Sorry for the wait!
Chapter Thirty-Six
Thankfully that night, Daryl was too exhausted to dream. It was bad enough to relive what he had done while awake, he didn't know what he would do if he had endure it in his dreams, as well. Of course, tonight had only been one night. Nightmares would surely plague him in the future. Nightmares of the look Dale had in his eyes before the bullet had ripped through his brain...the bullet Daryl had put there.
Daryl hoped that Dale would be the only person he would have to put of his misery, but with the world as it was that hope would become a wish that would never come true.
The sun was just barely peeking over the horizon when Daryl finally opened his eyes. He felt fully rested, but his head...and heart, still felt heavy. He shifted slightly in his sleep, not wanting to wake up the sleeping woman beside him.
"I was wondering when you would get up." Carol turned to face him, a smirk on her face. "You've been twitching for the past hour or so."
"Sorry," he mumbled.
"Bad dreams?" She asked, concerned.
"I didn't dream of anythin' or if I did, I don't remember it." And that was perfectly okay with him.
Carol curled into his side and placed her head under his chin. Daryl wrapped his arms around her, wanting to keep her close and glad that she was there with him. He was glad that she had understood what he had to do for Dale and hadn't looked at him with disgust. Daryl didn't know what he would have done if Carol wouldn't want anything to do with him, anymore. Especially now that he had after being apart for so long.
"Do you want to talk?" She asked. "I'm here if you need to."
"Naw. I don't want to talk. Not now." Using his strength, he hauled Carol up so that she was lying on him. Her breasts pressed against his chest and she looked down at him. With one hand she cupped his cheek and pressed a kiss to his lips.
"What do you want to do?"
"Forget. I want to forget everythin' that's happened in the past twelve hours and make love to the woman I love." Daryl trailed hand through her hair and pulled her down to kiss her before rolling until he was hovering over Carol.
"Is that...all right?"
Carol smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Of course. But we can't get too spoiled on being together on a bed. Who knows when we'll be able to have this opportunity."
"You think if I ask the old man nicely, he'll let us have this room?" Daryl buried his head in Carol's neck and trailed kisses up to her jaw.
She pushed at his chest halfheartedly. "Not if you call him an old man."
Daryl just smirked and continued to kiss Carol. "I love you," he said. "God, I love you so much."
"I love you, too, Daryl." Carol cupped his cheeks, her thumb caressing his jaw. "Now, no more talking and show me how much you love me."
When they heard the sound of others getting up and walking around in the house, Carol and Daryl gathered their clothing from the floor and left the room. Both of them would miss the privacy of the four walls and the softness of the bed, but the real world called to them and today, they would be burying a dear friend.
As they reached the stairs, Daryl stopped Carol with a hand on her waist and kissed her one last time before they faced the others. Soft giggles had them turning around just as two blonde heads ducked back into a room.
Carol chuckled softly at the two younger girls and Daryl glared. "Can we get at least a moment of privacy," he growled and began to descend down the stairs. Carol was close behind him.
"We did get a moment of privacy. A lot of moments, actually. Unless we had an audience earlier that I didn't know about," she teased and poked him lightly in the ribs as they reached the bottom of the steps.
"Shut up," he mumbled.
"Make me." She stepped closer to him and placed her hand on his shoulders.
Daryl about to do just that with his mouth when a creak on the stairs had him looking up at Beth and Sophia. The girls looked like they were trying hard not to laugh at them some more. He grumbled under his breath.
"Good morning, mom!" Sophia greeted and bounded down the stairs to give her mother a hug.
"Good morning, Mrs. Dixon," Beth said, slyly. Daryl's head jerked up and he narrowed his eyes at the girl before looking to Carol to see what her reaction would be. He was surprised to see that she didn't seem bothered by the name.
"I see you girls were up late gossiping, then." She released her daughter and placed her hands firmly on her hips to give the two a stern look. Daryl snorted and smirked. Busted.
"Of course not, mama." Sophia batted her eyelashes innocently. "Why would we do that?" Carol rolled her eyes and ruffled her daughter's hair affectionately.
"At least you two are up and not sleeping the day away. So, I won't complain."
The sound of the screen door opening had the four of them walking towards it. Rick stood just inside the house and gave them a solemn look. "Are you all ready? We-We're going to bury Dale and say a few words."
Just like that, the light hearted mood from earlier was gone and they were thrust back into the real world. Beth went to get her father and Patricia while Sophia wrapped her arms around Carol as they made their way outside. Daryl followed closely behind them.
The rest of the group was already standing around the freshly dug grave Dale's body now occupied. Glenn held his cap in his hands and tears glistened in his eyes. Dale had been like a father to him. Andrea stood not far from the younger man, eyes puffy and red. She had been the closest person to the older man.
