Okay people. I am nervous about posting this. The Carickyl crack ship isn't something I've tried writing before. Blame Norman and that damn ET picture... it gave me...ideas. Very naughty smutty ideas...

But if you've read my stuff before, you know I don't do porn without plot, so there will be emotions and reasons to explain the smuttiness too.

Please be kind.

Welcome to Paradise

1.

"I'll talk to you soon, sweetie—please be good for your Aunt Jacqui—I don't want to hear you've been gluing the cat to the ceiling or some such nonsense." Carol laughed at the raspberry her daughter blew in her ear through the cell phone. "I'll call again tomorrow at bedtime. Text me if you need anything. Love you and miss you lots. Bye baby."

Carol ended the call and tucked her phone back in her pocket, pushing away the wave of loneliness she felt being so far from her daughter. Picking up her bags, she scanned the crowd in front of her and her face broke into a huge smile when she recognized a familiar face, letting her luggage fall back down to the floor as she held out her arms.

"Carol! I'm so glad you made it!" Michonne gushed as she embraced the petite woman with the laughing blue eyes. The dread-locked African American woman looked stunning in a multi-colored bikini top and sarong skirt, several orchid leis hung around her neck in a bright profusion. She removed two and placed them over her friend's head, kissing her on both cheeks and telling her "Aloha. Welcome to paradise!"

"Wouldn't have missed it for the world." Carol said back, relishing the tight embrace of her old friend. Even though it had been almost six years since they had seen each other face to face, it felt as natural as breathing to be here.

"Let me look at you—ah, you look fighting strong, woman. I'm proud of you." Michonne said approvingly, as she stepped back a little while still maintaining her hold on Carol's bicep.

Carol wore a short sleeved dress in a warm shade of orange that complimented the russet corkscrew curls that she'd tied off her face with an orange and blue scarf. The knee length dress showed off her slim but toned figure, nipping in at the waist and dipping in front to show a bit of cleavage.

"I knew you'd chew me out if I got soft." Carol grinned. "Thank you for inviting me; it was just the excuse I needed to finally ask for some vacation time."

"You work too hard. You deserve some fun." Michonne got a sassy sarcastic look on her face then, "Especially after shedding that two hundred and fifty pound pain in the ass you hitched yourself to against all good advice."

"I always say, if you're going to make mistakes, make big ones!" Carol said flippantly, but her smile didn't reach her eyes. Her marriage had been a nightmare, getting out of it even more so. Without the support of her old college friends, especially Andrea, who had become an excellent divorce lawyer, she didn't know what she would've done.

"Well, you're in paradise now, so get ready to make some fun ones for a change!" Michonne laughed.

After graduation, while Carol began her marriage to football star Edward Pelletier, Michonne had started her career in the military, eventually being stationed here in Hawaii. She loved it so much that when her final tour was up she relocated here permanently and opened a very successful exercise studio targeted at women, where they not only learned fitness, but self-defense. For the tenth anniversary of their college graduation, she had talked everyone into coming to the islands.

This particular reunion was limited to the ten people who had shared a sprawling Victorian at the edge of the University campus. Seven or eight of them had been getting together annually ever since graduation, but two, Carol and one other, who had been forced to leave school at the end of junior year, had never been able to make it. Carol, because her husband forbade it and Daryl Dixon because...well, no one knew exactly why Daryl had never responded to the invitation.

Carol had always had a thing for Daryl, but back then he'd been a mystery to her. Painfully shy, the only person he seemed to talk to was his best friend and roommate Rick Grimes. Fall semester of junior year, there had been a big uproar in the house when Rick found out his girlfriend at the time, Lori, was sleeping with another housemate, Shane Walsh. When Carol went to check on Rick, who she'd been friends with since elementary school, she had found he and Daryl asleep...in the same bed...and confused, had backed out quietly, never saying a word to anyone about it.

At the end of that school year, when Daryl told them that he had family problems and wouldn't be back in the fall, Carol didn't know who had been more devastated, her or Rick. After the final party of the year an extremely drunk Daryl found her cleaning the kitchen at three in the morning. She'd never seen him drunk before and thought he looked adorable all sort of mussed and sleepy-eyed. Apparently a very happy and loose tongued drunk, he had not only told her he thought she had the finest ass he'd ever seen, but then proceeded to ask permission to hold it, just once before he had to go.

