Sorry for the wait!

Chapter Twelve

Daryl wasn't sure what to expect as he walked down the hall to Mr. Spencer's office. The door was open and ready for him to walk through. He gulped hard, took a few more deep breaths and continued on. It wasn't that he was scared of Carol's dad (okay, he was just a little) but her parents never were overly friendly to him. They hadn't been mean, either. They were just...indifferent when it came to Daryl, and Daryl got the impression that they thought their daughter could do much better when it came to her friends.

When he reached the door, he saw Carol's dad standing with his hip leaning against his desk. He seemed engrossed in his phone and by the sounds coming from the device, he was playing some type of game.

Daryl knocked on the door frame, not wanting to just walk in. Chris Spencer held up a finger quickly before utilising it once more on his phone. "Hold on a minute, Daryl. Just want to beat this level."

"Uh...okay." He shifted awkwardly in place and looked around the office.

"You can take a seat, though."

"Oh, okay." He took a seat in one of the two chairs in the room, besides the one behind his desk. It was an old computer chair and Daryl had to plant his feet in order not to spin around in it. Especially when he found out that it squeaked with every movement.

Fuck, he thought. I just had to pick this chair, didn't I?

The other chair was a plushy looking chair...that was situated right in front of where Carol's dad stood. There was no way Daryl was going to get up to move to that one. He'd just have to sit impossibly still the whole time.

Victorious music erupted from Mr. Spencer's phone and he fistpumped once before realizing Daryl was there. "Um," he coughed and slipped the phone in his back pocket, looking a little embarrassed. "Sorry. That level has been killing me all week." He glanced at the open door and lowered his voice. "Don't tell anyone, but I think I've been playing it more than I've been doing actual work."

Daryl smiled a little awkwardly. "I'll take it to my grave." He silently cursed at his choice of words.

Carol's dad walked around the desk and took a seat behind it. His chair didn't squeak as he sat down and Daryl wished he could have traded chairs, but his ass might as well have been glued down.

"All right, let's have that talk."

Daryl gulped.

"So, you and my daughter plan on going on a roadtrip together, huh?"

"Uh...yeah."

"Sounds fun. I think everyone should be able to have a summer to do what they want before college." He steepled his hands on the desk. "But she's just come into a lot of money, so more places are available for you all to go to. Places that are pretty far from her mother and I."

Daryl didn't know what to say to that, so he just nodded.

"All I'm asking, Daryl, is that you keep her safe, okay? Carol has a bright outlook on life and the world, but she may see things that could damper that. I know that this is supposed to be a fun little trip, and I'm not asking you to smother her, either, just keep an eye out."

"I can do that." It was what he had planned on doing, anyways. If anything happened to Carol, he didn't know what he would do with himself.

"Thank you." He got up and Daryl stood, as well, glad that this meeting was over quickly. "Oh, one more thing, Daryl. Separate beds when you get a hotel."

Daryl's face flamed hot. "I know."

"And make sure no one else shares her bed, either. My Carol is a very pretty lady, but she can be a little naive. I don't want anyone to take advantage of her."

The thought of Carol meeting some guy while on their road trip almost made Daryl physically sick. "I'll make sure nothing bad happens to her."

"Good." He picked up his phone once more. "Remember, separate beds."

"Separate beds, sir," Daryl said as he made his escape from the office and back to the den where Carol was waiting for him.

She turned the TV off when he walked into the room. Her eyes roamed over his frame. "I see you're in one piece," she smiled. "How did it go?"

Daryl flopped on the couch and sighed. "Better than expected." He turned his head to look at her and smiled. "I'm still alive, aren't I?"

Tuesday came around quickly for the pair. The night before, Carol had packed everything into the trunk of her car and made sure Daryl had room for all of this things. She slipped her notebook under the driver's seat where it would stay safely and all the other important thing they would need were stuffed into the glove box. Her parents had also presented her with a GPS and five hundred dollars for 'emergencies'.

"I know you're Ms. Money-Bucks, now," her father had said as he handed her the envelope, but anything could happen and I don't want you and Daryl stranded."

