Here's the final chapter! After this, it will line up with the events of 'First Kiss' and the rest of my 'The Farm' arc... I think 'First Kiss' is set about six months after this, but if you want the Caryl kisses to happen a bit quicker feel free to change the time frame :P

I really appreciate you all taking the time to read and review! It's been much more fun than I thought it would be :)

Sarah's baby was nine months old by the time they found the farm.

Nine months of skipping from house to house, suffering through a bitter winter and scorching summer. Nine months of snapping and snarling at each other, and curling up together for comfort or warmth.

It was dumb luck, really, that they found it at all. They'd been following their progress on their maps and Daniel and Rick had figured that they were as far away from any major cities as they were going to get, but none of them would have thought to turn down the overgrown gravel road that led to the farm.

Maggie and Glenn were travelling with Daryl and Carol in the pickup, when Maggie squawked in alarm.

"Stop!" She managed and Daryl swerved sharply onto the stalky grass on the side of the road. Within moments, she was hunched over, vomiting weakly on the side of the road. Carol stepped around the nose of the car and stood beside her, rubbing her back soothingly as Glenn and Daryl stood by, keeping watch over them.

"This is so gross." Maggie whined as she rinsed her mouth.

"I know, sweetie." Carol soothed. "Walk it off for a while."

Maggie shuffled around the car a few times whilst the others pulled to a stop and everyone piled out. They hadn't seen a single walker in almost ten days, but a few people paced with their hands on their weapons on the off chance one would appear. Mika dropped down out of the army truck she'd been in with Carl and two of the other children and headed for Carol.

"Are we stopping for lunch?" She asked. Maggie groaned and covered her mouth.

"Don't talk about f-o-o-d." Carol whispered. "But if everyone thinks we should, I'll start getting it ready."

Daryl gave her a thumbs-up and she began digging out fruit leather and dried venison, along with bottles of water.

"I ain't eatin'," Maggie said. "I'm gonna walk a ways."

"I'll come." Carl volunteered, and Mika hesitated before agreeing.

"Don't go too far." Carol warned before they left.

They sat in the shade of Abe's Army truck as they ate. Daryl settled close enough that their legs and shoulders were pressed together and offered her his water bottle. She drank gratefully and squeezed his knee in silence while she chewed on a slice of meat and he leaned on her a little.

"Carol," Rick said. "Where did Carl go?"

"He went to keep an eye on Maggie. 'Morning' sickness." She replied, making quote marks with her fingers.

"She doesn't want to talk to me right now." Glenn quipped ruefully.

Just then, the absent trio returned, a little sweaty under the hot sun. Maggie looked brighter, and reached for some dried fruit with a smile.

"There's a dirt road that way." Carl pointed. "It might lead to a farmhouse or something we can stay in."

"We'll check it out after lunch." Rick replied. "Good spotting." Judith called his name and made grabby hands at Carl as he sat near them. Rick let her off his lap and she toddled over to him, helping herself to his fruit leather. Carl gave her a smaller piece so she wouldn't choke on it and she munched happily, standing next to him.

Their group was twenty strong. It had, at the start, been forty-five people, but they'd lost four at the third house they'd stayed in, and most of the other group had split off after four months, deciding instead to return to the small town most of them came from. Sarah, who had been almost ready to give birth at the time, had opted to stay with the travelling group, as did her husband Andrew and Daniel, with his own wife.

"It goes for a while." Maggie said. "It looks like there used to be a farm or something there."

"I'm finished," Abe announced, climbing down from the truck where he'd taken his lunch to keep watch. "I can go take a look, stretch my legs. I'm tired of bein' a sardine in a can." That earned a round of chuckles.

Carol and Daryl went with him, Bob tailing behind with Sasha, holding hands and bumping each other playfully, playing their 'Bad and Good' game as they walked. There was a padlocked gate in their path and Daryl hesitated, even as Abe climbed over without a second thought.

"What if there's already folks here?" He questioned. Carol stopped at the gate and squeezed his hand that was resting on the top bar.

