Chapter 14: Ghost

Daryl's eyes flew open when Carol jerked beside him in the bed. He immediately sat up, turning to look at her, watching her fingers grip the pillow as her face legs shifted restlessly under the covers. She moaned softly, shaking her head, and Daryl leaned over, wrapping his arm around her middle. He buried his face against the back of her neck and placed his hand against her chest. Her heart was racing, and as he let out a slow breath against her neck, he felt her shudder and jerk again in his arms.

"No," she whispered.

"S'alright," he murmured. "Just a bad dream. Come back to me." He gently caressed her chest until he felt her heart slow under his fingertips. He kissed the back of her head then when she sighed in his arms.

"Stay close, Sophia," she whimpered. He closed his eyes and felt his heart sink. It had been nearly two weeks since she'd had a bad dream. They were coming less and less frequently, but she was still having them. Once the weather had turned warm, she'd insisted on moving Lydia into her own room, because one of her nightmares had made her cry so loud she'd woken the baby.

"You're alright. You're safe. Sophia ain't afraid anymore." Carol's breathing slowed, and she sighed against her pillow, her tense muscles relaxing as her dream faded into the darkness of her sleep.

It wasn't long before she was sleeping soundly again, barely moving save for the rise and fall of her chest. Daryl kept his arms around her and buried his face in her hair, but he had trouble falling back to sleep.

He knew the bad dreams would always be there. He knew she was still going to have bad nights from time to time. He'd been dealing with bad dreams since he was still just a little kid. Over the years, he'd come to expect them. He was thankful that he rarely remembered his dreams anymore. Sometimes, the occasional good one would stay fresh in his memory for a while, but most of them just faded away within moments of waking. He knew it was slowly becoming that way for Carol, too. Though some mornings, she'd be more pensive at breakfast. Some days, he'd catch her staring off as she rocked Lydia to sleep, and he knew she was thinking about the horrors she couldn't escape from in her sleep.

He drifted off to sleep sometime before dawn, but almost as quickly as he had dozed off, he woke again to her stirring in his arms. He cracked one eye open to find the first shades of sunlight filtering into the room, and when he groaned and stretched awake, he heard her sigh and turn toward him. He looked at her, gently brushing the hair from her eyes, and she smiled and kissed him good morning. The sparkle in her eyes told him she didn't remember the dream she'd had, and the last thing he wanted to do was remind her.

Thunder rumbled overhead, and Carol rolled onto her back, stretching and moaning softly. The sunlight trickling through the curtains faded as clouds rolled in.

"Looks like a rainy day in," Carol murmured.

"Could think of a couple things I'd like to do on a rainy day," Daryl murmured, sliding his hand up her thigh and over her hip. Carol grinned when Daryl leaned in to kiss her, but the moment was cut short by a loud clap of thunder that shook the house and woke Lydia. Carol sighed when the girl's cries filled the house, and Daryl groaned, rolling onto his back.

"She'll go back to sleep," Carol whispered.

"She won't," Daryl grunted, sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

"She will. Just wait." Carol sat up behind Daryl, curling her arms around his shoulders and resting her head on his back. Daryl bent his head forward for a moment, and after a few minutes, Lydia's cries quieted to whimpers and then silence. "Told you so."

"How'd you know she was gonna do that?"

"That wasn't her I'm awake cry. That was her I was sleeping good and something woke me up cry." Daryl snorted then, and Carol kissed the spot between his shoulder blades. "Come back to bed."

"We're in bed," Daryl teased, as Carol slid away from him and back to her side of the bed.

"Then come over here and screw around with me." He heard the rustle of clothes, and Carol tossed her sleep shirt at him. It draped over his shoulder before sliding to the floor. When he peeked over at her, she was naked and waiting, and he couldn't help himself.

He pulled off his shirt and crawled over her, peppering kisses up her thigh, over her stomach and up between her breasts. She smiled then, arching her back when his hand stroked between her thighs. Carol reached into his pants, curling her fingers around his dick and giving him a few strokes as he slid his fingers through her wet heat. Carol's hips jerked impatiently, and Daryl couldn't help the smirk that tugged at his lips. He started to kiss down her chest again, and Carol knew what he wanted, but the whine that escaped her lips had him lifting his head.

"Tell me."

"I need you now," she bit out.

"Christ," he panted, shifting to remove his pants as Carol reached into the drawer by the bed, fishing for a condom. She handed him one packet, and as he slid the condom on, she rolled onto her stomach. He watched her get up on her hands and knees and spread her legs. She looked over her shoulder at him, her pupils blown wide, lips parted with each panting breath. He got up on his knees behind her, taking his cock in his hand. He gave himself two pumps as he slid against her wet folds, and then he pushed into her in one quick, hard thrust.

"Fuck," she groaned, gripping the pillows hard in her hands, bracing herself as he started to move. "Faster."

He gripped her hips in his hand, pulling back before slamming into her again. She groaned, arching her back and gasping for breath.

