Daryl yanked Lucky down the hall and up to the cabin.
"Maybe I should…" she started looking back over her shoulder.
"I ain't stayin' here another minute," he interrupted, throwing her over his shoulder and heading out the door. He wanted to hunt; he needed to talk to her, and he didn't want Rick to come along! He knew he was on the edge of losing his temper in a serious way and he figured this was the best way to get all of what he wanted with a minimum of conversation.
He didn't want to kill Vicky…at least he knew he'd regret it after the fact. He plunked Lucky into the passenger seat and they left the compound.
He drove in silence for some time, trying to calm down, but he still couldn't figure out what the fuck he'd done to upset Songbird that much.
"Umm, why don't you pull in there," Lucky suggested after a while, pointing to a clearing.
"Yeah, okay," Daryl pulled in and cut the headlights, then cut the engine too. He left the radio on out of habit, even though there was nothing but static on the airwaves. "I know we're not gonna find anything right now," he admitted. "I had to get outta there though."
"I get it," Lucky replied. "So why are we out here picturing Vicky's face on things that we want to shoot?"
Daryl gave a brief laugh and said, "I honestly don't know what the hell happened. You know Songbird punched Vicky in the face right?"
"Good for her," Lucky grinned. "I didn't know. But that bitch had it coming, the way she's been hanging all over you right in front of Songbird and everything. I'm kinda surprised it took this long actually."
"Well, I guess I gotta tell you the whole story and then maybe you can tell me what went wrong," Daryl said.
He gave her the run down and finished up with, "So? What the fuck?"
"You really didn't know that Vicky liked you like that?" Lucky looked disbelieving.
"I really, really, didn't! Women like that…and men like me…it just never happens!" Daryl informed her.
"What do you mean by men like you?" Lucky asked. "And what do you mean by women like her? I mean I'd be glad if bitches with their panties in a constant wad would stay the fuck away from me, you know?"
"Men like me…uh…you know…poor I guess. And not…uh…you know…classy or whatever the fuck you call it. And women like her…I like your description. And it ain't like I got a problem with her not wantin' me. I sure as fuck don't want her. It's just that Songbird told me that Vicky was comin' on to me and I told her it wouldn't ever happen. Now I feel like a dumbass. And she…fuckin' hell, Lucky! She cried! And now she won't talk to me and I don't know why!" Daryl banged his fist on the steering wheel in frustration.
"Fucking women," Lucky sighed. "This is exactly why I didn't have any chick friends growing up."
"Well, my ex used to do that shit too. But this time I actually think I mighta done somethin' wrong so I care about fixin' it. What do you think it could have been?"
"Well, the only thing I can think of is that Songbird feels Vicky might be right," Lucky said after a moment of thought.
"Right about what?" Daryl asked.
"Well, she's sensitive," Lucky began slowly. "And you said you didn't listen to her at first…"
"Yeah, but she didn't seem all that mad about it then. She just said okay and then we had sex. So I don't think she was mad at me."
"I think women tend to wait until those complaints come to fruition before using them against you. She could have been hoping she was wrong herself or that you would react differently."
Daryl sighed.
"I don't know. She's usually not the type to…well, I guess she sorta is the type to hide stuff. But usually not stuff like this. She always tells me how she feels. Why does she think all of a sudden that I'm stringin' her along?"
"Like I said, she's sensitive. You have to let her know you love her every half hour or she gets…well, like this," Lucky said.
Daryl started to reply, but then his mouth dropped open as realization hit him.
"Fuckin' hell! I never told her that I loved her!"
"What the fuckin' hell Daryl?" Lucky punched his arm. "No wonder she's upset! This is an apocalypse! You could die at any time! Or she could! This is not a time for testosterone related forgetfulness!"
Daryl rubbed his arm absently; the punch had stung. He couldn't believe that he'd never told her he loved her. What the hell was wrong with him?
"So what should I do?" he asked awkwardly. "Because I do…uh…love her. How should I fix it?"
"You should maybe start by telling her that. And make up for all the times that you forgot somehow, I'll let you figure that out yourself," Lucky spoke slowly as if it should have been obvious. "Because she has gone out of her way to find ways to tell you."
"Yeah, but I have to do somethin' to get her attention. Somethin' big and impressive. Somethin' she'll really like, so she don't just walk away from me like she's been doin' ever since this happened."
