Mrs. Dixon
It had been nearly three months since the prison group had taken in the refugees from Woodbury and nearly nine since the original group settled in. They had faced loss and heartbreak in those first few months; first Lori, then T-Dog, Merle and Andrea. It hadn't been all doom and gloom though, Judith, Lori's baby continued to thrive despite the loss of her mother; Hershel had fully recovered from his emergency amputation and was adjusting well to manoeuvring around with the aid of crutches.
But the best thing that happened, in Daryl's opinion, was his discovery of Carol – badly dehydrated and weak, but more importantly, alive in the tombs. He had spent two days in complete agony thinking that she had perished along with T-Dog in the first week that they occupied the prison and had mourned her passing deeply; before finding her and bringing her back to the cells. One twitch of his hand near his crossbow and a raised eyebrow was enough of a warning for the rest of the group never to reveal his cry of agony and the days spent sitting alone in her cell, missing her.
The arrival of the folks from Woodbury had been the push that Daryl needed to take their relationship beyond the light flirtation and secret smiles that had been building between them ever since they had fled the Greene's farm. He made the excuse that Rick had ordered everyone to double up in the cells to accommodate the additional newcomers. Carol looked up from where she was in the middle of a mending afternoon to see Daryl standing in the doorway to her cell, she raised her brow expectantly, thinking that he was bringing yet another pair of torn pants for her attention. To her amazement he stepped in the cell and placed his duffle bag near the door.
"Rick needs everyone to double up in the cells; it was a choice of either bunking in with you or Carl, I'd probably kill the little prick in his sleep so I'm just gonna dump my shit in here for the time being; just until we get D block completely cleared and then the Woodbury people can move over there." He shifted nervously on his feet, gnawing at the cuticle on his thumb. Sure, Rick had made the initial suggestion to the council but only after Daryl had planted the idea in his head. Had Daryl stuck around the library after the council members had left he would have heard the sniggers of laughter, Daryl didn't have a cell in the first place as he had commandeered the perch as his own space the very first day that the group had originally moved in. Everyone else in the group, apart from Carol and Michonne, were already doubling up in the cells; Rick with Carl and Judith, Hershel with Beth, Glenn with Maggie. Carol was originally cellmates with Lori but after her death had been unable to sleep in their original cell and so had moved up to the second floor opposite Daryl's perch.
"Sure Pookie, whatever you say. Do you want the top or the bottom?" Carol lay her sewing aside and waggled her eyebrows suggestively.
"Stop…" Daryl drawled out slowly, a flush highlighting his cheekbones and slung his duffel onto the top bunk. You would have thought that he would have gotten used to Carol's particular brand of teasing after so many months but it never failed to make him blush.
"Sorry, Pookie." Carol grinned over, not the slightest bit apologetically and returned to her mending pile. They settled into being cell-mates with ease; comfortable with each other after spending so many nights out on the road. One week turned into two and then three, finally Daryl just never moved out. They had the same watch shifts, so ate together most of the time and it seemed only natural that they would slip from friendship to flirtation to being something more.
Their family group had noticed the subtle change in their behaviour in the short time that Daryl and Carol had been cell-mates. Carol had always made sure that Daryl never missed a meal; always setting aside a portion if he was late back from a run or out on a hunting trip with Michonne. Nowadays you always found them together; whether it was on watch, in the kitchen area or just sitting quietly in the library – if you saw one then it was a pretty safe bet that the other was never far behind. Their group knew that the two of them were very private individuals that would to be the subject of any lewd conversations; so it was just accepted as being a natural evolution of their very close friendship and not wanting to cause any embarrassment to either one of the pair; never brought their change in status into question.
The group from Woodbury were another matter entirely. Carol had taken to spending an hour with the younger children in the library for story time every evening. It gave the adults a little time to discuss any issues with Rick in the kitchen area with the knowledge that the children were safely out of hearing distance. Carol had made the suggestion at a council meeting stating that the young ones should be given a chance to be children for as long as they could; the reality of the world would intrude soon enough. It was during one of these story hours that a few of the younger children wanted a different type of story.
