AN: Since I missed updating the last couple of days I have big plans! If all goes well I will update both Paradise and the Great Outdoors today- on top of this new fic I have started. This one was something very different when I wrote it as a McReedus and I was so nervous about how it would be received - but those who read it were wonderfully supportive. In this case it's going to be a bit different, yet again, with respect to Daryl mostly. AUs have more freedom as to Daryl's personality because without the ZA he might have been a different version of what we see on our screens - especially if he had friends like Carol, Rick and some of the others in his life. I have personally never bought into the Daryl as a virgin perspective, though it does make for some good smut :) But I haven't often made him a real dog either sooooo we're gonna give it a try. If he's too OOC - my apologies. But this fic will be sweet, sexy and fun so I hope you'll stay with me. I'm curious what y'all think of the set up so far. Hope you enjoy :)

Chapter 1

"Oh my God… his accent," Carol gushed, as they left the front desk and headed up the stairs to their rooms.

"It's not that great… Can barely understand half of what he says," Daryl grumbled, ushering her up the stairs first. They were in Scotland - everyone had a cool accent.

"Did you see that red hair?" she swooned. "It's like Abe's. And there are gingers like that everywhere here." Daryl rolled his eyes and lifted his hand to smack her ass as she climbed the steps in front of him. "Hey, stop," she squealed. "I should have known better than to go first," Carol added. She really should have, Daryl thought, it certainly wasn't the first time it had happened. The first few years they had known each other he'd kept his hands to himself, but they had gotten much closer in the past year and a flirty, teasing touch now and again wasn't out of the question.

Their rooms were in the same wing of the castle, both overlooking the gorgeous Loch. Daryl's room was called Caithness. He picked it because it reminded him of Katniss from the Hunger Games, though he was likely pronouncing it wrong anyway. That and the fact it was one of the superior rooms as opposed to a standard. Carol was staying in the Breadalbane room, which was also a superior with a 4 post bed. He figured she would like the overly romanticized room he booked for her – it suited her style.

"This one's yours," Daryl said, stopping in front of her door. "Come find me once you're settled, let me know what you think." She nodded and he left her to enter alone, making his way further down the hallway to his own room.

Daryl was surprised when Carol agreed to fly from Atlanta all on her own and spend a week in Scotland with him. She liked being home, in her own space, with her routines, her job, their friends. He was fully prepared to turn on every bit of charm he had, (which was limited at best but luckily he knew Carol had a soft spot for his puppy dog eyes), and talk her into coming with him. Daryl actually planned on dropping to his knees and begging – if it came to that.

He'd been thinking about it since Merle won the week long hunting trip to Scotland in the deer hunting magazine he subscribed to. He knew Merle wouldn't want to hang around for an extra week to do some sightseeing. His brother was all about the hunt - and after that he was done. The trip was all expenses paid but it had taken Daryl almost 6 months to save enough to pay for a second week for himself and Carol. He already had a decent sized nest egg - but he wanted this trip to be special so he'd saved every penny and planned to spare no expense.

The first week had been incredible and he'd really enjoyed spending time with his brother. The guides that took them out hunting Red Stag had been extremely impressed by their skills and they had each shot a stag by the end of the second day. Luckily they had a few more tags left within the group of them and Daryl was able to take down two more, while Merle only got one - but it was the biggest of the bunch. But Daryl hoped the second week of the trip would be something even more memorable.

Much to his delight Carol had agreed right away when he suggested it, saying she had always wanted to visit Scotland and see the beautiful countryside. He'd been planning the trip ever since, researching castles to stay at and local activities. The castle he selected was known as "The Black Castle" but the real name was Barcaldine Castle. There were many huge castles with several rooms or quaint cottages on Castle grounds they could have rented. But there was something about this one that really appealed to him. It wasn't huge, only 6 rooms, but it was big enough to give them lots of space from the staff, with spacious grounds to explore and a Loch view. It was only 100 miles North of Glasgow, which meant they could still make a day trip into the large city. The castle itself was out in the country, located near a small village, with the Town of Oban, a popular tourist location, not too far away.

