Disclaimer: I own nothing from The Walking Dead. All characters belong to the creators of the comic books and the television series.

Rebound

Chapter 1

Carol Peletier was a free woman. After eight years of marriage to the cheating, whoring piece of shit, Ed Peletier, she was officially, finally free. Her divorce was officially final, and tonight, she was going to be celebrating with her closest friends. She was settled around a little table at Axel's Bar and Grill, and there was just one person missing, and that one person was whom she kept poking her head up to search the crowd for.

"He's coming," Michonne promised, sliding another shot glass Carol's way. "He'll be here."

"He said he'd be here," Carol murmured, worrying her lip between her teeth.

"And when does Daryl ever not live up to his promises?" Michonne reminded her. "He'll be here. Let's get you drunk."

"Maybe I shouldn't get drunk. Maybe I should enjoy this night stone cold sober. It's a good feeling. It is."

"But after what you put up with for eight years, you deserve a drink," Michonne replied. "If I remember right, the night I kicked Mike's ass to the curb, you showed up on my doorstep with a bottle of Tequila and some god awful donuts."

"I made those donuts!"

"They were terrible. Carol, darling, you're a beautiful cook, but your donuts are shit."

"Thanks," Carol laughed, bringing the shot glass to her lips and downing whatever the hell it was Michonne had ordered her. She winced as the burn filled her throat and nostrils. "God! What was that?"

"I don't remember," Michonne cackled, shoving another shot her way. "Drink up. I'm here to make sure you don't throw up on anybody, especially me, or on yourself. I'm also here to make sure you don't do anything stupid like crawl into the lap of a perfect stranger. I'm your designated driver; I'm your referee when it comes to bad judgment calls tonight. So you better believe I've got your back. And then maybe Daryl'll have your back when he gets here, and I can go home and sleep. Whatever happens between the two of you, well, that's just icing on the cake."

"Michonne! Daryl's my friend."

"Yeah, a friend that you look at with hungry eyes whenever he's not looking directly at you," Michonne murmured.

"It's not like that. I swear," Carol snorted, taking down another shot. "Daryl's…Daryl. Besides, he's been seeing that…that…what's her name."

"The brunette with watermelons in her bra? Yeah. Sadie something. Well, a little birdie told me they haven't even messed around yet."

"Please," Carol muttered with an eye roll. "They've been dating for a month. Daryl was pretty hard up before they got together, so you can't tell me he hasn't slept with her."

"He hasn't."

"Right. And what little birdie whispered that in your ear?" Carol asked, getting an eyebrow raise out of Michonne. Michonne looked over her shoulder, pursing her lips into a smirk before leaning forward and setting her gaze straight on Carol's.

"Daryl himself."

"What?" Carol suddenly felt a bolt of jealousy surge right through her. It wasn't right, and she knew it. Daryl and Michonne were friends, so of course, they'd talk, but Carol had known Daryl since high school. They'd remained close even after Carol married that piece of shit, and Daryl had gone through a few messy, dysfunctional relationships that always ended up with him nursing a bottle of Jack and her reassuring him that he'd find the one someday. He'd always snort and quip back with 'oh, like you found your knight in shining armor? Which secretary is he fuckin' this week, again?'

"He told me. And he also told me he's breaking up with her, because he just doesn't feel like it's going anywhere." Michonne noticed the hurt expression in Carol's eyes, one that Carol quickly tried to mask by shrugging and taking another shot. "What was that?"

"What was what?"

"That look. What's up?"

"Nothing."

"If there's anything shittier than your donuts, it's your lying. Now tell me."

"He hasn't talked to me," Carol admitted with a sigh. "He usually talks to me about everything. But with Sadie? He hasn't said much."

"Well, you've been busy getting Ed out of your life. Maybe he didn't want to trouble you with his relationship problems when your own were a hundred times worse?"

"Maybe," Carol considered.

"Ladies!" came the familiar voice from behind, as Daryl Dixon put one arm around Michonne's shoulder and then Carol's, standing in between them in an awkward group hug.

"Oh good, he's almost as drunk as you already. This will be fun," Michonne teased. Daryl never got touchy-feely with anybody unless he was under the influence, and when he was nice and toasted, he'd reach out to those he was most comfortable with. "I'm a single man today. Buy me a drink."

"Tonight's about Carol," Michonne reminded him.

"No," Carol said with a shrug. "If we're celebrating the end of crappy relationships, then let's buy the man a drink, Michonne." Michonne shrugged and raised her hand up, getting the attention of a waitress wearing a skimpy belly shirt and a shorter than short skirt. Her nametag read Rosita.

"A Jack and coke for my friend here," Michonne offered. "And maybe a date, because he's single today."

