how to take care of herself. She took care of everyone in all the ways that mattered, loving them and nurturing them and making them as comfortable as they could be, but they took care of making sure she stayed alive and she couldn't return that favor. She was determined to change that, to stand up for herself. Starting now, with Daryl.

"Ok," she said from the kitchen doorway, watching him check the security of the door and windows.

He turned. "Ok what?"

"Ok, I have a say," she said, lifting her chin. "And I say I want to be with you, like this, as much as I can. Every day. And I don't care who knows it. I want you, Daryl. All of you."

He walked over to her and took her hands, then pressed his forehead to hers. "Was that so hard to say?"

"You have no idea," she said. "I feel brave enough to take on a herd of walkers right now."

"Bite your tongue, woman. Don't ask for trouble."

"That's another thing," she said, backing away from him a little. "I need to start taking care of myself. You can't worry so much about protecting me. I have to protect myself, just like Andrea and Michonne do."

Daryl nodded. "I'm still gonna look out for you, but I get what you're sayin.'" He held her face in his hands then and gazed into her eyes for a moment, and Carol knew that she wasn't the only one being brave. For months Daryl had avoided eye contact with everyone and had only intermittently looked at her, which had shown her that he felt closer to her than to anyone else in the group. Now he was looking straight into her eyes, not backing down from what was happening between them. It was an enormous step for both of them.

A sudden loud knock on the door interrupted the moment, and they tore their eyes away from each other. "Carol! Daryl! Are you guys in there?" It was Glenn.

"Fuck off!" Daryl shouted, and Carol gasped, hiding a smile behind her hand.

"Daryl, come on," Glenn pleaded. "Open the door. It's just me and Maggie."

Daryl opened the door and pulled them inside. "I'll let you in because I don't want your sorry asses attractin' walkers. But I'm still gonna make you fuck off in a minute."

Glenn sighed. "Look, I get it. That shit at the mall was fucked up. You guys needed to take a breather, get away from everything for a while." He glanced at Carol, and Maggie was grinning as she looked from Daryl to Carol. Carol rolled her eyes at her. "But Rick's freakin' out, man. He doesn't want to lose you again. You know how important you are to the group. Both of you."

"I don't blame you for hidin' out here," Maggie said, still grinning a little, "but the others are startin' to say it ain't fair, you guys holing up here with runnin' water and stuff while we figure out what to do."

"Who's stoppin' you from movin' into your own house?" Daryl asked. "Any of you?"

"Daryl, you know we always make decisions like that as a group, and we follow Rick's lead," Glenn said.

"Yeah, I know," Daryl answered. "And look where that got us yesterday."

Carol sighed heavily. "We're coming back, Glenn. Don't worry."

Daryl nodded. "Tell Rick we'll head home first thing in the mornin.'" Then he started pushing Glenn toward the door.

"Wait, wait—" Glenn said, but Daryl shook his head and pushed him out. Maggie hurried after him, giving Carol a little wave goodbye.

"Fuck," Daryl muttered, running his hand through his hair. "Why can't they fuckin' leave us alone for a minute?" He locked the door and pushed the couch in front of it, then plopped down on it. "I hope they make it back safe."

Carol sat down beside him and he put his arm around her and held her close. "One more night, huh?" she asked. "Then back to reality."

"Yep."

"Well, this was great while it lasted," she said. "Almost like a normal life, you know?" She looked up at him. "This never would've happened if we'd met back before the walkers, would it?"

Daryl shrugged. "Who knows? Doesn't matter, does it? It's happened now." He pulled her closer and started running his hand up and down her arm. "I want to fuck you on this couch."

"Daryl Dixon. You've gotten downright bold." She giggled a little and inched even closer. "And what's stopping you anyway?"

"I want you to do something for me." She shot him a questioning look. "Put on that dress."

"Dress?"

"Yeah, you know, that dress you liked when we found this place."

