Chapter 25
Author's Note: This chapter is, for the most part, pure fluff. It's my thank you to you guys for sticking it out through all the drama. Thanks guys.
"Oh God. Right there," she moaned, her hands gripping his strong forearms as he filled her so completely that for one shining moment, his pelvis was flush with hers and they were completely connected.
He panted against her neck as he placed lazy kisses there as he thrust into her quickly, moaning as she dug her heel into his calf and rolled downward, soothing him as he made love to her. His hand slipped between them, his fingers gently dancing over her stomach before he went lower, stroking her clit as he thrust into her. She arched her back against the mattress, biting her cries against his shoulder before she let go, her muscles squeezing around him, a flood of warmth coating him, triggering his own release.
With a sigh, she relaxed, her toes unclenching as he slid out of her, awkwardly rolling the condom off of his dick and tossing it into a waste basket next to their bed. When he turned back to face her, he saw the flush still in her cheeks, her soft, perfect breasts peaked with hard little buds heaving as she fought for her breath.
He took a few deep breaths, his fingers ghosting across her stomach and between her breasts. She covered his hand with her own and curled her fingers around his.
"That was…wow," she murmured, eyes blown wide as she stared up at the ceiling, waiting for the room to stop spinning so she could focus her energy on moving the rest of her body. "And…three times? What got into you?" Daryl snorted and pulled her into his arms, and she flopped her arm across his chest as he shook with laughter.
"Been gone for three days. Makin' up for lost time, I guess," he pointed out. She chuckled, kissing his neck and rubbing his chest lazily.
"I missed you," she said softly, as he stroked her hair and curled his arm tighter around her.
"Me too," he said softly.
"Did you get through to him? At all?"
"He's pissed off," Daryl said quietly. "I get it."
"Daryl, he's angry, but he doesn't blame you," Carol insisted. "He needs time."
"Kid's damned good with a gun, though. We got the supplies we needed, and he actually saved my ass once. Got saved by a kid."
"He's growing up," Carol said softly. "The second Rick died, Carl started growing up. I'm just afraid that...that he's getting cold."
Two months ago, Rick Grimes had died, and the group had been torn apart, and after much searching for any sign of the others, hope had dwindled down completely, and the group had decided to settle down and find a place with walls for the winter.
They'd found a gated community called Trinity Hills about thirty miles west of Atlanta. There were several houses, and it had taken a lot of ammo, but between Daryl, Carol, Beth and Sophia, they'd managed to take out all of the walkers outside of the gates before getting inside to take out the walkers inside.
From the looks of it, the inhabitants of Trinity Hills had had a good thing going. They had generators that had barely been used, they had hoarded seed packets and other necessities for growing food, and they had even stocked up on ammo and weapons, but at some point, somebody had gotten bit or sick or just up and died, and somehow, the entire population had been wiped out and turned into walkers.
Once the threats had been eliminated, they'd gone about moving themselves into the first house on the corner, a large home with several bedrooms and lots of room to spread out.
Carl had his own room, which he pretty much stayed in most of the time when he wasn't out with Daryl doing supply runs. Beth shared with Sophia, while Jenna and Judith had the room right next to Carol and Daryl's. For the first couple of weeks, Jenna had been too afraid to sleep in her own room and had always ended up between Carol and Daryl, all snuggled in for the night. But now she was doing much better, though she still woke up from bad dreams once and again, and Daryl or Carol would have to go and console her and sit with her until she went back to sleep.
"He didn't talk to me. Not much anyway," Daryl said quietly, letting out a soft sigh.
"Give him time," Carol said gently, rubbing his shoulder. "I'm just glad the two of you got back. Safe." She kissed his neck, and he chuckled when her fingers began to wander down his stomach and over his thigh. But she stopped and sat up suddenly, the sheet falling down into her lap, her breasts bouncing softly as she moved to straddle him. "I wanna go out."
"Out?" he asked. "Like dinner and dancin'?" He chuckled at her when she rolled her eyes.
"I want to go on a run. I'm going stir crazy here. Jude's teething, and there are only so many ways I can read Sleeping Beauty to Jenna. She's getting bored. I'm already bored."
"I'll take you out next time. Beth can watch the kids."
