She tried not to let the others know her little secret. If they found out, they knew she could be a liability to the group, and that was the last thing she wanted. All she wanted was to survive, for Sophia to survive, and even Ed, event though he hurt her. He did it when they were alone, where no one could find out. There were parts of her that hoped someone would find out, but then what would happen? Would Rick arrest Ed? Hardly, seeing as they were all in it to live. So what could Carol do, other than just pray she could make it through another day?

The first time he was nearly caught was when she was off trying to gather wood for the small embers they would light at night. It was Ed's idea. He had her doing so many things, in a way it was a good thing. Carol could stay busy, and as long as Sophia was with her, then they were safe. Sophia, curious about the angry man, found an arrow and returned it to him. She smiled when she handed it to him, and asked him why he was so mad.

Daryl looked at her, then looked around for Carol. He didn't know much about either of them, but he was so upset about Merle's disappearance that he'd been target shooting. He'd almost mistook Sophia for a deer, but had reared his bow's aim off to the left when he realized it was a kid- a real kid.

"Don't you know that's how people get killed?" he growled, accepting the bow.

If Sophia was scared, she didn't show it. "Can I use it?"

He laughed. "Now what use would you have for a crossbow?"

"Maybe I could practice too. I could practice on my doll."

"Sophia..." the man bellowed before Daryl could respond. "Get your ass over with your mama before I teach you a lesson."

Angrily, Daryl calmly but collectedly walked up to Ed. "Got a problem?"

Ed stared him down. "None that's any of your concern."

"You were yelling at your little girl."

"That's right. She's a little girl. She's my little girl. Now get your dumb redneck self away from her before we have a problem."

"You want a problem?" Daryl was in his face. "Now it seems to me we got one."

Carol ran up to the men, putting her hand on Ed's arm. "Ed...come on. He doesn't mean it. Sophia's fine. I should have been keeping a better eye on her."

"Damn right you should have been! This dumbfuck could have gotten her killed." Ed continued his staredown with Daryl.

"It's okay. I promise it won't happen again. It's not his fault. It's mine. I'm sorry Ed."

He raised his arm and shoved his wife off of him, causing Daryl to pull Ed's arm all the way back, nearly breaking it.

"Let go!" Carol pleaded with Daryl. "Please...we won't be any bother to you anymore. Just let him go."

Daryl thought about it for a minute, then shoved Ed to the ground. He wasn't worth his time. "Just keep him the fuck away from me."

Carol gathered Sophia and her doll, and then Ed led Carol roughly back to their site. Daryl stared at them curiously, then tried to put thoughts of them out of his mind. They weren't his problem, he decided. He had Merle to worry about, and he knew it would be best to forget what happened. If only it were that easy.