"My mommy and daddy met when daddy crashed into mommy's car. She said that daddy was so handsome that she just had to marry him." Emily told the group and most of the little girls sighed with delight.
"My mommy and daddy met in a hot air balloon. Mommy was gonna marry someone else but daddy said he wasn't gonna let the balloon land until mommy promised to go on a date with him instead." Charlie boasted, sticking his chest out and placing his hands on his hips, obviously copying his daddy as it was a typical Eric gesture that Carol had seen countless times since they had arrived at the prison, she hid a smile and turned to the rest of the group.
"Anyone else have some exciting stories of how their mommy and daddy met?" She looked around and when no one else came forward, went to open the latest book that lay abandoned in her lap. Before she could turn to the last page read, a high pitched voice came from the back of the room.
"Tell us how you and Mr. Daryl met and got married, please?"
Daryl was lingering in the corridor, waiting to walk Carol back to their cell and heard the piping voice of little Shelby Taylor, a pipsqueak of about four years old. He tugged at his scruff and edged closer to the door, interested in what Carol had to say in response.
"Oh, honey. I can tell you how we met, but we're not married; just very good friends." Carol smiled over at the young girl, who seemed crushed at the news.
"Are you sure?" Shelby asked, confusion causing her nose to wrinkle up. The other children gathered around the little girl and added their voices to the mix.
"Mr. Daryl always waits for you to sit at the table before he sits down himself."
"Mr. Daryl always walks you back to your cell at night and you always come into breakfast together."
"You fix up his hurts and kiss his boo-boo's better, just like my mommy does for my daddy."
"You always wait at gate for him to come back, and you are always the first person he says hello to when he comes through."
"He doesn't like it when you go away somewhere with the other grown-ups. He growls like a bear…ggrrr!"
"You smile at each other like mommy and daddy's do, and Mr. Daryl never smiles at anyone!"
"Okay, okay!" Carol smiled at the children's enthusiasm but shook her head as she did so. "That doesn't mean that we are married, though. It just means that we like each other very much…" Carol caught sight of the setting sun and sighed gratefully, knowing that story hour had come to an end giving her a reprieve from their curious minds. "Okay kids, that's it for tonight…see you all tomorrow, same bat time…."
"Same bat channel!" The children yelled loudly, giggling at her words, no matter how many times she ended the night with the same remark they always found it hysterical. They piled out into the corridor where Daryl was leaning against the opposite wall and Carol could hear various 'Night, Mr. Daryl!" echoing down the hallways. He strolled into the library picking at his thumbnail, which indicated to Carol that he was either worried or annoyed about something.
"What's up, Pookie?" She rose from the armchair and placed the unread story book back on the shelving before crossing over to stand in front of him. A frown appeared between his eyes and Carol reached up to gently smooth it away with her fingertips. Daryl reached up to capture her palm and led her back over to the armchair. Sitting himself down in the chair he pulled her onto his lap and rearranged her legs to drape over the arm of the chair.
"C'mon, I know something's bothering you, tell me." Carol was beginning to worry, had he suddenly decided that being with her was too much for him? It wasn't a sudden thing for her, she had loved him ever since the farm but she still had no real idea how deep his own feelings ran. Sure, it was Daryl that made the first steps toward intimacy with her but he was still very private around the rest of the group, not wanting to go completely public with their changed relationship. Daryl shifted slightly in the chair and sighed heavily, how did he put into words how much her statement to the children affected him? Finally he just blurted it out; "Dammit woman, what do you mean tellin' those kids we ain't married? That we're just 'good friends'? Hell, I'm friends with Rick but it ain't his bunk I crawl into every night and it sure as hell ain't his name that I'm screaming out either."
"I don't recall you ever screaming out my name either, come to think of it." Carol quipped, in the midst of passion Daryl tended to resort to crude and coarse language, or a simple 'yeah'.
