Disclaimer: See chapter 1.
AN: I should have finished the last chapter before posting (wicked grin). I hope this one makes up for my lack. This is the other half of that chapter, now completed. You'll see, the tone completely changes when viewed in context. Lesson learned.
Mirror, Mirror On the Wall
Green-eyed Monsters and Fairy Godmothers
The rest of the story….
Never had the steps seemed so long, or so steep. Daryl wasn't sure if he was just that tired, or if someone had added more stairs. "It's like the fuckin' Twilight Zone," he muttered to himself.
By the time he stumbled for the third time, he felt rather than heard someone climb up the steps behind him. The vibration from their speed actually made the metal rungs shake. Daryl clung to the railing to let that person pass. Without looking back, he swept the air with his hand, letting them know to just go on by.
"Why are you on still on the stairs? Is something wrong?"
Daryl turned in surprise to see Carol land next to him with a massive thump. The metal rung below them bucked and complained. Even Daryl's damaged ears could hear the metallic ringing sound that echoed around them. Down the row, Judith gave out a whimper in response.
"You talkin' to me now?" Daryl hissed, feeling confused. For some reason, his heart was racing and he felt like throwing up. This was the very reason he had never tangled up with a woman before. They were incomprehensible...and fucking scary.
"Don't you bite my head off! I'm just worried. I saw you almost fall down the stairs a minute ago," Carol retorted a little wild-eyed.
It was obvious that Carol was wound-up. She couldn't keep her hands still, gesturing wildly with each word. "And I wasn't not talking to you earlier. We talked." Carol flung her arms wide and banged her hand hard against the railing on the other side. The metal in the railing peeled with the blow. Judith's whimper turned into a full-blown cry at the sound.
"You called that talking? Sounded to me like 'get the hell away' to me," Daryl replied tightly. He reached over and stilled the ringing rail. He sympathized with the bawling Judith. The undulating gong had gone right through his skull.
"That's not what I was trying to say, and you know it." Carol threw back, shaking her hand hard.
"Then what the hell were you trying to say?" he bit out, then was instantly sorry for it. Daryl took in Carol's pained expression with a deep sigh. His guts clenched up as he watched her glance at her hand and then hide it behind her back. He gestured for her to give over her hand, but she refused.
"I don't know how to say it," Carol said, shaking her head. "I didn't want to say it wrong, so I went with saying nothing at all."
"What's going on out there?" Maggie asked sleepily.
Glen peered through the privacy curtain to spy on the commotion on the stairs. He kept a firm hand on the curtain edge to keep himself from being exposed. "Looks like Daryl and Carol are having a fight on the stairs. You got any idea why they are fighting?"
"Beats me." Maggie rolled over and stretched languidly on the bed. "You know, for the two quietest people in the prison, they sure can be loud."
Glen snickered in return and let the curtain go. A sliver of light passed through the edge to shine on Maggie's naked body. Her skin looked silvery and smooth and inviting. "Since they are making so much noise, how about we use that as a little cover," Glen said as he waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Despite Glen's completely goofy office, Maggie smiled in response. "Then why are you all the way over there?"
"Give it over," Daryl sighed again and beckoned to the hand Carol was hiding. As his heart stopped acting like a jackrabbit, Daryl started to realize the real reason for Carol's absence today and the closed cell door.
Carol was just as screwed up as he was.
Weren't they a pair?
"It's fine...I'm fine...it's just...forget it," Carol stammered, looking everywhere but at him. As if to prove a point, Carol deliberately moved over to lean against the other railing, hand still behind her back.
Daryl thought she was beautiful standing there, all poised to run. He stretched out one hand to her and studied her every feature. Looked up at her from top to bottom.
Carol eyed his outstretched hand warily, like he might strike like a snake. It was a true standoff. The two of them glowered at each other.
Daryl had the advantage in those first moments. Unlike Carol, Daryl had the infinite patience of a hunter. He held out his hand and waited and looked his fill. His mind rambled...
She was beautiful and flighty with wild hair and filtered moonlight shining on her face and his chest hurt seeing her being so cautious and wearing his t-shirt and was standing there…...braless?
If there was one thing that could totally blow Daryl's hunter's calm it was a braless woman. It was like all the blood left his brain and went on vacation, not that he really knew what that meant. When he was young and totally in thrall with his hormones, he used to linger in the freezer section of the grocery story, just to see the women in spandex pick out ice cream. Sometimes he really missed the eighties.
Now it was Carol standing in front of him braless and all bets were off. His mental game blown as he couldn't help but consider the size and shape of things. He had to end this stand-off fast. As he... contemplated... his strategy, he couldn't help but notice the growing 'headlights'.
"My eyes are up here."
He was so busted.
