AN: So, I got enough requests for this to make a series. I will publish the stories separately rather than do chapters because I can. :3 I still think that this is the weirdest thing I've ever come up with for this fandom. As always, I wish I owned the rights to the series and characters, but alas, I am not that lucky. Enjoy.

The further (mis)Adventures of Carl & Daryl

Life was pretty good on the farm. The group had enough to eat, the walkers were so few and far between that you could almost forget that the world was dead, and the crazy had toned itself down a bit.

It had been a while since Daryl had a yelling match with anyone and he hadn't needed to punch Shane's lights out. It felt good, he felt good. Things were calmly moving towards a relative state of normality.

In a very uncharacteristic moment, Daryl had relaxed enough to doze off in the warm afternoon sun. His crossbow was nearby and the huge buck knife that he used for any job requiring a tool was firmly attached to his belt. He'd never be caught with his pants down, so to speak. Sleeping on the job sure, but he was still always prepared for the worst.

"Did you teach Carl how to use your crossbow?"

Slowly, Daryl opened one eye. Rick was standing over him with his arms folded over his chest. He was in what Daryl referred to as 'business mode' and was clearly not in the mood for games.

"Yep." Daryl said nonchalantly. "And he's a pretty good shot for a kid who ain't never held a crossbow before."

"Why?" Rick asked.

Daryl sat up a bit straighter, making sure that if this was gonna head South, that he wouldn't be caught half asleep with his eyes closed. "He was curious." Daryl said slowly. "An' I figured there wasn't any harm in it. If somethin' happened to us, shouldn't he know how to protect himself?"

Rick nodded. "You'd better run though, Lori is pissed."

Daryl simply shrugged. "I ain't scared of her." He snorted a laugh. "Hell, if she wants to learn to shoot properly, I'll teach her too."

Rick smiled, and shook his head. "I've got nothin' against you teaching Carl how to survive in these difficult times."

Daryl raised an eyebrow. "Can I take 'im hunting?"

"For walkers, or for dinner?" Rick asked quickly, his good mood fading momentarily.

"Dinner." Daryl assured his friend.

"If he wants to." Rick replied with a wave of his hand. "Hell, I'd rather know that he's learning something out of all this."

"Lori is making sure he keeps up with his arithmetic." Daryl drawled, disdain and sarcasm heavy in his voice.

Rick sighed and shook his head. With a wave he walked off, leaving Daryl to nap.

At dinner that night, Carl was excitedly telling the others about what he'd done that day.

"Daryl taught me how to shoot a crossbow!" Carl exclaimed happily.

Shane choked at the news and Lori pursed her lips in disapproval. Daryl was sitting in his customary spot at the edge of the firelight, half listening to the inane chatter of the group, half keeping an eye out for walkers.

"And then," Carl continued eagerly, his dinner untouched in his excitement, "Daryl showed me how to clean fish for us to cook." Carl looked at his meal and wrinkled his nose. "But I wasn't good enough to help 'cause Daryl stabbed the first fish and guts came out." Carl set the plate of food aside as his face wrinkled in disgust at the thought. "And then I started to choke and make a noise like... huurgh." He explained, mimicking the sound of vomiting. "And Daryl was laughing at me." Carl said shooting a glance over at where his new idol was seated.

Daryl caught the kid's look and shook his head, the barest traces of a smirk playing around his eyes and mouth.

"And then..." Carl said, his voice raising in childish delight as he reached the climax of his story. "I puked on Daryl's shoes."

Rick and Carol laughed aloud, both sending amused glances in Daryl's direction. Daryl scowled back.

Shane and Lori were not impressed.

Rick ruffled his son's hair affectionately. "Well I'm glad you learned something." He said brightly.

"An' I learned how to clean puke off my shoes." Daryl piped in with a shake of his head. "Good night." He added gruffly as he got up to leave.

Carl called something but Daryl was too far away to hear. He waved over his shoulder though, a somewhat affectionate gesture. He knew he'd have the kid tagging along for a while now, whether he wanted it or not he'd made a friend.