If I Can Dance
Daryl watched Carol serve breakfast the next morning. He had already eaten but was hoping to talk to her before he left on the run this morning. He was rewarded for his patience when Carol grabbed a bowl of oats and joined him at a table. He had thought about holding the chair for her too late, and her smile when she sat down made he think that he wouldn't forget next time. Being a better man was a lot of work, so he gave her one of his barely upturned grins and asked quietly, "How are you doing this morning?" Carol wondered if he was ready for the truth, but gave it anyway. "I am not going to fall apart because I rid this world of a couple of scumbags, Daryl" she went on to say. "I kill walkers because they would kill me and everyone I love, but I say a prayer for them after I take them out of their misery. They can't stop what they do, they may have been good and loving people before and heaven waits for them. Those men had chosen to be killers; I did what needed to be done." Daryl could tell that she had been working through this on her own. He was glad that Tyreese and Michonne had helped him keep the mood light hearted the night before. "Carol, you did what you had to do, this life ain't some Sunday picnic. Have you all got everything you need for the wedding?" She eyed the almost smiling blue-eyed man across from her and wondered if he was an alien replica. Daryl asking to help with the wedding was a bit much. He really was trying. "I'll check today, she replied. Well, gotta roll, see you later" Daryl said and stood up. She smiled up at him and said, "Be safe". Their eyes met and he muttered, "You too".
Carol watched him leave, gave a prayer that he would be safe today, and went back to work. She had finally figured that Daryl always saying "Be safe" when he left was his code for saying "I love you". She had long loved Daryl, but had accepted that he wanted to keep her at arm's length. Their argument had changed their dynamic; Daryl had held her in his arms last night and called her his "Caro mio". Did he know that it meant "My heart"? Was he ready for an adult relationship?
Daryl and Tyreese were in a small convoy going to the garage warehouse. Rick and Carl were in the box truck, and Glenn and Bob were in Glenn's truck. They had decided to make one trip do it, so the plan was to clean the place out in one sweep and get the hell out. Daryl was in one of his not talking moods and Tyreese let him be. He did play a Bill Withers cd, Daryl always liked him. The mellow sounds of "Lean on Me'" had Tyreese humming along. Daryl finally spoke,"Huh, Tyreese". Tyreese glanced at him; he was squirming a bit in the seat. "Need a pit stop" he teased. "No, I… I need some help," Daryl muttered. Daryl never asked for help even when he needed it. This might be interesting. "What do you need?" Daryl squirmed some more but finally got out, "I don't know how to dance, will you teach me?" Tyreese tried to keep his face impassive because he knew Daryl well enough that he had just walked across coals and that he would shut down if he handled this wrong. "I want to dance with Carol at the wedding and I don't know how." Damn, Merle must be turning in his grave Tyreese thought. His little brother just asked a black man to teach him to dance to please some woman. Daryl had saved his ass way too many times for there to be any question that he would do it. Tyreese just hoped Daryl didn't kill him if this didn't work out. "I got your back, Bro, you will be waltzing before sun down" he promised, or I am a dead man.
It didn't take long to clean the garage out and into the prison vehicles. Two stood guard at the trucks and the other four moved the materials. Daryl had taken a few moments looking at the blood stains to understand how it had happened, and Glenn filled in the rest. Carol must have been quick and decisive in her actions. She had killed the first guy when he had turned toward Glenn but the other man would have been facing her and he had a gun out according to what Maggie had told Glenn. She risked everything in order to protect those she loved; he thanked God that he had spared her and thought that Carol's faith must be rubbing off on him.
They were soon headed back to the prison. Tyreese had been working through a plan to turn Daryl into a dancer in three days. There was a cell block that had been cleared but wasn't being used. It was kept locked but he could get the key. He could get a cd player from Sasha. He was ready. He filled Daryl in with the plan. They helped unload the supplies into a storage area close to the parking lot. Glenn needed help with the solar panels because he wasn't supposed to be climbing and that took the rest of the day. He liked working with Tyreese and Glenn. They had been spent hours studying ways to bring more electricity to the prison, but had not been able to find enough supplies to build a sufficient solar array. It wouldn't be like before, but there would be enough to live more comfortably.
