Some first kisses throughout the centuries had been described as romantic, passionate, lustful or just a downright messy mistake. In the case of Daryl and Carol; it was a kiss that almost never happened.
Daryl woke up in the cell he shared with Carol and it was too quiet…he rolled his head over the edge of the bunk and cursed roundly when he discovered that Carol had already risen. Happy mornings for him were when he woke up to the sound of her humming and rolling over just in time to see her pull her tank top over her head. More often than not Carol would peck him on the forehead and murmur something about not letting the sun go to waste, but would leave him slumbering until he could smell breakfast being made in the communal kitchens. That morning however he woke to find a hasty note scribbled on a scrap of paper on his pillow, signed with a curling C and a large 'x' for a kiss. Carol had risen early to go out on a Judith supply run with Maggie and Glenn. To say that he was not a happy bunny would have been a gross underestimation; he was frickin' furious. He'd been nagging Rick for weeks now about letting up on Carol's duties; ever since the additional people from Woodbury had moved into the prison they hadn't had a single night's uninterrupted sleep without someone coming in wanting something else from her. She still did most of the cooking for the group, which now included an additional thirty people; Carol also did most of the laundry and mending for the whole group and now was being called in to make supply runs for Judith as well.
"Shit, Rick! Ya keep pushin' on her like ya have been and she's gonna crack!" Daryl blasted at Rick, who was still half asleep in his cell. As soon as he had discovered the note that Carol had left him, Daryl had stormed into Rick's cell to demand an explanation. One look at his stormy eyes and Carl had escaped with Judith, not wanting to stick around for the showdown that had been building up for weeks.
"Hey man, Carol said she was fine going out with Maggie today." Rick murmured in reply, rubbing his sleepy eyes.
"Of course, she would say that! Have you ever noticed Carol not agreeing to do anything that anybody asks her? That woman just doesn't know how ta say no!" Daryl paced up and down Rick's cell throwing the other man angry glances.
"Okay, tell me what's really bothering you Daryl…don't make me have to get Michonne to threaten you with her Katana."
"I don't know, Rick. I just felt that today was the day for me and Carol to finally connect. I've been thinkin' about us for ages but ever since those Woodbury Wasters moved in we ain't had a moment to ourselves."
"Oh, something going on that you wish to share with the class, Dixon?" Rick raised his eyebrows and Daryl snorted in derision.
"That's my point, Rick. We ain't ever gonna move past being cellmates with her collapsing on her bunk with exhaustion every night…Hell, every time I want to lean over and kiss her; some other little shit walks into the cell and she's off again!"
"You ain't even kissed her yet?" Rick's eyes popped open with surprise, from the way that Daryl had been acting he had assumed that the couple were already way past the first contact stage; heck, they weren't even a couple, really. "I guess I have been monopolising Carol these last few weeks…"
"Months…" Daryl interjected and caught a frown appearing on Rick's forehead.
"Nah, can't be that long surely?"
"Rick, the AssKicker is over a year old now; there's hardly a night that goes by when you or Carl haven't appeared at the door wanting Carol 'cause she won't settle, or she's colicky or ya simply can't be asked to deal with her anymore! That's sixteen whole months Rick, and you still rely on Carol to tell ya what your own baby needs supply wise! Ya need to suck it up and grow a pair, man! Get of yer ass and start forcing the Wasters to pull their own weight or I'm just gonna walk outta those gates with ma woman and we'll start over somewhere else. I don't want too, man, but we need a break before we break…" Daryl's voice grew quieter toward the end of his rant until Rick was straining to hear the words.
"Daryl, all I can say is I'm sorry and I will try my best. When Carol gets back I'll apologise to her as well and tell her that she's off laundry rotation for the rest of the week."
"Kitchen too?"
"Yeah," Rick said reluctantly, the meals just weren't the same without Carol adding her own spin on things; everything was either burnt or underdone when Beth took the reins and Maggie's food was passable but bland. "No kitchen duties either. I'll ask Hershel whether we still have those antacids left over from when Glenn cooked up that Chilli last month."
"Okay, no more runs until I can go with her; don't trust anyone else to keep her safe."
"I thought her motto was 'nine lives'?" Rick threw Daryl a smile and the other man just grimaced, and shook his head.
"By my reckoning she's down ta about five by now – and it's gonna stay that way!"
Carol got back from the run with Maggie and Glenn, exhausted; they'd had a minor skirmish with a small group of Walkers and then she'd had to listen to the pair of them bickering all the way home.
"Maggie, I told you already; it was his left hand that Luke lost in the fight with Darth Vader not his right!"
"No, honey it was his right. Trust me, Shawn watched those movies so many times we had to replace the complete set at least three times." Maggie rolled her eyes at Glenn's insistence that it was the left and finally after about an hour Carol leant over the front seat.
