Disclaimer: I own nothing from The Walking Dead.
Courting
"Oh, Jude, this is silly. You really want to hear this story?"
"Yes!" the girl insisted. "Please, Aunt Carol. I like it!" Carol sighed in a playfully dramatic way, getting a giggle out of the girl, and she turned the page in the book.
"Alright, but only for you." She cleared her throat, and peered down at the page. "And so Julia was the fairest of the Sampson daughters," Carol read as she held Judith in her lap. "All the boys from Clay County came to court her." Judith put her hand on the book's page and looked up at Carol.
"Aunt Carol?"
"Hmm?"
"What's courting?" Carol chuckled and kissed the top of the five-year-old's head.
"It's something men used to do a long time ago when they were interested in marrying a lady. The proper thing to do was to court her. Bring her flowers, candy, take her on a walk around the park."
"Oh," Judith said with a serious nod. "Is that what happened before the monsters came?"
"Well, when I was a girl, we called it dating, and it was a little different. Today, you're just lucky if you find that one in this crazy world." Judith pursed her lips and looked back at the book. "And if you do find that one, you best hold on as tight as you can, because there aren't that many fish in the sea."
"I don't like fish," Judith said, scrunching her nose up. Carol let out a light chuckle. "Don't tell Uncle Daryl. I know he catches some 'specially for me."
"It's our secret, I promise," Carol replied, as she held her pinkie finger out to the little girl. Even in the apocalypse, a pinkie promise meant serious business to a five year old.
"Aunt Carol?"
"Yes, Jude?" Carol asked with an exasperated look.
"Is that what Daddy did with Mommy Michonne? And my Mommy in Heaven?"
"Well, I suppose so," Carol said with a grin. "I don't know much about that, so you'll have to ask your daddy and your mama Michonne."
"Oh," Judith said. "Ok. Aunt Carol?"
"Yes, sweetheart?" she chuckled.
"Why aren't you married?"
"Why do I have to be married?"
"Well, when you love somebody, that's just what you do. Daddy says that people got married all the time before the monsters got here."
"Well, many people did, yes."
"Because they loved each other?"
"Yes," Carol replied, narrowing her eyes a little.
"Well, then why don't you and Uncle Daryl get married?"
"Uh…Jude…"
"I heard Daddy talking to Mommy the other day, and he said that Daryl loves you so much that he just wouldn't shut up about you when they went on that run the other day. He said he just needs to make a move already. Or you do, 'cause nobody's getting any younger here." Carol choked back a snort, and she shifted so Judith could hop off of her laugh. "Well, that's what he said!"
"Sweetie, I think it's time for lunch. Why don't you run on home? I'm sure your mama's looking for you."
"But we didn't finish the story."
"Same time tomorrow?"
"Oh, ok," the girl said with a defeated look. "Are you sure you won't marry Uncle Daryl?"
"Judith Grimes," Carol warned. The girl ducked her head and giggled, hurrying off as Carol sat in the chair shaking her head and wondering what had gotten into that child.
...
Judith had hidden behind the bushes at Ms. Tara and Ms. Rosita's house, waiting for Carol to go inside before she hurried down the way to Aaron and Eric's house. Daryl had gone over to help them repair a gutter that had been damaged in a particularly nasty storm the week before.
When she arrived, she saw Aaron and Eric standing by the ladder, keeping it steady as Daryl pounded on the side of the gutter.
"Hi Judi," Eric said with a grin when he caught sight of the little girl. "You come to help us with the gutters?"
"Nope," she said with a grin, rushing over to hug Eric's leg.
"Aw, see, I want one of these," Eric said with a pleading look to Aaron. Aaron sighed and shook his head, patting the top of Judy's head.
"It'll take a miracle of nature or a horrible act that orphans a child, and I certainly don't want to hope for the latter," Aaron replied. "I'll get you a puppy. I saw a wild dog with a litter last week."
"Puppy?!" Judith squealed. "Ooh, Uncle Aaron! I want a puppy."
"Jude, you wanna pipe down? Can't concentrate up here," Daryl grumbled.
"Don't listen to him, Princess," Eric said, making a face. "He's just grumpy because he's not getting any."
"Deer," Aaron added quickly. "Slim pickings this hunting season." He shot a warning look at Eric, who looked a bit sheepish. Judith was looking intently up at Daryl, however, and without hesitation, she spoke up.
"Uncle Daryl, do you love Aunt Carol?" Daryl lost his footing and slid three rungs down the latter. Aaron and Eric scrambled, but Daryl caught himself and quickly took the rest of the steps down. He peered down at Judith, and she just grinned up at him. Why the hell was this kid so damned cute, anyway? He couldn't even get mad at her.
