Daryl sat on the plane, ready and waiting for take off. He always grabbed an early flight so it didn't waste a second of the day with his nephew. He was often there before Sam was even up for the day.

He had some time to kill before they were asked to remove headphones and turn off electronics. They were rather lenient with some rules in first class but Daryl wasn't a snob about it. He did what they asked and never pushed for special treatment.

Daryl put in the headphones and flipped on a random station, while opening Twitter on his phone to spend a few minutes with his fans. The music played into his ears catching his full attention: Baby I've been, I've been losing sleep dreamin about the things that we could be. He grumbled and flipped to a new station. He actually enjoyed Counting Stars but in that moment it made him immediately think of Carol. The next song was even worse... The taxi's waiting and he's blowing his horn, already I'm so lonesome I could die. Leaving on a fucking Jet Plane, he thought, with a scowl. He decided it would be safer to play his own music so Daryl went to the music app on his phone, selected a safe song, Radioactive, and made sure shuffle was on.

He started to play around on Twitter to distract himself. But as often happened he started to get a ton of mentions that included Carol, which immediately made him think of her once again. Daryl closed twitter and pouted. There was a cute blonde across the aisle, sitting alone. Any other day he would have struck up a conversation but it felt like he would be cheating on Carol, even though their relationship had yet to be defined. He cursed himself for being an idiot, but still opted not to chat with the girl.

When Radioactive ended and the next song started to play Daryl's jaw dropped as he realized what song he was listening to: No matter what you do, Oh Carol I'm still in love with you. You have got to be fucking kidding me, he thought, pulling out the ear buds and shutting off the music. He had completely forgotten there was an old Neil Sedaka song on his phone called Oh Carol. "Out of the 1700 songs on there you had to play that?" he muttered, looking at the phone. Daryl was sure that there was some conspiracy happening in the universe.

He eyed the blonde again, and almost spoke. But instead turned to the man in a suit beside him, "hey, how's it going?"

Daryl made the right choice. It wasn't often he didn't get recognized, but the man had no idea who he was. And the man, Jamie, had never been to NYC. The flight passed quickly as they chatted and Daryl told him about all the must see places in the city.

Once he got off the plane the rest of the day flew by. He picked up his Nephew from his brother's and they did all their favourite things. Sam wasn't a distraction, he was the main attraction. Daryl loved spending time with him. He brought him home to the condo he rented in the city so Sam could stay the night. It wasn't until Sam was sleeping, which was quite late, that Daryl allowed his mind to wander.

He thought about texting Carol, then decided against it. He figured she was likely sleeping or maybe still out. Then he thought about how she could be on a date and felt that sting of jealousy creeping up on him again. Daryl was not the jealous type so he had no idea why it kept happening. When the feeling didn't go away he finally just gave in and texted her: Hey, I was wondering if you could pick me up at the airport on Thursday? If you're not busy.

They both had iPhones and used iMessage so he could see she had read his message and was typing back. What time? I should be able to.

My flight arrives at 1:27pm.

Sure. Just send me the gate/flight info and I'll be there.

Thanks. I'll let u get back to whatever you were doing. Night.

Just reading ;) night.

What the fuck does the winky face mean? He wondered. Was she messing with him? Was she implying she was doing something other than reading? Like the last time they texted late at night? Or did it mean she was really just reading this time? "My God, you're putting way too much thought into this," he mumbled. Daryl put down his phone and rolled over to sleep.

The next day was a little different. He had kept Sam home from school the day before, and his brother would have let him do it again if it wasn't for some kind of standardized testing they were doing that Sam had to participate in. So Daryl dropped him off in the morning and said he would be back to pick him up at the end of the day. They were going for supper first and then to a Yankees game. Daryl had called in a favour to score playoff tickets.

He spent the day with some friends he hadn't seen in awhile. Unlike when he was with Sam he was using the friends as a distraction. It worked for the most part and got him through the day until it was time to pick up his nephew and continue their good times.

After the ball game, Yankees won 10-7, he took Sam home. Even though his flight didn't leave until early afternoon it was just easier to say goodbye then and let Sam get back to his usual morning routine.

When Daryl got home it was fairly late. Getting from one side of the city to the other could take minutes to hours depending on the traffic. And it happened to be a rather busy night.

He packed up his stuff for the next day and decided to just call it a night. He would get up for a workout before heading to the airport the next day.

Daryl closed his eyes with a smile. He would finally see her again soon. And he absolutely couldn't wait.

CAROL - CAROL - CAROL - CAROL - CAROL - CAROL -CAROL

Carol woke Thursday morning with a feeling of excitement. It felt like a long time since she had seen Daryl. They had gone weeks without seeing him in the past and thought nothing if it. But this time, a few days was driving her crazy.

She looked at her phone and saw he had texted her the flight info. She replied: Thanks. See you soon!

Within seconds he replied back: Can't wait.

Carol showered and picked out a casual yet comfy outfit that showed off her figure nicely. She loved the way a pair of jeans could still look sexy with the right top and accessories.

After breakfast she took Cookie to the dog park and by the time they got back she had to leave for the airport. Daryl's flight was a bit delayed so she ended up signing autographs and taking photos with fans in the arrivals area. She could just imagine how chaotic it was going to get when Daryl joined her.

