Chapter Thirteen

Sophia watched her mom and Daryl carefully. When her and Damon had came in they were kind of all over each other. He'd had her around the waist and she was holding on to his arms and they were both so red in the face that it would have been comical if it hadn't been her mom.

Piper came down and she looked just as miserable as Damon. She didn't say anything, which was strange because she was usually such a talker and even in the most dreadful situations, she had brought a lightness with her that made things more bearable. Even if the lightness was a bit morbid. She barely glanced at Carol, not asking who she was or why she was there.

Sophia watched as her mom was about to open some cans of soup that she had dug out of the cupboard. Daryl grabbed the can opener and the can from her mom's hands and shook his head.

"It'll get too damn hot if you cook in here. We can take this shit outside and cook it over the fire pit. You won't be able to stand it in here once it heats up."

Carol nodded and grabbed a pot, following him towards the door. Sophia was actually surprised at how comfortable her mom seemed to be with the man. She was usually extremely nervous around men. Ed had treated her badly and after he died, Carol had simply seemed uninterested in men. She had been there, done that, and didn't seem to ever want to go back.

Damon sat down at the table across from Piper and Sophia joined him. Piper was staring at the door, a frown forming between her brows. "That's weird," she muttered.

Damon nodded. "Yeah, it is."

"Who's the girlfriend?" Piper asked.

Sophia frowned. "She isn't his girlfriend. That's my mom."

Piper met her eyes and then Damon's. "Goddamn. How long was I asleep?"

Sophia explained the strange events that had brought them all here and then she had to ask. "Why would you think she was his girlfriend?"

Piper and Damon shared another look and then Piper shrugged. "Daryl ain't much like the rest of us. He's not as loud and... out there. He pretty much keeps to himself and I've seen the guy around women. He avoids them." She nodded towards the door. "So seeing him like that, so comfortable, is weird."

Sophia nodded. "I know. After my dad..." She didn't want to bring up the death of parents at the moment, "She kind of just avoided men altogether. I've seen her around men in public, like, at the store. She always seems kind of afraid. She isn't like that with him."

"We should try to hook them up," Piper said, picking at a splinter of wood hanging off the corner of the table. She didn't seem very enthused but she seemed more interested in this than she had anything else since learning about her family's tragedy. "The world just got way more fucked up than it's ever been before. It'll give us somethin' to do anyway."

Damon drummed his fingers on the table top. "Maybe they've already hooked up."

Sophia made a face and Piper's lips turned up. "My mom wouldn't hook up with some guy she doesn't even know."

Piper rolled her eyes. "Well, they were together all night. They're both grown. They watched the world end. What better way to prove you're alive than havin' great sex?"

Sophia shook her head. "I don't want to hear about it. If it happens then that's nice for them. But I don't want to know details."

"I bet they're freaks," Piper muttered. "Most of the shy quiet types are. I bet if they hook up they'll tear that fuckin' shack down."

Sophia felt her face grow hot and she slid down further in her seat.

~H~

It felt strange, sitting around a fire at dusk, eating beef soup and crackers with a group of people she barely knew, but it was oddly comforting. They were all together and she felt safe. That was the strange thing about it. Even after Ed had died, she still rarely ever felt safe. She always felt a low burning current of fear. But she didn't feel that way now. It simply didn't make any sense.

She was sitting on an overturned log next to Daryl. She hadn't consciously made the decision to sit down next to him but that was where she had ended up. Merle was sitting alone right across from him and the kids were sitting on the ground a few feet away. The three of them talked quietly and a few times, from the corner of her eye, she saw Sophia smile. It was just... nice.

She looked down into her bowl and frowned. She'd only eaten half of it but she didn't want anymore. She glanced over just as Daryl stuck his finger in his mouth, sucking the juices off. He was eying her bowl and she was eying him. For some reason his lack of manners had her squeezing her thighs together, a strange and barely recognizable tension causing her body to react. She ignored it, refusing to contemplate it at all. His eyes slid up, meeting hers.

The strange feeling intensified when his eyes didn't move from hers. He licked his lips. "You gonna eat that?"

She quickly looked down at the bowl in her lap and shook her head, passing it on to him and feeling incredibly idiotic. She silently chastised herself, looking at the fire instead of at him. She was tired and they had been through a lot. That was the excuse she gave herself. She glanced up and noticed that Merle was staring right at her. She looked away quickly but not before she saw the lewd smirk on his face and the wink.

"The hell you lookin' at?" Daryl asked suddenly.

Merle looked at Daryl and took a bite of his food. He grinned and looked away. Daryl growled and then finished off her bowl.

Once they were finished Daryl sat both bowls down by the log. Everyone else was finished too. He looked over at her, keeping his voice low. "We lost light but if you still wanna go down to get cleaned up, I can walk you. We got the flashlights."

She stared at him. "You can't go with me!"

