Carol thought she was dreaming. The house had an otherworldly feeling. She remembered this place vaguely, but in this version everything tilted slightly. She edged down the hallway, remembering this as one of the bungalows that they had stayed at when they had been on the road. It felt like a long time ago. The air thickened around her, making it difficult to move down the hall.

She reached her hand to the knob of the bathroom door but it wasn't there, and the door opened by itself. Now she knew she was dreaming. Daryl Dixon stretched out nude in the porcelain tub before her. There was no water in the tub. He was just sitting there. He stared ahead wistfully and then turned to her, his head tilted imploringly. He held up his hand beckoning her to him.

Unlike real life where Carol might have had objections, or at the very least questions, she moved quickly to him and climbed into the bath. No words were spoken, her clothes shed. The next thing she knew, in the curious way time passes in dreams, she was kissing him passionately, and his hands were roaming over her.

"Oh, Daryl," she breathed.

Daryl lounged comfortably at the end of the sofa. He cherished these quiet moments when he didn't have to worry about everyone's well being. There was only one person he wanted to worry about. He had grown accustomed to spending his evenings sitting with Carol. It was nothing new. This had been a habit since the prison. Lately, their opportunities to spend time together stretched further and further apart with their busy schedules. Sometimes he felt like they were growing apart as well, but he didn't know how to stop it.

Daryl specifically liked this sofa. It wasn't very large, and Carol was inclined to read most nights. As she tired, she rested her head on the arm of the sofa, stretched her legs out, and tucked her toes under his thigh. He liked this a lot - more than was rational. Sometimes they would share a blanket, and he liked that, too. He mostly cleaned the weapons while she read, or sewed, and they talked sparingly. It was the only time he could truly quiet his mind. This night was a book night for Carol, and Daryl was just enjoying the stillness, he was almost dozing.

Carol snored softly and Daryl's eyes fluttered open noticing that she had fallen asleep. He loved watching her sleep, even though it made him feel silly. He had known her long enough that he could admit to himself that he loved everything about her. He just couldn't admit it to her. She sighed softly, and Daryl stared longingly at her, feeling his heart swell. He suspected that if his love could take a physical form it might crush them both from the weight of it.

Falling asleep was not uncommon for either of them. They were very comfortable with each other. When she did drift off Daryl wanted to be gentlemanly and carry Carol into her room, but he was afraid of what she would think. The truth was that every bad thing she might think about him would be true. He wanted to be in her bedroom with her, late at night - alone. He wanted to cross that invisible barrier. He never did, but he hated to leave her there by herself, so normally he just fidgeted until she woke up, and then told her he was heading home, and they said their goodnights. Daryl wasn't ready to leave yet tonight.

After a little while, Carol shifted and the book that she had been reading fell to the floor. Daryl thought it would break the spell and wake her but she continued sleeping. Although he was relishing her little toes digging into his leg, Daryl leaned forward to grab her novel. Not quite getting a grip on it, he was forced to slide off the sofa and crouch to pick it up. His face was very close to Carol's. He studied her, loving the peaceful expression on her face - her perfect mouth almost curled into a smile.

Carol groaned.

Daryl's brow furrowed and he paused. She groaned again. Daryl felt concerned and reached a hand to wake her up from her nightmare. He hated to see her suffering, and unfortunately on the bad nights they all had nightmares. Sometimes, Carl had night terrors that he couldn't wake up from, and it was the scariest damn thing Daryl had ever heard. Daryl, himself, didn't sleep very well because of the things he had seen. No one really talked about it, but they all were haunted.

Should he touch her cheek, or her shoulder? He realized sadly that a normal person would not be worried about where to place his hand but would just react. Daryl scolded himself inwardly, and decided to shake her arm when she made another noise. Daryl raised his eyebrows. This was different, and definitely NOT a nightmare. It was a sensual noise. He blushed, retracting his hand immediately.

