Chapter 16
He was rigging up the simple alarm system, that had been made of of cans and rope, when he was interrupted.
"Need a hand? I ain't…- I ain't doing anything else. Thought maybe I could help you out"
He quickly wiped the pissed-off look from his face when he saw T-dog hovering beside him.
The man was always overly nice to him, kept the conversation light and kept his distance as much as possible, unless he thought Daryl required his presence. Though he didn't need T-dog to bother going out of his way to give him space. Daryl was just as uncomfortable around him as he was around anyone the rest of the group. The only people he was comfortable around, enough to truly speak his mind, was Carol, Sophia and Andrea. He was still a little uncertain about the rest of them.
"That'd be good. Ain't hard, just a bit, ya know, awkward to do with one set of hands. If you could grab the other end, stretch it out, tie it down, maybe it wouldn't be so slack in the middle.
T-dog nodded his understanding and walked to the other end of the rope and began untying it so they could stretch it out and cover more ground.
Glenn had had presented the idea of the primitive alarm system, though Glenn didn't want to explain to the group how he had come up with it. But in private, while they were fixing the pieces together, Glenn explained that he had seen a similar rigging while he was out scavenging. He had seen it surrounding a camp that had long been emptied.
Glenn didn't want to tell the group any of this, in case they pressed him about what he had seen. But he had told Daryl that it was obvious, that the camp had been overrun by walkers and that he couldn't even salvage any of the supplies left there, because they were all drenched in the remains of the unfortunate group.
He thought Glenn was right to keep that information to himself too. It didn't exactly instill confidence in the alarm or their chances of survival.
As if T-dog could read his mind he asked the same question that was stirring around in his own head.
"You think this will work? Think it could help us?"
He shrugged and kept his eyes focused on tying the rope to the trunk of a tree. "Give us a bit of warning. I'll take it. I'll take any warning that those things are around. Especially at night when it's harder to see the fuckers comin'"
T-dog hummed his understanding and continued on with the job, obviously lost in his own thoughts.
They had in total six long strands of rope that he and Glenn had spent the evening threading and tying on anything that would make a noise when banged together. And now he and T-dog were talking their time stringing them up and creating what they thought was a safe barrier for the camp.
He had his head down working when T-dog broke the silence they had been settled into.
"Carol"
His head to snap up in T-dog's direction, waiting for the man to finish his sentence.
"Huh?" he grunted, when it was clear that T-dog wasn't going to continue.
"There. She's heading over" T-dog explained, nodding towards the camp, before he ducked his head back down to finish what he was doing.
He looked over his shoulder to find her making her way over to him with a faint smile lingering on her lips, just as it had been for days.
He was sure something had shifted in the space around them.
It had been a week since he'd taken Carol and Sophia to the stream and ever since their return, it felt as though the pull between them was stronger then it had been before. That was something he didn't think was possible.
He could feel it at night when she slept in his arms, he could see it in her eyes when he returned back to the camp after hunting, and he could hear it in her voice when ever she spoke to him.
Everything just felt softer, that was the only way he could describe it. The sharp edges of the tension between them had become blissfully blunt. They were edges he hadn't even known existed, until he noticed them disappearing.
He smiled back at her a wiped his hand over his face to remove the sweat that was on constant supply, now that summer was truly starting to set in.
"Hey. You good? Where's Soph?" he asked as she made her way over.
She nodded as he spoke and looked around at the work he and T-dog had been doing.
"With Lori and Carl in the RV. Shane, he's just outside."
Lately she had been taking breaks, no matter how small they were. During the small breathers, she always made her way over to him and Sophia and took sometime to check in with them, chat for a few minutes and enjoy herself for a brief period of time before she got back to what she had been doing.
He knew what they had talked about at the stream had made a difference, it had made her reassess some of the things she was caught up in. In truth no one really seemed to notice the small change in her routine, but he had.
"Dinner is cooking. It'll be ready soon and I wanted to make sure you knew."
He nodded back at her. "Sounds good. Damn good. I could eat a horse"
"Would you settle for a rabbit?"
He smirked at her and tilted his head to the side, pretending to be in consideration of the offer."Guess that will have to do. You gonna finish up for the night, after you done cookin'"
She took a step closer and he instantly felt his heart rate pick up, simply being near her was enough to send his whole body into a frenzy. He had a feeling she was aware of that and maybe she even liked knowing the effect she had on him.
