A Secret

Chapter 5

A/N: I'm still in serious depression after yesterdays ending of Here We Go Again. I need to get out of the depression, and write something happy! No more death for a while, thats for sure. Enjoy!
McBrideReedusLover.~

"Happy birthday Sophia." Carol smiled as her daughter walked into the kitchen. "I made your favorite, chocolate chip pancakes." She placed the plate on the table. Sophia grinned and sat down. "So, how does it feel to be twelve years old?" Carol asked, leaned against the counter.

"Not that different." Sophia admitted. "So when is Daryl coming over? I want to ride the rollercoaster as soon as possible." Sophia had her mind set on riding that rollercoaster. She wasn't sure if it would be scary, which is why she wanted to go with someone. Since her mother wouldn't go with her, Daryl was the next best choice.

"Well, I said I'd call him when we would be leaving. He said he'd meet us there." Carol shrugged. "And I don't see what the big deal is about a rollercoaster. When I was your age it was the games I was interested in."

"Well I've never been to a fair before." That made Carol's smile disappear. She wanted to take Sophia to the fair so many times, but Ed wouldn't let her. He wouldn't let her do anything with Sophia. If she asked to do anything, she'd get punished. He'd let her know that what she wanted wasn't the right thing to do, atleast not in his house. Everything she did was wrong. Thats why while he was in jail, she had to get everything out of her system, so when he returned, she'd be the weak little housewife she was meant to be. "Mom? Did you hear me?" Carol looked up at her daughter.

"Oh, sorry, no I didn't. What were you saying?" Carol shoved all those thoughts to the back of her mind, where they belonged.

"I was saying after I go on the rollercoaster we could play a game there. You could show me why they are so fun. Maybe you could win me something!" Sophia grinned. "Maybe you could win me something at every game!"

"Now lets not get greedy Sophia." Carol smiled, taking her plate. "Now go have a shower, and then we'll get going okay?" She placed the plate in the sink, and soaked it.

"Okay!" Sophia grinned and ran up the stairs.

"Oh my gosh there it is! Look at it mom!" Sophia clapped excitedly as they got closer and closer to the fair. Carol chuckled and pulled into an empty parking spot.

"Looks pretty busy here." Carol opened the door. "And it's hot out. Good thing I wore my tank top." She smiled. "Better put some sunscreen on Soph, you wouldn't want to get burned on your birthday."

"Okay." Sophia reached into the car and grabbed the sunscreen. She handed it over to her mom. "You don't want to get burned either." She smiled. She waited for her mother to put on the sunscreen.

"Alright, we're all set." Carol locked the car.

"We can't go yet!" Sophia shouted, running infront of her mother.

"I thought you were all excited and in a hurry to go?" Carol questioned.

"We have to wait for Daryl." Sophia crossed her arms. "I can't go on that rollercoaster until he gets here."

"Well, he should be here shortly." Carol checked her watch. She leaned against the car, and watched the roads for his truck. Sure enough, she saw his truck in the distance. "I told you he'd be here soon." She said as he pulled into the parking lot. Surprisingly, there was a free spot next to their car. He parked his truck right beside theirs. "Well hello there." Carol smiled as he got out of his truck.

"Hi Daryl! Ready to go on the rollercoaster?" Sophia smiled up at him.

"Oh, uh, sure." Daryl had never been on a rollercoaster before. But how bad could it be?

"I ain't ever goin' on that again." Daryl felt like throwing up. That was the worst thing he'd ever experienced. It went upside down and twisted and turned all at once. How was he even alive after that? And Sophia was perfectly fine with it, infact, she was screaming with joy everytime it went upside down.

"Oh you baby." Sophia joked. "Well I'm going on it again!" She ran off to stand in line again.

"Not as easy as you thought it would be, huh?" Carol looked up at him as he made his way over to her. She was sitting on the bench waiting for them.

"Not in the slightest." Daryl muttered, sitting beside her. "I swear, that thing was gonna kill me."

Carol laughed. "Yeah, thats what I thought when I was sixteen and went on a rollercoaster. Never again." She smiled. "Sophia seems to like it though. Hope she doesn't ride it all day, I'd like to go play some of the games."

"Oh man, those games are the shit." Daryl smirked. He remember way back when he was young, his mother took him to the fair just to play the games. He never went on the rides, he only played the games. "Been a while since I played 'em though."

"Same here." Carol sighed. "I've always wanted to win a prize. Sophia said I was supposed to win her a prize today." She chuckled. "Maybe I could, if she'd get off that rollercoaster."

"I ain't never won a prize in my life. I'm up to the challenge." He gave her a small smile. "She can ride the damn thing all she wants, we could go play the games. First one to win a prize buys the other person lunch."

"You're on Dixon." Carol smirked. "I'm going to go tell Sophia we'll be by the games." This would be fun. Hopefully, she'd win and get a prize before him. Then she could have the pleasure of telling him he got beat by a girl. That would be quite fun. "Sophia, me and Daryl are going over to the games section. When you're done with the rides, come find us alright?"

"Alright." Sophia watched her mom walk off. Why was she going to the games with Daryl? She shrugged, it didn't matter now, it was her turn to go on the rollercoaster.

"Okay, what game first?" Carol asked, looking at the different game booths.

"'Bout the ring toss game? Looks easy enough." Daryl shrugged. Carol nodded and they both walked over to the booth. It cost them both five bucks. "You're goin' down." He whispered, and grabbed a couple rings.

"You say that now." She smirked back at him. "Just wait."

"The fuck you mean?" He asked. She pointed at the bottles. All of the sudden, they started moving. How the fuck was he supposed to aim when they kept moving around like that? "Ah shit." He growled. He threw one of the rings, he missed by far.

