A/N: I wrote this short specifically for the opening of a new all Caryl all the time website called Nine Lives, . It was created as a safe place for us Carol/Daryl shippers to post/read fanfic about our favorite couple. Any who enjoy Caryl stories should come join and have fun reading, reviewing, and/or writing.
Many hugs and thanks go to my beta, spikeslovebite. Love ya, dearest. Any mistakes found are due to my inability to stop fiddling with it after I get it back from my beta.
It was obvious to anyone with eyes that she was sick of being holed up in the prison. Sick of the fences, sick of laundry, sick of cleaning and cooking and caring for people who weren't family. The Woodbury group had turned out to be a pretty useless bunch. They demanded more of Carol's time than her own group ever had without a word of thanks for her efforts.
He'd noticed her eyes slowly losing their bright warmth after the Woodbury survivors had taken up residence in the prison. Daryl flat out refused to stand idly by and watch the one good thing in his miserable life slide into darkness. So he had made a decision. He would take her outside those walls for a two day run.
He told Rick they would need those two days to get supplies, when in reality it would have taken the normal scavenging group no more than half a day to go where he'd planned. The extra time was to help Carol relax. He had to be able to bring that spark back to her azure eyes, hear her tease him, make him blush, because he needed her.
Daryl had always been aware of a special connection-a deep bond-between Carol and himself, but recently he'd come to realize the depths of his feelings. Even if he couldn't admit it to anyone else, she was his world.
Love had hit him like an anvil, and at this moment it was all threatened to come to a very bloody end. Now he was dragging the love of his life by her wrist as he tried to keep both of them alive by outrunning the small herd that had overtaken them as they were picking over the remains of a small country store.
The trip had started so well, with Carol perking up as soon as the gate had opened to let them out into the world. She'd been humming under her breath, a small grin on her face as she watched the world fly by from the passenger window. Soon there was the smile he'd missed so much as she turned in her seat to look at him full on, "Thank you for this. I didn't even know how much I needed to be out of there until now."
"Welcome," Daryl stated succinctly, trying to force down a goofy grin. Quickly they came upon the tiny community that boasted one country grocery store with a gas station out front, a pharmacy, a small clothing store, and approximately 30 houses. It was a place him and Michonne had stumbled across on their first trek in search of the Governor, and had always meant to go back to get any supplies the community held, but never made it.
After clearing out what little the pharmacy and clothing store held and loading those bags into the back of the pickup, they started searching the grocery store. There wasn't a lot with the place being so small, but it would still be a good haul.
Having filled the packs slung on their back, the two started loading down a trash bag they'd taken out of a box on a shelf when suddenly out of nowhere, there was the sound of breaking glass and the silence was filled with a cacophony of groans. Carol was next to Daryl in an instant, waiting to follow his lead.
Quickly grasping her wrist as the shuffling moans grew closer, he noticed a door. Knowing they would have to leave the truck that already held so many supplies, Daryl, holding tight to Carol, ran from the dead to make their escape out the back entrance.
They had been running full tilt for about fifteen minutes when he realized Carol was trying to tug her arm from his grasp, accomplishing nothing more than his hand grasping her palm, and whispering his name in a quiet hiss.
"What tha hell ya doin' woman?" Daryl whispered, turning his head slightly to look at her from the corner of his eye. His fingers twined with hers, hauling her along at his side while still keeping up a brisk pace.
"They aren't even following us, Daryl. I don't think they knew we were in there," Carol replied a little out of breath. "Maybe a few of them bumped into the glass and caused it to shatter, making the rest head toward the noise. It's not like that old store had the modern, thick windows."
Slowing, he focused on what lay behind them with a scowl. Seeing she was right, and not even one straggling walker was following them, it struck him that he had been so intent on keeping her safe he hadn't noticed before. This in turn unnerved him, but soon had him realizing that going with his instincts had kept them both unharmed, and a small crooked grin began to form. He could keep his woman safe.
"Well, it ain't like we can go back for tha damn truck right now. Still got a shit ton of them bastards millin' 'bout," Daryl told her. "Maybe we should find somewhere to hole up for tha night."
"That's gonna be a bit hard since you dragged us away from all the houses, Daryl. We're gonna have to find somewhere else to wait them out for the night," Carol informed him with some humor. It hadn't escaped her knowledge that his first action was to protect her. The taciturn hunter would have never physically latched onto anyone else unless there was no other option, but he had grabbed her as soon as the undead hoard had made their presence known.
