Daryl couldn't help but watch her as she walked past him, he was holding her girl on his hip. Carol smiled and stopped to look him over as he held Sophia close.

They'd grown close since the death of Ed, after Daryl lost his brother he thought he had no one but she was different. She didn't judge him, she didn't make assumptions about him, she was just there to listen and be there when he needed her.

He did his best to be there for her as well, and he found very quickly that the way to make Carol happy was to keep an eye on Sophia.

So that's what he did while she worked on the chores at the farm, he watched Sophia.

Kept a closer eye on the girl then Lori did on Carl that was for damn sure. It was often seen that Daryl had both the young Carl and Sophia fallowing him around like ducklings.

Daryl was by himself for the first time in a while sleeping in his tent, Sophia was cuddled up to her mother when she asked a big important question that she had wanted to know for a long time.

"Is Daryl my new dad?"

Carol looked down at her daughter and honestly didn't know what to say to her. "Would you want him to be?"

"Yes," Sophia replied without hesitation.

Carol took in a deep breath. "Maybe you should ask Daryl."

Sophia thought for a moment and decided that was her next job when the sun rose. Daryl tossed and turned all night hardly getting any sleep, bad memories from a life before and even after the apocalypse were kicking his ass.

He woke early before anyone else and went out hunting, he left a note by Carol's tent knowing both herself and Sophia would be worried about where he went.

By mid day he was proud to bring back a deer, and six rabbits, for the group. He trudged back to camp and set down his kills before Rick. "You did all that in a few hours?" Rick asked honestly amazed.

"Know what I'm doin'." Daryl remarked as he began to skin then, he kept two rabbit's feet for each child. He knew it wasn't much but some hope for their little lives was better then anything. Lori made her way up to him and sat down slowly. "Whatcha want?"

"I had a request, I figure you can do it with Carol."

He raised an eyebrow and listened, the pregnant women was an uppity bitch but even he was excited about the prospects of a new baby. He loved children.

"What can I do Lori?" He asked drawing out her name with a slight huff.

"Will you make my baby a blanket with the rabbits for you brought back?"

Daryl looked over the rabbits he was skinning. "I can do that." Daryl decided after some thought about what he would need. "For the baby."

Sophia heard that as she made her way up to them, Daryl was always so sweet when it came to kids. Once Lori left his side she sat beside him. "Are you going to be Lori's babies dad?"

Daryl's eyes got big before he laughed. "No sweetheart but we are all a group, a family. If that little baby needs some holding or feeding I'm going to help with that. Lori wants a blanket for the little thing so I was going to see if your mamma would help me."

"Are you ever going to be a dad?" Sophia then asked raising an eyebrow.

He couldn't decide if he should say he already was to her, or say it depends. He decided to mix it a bit. "I see myself as your father 'Phia, but I would never take his place. I'd never make Carol feel like I'm taking over as your parent. I certainly don't want to step on any toes."

Sophia's eyes were wide at the statement. "I see you as my dad."

Daryl felt tears threaten to roll but he sucked in a deep breath and pulled her into an awkward hug trying not to get her covered in blood. "'Phia I have a special job for you but I need you to take Carl or Be to with you so you're careful okay?"

She jumped excitedly at being given a task, the grownups always had something to do but she hardly got to do anything. "Yes what is it?"

"Will you pick your momma some wild flowers for me? I wanna give them to her."

Sophia swooned clapping her small hands together. She hugged him back, gave him a small peck on the cheek and raced off to find Beth to pick some flowers.

Daryl was red in the face, he hadn't expected Sophia to want him to be her father. He never saw himself as a dad, never thought he would get that life. The way his father raised him and Merle was no way to raise a kid and he didn't know if he could put a child through having Will Dixon as a grandpa but now with him dead things were different.

Daryl finished skinning and setting things up for all the plans he had with the skins and parts he couldn't use for more than decor or other items. He decided to make Carl a sling-shot with the antlers and figured out a way to use one of them as the hilt of a rattle once he found something to attach and shake.

He turned to find Sophia back with the flowers. "Come with me, I'll clean up then we can talk to your momma about what she and I are."

Sophia grinned wide and followed him into the farmhouse, they snuck past her mother cleansing in the kitchen and headed up the stairs. Daryl cleaned his hands up and washed his face a bit, he wasn't going to do more than his usual but he figured the blood was a bit nerve racking.

"You really wanna be my dad?"

"I will be, if your momma wants me." Daryl agreed picking her up with a smile as they headed down the stairs. Sophia handed him the flowers as he set her down by the entrance to the kitchen. He slipped in the flowers set behind his back.

He wasn't a romantic kind of man but he knew women usually liked flowers. He cleared his throat and Carol turned quickly. "Oh Daryl how are you?"

"Good I uhm... well I had a question, and I got you somethin'."

Carol smirked and watched him. He pulled the flowers out from behind his back. She gasped honestly not expecting something like this from the hunter. "Oh Daryl thank you." She smiled setting them in a vase. "You didn't have to."

"'Phia helped pick them out." Daryl admitted, the little girl tried to hide her giggles as she peeked at them. "About that.. I well.. Sophia asked if I would be her dad an-."

"You don't have to Daryl, I know that's a big thing and well I'm not exactly in my prime anymore." Carol said cutting him off worried this was a rejection from the one person she had looked to for comfort since they met.

"I want to be her dad." Daryl admitted. "I just want to be with her mom too."

Carol's face screwed up as she tried not to cry. "Y..you do?"

"I do, I want her to see us as her parents. A couple if you'd let me." Carol smiled and hugged him close kissing him carefully. Daryl held her in his arms trying not to be to rough, he also knew Sophia was watching. "Is that a yes?"

"Yes that's a yes." Carol laughed. "We should tell her."

"She knows." Daryl smirked as she finally appeared from behind the wall. She raced up to them throwing her arms around them with a giggle. He held his girls close with a content smile.

That night they slept in the same tent, he felt safer being closer to them. Knowing that if anything went wrong he had his girls.

Carol slept on his chest and Sophia had wormed her way between them, and even being crowded and wrapped in a myriad of blankets and tangled limbs he finally got the best sleep of his life, he knew that he was safe with them and they were with him.

He vowed to protect them from then on till he finally rose back from the ground when he took his final breath.