Daryl was nervous by dinner time. He and Tyreese ate together and then slipped off the cell block. Tyreese had gathered everything they needed into the cell block so it was already there. Tyreese decided to start with a basic waltz. He took some chalk and drew chalk feet where Daryl feet needed to go. He had Daryl move through the steps without music. Daryl was so tense that he could hardly move. Tyreese tried to guide him with directions but that didn't work. Tyreese decided they needed a break and brought out a bottle of whiskey and two small glasses. They sat side by side on a table sipping whiskey and listening to music. Daryl was calming down a bit and Tyreese asked, "Why are you suddenly so hell bent on learning to dance"? Daryl took a gulp of the whiskey and waited until the fire died down to answer, "All my life I have been so afraid of failing that I wouldn't try to learn new things. I missed out on a lot of good things because I was afraid. If I can learn to dance, then maybe I can go on and try other things. For once I want to be out on the floor instead of leaning on the wall acting like I like it there". Tyreese said, "Get your lazy ass up then, we go some dancing to do". The alcohol relaxed Daryl a bit and he was able to walk through the steps. Then Tyreese turned the music on and Daryl was able to move with the music. Then, Tyreese tried to waltz with Daryl and they both laughed so hard that they couldn't go on. Well, they had worked through a good bit of the whiskey before then. They decided to call it a night and get back to the rest of the prison. It was on the walk back that they realized how drunk they were. The good news was that neither of them had watch tonight and the bad news was sitting on a bench in the courtyard. Carol and Michonne were just hanging out in the cool night air. It was a good place to talk and they were comfortable enough with each other to talk about things and stuff. They were discussing where Daryl and Tyreese might be when they saw them walking unsteadily toward them. Michonne hated to be around drunks so she stood up to go, Tyreese asked her if she would take a walk with him. Michonne didn't want to babysit some drunk, but he said that he needed some help with something I am working on. He was sobering up fast and he seemed to genuinely need her to help. They took off together. Carol and Daryl watched them go, and she asked, "What is that all about"? Daryl watched them walk away and said, "He is throwing me under the damn bus".
Tyreese was throwing Daryl under the bus. He told Michonne the whole story; Daryl asking for help in learning how to dance and that Daryl felt if he could learn to dance then he could try other things. Tyreese described the steps he had taken to teach him but he had hit a wall. He couldn't dance with Daryl because it was just all wrong. In short, he needed her to finish teaching Daryl how to dance. Her first reaction was "No, damn way", then "No way", and then Tyreese played his ace, "He wants to be able to dance with Carol". Michonne knew she was being played but what the hell, she'd make Daryl long to dance with Tyreese. Her final response was "You damn people make me crazy". Tyreese described the setup, and they plotted an afternoon or evening session tomorrow.
Carol did wonder a bit about Daryl being thrown under the bus. He and Tyreese were up to something. So she teased Daryl a bit with by saying," I used to think Tyreese was a good influence on you and now you are both breaking bad". He informed her that Tyreese had led him astray with whiskey. Daryl had drunk enough to be more talkative and not enough to be stupid so they talked for a while. She asked about the run today. She wanted to talk about the cabin that went with the warehouse. It hadn't been looted, and while a couple of guns were found there, why wasn't there more? This place had "prepper" written all over it. Daryl had noticed some things too. There was a well with a solar pump. The garage had tens of thousands of dollars in electrical supplies and equipment. There were materials to make a large greenhouse. Yet, they didn't find much food, weaponry, or medicines. Where were the seeds for the greenhouse? Daryl was enjoying the slight buzz left from the alcohol and relaxing in the night air with Carol when Michonne and Tyreese came back from their walk. Michonne kept looking at him with an evil grin and Tyreese looked a little guilty. Yeah, Daryl thought I am under the bus for sure.
Rick came by looking for someone to relieve the watch, and Carol and Michonne volunteered to do the next four hours. Rick and Carl would finish the night. Rick gave an admonishing glance at Daryl and Tyreese. Carol and Michonne headed off to the watch tower. Tyreese told Daryl that Michonne was going to help with the dancing, and Daryl was suddenly afraid, very afraid.
Daryl and Tyreese went on a run the next morning to check out Woodbury. Rick was concerned that the Governor would sneak back in sometime. They watched the town for hours and all they saw was a few random walkers. They headed home.