Carol moaned, and Daryl could feel his face burning hot. This felt so intrusive and he prayed that she didn't wake up and see him hovering over her. He ran a nervous hand through his hair and quickly scooped up her book. He checked the cover vaguely wondering if it was a romance novel, but surprisingly it was about auto repair. This woman never failed to amaze him.

Still embarrassed, he resumed his place on the couch. He opened the automotive book and stared at one of the pages. She made another sound. He glanced over at her, noticing how beautiful she looked with her lips slightly parted and her hair disheveled.

She lustily breathed out, "Daryl"

Carol said his name...his name...in a very sensual way. Daryl's eyes widened and his heart was pounding. He gazed intently at her. His mind could not quite believe that she seemed to be having an erotic dream about him. He bit his thumbnail, wondering what he should do next. Somehow he needed to wake her up without humiliating her - or himself. He could probably stand his own shame but he would rather die than dishonor her.

She said his name again with a small whimpering noise, and his mind started helplessly wandering. He thought maybe, maybe he should kiss her, or carry her into the bed, make some kind of a bold move, but he was indecisive. He fidgeted - half hoping that she would wake up, and he could go back to not making decisions.

Daryl found himself, against his better judgment, being inclined to kiss her. He was turned on and the more he thought about it the more his brain wasn't thinking as clearly as maybe it should be. He got back up and crouched down next to her, his face a few inches from hers. Still lost in her dream, Carol made another little whimper and Daryl lost his nerve. He sighed.

Carol's bright blue eyes opened, looking startled.

To Daryl's horror, her cheeks reddened, "Hi, Pookie."

"Hey," Daryl replied huskily.

"What are you doing?" she raised her eyebrows, questioningly. He was leaned in very close.

"I...was...I was gonna take ya to yer bed," he lied.

"Ahh, it's about time," she teased, stretching and yawning as she said it.

Daryl blushed furiously and mumbled, "I was tryin' to be gentlemanly. Not gonna leave ya here and go home."

Carol smiled at him, "That's sweet."

He rose, and started packing his stuff to go.

"I'm ready," Carol announced.

Daryl squinted at her, "ready..."

"Take me to bed."

Daryl laughed in spite of himself, "You have two legs that can take yerself to bed."

"That's not very gentlemanly," she said flatly.

"Aw, shucks ma'am," he drawled exaggeratedly, "Are ya calling into question my chivalry?"

She batted her eyelashes at him.

"Alright, I 'spose I promised," and he reached down and cradled her up to his chest making her giggle. He could take her teasing, and he liked and excuse to be able to hold her close. He also found that he liked the way she was looking up at him. He carried her up the stairs while she rested her head on his chest, toed the door open and laid her softly on her bed.

"My hero," Carol gushed.

Daryl paused for a moment, licking his lips. Then he impulsively bent down and kissed her forehead, and just as quickly backed into the door frame and leaned against it, awkwardly. He tried to think of some small talk, but being in her bedroom made the words dry up before he could say them. She looked up at him expectantly. He knew he should do something but, he had lost the courage and felt shy again.

Daryl mumbled something about getting back home, and left suddenly.

He cursed himself all the way home for not taking the chance, but his steps still felt lighter, happier. Daryl thought maybe she did have feelings for him, and maybe she wasn't just teasing him all of the time for no reason, and it made him smile. He had goals now, because he had to hear her say his name like that again, in that breathy moan. AND he had kissed her, even if it was just on the forehead. Just thinking about it made him a bit dizzy. Yeah, he had goals.

Carol sighed and snuggled under her covers. When she had first awoken, she got the impression that Daryl was going to kiss her, but of course that was silly. Then he had surprised her by giving her a peck on her forehead. That was definitely new, and excited her more than any other kisses she'd ever received. Being with Daryl was something she wanted but had long resigned herself to it never happening. She figured that if there was romance it would have by now. Nonetheless, she loved him more than she'd loved any other man. She closed her eyes and grinned, after all, she still had her dreams.