"Don't get smart with me, Carol." Daryl tapped her lightly on the buttocks and continued. "Ya know what I meant. We take watch together, we eat together, we sleep together – Hershel even nearly caught us taking a shower together last week. How can ya say that we ain't married? Tell me how that's different from anything Glenn and Maggie have done?" Carol twisted around in the chair so that she could look him in the eye.
"Glenn and Maggie are committed to each other…"
"Yeah, and we aren't? I would face down a truckload of Walkers for ya any day, woman." Carol could see that the time for levity had passed and by the look in his eyes, meant every word of his statement. "Daryl…I remember telling you not so long ago that I liked you first." She began, only for Daryl to place his finger against her lips to silence her.
"Nah, ya just said it first. I was too much of a pussy to let ya know, I ain't that same person anymore, I like to think that you've made me a better person."
"Oh, Daryl; I told you before that you've always been a better person, you just didn't know how to show it." Carol leant forward to nibble at his lips, hoping that he would take the hint and just drag her off to their cell. Daryl let her kiss him for a moment and then forced himself to pull away.
"Hush up, woman. Ya made me lose ma train of thought…oh, yeah…Ya may have said ya liked me first, but I'm gonna be the one ta say this first…I love ya, Carol." He looked into her eyes and saw them sparkle brightly at his words. He leant forward to kiss her cheeks one at a time. "I love ya." Then he kissed her eyelids. "I love ya." Then finally her lips, "I love ya, Carol. I'm gonna keep sayin' it until ya get used ta it. Then I'm gonna say it some more. I love ya, Carol."
"I love you, too. I've waited so long for you to say it, that I almost gave up hope." Carol smiled through her tears, and Daryl reached up to tenderly brush them away.
"I'm sorry, baby. I'm sorry that it took so long for me to realise how much you meant to me; when I think of all the time lost when we could've been together…That night on the bus for instance…"
"Oh, yeah – 'screw around', wasn't it?" Carol chuckled in remembrance, "I should've just planted a juicy one on you right there and then, you would have been putty in my hands."
"Oh, baby – ya don't know how close I was to taking ya right up against that ole bus. One more minute up there and I might have." Daryl smirked at her and then winked suggestively. "How about an action replay up in our cell?" Carol leapt off his lap and started to race for the door. Daryl struggled out of the chair and called after his wayward lover. "Hey, hold up a minute!"
"Not a chance, Pookie. Have you forgotten what you promised me?" Carol winked at him from the doorway and Daryl waggled his eyebrows again.
"Really?"
"Uh-huh." Carol nodded her head and Daryl nearly fell over his feet trying to reach her side. They wrapped their arms around each other's waist and Daryl nuzzled his face into Carol's neck, making her purr with delight. He dropped a series of wet, open mouthed kisses along her neck, edging across her collarbone and then onto her mouth; tongues thrusting against each other in a lush, passionate kiss.
"Ahem…" The sound of someone clearing their throat, broke the passion fogged spell that they were under and Daryl reluctantly lifted his head to see Rick, Glenn and Michonne staring at them from the door leading into the communal kitchen. Carol dropped her hand from where it had been straying into Daryl's waistband to cup his buttock, and went to take a step away from him. Daryl however kept his hand firmly on Carol's hip and pulled her closer to his side.
"Something me and the Missus can do fer ya? 'Cause if not we're heading off ta the tower fer a bit of alone time."
"The tower, but Maggie…" Glenn started to protest but a sharp elbow in the ribs from Michonne prevented him from saying anything else.
"No…no, I don't think so…the tower you say?" Rick coughed to hide his amusement, he hadn't missed the way Daryl had referred to Carol as his Missus or the way that he suddenly seemed to be very open in displaying his affection for the quiet widow.
"Yeah…sometimes a man just needs a bit of privacy when it comes to screaming out his woman's name, ain't that right, Glenn?" Daryl squeezed Carol's waist, dropping his hand slightly to tease beneath her shirt as it floated open at her waistband.