She took his hand in hers and he couldn't help but let his eyes drift down to the simple contact as she spoke.
"I know you have to go out again tomorrow. But I thought maybe you might want to go on watch - just for a little while. After Sophia is asleep?"
He choked out a noise that obviously amused her and didn't make any attempt to try to cover it over.
He didn't go on watch much these days. He was always relieved of the duty when he had to hunt the next day. He knew that Carol knew that. And he knew that she had no intention of watching over the camp.
He nodded again like a senseless moron and quickly glanced over her shoulder towards the camp before leaning down to kiss her.
When he pulled back he noticed her drag her lower lip through her teeth as though she was trying to savor something he had left there. As she took a few steps backwards, she kept her eyes on his until she turned and headed back to the camp. Unashamedly, he let himself stand there a few seconds longer then necessary to watch her.
He rubbed at the back of his neck as she walked away and let the moronic smile stay there, even if it felt out of place on his face.
When he turned back around he found T-dog standing there waiting on him with a wide grin.
"What?"
"You a lucky bastard." T-dog said as he reached down to grab one of the last ropes they had left, ready to begin rigging it up, just as they had done with the others.
He didn't really know what to say to that. There was million ways he could take the statement, but he decided that it was unlikely that T-dog meant any harm. And the truth was, most of the time he felt pretty damn lucky that a women like that would give him even a little of her time, let alone give him all her time.
He hadn't been surprised when she undid his pants and slipped her hand down under the elastic of his boxers. He knew she was only returning the favor from minutes before when he had slid his hand into her pants.
He moaned desperately and burrowed his face into her neck, breathing heavily against the soft skin there. Slowly but with purpose her hand slide down against his flesh and then back again, repeating this action multiple times until he was clinging to her and groaning as the shudder ran through him.
It never took long for her to coax it out of him, but after making-out with her for forty minutes, with her grinding against him, and with the memory of watching her reach her own peak, still fresh in his mind - he didn't think anyone could really blame him for having little to no stamina once her hand made contact with him.
This new development had been her idea and he wasn't going to complain. What he did do was make sure she left the truck just as content as he did.
"Fuck" he breathed out before he planted a hard kiss into her neck. Carol hummed in agreement and slowly slid her hand out of his pants.
He could barely see straight while she reached for the old shirt he had left in the cab of the truck to wipe her hand off on.
His breathing was still labored and by the look on her face she was still coming down from her own high.
She leaned back from him slightly, but stayed straddling his lap, as she curled her hands around the back of his neck, to rest them there.
"Good?" he asked peering up at her.
She looked sleepy, but he knew it was more that she was just relaxed and he hoped, satisfied. "I think you know?"
He nodded at her a smirked "I think everyone knows"
She quickly let go of his neck with one of her hands and used it to playfully swat at his chest. "Asshole"
He laughed at her and felt his own exhaustion of the day starting to set in. "Kiddin'. No one heard…except maybe Shane"
Carol rolled her eyes and her rested her hand back around his neck again and relaxed.
At this point he figured she was used to the idea of Shane being in earshot. Sometimes when they emerged from the Truck they found him further away from his designated area, but even then, he doubted that Shane was unable to hear at least some of what was going on.
"Everything go ok today?"
He narrowed his eyes as he tried to figure out what she was referring to and she must have seen the look that crossed over his face.
"With T-dog." She added. "You two were working on the ….rope thing, for awhile and I was just wondering if everything went ok between you"
He barely shrugged his shoulders, the movement was so weak that there was a chance she would have missed it.
"I don't hate T-dog. He might think I do. Maybe everyone does, I guess. But I don't" he mumbled out as he rubbed his hands back and forth over her hips.
Carol nodded slightly and he could see her lazily thinking over what he had just said.
There wasn't much space in the cab of his truck, they were crammed so tight that she only had to arch her back slightly and she was resting against the back of the driver-seat. But she didn't seem to mind. She seemed quite happy to stay on his lap in the cramped space.
"Your not even a little angry about what happened?" she questioned, her voice barely more then a whisper and he felt her thumbs move over the skin on his neck, soothing him, because she most likely assumed he needed it while talking about his brother.
"I'm pissed about what happened." he admitted, but he was far to relaxed to let any of his real feelings about the situation seep into his tone.
"But you don't blame T-dog" Carol pressed.
