Author's Note: Not a drill this time. We're really wrapping this one up. But please remember my advisories from the last chapter about the sex and 'sensitive issues,' being raised, because they will be very much raised again.
Direct pickup.
"There is no real ending. It's just the place where you stop the story."
- Frank Herbert
Our Last, Best, Moments
Carol's hands came up to run her fingers through Daryl's hair as he let his tongue trace around the edges of her left nipple . . . it took only a moment of before she could feel both of them pop to attention again. Which not only felt good, but was a relief too, because after that small, 'teary interlude,' she also kind of needed this to get going again. Fortunately Daryl's approach was clearly working just fine for the both of them, because as his hands gripped her hips, and his mouth moved over to her other breast, she could feel his penis rubbing against her thigh. Her eyes crinkled.
Things were popping up down there too.
And feeling that length of him hardening, was a reminder that she hadn't done anything special for him, like he'd been doing for her basically the whole night so far. Which was why she took that moment to reach down and give one of his balls a gentle massage between her thumb and forefinger. Back and forth she stroked.
From the hum that began to vibrate around her nipple, she was assuming the touch felt good.
Then Daryl lifted his head up and smiled, really smiled. He just seemed so happy that it made her ache for him in a way that she hadn't before. If it had been a few weeks down the road, that probably would have been the moment where she told him that she loved him . . . but they weren't quite there yet.
So she just gave him a happy smile in return for the one he'd shared with her.
It was then that he leaned in to give her a kiss, before mumbling against her lips, "if you wanna roll over, I'm ready to go now."
Her eyes widened.
"Really?" She whispered back as a touch of shyness came into her tone again, "you don't think it's too," her nose wrinkled, "slutty?"
This was where her thoughts about her own sexual desires became somewhat muddled. Because Ed had treated her like a whore for most of their marriage. "Cum bucket" had been one of his favorite terms for women in general, and her in particular, which was why Carol was a little worried about her request to have sex in that position, made it sound like she really was what Ed had always said she was.
And she didn't want Daryl to ever think of her like that.
But then she saw his expression soften as he gave her hip a gentle pat and she immediately felt a little more at ease.
"Ain't no such thing as slutty when you're having good sex," he answered her then with a half shrug, "it's all about having fun." His eyebrow quirked up, "and you do think it's goin' to be fun, right?"
"Yeah," she started to smile, though there was still a faint hesitation in her voice, "I do. I did it once like that a long time ago, and I remember how much I liked it."
"All right then," he gave her a small nod of encouragement, "and I've done before and I liked it too, so if that's what you want to try again, then that's what we'll do. But," he shot her a look, "if it don't feel good like you remember, just give me a smack on the hand and I'll get out of there and we'll go back the other way."
"Right," she nodded seriously, "smack on the hand."
"Okay," he twirled his finger, "then let's go, darlin'."
So after a deep breath and a full heavy, exhale to cover both her nerves and anticipation, because she was really just praying she wasn't going to have to smack his hand because she was remembering everything all wrong, Carol sat up . . . and rolled over. Once she came up to her knees, with her butt up in the air, almost immediately she did start to feel really exposed, and well . . . she took another breath . . . kind of like she used to when Ed made her get on her knees for him.
But then she felt Daryl's hands gently caressing her backside and her thighs, right before he leaned down to press a kiss to her shoulder, and then another one on her lower back.
The breath she was holding came out in a sigh of relief.
Because this was nothing like being on her knees with Ed. That had been horrible and degrading. This here was gentle and loving.
Those had always been the key missing components during her entire awful time with her husband.
And feeling Daryl's fingers sliding up her inner thigh, and moving in and along through her softest flesh again, she had just about gotten herself to totally relax and forget completely about any memories of the bad times with Ed. But then Daryl leaned up to kiss her neck right before he whispered, "just to be a hundred percent, you just want to go from the back, right? I ain't supposed to be using the other door?" and she FREAKED out!
Her head whipped around and that got her balance unsteady enough that she fell back and away from him. Because now she was feeling a sudden, horrific, wave of panic that they might be on the verge of a NIGHTMARISH misunderstanding!
"Oh no!" She hissed with a vehement shake of her head, "no, not the other way!" Her voice faded off as her eyes burned, "that hurts."
Well maybe it didn't hurt for everyone because she did know it was kind of a popular move. For her though, all she'd just had was the fresh sickening flash of memories of Ed pinning her down and her screaming into a pillow. And those memories must have been there all over her face, because Daryl's expression became one of sadness and horror as he reached out to slide his arm around her waist and pull her back, and over to his lap.
She could feel his erection poking into her hip.
"Shh, it's okay, darlin', it's okay," he soothed with a tight hug and a nuzzle of her ear, "that's why I wanted to double check. And if that's something that hurts you," his hand started gently rubbing her belly, "if you got bad memories there, then I'm real glad you told me now, so we don't need to talk about it ever again. Conversation's over."
Feeling a fresh spark of warmth in her eyes, though now it wasn't from sadness over the bad days in her past, but joy that she'd found this man for her future, Carol tipped her head back to his chest and let out that panicked breath she'd been holding. Because he did understand. And he wasn't going to make her say more.
He just knew.
So she reached down to catch the fingers on her stomach.
"Thank you for being a good guy," she whispered while bringing Daryl's hand up to kiss his knuckles. And he let out an amused grunt as he placed his own kiss on her neck.
"I ain't good," he murmured, "I've just known a lot of people who had some real bad times, so I try to be careful, is all."
They were both quiet for another minute with Carol just letting Daryl hold her, before he finally rubbed his cheek on her shoulder.
"So, you feel better now?"
She turned to give him a soft smile.
"Yeah, I'm okay, I just kind of panicked for a second thinking you'd misunderstood what I wanted. But," and she started to shift around in his lap, "if you're still ready, I'm good."
"Ready?" Daryl groaned as the back of Carol's thigh rubbed against his dick, "darlin' I ain't got off ONCE yet! I got a case of blue balls like you wouldn't BELIEVE!"
Even though she knew he was serious about those blue balls, because he really hadn't gotten off yet(!), Carol couldn't help the little snort that slipped out at the look on his face.
"I'm sorry, hon," she whispered while leaning over to give him a kiss, "I have had WAY more fun so far than you. So," she started to push herself up on her knees again, "let's get moving here before your poor penis gets broken."
"Hmph," Daryl grunted as he let his hand slide up in between Carol's thighs again, "don't be joking about that, 'cuz neither one of us are gonna be having any more good times if that dude gets broke."
When Carol let out another chuckle at that, his lips twitched, because this was probably the first time he'd had sex with a woman and actually had fun at the same time. Or . . . he started to get up on his own knees . . . more the point, had more than ONE kind of fun.
The main activity they were there for though, that was still the same, and it was time to get on with the show.
