Author's Note: Hello, again! So, what did you think of that trailer? I'm very perturbed at the lack of Carol but I'm assuming it's because her return will be so epic the show can't afford to spoil it.

This prompt is for Vickih who wanted Daryl to breakdown after Caryl has sex for the first time. So, it's a little smutty and a lot angsty. Hope you like it! Keep the faith for our couple. I see out in the social media that everyone is clamoring for Carol to come back. Hopefully, Daryl will man up when he sees her.

XOXO Pamela

6. Drops

They were in the admin building to clean out some of the offices. Walkers had been cleared out months ago but the group had left the offices abandoned while they dealt with higher priorities. Now that the new members had settled and the council was running things smoothly, Carol wanted to tackle the outer building of the prison to see what could be salvaged from it. She wanted to make their cell blocks more liveable and knew that there was some nice pieces of furniture in the offices. She had admired a lovely mahogany colored leather sofa that was in the prison psychologist's office. She imagined the leather would feel buttery underneath her. She never dreamed she would actually test that theory out as she laid completely nude on it while Daryl thrust into her raggedly.

It was just her and Daryl that day. Tyreese and Glenn were concerned about the walkers bunching up at small sections of the fence and had needed a lot of hands to clear out the potential threat. Daryl offered to accompany Carol to the admin building to see what could be used in their living areas. It was a hot Georgia summer and both had stripped to the bare minimum due to the lack of circulation. Daryl had even taken off his shirt, although he had hesitated long enough for Carol to place a gentle hand on his bicep and remind him she had seen them before and he had nothing to be ashamed about. She had taken off everything but a very thin camisole with no bra underneath and her cargos. Daryl was down to his jeans and Carol had practically drooled at the sweat dripping off of his unbelievable body.

She flopped down on the couch to revel in the cool leather caressing her skin. She groaned almost erotically and Daryl stopped rifling through the desk to stare at her. "Feels that good?" He asked, his voice tinged with amusement.

"It's divine and I'm not moving. I never thought I'd feel something this pleasurable again." She stretched her arms out above her head and grabbed the arm of the sofa, elongating her entire body. Her eyes were closed and she hummed happily. She felt drops of moisture hit her chest and she opened her eyes to see Daryl towering over her, sweat sliding down his chest and onto her body. Her breath caught in her throat and she didn't think, she just acted. She sat up and placed her hands right below his shoulders and slid her hands all the way down his slick chest.

She could hear him gasp and tense up as she touched him, but as her hands reached his stomach she could feel him relax his muscles. He let out a deep breath as her fingers stopped at his belt. She looked him in the eyes, silently asking permission. After the briefest of pauses, he licked his lips and nodded. Her hands shook as she released him from his pants and then worked on getting her own clothes off while he stepped out of his boots and pants. She sat naked and wet on the leather and slid down and positioned herself on her back.

Daryl moved his body slowly on top of her, coating her torso with his sweat. She arched her back up and pressed her breasts to his chest as he lifted her leg and hooked it over his hip. He hovered over her, the tip of his cock sliding between her lips back and forth. She threw her head back and moaned his name and he impaled her in that instant. She wrapped both her legs around him as he began his hesitant rhythm, pushing in and out of her wet tunnel.

The only sounds that filled the room were her moans and his grunting and panting. No words were exchanged but Daryl never took his eyes off of her. Carol found herself squirming not just from the feeling of him filling her over and over, but with the fiery emotion that burned from his eyes into hers. The missionary position had always been overly intimate for her. Ed had always preferred to take her from behind so he didn't have to look at her, but Daryl kept his face millimeters from her own. His nose would bump into hers with every upward thrust and his fringe of sweat soaked hair framed her. She ran her fingers through it, holding his face with both of her hands. Daryl bit his lip and sped up his onslaught on her pussy and as she opened her mouth to loudly moan at the intense feeling coiling in her, he kissed her deeply. Both of their mouths were open and tongues were lashing against each other.

He pounded her with his cock mercilessly as he continued to explore her mouth with his tongue. He was breathing heavily, sweat pouring off of him and Carol's hands kept slipping from his lower back and ass. She slid her hand down to hold onto him where his ass cheeks met, her finger dipping inside to brush his balls as they slapped against her. That was all it took for Daryl to pull his mouth off of hers and let out a primal yell as he came hard inside of her. He pulsed inside of her over and over, triggering her own release, and her walls milked him totally dry.

