Daryl sat beside Carol in the uncomfortable chairs at the prison and waited for Rick to finish whatever phone call he was busy making. The woman at the reception desk stared at both of them and Daryl didn't have to wonder for a moment why. He'd forbidden Carol in the truck to do anything to clean up her face and he'd left his alone as well. They needed it to look every bit as bad as it could.
When Rick finally came out of his office he stood there a moment, awkwardly looking at the two of them and for a minute Daryl felt like he had when he was young and he'd been sent to the principal's office for something.
"OK," Rick said, pulling up a chair and sitting in front of them both. "Let me see if we can do this without interruption this time. You say that Ed attacked you, what happened exactly?"
"I was walking back to my apartment with my groceries," Carol said. "He pulled the car over and called to me. When I didn't stop he got out. I dropped what I had and started to run and he caught me. He was yelling and he…" she stopped and rolled her eyes toward Daryl and Daryl looked away from her. "He started hitting me and he was trying to force me into the car."
Rick squeezed at his temple.
"What was he yelling?" Rick asked.
"A lot," Carol said. "He was yelling mostly about me…about the divorce…that he wasn't going to let this happen. Is Michonne coming?"
Rick nodded.
"She's on her way," he said. "She'll be here as soon as she can." He sat there a moment and then turned to Daryl. "And how did you get involved in all this?"
"I saw it happenin'," Daryl said. "So I told him ta stop f-…messin' with her an' he wouldn't, so then we kinda tangled up."
"You tangled up? As in you jumped him?" Rick asked. "Why didn't anyone call us?"
"Wasn't nobody doin' nothin'," Daryl said. "What was I s'posed ta do? Let him fuckin' beat on her an' get her in the car while I tried ta find some damn body that gave a shit enough ta call the cops?"
"Now calm down," Rick said. "It's not going to be good for you if you get out of hand. I'm just trying to find out everything we need to know."
"What do ya need ta know?" Daryl asked, growing frustrated. "He was beatin' on her, I stopped him. If ya gonna lock me up for poundin' on his head, then do it, but I wanta see his fat ass sittin' right across from me for what he done."
"Calm down, Daryl," Carol said.
"She's got a good idea, there," Rick said. "I'm not going to arrest you unless you can't seem to calm down and control yourself. The only way you're getting arrested is if Ed files charges against you, and then that has to be dealt with. Right now we haven't seen or heard from him."
Michonne came through the door then and Rick got up from his chair. He walked over and Daryl watched as the two of them talked quietly, Michonne occasionally glancing in their direction. Finally they both walked over.
"Mr. Dixon," Michonne said, nodding her head in the direction of Daryl, "Carol, are you OK?" Michonne asked.
"Fine," Carol said.
"We're going to file against Ed," Michonne said. "You can fill out the paperwork and he's going to jail for this."
Carol nodded slightly. Michonne dug around in her purse. She pulled out a card and offered it to Daryl.
"Mr. Dixon, you're free to go here once you've signed a statement for Officer Grimes. If there's any trouble from this, here's my card. Give me a call and I'll see what I can do to help you." Michonne said.
Daryl took the card and tucked it into his pocket.
"Carol, I need to speak with you, and Rick says we can use one of the offices," Michonne said.
Carol got up and turned slightly to Daryl, not saying anything, just nodding a little. Daryl watched as she followed the lawyer down a hallway and then he sat facing Rick Grimes again.
"I'm going to get your statement in a minute," Rick said. "All you need to do is sign it and you're free to go. I can't hold you here for anything. Next time, though, you need to call the police and let us handle this. If Ed decides to press charges, you're going to get hauled in here for assault and battery."
Daryl shrugged a little.
"I ain't gonna just sit back and let him pound on her, whether that means I get hauled in or not," Daryl said. He was calm now, but he meant what he said. "I ain't tryin' ta get in ya face an' I ain't tryin' ta be rowdy, I'm just tellin' ya that I ain't gon' stand back an' watch like the good citizens of this here town."
"I understand your frustration, believe me, I do, but there are legal means by which we get things done," Rick said. "It's illegal to take the law into your own hands."
Daryl nodded at the man.
"Can I sign that paper now?" Daryl asked.
Rick sighed and got up. He disappeared for a few minutes leaving Daryl in the chair. Daryl looked around for a moment, noting how quiet the place was. Either nothing illegal happened in Sweet Junction or everyone treated everything much like they'd treated Ed's outburst and acted like ostriches with their heads buried in the sand.
