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Chapter Twenty Three

Sophia and Piper stood on the porch and watched as Damon brought armload after armload of firewood and stacked it beside the door. It wasn't raining hard anymore and even though Sophia was a little chilled, he had stripped off his shirt as he worked.

"What good is this doing anyway? All the wood out here is wet," Piper groused as she crossed her arms and glared out at the misting rain.

"No shit. That's why I took all the dry wood inside and now I'm gonna stack this wet wood on the porch so next time it rains we won't have to worry about it," he snapped right back.

Sophia raised a brow at the two of them but didn't say anything. They had been at it since the men had left and the safest place for her was out of the line of fire.

"You shoulda done this yesterday, you know, when it wasn't raining," Piper muttered as he stacked his last armload.

He straightened up and glared down at her. He was well over six feet tall, broad and muscled and Piper was four foot eleven, slim, but despite their incredible size difference he was the one that finally broke the stare. "Don't get pissed off at your dad and then make up excuses to get pissed off at me for it," he said angrily. "I ain't the one you wanna fight with, he is. Save it for when he comes home."

Piper muttered something under her breath and stormed inside without glancing at either of them.

Damon stared after her, shaking his head. "She's such a bitch sometimes."

Sophia sighed. "I guess I don't blame her. She's just scared."

He shook the water out of his hair and then nodded. "Yeah, I know. But she acts like she's the only damn person here with something at stake. Drives me crazy sometimes."

"You're worried too," she observed, watching as he stared at the door Piper had just slammed shut.

"It's dangerous out there. I ain't too worried though. Merle and Daryl are tough and they're smart. They'll be back when they said they'd be back."

"I almost wish they hadn't taken Richard. I don't trust him," she said quietly.

He laughed but there was little humor in it. "Fat chance of that. Daryl don't trust him either. There's no way he'd leave him here with your mom here."

Sophia rolled her eyes. "We're back to that, huh?"

Damon nodded. "It's a curse we have. No matter how closed off, distant, and flat out mean us Dixons are, the ladies can't resist. It's the law of nature or something." His face was so serious that she found herself laughing.

"Is that so?" She raised a brow and tried to act unimpressed when he took a step closer but she knew that he could sense the excitement that his proximity stirred in her. "Maybe it has more to do with the fact that you Dixons are just a few of the last men on earth. You ever think of that?"

He shrugged and surprised her when he hooked a finger through the belt loop on her jeans and pulled her forward. He kissed her gently at first and then a little harder when her hands went to his shoulders. They were broad and they were bare, still damp from the rain and were warm under her touch.

"Sophia!"

Sophia gasped and nearly fell back into the stack of wood as she tried to scramble away from Damon. Her mom's surprised voice ringing loudly in her ears.

"Uh oh. You two are total idiots. Of all the places you could have hidden to make out you chose the front porch... right in front of the window," Piper said, poking her head out from under Carol's arm.

Sophia looked up and winced at the horrified look on Carol's face. Carol kept glancing between Sophia and Damon, her eyes wide. "Mom, I didn't know you were there," Sophia said quickly and then realized that that probably wasn't going to make her mom feel any better. "I mean, you weren't suppose to see that." She winced and then shook her head, her face flaming.

"Dude," Piper muttered, "You seriously suck at this. Maybe you should just shut up."

Carol hadn't said a word. She was still staring wide eyed. She finally cleared her throat. "Piper, Damon, would mind giving us a minute alone, please?"

Piper sighed. "Okay, just take it easy on her. I mean, he's walking around out here all half naked in the rain hauling firewood. His muscles all bulging and all that long hair like some fuckin' corny romance novel hero and shit. How the hell could one lowly virgin girl resist? You should be talking to him. He's the one trying to seduce her." She flashed a glaring Damon a quick grin before she shut the door.

Damon glanced between them and then slipped inside, offering them both an apologetic look.

Once the door was closed Carol crossed her arms over her chest. "What were you doing?" She asked, looking like she wasn't sure at all what to say.

"I thought you saw what I was doing. Do I really have to explain it?" She wished that lightening would go ahead and strike her now. This was horrible. How could she have been so damn stupid?

Carol pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes for a few seconds before taking a deep breath. "Has this happened before?"

Sophia debated on whether to lie but decided against it. What was the point? "Maybe a few times," she mumbled.

"Sophia," Carol said, her voice strained.