Smirking to cover his embarrassment, Daryl peeled his gaze away from tempting hardened nipples, to look Carol directly in the face. She looked bemused and not at all self conscious. At least she had lost that worried look. It was worth his awkwardness and blush.
"I still wanna see your hand," he insisted, not dropping his arm. He silently hoped that the darkness hid his complete embarrassment at being caught looking.
Rolling her eyes like a teenager, Carol produced the hand stuck it right in his face. "It's fine, see?" The mood instantly lightened.
"I think you busted your knuckles," Daryl replied, frowning down. "That's what I see." He grabbed her hand and studied the shadows that would become bruises the next day. Against her protests, he felt all the fingers and determined that nothing appeared to be broken. He ended his examination with a small kiss. "You'll live."
When Carol tried to pull her hand back, Daryl refused to let go. He held tight and pulled her up against his chest. Then he wrapped his other arm around her. "Still want me to get the hell away?" he whispered into her hair, her neck. He couldn't help but notice that she smelled really good. If he pulled her in firmly enough, he could feel her little nubs.
"I never wanted that. Never," Carol said breathless, melting into his arms a little. "It was stupid."
"Good, cause we're gonna have a talk." Daryl spun Carol out of his embrace and literally drug her up the rest of the steps and directly into his cell. "Now."
"Carl, for the last time, get away from the door."
Like any normal teenager, Carl completely ignored the command. "They're just staring each other down. It's like one of those boring westerns you like to watch." Carl mimicked drawing and shooting pistols with his pointed fingers, complete with sound effects.
Rick had his hands full with Judith's current meltdown. The noise on the stairway had woken the baby up. Her cutting teeth had done the rest. Limp and screaming in Rick's arms, Judith was doing her best to share the pain. He was tired and he was frustrated and he just wanted a little peace.
A second loud noise rang through the cell causing the rest of the bones in Judith's body to liquify. "Carl," Rick growled, "A little help here." He fought a losing battle with his screaming and boneless child. Judith slide out of his flailing arms, right out onto the bunk. That didn't make her any happier.
Carl spun and blew imaginary smoke from his finger pistols and stalked over to the crying baby. The finger pistols quickly became buzzing airplanes. In seconds Judith was a convert. Carl had the magic touch.
"You the best big brother even," Rick said gratefully, as he wiped snot away around the baby giggles. "You'll make a great father some day."
"Naw-ah, big brother is good enough for me," Carl declared, switching to tickles. "I'm going to stay a bachelor, just like...like…." The teen trailed off as he frowned.
"Like who?" Rick asked good-naturedly. He slouched next to Judith on the bunk and took his turn delighting the now happy baby. "If you were going to say Daryl, I hear he's gone over to the dark side."
"From what I hear, so have you," Carl tossed back, joining his father on the bunk. "So you and Michonne, huh? That's cool."
"What? No," Rick sputtered. "Where'd you hear that?" On the bunk, Judith grabbed one of his hands and started to gnaw. Rick could feel the sharp ridges of her erupting front teeth peaking out of her gums.
"The walls are thin," Carl explained, matter of factly. "Listen." He held up a finger lip and then to his ear and then out the door.
Rick obliged by listening, too. The squeak squeak squeak and quiet groans emanating from Glen and Maggie's cell were clear to hear. When Carl then pointed up, Rick retrained his ears on the ceiling. A muffled voice could be made to to say "You don't got anything on under that! Where's ya damn panties?"
"Daryl has definitely gone over to the dark side," Carl agreed. "The walls aren't just thin, the door are only bars. There are pretty much no secrets around here."
"We're moving to another cell block," Rick declared when Glen and Maggie's squeaking turned into distinctive thumping. "Tomorrow."
"Too late," Carl grinned. "It's our version of Sex-Ed."
"I'm a terrible father," Rick groaned.
Daryl no sooner drug Carol into his cell when his lips descended on hers. His kisses were slow and frantic, all in one. They were making rational thought impossible.
"I thought….you wanted….to talk," Carol gasped between kisses. She tried to reach over and slam the cell door shut, but Daryl found her breasts first. Exquisite pleasure took over, as Daryl pinched her nipple a bit too hard through the shirt. She would have cried out if Daryl hadn't muffled the sound with a searing kiss.
"Too much?" Daryl asked when he came up for air. He ground himself into her body as he groped the other breast. His eyes were full of promise and fire. He thumbed the nipple making Carol twitch.
"Are you nuts?" Carol panted. "Do it again."
Daryl happily complied. He pulled and tugged and stretched until Carol was keening, trapped between his body and the bars. He grinned as she gasped, "When did you get so good at this?"
"It's you," he said against her neck. "You make it easy."
