Welcome to my first TWD fanfic. I never do AU, it's a first too. This is an infuriating story about two people who think too much and do the exact opposite of what they've decided to do. For the best though. And be aware that it's a Daryl/ Carol and Merle/Andrea fic. Enjoy.
Chapter 1
The place was pretty quiet this evening except for the voice of his loud brother. He was saying something he had no interest about eyes on the door as if he was planning on running that way. Escape. He was fucking tired, had worked like crazy the last few days to finish the painting on those vintage cars one of that fancy guy paid a lot of money for. That done he'd felt like sleeping for a few days but the loud fucker had dragged him to the bar to have a few beers. He was at his second, his brother his sixth or seventh, that man drank them like it was water, hence the loud voice and the bullshits he couldn't help saying. What was he talking about? Women? Yeah of course he was talking pussy and all, it was the only thing he talked about all day long. Fuck and tell that man was. They were sitting at a table at the back of the bar and Daryl had a good view of all that was happening… or not happening. He should have called it a night but Merle had the truck keys in his pocket and he couldn't just leave him there near too drunk as fuck knowing he'd drive home alone. And the fucker was nowhere near the idea of leaving. The thought of having to drag him to the truck was pissing him off even more than he already was. But what Merle wanted he had. Daryl leaned back on his chair and sighed.
—
The bar door opened and two women got inside, one tall sexy blond wearing way to fancy clothes to be in such a place and a brunette with short hair who looked pretty unhappy.
-"I can't believe you made me get inside." The brunette said
-"And I can't believe the car just broke off on us under that rain, can you believe it? It should be all sunshine and roaring engine today."
-"Because I had a divorce?"
-"Because I got you free and it's the best day of your life Carol. Come on! Smile!" She looked around *Hey, that place is not that bad. Since we're stuck until I get my phone battery charged again let's have a drink and celebrate." She wrapped an arm around the small brunette shoulders forced her to walk to a table "Sit down, have a beer or whatever you want, it's on me, and hell, have two even."
-"Alright" Carol muttered as she sat, her back to the door. She gave the place a look "We're the only women in here Andrea." The blond laughed "So what?" She said "It's Thursday, it's not a fancy place, what did you expect, old ladies, tea and biscuits?"
-"Not the biscuits." Carol smiled a bit
-"So? Beer?"
-"I guess"
-"Got it Miss" Andrea winked, got up and walked graciously to the bar. Carol took her coat off, it was a simple black coat and underneath she was wearing a white shirt and a black pair of pants, nothing as fancy as what the other woman was wearing. But she was a secretary not a lawyer. When Andrea got back after having the barman plug her phone behind the bar she put a bottle of beer in front of Carol.
-"To a free woman who, thanks to a wonderful lawyer, divorced an ass, got the house and the car." She lifted her beer *Cheers* Carol face brighten, after all, rain pouring, engine dying, nothing mattered, it was really a great day. She took a sip of beer then put it back on the table. "I can't believe you told Ed to shove the divorce paper up his ass.* She laughed. -"At least I told him to use lubricant so he wouldn't cut himself with the paper* Andrea smirked and Carol choked on her next sip.
-"You're crazy you know that."
-"And that's why you love me that much." Andrea winked again. She was on fire today. She had killed Ed with those divorce paper. The man had had a heavy hand on Carol for years. But thanks to her Carol had lifted her chin up, got to the police, had had a restraining order, had proven that she had not fallen off the stairs…several times and now she was officially free from the man. She had been reluctant to take his house, his car, half of his money but Andrea convinced her that she owned all of that and more for all he did to her. She didn't think of keeping the house or the car but she'd use the money for a fresh start of her own and, well, it felt good.
-"Yes that's why. Or maybe because you're some sort of evil twin, I don't know." She chuckled and Andrea smiled, it felt so good to see Carol smile and laugh again.
—
The entrance of those two women and their laughter caught the attention of two men who had been pretty quiet since Daryl and Merle got there. They looked at each other and the one whose face could be seen by the younger Dixon gave his friend a crooked smile. Up to no good? Oh yes they were. Daryl frowned and kept his eyes on those two fuckers. Just in case.
Andrea had already finished her beer but Carol babied hers. She loved the woman but she was too wild for her own good and since Carol didn't know if they'd have to drive she kept low on drinking. The blond woman looked around a grin on her face.
-"I bet those guys over there will come to us and offer us a drink."