"You should know what she likes better than anyone," Lucky replied.
"She likes to sing. I can't sing." Daryl frowned.
"She likes music in general. There are a lot of things you can do with music. Find something you think she'll like and go from there." As Lucky spoke she dug through the CDs in his glove box and put one, a mix of country songs, into the CD player.
"Yeah. I could ask her to dance…if I knew how to dance," Daryl frowned again.
They sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts until the sun began to rise.
"I think I saw something moving over there," Lucky gestured to the left and they got out of the truck quietly.
Daryl and Lucky walked to the edge of the woods where there were about a dozen turkeys and a flock of pheasants milling around. Daryl immediately set his sights on the biggest tom turkey as Lucky moved slightly away, headed for the other side of the group of birds. He figured she would bring down one or two of her own.
He aimed carefully and shot, nailing the turkey and watching it fall. God that was a beautiful shot! He whooped enthusiastically, which would have been a mistake, except that it sent the flock scurrying in Lucky's direction. She made several neat shots of her own, taking down another turkey and three pheasants. Her aim was really good, and her bow was faster. Daryl gave her a thumbs up as he picked up his turkey. He estimated it to be about 20 pounds, which was way better than the one he and Merle had cooked last year.
"Want some help carryin' that?" Daryl asked, when noticed Lucky looking at all the fowl at her feet.
She nodded and pointed to the turkey, so he picked it up.
"Hey look! Mistletoe!" Lucky said suddenly, pointing to the branches over their heads.
"Well, what do you know?" Daryl considered it a sign. "Songbird asked me to find some for her." He put the turkeys back onto the ground and pulled his knife, cutting several sprigs down and putting them into his pocket.
They both glanced up at the sprigs he'd left in the trees and then he looked down at her just as she looked up at him. When her face went beet red, he realized exactly where they were both standing. Well this might be the most awkward moment of his life. He did what he always did in awkward moments. He turned and walked away, only taking time to snag the dead turkeys. To his relief Lucky did the same with the pheasants and they loaded the truck in silence.
"I know what I'm gonna do," Daryl said. "And I need your theater room to do it…if you don't care?" he asked.
"That's cool," Lucky answered. "I don't care."
"And…uh…I need to do me one more favor…could you get her there at 9 since she won't talk to me?"
"I suppose I can do that," Lucky replied.
"Thanks," Daryl muttered awkwardly. "I appreciate it."
Songbird walked into Lucky's theater room, wondering what was so urgent. She wouldn't have come out of the room at all if Lucky hadn't sounded desperate. She stopped in her tracks when she saw that the theater seats had been put away and the dance floor cover put back on the floor. What was Lucky planning? The stage light came on suddenly and she heard a mutter of, "Fuckin' finally found the damn thing. Oh. You're here."
"Daryl," she said flatly.
"Yeah. Uh…" he bit his thumbnail, which muffled his voice to some extent. "I think I figured it out. Why you're mad at me. And if I'm right about what it is…then I'm sorry."
"Are you?"
"Well, I think so. See…I uh…fuck. Okay. I had this cd in my truck and I know how you are about music. But I don't sing, so uh, don't get your hopes up. I guess what I'm sayin' is…can I have this dance?"
The music started and Songbird nodded. Daryl stepped down and pulled her into his arms as lyrics joined the music. It wasn't a song she recognized at first, and she couldn't really figure out what it had to do with anything until the second verse.
"We're gonna do what lovers do
We're gonna have a fight or two
But I ain't ever changin' my mind."
The chorus was even better.
"Crazy girl, don't you know that I love you?
I wouldn't dream of goin' nowhere.
Silly woman, come here let me hold you
Have I told you lately, I love you like crazy girl."
She threw her arms around him and they danced…or rather they swayed, but still, it might have been the most beautiful moment of Songbird's life.
"I shoulda told you before," he said. "God, I figured I'd lost you…"
"What were you going to do?" she asked.
"I was gonna start with tying Vicky to a tree and lettin' the Walkers have her," Daryl answered, only half kidding. "Then I probably just woulda hassled you till you gave in."
"You still haven't actually said it," Songbird informed him, looking up at him with a smile.
"Oh. Right. Okay. Well…" he cupped her face in his hands and said, "I love you Songbird."