When Rick reappeared, Daryl got up from the chair that he was sitting in and made his way over to the desk where Rick was waiting. He read over the statement and signed his name to it. He shook Rick's hand and started out the door. Once he got on the sidewalk, he lingered there, leaning against the building, and lit a cigarette.
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When Carol came out with Michonne, she wasn't expecting to find Daryl leaning against the building. He straightened up when they came out and approached them.
"I thought you had left," Carol said.
"Was waitin' on ya," Daryl said. "I still got'cha food an' stuff," he said.
Carol nodded.
"Thank you," she said. She turned and looked at Michonne who wasn't saying anything in the situation. Daryl nodded at her and remained there, waiting.
"I can take her home," Daryl said. "We goin' the same place."
Carol looked at him and then looked back at Michonne.
"It's fine," she said to Michonne. "I'm just going home anyway, I don't really feel up to do anything besides going home."
Michonne smiled and pulled Carol to her in a hug.
"Fine," she said, "but you go straight home and call if you need anything. I'll call you as soon as they let me know anything about Ed."
Carol smiled and nodded at her friend. She stood beside Daryl for a moment and watched as Michonne made her way around the building to the parking lot that was on the other side. She turned back to Daryl.
"You didn't have to do all that," Carol said.
"I reckon you an' me's got different opinions on what I do an' don't have ta do," Daryl said. "Come on, I'll take ya home."
Daryl walked Carol to the truck and walked around, opening the door for her and waiting for her to climb in. He slammed the door shut and circled around, getting in the driver's side and cranking the truck.
"Least nobody stole the damn groceries," he said with a snicker.
"Not a lot of crime in Sweet Junction," Carol said. Daryl chuckled a little.
"Somethin' like that, I'm sure," Daryl said.
"Listen," Carol said, unsure about how she wanted to proceed, "the other day when I said I couldn't take rides from you…well I think I might have hurt your feelings and I wanted you to know that I didn't mean anything personal about it. It's just that Michonne thought that people might talk and Ed might try to…well…he might say that there was some other reason I tried to leave him."
She immediately turned to look out the window, her cheeks burning hot at what he would think about her even suggesting that people would think that something was going on between them. She knew it was ridiculous to think that he'd have any interest in her at all. He was a handsome young man and he'd easily find girls around here to swoon over him. He was new to town and he was a bit of a rugged, rebellious type. Even if he weren't as cute and polite as he was with women, they'd still swoon just for the chance of someone that wasn't so run of the mill and so much the boy next door.
Daryl continued to drive, chewing at his thumb, and Carol cast glances every now in his direction. He wasn't responding, and she was growing more and more embarrassed for bringing it up.
"Ya ain't hurt my feelin's," Daryl said finally. "I don't give a shit who ya ride with, but ya ought not ta be prancin' ya ass 'round town with Ed beatin' his chest like he is. That weren't real smart of ya in the first place."
Daryl's tone was one that was laced with a little annoyance and Carol turned to look at him.
"Prancing around town?" She asked. "I wasn't prancing around town! I went to the grocery store, same as you did. I have to eat too."
"Ya shoulda got someone ta take ya. Hell called one a' them cops or ya lawyer pal, or even asked me. If ya hadn't been walkin' down the street like that, like couldn't a damn thing go wrong in the world then ya wouldn't be sportin' that busted lip an' that damn fine shiner ya got there," Daryl said.
Carol reached up and pulled down the visor of the truck, peering into the small mirror there. She hadn't realized that Ed had hit her that hard, but sure enough her eye was turning purple. She cursed under her breath as she examined the dried blood on her face. She closed the visor and slumped back in the seat. She didn't want to talk about it any longer with Daryl.
"Did I hurt ya feelin's?" Daryl asked after a minute. She turned to look at him. He was half smirking at her.
"Did you do that on purpose?" She asked.
"Which part?" Daryl asked. "The part where I come up just in time ta catch that asshole or the part where I showed ya how much good it does for someone ta hurt ya feelin's an' then ask if they hurt 'em?"
Carol crossed her arms across her chest.
"I just got lucky comin' up when I did," Daryl said. "I'm glad I did come up when I did, though. As for hurtin' ya feelin's, I am sorry, but what I said was true. Ya ought not ta go out alone."
