AN: Here we are, another chapter here.
Five or six more chapters here, give or take on how they play out from my plans. Things are always subject to change at least a little.
I hope that you enjoy! Let me know what you think!
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Daryl believed in letting Carol do what she wanted to do as long it didn't hurt either of them—and it never hurt either of them. He believed, even more than letting her do what she wanted to do, in letting her do what she needed to do. But the same rules still applied.
When Carol first showed signs of getting sick—a cough that was unexplained and some sniffling that usually came with a slight change in weather—Daryl didn't press her too much about changing what she did or how she did things. As long as she felt good enough to work, he was fine with her working up until it was time to welcome the baby into the world. The first morning that he woke up, though, with her lying next to him and realized that she'd overslept—and was still sleeping soundly—only to find that she was a little warmer to the touch than she normally was, Daryl decided it was time for a change in the way that things happened.
He'd informed Miss Jo, himself, that Carol was officially resigning from her position as a teacher. Beth was ready to take over and it was her role to have, just as they'd planned. Carol was going to dedicate herself to preparing for their new arrival, and once the baby came she would have responsibilities that would keep her far too occupied to focus on anything else. Then he'd gone inside, informed Carol that she was best to stay in bed. When she hadn't protested at all, not even to insist that she needed to make him breakfast, Daryl knew that she didn't feel well. He'd immediately saddled Nugget and taken the sorrel to town to find the doctor.
The man wasn't hard to find, and he'd seen Daryl immediately.
"I can ride out there," Doc said. "Of course I can. But with the winter coming, there's more than enough sickness going around that she likely just picked something up from one of her students. I've seen a good handful of them."
"And if it's just that?" Daryl asked.
Doc shook his head.
"If it's just that? Fluids and rest is all she needs," Doc said. "A lot of rest. Especially with the little one coming soon."
Daryl nodded his head.
"I'd still be much obliged if you was to see fit to ride out there," Daryl said. "Make sure that's all it is. Do whatever it is that you can do for her."
Doc nodded at him and moved around his small office, gathering things together.
"Of course I will," he said. "I just don't want you to worry too much in the meantime. Lots of people are showing up sick right now."
"They might be," Daryl agreed. "But they ain't but one I'm worried about."
"I understand," Doc responded. "I'm ready to go whenever you are. I just have to pick up my wagon from the livery."
"You go on ahead," Daryl said. "If you think you can find the way. I got some business to tend to here in town 'fore I ride back out."
"I can find my way," Doc assured him. "Should I wait until you get there? To discuss things and to...arrange payment?"
"You'll get paid," Daryl assured him. "But I'd appreciate you waitin' just the same. I don't imagine I'll be long."
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Andrea opened the door to the house as Daryl was mounting the steps. As she normally was when she opened the door during a business day, Andrea was wrapped in a robe. Her facial expression, though, said that she didn't think anything was normal about Daryl's calling at her house.
"Somethin' happen to Carol?" Andrea asked. "Merle?" She quickly added.
"Can I talk to you?" Daryl asked.
Andrea hesitated a moment, almost like she was choking on her words, but finally she nodded her head and waved Daryl inside.
"Come inside," Andrea said. "We can use the private sitting room."
Daryl followed her inside and followed her to the sitting room that she deemed appropriate for their conversation. He waited while she closed the curtains and then she beckoned him to sit.
"I was hopin' I weren't gonna be here that long," Daryl said. "It's just—Carol's feelin' poorly an'..."
"Did you go to Doc's?" Andrea asked, clearly concerned already.
Daryl nodded his head.
"He's ridin' out right now to check on her," Daryl said. "Prob'ly ain't much a' nothin'. Change in the weather. Some of them lil' kids come runnin' into the schoolhouse sick an' spreadin' it around. She's coughin' a little. Got a touch of warmth."