Sophia felt her face flame. "Mom, we kissed. It isn't a big deal."

Carol sighed. "You're right. Kissing isn't a big deal. What kissing usually leads to is a big deal. When you get involved with a boy there's other things-"

"Oh my God, mom, stop!" Sophia hissed. "We are not having the talk. I know not to sneak off in the woods and have sex with him for Christ's sake!"

Carol turned red and shook her head. "I wasn't implying that you were! I just want you to make sure you understand that boys usually expect more than just kissing after a while. You need to-" Her voice trailed off when the door opened up and now it was Damon who stuck his head out.

"Carol, I swear, I wasn't seriously trying to seduce your daughter. I mean, she's hot and all but I wouldn't take advantage of her or anything. You don't have to worry about any of that."

"Oh my God," Sophia mumbled. "I'm going to go die now," she said as she slipped past her mom and headed straight for the ladder leading to the loft.

~H~

Daryl sat in the back seat, keeping an eye on Richard while Merle drove down the winding road. There was a tourist town not far but he wasn't sure if they were going to be able to find much there. What they needed to do was go somewhere that had some pawn shops or some sporting good stores. He thought it would be smart to try to get their hands on as many guns as they could. Ammo was a big priority too. Other than that, food and medicine were at the top of his list.

He kept his mind focused on the task at hand because he didn't want to think about anything else. Thinking about anything else would only be a distraction. Thinking about things like Carol worrying about him. About whether they were truly safe up there. About what was going to happen tonight since it was obvious these new people weren't going anywhere, at least until their kid was better. Was she going to bunk with him until they were gone? And if she did, what the fuck was going to happen?

He wanted her. That was pretty goddamn obvious. But would it be worth it? It was weird enough just after what had happened last night. He didn't want to lose what they had. Not for one night. He liked what they had. It was the only real friendship he had ever managed outside of his family. She actually gave a damn about him, and he gave a damn right back. It was new to him and he wanted to keep it. But if she was right there would he really be able to keep himself in check? Especially knowing that she was willing?

"So," Richard said, pulling him from his thoughts, "Your family seems to have gotten through unscathed. That's nice."

Daryl felt his jaw harden. "You don't need to act like you know shit about my family. We took some hits, trust me."

"I just meant that you all have fared well up there at the cabin," Richard said, glancing out the window and seeming unfazed by Daryl's obvious anger.

Merle chuckled. "It's cause, believe it or not, our life wasn't all roses before the world went to shit. We've been survivin' our whole goddamn lives from the sweat of our brow and the skin of our teeth. People like you weren't built for this world. We were."

Richard nodded. "I agree. I've had an easy life. I was born into money, spent much time abroad, had a career in politics handed to me because of my family name. But I don't think you can judge my survival in this world based on that. I didn't keep my career and grow my empire by being a stupid man."

Merle nodded in agreement. "You're right. I mean, who am I to judge you, right? But lets make one thing clear here. I don't think smarts had a damn thing to do with you keeping your career, or building your empire," he said that last word with venom on his breath. "I think you probably built all that off the backs of men like me. You built all of that by being a crook, not a fucking genius. You keep in mind that you mean less in this world now than I did in the old one."

Richard turned and looked at Merle then and Daryl seen the anger in his eyes. He smiled. "Fair enough. You're entitled to your opinion of me. Whether it's unfounded or not."

It was quiet for a while after that and Daryl found himself getting lost in his thoughts again. He hoped they were safe up there. Damon was more than just some teenage boy. He was a Dixon and he was skilled. He knew the importance of family, and even though it had only been a week, that was what Carol and Sophia were now. That was how the boy would see it and he would do what he could to keep them all safe. He still couldn't get rid of that nagging feeling. The feeling that something just wasn't quite right.

"So, your wife seems to have adjusted well to the world ending," Richard said, glancing back.

Daryl scowled and opened his mouth to correct the man, his face flushing, but Merle didn't give him a chance.

"Of course she has," Merle said quickly, glancing up and meeting Daryl's eyes in the mirror. "She's tough."

Daryl sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He didn't know what the hell Merle was doing. This man was married. It wasn't like they had to worry about the man trying anything with Carol. But as big of an asshole as Merle usually was, Daryl sensed that there was reason behind letting this man believe that Carol wasn't single. Did Merle think he'd try something? Not that Daryl was worried about anything like that anyway. Carol wasn't that type of woman.