Anything recognizable is the property of the appropriate owners. I do not make any claim to ownership, nor do I make any money from this.

Note: I have not seen past Season 4, Episode 9: After.

Daryl froze in the process of scooping boxes of ammunition into his bag from behind the counter when something caught his eye. Hidden behind the .22 long rifle boxes was a tattered magazine, the cover wrinkled and faded, but he instantly recognized it. Before anyone else could see, the hunter tucked the packet of old paper into his bag, keeping his face down to hide his blush. He would never hear the end of it if someone caught him salvaging anything other than the essentials. And a soft core porn mag was definitely not on any list.

When they returned to the prison, Daryl dropped the ammo in the armory, made sure Carol was busy in the kitchen, and slunk to their shared cell to examine his prize. The cover was exactly the same as he remembered, a shapely brunette dressed only in a silver button up looked shyly over her shoulder, hardly any skin showing, but he still began to harden in his pants. It was a copy of the first smut mag he had ever found, and promptly stolen from Merle's stash when he was still a teen. That magazine had kept him company for years, even after he had access to better stuff and real women. There was just something about the woman featured in that edition that had called to him.

Double checking that everyone was out of the living area and the sheet was securely covering the front of the cell, Daryl flipped open the magazine, automatically turning to the page he wanted. There she was, the brunette with big silver eyes, looking shyly up from the page. The spread featured a series of photographs of the young woman slowly revealing herself to the camera until he reached the centerfold. He knew what he would find there and the anticipation made his cock twitch interestedly. She looked through half lidded eyes, a faint blush spreading from her cheeks, down her neck, and part way down her chest, demure despite the provocative pose.

The hunter had spent many teenaged hours wishing she wasn't just a spread on shiny paper, that she was actually in his bed so he could kiss along the smattering of freckles across her collarbone. She would blush prettily for him, innocent in a way that had nothing to do with her nakedness. Daryl imagined he would spend hours tracing her curves and making sure she knew she was the most beautiful woman in existence. He never thought about the fact that the magazine had already been several years out of date by the time he had found it, making the young woman rather older than him. And now as an adult, he easily pictured her aged as well.

Her face would have lost some of its youthful rounding, breasts settled and maybe a softness across her belly belying childbearing. From there it wasn't much of a leap to amend her full chestnut locks to a silver streaked crop and Daryl realized he was rubbing himself through his pants. Eager for the familiar relief, he set the centerfold aside and freed his hard length, roughly fisting himself. It wouldn't take him long and he gazed through his eyelashes languidly even as the rest of his body tensed in anticipation. Mindful of the way sound traveled in the concrete prison, Daryl bit his lip to keep from groaning aloud as he came in his hand. But when he looked up, he realized he wasn't alone.

Carol stood inside the curtain, frozen with eyes wide as she already had her shirt off to change after Judith had spit up all over her. She hadn't expected Daryl to be in their room, and she especially didn't expect him to be so - exposed. The hunter jumped when he realized he was no longer alone, wiping his sticky hand on a dirty shirt and quickly tucking his suddenly soft cock back inside his pants. Mortified, the older woman had spun around, vomit covered shirt held over her bare breasts as she heard him curse under his breath and right his clothes.

"I'm sorry, you're not usually in here." She squeaked out, her face flaming.

He could hear the embarrassment in her voice as he noticed her bare back, deducing that the baby must have made a mess again. His own face was beet red, even as a slight exhabitionist thrill went through him, making his cock stir again. She had accidentally walked in on him shooting his load yet she hadn't run screaming back into the walkway, which had to mean something, didn't it.

Feeling him still behind her, Carol risked a peek over her shoulder. The bowman sat hunched in on himself on the bottom bunk, chewing nervously on his thumb and she slowly turned around. She cast around the small room for something to say, and her eyes unexpectedly fell on the forgotten magazine at his side.

"Where did you find that?" Carol gasped in horror, recognizing the centerfold immediately.

Daryl looked up confused for a moment before realizing he had left the magazine open on the bed and quickly closed it, shoving it under his pillow. "Sorry, found it today. I had a copy when I was in school."

