A/N: I apologize. I kinda feel this chapter is more like one of those filler episodes, and it probably shows through the writing. But i had to get through this one to get to the next chapter. The next chapter is pretty much the shining reason for this whole fanfic.
-Thank you to those of you that have been reviewing so far, I am so happy you're
enjoying yourself so far, i feed off of your opinions to help me and the story grow and it is greatly appreciated So Please continue!
-There are links provided for you in my profile in regards to Maggie/Carol's outfits since i'm really not the greatest at describing...stuff
-Uh.. things start to
heat up a little by the end of this chapter. This is an adult story so yah. That.

Disclaimer: The Walking Dead and its characters are sadly not mine to own. Only Clyde.


It was the next morning, and most residents were still tucked comfortably in their beds refusing to disentangle themselves from such bliss. The sun was still just barely peeking over the horizon creating the familiar pinks, and orange hues usually brought about by sunrise. Carol had always proved to be an early riser, usually being the first to awake amongst the group. So it was no surprise that she was already drawing back the covers, and sitting up in bed unable to dream any longer. She cursed her internal clock and swung her legs over the bedside rubbing the sleep from her tired eyes. Today was different however. Today in particular, held promise.

Today would be the day all the girls went "shopping".

She smirked a bit at the memory of Maggie's reaction to her and Michonne informing her of their plans.

"Are y'all serious right now?" her southern drawl was discernible as she stared at the two women like they had lobsters crawling out their eyes.*

It took a bit of nudging from their end, but Michonne and Carol successfully convinced the grief-ridden Green girl, and today they would be joined by the rest of the females of their gang to pick out attires for this highly anticipated gala in two days.

She couldn't help it.

But there was an excitement bubbling in her gut over this turn of events, and Carol found herself dressing with a bit of pep to her movements. She went downstairs, and headed straight to the front door. Every morning, council members were leaving something similar of a gift basket at each of their houses sort of as a welcoming present. It was really nice, and she felt her heart warm at such a lovely gesture.

Today was eggs, fruits, veggies, and a well hidden chocolate bar at the bottom of the basket.

Wow

She almost pocketed the chocolate bar, but thought better of it and closed the door. She headed to the kitchen to start her usual routine of getting breakfast together for the household.

Four plates of delicious smelling omelets soon sat hot and ready on the counter top, and she turned off the stove having completed her breakfast for everyone. Footsteps fell sluggish, and heavy on the stairs, and she waited to greet whoever was the first to awake.

Her breath caught however, when an adorably sleepy and rumpled hunter emerged.

Their eyes met halting the flow of time around them, creating an electric charge of energy. Carol held her breath, not daring to speak risking severing this immediate spell they had just cast upon each other. He was just standing there studying her with an unreadable expression, but by doing so he was invoking this need in her to suddenly lay bare all that he made her feel. The memory of him on his knees in the dirt suddenly pushed to the forefront of her mind. Carol stared deep into his eyes wanting to convey all the hurt he had caused her, wishing for him to somehow take it away.

This man had become so close to her heart over the years of their companionship, and staring at him now with the recent hurt still in her chest, she wanted to be upset with him, wanted to lash out and reprimand him, but found she couldn't. He has somehow wrapped himself so fiercely around her heart that no matter what he did to hurt her, she would still forever devote herself to him.
She couldn't be mad with this man.

Daryl was struggling. He knew when he was walking down the stairs who he would be encountering when he finally reached the kitchen, but that didn't stop him. Didn't even deter him.

Whenever it came to her, he always found that he was being pulled in her direction naturally. Bound to her by this invisible thread connected between them.
Did she share that same feeling? Was he being irrational? What was it about her that linked him to her so powerfully?
Now that he was standing in front of her, it was even clearer to him how unprepared he was to face her. He had been internalizing what had transpired between them every minute alone he got, replaying the events over and over in his mind.
He felt terrible. She didn't deserve any more pain, and he had unintentionally brought her down with him when he was sinking into his depression.
Daryl's eyes brazenly roamed over her face, scrutinizing every detail. He watched intrigued, as several emotions played out across her face, finally settling on one that had him shifting nervously on his feet; compassion.

