AN: Gonna try something new here. I have so many ideas that run around in my mind but just not enough time to make them all into multichap fics or even a well rounded one shot. So I thought I would do a collection of drabbles/Scenes/snippets based on one or two word prompts from you guys. I had the first one given to me tonight so I'll start here. If you have a prompt you want to leave me you can send me a PM or leave it in the comments and I'll work through them. Each one will just be added here as a new chapter. Thanks for reading :)

Bake Cookies

"Uh, Daryl? Whatcha doing?" Morgan stood in the doorway of the kitchen in the house they were both staying in at the Kingdom.

"What does it look like?" Daryl grumbled in response. "I'm baking fucking cookies. Or trying to…" he added, feeling completely exasperated. "How did she do it?" he wondered out loud. "We ain't got half the ingredients on this list…" he gestured at the cook book he'd found in the library.

Morgan moved closer and Daryl didn't miss the look of amusement on his face. He peeked in the bowl where Daryl had added the ingredients they actually had. "Ohhh, that's not gonna work," he announced, wrinkling his nose at the bowl of slop.

"Thanks Captain obvious," Daryl drawled sarcastically. "I didn't have enough flour," he sighed.

"What if we add some oatmeal?" Morgan offered. "Make 'em Oatmeal chocolate chip instead."

Daryl shrugged and went to the cupboard. "Worth a shot," he grunted, starting to shake some in the bowl.

"Uh, you might wanna… measure that…" Morgan muttered, a little too late.

"She never measured," Daryl snapped. "She just put stuff in and mixed it all up and they turned out perfect every time." He thought back to the last time he watched Carol bake cookies. Maybe she had measured some things… But he was sure there was a lot of stuff she just tossed in there.

"She's probably baked cookies a few more times than you have," Morgan replied as Daryl stirred the mixture. "But hey, that looks much better."

Daryl felt better for a moment. "Fuck," he hissed. "What if I do all this and they taste like shit?" His heart sank. "This was a stupid idea."

"What's really going on?" Morgan asked.

Daryl was quiet for a moment as he started to scoop the dough onto the cookie sheet. "She looked so sad," he said softly, picturing the tears in Carol's eyes when he'd left her at the house alone and came back to the kingdom. He didn't want to leave her but she insisted and he knew there was no point in arguing with her. Besides, he didn't want to make things even worse for her than they already were. "I just thought maybe… some cookies might make her smile." He felt his nose sting as the tears threatened and he quickly turned to put the cookies in the oven so Morgan wouldn't see his face.

"You going to see her again today?" Morgan asked gently.

"Ya think she'll be mad?" Daryl asked, still looking away. "It's only been a few days, but… I just… miss her." He took a deep breath and turned around. "I know she wants to be alone right now - but it's so hard knowing where she is and staying away."

"I know the feeling," Morgan said with a nod. "But… something tells me she might be happy to see you again." The way Morgan said 'You' implied that anyone else wouldn't be as welcome. Daryl didn't realize how badly he needed the encouragement and reassurance until Morgan gave it to him. "I'm going with ya though," Morgan added. Before Daryl could protest he continued, "I ain't going in. I'll wait at the front gate and keep an eye out. But Ezekiel ain't gonna let you go out there alone. You know that."

Daryl was living at the Kingdom to hopefully avoid detection by Negan and the Saviors. "Well I ain't fucking going if these damn cookies don't turn out," he snarled, taking a peek through the window of the over. "And it ain't looking good," he grumbled when he saw the cookie sheet. Morgan came over to look and saw the cookies had all spread out so the entire sheet looked like one big cookie. "Fuck," Daryl hissed, slamming a fist on the counter.

"Relax," Morgan said calmly. "They might be fine. We can cut them in squares." Daryl paced until the timer went off and then pulled out the cookie sheet. They looked done - well - it - looked done. He was staring at one giant oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. It actually smelled pretty good too. He grabbed a knife and cut a chunk. Then cursed when he burned his hand picking it up. But he had to know if it was edible. "You should probably let that…" Morgan started as Daryl took a bite.

