Daryl pushed the door closed with a click and Carol felt a sense of relief she wasn't expecting. He was going to stay. Carol realized that if any of the group knew they were sharing a room it would start the rumors flying once again. Just like the morning they woke up accidentally spooning, with Glenn grinning down at them. Carol thought Daryl was going to kill Glenn when the buzz about them being a couple was on everyone's lips. But good ole Daryl set most of them straight while Carol chose instead to let them believe what they wanted.
Living in such a close group you saw things, likely before the people involved even realized it themselves. Carol had a feeling that others saw in her and Daryl the same thing she saw when she observed Rick and Michonne. If Rick was ever confronted about his feelings he was likely to pass them off as simply keeping Michonne close for Carl's benefit. Rick's son adored her and they had become very close. But Carol saw the way he looked at Michonne when she didn't know he was watching. He was battling with the guilt of falling in love after losing his wife so tragically. Michonne was harder to read, but if you watched her long enough she let her guard down eventually, you just had to be watching at the right time. There was no doubt in Carol's mind that the two of them had deep feelings for one another.
Carol hoped that's what people saw when they looked at her and Daryl. Whether or not they ever became a real couple there was a deep bond between them that couldn't be denied.
Daryl was gazing around the room, trying to find a spot to lie down. Carol wondered if she should just offer for him to share the bed. They had slept side by side on the ground almost every night for weeks. But she worried he would bolt if she suggested it, so instead she offered the pillow, "here, I have the bed, the least I can do is give you a pillow." She tossed it to him.
"You sure? I don't really need it, I'm pretty used to sleeping without one now," he replied, offering it back.
"Take it," Carol insisted. "We might have to get used to having pillows, blankets and beds soon."
Daryl pushed a few things aside and threw the pillow into the corner of the room. "Thanks. Night," he said, lying down.
"Welcome," Carol whispered, rolling over and attempting to go back to sleep. Daryl was snoring softly across the room only minutes later, but Carol was still restless. She had fallen asleep so easily earlier and it bothered her. The bed was so comfortable, she was terrified she would fall into a deep sleep and not wake if danger approached. Carol knew it was stupid. The living room was full of people who would alert the rest of them at any sign of danger. And she knew Daryl was a light sleeper, even though he fell asleep quickly. But she couldn't shake the fear of being anything less than 100% prepared to deal with an attack.
Carol grabbed the blanket and got out of bed. She crossed the room to where Daryl was sleeping and lay down beside him, covering them both with the blanket. He woke immediately and reached for his weapon, like she had earlier. "It's just me," Carol said, patting his arm gently.
"What are you doing?" he asked groggily.
"Can't sleep in a bed, not yet," Carol sighed. "Makes me feel... unprepared." One of the things she loved most about Daryl was that he always understood and didn't question her. He simply scooted over to give her more room and pushed more of the pillow in her direction, so they could share. Carol rolled her back to his, claiming part of the pillow. Finally, her mind eased and she could sleep.
When they woke the next morning and nothing had happened during the night Carol felt like an idiot for wasting the comfortable bed. She could have suggested Daryl take it, but he seemed content with her lying beside him like they always had. Carol wondered if that was subconsciously part of her decision to go lay on the floor, but she pushed the thought away and sat up. "So, you wanna try and sneak out of here first? Or are we just gonna take all the ribbing we're gonna get?" Carol asked him with an easy smile.
"Hmmf," he grumbled, looking up at her. "They start that shit and I'll shut their mouths quick." Carol shook her head and continued to smile at him. "What's got into you?"
"No one attacked us during the night… Maybe tonight we can stay in our own house," Carol shrugged. "I'm trying not to get too excited, but there's so much potential here…"
"Yeah, well I'm not buying it, not yet," Daryl said, sitting up beside her. "I got a bad feeling. Ain't ready to let down my guard any time soon."
