Okay, so this is kind of a long one… There's an A/N at the end.

The bell above the door to the bookshop drew three walkers. Daryl wasn't prepared for the way Carol launched herself into the dusty shop with her knife-knuckle-duster combo and dropped them all without hesitation, but he was impressed nonetheless.

"What're y'after?" He asked as he shouldered his unused crossbow. She shrugged.

"I need books on herbal medicine, or… some plant growing books or something." She meandered down the aisles, looking for titles that matched what she was searching for. Daryl headed to the other end of the shop, fingering books as he passed them. He let himself pause as he spied 'The Chronicles of Narnia', all seven books bound together by a thick rubber band. After a moment, he swiped them off the shelf and tipped them into his bag, checking quickly to see if Carol had noticed. Once he spied the back of her head through the shelves he headed towards her, pausing to scoop promising looking titles here and there.

"Any luck?" He queried, reaching up to get a book she was stretching for but unable to reach. She froze as his chest pressed flush against her back before squeaking out a flustered reply.

"Uh." She began. "I found a heap of plant cultivation books… And then I started thinking, um, about finding some books on construction for the fence and buildings and stuff…" She trailed off, feeling flustered.

He narrowed his eyes at her as she turned around, pink-cheeked and unable to meet his eyes. "Y'alright?"

Her gaze met his for a moment before it skittered away. "Fine." She pressed a hand to his chest and pressed gently, trying to shift him backwards enough that she couldn't feel the radiant heat from his body. "Just…"

He took the hint and backed up, completely oblivious to the source of her agitation. "Are ya sure? 'Cos you're lookin' a bit shaky on it, Carol." His concerned tone only served to fluster her even more.

"I'm just fine, Daryl. I just need some air, I think; it's awfully stuffy in here." And with that she slipped past him and out of the shop, lugging the bag full of books behind her. He hesitated in confusion before he hastened after her, book still clutched in his hand.

They drove in silence for an hour before the angle of the sun made them pause.

"We ain't gonna make it back to the place 'fore it gets dark." He offered by way of explanation. "Keep an eye out for a farmhouse or somethin', yeah?"

She jumped when he tapped the side of her thigh. "Come on, wake up Carol." He smirked.

"Sorry," She said, leaning her elbow on the window and propping her head up. "I'm not really that awake, I guess." She inspected the fingernails of the hand still resting in her lap.

He looked over at her as he pulled back onto the road. "What's up? Ya been funny since we was in that bookshop."

"Doesn't matter." She smiled shyly at him and his lip quirked in response. "I was just thinking, we're really making a go of it, you know? I mean… We're planning on settling at this farm. Judy can play; Baby Rhee will grow up properly… Carl can un-grow up a little." Her lips twisted in a sad smile. "Sophia loved horses…" She gave an affectionate huff. "She never learned to ride but she loved them anyway… She had all these posters on the back of her wardrobe door." Carol sniffled, dabbing discretely at her eyes. "She would have loved being on a farm so much…"

Daryl hummed, glancing at her. "Hey, are y'alright?" He reached over, rubbed her thigh, running his hand down to rest on her knee. "Don' cry…" He stopped helplessly.

She gave a watery laugh as her fingers snuck down to intertwine with his. He looked resolutely out at the road ahead and pretended not to notice. "I miss her." She admitted.

"I know."

The cabin was in good condition, despite the layer of dust. It consisted of two rooms, one with a bed and the other with a very rudimentary kitchen. The fireplace in the bedroom provided some warmth and light, and Daryl heated tinned spaghetti while Carol nailed blankets over the windows to keep the light in, humming some tune he'd overheard her humming to Judith on fussy nights. After they'd eaten, he began to set out a couple of blankets on the floor near the door.

"Daryl." She said, lying on one side of the bed. "Don't." She patted the blanket beside her.

"S'alright." He avoided her gaze and continued setting up his blankets.

"Come on… It's nice and soft…" She coaxed. "At least come help me sort out our books?"

He shook his head in amusement. "A'ight." He pushed himself up off the floor, groaning as he did so. "Damn, I'm getting' old."

"Aren't we all?" She sighed as he settled cross-legged in the farthest corner of the bed and dumped the bag of books onto the bedspread. She sat up, cross-legged as well, and pulled a few towards her. "Preserving Game." She mused. "Should we sort them now, or just wait until we get back?"

"Might as well do 'em now." He shrugged, turning a book over in his hands. "Ain't like we'll be getting' much sleep tonight anyway."

She arched an eyebrow playfully. "Oh really?"

He chuckled abashedly, his eyes flicking up for half an instant to meet hers before dropping back to his lap as his cheeks turned pink. "Ain't what I meant."

She smiled, giving one quiet laugh before thumbing through the preserving book with no real interest. "You never did get back to me, y'know." She said softly.

"'Bout what?"

She paused to gather her courage for a second. "Screwin' around." She blushed and laughed again.

He smirked at her to cover his surprise. "Thought you were joshin', but hey…"

They both chuckled and went back to their sorting in comfortable silence.

"Why'd you grab this?" He held up a copy of 'Massage for Physical Therapy'.