"Ain't you got somewhere else to be?" he asked.
"But…"
"M'busy, Judith," he said quickly, kneeling down in front of her, as Aaron and Eric snickered behind his back.
"Well, do you?" she urged. "'Cause if you do, you should tell her. That's what you're s'posed to do when you love somebody." Daryl sighed heavily, and he felt the back of his neck burning. "Why's your face so red, Uncle Daryl?"
"C'mon. Let me walk you home, Jude." He glared at Aaron and Eric, who were both looking at him the same way Judith was, curious for an answer. "Want me to wipe those grins off your faces?" They quickly sobered, and Aaron started up the latter, while Eric spotted him. Daryl shook his head, took Judith's hand, and he lead her to the sidewalk.
"Are you mad at me, Uncle Daryl?"
"No."
"But you don't look very happy."
"M'fine."
"You aren't talking much."
"Ain't got much to say."
"But, Uncle Daryl…why don't you love Aunt Carol? She's really nice, and she makes the best cookies!"
"Ain't said I didn't…aw, fuck." Judith's eyes widened at his cursing. "Fuck! I mean…damn it. Don't say them words, Jude."
"You said…"
"Said don't say 'em. Your daddy'll skin me alive if he catches you sayin' it, 'cause he'll know where you learned it."
"I pinkie swear," the girl said with a nod, curling her finger around his. "So you do love Aunt Carol?"
"If I tell ya, would ya stop askin' me?"
"Uh-huh."
"Fine," he muttered. "I love Aunt Carol. Ya happy?"
"Does she know?"
"M'sure she does."
"Well, did you ever say it?" she asked, batting her thick eyelashes at him. Those big, brown eyes were overpowering.
"Well, no."
"Then how would she know?"
"Well, it always about words, Jude. I mean, I mow her yard, and I take care'a her house. I bring her stuff."
"What kinda stuff?"
"Well, stuff she might like. Nice things. Clothes. Ammo for her gun." Judith pursed her lips and put her hands on her hips.
"But you bring everybody stuff like that when you go outside the walls. What about flowers? Candy?"
"She makes better candy than I can find out there," he pointed out. "All that out there's been stale for years now, Jude."
"Well, bring her flowers. Take her on a walk. Or…what else does she like?" Daryl smirked at the kid and shook his head. How did Little Asskicker turn into Cupid?
They stopped just outside the Grimes house, and Michonne came walking out with her hands on her hips.
"Judith Grimes, where have you been?"
"You should keep a better eye on her," Daryl pointed out, leading Judith up the path to the porch.
"You realize she's been watching her Uncle Daryl, don't you? She makes a habit of making a quick escape." Michonne took Judith's hand and looked at her reproachfully. "Have you been causing trouble?"
"No," she insisted.
"Well, I was just about to send out a search party for you, so you'd better get your behind in there before I decide to tell your daddy you've been running around town all by yourself again."
"I can take care of myself, Mommy," Judith insisted. Michonne sighed and looked pleadingly at Daryl.
"Hey, you handle that. You're the one that married her daddy." Michonne snorted and shrugged her shoulders.
"Wouldn't have it any other way," she replied. "C'mon, kiddo, let's go have some supper, ok?"
"Ok!" Judith replied with a grin. " Bye, Uncle Daryl!"
"Bye, Jude," he muttered, turning and heading back toward home with a tight feeling in his gut. How the hell had a five-year-old managed to make him feel like a damned fool?
...
Carol had just finished patching the last hole on Daryl's pants when she sat down at the kitchen table with a glass of water and a bowl of fresh-picked strawberries. She wiped the sweat off of her forehead and thought about getting up to open a window, but she sat there, thinking back on her conversation with Judith instead.
With a smirk, she shook her head and took a sip of water, thinking about how absolutely innocent Judith was. She knew nothing of the world before, of the complications of relationships, of how everybody today had demons from their past and present lives, and happily ever after was just another fairy tale. The new American Dream was waking up every morning safe in your bed and going to bed every night with a full belly and a promise of tomorrow. If there was still anybody out there beyond the walls, hope was lost a long time ago for them. But Judith Grimes was a beacon of light. She was a joy, and she had gotten the wheels turning in Carol's head.