Bemused, Carol said yes, and he wrapped his arms around her and took two big handfuls of her behind and then kissed her until her knees went all funny. Sometime during the kiss, Rick wandered in and asked what was going on, drunk yet gallant, protective of Carol's virtue. Daryl protested that Carol was so sweet he'd just had to taste her, at which time Rick decided he did too. While Daryl still held her, moving his lips down to suck on her neck, Rick took her mouth, making Carol's brain implode.

The sound of loud voices coming down the hall to the kitchen made Carol push them both away and flee to her room, her mind spinning out all sorts of scenarios for what might've happened if they hadn't been interrupted. She didn't have that much experience with sex, but what she'd felt with Daryl's hands on her ass and tongue in her mouth had been so hot that her panties had been soaked even before Rick had come in the room. Having two hot beautiful men kissing her, touching her at the same time? She'd locked her bedroom door and proceeded to have quite a little session with her trusty battery operated boyfriend...

She didn't say anything about the kitchen to either Daryl or Rick the next day as they were packing up to leave and was relieved to see they didn't seem to even remember the incident. Rick gave her a warm brotherly hug goodbye, promising to call her while they were home over the summer. He couldn't give her a ride home like he usually did because he was heading to Daryl's home town first to drop off Daryl's stuff for him, alone in his pick up. Daryl would follow on his motorcycle. They were the last three to leave. Carol had to hang around until the landlord came to do the damage inspection and then turn over their keys.

She stood between Rick's truck and Daryl's bike and watched Rick pull away, waving, and then looked down at Daryl, who crouched beside the saddle bags of his bike, his long bangs obscuring his steel blue eyes.

"I'll miss you." Daryl said quietly, tossing his head and pushing his hair back, meeting her eyes, surprising her.

On a whim, Carol held out her hand to him and surprising her again, he took it and stood, staring back at her, all broad shoulders in black leather silhouetted against the blue late May sky.

"I'll miss you too." Carol said, fighting tears. She swore the side of Daryl's mouth quirked in a sad little smile and then he gave her hand a squeeze and released it so he could pull on his helmet. She stepped back and he mounted the bike and it roared to life. She watched the road until she couldn't see him anymore.

And that was the last time she saw him.

"We're meeting another person before we head over to the ferry." Michonne said. Honolulu airport was on the Big Island, but she lived on one of the smaller ones, taking the ferry to work every day. The big beach house that they had all chipped in to rent was about a half hour's drive from her apartment.

"Oh?" Carol said with deliberate nonchalance, wondering who it could be, but not playing Michonne's game. She had been adamant that Carol celebrate her divorce by finally coming for a visit, but oh so cagey about why this year the gathering of old housemates was so special.

"Flight got in a few minutes after yours—we should head down to luggage carousel seven." Michonne said, picking up one of Carol's carry-on bags and starting to head that way.

Carol pulled out the handle of her suitcase and slinging her other smaller carry-on over her shoulder took off after her friend.

"Don't you want to know who it is?" Michonne teased as Carol caught up to walk beside her.

"Well, you said Abe, Shane and Lori come in tomorrow—T-Dog, Andrea and Rick aren't due until the day after—that only leaves...Tyreese! He's coming?" Carol said happily. Ty was a sweetheart, but had been so busy in his career as a professional football player that they hardly ever got to see him in person these days.

"Ty will get here when he can; he was having some trouble canceling things." Michonne said as they made the turn into the number seven luggage area. "You're forgetting someone." She waved to a long lean cool drink of water in double denim and boots with shaggy dirty blonde hair and a goatee and mustache that framed his smile.

"Daryl?" Carol croaked, dropping the handle of her suitcase which fell forward with a loud clunk.

The man in question grinned more broadly and grabbing up his duffle bag and back pack, strode towards them. As soon as he got close enough he tossed down his bags and enveloped Michonne in a big hug, lifting her off her feet.

