Okay, my friends, I believe this is it. I am not all that happy with this chapter. It being the last one and all it was the most difficult thing I've ever had to write. And I don't believe it measures up but I tried! I wasn't sure how happy you would be with it so if you guys think I should maybe do an epilogue, maybe a 'six months later' or something like that then just let me know and I think I could make it happen. I don't want you to be as disappointed with it as I am at the moment! I want to thank every one of you that has taken your time to read this story and given me advice. This being my first I was always pretty scared of how it would be accepted and most of you have been so so great! And patient ;) And I have to give a real special thanks to Axelrocks who, not only gives me lengthy reviews to read, keeps me laughing most nights, lets me vent to her on occasion and understands my weird obsessions but has also become like a fanfiction little sister to me. Much love to you my fellow weirdo ;)

Chapter Twenty Five

Daryl stood in the middle of the large grassy lot, scowling angrily at all the women that were milling around by the building. Carol conned him into helping her even though Rick had been specific about who was suppose to be doing the training. Daryl was to handle the guns and Carol and Michonne was suppose to handle everything else. He had already put in his time. Had even brought Kenzey along. So far his star pupil was Jodie. That kid was a natural. Emily had helped him, already familiar with most of the weapons they had.

The four men that had came yesterday from the prison were pretty good with a gun. Two of them were brothers. Luke and Damon, and Daryl didn't care much for them. They were nice enough but he wanted to put them in the same group with the women. They looked like pretty boys. The type of guys that him and Merle would have beat up on back in the day. And it didn't help that all they wanted to talk about was Carol and Michonne. Tyreese had laughed it off but Daryl had gotten pretty tired of it after a while.

His gaze slid over the group once more and sure enough there they were. Luke and Damon, standing off to the side talking. Daryl smirked. They were probably talking about hair products or something. Pussies.

"What the hell you starin' at, little brother?"

Daryl glanced over and saw Merle and Emily coming his way. He'd decided last night, after a lot of persuasion on Carol's part, that he really should just let it go. Forgive his brother and move on. Merle was trying. Anybody could see that.

Daryl inclined his head towards the blond haired men leaning against the building.

"Pretty, ain't they?" Merle laughed.

Daryl snorted. "I just don't think they're gonna be very useful."

Merle squinted in their direction and shrugged. "I don't know. Don't underestimate'em. Maybe we'll get to the point where Ol' Rick wants to open a beauty salon. Bet them fella's know their way around a blow dryer. Our women would love it."

Daryl laughed until he noticed Emily glaring at him and Merle with her hands on her hips. "The two of you should be ashamed of yourselves. They seem like nice boys and you're gonna stand here makin' fun of'em. Can't everybody pull of that roughneck look the way you Dixon's can. Now you leave them boys be."

Merle shook his head. "Might need to keep your eye on the one on the left, bro. You see the way he was eyeballin' Carol when she was makin' that pretty speech yesterday mornin'? Thought the fella was gonna swoon right there."

Daryl glared. "Are you fuckin' serious?"

"Merle Dixon! That's enough!" Emily hissed as she started to pull him away by the hand.

Merle glanced over his shoulder with a grin.

"Fan fuckin' tastic." Daryl growled to himself. He had about enough of this waiting around. Carol had sworn that she needed him but he wasn't going to stand out here all day babysitting a bunch of women while her and Michonne took their sweet time getting their asses in gear.

He started pacing, trying to burn off his irritation but when he looked up and caught Helen looking at him he threw his hands in the air and stormed off towards the building. To hell with this. She had made him promise her that he would show up before he had left this morning and by hell he did. He didn't promise anything about waiting out here all day when there were better things to do. Besides, he wasn't going to be stared at like a circus freak by that insane Helen woman.

When he made it about half way to the door he noticed that the brothers by the wall were staring at something. He followed their eyes and finally saw Carol and Michonne walking towards the group. When Carol looked up and saw him she smiled and waved. He looked over at the brothers once more and the younger one, Luke, was watching Carol approach. Daryl watched the guys mouth pull up in a wide smile and his brother elbowed him in the ribs, whispering something to him that had the guy nodding. Daryl was about to see red.