"I was training to be a physical therapist… I'm probably a bit rusty but I thought it couldn't hurt to try keep everybody in as good condition as possible, I guess."

"Didn't know that. Did'ja like workin' with people then, 'fore everythin' went to shit?"

"I married Ed as soon as I was done with my degree… I never got to use it." She sighed. "I get my chance now, I suppose." She reached for the book.

"'Spose. You gonna become our in-house doctor then?" He shifted so that he was laying down, propped up on both elbows.

"Maybe." She mused. "Herschel…" She paused, taking a deep breath. "Herschel taught me some things, and I grabbed some books on homeopathic healthcare… Herbs and stuff." She clarified. "And massage therapy, and some anatomy books too. It'll have to do unless somebody comes along."

He tossed an anatomy book onto her lap, which wound up on the pile next to her.

They cut a comfortable picture, illuminated by the light of the fire, him laying in one corner of the bed and her sitting in the opposite corner with a pile of books between them. She shifted so that her legs were stretched out and crossed at the ankles and he reached over and squeezed the toe of her boot gently. She smiled softly in return and reached for another book, her fingers finding the rubber band holding the seven books together.

" 'The Chronicles of Narnia'?" She queried. "Are you planning on building a magical wardrobe or something?" He snorted and swatted her foot.

"Thought Carl or Mika might want 'em… I liked 'em when I was 'bout Carl's age so I just grabbed 'em."

"Sweet of you." She leaned over and rubbed his calf, although her hand didn't leave once it stilled. "We should start a collection of novels and set up a library in that tack room; the one that backs on to the groom's quarters…" She perked up, her fingers flexing on his calf. "We could start up a school! Keep up with their educations. I mean, Carl hasn't done any school work since we were at the Greene's farm…"

"Did you realise none 'a the kids born after it went down are gonna know how to read or write?" He said suddenly. She got the impression he'd been dwelling on that for longer than he would let on.

"Yeah." She hugged her knees up to her chest. "They have to be able to if they want to keep going. There's so much information available but if they can't access it…" She tapped the cover of the book nearest to her. "What's going to happen when nothing's left?"

"Hell, sweetheart… Reckon that's been and gone already." He wriggled down and rested his hands behind his head.

"No." She disagreed, resting her chin on her knees. "We're still checking houses for things. Anti-biotics, painkillers, tinned food, those sort of things. We're still finding prescription medication in pharmacies. What happens when those are all gone?"

He gave a one-shouldered shrug. "People'll make do. 'S'what they did before we had all that shit to begin with." She suddenly looked anxious to him, although it occurred to him that he had probably been oblivious to her mood all day. "Ain't that why you picked up all those herbal books? So we don' need drugs and pills?"

She nodded. "But what about serious drugs, Daryl? Anti-psychotics and stuff. We can't just kill people who lose their minds."

He tried to soothe her. "Naw-"

"I shot Lizzie, Daryl! Because she was taking drugs that she didn't tell us about and she ran out and we didn't have any more!" She rubbed at her eyes and inhaled shakily. "Daryl…" She implored helplessly. "I killed her. I told her father I'd look after them both and I almost let her kill Mika and Judith and then I killed her."

Daryl, now sitting up and unsure of what to do, hushed her nervously. "Hey…" He soothed. "Carol, ya gotta hush, alright? Can't go bringin' walkers on us, y'hear me?"

She nodded and gulped some air to suppress her sobs, both hands covering her mouth. "Sorry." At last she managed to reduce her sobs to shaky breaths. "Jesus." She sighed. "I'm sorry for… that."

He rocked forward onto his hands and knees and crawled over to her, clambering over the unsorted books and settling beside her. He wrapped his arms around her, tucked up legs and all, and eased her over so her head was tucked under his chin. "Aw, baby." He rumbled. "'S'alright." She swallowed thickly. "Gonna be just fine, Carol." He rubbed her arm before taking her wrist and rotating it so that he could see the face of her watch. It was almost one in the morning.

"I murdered a little girl." She choked.

He shook her gently in his arms. "Don't. Y'did what needed to be done. Saved Asskicker and Mika. Those lil' girls love you like you're their ma, Carl too."

Her fingers crept up and twisted in the collar of his shirt as she laid her cheek on his shoulder. "I love them… But I loved Lizzie too."

"Ain't your fault." He laid his cheek on top of her head for a moment. "C'mon, it's late. Gotta get home tomorrow an' start on our library."

He eased her down next to him and settled down. Her fingers tightened in his shirt when he made to move away.

"Stay with me?" She mumbled exhaustedly into his vest.

"'Course, baby." He wrapped an arm back around her and closed his eyes.

So Daryl may seem a little OOC (or a lot OOC) but I have this arc in mind where they settle on a farm (explained in the previous chapter, I think) and I feel like Daryl would become more open, at least to Carol, because he probably realised while they were separated how much he needs her company… Which in my mind justifies his friendliness :P

And obviously killing a child would mess her up and that had to come out at some point so I figured that was an appropriate excuse for some Caryl snuggles.

And anyway, what are you criticizing me for? This is a silly drabble series after all! I can do what I please!

KK Kim K, remember to R&R (even if you hate it)