He was still looking up towards the ceiling when Carol felt him start to tremble violently. He made a hiccup of a sound and then lowered his head. She thought it was drops of sweat at first coursing down his cheeks, but she soon was stunned to realize it was tears. His chin was quivering and he pulled his cock out of her roughly, causing her to wince with the sensation. He turned his back to her and Carol's heart broke at the sight of his scars, raised and jagged across his back. She had not touched them during their coupling, keeping her hands low. She reached out to brush her fingers against the most prominent one. He jerked away from her. "Don't touch me." When he hissed those three words at her, Carol felt devastation wash through her.

Daryl stood up quickly, not facing her and dressed. She said nothing to him, just watched him put his boots back on and strap on his crossbow as she sat naked on the couch. The pain of his rejection was all encompassing. He walked to the door and halted in front of it. He just stood there, not moving, not making any attempt to say anything or look in her direction. She could hear ragged sounds coming from him and she wanted to go to him and wrap her arms around him. She wanted to comfort him but she knew he didn't want her touch, he regretted everything. She put her face in her hands and whispered, "I won't take back a minute of what just happened. I don't want to lose your friendship. So, I promise I won't touch you again." She heard the door open and then close and when she looked up, Daryl was gone. She sat there, naked and sobbing until the sunlight filtered away and darkness fell upon the prison.

She didn't see him again for five days. She was perfectly happy with that, she had spent the first two in a daze, unable to sleep. She burst into tears at random times, usually while taking a shower or in her own bunk. Carol was perfectly normal when the rest of the group was around and no one was the wiser. She would, however, pinch herself any time her eyes would roam the room looking for his face or open her mouth to ask Rick or Glenn where Daryl might be. She was angrier with herself more than him. She had always been a very romantic person. She loved to lose herself in romantic classics by the likes of Austen or Bronte. She let herself down. She put things in her head that weren't there and now she might have damaged the closest relationship she had. She made herself sick every time she replayed their coupling. He had been so intense with her and she thought he wanted her as much as she wanted him. But then as soon as it was over, he had shut down, pushing her away. Like her touch disgusted him. It dredged up memories of Ed and how she would try to please him and then he would tell her she was worthless and not even good for a lousy fuck.

She decided enough was enough with Daryl. She tried, she failed and she needed to move on for her own sanity. Carol vowed to give him his space and if and when he was ready to move past it, she would be the bigger person and move past it with him. The ache of knowing the man she loved didn't reciprocate her feelings cut deep but she had survived much worse. She would survive this and would be a stronger woman for it. Carol was grateful for the distraction of a night watch by herself. It always gave her a chance to recharge her mental batteries. There never seemed to be silence in the prison anymore. She leaned against the wall, rifle in hand, scanning the darkness beyond the fences. She saw a figure exiting the cell block. She assumed it was one of the night patrols that walked the fences, taking out groupings of walkers before they posed a threat to the stability of the fences. When the figure made a beeline for the tower, her body coiled with tension. She half hoped, half dreaded that it was Daryl coming to deal with the situation at hand. She straightened her posture she heard footsteps bounding up the stairs.

The door swung open and Daryl looked taken aback that Carol was there, standing like she had been anticipating him. He shut the door with much less force than what he opened it with and stepped towards her. The moon was full and bright so their features were easily distinguishable. He never was one for lots of direct eye contact, but it seemed as if his focus was everywhere but her face. She stood quietly and set the rifle against the wall so she could cross her arms in front of her. She knew it was a reflexive and defensive stance, but it kept her hands from shaking. Daryl shoved his hands in his jean pockets and finally looked into her eyes. "I shouldn't have kept away. Shoulda explained myself right then and there. I'm not a man of many words and I may not get this out right, but I'm gonna try." She could see his take a deep breath and square his shoulders. "I know you're hella pissed at what happened after we… well after we had sex. But you have to know something. All my life I've been beat down, kick around and shit on. I never had nothing good for myself, nothing. Not until the other day. Being like that with you, knowing you care about me, knowing you want me, it was too much. I felt too much." He stepped towards her and reached out and touched her face with a trembling hand. "Every time I touch you like this I feel it. Like I had been living in a dark room my whole life and you came in and turned on the light and I can finally see."