Michonne stopped and started talking to Emily and Merle but Carol kept coming towards him until Michonne called out and she turned around.

"Son of a bitch." He gaped and then looked quickly over at the guys by the wall. Yep, they were definitely staring now. Carol knew they would be getting pretty physical for this so she opted for comfort. She was wearing a pair of black yoga pants and a tank top. She usually only wore stuff like that around the house, and he didn't mind that at all because the way those stupid pants hugged every damn part of her body bordered on obscene. At home he was the only one that could see what her ass looked like in pants like that. Daryl growled low in his throat. As soon as she wasn't looking he was going to burn them.

She said something to Michonne and then turned back around and continued on, still smiling at him. He was scowling at her. When she did look away from him it was to scan the crowd. Most of the new woman were giving her dirty looks and Daryl was guessing that some of them couldn't wait to try to one up her. She had been pretty direct yesterday and she had basically told them all they were worthless. But she didn't look too worried. She gave them a smug smile and then finally reached him.

"You came." She grinned.

"You're late." He grumbled. And then he looked at the men again. They caught one look at his face and then they both found other things to occupy their eyes.

"Bad mood?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"No." He let his eyes rake over her and then a flash of skin caught his attention. The tank top wasn't quite long enough and just a breath of skin showed where the shirt and waistline came together. He had the overwhelming urge to run his fingers across that pale line of skin, knowing how soft it would feel.

"Now's not the time tough guy. I got work to do." She reached up and brushed a kiss across his lips.

He blinked in surprise that she had guessed exactly where his mind was headed. "I don't know what your talkin' about, woman. And I was about to leave. You shoulda been here thirty minutes ago."

"I figured as much. You have no patience." She said as she looked towards the crowd once more. They were all coming in closer, standing in one large group around Emily and Merle. "What's Merle doin' here?" She asked as she turned up a bottle of water.

He snorted. "He probably has a bossy woman tellin' him what to do and where to be all the time. Happens to the best of us." He kept glancing at the brothers but they were keeping their eyes elsewhere.

"Mmmm. You're probably right. And don't scowl at me, Dixon. You know you love it." She reached up, wrapping her arms around his neck. He was glad because it gave him an excuse to touch her.

"No, I don't. But I do love you so I let you get away with it." She gave him a strange look which caused him to frown. "What?" He asked.

"You've never said that to me before." She looked disappointed.

"Huh?"

"You just said you loved me. And you've never said it before. And you choose the middle of a dusty lot surrounded by a bunch of angry women to finally tell me you love me?" She sounded pissed.

"What? You already knew that." He didn't know what the big deal was. "You think I would put up with you otherwise?" Okay, maybe he should just shut up now.

Her eyebrows came together as she glared at him but she didn't move her arms from around his neck so he was still okay. For now. "You're a real piece of work, Daryl."

"What'd I do?" He asked, exasperated. He didn't think he would ever understand women. She was mad at him for telling her he loved her.

Her mouth set in a hard line as she stared at him. "You could have picked a better time to say it. It doesn't matter that I already knew it, you jackass."

He blew out a breath. "But if you already knew it then it shouldn't matter when I say it. Or where I say it." Women were definitely crazy.

"You have to be the most unromantic person I've ever met." She fumed.

His scowl deepened. "I was romantic last night."

"Daryl, we had sex on the bedroom floor... again. Because you didn't want to waste the time it would take to walk across the room to the bed. Floor sex is not romantic."

"But it was good floor sex." He argued.

He sounded so serious that she had to laugh which broke the tension instantly. "Yes, it really was." She shook her head and kissed him again, this time harder than before.

They broke apart when Michonne cleared her throat loudly. "Are we going to do this or not? We are suppose to be teaching these women how to defend themselves, not how to engage in public displays of affection." She arched an eyebrow and then turned around, facing the crowd.

