Sorry it took me so long to update. Life was so busy and I really have a writers block. My muse left and didn't come back. This is the last chapter for know. Maybe there will be another story in the future bc there are a few questions that need to be answered. Please cross your fingers that my muse will come back someday :-)

Thanks for all your lovely reviews. Caryl on :-)

Carol woke up just before dawn. A smile crept across her lips as she thought about the past few hours. Daryl had put his arm around her waist, and was snoring gently. Everything around her seemed sureal. She was happy and felt really loved for the first time in her life. Their first time had been perfect. All of her worries and fears had evaporated for a little while.

His breath on her neck made her shiver. She gently drew small circles on his upper arm with her fingertips. His grip on her hips became stronger.

"Good morning," she whispered softly.

"Mornin'," he mumbled back.

She turned her face to him, smiling lovingly.

"Did you sleep well?" she asked softly.

"Still am," he replied, burying his face in her neck.

Doubt nagged at her suddenly, and she had to ask him.

"You... uhm... did you like it?" she asked shyly.

He opened his eyes wide, staring at her.

"Ya kiddin', right?"

"I'm sorry," she said, looking away.

Carol tried to sit up but Daryl held her down, wrapping his strong arms around her slender body.

"I loved it," he whispered softly into her ear.

"Me too," she said slowly, smiling again.

"Are ya okay?"

"Perfect. I haven't felt this good in years. Do you want to talk about what happened?" she asked gently.

"Dunno... uhm... do ya?"

"I'm... uhm... Oh lord, I feel like a teenager," she answered, giggling.

"Ya should smile more often. Love it when ya smile."

"I had no reason to smile in the past. I thought my life ended the day I married Ed. But than I had Sophia. Sophia was everything to me. She was my reason to go on, and after I lost her I thought I couldn't ever be happy again... but you stepped into my life and taught me so much over the past few years. You taught me the meaning of life. You were the only reason that I still wanted to live. I changed after I had... you know... Lizzie... I resisted letting myself feel anything for so long... I was afraid to allow myself to feel anything for another person again. But that changed after I found you in the woods the day of Beth's funeral. I thought I was going to lose you and that nearly killed me. You brought me back to life," she explained, suppressing a sob.

Daryl held her tight in his arms, caressing her gray curls. He kissed her gently on her lips, not demanding, only tenderly and comforting.

"Who are you, Daryl Dixon?" she asked suddenly.

"What ya mean?"

"I know hardly anything about you. Tell me more about you. About your mother or what you did for a living before the world went crazy. Let me get to know you. Tell me who raised that wonderful man?"

"Ya know who did," he said shortly, compressing his lips.

"I mean it, Daryl. You can tell me anything. You know that, right? I know what your Dad did to you, but you never told me anything about your Mom."

"Nothin' much ta tell. She died long time ago," he just said, turning around not to face her any longer.

Carol put an arm around his hips, resting her chin on his shoulder. She stroked his long hair back behind his ear with her other hand. She was too scared to say more and waited in silence until he spoke.

"Her name was Susan. She died when I was eleven. I barely remember her. But I remember that my Dad had beaten the crap out of her. She always wanted ta protect us but she didn't have the strengh ta leave that bastard. I think I hated her for not leaving but today I know better. It wasn't her fault. I wish I could have done more ta protect her. That fucking bastard killed her," he whispered, still not able to face her again.

"It wasn't your fault, Daryl. You were just a kid," she responded, trying to calm him.

"He didn't actually kill her but he was responsible for her death. She had cancer and he'd refused her treatment. The asshole drank his ass off after her death an' Merle an' I had ta suffer. Luckily he drank himself ta death. I was seventeen when I hit the road with Merle. Ya don't want ta know what we did. Merle became as brutal as our ol' man but he was my brother. He was blood an' he was there for me. We did a lot of shit back then. When we came to the quarry, we wanted ta rob ya, ya know? That's what we did for a livin'. Torture people an' rob them. But I stopped when I saw the kids at the quarry, I saw Sophia staring at me. I didn't want the kids ta suffer. I convinced Merle ta stay an' we did," he continued, barely audibly.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, burying her face into his neck.

"After all this fucking shit, I didn't think that I could love someone. I even didn't know what love was until I met you. You're the first person who ever believed in me," he said, turning around to face her again.

"And I still do. I love you," she said, kissing him softly.

"Love ya too," he responded, a little smile creeping across his lips.

They stayed for some time in silence, their bodies intertwined when suddenly the door burst open. The couple jumped and Carol pulled the blanket up to her chin. Tara stood wide-eyed in the middle of the room.

"Oh shit! I'm so sorry. Oh God, I have to delete this image from my mind," she exclaimed, covering her eyes with one hand.

"Can't ya knock?" Daryl grumbled.

"Oh God, oh God, I'm so, so sorry," she apologized again and again.

"Stop apologizing and come to the point. Did something happen? Is Rick okay? Hannah?" Carol asked, slightly panicked.

"No, no, no, everything's fine. Rick's fever has gone down and Maggie is playing with Hannah. Abraham sent me to get you. He wants to discuss something you found in the woods yesterday. I don't know what that means but it sounded urgent."

"Give us a few minutes," Carol said, slightly blushed.

Tara left, apologizing again. Meanwhile, Daryl had pulled the blanket over his head. The situation was too embarrassing for him and he wanted to be invisible. Carol threw back the covers, looking into his flushed face.

"You can come out of your hiding place, she's gone. We should get dressed and listen to what Abraham has to say. I have a really bad feeling," Carol said and swung her legs out of the bed.

Daryl did the same. They got up and after a few minutes they were dressed. Carol's body was tense when he gently touched her shoulder. She relaxed as he wrapped his arms around her.

"It's gonna be okay, ya know that right?"

She freed herself from his embrace, smiling lovingly. Carol took his hand and they left the room together. As long as they were together, they could survive anything. Whatever they came up against, they would get through it.