"Sorry," Rosita said with a grin. "I'm taken. Oh, and I'm gay. But I can totally ask my girlfriend. Tara's pretty cool." She grinned to show she was teasing, but clearly not kidding about the gay part. "One Jack and coke coming up."

"Don't set me up," Daryl groaned. "Don't need no woman."

"Unless you want to spend the rest of your life making love to your hand, then you probably shouldn't go by that motto," Michonne replied.

"You ok, Pookie?" Carol asked, placing her hand on his shoulder, giving it a little squeeze. "You need some rebound sex in the bathroom? Because, I'm game." She was teasing. She was always teasing, but the way he looked at her just then told her he was actually considering it, even if he knew she was teasing. Then a grin spread over his face, and they both began to laugh.

"You two need a minute alone, because I could just…" She pointed toward the bar, and Carol kicked her foot under the table.

"So what're we having?"

"Besides the mountains of alcohol?" Carol asked. "Michonne?"

"I have plans. Big plans," Michonne said with a mischievous grin. "After listening to you two tonight, I'm going to need a drink of my own, and there's no way I'm driving your drunk asses all the way across town, so you're both staying with me tonight."

"A sleepover?" Daryl muttered. "We five or somethin'?" Michonne just shrugged, and she turned to head over to the bar.

"I'm getting more booze. You two aren't entirely drunk enough yet." Michonne hopped off the stool and hurried off.

"You sure you're ok?" Carol asked, feeling a little flushed, her head swimming as some loud country song started playing and some drunk chick whooped and hollered nearby, hopping up on her table to dance.

"Clearly not as good as she is," Daryl snickered. Carol laughed then. "But I'm good. Wasn't gonna work out with Sadie."

"I'm sorry."

"M'not," he shrugged. "What about you? You ok?"

"Are you kidding?" Carol asked. "I'm starting over. Tonight, I'm a whole new me."

"I like the old you."

"Well, good, because I've decided that I'm giving up on men."

"So, you gonna start dating girls now?"

"Shut up," she snorted. "What if I did?"

"Then some lucky guy's gonna miss out," he murmured, reaching over to take the Jack and coke as soon as Rosita brought it over. It had slid so quickly off of his lips that it had almost passed Carol right on by, but she froze the moment his eyes met hers as he took a gulp of his drink. Deciding that it was the liquor making her hang onto these words, she shrugged it off and took a deep breath.

"No, I'm just going to be me for a while. Just me. No men. Apparently I have the worst taste in men imaginable, so I'm going to not date and see what happens." She eyed him, a grin spreading over her face.

"What?"

"Your track record's not so hot either."

"What're you talkin' bout? I get plenty of dates."

"Yeah, because you look like you do," she said with a grin, "but it's over after what, one? Two dates? What about the sex? The sex any good?"

"You askin' for you or…" He wiggled his eyebrows at her, taking another big gulp.

"No, I'm just saying…I know you. You tend not to call half of them back after the first date. Those who are lucky enough to get a second date with you rarely get a third call back. Sadie got, what, four dates? That's unusual."

"Well, I ain't sleepin' with 'em and not callin' 'em if that's what you're askin'," he shot back, a little bit harshly.

"I didn't…I wasn't saying that. I just…I'm curious."

"I don't wanna waste my time if it ain't gonna work out," he said with a shrug, sucking back another gulp of his drink.

"How can you possibly know it isn't going to work out after one or two dates?" Carol asked, her eyebrow quirking up in amusement. "Either your taste in women is exceptionally bad, or you're just the pickiest man on the planet." She watched him shift uncomfortably on his seat for a moment, before he tapped his fingers on the table.

"You don't know me," he muttered.

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that," she said with a grin and a little wink. Daryl shrugged and drank down the last of his beverage. "Maybe we should both swear off relationships for a while."

"Maybe we should just date each other," he snorted. Carol was just sucking down another shot she'd taken from the center of the table when she nearly choked.

"What?" she sputtered.

"I…I was kiddin'," he offered. "Just…we know each other better'n most people. We might be able to figure out why the hell you attract cheaters, and I can't seem to find a girl I can hold a conversation with for more'n five minutes." He handed her a napkin to wipe her mouth with. She dabbed at her lips before crumpling the paper up and placing it on the table. Then she stared at him. "What?"

"You know," she said with a little smile. "You might be onto something, Daryl Dixon." She watched as his Adam's apple bobbed when he swallowed the anxiety that immediately flooded his gut. Michonne sighed, plopping down on the bar stood between them and passing another Jack and coke to Daryl and a fruity little drink with an umbrella to Carol.

"So? I miss anything good?"