Hey!

Here is another of my one shots. I did plan on continuing it with another chapter but inspiration never came.

Daryl knocked gently on the door he stood in front of, laden with a tray of food. He didn't have very high hopes of her actually answering the door. He'd probably be left with no choice but to leave his offering on the floor in front of the door.

He was pleasantly surprised by the sound of footsteps approaching. The door swung open slowly, revealing Carol. She had her hair half pulled up and he admired the sight for a moment. He was happy to note that she seemed less tense than the days previously. He was pretty sure she had run out of the pills she had been taking, which was another thing he was happy for.

It had taken everything in him not to actively rip the things from her hands. He hated drugs. He had his whole life. His father and his brother had abused them, turning into monsters and shells of themselves. He remembered the time he damn near killed Merle after he had slipped him the shrooms which had resulted in his hallucination of a Chupacabra.

He didn't take the pills from her though. It needed to be her choice and he wasn't going to take her choice from her no matter how much he wished he could help her.

"Hey," she greeted him, sounding tired. She had dark circles under her eyes, signalling her continued struggle with sleep. She glanced down at the tray in his hands.

"Hey," he replied quietly. He thrust the tray toward her. He did it a little too zealously, nearly dropping it and he blushed as she took it with an amused smirk. "Brought you some dinner."

"Thank you."

He nodded and shifted his stance. He really didn't want to leave her yet. Carol was staring at him with a questioning look. Fuck it, he thought to himself.

"Uh, can I come in?" he asked shyly, glancing at his boots before looking back up at her. Her smile softened and she nodded, stepping back and out of his way. She closed the door and moved over to the bed and sat down on it, leaning her back against the pillows.

Daryl tried not to stare too obviously at her as she began to eat. He took up a place against the dresser and crossed his arms. He felt awkward being in the room with her even though it was actually his room. He had carried her here after she had gotten her arm fixed up and she had barely left the room.

"Daryl," her voice came making him snap his head in her direction. She had an amused look as she watched him.

"Come here," she ordered as she patted the bed. He hesitated, unsure if he could handle being that close. She patted the bed harder now with a challenging look. He huffed and approached the bed. He sat gingerly on the edge. He heard her let out a little snort. He looked at her in question.

"Relax, will you? This is your room, remember? You're putting me on edge," she admonished in a light tone. He shook his head at himself. She was right as usual. He was being ridiculous. It was just Carol. But, as usual he was a bumbling nervous wreck in her presence.

He shifted on the bed and adjusted himself. He now lay on his side, head propped up on his left hand and his muddy booted feet hanging off the bed. He raised his brows at her teasingly.

"Better?"

"Much," Carol simply answered and he could see that she had actually relaxed somewhat. She continued to eat her dinner and her gusto in which she did proved what he suspected. She had not eaten properly in a while. He openly watched her eating, which he hoped she didn't find creepy. It just made him feel better to know that she was getting a proper meal.

"So," she started out of nowhere, making him jump a little. "How come you're not downstairs with Michonne and the kids?"

Daryl chewed his lip at her question. Because you're not there, his head whispered.

"Didn't feel right without you there," he glanced at her shyly. He didn't want to overwhelm her with his sappy thoughts. She gave him a look he couldn't decipher but she didn't look upset. She looked…kind of happy?

Carol watched him for a beat before she moved her legs to curl underneath her. He watched every move she made and he couldn't help smiling a little at the new image she presented. She looked smaller somehow but no less strong as she was.

"And the flower?" she nodded to the little white flower in water that he had included on her tray. He blushed. He had practically had a war in his head over whether or not to give it to her. His want to make her happy had won out, of course.

"Thought you might like it," he replied shyly. When he gauged her reaction he was able to finally relax about the decision. She looked happy.

"I do. Thank you."

He nodded at her as if it was a given and no big deal.

"So you didn't come up here to interrogate me?" she questioned after a while, watching him carefully. He frowned at her question. He knew what she was getting at. Alpha, the pills.

"Nah," he paused, considering his next words carefully. "Just wanted to be here with you." He couldn't help but wince as he heard the words. He hoped she didn't read too much into it. He looked at her worriedly, chewing his lip and tasting a hint of blood.