Carol joined her but Daryl hung back, clearly unsure of what he was even doing there.

"What am I suppose to say?" Carol whispered.

Michonne shrugged. "You're the bad tempered chatterbox. I'm the strong silent mysterious one." She tried to hide a smile.

"Your a real help, you know that?" Carol rolled her eyes.

"Maybe you could have them demonstrate anything they already know." Michonne suggested.

"That sounds pretty dull." Daryl interjected from behind them. They both turned. "They obviously don't know shit. If they did then one of'em woulda said so yesterday. I think the two of you should go at it."

"Me and Michonne?" Carol asked, glancing over at the other woman. Her head shot back towards Daryl, he didn't like the look she was giving him. "You!" She gave him a smile. The very one that usually got him to do whatever she wanted. He backed away shaking his head.

"I ain't in this. This is yours, woman! I already did my job for the day."

"Daryl, it's a good idea. Teaching them to fight bigger and stronger people! They can watch me and you! It's like second nature to us. We've done this hundreds of times!" She was excited. Her eyes were wide and bright.

He shook his head. "No way. I ain't getting' out there and getting' all hot and sweaty with you in front of a bunch of other people."

"Excuse me?" They looked up and Daryl had to force back a curse. It was Luke. "I couldn't help overhearing and if he doesn't want to help you then I'd love to."

Carol looked stunned for a second and then she looked up at Daryl, her eyebrows raised. "Well?"

"Fine." Daryl said in a low menacing voice. He grabbed her hand and started to head off towards the other women but he stopped and turned on the other man, "You best watch yourself Brad Pit. I catch you starin' at my woman's ass again and I'll beat your eyeballs outta your head."

"Jesus, Daryl!" Carol hissed as she dragged him away by the hand. She looked at the guy from over her shoulder, "I'm sorry about that. Thanks for offerin' to help."

The guy just smiled and waved.

"Daryl, what the hell is wrong with you?" She said in a low voice as she stopped about twenty feet away from the group.

"He's been lookin' at you since yesterday." He snapped.

"No he has not! You're just paranoid now because of what happened with Merle. Believe me, no one looks at me like that but you."

He snorted but let it go. He faced the women that were now watching them warily. A few were still giving those dirty looks to Carol.

"Today all you'll be doing is watching. The way I learned was trial and error so consider yourself lucky." Carol called out to the group.

Helen raised her hand and Daryl had to suppress a groan.

"Yes, Helen?" Carol was forcing her voice to remain calm but he could tell she didn't want to address the other woman.

"Do we all get to practice with him?" She asked with a smile that matched the falseness of Carol's tone.

Carol smiled back. "No. But if you want to push it I'm sure we can find someone more suited for you."

Helen dropped the smile.

Carol didn't waste anymore time explaining anything. She had no idea how to teach someone to fight. She turned to Daryl, gave him a nod and then readied herself for his attack. There were a lot of gasps and the occasional squeal from their audience but they didn't let that distract them. They fell into their old rhythm easily. She was able to show them a lot of moves and Daryl, as always, was a skilled instructor. If by instructor you mean, he was good at kicking her ass. But she was able to do a lot and the women seemed impressed.

Several times she would do something that caught him off guard and the crowd would cheer her on, like she scored a point for the girls team or something.

They had been at it for about a half an hour when Daryl got her down, face first and put an arm around her throat. He was crushing her with his weight but the pressure on her throat was all for show. "I'm done. We need to switch out or somethin'." He panted into her ear.

"What? We used to do this for hours. We just got started."

"That was then. It ain't like it was before." He released her throat and she instantly tried to buck him off which only caused him to groan. "Carol, really, this ain't helpin'.

"Oh!" She finally understood what his problem was. "I'm sorry." She laughed.

"This is awful. I'm burnin' your goddamn pants as soon as we get home. It feels like you ain't even wearin' anything down there." He growled.

"Well then, get off of me and maybe Michonne and that guy can do a little." She couldn't help but keep laughing.