"How the hell are you, Dixon?" Michonne said, laughingly patting at his back until he put her down.

"Do you know how fucking long it takes to get here?" Daryl grumped good naturedly. "I think I could a' flown to the moon and back in less time!"

Michonne put one of her flower leis over his head and said "Aloha," finishing the greeting with the Continental style double kiss to his cheeks.

And then his eyes found Carol who seemed rooted to the floor, staring at them both in disbelief.

"Daryl? You remember—" Michonne began, but Daryl was already smiling and shaking his head in disbelief.

He took a tentative step forward and reached out his hand to gently grasp Carol's shoulder, in total contrast to the way he'd just grabbed up Michonne. Then he slowly reeled her in, as if luring some skittish wild doe, and she let him, until he had her in his arms.

"I hoped you'd be here." Daryl whispered into her ear, rocking her gently. "I've missed you."

Carol's heart was beating so fast she felt the blood drain from her brain, literally felt it leave to flow south just to keep her upright. He was big and solid—the rest of him had more than caught up to what the promise of those shoulders had been on a nineteen year old. At thirty Daryl Dixon most definitely wasn't a shy kid anymore.

"Carol—he needs to get leied." Michonne said admonishingly and both heads turned to look at her in disbelief, Carol blushing and Daryl scowling. Michonne pointed at the two flower garlands Carol wore.

"You're supposed to give him a lei to welcome him." Michonne said, raising an eyebrow, "What did you think I meant?"

"That has got to be the oldest Hawaiian joke in the book." Daryl growled, rolling his eyes at her, but then looked expectantly at Carol, motioning her forward with a wave of his hand. "Okay, lei one on me."

"Lei off the puns!" Carol admonished him as she stood on tiptoes to put the flowers over his head.

"Lei lady lei?" Daryl tried.

Carol pursed her lips at him and gave him a narrow eyed stare of warning, to which he responded with a quickly smothered impish smile.

Remembering the rest of the greeting Michonne had given her, Carol pressed a kiss to his right cheek, on the clean shaven part above his scruff of a goatee, resting one hand against his chest for balance. She felt his quick intake of breath and met his eyes, which were wide and so blue, and then his hands were spread over the small of her back, pulling her closer and his lips were on hers.

Carol forgot everything. Where they were, why they were there, what day it was, that she hadn't seen him in more than ten years, that she'd been married, that she had no idea if he might've been since she'd seen him last...none of that mattered. She was back in that old house in that dingy kitchen and the boy she liked was kissing her. Only this time he wasn't drunk and this time there was the very real possibility that she wouldn't have to go back to her room alone tonight looking for fresh batteries.

"Ahem? We have a ferry to catch?" Michonne's loud throat clearing brought an end to the kiss, but Daryl kept his arms around Carol, looking down at her intently.

"Aloha...Welcome to paradise." Carol murmured, kissing his other cheek to finish the greeting.

"Paradise...Like the sound a' that." Daryl drawled and then released her.

The shuttle to the ferry and the ride itself was full of old friends catching up. Carol, who had majored in biology, worked as a test kitchen supervisor for a large pastry company in Atlanta, a job she'd taken over her husband's protests five years ago. Earning her own income had given her the needed push to finally leave him, but he had kept the divorce tied up in legal maneuvering for the last four years, chiefly over custody rights for their eight year old daughter, Sophia. Pictures were shown and the child admired in due course.

Daryl didn't share much beyond saying that he'd eventually gotten his business degree and now lived and worked in California, where he had his own company.

"Doing what?" Carol asked, curious as to what would hold his interest, wondering if it had given him the new sense of confidence he now carried himself with.

"Bikes." Daryl shrugged, and then seeing their looks of confusion, elaborated, "I design and build custom motorcycles for rich Hollywood pricks."

"You're Dixon Customs?" Michonne asked, impressed. "One of your bikes was used on that TV show—the one with the zombies—the greasy redneck guy rides it!"

"Yeah, that's one of ours." Daryl nodded, "Had a hell of a time trying to figure out where to put the mount for th'damn crossbow."

Carol was frowning at the both of them.

