Karen was no Tyreese, she had no problem calling people out on their bullshit and had done it with Carol a few times in the past.
Sometimes people had to face the truth about things and their lives and Karen was not sugar coating anything for anybody.
That would be a huge disservice and she believed in honesty at all times. That was why Alisha recommended her in the first place.
Carol had been a challenge for Karen. She came to her saying she wanted a baby, yet she was clearly still in love with her ex-husband, who didn't want children at all.
Alisha, seeing that Carol needed someone to talk to after her divorce sent her to Karen. There was no way Alisha was going to sign off on invitro for Carol when she first came to her. Other doctor's might just take her money and do the procedure and not worry.
Alisha was not that kind of doctor, she cared deeply about all of her patients. She saw that Carol was almost desperate and that didn't bode well. They needed to know why she was so desperate and if she realized the challenge of single parenthood.
Karen was a single mother, of three girls and she had a husband at one time, it still wasn't easy even when Jim was alive.
When he died, her life got hard. It would not be an easy life for Carol either.
Tara was Carol's friend and that was how Alisha came to be Carol's doctor, when she and Tara met on a dating site.
Carol had come to her wanting to have a baby and in the middle of the consultation that first time, Alisha had gleaned that she was newly divorced. She had been upfront with Alisha and honest about still loving Daryl even after she left him. She wasn't ready to even think about invitro, even if she thought it was what she wanted, so Alisha sent her to Karen
Karen had her reading self-help books and trying to improve herself from the jump. She also called her right out on the invitro thing, it was not a good idea three months after her divorce was final.
Carol had a lot of work to do on herself first before she could ever think of becoming a mother.
Then slowly they addressed her issues, about leaving Daryl and why she did it. So by the time they both sat in front of her that day Karen knew their complete history.
She knew they met at the age of fourteen in geometry glass and married right out of high school. Karen knew they were incredibly happy for most of their marriage until Carol started talking about babies.
That was when it all went bad. Karen knew how incredibly angry Carol was with him for not keeping his word to her. They talked about having kids from the minute they knew they would be together and he agreed with her, then.
He changed his mind and that was part of what led to the demise of their marriage. She had decided that love wasn't enough and she left.
What he said to her didn't help things at all, so she decided to give him just that. She would leave and find her own way to have a baby.
She couldn't be with anyone else, it felt so wrong. He couldn't either, and here they were.
Karen sat behind her desk and met both of their eyes as she began to speak.
"It's nice to finally meet you Daryl, I feel like I know you already." Karen said to him.
He nodded. "I guess so." He looked over at Carol. "She tell you about me?"
Karen nodded. "Let me tell you a little about what Carol and I do here. We spend the first half hour of our sessions with her doing free talking with me, about anything she wants to talk about. I don't comment or advise her. The second half hour we engage in dialogue with each other. It's uncommon for counselors to give advice and I try not to do that. But I do steer her towards helpful books or activity."
Daryl nodded, he was used to this with Tyreese but Ty never recommended things for him to do, it was more Daryl talking and Ty listening. Sometimes he would say something about the topic, but not too often. He preferred to have Daryl reach his own conclusions about things.
"Do you think this might be good for both of you to engage this way?" Karen asked.
They both nodded and Daryl spoke up. "We have to engage some way, this is as good as any."
"Fair enough." Karen said. "So free talking first? What's on your minds today?"
/
By the end of the session they had both copped to sleeping together the previous Friday night out of desperate need to be together. Carol had told Karen that she would never see him again for that very reason. Karen was well aware of the attraction they always had to each other.
She wouldn't even take his calls, if she heard his voice she knew she would cave. Just like she did on Thursday when she agreed to meet him the next day. Karen knew all this and she listened to them noncommittedly. The first half hour they talked to each other about their marriage and how it had once been.
The second half hour the three of them talked, true to her word Karen gave no opinion but she asked questions that were meant to draw them out.
"Are there plans to do that again?" Karen asked and Carol blushed so deep her face almost matched her red shirt that she was wearing.
Daryl had no problem speaking up. "As soon as I can talk her into it again."
Karen smiled at his candor, couples therapy always worked better when they were honest and he certainly was.
"Daryl!" Carol said feeling embarrassed for the first time with Karen.
"Just bein honest, but I know that's not the answer to fix what we broke."
"Probably not, but you both want to fix it and that's a start. I have to warn you both though, the reason you broke up, that's still there and it's a big thing between you."