"Harder," she insisted through gritted teeth as he followed her commands, desperately gripping her hips out of fear of losing control. Carol moved with him, meeting his thrusts with her own deliberate motions as he slid one hand up her stomach and over her chest. He pulled her up so her back was flush against him, and she gripped the headboard of the bed for purchase. He nudged her knees further apart, changing the angle and he thrust up into her, harder as he took a breast in his hand. She cried out when he sucked at her neck, gently nipping there with his teeth before soothing over the skin with his tongue.

She bit her lip to keep her cries in check, but he knew she was on the brink. He loved when she told him what she wanted with a look or just a few words. He loved that sometimes, she'd take his hand without words and lead him outside to the barn and let him have his way with her out in the hay. Sometimes, she'd take charge, and whatever she wanted, he would freely give to her. His own appetite matched hers, and these past few months had been adventurous to say the least.

His hand slid up her chest and over her neck, and he gently bit her earlobe. She panted through an open-mouthed smile and turned her head when his mouth sought hers. She groaned against his mouth as his other hand trailed down her stomach and between her legs, rubbing her as he thrust into her. She gasped, and she took his bottom lip between her teeth, giving it a gentle nip and a tug. He broke the kiss then, and his hands moved back to her waist. She fell forward then, bracing her hands against the mattress as her walls contracted around him. Her body shook as a bolt of pleasure shot through her, and when she slumped over the pillows, Daryl finally let go, thrusting through it until he pulled out and collapsed beside her on the mattress.

"Fuck," he groaned, as Carol's shoulders shook with laughter.

"That never gets old," she grinned. Daryl rolled over to dispose of the condom, while Carol pulled the sheet up around herself.

"Gimme a few minutes, and we can go again." He reached for her, but she laughed and shook her head.

"I hate to break it to you, but that was the last condom. Sorry, Pookie."

"What? We just opened the box three days ago." Daryl furrowed his brows, and Carol covered her face with her hands and nodded. Daryl snorted and shook his head before sitting up and getting out of bed. "I'll make a supply run."

"In this weather? No. Stay home with us today." Daryl listened to another clap of thunder and he crossed the room to the window, peeking out behind the curtain. Rain was coming down in torrents, and there were already heavy patches of flooding out in the fields.

"Shit," Daryl muttered. "Keeps up like this, the garden's gonna be lost."

"It's been dry for days," Carol murmured. Daryl came back to bed and flopped down on the mattress.

"This mean I can't touch you 'til we get more condoms?"

"It means we can be creative," she teased. She slid her hand down his chest and then lower to the warm patch just below his navel. He groaned, and he pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes to try to distract himself.

Just as Carol's hand began to move lower, another clap of thunder shook the house, and Dog began to bark.

"Shit. He's really gonna wake her up now," Daryl muttered. Carol pulled her hand back and sighed, and when Daryl got up to search for his clothes, she admired his nude form. She grinned and bit her lip when he bent over to grab his pants off the floor. He dressed quickly and headed downstairs to let Dog out.

Carol got out of bed and dressed herself before going to check on Lydia. The little one was still sleeping soundly, so Carol padded down the stairs to find Daryl standing at the open front door with a growling Dog right at his heels.

"Daryl?" Carol asked, stepping off the stairs. Daryl held his hand up and then looked at her.

"Stay inside."

"What?" She took a step toward him, and he took a step to the closet. He grabbed his crossbow off the top shelf, and Carol's pulse began to race.

"Stay inside. Anything happens, you get Lydia and go, alright?"

"Daryl!" Carol called, as Daryl stepped out onto the front porch. Carol stepped up to the door just in time to see a cloaked figure walking across the field in the pouring rain. The figure limped as if badly injured, and Carol could tell Daryl was trying to figure out if it was a walker or a person.

Carol grabbed the shotgun from the closet and held it firmly in her hands, checking to make sure it was loaded first. Daryl kept Dog from getting out, and Dog scratched at the screen door in protest. The tall, cloaked figure stopped when Daryl started toward the field, and through a clap of thunder, a gunshot rang out. Carol cried out, when the bullet hit the side of the house, sending wood splintering where the small hole was made. Daryl pulled the trigger on his crossbow without hesitation, and the figure slumped down into the muddy field.

Daryl was almost halfway there when Carol stepped out onto the porch, shotgun aimed, eyes trained on the cloaked figure, finger poised on the trigger should it make any sudden movements.

"Drop your weapon!" Daryl growled, as he approached the figure that was groaning in pain on the ground. He watched a shaking hand pull the arrow from a blood-soaked thigh.

"God damn, boy! Got a helluva aim on you!" Daryl's breath caught in his throat at the sound of the voice, and when the figure peered up at him, squinting in the rain, he saw the ghost of another life looking back at him.

"Merle?" Daryl asked, flinching and wiping his hand over his brow.

"Baby brother?" Merle asked. "Jesus Christ, you ain't dead after all."

"Daryl!" Carol called from the front porch. Her voice barely carried through the rain, but it was enough to distract Merle Dixon. He peered into the rain, trying to make out the face that went with that voice, but before he could focus his gaze on her, Daryl brought the stock of his crossbow down hard on the back of his brother's head. In that moment, everything went black, and the last thing Merle Dixon tasted before he lost consciousness was the red, muddy rain water he fell into.

Author's Note: Feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading!