Final chapter! WOOOO!

Hope you guys have enjoyed everything. And be advised: Alamo Girl and I have more plans for this 'verse. It's just far too much fun not to continue playing with!

Please let me know how yall' feel. ^.^

Well over an hour had passed before he emerged from the forest to backtrack to camp.

He had followed the tracks left by the small herd for miles back; the signature dragging imprints through dirt and grass and leaves was unmistakable. He could tell from the direction they led him in that the Walkers had come from a small city about forty-five miles south of the park. Mike had mentioned passing through it in his blind flight.

At the thought of the group 'newbie' he scowled, finger tensing against the trigger of his crossbow instinctively. It was hard not to hate the man, although Daryl could admit that it was probably not entirely Mike's fault that he did so. Either the newcomer didn't understand the silent warnings Daryl had been sending, or he just didn't care.

If it was the former, then Daryl was harboring hatred for an idiot.

But if it was the latter, he was doing so for a dead man.

He could smell the acrid smoke as the wind shifted and blew across the back of the fields, and he sneered at the thought of the odor sticking to his skin and clothes. If he could help it, he'd rather avoid bringing the scent of death into the RV. The Winnebago was old as shit, but it smelled of the flowers Carol picked to brighten the area after she cleaned, and he'd prefer it to stay that way.

A dark shadow passed across the field and he gazed upward at the rainclouds that were slowly but surely forming. The sun continued to beat down on his head, puffy white fluffs scattered about a blue sky, but a darker grey was growing over the trees and he knew the afternoon would end in some amount of rain.

He trudged on through the pollen-rich field and as he walked up a grassy hill that overlooked the campsite he could see the fire Rick and T-Dog had started and were keeping vigil over. The flames licked the sky and both men were covering their noses against the stench.

It seemed everyone would be stinking up a storm that night…

His attention shifted suddenly as a figure bypassed the fire and came gliding towards the hilltop. Carol was walking briskly, arms moving by her sides and a purpose in her step. With the speed at which she walked he felt his muscles tense.

Had someone been hurt during the attack that he'd been unaware of? Had he missed something? Had one of the guys been bitten?

Had she?

As she neared her arms crossed over her abdomen and he frowned.

No, there was no way she'd been bit; he had cut off the only Walkers to come near her. And he would have heard something had another herd blown through…

He began to step forward and head down the hill but by the time he moved she was already there, her breathing heavier than usual and a light sheen on her skin. Her face was flushed slightly, but he knew she had an advantage when it came to fighting the heat. Andrea, Lori and Maggie suffered far worse with their longer hair than Carol; he was impressed with her decision to keep the practical cut.

She stood in the grass and held herself, a sudden nervousness coming off of her in waves, and Daryl watched as her fingers tapped against the opposite arm it was wrapped against. She inhaled deeply, and he moved forward, into her space, his eyes shifting across her tank-top and looking for any signs of injury.

"You hurt?"

As if startled by his voice she lowered her arms and stepped back, and as he met her eyes they softened at him and sent his own gut rolling.

"No, I'm fine. Everyone's fine."

"What are you doin' then, rushing up here like your ass is on fire?"

A grin crept across her lips and Carol suddenly laughed lightly, and if he wasn't still riled up from adrenaline he'd have probably grinned back.

Because that smile was just….contagious.

"I just…wanted to get away from the camp for a few minutes. Everyone's so tense from the attack and I needed to breathe."

"All you'll be breathing is that shit-smelling smoke. Wind keeps shifting it this way."

"Can we walk, then?"

The hopeful tone in her voice was just enough to send him peering back the way he'd come, the field behind him opening up with blossoms and green grass before being overshadowed by looming trees. An old white-picket fence cut through one side, winding into the forest but ending abruptly as if unfinished.

He avoided the heavy look she was giving him and nodded toward the fence.

She followed quietly as he turned and followed his own tracks through the field.