"I love you too," she whispered, as the song ended.
"Want another song?" he asked.
"Nah," she answered to his surprise. "I want to go to bed."
"Really?"
"Really. I hated sleeping in the guys room and I've missed you so much!" she answered.
"I missed you too," he told her. "But darlin', from now on could you just tell me why you're mad at me? I had to kidnap your friend to get information…"
"Kidnap?" she asked with a smile.
"Yeah. We got two turkeys and some pheasants though. And this," he dug around in his pocket and pulled out the, now a little crumpled, mistletoe.
"You found it!"
Daryl dangled the mistletoe over her red gold hair and she stretched up to kiss him, wrapping her arms around him as his mouth slanted over hers, taking the kiss deeper as he pulled her closer.
"We'll put it up tomorrow," he told her, tugging her out of the room.
She laughed and jumped up onto his back, piggyback riding him down the hall, making him laugh too, relieved beyond words that he hadn't lost her. The trip up the hallway took too long and the minute the door was closed and Songbird let him go, he turned around, pushing her against the door.
She moaned in pleasure when he kissed her again, gripping the back of her neck and holding her body firmly against the door with his.
"Promise me somethin'," he said, sliding his hands under her sweater, breaking their kiss only long enough to pull it over her head.
"What?" she asked, unbuttoning his flannel shirt and running her palms over his broad shoulders and down his chest.
"Don't leave me okay?" he knew it sounded desperate, but he didn't really care. Lucky was right. It was a fuckin' apocalypse. If now wasn't the time to tell people how you really felt then that time didn't exist.
"What?"
"Don't leave me. Even if I piss you off…just tell me; I'll fix it. I'll always fix it. Just don't ever do that to me again."
She wondered if he knew how rough his tone had gotten or how tightly he was gripping her body. She was naked by now and his jeans were unbuttoned; he'd picked her up and he was holding her close.
"Daryl I'm so sorry," she said honestly. "I should have talked to you…"
"Yeah, well…I shoulda told you I loved you. It's not like I just started or anything."
"Speaking of starting stuff…" she wriggled her hips.
He started to oblige, then he remembered something. "Ah hell…hang on."
Daryl kept her where she was and grabbed his wallet, "See this is why condoms suck…"
Songbird bit his earlobe and said, "Better than the alternative right?"
"Mostly," Daryl acknowledged, pushing inside her and hitting a steady pace.
"You really love me?" she gasped after a few moments.
"I really love you," he answered, pressing his lips to her neck and breathing in the smell of her hair. "You still love me?"
"Forever," Songbird answered. "I'll love you forever."
About an hour later they lay on their bed. Daryl sighed in pure contentment.
"Night darlin'," he said.
The silence that was met with told him she was already asleep. He glanced down at her, the low light they slept with made her hair fire red and she was curled up against him, sleeping peacefully her cheeks still flushed from the pleasure he'd given her. He brushed one callused finger down her smooth cheek.
"Love you," he whispered. Maybe the more he said it, the easier it would be for him to remember that she needed to hear it.
They didn't do much Christmas Eve; Songbird read A Christmas Carol that night, supposedly to Sophia and Carl, but T-dog, Carol, Andrea, Dale, Lori, Shane, and Daryl all listened in. Freddy had made hot chocolate, and to Songbird's delight, he'd made peppermint hot chocolate as well. The fireplace was going and Daryl actually felt a good amount of Christmas cheer and a shiver of anticipation for what the morning would bring.
Songbird was awake really early Christmas morning, but she didn't want to be the first out of the room, so she waited impatiently, lying beside Daryl and trying not to wake him up. Then she realized that she couldn't give him his present in front of the group, and she might as well do it now in case Rick or Lucky said anything later.
"Daryl," she whispered.
He grumbled in his sleep and shifted, but he didn't really wake up.
"Daryl!"
"What?" he squinted at her. He had no idea what time it was, but he knew it was early.
"I wanted to give you your present," she said softly.
"Right now?"
"I didn't want to do it in front of everyone and once you see what it is, you'll appreciate that," she told him.
"I need coffee," he grunted.
"Okay! I'll go make coffee and hot chocolate and I'll be stealthy and I won't wake anyone up! And…"
"Go," Daryl groaned. "I love you but…go okay? Too much cheer. Too much."
She laughed and did as he asked.