"I know, I feel the same way… but when I see that house… and know that it's our house, with our own rooms and our own kitchen, and a shower… toilet…" Carol stopped suddenly, feeling a sense of panic. "It's all too much, isn't it?"
"I hope not," Daryl said gently. "But just don't give in yet, promise me that okay?"
"I promise," Carol agreed, knowing in her heart that Daryl was right. She got to her feet and offered a hand, pulling Daryl to his. "Let's go see what Rick has planned." Carol would be ready to question anything she didn't agree with, but she had a feeling Rick and her were on the same page this time.
Just as they entered the living room there was a knock at the door. It worked out well because it distracted the others from the fact that her and Daryl had appeared together, from the same general direction. Rick opened the door and an older man was standing there. "Ah, you all stayed in one house, smart."
Rick quickly introduced the rest of the group to Douglas, the leader of the community they would all meet over the course of the day. "Michonne, your turn," Rick said, sending her off with the man. A woman showed up moments later and offered them food. The group was a bit wary about eating food prepared by others after their experience at Terminus, but the food she brought was all packaged – granola bars, little containers of apple sauce, snack packs of cookies and juice boxes.
It was food they hadn't eaten in a long, long time and they all attacked the offerings thankfully and hungrily. By the time they had finished eating, setting a few things aside for Michonne, she had returned. "He said to send someone else…"
Before Michonne finished speaking Daryl was heading for the door. "I'll go. Wanna get this bullshit out of the way," he growled, in his usual charming way.
"Hey, Daryl," Rick called after him. "Easy, okay? He's not a bad guy, you'll see."
Carol eyed Rick, Michonne and Sasha as the door shut behind Daryl. "He does seem legit," Sasha spoke up.
Michonne echoed her sentiment, "I think so too. I didn't want to trust him, but he gave me no bad vibes or any reason not to…"
Carol listened as the three of them explained the process. Douglas asks some questions, gets to know them a bit, learns about their skills and then he determines their place in the community. So far they had all agreed with what he offered them. Rick would be the community peace keeper, basically a police officer to take care of any conflicts within the community. Michonne would be part of the team that went on runs, but also Rick's second in command when she wasn't away. Sasha was on the construction crew that was working on expanding the community.
"Can I go next, when Daryl returns?" Carol asked. She felt a lot like Daryl did, she just wanted to get it over with. Rick nodded and she went to the window to watch for him. When she saw Daryl making his way towards the house she took off out the door to meet him. "What did you think?" she asked quietly, in case people were listening.
"You'll like him," Daryl said. "Seems like a good guy… but I'm sure the Governor seemed like a good guy too. He's a politician," Daryl grunted. "You can like em, but never trust em."
Carol smiled at Daryl's wisdom. She trusted his intuition as much as she trusted her own. "What's your job," she asked, as she started to walk away.
"Whatever I want," Daryl said with a grin. "Wherever I'm needed really, but he spun a nice little web that made me feel like I have a choice, whether I do or not." His face got serious, "guard up, 'kay?"
She nodded and headed off to find the house Rick had went into the day before. Carol passed a couple kids playing and forced herself not to think about Sophia, but she couldn't help it. If only her baby girl had survived or they had found a place like this before she died… Carol took a deep breath as she spotted the house and made her way to the door.
Douglas pulled it open as she approached and ushered her in. "Carol, right?" She nodded, pleased he'd remembered her even though he'd been introduced to the entire group at once. "You and Daryl…" he asked, obviously curious if they were together.
"Friends," Carol responded quickly. Douglas gave her a knowing look, indicating he didn't believe that for a second. He was perceptive, Carol would give him that.
"He mentioned you," Douglas said, leading her into his office. "The look on his face… I just assumed." He pulled out a chair for her and pushed it in as she sat. Carol wasn't used to such courtesies anymore, or ever really.
"Yeah, you and everyone else," she muttered under her breath, eliciting a smile when he heard her.
