So…..this widow/single mom thing is turning out to be pretty tough. Case in point: I found this file in my Caryl folder - apparently I wrote this story this spring, but I have NO recollection of it at all. My brain just doesn't work. But my heart works fine and reviews will definitely make it feel better!

Farmer Caryl

Daryl looked at Carol who was bent over the carrot row. "This shit's a poor ass substitute for meat," he grumbled. Carol smiled, smoothing over the row where she had just plucked a volunteer that deviated from the neat line of greenery. "It's good for you, lots of vitamins," she said, smirking as she looked down at the dirt. He grunted and she picked up the handful of volunteer plants, twisting off the greens and rubbing the dirt off of them on her shirt. Daryl watched, entertained. It seemed like anything that involved looking at Carol's shirt was pretty goddamned entertaining these days.

Carol carefully bit the root tips off of the young carrots one at a time and looked at Daryl. "They're sweet," she said, standing up and looking at him with a crinkle in her eye. Daryl stood frozen, not knowing why the air was suddenly blowing out of his nostrils in audible puffs. She made her way to him, her lips curved up in a smile. "Surely if you eat earthworms you'll eat carrots," she said mischievously. She had discovered that she had the power to move Daryl's hair out of his eyes, a power no one else in the group had before. She did so now comically and arranged the seedlings in her hand. "Maybe if you eat them you'll be able to see through your hair better," she said impishly. Her icy blue eyes met Daryls's azure eyes as she raised the young carrot to his lips and she smiled broadly with a little laugh when he hungrily pulled veggie out of her hand with his bite. His exclamation of pleasure was apparent and she fed them to him one by one until they were gone. They were standing close together and their eyes locked. She lightly traced his lips with the feathery end of a carrot stalk and he glared at her, both of them suddenly apparent that they were clearly on the edge between two hungers. She raised a hand to trace his chapped bottom lip. He was suddenly so much closer now. "I wish I could please you as much," she said solemnly, looking into his eyes. The clanging of the bell jolted both of them out of their reverie. "Walkers on the northwest quadrant!" yelled Carl, and everyone dropped into battle formations for the new threat. They'd discuss this later.

Hours later the ranks were exhausted and steaming bodies lined up for cold showers. Rick and Merle had been particularly taxed with the effort of organizing the troops and moved through quickly, anxious to dive into bed. Daryl had been lucky and met the onslaught just after his sleep shift so he was available to solidify watches for the night. He let the cold beat down on his battered skin for minutes then tried to cajole some foam out of the hard pebble of soap he found. Finally he gave up, stepped into fresh boxers and a T-shirt and made his way to his cell. He tried to ignore the grunts and sighs he heard from Merle's cell, knowing that Beth and Merle were going to get busted pretty goddamned soon with their nightly activities. Merle never could keep his dick in his pants and it turned out once Beth got a taste of him she just wanted more. Daryl wondered how he could be the only one that knew, well maybe besides Carol. Maybe it was just because he knew Merle too well, shit he could practically recite Merle's sex dialogue from memory from when they shared a thin-walled house together.

He wearily pulled the curtain in his cell and was not surprised to find Carol in his upper bunk. "Hi. I just….," she said uncertainly. He replied, "s'OK'" in a gravelly voice and checked his weapons. He stretched then lay down on his bunk. He and Carol swapped bunks pretty often just out of loneliness and comfort, tonight was no exception. "Night," he said and he heard her sigh satisfactorily in return. Sleep was upon him almost instantaneously.

Hours later Daryl woke in an instant, every nerve on alert. He sat up to see Carol standing in the corner of their cell in the moonlight, her hands on the bars pulling her back and forth. She was crying, he was sure she was asleep. She was whispering, "Sophia no. Sophia. Sophia! Daryl no. Daryl don't leave."

He was on his feet in an instant, gliding to her soundlessly to grab both of her wrists. "Hey," he said roughly. "Stop that now. You're OK. Ain't nobody goin' nowhere." Her body bucked in a sob as she awoke. "She's gone. You're gone. Everyone's gone," she keened as her body collapsed on itself. Daryl heard himself hushing her, a sound he'd only ever made to Lil' Asskicker before. "Hey, it's OK," he said soothingly, trying to pry her hands off of the rails. "Shhhh…." he whispered soothingly and Carol responded, letting go of the rails. He pulled her over to his bunk, laying her down on it. "Go to sleep," he said gruffly.

"Daryl!" she said frantically, her eyes opening and her arms thrashing. Daryl tried to keep her calm. "I'm here," he said, grabbing one of her flailing wrists. "Ain't nothin' wrong. Ya need to sleep Carol." Her hands grabbed at the collar of his ragged sleeveless shirt and pulled him closer. He drew her in, halfway bending over the cot to accommodate her. "Yer OK now," he said. "We're OK. We're in the prison. Sophia's gone Carol, she's buried and at peace at the farm." Carol moaned and cried out in pain and jerked and he tightened his grip. "Yer OK. We're OK. We're OK now."