So after he'd given Carol's lady parts a couple of nice and slow back and forth strokes with his middle finger . . . one that made her quiver as the moisture covered his palm . . . he put his other hand on her back.
"Lean over all the way now," he murmured, "and probably take a breath too."
"Right," Carol leaned forward so her hands were down flat on the mattress, lined up with her knees . . . her bottom was back up in the air. That time when she felt Daryl's hands moving in behind her and caressing her backside, she felt much less self conscious than last time. Still, he was right about taking that breath.
Breathing right was the only smart way to take in something the size she was about to take in again.
That's when Daryl's hands slid up to her hips and then he was shifting them both into the right position, as he slipped one arm around her waist, and started to push into her from behind.
The sensation of him filling her again was enough all by itself for her to let out moan . . . one that went right along with his groan. But then he pushed the rest of the way, and he hit that spot. For a second her muscles got so wobbly that she fell forward over his arm, almost like a rag doll. Because God it was PERFECT! Just like she remembered from so far back! So when he started to move, she felt more emboldened.
She pushed back into him, hard.
That's when she felt a hot lick in her ear.
"Guess you do like it this way," Daryl hummed just before he let his hand slide down from her stomach, and back between her legs.
It only took a few moments before they were moving in a perfect rhythm, back and forth. But also with him having one hand caressing her breasts, while the other was down there in her warmth working her into a frenzy. And God every single stroke they took had him hitting her RIGHT in the sweet spot!
It didn't take long after the panting started, for things to begin to get a lot dirtier though.
Not bad dirty, nothing like her life with Ed, but sex on all fours was pretty primal, and as the pressure built, she felt more wanton. Base urges were coming up and out of not only her, but Daryl too. They both started thrusting harder and harder as she heard the sounds of skin slapping, and him swearing like a sailor in her ear.
It felt kind of like they were rutting like animals.
Which didn't sound very romantic, but it FELT unbelievable! And then Daryl's teeth were scraping along the back of her neck, and when he bit down, she let out another moan. It wasn't even a new level of pleasure, it was just ecstasy. Pure ecstasy. And it was building . . . and building . . . and then suddenly she was coming so hard that she had no time to prepare herself for it. She literally let out a shriek. And then another.
And then.
"OH DARYL! OH DARYL! OH DARYL! OH DARYL! OH DARYL!"
Over and over, she was actually sobbing his name, but there was no pain. It was all pleasure. Like all the wires had gotten mixed together. And with her screaming for him like that, Daryl himself ended up letting out a real, genuine, growl and it was so hot hearing that, and knowing it was because of her, that she felt herself buck into him again. And again.
She was still crying for him.
"That's it darlin'," he hissed in her ear as he pounded over and over against her flesh with that perfectly angled thrust of his hips, "that's it! You let it GO!"
And she did, she let go in a way that she never had before. Like all those years of her whimpered orgasms in the bathroom with her little battery operated friend, had been nothing.
This was the real thing.
Everything that had been pent up in her was being released. Even after she started to come back to herself a little, for a few seconds she tried to stay quiet just so the others wouldn't hear. But it was too hard to do that again. And as she felt Daryl licking the sweat off her neck, suddenly she no longer cared much if anyone else did know they were having sex.
Fuck 'em.
The phrase popped into her head, and even though she didn't usually swear much, she heard the thought clear as day. Of course the thought was in Daryl's voice though . . . because he was the one who had set her free. So she figured she might as well listen to him on that point too. Which was when she decided to just let herself make all the noise she needed to make.
It was EXHILARATING!
In fact, she came two more times with a scream, with all kinds of mewling and moans, and little squeals in between. And she was still riding a wave when she finally heard Daryl's sharp gasp in her ear. That was right before his movements started to get shaky and he quickly readjusted his grasp on her to move both of his hands back to her hips. Then his fingertips were clenching almost painfully into her skin and that wonderful warmth began to fill her.
Then it began to spill over and trickle onto her thighs.
Because it took one . . . two . . . three more, final strokes while he cursed up a storm at the top of his lungs, before he was done. Still, she'd been MUCH louder coming than he'd been. But with him spent, and her basically just a puddle of quivering mass herself . . . her arms were literally shaking . . . they both collapsed down onto the rumpled sheet. She was pinned beneath him.
And his breath was so hot and wet in her ear.
"That was the best idea anyone's ever had," he panted breathlessly against her skin, "thank you." And Carol was feeling so blissfully happy and content then, that she found herself letting out a giggle as she reached over her shoulder to pat his cheek.
"Well, it might have been my idea," she huffed, "but you did about eighty percent of the work on that one, so I think we deserve at least equal credit for the outcome."
Daryl's eyes crinkled slightly at Carol's words, right before he tucked his head down to her shoulder, and rolled them both to the side so he wouldn't crush her.
"I'm gonna still stick with the thanks," he mumbled with a gentle kiss to soothe over the ugly red mark he'd left on her neck, "because that was hands down, the best damn screw I've ever had in my life. So yeah," he let out a heavy sigh as he dropped his head back to nuzzle her shoulder, "that was all you."
Not knowing what to say to that, Carol just gave his arm a rub from where it was wrapped around her waist. Then it took another minute or so from there, before her heart stopped racing and they'd both completely caught their breath again. That's when she felt Daryl's other hand move up from where it was resting on her stomach, to catch her fingers.
"You could stay for a bit," he whispered in her ear, "I mean," he sniffed, "I know you can't stay all night, but if you want, we could go again in a little while. I just need to rest for maybe ten minutes or so."
Carol's eyes crinkled.
"Ten minutes," she repeated back with an amused huff, "do you really think that's all you'll need for another performance like that one?"
"Hmm, all right," he hummed with gentle stroke of his thumb along her wrist, "point taken. So let's say twenty minutes to rest up. But I'm sure it won't be no more than that. So," he picked his head up so he could lean around and catch her eyes again.
"Would you stay another twenty minutes, if we could have another thirty or forty minutes of fun?"
She blinked and swallowed.
"Okay," she whispered with a faint crinkle of her eyes, "I'll stay. I will have to leave right after that though, because otherwise I might fall asleep, and," she shook her head, "I can't leave Sophia."
"Yeah," he quickly nodded his head in agreement, "I know. And I promise I won't let us fall asleep. So," he let out a breath, "if you want to settle back and rest a minute, I'll watch the clock."
For a second Carol just stared into Daryl's eyes from where he was leaning over her shoulder.
"Can we switch around?" she whispered, "I mean, if it's okay, I'd like to uh," a soft smile touched her lips, "cuddle?"
Now she was fully aware that actually using the C word might put Daryl off a little bit, even though he had been nothing but affectionate since their first kiss in the hallway. Rather than seeming uncomfortable at her request though, he just looked a little confused. And she watched as his brow wrinkled a bit before he tipped his head further to the side.