"Who the f*** gives a f*** about which hand Luke frickin' Skywalker lost in frickin' Star Wars? What does it matter anymore? They're all frickin' dead anyway! Unless you think that California magically managed to escape this hell of a life that we're all living! No? Then shut the f*** up and drive!"
"Whoah! Someone's been spending a little too much time with a certain Hunter, I think! Picked up a little Dixon mouth have you, Carol?"
"Glenn…" Maggie warned her husband as Carol leant forward in her seat once more, blue eyes blazing with emotion.
"Yeah…sorry, Carol." Glenn muttered and focused his attention back on the road. They pulled into the gates and Carol stormed out of the car, not even waiting for the car to draw completely to a halt. She saw Daryl waiting for her at the guard hut and was in no mood to face his displeasure at her disappearance.
"Not now, Daryl. I'm tired and I'm filthy…" Carol held a hand up to prevent him from speaking. "I just want a shower and ten minutes to myself, okay?" She tried to brush past him, but he caught hold of the edge of her sleeve, noticing the blood spatter for the first time.
"Ya not hurt? Do ya need me ta get Hershel to come take a look at yer?"
"No, nothing that I can't handle myself…just leave me be for a while, please…" Carol gently pulled her sleeve away from his hold and walked slowly up the gravel path to the prison; leaving him staring after her retreating back.
"Right, tell me what the f*** happened out there!" Daryl whirled around to glare at Maggie and Glenn who were unloading the trunk of the car with Rick's assistance. Glenn just shrugged and Maggie jerked her thumb over at her sullen husband.
"Glenn spent the whole ride home talking about his stupid Star Wars obsession and then started arguing over which hand Luke Skywalker lost in the battle with Darth Vader…"
"The right one." Daryl and Rick murmured in unison and Maggie chortled with glee, and then Daryl's face dropped. "Ya little shit!"
"Why? What did I do?" Glenn whined, not seeing how his conversation with Maggie would have affected him in the slightest.
"Well, if you'd have paid attention to anything that Carol's ever said you would have remembered that Star Wars was one of Sophia's favourite movie series. And I bet none of ya's even kept track of the days have ya? Two years ago today, that wonderful woman in there lost her little girl and all you can do is keep reminding her? Thanks a frickin' bunch, Glenn." Daryl watched as Glenn's face drained of all colour and he sagged against the side of the car.
"Two years? I just can't believe it…"
"Sorry, Glenn." Daryl apologised gruffly. "I didn't mean to shoot off like that, but it seems that everyone around here has forgotten all about Carol's wants and needs; they're always after her for something and I just wanted today to be about her…"
"Sure, man. I understand; no wonder she went after those Walkers today like a banshee." Glenn shook his head in realisation and looked back over at Daryl. "She got a few scrapes and bruises where she took a tumble into a dumpster earlier. I made sure she wasn't scratched or bitten but you ought to see if she'll let Hershel take a look at her arm; it looked pretty bad."
"What was she doing in a dumpster?" Daryl questioned and Maggie answered with a shrug and a grin.
"Well, after she finished hacking the Walker's arms and legs off; she decided to dump the body in the dumpster, she said she didn't want to be scraping that shit off the pavement the next time we have to go out to the baby store." Maggie ended up talking to thin air as Daryl swivelled on his feet and started running for the cell block with her words running through his head.
"Uh, oh. I think Carol's in trouble now." Glenn stated and received a cuff around his head from his wife.
"Shut up, Walker Bait."
Daryl couldn't find Carol in their cell so headed for the shower block thinking to head her off as she came out. He passed Beth and Judith in the corridor outside.
"Hey, Beth you seen Carol around her in the last half hour or so?"
"No, Sasha was on laundry detail instead of Carol and didn't say that she'd seen her in the shower room when she was replacing the towels."
"Could ya maybe take a peek around the door for me please, I really need to find her. Glenn said she tore up her arm pretty bad and she wouldn't let Hershel take a look." Daryl shifted his feet restlessly and Beth passed Judith across to him.
"Sure, take care of Judith for me and I'll have a look around."
"Thanks, Beth." Daryl shifted Judith higher into his arms and she playfully grabbed a handful of his scruff and gave it a tug. "Hey, AssKicker – what ya up to? Met any nice boys lately?" His voice took on a totally different tone whenever he spoke to the little girl; it was softer and he never failed to make her laugh. He looked up as Beth came back out from the showers with a worried look on her face.
"Daryl, I think you'd better go in there. She's just sitting in the stall at the end, staring at the floor with her knife in her hand."
"Shit! Here, take the baby…" Daryl thrust Judith back into Beth's arms and ran into the shower room without stealing his customary kiss from the toddler. Judith started to wail and Beth kissed her forehead.