Ducking his head shyly, Daryl mumbled, "We'll find sumthin'. It'll be fine. Once we get some rest, we can come back for tha supplies. Herd should pass by mornin'."
C/D C/D C/D C/D
True to his word, Daryl did find them someplace to stay for the night, although it wasn't a farm house, or barn, or even a small shed. No, it was an old truck parked on the side of the little dirt road they'd come across. It was the kind of truck that young southern men loved to build out of junkers, jacked up high with enormous tires. Carol couldn't stop the snorting giggle that burst from her.
Making sure the area was clear of danger, he climbed up onto the back bumper and over into the bed of the truck, moving toward the cab while pulling his knife out of its sheath. Checking to make sure Carol had her weapon out and ready, Daryl nodded once then leaned down so he could grab the door handle from the bed and quickly flung it open.
When nothing came out at them, he slowly moved his head forward to get a better look in case someone living was there waiting to attack. After a few cautious moments, he turned to her with a crooked grin. "It'll sleep. Hell, it's high 'nough off tha ground, we won't hafta worry about walkers 'n shit."
Jumping from the back of the pickup to the ground, Daryl turned to Carol and motioned for her to climb up onto the lower step of the running board and get in. It was high enough off of the ground that her foot was even with her hip as it rested on little step. Grasping the handle on the side of the truck, she tried to lift herself up. Suddenly she gasped as the heavy pack on her back slid sideways and she started to loose her footing.
The hunter was behind her, grabbing her hips to steady her immediately, his fingers hitting the bare skin of her sides where her shirt had ridden up. His heart beat quickened as he sucked in a deep breath. "I gotcha."
Feeling his large hands pressing into her flesh Carol shivered as he began lifting her up. "You always do," she whispered, hoping she didn't cause him to drop her and run.
As Daryl came face to face with her perfect, heart-shaped ass, all he could think about was nipping it and a low growl slipped from his throat. His jeans tightened across his crotch and he knew he had to get his hands off her as quickly as possible before he attacked her like a wild animal. Great, now all I can think about is slamming into her from behind.
Carol finally made it into the jacked up pickup, none the wiser of her companion's thoughts, taking off her pack and pulling out some of the food they had picked up in the store. Both of them needed to eat and hopefully it would distract her from the haunting heat of his hands on her.
Soon, the two of them finished a meal that consisted of canned green beans, red beans and pineapple. Still flustered from earlier and unsure what else to do, Carol began fidgeting around trying to get comfortable enough to sleep. Finally she settled on leaning against the passenger side door, but couldn't find the right position to help her get any rest.
After watching her for at least twenty minutes, Daryl grunted, turning in the seat to lean his back against his door. Stretching out one of his legs along the bench seat, he nudged her with the toe of his boot.
"Come on, get your ass over here," he gruffed, gesturing to his chest.
"Huh?" she questioned, not believing he was offering to let her use him as her own personal body pillow.
"I said, get your ass over here. Can see you ruttin' around, tryin' to get comfortable an' it ain't gonna happen with ya sittin' up like that," he stated. Daryl was proud of himself for keeping his voice calm even as his heart threatened to beat out of his chest. Having her that close to him, her body pressed to his, was going to be torture on a whole new level.
"Okay." She smiled shyly and scooted toward him, allowing his leg to stretch out the rest of the way along the seat, brushing her right side. How am I going to get through the night laying on top of the sexiest man the world has ever know without jumping his bones? she silently grouched to herself.
Soon her head was on his chest, upper back against his stomach, and lower back pressing against his cock. Fuckin' hell, what was I thinkin'? Daryl grunted, shifting his shoulders and trying to will away the hard-on that was threatening to pop up and make itself known.
Then Carol decided to kill him.
The back of her head began to rub back and forth as if she were burrowing into his chest, and her hips shimmied, sending bolts of pleasure straight to his groin. Shit…fuck…fuck…ungh, he thought, a low rumbling moan starting in his chest, as his cock jumped fiercely to life.
Abruptly, Carol's movement ceased. Feeling the proof of their closeness pushing into her lower back, she suddenly felt a bravery beyond rational thought and her head tilted up, her breath coming quicker. "Is that all for me?" she purred, shifting her hips purposefully against his cock.
