Daryl hadn't given what he had said or did regarding Carol that day any serious thought until he was by himself in the tent, cleaning his crossbow. Over the months it had become second nature to him to make sure that she was taken care of. No one else was looking out for her, that much was obvious, and he knew that she wasn't going to be nearly as safe in a tent with a pregnant woman and a kid than she would be with him. So he had done the sensible thing and spoke up. He didn't know what Rick was thinking, anyway, leaving his wife and boy to spend the night alone in a tent with Carol. Carl could handle a gun and take out walkers, but he wasn't a man yet.
And if Carol wanted a turn on watch, Daryl was fine with that. As long as he was the one she was partnered with. He'd taught her how to shoot over the winter, and damned if the woman wasn't getting good at it, but he didn't trust anyone else to look out for her and watch her back the way that he knew he would. It wasn't that he didn't think she could hold her own, it was just that he would rather keep an eye on her and make sure she was safe. He'd failed her once already with Sophia, and he wasn't about to fail her again.
She hadn't said a word to him when she'd come in to go to bed, and that's when the doubt crept in. Carol wasn't the same woman that she'd been at the quarry, or even at the Greene farm. The winter had hardened her, made her stronger and more independent. Daryl realized, belatedly, that he probably should have spoken to her about the sleeping arrangements. If the shoe had been on the other foot, he knew that he'd be pissed. Hell, he was already pissed at himself for just assuming that she'd be okay with going along with what he dictated. She was probably the best friend that he had, other than Rick, and the last thing he wanted to do was upset her by acting like her asshole ex-husband.
It had taken a lot, though, just to ask her if she was mad at him, and her response embarrassed him and pissed him off. He was speaking plain English. Either she wanted to stay in the tent with him and T-Dog where it was safe, or she didn't. She acted like she didn't know what the hell he was talking about.
Don't be a bitch, Darylena, Merle's voice had all but shouted at him from inside his head. Ya ain't her keeper. She can pack her shit and get out if she don't wanna be here. Good riddance.
And Daryl told Carol as much, but not in so many words. What he hadn't been expecting was the outburst of anger from Carol, followed by words that bludgeoned his brain with the weight of their meaning.
"You should know by now that I don't sleep unless I know you're right here next to me!"
Her eyes went wide and she had slapped a hand over her mouth as if she was trying to keep anything else from coming out, but he had heard exactly what she had said. He felt the blood drain from his face as he processed the sentence and understanding dawned.
She wanted to be there. She needed to be near him.
Daryl's heart stopped beating for a minute, and then lurched back into motion, triple-time. He had no idea what the hell he was supposed to do with that information, and it scared the shit out of him. He wasn't trying to be that man of honor she'd said she'd wanted. He knew damn well that he wasn't even in the same league as her. She was his friend, and he was trying to do right by her for that fact alone, but he didn't know how to be anything more for her. Even if he wanted to, there wasn't time for that shit. This was the apocalypse, and it was hard enough just surviving from day to day.
What came out of that woman's mouth next was even more unexpected than the last thing that she had said to him.
"And here I was, thinking you'd set all this up because you wanted to fool around. Pretty romantic, what with T-Dog on watch and the tent all to ourselves."
Daryl had to look at her to make sure he'd heard her correctly, and damned if the woman wasn't looking at him like she hadn't just said what she did, wiggling her eyebrows and giggling at him.
If it was anyone else teasing him like that, he would have beat their ass into the ground. He let this woman get away with way too much, and he knew it, but it was good to hear her laugh, even if it was at his expense.
He couldn't help but smirk at her, momentarily forgetting what else she had said to him as he snorted a reply. "Go ta sleep, woman. We got watch in the mornin'."
"Oh, fine," Carol huffed, sticking out her lower lip and pouting at him like some horny teen-aged girl. "You're no fun, you know that?"
Daryl snorted again as she rolled over and settled down to sleep, but he was awake for a long time afterwards, replaying her words in his head and wondering just what the hell it was that woman really wanted from him, and how the hell she thought he was going to be able to give it to her.
Sleepless nights were nothing new to him, but this was the first time he'd ever lost sleep over a woman. If the world hadn't already come to an end, Daryl Dixon was sure that this was his sign.