"Accidents happen. I don't know him real well,..but I think I know him well enough to know that he ain't the type to hurt someone on purpose. He ain't cruel."
He quietly laughed to himself and shook his head.
"Andrea told me some of the crazy shit Merle was sayin' on that roof. Some of the racist shit he was spoutin'. Hell, even if T-dog did leave Merle up there on purpose, I might even be able to understand that too. No one likes bein' treated like shit"
He couldn't hold much against T-dog. Andrea had told him what Merle had said to the man. And even with the horrible shit that Merle had spouted on that rooftop, T-dog still had remorse for leaving his racist, dangerous, drug addict brother there.
T-dog had apologized, time and time again for his part in leaving Merle behind and he seemed to actually regret how that day panned out. Those were feelings that he had never really felt Rick express, even in the slightest. And maybe that was why it was easier for him to put the blame on the ex-officer.
"They made it sound like he lost his mind. Like he snapped. Do you believe that?" Carol sounded skeptical, he could almost hear her calling bullshit on the whole story.
He dropped his eyes and chewed on the thought for a minute, before nodding and meeting her eyes again.
"Sometimes when he's high, he can loose it. Become irrational and dangerous. I'm pretty good at talking him down, I know the right shit to say. But it would be hard for someone else to get him to come to his senses"
"Is he nicer when he's sober?"
He smiled lightly at her hopeful tone and he wished he had a better answer for her.
"Not really. Merle's a prick, he's always been an prick. He weren't given to many options to be anything but what he is. But he's more rational when he's sober, easier to get along with. He doesn't say so much shit - just in the hopes of getting a rise outta people"
"You think that's why he said those things to T-dog? To get a rise out of him?"
"Merle's a lot of things…. but not all of them are his own doing. Maybe I'm being to easy on him, but- but when someone put's dumb shit in ya head, sometimes you start repeating that dumb shit"
It was the kind of thing he didn't talk about with anyone. But as time went on he was sure he could talk to Carol about anything. It made everything inside of him feel a little less stuck in there.
Carol looked at him seriously for a moment and nodded her understanding and he knew she understood the point he was trying to make.
Merle may have been the most close-minded person on earth, but the outdated and hateful ideas he had were not of his own creation, but rather ones that had been implanted at an early age.
When Merle was high, especially when he was high, their fathers asshole-voice seemed to find a way to crawl into Merle and use him as an instrument, to carry on the bullshit he had preached while he was alive. And sadly enough Merle allowed it.
When Merle was sober he still had an awful way of talking and made comments that were down right nasty, but the bitter bite wasn't laced into his words and it was noticeable to the people on the receiving end of his brothers insults.
"I didn't mean to upset you. I shouldn't have brought it up." Carol said suddenly and a little to nervously for his liking.
He continued to run his hands over her hips in hopes to calm the bout of anxiety that had hit her without much warning. "Talk about anything ya wanna talk about. Ain't no rules or regulations. Besides, I'm not upset."
Carol eyed him closely and he could tell she wasn't convinced."Your sure?"
He hummed and tightened his grip on her slightly."Might be mistaken me being upset, for being dog-tired. You ready to go to bed?"
She chewed her lip for a moment and he could see that she was still waiting on him to show his true feelings, even though he already had.
She head shook lightly "I really didn't mean to-"
Before she could finish he yanked her forward and lifted his back of the seat to meet her as she came closer towards him.
"You done good then, cause ya didn't."
The shock from the sudden movement quickly faded from her face and she could see the intention behind it. She pressed her lips to his but neither of them made any move to deepen the kiss. It was a good sign that she was just as exhausted as he was.
When he pulled away she looked much more relaxed and he was happy he was able to push her in that direction, because he didn't want her thinking he was pissed. Especially when he wasn't.
"Come to bed with me?" he asked quietly as he curled his arms around her waist.
Rather then answer him, she began crawling of him and straightening her clothes. He was more then happy to leave the truck and call it a night, because even when they did leave, he knew he wouldn't be leaving her. He was going to crawl into the comfort of their tent and sleep with her, safely wrapped over him.
A/N: I had a conversation about the stream scene and how it will come back into the story and I just want to point out again that this story contains flash-backs, and they will come up later on. There are a lot of time jumps that you may have noticed and also some details of Daryl and Carol's relationship that have been skipped over, but I promise this has been done on purpose.