"Do I have to go to school today?"

"That depends. Do you want to spend the rest of your life struggling to make ends meet or do you want to be able to buy the things you want?"

Sophia pursed her lips in thought, her forehead wrinkling in a way that was almost comical. "But I'm only in second grade."

Carol took a sip of her coffee, wincing when the liquid scorched her lips. "Second grade is just as important as all the others."

Sophia sighed dramatically before taking the last bite of her cereal. "Are you gonna get a job?"

Carol toyed with the handle of her coffee cup. She had done a lot of thinking about that. She knew that without money coming in they would eventually run out. She also knew that she needed something to occupy her time especially while Sophia was in school. What she didn't know was what kind of job she wanted to pursue.

She had an education so that wasn't a problem. She had taken classes at the community college in journalism before meeting Ed. She had yet to put that education to use, the degree sitting in a frame collecting dust on the shelf of her closet.

"I'm thinking about it," she admitted, watching her daughter carefully.

Sophia nodded in understanding and it struck Carol in that moment just how grown up her daughter could be sometimes. "I think you should. No need in sitting here all day while I'm at school. That's gotta be boring." Sophia grabbed her backpack and lunchbox. "We don't wanna miss the bus, Mama."

The bus. Oh how Carol wished Sophia had missed the bus that morning.

But she hadn't and now she wasn't here.

But Carol still was, and she believed that everything in life happened for a reason. Or at least she used to...She wasn't so sure what she believed anymore.

What she did know was that she needed to do something with her life. She couldn't keep going on this way - merely existing.

She took a sip of her coffee and stared off into the sunrise.

It was time.

"You know what you need?"

"Five minutes of quiet?" Daryl quipped, with a backwards glance.

Tara huffed at his remark, but he knew that she wasn't offended. That was the thing about his sister. She had a tough skin and it took a lot to rattle her. She had a heart of gold as well, but she wouldn't be bullied.

She also had a tendency to talk non-stop.

"You need a vacation."

Daryl snorted and paused in the act of stacking bags of fertilizer near the door. He perched one hand upon his hip, deciding to play into her conversation. "And just where you think I should go?"

Tara clicked her pen back and forth, blowing a stray strand of hair from her face. "Uncle Dale still has that cabin..."

"No."

Tara's hopeful expression fell and she boosted herself onto the counter, swinging her legs around so that she faced his direction. "So go somewhere else."

"You trying to get rid of me or something?"

"No, I'm just... I just care about you, Daryl. You work so hard just like Dad and I see what kind of toll it takes on him. You used to take time for yourself, but you don't do that anymore."

Daryl inwardly cringed, hearing the words that she didn't speak. He didn't think he was doing too much at all. Most days he felt like he didn't do enough.

The nursery pretty much belonged to Daryl now. Herschel hadn't so much as said so, but his actions spoke louder than words. He had slowly let Daryl take on more responsibility and even though he still kept busy, Herschel didn't spend as much of his time devoted to the nursery as he used to.

Daryl supposed there were a multitude of things he could be doing with his life. He felt he owed it to his Dad to help care for the nursery seeing as how Herschel had single-handedly put his whole life into making sure his kids had what they needed. Besides, Daryl really enjoyed being outdoors.

"Excuse me."

Daryl turned at the sound of her voice, his eyes quickly taking in the woman who had purchased the Cherokee Rose. She seemed in better spirits today, although the same sadness that had been evident in her big blue eyes two days ago still lingered. She was a mystery to him.

"Uh..."

"Hey! I remember you! Your name's Carol, right? You were the one who got the rose!" Tara beamed from behind the counter, her eyes sparkling in a way that made Daryl nervous.

"Yes it is. And the Cherokee Rose, yes," Carol replied, her eyes flitting between the two of them. She opened her mouth to say something then seemed to think better of it and closed it. She looked around before finally speaking again. "I wanted to purchase more of the roses and possibly see about some other flowers as well."

"Daryl would be glad to help you with that," Tara chirped. "He knows everything about flowers. I just work here." Daryl watched his sister wink at Carol and never had he wanted to throttle her more. He frowned, unaware that Carol was watching his reaction.

"Actually, I think I can find everything I need on my own." Carol brushed past him, a determined look upon her face.

Daryl stared after her, dumbfounded. "I don't mind helping," he offered.

"Oh, I'm sure you don't," Carol replied briskly. "I wouldn't want to pull you away from your ever important job of stacking fertilizer." She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, her words and tone catching him off guard. This wasn't the woman he remembered from the other day. This woman was someone else entirely. He found himself following her down one of the aisles, his stacking forgotten. He vaguely heard Tara chuckle from behind the counter.

"Do you even know what you're looking for?" He found himself asking.

She paused a step and then resumed meandering down the aisle. "I want something bold and beautiful to grow beside my front porch. I enjoy drinking coffee outside in the mornings and it would be nice to have something pretty to look at." She blushed as if she had spoken too much and he found himself watching her, drawn suddenly to the color in her cheeks and the way it made her eyes sparkle.

"It would be nice to have something pretty to look at." Daryl was thinking she already had something pretty to look at if only she gazed into a mirror. He kept that comment to himself however.

"Listen, um-"

"Daryl," he offered.

She ducked her head and then glanced around the nursery, obviously avoiding eye contact.

"Daryl." She spoke his name so softly. "I'm sorry if I've come across a little rude or slightly crazy to you." She let out a little chuckle. "I've, uh, just been going through a lot and I haven't really been around people in so long that I've kind of forgotten how to act."

He watched her silently, arms folded across his chest. Finally he gave a little nod, "It's alright. I'm not too good with people either. Hell, most of them I've seen are crazy so you're not so different." He smiled and they shared a short laugh.

"Well okay then. I'd be very appreciative if you would help me pick some things out."

"Yes ma'am. Right this way."

There were a lot of things in this world that remained a mystery to Daryl Dixon, but no single person had ever had him so intrigued. He hadn't been lying when he said he had seen a lot of crazy people, but he really didn't think Carol was one of them. There was definitely more underneath the surface though.

The only question was, did he want to dig around and find out?