"We'll introduce ourselves and apologise for intruding." She said simply, then began to climb over. He grabbed her sleeve and hoisted himself onto the gate, straddling it carefully by standing on the bars, and offered her a hand. She took it and allowed him to help her over, kissing him on the cheek quickly as she dropped down. He blushed and tried to scowl at Abe, who chuckled at her antics. "Come on, Pookie."

He rolled his eyes but followed her, letting Bob and Sasha clamber over and catch them up. They walked for almost ten minutes before Abe threw up a hand to stop them, and waved it around in a seemingly random pattern.

Carol made a baffled face and pressed close to Daryl, whispering lowly in his ear so not to attract any attention from potential inhabitants, ducking behind a large bush.

"What did he say?"

Daryl turned to her to whisper back, bumping her nose with his cheek. "At least five buildings, no signs'a life."

She rolled her eyes. "I don't know how you got that from that." She flailed her hands in imitation of Abe's signals.

"We're gonna go check it out." He breathed.

They crept around to the rear of the cluster of houses to find three barns in a horseshoe shape, perfectly still and silent. The courtyard between the barns sported a pump and looked out on some fields towards the rear of the property, where, somehow, a small herd of cattle grazed, unscathed by any walker attacks. They approached the nearest barn and Sasha pounded the wide door. There was no sound except for the lowing of a cow in the background. She hauled on the door but it barely budged until Bob and Abe took over, throwing their bulk back and sliding the door across. It was empty but quite well lit, with eight stalls on each side of the corridor. After sweeping for walkers, they found the other two barns to be similar, with feed rooms and tack storage, and a large, well-ventilated loft filled with sweet-smelling but faded hay, at least three summers old.

"This is perfect." Carol said, hands on her hips in the middle of the courtyard. "At least for a while, don't you think?"

Daryl grunted in agreement as he tried the pump. A thin stream of water trickled out and he caught it in his cupped palms, carefully smelling it to check if it was clean. "Must be a well somewhere. Water smells alright but it prob'ly needs boilin' still."

"We gonna do this?" Abe boomed across the courtyard. He'd been sweeping the houses whilst the other four were exploring the barns. "Ain't anybody been in those houses for a long while; there's dust on everything. Floor's covered in the stuff, nothin's been moved around. Place looks abandoned."

"Let's go get the others, then!" Sasha beamed.

She and Bob set off back up the very long driveway. Daryl and Carol followed on, with Abe bringing up the rear. Carol stepped closer to Daryl so that their hands brushed every other step. They walked in comfortable silence, listening to the birds that twittered around them and the gravel crunch under their feet.

"What'cha think 'bout the farm?" He murmured to her.

She tilted her head a little. "It's got plenty of buildings," She mused. "It's far away from any walkers, a water pump."

"Y'reckon it could be permanent?" He asked after a while.

She stopped, looking surprised. "Maybe." She said, a slow smile inching across her face. "We could!" She enthused. "Daryl, we could live here."

"S'what I asked." He teased. She stepped up under his arm and wrapped her arm around his waist. He threw his arm over her shoulders and squeezed before they carried on.

Abe grinned jauntily when Daryl kept his arm over her shoulders as they walked. As if he could feel Abe's laughing eyes on his back, the hand resting against Carol's arm lifted and flipped him off. Abe laughed loudly.

They all slept in the big house that night. It had four bedrooms, a well-organised study, a large bathroom and a fairly well-stocked pantry. They'd explored the other houses as a group and checked the grounds that afternoon after parking their cars in the courtyard between the barns, and found that a short walk through the fields yielded four slightly feral horses and, just past that, an overgrown but fruitful apple orchard.

Mika was sleeping, curled up like a cat in the armchair. Sarah and Daniel were sleeping on the bed, with the baby in the portable crib they carried with them next to the headboard. Carol and Daryl were lying on the floor on a foam mattress near the door, both awake. At some point she had rolled closer and he had lifted his arm obligingly to let her back up to him, despite the warmth of the late-summer night air.

They lay in the dark, listening to the breathing of the four other bodies in the room. Every time the baby squeaked or whimpered in her sleep, he felt Carol roll slightly in the direction of the crib, almost getting up to see to her but catching herself every time.

