"Hey," Carol said, just as Daryl set a foot out the door of their room. It was still early, most of Alexandria would still be asleep, if they could sleep at all. Ever since they had decided on getting rid of the enormous herd of walker trapped a few miles away from their homes, everyone had been on edge. Daryl was only up because he was going to tinker on his bike for a bit. He always did before he took it out. It was almost like a ritual to him and Carol knew that he wouldn't come back before he left to say goodbye. Both to protect her image as the vulnerable housewife and because he wasn't comfortable with public displays of affection. "Wait a minute."
Daryl turned around. He still wore the same clothes, but she had managed to wash them after a long argument and he had actually taken a shower which had taken more than a little persuading, but even clean, he was still her Daryl, the man who had overturned every rock near the Greene farm looking for her little girl, the man who had saved her from the tombs, the man who had hugged her so tightly after Terminus that it was a miracle he hadn't cracked any ribs.
"Be careful out there today." She took his hand, pulling him closer. She always hated this part, the saying goodbye. She knew he'd come back. He always did and if anybody knew how to handle themselves out there, it was Daryl, but all the same. The thought of losing him, well, she tried not to think about that at all. It was unbearable.
"Ain't nothing to it. Just final checks and a walkthrough, is all," Daryl said with a shrug. Carol had to suppress a smile. In his own way, he was very protective of his own people, but when it came to his own safety, he was still callous, aloof as if he still didn't realize his own value. She tugged him even closer until she could place her hands on his hips, feeling the worn fabric of his trousers against her fingertips.
"Only you would call going to look at a few hundred, if not thousand walkers 'nothing'." She had seen the mass of undead when Daryl had taken her out to 'teach her how to shoot'. It was unsettling to know that such a large of amount of walkers had been that close to Alexandria. She had been standing there, wearing her floral sweater, looking down at them and it had just seemed unreal. Her fingers had itched to pull out her gun and shoot a few of them, but common sense and the feeling of him standing beside her had stopped her. Daryl had been anxious as well, pacing the edge, his crossbow halfway raised. Even when the walkers had nowhere to go, this had been a sight that put everybody's teeth on edge.
"They're blocked in. They ain't going anywhere and neither am I." She raised herself up on her toes and kissed him. It was times like these that the realization hit her that life was strange and cruel, but wonderful as well. She had lost everything and at the same time found more than she could have dreamed of. This, right here, kissing him in the early morning light, his hands warm on her shoulders, was what she thought she would never have once she realized who Ed was. After the world ended, it was the last thing on her mind. This was as perfect as this dreadful reality could get.
"I'll be careful if you are as well," Daryl muttered after they broke the kiss. He squeezed her shoulders softly, his eyes speaking volumes, even partially hidden under his dark hair.
"What, babysitting Judith behind protected walls? I'll try to avoid her oh so sharp teeth," Carol replied airily, trying to brush off his concern. He never did like her little homemaker façade. He recognized its usefulness, at least one of them ought to try and fit, gather trust and information, but he didn't like how it seemed to thrust her back in the past, playing the meek housewife, appearing helpless when she was everything but. Or maybe he just didn't like how easily it came to her, being the woman that had been burned away a few years ago.
"You know what I mean." In an oddly sentimental gesture for Daryl, he tucked a short lock of her hair behind her ear, his fingers lingering just a little, before he leaned and kissed her forehead. She closed her eyes and held her breath. It wasn't goodbye, she knew it wasn't, but she couldn't get rid of the sudden knot in her stomach.
Carol's grandmother had always told her that she knew when something bad was going to happen. She had woken up sick to her stomach on the day her husband had dropped dead of a heart attack. She had had a headache for an entire day before she got a phonecall that her son had been in an accident. If she hadn't died before Carol had met Ed, she probably would have warned her about him. Carol had never put much faith in her word, but now for the first time in her life, she understood what her grandmother had meant. She couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen.
"I do and I will," she assured him, taking his hand and pressing her lips to his palm. His lips curled up into something resembling a smile which disappeared when they heard the door down the hall open, where Rick, Michonne and Judith slept. Daryl took a step back and their moment of being alone, of having no distractions from each other, was gone. He suddenly seemed determined to get out of the house before he ran into any of the people living in the house. He liked his quiet mornings.
"Have a nice day at work, pookie. I'll have dinner waiting when you get back," Carol teased in her best southern housewife-voice, knowing that Rick and Michonne could hear her. She wasn't disappointed when she heard Michonne snort. Daryl narrowed his eyes at her and Carol only flashed him a sweet smile. The feeling that something bad was going to happen was still very present, but she managed to camouflage it well. It was probably nothing.
"Stop." She grinned at him as he walked out of their room and down the stairs, the sound of his boots slowly disappearing. Some things never changed. Maybe some time, in the very distant future, there wouldn't have to sneak around and be constantly on their guard. Maybe they wouldn't have to stop for anything.
"Never," she said to the empty space.