It was hot and it burned his mouth but… it tasted good. Really good. "Fuck. It's… it's good," he said in shock. "Here… take a bite," he said shoving the cookie he'd just bit off of towards Morgan. Suddenly he was happy and excited. He wanted to pack up immediately and make his way to Carol. If they walked fast the cookied would still be warm when they got there.

"Oh wow… they are good," Morgan said, grinning. "She's gonna love these."

Daryl couldn't help but smile. He'd done it - somehow. But what if they got there and Carol was mad? He could just give her the cookies and leave real quick. All he wanted was a smile though - that's it. He just wanted to see a smile on her lips that reached all the way to her beautiful blue eyes. It had been far too long since he'd seen that. Maybe it was too much to hope for. Maybe she still needed more time. But he had to try.

"You ready to go?" he asked Morgan. Morgan gave him a strange look, but shrugged and nodded. Daryl found a container, cut the entire tray into little squares, as best he could, and piled them in, ignoring the stinging of his fingertips as he shoved them off the spatula.

They let Ezekiel know where they were going and were met with a look of disapproval, though he didn't try to stop them. Daryl felt more nervous the closer they got to the house. By the time they made it to the gate he was almost ready to change his mind. "Maybe we should just go back," he said to Morgan.

"Go in and give her the cookies," Morgan insisted. "Trust me. She won't be mad - at you." There it was - that some tone when he said "you."

Daryl took a deep breath and marched up to the door. He knocked and within seconds she pulled open the door. "Daryl?" she said surprised. She didn't sound mad. She didn't look mad - not yet anyway.

"I made you cookies," he blurted out, shoving the container at her. "I thought I fucked em up but Morgan told me to add oatmeal, and then they all smooshed together so I had to cut them up, but they taste good, I swear." Daryl blushed and ducked his head.

"You made me cookies? You baked? For me?" Carol replied. When he finally risked looking at her he saw there were tears in her eyes. "Why?"

"Don't cry," Daryl said quickly. "Oh God, please don't cry… I wanted to make you smile… fuck… Shit… I'm sorry."

"Oh you big dumbass," Carol sighed, grabbing his wrist with her free hand to pull him inside. "I'm not sad, I'm touched. This is the sweetest thing…" her voice trailed off and a tear ran down her cheek.

"Don't cry," he said again, reaching out to brush the tear away. Carol pressed her cheek into his hand, her eyes were closed… and then finally… she smiled. Daryl's heart skipped a beat and then he was sure it stopped completely when she opened her eyes. They were glistening with tears, but the smile had reached them. He did it. Within seconds he was smiling back at her. "I'll go now," he said softly, not wanting to overstay his welcome. He wanted to be able to come back once in awhile and he didn't want to risk ruining it.

"Not so fast," Carol said. "Not until you sit and have a cookie with me." Daryl couldn't wipe the smile off his face as he followed her to the kitchen table. They sat and chatted a bit while they ate cookies. Daryl had no idea how long he'd stayed, but they both ate 3 cookies and there were still plenty left for her for later. "Thank you," Carol whispered, after a moment of silence. She stood and Daryl knew it was his cue to leave.

He nodded and started for the door, but something made him stop and turn back to her. The last time he left her they shared a long, tender hug and he couldn't leave again without another one. She knew - like she always did - and Carol opened her arms to him. Daryl stepped into her embrace and pulled her tightly against his chest. Her cheek was resting on his heart and he knew she could feel it pounding. "This was a good day," she whispered. He looked down and saw that once again she was smiling. Reluctantly he released her, but he committed the look on her face to memory. This was his Carol - finally he knew she was still in there - and one day soon she would be back to her old self. "Bye," she said very softly. It felt good to know she wasn't eager for him to leave, even though they both knew he had to.

"Bye," Daryl replied, heading out the front door without looking back because he knew it would only make it harder to keep walking. "Let's go," Daryl said, rushing past Morgan, heading back towards the Kingdom. "I gotta look through that book and see what I can make her for the next time." He heard Morgan chuckle from somewhere behind him. It was a good day. A really, really good day.