AN: Here we go, another chapter.
I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think!
11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
Daryl didn't bother to knock when he got to Merle's house. The sun was only barely beginning to come up, and it was probably too early to call on most people, but Merle was his brother…and therefore…not most people.
Besides…the warm glow of light coming through the windows told him that somebody, at least, was up in the house and he didn't doubt it since Russ was well known for being an early riser most of the time.
Daryl tried the knob and, finding the door unlocked, pushed it open and let himself inside the house.
Merle was in the kitchen in a bathrobe…something Daryl always teased that he loved seeing first damn thing in the morning.
"Russ up?" Daryl asked as he made his way into the kitchen.
"Nah…Andrea neither…" Merle said. "Get'cha damn cup a' coffee…we'll go sit down…I ain't wantin' ta wake her up 'fore she wakes her damn self up."
Daryl nodded his head and went to work fixing himself a cup of coffee. Merle stood, leaning against his counter, and tested his own coffee before grunting and nodding at it…obviously satisfied with it…and then he went into the living room to sit down and Daryl followed him.
Daryl had barely slept any the night before. Between his nerves being shot about the date…and about what he should do as far as a second date…and Russ not being home, his brain had decided that he didn't need to sleep at all. His time was much better spent thinking up all the worst case scenarios that the world had to offer.
"So how the hell'd ya lil' date go?" Merle asked.
Daryl chuckled to himself. Merle…straight to the point.
"Good damn mornin' to ya too," Daryl said, taking a sip of his coffee.
Merle chuckled.
"Good damn mornin'," Merle said. He paused a moment. "So how the hell'd ya date go?"
Daryl chuckled.
"Mmm…went good, I reckon," he said. "She's hot…damn hot…pretty face…"
"Bad personality?" Merle asked.
Daryl shook his head.
"Nah…good damn personality…funny…nice laugh…" Daryl said.
"Then why the hell ya sound like ya recitin' a damn eulogy?" Merle asked.
Daryl chuckled and rubbed his face.
"'Cause she's ever' damn thing that would keep a woman from wantin' a taste a' my life," Daryl said. He shook his head. "Couldn't never figure out how ta tell her ass 'bout Russ, ya know? How ta tell her…hey ya start fuckin' with me…oughta know I spend a lotta damn nights with cold ass lil' feet pushed all up against me…an' I ain't seen shit on television ain't had some damn kinda singin' fuckin' animal in more damn time'n I care ta say."
Merle chuckled.
"Damn boy!" He declared. "How ya know she ain't like kids? Might be tickled damn pink ya got one already…hell…Russ's a good damn kid…"
Daryl took that as his out from talking about the date he was still stewing over and not really ready to fully comment on at the moment.
"How was he last night? Weren't too damn bad?" Daryl asked.
Merle shook his head.
"Russ's a damn good kid," Merle said. "He ain't done nothin'…hell…played an' shit…hung his ass all over Andrea…she went ta bed early…he went ta bed early…she tossed an' turned an' he stuck ta her ass like she was a fuckin' kangaroo…I got up slept half the damn night on the couch."
Daryl chuckled.
"Did I pack the damn bear or d'ja have ta go an' get it?" Daryl asked.
Merle shook his head.
"Nah…ya packed it…don't know why, though. He ain't needed it…who the fuck needs a bear when they stuck ta Andrea?" Merle said.
Their conversation got interrupted when the bedroom door creaked open and Andrea came shuffling down the hall, Russ behind her, pulling at her pajama pants, obviously still not fully awake.
"Ya better come here an' give me some lovin'," Daryl declared to the boy who noticed him around Andrea's legs.
Russ looked at Andrea…obviously decided she had no visible escape route…and bolted toward Daryl, giving him just enough time to put his coffee cup down before Russ slammed into him.
Daryl pulled the boy up into his lap and hugged him as Russ wrapped his arms around him and leaned into him, his sleepy head attitude all the more obvious at the moment.
"Ya sleep OK?" Daryl asked.
Russ nodded his head, his finger sneaking into his nose, and Daryl pulled the finger out.
"I sleeped with Anandrea…" Russ said, his voice still heavy with sleep. "We sleeped real good…"
Daryl heard Andrea chuckle from the kitchen.
"This decaf, Merle?" Andrea croaked, her voice still hoarse.
"Ya know it," Merle responded.
A few moments later, Andrea shuffled into the room and took her own seat with a coffee cup, scrubbing at her eyes with the palm of her hand.
"Don't you just look pretty as a picture first damn thing in the mornin'?" Daryl teased.
Andrea rolled her eyes at him.
"That's alright," she said. "Russ thinks I'm pretty…I woke up this morning and he was leaning over me…blowing his breath in my face…just staring."
Daryl chuckled and squeezed the boy who laughed at it.
"Did you do that?" He asked.
"We was still sleeping…" Russ declared.
"Well?" Andrea asked. "Date? Yes or no?"
Daryl chuckled.
"Boy ya asses is caught up on this shit," he declared. "Was a good date, OK? I reckon…far as dates go…"
"So you're going to call her again?" Andrea asked.
Daryl sucked his teeth. He'd realized that he thought he had the woman's phone number…but he didn't…and he'd started convincing himself that maybe that was a sign.
"Don't got her number," he muttered.
"I do…I can give it to you before you go…got it from Alice," Andrea said. "Next reason why you're going to try to tell me you're not calling?"
Daryl chuckled.
"Hell…ain't fair, ya know? Tell some damn young woman…I got obligations…shit I got in my life..." Daryl responded, going back over all the things that his mind had played up for him all night long…things that he'd turned over and over as the things that would send the woman screaming…or maybe even have her laugh in his face.