"But ain't that what we're doing?" He whispered back, "I mean," he patted her stomach, "ain't that what this is?"
And it was the strangest thing, but Carol felt her eyes start to burn seeing that look on his face. There was an innocence there that was so sweet, and just completely went contrary to everything else she knew about him. So she gave him a quick, soft smile, before he got the impression he was doing something wrong.
Or even worse that he wasn't doing something right!
Just because their positions were shifted from the traditional, didn't mean the cuddling intent wasn't still there. So she answered with a self deprecating huff.
"Yes," she nodded, "you're absolutely right, that is exactly what we're doing. I just meant that I wanted to," she brought her finger up and spun it around, "roll over the other way, so I could um," then her cheeks started to get a little warm, "feel your chest." Then she gave him a shy grin. "It's a nice chest, you know?"
Seeing how Daryl's lips twitched at that right before he let out a snort, Carol knew how much her answer had amused him. So without another word, he shifted them around so that rather than back to front, they were now front to front, cuddled together in the center of that medium sized mattress.
The one good thing about doing it doggy style, they didn't have a huge, sweaty, wet spot to deal with on the sheets. There were just a few damp spots here and there. So once she got herself settled, with her legs tangled with his, and her lady parts very nicely rubbing against his hip, she rested her head on his chest, and let out a happy sigh. He leaned down to kiss her cheek.
"Better?" He murmured, while he wrapped her up tight in those thick, muscular, arms of his. She nodded.
"Yes, thank you."
All she'd wanted was for him to hold her like this so she could feel safe and warm. Also again, this way she could finally get a good feel of that wonderful chest she'd just gotten permission to touch whenever she wanted. Her lip quirked up.
And now this way Daryl could feel more of her too.
For instance, right now, one of his hands had just started to lightly rub her backside. It felt really nice, and it wasn't even that he was touching her in a sexual way like before when he was relaxing her muscles. This was simply . . . affectionate. And after a moment he let out a heavy sigh as he murmured with a light pat to her left cheek, "your skin's so soft everywhere. How is that?"
She huffed a bit.
"Well, the skin you're touching right now has never had even a drop of sunlight hit it, so I'm guessing why that's so smooth. The rest of me," she started to tap her fingers on his chest, "I actually just used a lot of kitchen stuff. It might sound silly but," she shrugged, "Ed didn't want me wasting money on creams or lotions so I made body scrubs out of water with sugar or salt, and washed my face with apple cider vinegar, because I could get a big jug of it really cheap and Ed thought I was just using it for cooking or house cleaning."
"Hmm," he hummed back then with another light caress of her bottom, "that's funny you say that, 'cuz I think my momma used to wash up with the apple cider vinegar. I'd forgotten about that until just now," his voice faded off, "but she had a real pretty face too."
The way Daryl's tone softened almost wistfully when he spoke of his mother, Carol had a feeling that he'd loved her a lot, and that she'd also died a long time ago. This probably wasn't the moment though to poke around into that soft spot. For one thing, she was pretty sure it wasn't a topic he would be looking to discuss at all. Also, if they did somehow did end up going down that path, the odds of them having sex again directly after a dead mother conversation, were probably pretty low.
So instead of doing anything to make him uncomfortable, or temporarily impotent, she just rubbed a little circle on his chest with her fingertips, until finally she felt him take a breath. Then he tipped his head down and pressed his lips to her ear.
"Your whole body feels like silk," he murmured with a nuzzle and a kiss to her cheek. And that was just the sweetest, most unfiltered compliment, that it actually made her eyes sting. Because Daryl didn't say things like other men did. There was nothing false about him. If he said her skin felt like silk to him, he meant that, literally. How do you even know what to say back to something like that?
A simple "thanks," seemed kind of inadequate.
So instead she decided to be just as honest . . . but in a different way.
"I wish the others could see how sweet you really are," she whispered, "then they would be nicer to you."
That's when Daryl let out a huff, and grumbled back, "ain't no reason to wish for that, 'cuz most of them are just a pain in the ass anyhow."
Then he was quiet for a second before he added on with a heavy sigh.
"I did like Amy a lot though. She was a real nice kid."
"Yeah," Carol blinked and nodded, "yeah, she was a nice kid. Sometimes I feel so guilty that I'm still happy for that attack because it killed Ed, but," she bit her lip, "I think God was just fixing things the way they were supposed to be."
Then she lifted her head to catch Daryl's eyes.
"If I tell you something, will you promise you won't tell any of the others?"
Seeing Daryl's brow darken, she had a feeling that she might have insulted him with the question.
"Come on now," he grunted back, "you already know the answer to that question so I ain't even gonna say it out loud."
Feeling another wave of something rise up in her chest, Carol had to sniffle and close her eyes for a second. When she opened them again, she gave him a teary smile.
"Yeah, I do know, and I'm sorry if that sounded a little insulting, but this is just something I didn't think, well," her voice started to thicken, "I didn't think I'd ever tell anyone, because I was just so ashamed of how I handled it."
Seeing Daryl's expression immediately soften with worry as he rubbed her arm, while he whispered, "just tell me, darlin', it'll be all right," Carol took a breath and blinked the tears back.
Then she started to speak.
"Right before he got killed," she bit down on her cheek, "during that time while you were away, Ed did something," her voice cracked, "well, I should say he tried to do something," she blinked and looked back up to Daryl, "to Sophia."
It was hard enough just getting this part out, but when she saw how Daryl's eyes had widened right before she felt his whole body stiffen up, at least she knew that he got what she was saying.
"Naw," he questioned with a horrified, slow shake of his head, "you ain't telling me he went after her, are ya?"
That time she answered a nod and a sniffle.
"Yeah," she whispered, "I caught him in the tent with his hand on her thigh, and I got her out of there, but after that he kept trying to get me to leave them alone," her voice broke, "and I didn't know what I was going to do because it was so hard trying to keep her with me twenty-four hours a day. So I just kept praying and praying that something would happen to him, and then," she sniffled and brought her hand up to scrub at her face, "the walkers came. And I think maybe God sent them to save my girl from daddy," her voice faded, "because I couldn't."
Then her eyes widened as she turned her head to catch Daryl's horrified gaze again.
"I just don't want the others to ever know what he did," she whispered frantically, "because they'll just think I'm an awful mother, and I know I wasn't the best but," she sniffed and nodded, "I did the best I could you know, but sometimes, well," she bit her lip, "sometimes it's so hard to get out after you get stuck, you know?"
That's when Daryl's eyes filled.
"Yeah," he whispered with a faint crackle of his voice, "I know, darlin'. I know."
Then he tipped his head down to kiss to her temple while continuing softly.
"And I'm just sorry I wasn't there for you to come to me when he did that, 'cuz I would've took care of it for you and then you wouldn't be having these thoughts stuck in your head now."
After that he was quiet for a second before he added on with a rub of her shoulder.