Daryl's ears grew hot and his face flamed with an uncontrollable blush, but it didn't stop his head from quickly lowering or his lips from taking hers by force, devouring her with feral instinct. The animalistic passion that had been building between them for three years had finally reached its peak.
Carol flipped over, never losing her connection with Daryl's mouth, so that she could take full advantage of the mind blowing kiss he'd initiated. Her hands began to roam of their own volition, mapping his hard chest and reveling in the harsh moans and growls that vibrated between them.
The inexperienced hunter could not believe what was happening. Only in his wildest dreams was she this responsive to his advances. The reality of her nearly blew him out of the water. Her fingers were moving voraciously over his body, finding any bit of exposed skin as if she couldn't get enough.
One of her hands drifted down to brush against the prominent bulge that had been persistently nudging her hip and his leg jerked wildly, slamming into the dash.
Suddenly the pants and groans of the two were interrupted by blaring music.
center Sweat baby sweat baby sex is a Texas drought
Me and you do the kind of stuff that only Prince would sing about
So put your hands down my pants and I'll bet you'll feel nuts/center
"Wha' tha hell?" Daryl sat up abruptly, dislodging Carol from the best moment of her life and almost tipping her onto the floorboard.
As the song played on, Carol began to laugh. "Oh, my God! I can't believe the battery in this thing is still living. Why would the stereo come on without the truck being cranked though?"
It took Daryl's brain a moment to kick back in, especially when the singer started talking about doing it like they do on the Discovery Channel, but soon he realized this was definitely a southern engineered vehicle. Only rednecks would wire a new system straight to the battery. Several of the people he'd known back before the world ended had killed their batteries by forgetting to turn off the stereo when they got out of whatever they were driving, even though they knew they'd wired the sucker hot.
Carol, on the other hand, wasn't having her happiness stolen from her by some stupid song and reached down, grabbing him forcefully. "Where were we?" she breathed and began to writhe against him, causing Daryl's mind, body, and heart to focus solely on his love.
C/D C/D C/D C/D
Two Days Later at the Prison
Daryl stood at the rail to the west guard tower overlooking the prison yard. He wanted so badly to let everyone know Carol was his. Some of the new men allowed their eyes to linger on his woman and it was really pissing him off, but he didn't know how to tell them she was off limits. Glenn was standing off to his left griping about something or other, but the redneck couldn't concentrate on what he was saying.
The old song from a few nights ago began to play again in his head. He didn't know how long it had been stuck on repeat as he'd finally claimed his woman in every way possible, but the dirty lyrics would always hold a special meaning for him. He'd even taken the CD from the player the next morning as a memento. Oblivious to his watchtower companion, he began singing the chorus under his breath.
centerDo it now
You and me baby ain't nothin' but mammals
So let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel
Do it again now
You and me baby ain't nothin' but mammals
So let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel
Gettin' horny now/center
C/D C/D C/D C/D
Carol stood at the makeshift stove, stirring the lumpy oatmeal with a smile on her face. Daryl had not only given her the much needed physical release she'd been craving, but the emotional one as well. It was hard for her to believe he loved her, but the little things he did made it more than obvious.
For one, he was still holding her the next morning and stroked her cheek as she awoke, his feather-light touch telling her how much he adored her. He grasped her hand, never letting go, all the way back to the small community to retrieve their truck and supplies after the dead had passed. And he finally said the words, in his backward kind of way, as she sat pressed into his side on the way back to the prison.
Carol sang to herself as she practically danced around the kitchen area preparing food. She never noticed Maggie staring at her with her mouth agape.
Soon, everyone was in the common area with their breakfast, including Daryl and Glenn who were now done with early morning watch. Daryl couldn't stop staring at her as he waited for her to finish and sit with him.
It didn't take Carol long to make her way over to him with the last bowl in her grasp. As she approached his side, Daryl couldn't hide the quirk of his lips, giving her a crooked, half smile as she sat down beside him.
Glenn focused on the pair, leaning into Maggie as she told him of her strange morning watching Carol sway during food preparations while singing the old nineties song, The Bad Touch. Glenn's mind slowly began to piece things together and he jumped from his metal chair, pointing at Daryl and Carol.
"You two've been doing it like the Discovery Channel," he shouted.
"Yeah, so?" Daryl retorted, his ears turning red. "We'll be doin' it again in a few."
The End