Disclaimer: It could not be less mine. The Walking Dead belongs to AMC, Robert Kirkman , Toby Moore and Charlie Adlard.
Author´s note: Thanks for reviewing. The title comes from a song from Greg Laswell: ´And Then You´, which I think is a very shippy song for this pairing. (Then again, I find most songs I listen to very shippy songs these days)
I hope you´ll enjoy this last part.
Part 3
"Go with you? Why?" She was giving him a wide-eyed stare, her eyebrows raised in bewilderment. "Are we going on a run or something?"
"Something like that, not exactly," he replied. He'd thought collecting her underwear had been challenging, but asking her to come with him for no apparent reason proved to be even more difficult.
"Already cleared it with Rick," he offered by way of explanation. "Got something to show ya."
"Alright…" She didn't look wholly convinced, but she took up her knife from the counter and attached it to her belt. "Anything else I should bring?"
"Nah, ya good," he replied, pride surging through him. Taking a knife with her wherever she went and knowing how to use it was a second nature to her now. Something she did without even thinking about it.
She was still eyeing him suspiciously and he decided that it would probably be for the best if he acted like nothing was out of the ordinary. But as they made their way to his bike, he could feel his tension increasing, a hint of doubt starting in the pit of his stomach whether or not this was such a good idea after all.
He tensed up even more when she placed her hands on his waist, just above his hips once she'd settled on the back seat. She'd rode with him countless times and her holding onto him in this way had become a pretty regular thing. It made sense and it was much safer for her than holding on to the handles behind her seat. But even after all this time he couldn't completely relax into feeling her hands on him like that. Kicking the engine into gear they drove off as Carl closed the gate behind them.
Their friendship was a strong one. Out of all the survivors he was closest to her. Probably even more than he'd been to Merle. At least their bond was a lot less dysfunctional. But he knew that every bit of progress their relationship had made was because of her. She'd drawn him out of his self-imposed shell, unfazed by his angry outbursts, his sulky silences and his gruff demeanour. She'd never once gave up on him. At times she'd pulled back, gave him the space he needed, but she'd always returned. Insisting he ate, insisting he got a few hours of sleep, insisting unwaveringly against all his objections that he was a good man, that he was worth every ounce of trust the group placed in him.
He didn't often take the initiative to deepen their budding relationship, but he was acutely aware of the fact that that was what he was doing right now. And he was terrified the entire thing would go to hell because of it.
Aside from his growing nervousness, the ride itself went smoothly and after about twenty minutes or so he stopped. They were on a deserted road in the middle of the woods. It was in the middle of the day and warm and humid, the sun shining brightly through the roof of leaves above them. Apart from a few chirping birds and humming bees there wasn't a sound to be heard.
"Where are we?" Carol asked, climbing of her seat and looking at him expectantly.
"Come on," he told her, not quite meeting her eyes, grabbing the plastic bag instead. "Just a littl' further."
He led her into the woods over a barely visible path, every now and then looking back to see if she was following.
"Daryl…" Her voice was a mixture of amusement and confusion. "Where the hell are we going? What's this about?"
"Calm down, woman," he grumbled. "We're almost there… I aint goin' to do anything to ya…"
"Pity," she dead panned with a grin and he scowled at her, feeling the heat rise in his cheeks.
Finally and much to his relief they arrived at their destination, a forest creek hidden away from the road. Realizing he had some final explaining to do, Daryl turned around to face her, gathering his nerve.
"Since ya didn't get to shower… I thought ya might like to take a dip..." He found it impossible to maintain eye contact with her and he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, helplessly stumbling on. "I've been here before… the area's pretty safe…" He trailed of again, wishing to God she'd say something.
She kept quiet, but when at last his gaze settled on her face he noticed her eyes were wide and radiant and that the smile that was spreading across her lips kept growing wider until it threatened to split her face in two.
"Really?" she whispered as if her talking too loudly would cause him to change his mind.
"Sure…" She was looking like fucking Christmas had arrived and her beaming at him made him feel self-conscious as hell.
"I've grabbed some stuff," he told her, thrusting the bag at her. "Don't know if it's what ya need…"
Carol rummaged through its contents, her excitement growing rapidly. "Clothes, shampoo… a towel… you´ve thought of everything." She looked up again. "I can't believe you did this!"
Despite being pleased that she at least appreciated the effort, the awkwardness of it all still made him squirm.
"Yeah… well… just get in… told Rick we wouldn't be gone too long…"
"Thank you, Daryl," she told him sincerely and whatever gruff, backhanded comment he was going to make got stuck in his throat. When she was looking at him like that, with those doe-like eyes and a smile as if she thought he'd hung the fucking moon it felt like his heart got too big for his chest.
"Get in alright," he repeated, finally relaxing a little when it began to settle with him that he did good.
She gave him another brilliant smile and started to walk towards the creek. "It's beautiful here," she remarked, her voice filled with awe and he could only agree with her. Lush greenery surrounded the creek and the water was clear and sparkling, descending from a few tall rocks into the stream.