"I think that was pretty low, Daryl, and not what I would expect from you, honestly," Carol said. Her feelings were hurt. She was already blaming herself for what had happened with Ed and she didn't need him rubbing her nose in it. "I'm glad you came up when you did, and I'm sorry if you get in trouble for what you did, but I can't spend the rest of my life begging people to go with me everywhere I've got to go. Do you know how tired everyone would get of me if I had to have an escort every time I went to the grocery store?"
Daryl pulled the truck into the parking lot of the apartment buildings, but he didn't immediately shut off the engine. Carol stayed in her seat and watched as he lit a cigarette. He leaned his arm out of the truck window.
"Well…" Daryl said, taking a leisurely drag off of his cigarette. "Looks ta me like Ed's just put a nail in his coffin 'bout why you'd want ta leave his sorry ass. He made a big damn mistake gettin' caught walkin' through that order. An' I don't much know 'bout other people, but I ain't gonna get pissed if ya need a ride ta buy some fuckin' food, so just walk ya happy ass across the hall the next damn time ya need ta go ta the store an' I'll take ya. Fuckers 'round here don't make no damn sense if they'll run their mouths 'bout that shit but ain't got the human fuckin' decency ta stop Ed from actin' like a horse's ass in the middle a' town."
Carol shifted in her seat a little. She didn't understand Daryl Dixon at all. One minute he could hurt her feelings, the next he could make her angry, and now here she was thinking of him, once again, as some kind of backwards knight in shining armor.
"Thanks," she said, not knowing what else to say and fighting back the urge to cry that had been pushing at her for a few minutes now.
Daryl reached over with his right hand and gently swiped his knuckle under her chin, tipping her head up.
"Now don't'cha go fuckin' cryin'," he said.
"I guess I just thought that it would be easier, you know? I'd just leave Ed and that would be that. I'd be able to take care of myself, but I can't even go to the grocery store," Carol said.
"So it don't happen overnight, so what?" Daryl said. "Could be a lot worse than ya gotta ask somebody ta give ya a ride ta the store."
Carol nodded and did her best to dry up the tears that were blurring her vision. Daryl switched off the truck and opened his door. She opened hers and crawled out of the vehicle, circling around and accepting some of the bags of groceries. He tucked a few items under his arms and hauled up the rest.
"I can take more," Carol said.
"I got it, let's go," Daryl said.
Daryl followed Carol up the stairs and she fumbled with her keys, getting her apartment unlocked. He followed her inside and stood there holding his groceries awkwardly while she put hers away. She figured that he was waiting on something, but she wasn't entirely sure what.
"Thank you again," she said. "And thanks for helping me bring the groceries in."
"You're welcome," Daryl said, still standing there. Carol wasn't really sure what to do, so she finished putting the groceries away and turned around to face him.
"You, uh, might want to get that stuff in the fridge," she said. "I'm sorry if any of it's gone bad from the heat.'
"It'll be alright," Daryl said. "Why don't'cha come over ta my place. Ya can eat supper there. Shouldn't be alone 'til we know they done found Ed. Don't want him showin' up here ta finish what he didn't get ta do in town."
"I couldn't do that," Carol said. "I don't want to impose."
"Ain't no imposin' goin' on," Daryl said. "Just dinner."
Carol didn't really want to be alone at the moment. She was still a little shaken by the events, but she also didn't want to just go over and barge in on their dinner. She'd never been inside their apartment. She didn't know how Merle and Andrea would react to the imposition, even if Daryl said it wasn't one.
"I guess I could come over for a bit," Carol said. "I could help you get cleaned up."
She doubted that Daryl even realized that his knuckles were still bloody and he had dried blood on his face. It was only then that she realized she did too.
"Fine," Daryl said. "I'll take this stuff over. Come on when you're ready, the door is open."
Carol smiled at him and he left the apartment. When she heard the door click shut, she immediately went to the bathroom and swabbed at her face with a wet washcloth. The bruise wouldn't come off, and she was most angry about it. All that was left from the bruises before was that awful green tinge that was the last to linger and she'd been excited about them fading away for good. Now she was stuck with evidence of more of Ed's handiwork. The only thing that really excited her was the thought that Ed was likely to be in jail, at least for the night.
Carol took a wash cloth and a bottle of rubbing alcohol and crossed the hall to the Dixon's apartment. She knocked gingerly on the door and heard Daryl call from inside. She opened the door and stepped into the kitchen. Daryl was putting things into the refrigerator.