-"Andrea! Stop that, you're not going to flirt with me sitting there and looking at you.*
-"Oh come on Carol, it's just fun, plus they're two, we're two."
-"Oh no you are alone on this one. I've been divorced for what three hours? I'm done with men for a while…"
-"Hello fair ladies." A man interrupted their conversation. Andrea was right and Carol's face turned immediately pink. If she had been a bit more bold she would have told the man to go away but her dear friend was already using that sexy smile of hers on the newcomer.
-"Hello Sir." She answered faking an English accent that made Carol shook her head in disbelief.
—
Daryl blue eyes turned cold as he looked at the two women. The blond one was one of those 'all powerful and mighty' kind of bullshit female but she had no idea where she was. Playing those cards in a place like that wasn't the same game than in some fancy place where tailored suited men where buying fancy drinks to any women with long legs and pretty smile just to play the alpha male. The brunette seemed more clever. She knew she didn't belong and that she had to keep some sort of low profile. And she was pretty, in a way even more beautiful than the blond one for she didn't have to use as much artifices to look the way she did. Blue piercing eyes, straight and delicate nose, full lips. Daryl frowned again, why the fuck was he looking at her like that? Yeah the blond one's a bitch, the brunette is pretty. Let's keep to that. But the men, they were ugly on the inside, he could tell, and the women couldn't. One of them had now made a move and the other was still sitting at the same table as before waiting for a chance to step in.
-"I'm Jake and this is my friend Taylor" Yeah that kind of chance. The man stood and joined the other jackass.
-"Well Jake, Taylor, nice to meet you. I'm Andrea and this is my friend Carol.* She nodded in the direction of each person with each name and Carol looked really upset this time.
Fuck woman, don't be such a bitch. Can't you see you're being an ass, your friends seems to think the same. Carol? Did he heard well? Whatever was Merle saying he was covering a huge part of the conversation. It was frustrating.
The men were now sitting with the two women and if the blond one seemed to like being close to that Jake-ass, Carol sat at a controlled distance from Taylor. Her beer was half empty and she didn't seem to want to drink more of it, all in her screamed her wish to tell her friend to stop flirting with those two. Daryl kept an eye on her, they were busy enough with those two fuckers to notice him especially since he had his tall brother between them. They'd make a move soon he was sure.
And they did. Taylor got up and walked to the bar to order fours other beers, two for them and two for the women, special ones since he pulled pills out on his pockets and spiked them. He made sure not to mix the bottles and went back to the table.
Andrea had finished her beer and turned to smile at Jack-ass and Taylor. She picked the beer and motioned to Carol to have a sip of the new one even she hadn't finished the first one, telling her it wasn't polite to refuse a drink so politely offered. She was about to take a sip of it when Daryl got on his feet.
-"Get my back." He said to his brother. Merle was close to very drunk but he sobered up immediately. Something was wrong, Daryl looked like he was going to jump someone, and his baby brother never took that step lightly, for sure, if Daryl needed back up he'd have it. He stood up and turned around to see what was happening.
Daryl had crossed the small place in two long strides and when Merle caught the sight of him he was already standing next to a table of four people, two couples.
The younger Dixon caught the beer bottle that Carol had in her hand and threw it on the floor where it crashed breaking the relative quietness of the bar.
-"What the…?" Andrea said eyes wide open.
-"Put that beer down woman!" Daryl answered before giving Taylor and Jake-ass his most feral look. He was far from being a saint, he was a piece of evil himself but drugging women in the idea of having a good time with them was out of his boundaries. And those two rapists were about to see how pissed off he was.
He started with Taylor for he was the one who actually put the drugs in the bottles. He grabbed him by the collar and pulled him out of his chair. The man tried to push him away.
-"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" He said quite shocked by the brutality of the man.
-"'m breaking those teeth of yours fist then I gonna rip you dick off.* He didn't let the idea sink in the man's brain and punched him right in the face. Hard. Very hard. Twice. This must have hurt like hell for when Daryl let go of his collar to let him retaliate the man fell on his knees and put his hands on his face. That's when Jake-ass decided to attack Daryl from behind, too bad, Merle was there. Whatever Daryl's reason were to go for those guys he would't let one of them attack his baby brother and Jake-ass never had the chance to understand what was happening for he was already on the floor next to his friend with a bloody nose and a broken tooth.
Daryl kicked Taylor, he wouldn't have done that on a fair fight but the guy was a rapist and didn't deserve his pity. The two men crawled on the floor and barely made it on their feet before they reached the door and got out.