She couldn't believe he remembered. She rushed up the stairs and found the dress in the pile of clothes on the floor, where she and Daryl had swept them to gain access to the bed. She hurriedly took off her clothes and slipped it over her head. It was much too big on her, hanging on her tiny frame. She knew she'd lost weight in the last few months. They all had. But this was ridiculous. She took a look in the mirror and gathered the material behind her to pull it tighter across her breasts and stomach. She chuckled at herself. "Oh well," she sighed. She slipped off her underwear underneath the dress. At least that would be a nice surprise for him, even if she didn't look so great in the dress. He would like the low cut in the front, anyway. She headed down the stairs, feeling silly. She'd never really dressed up for anyone before. Heck, she hadn't dressed up at all in years. She'd even stopped wearing nice dresses to church, because Ed always told her she looked like a slut. She'd worn plain pants and boring blouses and tried to disappear into the background, and it had worked. This dress, however, was not for someone who wanted to disappear.

"Holy shit," he muttered when she reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Come on, Daryl," she said, rolling her eyes. "It doesn't even fit."

He shook his head. "I don't care. You're beautiful." She blushed, and almost believed him. "You're always beautiful, but right now. . ." He stood up and took her hands, planting a soft, sweet kiss on her lips. She'd never felt more feminine, more desired.

"Will you do something else for me?" he asked.

"Anything," she said. "You know that."

"I want to hear you play that piano again."

Carol's smile faded. "But you—"

"No. I won't change my mind about anything. Don't worry."

She smoothed her skirt under her as she sat down, and a memory of her first piano recital when she was eight years old came into her mind. She'd been so nervous, and she'd just known she would screw it up. But she didn't. So many things were fucked up in her life, but Carol's fingers always knew how to hit the keys to make something beautiful.

Today was no different. Carol launched into a sonatina she'd learned ages ago. She couldn't even remember the composer – Purcell, maybe? It wasn't too difficult, but it was delicate and pretty and perfect, and Carol managed to remember every note. When she reached the end, she closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh. Daryl stood behind her, his hands on her shoulders. He allowed one hand to slip inside her neckline, cupping her breast gently. He bent to press his lips against her neck. "God, I love your neck," he murmured, and she turned her head to give him access. He licked and kissed and sucked her there, his hand stroking her breast, until she finally turned and pressed her mouth to his. He lifted her to her feet and led her to the couch. He sat down and she lowered herself to straddle him, and his hands slid under her skirt. When he discovered that she wasn't wearing underwear, he grunted and pulled her closer. Carol wondered if he could feel how hot and wet she already was. She reached down and quickly unfastened his pants, taking his cock in her hands. He gasped and grabbed her hips, lifting her up a bit. She slid down on him, taking him all the way in. He panted as his hands tightened on her hips and he began to thrust upward, pushing his cock as far inside her as possible, filling her completely. She moved her hips in little circles, grinding against him. She arched her back and threw her head back as his hands moved up to her breasts. He slid them inside her neckline again, but this time he roughly tore the bodice of her dress, ripping it open and burying his face in her breasts as he continued to fuck her. He growled and nipped at her skin, then seized her hips again and flipped her onto her back on the couch, keeping his cock buried deep inside her. She spread her legs wide, taking him even deeper in. She could barely catch her breath before his mouth was on hers, his tongue pushing in. He was like an animal. He couldn't get enough of her. She wrapped her legs around his back and lifted her hips to match his thrusts until she came, crying out into his mouth. He bit her lip as his orgasm followed hers, then he collapsed onto her and buried his face in her neck.

He looked up at her with a smile, but it quickly faded when he saw the blood on her lip. "Carol, no. . . you're bleeding. Did I do that to you?" He sat up and pulled her into his lap, gently wiping the blood from her lip with a fingertip. "God, I'm so sorry I hurt you. I was too rough."

Carol laughed. "Daryl, please don't apologize for what just happened. That was fucking amazing."

"You're fucking amazing," he whispered. "I've always thought you were."

"Really?" She pulled back and looked at him. "Since when?"

"Since forever. I used to watch you in that camp, watch how you were with. . . with Sophia." He looked at her shyly, gauging her reaction to her daughter's name. "You were such a good mother. So nice to everybody too. I wanted to kill your husband. I really did. I would've too, if that walker hadn't beat me to it."

"Why?"

"That's what I do when I love something," he said, looking down. "Protect it."

Carol's heart jumped, but she tried to control her breathing. He had just said he loved her, right? He'd said it indirectly, but she was astonished that he'd had any feeling for her at all back in those days in the camp, when they all barely knew each other and she'd been more concerned about keeping Ed away from Sophia than anything else.

"You know what I do when I love something?" she asked him, pressing her lips to his. "I give myself completely. I'm yours, Daryl. Completely yours."