"Thank you." She hugged them both tightly, knowing that she would not be seeing them for a few weeks.

"Please be careful, okay? And call to check in with us often." Her mother was wringing her hands nervously and almost looked on the verge of tears.

"Don't worry, mom. I will."

Carol hugged them one last time before saying goodnight and heading to bed. She had wanted to get to bed early, to be well-rested for the next day, but she was so excited it took her awhile to fall asleep. Several times, she reached for her phone to call Daryl, but knew she should probably let him sleep.

When morning came, Carol awoke feeling energized, even though she had had only a few hours of sleep. Glancing at the clock, Daryl would be there soon. She'd make them breakfast, finishing packing the cooler with food for lunches, and they would be on their way to their first stop. Hopefully, Daryl would be pleasantly surprised.

When Daryl left his house, duffel bag slung over his shoulder, he was shocked to not find Merle blocking the door and demanding that Carol give him the money, he needed. In fact, his brother was nowhere in sight. His motorcycle was out front, but his bedroom door was closed. He wasn't even going to say goodbye to his little brother. Daryl only shrugged and threw his things in his truck before driving off.

Carol was practically jumping all over the place when she opened the door for him. "Here," she said taking his bag. "I'll put it in the truck. I have breakfast on the table for you." She disappeared to the garage and Daryl made a beeline to the kitchen, his stomach growling.

Eggs, bacon and pancakes awaited on a plate for him. Meals like this were expected and very much appreciated whenever he came early to Carol's house. When Carol walked back through the door, he was halfway done with his meal, but he paused and thanked her for it. "You're goin' to make some man lucky one day, Carol," he said.

"Oh?" Carol took a seat. "I'll make a man lucky because I'll cook for him...and not because of my beauty and charm?"

Daryl nearly choked and Carol laughed. "Careful," she said. "I don't want to do the Heimlich on you. It might delay our trip." Glancing at the gold watch on her wrist, she added, "Speaking of, we should be leaving here in the next twenty minutes. So, finish up and take a potty break because there's going to be no stops once we get on the road."

"And here I was thinkin' we could stop at Sips one last time before we leave." Daryl stood and placed his plate in the sink. Honestly, he didn't know where they were going or if Sips was on the way, but he knew Carol would go out of her way if that was the case.

She pursed her lips. "Fine. We leave in ten. Hurry up and go to the bathroom. I'm going to double check that I have everything."

Daryl quickly went to the bathroom, like Carol suggested and went back to the sink to wash his plate. He didn't want Mrs. Spencer come home to see his dirty dish. Carol came back into the kitchen just as he placed the fork in the drainer.

"Ready?" She asked, bouncing on her toes in excitement.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

Daryl followed Carol to the car. "Uh, do you think your parents will be okay with my truck in their driveway?" He hadn't thought about it until right then. His ugly ass truck would be parked in the Spencer's driveway for he didn't know how long.

"Yeah, they'll be fine with it. Don't worry." She waved a hand flippantly, and then she was backing out of the driveway and onto the road.

Twenty minutes later, they were on the road for real. This time, each had a coffee in their hand and Carol had the window rolled down as she belted out some Willie Nelson song. "On the road again! Can't wait to get on the road again." She glanced over at him, cheeks flushed. "Come on, Daryl. Sing."

"Uh. No."

"Fine," she pouted and rolled up the window when the wind had quite obviously messed up her hair. "Oh yeah," she brightened. "I got you something."

"Carol..."

"Oh, shush, Daryl. It's something small." When she reached into the back seat and swerved into the other line. Daryl gripped her wrist and placed her hand back on the steering wheel.

"I'll get it so we don't die."

In the back seat, was a medium-sized box. Daryl grabbed it and settled it into his lap. "Thought you said it was little," he grumbled.

"Well, it isn't big, either. Open it." She grinned widely at him in anticipation. "It'll help you guess our first stop."

Reigning in his excitement, Daryl opened the box.

Just started a new eight weeks of student teaching, this time in a special education room, so I will not have much time to write either. :(

Thanks for reading!