"Maybe I shouldn't of gone off like I did, because there might have been another way. But at the time it seemed like the right thing to do, 'cuz I just knew we were heading for trouble, and I didn't want you to get hurt." He sighed. "But it seemed like that happened anyway."
"It's okay," she murmured back, "I'd take this with you now, and him dead and gone twice over, over anything we might have been able to do back up at the quarry."
Everything was a tradeoff, and if Daryl had stayed and she had told him what Ed was doing, then he probably would've gone after him. Then Daryl might've killed Ed and they'd all be living with that now. Or even worse, maybe Daryl could've gotten hurt trying to get her and Sophia free. And if that had happened, maybe he wouldn't have been able to fight off the walkers the way he had.
Maybe he would've been one of the ones who got bit.
So yeah . . . she pressed a light kiss to his chest . . . this was the better way. At least for them anyway. And when Daryl didn't disagree with her last comment . . . he'd just squeezed her hand . . . she figured they were likely on the same page there. Then after a few more minutes of them just laying there, now in the quiet, Carol felt herself start to really relax. Of course the endorphins from the sex had 'relaxed' her, but it was different now, simply being cuddled up with someone who cared for her. Not once after their honeymoon weekend, had she again done anything with Ed that could be defined by anyone outside a true sadist, as cuddling. This though, with the way Daryl had his body wrapped around hers, and how he was playing with her fingers, it actually felt very protective and loving. And though Carol knew that laying there in silence might have been his preferred way to kill the rest of the twenty minutes he thought it would take to recharge, she was now thinking back to their mornings by the fire.
No matter what else happened, those would always be happy memories.
"The only downside of being in here with everyone," she whispered after another moment, "is that we won't get to have private coffee time anymore."
"Yeah," Daryl nodded slowly against her shoulder, "yeah, I liked that time too." Then he grunted a bit, "you always did make the best pot of coffee. Lot better than the others."
Feeling a faint twinge of disappointment, even hurt maybe, at how he'd qualified his answer like it was really the beverage he'd enjoyed the most, Carol bit her lip. Not that she said anything, because of course she knew that he hadn't meant anything by that at all. She swallowed.
It was silly to feel hurt over nothing.
Her silence though, must have been a comment back to Daryl all by itself. Because then she felt him shifting them around until she was on her back, and he was straddling her thighs, with his soft penis resting on her stomach. He looked down at her.
Maybe he saw the tension on her face then, because his expression softened to one of regret.
"I'm sorry, darlin'," he shook his head, "I didn't mean for that to sound like the coffee meant more to me than the time with you. I just," his jaw twitched, "I have a way of dealing with stuff and it ain't nothin' to do with you or how you make me feel. It's just," he bit his lip, "how I get by. But," his brow darkened then as he took a breath, "I'll try and do better, 'cuz I don't want you ever thinking you deserve less, just because I'm lousy at showing you more."
The tears that had started to form in Carol's eyes when he'd begun to speak, started to spill over when he was done. Because she'd just realized that this was probably the first time in his life that Daryl had ever tried to change his whole way of being, just for someone else.
And he was doing it for her.
"You're doing just fine, hon," she whispered with a watery smile, "you've made me feel safer being here with you than anyone else ever has." Her eyes crinkled, "and you've gone out of your way to make me feel good." She reached up to brush her thumb along his lip, "so even if you are new at it, you're not so bad at this kind of stuff." She huffed a bit, "at least no worse than me."
The corner of his lip twitched a bit at that, but it was really the only response he had before he just leaned down and kissed her again. That one was deep and passionate, and when he finally broke away with a gasp, he nuzzled her ear, and whispered, "I think I've had enough rest."
Her mouth quivered as she felt him now rubbing against her nest.
"Your choice this time," she murmured, "whatever you want." Then her nose wrinkled, "except you know, what we already talked about."
"Yeah," his brow darkened a bit as he nodded his head, "I know, and I told you that won't ever come up again. So how about we just go pretty straight forward, but," he bit his lip, "would you mind getting on top for a little while?" He reached out to stroke his thumb along her jaw, "I'd like to see your face this time."
Feeling a faint warmth touch her cheeks at Daryl's request . . . literally the exact opposite of hers to him . . . Carol gave him a little smile.
"Okay, if that's what you want."
So once more they shifted around the mattress, this time though Daryl went on his back and she moved over to straddle his thighs. Then she licked her palm, and reached down to take that thick shaft in her hands. It was already poking up into her inner thigh, but she wanted to make sure that he was totally ready for her, so she started to lightly pump him in her hand. And she could see how his breaths were deepening, so what she was doing felt good. Also, just what she was holding in her hand, wasn't just hard anymore.
It was like a piece of steel.
So she brushed her thumb over his tip . . . which made him jump. And feeling a bit more emboldened then, and also a bit like maybe she should return all those favors he'd been doing for her, she ran the dull edge of her nail straight down the underside of that quivering length.
He jumped again.
"What the hell was THAT?!"
The question came as a gasp. And hearing him suck in another breath, she moved both hands up to cup his balls.
Then very gently, she began to caress them with both hands. And she could tell from his breathing, that her touch was again a good touch, but still that was when he reached for her.
"Appreciate all your good thoughts darlin'," he whispered while catching her fingers, "but I have more fun when you're having fun too."
Her eyes crinkled then.
"You sure? Because I don't want to be," she tipped her head, "selfish, you know? You've done so much special stuff for me, I can do some special things for you."
His lip quirked up.
"It's special enough just being with you, and it ain't selfish if this is how I prefer it. So come on now," he shot her a wink, "hop on."
Of course she couldn't help the little giggle that slipped out that, so she raised herself up on he knees. Then with Daryl's hands on her hips, they very slowly . . . and with a slow exhale on her part and an inhale on his . . . lowered her down.
It wasn't until she felt that tip she had just been stroking, pressing directly into her womb, that her eyes started to fill. And when Daryl's eyes widened as he whispered with obvious concern, "is something hurtin'?!" she gave him a sharp shake of the head, and a watery smile.
"No," she bit her lip, "no, it doesn't hurt. More happy tears, I promise." Then she sniffled a bit, and brought her hand up to wipe the corner of her eye, "I'm sorry if I made you nervous again."
Daryl shook his head.
"You don't gotta be sorry," he whispered back while reaching out to lightly brush his thumb along her cheek, "just wanted to make sure you were okay."
And he saw Carol's eyes crinkle a bit at that, right before she leaned down to give him a kiss. When she pulled away . . . that's when she started to move. All he could think then was, 'God was she beautiful in that soft light.' And with each stroke her breasts jiggled, and God was good there too. It was near hypnotizing. So much so, that he just watched them slowly bouncing up and down, with that same rhythm they were both working down below. Then he let his hands glide up from her hips, and along her sides, and the outer curve of her breasts, until they'd once more reached those perfect, pink, nipples. He caught each hardened little tip in between his thumb and pointer finger.