"I ain't standin' up!" He groaned again.

"Oh, sorry. Just sit up and then sit down like we're takin' a break or somethin'."

He did and she finally rolled over and sat up, crossing her legs the same way he did. "Your turn Michonne!" She called, stealing a glance at the glowering Daryl.

Michonne jogged over to where they were sitting and handed Carol her water bottle. "Who am I fighting?" She asked, looking from one face to the other.

"What about Luke?" Daryl asked innocently. He really just wanted to see the guy get beat up by a girl.

"Are you serious?" She asked, looking as though she was hoping they were not.

Carol sighed and reached for Michonnes hand and let the other woman pull her up. She brushed the dirt off the back of her pants and turned to look at Daryl. "Now she's really gonna kick my ass cause I've just had to fight you for the past thirty minutes."

He just shrugged. "You made me do this."

"I had no idea you would find it so exciting." She looked at him pointedly and he felt his face grow hotter.

"Go away, Carol." He grumbled.

Daryl watched the women walk away, mumbling about how evil women were. They talked for a few minutes and then nodded to one another. He was sure that this was going to be a whole new show for the crowd, and himself. Michonne was more experienced than Carol. Anyone could tell just from the way she carried herself. Not to mention, he had been the one to teach Carol how to fight. He wasn't a pro. He'd been in his fair share of brawls but that was it. He fought when he had too and picked up skill along the way. Then he passed those skills onto her. But Michonne was a different breed of fighter. He had seen her in the prison yard. She was into martial arts or something. He didn't know shit about that stuff so he was pretty sure Carol was getting into something way over her head. He didn't feel bad about it though because if Michonne could teach her that stuff then she would be even more capable of protecting herself than she already was and he was for anything that would eventually keep her safe.

The women circled each other a few times and for a moment he was reminded of how they had been that day with the Walkers. He was excited to see what they could do. There was something in sync with them that was a strange thing to witness.

Michonne started tightening the circle. The crowd was silent and wide eyed. Even Beth and Maggie were entranced. Kenzey was even there now, clinging to Merle's leg as she watched.

Michonne spun around, seeming to lift into the air and came so close to kicking Carol in the face that Daryl found himself jumping up, but at the very last minute Carol ducked, falling into a position that looked like a crab walk. She snaked her leg through Michonnes and pulled back causing the other woman to fall. And then it was chaos. As soon as Michonne hit the ground Carol was on top of her but Michonne's ground game was spot on. Nothing Carol did could faze the other woman after that. They were both fast but Michonne was faster.

Eventually Carol started absorbing Michonnes movements instead of just trying to win with brute force. And that's when the dance started. Just like in the ally, as soon as Carol stopped focusing on the fight and started focusing on Michonne she realized that she could do it. When Daryl pulled his eyes from the women to look over at the crowd there were over twenty people gathered there watching. Carol still wasn't as good as Michonne but she stopped getting her ass kicked after that. It seemed like they both knew exactly what the other was going to do before either of them did anything.

It seemed like a long time passed when they finally both let their arms drop to their sides. They were panting and sweating, both covered in dust that they had kicked up but they were grinning like two idiots. Daryl laughed to himself, shaking his head.

Rick and some of the other men were making their way towards him and he couldn't keep the smile off his face. Carol and Michonne were walking arm in arm towards the women. None of them, even Helen, were giving either of them a dirty look. They looked like they were eager to learn and started bombarding them with questions as soon as they were in ear shot.

"Looks like you're gonna have to watch yourself after Carol learns all that stuff from Michonne, Daryl." Carl said with a grin.

"Nah, them girls are harmless, kid." Daryl laughed.

Carol was sore all over but it was a good sore. Rewarding. Rick had turned on the electricity in the bar. Someone had suggested a party of sorts, just so everyone could get to know one another better and he had readily agreed. Of course that meant that Carol, Beth and Maggie were the ones in charge of cooking the food but the kitchen in the bar was large so no one was walking on top of one another. And she had to admit that it was a good idea. She figured that one of the reasons her group had lasted so long was because when something happened everyone didn't just fight for themselves. They fought to keep each other alive. When you were fighting for the people you cared about then you fought a little harder.