"Uh…yeah…?" Glenn stuttered, confused by the sudden change in mannerisms of the pair, and still feeling a little put out that his plans for an evening in the tower with his wife had been put on hold.
"So Rick, how many times has Maggie and Glenn skipped off into the tower and been late for their shifts – say in the last month?" Carol winked at Daryl and saw Rick smile as he caught Daryl's return smirk.
"Counting their 'honeymoon'? Oh, around a week's worth…" Rick included the three day pass the other couple had been granted when they had been married in a service performed by Hershel just a few weeks ago.
"Okay, so that's seven nights in total. And what about all the times that Daryl has pulled a double duty – when he's been out on a hunt and then come back to take a watch shift?" Carol saw Rick's face fall as he cottoned on to what Carol was aiming for. There goes my alone time, he thought to himself.
"About another seven days, making a fortnight." Rick said morosely, not that he wanted the watch tower for any other reason apart from having a few hours where he could just sit and think in private.
"Wait! Are you seriously telling me that you guys want the watch tower for a whole fortnight?" Glenn was indignant at the thought, when was he and Maggie going to get a turn?
"I'm not finished yet, Glennie." Carol was completely serious as she turned back to Rick. "I'm not even gonna count up all the times when you have come into me in the middle of the night because you couldn't get Judith to settle down; or the countless times that I've made up the lists for the runs, done everyone's laundry, patched up their raggedy clothes, cooked for the whole group and then taken a watch shift all in the space of one day."
"Carol…" Rick started to step forward to offer Carol a hug but a low growl from Daryl stopped him before he could take another step. "How does a two day vacation for the two of you sound, and say – three weeks in the tower? Starting from tonight?"
"Sounds just about perfect, how's that sound ta ya, baby?"
"Perfect, Pookie. What are we waiting for?" Carol was eager to get started but Daryl refused to budge, there was one more thing that needed to be taken care of first…
"Carol, ya go on up to our cell and start gettin' what we need together. I just wanna have a talk with Rick for a few minutes."
"Sure, Pookie. See you in a few." Carol leant up to kiss Daryl's cheek goodbye and smiled at the others before leaving them in the hallway.
"Rick, could ya arrange for everyone from our original group ta meet in the kitchen in a few minutes?"
"Sure, what do I tell them?"
"Tell 'em…" Daryl twitched slightly and then grinned, not a smirk but a fully-fledged grin. "Tell 'em there's gonna be one less batchelor in the group. Tell Hershel not to forget his bible. Now I gotta go tell the bride!"
"Wait a minute! You mean you haven't even asked her?" Michonne tapped her foot and folded her arms across her chest.
"Nah, told her earlier not to be tellin' people we ain't married – far as I'm concerned we've been married in the eyes of God already; the rest is just a formality, but I know the women all seem to go crazy over all that shit. Not my Carol though, I know I love her and she loves me; but still I think she'd feel better if someone stands over us and says the words."
"Uh-huh, Carol would?" Michonne raised her eyebrow mockingly and watched Daryl squirm beneath her gaze.
"Okay! I would, alright! Now will somebody please go get Hershel and the others so that I can start with the honeymoon?" Daryl waited a moment for someone to acknowledge his request before he raced up the stairs to break the news to Carol.
A few short hours later, after a beautifully moving ceremony performed by Hershel the whole prison camp was in no doubt of Daryl's feelings for his wife or hers for him. The groans and screams from the guard tower kept many people awake that night and the next, and the next. Many people resorted to sleeping with pillows over their heads as to try and drown out the shouts of 'CAROL!' filled the night air. Carol may have gotten her wish for her husband to scream out her name in the throes of passion but for some, the thought of having to listen to that night after night when the pair returned back to their cells was a daunting thought.
When Carol and Daryl returned to sleeping in the prison after their three week sojourn in the tower, it was to find their cell empty of their belongings. A rueful looking Rick met them out on the perch and tugged at his closely shorn beard.