Luckily, he had arranged an escort to get them through the crowds quickly. Carol knew it was for her. He loved the attention and probably would have spent hours getting out of the airport, happily. It wasn't that she didn't love the fans, she did wholeheartedly, but Daryl's reality was much different than hers. When you were with him in a group of fans it was screaming and utter chaos. Her reality was a lot more relaxed and carefree.

Daryl hugged her when he arrived and she saw a million camera flashes. "That's sure to end up on Twitter," she teased. They took off in a golf cart and in less than 30 minutes they were in her car. She pulled out of the parking spot and started into the traffic jam that always surrounded the busy airport. She tried really hard not to smile like an idiot, but she was really happy to have Daryl sitting in the car beside her.

They were fairly quiet until he finally spoke. "Hey, I've been stuck in the city for a couple days, I really could use some fresh air," Daryl said. "Are you in a hurry to get home? I know this cool spot you can like, see the town from up high. It's pretty neat. Better at night, but still a sweet view." He was talking really fast and Carol knew if she looked away from the road she would see him smiling and talking excitedly with his hands.

"Sure, I've got time," she replied.

"Yeah? Okay, take the next exit off the highway." Daryl gave her directions, taking them way off the beaten path into rural parts she hadn't seen in the 4 years she had been living in the area. "I found this place when I was shooting photos one day."

The last turn took them down a dirt path. "Are we even allowed to be here?" she asked.

"It's fine," Daryl said nonchalantly. "I come here quite a bit, I've never saw another person in 2 years."

The path ended at a bit of a clearing. Carol stopped the car, put it in park, then hit the button to kill the ignition. Daryl jumped out and she followed his lead. She watched him while he stretched, closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths. He turned and held out his hand, "come look."

She placed her hand in his and they walked to the edge. The view truly was breathtaking. You could see miles of forest and farmland in all directions but on the horizon loomed the edge of town, like an oasis in the desert. Carol could only imagine how it would look all lit up at night. "We need to come back in the dark sometime," she suggested.

"Definitely," Daryl said. He had a smile on his handsome face, obviously pleased that she liked his special spot enough to ask to return.

They gazed at the view for quite a while. Daryl didn't seem ready to leave and she honestly wasn't either so Carol wandered back to the car and sat on the hood. A few minutes later he walked up and stood in front of her, resting his hands on her knees. She grinned, his touch always had that effect on her, "I bet you bring all the girls up here, huh?"

"Uh uh," Daryl shook his head. "You're the very first, usually I come alone." Carol stared at him, still smiling, wondering if he was telling the truth. "What?" he said with a laugh. "Are you ready to be the first women I've kissed up here?" He slid his hands up the front of her thighs and leaned in closer.

She could smell his cologne as he hovered only inches away from her. It had been several days since the last time she had felt his lips on hers. Carol couldn't deny how badly she desired him, spurred even more by the fact that he wanted her just as badly.

Daryl reached around her and grabbed her ass to slide her forward so he was standing between her legs. He placed 2 fingers under her chin and lifted, until her eyes met his. "I've missed this," he whispered before their lips met.

Carol couldn't get over the build up of passion in both of them in such a short time. It felt like their first kiss all over again, but with much more familiarity. When his tongue probed she was eagerly waiting to engulf it. Even though she was ready, Carol still gasped at the intensity he brought.

She was so caught up in the moment she didn't even notice the first few raindrops start to fall. But like a typical Georgia rainstorm it went from a few drops to sheets of rain in a matter of seconds.

Daryl pulled back with a laugh and they both turned their face towards the sky. When they looked at each other again they were soaked, hair dripping and clothes plastered to their bodies.

The rain was cold but the second Daryl took her back into his arms she felt warm. He sought out her neck and kissed her, his lips slipping over her wet skin. "Fuck Carol, I want you," he growled into her ear.

"Oh god, I want you too," she replied, her face once again aimed towards the sky. The rain pelted her as Daryl resumed his attack on her neck.

She was pretty sure he would have taken her right there on the hood of her car if not for the boom of thunder and bolt of lightning off in the distance. "Shit, we better get in the car," he said, sliding her off the hood onto her feet. He kissed her once more before they separated to get in opposite sides.

The second the doors shut behind them Daryl was on her again. It was awkward in the confines of the front seat. "Wanna...get... outta.. here?" she got out between kisses.

"Yeah," he replied, breaking away and reaching for his seat belt. "My place, it's closer."

Carol did up her own belt and started the car. She put the wipers on high and backed the car around to head out the way they came. She should have been freezing from being soaked but the heat inside her body was enough to keep her warm without even turning on heat in the car. Daryl fueled the fire the entire way to his place by touching her provocatively. It wasn't anything more than a hand on her leg or fingertips on her arm, neck, shoulders, but it drove her so wild she drove way faster than she should have in the conditions.

When they were finally parked in front of his building the rain had tapered off, though the occasional boom of thunder still rumbled. With her hands finally free Carol gave him one firm package grab, feeling him hard just like she had hoped, then hopped out of the car, put on her calm facade and strolled into the lobby with Daryl right behind her.