She shouldn't be looking at him like that. Not with the way he treated her.

He was moving now breaking the trance they were in, and it didn't escape him when she gasped almost melding herself to the counter as he approached.
Daryl was right in front of her now, and Carol felt her breathing start to accelerate with his proximity. He kept eye contact as he reached an arm out, and she waited, heart pounding, feeling as his arm brushed along her skin, and picked up one of the plates beside her.

She wanted to laugh at herself for being so ridiculous. He just wanted to eat, and here she was acting like a wound up adolescent teenager.

She turned around grabbing a plate also and began eating with him. They stood side by side against the counter, consuming a hearty meal she made with a little extra love tossed in his direction.

"S'good." He praised between mouthfuls.

It was such a Dixon thing to say, and really held no special connotation. But she smiled brightly at hearing him compliment her food, a genuine happiness falling over her. This man truly had her wrapped around his finger. Was he even aware?

The air was comfortable around them now, and she decided to make small talk. "Any plans for today?"

"Mm... Was talking wit' some of the men yesterday tryin'a find somthin' to do. Told me n' Rick to come by later today, said they could use an extra pair of hands to help chop up some lumber near the construction site or some shit...You?"

She nodded, contented that they were having their first conversation in days. "Um," she hesitated laughing slightly thinking of how to tell him what her day was going to consist of, "oddly enough, Michonne and I were having a lovely walk yesterday in the main streets."
Yeah he remembered that clearly, but he wouldn't let her know. "Got to thinking...about this party y'know? We want to encourage Maggie to have a good time, let loose, and really enjoy herself."
He gave her a disbelieving stare. "I was going to have a talk with Glenn later today to see if he'd be on board with it."

"Pfft, a party...You really goin to that thing?"

"You're not?" she suddenly felt panicky.

He shrugged finishing up his last bites. "Not really my scene." Her heart dropped.

"Well," he turned around placing his empty dish in the sink. "good luck wit' that."

He didn't have to, but before moving to leave he placed his hand briefly on her arm giving her a Dixon lopsided smirk, then departed ready to start his day.

She stood there at the sink hypnotized by his retreating figure. She never considered that he might not even go to the party, but this was a better start to her day than she could have imagined. Despite this pleasant interaction in the kitchen though, she realized that they still had unfinished business regarding what happened in the woods.

For now however, she had some shopping to do.


Later, the girls had all gathered at Carol and Maggie's. Rosita, Tara, Carol, Maggie, Sasha and Michonne stood awkwardly in the living room still trying to process that they were really about to go shopping.

For a party.

With an exasperated push from Rosita, they were all on their way to the apparel building in town. As Clyde had said the day before, it was indeed three buildings down from the mess hall. It was a small storefront sandwiched between two taller buildings with a for-sale sign in the window, and could easily be missed.
Once inside, the girls looked around taking in all that had been collected from runs. There was a massive stock of clothing all around the store suspended from the ceiling on fishing line creating aisles; random accessories, shoes and knick knacks scattered about. The town had altered it to closely resemble a retail store sans the normal clothing racks, tables, or shelves normally found in one. Nevertheless, there seemed to be something for everyone in here; women, men, children.
They seemed to cover it all.

There were people already inside looking through the aisles, probably here for the same reason they were.

There was a rising sense of glee that bubbled up into the group's faces, and they struggled to get a handle of it. Splitting up, they each went off in different directions in search of their desired outfit, and just grabbing random items of use stuffing it in their bags. Carol stuck close to Maggie, wanting to help her out and give an input if need be. She wasn't too worried about looking for herself feeling a bit out of her element in here anyway.