"No! Ryl! Me want Ryl!" Daryl could hear the baby's frustrated cry as he walked further into the room but blocked out the noise, focusing only on Carol.
"What, Daryl?" Carol knew the sound of his footsteps so well that she asked the question before he even got halfway across the room.
"Worried about ya, Glenn said it was a pretty bad gash you won when ya went all She-Ra on the Walkers in town. Thought ya might need patchin' up a little once ya've cleaned up." Daryl took a seat on the floor opposite Carol, watching as she flicked her knife open and shut in a constant repetition.
"Do you know what today is?" She finally asked, still not looking up at him at all.
"Yeah, I know. Figured no one else remembered, knew you were keepin' track though." Daryl replied softly and she looked up with a brief smile and a nod.
"Two years, Daryl. Two years today since I lost my little girl." Carol whispered softly, voice husky with unshed tears.
"No, Carol. Two years since we lost Sophia. We all had a part in that, and we all grieved right alongside you." Daryl edged closer and took her hand loosely in his own, giving her time to pull away if she wanted.
"I know you felt her loss as much as I did; I don't think the others felt the same way. Rick felt guilty for his part and even more so for being the one to end it…" Carol squeezed Daryl's hand and hissed as the motion caused her gash to sting a little.
"C'mon, get cleaned up and then we can go somewhere and just talk about her if ya like; or we can just sit a while without saying a word." Daryl rose to his feet and pulled Carol up with him. She swayed slightly as she overbalanced and fell against his chest.
"Oops…!" Carol murmured as she placed her hands against the leather of his vest to steady herself.
"Yeah, oops…" Daryl's voice deepened with desire, making his tones even more gravelly than usual. His hands slowly came up to rest lightly on her hips and he licked his lips as his eyelids slowly lowered as he bend his head to brush his lips lightly against Carol's. She was too shocked to respond, and just flexed her fingers against his vest.
Daryl raised his head at her complete lack of response and his hands fell away from her waist and he took a step back, cursing himself for trying today of all days. "Um…I…err…sorry…" He chewed this skin around his thumbnail and bent his head to stare at his boots. He looked up after a while to see Carol still standing in the exact same position with a wide-eyed expression on her face. After a while, she blinked and seemed to become more aware of what just occurred.
"Ummm…you kissed me…" She raised her fingers to her lips and brushed them lightly over where his mouth had rested for a brief moment.
"Yeah, sorry." Daryl flushed and tugged at his scruff, another nervous habit that he'd picked up; but this was one that Carol had no objection to.
"No, I mean - you kissed me. You never kiss me."
"Sure, I do." Daryl thought over all the times that they had shared a quick peck on the cheek or the forehead over the last two and a bit years.
"No, I've always been the one running after you, you've never made the first move before. It feels quite strange, actually." Carol mused thoughtfully as she continued to run her fingers across her lips.
"Umm…good strange or like a weird 'that sucked' strange?" Daryl asked, surely it hadn't been that bad for a first kiss?
"Not sure, why don't you try it again and find out?" Carol suggested with a wink and a smile. Daryl grinned back and took a step closer.
"Okay, close your eyes this time…and hold onto your hat!" Carol had no sooner closed her eyes when Daryl swooped down to capture her mouth completely. His tongue traced a light path all around her lips and with a sigh she opened her mouth granting him entry. Daryl dipped in and out of her mouth playfully, stealing her very breath and taking it deep into his lungs. He finally stopped playing around and pushed his tongue past her teeth; kissing her hard and leaving her without any doubt about his true intentions. He tore his mouth away, panting for breath and waited for her verdict.
Carol stood there, breathing just as hard with her mouth bruised from the pressure of Daryl's. Her cheeks were flushed with desire and her fingers were curled tightly into her palms fighting the urge to reach out to him again.
"All I can say is…no, I have no words." Carol shook her head, which felt woolly and scrambled after that earth shattering kiss.
"And is it somethin' ya can see yerself puttin' up with more of?" Daryl questioned hopefully.
"Well, we're all alone in the shower room…and I'm really grotty and filthy. If someone were to offer to scrub my back and maybe kiss my aches and pains away….?" Carol let her voice trail away as she strolled nonchalantly around the shower curtain and turned the shower head on. It was Daryl's turn to stand stock still as her words slowly filtered through his brain. Was she sayin' what I think she's sayin'? Or I am just wishin' that's what she's sayin'? The sound of something flying through the air and wrapping around his head broke Daryl free from his musings. He brought his hand up to wrestle the material from his face and almost went bug eyed as he realised what he was holding – a very brief pair of white lacy panties. He almost groaned at the thought of a very naked Carol standing not more than five feet away from him.
"Pookie?"
"Yeah…?" Daryl's voice was strangled which caused a low chuckle from behind the curtain. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Yeah, Carol?"
"You might want to go and lock that door…"