AN: So I've gotten a few PMs about other stories and I'm going to work on updating them this weekend. I know they're being sorely neglected. Sometimes I can't help it. I get really into a story and have certain plot points so clear in my mind that I almost can't stand to put them aside and try to write for others. I am, though, going to try to put Sweet Junction aside some during the weekend and update my other stories so that no one feels left out or thinks I've abandoned any work. I'm not abandoning anything, just going where the muse takes me.
I want to thank you all for your reviews and your messages. They really mean a lot and keep me pumped up to write the story. I try, sometimes, to respond to you all individually, but juggling things and trying to update a lot doesn't allow much time for that. That doesn't mean, certainly, that I don't love and appreciate every single one of your comments, it simply means that I'm usually focused on trying to produce more for you to read!
It looks like the majority of people like Lincoln. I've been offered some other names too that I liked, but I think I've already got Lincoln set in my mind as the puppy's name, so we're going to go with that.
I hope you enjoy. There may be a few more updates here before I turn my attention to trying to update my other stories.
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Daryl wasn't really sure what was happening. He'd brought the puppy in, wrapped up in his shirt like Andrea and Michonne had demanded in case Carol was anywhere outside of her apartment, and they'd attacked him before he could get fully into his own door.
They cooed at the puppy and oohed and ahhed over him until Daryl didn't know what to do. They'd both lost their minds it appeared. Just when he though it couldn't get worse, it did.
Andrea sat the basket on the card table. It was loaded down with little blankets. Michonne had a bag that she produced from one of the kitchen chairs.
"OK, I got pink and blue ribbons, which one do we need?" Michonne asked.
Andrea held the puppy up and looked at him.
"Blue, he's all blue," she said.
Daryl watched as Michonne tied a ribbon around the dog's neck. The puppy was wiggling around in Andrea's arms and acting like it thought the whole damn thing was the greatest event of its little furry life. Daryl stood back, shaking his head.
Merle pushed through the door a moment later, closing it behind him and obviously trying to figure out what the hell was taking place in his overcrowded kitchen.
"What in fuck's name are y'all doin' ta that dog?" He barked.
"Shut your face!" Andrea snapped. "Don't let Carol hear your damn loud mouth or you're going to ruin everything!"
Daryl almost laughed. It wasn't often that Andrea snapped back at Merle with the same ferocity that he tended to use with others, but she wasn't playing over this dog thing. The women had been swept up in something and Daryl could tell it was more than he could understand.
"The hell they doin'?" Merle asked Daryl, this time lowering his voice.
Daryl shrugged.
"The dog's for Carol," Daryl said. "I ain't got a fuckin' clue what they doin' ta it though."
"We're packaging him," Michonne said. "Part of a gift is in the wrapping."
"It's a dog," Daryl said.
"It's a baby," Andrea responded. "A furry little baby," she cooed.
"I think I might hurl," Merle said.
"Take your ass in the other room then," Andrea snapped. "You stink anyway. We don't need you ruining this."
"Fuck's crawled up your ass?" Merle asked. "I smell like I always do when I get home from workin', it's called bein' a man."
"Go shower, then," Andrea said.
Merle shot Daryl a look and squeezed past him, obviously deciding to go do just that and leave Daryl to the excitement of the women. The dog was now wearing a collar and a ribbon. He was accepting, also, his fate of being burrowed down into the basket full of soft yellow and white blankets. Daryl thought to himself that he really wouldn't mind the fate if he were a dog, so he couldn't much blame the little thing.
"There," Michonne said. Both women stood back to admire their work and the little puppy yawned and looked like he was as satisfied with the results as they were. Michonne turned her attention to Daryl then. "Now, I've got food, a bed, some puppy pads, a leash, and some toys in my car. We can get that after you give her the puppy."
Daryl nodded his agreement with the plan, not sure of what he was supposed to do exactly.
"You're going to carry his basket over there, knock on the door, and tell her that you got her something as a welcome home gift, got that?" Michonne asked.
Daryl nodded. He wasn't stupid and that was simple enough, though he really didn't understand why they needed the bows and the basket and blanket. He thought the dog was just fine when it was riding home with him, drooling in his lap.
"Remember," Michonne said, putting her hand on his shoulder and staring him in the eye, "the puppy was your idea. You thought of it, you bought it, you picked it out, you gave it to her. This was your idea."
"But ya bought the dog," Daryl said.
"You're not listening," Michonne said. "This puppy is your gift. Everything about this puppy is yours. That's all you have to remember about this, Daryl, it's not that hard."
Daryl was a little afraid of the woman who had a firm grip on his shoulder. She was staring at him like if he fucked up the puppy plan she would castrate him. He nodded.