Carol laughed, and threw a ring as well. She too, missed. In the end, both of them lost. "Well, how about another game?"

"I ain't givin' up 'till one of us wins." Daryl looked at the other booths. He spotted one he should do well at. "Over there. Target game." He was always a good shot, no way he'd lose this one.

"Okay, fine." Carol smiled. This would be good. They paid the guy and then picked up the fake rifles. "You ready?"

"Hell yeah." He smirked. The man turned on the game and the targets started moving from side to side. This one would be much easier. He fired a shot, and hit the target. He was so going to win.

"How the fuck?" Daryl was shocked. Carol had beat him. "How did ya beat me woman?"

"I guess I just have the skill." She smiled, carrying the little stuffed penguin. She'd give it to Sophia later. "Now, about my lunch?"

"Hell no, I want a rematch." Daryl protested.

"That wasn't the deal Dixon." Carol smirked. "You still have to buy me lunch, but I'll play another game with you. Just so you can experience the losing feeling all over again."

"Fuck that." Daryl growled. "Say, ya think you're strong?"

"Why?" Carol asked.

"Cause, that test your strength game over there. Bet I can get a bigger prize than you with that." He said, and started walking over to it.

"Well of course, you're a man. Men are normally stronger than females." She rolled her eyes, but followed him anyway. He picked up the hammer and looked over at her. "Go ahead." She said. She couldn't help but glance at his arms. She never realized how muscular they were. She focussed her attention back on the game. He slammed down the hammer, and it went all the way to the top. "Wow..." She was impressed.

"Congratulations sir, here is your prize. Come again!" The man handed Daryl a large stuffed bear. Not a chance in hell he was keeping something like that.

"Good job Daryl." She smiled as he walked over to her.

"Uh, thanks." Daryl awkwardly handed the bear over to her. "You can uh, keep this if ya want."

Carol couldn't help the grin as she took the bear from him. "Thanks." She continued to grin. She didn't like the fact that it made her happier than it should have. "Well, lets go find Sophia." Carol turned around and bumped into the very person she just mentioned. "Oh, Sophia." She said startled.

"Did you win me a prize?" Sophia grinned at her mother. "I really like the penguin."

Carol handed her the penguin. "That was for you anyway."

"Did you win the bear too?" Sophia tilted her head.

"Oh, no, uh, Daryl won it." Carol felt herself blushing.

"Oh, I see." Sophia grinned. She walked around her mother, and made little kissing noises. Carol's mouth dropped open. If Daryl wasn't right there, she would've said something about it.

"Well, I'm hungry." She tried to get her mind off of what just happened. "Daryl, you're buying right?" She smirked.

"Yeah yeah." Daryl grumbled. He walked up to her. "Ya got lucky on that game, I would've beat ya any other day."

"You keep telling yourself that." She whispered before walking away towards the burger stand. Daryl rolled his eyes and followed her.

Sophia watched her mother and Daryl, and shook her head. "They were totally flirting." She ran after them. She figured her mother had a crush on Daryl, though she might not realize it just yet. Sophia could see it clear as day. If she was being honest, she wouldn't mind if her mother went out with Daryl. He was a cool guy, and a hell of a lot better than her father. She knew what her father did, even though her mother tried to hide it from her. She tried to act like everything was okay, that it was normal. But Sophia knew better than that. Her mother went through hell just so he wouldn't lay his hands on his own daughter. Sophia was so grateful for that. If her mother wanted to be with Daryl, she'd fully support that, cause she could just tell, Daryl was nothing like her daddy.

"That was super fun!" Sophia grinned as they walked out to the parking lot. "Thank you for coming with us Daryl!" She hugged him. This time, Daryl returned the hug, atleast to the best of his ability. He was still mentally freaking out.

"No problem kid, was fun." Daryl gave her a small smile. Sophia returned the smile and then ran off towards the car.

"Well, thanks for going on the rollercoaster with her, even if it made you sick to your stomach." Carol chuckled.

"Yeah, sure." Daryl scoffed. "Never again."

"Understandable." Carol smiled. "And uhm, thanks for the stuffed bear." She couldn't help but blush when she said it. She felt like a highschool girl.

"Oh, uh, yeah no problem." Daryl awkwardly ran a hand through his hair.

Carol smiled at him, and did something she never ever thought she'd do. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "We'll see you again Daryl." And she practically bolted. Why did she do that? She shouldn't have done that. It just happened, she couldn't even control it. She didn't know if she could face him ever again after that. Sophia probably saw. That would be another problem she'd have to deal with.

Sophia giggled when she saw her mother kiss Daryl. They probably thought it was innocent. That made her giggle more. She would have to make it seem like she never saw it. She didn't want to embarress her mom more than she did today. Carol got in the car, and didn't say a word before she started the car and drove off.

Daryl stood there as Carol walked away. What the fuck just happened? Oh, thats right, she kissed him. He was already socially awkward, and could barely handle the hug Sophia gave him, how the hell was he supposed to handle this? And why did it make him feel all warm inside? What the fuck was happening to him? Damn that woman, making him feel things he shouldn't be feeling. Finally able to move, he hurried to his truck and hopped inside. How was he going to face her again without thinking about the parking lot? He knew he'd blush. He hated blushing. "You're such a pussy Darylina." He could just hear his brothers voice in his head. Damn that woman. Damn himself too for feeling something. He muttered to himself before speeding away.

A/N: Well well, I wonder if Sophia will start playing match maker? Haha. Well, I hope you enjoyed that awkward Caryl moment. R&R lovelies!
McBrideReedusLover.~