After picking her up at work and dropping her off at home, Daryl told Carol he would be back in an hour. He wanted to go home and change before he came over. He also needed to stop by the shop to get the cable he needed to fix her battery. She waved to him from the porch before she took Sophia inside.
"Where Dar go?" asked Sophia after they had walked into the house.
Carol squatted down so she was at eye level with her daughter. "He went to his house."
Sophia lower lip started tremble. "Coming back?"
"Yes, he's coming back. He's going to have dinner with us. Why don't you color him a picture while we wait?" She took Sophia's hand led her to the coffee table.
After getting Sophia settled down with her coloring book and a box of crayons; she went to her room to change into something more comfortable. She walked in to find Andrea digging through her closet.
"What are doing?" She asked, startling Andrea and causing her to hit her head on the door.
"You scared me," She said, rubbing her head. "I'm looking for something for you wear on your date."
"I don't have a date," Carol said indignantly, catching the shirt that Andrea tossed at her. It was the one she had bought last week. It was red, had long sleeves with openings on the shoulders, and was cinched at the waist.
"Put that on," She ordered. Carol sighed and took off the shirt she was wearing and put on the new shirt, knowing it would do no good to argue. "And these," she added, tossing a pair of black jeans at her.
After she put them on Andrea walked over to her and pulled her hair down form where she had it pulled up with a clip. She styled the curls a bit with her fingers. "Perfect," she said. "Daryl's not going to be able to resist you."
"Do you really think he likes me like that?" asked Carol while she fidgeted with the edge of her shirt.
"Yes, I promise. I wouldn't tell you that if I wasn't sure." She grabbed Carol's hand. "Come on," she said, pulling her along towards her room. Carol took a quick peak in the living room to make sure Sophia was coloring in her book and not the wall before following Andrea.
"Here." She handed her a bottle of perfume. "Put some of this on."
She sprayed some on her wrist and then smelled it. "Mmm, I like that. That smells really good." She handed the bottle back to Andrea.
She took it and sprayed some on Carol's neck and then a little on her chest where the shirt dipped down slightly. "Andrea, that's enough," She said swatting at her. "What are you doing tonight?" Carol asked after the put the perfume away.
"I'm going bowling with Rick and Michonne, and Rick is bringing some friend of his that goes to another school. Shane something or other."
"So, you're going on a blind date."
She shrugged. "Rick said he's a nice guy," she said as she followed Carol to the kitchen where she helped clean up the dishes from breakfast.
Dale walked into the kitchen a little while later with Sophia trailing behind him.
"Hey, girls. I just wanted to let you know I'm about to head out. I'm only going to be gone for the weekend. But leaving some money just in case. Make sure you keep the door locked. You've got my number and here's the number of the hotel."
"We'll be fine, Dad." said Andrea. "You don't have to worry."
"It's not like we're going to burn the house down or anything," said Carol.
Dale chuckled. "I know. I just worry about leaving you alone." He bent down to pick up Sophia, who tugging on his leg. "Sophia, I want you to make sure these two behave themselves. Okay?"
"Okay."
Amy came running down the hall, carrying her backpack and sleeping bag. "Come on, I'm going to be late. They're going to start without me," said Carol's twelve-year-old cousin.
"Amy?" cried Sophia reaching for her cousin.
Amy took her from Dale's arms and gave her hug. "Hey, little bit. I'm going on a sleepover but I'll see you later, okay."
Sophia nodded her head and wiggled from Amy's grasp before going back to the living room.
"Alright, we'd better get going," said Dale. He gave each of his girls a hug before leading Amy out the door and towards the car.
Andrea left a few minutes after that when Michonne and Rick came to pick her up. After waving to them she walked back into the house to check on Sophia.
Sophia was sitting in front of the coffee table coloring a picture of duck with every color in her crayon box. She had her tongue sticking out one side of her mouth and appeared to be deep in thought. "Done," she declared, putting down her crayon.
"That's wonderful, sweetheart. Let's tear it out so we can give it to Daryl when he gets here, okay?"
She walked with Sophia to the kitchen so she could find the scissors. While she was in there she heard a truck pull up out front. Daryl must have finally gotten here. She handed Sophia the picture so she could give it to Daryl herself.
They walked out the front door as Daryl was getting out his truck carrying a plastic bag.
"Hey, you made it," she said in greeting.