"S' probably cold though!' He warned her.
"Doesn't matter," she replied enthusiastically. "Hey Daryl…" she waited until he was fully facing her. "Are you going to join me?"
Oh fuck.
He hadn't expected that and now he felt like a prized moron for not seeing it coming. And the worst of it was that she wasn't even teasing him like every other damned time she flirted with him like that. Her eyes were completely serious and with a jolt he realized that if he agreed now she'd actually let him get in the water with her. The tension between them had been brewing for quite some time, but he had never been sure. Had never actually believed she'd want him that way. Until now.
But for today he had already stretched as far as he was able to. And even if he wanted to, which he did in so many ways, it was too soon. A step too far.
"Nah…" He answered her, a little dejectedly, once again unable to look directly at her. "I'll keep watch… make sure ya don't get hurt…"
"Alright." His head snapped up at the warmth in her voice. Her eyes were soft and understanding and he knew then that she had him figured out a damn deal more than he´d ever manage himself. He smiled back at her, feeling the weight lift from his shoulders.
He sat himself down on a rock, his back facing her, his crossbow within reach. From where he was sitting he had a clear view on the path and the bike in the distance and he listened to the sounds behind him. The rustling of clothes as she hurried out of them, an almighty splash and her whoop of joy and shock at the coldness of the water.
He grinned at his boots. Good girl, jumping right in. None of that toe dipping shit.
"Oh god, the water is glorious!" Carol exclaimed behind him and he could hear her splashing about. She shrieked and splashed about some more and he found that her happiness was starting to rub off on him. Sitting there, the warm sunlight bathing his face, listening to her, he felt content, truly content for the first in a very long time.
After a minute or so she quit her racket. "Daryl?"
"Hmmm…" he replied drowsily, closing his eyes against the sun.
"Did you often go swimming outside?"
"All the time," he answered. "Merle taught me how. You?"
"When I was little my dad took me on camping trips." Carol´s voice sounded pensive. "We went to this huge, beautiful lake with a little island in the middle. We´d row over there and spend the day swimming."
"Sounds good." He realized he´d never heard her mention her father before.
"It sure was. He taught me how to… give me a sec, I need to rinse my hair…" There were more sounds of water splashing and he figured she had dived under water. He quickly scanned the surroundings, satisfied to find that everything was still quiet and safe.
"He taught me how to swim with my eyes open… " she continued after she´d emerged again. "It was beautiful underwater."
"I never took ya for the outdoorsy kind," he teased.
"Oh, I used to love it," she replied drily. "But the walkers kind of ruined it for me.
I'm getting out now," she informed him, moments later. "I'll let you know when I'm decent."
Suddenly the summer heat was getting uncomfortable and he grunted hoarsely by way of acknowledgment, a heavy silence suddenly falling between them.
It happened about ten seconds later. He heard the rustling a split second before she gasped and by then he was already in front of her, his crossbow perched on this shoulder, staring intently at the tall shrubbery in front of him where the noise was coming from. The leaves started to shake more violently and he could feel every muscle in his body tensing. Then a ground dog shuffled from the bushes and he released the arrow before he breathed a sigh of relief. The arrow shot through the air and deftly pierced the chubby animal which immediately dropped to the ground.
'Hello dinner," he said smirking.
Carol let out a relieved laugh as well, lowering the knife she was holding out in front of her. It was only then that he noticed what she was wearing. Or rather, how little of it. That morning he had pulled a greyish towel along with him which was currently wrapped around her slender form, barely covering her ass and upper body.
In an attempt to hide his embarrassment he cast his eyes downwards, but nearly groaned as he realized his mistake. He was now staring at her legs and it did absolutely nothing to calm his nerves.
'Where the hell did she get legs like that?' he thought wildly, his mouth going as dry as sanding paper. Try as he might, he couldn't look away. Her legs were long and muscular, the smooth curve of her calves ending at the dip of her knees, changing into the silky skin of her tights that appeared to go on for a long time before they finally met the hem of the towel.
"Good catch," she told him, completely oblivious to the turmoil that was going on inside his head. At her voice, his head shot up and settled on her bare shoulders.
"I don't think there's anything else around," she said quietly, looking around her for good measure.
It was then that he saw it and instantly all thoughts of her legs and growing discomfort evaporated and were replaced with a cold fury, so intense that it made his insides clench painfully.
There was a mark on her back, right below her right shoulder blade, just as she'd told him and he stared horrified at the visual proof of Ed's abuse.
It was a nasty burn mark, triangular in shape. The skin was red and blotchy with dark blue ridges where skin was most damaged.
It looked badly healed and he was willing to bet his crossbow that the wound had never been properly treated.
She looked back at him in surprise when she didn't receive an answer, but when she noticed the look in his eyes and his fixed gaze on her shoulder her face fell and nervous red spots appeared on her cheeks and in her neck. Someone might as well could have topped a bucket of ice cold water over their heads. The relaxed, comfortable atmosphere between them had vanished completely. Taking a shaking breath, Carol looked down at her feet. "I'd better get dressed."