Carol groaned as Daryl rutted against her leg. Her nipples throbbed when he abandoned them to go for her ass. She took her opportunity to shove her hand down his pants, but missed when he physically jolted their position. Daryl had discovered her little secret. It was one of the reason she had been so nervous out on the stairs.
"You don't got anything on under that!" Daryl exclaimed, way louder than he should have. "Where's ya damn panties?"
A giggle burst from her lips and Carol slapped her hands over Daryl's mouth. "Quiet! The whole prison doesn't need to know,' she whispered, reveling in the feel of his hand pushing the t-shirt up and up and up. "I was getting changed for bed when you came by. That's why the door was closed."
"Fuck that," Daryl growled, freeing his mouth. He grabbed a double handful and squeezed.
Neither one said anything else for quite a while.
Beth laid in her cell with a pillow firmly planted over her head. Above, her father snored like a freight train, oblivious to the sounds seeping in from the iron bars. Sometimes the nights were the worst of all. Beth really needed her own space.
And a boyfriend.
Psssst...
Or at least a vibrator, according to current female opinion.
Psssst...
And an entire package of batteries.
Psssst...
And maybe some instructions on what to do with a vibrator, since Beth didn't have an experience in that area.
Psssst...
No, she'd better just sticking to a boyfriend. Michonne had better come through.
PSSST!...
Beth lifted the pillow slightly to see if the noise was real, or merely her father passing gas.
She really, really needed her own space.
"Beth….you awake?"
Beth peered out to see Sasha's face just peeking in from the door frame. Beth could only see the outline of her head.
"Yeah," she whispered back. "Who could sleep through this?" As if on cue, Glen and Maggie started their ritual 'thumping' sounds. One of these days they had better produce her a niece or nephew, to pay her back for her loss of sleep.
"I stole some chocolate," Sasha grinned. "Wanna share the blame?"
It was the best offer Beth had gotten in a long time.
"You're telling me that the reason you were all weirded out is because things are going too well?" Daryl asked as he made lazy circles on Carol's naked back. They were both feeling a little less 'tense'. Daryl could only wonder how much better sex could possibly be when then took that final step. They still hadn't gone all the way yet.
"Yes, I'm insecure! So sue me," Carol grinned against his chest, boneless in her afterglow. "I know it seems silly now, but I was that kid who got detention for throwing the last ball of paper when the whole rest of the class got off scott free from starting a spit wad fight."
"I can't imagine you throwin' spit wads," Daryl mused. His fingers found the crack of her butt and started tracing the curves.
"I didn't throw spit wads," Carol retorted and shifted her body down to limit his search. "They were bunched up pieces of paper. No spit was included."
""Well, that's just pathetic," Daryl laughed. "If you knew the shit I got away with in school? Well, my teachers woulda thrown a damn party if I had kept to just paper wads."
"I can tell you are lying," Carol said, tracing the outline of a small tattoo. "You never did anything like that in school."
"I'm lying, huh?" Daryl pinched her bottom, playfully. "How can you tell?"
"You're lips are moving," Carol smirked.
"Smart-ass." Daryl smirked, but didn't deny it. Truth was, he did get into trouble at school. It kept the questions at bay when someone asked too many questions about his bruises and broken bones. Merle always did say the best defense was an offense.
"I was also jealous," Carol admitted quietly.
"Jealous?" Daryl barked out. "How the fuck could you be jealous?" He pushed up on one elbow to stare baffled at her. "Who the hell could you possibly be jealous of?" His brain wracked itself to come up with a candidate. He got nothing.
Carol hid her face and whispered, "Michonne." Her words were muffled against the skin of his belly.
"Michonne?"
It wasn't the word so much as it was his tone, that got her attention. Carol uncovered her face and looked up. If Daryl's expression could get anymore incredulous, then his eyebrows would completely disappear into his hair. Carol had to tamp down the hysterical urge to giggle. This would be a very, very bad time to lose it. It was all she could do to shrug slightly.
"Well, shit. That's the dumbest, dumbass, moronic and fuckin' ridiculous thing I've heard outta of your mouth. And let me tell you, you can say some dumbass things, sometimes," Daryl growled, throwing his hands in the air to punctuate each word. Carol bounced on his stomach like a trampoline.
The hysterical mirth quickly changed to anger. "And what 'dumbass things' come out of my mouth?" Carol gritted. She was starting to feel a little done with being bounced around.
"Do you not remember all those conversations about you being not lazy or useless or old," Daryl snapped. "You say shit like that just about every day."
How could she argue with that? She was guilty as charged."Well, that doesn't change the evidence that there was a chance I had a reason to be jealous," Carol felt the need to grasp at straws. She sat up, cross-legged, on the bunk beside him.
"What evidence?" Daryl didn't look convinced, but he did calm down. He eyed her new position openly, then yawned. It was beyond late.