"But it really weren't my idea," he said. He wasn't sure that he liked the idea of lying and for taking credit for something that really wasn't his. "I didn't think of it."
"It was your idea," Michonne said, "you just hadn't thought of it yet."
Daryl narrowed his eyebrows at her, confused.
"You were going to think of the puppy, I just happened to do it first. It was your idea and I stole it from you. If you'd seen Willard's post at the A and P saying he had the puppies, then you'd have thought of it all on your own," Michonne urged.
Daryl didn't think he would have thought of the puppy. He knew that Carol cooed over animals on television, but he wouldn't have thought of buying her one. He was confused, however, by Michonne's logic.
"So all you have to remember is that everything about this puppy is your doing," Michonne said again, squeezing his shoulder hard as though bruising his shoulder might make it easier for him to remember the message that she was obviously trying to implant in his mind.
Daryl nodded again and Michonne let go of his shoulder. He rubbed the spot, quickly, where her fingers had dug into his skin.
"I got it," he said.
"Good, now get over there and deliver this puppy before he decides to come out of this basket," Andrea said. She pulled one of the blankets up just enough to cover the puppy up.
Daryl sighed and picked the basket up, trying not to jostle the poor dog too much. Under the blanket, though, the puppy didn't stir.
Daryl felt a little ridiculous holding the basket the women had decorated, but he was going to do this. He was mostly afraid that if he didn't do it, they were going to beat him for it. Michonne opened the door then and held it open for him to pass through. He turned a little, watching Andrea and Michonne step into the hall behind him.
Daryl balanced the basket on one arm and knocked on Carol's door, shifting the basket back into both arms while he waited.
Carol opened the door a minute later and then stood there looking confused. She glanced between him, the basket he was holding, and the two women who were standing like bodyguards behind him.
"I…uh…" Daryl knew what he was supposed to say, but he wished he'd practiced it a little more. "I got'cha somethin'."
Carol swung the door open further and ushered him inside. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do, so he passed directly to her couch and put the basket down, thankful that the puppy didn't stir from under the blankets. Carol came over, still looking a little confused behind her curiosity. Daryl glanced at the door to see Andrea and Michonne peeking in, both of them grinning and looking just a bit insane in his opinion.
"What is this?" Carol asked, eying the basket.
"Look at it," Daryl said. He wondered if she thought he would do something crazy like bring her a live snake or something the way she was looking at the basket full of blankets.
Carol sat on the couch and Daryl reached out instinctively to keep the basket from tipping with the shifting of the cushion. She looked at him once more before she finally started to rearrange the blankets. As soon as she slid the blanket off of the puppy, her hands covered her mouth and she looked at Daryl.
"For me?" She asked.
Daryl couldn't help but grin at her. She looked so surprised and she almost looked like she might start crying. He thought that maybe the puppy had been a good idea after all. He nodded at her.
"Yeah, he's for you," Daryl said.
"Ooohhh!" Carol cooed, scooping up the puppy who was probably tired of being cooed over at this point. The dog yawned and looked around sleepily for a second before it started wagging its tail again and lapping at her face even though its tongue wasn't nearly long enough to make its mark. She examined it, and then hugged it to her chest and that's when Daryl became sure that she was going to cry.
"Now if ya gon' cry about it then I'm takin' it back," Daryl teased.
The tears involuntarily sprinkled down Carol's face as she continued to coo over the dog that she was holding close to her chest. The dog didn't seem to mind this position more than he'd minded any other, and he started to burrow into her as though he were about to try and get the rest of the nap that kept being disturbed.
"Oh, Daryl!" Carol said.
Daryl chuckled at her. If he had thought of this, he'd think it was the best idea he'd ever had.
Carol stood up, the puppy still snuggled against her, and she walked over. She leaned up toward him and he met her, expecting a light kiss from her. He was almost knocked over, however, by the kiss that she planted on his lips when hers finally touched his. He put his hands around her hips, not knowing any other way to respond to such a kiss. He tried to be mindful of the puppy sleeping between them as he responded to her, her tongue diving into his mouth and playing against his with more conviction than he thought it ever had before.
When she finally broke the kiss, Daryl felt like he needed a minute to get his breath. He'd never imagined that a wrinkly little dog with about four foot of extra skin would get him a kiss like that. He chuckled a little after he got his breath, not really knowing what else to do.
"Ya like him then?" He asked.
"Oh…I love him!" Carol said.
Daryl smiled. A few of the small stray tears still rolled down her cheek and Daryl tried to gently brush them away, mindful of the fact that the bruises that hadn't entirely faded might still be tender to the touch.
"Then why ya cryin' woman?" He asked. "If ya love him so damn much, then ya ought not ta cry. Ya liable ta confuse him."