"Hey," He breathed, quietly enough that if she'd actually dozed off she wouldn't wake at his voice. "You awake?"

She shivered and smiled at his breath tickling the back of her ear and cheek. "Nope." She breathed back. He nudged the back of her knee with his own in retaliation.

"Wanna head outside?"

She rolled back against him a little, looking at him. "Yeah." She wriggled out from under his arm and quietly got to her feet while he did the same. Mika woke slightly at the movement and whispered in the blackness.

"What's happening?"

"Nothing, sweetheart." Carol soothed. "We're just heading outside for a while."

"Go back to sleep. 'S'alright." Daryl added, barely whispering so not to wake the sleeping couple or their little girl.

"Okay." Mika whispered sleepily and they heard her shift around, getting comfortable.

They tip-toed carefully down the hallway and slipped out the door. It creaked loudly but Bob just nodded to them as they paused to pull their boots on and stepped down off the porch, heading around the side of the house to the courtyard.

"Come on." Daryl mumbled, jumping up into the bed of the pickup. He reached down for her hand and pulled her up after him, keeping her hand in his as he climbed on top of the cab. She tucked up beside him, the heels of her boots next to his on the windshield.

"Can't sleep?" She asked as he pulled her hand onto his lap, fingers still linked.

"Naw." He answered, rubbing the backs of her fingers with his thumb. "You okay?"

"Gotta be." She shrugged, and he felt rather than saw the rise and fall of her shoulder against his arm in the dim starlight.

"We ain't doin' this shit again." He said, flexing his fingers around hers. She huffed and he huffed back, making her laugh quietly.

"I don't feel good." She admitted.

He waited, but she didn't elaborate. "You sick?" He asked, side-eyeing her.

"Not sick… Just, I feel bad. Sad." She leaned against him suddenly, rubbing her cheek against his shoulder. He let her hand go and put his arm around her, taking her limp fingers in his other hand.

"Guilty?" He hazarded.

She nodded, still resting her cheek on him.

"'Bout…?" He prompted. She looked up at him disbelievingly.

"Like I have to explain." She said, devoid of emotion.

"Don't." He growled. "Y'did what you had to. Ain't no way it could'a gone differently."

"I killed a child." She whispered hollowly. "I think about her all the time."

"You put her outta her misery." He argued. "Ain't the same thing."

"We've talked all this over," She reminded him. "You know how I feel about it."

"Yeah." He sighed. He rubbed her arm and rocked her slightly while she sniffled. "Been a rough day, huh?" It hadn't, as far as he knew, but only on long, exhausting, or tragedy-riddled days would she succumb to tears and torture herself like this.

"No!" She wailed softly. "It's been a fantastic day!" She half-laughed, half-sobbed. "I just… I just feel bad." She grumped in embarrassment, feeling foolish.

"Aw," He sympathised. Once she'd pulled herself together, he patted her thigh. "C'mere." He shifted back, making a space for her in front of him. She made a playful face.

"Is this going where I think it's going?"

He chuckled and wiped her cheek dry of the tear that had escaped with the rough pad of his thumb. "Depends where you think it's goin'." He teased.

"I like the sound of this." She quipped. He snorted at her.

"Hurry your ass up, y'jerk." He patted the space between his thighs.

She climbed over his nearest leg and settled into the gap. He pressed his thumbs into the muscle either side of her spine, his fingertips resting on her hips. "Here?" He murmured.

She'd wrenched her back twisting out the window of the pickup to stab a walker that had Mika cornered on the back without her weapon. The walker had crumpled to the ground and a split second later she'd gasped out a foul word and scrambled to find a position that didn't almost paralyze her with pain. The dozen walkers had appeared out of nowhere and the one after Mika was the last one to be dispatched. She knew what she'd done to her back once the pain had faded, and could usually cajole someone into rubbing her muscles. She would guide them through the process to realign her spine but it wasn't quite healed two months later, and he'd caught the momentary tightening of her lips when she climbed up onto the truck.