Then he pinched them.
And when he saw Carol's eyes fall shut, he gave them another tweak. That time she let out a faint moan.
"Is that good?" He murmured, and she gave a ragged nod, "yeah, but they're starting to get kind of sensitive, so not too rough. The way you're doing it now is perfect."
His eyes crinkled as he simultaneously brought his hips up to meet her in another thrust, while at the same time he gave those little nipples another gentle tweak. And he could see how she reacted to his touch each time, that he was really working her up. So he kept it going at an easy pace until he saw her suddenly gasp . . . that was right when she froze mid-stroke. And he could see from that rosy blush exploding out across her chest, that she was hitting the first real high note.
"DARYL!"
His name came out as a moan, as she scrambled to grab for his hand. So he quickly caught her fingers, right before he flipped them over.
"It's okay darlin'," he hummed with a nuzzle of her ear, while shifting his weight to grind his hips, "I'll get the rest."
And as she buried face against his chest, and her nails scraped at his back, Daryl kept pushing them both along. With her whimpering and panting beneath him, as her walls contracted around him, he was feeling that light coming along himself. But he still wasn't quite there, at least not until Carol came back to him some. That's when she shifted her position so those long legs of hers were wrapped up tight around his torso.
He could feel her heel pressing into his upper back.
Then she began to place these light kisses on his chest, while she squeezed his ass with both of her hands, and his dick with everything soft inside her. It was so different than the sex they'd had earlier, and that had been fucking AMAZING, but still he'd be hard pressed to say that this was anything less. It just felt more personal somehow.
Intimate.
That might've been the right word. And that wasn't the kind of sex he was used to having. So even though he knew how great it was gonna feel to come, he almost didn't want to get to the end this time. Like if he could just stay there with her for hours, just riding her like this, that would've been more than fine. So he tried to slow things down a little, to enjoy the pleasure as it built and stretched, but still, eventually his body reached the point like it was supposed to.
It came out of the clear blue though.
'Cuz suddenly he was coming so fast, and so HARD, that he seriously almost bucked himself off of her, and clean onto the floor! It felt like he was riding a bronco! He actually gasped out an almost panicked, "JEEEZUS CHRIST!" as he clutched Carol up to chest and his hips couldn't stop moving as he spilled into her over and over until she'd taken all he had.
For those last few seconds it felt like he made a fool of himself losing it like that . . . but she didn't make fun of him though. Not like any other woman he'd ever been with would have. No, Carol, she just wrapped him up SO tight in her arms, while she panted in his ear, "it's okay hon, it's okay. I got you. I got you."
It was the first time he actually felt tears come to his eyes when he was having sex. Of course he blinked them back quick, but he couldn't deny that it had happened. And when he began to coast down from the brink, he still didn't want to let her go, because he still didn't want it to be all over. So he gathered her up in his arms, and while they were still joined together, he buried his face into her neck, and cuddled her up on his chest.
That was another first time for him.
Because in the past, sex had always just been about his dick and finding it that good, soft place for it to go. And once the screwin' was done, that was the end of the things. Yeah, he'd been with a couple girls over the years he'd liked well enough to want to share a smoke with after, but that wasn't what this was with Carol. There had never been anyone before where he just wanted to stay locked up inside them all night.
And he was startin' to wonder if this was what it was like to be in love.
The thought had been swirling around his head off and on the whole time he'd been away from her. There had just been this awful ache in his chest. And his stomach had felt sick and of course all that was just pounded together after Merle was gone. The first time he'd started to feel more himself again in over a week, was tonight when he'd seen how Carol was looking at him over dinner. That's when he'd started to think maybe he hadn't screwed things up so bad that he couldn't get her back again.
And then his heart would stop hurting so much.
'Cuz if missing her like that, and wanting to just hold onto her like this, wasn't what love was, then he was at a loss. Because all he wanted was to be around her, and to keep her safe. It was like that was his purpose now, to go forward with her. The world ended and he finally found a reason to be alive.
That was a real kick in the ass.
Feeling her silky soft body curled up in his arms though, and her warm breath on his throat, he couldn't imagine anything better coming beyond that moment. And those thoughts were ones he could've stuck with for a while longer if not for Carol suddenly pressing a kiss to his shoulder. And when that was followed by a heavy sigh, he knew she was about ready to get up.
It was time for her to go back to her own room.
Damn it.
Carol had to bite down a yawn when she lifted her head because all she wanted to do was stay snuggled up there in Daryl's arms until she felt asleep. Of course that wasn't an option. Not with Sophia all by herself down the hall.
Still, it was with real regret that she pushed herself back and gave Daryl a sad smile.
"I had a wonderful time," she whispered, "but I have to go now."
Then she leaned in to give him a thank you/goodnight/goodbye kiss . . . it got heated enough that she ended up rolled over onto her back again. And when Daryl finally broke away, it was with a gentle rub of her hip, and a faint, happy, smile.
"I had a real good time too."
The look on his face, how content he seemed, and how she knew that it was because of her, it was enough to make her heart thud just a little bit faster. Because she was falling fast here, and really if not for daughter, there was no reason in the world that would've gotten her out of that bed. So before her resolve wavered, because she was thinking 'oh maybe she could stay just a little longer' . . . she couldn't . . . she shot Daryl a wink, and started to shimmy off the side of the mattress.
At that point she expected that he'd just settle back on the pillow and drop off to sleep. Instead when she stood up to go over and get her t-shirt, she saw him rolling off the other side of the bed to pick up his pants from the floor.
"Where are you going?" She asked in confusion. And he shrugged, and gave his pants a shake to get the fabric untwisted.
"Just don't seem right not walking you back."
That was all he said, but somehow him wanting to bring her back to her room, seemed really romantic. Of course he didn't bother with a shirt, or even the button on his jeans . . . which was a little distracting, given how good he looked, especially with that musky smell coming off of him, and the messy sex hair . . . but he did help her slip back into her t-shirt. And he actually held her hand as he walked her back down the hall. Carol's eyes crinkled.
That was pretty romantic too.
By that point it was well after one am, and the only sounds she could hear were those of the ventilation system. And when they stopped in front of her door, Daryl looked both ways down the corridor before he tipped his head down and gave her a quick peck on the lips.
As he broke away, it was with a mumbled, "so you wanna do this again tomorrow night?"
Her eyes crinkled.
"Absolutely. We'll do it every night if you want, because I have very much missed having good sex. It's been about fifteen years," she smiled, "and I want to make up for all that time. And to that end," her brow quirked up, "if you can maybe scrounge us up some kind of birth control besides me just making the sign of the cross before we get going, then we might be able to fit in a quickie during the daytime hours too."