Michonne had crashed after her watch and slept through breakfast. Carol had helped with breakfast but had worked in the garden while it was still cool. They had lunch together and Carol went to have a shower and take a nap. Michonne had worked with several of the teenagers on fighting skills that morning and was vague about her afternoon plans.
Michonne was waiting when Tyreese showed up; he didn't even ask how she had got the door open. Tyreese fired the music up and gestured for her to dance with him. Michonne shook her head and said, "I am saving all my energy for Daryl, where is his cracker ass"? Daryl walked in and said, "Has the Governor given me a pardon yet"? Daryl had showered and was in clean clothes though the boots weren't dancing shoes. She made him dance barefoot; she wasn't going to be crippled by some clumsy redneck.
Michonne started Daryl all the way back from the beginning. He was nervous but she was encouraging. Tyreese sat on the table and just enjoyed the show. Daryl relaxed and forgot all about Tyreese. Michonne occasionally touched him as she worked with him. She knew Daryl would have to accept her touch if she was going to teach him how to dance. Finally, she began to dance with him, not with music, just walking through the steps. Daryl thought it was going pretty good until she stopped him and said, "Dancing isn't walking by yourself. It's being linked with another person, moving with them, touching them, enjoying the music. Now lead, Daryl, and I will be other person." It took a while but as Daryl learned to just look at her and let his feet go through the familiar pattern it got better. In fact, it got pretty good. Tyreese applauded them as they moved around the room.
Daryl figured he was good to go. He actually had learned to waltz with Michonne; he was hoping that could remember how to do it under pressure. Michonne burst his bubble by announcing that it now time to learn to slow dance. He thought that was what they were doing. No, that is a waltz and while there might some waltzes, there would be more slow dances and he needed to learn. She figured that it was going to get interesting. She reviewed the steps for slow dancing by walking Daryl through each step, reminded him that he was still the leader, and grabbed him closer. She leaned closer and whispered to Daryl, "We have to be closer but keep your man parts to yourself". Daryl wanted to walk right out that door like he had every time someone teased him. He gritted his teeth and whispered back," I'll keep mine off you but you have better keep your woman parts to yourself". Michonne laughed so hard that they had to stop until she settled down. Tyreese fell more in love with Michonne as he watched her dance with Daryl. She was so kind to him, so encouraging, and was teaching him so easily. She would make a wonderful mother he thought for the first time ever.
Gradually, Daryl relaxed with Michonne in his arms as they danced. She followed his lead effortlessly. He unconsciously pulled her closer to him, and she whispered in his ear, "Keep your man parts to yourself or I'll slice them off". He jerked to a stop, and pulled away. She was smiling and he put his arms around her again. "Sorry about that" he mumbled. "I was thinking about somebody else too" she murmured. She was impressed how well he was doing. He needed practice to gain confidence but he could probably slow dance tomorrow night without embarrassing himself.
They took a break, Tyreese and Michonne shared a glass and Daryl had the other. Michonne picked a faster song and put it in the player. "Time to learn the electric slide, " Michonne and Tyreese got on either side of Daryl and they walked him through it several times. Michonne used the chalk to show him the steps. She knew some people needed to see the pattern before they could learn it. Michonne put the music on and called out the pattern as they danced. Daryl kept the visual image in his mind and found that helped him to stay with the others. He found that he didn't need the visual image any longer, and he was having fun.
Michonne put Daryl through all the three dances before they quit. They planned another session tomorrow before the wedding. Daryl put his boots back on, but before he left he moved close to Michonne and said, "Thank you, Michonne. This means more to me than I can say". He ducked his head and left silently. Michonne turned her head so that Tyreese couldn't see the tears in her eyes. Tyreese wiped her tears away with his shirt tail and hugged her close.
It was dinner time and Daryl went on to the dining hall to find Carol. Daryl decided to wait to eat so that he could eat with Carol. He went back to his cell for a while. He looked at the clothes Carol had picked out. He looked at the blue diamonds that he looted for her. He thought how hard it had been for him to ask Tyreese to help him. He remembered laughing at himself when he screwed up the electric slide. He spoke to the absent Carol, "I wish tomorrow was our wedding day".