He nodded his head toward Russ who was starting to wiggle to get down and he moved to let the boy down, watching him as he went straight toward the kitchen…the sound of crinkling happening as he gained access to "Russ's cabinet" which had food he was allowed to have.
Russ came back through a moment later with one of the breakfast bars he liked to eat in his hand and Daryl reached out to open it, but Russ dodged him like he was playing football and took it straight to Andrea.
"Shit tastes better when ya open it, I reckon," Daryl teased.
"My hands secrete something addictive," Andrea responded, unwrapping the bar and handing it back to Russ. "How do you think I got Merle to marry me?"
Merle snorted and Daryl laughed.
"Seriously, though, is it fair to dismiss this woman without even talking to her about…your obligations?" Andrea asked. "I can't say that it would have changed my mind with Merle if he'd had a kid…"
"But'cha don't know…'cause Merle didn't have no kid…" Daryl said. "An' she…"
Andrea cut him off.
"It's not fair, Daryl…to assume that every woman is like Heather. Whether she's OK with it or not…you at least owe her the chance to make that call," Andrea said. "Call her…ask her out…tell her about your life. Let her make the call…but you don't call her and you're telling her that you had a bad time…you're telling her that it's her that makes you not want to go out with her again."
Daryl sucked his teeth.
"See…this is why the hell I ain't likin' this datin' shit…ain't got shit ta do with her," Daryl said.
"But it does," Andrea said quickly. "And you can bet she's going to think it does…don't be an asshole…give her a chance to make up her mind. Then…deal with it from there…but just not calling? That's an asshole thing to do."
Daryl sighed and glanced at Russ who was sitting on the floor…having drug some of the toys out of his toy box…playing with them and chewing on his breakfast bar.
And he wondered…if he took the chance to call her again…how the woman might react to the little man that had somehow become the most important thing in Daryl's life…because a woman Daryl knew he could do without…but anything less than complete acceptance of Russ was an instant and total dealbreaker.
1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
Carol had found that Sophia wasn't in her bed when she got home. She had figured, then, that the little girl was sleeping with Alice and hadn't disturbed either of them. When she'd woken up, though, she'd slipped into Alice's room and found them both in the bed, and both lost to the world.
Carol slid under the cover and worked her way up against Alice's body, sharing the pillow that Alice's head was barely occupying.
She hadn't meant to wake her, but Alice stirred, and she brought a hand around, scratching Carol's head.
"Morning sexy," Alice said, her voice low and gravelly…it was much more gravelly from sleep.
Carol smiled to herself and moved her own hand, running her fingertips through Alice's hair. Alice leaned into her hand like a cat.
"Morning, beautiful," Carol said.
Sophia's head popped up and Carol smiled as the little girl looked around, her eyes squinty. Sophia had a way of waking up without really waking up in the morning and it was adorable.
After a second, though, her eyes adjusted and she smiled sleepily at Carol whom she had just spotted.
"You're not asleep, silly!" Carol cooed at her. "You're just faking!"
Sophia smiled and dropped back down, scrubbing against the bed a little and Alice leaned up on her elbow, looking at both Carol and Sophia.
"It's not every morning I can say I have two beautiful redheads in my bed," Alice teased.
She dropped back against the pillow again and Carol took to her elbow, hovering over her friend and watching as Sophia obviously tried to work through the last bit of sleep that was making her reluctant to commit to the morning.
"How was your night?" Carol asked Alice. "Was she good?"
Alice looked at the little girl and trailed a hand over, scratching gently at Sophia's back as she wallowed about.
"We watched the movie…had an extra-long bath time…and then we came to bed and snuggled," Alice said.
"She fussed about going down?" Carol asked.
"Mmm mmm…no," Alice said, shaking her head. "No…I wanted her to sleep with me…I never asked her about going to her bed."
Carol nodded her head. It was fine with her if Alice wanted Sophia to sleep with her…she didn't mind it at all. She knew that there were lots of mothers…and she felt like she'd met all of them…that didn't agree with letting your child sleep with you or anyone else…but Carol had always savored it when she could and she didn't think it did Sophia any harm either.
"How was your date?" Alice asked.
Carol smiled softly.
She'd been thinking about it. The date had gone well…she thought. She thought he was handsome…he was charming…she'd like him, really. It was about the best date that she could remember, not that she could really say she had a whole lot to compare it to.
"I don't know why he needs blind dates," Carol admitted. "I'm worried he has…people in his freezer or something…"
Alice chuckled.
"Did you tell him about the pudgywudget?" Alice asked.
Carol chewed her lip. She'd really meant to tell the man about Sophia…she'd meant to tell him at least by the end of the date so he wouldn't make the mistake of calling her again and getting even semi invested in something that he was going to be running from…but it just hadn't come out.
"It didn't quite come up," Carol said. "I meant to…but I…guess I chickened out…"
Alice sat up a little, running her own hand through her hair now.
"Well…is he going to call?" Alice asked.
Carol shrugged.
"I don't know…he might," she said.
"You'd have known if he was trying to get the hell out of there," Alice said. "And that would be the only way he isn't calling…he'd be stupid not to call you."
Carol chuckled.
"Not everyone loves me quite as much as you do, you know?" Carol teased.
"That's because they don't know you," Alice challenged. "And when you tell him about Soph? He's going to love you even more…because toddlers are sexy as fuck…"
Carol laughed. She wasn't sure she believed Alice at all…and in fact she was leaning more toward the fact that she didn't…but it was still flattering.
Sophia, then, committing to getting up, made her way over and crawled over Alice's stomach, making the woman groan, to get to Carol.
Carol sat up enough to lift her over Alice, pulling her into her lap, and considered the conversation about a man null and void for the time being.
He might call or he might not…and she'd deal with that when she had the time…but right now she was Mama and Sophia liked breakfast almost immediately after she decided she was ready for her day to start.