Michonne was there too but she wasn't very domestic. She apparently couldn't cook. At all. So she sat up on the counter with her legs dangling off and watched the other women as they bustled about the kitchen.

Carol eyed her and smiled. "You know, things would have went a lot different out there if we were competing in a bake off instead of a fight. I would have kicked your ass."

Michonne laughed. It was an infectious sound since it was so rare. Carol loved it. "You're probably right. But that was no competition. That was class. And I didn't kick your ass. You learn real quick."

Carol rolled her eyes. "I wasn't that good. Daryl taught me how to fight like a redneck. You're like a..." She paused and thought of the right word. "A ninja."

Michonne laughed again and this time Beth and Maggie joined in.

Carol looked up. "What? It's true. You pair up a redneck and a ninja in a fight and the damn ninja will beat the redneck every time. I was better matched with Daryl, or hell, even Merle."

Michonne shook her head. "I've been out there for a long time, seen many different groups. Got to know quite a few since all this started. I have to say you people are the strangest I've ever ran across."

"How so?" Maggie asked as she leaned against the counter across from them.

Michonne glanced up at her, her face growing serious. "Your humanity."

The other three women looked at one another, smiling slightly. But then Maggie shook her head. "Ya'll know what me and Merle did. There ain't much humanity in that."

Michonne jumped down from the counter. "That's not true. That had to be done. You did it to keep the same thing from happening to someone else. You may have let the animal take over while you were doing it but the end result is the same. You couldn't stand the thought of what those men did. You couldn't stand the thought of it happening again. That is humanity. You people care."

"You girls think we've made Dale proud?" Carol asked, feeling more choked up than she should have.

Beth smiled. "I know we have."

Michonne popped a chip into her mouth and leaned back against the counter. "I gotta say, even Merle is pretty human now."

This caused them all to laugh again.

Since there had to be someone manning the wall at all times Rick, Tyreese, and Axel were not there with everyone else when the women finally emerged from the kitchen. Daryl and Glen were missing too, on patrol. The rest of the town, however, were all there. Later the younger group would take their shift while the older ones broke out the stronger drinks that were found in the bars basement. That usually wasn't something Rick would be okay with but the teenagers were good enough to be trusted, as long as not all the adults ended up drunk. Kenzey was having a sleepover with Beth and Jodie so Carol was a little nervous.

She trusted Beth completely, it was just strange knowing that the girl wasn't going to be in her bed. They started bringing out the food and drinks and everyone pitched in. Even Helen offered her a timid smile. She smiled back and was glad that the other woman seemed to be over her initial dislike of her. Carol had never done anything to the woman to cause the dislike in the first place.

"Looks like somebody got over themselves after seein' you kick so much ass this mornin'." Emily said from beside her.

Carol looked down and grinned. "I got my ass kicked. Twice." She laughed.

Emily snorted. "That wasn't you getting your ass kicked, darlin'. You made me proud out there. Can't wait till I can learn a few tricks."

"I can show you a few tricks." Merle said from behind her, causing her to laugh and smack the hand that he slid around her waist.

Carol was almost stunned speechless. Merle was really coming around. She was proud of him. They hadn't had a chance to talk about anything that had happened and other than the other day she hadn't had much time with him at all. She really did miss him.

The men had pushed the tables together in one long row. It was hard to keep track of all the conversations. They learned that the two brothers, that Daryl detested, were actually from California, which hadn't surprised anyone. They had been visiting family in Florida when everything had happened and they were the only two left out of their original group.

Everyone told their stories and enjoyed the food. Carl, Ben, Adam and Jodie left out with the younger boy and girl from the Woodbury survivors shortly after the festivities began They ate quickly and then hurried out the door. None of them complained. They were eager to do their jobs.

