AN: Not a super long chapter, but I think it's a pretty good one. Thanks to everyone who's stuck with me this far. You all deserve a Daryl of your very own for being so awesome. Read on!
She was standing by the window, the morning sun illuminating her as she gazed up at the sky, mouthing something he couldn't hear. When she heard him enter, she quickly said amen and turned to face him, smiling when she saw the bundle of clothes in his arms. She had looked beautiful before, but with the sun at her back she almost had a glow about her, a faint halo shining above her short curls. His breath caught in his throat for a second. "It ain't no wonder she looks like an angel, she is one. Mine." He stepped forward, dropping his bundle on the desk and making his way over to where she stood. He reached out and placed his hands gently on her hips, pulling her in and kissing her softly. When he pulled away, she was smiling even brighter than before. "I love you woman, you know that."
She stretched up and kissed him again, letting her lips linger on his for a moment before breaking away. "I know. It's nice to hear you say it, though. I love you too."
"So, when I walked in, it looked like you were praying. What for?" he asked, taking his hands from her waist as she started to move to make the bed.
"I wasn't praying for anything, just saying thank you is all. I got a second chance at life, and I'd like to think that god had some role in that. Just wanted to tell him how grateful I was. "
She was moving around the room now, smoothing down the sheets on the bed and then making her way over to the desk, checking out what he had brought her. Daryl watched as she smiled with approval when she saw the red dress, and the way her cheeks colored when she saw the small red bra and panties he had chosen to go with it. He couldn't help but laugh when she pulled the shirt he had grabbed for himself from the pile, and held it up with a look of shock on her face.
"So you do own a shirt with sleeves, who knew? I don't think I've ever even seen this before." she said, almost laughing.
He just shrugged, but the little flash of disappointment that must have crossed his face didn't go unnoticed by her. It was already sweltering hot and it couldn't be any later than 8am. And while the shirt in her hands, a dark blue cotton work shirt, was nice, it had long sleeves, and she knew that he'd be sweating like a pig if he wore it. She looked down at the desk and saw a pair of sharp scissors sitting in a cup full of pencils. She quickly picked them up, and snipped a small hole in the fabric of each sleeve. She tore them off one at a time and dropped them in the wastepaper basket. When she looked back up at him, he was actually grinning, not a normal Daryl smirk or a sweet shy smile, but a teeth and all, shit eating grin. She couldn't take her eyes off of him as she folded the shirt back up and returned it to their pile of clothes, giving it a small pat for emphasis. "Sleeves are overrated." It was all she could say.
He watched her as she continued to move around the room, wiping this and straightening that. It was pretty damn clear that she was already getting restless, she wasn't one for sitting still and the prospect of having to keep resting was probably driving her nuts. He needed to distract her, and he knew just how to do it. He had something he'd needed to say to her since yesterday and now seemed like as good a time as any. "Hey Carol, you wanna stop bouncing around for a second. I gotta say something."
She looked at him, stilling her movements and coming to stand in front of him, waiting to hear him speak.
He tried to calm his nerves as he guided her backwards, picking her up and seating her on the top of the desk. "Now or never, Dixon." he thought as he opened his mouth to speak. "I was thinking about something. Do you remember the day I told you Ioved you, when I found you in the closet and you tried to talk me out of it?" he asked, watching a bit of sadness enter her eyes when he mentioned the incident.
She nodded. "It was only a few days ago, but it seems like longer than that. That was definitely not my finest moment."
He could see the way her expression had changed. "Shit, I wasn't trying to get you upset, I just… I was thinking about how you told me all the things we'd never get to do. You know, have babies, or get married or get old together. But now, we got time we didn't have then. I don't know how long we're gonna be around for, this world might take us out before we ever get the chance to get old. And I ain't real sure about having kids, it don't seem right bringing no babies into this life if we can help it. But I got a second chance when you did, and I wanna do the right thing by you." He took a deep breath and dropped down to one knee, not seeing the look of genuine shock that had crept onto her face. "Carol, I love you and I wanna make sure that everyone knows it. I ain't got a ring, but I'll get you one if you want. I ain't no good at this, but I'm tryin to ask you…Do you wanna get married?"
Carol watched as he finally exhaled, looking like he was going to pass out any moment. She was struck completely speechless. She wasn't sure if she wanted to cry, or laugh, or just jump his bones right there on the floor. She settled on reaching down and running her fingers through his hair, causing him to look up at her with expectation and anxiety in his blue eyes. She suddenly found her voice again. "Daryl, do you mean that? Because we don't have too, I wasn't expecting anything from you when I said it. You don't really seem like the type, and I was married before. It didn't work out so great. I'm just happy being with you."
He looked up at her, a feeling of rejection slowly filling him. But when he saw her eyes, the hopeful spark they held, he knew that she was saying these things for his benefit. He stood up, a new wave of determination pushing away all of his other feelings. "Carol, I didn't ask you because I thought you wanted me to, I asked you because I wanted to. I want everyone to know that this strong, beautiful, feisty, stubborn ass woman is mine. And as for you being married before, I'm not Ed. I'm never going to treat you the way he did, if I even thought for a second that I was capable of any of the things he did to you, I wouldn't be asking you this. But I gotta know. Do you wanna be my wife?"