The older woman just gaped at him for a moment, her soiled shirt forgotten and almost dropped from hiding her chest. It wasn't the fact that he had brought porn into their room that had shocked her, it was the fact that it was that specific magazine. She hadn't seen one in years, not since it had been printed two months after her 19th birthday. Somehow the world had conspired that the man she had been attracted to for the better part of a year was apparently masterbating to old photos of her.

Daryl shifted uncomfortably, unsure why she was staring at him in stunned disbelief. Sure she was sometimes woefully naive about certain things, but she had to know about porn, and really, it was a tame magazine by comparison to some of the things out there. So he was confused by her reaction. "I'll get rid of it if it makes ya uncomfortable."

"No." She automatically objected before shaking her head. "I mean, I'm flattered."

"What?" They weren't in a relationship or anything, but most women would be put off by their companion bringing pornography into their room.

Carol's mind suddenly clicked. He had no idea that the woman from the centerfold was standing right in front of him clutching a vomit soaked shirt to her chest. "Did you like what you saw?"

Honestly he was shocked by her words, they were so forward, it was out of character for the older woman. "I uh... yeah?" Color him confused and horny.

"Why that magazine?" She asked before good sense could stop her, unsure where her modesty had gone. This was Daryl, sweet sexy skittish Daryl and she had to know.

He didn't know how to answer that without putting his foot in it and potentially driving away the only woman he had ever let get close, had wanted close. Finally he figured some of the words out, hoping they weren't wrong. "She looks like she has a secret an' I wanna know what it is."

Daryl could have been knocked over with a feather when she just looked at him from under lowered lashes, a hint of a smile flirting with her lips. He saw the resemblance, then the honest truth of the matter. Carol was the young woman sprawled artfully across the double page, probably 20 years older, but undeniably her. If he hadn't already wanted her all to himself, the possibility of all his adolescent fantasies becoming possible made his balls ache. The hunter didn't know what was going to happen now, but he was eager all the same, hoping that he was reading the older woman correctly. And he was rewarded by her grip loosening on her soiled shirt just enough to show the barest edge of her nipple.

"Would-" His voice cracked and Daryl licked his lips to try again. "Would it be weird to ask ya to lay down like the photo?"

Carol smiled wickedly, obviously liking where this was going. "Only if I can wear your shirt."

Yup, he was more than okay with that. Daryl knew he didn't have anything like she wore in the magazine, but he was just as eager to see her in one of his shirts so he stood, shucked the one he had on, and held it out. Carol gave him a twirling motion with her finger and he dutifully stepped around her to stand in the corner while she changed. As much as he wanted to peek, he was already hard just at the thought of the object of his adolescent sexual awakening being one in the same as his current adult attraction and she was very real and more than a little naked behind him. The anticipation built to a fever pitch as he heard Carol moving around, but he waited, shifting his weight on his feet, trying not to think about what she could be doing until she softly called his name.

For a long moment, Daryl hesitated before turning around. He trusted her not to throw this in his face, fairly certain that this was the logical progression of their relationship, having slowly been built since the Greene Farm, if not before. But he was standing on a dangerous precipice, whatever happened now in this cell would affect the future forever and he silently hoped he wasn't about to ruin everything. When the shirtless hunter finally turned around, he didn't even remember to breathe as he look in Carol reclining on his bunk as if she belonged there. His shirt was partially unbuttoned, giving him a teasing hint of her sternum, sun tanned and freckled. The shirt was too large, and she had long tails over her lap, obscuring her mound, but her legs seemed to stretch on forever and he wanted nothing more than to run his work calloused hands up her shins.

Carol just smiled serenely as the younger man turned and took her all in. Honestly, she felt like her heart was trying to crawl out her throat, but the longingly lustful look he gave her put her mind at ease. It had been a long time since she had posed for the photos on a whim, but she remembered the tips the photographer had given her about positioning her body, hiding just enough to leave something to the imagination, but baring enough to get the point across. And if she was any judge, Daryl certainly got the point and she suddenly understood what was meant by the saying 'stared like a starving man finding a feast.' His heavy gaze made heat pool low in her belly and it didn't even matter that it had been over a year since she had shaved and that she was unevenly tanned.

Daryl finally remembered to breathe, hardly believing that the beautiful woman was actually laying on his bed, clad only in his shirt. It was every fantasy and desire all laid out in front of him, but good things never seemed to happen to him without a catch and he stopped himself from reaching out, meeting her eyes for permission. Carol gave a nod and tried not to shiver when he eventually touched her knee with his fingertips. Goosebumps sprung up across her skin in the cool prison air and the hunter seemed fascinated by tracing his calloused fingers down her shin, making the soft hairs on her leg stand up. She let him set his own pace, wondering not for the first time just how much experience the shy man had with women.

He chased the goosebumps down her shin with his rough hands, not caring that she hadn't shaved in years, if anything it made everything more real, not fake like women always seemed to be before the turn. The fine hairs on her legs barely tickled his work hardened hands, but when he reached her delicate ankle, he was entranced by the smoothness of her skin. Daryl could have spent hours tracing every arch and curve of her feet, taking in the way her toes curled and the red mark on her heel where her boots didn't fit right. When the hunter accidentally tickled Carol, she jerked slightly, pressing the bottoms of her feet into the mattress with a chuckle and he moved back up her legs again. Daryl gently rubbed around her ankles and felt the firmness of her calves before checking if she was also ticklish behind her knees.

She drew up her knees with a playful hiss, trapping his fingers behind the joint until she caught his wrists and directed his hands to her thighs. The younger man met her eyes again, so full of disbelieving awe and desire that it was like a punch to the gut for her. Carol knew he was probably wondering when he was going to wake up from this dream, and honestly she felt the same way. So the older woman drew his work roughened hands up her legs until he brushed the hem of the shirt and she laid back, inviting Daryl to continue his exploration further up. He finally sat on the edge of the bunk and Carol could hardly contain her own excitement at having him shirtless and touching her after what seemed like months of wishing for something to happen between them. But as much as she was enjoying it, this was for him.

"You should only be allowed to wear my shirts." Daryl spoke softly, tracing one hand up the line of buttons to where the shirt parted. He pinched the button, deftly slipping it through the hole but let the cloth continue to hide her chest. "Or nothin' at all."

The woman thought she might combust with how slowly he was undoing the few buttons, his other hand gently kneading her thigh. She finally moved to run her hand down his muscular arms, feeling the strength under his tanned skin as she had dreamed of doing for years. Carol couldn't help being slightly impatient however when the dark haired man didn't push the shirt open when he had freed all of the buttons, so she directed the hand still on her thigh around to her hip. His fingers slid unimpeded under the hem of the shirt and his breath caught when he realized there hadn't been any panties in the way. Almost drunk on the reverent way Daryl handled her, Carol realized it had been close to 20 years since she had last felt desired as a woman and it very well could be worth the wait.

Daryl swallowed the nervous lump that seemed to have taken up residence in his airway. Truly, he wasn't sure why his hands trembled ever so slightly. This was Carol, his Carol, beautiful, understanding Carol. Even if he wasn't perfect, she wouldn't hold that against him. But he still stood up from the narrow bunk, catching her hand and pulling her to her feet as he went.

"I want ya to be on top."

They shuffled around the small room so Daryl could scoot into his bunk, but Carol just stood there with her hands on her hips, the shirt parted slightly, but casting a shadow in the low light. She arched an eyebrow at the younger man when he just stared at her, waiting for her to straddle his hips. "You should loose the pants." The short haired woman suggested plainly.

The hunter could see the wisdom in her words so he quickly untied his boots and kicked out of the rest of his clothes before laying back again, cock waving proudly in the air. But before he could really feel the chill of the air, Carol slipped a leg over his hip and settled astride him like it was a well practiced maneuver. Unfortunately, the top bunk didn't give a lot of room, but she braced herself against his chest and wriggled her hips, making Daryl moan. She could feel him pulsing against her nether lips, hot and hard against her center and she began to understand why so many women listed this as a favorite position. Honestly, she felt powerful leaning over the hunter and she was emboldened to let her hands wander from his abs all the way to his jaw, stroking the scarred and tanned skin. But she didn't focus on the marks on his body, knowing they made him self conscious as much as her own scars bothered her. Instead, Carol rolled her hips and catalogued everything that made Daryl groan in pleasure and press up against her spreading wetness.