Carol and Andrea had stood up and had now their backs against the wall. They've had shouted during the fight but Daryl hadn't heard them, his vision had been blurred by rage and his ears full of his own heavy heartbeat. When the door finally closed on those two pieces of shit he felt Merle's hand on his shoulder, the older brother was trying to help him calm down a little.
-"What was that for baby brother?"
-"Yes what was that for?" Andrea asked, she had recovered fast.
Daryl pointed at her beer and since he was still too angry to make a whole sentence he just said one word "Roofied."
-"Oh my god." Carol whispered and Daryl turned his eyes to her. She looked stunned and she was shaking. Her legs gave out and she thought she was going to hit the floor but a strong arm got her before she did. Daryl caught her in a flash.
-"Hey ya good there?" He asked his eye full of concern.
-"I have to sit down" She managed to whisper and Daryl looked at his brother then a chair. Merle took the hint and helped him with that.
-"Carol!" Andrea kneeled next to her friend searching for her eyes. A brawl in a bar was something way too close to what Carol had to endure for years with that ex husband of hers and Andrea knew where her mind was right now. "Hey, Carol, I'm sorry, you're fine. I'm fine. Nothing happened to you and nothing will. I'm here. I'm going to call a taxi and you'll be home in a few. Right?" She put her hands on the still shaking woman's. "Look at me Carol, please?"
Daryl stood there next to the chair a weird feeling on his chest. Nobody died, they haven't been hurt or anything, the woman was way too shaken for nothing. Well for him it was nothing.
-"Hey you a'right" Daryl had forgotten his brother was not far from him. He turned to look at him.
-"Yeah ya know how this kind o' fucker piss me off."
-"Ya looked liked you were gonna kill the guy baby brother. Ya scared me there."
-"Nah ya never scared Merle." Daryl felt a little bit more like himself now.
-"No I don't but I did."
Andrea was still talking to Carol, trying to help her out of the dark place she was in but when the brunette looked up it was to look at Daryl.
-"Thank you." She said to the younger Dixon. Daryl looked at her and saw a sort of shadow in those big blue eyes of hers. He kept silent for a long time and the three others were now looking at him. He cleared his throat and shrugged.
-"T'was nothin""
-"It was for us."
-"Carol's right. It was for us. I don't caution violence but knowing what I know now I can do nothing but thank you too." Andrea was still kneeling next to her friend.
-"Ya think about it next time ya want to get to a place like this." He didn't like the woman, first because she'd been stupid, second because she'd put her friend in danger, third because she'd put her friend in danger… Ah… right. Anyway he didn't like her.
Andrea stood up and frowned. "Well it was not my plan to come here in the first place. Our car broke and I don't know how long you've been here drinking but, big news, it's raining outside!" For fuck's sake the bitch was back.
-"Hey blondie I've gotcha out of trouble here so show me some respect!" Daryl spat "Look at you all fancy and prejudiced. Ya think ya clever? Think twice!"
-"A'right everybody calm down" Merle put a hand on his brother's shoulder again, not that he thought he might hurt the lady - Merle like calling women ladies, it often helped to get them in his bed - but he knew Daryl wouldn't take the insult lightly. He wasn't a drunk, or a lazy ass, that woman was wrong and, hell, yes she was prejudiced.
-"Yeah I gonna calm down. You stay here and give me the fucking keys of your fucking car so I can get a look at it and you Merle you keep an eye on them. Carol in no shape to go anywhere" Why the hell he used the brunette's name? He didn't even know her.
-"You're going to try to fix my car?" Andrea's eye went wide, she's just been rude to the man who just helped them and now he was offering to help again. Who did he thought he was? SuperLoudMan, the super hero that shouts at you when he saves you? She took a few second to think. The man had been nothing but nice to them and he was right Carol was still in shock. Loud redneck or not he was the right kind of man, but still she proved she wasn't a good judge of character. She pulled her car key out of her pocket and gave them to him "Black Lexus at the corner of the street."
-"Lexus, I shoulda bet. Merle you keep eye on them and ya keep your hands in your pockets. I'll be back in a mo." And with that he got out of the bar.
-"Is your brother always like that?" Andrea looked up at Merle. The man shrugged. No he wasn't always like that. He understood why he was pissed off. The guy were deep shits but why did he care that much now the women were safe? He had no fucking idea. The two of them sat back on chairs, Andrea close to Carol who looked a little better now and Merle not far, facing the door.