Daryl was fidgeting again, chewing on his lip and fiddling with his nails.

Carol was busying herself by the fence, kneeling down to look at a bundle of flowers growing against the base of the wood. He wondered if she'd always liked flowers so much…

Or if she began enjoying them after he began giving them to her.

He looked up as she stood to face him, and in her hand he could see a small white flower. A daisy, he reckoned.

Not a Cherokee rose.

He watched her finger the petals and could hear their old conversation by Hershel's pond in his head, replaying as if something out of a dream that would ultimately be followed by a nightmare.

He didn't realize he was frowning until she set a worried look on him.

Blinking back to reality he offered a small smile to reassure her.

Of what, he didn't really know.

Carol twirled the flower between her fingers and stepped closer to him.

And suddenly, the open field grew small.

"I meant to thank you for…well, saving me."

He huffed as she held the flower close to her chest and leaned closer to her.

"What, you gonna start giving me flowers now?"

Rather than retreat from his sarcasm Carol seemed to tolerate it, as she always did, and she sniffed at the daisy and held it out to him with a strange smile.

"I wasn't, but now I am." She set a determined look on him and he flushed, heat spreading into his face and he wanted to snatch the damned flower she presented and crush it between his hands in some hopeful attempt to destroy the feelings she tormented him with along with the useless fuckin' plant.

Instead, his fingers closed around the stem and he took it from her, lowering it to his side and ignoring its presence in his hand.

Daryl wasn't sure what she was doing, teasing him with flowers, but he didn't like it. He didn't like the way his fingers seemed to spasm when he thought of touching her, and he didn't like the way she smiled at him and made him smile back. He didn't like the way he grew apprehensive when she offered those same smiles to Mike, because he didn't like the thought that this simple, shy, gentle woman could hold so much power over him.

He didn't like it because he did like it.

And goddamn, he didn't know how to tell her that.

He invaded her space again, as he seemed to be doing often lately, and she didn't tense. She didn't give him a look of concern, and she didn't ask him if he was alright.

She was waiting, and he didn't know for what, and he didn't care.

He growled at her in frustration:

"You should've stayed by the cabin side, out of sight. Makin' a run for the RV was a stupid move. You were spotted and Dale would've had to start shooting to get those Walkers off you."

He knew reprimanding her about something that was over and done with was silly, but he also felt it needed to be said. She needed to be smarter about the decisions she made in a crisis.

Just in case he wasn't there to…

"But Dale didn't have to. You were there. And so was Michael."

What little space between their bodies seemed to get cold as the name drifted to his ear and he saw her eyes flicker down as if she hadn't meant to say it. The flower in his fist bent as he crushed its stem.

"Michael?"

"Mike, I mean. That's his name…"

Daryl pulled away slightly and fought the urge to throw a hand into the air and scare her away from him. Rick's words kept him grounded, the decision he'd made that evening keeping him clear. He urged the bloodlust for the man away, but could not hold his tongue on the matter entirely.

"Yeah? Well Michael did a fuckin' bang-up job of keeping you safe. Sending you out into the middle of the camp to try and reach the RV? That dumbass can't even protect himself, much less anyone else!" The shout did not faze her. But he cursed himself for letting his voice raise.

She wasn't to blame for the fuck-up that almost got her chewed on by two Walkers.

He avoided her eyes and considered instantly the idea of apologizing.

Cuz you're just going about everything perfectly. Dumbass.

Carol sighed and the words were on his tongue when she reached out to grasp at his hand, straightening the broken flower that threatened to fall away from its split stem.

"Why do you hate him so much?"

You kidding?

"I don't hate him. Man ain't really done anything to me. He's just stupid, and I can't stand stupid people. Stupid people get you killed—"

"He's not stupid. He just doesn't know how to survive in….this. He's actually very smart."

"Whatever…"

"But you're right. I should have stayed put. His decision was the wrong one and it could have ended badly for both of us."