He stretched and got up to go pee and brush his teeth; he contemplated showering, but his mind was finally waking up enough to know that it wouldn't be a good idea to make that much noise. Once the kids were up there'd be no goin back for any of them. He went back and sat on one of the lower bunks, rubbing his face and trying to look more awake.
The coffee Songbird handed him a few minutes later helped. He sipped and said, "All right darlin'. What is it?"
She handed him a plain folder. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Open it," she prompted. "You're really not a morning person are you?"
"No," he began, flipping open the folder. "I'm really not…damn."
It wasn't what he'd expected, that was for sure. It was Songbird, dressed in skintight camo pants and a flak jacket. The jacket was open. She wasn't wearing a shirt. She was staring straight at the camera with a slight smile, her dark eyes sultry. One hand was holding the jacket lightly together at the bottom; the other hand was on the back of her neck.
"Darlin' when did you…" he began, but he forgot the question as he flipped to the next picture.
In it, she was dressed as a biker, in heavy boots, leather pants and leather jacket, again no shirt. This time the jacket was halfway down her arms, leaving her breasts only barely covered due to her crossed arms. She wasn't smiling in this one; she was looking at the camera with one eyebrow cocked and a cynical expression and he was surprised to find her a very believable biker chick.
"Sexy," he commented.
She resisted the impulse to squeal over that. It was so nice to be described as something other than cute!
There was a picture of her in a corset, lying on Lucky's bed. The picture had been taken from above, so she was looking up into the camera with the same flirty grin she flashed him daily. The corset was so sexy his mouth went dry; he loved stuff with complicated laces and details…getting her out of that would be a challenge that he would welcome.
The next picture showed her as a mechanic in coveralls and grease down one cheek. The coveralls weren't living up to their name, not that Daryl gave a shit. She hadn't buckled the shoulder straps, and the top part, the part that should have covered her chest, was folded, hanging at her slender waist. She had a huge wrench in her hand, resting it on her shoulder, the other hand on her hip. Her chin was tilted and her hair flowed down her back, giving him an unobstructed view of her firm breasts.
"Damn," he said again, he couldn't seem to think of anything else to say.
When he flipped that picture over to see the next one, he actually felt his mouth drop open.
"Ummm I borrowed Mary Jane," she admitted. "I hope you don't mind."
"She ain't never been put to better use," he informed her.
In the photo, Songbird was wearing the fatigue pants and combat boots again, and nothing else. She had her back to the camera and Mary Jane was slung over her shoulder. She was looking over her shoulder with that sexy half smile. He admired the length of her legs and the smooth, lean lines of her back. She mighta been skinny, but she had some muscle on her, sleek muscle, like an athlete.
It was awhile before he turned that photo over. The next one was her and Mary Jane as well, but she was totally naked in it. She held the bow in front of her, aiming at the camera with a wink.
She blushed when Daryl glanced at her with a grin and said, "Nice."
"There's more," was all she said.
He wondered if his heart could take it. The others were full nudes, no props. Well…in one of them she had her knife sheaths strapped to her legs and wrists…that was fuckin' hot. But other than that the rest were just her, sitting, standing and lying down…totally naked. He swallowed hard, trying to think of something to say. He figured he'd have to manage a sentence or two before he could rip her clothes off and fuck her.
The last picture helped. It was her in the camo outfit. She was looking back over her shoulder but she was laughing. Really laughing. He smiled.
"That's not supposed to be in there," Songbird said in embarrassment. "I meant to take it out…"
"I like it," Daryl answered. "I'm glad you kept it."
"So?" Songbird twisted her fingers together nervously. "What do you think? Is it a good present?"
Daryl stood up and laid the folder carefully on the bunk. Then he grabbed her and dropped her lightly to the floor, covering her body with his.
"I like it," he answered, before his took her mouth. "A lot actually. You're kinda dirty underneath that innocent front…I guess that's the Catholic comin' through huh?"
She laughed and nodded as she said, "I guess so. I should have taken some in my plaid skirt shouldn't I?"
"I don't know how many more I coulda handled," he said honestly.
They were kissing again when they heard a knock at their door.
"IT'S CHRISTMAS!" Sophia and Carl shouted in unison.
She scrambled up; Daryl drank the rest of his coffee even though it was barely lukewarm, and they went out to face Christmas morning.