—
Daryl felt better now he was out in the rain. Warm rain, a little bit of wind, everything he needed to clear his mind. He rewinded in his head what had just happened. Carol getting in the bar, something about an ex who was a big fat bastard, the look on her face when that Taylor guy sat next to her, the sound of her voice, the color of her eyes. Black Lexus…yes a black Lexus that was what he was looking for. He found it easily, there weren't much of those in the area. He opened the car, tried to start the engine but couldn't. Hell, that was one of those electrical problem. Fuck those fancy cars. He unlocked the hood in case he could find where the problem was. That shadow that passed in those blue eyes. Engine! Yes, the engine. Even if he knew it wasn't the problem putting his hand on some piece of mechanic would help him. A lot.
He had let Merle in charge in the bar, he knew he was more than capable to handle the two men if they were stupid enough to come back. He wasn't sure he'd be able to handle Andrea though. She was such an insufferable bitch, even Merle and his tendency to lust over women way out his league - he had had some in the past - wouldn't be enough to keep her from taking bad decisions and Carol was not in shape to make her own decisions right now. He wondered why it was such a big deal. But, hell, it was.
As he already knew the car would need to go to the garage and have a full electrical system check. She'd have to call her insurance to have it taken there. A taxi to go home? Nah… He wasn't fond of the idea but they still had to go back home. He had planned to leave his bike out of the bar and drive Merle home in his truck but the man seemed quite able to drive now.
—
When Daryl got back in the bar he looked quite puzzled. Andrea and Merle were talking to each other pretty much like normal people do and Carol was smiling at them. They looked like old friends at some fucking school reunion. He walked to them and looked down at the brunette.
-"Ya better Carol?" He had no idea why he used her name but when she looked back at him her blue eyes where brighter and deeper than they've been before.
-"I'm much better Daryl. Thank you again for what you did earlier. The men and the help with…you know, me not cracking my skull on the floor." She gave him a genuine smile, the shadow had gone "I'm just sorry you had to kick those men out because of us, we've put you into too much trouble I'm sorry."
-"No trouble at all." He was sure he was blushing a bit and he hated himself for that because Merle was watching him now. "The car is down for good. Ya have to get it to a garage in the mornin'. It stopped rainin' we can drive you home, or wherever ya have to go."
-"That won't be necessary Daryl, we can take a taxi." Carol replied "We've bothered you enough."
-"Can you ride?" This time he was speaking to Andrea.
-"Ride?" She looked puzzled.
-"Yeah on the back of a bike. All four of us won't fit in the truck.*
-"Ride with you?" She didn't know why but she didn't like idea.
-"Nah with Merle. I'll drive the truck."
Andrea looked at Carol and the brunette seemed a bit uncertain for a moment, after all they didn't know those men. At least he hadn't offered her to ride on the bike and she was grateful for that. They did not have to drive them home, maybe just a few blocs away from their places so they wouldn't be able to find them even if they wanted to. Daryl had pretty much saved them, Merle had helped and had stayed with them when is brother had tried to repair the car. They were far from looking harmless and they knew how to beat the shit out of someone but she felt no threat there. So yes, they could use their help one last time. She nodded to Andrea who smiled.
-"Let's ride then." She looked at Merle who grinned like crazy and Daryl tried to ignore how unconscious that woman was. After what had happened she had turned back to full flirting mode again…and with no other than his brother.
—
Merle stopped outside of the bar and turned to his brother. "What's that all about baby brother, not complanin' for havin' to ride with that one but really man?" Daryl shrugged and tried not to look at Carol. Why the hell did he have to do that all the time? It bugged him a lot. "Dunno what you have in ya head, but I claim the blond one."
-"Good luck with that, the woman is a total bitch." He snorts.
-"I like wild." Merle winked to his baby brother then got to the bike.
Merle had given Daryl the truck keys and they felt heavy in his hand. What was wrong with him? Really? He shook his head and walked to the two women who were draped in their coats. It wasn't such a cold day for him and he didn't understand why they needed those. Something got in his head though, Andrea couldn't ride a bike with such a coat. He walked to her and gave her his leather jacket. She was surprised but didn't argue. She gave her own coat to Carol to keep and slid in the way too large jacket liking the feeling of it on her, she looked like a biker now. Daryl rolled his eyes, damned woman.