"A little higher." She breathed back. He shifted his thumbs until she muttered "There." and set about massaging the tight muscles. She shifted after a while and he inched higher, starting on the next region of tension. They sat in silence, the only noise their breathing and the rustle of fabric as his thumbs rubbed against her shirt.

He ran his fingers firmly down the entire length of her spine, feeling for any knots or sore spots he could have missed.

"Where did you learn that?" She sighed, shifting back so she was leaning against his chest. He didn't have anywhere to put his arms except around her waist, and he shifted her slightly so he was comfortable. In her post-massage state, she let him arrange her like he so often allowed her to do.

"From lettin' you con me into givin' you back-rubs all the damn time." He smiled a little as she petted his arm.

"Thank you, Daryl. It really helps." She offered.

"You're my best friend." He echoed her sentiments. She chuckled low in her chest.

"You remember that?"

"Yeah. Kept me smilin' on the road." He admitted, nuzzling her hair a little, his fingertips brushing the hem of her shirt.

"Daryl?" She whispered hesitantly.

"Sorry." He cleared his throat and pulled away, ceasing the nuzzling.

"I wasn't going to say 'stop'," She said quickly. "Just… I like what we have, I do. Come on," she prompted. "Come back." His arms tightened back around her and she snuggled back against him. "Don't ever think I don't want this." She ran her fingers over his forearm. "Don't pull away, okay? You're not going to scare me off."

He sighed. His scruff rasped against the back of her neck for a moment, surprising her, but she stayed still despite the tickle. His lips pressed tentatively to the side of her throat.

She smiled. "Not so hard, right?"

He huffed against the join of her neck and shoulder but didn't comment. She could feel his heart thrumming against her upper back and she patted his leg softly.

"Love you." He rumbled.

"I love you too." She smiled up at the stars. "Even if you do take your time with things."

He pilled away from her, scooting backwards and turning to drop to the ground. He opened the cab door and rummaged for a moment, coming up with a blanket. He shook it out and laid it in the back of the pickup.

"Ooh," She cooed. "This is getting pretty romantic…"

He scoffed at her. She swiveled to watch him climb back onto the truck. "Can't sleep in there when I got the option to not. Too many people."

"I know. It's a little weird, having all this space. Good weird, mind you."

He sprawled out on the blanket on his back. "Reckon you're gonna sleep tonight?"

She pursed her lips and he groaned, recognizing her 'raging flirt' face instantly. "I dunno," She said lightly, trying not to giggle. "You tell me."

"Get down here." He scolded, flustered but grinning.

"Bow chicka wow wow…" She sing-songed and he threw his arm over his face in embarrassment.

"You lil' shit." He laughed as she lay down next to him, also on her back. "Dunno what to do with you sometimes."

"I have a few hints." She quipped.

"Stahp." He protested.

She cackled, her desired result finally achieved. "Do you really think we could do this? Live here?" She asked after a pause.

"We've been lookin' at a few places before today." He said. "This place seems best set up. Plenty of room, river runs right by… Could plant some crops, build a fence or somethin'."

"It's a safe place, you know? For the kids, Maggie and Glenn's baby? I hope we stay." She confided, stargazing. He glanced over at her, bathed in silver light and heavy shadows.

"Yeah." He cleared his throat. "Me too."

Review time!

Sophiacharlotte: Giving you feels gives me feels! If you're hanging out for that Caryl kiss, it's part of the arc! Go on, ya little cutie! Go check it out!

jazmine: I guess that's really the point of fanfiction! We get what we want rather than what's actually happening on the show and it's just for fun! Thank you for reviewing, I really appreciate it!

everfaraway: Daddy!Daryl is a favourite of mine, I'm glad you like him too!

Shewolf226: Carl and Mika ganging up on Daryl was probably my favourite part of that chapter, not gonna lie... The fact that he just let them do it says a lot about his character development (I could imagine Carl taking the mickey out of him on the show and Daryl just putting up with it, as well.)

ForgotMyPassword: Aaahh! *flails* Thanks for saying so! I think people would instantly assume that the group was at least distantly related judging by their interactions... But I guess you couldn't go through so much together and not feel like a family. I appreciate you taking the time to R&R! I hope you enjoyed this last chapter :D