I was feeling inspired today, and this is what came of it. A collection of oneshots inspired by songs. These will mostly be Caryl, but there will probably be Gleggie and some Carl/Beth. I sincerely hope everyone enjoys this. Up first, Like a Woman, by Jamie O'Neal. Plenty of smut ahead. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Not mine!

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Baby, lay me down on our bed

Touch my body like only you can

Kiss me softly, take away my breath

Slow it down and make it real

Cause tonight I want to feel

Like a woman

-Like a Woman

Two years. Two entire years had passed since that first television broadcast. Two years had passed since the dead rose up and began attacking the living, since the world went to hell in a handbasket.

Carol breathed through her nose and stepped cautiously through the brush, following Daryl's lead. This wasn't their first hunt together; he had started taking her on hunts after his escape from Woodbury and subsequent return to the prison and the people who had become their family. They worked well together, and she was the only one he would take whenever he went out on a hunt. She was just pleased he took anyone at all. Too many times had she worried she had seen him for the last time when he went on a hunt alone.

A soft blush crept across her cheeks. It was that same fear which drove her to finally pursue him after a year of not acting on her feelings. In just two years, they had created such an intricate history together, a history burned into her very being. They never made a formal announcement or even a declaration to each other. The shift from friends to lovers was a very quiet one, but a shift nonetheless. He was still awkward and snappish around her, but now there was a look in his eyes, one that had never been there before. If anyone else had noticed, they were smart enough not to say anything. She was glad.

The sound of a twig snapping yanked Carol out of her thoughts. Daryl was a couple of feet ahead of her, deep in concentration as he raised his bow and aimed it at something in the trees.

Maybe that was why he didn't see the walker snapping and heading straight for him.

Swearing, Carol moved fast and drove her knife into the thing's skull. Daryl turned around in time to see the walker fall to the ground with Carol's knife lodged deeply in its head.

Carol leaned over and freed her knife, wiping the congealed blood on her pants before she grabbed Daryl in an unexpected hug. He tensed against her briefly, but settled into the embrace.

"I'm okay," he assured her gruffly, but his hands came up and gently rubbed her back.

Trembling uncontrollably, Carol looked up at him.

"Let's get back to the prison."

Once they were back at the prison, Carol felt more safe, but she found herself unable to keep her hands off of Daryl. At the beginning, they hadn't hidden them, but they hadn't advertised, either. He was a private man and she wanted to keep him happy, whatever it took. But right now, she wanted to keep him close and know he was okay.

The day passed slowly and eventually gave way to night. Members of their little group bid goodnight one at a time, until Daryl and Carol were finally alone. They didn't say a word, but Carol's head raced and she only knew one way to calm it. Closing her fingers around Daryl's hand, she urged him to his feet and up to the perch he shared with her. As usual, the bed was a mess, but she didn't care. She tugged her shirt off as he quickly removed his pants and boxers. Luckily for them, no one else was brave enough to approach the perch after dark. For an open area, they had complete privacy.

After shimmying out of her pants, they sat down on the pallet and for a while, they simply ran their hands over each other. It had been too long since they'd had a moment like this, and she savored the feel of his callused hands on her skin.

He urged her onto her back and gently nudged her legs apart with his knee. Then he settled there, lavishing her skin with soft kisses.

Her fingers tangled themselves in his hair, and suddenly they were the only two people on earth. The world seemed to slow down and disappear altogether as he pressed even closer to her and whispered against her skin.

Maybe tomorrow would never come. Maybe this would be all they would ever have. The future was dark and bleak and not a guarantee, but in this one brief moment, she didn't care. The man in her arms managed to cast away all those fears and doubts, leaving room only for love and the fire threatening to consume both of them. He pulled her even closer and breathed her name over and over.

If tomorrow never came, at least they would have this.

The End.