Daryl entered his room. It was stunning. The room was a strange contrast of new and old, with all the luxuries of the modern world, set in the décor of 17th century Scotland. It was odd to see a flat screen TV and blu ray player amidst the luxurious antique style.

Something about being away from home made Daryl open his suitcase immediately and put away his clothes, toiletries, and all the other stuff he'd brought on the trip. Once everything was situated to his liking and he was feeling more homey, he wandered to the window to check out the view. They had arrived late and it was already dark, so he couldn't see much more than the moon reflecting on the Loch, but it was enough. It was gorgeous.

Daryl sat for a moment in the turret and thought about Carol. She was his best friend, there was no doubt about that. Rick was right up there, but there were huge chunks of time that he was busy with work and family and Daryl didn't see him. They made up for it whenever they got together of course. The thing was, Rick had a wife and a family – he had commitments. Carol was like him, essentially alone and free now that she had finally got completely rid of that fucking oaf she'd been married to. Daryl had never wanted to kill another human being more than he did Ed Peletier. The only thing holding him back was her - he couldn't bear to land his ass in jail and not get to see her whenever he wanted to. Thankfully once Carol had a restraining order in place and Ed had broken it twice and did short stints in the slammer he finally decided to move away. He was a complete fucking moron, but at least he recognized that his obsession with Carol was going to land him in jail for good. So just over a year ago Ed had moved across the country and they had never seen or heard from him since.

5 years ago he'd met Carol when she'd come for drinks with Rick, Lori and some other friends - Abraham, Sasha, Tyreese, Glenn and Maggie. There was a big group of them that hung out quite often and Carol had fit in right away. She was special - he knew it from the day they had met. He recognized that look in her eye the first time he gazed into those beautiful blue pools of emotion - she was a survivor, just like him. They hit it off almost instantly, but in all that time, never once had it strayed beyond friendship. There was a ridiculous amount of flirting between them, to the point that most probably assumed they were already fucking. But for them, it had always been playful fun, nothing more.

5 years was a long time. It was a long time to spend so close to a gorgeous woman who he thought about sexually but had never touched. Daryl often wondered if Carol thought about him that way too. He felt very confident that she did, but she had this way of making you think one way in a certain moment and then making you question everything you believed about her the next.

Daryl was a bit of a dog. Carol knew that. He had one night stands more often than he cared to admit. His relationships were always open, just in case. And it seemed like he would never grow up - never settle down. It was no secret that he really loved sex. Daryl had always lacked the confident and cocky attitude that his brother displayed so easily, but he was pretty proud of his abilities in the sack and was very open about his pride in front of just about anyone, Carol included. He certainly didn't blame her from steering clear of any romance between them. Carol loved him, he knew that. But she loved him as her best friend. Every once in awhile though, Daryl was sure he saw something different in the way she looked at him. Far more often lately since they had spent so much time with just the two of them. Glenn and Maggie had a baby now, Abe and Sasha had one on the way… Tyreese was head over heels for a woman named Karen and they spent a lot of time alone… Even Shane had finally hooked up with a girl named Andrea who he'd been lusting after since high school apparently… Everyone was pairing up and settling down and the group didn't hang out nearly as often as they used to. The one night stands and random women were no longer appealing to him the same way they used to. Even his on again, off again, girlfriend was starting to annoy him deeply.

When Carol agreed to the trip, without any pressure, is when Daryl knew it was time. It was time to take the next step and see what happened. If it didn't go well, they could chalk it up to a bit of fun, fooling around on their vacation and go back to being just friends when they got home. If it did go well… Daryl had no sweet fucking clue where it would take them.

Carol didn't know it, but the last two months he'd been completely celibate. The moment he realized that he wanted to explore their relationship on this trip Daryl cut ties, yet again, with Amanda, his on again off again fling, and avoided putting himself in any situation that might end up with him fucking some nobody, just for a night of sex. Carol knew he'd called it off with Amanda, but she likely had no idea he hadn't fucked a women in more than 8 weeks. Daryl was pretty sure he hadn't masturbated that much since he was a teenager and he masturbated a lot, even when he was still sexually active. Even thinking about it was making his dick hard. But the sacrifice would be worth it when Carol was the woman who ended his drought. If it happened, Daryl thought, starting to question his confidence yet again.