"I would have been here sooner but I stopped by the diner. Got us some dinner," he said, handing her the bag.
"Great. I really didn't feel like cooking. I was just going to order a pizza."
"It was nothing," he said shyly.
Carol looked down at Sophia who was holding the picture behind her back. "Go ahead, baby. Give it to him," she said, prompting her.
Daryl squatted down. "You have something for me?" he asked
She nodded. "Made you this," she said, handing him the picture of the rainbow-colored duck.
He studied it for moment, admiring it for the great piece of art work it was. "Thank you, sweetheart. I love it." He picked her up and kissed the top of her head. "I have to fix your mommy's car. Will you take it inside for me so it doesn't get dirty?" he asked, setting her on her feet.
She nodded, took the picture, and ran back into the house.
"It shouldn't take long to put this cable on, then I'll be in."
She nodded and walked into the house.
After they had finished dinner Carol gave Sophia a bath because she had managed to get more of the food on herself than what went into her mouth.
"I'm just going to get her to bed. It shouldn't take too long. She's pretty worn out."
"That's fine. Take your time. I ain't going nowhere."
"Do you mind if we just watch a movie or something? I don't really feel like studying," she said, leaning against the door.
"Yeah, me neither. Didn't really want to study anyway," he said. What he really wanted to do was kiss her. When she had walked outside wearing that top and those jeans he couldn't think of anything else. He felt his face burn. "I'll find us something watch," he said, picking up the remote.
Carol came back out about ten minutes later. "She asleep?" he asked.
"Not yet. She refuses to go to sleep until you give her a kiss goodnight," she said, walking over to the couch.
"I'll be right back," he said, handing her the remote.
While Carol was putting Sophia to bed, he decided that he was just going to go for it. If she didn't feel the same then he would just have to deal with it.
He had caught Carol several times looking in is direction but when he would turn to look at her she would turn back to the TV. He needed to do something. He knew it was a lame move but he decided to go for it anyway. He raised his arms above his head and stretching dropping one arm behind Carol's shoulders.
He glanced at her and caught a hint of a smile on her face. And then she scooted a little closer to him. Maybe his feeling weren't as one-sided as he thought.
The next time he caught her looking at him she didn't turn away. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his briefly. She pulled back as if to gauge his reaction, and seemed to be about to say something. When he cut her off by kissing her back with a little more fierceness than she had kissed him, she quickly returned it, their lips barely parting. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.
Not sure what to do with his hands and not wanting to do anything inappropriate with them, he kept the one around her shoulder and the other he let rest on the couch. They pulled away after a few minutes.
"That was nice," said Carol, a little breathless.
"Yeah," he said, not sure what else to say. "Carol?" he began.
"Yes," she said, grabbing one of his hands and holding it.
"I like you, Carol."
She smiled. "I know. I like you too," she said, squeezing his hand.
"No. I mean, I like you. I want to be more than friends with you." He held his breath. Yeah, they had just made out. But that didn't mean she wanted the same thing he did.
"I want to be more than friends with you, too," she said.
He let a breath he didn't know he had been holding. "Really?" he asked, pushing a stray curl behind her ear.
"Really," she said, and to prove her point she kissed him again, a little more enthusiastically than the first time. They kissed for a little longer this time. He kept his hands at her shoulders and alternately played with her hair to keep his hands from wandering.
After a few minutes they pulled apart, both a little breathless and lips red and swollen.
"I better get going," he said a little reluctantly. He really didn't want to leave. But he didn't know how long he'd be able to keep his hands to himself if he stayed. He didn't think either of them were ready for that.
"Really?" she asked.
"Yeah," he said, standing up. "We both gotta work tomorrow morning. And if I stay any longer, I ain't gonna want leave." He picked up his backpack and the drawing Sophia had made him.
"Yeah, okay. You're right," she said, standing and walking with him to the door.
"Do you want to do something tomorrow night?" he asked.
"Sure. I don't know if I can find anyone to watch Sophia on a Saturday night, though."
"That's okay. We can just hang out here again if you want."
"I'd like that," she said.
He leaned down and gave her quick kiss, knowing if it was any more than that he wouldn't be able to tear himself away. "Goodnight, Carol," he said, pulling away and walking to his truck.
She stood at the door until he backed out of the driveway and drove off down the street. She closed the door behind her and leaned against it. She smiled as she brushed her fingertips over her lips. She could still taste him.
She went to bed that night with a smile on her face.