Carol shook her head.
"I can't stop it," she said. "I'm trying to, but I can't."
Daryl smiled.
"Well hell, in that case maybe ya oughta just go ahead an' bawl about it a bit an' then ya can feel better. Got some stuff for him that we gonna bring up, so why don't we leave ya two alone a few minutes an' ya can get out whatever it is that ya need ta get out," Daryl said.
Carol nodded, more tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. Daryl had seen her cry enough in the past two weeks that he had learned that sometimes it was best just to let her have a good bawl and then she'd be over it. He turned, then. To his surprise, the two women hugging either side of the door frame looked like they were going to cry too. Apparently there was something he didn't understand about crying. He shook his head and started toward his partners in crime.
"Come on, Laverne and Shirley," Daryl said. "Let's give 'em a minute."
Andrea and Michonne backed out of the door and let Daryl pass through and close it behind him. He followed them down the stairs to bring up everything else that Michonne figured Carol would need to welcome home the little dog.
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Michonne didn't stay long after they'd delivered all the stuff to Carol's apartment that apparently the puppy just had to have. Daryl had never seen so much stuff. Michonne had clearly thought of everything and he wondered sheepishly if he was supposed to take credit for all of that too, but nothing was ever mentioned about it. Carol seemed excited about all the puppy extras, but she never asked where they came from. She was too wrapped up in the puppy.
Once Michonne had left, Daryl sat on the couch and watched Andrea and Carol sit a few feet from each other on the floor while the puppy varied its activities between trying to sleep and loping back and forth between them. Both women squealed almost constantly at the dog and Daryl was beginning to think that his eardrums might not survive. He supposed the dog was only immune to it because he had big droopy ears that almost drug the floor, and they must have worked like sound curtains to block out the noise.
At some point in the evening, they took the dog out on the leash to do whatever business it was supposed to do outside. Daryl followed behind them, puffing at his cigarette and not knowing what else was expected of him. They hooted and hollered when the animal finished his business, and Daryl started to wonder if everything the dog did was supposed to be so damn exciting. He kept looking around for Merle, but Merle had apparently chosen to stay hidden in their apartment or either he'd snuck out while they were inside Carol's to head down to the Watering Hole. Merle wasn't really the puppy kind of guy. Daryl wasn't sure he was either, but he was sure that Merle was even less so.
"So ya gonna name the thing?" Daryl asked Carol when they got back in and she was in the floor with Andrea toweling off the dog's feet because she said the grass was damp and he could sick. Daryl watched her but decided he wasn't touching that one with a ten foot pole. The grass around the apartment got cut so rarely that the fact they hadn't lost the dog was amazing, and it hadn't rain for quite some time in Sweet Junction, so he didn't much imagine that the grass was damp, but if Carol wanted to rub her dog with a towel, she was more than welcome to do so.
Carol was cradling the dog now, it's long ears flopping back over her arm and it was trying to nip at her hair but she didn't seem much to care.
"Of course I'm going to name him," she said, "but I don't know what to call him yet. It's important. You can't just name him any old thing."
"I like Jasper," Andrea said.
Carol considered the puppy and shook her head.
"I like it, but it's not quite right," she said.
Daryl yawned. He was getting tired and he knew that exciting new wrinkly dog or not they would all need to go to bed soon. The puppy was starting to settle down flopped back in Carol's arms, so he thought that the puppy might be the only one in the room that agreed with him.
"Well," Andrea said, "you don't have to name him tonight. You can sleep on it."
"What would you call him, Daryl?" Carol asked.
Daryl shrugged. He hadn't ever named anything and he had little desire to start now.
"Don't matter," Daryl said. "Ya can call the thing Fucker for all I care 'bout names."
Carol looked at him like she was absolutely shocked and cuddled the dog to her.
"Daryl! You can't call him that!" She scolded. "He's a baby and he deserves a sweet name. He needs something cute but dignified."
"He's a dog," Daryl said. "How dignified has he gotta be? He was tryin' ta eat a grasshopper outside."
Carol shot him another look and he decided to keep his mouth shut. He didn't understand the puppy business and he'd learned by now that women and things he didn't understand didn't go well together. It was better just to let them be.
Andrea wrestled herself to her feet and walked over, helping Carol up by tugging on her free arm as she balanced the puppy. Andrea cooed a moment longer over the puppy and squeezed Carol's arm.
"Well, I'm going to bed," she said. "Merle's probably at the Watering Hole which means he'll be back soon to tear the place down around me. I'd like to get to sleep before he comes wandering back in. I'm sure you'll come up with a great name for your little fellow."
"Goodnight," Carol said, smiling.