"We don't have to solve it in one day either." Daryl said.
"Ture enough." Karen stated and then let them know the hour was up.
/
Don't you worry there's still time.
You Wouldn't Like Me-Tegan and Sara
They saw Karen twice a week for a few weeks and were making progress in the communication that had been so lacking before with them. They actually talked without getting angry and were able to see the other's point of view.
They went out together often but lived apart. They spent time with their group of friends, both together and apart. They were almost a couple again, just taking time to get to know each other all over again.
They slept together sometimes and sometimes they didn't, it was almost normal. If dating your ex-husband could be considered normal in any dimension.
Carol and Daryl gave each other space to think and that was a new concept that Karen had suggested. They couldn't move back in together with things still unresolved, but they were moving forward. Both of them hoping they could be together again without resentment, one day.
One night in August Maggie and Glenn left to go on a weekend trip. Carol and Daryl had been in counseling for a little under two months, both together and separately.
It was going well for them having another person mediate and assist them was doing wonders for them. They were eating pizza at her apartment that Friday night and Daryl had been staring at her all night he wasn't hiding it either.
Finally she said something to him. "What's with you tonight?"
"Just looking at you."
"I see that." She said walking back to the couch and sitting down with him.
"Just, I'm really happy, I know that there's shit still, but at least we're talking."
She nodded. "I know."
"I love you, you know. I mean I really love you." He said softly. "I've always loved you."
"I really love you too." She said smiling and turning to face him on the couch.
"I wish I could give you what you want."
"Let's not talk about it tonight, we can bring it up with Karen on Tuesday ok?"
"Ok, sure."
She leaned over and kissed him and they both sighed like they always did when they kissed now. It was special and something they never thought they would ever have again.
It was sacred and something to not ever take for granted.
"You and Merle going hunting tomorrow?"
He nodded. "Getting up at four."
"Okay." She said climbing onto his lap. "I know you can't stay late, but can you stay a little while?"
He took a deep breath and pulled her closer, so that her legs were on either side of his and gave her a scorching kiss.
"That feel like I'll stay a while?" He asked and she smiled grinding her hips into his. She kissed him again and moved herself down his lap.
He stood up and maneuvered them so that he was on top of her and they were pulling at each other's clothes before too long. It was frantic, like it always was now, two starving people trying to get the food they needed.
She lifted her hips to help him get her pants off and he unceremoniously threw them across the room, along with her underwear.
He stood up and unbuckled hid belt and unzipped his pants, dropping them on the floor with a clank. Then he was back on top of her and kissing her. He moved his mouth down her neck leaving wet kisses along the way and his hands were working their way under her shirt.
"Sweetheart, there aint nothing better in the world than you." He murmured against her skin as his hands found their way to her breasts.
The only breasts he had ever touched in his life. He hadn't even kissed a girl before her. They were on the other side of thirty already and had only ever been with each other.
He took his time running his hand over her, teasing her nipple through her bra until it was hard and she was moaning.
"Daryl, if you don't get moving, I'm going to kill you." She said taking his hand and bringing it down between her legs.
"That what you want sweetheart?" He said running his fingers along her folds and pushing one finger inside her.
"Fuck, Daryl, yes." She arched her back and pushed her hips into his hand. "Yes."
"That's it, good girl Carol." He crooned into her ear. "Come on baby, come all over me."
He didn't stop until she was screaming his name in the quiet apartment then her hands were grabbing at him and easing him inside of her.
Then he was moving like she had asked him to both their hips crashing into each other until they both exploded in a haze of sweat and exhaustion.
They fell asleep on the couch with him still on top of her.
He woke up around midnight and carried her to her bed, tucking her in carefully and kissing her goodnight. He went back into the living room and got dressed.
In the kitchen he found a note pad and pen and wrote her a note.
Carol,
No matter what happens and no matter how this works out. I have loved you all my life and I will love you the rest of my life. Thank you for giving us a chance again.
All my love,
Daryl
/
The phone was ringing and she couldn't figure out what was going on at first. She was in her bed naked, Daryl must have carried her. She reached for the phone and turned on the light. The clock said two am, and she was confused and sleepy still, wondering why someone was calling her.
She answered without looking and Merle voice came yelling through the phone, before she even got the hello all the way out of her mouth.
"Carol, he was in an accident, they took him to Grady, unresponsive."
A/N: Thank you for reading, don't kill me yet ok. There's more.