All the toned man could think of centered on the woman above him. She was driving him mad in all the right ways and he realized his hands weren't being put to good use so he slipped them inside his shirt hanging loosely off Carol's shoulders and cupped her breasts, squeezing them gently. Her nipples pressed into his palms as her wetness spread, easing the friction between their bodies. Daryl was perfectly content to let her lead, fondling her small breasts, which were still plenty perky despite her age. He wanted to be inside her, but he didn't have any condoms, and the way she was grinding against him felt frankly amazing as it was. Just this new closeness alone would be plenty for him, but when he thought he had matched her rhythm, Carol's hips stuttered and she bit her lip.

Her nails raked his chest and she gave a surprised 'oh' before folding herself against his chest, panting slightly. His hands dislodged from her breasts, Daryl brought them around her back as he realized that she had actually found her pleasure. That was a novelty to him, having never to his knowledge given any of his few previous partners an orgasm. Surprising the hunter even more, her hips began to rock again slightly after a few moments and she sat up slightly to grace him with a mischievous smile. Before he could wonder what she had in mind, Carol tilted her hips just so and he slipped easily inside her. It was as if all of the nerves in his body had suddenly been connected to his cock and he nearly came just from being inside her.

Carol grinned proudly at his slack face, knowing that she did that to him as she kept her hips still and focused on squeezing him with her internal muscles. An adjustment to her position turned into rocking thrusts of his hips and they panted together, trying to keep from making too much noise and announcing what they were doing to the rest of the prison. Daryl suddenly pulled the woman down, holding her tightly against his chest and he groaned into her neck as he came harder than he could ever remember. They rested comfortably together where they were, still joined and his lips brushing her neck delightfully. She resisted shivering, however, well aware that the younger man had a tendency to be skittish and pull away whenever things got to being too much. But the hunter didn't move, apparently content to let his hands wander across her back, tracing patterns only he could identify.

Unfortunately, Carol wasn't used to such exertion and her hips were complaining at being stretched open so she reluctantly slipped towards the wall, pressing a quick peck to his collarbone when they parted. She didn't expect a repeat performance, given what she figured was some serious intimacy issues, which was why she resisted kissing him. The short haired woman figured that Daryl would escape as soon as he could, but to her great surprise, he turned on his side towards her. He blinked slowly, almost comfortably and hope rose in her chest, only to come crashing down when he spoke.

"I'm sorry."

Sorry? That's what he had to say? If she wasn't already low on self esteem, she was now. 'Sorry' was about the worst thing Carol could think of to hear after what she had thought was mind-blowing sex. But that was par for course she figured, there was no way she could live up to 20 year old photos after all. She wanted to get away, hide in the tombs where he couldn't see her cry over something so stupid, but it hurt that he already regretted sleeping with her. A warm hand on her arm jerked her out of her mental diatribe.

"What?" She snapped quietly, not having heard what else he had said while she was comparing herself to an old magazine.

"I said, I'm sorry we didn't do this sooner." Daryl repeated himself.

Carol could have kicked herself. "I only heard the first part."

"I figured that's why you looked like I'd just kicked a puppy." The hunter flicked his long bangs out of his eyes and gave a lopsided smile that she tremulously returned. "So can I kiss ya now?"

She nodded and let him press her back against the cold concrete wall, shivering delightfully against his firm body as they finally kissed, all thought of hiding in the tombs forgotten. Blessedly, no one interrupted them for several more hours, but when they finally emerged for dinner, Beth wouldn't meet their eyes with a furious blush and Rick clapped Daryl on the shoulder without explanation. Glenn couldn't look at Carol and Hershel grinned like a cat that got the canary. So their new relationship status wasn't a secret, but the hunter weathered the attention well and it hardly mattered when they were curled up together under the blankets.

Author's Commentary: The inspiration for this came from a delightfully campy source that I still love, Tremors II. It just seemed to fit that Daryl was a little hung up on the girl in the magazine and of course the universe has a sense of humor and slings them together after the turn. Or this is really just PWP and all that matters is they finally got their nookie on.