"So ya did come?" He said, smiling and closing the refrigerator door.
Carol looked around. No one had taken the time to clean their apartment like she and Michonne had done for hers, and it had a smell much like hers had when she'd first looked at it. She felt bad, in some way, that the three of them were living there. It must not bother them, though, because clearly no one had done anything to make the place homier.
"Sit down," Carol said. "I'll help you get cleaned up."
Daryl looked at his hands a minute and shrugged.
"Should be fine," he said. "Just gotta wash off a little. Ain't nothin' ta go cryin' 'bout."
"Please," Carol said. "It's all I can do and you've been so nice to me."
Daryl faced her a moment and chewed at his bottom lip. Finally he sighed and sat down at the card table that was in the room. Carol walked over and pulled one of the other chairs close to him. She went to the sink and wet her wash cloth and crossed back to the chair, sitting down and dabbing at his face.
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Daryl couldn't breathe and he didn't want to admit it. Carol had slid the chair up and sat down so that her knees were just between his and she was leaning in close enough to his face that he could feel her breath.
At first he'd tried to figure out where to look, but when he looked at her face he felt uncomfortable having his so close to hers, so finally he'd just shut his eyes. Everywhere she touched him her hands were soft and cool and she cleaned his wounds gently. He couldn't remember ever having anyone touch him so gently in his life.
He might have enjoyed the entire thing if it wasn't for the fact that he was pretty sure he was going to die before she finished. His heart was pounding and he was struggling to keep his breath steady. Just having her in his space like she was, leaning over him ever few moments, her breasts closer to his face than he'd imagine, was driving him crazy and it was a feeling that he wasn't used to and he wasn't comfortable with.
To make matters worse, there were other parts of his body that felt the need to react to this close proximity and he was having a hell of a time trying to imagine anything horrible and disgusting that he could think of to keep from having a visible problem to explain later.
"There," she said softly, after what seemed like a fucking eternity. "All better!" She surprised him then by standing over him and leaning down to kiss him gently on the forehead. Daryl opened his eyes and looked up into her face. She was smiling softly down at him and he became aware that she was standing, straddling one of his legs, her breasts right by his face. He struggled to swallow, his eyes locked on hers.
After a moment, her expression changed and she pulled away from him, straightening up completely. He saw her swallow and she went to the sink to rinse out the rag that she was holding.
Daryl stood up and looked at her back as she was leaning against the sink. For all his attempts to think of everything horrible he'd ever seen, he could feel himself straining against his jeans and he shifted uncomfortably.
He didn't know what to do with women. It wasn't his area. That was Merle's area of expertise. He'd never been with a woman. He'd never even come close to being with a woman. For as long as he could remember Merle had given him hell, insisting that he was broken because he hadn't even wanted to kiss a woman, but right this moment he wanted nothing more in the world than to kiss Carol.
Daryl was pretty sure that he could figure out how the kissing thing went. It didn't seem like it would be so hard to do once you were there. Lips on lips and you went from there. The part he couldn't quite figure out was how he was supposed to get his lips on hers. Carol turned the faucet off and squeezed the cloth off, laying it over the side of the sink. When she turned around, leaning, back against the sink for a moment, Daryl said a little prayer to himself and stepped forward, pressing his lips against hers.
At first he wasn't sure he was doing it right. She didn't respond to him in any way except to tense against him. Then, he felt her slide her tongue against his lips and he let his part a little, her tongue sliding gently into his mouth. His body seemed to react without his permission and he moved against her, pinning her tighter against the sink, his hands slipping around her and his tongue pushing past hers and into her mouth, exploring her.
Daryl tasted blood and backed away, pulling loose of her, much to the disappointment of his throbbing member that was trying desperately to escape its denim confines. Carol stood there, backed against the sink, her mouth slightly open, a small trail of blood running from the split in her lip.
"Oh God!" Daryl said. He was instantly mortified. He wanted to turn himself inside out and disappear somehow.
Carol moved her hand up to her lip, touching the blood and held her fingertips out to look at it. She still hadn't said anything, she simply reached around and grabbed the rag she'd put down moments before. She dabbed at her lip.
"Jesus!" Daryl said. "I'm so sorry…I'm just…I'm so sorry!" He had no idea how to escape. If it hadn't been his apartment he'd have run from it, but if he ran now he didn't know where he would go.
