Inadvertent observations of their friends yields some surprises for Carol and Daryl while she tries to figure out how to deal with Negan's bombshell edict about the Denim Dreams PR campaign.

Thank you to everyone who nominated this story for the Caryl Daily's 3rd annual Caryl Fanfic Awards! I am honored.

Beautiful Disaster

The after-hours campfire party was in full swing by the time Carol got back to the rodeo grounds that night. She leaned back against her car, fighting the stress and fatigue headache that was trying to throb her eyeballs out of her head and watched them laughing, talking and dancing to the strains of some female country singer's throaty voice lamenting her lot in life.

She'd spent the afternoon meeting with Michonne and Andrea, trying to figure out if there was anything to be done about Negan's demand that she smooth things over with the Denim Dreams team. The extremely personal and revealing direction in which he wanted the PR campaign to go was a nightmare, but unfortunately short of quitting her much needed job, there was little she could do to avoid following his edict.

The contract that Michonne had signed was clear that he had the final say in decisions on the specifics of the publicity she was designing for his company. If she tried to back out, she forfeited the retainer she'd already been paid and any future possibility of working with any of his companies again. Bless her, Michonne had been ready to pull the plug, but Carol knew how much the Negan company accounts were worth to the business and wouldn't allow it.

A movement at the door to the Grimes' rig caught Carol's eye. Lori was standing in the doorway with Rick while Shane started down the steps, but then she raised her hands and put them on her hips in a put upon gesture matching her expression. Shane turned and went back up the steps so he could lean up to give her a lingering kiss good bye and then Carol's mouth dropped open when he did the same to Rick, holding his face in his hands tenderly, Rick's hand gripping Shane's nape, with Lori smiling in satisfaction as she watched them. After one more quick kiss and tummy rub for Lori, Shane continued down the steps and Rick put his arm around Lori's shoulders to usher her inside as she stifled a yawn.

Spotting Carol at her car, Shane waved with a grin and ambled over.

Carol blushed, damning her inability to hide her embarrassment at accidentally observing the intimate moment between the men, something she hadn't seen before.

"You're back." Shane called out as he neared. "Dix said the big boss called ya in—that's a lotta driving in one day—you must be bushed."

"Yep." Carol said with a strained smile, straightening from her slouch against the car door, her eyes down on her hands fiddling with her car keys.

"I'm headin' over to the campfire. Rick's got paperwork to do and Lori's wiped out so she's hittin' the hay, but I'm still pretty wired." He told her, and then he gave her a flirty grin, "Maybe if I could get some pretty hometown girl to have a couple a shots n'dance with me I'd mellow out enough to—" but then he paused, realizing she hadn't looked up at him the whole time he'd been talking to her. He frowned and looked back towards his rig, realizing what she must have seen.

"You look a little freaked out there, sweetheart." He said gently, looking back at her and leaning closer.

Carol's head came up, looking back at him guiltily.

"You saw... something you didn't expect to see." Shane said tightly, as if resigned to her disapproval. "I figured Dix told you we're together, but maybe not just how much together..." he sighed, "Go ahead and ask what you're dying to ask. You wouldn't be the first. "

"It's none of my business." Carol said, with a sympathetic frown, then her mouth firmed into a resolute line. "As long as no one's getting hurt and you're all happy, fuck what anyone else says."

Shane blinked in surprise then grinned.

"You really mean that, don't you?" he asked her, narrowing his eyes.

"Love is love." Carol said, tilting her head at him and giving a sad little smile. She was glad that the two ropers weren't on the DD team. She could just imagine what Negan would do with this story. Polyamory? Male lovers? Not real big in rodeo country.

"We don't broadcast our relationship on the circuit—even the people that know about the three of us don't know about, well, the three of us—what you saw tonight—Rick n' me." He said, squinting up at her, "Thought everyone was over at the campfire..."

"You're both really with Lori too?" Carol had to ask, suddenly worried for her friend.

"She ain't just our beard, if that's what you're askin'." Shane said staunchly. "We love her. And Rick n' me—we only ever been with each other, no other guys—all our lives. We just all needed to be together, every way we could, since we met."

"You're in love... all of you..." Carol said sincerely, "I think it's beautiful... sharing that much love." it was something she hadn't witnessed a lot of in her life.

"Lotta people around here wouldn't agree with you on that." Shane said carefully.

"You can trust me." Carol told him, feeling the irony. Her job was forcing her to exploit the secrets of the others, but at least she could keep this one for these friends.

Shane studied her face, deciding if he could believe her. After a long pause he nodded and stuck out his elbow in invitation.

"Okay, fancy face—let's dance."

Carol smiled and wound her arm through his and let him lead her to the fire.