Once everyone was gathered around the tree, Daryl was surprised to see how many packages there were. People must have been sneaking out to put them there overnight all night; he'd done that himself with Songbird's gifts. Lucky had refused to help him wrap them so they were the roughest looking ones. He shrugged; so he wasn't domestic like Freddy. He was a man damn it!
Wrapping paper flew and Sophia squealed over her books; Carol gave Lucky a thankful smile over the girl's head.
"You want your stuff?" Daryl asked impatiently.
"In a minute," Songbird answered. "I want to watch everyone else."
Carl looked happy about his comic books, and Lori, Rick, and Shane all received small handmade presents back from Carl. Sophia had done the same, writing short stories as gifts, one for her mom and, to Songbird's surprise, one for her as well. Songbird had made a flower crown for Sophia and added long lengths of ribbon to the back of it.
"Bella principessa," Songbird declared when Sophia put it on.
"What does that mean?" Carl asked from across the room.
"Beautiful princess," Songbird answered with a smile. "And I've got something for you too."
She handed Carl the gift she'd made him; a notebook of plain paper she'd covered in fabric and painted his name on.
"You could draw a comic," she said. "Or whatever else you want."
"Thanks!" he seemed really happy with the gift and she breathed a sigh of relief. She'd seen Carl doodling things, but she hadn't been sure he'd consider paper Christmas worthy.
He stepped back over a moment later and handed Songbird a present as he gave her a shy smile.
She pulled the paper off and tried not to look confused. It was a tin can with holes in it. The can was extremely shiny…but she didn't really get it.
"You put a candle in it," Carl explained. "And the light shines through the holes. I thought you might want it for your room."
"I love luminaries!" Songbird reassured him. "Thank you Carl!"
He gave her a hug and went back over to Rick. She looked at Daryl though one of the holes in the can and grinned. He smiled back and then said, "Okay, open what I got you. You're makin' me nervous!"
She laughed and reached for the presents. The paper wasn't really folded around the contents so much as crumpled and taped until it had given up the fight. She smiled again.
"Bigger one first," he decreed.
She switched, dropping the smaller one into her lap and ripping the red and white paper off the larger present. A leather bound complete unabridged copy of Shakespeare's works showed up when the tape and paper fell away.
"Oh Daryl…" she breathed out, opening the book carefully and flipping through the pages…12th Night, The Taming of the Shrew, Macbeth, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and all the sonnets.
On the inside cover, he'd written her name and the date and a note that said, "Just in case you ever run out of stories of your own. I love you. Daryl."
"Where did you…" she began.
"Bookstore on the way back from Area 3," he answered. "I was thinkin' about what to get you for Christmas and this seemed like somethin' you'd like. I wish I could take you back, but…"
"No," she answered, kissing his cheek. "This is exactly what I would have wanted. And it means so much more coming from you."
"Open the other one," Daryl said when she seemed in danger of losing herself in the book. "You can read all the Shakespeare you want tonight, I promise."
"All right," she agreed. She knew he was right; if she read any longer, she'd miss Christmas. She picked up the smaller box and shook it experimentally. Daryl grinned at her and gave her a "hurry up" gesture. She pulled the paper off and opened the top of the box. Her mouth fell open.
"Oh my god!"
A silver and sapphire cross sparkled up at her and she lifted it out of the box gently.
"Put it on," he said.
She did and he was relieved that she didn't need help; he sucked at stuff like that. Her fingers traced the intricate cross as she looked at him.
"It's beautiful," she whispered before giving him a kiss.
"I'm glad you like it," he told her. "Looks good on you. Those," he touched one of the sapphires, "match your eyes."
She leaned against him and they watched the rest of the group chatting and admiring one another's presents. Lucky came over a few moments later and dropped a photo album into Songbird's lap.
"These are for your history project," Lucky said.
Songbird jumped to her feet and threw her arms around Lucky.
"I can't believe you remembered!"
""Like you would let anybody forget about it," Lucky smirked.
"And this is for you!" Songbird gave her the notebook she'd covered in fabric and written her name across in glitter. Because who doesn't like glitter? "I don't know if you like to draw or write…but here is the paper to do it with!"
Lucky gave her a hug and said thanks, before walking over to Freddy and exchanging gifts with him.