"Daryl, it's OK," Carol said, putting the rag back down. "It happens."
Daryl stood there, not knowing what to do. He was certain that this situation couldn't possibly get any worse. Even if he burst into flames at this very second, it couldn't get any worse.
Daryl was surprised, though, when Carol walked toward him, closing the small distance between them. She stood in front of him for a moment, looking up at him. A half smile on her lips. She reached her hand behind his head and pulled him toward her, pressing her lips against his this time. She kissed him gently and again he felt her pressing her tongue against him. He allowed her access and sunk into the kiss again. The taste of blood returned, but she didn't seem bothered by it, so he ignored it.
Daryl felt her wrap her other arm around his back and pull him slightly toward her. He stepped forward, pushing her back, until she was backed against the sink again, her body tight against his. He bucked against her without meaning to, pushing her back into the sink, but she held the kiss, gently twirling her tongue around his. He moaned into her mouth and she broke the kiss, pushing him back gently. She was panting a little, and staring at him.
They stood there for a minute, not entirely separated. Daryl felt like he was dying. He wanted more of the kiss, he wanted more of her, but he didn't know what to do or how he was supposed to do it. He didn't even know for sure if she liked the kiss, though he thought that the way she was breathing might indicate that she had.
Daryl heard a hand on the door knob and quickly both of them broke apart, going for opposite sides of the kitchen. A second later, Andrea came through the door. She stopped a minute, looking back and forth between the two of them. Daryl realized that there was blood smeared a little on Carol's face and she hadn't calmed her breathing entirely. He had no idea if any of the blood was on his own face, so he quickly reached his hand up to swipe at it. Andrea smiled a little and closed the door, tossing her car keys on the table.
"Merle's gonna be a little late," she said. "He wanted to get a drink or two before dinner."
Andrea didn't say anything else for a second, she just stood there. Neither Carol nor Daryl moved.
"Did you go to the store today?" Andrea asked. She dug under the cabinet and came out with a glass. She crossed the kitchen and reached around Daryl, opening the cabinet and taking out a whiskey bottle. As she closed the cabinet and pulled back around him, Daryl felt her scanning over him with her eyes.
"Yeah," he said. "I done put the stuff up."
Andrea nodded and moved to the table, pouring some of the liquor into the glass. She took a swallow of it and looked between them again. Daryl glanced at Carol, but Carol had her eyes fixed on Andrea. Andrea smiled again.
"Carol, honey, there's blood on your face," Andrea said. "Yours too," she said, looking at Daryl and winking.
Daryl cursed silently to himself and reached for the rag by the sink. He wiped at his face and handed the rag to Carol who had relaxed a little from her position in the corner. Andrea sat down at one of the chairs that they hadn't moved from before and took another sip from the glass.
"Anything happen today?" She asked.
Daryl looked at Carol and then back at the blonde who was smirking at them.
"Saw Ed in town," Daryl said. "He…uh…he was tryin' ta make Carol get in the car with him, so I got in a fight with him."
Andrea nodded her head a little.
"Did you win?" She asked. She poured more of the drink into the bottle and took another sip.
"Don't know," Daryl said.
Carol cleared her throat.
"Daryl was nice enough to drive me to the police station, and then he brought me home," Carol said. "I was just helping him get cleaned up."
Andrea took another drink.
"We're going out to eat tonight," she said, directing her attention to Carol. "We're just going down to Lula's. I don't feel like cooking and Merle got a raise today, so we're going to celebrate. You'll go with us?"
The question was something between a question and a statement.
Carol nodded.
"I'd love to go," she said.
"I told her she could eat with us 'cause she don't need ta be alone 'til they find Ed," Daryl said quickly.
Andrea smiled again and stood up. She took another sip from the glass she held in her hand, but left the bottle on the table.
"You're right," she said. "I'm going to get changed…Merle should be home shortly, but if you hurry, you might have time to finish…cleaning up."
Andrea walked back toward the bedroom that she and Merle shared.
Daryl heard Carol let go of a breath that she'd been holding for at least a little bit and he turned to look at her. She looked a little worried. He wasn't sure if she was regretting having kissed him, having agreed to stay for dinner, or all of it combined. He could feel his own cheeks burning hot, and he realized that she was blushing too. The only thing that he could hope right now was that Andrea would keep her mouth shut, and that maybe Carol wouldn't hate him for what had happened.