Chapter 30: It's a Date

Carol cried out softly as she crumpled the sheets between her fingers. Her head was thrown back over the side of the bed, and her hair hung in damp strings as her thighs trembled on either side of Daryl's head. His tongue slid against her sensitive skin. He was doing that thing with his thumbs against the inside of her thighs that drove her crazy, and each flick of his tongue over her clit brought her closer to the edge.

"Daryl," she panted, squeezing her eyes shut as he pushed two fingers inside of her. "Fuck. Daryl…"

"C'mon, sweetheart," he growled, pressing kisses to the inside of her thighs. "Come for me." He gently crooked his fingers inside of her in a come-hither motion, and then he was sucking her clit again, until she clamped down on his fingers and rocked her hips against his face. Her body trembled through the orgasm, and when he stopped touching her, she let out a languid sigh and pressed damp kisses to her hip.

"Jesus," she panted, running her fingers through her hair as Daryl tugged at her hips and slid her back up to a comfortable position where they lay sideways against the mattress. He crawled up alongside her, spooning up against her from behind. He pressed soft kisses to the back of her neck and between her shoulders, and his hand moved up her side and up to one breast, gently rolling the sensitive nipple between his fingers. She gasped and bit her lip, and Daryl chuckled against her hair. "Better."

"What?" Daryl snorted, as Carol's shoulders shook with laughter against his chest.

"That half-hearted attempt in the bath this morning?" she snickered. "What was that? I've seen more enthusiasm from you when you brush your teeth."

"Was thinkin' 'bout somethin'," he muttered.

"You had a wet, naked woman with her mouth around your cock, and you were thinking about something else? I'd be offended if you weren't already hard against my ass right now." She reached behind her, between them, stroking his cock as he pressed kisses to the side of her neck.

"Wasn't awake yet. Was thinkin' 'bout a dream I had, s'all."

"Must've been some dream."

"Can't remember it," he laughed. "M'sorry."

"Well, bad sex aside…" she teased.

"Bad?" he asked. Carol giggled. "Hey, I ain't as young as I used to be. Gotta give me time to wake up. Wasn't bad, neither. We both got somethin' out of it." He thrust his hips against her, and she gasped when his cock slipped against her folds. She moaned softly, and he squeezed her breast in time with the pumps of his hips.

"You're certainly up now," she laughed, as Daryl gently bit her shoulder and guided himself inside. She let out a thick sigh as he filled her completely, and she closed her eyes, rolling her head back against his shoulder as he slowly rocked his hips against her ass. She was hot and wet and clenching around him when he slid his hand down her stomach and between her legs, teasing her sensitive clit. She groaned, reaching her hand up behind her, sliding her hand against his neck and into the back of his hair. He turned her face toward him and captured her lips in a slow, soft kiss before nipping at her bottom lip and giving it a tug.

He picked up the pace then, thrusting into her as she draped her leg over his and rolled slightly, burying her face against the mattress and gripping the mattress. He held one arm around her waist beneath her breasts, and the other teased her sensitive skin as he thrust harder and faster. When her walls clenched around him again, he closed his eyes and buried his groans against her neck. And when he felt a heavy, satisfied breath leave her chest, he let go, spilling into her with an exhausted, satisfied little growl.

He pulled out of her, and she turned over to face him. They stare at one another, both waiting for the breath to return to their lungs, both starry eyed and sweaty. They grinned at each other, red-faced like it was the first time all over again, and then he leaned in to kiss her.

"Ain't never bad sex. Not with us," Daryl panted, sucking her bottom lip between his teeth. "Just good sex. And real good sex." Carol smiled then, curling her arms around his neck. They lay together for a while, just kissing and stroking one another, enjoying the quiet of the morning before life and responsibilities came knocking.

When Lydia was a baby, finding time to be intimate was easier. But when she got older, started escaping her crib, started crawling into their bed at night, they had to get creative. They always found time for each other, even if it was just a quick fuck before bed or in the morning, and sometimes Merle would watch Lydia just to give them a little time together. And then Luke came along. Luke was a whole other personality all together. He had his days and nights mixed up for nearly the first six months of his life. He was a happy baby, like Lydia, but he was demanding.

Now that he was older and thriving in the toddler stage of his life, he was still demanding, but he was more independent. He wasn't underfoot much, either. He spent a lot of his time irritating his big sister by following her around. But she was fiercely protective of him and once nearly got into a fight with Henry when he knocked Luke down by accident. It was then that Carol and Daryl had to sit her down and have a talk with her about the difference between accident and on purpose.

Life wasn't perfect, but most days, it was as close as it could get considering they were surviving in a dying world while the dead constantly beat on their walls looking to devour them all.