Carol's eyes opened wide and she stilled in silence as she got used to the dark. Daryl was holding her, telling her to get it together. She could handle that. She realized that she was gasping for breath and she made a conscious effort to relax her breathing. As she did Daryl loosened his bear trap grip and let her fall back onto the bunk. She felt her body respond by falling languidly to the cot. Her dizziness began to fall away and she began to breathe deeply through her lungs. Here was her closest friend. Her strongest ally. One of quite a few people she would die for. And as she looked at him she realized that now was the time.

"Daryl," she said softly and he leaned over her, brushing tendrils of hair from her forehead. "You go on to sleep," he said gruffly, pulling his wrist back but she caught it in her opposite hand and slowly brought it to her face. His eyes searched hers and she pleaded to him. "See me," she said simply while laying his hand across her cheek. "Daryl," she repeated when he looked like he was going to bolt. "I need you," she said simply, her eyes not leaving his. She raised her head slowly until her forehead was touching his. She slowly rubbed her forehead against his, then her nose, then touched her lips gently to his, starting at the sudden breath of air that burst out of him. Then he couldn't help himself to devour the soft lips offered to him, warm and willing and with hands twisting in his hair to bring him closer than any person had ever been before. The first kisses were tentative and both their bodies snapped with electricity the first time their wandering tongues met. Carol's hands crept beneath his shirt and she dragged her fingernails across his chest. The primitive drive to have her took over and he was lost.

Soon his legs were wrapped around Carols' and he was simultaneously trying to get access to her neck while trying to get her panties off. She moved fluidly underneath him, somehow coming up with her panties in her left hand and dropping them behind her head, a move he was going to deeply thank her for later. His arm got caught in the armhole of his vest and he thrashed until he was able to shrug it off along with his shirt as he toed off his boots. Both of them were gasping, consumed with each other's touch as the world shrank to contain only them on the dirty prison bunk.

He rose up off of her to pop the button on his pants then realized that their clothes had come off so fast that he didn't know where to start. Shit, he didn't really know much of anything about how to please a woman, especially one he was in love with. With a tortured glance at the vee between her legs Daryl reached out to gently touch her breasts, lightly dragging his fingers over the hardened buds of her nipples. She softly moaned his name and he knew he was on the right track, so he did that until her legs hooked behind him and pulled him in towards her. He bent to gently take her nipples into his mouth and in minutes she was writhing, writhing for him damn it, Daryl Dixon, the biggest fuck up on the planet.

For a heated moment he watched her twisting around him, her voice softly begging him for release. He was going to do this right. The knuckles of his right hand crested the ridge of one swollen nipple then lightly traced a path to her belly and pubic hair. Daryl was mesmerized by her reactions, and tried slowly rubbing his knuckles down her dewy slit and up again. Carol's body jerked with electricity and he saw that she had moved the pillow to her face to stifle her escalating moans. His mouth hung half open as he rubbed her entrance, increasing his pressure in response to her spasmodic jerks. The smell coming from her was going to make him cum any minute. He took a quick second to taste the musky slickness of his finger and his cock bounced against his belly.

He couldn't take any more torture. Carol's legs were spread open to him and he slowly pushed into her, gritting his teeth and growling in an effort to maintain control. He glanced behind him to see her legs raised in the air to give him access to the deepest parts of her. He slid in until he was balls deep and he could hear her hoarsely screaming into the pillow. He was going to own her. "You need to be fucked? I'll fuck you Carol Anne," he hissed, grabbing the edge of the bunk behind her head and plowing with full strength. He only needed a few strokes and they were both there, pumping and thrusting with all their strength. The force of Carol's orgasm almost pushed him out of her and he moved against as he stiffened and drove into her deepest point. Her body was shaking and he realized that the pitiful groans he heard were coming from his own mouth as he lost himself in ecstasy with her.

He panted against her chest as she stroked his hair, and when he began to soften inside her he pulled out with a deep sigh. He opened his eyes lazily to see that he was nestled between her breasts and he fleetingly thought that he'd be pretty good to stay here all night. He nuzzled the nearest one and gently sucked the nipple to a point, marveling at the spasms of pleasure he elicited from her. He slowly looked up to look at her face. She was bathed in the light of the full moon and the harsh struggles of the last few years had melted from her face. She's so fucking beautiful he thought.

His voice came out rumbly and gruff. "Y'OK?" he asked quietly. She smiled widely and stroked his beard. "Fuck yes," she said, her uncharacteristic use of profanity setting both of them into laughter. He eased off of her and dropped to her side, it was apparent that there was no way they were both going to be able to lie on their backs on the small cot. Carol shifted uncomfortably. "Do you want me to go?" she asked quickly. Daryl looked at her with a crooked grin on his face. "Hell no, I'm just getting comfortable," he said, turning on his side to lazily drop his arm around her middle. He dragged her into him so they were spooning. "But tomorrow we're gonna come up with bigger bed," he grumbled. She laughed softly and looked back at him uncertainly. He lifted his head to kiss her tenderly. "Now go to sleep woman, ya gonna grow me some more carrots tomorrow."

Please read and review, I know a lot of you love Caryl!