Daryl felt like his hand no longer worked, and he stared down at it as she played with the flower he held, running a thumb over the small, silky petals. Every few strokes she'd touch his own thumb instead, and he swore it felt like she was shocking him with the lightness of her contact.

Part of him wanted desperately to push her away, to snap at her for standing up for the idiot in their group and make some snarky remark about her fucking him.

Except that very thought made him want to tear a living being open with all the rage of a fucking bear.

Carol pulled her hand away and he hesitantly accepted its retreat.

Then she stepped back from him completely, and for a moment he wondered if she could hear his violent thoughts.

"Daryl?"

He blinked and forced himself to look up at her, finding a look of curiosity and expectation on her face.

"What?"

"What exactly is going on with…us?"

He suddenly wished for a second heart, because his was threatening to shut down.

He set a glare on her and the muscles in his legs tensed up to flee.

Because this simple, shy, gentle woman had the power to make him run away. Fuck.

"What?"

"You and Mike. You and me. I don't get it…"

Really, woman? How could she…?

As he stood frozen in place he dared to run his eyes over her face and he caught the twitch of her lip, and suddenly her words held new meaning. Daryl felt a growl rumble in his throat.

She knew exactly what was going on, and she was fucking playing him.

Challenging him.

The poor daisy fell away and his fist clenched and his mind flickered from one thought to the next, his vision blurring as he suddenly moved with no real knowledge of even doing so. Fingers met bare skin and his hands grasped at her arms to pull her against him.

He heard her gasp, but ignored it.

He felt her mouth crashing into his and everything else in the world stopped existing for about three seconds.

He could feel her teeth beneath her lips, the force with which he was kissing her so great that it was almost painful. Her mouth was warm and compliant, pressing back against his and he came close to unleashing his tongue into the onslaught.

And then he opened his eyes—and when did he close them, exactly?—to find hers watching him during the kiss and the jolt of reality hit him like lightening.

He jerked away, puffing out a breath he hadn't realized he'd held. The warm skin under his fingers was tight and he looked at her arms to find his nails digging into them. Carol didn't protest. She didn't wince or whine.

She simply stood there and smiled at him, eyes wide and flicking all over his face with a strange look….

Joy?

"Got it now?" He grumbled into her face, only half aware of the whisper even as it came. She nodded absently and he fought the urge to kiss her again...

His jaw clenched tight and he knew no other words would come (even if he knew what else he should fucking say) and she didn't bother pressing him for any.

Daryl felt his chest tighten and his eye twitch when Carol's tongue darted out against her lips and she nodded away from the fence.

"Um…want to head back?"

He nodded a little faster than he'd meant to.

She smiled at him again and set off back towards camp.

He preached Zen to himself as he followed behind her slow and graceful strides.

The camp came back into sight and they were nearing the now smoldering fire when he picked up his pace to come up behind her.

Nudging a shoulder with his own, he met her gaze as she turned her head to look at him and he finally found his voice:

"Asshole won't be flirtin' with you tomorrow."

Even he wasn't sure if it was an assurance or a threat, but she only chuckled at him and shook her head.

"Just don't go breaking his nose to get your point across?"

He huffed and headed out in front of her, jerking his head back to grin wickedly.

"No promises, woman."

Thunder rumbled over the camp as they entered, the clouds thickening and he realized they'd gotten back just in time.

He felt his face fluster again when Carol touched his arm as she passed him to head to the dining cabin, and his stomach instantly grumbled at the thought of food.

Peering up at the RV he caught Mike sitting beside Dale, a rifle in hand. The man looked down at him and then towards the direction Carol had taken. Their eyes met and Mike tipped the old cap on his head with a nod.

Daryl offered his own acknowledging gesture and turned to follow behind the woman.

His woman.

It seemed Mike wasn't as stupid as he'd pegged him for. The man got the point, and Daryl was grateful.

It appeared the new member of the group would be allowed to keep the breath in his lungs after all.