"Can we just stay here all day?" Carol asked, curling into him as they lay sprawled across the mattress.

"Wish we could," he murmured. "Gotta go help Jerry and that kid from Decatur. What's his name?"

"The new one?" Carol asked.

"Mmm."

"David."

"Yeah. Gonna have to bring up more water for the crops. Ain't had rain in two weeks."

"We'll be ok," Carol murmured softly. "Right?"

"Yeah. Still got plenty of bottled water for drinkin'. Just makin' sure the crops stay watered…" His voice trailed off, and he ran his fingers through his hair.

"It'll rain sooner or later," Carol offered with a little smile. Their silence was broken by a scratch at the bedroom door, followed by a whine. Daryl grunted and kissed Carol once more before pulling himself out of bed and tugging on his clothes for the day. Carol curled up under the covers and watched as Daryl crossed the room and opened the door. Dog perked up and wagged his tail, hurrying down the stairs to wait by the front door for Daryl to let him out.

Carol lay back for a few minutes, listening to Daryl's footsteps creaking on the stairs. But when she heard stirring from Luke's room, she knew it was time to get up and face the day.

She dressed quickly and then went to check on her boy, who was sitting up in his bed, his hair a messy mop on top of his head.

"Good morning, sweet boy," Carol greeted him, leaning down to scoop him up in her arms and kiss his nose. He giggled.

"Mama. Pancakes!"

"You want pancakes? Oh, how about eggs?"

"Pancakes!" he insisted. "Pwease, Mama?"

"Oh, since you asked so nicely." She snuggled him close, and he rested his sleepy head against her shoulder for only a moment, before he was fighting for his independence and squirming to be let down. She put him down, and he scurried out the door, right for the stairs. A flood of panic washed over her for a moment, but when she stepped out in the hall, she breathed a sigh of relief that Daryl had remembered to put the baby gate back when he went to let Dog out.

"We go down, Mama?"

"Hold your horses, silly. You have to potty?" Luke looked at his mother for a moment, and then his eyes went wide before he scurried off toward the bathroom. Carol laughed softly to herself before opening Lydia's bedroom door.

"Hi, Mommy," Lydia said with a frown. She was sitting up in her bed with her doll clutched in her arms.

"Hi, baby. What's wrong?"

"I don't feel good, Mommy." Carol knelt down by Lydia's bed and placed her hand against the girl's forehead. Concern creased her brow. "Well, you don't have a fever. Is it your tummy?"

"Uh-huh." Lydia brushed her dark hair out of her face and lay back against her pillow.

"Well, are you hungry? Maybe that's why your tummy hurts?"

"No, Mommy. I'm not hungry."

"Okay, baby. You rest a while, and I'll check on you after breakfast." She smoothed back Lydia's hair and gave her an encouraging smile, but when she stepped out in the hallway, her smile faded, and she glanced down at Luke who was now standing at the gate. He looked up at her with an ornery grin, and she sighed.

"You're gonna play downstairs today, ok?"

"I play with Lyddie!"

"No. Your sister's feeling bad. We want her to rest so she'll feel better, right?"

"Uh-huh."

"Alright." She reached out for Luke to take her hand, and he placed his little hand in hers. She slid back the baby gate, and the two of them took the stairs down together. She looked down at him, watching as he concentrated hard with each step, his little tongue poking out at the corner of his mouth, his brows furrowed in focus.

Once downstairs, Carol got Luke settled in with some toys and headed for the kitchen, where she could smell pancakes cooking. She felt nauseated the second the smell hit her, and she paused in the doorway. Daryl heard her coming and turned to see her face turn a funny shade somewhere between white and green. She was almost gray.

"You alright?" he asked. She put one hand over her stomach and the other at her mouth, and a moment later, she was making a beeline for the back door. She threw it open, and the next thing Daryl knew, Carol was heaving up the contents of her stomach over the railing of the back porch.

He hurried out to her, and when she turned and wiped her mouth, she groaned.

"You ok?"

"Yeah," she muttered. "I'm going to go see if Denise is seeing patients today. Lydia's feeling bad, too."

"Don't think you're feelin' that way for the same reason," Daryl pointed out. "You were fine 'til ya walked in the kitchen. I know my cookin' ain't the best, but…"

"Funny," Carol snorted. "I'll see if she's got anything she can give me for Lydia. And I'll go for myself, too. I'll be back before you have to go help Jerry and David."

"A'right," Daryl murmured. "You gonna eat first?"

"No. God, I do need to brush my teeth, though." She made a face. "Luke's playing in the living room. Please make sure he lets Lydia rest."

"I will. I'll check on her after." He sniffed the air. "Shit. Pancakes."