Daryl was trying to teach Olivia how to two step when he saw Carol approaching with Shane. When they got close enough the roper drew Carol into his arms in dance position and they joined in the fray, Shane showing some fancy footwork that his less experienced partner worked hard to follow. When they made it to the other side of the fire Shane spun Carol away and stepped in to take Olivia's hand, pulling her out of Daryl's grasp and into his in a smooth move that had them all laughing.

Carol looked a little dizzy as she smiled up at Daryl.

He'd missed her so god damned much today that it had been an empty ache in his chest. He'd missed her every day of the last twenty years, but he'd managed, survived without her because he'd never expected to see her again. Now? Having her close? Holding her at night, learning her, mind, body and soul? How could he... what would he do if she just wanted to leave him at the end of the year?

Daryl pushed down his worry and just let himself enjoy taking her in his arms, leading her through the intricate dance moves like the expert he was. His strength and athleticism in the arena translated into light and steady on his feet in the dance. She was still wearing "professional" clothes, heels and a skirt which flowed around her long legs as her lovely ass swayed to the beat.

The music flowed into the next song—a slow dance one—an old Kelly Clarkson track. Daryl shifted them into slow dance mode, her head resting against his shoulder, bodies pressed closely together.

He drowns in his dreams
an exquisite extreme I know.
He's as damned as he seems
and more heaven than a heart could hold...
And if I try to save him
my whole world could cave in;
it just ain't right.
It just ain't right.

"How was your meetin'?" Daryl asked, solicitous.

Carol raised her head to look at him and he saw a fleeting look of sadness enter her eyes before she shook it off with a slight toss of her head and what looked like a forced smile replaced it.

"Done with work for the day. Don't want to think about it." she told him, looking away evasively even as she tightened her hold around his neck, "Don't really want to think at all..." and then she looked back at him, challenge in her eyes, "You think you can help me with that?"

Daryl narrowed his eyes at her, but then lowered his lips to hers for a light kiss that she welcomed and deepened.

Oh and I don't know what he's after
but he's so beautiful
such a beautiful disaster...
and if I could hold on
through the tears and the laughter
would it be beautiful?
Or just a beautiful disaster?

He felt her clinging to him, her fingers threading through his hair, gripping it tightly, breasts pressing into his chest, mouth hot and demanding more, surprising him with her urgency. He gripped the soft cloth of the back of her blouse, fisting it in his hands and felt the heat of her lower body practically plastered to his, causing a combustible reaction.

A low mocking whistle and a cat call of "Get a room!" from someone else around the fire had him easing away from her and looking down into her face with equal parts desire and concern.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Gotta be." She said, with a totally unconvincing smile. "Can we go now?" her fingers were still in his hair, sifting through the strands at his nape, her eyes wide, lips swollen from his kisses: total temptation.

He's magic and myth
as strong as what I believe,
a tragedy with more damage
than a soul should see...
And do I try to change him?
So hard not to blame him.
Hold on tight
Hold on tight.

"We're callin' it a night." Daryl called to the group in general, shifting so he had his arm around Carol's shoulders.

"Still heading out at zero-six-hundred tomorrow?" Abe asked, turning down the music and giving the couple a speculative look as if he expected that they might be a bit too tired to rise so early in the morning the next day. They all parked their respective RVs far enough apart to guarantee as much privacy as possible at night, but everyone knew that Daryl and Carol each having their own rig had been a waste of resources for the last couple of weeks. They hadn't officially moved in together, but they hadn't spent a night apart in that time either.

"We... um... we need to have a team meeting tomorrow..." Carol spoke haltingly, as if she didn't want to, but was forced.

"Can't we do that when we get to the venue?" Maggie asked, frowning at Carol. That was how they usually arranged the day. Once everyone was off the black top and had their camps set up, they would gather at Carol's rig to go over any business details she needed to share.

"Oh... sure that's fine. We'll do that." Carol agreed in a rush, nodding and then smiling that fake smile again before raising her hand and waving. "Good night everyone."

"Night." Daryl echoed, but he was frowning at Carol as well as she took a step forward, almost moving out from under his arm.

Abe chuckled, obviously thinking Carol was just in a rush to be alone with Daryl, but sensing there was more to it than that, Daryl tightened his grip and fell into step with her, a look of concern on his face.

"You go—we'll clean up." Maggie told them.

Their departure signaled the end of the evening for the rest as well. Shane started dousing the fire while Maggie and Olivia started gathering up the empties and other trash and Abe helped Glenn stow the beer and soda back in the ice filled cooler.

"How long you think they been bumpin' uglies?" Abe asked, watching Daryl and Carol walk away.

"None of my business." Glenn said with a shrug, but caught Maggie's eye and the couple grinned at each other knowingly.

