Stupid Cupid


xx7xx


"You figured it out yet?"

Her arms folded across her chest and a slight frown on her lips, Carol turned at the sound of Rick's voice, a curious brow arched in question, and waited. She didn't have to wait long. The former Sheriff's Deputy's blue eyes crinkled with humor, and his voice was dry but full of unspoken affection as he approached her, joined her in staring at their understocked food stores with one hand on his hip and the other tugging thoughtfully at his beard. "How to make something out of nothing? Yes. And no."

It was Rick's turn to frown, and he did, narrowing his eyes at her and lifting the hand at his beard to scratch absently at the back of his head. "We still talking about the menu for the party tomorrow?"

Carol's lips twitched as she moved to step around him, parceling out the items for the morning's breakfast. For the second day in a row, she'd been up with the sun. This time, though, there'd been no fretful, teething baby to keep her company. Judith, thankfully, had slept through the night, and Rick, no doubt Carl, too, was in a much better mood for it. Truth be told, everybody in their block probably was. At least they should be. As usual, Carol felt like the only exception. All because Daryl had lit out under the cover of the moon without so much as a goodbye, and she had a sinking feeling he wasn't just fulfilling a promise. He was escaping, and he'd taken Michonne with him. Obviously, she'd made him uncomfortable the night before. "Daryl say anything to you?"

"About?"

Fixing a bright smile on her face, she played off the question with a shrug of her shoulders. "Oh, nothing. Forget I asked. I just thought…"

Of course, Rick saw straight through her act, maybe even more than he realized, and he palmed the round of her shoulder, gave it an encouraging squeeze. "He's with you. Believe it. Trust it."

Feeling sudden tears burn at the unsolicited show of support, not to mention the weight of the subterfuge she was trying to fool Daryl and their family with, Carol simply nodded and clasped his hand briefly with her own before letting it go. Rick's hand slid to the back of her neck, and she sniffled at the grin he offered her.

"You never know. The man might have a few surprises up his sleeve."

"What sleeve?" She laughed through her tears, and Rick chuckled, bestowed a brotherly kiss to her forehead.

"Got me there." He turned to go, Judith's faint, insistent cries heralding the inevitable end of C Block's quiet morning. "Better go. Sleeping Beauty awakes."

"Rick?" Carol called after him, and he paused in his loping stride. "Thank you."

"You've always been good at it, making something out of nothing. Lori liked to say you had the magic touch."


333


The afternoon sky was clear, the sun high and bright, and the air unseasonably warm so when Ryan suggested they move their classes outside to the courtyard so Beth and Zach, Tyreese and a bunch of the Woodbury folk could transform the library into a make-believe getaway of hearts and dreams, Carol didn't protest much. In fact, she relished the increasingly rare chance to set foot outside of the thick concrete walls, and she paid half a mind to the few Walkers that stumbled aimlessly around the Prison's perimeter. They were just stragglers anyway, and she had no doubt Sasha would alert them to any problems that might arise. She looked up when she fell in shadow and smiled patiently. "Yes, Mika?"

"Can I sit by you, Ms. Carol?"

"May I," she corrected absently. "And yes. You may."

The little girl didn't wait for her to change her mind, tucking her short legs beneath her as she lowered herself to the frayed edge of Carol's blanket. Her stubby fingers were smudged with a fine layer of yellow chalk dust, and her loose braid glinted gold in the light of the sun. Her cheek dimpled in her round face as she grinned at her chosen companion. "The party's tomorrow."

"I know."

"Are you and Mr. Daryl going to dance?"

A laugh threatened to bubble from Carol's lips at the very thought, but she gathered it close, channeled it into an easy grin of her own, a ready twinkle of her eyes instead. "I don't think it's that kind of party. But I'm sure you can dance if you want to."

Mika seemed mollified by that answer, her disappointment not lasting more than a few seconds. "At least there'll be music. Mr. Tyreese said they found batteries and lots of old CDs on the run yesterday. He said he don't know what's on them, but that's half the fun. It'll be a surprise for everybody. Don't you just love surprises?"

"Sometimes," Carol murmured, watching as the child started to trace out a string of letters. She soon realized it was a quote from their current book selection, and her brow furrowed. "Mika?" she questioned. "He thought much but said little. Why that quote?" She vaguely remembered Ryan requesting the children write out their favorite quote thus far from The Hobbit in return for a promise of an afternoon of play, but her mind, as it had so many times today, had been elsewhere. With Daryl and her worries over how he was dealing with everything that had happened between them in the last few days, and then this quote. It reminded her of how narrow a path they were walking between hurt and something else because Daryl? He'd be the last to say anything if they threatened to stumble along the way. The man always put his own feelings and wants last. "Why that one?"

"It reminds me of Lizzie," Mika said matter-of-factly. "And it's easy to remember."


Poor Carol, huh?

Methinks she's down at the bottom of the rabbit hole, looking up.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter in spite of the lack of Caryl cuteness. That little angst bunny just keeps nibbling away at our babies, though. It's a pesky wee thing. Emphasis on wee, lol.

More Caryl next chapter. Cuteness and okay. Maybe a bit of minor, easily resolved angst.

Thanks for reading and taking the time to leave me a few words. You have no idea how much they inspire to write more.