Andrea stared at him with a furrowed brow and carefully listened to every word he was saying, gently nodding her head along with the words that were escaping his lips until he almost felt uncomfortable under the attention that she was paying him. He finally cleared his throat and shrugged his shoulders at her, feeling it would be better to go ahead and tell her why he'd come since she didn't seem keen on interrupting him until he'd told her everything that there was to tell.
"Kid's gonna be comin' soon," Daryl said. "And she's feelin' poorly. I can't have her out there doin' what she'd normally be doin' 'cause I can't take no chances, ya know? On her gettin' even further down. And—well, that ain't no problem. I can do what's mine an' what's hers too if I gotta do it, but..."
He broke off, not sure how to find the words to continue and starting the question whether or not he'd done right by coming there in the first place. Andrea pressed him to finish.
"But?" She asked.
Daryl licked his lips.
"But if I'm doin' what I gotta do? I can't be lookin' after Carol," Daryl said. He shook his head. "I can't be with her an'...takin' care of everythin' else. If we need the doc? I gotta leave her to go for him. We all alone out there an' there ain't nobody else 'less I run to Hershel lookin' for someone, but it's still me leavin' her. There ain't nobody he can spare neither to just...be there."
Andrea nodded her head.
"What do you want me to do?" Andrea asked.
Daryl laughed to himself.
"Hell if I even know I'm askin' the right thing or not," Daryl said. "But—how much to pay one a' your girls to come an' just tend to Carol?"
"Tend to her?" Andrea asked.
"Upfront, right?" Daryl asked. "That's what you wanna know. What I'm expectin' up front. Somebody what's able to come an' stay. Sleep there 'til the baby comes. Do for Carol what needs doin'. Keep her company when they ain't nothin' to do. Maybe—some cookin' if they can? Cleanin'. If they can't—I'd be fine with payin' 'em just to be there so she ain't alone when I can't be with her. So—so I don't gotta worry about her when I can't be with her."
Andrea licked her lips and then she laughed to herself.
"You want to pay one of my girls to keep your wife company?" Andrea asked. "Genuine company?" Daryl swallowed and nodded his head, not entirely sure if that's what he wanted or not. He wasn't certain what he wanted. The plan had sounded better in his head than it sounded when it was coming out of him. "You want to pay one of my girls for some peace of mind," Andrea said. "Is that it?"
"I can't be ever' damn where at the same time," Daryl said. "I wanna be with her, but I can't. Not if I'ma keep everythin' else going too. I promise that there ain't no funny shit goin' on. Just—I don't know how else to get a body except to buy one." Andrea laughed to herself and shook her head. She clucked her tongue. "You think I'm crazy," Daryl said.
"No," Andrea said. "It just might be the sanest thing I've heard today." She sucked in a breath. "Tell you what. You ride on back out to the farm. Check in with Doc. Make sure things are OK. I'll see what I can do around here and—by the time night falls? There'll be someone there. But, Daryl?"
"What?" Daryl asked, his stomach sinking at just the very second he'd started to find some relief at the thought that he might have someone to help him split up some of the worry.
"She ought not to stay in your house," Andrea said, shaking her head. "It's gonna be hard enough to keep people from talkin' too much if she's there—but stayin' in your house? Sleepin' under your roof? I know who's comin'. You just go ahead an' you set somethin' up in the barn. She'll be comfortable—in the hayloft. It won't matter. Long as it's dry."
"She'll catch her death of the cold," Daryl said.
Andrea laughed.
"If it's dry she won't," Andrea said. "Leave her some blankets out there."
"I ain't askin' some girl to be winterin' hard in my barn with the cold comin'," Daryl said.
Andrea shook her head.
"Whores are made of tougher stuff than you think, Daryl," Andrea said. "It's got a roof and she's got some blankets? She'll be more at home than she prob'ly was wherever the hell she was living before she got to Eden. You just make a place. She'll lie in it."