"They seem happy." Shane said, stomping out some still glowing embers, "Sure as hell makes this life easier knowing you're traveling with someone who cares about you."

"Lucky bastards, all a' ya." Abe grumped, as he hoisted the heavy cooler up in his arms, raising it to his shoulder and reaching for the two half full black plastic trash bags Olivia was holding. "I'll take that, darlin'."

Olivia was caught staring at Abe's formidable biceps and blushed, almost dropping the trash bags.

"That's okay—I've got it." she said, waving him off before awkwardly pushing up her glasses with her shoulder and upper arm, "The dumpsters are on my way to the parking lot."

She was staying at a nearby local motel. Not an official part of the DD Rodeo Team, just retail, she didn't get an RV berth like the others.

"Can't have you walkin' there all alone." Abe frowned, his cowboy code of honor activated.

"Cooler's ours, Abe. I can take it." Maggie said, beckoning for him to put it down. When he did she walked over and pulled out the telescoping handle, lifting it, so it easily pulled behind her on the inset wheels.

"Shit." Abe said with a snort, wiping his hand down over his mouth and mustache in embarrassment.

"Just how much did you have to drink?" Maggie asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Two beers is all." Abe said, defensively gesturing at the cooler. "I just didn't know it did that."

Maggie's giggle was matched by Glenn and Shane's chuckles as they headed for their rigs and waved a cheery goodbye to Abe and Olivia.

"I'll take that, little lady." Abe said, holding out his hand for the trash bags.

Olivia clung to them, her hands shaking a little, her eyes wide.

Abe frowned at her—What the hell? Was she scared to be left alone with him?

"Hey, it's okay. I don't bite... much..." he winked at her, holding out both his hands palms up to show he was harmless.

Olivia dropped the trash bags and launched herself at him, her lips meeting his in a passionate but inexpert kiss.

Abe's arms went around her, surprised, but not at all unwelcoming. If he didn't know that she'd stuck to soda all night because she had to drive back to her motel, he might've thought she was acting on a tipsy impulse. What he did think is that she was cute as hell, but too shy to be open to anything more than gentle flirtation from him. He generally preferred his women to be the real obvious sort, tightly wound and highly sexed buckle bunnies with wandering hands, a full box of condoms in their big ass purses and enough notches on their belt to rival his.

This sweet, shy, smart little gal with her soft pillowy breasts and lush ass was a different sort of woman altogether.

Still not quite sure how to respond, Abe didn't really kiss her back, but neither did he release her.

Olivia pulled back, her hands on his biceps, looking up at him in confusion that quickly turned to mortification when she saw his frown.

"Let me go." she said breathlessly, moving her hands over to push against his chest.

"Now hold on, you don't just go around kissin' people like that n' then run away." Abe admonished.

"You do if they don't want you to." Olivia replied miserably.

"What makes you think I don't want you to?" he asked, raising an inquisitive brow at her.

"You didn't kiss me back." she looked away, tears forming.

"Well, you kinda caught me off guard there." he said gently, "Thought I was getting the empties to haul to recycling and instead I get an armful of warm willin' woman!"

Olivia quickly looked back at him, frowning with a bit of a wary edge to it.

"Now let's try that again, shall we?" Abe said in quiet invitation, his right hand coming up to hold her chin, tilting her head slightly to the side so he could fit his mouth to hers. This time she let him lead, responding to the gentle movement of his lips over hers with a soft sigh. When he licked and probed with the tip of his tongue, asking for permission to delve inside, she opened her mouth and her hands gripped his shirt so tightly a snap popped open and her fingers slid inside to touch his chest.

With a groan, Abe felt himself snap to immediate hardness. Her sweet tasting mouth welcomed the thrust of his tongue meeting hers and he used his free hand to grab a handful of her ass to haul her closer.

Abe's head reeled... Well, fuck all, that just went from zero to a hundred in record time...

Olivia broke the kiss, gazing up at him owl-eyed, glasses fogged and askew, but then a look of determination came over her face.

"They went to his place." she told him. "Daryl and Carol."

Abe stared at her, perplexed at the non-sequitor.

"I have the spare keys to Carol's rig." she said, "She said I could stay there any time."

"All right." Abe said slowly, nodding at her, "You head on over there, then. I still got the trash to take care of..."

Olivia frowned at him.

"I want you to come with me." she said, her fingers worrying the material of his shirt.

Abe chuckled and gave her another quick kiss.

"Soon as I take care of the trash." he said carefully, "Thought you might need some time to... you know... get ready?"

"Oh! Oh—you were being a gentleman." she smiled at him happily.

"Much as I'm able." he grunted with a grin, kissing the tip of her nose and then releasing her so he could straighten her glasses.

"Abraham? We are going to have sex, right?" she asked him, biting her lower lip and pushing her disheveled hair back behind her ears.