"You've never seen it? You know: Zombie Killers of the Apocalypse—it's on Sunday nights!" Michonne said. "Lotsa hot guys on it..." she teased, trying to tempt Carol.

"I have an eight year old. We don't do zombies." Carol said with a little pucker of disdain.

"We'll have to watch some of it when you're here—just to see Daryl's motorcycle of course." Michonne said deferentially to him.

"Right." Daryl snorted.

"I remember your bike—the one you had in college—it was a Triumph." Carol said. She would've given just about anything to have him ask her to take a ride on it with him, but he never gave rides, he was always alone.

Daryl slowly nodded at her and Carol wondered if he remembered that last day at the house, saying goodbye by his bike.

"There's a couple of places you can rent scooters and motorcycles near the beach." Michonne said, "It's a fun way to tour the island. I'll point them out when we go by."

"Thanks, that'd be great." Daryl said, sounding excited, "I was thinking about renting a car to get around, but a bike would be even better."

The ferry started to slow and they could see the green of the palms and the white sandy beaches of the island ahead between the azure sky and sea.

"How can you live here?" Carol sighed. "It's so beautiful, all the time..."

"It does rain occasionally." Michonne assured them.

"I get the same crap about living in LA." Daryl commiserated. "Good weather brings out the jealousy."

"Earthquakes." Carol said, "Don't get those much in Georgia."

"Tornadoes, rattlers, ticks and skeeters the size of a small dog." Daryl returned. "I grew up there too, remember?"

"We all went to school there, Daryl." Michonne reminded him, and then she looked nostalgic, "This is the first time all of us will be back together since you left."

"All?" Daryl said, frowning at her.

"Shane and Rick have finally buried the hatchet. Now that they're both over Lori and she's with Abe, we can have a reunion without the two of them having to take turns being there." Michonne told them.

"Rick's here?" Daryl asked, and Carol thought he sounded more like his old shy self in the asking.

"Not until tomorrow." Michonne said and then looked at him in puzzlement, "I thought you guys stayed in touch."

"It's been...awhile..." Daryl said vaguely.

Carol wanted to ask what had happened—they had been like brothers back in school, but she could tell he was uncomfortable. Since she'd moved to Atlanta she only got back to her home town of Senoia once a year to plant flowers on her parents' graves. She'd met up with Rick, who lived and worked there as a firefighter, a couple of times for coffee, but Ed's private detectives had made it seem like an illicit assignation. She'd been advised by her lawyers to stop seeing and talking to him, telling Rick she was sorry, but her daughter came first.

Before she'd been forced to cut off contact, she'd asked Rick about Daryl. They must have still been in touch at that time because she'd gotten a few details. Daryl had to drop out to care for his terminally ill father, working part time in a garage to supplement the disability checks and insurance. His brother was off somewhere overseas in the military and Daryl was the only remaining family member, his mother having passed away years ago in a fire. Carol had felt sorry for the quiet boy forced by circumstance to abandon his dreams, but respected him for the choice to put family first.

"I'm sure he'll be glad to see you." Carol assured Daryl, but he just looked more uncomfortable, raising his thumb to his mouth to gnaw on the cuticle in a familiar gesture, gazing out over the water to the shore.

"We're here!" Michonne announced and they gathered up their things to head off the ferry to the parking lot where Michonne had left her car.

As they drove Michonne pointed out various sites, including her apartment building, favorite grocery and restaurants as well as the motorcycle rental places she'd talked about. She'd already stocked the beach house with food and drink, so when they arrived she set to work making lunch while they settled in to their rooms.

Since they had first pick, Carol chose a smaller room, but the ocean view and balcony overlooking the ocean compensated for it. She showered and changed into a more casual blouse and Capri's and wandered out onto her balcony to let her hair dry in the ocean breeze. Daryl picked the room next door, which she found out when standing staring out at the waves lapping the shore.

"Beautiful." Daryl said, his voice warm and low.

"Yes it is," Carol said, turning to him, standing on the balcony next door, but he wasn't looking at the water. Carol blushed when she saw the desire in his eyes.

