Carol looked up from washing dishes to find Daryl headed her way. She was surprised and wary. After their incident in the stable this morning, she had no idea why he would be approaching her now.
Pain radiated through her chest like she'd been stabbed with a knife. His words from earlier had hurt.
Stupid bitch.
In her mind, she could understand where he was coming from and why he said what he said. Logically, she knew she couldn't be mad at him.
But her heart was still wounded. She wanted to scream at him, call him names, make him feel as small and helpless as she felt these days. But she knew she wouldn't.
He stopped directly in front of her, blocking the sunlight. She stared up at him. He was chewing a fingernail, and his eyes kept looking at anything but her.
Finally, his gaze met hers, and she was floored by the intensity. He jerked his head to the side in a follow me gesture and turned around to start walking.
She followed him.
They were silent as they walked. Her anxiety began to elevate as he led her further away from camp.
In her heart, she knew Daryl wouldn't hurt her. But her anxiety-ridden mind kept showing her images of him beating her, kicking her, strangling her. Just like Ed used to do. She shook her head, trying to get the images to go away.
He led them over to the pond.
"You see it?" Daryl asked as they approached the thick brush.
"See what?" Carol asked.
He pointed to a cluster of white flowers blooming in the weeds. As she moved in closer, she could tell they were Cherokee roses, like the one he'd brought her. That seemed so long ago.
"We'll find her," he said.
Carol looked at him. Then they both looked back at the flowers.
They stood there awkwardly. Daryl would look over at her, as if he wanted to say something, then just as she would look at him, he would look away. They went back and forth like that for awhile.
Finally, Carol kept her gaze on the flowers, tired of their game. She could feel the heat of his gaze on her. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him moving his mouth, but no sound came out.
"Hey, um, I'm sorry about what happened this morning."
She looked at him. The sweetness in his voice and the tenderness in his gaze soothed the pain she felt from earlier.
"You wanted to look for her," she said as a way of accepting his apology, "Why? This whole time, I just, wanted to ask you."
" 'Cause I think she's still out there."
Carol's lips twitched into a sad smile.
"Truth is, what else I got to do?" He added on.
Carol looked at him then, really looked at him. He was staring at the flowers, unaware of her gaze. He played things off, but he couldn't hide from her. He cared about her little girl, and maybe even about her, to some extent, even if he couldn't admit it to himself.
He owed the group nothing, owed her nothing. He didn't have to search for her daughter. In fact, there was nothing tying him to the group. He could be off on his own, searching for his own missing brother instead of her daughter.
Without pausing to think, Carol placed a hand on his cheek, forcing him to look at her. She almost laughed at how uncomfortable he looked. His dirty cheeks had gone red.
She leaned in and kissed him. A real kiss this time, not just a forehead or cheek kiss. She kissed him softly and briefly. He didn't respond, except to flinch away from her quickly. She smiled.
Then she moved, reaching out a hand to touch one of the soft petals of the roses.
"We'll find her. We will."
She looked back at him then. He was still red.
"I see it."
He smiled, and it was one of the sweetest things she'd ever seen.
Author's Note: Okay, there you have it! Their first kiss! That's how I think it should have happened in the show. I mean, if you go back and watch that scene, they both look like they want to kiss each other! At least to me, anyway! Now we're getting to the good stuff! Thank you so much for the views, follows, and reviews! Keep 'em comin'!