Carol smiled. She looked down at her lap for a moment, still smiling before she looked back up. She seemed to be thinking about something as she looked at him.

Daryl jumped at the sound when she patted her thigh. He stared at her.

"Come on," she said. He frowned, not understanding what she wanted. She rolled her eyes but didn't look annoyed at his slowness. She patted her lap again, harder this time and indicated with her head for him to move closer to her.

He felt his heart beating a little quicker. He felt more nervous all of a sudden and he tried not to show it. He practically crawled up to the head of the bed where she sat waiting, for what he still wasn't sure. He sat uselessly by her side, staring at her, waiting for more instructions. He fought to not fidget.

Carol gave him a sweet smile and took his hand in hers. She used her grip on him to tug him forward and he went willingly. He was a bit stiff and awkward as she manouvered him but he didn't resist her. He soon realised she was trying to get him to lay down. On her lap. It made his stomach jolt but he hurried to settle himself on her. His head lay on her knees and his view was filled with the sight of her pink covered stomach. He smiled as he remember teasing her the other day about her cast.

"See my words had an effect on you," he quipped as his eyes looked up at her. She frowned down at him, looking confused. He tugged on the front of her shirt gently. Her frown softened and her eyes rolled. She smirked and looked to the side with a chuckle.

"Shut up."

He grinned at having gotten her to laugh.

"Nah, I meant it. Pink suits you," he reaffirmed with a nod, feeling her pants rub against his cheek. She raised a brow at that, not looking like she believed him.

"It makes you look…I don't know…Softer, I guess," he elaborated shyly.

He stared determinedly at her belly, afraid to see her reaction. He heard her huff out a laugh and his gut twisted, thinking she was laughing at him. He looked up to study her. But she didn't look like she was laughing at him. She looked genuinely surprised by his words and looked pleased. He calmed down upon seeing it. He should have known. Carol wouldn't laugh at him in a mean way. She never had.

"So, you think it makes me look pretty?" she questioned and this time there was a sparkle in her eyes that hadn't been there in a while. His mouth went dry as he stared at her. He swallowed heavily and found his mouth moving without him trying to filter it.

"Yeah."

He froze when he realised what he had just said. He hid his face behind his hair that fell over his forehead. How the hell was he supposed to explain that? He shook his hair back and hesitantly looked upwards once more.

Carol looked shocked. Her mouth hung open a little. That's when he knew he had fucked up. He'd made her uncomfortable and he had no idea how to fix it. He thought hard about a way to apologize and maybe play it off as a joke. When he looked back at her face to lie his ass off, he was surprised by what he saw.

The shocked look was gone. It had been replaced by something Daryl was sure he had never seen on her before. Not to the extent he was seeing now.

Carol looked confident and proud, like his simple, stupid compliment that he had blurted accidentally had made all the difference to her self esteem. Her shoulders were back and her eyes sparked with a fire he had never seen in them.

Whatever the hell effect his words had given her, he knew for sure that he liked it. She looked gorgeous. He always thought she was but now it was something else. For that one little moment, the haunted, haggard version of her disappeared and a confident, self assured woman had stepped out from behind a curtain. He felt disgusted with himself as he tuned into how tight his pants had become. It was not the first time he had been embarrassingly hard in her presence.

"Hmm," she hummed as she looked down at him with a seemingly permanent smile on her lips. He just watched her, feeling like if he spoke he might puke. To be honest, he felt like he go into cardiac arrest at any moment. He didn't think he'd ever been so nervous when he was with her. He couldn't explain it but there seemed to be something lingering in the room with them. Something that always seemed present between them but had now been amped up to another level.

Carol brought her hands to his head and he stopped himself from moaning when her fingers slid into his greasy hair. He closed his eyes, feeling her start to massage his scalp. Her touch was gentle and he felt shivers down his spine in response to her unexpected attention. Her massage continued for a long while before it turned into simply running her fingers through his mess of hair.

He prayed to whatever god there may or may not exist that she didn't look down at his body.