He'd taken off his jacket and shirt and was leaning one hip against the railing. He'd always been fit, thin and wiry, but now he was all solid looking muscle, powerful biceps, defined chest and abs tapering to narrow hips in his low slung jeans. A sprinkling of red blonde hair covered his chest and then narrowed to a strip that disappeared below his belt line. A couple of interesting tattoos also gave him a look of untamed dangerous masculinity. If she'd been attracted to the kid he'd been, the man was almost overwhelmingly irresistible.

At first she thought he was smoking one of those e-cigarettes when she saw the white stick in his hand, but realized it was the stick of a Tootsie-Pop when he took a long slow lick of it.

"I used the patch and the gum too, but these help with the oral fixation...I got a wicked one of those." Daryl drawled, popping the sucker back in his mouth.

"You...you quit smoking?" Carol said, her voice a bit squeaky. The way he was licking and working that cherry red lollipop in his mouth was jacking up her heart rate. He hadn't smoked when she'd known him, but it had been a long time.

Daryl nodded.

"About six months ago. Got to where I couldn't catch my breath on a run, woke up with a headache every morning 'til I had my nicotine fix, my clothes stank, my car stank—it sucked." he told her.

Six months ago was also when Michonne had contacted them all about this reunion. Carol wondered if that had anything to do with his decision...

"Why did you start?" Carol wondered aloud.

"Back when I hated the world... and myself..." Daryl said cryptically and then pushed off the railing. "I'm gonna grab a shower before lunch, wash the travel off me."

"Sounds like a good idea." Carol said, flushing at the thought of him hot, steamy and wet...

"Care to join me?" Daryl said casually, as if he was asking if she wanted a cup of coffee, and then smirked at her deer in the headlights stare.

"Carol! Daryl! Lunch is ready!" Michonne called from downstairs.

Carol fled.

"Sweet little Carol..." Daryl mused, enjoying the chase. He'd waited a long time to feel ready to find her again; to feel worthy of her. She was his ideal, his perfect girl...woman now. No one else came close. When Rick told him she was marrying that ass hat Pelletier, he'd wanted to go to her, talk her out of it, tell her how he felt, but Rick had talked him out of it. At that time Daryl was in no position to offer her the kind of life that Ed could. He was a broke, part time car mechanic without a degree tied to a Podunk town caring for his sick old man.

He'd later come to realize it wasn't just Rick's concern for Carol's well being that had motivated him to warn Daryl off. That realization had been the reason they hadn't spoken in eight years.

And now they were both going to be here, forcing him to finally deal with his demons, the ones that had haunted him since that big old house in Georgia all those years ago. He had one night to show Carol how he felt about her before Rick arrived—he hoped that was enough.

After lunch Michonne dropped them off at the rental shop, saying she'd remembered some tax work she'd left at her apartment that had to be done tonight and filed, so she'd stay there until it was done. She gave Daryl a wink behind Carol's back, letting him know she was getting out of his way so he could be alone with Carol. He mouthed a thank you and gave her quick a kiss on the cheek and then she was on her way.

The owner recognized Daryl's name from an article that had been done on his L.A. shop in one of the trade publications and as a result they left with the top of the line Harley he had on the premises. Armed with a map of the island they spent the rest of the afternoon combating their jet lag by exploring some of the places the rental guy recommended. When they got back to the beach house it was dusk so they walked down to the shore with a blanket and some snacks Michonne had left them in the fridge along with a choice of wines, the note attached to the picnic read "Enjoy!" in her elegant hand.

"Are you happy now, Carol?" Daryl asked, taking a sip of his wine, a nice crisp white.

They were sitting next to one another on the blanket, looking at the sunset, about half the food and wine gone.

"Right now? This minute?" she smiled over at him lazily. Finally getting to climb up behind him on that bike today had been as exciting as she'd always imagined. He'd been so relaxed and confident, showing off what the big machine could do; the ease with which he handled it second nature to him. Holding on, her arms around his waist, feeling his heat and his deep even breathing, she felt like she'd always done this, always just been with him like this.

Carol had just enough buzz from the wine to let herself openly appreciate how his t-shirt was stretched tight over all of those muscles. He'd taken off his boots and rolled up his jeans when they'd walked along the shore. He looked relaxed and yet there was this underlying sense of waiting in how he held himself.