Carol was stunned at his words. She could feel the tears filling her eyes and she swiped them away. Her heart was screaming at her to run to him, to throw her arms around him and never let him go. Her head, the one that was filled with years of self-doubt screamed at her to not believe a word he said. Her eyes had opened up during their time apart. Daryl was always going to be this way, running hot and cold. And she would be expected to pick up the pieces of what progress they made. She was tired of doing that for any man. She deserved more. She reached up for his hand and pulled it away from her face. "You're right, I am pissed. I'm pissed at myself." His brow furrowed and a flash of hurt crossed his face. "I think both of us have been through enough to last ten lifetimes. Maybe it's because we are too alike that whatever brewed between us never seemed to come up. Maybe we are trying too hard to fit the broken pieces of our hearts together."

"What are you saying? That what happened the other day is the end of us? I thought you loved me." His voice was choking and her resolve was wavering with every twitch of his face and rapid blinking of his eyes to keep the tears at bay.

"Daryl, I do love you. But sometimes, love just isn't enough. You're my best friend and we never should have forced things beyond that." She was furiously fortifying the walls she had erected against the rising tide of emotion that was inside of her. "I think you should go now. I would like to be alone." She turned her back to him, facing the inky blackness once more. She felt him come right up behind her, his body heat seeping through her clothing and into her bones. He didn't touch her and his staggered breathing made blood pound in her ears. Carol knew if she turned around, opened her arms to him, told him she loved him, he would be embracing her in a flash. She couldn't go down that road again, waiting for the next time he'd spook like a skittish colt and bolt out of her heart. No, this was for the best, she half-heartedly convinced herself. He whispered her name, begging her to look at him. She remained resolute, her back to him with her heart cursing her very existence. After a moment, she was bereft of his warmth and he was gone, the tower door shutting with a hollow and metallic bang. She remained in the same position for the rest of her shift, imagining that the darkness of the forest reflected how she felt inside.

After she was relieved of her watch, she slowly made her way back to the loneliness of her cell. She ran her hand down the cold cement walls as she walked, her fingers trailing along the bumps, grooves and cracks. She mused that the walls were a good representation of how her heart felt at the moment. It would take time for the cracks to heal and some of the deep grooves would always cause her to feel pain even more keenly as it slid through the channels carved into her heart.

She sighed deeply as she rounded the corner to where her cell was. Everything was dark and silent. By her estimation, it was close to two in the morning and she was not one bit tired. The adrenaline of rejecting Daryl coursed through her, keeping her wide eyed and jittery. She pushed aside the curtain to her cell and froze, the fabric bunched in her hand as she set eyes on Daryl sitting on her bunk. His eyes were red rimmed, his hair sticking in different directions like he'd been running his hands through it. He made no move to stand up, his elbows on his knees and his fingers laced together.

"Daryl, I think we've said all we needed to say in the tower. I need to get some rest." She moved aside and gestured for him to leave.

"No." The one word cut through the night air like a knife. "We are not done. I am not done fighting for you. We've gone through too much together to just throw it away." He stood and walked to her slowly, like he was approaching a wounded animal. "You said you loved me. Prove it. Let me love you back." He stepped into her space and his forehead rested against hers. His thumbs caught the teardrops spilling from her eyes. "Please, let me love you like I know I can. Give me another chance. I never knew I could feel anything like I felt when I was inside of you. Don't make me go back to living in the dark without you." His lips pressed against hers and he caught her sob with his mouth.

Every wall she had erected, every promise she made to herself crumbled with that kiss. She melted into his arms and kissed him back. They wrapped themselves around each other, terrified the other would try to leave again. She pulled her lips from his just long enough to whisper to him, "I love you so much. So much, Daryl."

Daryl walked them backwards to her bed and slumped down, pulling her on top of him. Their clothes fluttered to the floor and they became a tangle of limbs, lips and tongues. This time they went achingly slow, soft kisses and gentle thrusts. When they came together, there were no tears, just whispered words of love and promises of tomorrow. They didn't come up for air until the darkness of the cell was chased away by the dawn's light.