Even though they'd already accepted a potential baby as an outcome of them having the physical relationship they both wanted, it would be foolish to deny that the more times they had sex, the higher the odds were of that potential baby coming down the pike! So if they were going to do it two of three times a day . . . and she wanted to do it as much as they could without her getting sore . . . if they could just find something to keep those odds just a hair more on their side, that's all she was hoping for.
"All right then," Daryl's lip quirked up at Carol's request, "I'll figure out something." Then he gave a quick look around, before his eyes snapped back to hers.
"You know I could ask the doc. I mean," he shrugged, "how many drugs do they have here? It seems like they'd keep some kind of birth control pills in stock, don't you think?"
It made sense to him, because if they were doing their experiments and shit and needed to find out how something mixed with something else, so why wouldn't they want to keep a sampling of all the basic stuff handy. And he could see Carol nodding her agreement with his thinking there.
"Yeah," she bit her lip, "actually I would think they'd keep samples of a lot of things. But if they don't have any," she gave a tug on the shirt she was wearing, "I got this from the dresser in my room." Then her eyes darted over to his as she finished with a knowing look, "some of the other drawers, might have other things in them though, you know?"
"Uh huh," he nodded, "I hear ya."
Not like he wanted to start wearing a rubber with her, but if it meant he got to have sex in the middle of the day, fuck yeah, he could put on a raincoat from time to time!
Carol was just about to step inside her room then when she turned back around again. She could see Daryl now standing a few feet away, just watching her.
"Hey," she started softly, "you wouldn't want to um . . ."
Then she trailed off with a faint shake of her head, and a, "no, never mind." But she'd already caught his attention, so he immediately walked over to where she was standing. That's when she couldn't help but notice how his pants had slid further down, so they were riding really low on his hips. Strangely, she found herself reaching out to brush her thumb back and forth over that small patch of bare skin on his left side.
It wasn't hard to pick up on how Daryl's breath caught when she did that. Then his fingers covered over hers as he whispered back.
"What wouldn't I want to do?"
Her hand fell away then as she gave him a faint, awkward, smile.
"No, I was just thinking that if you wanted to move in here with us, that you could do that. But," she huffed with a bit of embarrassment, "I'm sure you don't want to do that."
Daryl's jaw twisted once before he looked over Carol's left shoulder to the small body snuggled up on the couch across the room, on the other side of the open door. After a moment of staring at that tiny lump, he whispered, "but won't Sophia think that's weird when she wakes up tomorrow and I'm three feet away?"
It was a valid question, but not one Carol was too worried about. Which was why she just gave Daryl a half shrug.
"Maybe a little," she answered in the same quiet tone, "but since the walker attack, she's become used to everyone being jammed in together even more so than before. So if she asks, I'll just tell her that you stayed with us for protection. And really," she bit her lip, "that wouldn't be a lie. I mean," she looked over his shoulder and down the long, shadowy corridor, "I just want you here because I want you here, but it is kind of creepy around this place." Her eyes snapped back to his. "If you don't want to though, I . . ."
But Daryl cut her off.
"No, no," he reached out to squeeze her fingers again, "I do want to." He threw his thumb over his shoulder, "I just gotta get my stuff."
Her eyes crinkled.
"'K."
So she stood by the door for a second, watching as he turned and walked away. But then she realized that he might be a couple minutes so she turned and stepped back inside the room that she'd left probably, at that point, close to two hours earlier.
The first thing she did was tiptoe over to make sure that Sophia was still sound asleep . . . yes . . . and then the second thing she did was check to see if the note she'd left for her daughter had been disturbed.
That time the answer was no.
And really, as she crumpled it up, she was grateful for that. Because at the moment she was feeling nothing but bliss for that time with Daryl, but if she'd had reason to think that Sophia had been up looking for her while she was gone, then she would've started to feel guilty for taking time this for herself. And she already felt guilty enough about all those times that she'd failed her daughter in the past.
She didn't want to add this wonderful night onto that horrible list.
And with it really having been less than a minute since Daryl had left, she decide to go into the bathroom to clean up a little. Her lips started to twitch as she rubbed her hand down her thigh.
She was kind of sticky.
/*/*/*/*/*/
It took Daryl a couple of minutes to get back to Carol's room, 'cuz when he'd gone into his own, he realized that if they were gonna just use this room for sex, there was no point in leaving anything else behind. Which was why he'd had to do a good walk around to make sure he hadn't dropped nothing, but then after that, he'd needed to grab up the few things that had actually come with the room, that he'd wanted to keep with him. Like the new toothbrush and the toothpaste and the bar of soap he'd found on the bathroom counter. Daily showers were still a thing of the past even if they could stay in this place, but now that he had a full time woman it'd be good if he could at least clean up enough so he didn't drive Carol off in the first month.
So once he'd jammed those three things inside his bag, down beside his last half box of ammo, he'd scooped up his bow and bolts, snatched his boots up with his other hand, and had headed out.
When he got back over to Carol's he'd found that she'd left the door propped a bit, and once he stepped inside, he walked over and placed everything he'd brought with him, down on the floor by the dresser. That's when Carol, who had been locking the door behind him, pointed over to the bed where he could he could see a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants had been laid out.
"They're from the dresser," she whispered as he went over to check out the clothes, "and they should be big enough, but most important," her eyes crinkled, "they're clean." She walked over then to pat his bare chest.
"I'll wash all of our stuff tomorrow."
"Hmm, k," he murmured back while looking down and giving the pants a shake to see how long they were.
Good enough.
So after he threw a quick glance across the room to make sure Sophia was still sound asleep . . . yes . . . Daryl yanked off his worn out dickies, the ones he'd been sweating his ass off in for the last four days straight, turned around, and while completely bare assed, quickly hopped into the clean grey sweatpants with 'U.S. Army' printed in big black letters down the side of one leg. Then he pulled on the matching t-shirt, which he would've preferred not to wear . . . he liked the feeling of Carol's skin right on his skin . . . but he had to figure Carol had put the shirt out more for Sophia's sake rather than his.
Basically so she wouldn't wake up and find him half naked and cuddled up in bed with her mama.
Because yeah, that might cause a little upset and of course he wasn't looking to traumatize that child. Especially given all the damage her daddy had already done to her. After what Carol had told him earlier, he was afraid they might have some work to do there just to keep her little head on straight. And that would be on top of whatever they were gonna need to do just to get her growing up "normal" living in a world where dead people walked around.
The whole God damn situation was fucked.
Still, as he fixed the elastic cuff on his sweatpants where it had got twisted around his leg, he knew he was luckier than most. Because he might've lost his brother, but he'd gained himself a woman and a little girl. And he wasn't going to take them for granted, because if he did, God might take them away. Hell, God might take them away anyway.
But he was gonna do his damndest to keep that day from coming for as long as he could.
