It wasn't until the next morning at work, while she was fantasizing about wrapping her arms around Daryl on his motorcycle, that Carol realized it probably wasn't a great idea for him to be riding yet. She went back and forth most of the day but finally decided she wouldn't say anything or 'change her mind' because she worried that if she took one more thing away that he loved doing it might prompt him to go back into the woods sooner rather than later… and that was the last thing she wanted.

Near the end of her shift she went to the on call room, planning to catch a quick nap. She'd started early that morning and expected to be out fairly late with Daryl so she wanted to be sure she was rested. It was amazing what a quick nap could do. When she entered though, the room was already in use. Sprawled sideways across the bed were three bodies - three very tired nurses. She hadn't been quiet when she entered so they all stirred. Sasha sat up and rubbed her eyes, followed by Ali and another nurse name Keely. "Sorry Dr. Peletier," Sasha mumbled with a yawn. "We've all worked so much lately including a double yesterday…"

"It's fine, get some more rest while you can. I'm almost done for the day anyway," Carol replied politely. They all started to protest but Carol shushed them. "Shh, it's all good. Go back to sleep before things get crazy again." She backed out of the room and shut the door. Things had been absolutely insane the last few days and the staff, especially the nurses, had been running like mad. They needed the rest a lot more than she did. She really wasn't all that tired anyway so she opted to head to the cafeteria and get a big cup of coffee instead.

She was in her office, sipping the coffee with a ridiculous grin on her face when Lori appeared. She tried to hide the smile but it was no use. "What on earth has got into you?" Lori asked, instantly smiling too. "It's good to see you at work without a serious scowl."

Carol shrugged. "No one died today. It's a good day."

"It's more than that…" Lori replied, narrowing her eyes. "Does it have anything to do with that handsome former patient by any chance?"

"Maybe…" Carol replied coyly.

Lori squealed. "Oh my God… what's going on? Did you go out? Did he kiss you? Did you…"

"Woah, woah, slow down," Carol interrupted. "We haven't even been out yet. But we're going out - tonight."

Lori squealed again and hugged her. "Wait… why are you still here? It's 5… you've already been her like what? 12 hours? Go home! Have a long shower! Shave everything - just in case! Put on something sexy. Shit, do you even own anything sexy?"

"Shut up," Carol swatted at her. "Of course I have sexy clothes." She was thinking as she said it, wondering if she was totally lying. Nah, there had to be something in her closet other than scrubs, hoodies and jogging pants. "And I am not shaving everything," she hissed. "My legs and armpits will do." The two of them had debated about whether or not women should go full brazilian or not. It really hadn't mattered much before then though since she was the only one who'd be seeing that area of herself anyway. "Besides, what makes you think I'm a sex on the first date kind of girl anyway?"

Lori rolled her eyes. "Because you have got laid in like forever. Just wait… if he kisses you'll probably jump his bones."

Carol laughed. "Yeah we'll see." She was effectively ending the conversation.

"Okay, okay, I'll stop... besides you need to get out of here anyway." Lori grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet then hugged her. "Have fun! And I want alllllllllll the details tomorrow, got it?" Carol hugged her back and nodded, then did as she was told and headed home.

It was surprising how long it took her to get ready. She changed clothes 15 times and ended up back in the jeans, boots, blouse and leather jacket she'd started in. She had to admit the jacket made her look hot. She'd also put on a few pounds since she'd last wore the jeans and she now filled them out perfectly with her curves. She had been so thin for a while after her and Ed split, but she was much healthier now. At 745 she was finally all ready to go. She ran back to the bathroom and brushed her teeth one final time, just to be sure her breath was fresh.

She started to pace, waiting for him to show up. 12 minutes to 8… 11… 10… When the countdown got to 5 she heard the roar of his bike approaching. She quickly peeked outside and her heart raced. He parked the bike and stepped off then removed his helmet. Like her Daryl was wearing jeans and a leather jacket. He looked so damn sexy it took her breath away. "Get yourself together," she whispered out loud. Carol backed away from the window and then ran to the kitchen so it didn't seem like she was waiting by the front door like she'd been.

The doorbell rang and she sucked in a deep breath. "Coming," she called out as she ran for front door. She pulled it open with a big smile. "Hi," she gasped, hoping he assumed it was racing to the door that took her breath away.