"Pancakes," Carol offered with a weak smile. She followed him back into the kitchen where he was scraping into the trash the burnt remnants of what was a decent pancake in the beginning. "I'll be back soon."

...

"It's going around," Denise groaned. "I'm feeling a lot better, and I'm sure Lydia will be in a few days. Just give her a little of this every six hours. She'll be feeling better in a couple of days. She's not going to like the taste, so you might let her drink it down with cider or something."

"Thank you," Carol said with a tired smile.

"I'll check on her in a couple of days."

"Great." She cleared her throat. "So, you haven't told me to take any of this, so…I'm guessing I don't have the flu."

"Not a chance. Tell your husband he wins, but make sure you lay it on thick that he did this to you. Extra foot rubs. Nothing wrong with that." Denise smiled and handed Carol a bottle of prenatal vitamins.

"This is really happening?"

"I'm surprised you didn't know," Denise murmured. "You're at least eight weeks. If we can get enough juice from the solar panels, I'll do an ultrasound when you come by next week, and we can get a good measurement, but you're definitely getting close to second trimester territory. You're still having periods?"

"I spotted for a few days last month. I guess I just didn't…" She shook her head. "Oh, I knew. Who am I kidding? I just didn't want to get my hopes up or anything. I thought maybe it was the change instead, or…"

"You're too young for that. What are you. Forty?"

"Forty-five," Carol pointed out, running her fingers through her hair. "My mother was forty-seven when she went through it."

"That doesn't necessarily mean anything. It can, but…I don't see any reason why you won't have a healthy baby. Just take these prenatals, and come see me next week. Hopefully Nabila will have finally had that kid already." Carol smiled a little, and she nodded tiredly. She turned to leave, but then she stopped, turning back to Denise.

"You know what? A few years ago, the idea of having another baby was terrifying. Sophia was twelve when she died. It'd been nearly sixteen years since I gave birth when Luke came along. In the beginning, Daryl and I were so careful. We didn't want to risk anything. And then we decided that there wasn't a future without a few risks. And now we have this community. Our kids are growing and getting stronger every day. And I have a doctor that can monitor my pregnancy. But I'm still terrified."

"That's normal. It was normal before, it's even more normal now. But everything points to a healthy pregnancy, Carol. Just try to enjoy it. Like I said. Extra foot rubs."

"I'll keep that in mind," Carol laughed. "Thank you."

She left the infirmary with her prenatal vitamins in one hand and Lydia's medicine in the other. By the time she reached the house, the aroma of breakfast had all but cleared out. She found Daryl cleaning up in the kitchen while Luke continued to play in the living room. When he heard the clatter of pills when she put the bottle down on the counter, he turned from where he stood at the sink and wiped his hands on the towel.

"Well, I've got Lydia's meds." She tapped on the top of the bottle. Then she tapped on the other. "And some for me. You were right. Of course you were right." She sighed, and her lower lip trembled, and Daryl quickly crossed the room to pull her into an embrace.

"Hey. It's ok. Are…are you alright? M'sorry if ya didn't want…"

"I do want," she sniffled. "I'm fine. I'm just…scared."

"I know, sweetheart," he murmured, kissing her softly. "It's gonna be fine. Right?"

"Yeah. Denise seems positive." She let out a little laugh. "We're having another baby." She took a deep breath. "And I'm already exhausted."

"Come sit down. Can I get ya anything for breakfast?"

"No," she chuckled, letting him pull out a chair for her. She sat down, and he knelt in front of her. "I'll eat when I feel a little better. I promise."

"I can stay home today."

"Oh, no. Jerry's wife's about to give birth, but you don't see him staying home, do you? Why? Because he's literally three minutes away from her at all times. So don't worry about me. I'm fine. I'll be here with Luke and Lyddie, and we'll see you when you get home. I've done this before. Twice before. I can do this. I'm not incapable of taking care of myself." Daryl chuckled then, and he nodded. Of course she was right, but she was the one doing all the work. He wanted her to know that he'd be there for her for whatever she needed.

"I love you," he murmured, leaning up to kiss her. She smiled against his lips and gently curled her fingers at the nape of his neck.

"I love you, too." She kissed him again, and when he got up to head out of the kitchen, Carol cleared her throat. "P.S. You. Me. Foot rub. Tonight. Say, after the kids go to bed?"

"We're schedulin'…foot rubs?"

"Amongst other things," she teased. Daryl thought for a moment, and when he saw Carol raise an eyebrow, he cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck.

"It's a date."

Author's Note: Thanks again for reading, guys! Please let me know what you think of the latest chapter. Feedback is very much appreciated and encouraged.