"You're letting a tiger pick your leader?" Daryl scoffed. "This place is a joke," he added under his breath. Carol gave him a warning look. Sometimes his lack of a filter could make him a real asshole. He looked back at her, challenging her briefly, then turned to Jerry. "No."
"No? That's it?" Jerry looked wounded.
"No thank you? Is that better?" Daryl snapped. Carol was taken back with his behaviour. She couldn't understand his need to be such a dick in response to what many would at least consider an honor even if they didn't want the job. Daryl seemed to be taking it as an insult. "I'm going for my walk now," he said, turning to leave. He didn't even have to beckon Shiva, the second he started walking she was by his side.
Carol watched him for a moment and then turned to Jerry. "I'm gonna go see what that was all about… any news on Morgan?" She added quickly. Jerry shook his head sadly and with a nod she took off to catch up with Daryl, just outside the gates.
Daryl knew she was behind him but he didn't slow down. She rolled her eyes and sprinted the rest of the way until she was beside him, matching his pace. "What the hell was that?" Carol hadn't intended to sound so bitchy. It wasn't that he didn't deserve it, but she didn't want to escalate things unnecessarily.
"Oh come on," he growled, stopping to face her. "They don't want me." Carol stared back, confused. "They want you - and her," he motioned towards Shiva.
"What are you talking about?" Carol shot back. "They do want you, Jerry came to talk to you."
Daryl shook his head vigorously. "You're wrong. That's their way of kissing my ass because if they can get me they'll get you and I won't take Shiva home with me." Carol understood his mindset, but she still didn't agree with it. "I ain't a leader. Look at me, look at how I react to stuff. I'm hot headed and I don't think. I ain't like you. You're the leader they really want."
What he was saying made sense. But she refused to let him win without pointing out his good qualities too. "You could be a leader Daryl," she said softly. "You're braves and you care about people. You wear your heart on your sleeve and sometimes that's exactly what people need. They want to follow someone who is real, who they understand." Carol could tell he was trying to ignore her, but she could also tell he had no counter argument. "Don't ever sell yourself short," she added. "People would follow you. I, would follow you."
He was silent for a moment and then he shuffled his feet and kicked at the ground. "Don't matter anyway," he grumbled. "I ain't gonna lead this place. I just wanna go home. Can we go? Back home?" There was that little hint of a kid in his voice that made her heart melt and reminded her that though he'd come a long way there was still a bit of emotional immaturity in him that came out when he was anxious.
"Daryl," she sighed. "They need us until Morgan comes back or they find a new leader."
"They need you," he corrected her.
"And I need you," Carol replied, not bothering to argue his point.
"You don't need me, you haven't needed me in a long time," he said. "You want me - I need you or I would have left already."
Carol knew he was right about the first part. She didn't need him. She didn't need anyone. She had proven time and time again that she could survive on her own. But he was wrong about the second part. "You don't need me either, you know that," she started. "I think you stay for a few reasons… great sex…" Carol watched him blush before she continued. "My cooking. My charming personality," she gave him a brilliant smile. "And her," Carol looked at Shiva, who had curled up on the ground to wait. "You don't know what people would say or think if you showed up at Alexandria with a tiger."
Daryl shrugged. "I ain't taking her with me."
Carol crossed her arms and grinned, "I'm not sure you really have a choice." Daryl crouched and rubbed Shiva behind the ear. "Daryl," she said gently. "Just stay a little longer, please? If Morgan doesn't turn up in a few more days I'll find someone to lead and help them get used to it and then we'll go."
"I wanna go home," he said stubbornly. "They can figure shit out. They will if you make 'em."
"Please?" She tried again.
"Whatever," he grumbled, trudging off, brooding. Carol sighed and watched Shiva trot off after him. She got what she wanted, he would stay. But he wasn't happy about it and she hated upsetting him.
The rest of the day didn't fare much better. Daryl didn't come back from his walk until almost dark. She was actually starting to get worried, though she knew Daryl could take care of himself even without a massive guard cat. She realized when he did come back that his pissy mood was only about to get worse because he promised to put Shiva in her cage.
"Jesus Christ," she muttered under her breath as she watched him slowly lead Shiva towards the building where the cage was. They both looked absolutely pitiful. If she wasn't annoyed with Daryl for being such a grumpy shit she might have told him to let Shiva stay on the porch one more night. But between her irritation and the fact that she knew it would just be the same thing the next day Carol just let him shuffle away and waited.
"I'm sorry, I know that was hard," she said when he came out. Daryl grunted in response and headed towards their place. Carol threw her hands up in the air, sucked in a breath and followed.
He was quiet through their late dinner and then afterwards went straight to bed. Carol knew his mood was because of her need to stay at the Kingdom longer and she stayed up with a cup of coffee to think. It was the first night in a while that sex clearly wasn't on the table and it made her sad. Being intimate with Daryl was her happiest of happy places. It could make any bad day better and now, after a pretty crappy day, it wasn't an option.
She pondered his comment about how they would just figure it out if she wasn't around to help and Carol knew he made a good point. But they had been through so much… She sighed and shook her head, it felt like she was screwed either way.
Carol finished the coffee and went to bed. Daryl was already sleeping and while part of her was still disappointed about missing sex, the rest of her was thankful there would be no more arguing or disagreement at least.
The next morning she woke before him and started thinking again. Suddenly she had a great idea that she was dying to talk to him about. Carol rolled over and flopped an arm on his chest. "Are you awake?" She asked, knowing he'd still been sound asleep.
"Am now," he muttered, rubbing his eyes. He looked so cute with his hair all messed up, squinting at her that Carol had to work hard to resist kissing him.
"I have an idea," she said excitedly, tapping his chest. Daryl gave her a strange look but it was clear he'd softened from the night before. "You should go home for a day or two, for a visit. I'll stay here and keep working on things and you can go visit Rick and the others. See how they're making out… and enjoy being home for a bit." His face didn't give anything away. "And maybe you can introduce them to your new friend," Carol smiled. "There's that chain leash thing that Ezekiel used to use and there's that cell Morgan built if you need it… what do you think?"
Daryl nodded. "I think it'd be nice and I'll go but…" He slid a hand down her back and let it rest on her ass. "You know it ain't gonna feel like home until you're there with me."
Carol took his face in her hands, "Soon babe, I promise." She kissed him softly and the next thing she knew they were more than making up for what they had missed out on the night before.
An hour later she walked with him and Shiva to the gate and watched him load the tiger into the back of a truck. She took up the entire thing and it looked hilarious. Daryl came back and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. It was more than she'd expected in public, they had already said their goodbyes alone a few minutes earlier. "Stay safe," he whispered.
"You too," was all she could manage. He would be back the next night, or earlier depending on Shiva, yet she felt really emotional watching him go. As soon as the truck was out of sight she threw herself into her work to stay distracted.
Late that afternoon the gates opened and the knights came in… with a stranger. It was a pretty brunette woman. They brought her to Carol. "Found her out near the old drop site. She's alone… hungry… looking for somewhere to stay," Daniel explained.
Carol still didn't trust easily but she knew the Kingdom had trusted Morgan and saved her life not all that long ago. "Welcome to the Kingdom," Carol said, hoping her gut was right when it told her to honor Ezekiel's kindness and help this woman. "I'm Carol," she said, extending her hand.
The woman reached out a dirty, trembling hand and shook it. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Sherry."