"Hi," he replied back, clearly nervous. The fact he was nervous made her so much more relaxed. "You… uh… you look really nice," he mumbled the compliment awkwardly, though she could tell it was genuine.

"You clean up nice yourself," she teased, reaching out to pat the leather on his chest. When she touched him she let her hand linger over his heart. She didn't want to take it away and he didn't seem to mind it being there. "Have you been feeling okay?" She said softly, as she looked up at him, eyes wide.

"Mmm hmm," he replied with a little nod. "Pain's a lot better and the incision looks like it's healing. Can't believe how fast that happens."

"The outside heals fast, but the inside takes much longer to repair itself," Carol said. Without thinking she lifted up his shirt to look at the wound site. He didn't protest at all while she poked and prodded a bit. "Huh, it looks great," she said, putting his shirt back down, feeling really good about how he was healing. "Oh… damn… I shouldn't have done that," she looked up at him apologetically. "I'm so sorry."

Daryl gave her a smile, "It's okay." That was all he said, but it was enough. "Ready to go?" Carol nodded and they started towards the bike. Their hands brushed as they walked and she boldly slipped her hand into his. Did she know him well enough to do that? Probably not. But she got the sense that he was too shy to make those first moves on his own and for some reason she just felt comfortable doing things like that with him.

He helped her with her helmet and gave her a hand getting on the bike, along with a few instructions since she'd never rode before. Then the next thing she knew he fired up the engine, got on and they took off. The feeling was instant exhilaration. She made sure to hang on to him higher on his chest so she was nowhere near his injury. She also tried no to grip him as tight as she was inclined to because she didn't want him to think she was scared. She wasn't scared, not at all. She felt safe and comfortable holding onto him. She could tell he was a good driver and she knew he was probably driving a bit slower than usual for her benefit. Carol tapped his chest and then said loudly, "Faster."

She felt his body jiggle as he chuckled. "Hold on." With that he took off and they flew. Carol knew they were going way over the speed limit but she didn't care. It felt too amazing with the wind in her face like that and the air flowing past her. She knew she was smiling and Carol couldn't remember the last time she felt so carefree. It was incredible.

Eventually Daryl slowed the bike and parked in front of a cute little pub. Carol was so relieved he hadn't picked something too fancy. She'd never been a fan of upscale restaurants. She got enough of that kind of thing at work events and conferences. When she went out to dinner she liked to go somewhere homey and comfortable with great food and decent portions.

Dary helped her off the bike and then removed his helmet while she took off her own. He turned and watched a white van drive in and then swore, "Fuck."

"What's wrong?" Carol asked, confused. Something about the white van had thrown him off. Maybe it was an ex girlfriend or something. She eyed the vehicle watching to see who got out.

"I forgot what day it was. We gotta go somewhere else," he replied, clearly upset. He actually looked a bit angry.

"Why? This place looks great," Carol replied, wanting him to know that she approved of his choice.

"It has a deer head on the wall," he mumbled, picking up his helmet.

"Uh… what does that matter? I don't mind…" She was more confused than ever.

"Those animal rights people come in once a month… they scare off customers and sometimes it gets ugly," Daryl finally gave her enough of an explanation. She watched a small group stride purposefully into the restaurant. "Come on, let's just get out of here… But, uh… I don't know where else to go now…" His cheeks flushed in embarrassment and frustration.

"Hey," Carol reached out to touch his hand. "It's okay. It's not your fault." She could tell he was really beating himself up over this temporary roadblock to their plans. His insecurities were really quite adorable because she knew he only wanted to please her. "Daryl… I really like you," she said softly. "It doesn't matter to me where we eat dinner. I just wanna have dinner… with you." He froze and looked at her as if her words had completely shocked him. How could he not see how interested in him she was? She'd pretty much been the one that asked him out in the first place by telling him to ask her out. Maybe someone had hurt him in the past or made him feel like he was worthless. Carol wasn't sure what it was, but she knew she wanted to be the one to fix it.

She knew what she was about to do usually happened at the end of the date, but for some reason it just felt like the right time to do it. Carol took one step closer, rose up on her tiptoes and, before she lost the nerve, pressed her lips to his.