A/N: Hello lovelies!

As most of you know, I presented you all with a challenge for me with the last chapter to see how many reviews I could get before I released the next one…as expected, you guys BLEW ME AWAY!

I asked for ten, and I got close to double that, so HUGE THANKS to everyone…Peta2, HGRHfan35, Dixonrocks, marybethorama, Lisab876, AffairWithACrossbow, tyffany86, vickih, Blulcy, earthbound68, hillaryn, Rodgerse, maawwge, Buckismith, and carylfan, and all my followers…

YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!

As promised, here is the second chapter….enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead…I do however own a Mrs. Daryl Dixon t-shirt, which I wore in the presence of Norman Reedus

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Ch11.

Daryl was officially out of his fucking mind.

One minute he'd been sound asleep; then the next thing he knew, Carol was standing in front of him covered in blood and bruises. He probably scared her something good, but she should've known better than to wake him up. Sleeping bears don't play nice when provoked.

Of course he'd lost it. It was obvious she'd had a run-in with a walker. Did she really expect him to just be fine with it? He definitely hadn't liked the answer she'd given him when he asked where Rick had been. How could he let her go off with Tyreese on her own? He'd promised he'dkeep her safe, not hand her off to some douchebag who probably ran out the door the minute the shit hit the fan! Of course she'd tried to defend him. He'd probably laid on a line of bullshit and cozied right on up to her the minute they got into the mountains.

They were as thick and thieves now, no doubt.

She'd tried to throw him off, claiming she couldn't find him when she got back. How hard could she have looked? He was right there in her damn room. After he was done talking to Carl, he'd decided to go check and see if she had any good books he could read. He knew she'd gotten a bunch of them from the prison library once they'd been able to clear the space out. She'd been bugging him for months to read something, so it seemed like as good a way as any to kill some time. Too bad he'd conked out before he got a chance to really get into anything good. If he'd known that he'd have to wake up to this, he wouldn't have even bothered. It was still so fucking hard for him to let her have her way, even now.

Probably cause you can't stand to be wrong.

To top the whole damn thing off, that asshole appeared in the door to back her up! It was like they'd planned it or something. He'd been planning to throw every insult he had at the oversized man, but Tyreese's comment stopped him dead in his tracks.

She was the one who saved both our lives…you're a very lucky man.

Carol had saved him? This wasn't adding up. And where the hell had that comment come from about him being lucky? Had she told him they were together? Even if she hadn't, Daryl wasn't going to back down from the challenge. He'd made sure his response got the point across tenfold. Tyreese seemed to have gotten the picture, but Carol looked like she wanted to smack him clear into next week.

So maybe it hadn't been the right thing to say.

Daryl assumed she'd been thankful, but instead she scolded him like he was ten-years-old again. Figuring maybe he could distract her, he decided to question what Tyreese had said. He couldn't believe what she told him.

She hadn't just taken on one walker….there'd been four of em!

As pissed as he still was about Rick leaving her alone like that, he got a kick out of hearing how she handled the situation. She'd immediately assumed he'd start yelling, and in a way he wanted to, but not for the reason she thought. He'd wanted to see her in action. If his ankle hadn't been slowing him down, he could've been there to back her up. Even in his envy, he'd gotten a big kick out of imagining the whole thing in his head. The scenario got even more amusing when he replaced the image of the walker's head with Tyreese's in his mind. Carol hadn't taken well to that comment either, and he figured he probably did owe them both an apology, but suddenly she looked defeated.

Are you sorry for what you said to Tyreese?

He hadn't understood her at first but then he got it. She wanted to know if he was sorry he'd let Tyreese think they were a couple. He really hadn't thought it through past the point of wanting to get rid of the sorry bastard. She probably thought he was jealous.

Hell…he was jealous.

With everything that had happened in the last week, it was all backing up in his head. He'd planned to sit her down and talk it out when she got back, but that sure wasn't working out either. He knew one thing-there was no way in hell he was going to confess anything to her within earshot of the others. He needed a place to take her where they could be alone. She was staring at him now, waiting for him to make a move. He knew this was his chance.

It's now or never…balls to the wall.

"Come on. Let's get the hell outta here."

He'd grabbed her arm and yanked her out of the cell, down the perch steps and through the main door. He wasn't even sure where the hell he was going, or how far he could get with his foot all messed up, but she was questioning him neither. He needed to find somewhere they could go that no one would interrupt them. Wherever they ended up, he knew it was going to end one of two ways.

Either she was gonna tell him to go to hell and stomp on his manhood, or they were about to go into some majorly unchartered territory.

The Governor had shot up and destroyed most of the guard towers when he'd attacked, but there was still one that wasn't too shot up. He threw open the door, cursing out the two walkers who were hanging out by the gates, and yanked her inside. After two flights of stairs, his ankle was screaming and Carol was practically ready to fall over, but they'd made it. He turned to look at her, but the minute he realized what he was about to do, he panicked.

"Daryl, before you-"

"You know I can't give you what you want." He spat out before she had a chance to argue. "You want some knight in shining armor bullshit, but that ain't me and it never will be."

She huffed. "That's not what I want at all."

"You'd be better off with Rick or Tyreese. You need someone who'll always be there for ya and say the right things."

Carol looked amused. "If I wanted to be with Rick or Tyreese, don't you think I would've made a move already?"

He shrugged. "Maybe you're scared they don't feel that way back."

"Or maybe you are."

"I ain't scared of nothin'."

"Really?" She crossed her arms. "Then why are we up here and away from everyone else?"

Daryl's plan was rapidly falling apart. "Just…needed some air is all."