In the meantime, once he was all changed, and had moved the small desk lamp sitting on the little table beside Carol's sofa bed, over to the floor in the far corner . . . he didn't like the idea of sleeping in the pitch in this strange place, but he didn't want the light directly in his eyes neither . . . he did a final check of the lock on the door, and then put a chair under the handle for good measure. And he did that, because as he told Carol, "in case the shit hits the fan like it always does, we need to be prepared." After that he put his knife on the now empty bedside table, before he finally climbed onto the mattress where Carol was already curled up on her side, waitin' for him.
She'd left the same t-shirt on that she'd worn over to his room, but while he'd been putting on his clean clothes, she'd also pulled the baggy white pajama pants back on, that she'd been wearin' earlier in the night. Again, Daryl was figuring that was for Sophia's sake, so they'd both be dressed proper come morning. Still, knowing her body as he did now, when he looked at her, he couldn't help but picture just exactly what was underneath that loose flannel.
So while he was shifting around, he shot Carol a wink even while he was reaching over to squeeze one of those firm thighs that'd been wrapped around him barely fifteen minutes earlier. And when he did that, she gave him back a bashful smile as a smudge of pink touched her cheeks. Seeing that was look on her face though, was something that really made his heart ache in a new way. Just 'cuz of all that stuff they did, and how she could still somehow be shy with him laying his hands on her again now.
A man could fall off a cliff for a woman like that.
That was how he found himself leaning over to give her one last goodnight kiss. It went on for a little bit, before he pulled away with a faint smile. One that Carol immediately returned, though he could see how her eyes were shining. They were happy tears though.
He was sure of that.
So he pulled up their blankets, and settled back on the pillow with one arm bent back and tucked behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling that looked just like his.
It only took a second before Carol shifted over to rest her head on his shoulder, while she let her hand settle in on his belly. And he could feel in the tension coming off her, how she was kind of hesitant draping over him that way. That was even they'd just been touching pretty much every part they had, again, not even fifteen minutes earlier. Most likely though, he figured that she was expecting he might be looking for some space now that they were settling in for the night. And it was true, most of the men Daryl knew from life before hadn't wanted nothin' to do with women being in their bed, unless those women were naked. That might've even been how he'd seen things back then too. Back then he didn't have Carol though.
And everything was different with her.
So to make sure she understood that, in how he wanted her as close as could be, no matter if she was buck naked or wearing a bear suit and a parka, he brought his free hand over to catch her fingers. And after he'd brought them up to his lips to give them a kiss, he laced them together with his, and let their joined hands drop back down to his belly again. He felt Carol immediately cuddle in a little closer.
The tension was gone from her muscles too.
And as they lay there in the shadowy room, listening to the soft breaths coming from the little body some feet away, Daryl let out a sigh.
"Thank you for asking me to come in here," he murmured, "'cuz between Merle and me being stuck together out on the road, then being with the group, it's been a long time since I've spent the night in a room all by myself." His voice faded off, "I hadn't been lookin' forward to it."
Not like he didn't generally prefer the quiet, but liking the quiet didn't mean you always wanted to be alone. And since the bottom had dropped out, and they'd all joined up at the quarry, he'd kind of got used to having folks around. Even if probably half of them people had drove him nuts most the time, some of the other ones, like Amy and Carl, and of course most important Carol and her girl, they'd quickly started to grow on him. That's when he'd come to see it wasn't always such a bad thing having folks around.
This woman alone was all the proof of that he needed.
Carol's expression softened at Daryl's words.
"Yeah," she whispered back with a faint nod, "I know what you mean about being alone. It's like the less people there are left out there, the harder it is to be all by yourself." Then she let out a heavy breath as her fingers dug into his palm.
"But I'm so glad you're here with me."
The words came out somewhat impulsively, and with a faint crackle. And she really wasn't expecting Daryl to know what to say back to her . . . he wasn't a, "I'm glad I'm here too," kind of guy . . . so she was fully prepared for him to say nothing at all. And that would have been just fine with her, because sometimes you say things because you need to say them, not because not because you need to hear something back. Which was why she was surprised when Daryl tipped his head down, then he pressed his lips to her ear.
"We're gonna be okay, darlin', and even if we ain't, we'll still figure it out anyway."
That was what he whispered to her, and that was what brought fresh tears to her eyes, because he was probably the only person left in the world who could tell her that they were going to find a way to get through this, and she actually believed him. Still, she tried to blink the tears away quickly because she didn't want to cry again right before bed.
It would just make her eyes puffy in the morning.
So she sniffled and blinked, once, and twice, before she pushed herself up to give Daryl one last kiss. When she broke away, his eyes crinkled slightly as he brought his free hand up to brush his thumb along her cheek.
"It's pretty good having folks, ain't it?" He murmured.
"Yeah," she dropped her head back down to his chest as she let out a happy sigh, "yeah, it really is."
/*/*/*/*
Carol's eyes popped open to find her face buried against Daryl's neck, her leg wrapped around his thigh, and his arm curled around her shoulders. After she'd blinked a couple times, she realized that though he wasn't snoring, she could hear the faint whispery breaths he was making on each steady exhale.
The sound helped a little with her racing heart.
Because at the moment it was galloping like something had just startled her, but she couldn't figure out what that something could have been. The thing was though, as she blinked again and lifted her head, it didn't feel like she hadn't really been sleeping all that long either. Also, the fact that Daryl was still sleeping . . . and he was the lightest sleeper/earliest riser of the group . . . made her think the sound she'd heard couldn't have been that loud. Still, Carol was just about to wake her bedmate anyway, because any sound loud enough to wake her from a sound sleep, was probably a sound that needed to be investigated . . . when she suddenly realized what it was she'd just heard.
The toilet flushing.
Apparently it had been so long since she'd heard one, let alone one in the middle of the night, her brain no longer processed that as normal background noise. But now that she was hearing the faint rush of water running out of the pipes . . . her daughter washing her hands in the sink . . . she was positive that the toilet had been the sound she'd heard a moment earlier. And when Carol shifted a little she saw that the cut of the light from under the bathroom door . . . it snapped off literally the second she looked at it.
The door started to open.
As she heard the soft slap of little feet on the hard floor, Carol slowly levered herself up far enough to catch her daughter's eyes in the faint glow from the lamp Daryl had put over in the corner of the room.
"You okay, baby?" She whispered.
Rather than answering her immediately, Sophia stopped short a few feet from the bathroom door.
Now she was staring over at her mother, and the man on the couch. Apparently when she'd woken up, she hadn't noticed that there was a third person in the room. Understandable, given how she was probably half asleep when she stumbled off to use the toilet. Now though, she just seemed very much confused.
And maybe . . . from the way her eyebrows had just narrowed . . . a little nervous.
So in an effort to alleviate whatever odd fears might have started rolling through her daughter's little brain, Carol slowly pulled her hand out from under the blanket, and where it was resting on Daryl's stomach, to hook two fingers together and, wave her daughter closer.