The women gave them directions, Andrea was to go home - with Merle obviously - and Carol gave Daryl her real address, they said their goodbyes with over the top hugs and promises to call each other when they get home like women always do and Andrea almost jumped on the back of the bike. Carol waved at her when Merle start the engine and rode away.
-"I know I already said it but thank you Daryl, you and your brother didn't have to do that for us." Carol said when the roaring of the engine of the bike faded away, Merle was driving fast.
Daryl shrugged again and looked at his feet. "Heard you the first time Carol. T'was nothin' really. Hope that friend of yours won't do nothing wild tonight."
-"Wild like spending the night with your brother?" Wow that was bold and she didn't mean to say it that way, she blushed when Daryl looked up at her face.
-"Like that yeah." He saw how pink she had turned. "Those two are a bad match if ya ask me."
Carol suddenly realized that she was in a parking lot, alone with a complete stranger who was about to drive her home. Daryl noticed the change in her mood and looked away from her. "Better get on our way.* He mumbled.
They were on the road now and a weird silence had set between them. Carol dared to give a side look at Daryl, with everything that had happened she hadn't had the time to really look at him. The man had quite long ruffled hair, hadn't shaved in a few days but he was pretty handsome and his blue eyes where, well, they troubled her. He had given his jacket to Andrea and she could see now that the sleeves of his shirt have been roughly cut off. He had very muscular arms, nothing over the top muscular, sexy muscular. Carol! She said to herself. She blushed like crazy and of course that's the moment Daryl chose to look at her. They had stopped at a red light.
-"What?" He mumbled when she shifted on her sit. "You ok?" His voice was colder than he wanted it to be. He had noticed her look on him, him who had avoided looking at her for he had done that too many times in the last hour and felt it was not right. For some fucking reasons he didn't know of he liked it too much. Merle hunted out of his league women who liked to have a taste of a wild life, a dirty kinky night with a biker, something to talk about with other rich bitches around a cup of tea but Daryl didn't hunt, at all. He was no monk, just not into flirts or worse, relationships. Those were completely foreign to him.
-"Nothing," Carol interrupted his thoughts "I was just…just looking at you." What an unexpected confession "I mean, I don't know you, I didn't have time to look at you and well you've kicked the hell out of a man for me and my friend and now you're driving me home and…" She was rambling. She was really out of her comfort zone right now. A few months back she was still living with an abusive husband who had her cut out of her friends and family, she was really bad at socializing. Now she was free but old habits where still there. Plus Daryl was really handsome and nice, she didn't know why he did that, she hoped he didn't expect anything from her. Andrea had gone with Merle and knowing her she'd let him get inside her house. She was the wildest woman she'd ever met. Even that ex husband of hers hadn't managed to keep her away. But herself, she wasn't into that sort of encounter. God she had had her divorce papers on this very day, she wasn't to jump on someone, as good looking he could be, just to celebrate. That was not her.
-"I know what happened, was there remember. No worries, won't ask for repayment. Can't stand men who take advantage of women like those two fuckers planned to do with you. That's all that it is. You have no car, I have one. I drive you home, that's all." She wasn't Andrea, he wasn't Merle, that's what he meant.
-"Well you won't like it but I'm going to thank you again. And I hope I haven't insulted you there, that wasn't my intention." She let out a sigh of relief.
The traffic light turned green and he looked back at the road. Hell she wasn't her friend. She wasn't prejudiced, just a bit socially awkward, which made him like her even more. They had something in common here. She even thought she had been rude when she had been nothing but conscious of the situation and clear about the fact she wasn't an easy picking. The two women were so different he wondered why they were friends at all.
-"No not insulted. Ya careful, that's clever."
It hadn't needed much of talking but they both felt much more relaxed now.
Daryl stopped the truck in Carol's driveway and the tension came back, not as strong as before, it wasn't made of the same wood. Carol didn't know how to say goodbye and hell Daryl didn't want her to leave.
-"Well, this is me." Carol said shyly "Daryl I want to th…"
-"Thank me again an' I going in with you!" He didn't believe he said that. At least he managed to make it sound like an empty threat. Carol opened her eyes wide but laughed.
-"I won't then, but still I mean it…I mean the words you don't want me to say, I'm not inviting you in or anything…"
-"I know. Goodnight Carol."
-"Goodnight Daryl." She smiled and got out of the truck, walked to her front porch and turned around. She waved her last goodbye and Daryl raised a hand. A minute later he was gone.