"I don't give a damn what people say," Daryl said with a sigh. "They done said all they gonna say an' more. I'm sick to death of worryin' with 'em. Buy the wheat I'm sellin' and the cows I'm sellin' 'cause you need the stock an' the price and quality's good. The rest of it? They can jack they jaws 'til bulls grow teats."
"Still," Andrea said, "you make her a place. If you decide together that you don't care? That's your business. But if anybody asks? At least you can say she has a place and she ain't in your home. Even if it's an untruth. You said it yourself, there ain't nobody out there to know the fact. But—make her a place at least. Last thing you want comin' back on you is people sayin' you got a house for whores."
Daryl laughed to himself, in spite of himself, but he nodded his head.
"Yeah," he said. "Alright. But I ain't puttin' her in no barn. I'ma pay her whatever you decide is fair. And—she can stay in our old house. It ain't gettin' used none no way. It might as well be put to good use."
Andrea nodded her head and squeezed Daryl's arm.
"You go check on Carol," Andrea said. "I'll take care of things. I promise you'll have some help by nightfall."
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"I'm fine," Carol insisted. She'd been insisting that the entire time that Daryl had wrestled her away from the stove and back to the bed. He'd cooked supper, but the smell of it had roused her and she'd insisted on serving him if she'd already done what she considered the indecent act of letting him cook. Now Daryl was sitting on the side of the bed, next to her, but she was still trying to get out of it—even though the moving around just kept stirring up fits of hacking that she couldn't get under control in a hurry.
"You're sick," Daryl said, keeping his hand pressed flat against her chest to keep her lying down. She gave up the struggle and, instead of fighting with him, simply brought her hand up to rest over his. "An' you don't get no better if you don't lay your ass down an' focus on gettin' better. Doc said they ain't nothin' but waitin' this out, but you're waitin' it out in the bed where it's plenty warm."
Carol shook her head gently at him.
"I can't do that," Carol said. "You need me to do things here. That's what I do. I'm your wife."
Daryl nodded his head at her.
"I need you to do things," he said. "An' you a good wife, but even good wives get low sometimes. I can handle what's gotta be done 'round here 'til you breathin' right again. Don't do you no good tryin' to do things when you gettin' winded just gettin' to the stove."
Carol smiled at him.
"A lot of that's the baby," Carol said. "Just heavy. Takes my breath sometimes."
"Prob'ly do," Daryl agreed. "But I hear you wheezin' where you lay, too. Doc said you gonna be alright, but you gotta stay down. Get some rest. Drink a lotta water. Sleep an' keep ya feet up. Take what he give you. That's what'cha gonna do 'til you feelin' better. He said baby's comin' in a couple weeks anyway. You can stay right here an' wait it out."
"Who's gonna cook for you?" Carol asked.
Daryl laughed to himself.
"You like beans an' biscuits good as I do," Daryl said. "I can manage that. Fry up a lil' meat? Some eggs ever' now an' again. I ain't gonna starve an' neither is you."
Carol frowned at him.
"If you can do all that, then what do you even need me for anyway?" Carol asked. "If you can handle it all yourself. What'd you even need a wife for?"
"Stop," Daryl said. "Ain't about that. I'ma be more'n happy to hand it all over to you again when you're able. You just ain't able right now. You my wife, right?"
Carol nodded her head.
"As my wife? Means...they's some things you gotta do just 'cause they what I decided is best for us. For you an' me. For the baby," Daryl said. "Right?" He asked, swallowing down the fact that he didn't like having to force Carol into the position of doing nothing when she felt her hands and feet ought to be busy.
She nodded her head.
"You know I do what'cha need me to," Carol said. "What you want me to."
Daryl sucked in a breath and let it out. He heard the sound of a wagon outside, but he ignored it. He hadn't yet explained to Carol that they would have company.
"Then what I want'cha to do is stay right here," Daryl said. "Focus on gettin' better so you can do all the things you wanna do. Focus on finishin' up growin' the baby so it can come on." He ignored the sound of the knocking at the door.