And that wasn't necessarily a good thing. Carol had been driving herself crazy all day thinking about it, thinking about how she'd pushed her feelings for Daryl back a long time ago, after they'd set up house together. He'd wanted to keep an eye on her, wanted to live with someone he trusted. Since Rick decided to get his head out of his ass and finally go for it with Michonne, he hadn't exactly wanted to shack up with the newlyweds. And then when Maggie gave birth to her and Glenn's first son, it didn't seem right that he should stay with them either. She'd offered for him to stay there, made some joke about how they'd be Three's Company without the third wheel, and he'd snorted and rolled his eyes.
And that had been it. They had settled into a routine. They'd get up every morning and have breakfast. He would go out, she would go out, they would come back home in the evening, have dinner and then that would be it until they saw one another in the morning. And she missed him like crazy sometimes.
She'd resigned herself to living out the rest of her life in Alexandria with him being her best friend, and that was fine, because she was happy just to have that closeness with him. Still, a woman had needs, and that vibrator Tara had cheekily delivered to her after a successful run at a strip mall wasn't going to last forever, especially not with the excessive amount of use it was getting these days.
She found herself sitting there staring off into space, and she sighed, looking out the window to find that it was getting close to dusk. Daryl would be home soon, and she was hungry, so she started toward the fridge to see what they had to cook.
She heard the front door open, and as she was pulling out ingredients to make a casserole, she heard the heavy thud of his boots as he came down the hallway.
"Hope you're hungry, because it's casserole tonight."
"Starved." His voice was low, a bit rough, and Carol didn't turn to acknowledge him. She moved to the island counter and started a pot of water to boil. She went ahead and put the noodles in to get a head start, and that was when she heard the clink of glass against the counter top. She jumped and looked to her side to see an empty beer bottle with a single red rose sticking out of it. She looked up to meet his gaze, and his face was pink, and he looked like he either wanted to bridge the gap between them or run and hide.
"A flower?" she asked, remembering the moment he'd come into Dale's RV, the way he'd comforted her with just a few words, the way he'd given her hope. She often thought back to that moment, considering it one of the building blocks of their relationship.
"I ain't bringin' it to you 'cause ya need it. I'm bringin' it to ya 'cause I want ya to have it, 'cause I want ya to know that I think about you."
"Daryl…" She smiled a little and felt her face grow warm. She turned toward him, and he took a few tentative steps in her direction. "What's this all about?"
"'Lil Asskicker," he said with a chuckle.
"Oh, she got to you, did she?" Daryl gave her a look, and she chuckled. "I was reading her a book, and she wanted to know what courting was, and that led to a very interesting discussion." She folded her arms across her chest.
"Well, she got me thinkin'," he explained.
"Oh?"
"Know I don't talk a lot, don't always wanna talk. I guess I shoulda said more, said somethin' a long time ago." He cleared his throat, and he ducked his head again, as if he wasn't sure what to expect, as if he was going in blind and wasn't sure what was going to happen when it was all said and done. He took another step toward her. "We got to this place, and everybody started…dunno, just started gettin' comfortable, livin' in houses and makin' families. But my family? My family's you. And I don't think I ever told ya how much ya meant to me."
"Daryl…" She took a deep breath, and he could see the flush in her cheeks and the glitter of tears in her eyes.
"And I don't mean it like…like…fuck, I ain't good at this."
"Just keep…keep talking," she said with a little smile. "You'll get there. Just keep going."
"I love you, ok? I just…I love you. And you're all I think about, and I…I want you." He took a few deep breaths and she stared, and then the silence was killing him. "Would ya say somethin', 'cause I'm startin' to think I should—" Then she was kissing him, and her hands were on his back, and his fingers were in her hair, and she tasted like strawberries.
She opened up to him and let him take the kiss where he needed to take it, and she melted into him, chest heaving against his as she took in gulps of air between kisses. And when it was over, they stood together in the kitchen, arms wrapped around each other, and she just smiled up at him, and he leaned in to kiss her forehead.
"You're right," she murmured, reaching up to brush her thumb over his bottom lip. He caught it between his teeth, and her smile widened.
"'Bout what?" he asked.
"You should've said something a long time ago." She kissed him then, and when she pulled back, there was far more in his eyes that took her breath away. "And just so you know, I think about you, too." She laced their fingers together and leaned over to turn the stove off. "C'mon."
"Where we goin'?"
"Making up for lost time," she replied. "And it's been a really long time, if you know what I mean." Then she let go of him and walked away, leaving him in the kitchen alone.
"Holy shit," he murmured under his breath. He could hear her footsteps pause on the stairs, and he swallowed hard.
"You coming?" she called.
A whole herd of walkers couldn't have stopped him from following after her. If there was anything better than spending an evening with Carol, it was spending an evening taking their relationship to a whole new level, and he couldn't wait to learn everything he didn't already know about the best friend he'd ever had.