"Hey Daryl, you comin'?" Maggie asked on her way by. "Carol's startin' soon."
"Yep, be right there," he replied. Carol was reading The Night Before Christmas to all the kids in the library and once everyone else had found out they all decided to go. It was a special story to a lot of the adults as well, something to remind them of Christmases past, with family and loved ones they had lost.
The kids were getting to stay up late to hear the story, which worked out perfectly for Daryl's plan.
Once he was sure all the kids, and parents would be safely out of the way, in the library, Daryl set to work.
He grabbed a bag of things he had been collecting on runs. There was a little something for each of the kids, nothing special but the important part was that they could still believe in Santa and the spirit of Christmas. He had dolls for a couple of the younger girls, comics and action figures for the boys, a few board games, books, sports equipment, nail polish, and even some new pajamas. It was surprising what a big deal new clothing was, even for the kids.
Daryl was very familiar with the layout of the cell blocks and he made sure he knew where everyone stayed. It had become important for him to know everyone that had arrived from Woodbury, at first to protect the people he already cared about, but later on it was just for the sake of making them feel welcome. Daryl knew what it was like to feel like an outsider so, once he was certain there were no threats, he made it a priority to make sure no one felt left out.
It didn't take him long to deliver all the gifts and then sneak into the library before anyone noticed he was missing. Unfortunately Carol noticed. Her eyes settled on him, the moment he entered. He saw a tiny smile appear and impressively she didn't miss a beat with the story. She had the book but it was quite obvious it was only to show the children the pictures. Carol knew the story by heart, just like he did.
He listened to her recite the story and quickly realized he hadn't missed much. Her voice was full of expression and captivated everyone in the room. Daryl stared at her and let her words take him back to a very happy time when his mom was still alive and she read the same story on Christmas eve. "When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter. Away to the window I flew like a flash, tore open the shutters and threw up the sash." Daryl hadn't even realized it at the time but his lips were moving along with the words. Carol noticed and her beautiful smile brightened even more.
Daryl took a moment to look around the room. The kids had gathered at the front and were all staring up at Carol while she read. The scene wasn't much different around the rest of the room, everyone was watching her and listening in silence. Glenn stood behind Maggie with his arms around her. Beth sat beside Hershel leaning her head on his shoulder, they were holding hands. Tyreese sat on the floor Karen on one side, Sasha on the other, both leaning on him for entirely different reasons. Carl sat beside Rick, who was holding Judith. Daryl was amazed that the baby was still awake so late and sat perfectly quiet in Rick's arms. He hoped little Asskicker would like the toy Santa brought her. Michonne stood alone for a few minutes but Daryl noticed that Bob had arrived and stood beside her now. David, Dr. S, and most of the parents stood along the back wall, many of them staring at their own child with a smile on their face.
It wasn't very often they all gathered like this. Everyone was in one room, together, on a night that was so special to most of them. No one was even on guard. That never happened but Rick assured everyone things would be fine for the amount of time they would be away from their posts.
Daryl fixed his eyes on Carol once again. She looked stunning, glowing with excitement. He could see her beauty on the inside and out and when he actually took a moment to look at her, to really look at her, it took his breath away. Carol was one of the good ones left in this world. She had been dealt a crap hand in life but her resiliency shined through, always.
They were approaching the end of the story, those last lines that everyone knew. And they all said them out loud with Carol. "Merry Cristmas to all, and to all a good night!" Carol closed the book and everyone cheered. Several of the kids got up and hugged her and Daryl hung back and watched as everyone said their thank yous and gave their compliments to Carol.
Slowly the crowd started to disperse and people headed to bed. It was late and the kids were yawning. There were only a few people left in the library when Carol finally made her way over to him. But before she could speak Lizzie came running up to her, "Carol, Carol, look?" She held up 3 brand new books and a cute pair of purple pyjamas. "Santa brought them!" Lizzie was so excited the words came out a mile a minute. Carol looked surprised but gave Lizzie a big hug. She looked at Daryl as they were hugging and her confused look changed to a little smile.
She talked to Lizzie for a minute before sending her back to bed. Carol walked over arms crossed and bumped gently into Daryl. "Santa came tonight, know anything about that?" she asked.
"Nope," he replied. Carol laughed, she obviously knew the truth.
"Come on, lets go for a little walk," she slipped her arm through his and he had no choice but to follow. Not that he didn't want to, he was happy to spend a few minutes alone with her. Or maybe, if he was lucky, it would be more than a few minutes.
Carol stopped walking and looked at him, "so I was thinking... Do you think Santa will still come for me if I'm naughty?" She blinked her eyes innocently and pointed up.
Of course she had led him directly to the mistletoe. Daryl took a step closer before replying, "I don't think Santa is gonna have any problem coming... for you, ever."
Daryl couldn't help but take a quick peek to see if anyone was around. By this point most everyone knew there was something going on between them, even though they had never publicly declared it or demonstrated anything to confirm it.
"The coast is clear," Carol whispered, when she noticed his hesitation. She understood that PDAs were not Daryl's thing and she respected that. But sometimes she wished he would just loosen up. They were under the mistletoe, it was Christmas Eve, and she was so proud of what he had just done. He hesitated a moment too long. "Oh for Christ sake," Carol grumbled, grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling him in for a long kiss.
The same thing happened every time she kissed him, it started off slow and hesitant but the second he gave in her knees went weak. He was an amazing kisser. In fact, he was pretty amazing at more than just kissing.
Daryl wanted to give her a Christmas to remember. He had never made the first move, not one time. But tonight he was going to surprise her. When they broke from the kiss, both a little breathless he looked at her and said, "That was pretty romantic. Wanna screw around?"
Carol laughed and her blue eyes sparkled. "I'll go down first," she replied.
Daryl kissed her gently on the forehead, "even better."
They walked towards his cell, hand in hand. And at that moment Daryl didn't care if everyone saw them. There was only one girl in the entire world he wanted to hold his hand and she was holding it, tightly, just like she held his heart.