He jumped up. He couldn't wait any longer to talk to her. Daryl wanted to make sure she liked her room, and if all went well… he hoped he would know exactly what her 4 poster bed felt like. He wouldn't push. If it wasn't what she wanted he would know right away - just as soon as he kissed her for the first time.

Daryl stopped at her door and knocked lightly before entering. He wandered inside and found her lying in the middle of her bed. "Sorry," Carol called out. "I just laid down here for a minute and I couldn't get up. It's the most comfortable bed I have ever been in," she sighed.

He walked to the bed and leapt on, flopping down right beside her. She laughed as she bounced. "Oh wow, this is comfortable. I haven't tried mine yet," Daryl admitted. "We might have to switch rooms."

"Not a fucking chance," Carol said, sitting up and looking at him. "I love this room. It's mine," she said possessively.

Daryl chuckled. "But my room has a… what the fuck is that thing called again… oh, right, a turret," he offered.

"You can keep your turret… oh, a turret… like that little part that sticks out and you can sit out there and look at the loch," Carol changed her tune part way through.

Daryl sat up, "you can keep your room. And you can come use my turret anytime you want." His offer was sincere and she knew that.

"Thank you," she said sweetly, while rubbing her neck.

"Here," Daryl said, motioning for her to turn around so he could massage her. He gave her shoulder rubs all the time, but this one was so much different. As he touched her skin and kneaded her muscles gently with his hands all he could think about was moving his mouth to her neck and tasting her.

"Oh that feels good," Carol groaned. The sound of her voice pushed him over the edge. Daryl leaned in and kissed her neck lightly, sucking and flicking out his tongue to sample her. "Oh," she gasped. "What… what are you doing?" Carol asked, turning slightly, but not stopping him. Daryl drew his tongue up her neck to her jaw and kissed her again. She had turned enough that he could reach her mouth, so he began to move along her jaw line. He felt her shiver against him. "Daryl? What are you doing?" she asked softly, still making no move to stop him.

"Do you want this?" he whispered back, hovering just over her lips and leaning his forehead against hers. She made a sound. It wasn't a yes or a no, but more of a whimper. If Carol wanted him to stop she would have ended it by then he decided. But he pressed one more time, just to be sure. "Tell me you don't want this… I'll stop…" When she didn't speak Daryl drew back and looked at her. He could see a lot of emotion in her eyes, confusion, lust, maybe a touch of fear. "Don't be scared," he said, placing a hand on her cheek. Before anything could stop them he covered her lips and kissed her. They were soft and full, just like he'd imagined. But there was something he hadn't expected at all. Carol was trembling. His confident, composed best friend was trembling in his arms. She was the one that was always so completely put together - in any situation. Strong and inspiring in those moments when he was weak and shy.

Daryl stopped and pulled back instantly. "Carol?" he spoke, searching out her eyes again. "What's wrong? You don't want…"

"No," she said quickly. "I do… I do… I do…" Carol repeated, struggling to find the right words. "It's just… I'm not like you Daryl."

"What… does… that… mean…" he asked hesitantly, a bit scared of where she was going.

Carol blushed. He couldn't even remember a time she'd blushed before. They talked about crazy shit and she never blushed. She did things that would embarrass most people and she never, ever blushed. She was too cute and quirky to ever be embarrassed. Why the fuck was she blushing? "I'm not… you know… experienced."

Daryl was struck with a mismatched combination of relief and fear. Everything he'd assumed about her went right out the window. But at the same time it didn't mean nothing would happen between them. He went with his instincts and wrapped her in a hug. "It's okay," he soothed her, feeling Carol relax immediately. He drew back and gave her a smile. "You have no idea how many questions I have right now," he teased her, taking a chance on humour in the tense moment.

Carol returned the smile and Daryl felt relieved again. She took a deep breath, "guess it's now or never. Ask away."