"Thank God. I know Beth wants to get out and help with the supply runs, but I really have got to get out for a while. So, yeah, Beth can watch them. Or we should think about hiring a nanny." He gave her a little squeeze on the behind.
"Oh, funny. You're a funny lady."
"Yeah, I thought so," she giggled, leaning down to kiss him before he grabbed her hips and flipped her over onto her back. She squealed when his mouth closed over a nipple, and she could feel him getting hard against her thigh again. "God, you're insatiable." His fingers slipped between her legs, feeling her slick and ready for him again, and he cocked an eyebrow upward.
"Pot and kettle, sweetheart," he chuckled, before dipping low to kiss her again. She gave his shoulder a little nudge before nodding toward the bedside table. He grunted and reached over to pull out the condom box, only to find it empty. "Fuck."
"I'll add it to the list," she said with a cute little pout, before he sighed and rolled off of her. "Don't worry. There are other ways." She crawled over him, kissing her way down his chest and stomach, gripping his erection in her hand. Her eyes flickered with desire as she took him into her mouth, and he sighed contentedly before she did that thing with her tongue he liked so much, and his hips jumped off the mattress.
God, he was glad to be home.
"Did Santa come?!" Jenna bounded down the stairs in the morning, eyes wide, hair wild from sleep, feet scurrying along the floor as she rushed to the breakfast table, where Carol was scooping scrambled eggs onto six different plates. Last week, Daryl had managed to find some chickens still living on a nearby farm, and he'd captured them and brought them home, fixing up a makeshift coop in the garage. Now they had fresh eggs in the morning time.
"What?" Carol asked, a bemused smile on her face. "What makes you say that, honey?"
"It snowed!" Carol moved to open the curtains and peek out the window. Sure enough, at least two inches of fluffy white snow was spread out like a pristine, white blanket all over the ground. Carol watched as the little girl scurried up to stand on one of the kitchen chairs and peer out the window. She quickly pulled the girl into her arms and put her down on the floor.
"Hey, be careful," she warned.
"Where's the Christmas tree?"
"Honey," Carol started gently, kneeling down next to her, "it's not quite Christmas. From what I figure, we might still have another month or so until that."
"Oh," Jenna said softly with a little nod. "I remember Santa came when it snowed last year."
"He did, hmm?"
"Yeah," Jenna said matter-of-factly. He bought me a puppy. I asked for a baby brother, but I got a puppy. The monsters got him." She looked down sadly. Carol pulled her into a gentle hug. "I sure hope Santa brings mommy and daddy back for me this year."
"Oh, sweetheart," Carol murmured, tucking a strand of the girl's hair behind her ear. The idea of breaking this child's Christmas spirit after everything she'd been through was just too much. She gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Come on. Come eat. Your eggs are getting cold." Jenna nodded, and Carol checked the expiration date on a bottle of ketchup before passing it to her. She smiled when the girl beamed with happiness before squirting the sticky red condiment over the fluffy yellow eggs.
Daryl came in next, pulling his arms around Carol and hugging her from behind. Jenna giggled when Carol yelped with surprise.
"Mornin'," he murmured, kissing the back of her neck. She sighed softly and turned in his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him softly.
"Morning," she murmured. She ran her fingertips down his jaw, smiling as he looked at her the way he always looked at her in the morning. Her fingers scraped over his stubble, and she leaned in to kiss him again.
"What's that for?"
"Just because," she murmured. I love you, her heart murmured, but the moment passed, and she just cocked her head to the side. He leaned in low to whisper against her ear.
"Was hopin' you'd wait on me to take a shower this mornin'."
"Sorry," she said with a little pout, kissing him again. "I was starving, so I got up."
"Shoulda woke me."
"You looked so cute in your sleep."
"Stop," he snorted. She winked at him.
"Don't forget to pick up a box of, well, you know," Carol murmured, raising her eyebrows. "Because if you forget, I'll be very, very disappointed."
"Guess I'd just have to make it up to ya, huh?"
"You could try," she laughed, as he gave her bottom a little pat and released her. Carol tugged on his hand when he started for the table, and she nodded for him to follow her into the living room.
"Somethin' wrong?" he asked.