Carol didn't even have to look up to know that Daryl entered the bar. She could just sense him there. She waited until he sat down in the empty chair that Ben had abandoned before looking at him. She couldn't help but smile. "How's the fence?" She asked

He just shrugged and nodded to Maggie who handed him a plate of food. "As good as it ever was I'm guessin'. We fixed the part that was breached. The kids know what to look for now."

After the food was all but gone Merle and Glen, as unlikely as that pair was, found an old C.D. Player behind the bar and set it up. Rick brought up the alcohol and everyone cheered like they were at their high school prom. Glen tossed aside several discs and then finally handed one to Merle who smacked him on the back and laughed. It was a culmination of classic southern rock songs. It was right up Merle's ally and when the music began to play the whole room grew still once more. It had been a while since most of them had heard music, other than Beth when she was in a singing mood. It wasn't a sentimental song at all, One Way Out by the Allman Brothers, but you would think everyone was listening to the most sacred symphony known to man. Daryl was the first one to break the weird mood. He laughed and shook his head as he lined the bar with shot glasses, a lot of them, and started messily pouring drinks.

Carol had never been much of a drinker. She could count the times she had ever drank alcohol on one hand and she wouldn't even need all her fingers to do so. But this was suppose to be a celebration on sorts so she went ahead and picked up one of the glasses. Daryl, Merle and Glen were on the opposite sides of the bar than everyone else and they picked up a glass as well.

Glen sputtered and turned red faced after he took his shot but Merle and Daryl barely made a face. She was afraid she would have the same reaction as Glen, which she did. Daryl was lucky he didn't end up with a face full of it because she was sure she wasn't going to be able to swallow it. It lit her mouth on fire as soon as it touched her lips. But she managed to swallow it down without coughing as bad as Glen. Emily was like an old pro.

"This ain't nothin'." She mused as she ran her finger around the rim of the glass. "You should taste some of the stuff my granddaddy used to make. That wouldna knocked ya'll on your asses."

Daryl poured another and laughed. "No shit? Merle, didn't you used to get your shine from around those parts?"

Merle nodded. "Yep. That's how I knew she was trouble from the minute she told me where she was from."

Everyone was having a good time. She had never been to a real bar before and she figured it wouldn't have been much different than this. Voices were carrying farther as the night wore on and even though she only took a few more drinks she was starting to feel pretty dizzy. She caught herself smiling a lot for no reason at all and then she would get self conscious about it which seemed silly so she would start grinning again.

"Are you drunk?" Daryl asked from right beside her. She hadn't even realized he had moved from around the bar.

"Of course not. One of us has to be the responsible adult, and you've had a lot more than me." She was dismayed at how slurred her words were coming out. Maybe she had had more than she thought.

"Oh my God!"

They both turned their heads to look at Emily. She was staring at something at the back of the bar with wide eyes. They followed her gaze and her, Daryl and Merle started laughing, much too loud as far as Carol could tell.

Helen was all over someone in the corner by the stage. "Who the hell?" Maggie asked as she came to stand next to Glen.

"Holy shit!" Merle said between bouts of laughter. "It's little Axel! She's gonna chew that poor bastard up and spit him out!"

Carol leaned her back into Daryl's chest. "Well, Dixon. Looks like she's moved on. And just think, that could have been all yours." She giggled and then hiccuped.

"Thank God." He grumbled.

Carol decided to leave her friends and mingle a little. She talked to Tara for a while and realized that she really did like the woman. Tara and Helen had been friends since they had been in high school and before everything had gone to hell she had been a nurse in the neonatal care unit of a hospital in Michigan. Carol was excited to learn that there was someone else that had medical training in their growing group. It would surely be good news to Hershel.

Luke and Damon's story was pretty fascinating as well. They had both moved to California from Arkansas to pursue acting careers that never went any further than a few commercials, but it was still impressive. Carol had never met any famous people before. She was also surprised to learn that they were both pretty funny. They both tried to one up the other with embarrassing stories. They had been residents of Woodbury since they had stumbled upon the town months before. She wasn't sure why the Governor had kept them around but she was glad he had. Neither brother had ever actually talked to Merle before but they remembered seeing him around.