The group finally broke up when Carl asked if they could go see if it was snowing. Songbird saw Rick hand Lucky a small box and she looked up at Daryl with raised eyebrows. He looked sort of surprised, so she figured Rick hadn't told him anything about it. It was a ring. Songbird didn't say anything, but she made plans to grill Lucky about it later and admire the ring; she was too far away to get a good look at it.
"Look at this mess!" Freddy said crossing his arms and shaking his head.
"I know! Covering all this beauty we created," Songbird stood up too.
Daryl tried not to laugh; something was seriously wrong with Freddy.
"I mean, would it have been so hard for people to throw away their own trash?" Freddy continued. "Or to take off the wrapping slowly? We could have used it next year… or made ornaments or cards…"
"You know what Freddy? I think you are the one following a little too closely in our fathers' footsteps," Lucky said casually as she started picking up paper.
"At least I'm not the one kissing girls!" From the look on his face Daryl could tell that hadn't been exactly what Freddy meant to say, which made it even funnier. "I mean guys! I'm not kissing guys!" Songbird felt horrified, but there wasn't anything she could do to stop Freddy now. "You kissed a girl and I don't like it!" He finished pointing at sister dramatically.
"You did what?" Rick sounded shocked.
Lucky didn't say anything, but Songbird couldn't stay silent.
"It didn't mean anything! It was just art!"
Daryl started to ask what the fuck she was talking about when Freddy went on, "If it was just art, why did you feel the need to tell me how much better her kiss was than mine?"
What the fuck? When the hell had that happened?
"Lemme see if I can process this," Daryl said. "Both of you kissed my girl…for art?"
"I didn't kiss her for art," Freddy replied frimly.
The what the hell did he kiss her for? And why hadn't she told him? "I…you…I don't know how to feel about this!"
"I'm so so sorry!" Songbird wailed. "I just didn't know what to get you for Christmas!"
"Wait," Rick stood. "Why didn't I get those pictures this morning?"
"You're a police officer! We need to report a theft!" Songbird was hopeful.
"Wait." Daryl spun her back to face him, deciding to deal with the whole "kissing Freddy" thing later. He couldn't for the life of him figure out what that had to do with Christmas. "They're gone? As in missing?"
"I had to pee!" Lucky shouted. "I can't be everywhere at once can I?"
"No you could have burned them like I said!" Songbird replied, in irritation. "I told you to burn them!"
"No!" Daryl, Rick and Glenn all replied in firm unision.
"They are art and I am standing by my decision," Lucky said dryly. "And it seems every man here will back me up."
"So the two of you cheated on your boyfriends and… took pictures of it?" Vicky questioned from the couch.
Songbird blushed. As if Vicky didn't think she was crazy enough already!
Freddy pinched the bridge of his nose. "You don't understand anything! If it weren't my sister, I would feel differently about these pictures."
"How differently?" Daryl questioned.
Freddy only shrugged.
"So, there are pictures of the two of you. Naked. Doing, what we can only assume, is something wonderful. And they are somewhere in this house?" Rick's police officer voice calmed Songbird's nerves a little. It seemed Officer Grimes was on the case.
"No, somebody took them, that's a lot different than them just 'being somewhere'," Lucky stressed.
"Sounds like it's time for a search and seizure here, Officer Grimes." Daryl informed Rick. He couldn't believe that someone in this compound had pictures like that of his girl!
"Hey, you guys can't just go through other people's things!" Glenn bleated in protest. "There has to be proper cause, or whatever you call it."
Daryl, and everyone else, leveled a stare on young Glenn.
"You were out in the hall that day!" Songbird blurted out.
Daryl walked slowly over to the kid and leaned down, getting in his space and just staring at him for a second or two. Glenn tried to disappear into the cushions of the chair he was sitting in, wondering if there was a quick escape anywhere.
"You know anything about this?" Daryl reached out and gripped the front of Glenn's shirt, pulling him a little closer and never looking away.
"I… I… look you can't really blame me can you?" Glenn finally sputtered out.
"You found pictures of my Lucy and you thought you would just…" Rick's voice, sounding seriously pissed, came from behind Daryl. Glenn closed his eyes.
"Woah!" Freddy said evenly, "Like he said, can you blame him?"
"Go. Get . 'Em." Daryl ordered, pleased when Glenn practically ran out of the room.