"And you thought I could use some too? How thoughtful of you."

He scoffed. "You act like you know me, but you don't."

She took a step towards him. "I know you a lot better than you think I do."

"Oh yeah?" He was trying desperately to figure out what the hell he was doing. It wasn't working. "Then what's so great about me?"

"You're loyal…you're honest to a fault…you don't take crap from anybody."

He made a face. "You're basically just called me a dependable asshole."

"Those are your words, not mine."

"Don't matter anyway." He shuffled his feet. "I'm still no good for ya."

Carol sighed. "Daryl, I'm not the same woman you met at that camp site two years ago, am I?"

He chuckled at the notion. "Definitely not."

"Well you're not the same guy I met either." She walked over to look out the window. "When you were around Merle, you were a different person. As soon as he disappeared, you stepped up and became a member of the group." She looked back. "I know you want to put yourself down, but you can talk until you're blue in the face, because I'll never believe it for a second."

Daryl struggled with his thoughts. "S'not like I couldn't be that guy again if I wanted to."

"But now you have people depending on you. Everyone counts on you because they know you'll be there, and I know that means something to you." She sighed. "You've proven yourself to everyone except the person who matters most."

Damn. She had him pegged. He'd never been this close to letting someone else in, and it was starting to scare the shit out of him. He ran his hands over his face and through his hair.

"This ain't goin' the way I planned it."

Carol looked amused. "You had a plan?"

"Sorta. Had a lot of time on my hands while you were gone."

She walked back over to where he stood. "I know you didn't want me to go on the trip, but as much as I hate to admit it, I think I went out there for you as much as I did for myself. I wanted you to be proud of me."

Daryl was stunned to say the least. "I was proud of ya. Still am."

"Then let me be proud of you too."

"Ain't done nothin' to be proud of."

"Daryl, you are the smartest, bravest, and most honorable man I know. That's something to be proud of."

As much as he wanted to argue back with her, he knew they'd just end up going round and round in circles. He'd never be okay with admitting that he was something worthwhile. He knew the minute he did, he'd do something to let someone down. Up until he'd met Carol and the group, he'd never cared what anyone thought. Now he cared too much.

"Remember what you said about feelin' like you deserved the abuse?"

"Yes."

He took a deep breath. "Well I can't stop feelin' it."

Carol walked forward until she was right in front of him. He braced himself for anything. For all he knew, she was gonna slap him, but instead, she reached out for his hand.

"You really want to know why I want to be with you?"

"Why?"

"Because you look at me like a woman, and not like a battered wife who isn't worth your time. You look at me with trust and honesty. You know exactly what I'm feeling most of the time even if you can't say it out loud. Those things mean more to me that anything."

Daryl looked her right in the eyes and he knew she wasn't trying to mess with him. "We're fighters. We gotta stick together."

"I believe that some things are worth fighting for. This is me fighting for you Daryl Dixon. I need you to fight back for me."

Daryl sucked in a deep breath when she took his hand in hers and raised it to her lips. It was the tiniest kiss, but it felt like it had reached down deep within his bones. This woman had just broken down every damn barrier he'd ever had up and he was reeling from it. The internal struggle was over. She'd made him want to care.

There was no walking away now.

Making up his mind within seconds, he pushed up from the wall and grasped her face with his free hand, drawing her forward until their lips crashed together. It must've caught her by surprise because she seemed to freeze up at first, but then she was actually kissing him back. Damn, it was amazing. Her skin was smooth like he'd always imagined it'd be; compared to his own. Her lips were soft too. She wrapped her arms around his biceps tightly like she was afraid she'd fall over. He grabbed her waist, pulling her as close as she could get. After another moment or two, she started pulled away.

"Whoa..." Her hand coming up against his chest as she gasped from the lack of air. "I'm sorry. I haven't done this in a long time. My tolerance isn't what it used to be."

Daryl nodded, panting himself. It had been fucking awesome, but he wasn't about to say it out loud. He'd already made himself look like an ass more than once today.

"So does this mean that you're feeling more confident?" She grinned at him teasingly.

He shrugged. "You could say that."

"You know what we need right now?"

He had no clue. His brain was mush. "What?"

She leaned in again, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I think we need some more practice."

To his shock, she took the lead this time, urging his lips to move with hers. They seemed to have a good rhythm going and he was doing his best to keep up with her. He'd only done this a handful of times in his whole life, and most of those times, he'd also been insanely drunk. Just as he was starting to question his technique, he heard her moan against his mouth. Okay, so maybe he wasn't so bad at this after all. Suddenly, her tongue ran lightly across his bottom lip.

Holy fuck, that was fantastic.

She pushed her body up against his, and he leaned back against the wall in response. She wasn't leaving very few gaps in between them now. If she kept this up, he was gonna have a lot more explaining to do. They tussled for another moment; tongues clashing in a way that made his blood boil. How had he gone through life this long without something this amazing?

"Damn…" He pulled back first this time as his lungs tried desperately to suck in more oxygen. "You may be the death of me yet."

Carol laughed; her arms still around him tightly. "Well here's to a blissful afterlife."

Shit…didn't that pretty much say it all.

A/N: And there you have it folks! There's more to come of course, but I'll let this sink in for a while first *hehe*

I'm so happy that everyone is loving this story…trust me, it's a labor of love for me. I haven't done anything this extensive in YEARS, so it's awesome to know that people are reading and reacting right along with me. I'd also like to give a shout out to my English teacher, Mr. Reazor, for allowing me to bring my obsession into the classroom and write about my experience of meeting Norman Reedus as an assignment, and telling me to pursue my writing. We all need someone to inspire us!