"It's Jenna," she said softly. "She's…well, she's thinking about Christmas."
"Alright," he said slowly. "What about it?"
"We need to give her a Christmas, Daryl." She saw his brow furrow in confusion.
"She said she wants Santa to bring her parents back to her. I don't know what to tell her. I really don't. She's just a baby, Daryl." They looked into the kitchen where Sophia had now joined Jenna and was yawning as she poured a cup of water for herself.
They had gone back to the campsite about a week after the attack. Nothing but tents shredded by wild animals scavenging for food was left. Glenn and Sarah's tent had so much blood inside that it was impossible to say if it was from one or both of them, but the possibility of them being alive was grim. Still, Jenna was so young, and she only had a short time left to be an innocent child before the demands of the harsh new world would force her to grow up way too fast.
Daryl gave her a little nod, and he kissed her cheek.
"We'll figure somethin' out. C'mon. Let's get somethin' to eat 'fore it's all gone." He took her hand in his, and together, they walked back to join their little family for breakfast.
Carol warmed her hands by the heat exhaust on the dashboard as Daryl navigated his way down the road as best he could, hoping he wouldn't accidentally drive off the road. Without the luxury of plows and salt trucks, it was pretty damned hard to navigate after a snowfall.
"Judith needs more formula. Carl thinks he needs shaving cream." Carol giggled as Daryl rolled his eyes as he spoke. "He ain't got nothin' but peach fuzz on his face."
"I want to pick up some clothes for Jenna. She needs some warmer shirts and shoes. Oh. Tampons."
"What?" Daryl choked out.
"Not for Jenna," Carol said with an eye roll.
"Oh. Okay. You…get those then."
"Men," Carol muttered, making a face. "You get the condoms, I'll get the tampons. Deal?"
"Deal."
"Great. Ok, and, oh! Chocolate." Daryl eyed her. "Goes with the tampons."
"Right," Daryl said with a chuckle and a shake of his head. Carol slid across the seat and snuggled up against Daryl, and he pulled an arm around her as he maneuvered the truck down the slick, snowy road. She kissed his cheek, and he kissed the top of her head when she rested her cheek against his shoulder. For the first time in a long time, things were good.
Carol rifled through the bag of loot from the pharmacy, taking mental stock of the boxes of tampons and the sanitary pads. She rifled through boxes of bandages and gauze and found the stash of condoms at the bottom of the bag. Six boxes of ten.
"Huh," Carol snickered, her gaze flicking over the package.
"What?"
"Glow in the dark? Ribbed for her pleasure. Branching out, are we Mr. Dixon?" The tips of Daryl's ears turned bright red, and Carol leaned across to kiss his cheek. "Trust me. I'm not complaining."
"S'all they had. Just got everything."
"Are you planning a weekend of nothing but sex? Sixty times?" she asked. "Don't get me wrong. I approve, but we're both bound to get a little tired. And sore."
"Stop," he muttered.
"Oh, I picked up something, too." She winked at him, slipping the box out from under the tampons.
"The hell's that?" he asked, giving the box a brief glance before focusing on the road. "Lube? Trust me, sweetheart, we ain't got no problem in that department." Carol's cheeks reddened, and she bit her lower lip.
"It's…warming liquid," she pointed out. "I was curious." He raised an eyebrow at her, his smile widening by the second.
"Warming liquid?" he asked. "You mean…"
"It's supposed to…I don't know…make things more intense."
"You sayin' they ain't already?"
"No!" she insisted. "I just thought it might be fun." With a smirk, Daryl abruptly pulled the truck into the drive of a small house along the road. Carol's mouth dropped open, and she watched as Daryl jumped out of the truck and rushed up the porch and through the door.
"Daryl Dixon, what are you doing?" she muttered to herself. Hopping out of the truck, she started up to the house, when Daryl came back out.
"It's safe!" he called.
"What are you doing?" she asked, hands on her hips.
"We're makin' good time. Kids don't expect us home 'til after dark." The words began to sink in, and a smile spread over Carol's face. "Grab that bag. We're gonna need it." Carol's cheeks flushed red, and she quickly grabbed the bag and followed Daryl inside, eager for a little privacy with absolutely no chance of interruption.