A/N: Thank you to everyone who left me love on this story. Its been buzzing in my head for a while.
Saturday afternoon Carol and Sophia dragged themselves out of bed at one pm even though they had been out so late the night before. They were tired but happy. It had been a great night with Lori, Judith and Carl.
They went to the diner and met Tara for brunch, then all three of them headed to Greene's orchards and farm. They would meet Lori, Carl and Judith there and pick apples from the trees there and then go home and make pies.
Everyone in town went to Greene's market, and everyone went to Smith's garage right next door. The Greene farm sat behind the large store and greenhouse and that was where Maggie lived. Carol and everyone spent a lot of time at the Greene farm and store when they were kids. At one time or another every kid that Carol knew worked at the Greene's farm. She even worked in the store with Maggie and Beth when they were all in high school.
It was a big white country store with plants outside for sale and inside were specialty food products and homemade baked goods. Their farm was behind the store on sixty acres of orchards and farm land. The greenhouse held any type of flower you could think of plus plants and herbs that they grew on the farm.
Inside the store Maggie was running the front registers and making the best apple cider to be had for miles around. That was her usual job, especially now that Beth and Zack got married and moved to the next county. They were having a baby any day now too. Maggie worked almost every day helping her father.
The cider was to die for, the best in the county according to the local papers.
Carol and Sophia would be having some of that too, just like they always did.
Sophia, Carl and Judith were already in the country store, walking down the isles still chattering a mile a minute about the movie. They never stopped talking and giggling as they approached Maggie who stood at the counter and leaned over to talk to them.
She had been talking to two men standing there at her counter, one of them, the taller one, had short cropped blonde hair and the other had longer blonde hair and appeared to be the younger of the two. The kids didn't know them and that was odd. They thought they knew everyone in the town, but they had never seen them before. The kids just looked them over once and then went back to Maggie.
"Maggie, we had so much fun last night." Judith said bouncing over to the counter and almost knocking the youngest of the men right over. "We got up on stage and did the time warp and everything."
"Sorry mister." Judith said looking up at him her dark hair in a ponytail with little curls around her face, her big brown eyes wide, the spitting image of her mother. Carl pulled her back to him and out of the way of these strangers, always the protective older brother. He was like that with Sophia too, but for entirely different reasons that he wasn't ready to disclose to anyone. Not even to her.
"It's ok no harm done." Daryl replied.
"Excuse me one second guys." Maggie held up a finger to them to indicate she wanted them to wait. She hadn't seen these two men in a good long time. "Please don't go anywhere."
She hadn't seen the Dixon brothers in years and years to be exact. They were nice enough and she knew them from school, hell they all knew each other. They both worked as farm hands every summer for her father for years just like the high school boys did now.
They came in to see if Maggie and her family still worked in the store and to say they bought the garage next door from old Jacob Smith, who was moving to Florida to retire. Maggie couldn't hide the fact that she was thrilled. They would live in the small house adjoining the garage property. Maggie was happy to see them after so many years.
Her father would be too, he always liked them, it wasn't their fault that they had such a messed up family life. Herschel never judged anyone on anything except how they treated him and his kin. These two were good boys and just had never got a break in life, until the Army came calling.
Maggie's step brother Sean and Daryl had been tight back in the day and even though he was gone now, dead from meningitis, it made her happy to see his old friend. Daryl hadn't known Sean was gone and when Maggie told him, he was a little shaken up.
Sean had been gone five years and in a better place Maggie hoped. Daryl and Merle hadn't been home in fifteen years at least. There was nothing to come home for, not really. Their father was dead, not that they would see him if he wasn't. They preferred to go where the service sent them. They had both lived in Hawaii, Iraq, Germany, Afghanistan, Japan and many other places in the world. They were both officers and retired early since they never took time off.
Maggie turned to the kids to hear their story. Daryl and Merle stood over by the groceries to wait for her to finish.
"Told ya, did you bring the rice and everything?" Maggie asked making her eyes big and wide to make the kids laugh. Someday Maggie hoped to have children, she and Glenn wanted to, as soon as they were married. She couldn't wait till Beth had her baby.
"No." Sophia said. "My Mom said a bunch of assholes ruined that a long time ago."
Off to the side of the counter, Merle laughed at the young girl's words, she was a little spitfire that one. Someday that one would give a man a run for his money, he thought to himself.
"Sophia language." Maggie chastised but with a bright smile on her face for her friend's child. "Do you all want cider?"
All three kids nodded and she turned to Merle and Daryl and they nodded too. She set to pouring hot cider into paper cups for everyone and continued talking with the three kids.
"Sorry, but it's true, we couldn't bring anything in except newspaper." Judith frowned but then quickly smiled again. "We still had fun."
"It was bitchin Maggie." Carl said as Maggie swatted at him, but he was too quick for her and danced right out of the way.
"Where's mom?" Maggie asked.
"She's outside with Lori and Tara talking to your Dad about composting or something weird like that." Sophia said. "You know how she is."
"Tell her I was asking for her." Maggie said. "And you kids stop cussing, you hear me?"
"She's coming in with my mom and Tara." Carl said. "They wanna make pies today."
"We need to get the apples, come on Carl." Sophia said as she led him and Judith away. "See you in a few Maggie."
"Bye kids." Maggie turned back to Merle and Daryl. "Sorry about that."
"Its ok darlin." Merle said. "Cute kids, just like we all were right?" Merle said giving her his best panty dropper smile even though he could clearly see her engagement ring. It was all in fun.
"Who's lucky guy Mags?" Daryl asked.
"Who do ya think?" She smiled at him.
"Be good to see Glenn again." Merle said. "Good to see everyone."
"So, how long has it been guys? Twelve, thirteen years?" Maggie said.
Daryl nodded. "More like fifteen or sixteen, I went in the Army in '99 Merle had already been in for two years then."
"Thanks for that Daryl, for serving our country, both of you." Maggie said.
"Welcome darlin." Merle said again giving her his award winning smile. "We're back now, time to put down some roots."
"I can't believe it about Sean, I'm so sorry Maggie." Daryl said.
Maggie nodded and smiled, it was ok, and she knew Sean wasn't suffering anymore. She missed him, but he had been so sick and seeing him suffer was far worse than losing him. She knew he watched over their family from heaven.
Now the Dixon's were putting down roots. Maggie was pretty sure that the apocalypse was on its way.
Life had a way of bringing you back to right where you started didn't it?
"So the kids still go to Rocky Horror around here huh?" Daryl said after the three kids stopped yapping at Maggie.
"Yeah, just like us, still have to go to Macon too same old theater, wait." Maggie's eyes lit up, big and round, like she had just solved the problem to world hunger. "Hey you knew Carol Parker right."
They both knew her, they all ran in the same crowd in high school. They all went to grammar school together too. They were all in various grades, but it was a small town, everyone knew everyone. Back in the day and now, not much had changed at all.
Carol, Maggie, Sean, Merle, Tara and Glenn, who Maggie was engaged to now. Daryl knew Carol, she was two years behind him in school, four behind Merle. Daryl knew Carol quite well, actually. If you could call it that.
They had all been good friends back in the day. Some more than others.
Daryl and Carol had a thing for about five minutes before he went to boot camp and that was the end of it. He regretted that he never contacted her, but he was young and unable to reach out , and then he went to Iraq. There was no time to think of a girl when he was there. It was all about running and keeping your head down.
And he was sure it was a pity fuck and he didn't want to make it weird for her by bothering her.
Carol Parker had slipped from his memory a long time ago, although she didn't go willingly. She came to mind from time to time, and he wondered how she was through the years.
There never seemed to be any reason to come back, not one that didn't make him feel like a jackass anyway. His asshole father had died while he was deployed and there just wasn't that much time when he was in the service. By signing up for extra tours, he and Merle were able to retire early.
Now they just wanted peace and quiet. It was just him and Merle, like it always head been. That was exactly how they liked it and wanted it. Merle couldn't wait to come back here and Daryl was along for the ride as usual.