"This is still bizarre, the idea of why we're even in here." Maggie said shaking her head. She thumbed through a few shirts hanging nearby.

"It's a bit to wrap our heads around right now, but I think you'll be singing a different tune after all is said and done." Carol smiled knowingly. Maggie's frown remained, and Carol hated to see her still down in the dumps. She was determined to cheer her up.

"Maggie, you can't keep doing this to yourself." Carol stopped her with a hand on her shoulder, lowering her voice. "I, for one, am not going to stand by and watch you wither away when there is still so much potential in this life." Maggie's eyes were glassy, and she couldn't meet Carol's gaze.
"I know what it's like...To be pulled down into that dark hole feeling like there's no way out," Carol had to pause to push the lump in her throat down from the burdening memories of all the despair she carried each day. "But...for you, there's so many of us to help pull you out, Glenn especially. That man is driven to make you smile again." Maggie looked at Carol a tear slipping from her eye that she quickly wiped away.

"We all want what's best for you and just want to see you happy again. You're going to get through this, okay?" Maggie exhaled hugging Carol tight thankful for her constant support. This woman was so broken and carried more burden than any of them even knew, and yet she was still pushing forward each day. If she says she'll be alright and get through this, who was she to question?

Maggie sniffled pulling back and gave Carol a sterling smile. "Okay...let's get this over with." she laughed.

"A'tta girl!" The two women went back to sorting through the clothing hell-bent on finding the best outfit for Maggie.

After some time, the girls met in the back where there were some blankets set up to mimic changing rooms. All with various articles of clothing in hand they went in one-by-one eager to try on new clothes that weren't actually tattered or bloody.

The searching had paid off, and Maggie soon stood in a charming long sleeve brown shirt that hugged her curves perfectly. A low cut dip in the front revealed a tasteful amount of cleavage, and she accented her neckline with a long dangling gold necklace found among the accessories. She completed the look with snug fitting blue jeans tattered at the knees, and brown ankle high boots.

The outfit was very Maggie, and the girls complimented how much it resembled her; modest.

Smiles were exchanged, and there was merriment in the air as they each stepped out from behind the curtain in their chosen outfits.

Maggie burst out laughing as Tara held up a ridiculously skimpy barely-there school girl outfit with a plaid skirt and tie, teasing that Glenn's penis would explode. All the girls joined her in laughter.

Carol looked on from the side practically beaming at the radiant smiles and lighthearted atmosphere they were engaged in. The day was going swimmingly.

"Carol where's your outfit?" Maggie asked.

"Huh?" Uh oh.

"You didn't get an outfit?" Now Sasha jumped in. She was in trouble.

"Oh, um well I just wanted to help you girls out. See if anyone needed anything."

"Really? Even after this being your idea, you haven't gotten something for yourself? You know we're not going to allow that right?" Maggie chastised.

Carol laughed nervously not wanting to be the center of attention. "I'll look for something now." She hoped that would satisfy them.

"Come on, we're all going to help you look for something."

Great.

This had somehow turned around on her, making her feel flustered that they'd want to help her like this. It was kind of nice though.

While the women were scattered about determined on finding her a killer outfit, Carol idly walked in between some of the aisles scanning through the various knick-knacks. Hair gels, brushes, makeup, shoes, shaving creams and shavers. She grabbed a little bit of everything for everyone tossing it into her bag.

The next aisle was made up of underwear, sleeping ware, and intimate apparel all with the tags still on them. Sifting through the sleep ware on a wire, there was a flash of black that caught her eye. Separating the clothes surrounding it she briefly thought whatever it was seemed a bit out of place.

Pulling it off the wire her mouth fell open in bewilderment at the risqué garment she just found.

Oh...My...

She was compelled to check the tag, and was even more shocked to see that she would fit it no problem.

"Carol!" Michonne shouted her name somewhere near the back.