"Come here, sweetie," she murmured with a sleepy smile. And when her daughter bit her lip, right before she began to slowly shuffle forward again, Carol's smile widened. Because now her daughter was staring down at Daryl with an almost comical fascination.
Something similar to the look she'd probably have if she'd just found a unicorn in the room.
But knowing that she needed to plow right into this before his presence became a source of unease, rather than fascination, Carol quietly answered the unasked question.
"Daryl's sleeping in here with us to make sure we stay safe."
Sophia blinked and looked up.
"But why's he's in your bed, Mommy?" She asked with obvious confusion.
Feeling her cheeks start to redden at the question, Carol's fingertips pressed into Daryl's bicep. Because obviously by Sophia's innocent, just turned ten years old, perspective, this man's presence in her mother's bed would make no sense to her. Which was why Carol was now SERIOUSLY regretting not giving her daughter a more thorough discussion of the birds and the bees! Though Sophia did know that babies came from the "belly," Carol had never really explained about men and women, and "physical companionship." It wasn't anything really that had ever come up before with her daughter being so young . . . again, just ten in March . . . and with their home life, there had been no expressions of male/female affection around their house.
So now Carol was feeling kind of stuck.
Finally though she let out a slow breath . . . it was nearly synced with the same one Daryl exhaled . . . and started speaking again.
"Well um, Daryl's in my bed because uhh . . ."
"Your mama had a bad dream."
Hearing Daryl's faint, rumbly voice cut over hers, right before her eyes snap down to see those long lashes of his slowly flutter open, Carol realized that he'd been awake for at least a few seconds. Long enough for him to realize she was twisting in the wind. His answer though, for a naïve ten year old, it was a good one.
So she immediately latched onto it with a firm nod.
"Right," she confirmed for Sophia while squeezing Daryl's hand in gratitude under the blanket, "I had a bad dream, so Daryl laid down here with me to make me feel better," her eyes crinkled slightly, "you know, just like I do when you have a bad dream."
As snap excuses on the go went, it wasn't a terrible one. It would at least do until she could have a proper conversation with her daughter tomorrow about how Daryl would be staying with them regularly now. And at the same it would probably be best if she finished up that birds and bees discussion too. Because right now Sophia was just naïve about adults cuddling together. But with her and Daryl sharing space and just generally being affectionate, that innocence was going to pass quickly. And Carol didn't want to lie to her girl. If anything, she was actually kind of thrilled for her daughter to FINALLY see how a man was actually supposed to treat a woman.
With respect and a gentle touch.
For now though, watching Sophia look slowly back and forth between the two of them, before she finally shook her head . . . though the headshake seemed to be really more to herself than to the adults . . . it looked like the snap excuse on the go, was going to work just fine for a middle of the night band aid.
A point confirmed when her daughter suddenly turned around and shuffled across the room, back over to her own couch.
It wasn't until she'd pulled up her blanket and rolled over towards the wall to cuddle in again with her new rag doll, that Carol let out a relieved sigh. Then she dropped her head back down to Daryl's shoulder.
"I'll explain everything to her tomorrow," she whispered.
"Hmph," he huffed, "yeah, if you please. 'Cuz that was quite the hairy eyeball I was getting. She looked about ready to march me off to the woodshed."
And Carol rolled over to smother a giggle against Daryl's throat.
"I thought you were the big, strong man who was going to protect us out in the world," she snorted. And he tipped his head down.
"Funny lady," he grunted with a kiss to her temple. "How about I'll take care of the walkers, and you take care of the conversations about man and lady parts?" Carol's eyes crinkled as she cuddled back into his side again. She pressed a kiss to his chest.
"Deal."
A/N 2: Aaaaaaah! I honestly felt horrible leaving them here so happy at the end, rolling along into canon with what's going to happen next :( But just like my note from last chapter, I really think Daryl's obsession with finding Sophia takes on a new edge when you think about him having made a promise to Carol that he would keep her daughter safe. I guess if I come back to them here in this world again, it would be probably be to touch on that time in their lives. The problem is that it's difficult to save everyone, everywhere. This far into canon, I'd have to change an element of the existing storyline, something has to go differently, to allow something ELSE to go differently. So like over in Cedar Forest, Daryl's 'influence' over both Carol and Sophia is already pushing everything in canon down a different path. Here, we have barely a day or two from the CDC exploding, before they ran into the herd on the highway. That doesn't leave much time to pull enough threads to make things go another way for Sophia :(
Also, the idea that this was part of them getting together was canon, and then everything else we saw on-screen happened just as it happened, I think makes Sophia's death, and Daryl's canon guilt in not being able to save her for Carol, all the more devastating. Him bringing her the Cherokee rose is also so much sadder, and sweeter, if you think of them as a couple already, but then later he pushed her away over his guilt for not being able to bring Sophia back. It actually makes it work even more logically that Daryl (who until then would not have struck anyone as a flowers kind of guy) WOULD have felt that emotionally grounding with Carol, to bring her that rose. That was a romantic gesture. Even the scene where she kisses his cheek at the farmhouse works with this CDC stuff in the background. I know a lot of people see the way he startles as it being the first time he'd felt a soft touch, but what if it was more a startle because he was expecting her to hit him because she BLAMED him! And he couldn't process how she wasn't blaming him, like he was clearly blaming himself. He felt so guilty for letting her down, and there she was just thankful that he was okay, and grateful that he had tried so hard to save their girl. It would also explain why Carol just leans right in there and kisses him when at that point in time, NOBODY else would have dared to invade his space that way! She did though :) And you would still get the same initial "DOES NOT COMPUTE" reaction in Daryl's brain to her being so understanding about what he saw as his COMPLETE failure of this woman he's falling in love with, and who he felt, was depending on him to fix this horrible thing for her. That level of real compassion and forgiveness would definitely have been emotions that he was not familiar with at that point in his emotional growth. And then you can build their entire relationship through the seasons after that with them being together all the way through going into season four when they were torn apart by Rick. Then from there Carol's devastation over what happened with the girls has been what has KEPT them apart. Just like in canon, she couldn't lose anyone else. She couldn't lose him. Personally, I think it works :)
Aside from the deeper issues, I think you can see the difference in the sex they had at the beginning was so primal that it was freeing for Carol, and then the second time they were together, it was so intimate, that it was what changed Daryl. Because what each of them asked for physically, was what they needed emotionally, even if they didn't realize it at the time. I just wanted to have a fresh way for Carol to shake free of her bonds. And then also for Daryl in particular, someone who has NO experience with real love, to realize that's what this is that he feels. So he puts it together like a puzzle :)
So again, I hate to leave them, because I really like this version of them, but they have an ending here and we need to get to some endings elsewhere so we'll just let them drift off into the ether.
Thanks everyone! And as always, love to know what you guys think!