"The blonde I was talking to. Sophia, that's her daughter." Maggie said.
He looked over at the teenage girl looking at apples with her friends. She was a cute kid, and she had her mother's personality clearly, from what he could remember of her. She was all fiery and bounced around like she had ants in her pants. Just like Carol was at her age.
She was leading that boy around by his nose too.
Daryl smiled, because he would have let her mother do the same to him if he hadn't been going to boot camp the next week. If she had even wanted him, which she didn't because he remembered waking up alone and he got the hint.
Still, as he got older his thoughts became less fearful and he was actually hoping to run into her now. She was married, obviously and it was too little, too late, and that was the story of his life.
Merle looked over at the girl too, a sweet little girl, blonde, with the clearest, bluest eyes he had ever seen…except, somewhere before. He noticed the cute little mole on her lip, just like….and then he looked at his brother, then he looked at the girl Sophia again. His wheels started turning just a bit, because that kid looked really familiar to him.
He was likely the only one in the room other than Daryl that knew they had slept together that time before he left and now he was doing some calculations in his head.
There was something brewing in the air, it was thick with the electricity of it and Merle could feel it swirling around them. Something was falling into place like some kind of cosmic coincidence around him.
He took a breath and looked around and then it all happened so quickly.
Daryl heard the bell on the door ring and he looked up as the door opened. All together Carol, Lori and Tara were coming in the store. They were laughing and talking like there wasn't a care in the world for them. He turned to Maggie with a question on his lips.
"Who did she marry? local guy?" Daryl asked Maggie, but not knowing why he was asking, really.
"Oh, she's not married." Maggie said and something flashed in his head as he looked once again over at the girl by the apples, but then it was gone. A flash of thought that was gone before he could even grab onto it and figure out what it meant.
He was missing something here, and he could feel it. He felt like it was something really important and it was just out of his grasp.
Daryl stood there looking at Carol, unable to move or stop staring, she looked just like he remembered. Then she turned and saw him, their eyes locked and the expression on her face was soft. She looked like she might cry.
And then she was in front of him, Carol his old friend. She recognized him immediately, of course she did, she had been looking at his face for the last fifteen years.
No one ever figured it out, she had always said Sophia's father was a frat boy from a college party that she had gone to with Andrea Harrison. No one ever asked questions, and as her daughter grew up she supposed that no one remembered what he looked like exactly.
She didn't want him to come back because he felt guilty, fate would bring him back at the right time for Sophia. Fate had a wicked sense of humor.
But here he was in front of her and his spitting image behind her looking for apples with Lori and the kids. Maggie and Tara were talking by the register and Carol was getting ready to face the music off to the left.
"Daryl, Merle." She said trying to sound like the earth didn't just tilt underneath her feet. She moved closer and smiled, trying not to give into the pounding in her ears. "Welcome back."
Merle leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Daryl stood there, not moving because there was something he was missing still until Merle smacked his arm and then he leaned over and kissed her cheek too.
"Nice to see you Carol." He said.
"You too Daryl." Carol replied.
They all looked at each other. There was an obvious question looming over them. Carol knew that Merle knew about her and Daryl.
April 9th 1999
She had driven him home that night because he was drunk and poured him into Merle's arms. He kept kissing her and trying to get her to come in the house with him.
"Come on Carol, let's do it again." He said as Carol shook her head and looked over at Merle handing him Daryl's hat. "You can stay over, Merle wont care."
They both walked his drunk ass into the house and into his room.
She had helped Merle get him into his bed and before he passed out he said. "Thank you, thank you, and thank you." He grinned up at her trying to kiss her again. "For the best night of my life."
Merle had snickered then and looked over at Carol who was trying to get herself out of Daryl's grasp because he had tried to pull her down on the bed with him and now he was passed out.
"He won't remember in the morning Merle." She had said to him as they walked out of the room leaving Daryl snoring on the bed. "And don't you remind him."
"Why not cookie?" Merle said sarcastically. "Isn't this the start of something beautiful?'