"Oh my God!" Songbird was on the verge of tears. Now Glenn had seen her naked! And doing stuff…stuff that no one should have seen…except Daryl. And Rick. She covered her face with her hands and Lucky put her arms around her, patting her hair and saying, "It's okay. Songbird, it's really okay."
"Ugh! Will you all stop that? We did it for you!" Lucky snapped a few moments later when she realized every eye was on the two of them hugging.
"Why does all the good stuff happen when I'm not in the room?" Glenn complained when he came back and saw the girls embracing in the corner.
"Sounds like you've had plenty of good stuff happening lately," Rick yanked the folder from Glenn's hand.
Daryl cuffed Glenn across the back of the head and then, grabbing the front of the kids shirt again, he stared at him silently for several long minutes. When Glenn started to sweat, he let him go. Glenn, aware that he'd gotten off ridiculously easy, left the room again as quickly as possible and before Daryl figured out exactly what was in the folder.
Rick held the folder almost reverently for a few moments and then grabbed Daryl's arm and pulled him out of the room. Lucky bolted after them and Songbird followed too.
They went to Lucky's room and Songbird made sure to look the door, before going and standing, really more like hiding, behind Daryl. When Rick opened the folder, his jaw dropped.
"Well?" Daryl asked after a moment. "Don't keep it all to yourself!" Rick still didn't move, so Daryl grabbed the folder. "Good God!"
"What do you think?" Songbird asked from her place behind him, her face hidden against his shoulder.
"I think this should be my Christmas present," Daryl answered.
"But I already gave you your Christmas present," Songbird replied, liking the awed tone of his voice.
"Then this is the rest of my Christmas present," Daryl stated.
"Which one do you like better?" Lucky asked.
"There's more?" Daryl and Rick asked at the same time. Rick tried to snag the folder, Daryl held on to it, and they sort of scuffled for a second or two before Rick deftly reached out and grabbed the second photo. Daryl looked at it over Rick's shoulder. They didn't need to discuss who got which photo; after a long moment, Rick handed Daryl the one of Lucky and Songbird kissing, because much more of Songbird showed in it.
"Thank you, sir," Daryl said, politely. "I'm gonna go put this somewhere I know that sneaky Chinese kid can't find it."
"But he's Korean, Daryl," Songbird reminded him.
Daryl shook his head and pulled her out of the room.
"Are you mad?" she asked.
"What?"
"Are you mad at me?" she asked in a small voice.
"Oh fuck no," he answered. "I am," he raised his voice when he went past the guy's room, "A little bit pissed at the china man!"
"Sorry!" Glenn called.
"But not you," Daryl went on, opening their bedroom door.
"I can't go in there," Songbird said, standing her ground. "I promised to cook and I've got to start getting stuff together…"
"You can't show me somethin' like this and then go cook!" Daryl stared at her in disbelief.
"I made a promise, and I'm keeping my word," Songbird grinned and kissed him. "Besides, I've got one more thing planned for tonight."
He made a grab for her, but she stepped back with another smile as she said, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder!"
"It ain't my heart that's gonna be hurtin'!" Daryl called after her.
She laughed but she didn't turn around, so he hid the picture with the others and headed back for the living room. She spent the rest of the day helping the other women cook, and by the time the meal was prepared she was tired, and really proud to have helped create such a feast.
There was the turkey and stuffing of course, and hash brown casserole, mashed potatoes, green beans, macaroni and cheese, and homemade cranberry sauce. There were also two pies, that Lucky had made that morning.
"I'm glad there are two pies," Songbird remarked. "I missed out last time."
"Missed out on what?" Shane asked a little too innocently.
"Lucky's pie," Songbird replied naively.
Glenn snorted with laughter
"I'm watchin' you," Daryl growled pointing at him, even though everyone could see that he was desperate to laugh as well.
Songbird's face went beet red, but she smiled and shrugged good naturedly after a moment. Daryl put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head. They passed a bottle of wine around and Songbird looked at Daryl for permission.
"Go ahead," he said, "But you won't like it."
She sipped and made a face. He picked up the glass and tossed the rest back, not what you're supposed to do with wine, but why anyone wanted to drink something that tasted like rotten grapes was beyond him anyway, and poured her some Pepsi.