She couldn't contain the small tears that fell down her cheeks. She was speechless again, and it was all she could do to nod her head. He smiled brighter than she had ever seen before and he picked her up off the desk, kissing her passionately before placing her back on her feet. She still looked shell shocked, and he couldn't help but laugh. "You gonna say anything? You wouldn't shut up before."
She looked up at him, seeing a man that she had never seen before, but had always known was there. He was smiling, there was no fear or doubt behind it, just genuine happiness. "I was just wondering what brought this on, I mean, we love each other, but we've only really been together for, what, four days? I want to marry you, but this just seems kind of fast. Can you even imagine what everyone is going to say when they hear this. Rick is gonna die from shock."
He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. "I don't think time really matters anymore. I know what I want, you know what you want, and fuck the rest of it. You being sick made me realize that we don't really know how much time we have left. No point in waiting to do things anymore. And I wouldn't worry too much about Rick, me and him had a talk and I think we're over all the bullshit between us."
She pulled back and gazed up at him, looking more alive than she had in weeks. "So, this is really happening then? We're getting married?"
He nodded. "Yeah, it looks that way. I just gotta get you a ring and you gotta make some plans when you're feeling better. But, I'm ready whenever you are."
"I don't really need some silly wedding. It's not like its legal now anyway. I'd just be happy with us saying some vows to each other and having Rick say man and wife. And I really don't need a ring. Something like that is certainly not worth making a run for. Any run is a risk, and you are not risking yourself for me." she said sincerely.
He shrugged it off. "We don't have to have some big wedding if you don't want. I'm happy with whatever you wanna do. But you're getting a ring. I don't think that an abandoned jewelry store is going to be a big gathering place for biters. I gotta find one first, but one way or another, you're getting a ring on that finger. Don't bother arguing, it aint gonna work."
She looked at him, a spark of defiance entering her blue eyes. She stepped out of his arms and made her way around the desk, pulling open drawers until she found what she was looking for. She grabbed something, and turned her back to him. He watched her curiously and when she turned back around, he could see something in her hand. She walked back over to him and handed him something that almost made him start cracking up. She had unfolded a large silver paper clip and wrapped it around her finger, twisting the ends together until it formed a crude circle. She looked pretty pleased with herself as she watched the look of amusement on his face. "There you go Mr. Bossy, a perfectly good ring. Now are you going to put it on me or am I going to have to do it myself."
He sighed. He slipped the makeshift ring on her finger and watched as she looked down t it, admiring her handiwork. "Nicest piece of jewelry I've ever had." she said with certainty.
"That's bullshit and we both know it. But you win, for now. Anyway, I thought you said you like it when I was bossy. Called me sexy and all that shit?"
She leaned forward and kissed him hard, tugging gently on his lip with her teeth when she finally broke away, leaving him breathless and staring at her with blatant lust in his eyes. "I do think you're sexy when you're bossy. It doesn't mean I don't like fighting back. Makes it more fun."
He watched the sly smile that had formed on her lips and all he could think about was ripping her clothes off and bending her over the desk. He was as hard as a rock and it was pretty obvious that she had noticed. She was now looking at him the same way, like she couldn't wait to have him. It took every ounce of strength he had but he managed to control himself. "Carol, we ain't ready for that just yet. I need to know that I ain't gonna bruise the hell out of you when we make love again, and if we start this, I really don't think I can stop. Let's just wait until you're feeling better. At least until you've started taking all the vitamins and iron and shit you need."
She was a bit defeated, but she understood why he felt the way he did. She nodded and smiled, picking up her small pile of clothes from the desk and making her way over to the door. She looked over her shoulder at him and laughed. "Come on then, let's go get that shower. I need to cool off and I think you do too, judging by that bulge in your jeans."
He stood there, watching as she stepped from the room and into the hallway, waiting patiently for him to follow. All he could do was shake his head as he pictured her standing under the cold spray of the shower, naked and dripping wet. He couldn't help the thought that entered his brain next. "That woman is fucking amazing, but I think she's trying to kill me. Oh well, I'd die with a smile on my face." He grabbed his own stuff and gave in, following her down the hallway towards the showers, watching her ass every step of the way, without any of the shame he usually felt when he caught himself doing it. She was going to marry him, she was his and if he wanted to eye fuck her in front of the whole group, he was going to. He was a new man, and he wasn't going to waste anymore of his life regretting what he wanted or did. He was just Daryl Dixon, and if she liked him the way he was, then he guessed he did too.
Ugh, I think I might need a cold shower now too, just from the sexual tension. Fear not, my loyal Caryl shippers. Sexy times may await in the prison showers. Now that's not something you hear everyday. At least 2 more chapters left to my little tale, maybe 3, I don't even know at this point. this shit writes itself. We still have some more recovery, Carol seeing the group for the first time since her secret was revealed, and don't forget, a wedding! Squee! A few more little scenes will be thrown in there as well, but I think we all know we're here for the Caryl. I'm working overtime all this week and am developing a serious dependency on 5 hour energy shots to get this story completed. But I will update as soon as possible. In the meantime, please review! Let me know what you think so far, what you might want to see happen. I'm open to suggestions at this point. xoxoxo Bekah xoxoxo