After work Andrea dropped Carol off at the shop so that she could pick up her car. She told Carol she had something to take care of but that she would be back at the house before Carol and Daryl were ready leave on their date.
She had been slightly disappointed that Daryl had already left before she got there, she had wanted to see him. She knew she was going to be seeing him in a couple of hours anyway, but still. She wasn't sure when she started having feelings for her best friend. But if she were being honest with herself she had always had a bit of a crush on him.
When Uncle Dale had first brought her to live here after her parents died, she hadn't wanted to be here. She wanted her parents back and she wanted to go back to her house. She had run away into the woods and had gotten herself turned around pretty quickly. It was starting to get dark and she was scared. But then, a boy had come walking through the trees and he led her out of the woods and walked her home. After that she made it her business to become his friend. He tried to push her away and yelled at her to quit following him around, saying he didn't need any friends. But eventually he gave up when he saw she wasn't going anywhere. And they had been friends ever since.
Her stomach felt like it had butterflies in it. She had a date with Daryl tonight. Sure, they had been out together plenty of times before, but that was as friends. This was a date, a real date. Why did she feel so nervous?
Maybe it was because now it meant something more. They were starting something. What it was, she wasn't exactly sure. He said he wanted to be more than friends with her, and she wanted the same thing. Did that mean he was her boyfriend now? That was what was making her nervous. If this didn't work out she was afraid they wouldn't be able to go back to being friends.
She shook her head. She was going to make herself crazy if she didn't stop thinking so much. She was going to go out tonight and she was going to have fun. She would figure out the rest later.
Daryl had left work a little early because there was something he wanted to pick up in town before he went over to Carol's. He was walking back to his truck when he bumped into Rick, who was coming out of the convenience store.
Rick eyed what he had in his hand and gave him shit-eating grin. "Those for Carol?" he eyed the yellow and white flowers he had in his hand. "For your date tonight?"
Daryl narrowed his eyes at him. "You and Michonne been gossiping again?"
"I wasn't gossiping . I can't help it if she tells me stuff. So where are you taking her?"
"I don't know, man. Figured we'd get something to eat. Maybe take her down to the lake behind Hershel Greene's," he shrugged.
"That sounds good. She'll like that. Hershel and your mom are friends, right?"
"Yeah he's her sponsor in AA, too . He said I could go down there whenever I wanted."
"That's cool. Hey, think he'd let me take Michonne up there sometime?"
"I don't know. Why don't you just ask him? I gotta get going." He turned towards his truck.
"Wait," said Rick, reaching into his pocket. "You might need this," he said, pulling out his wallet and handing him a condom.
He felt his face get red. Goddamn Rick. "I don't need that." He wasn't planning on having sex with Carol tonight. He wanted to eventually, but that was something he knew she wasn't ready for. The only time she had sex was with that asshole that got her pregnant.
Hell, I've never even…
Nope, he was not going there. They were just now going their first date, they weren't ready for that. And he wasn't going to push her into something she wasn't ready for.
"Take it anyway. Just in case," he said, holding it out.
"Fine." Daryl snatched it out his hand and stuffed in his pants pocket before putting the truck in gear and driving towards his house.
"Are you sure this looks alright?" asked Carol as she stood in front of the mirror, looking at the outfit she had picked out for tonight. It was a light blue dress that came to just above her knees and had little white flowers all over it.
"You look great," said Andrea, lying across her bed and flipping through a magazine.
"Maybe I should-" she said before Andrea interrupted her.
"No," said Andrea, sitting up. "You've already changed twice. You look fantastic. You don't need to change again." She up got and went to stand next to Carol, looking in the mirror. "Daryl's going to love it." She turned to Sophia who sitting on the floor pushing a barbie doll around in the back of a plastic dump truck. "Sophia, tell your mama she looks pretty."
Sophia looked up from her place on the floor. "Mama pretty," she said, walking over and wrapping are arms around Carol's legs.
Carol reached down and scooped her up. "Thank you, sweetheart," she said, kissing the top of her head.
Andrea rolled her eyes. "Oh sure, her you listen to." She walked across the room to answer the phone that had started ringing. "Hey, dad." She walked into the hall. "Yeah….we're all fine. Actually, Carol has a date tonight….yeah….I know, it's about time, right?" She darted out of the way when Carol tried to swat at her. "Here," Andrea said, thrusting the phone at Carol. "Talk to him."
"Hey, Uncle Dale." She eased Sophia down to the floor and the little girl started squirming when she heard the doorbell ring.
"I'll get it," yelled Andrea. "Hey, Daryl," she greeted him.
Carol walked into the living room, still on the phone with Dale. Daryl was talking to Andrea. He then bent to Sophia, who was tugging on his pants leg. He handed her a small pink stuffed bear, which Sophia promptly squeezed to her chest. She wrapped her arms around Daryl's neck and hugged him tightly. He picked her up with one arm and held tightly while he whispered something in her ear that made her giggle. He kissed the top of her head before setting her back on the floor.
She felt her heart clench at the sight. She could see how much Daryl loved her daughter. She knew Sophia loved him. Whenever he wasn't with them he was all Sophia could talk about. Wanting to know when they were going to see him again. She knew in that moment that she was completely head over heels in love with Daryl Dixon.
"Uncle Dale, I have to go now," she said. "Yeah…I'll talk to you later…me too…bye." She hung up the phone and laid it on the table as Daryl was making his way over to her. She hadn't gotten a good look at him when she walked in the room earlier but she was looking now and she could honestly say she had never seen him look this good.
He was wearing a pair of black jeans, with a dark blue button-up shirt that was tucked into his waistband with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. She almost wanted to drool at the sight. She could feel arousal pooling low in her belly, something she wasn't sure she had felt before, at least not this intensely.
Daryl gave her a curious look and cocked his to the side as if could read her thoughts. He smiled. "Gotcha these," he said, holding out a bouquet of white flowers with a yellow center.
Carol took them from and brought them to her nose. "They're beautiful. Thank you, Daryl," She said, and placed a peck on his cheek.
"I'll put these in water," said Andrea, taking the flowers from Carol and walking to the kitchen.
Carol bent down to talk to Sophia. "Okay, sweetheart. Daryl and I have to go now, but I'll be home later."
"I can go with you," Sophia said hopefully, clutching her bear to her chest and sticking out her bottom lip in gesture that usually made Carol give in to her.
Daryl squatted down next her. "I'll make a deal with you," he said. "You let me and your mama go tonight and be a good girl and really soon all three of us will go somewhere special. How's that sound?"
Sophia looked back and forth between Daryl and her mom. She bit her bottom lip and then nodded her head. "Good girl," he said.
"Sophia, I want you to be good for Aunt Andrea and do what she says, okay? Can you do that?" asked Carol.
She nodded. "I can."
She gave the girl a hug and kiss. Daryl bent down to do the same, knowing they wouldn't get out the door unless he did.
"Come on, Sophia," said Andrea, taking her hand. "Let's go watch a movie," she said, leading her to the couch. She turned around to face Carol and Daryl. "You two have fun and don't do anything I wouldn't do."
Carol could tell Daryl was getting ready to say something sarcastic so she tugged on his hand pulled him out the door before he got a chance.
As they walked out to his truck he tugged her toward him and kissed her lightly on the lips. "You look real pretty in that dress," he said when he pulled back.
She smiled. "You too," she said. "I mean, you look nice," she said, giggling a little.
He smirked at her. "Come on," he said opening the door for her before walking around to get in the driver side.