Luke and Damon both looked over her shoulder nervously. "Your husband don't like us very much does he?" Luke asked.

She turned and looked and noticed Daryl coming their way, not looking much happier than he had earlier in the lot behind the building. Rick was with him, he looked to be in a much better mood than she had seen him in in a very long time. Since before the prison.

"Havin' fun?" Daryl asked in her ear as he put his hands at her waist.

"Actually, yeah. This is great. Did you know that I've never been to a bar before?" She asked as she covered his hands with her own.

"I coulda guessed it." He said lightly.

"Carol!" Rick yelled as he pulled her away from Daryl and crushed her in a hug. "Carol, does that man of yours tell you how amazin' you are?" He asked.

Wow. He was very drunk. She laughed and pulled back a little. "Yeah, he does, believe it or not."

"Good." He stressed as he gazed down at her with heavy lidded eyes. "Because its true."

"Thank you, Rick." She tried to hold in another giggle but it didn't work. This caused Rick to laugh along with her, even Luke and Damon joined in.

Daryl took her hand and pulled her to his side. He was trying not to laugh himself. "Your drunk, Rick."

"I am. I am very drunk. That brother of yours. That damn Merle Dixon. He challenged me, Daryl. Challenged me to a game of quarters." He swayed on his feet and Damon helped him right himself again. "And I beat that bastard. He's passed out behind the bar."

This caused another bout of laughter and then the conversation glided to other topics the way conversations usually do. Daryl was inching her towards the door but she kept getting stopped. Everyone had something to say to her or a question that hadn't been asked yet.

"I'm about to just put you over my shoulder and carry your ass home. Do these people ever shut up?" Daryl growled in her ear.

She laughed and leaned into him more than she needed too. "Everyones nice, Daryl. Can't you just relax and have a good time?" She teased

"That's what I'm workin' on, damn it. But I can't get you out the door without somebody else tryin' to get your attention."

"You're antisocial, you know that?" She said as she turned and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"I do. But I think I just heard Rick challenge Tyreese and the guys to a dance off and I don't wanna be here for it. There's only so much shame a man can watch, I draw the line right there."

Carol grimaced. "You're right. We should get the hell out of here. Tomorrow mornin' they are all gonna want to throw themselves off the roof if they remember doing something like that."

She took his hand and they slipped out the door unnoticed. The air felt good on her face. It was still pretty warm but there was a breeze. "How much did I drink?" She asked as she sat down on the step and pulled him down with her.

He sat down next to her and took her hand. "Enough." He laughed.

"I guess. It was nice though, having everyone together like that." She sighed sadly which had him looking over at her with a frown.

"What's wrong?" He asked as he put an arm around her.

The door opened then and Luke and Damon came out. She could hear Daryl growl low in his throat. The brothers were followed by Emily and Rick, Maggie, Glen. It seemed like everyone but Merle, who was passed out behind the bar, needed to get some air.

"Son of a bitch." Daryl grumbled.

Carol acted as though she didn't even see the others. She was looking inward now, that sad smile playing at her mouth. "I was just thinking about everyone that didn't get this far. Ya know?"

He nodded and then frowned as Luke sat down on the step below them. "You mean the ones from your group?" He asked, looking up at her. Everyone was standing pretty close together now and her words carried.

"Yeah. A lot of good people." She smiled. "Dale would have loved this place."

"Would you tell us about them?" Luke asked and she felt Daryl stiffen at her side.

Suddenly she felt like doing just that. She gave Daryl a smile. A real one so he would know that she was okay. And soon she launched into a tale from what seemed like an eternity ago about a ragtag group camped out at a quarry. Those that had never gotten to meet them listened to her story intently as those that already knew the tale smiled on fondly, lost in their own memories of their fallen friends. She talked for a long time as Daryl sat silent and watchful by her side, his fingers intertwined with her own.