The next morning, Carol was surprised when she woke up to find Daryl still next to her. She crept silently out of bed, gingerly setting her feet down and making sure the floorboards didn't creak before putting her weight on them.

She carefully made her way to the closet, pulling out her favorite cargoes and letting her pajama pants fall to the floor. A light cough and some movement out of the corner of her eye had her standing bolt upright in alarm.

"Lucky me," he murmured. "Ain't no hanky panky happenin' an' I still get ta see some ass."

She hurriedly tugged her pants up, her face flushing. "Stop."

"Hhhmph," he muttered. "Think you're tha only one that gets ta do the jokin?"

She studied him for a moment as he peered at her through the blankets that still covered most of his face.

"Maybe I'm just wondering if you're really joking or not," she said finally with a self satisfied smile. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"You didn't," he replied, throwing the covers to the side and crawling out of bed. He kept moving past her until he was at the door. "Finish gettin' dressed. I'll meet ya outside."

She nodded, waiting until he was safely on the other side of the door before shedding any more layers. She dressed quickly, lumbered slowly down the stairs before heading out the side door to the porch.

He was sitting on the steps with his back turned to her, and her nose wrinkled slightly at the smell of smoke.

He pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and wordlessly handed it to her without even looking up as she she sat down beside him.

"No, thanks," she said softly. "I quit."

He turned to look at her over his shoulder, throwing the cigarette down to the concrete and stubbing it out with his boot.

"I didn't say you had to stop," she said.

"I know," he replied, resting his elbows on his knees.

They sat in companionable silence for a few moments, and she squinted out into the sunlight.

"Hay," he said, nudging her thigh with his knee.

She gazed at him quizzically, eyebrow raised in an unspoken question.

"I'm goin' on tha run today."

"What?" She asked, her heart dropping to her stomach and her mouth going dry.

"Ain't gonna be too long. Couple'a days at most. Rick said not ta go too far for awhile."

"But… but they're out there," she whispered, suddenly finding it hard to speak. "The saviors."

He nodded. "We need things."

She shook her head. "No….no Daryl, don't do it," she nearly choked. "Just…. just let someone else go."

He sighed, leaning back against the steps as he looked at her. "That ain't me. You know that ain't me."

"Please," she whispered. "I can't…I can't….. " she closed her eyes, pressing the heels of her hands to her temples.

"Hay," he said softly, placing a firm hand over her shoulder. "Those pricks are out there, but that don't change things. What're ya so afraid of?"

"That-that you'll never come back," she said tearfully, her voice breaking. "I can't lose you."

He wrapped his other arm around her, pulling her into his shoulder. "But I always come back ta ya, right? You jus'… you jus' sit tight and be here when I get back, alright?"

"Daryl, no… I don't… I don't want you to go," She admitted. "I just…. I have wanted to say that to you every time you've ever left." She paused, sucking in a shaky breath. "Every time."

His eyes widened at her confession and he pulled back a little to look at her. "Aw shit, Carol."

She sniffed, wiping at her face with her sleeve.

He placed a gentle hand under her chin, holding her face as his clear blue eyes bore into her teary ones. "We don't live in fear," he said softly. "That ain't us. Never was, an' it sure as hell ain't gonna be now."

He raised his other hand to her cheek, sliding slowly over her face and through the edges of her hair until his fingers came to rest at the back of her neck, stroking gently.

"Daryl," she whispered, as her own hands gripped his shoulders. She leaned forward, ignoring the slight hesitation in his expression and tilting her head to nuzzle her nose against his face. His breath felt warm and heavy on her ear as his breathing picked up, the same time that the panic in her own breathing started to slow.

He froze in place, neither moving forward nor pulling away, his hands still on her neck. She leaned her forehead against his, closing her eyes as her mouth brushed his.

It was a quick kiss, so fast that she wasn't even sure she'd actually kissed him at all, until he made a small sound in the back of his throat and for a second she thought he might be choking and her eyes shot open in alarm, but then his hands were around her wrists and he was tugging her forward, clumsily pressing his lips to hers.

She moaned softly against his mouth and he whimpered, pulling her into his lap and moving one hand behind her head to support the shift in weight.

She raised her hands to his hair, parting her lips against his and he somewhat eagerly tapped his tongue to her mouth. She touched her tongue to his, letting him know it was okay and then she tasted him, soft and wet as he slid his tongue over and under hers, thirsty for more.

She felt dizzy as they kissed, getting more and more light headed the more heated their kisses grew.

"Daryl," she whispered, pressing lightly on his shoulders as he nipped at her ear and she shivered. "Daryl, stop…"

He pulled away instantly, sliding across the steps with his hands raised in surrender, eyes wide and biting his lip.

"This… this isn't me rejecting you," she said softly as she struggled to understand the expression on his face. "It's just too much."

He nodded, panting slightly. "Yeah."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he repeated, fingers toying with the stubble on his chin. "Yeah. How bout you?"

"Yeah," she breathed. "I'm… I'm okay."

"You gonna be here when I get back?"

She nodded.

"Good girl," he murmured.

She studied him for a few more moments, her head feeling foggy.

Daryl's head snapped forward at the sound of heavy footsteps approaching, but it took her a moment to catch up.

"I hope I'm not interrupting," a gentle voice said.

She frowned, her brows wrinkled as she tried to process the fact that they were no longer alone. "Tobin," she said with genuine surprise.

"Ah shit, I am interrupting something, aren't I?"

"Naw," Daryl said, a little gruffly. "You stay. I'ma go pack my gear."

She kept her eyes on Daryl as she soberly watched him retreat. It wasn't until Tobin cleared his throat again that she remembered that he was there.

She slowly turned to look at him, the confusion melting away from her face. "I'm sorry," she said.

He shook his head. "Don't be. I… uh. I just wanted to ask you something."

"What is it?" She asked with genuine concern.

He sat next to her in the space where Daryl had been a moment before without asking. "Remember yesterday, when you said there's a difference between being weak and inexperienced?"

She nodded.

"How did you get over the….. inexperienced part?"

She frowned again. "What are you asking?"

He swallowed hard, carefully calculating his next question. "I mean… how did you…. learn to do things? Like the kind of things you did in the woods yesterday?"

She thought for a moment, her eyes wandering past the trees. "I guess it was the people around me. I had to step up. I'm lucky they were patient."

"Like Rick and the other people you were with?" He asked.

"Yeah. Rick showed me a couple of things. Daryl mostly. I guess."

"Right," he said slowly. "That's what I figured."

She pulled her attention back to him, suddenly feeling sick as she recognized the look on his face.

"I just… I was wondering…" he started. "I don't want to be inexperienced anymore."

"Tobin…" she warned.

"I was hoping you'd show me things. Like the things Daryl and Rick showed you. You could teach me," he pressed. "So what do you say, Carol? Would you be my Daryl?"