"Yes, Miss Olivia." Abe assured her solemnly. "Now you git. I'll be there shortly."

Smiling with barely suppressed excitement, Olivia headed for Carol's RV.

Abe watched her go, waiting to see if his head overruled his dick. Screwing around with a woman like Olivia, one that he wouldn't be bidding goodbye to in the morning as he rolled down the black top to the next town, one he'd be seeing every day, one whose kisses practically screamed her innocence, one who was friends with the woman seeing his best friend? This wasn't just complicated; this had all the ear marks of a god damned disaster.

He should just drop off the trash and head straight to his car. Hit a dive bar and pick up a one night stand and bang her brains out. Or maybe he should just grab his shit from the motel and drive all night until he was in the next town on the circuit. Or maybe he should hit a couple of PBA rodeos—side step the whole issue—send Dixon a text telling him he found a new hazer on the other circuit and...

Wait, why was he getting so freaked? This didn't have to be awkward. He'd give her a great night, but be clear that's all it was: a one off. No complications, no obligations. Be grownups about it. It was just sex, probably damn good sex, possibly mind blowing sex...

Oh, who the hell was he kidding? His dick hadn't responded like that to a woman in longer than he could recall. What the entire fuck? Sweet little curvy innocent Olivia totally turned him on. He admired her independence; she hadn't backed down from those bullies at the barbecue even though she'd been scared, and her willingness to put herself out there even while expecting him to reject her took guts. He was still hard as a rock, throbbing even at the thought of being with her...

"I am so fucked." Abraham muttered, checking his pockets for condoms and then grabbing up the trash bags, he headed for the dumpster.

"Well, that was unexpected." Daryl said, letting the curtain of the window facing the smoldering campfire fall back into place.

"You need to go talk to him... he must have hurt her feelings..." Carol said in a harsh whisper. "She's so upset she's going to go hide out in my camper!"

"I'm not letting him know we were spying on them." Daryl scoffed. They couldn't hear what had been said, and had only been witnesses by mistake when he had looked out the door window to see if everyone had cleared out from around the fire before locking up. His sharp grunt of surprise when he saw Abe in a clinch with Olivia brought Carol over to join him.

They watched the scene unfold, but then when Olivia left while Abe stayed behind and then eventually grabbed up the garbage bags and headed for the dumpsters, Carol made a little sad sound of empathy. Olivia headed for the RV parked next door, pulled out a key and let herself in.

"He's heading for the dumpsters in the parking lot—then his car and the motel—I'll talk to him in the morning–warn him off." Daryl promised Carol, moving behind her and putting his hands on her hips. When she stiffened at his touch he opened his mouth to ask her what was bothering her, but she spoke first.

"Um—maybe not." she responded.

Daryl leaned close to look over her shoulder and saw Abe return to the fire pit, check it to make sure it was all the way out and then after a minute spent staring at Carol's RV he dug in his shirt pocket, pulled out a roll of wintergreen lifesavers and popped one in his mouth. As he returned the roll to his pocket he smoothed down his big handlebar moustache and took a step forward, heading straight for the place where Olivia waited.

Abe got to the door, knocked and waited for it to open. When it did, a big smile of anticipation lit up his face, but he waited again to be invited in.

Daryl chuckled when Olivia pulled Ford inside by his shirt front and shut the door.

Carol ducked away from Daryl's hands and whirled on him.

"It's not funny!" she said, sounding upset, "She can't trust him! He'll hurt her! He's a player! A rodeo Romeo with a heartbreak past!"

Daryl's head went back as if she'd struck him.

"Like me, you mean?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.

"What? Dix, no." Carol said quickly, realizing how what she'd said about Abe would've sounded to Daryl. Her fear about Negan's plans to publicize both their pasts had brought it all too close to the surface and she wasn't dealing with it well at all.

"You still don't trust me, do you?" he asked her, backing away when she reached for him, hurt showing in his eyes.

"I trust you. I do." Carol said adamantly, but there was still fear underlying her declaration.

"Enough to tell me why you came back from your meeting today actin' like a skittish doe?" Daryl asked her, scanning her face.

"It's... it's bad... really bad..." she choked out, starting to fall apart right in front of him.

Daryl immediately came to her, taking her in his arms and holding her tight.

"We'll figure it out. We will." he nodded, lowering his head so his lips were pressed against her shoulder, lending her his strength, so strong and sure of himself that she almost believed him.

Beautiful Disaster, by writers Rebekah Jordan and Matthew Wilder, is from Kelly Clarkson's debut studio album, Thankful (2003).

Olivia and Abe? What? My Muse threw out the idea and it pleased me. She's much more like his late wife than the kind of women he's been numbing himself with.

Thanks for reading!