Red in the face, she quickly stuffed it into the bottom of her bag, and made her way to Michonne. Nobody needed to know about this.

As Carol approached, she felt a little scared seeing the shit-eating grin on Michonne's face at her find.

"Should I be nervous?" She asked, jokingly, but inside being dead-serious.

"You're going to love this."

Carol stood next to Michonne curious as to what had her smiling so cockily. A light gasp escaped her lips as she immediately pulled it off the wire. It was a gorgeous motorcycle style black leather jacket. It sported an excess of front zippers and buckles all over it, giving it a bit of a punk flare. The best part however was when she turned it over. She exhaled sharply, and ran her fingers lovingly over the embroidering of two white mini angel wings on each shoulder blade in admiration. How the hell was this sitting here unclaimed? How on earth had anyone even found something so meaningful?

Her eyes watered turning to Michonne and they shared a secret smile.

This was a great find.


Carol lay in bed that night staring at the ceiling, unseeing.

If she doubted the day was a success to improve Maggie's mood, she was surely proved wrong lying in that bed now.

At first she couldn't quite believe what she was hearing, but the sounds were definite.

Maggie and Glenn were clearly going at it.

While she was happy for the young couple, these walls were paper thin apparently, and it was as if they were right outside her door. She tried her best to block it out even at one point covering her head with the pillow, but Maggie's happy sighs and long moans were not to be ignored.

She let out a giggle suddenly finding the entire situation to just be funny. She idly wondered how the occupant in the room right next to hers was fairing to Maggie and Glenn's midnight peep show.

Must be nice to have that.

Then without warning, the mood turned shifting her thoughts down a dangerous path as her mind was bombarded with scattered images of blue eyes, tan muscled arms, and sweat slicked dirt tinged skin. She bit her lip at the sudden onslaught of the pent up cravings and desires she'd been denying her body for longer than she can remember. She writhed a bit beneath the blanket feeling hot and her skin began to tingle as it came alive. Lips parted, she let out soft pants that were coming in quicker and quicker.

What would it be like...?

Maggie moaned again sending an electric jolt through Carol's spine driving her hand down the length of her flat stomach. She felt a little silly, embarrassed even, at what her body was compelling her to do in the darkness of her room. But something possessed her hands as they grew minds of their own, her other one snaking up the front of her shirt. Suddenly it wasn't her hands anymore as it transformed in her mind's eye to larger tanned ones with calloused fingers trailing a path along her soft skin. She closed her eyes, grasping her breast squeezing her nipple taut between her fingers.

Things were getting more heated as she grew bolder, her mind working itself in overdrive. His hard chest, appearing over her trembling form, naked as the day he was born, blue eyes drinking in her writhing form appreciatively. Her legs opened a bit imagining him sliding between them and pressing his weight into her. Her hand rubbed the outside of her panties emulating the pressure created by his need pressing against her womanhood.

Maggie's moans and hers intermingled as one, the image melting together as she pushed her hips up into her hand. Her mind was spiraling out of control. She pushed her panties to the side, and spread her nether lips with her fingers. His tip was resting against her opening now.

"HEY!"

Carol jumped a mile out of her skin, her hands flying over her mouth in surprise.

"Knock it the hell off will ya, or put a god damn fucking muzzle on 'er!"

She stifled a laugh behind her hands, listening as he stormed back to his room muttering curses along the way and slamming his door.

He always had such a dirty mouth.

Oh, but how badly she wanted that filthy mouth all over her.

Carol rolled over deciding it being best if she just went to sleep before she got out of hand. Albeit a bit unsatisfied, she slept with a smile on her face that night, thoughts filled of the occupant next door.


* A nod towards the movie, A Christmas Story since I was watching it at the time of writing this. (love that movie)

*blushes* Oh lordy, that was naughty of me XD
The sexy garment Carol found may be coming into play later on...if i can figure out how to fit it in. As of right now i'm not sure what i'm doing with it.