The process didn't take long at all, he asked a few questions about her past and what she did before the ZA and then talked about some of the new skills she'd acquired since. Carol told him about teaching the kids back at the prison. She was upfront and honest that she believed even the children should know how to protect themselves. Douglas agreed with her, but didn't offer to let her teach them survival skills. He did offer her a job working with the current teacher though and Carol accepted. She knew she could have mentioned other things such as her incredible skills with a rifle, especially from long distances. She was an amazing shot now that she was comfortable with any gun that was put in her hand. Daryl had helped her a lot and she was pretty sure she could match him shot for shot and may even been a bit better from farther away from their target. Carol also learned a lot from Hershel and knew she could help out in the infirmary too.
If she had a choice she would have loved to spend some time in the bell tower, where she saw a man with a rifle camped out the day before, in the afternoon, when they were taken to their new homes. As he was walking her to the door Carol peered out the window and noticed there was no one standing guard in the tower. "Why is no one up there?" she asked, thinking perhaps they remained hidden at times, which made perfect sense.
"We only have one sharpshooter," Douglas explained. "He takes the night shift and sleeps during the day."
Carol felt excitement building inside her. "I can do that," she said, turning away from the window to face him. "Daryl could too. But I want to do it. I'm a great shot. Ask Rick and the others, they'll tell you."
"Let me talk to Rick later, okay? And get through meeting the others…" he smiled at her. "I'm not saying no, just give me til this evening and I'll let you know at the party."
"Party?" Carol asked wondering if she had heard correctly.
"Yes, we're planning a little get together for the whole town, about 50 of us now," Douglas explained. "Good chance for your group to get acquainted with the others."
"Oh… I guess…" Carol said, somewhat mystified. She had all but given up on doing normal things, like going to parties and celebrating holidays.
"There's a shop beside the infirmary where we keep all the clothes we've gathered. A lot of brand new stuff, dresses, blouses, jeans, a bit of everything." Carol listened, very interested in the idea of clean clothes. "Take some of your group and go pick out new clothes and something special for tonight," Douglas said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Then send a few more until everyone has had a chance to pick out clothes." Carol had no idea what to say. She was absolutely reeling from how different things would be in this new place. "Can you send me Glenn next? I've heard he's your go-to guy for supply runs, I'd like to meet him."
"Yeah of course," Carol got out, finding her voice again.
Douglas lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. "It was a pleasure to meet you Carol," he said. It sounded sincere.
Fuck, she thought as she headed down the street to find Glenn, I like him.
Once Carol had sent Glenn off to meet the man in charge she found Daryl in the living room, cleaning his crossbow. "Come on Dixon," she said, lifting the weapon out of his hand. "We have some shopping to do."
"What?" he replied, eyeing her in confusion.
"I was told to take a couple people to the clothing store. Abe, Rosita, you guys come too," Carol said, inviting the only others currently in the room. "There's a party tonight. We have to get cleaned up," she smiled at the look of excitement on Rosita's face and the awful scowl on both men's. "Suck it up boys, you both stink, even after your showers. Time for some new duds."
"Ain't nothing wrong with what I got on," Daryl said defiantly. Carol gave him a look and he followed the three of them out the door, grumbling the entire way to the shop. "I don't want to go to no stupid party," he said, coming up beside her.
"Rumour has it there will be alcohol…" Carol said, shooting him a sideways smile, forgetting that the last time Daryl had been drinking was quite a dark time. Thankfully it didn't seem to trigger anything for him, he'd likely buried it after Beth stayed behind back in Atlanta. Things truly had turned out well for her and Carol was proud of the way she'd stepped up and found a purpose in the crazy world they lived in. The youngest Greene surprised her, but Carol realized it was a whole lot of Beth's daddy shining through.
"Alcohol," Daryl repeated. "Hmm," he said, wandering towards a rack of men's clothing and starting his search.
Carol found herself looking even more forward to the evening, knowing Daryl would attend without having to be dragged kicking and screaming. She smiled and started to hunt for the perfect outfit…