The meal lasted a while, and Daryl was surprised at how much he enjoyed it. People were chatting and laughing; the kids were still excited about the white Christmas they were having and honestly, he was pretty damn excited about that himself. The food was good; the wine, even though he didn't like the taste, had warmed him on the inside, and Songbird was happy. Apparently that was all it really took to make him feel good too.
After dinner he took her outside and just enjoyed the muffled silence of a snow covered Christmas. And some kisses. He'd only meant to kiss her once, when a snowflake had fallen right on her lower lip, but once he'd gotten started he didn't want to stop. She didn't seem to mind and he liked the way she gasped his name into the still air.
"Have a good Christmas?" he asked.
She shivered when his warm breath met her cold ear.
"Yeah," she answered. "You?"
"Pretty good," he answered. "There's just one more thing I'm hopin' for."
"What's that?" she asked.
"This," he reached down and cupped his hand between her legs.
"Ready for bed then?" she asked.
"Hell yeah darlin'," he answered. "Pretty much since I woke up."
"All right," Songbird took his hand and they walked into the compound. "I just have to get a shower and change."
"I ain't gonna be done with you for a while," Daryl protested. "What the hell you need to change clothes for?"
"Trust me," she replied, stopping his answer by pressing her lips to his and running her fingers through his hair. "Please? I told you I had one more present…"
"Okay," he was easily convinced, because he kind of thought he knew what it might be.
Songbird showered quickly and shaved, then dealt with the inconvenience of getting into a corset without the benefit of a lady in waiting, dried her hair and ran back across the hall, locking the door behind her. She wasn't surprised to find Daryl looking at the pictures again. She leaned against the door and tilted her head at him.
"I was hopin' for that," Daryl admitted, standing up. "That is a sexy, sexy, outfit."
"You like it the best?" she asked as he walked over to her.
"I just might," he answered. "It's hard to pick a favorite…but this one's definitely in the top five."
"There were only 5 outfits," Songbird said.
"Exactly," Daryl picked her up and carried her to the bed, letting her climb the ladder; he smacked her ass as she was on the way up and she squealed.
He grabbed her arms, stretching them over her head and holding her wrists firmly to the mattress as he kissed her.
"Where'd you get this thing?" he asked, groaning as she arched against him, rubbing her pussy against his already hard cock.
"Looting at the mall that time," she answered, trying to work free of his grip so that she could touch him.
"That far back?" he asked, pressing down against her, making her gasp.
"Yeah."
"Were you plannin' on wearin' it for me back then?"
"Hoping I'd get to wear it for you," she corrected. "You're the only one I ever wanted."
"You really kissed Freddy?" he was shocked to find that he wasn't mad about it. He was really more curious as to how and when it happened.
"At the karaoke party," she admitted. "Not for long…neither one of us was really that into it, so it wasn't that good."
"Nothin' like this?" Daryl lowered his head, teasing her tongue before drawing her lower lip between his teeth and biting it lightly.
"No," she gasped. "Nothing like that!"
When he'd teased enough to pay her back for making him suffer all day, he knelt between her legs and began unlacing the corset, touching or kissing each inch of skin he uncovered. It took a while to get her out of the thing, which he discovered he really liked. Anticipation was a lot hotter than he'd ever given it credit for.
He could tell it affected her too, when he lowered his head and sucked her nipple into his mouth her whole body jerked and when he drew back she whimpered with disappointment. The next kiss, which he pressed to her belly, had her arching her hips and reaching for his jeans.
"Not yet," he said. "Hands on the mattress."
She blew out her breath in impatience and then gasped as he nipped her stomach lightly, saying, "Be good darlin'."
"I'll try," was all she would commit to.
Her hands ached from her grip on their sheets before she was undressed and he consented to remove his jeans. She sat up and wrapped her hand around him, feeling his breath go out in a 'whoosh' against her hair. He gripped her hips after a moment, allowing her to straddle him after a brief second to find a condom and put it on.
Once he was finally inside her, Songbird was so turned on that she came almost instantly. Daryl hadn't expected it, so he only managed to get his hand over her mouth in time to cut off the end of her scream. Oh well. He took her over a few more times, and then, when he felt her nails dig into his shoulders as she kissed him, he joined her.
"Mmmm," she moaned when he collapsed beside her. "Merry Christmas Daryl."
"Merry Christmas, Songbird. Love you."
"Love you back."