Lori joined Rick, Carl not far from her side. The boy's eyes remained glued to the pile of dirt and Carol glanced down at her daughter to see that her eyes were glued on her friend. T-Dog stood behind Glenn, face stoic and Shane stood the farthest away. It was no secret how he felt about the older man and Carol was surprised that he was even there.
A few minutes later, the Greene family and Patricia joined them. Carol knew that it was out of respect. After all, they had all been present for Otis's death. Maggie went to Glenn and stood silently by his side while Hershel, Beth and Patricia stayed on the outskirts of their group. Not as far as Shane, but they made sure to fully integrate with them.
Carol reached behind her daughter's back and grabbed Daryl's hand. He gave her a quick look and squeezed before turning his attention to Rick, who had stepped forward to speak. Everyone listened to Rick's words as he spoke favorably and admirably about Dale. Glenn nodded at the words and Andrea sniffled as quietly as she could. Dale's death had been a hard blow to everyone.
When Rick finished speaking, they all stood there for a few moments, silent, with their heads bowed as they remembered the man. Daryl tried not to think about how he was the one that had ended Dale's life and held on to Carol's hand like a lifeline. If it hadn't been him to pull the trigger, it would have been someone else or he would have died eventually, leaving someone to put a bullet in his brain to stop him from reanimating.
It seemed like forever, but everyone finally dispersed from the gravesite. Andrea and Glenn had been the last to leave while Shane had been the first.
Daryl followed Carol and Sophia to camp where she would help Lori whip up something to eat. They couldn't really call it breakfast, since it was so late, but it was also a little early for lunch. Food was food, though, and everyone was hungry.
Before they reached the main camp, Rick called to Daryl and gestured with his head for Daryl to come talk with him. Thankfully, Shane was no where in sight. He reluctantly let go of Carol's hand, which he had been holding during the whole trek to the RV. She gave him a confused look but when she saw Rick standing a little way off, she understood and continued walking with Sophia to Lori and Carl.
"Is there somethin' you need?" Daryl skipped the pleasantries, knowing that Rick hadn't called him over just for a friendly chat and Daryl still hadn't forgiven the man for what he had wanted him to do to Randall.
"No." Rick ran a hand through his hair. "I just wanted to thank you for what you did for Dale last night. I know it wasn't easy."
"You would have done the same. Eventually." Daryl knew Rick hadn't hesitated at first to pull the trigger, but if Daryl hadn't stepped up to do it for him, Rick would have finally been able to do what needed to be done.
"'Sides, you shouldn't be the only one who has to do the tough shit," Daryl continued. As leader, he knew Rick had a giant burden to bear every day as he thought of everything that needed to be done to keep everyone safe. As one of those people, Daryl figured he could help out Rick once in awhile.
"But you stepped up before I could and that's why I'm thanking you." He reached out a hand, as if he wanted to place it on Daryl's shoulder, but thought better of it and let it fall back to his side.
"You're welcome, then."
The other man gave him a half smile. "Oh, Hershel pulled me to the side, earlier. He said that since the nights are getting colder, we could all move our things to the house. He said that he had a free room upstairs and said that if you want it then it's yours."
Daryl shook his head in disbelief. Maybe they had had an audience earlier and the old man had heard what he said.
"Tell him Carol and I will take it...and thank you."
"Carol and you?" Daryl winced. No one in camp, besides T-Dog, had known about their relationship.
"Yeah. I want to keep an eye on her and her daughter." The excuse was a weak one, but he really didn't care.
"Oh. All right. I'll let Hershel know. I think Andrea wants to stay in the RV and Shane doesn't want to settle in the house, so he'll probably stay out here, too." He continued talking as if he and Daryl were friends.
"What about that wife and kid of yours? They got a room?" Daryl inwardly groaned, hating himself for asking. If Rick said Lori and Carl didn't have a bed to sleep in and would make their beds on the floor, he would give up the room Hershel had offered him. Though he knew Carol deserved to sleep on something soft just as much as the first lady and her son...if not more.
"Yeah, we're staying in the room Carl was recovering in."
Daryl let out a sigh of relief. "All right. Sounds good." He shifted in place, feeling a little awkward. "Well, I'm goin' to grab some food before I go out to see if I can get us some meat for supper." He hadn't planned on hunting today but he just needed an excuse to get away from Rick. Maybe he would take Carol and give her some more gun practice.
"All right. Good luck out there, then and I'll talk to you later." Rick waved and Daryl strode off, heading to the fire and Carol.
Carol trekked quietly behind Daryl as they walked through the woods together. Daryl had some squirrel on his belt and was currently tracking a deer. Whether he would get it or not was a different story. It was no one's fault, however. There had been a few times he had forgotten that Carol was even there because she had taken to being silent so seriously. No, this deer was just being way too smart.
Finally, he gave up when they walked into a clearing and saw no deer in sight. Daryl estimated that they were about a mile and a half from camp. Good enough distance to get some target practice in.
"You want to shoot a little?" He asked Carol.
"Are you done hunting?"
"Yeah. I ain't gettin' that deer and I want to get back soon so that we have enough light to take down our tent and bring our things inside."
Carol smiled. "I still can't believe Hershel let us have that room."
"Actually, he let me have it and I decided to let you join me." He playfully bumped her hip and she glared at him.
"Careful. I have a loaded gun."
Daryl held up his hands in surrender and chuckled. "And I've been teachin' you how to use it."
"So, I definitely know how to use it." She turned and held up the gun with both hands. "What should I be aiming at, Mr. Dixon?" Daryl started at the name, remembering that she had been called Mrs. Dixon earlier that morning and hadn't seemed to mind.
Carol Dixon, that has a nice ring to it.
"Daryl?" Carol's voice was no longer teasing and she was giving him an odd look. He must have been standing there silent for awhile.
"Oh. Uh. I brought some cans. They're in your pack."
"Oh." Carol slung the bag off her back and took out three empty cans, surprised that she hadn't heard them but then saw that some of Daryl's clothing had been stuffed inside as well so they wouldn't rattle against each other.
"Here." He took the cans. "I'll set them up in one of the trees. Try to resist shooting me in the ass."
"Now, why would I want to destroy something so...perfect?" Daryl blushed as her eyes wandered down to his ass.
"Stop," he huffed, embarrassed. Carol giggled behind a hand and watched him stomp away. She knew how to get him riled up and had always been able to.
A few minutes later, Daryl joined Carol back at her side and pointed to three cans he had placed in the tree. "Now, this is a little different than just shooting on an even fence rail, but I know you'll be able to do it."
"I hope so, anyway." She held up the gun, bit her lip in concentration and fired her first shot. One of the cans, on the lowest branch, fell out of the tree and landed on the dirt. Carol beamed and Daryl was impressed.
"All right, the next one."
It took two shots to hit the next can and three for the last one. There was room for improvement, of course, but Carol was learning quickly and that helped lift a burden off Daryl's shoulders. He would protect this woman and her child to the day he died, but it helped if she were able to protect herself, as well.
"Again?" Carol asked.
"Okay." Rick hadn't given him many extra bullets, but he still had a few in his pockets and Carol still wanted to practice, which was more than fine with him.
An hour later, they made it back to camp. Daryl dropped off the game with T-Dog, who was in charge of cooking their final meal in the camp, and walked with Carol to their tent. They were surprised to see that it had already been taken down; their sleeping bags and blankets were folded neatly alongside it.
"I wanted to help." Sophia walked up from behind them. While they had been gone, she had been told to stick around by Lori and Carl.
"Lori was off talking with Mr. Shane, somewhere, and I asked Carl if he would help me take down the tent and stuff. He did...but he didn't say a word to me." Sophia looked upset. Sure, she had been hanging around Beth a lot lately, but Carol was still her best friend and his silence was bothering her.
"I'm sorry, honey." Carol pulled Sophia close. "Maybe Dale's death just hit him really hard."
Sophia sniffed and nodded. "That's probably it." She bent down and picked up a pack from the ground, copying what Daryl had just done.
"Let's get some of this inside and the rest can go in my truck."
After their meal, they all decided that it was time to head to the house and get some sleep. Andrea decided that she would be keeping watch for the half the night and Shane would take the other half.
Daryl was exhausted and more than happy to finally call it a night, especially since he would be sharing a bed with Carol, again. After saying her good nights, Carol came to the room, a troubled look on her face.
"What is it?" He asked, back leaning against the headboard of the bed.
"Lori's upset. Shane came by their room earlier saying that he wanted to show Rick something and instead it wait until morning, Rick went with him."
That sounded odd. What was there to see in the middle of the night? "Do you want me to find him?"
"No." She shook her head. "Rick's a big boy and for all we know, Shane could be showing him something important." She shut the door behind her, crawled into bed and snuggled close to his side.
An hour later, there was a loud banging on their door. Carol was the first to reach it and opened it to find a frantic looking Lori. "Lori, what's go-"
"Carl's gone."
In the faint distance, Merle could see the dim lights of a large farmhouse. "Is that it?" He pointed with his only hand.
"Yeah, that's it." Randall answered as he limped alongside him.
Merle smiled. They were so close. He would reunite with Daryl and they'd go off together and leave Officer Prick and the rest of the group behind.
Suddenly the loud crack of a gunshot had Randall and Merle stopping in their tracks. "What the fuck?" Merle looked around. The shot had been close by. Too close.
"Do you think they were shooting at us?" Randall sounded frantic.
"Shut up," Merle snapped and that's when he heard it. It wasn't another gunshot. No, it was the sound of shuffling feet. Hundreds of shuffling feet. He turned around and in the light from the moon he saw them.
At least a hundred walkers were heading their way.
Thanks for reading!