"Yeah… should get goin' anyway," he muttered, turning around and walking towards the dead ground dog.
He yanked the arrow from the animal and groped around in his pocket for a bit of string. When he found one he tried to tie its hind legs, but he found that his hands were shaking, images of marred, burned skin swarming his head.
What had that godforsaken bastard done to her? How did she get a triangular burn on her back like that?
Suddenly the penny dropped and he felt the bile rise in his throat as his mind provided him with the images of how exactly she had sustained an injury like that.
"All set," Carol told him in a quiet, defeated voice. Unable to look at her, he stalked past her without saying a word in the direction of the path.
Carol felt like crying her eyes out in frustration. Risking another glance sideways at the fuming man beside her, she noticed a muscle twisting in his jaw. He was furious now and their afternoon was completely ruined.
And it had been so wonderful. A perfect afternoon actually. It had been a very long time ago since she'd felt so cared for. The thoughtfulness of what he had done for her, the sweetness of it had caused her stomach to flutter. Now hot tears were stinging her eyes because she feared that that stupid mark on her back had set them way back, had ruined all the progress they'd made today. He was closing himself off again and she could only guess the reason. Perhaps the scar had reminded him of his own abusive past, perhaps it reminded him of the weak person she'd been all these years, perhaps he was simply disgusted by it, perhaps… she fought the urge to groan out loud.
She could guess about the why until she turned blue, fact was she wasn't going to let him pull away from her like that. Not over this. Not after what he'd done for her today. Not after realizing again this afternoon that she'd found a good man, a considerate and caring man while the rest of the world had become a mess.
She almost smiled as she remembered how he'd sat there, his back turned to her the entire time she'd been in the water. It was the end of the world and she'd found the most decent guy ever. One she wasn´t going to give up on. Ed had ruined enough of her life, she wasn't going to let him take this away from her as well.
"Daryl! Wait!" She called as they reached the road, standing still and placing her hands on her hips, determined not to move until they'd worked this out somehow.
"Get on," her growled, moving towards the bike, still not looking at her.
"No!" she answered firmly.
"Dammit!" he swore loudly, slamming his crossbow to the ground, finally facing her. "Get ya ass on that bike!"
"No!" she said again, cursing herself as she heard her voice waver a little. Swallowing down the tears she moved closer to him. "We're not leaving like this. I have a mark on my back… so what?"
"SO WHAT?" he roared indignantly, almost spluttering on the words. "What the hell, Carol? That son of a bitch burned ya!"
At least now she knew his anger was mostly directed at Ed and the thought calmed her somewhat. "Yes he did," she answered. "It happened a long time ago."
"What did he do to ya?" he asked quietly now, but his eyes still blazing.
For a second she contemplated side-stepping the question. But then she saw the haunted look in his eyes and realized that if she didn't tell him what had happened, he would fill in the blanks himself, his own dark memories most likely providing him with an even more horrible version. So instead she decided to tell him the basic facts only.
"It happened when Sophia was about a year old… Ed became worse after she was born… I reckon he realized she was more important to me than he was and he couldn't deal with it… he came home one day as I was ironing the laundry, upset about some money that had gone missing.
I had no idea where it was, hadn't seen it or spend it, but Ed didn't believe me. He started yelling at me… hitting me… and when I still couldn't tell him… he grabbed the flat-iron and pressed it to my back.
It was about the worst thing he's ever done to me."
Telling the story was still difficult. It had been the worst thing Ed had ever done to her and from that moment on she'd been terrified of him, living each day in fear.
"The bastard's lucky he's dead…" Daryl growled, but most of the anger had left him and Carol felt her own anxiety fade. He was shuffling closer, leaning towards her again and she took it as a good sign.
"Well, he very much is," she agreed. "He's gone, he can't ever hurt me again."
He was looking at her, staring at her intently as if he was trying to figure out something. She offered him a small smile, her heart jumping in relief when his expression softened.
"He's gone," she repeated. "And you're here now."
As his eyes widened in surprise, the full implication of what she'd said, of what her words suggested sunk in, but she refused to look away. He had fully taken over the place Ed had once occupied, both in her heart and her thoughts. And instead of filling her with fear he made her happy.
"Thank you for what you did today," she said quietly.
He shrugged, suddenly looking awkward again. "S'no big deal."
"It is to me," she insisted, referring to so much more than just the creek. "Thank you."
He let her words sink in for moment before giving her a tiny smile. "Let's go home," he told her, almost gently.
She nodded in agreement, returning his smile before following him to the bike and climbing on the back seat. He sat down in front of her and as she put her hands on his waist again, like she'd done earlier that afternoon, he suddenly reached out and circled his arm around her, the tips of his fingers caressing her lower back for a second. It was only a brush of a touch, but to her it felt like every nerve in her back was suddenly on fire.
"Ya safe?" he aksed
"Yeah…" she answered, holding on a little tighter. "All safe."
"All'right," He gripped the handlebars and kicked the engine into life.
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