He raised an eyebrow. "Then you can take Merle. Nobody needs to be runnin' off by themselves with those things out there."

She felt her face redden and she moved her head closer to his so she could keep her voice as low as possible. "You are aware that I meant that I'd like to actually bathe. That means getting naked and I am not getting naked with you standing there watching!"

He glanced around and then rolled his eyes. She followed his gaze and realized that everyone was staring at the two of them. She was sure they hadn't heard her though. His eyes returned to hers. "I didn't plan on watchin' you. I was plannin' on keepin' watch. I ain't some kind of pervert, Carol."

She pressed her lips together in a disapproving line. "Why can't the girls go with me?"

He shrugged. "How about you just keep on stinkin'?"

"I do not stink," she hissed. "Not as bad as you do anyhow."

His lips twitched.

"What the hell are you two whispering about?" Merle asked.

Carol looked up. Everyone was still staring at them. "Nothing," she muttered.

Merle didn't look convinced but he glanced at the kids and decided to change the subject. "Alright then. There's a trunk in the bedroom full of extra blankets so I thought the girls can share the loft and Damon can sleep downstairs."

Carol frowned. "What about me?"

Merle glanced between her and Daryl. "I figured you'd be sleepin' down at the shack with him."

Daryl huffed. "Merle, how many damn times do you I have to tell you?"

"After what I seen in that suitcase of hers, I'm half tempted to drag her off to my room, little brother. Don't tell me the two of you ain't closet freaks."

"Called it," Piper said with a grin.

Carol gaped at him. "I told you that stuff wasn't mine!"

Merle shook his head. "Darlin' I don't know you. I know him. There ain't no way in hell any of that kinky shit belongs to my brother."

Carol realized that Sophia and the other two were still watching them. "Merle, I took that out of an abandoned car!"

Merle looked skeptical but he finally relented. "Okay then. It won't hurt anything for you and the boy to sleep down in the big room."

"Why don't you and Damon take the floor and you give her the bed?" Daryl asked.

Merle and Carol both shook their heads. "I wouldn't feel right taking the bed while everyone else slept on the floor."

"There's always your bed," Merle countered.

Daryl growled and muttered something under his breath.

Carol thought of something then and she turned to Daryl. "Are you sure you should stay out there alone? I mean, it's close and all but not close enough. If one of those things came up here, you could get hurt."

"I've been takin' care of myself my whole damn life. I don't need a baby sitter," he muttered shaking his head.

Merle grinned. "I think she's hinting that she wants to go with you."

Carol gave him a heavy look. "That is in no way what I was hinting at, Merle."

"Well, I think I'm going to bed. It's been a long day," Sophia said quickly, standing up. Piper reached for her hand and Sophia pulled the girl up from the ground. Damon stood up with them, glancing between the three adults.

"This shit is too heavy for me. Goodnight," Damon said, following the girls into the house.

Merle stood up, stretching and yawning loudly. "Guess I'll give you two a little privacy now. You got some discussin' to do. Make sure you keep it down when you do come in, Carol. They put up a good front but those kids really have been through a hell of a lot. They need their rest. If you two can't keep your clothes on till you get to that shack make sure you keep that bow close, boy. There's some real ugly shit out there."

Daryl threw a piece of wood at him, missing him by just a fraction of an inch. Merle didn't even turn around. He just laughed and shook his head. "He's such a dick," he grumbled, as Merle walked around the side of the cabin.

"He's something," Carol said, staring off at the fire. She looked up but Daryl wasn't looking at her. He was staring at the flames too. "I meant what I said though. I don't think it's safe for you to stay out there alone."

"And I already told you that I'm fine. I can take care of myself."

"I'm sure you can but I'll still worry," she said, looking away.

"Well, you're wastin' your time worryin' about me."

They sat there in silence for a long time and she wasn't even sure why. She guessed that she was just reluctant to leave him, which was stupid. He really was more than capable of taking care of himself and she knew they were both ready to fall over from lack of sleep. "I guess we should call it a night," she said eventually.

He nodded and stood up at the same time she did. "Yeah, I'll see you in the mornin'. We'll just go down to the creek after breakfast.

She smiled at him. "Be careful."

He rolled his eyes and started kicking dirt onto the flames. "You're gonna drive yourself crazy worryin' for no reason."

"Goodnight, Daryl," she said, turning towards the house.

"'Night," she heard him mutter.

When she made it to the corner of the cabin she glanced over her shoulder and was surprised to see him turn around quickly. He had been watching her. She smiled at his retreating back. Maybe she wasn't the only one needlessly worried.

When she slipped inside the cabin was dark but from the moonlight shining in through the window she could see Damon's form sleeping close to the door. There was a rifle next to him and she could see that further into the room, past him, was another makeshift bed, already made up for her.

She had a lot to think about tonight that could have kept her up but as soon as her head hit the pillow she felt herself drifting off.