"Well, you showed up in that new black shirt and pants that day in the watch tower. Where did those clothes come from?" Carol wanted to know.
"The ones you said you didn't leave me?" Daryl clarified, rubbing his eyes. "If you didn't give them to me, it was probably Maggie and Beth. They were helping me court you. Probably figured I needed something nicer to wear."
Carol considered this and had to agree. She had seen the Green girls whispering when they thought her back was turned. And with all the teasing, it seemed likely.
"Ain't like I dress well," Daryl said absently. His attention was being drawn by the dark patch between her thighs. Seemed that Daryl liked his new view. He let his fingers roam.
"You were courting me?" Carol asked both amazed and enchanted. She slapped at his reaching hand. "Me?"
"I'm filing that one under Dumbass Statement number five hundred and sixty-three," Daryl snorted. "Anything else? I'm bushed." Daryl gave up starting something and let eyes slowly flutter closed. Carol felt a little guilty for bringing up this last part.
"Well, when Michonne left today she left you two messages," Carol said, evenly.
"Yeah, what were they?" Daryl asked behind closed lids.
"First, she said that she was heading to Americus. She'd leave Macon for when you could come with her," Carol said carefully. She studied his face for any real reaction. She didn't get one.
"Good. Macon's too damn far for her to go alone," Daryl muttered. "Ain't safe."
"The second one was," Carol paused, gathering her nerve.
"Was what?" Daryl asked, cracking one eye to peer at her.
"The second message was that, quote, 'she wouldn't go skinny dipping without you', end quote," Carol deadpanned.
Daryl snorted, then laughed out loud. "And that got your panties in a wad?" he grinned.
'It's not funny," Carol slapped at his chest. "Why would she say something like that? Have you been skinny dipping with Michonne?"
"No I ain't been skinny dippin' with Michonne," Daryl smiled. "But I caught her one time, trapped, nekid in a pond, completely surrounded walkers."
"What did you do?" Carol exclaimed. She just couldn't see the humor in the situation.
"What any red-blooded man would do," Daryl grinned and folded his arms behind his head. "Threw that damn sword at her and watched her get to work."
"You watched her fight the walkers naked?" Carol was both amused and horrified. "That's terrible! What if she had gotten bit?"
"Well, there were only ten or so," Daryl laughed. "I jumped in after the first couple. From then on, Michonne always made sure I was on watch before she took a bath."
"And you watched?" Carol couldn't help but laugh.
"I might not be interested, but I sure ain't dead." With that, Daryl pulled Carol down and they laughed together. Carol felt her fears float away.
"Me and Michonne, well, there ain't much hid between us," Daryl eventually said. "She's got my back and I've got hers. But that's it. All this time, I've only had eyes for you."
Tears prickled at Carol's eyes as she took in his confession. She felt a little ashamed at herself, but was grateful for the opportunity to know Daryl even better.
'Sides, Michonne is Rick's girl," Daryl broke the silence again.
"Really? Since when?" How had she missed that tidbit of gossip?
"Well, she will be once Rick gets his head outta his ass."
"Yeah, right. Like that's gonna happen."
Stupid with fatigue, they dissolved in laughter again.
Much earlier than she had hoped, Carol found herself awake in Daryl's cell. Her bunkmate was giving Hershel a run for his money from the volume of his snores. It looked like he was going to sleep in.
She had certainly wore him out, and he had worn out her. It was such a good feeling. The best.
Remembering Sasha's comment about Daryl's treasure trove hiding under his bunk, Carol decided to have a look. Carefully getting out of bed, Carol slipped the t-shirt back on and settled herself onto the floor. The concrete was terribly cold against her bare backside, but she gave it no mind. Groping for a flashlight, Carol took a look.
Bags upon bags of stuff were pushed back under there. Among construction parts for bolts, Carol could see bags of book and clothes and whatnot.
It was a treasure trove!
She pulled on the bag closest to her. It was full of books. Right there on top lay a best seller; The Fifty Shades of Grey. Carol had heard of the novel, but had never read it. She flipped it open to the first chapter and got started. After all, it had been a long time since she had gotten to enjoy a good book.
Went dawn finally came, Carol was still reading.
Tbc…
(And no, this will NOT become a weird bondage or S&M fic. Just setting up the next chapter!)
AN: See! Ye of little faith. Hopefully this closed the lingering plot holes left over from the Friend Zone and lightning strike chapters.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter and it's resolution. Our two favorite characters are in a pretty good place. There's not much left to tell for these two. Just a few more chapters and, hopefully, more laughs.
The premier was terrifying and wonderful and so satisfying. I won't mention specifics in case some of you haven't yet seen it. I do have a personal theory as to Daryl's tears at the end. I'll share if you'll share yours. Just drop me a line!
Thanks for reading!
Surplus Imagination