"Ah…after careful consideration by the whole group, it has been unanimously decided not to allow you to return to your previous dwelling."
"What the fu-?" Daryl blustered over at Rick, who was now sporting a very familiar looking smirk, not all that dissimilar to Daryl's customary expression. Michonne stepped out from behind Rick and tapped Daryl on the shoulder.
"You are just too noisy, Daryl. I think everyone in the prison now knows what you think about Carol's lady parts…" She shivered in repulsion, "comparing your wife to something you've killed, gross!" Daryl smirked over at Carol who blushed fiercely at the reminder. Daryl had compared the feel of her nether regions to the fine pelt of a mink that he had once skinned and things had got very heated indeed after that.
"Anyway, if you would like to follow me? I'll show you to your new quarters…." Rick gestured for them to follow them down the steps and across the prison block. They passed the occupants of C block, through the central hall, over D block and finally into the administration building. They came to the large, wooden panelled room that was formerly the Warden's office. Rick paused outside the door which was now marked up as 'The Dixon's' and jerked his head further down the hall towards the secretarial rooms and the doctor's office. Daryl could just see another door marked as 'The Rhee's' and grinned over at Rick.
"You will see that this area is popular for newly married couples, this particular apartment boasts a large open spaced bedroom, complete with en-suite and a separate dining cum study area." Rick threw open the door to the former Warden's office and gave them a slick estate agent type presentation. Carol cooed in delight at the sight of the large leather chesterfield and matching armchair in the main room and then ran over to test the taps in the small shower room.
"Yeah, the water doesn't filter through to the shower; I'm afraid but the Glenn and one of the new guys from Woodbury did manage to get the taps working for you. As a bonus, they did say that the fireplace actually works and the chimney is clear; so if you wanted you could heat up your own water for a bath if you can find a suitable container." Rick gestured over to the large open fireplace that was in the centre of the rear wall. From the look of delight that came across Carol's face, Daryl reckoned that finding a metal hipbath might be one of the first items on his 'honey do' list, closely followed by sheets, blankets and a plentiful supply of condoms. As that thought flittered through his mind, Daryl blinked hard as he looked around the room.
"Uh, Rick, don't mean ta burst ya bubble, but there ain't no bed in here. We ain't expected ta sleep on the couch are we?"
"That's exactly what I expect you to do…" Rick tipped them a finger in salute and with a wink, left the couple alone in their new accommodations.
"Pookie, don't look so cross. It's all good." Carol tapped the couch and looked suggestively over at her new husband, already feeling the need to christen their new bed.
"Carol, it's a frickin' couch!"
"No, it's a metal framed, double pull out bed. Ed and I had the same one back in our old house. I spent many a comfortable night on that old chesterfield; not wanting to go to bed, we became old friends, that couch and I." Carol patted the couch invitingly and watched Daryl's eyes widen.
"Double? Did I hear ya, right? A double?" Carol nodded slowly and Daryl whirled around to shut and lock their room door. "Well, what are ya waiting fer, woman? Honeymoon ain't over yet!"
"Honey, we've been back on shift for nearly two weeks, our honeymoon was only two days."
"Our honeymoon ain't gonna be over 'til I keel over and die; and that ain't gonna be 'til I'm too old ta be wantin' my little bit of Carol every night."
"Every night?" Carol mused drolly, and watched as the penny dropped. There were going to be some nights when she would not feel comfortable with intimacy and he knew that; having already spent two of those occasions just rubbing her tummy or massaging her sore back.
"Well, every night that we possibly can, and the nights we can't – I'm gonna think of something else ta make ya happy." Daryl crossed over and wrapped his arms around her, cradling her against his firm chest.
"I'm happy whatever we do, or don't do. I'm with you and that's all I ever dreamed of."
"Me too, baby, me too." Daryl dropped a kiss against her hair and realised that in that moment, life was perfect and he couldn't ask for anything else…well, maybe one thing but that was just a pipe dream anyway.
"Pookie…there's been something I've been meaning to tell you…"