She rolled her eyes ay Merle, because he could never resist teasing her.
"Merle." She hissed. "The last thing he needs is to worry about is me, he needs to worry about keeping his head down, both of you. Alright?"
And then she was gone.
"Beautiful kid you got there Carol." Merle said leaning back on his heels, with his hands behind his back. "Beautiful girl." He paused for effect. "So about how old is she…about fourteen, yeah?"
"Fifteen, she's fifteen Merle." Carol replied, Merle was doing the math. She blew a hair out of her face that had fallen over her eye.
He didn't say anything, just nodded his head. Carol was instantly struck by the knowledge that Merle knew. He knew and he never took his eyes away from her. There was no sense in lying, he was a smart man.
"She turns sixteen next month." Carol gulped, it was simple math, Daryl had left for the army in April 1999, and Sophia was born in December of the same year. Carol had just turned seventeen in February 1999 and Daryl was nineteen in June of the same year and already in the Army by then.
They had been so young.
"I'm gonna get me some more cider from Miss Maggie over there, maybe you two should have a talk, hmm?" Merle said. "No time like the present right?"
Daryl looked at her with questioning eyes, he had remembered everything the next day and he still did. He woke up and she was gone. He didn't think she would ever want to be with him that way, but he never tried either. He knew too, something inside him told him that he just saw his child for the first time. "Carol…I."
"It's true." Was all she said because what else could she say.
"I know, of course, I know." He said taking her by the arm and leading her to a far corner in the store, away from every one. His legs were shaking so badly he could barely stand. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't know how to reach you. " She whispered. "You lit out of here like your ass was on fire."
He nodded because it was true. He kicked the dust off of this town and everyone in it and never looked back again. He forced himself to make a life away from memories of his father's abuse. It was a friendless existence and she had floated through his head more than one time over the years.
In all of the places he was sent to throughout the world he bought postcards. He never sent them though, too chicken shit as Merle would say. He told himself every time, this time he would send them to her, but he never did.
He couldn't get out of his own head to actually do it, they all sat at the bottom of his footlocker in his new room.
The reality of what he let his fear keep him away from hit him right in the face. She would have told him if he had just reached out to her.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry I wasn't here." He said suddenly filled with remorse for all the years he wasn't there and the knowledge that she had done it all alone. It hit him like a ton of bricks, she was barely out of high school at the time.
She must have been so scared. He felt sweat break out all over his face and his heart was beating out of his chest. He hated himself now. His father was right, he was just a fuck up and that's all he would ever be.
"Look." She touched his arm gently. "I think we've both had quite a shock, ok? I've played this out in my head a millions times and this wasn't how I thought it was going to happen. I don't know what I thought…"
She sucked in a breath and he just looked at her prepared to let her talk and get it all out. He was speechless right now anyway.
"It doesn't matter what I thought, you're here now. Are you staying?" She said.
He nodded. "We're here for good." He finally gulped out.
He was a man of very few words anyway. Now he was unable to say a thing, if he had come back he would have found out sooner. He should have tried; he was struck by the gravity of that one decision not to try.
"Do you want to meet her?"
That was an understatement, of course he wanted to meet her. He nodded so hard it looked like his head was going to bounce right off.
"Good, I want you to meet her." Carol said. "She's a lot like you."
"God help her then." Daryl said.
"You aint so bad." She bumped his shoulder with his. A gesture to show him that they were still friends.
"What did you tell her…about me?"
"Everything, your name, that you were in the Army, that we were friends. We were, we were good friends."
"The best." He grinned and nodded. "Still are I hope; I mean…I wanna be."
"Still have to be now, for her sake." She said.
He looked at her and realized he wanted to sat so much and ask so many questions but he couldn't put together a coherent thought. He had a fifteen-year-old daughter.
"Did you really take her to Rocky Horror?" He asked, and he was grinning because he knew she did. Carol was always such a free spirit when they were young and he had loved that.
"What?" She asked. "How did you...?"
"The kids were talking about it; did you really go?"
She nodded. "Of course we did."
"Did ya dress up?"