"In your life..." Daryl said, reaching out to wrap one of her corkscrew curls around his finger. His fingers brushed her cheek and she leaned into them, closing her eyes.

"More than I've been in a long time." Carol said dreamily.

"Do you need to talk about it?" Daryl asked, with understanding. "The unhappy parts?"

"He wasn't who I thought he was." Carol replied, opening her eyes. "He hurt me. I got out when he tried to hurt our daughter. Michonne and Andrea helped. I'm okay now."

"I'm sorry." Daryl said, rubbing his thumb across her cheek.

"For what?" Carol said, giving him a little shrug and smile "None of it's your fault."

"Sorry for not doing this eleven years ago." Daryl said softly and leaned in, tilting his head so he could kiss her, deepening it and taking her in his arms to lower her onto the blanket, pulling her in tight against him, his strong thigh fitting between hers.

"Daryl..." Carol's breathy exhalation of his name when he moved the kisses to her neck made his dick press tight against his fly. Her tender pale freckled skin tasted like coconut and lime, sweet and tart on his tongue.

"I want you Carol...I've always wanted you...too stupid to do anything about it until it was too late..." Daryl growled all in a rush. "My fault he hurt you..."

"Daryl, no—it's over, done, it doesn't matter." Carol told him, holding his head to her.

"Let me show you—show you how sorry I am..." he licked at the v of her cleavage, his mouth hot and wet on her, rocking his muscular thigh against her core, making her gasp at the rush of sensation.

"Yes." she moaned and then his mouth was back on hers, nipping at her lower lip and then plunging his tongue inside. Then he abruptly stopped and she fell back, gasping.

"Come on—let's go back inside—don't exactly want sand in unmentionable places." he told her in a light tone.

"Experience talking?" Carol asked, trying to catch her breath as he helped her up.

"This ain't my first rodeo." Daryl gave her a sultry look, but then frowned when she dropped his hand and stepped back, blushing again.

"This is actually only my second." Carol said, pushing her disheveled hair back off her face and looking at her feet.

"You only ever slept with Ed?" Daryl asked, sounding incredulous.

Carol nodded yes, still not looking at him.

"Damn, woman..." Daryl said. "Well, that makes the sexual history potion of the evening a bit shorter." he murmured.

"What about you?" Carol asked, wondering how the shy boy she'd known had gotten so polished in his moves. Was he some Hollywood player now?

"I never slept with Ed." Daryl said, popping Carol's head up like a puppet on a string, a flash of walking in on him and Rick asleep in his bed immediately crowding her thoughts.

At her wide eyed expression he took a step towards her and took her hands in his right one and the other went under her chin.

"Hey-kidding, Carol, kidding!" Daryl said soothingly, and then teased, "He's not my type."

"Who is?" Carol asked.

"Besides you?" he smiled and kissed her forehead. "I was no monk, sweetheart. I've had my share...probably more than my share of lovers...but I've been safe, been tested regular. I have protection; I'll take care of you. Not on the Pill or anything I assume?"

Carol shook her head no. She had been, secretly, ever since Ed had first become violent in their marriage. Sophia had been an accident, a happy one to be sure, she loved her child fiercely, but she hadn't wanted to bring any children into that home. She'd been glad to go off the medication after she'd left Ed and since she hadn't dated during their separation while he fought the divorce for fear he'd use it against her, she'd never gone back on.

"I got tested too...he...Ed...He wasn't faithful." Carol said quietly. And the pain in her voice told Daryl more than he wanted to know about how hard her marriage had been on her sexual self-confidence.

Daryl pulled her into a tight hug, his anger at how badly he'd fucked up by listening to Rick and not going after her back then eating him up inside.

"Let me make it good for you? Okay?" Daryl asked, his voice growing hoarse with emotion.

"Okay." Carol said, feeling a thrill as if she was back on that big Harley, going so fast it took her breath away, holding onto him for dear life; hoping that maybe the dreams she'd set aside so long ago were suddenly back within her reach...

Two more chapters I think! Thanks for reading.