"Daryl—there's someone outside," Carol offered.
"You think I don't know that?" Daryl asked with a laugh. "But I didn't get—didn't talk to you."
Carol shook her head at Daryl.
"Go open the door, Daryl," Carol said. "Don't be rude. See who it is. What they want."
Daryl shook his head.
"I know who it is," Daryl said. "An' I ain't had no chance to talk to ya."
Carol laughed to herself.
"There's plenty of time for talkin', Daryl, after you take care of things," Carol said. "Are you gonna make me get up to open the door? It ain't proper to leave nobody knocking at the door."
Daryl sighed and got up from the bed. He made his way through the house and he opened the door, trying to figure out exactly how he was going to explain everything to Carol when he returned to the bedroom to tell her about their guest. He had expected any one of Andrea's working girls to be standing there, wrapped up in traveling clothes for stepping outside the house, but he hadn't expected to see Andrea herself standing there in the plainest clothes she probably owned with a carpet bag on her arm.
She smiled at him.
"Merle came by like he does of an evening," Andrea said. "Gave me a ride." She looked back over her shoulder. The only thing Daryl saw of his brother in the failing light of the evening was his silhouette as he threw up a hand and snapped the reins on Hershel's team to take the wagon back to where he would pass the night.
"I didn't figure it was you that was comin'," Daryl said.
"I left the house in the hands of a very capable girl," Andrea said. "They'll know where to find me if things go bad. I figured—Carol might not be so comfortable with just any whore in her house."
Daryl nodded his head and smirked at her.
"Better the queen of 'em?" He asked.
Andrea smiled back at him.
"Better a friend," Andrea said. "Who's come on her own accord and out of concern—and a real desire to help if I can—instead of a workin' girl getting too damn close to her husband."
Daryl nodded his head. He was appreciative. He hadn't thought about it until he got home, but then he'd started to worry about how Carol might handle the presence of a whore in the house. She might not, after all, see his reasoning as quickly as she could see a way of misinterpreting the whole thing.
"I don't know if I can afford your rates," Daryl said. "I hear you a top dollar whore."
"I won't be accepting money," Andrea said, shaking her head. "Carin' for someone can't be bought. A roof and food has always been enough for me, really."
Daryl nodded his head. He cleared his throat.
"Don't hurt my brother's just a short distance away," he offered. Andrea smiled in response.
"It wasn't one of the downsides of taking some time off," Andrea said.
"I haven't told Carol yet," Daryl said. "I knew I needed to but...I couldn't figure out how to tell her that I asked somebody to come out here. I knowed she might take it wrong, but...I been tryin' to make her take it easy all night and that's been a fight."
Andrea nodded her head.
"Now you don't tell her," Andrea said. "Not exactly. You just tell her the truth. You were worried. You came to me, asking if I could help with keeping her company and...and maybe taking care of a few things around here to ease the strain until the baby comes. Believe it or not? I've delivered a couple of babies in my time, so I could help her while you went for Doc when it's time. And—it sounded good to me to take some time off. So here I am."
"Wish you'd let me pay you to thank you," Daryl said.
Andrea shook her head.
"I won't accept payment for this," Andrea said. "But I will accept whatever you got for supper, because it smells good."
Daryl laughed to himself.
"Just some beans an' biscuits," Daryl said. "Lil' bit of side meat."
Andrea smiled.
"My stomach's aching just thinking about it," Andrea said. "Carol ate yet?"
Daryl shook his head.
"Too busy tryin' to fight me to serve it since I wouldn't let her cook it," Daryl said.
"Then I'll go get her to come and eat," Andrea said. "She can go back to bed after supper. You serve it up and...I'll talk to her."
Daryl nodded. He wasn't going to argue with her. And something inside of him told him that it wouldn't do him any good to argue anyway. Andrea was a woman who was accustomed to giving orders, not to taking them.
And she might be just what Carol needed.