Andrea waved at Daryl from where she was and started out the door. Daryl didn't know what he was supposed to do. At Michonne's it had been easy to know when it was time to go home. Usually Michonne would just announce that it was getting late, or she had to put her damn kids to bed, or something of the like and Daryl could tell by her facial expression that she was just creating new ways to kick him out. He didn't have Michonne here, though, and now that Andrea had crossed the hall he didn't have anyone to tell him whether or not Carol wanted him to leave yet. He sat back on the couch, though, and decided he'd watch her to see if she gave him any clues.
Carol came over and sat on the couch too, still cradling the sleeping puppy that she was admiring as though she hadn't seen him before. She leaned against Daryl and he took that as his cue to put his arm around her. She rooted her face against him a little.
"Isn't he precious?" She asked.
Daryl felt like he was sick and tired of confirming the cute status of the dog, but he grunted anyway.
"He looks tired," Daryl said.
"He's had a big day," Carol said, yawning.
"Sounds like you have too," Daryl said. He figured that he should probably excuse himself. He pulled his arm from around her shoulder and got up off the couch.
"Where are you going?" Carol asked.
Daryl chuckled.
"I reckon I'm goin' ta sleep," Daryl said. "Tomorrow's another day."
"Stay with me?" Carol asked, looking up at him.
Daryl wasn't sure how to respond. Was this a stay with me as in sleep on my couch in case I need something? Or was this a stay with me for a little while longer? Or was this a stay with me, stay with me, kind of stay with me?
Daryl decided that regardless of the nature of the stay with me, he would do just that. She'd let him know, he supposed, what it was.
"OK," he said.
Carol smiled. She got up a moment later and he kept his same position, watching her as she walked around with the puppy. Finally, she put the dog in the oversized bed that Michonne had picked out for him, which Daryl had to admit looked more comfortable than his own mattress, and tucked blankets in around it. Daryl almost laughed at the fuss she was making over the little thing.
Finally, she stood up and she crossed the room, surprising him by wrapping her arms around him and leaning up to kiss him like she had earlier. He wrapped his arms around her waist, hoping that he wasn't crossing any lines. He now lacked Michonne's presence for policing their proximity as well.
Carol didn't say anything, though, when she broke the kiss. He watched her as she moved a little lamp onto the kitchen table and switched it on, and then she went around, locking the apartment door and turning off the lights. Daryl had now figured out that he was intended to spend the night there, though the details had yet to be filled in for him.
Daryl stayed in his spot until Carol disappeared through the doorway into her bedroom. A few minutes later, she called out to him.
"Are you coming to bed?" She asked.
Daryl smiled a little to himself but tried not to get his hopes up. Just because she was letting him sleep in her room didn't mean anything. He'd let Andrea sleep with him the night she was so drugged up so Merle didn't kill her in his sleep. Sometimes sleeping was just that.
As soon as Daryl came into the bedroom, though, he got the feeling that sleeping wasn't all that was going to be taking place, or at least he hoped not. When he came in, the room was dark except for the small bedside lamp that Carol had, and she was sitting on her bed wearing nothing but a pair of yellow lace panties. Daryl felt himself go hard almost instantly and he closed his eyes for a minute, trying to process the whole thing. He had a pretty good feeling that the dog sleeping in a pile of blankets in the other room was about to get him right back where he'd been trying to get.
Daryl stripped off his shirt and toed off his shoes. He looked back at Carol and she was just sitting there, her legs crossed now, leaning back on her arms, watching him. He smiled and took off his pants and socks, not embarrassed at his clear state of arousal showing through his boxers. When he looked back at her, she was smiling and he could almost swear she was blushing. Daryl stepped forward, a little afraid to put his hands on her, afraid that she might change her mind.
When he lowered himself to his knees, though, and leaned up, taking one of her nipples in his mouth, she moaned and her hands went to his shoulders, telling him that she wasn't planning on changing her mind right now. He sucked one nipple, and then the other, letting his tongue trail around them lazily. She moaned and bucked against the mattress. He pulled away, smiling.
"Where'd ya put the condoms, he asked, pushing himself up with the mattress. Carol was panting.
"Top drawer of the dresser," she said. He crossed the room and pulled the drawer open, digging out one of the condoms and noticing that they'd lightened their supply by at least a couple of boxes. He turned around and ran his hand through his hair. Carol had crawled backward onto the mattress and was lying back on it now. "You don't need them, though," she said.
"The hell ya mean?" Daryl asked, resting his palm on the dresser top for the moment.
"I'm on the pill," Carol said. "I have been since I got married…"
Daryl was thankful that she left it at that. He didn't want to hear that fucker's name, and certainly not while Carol was lying almost naked on the bed in front of him, the pink light from the lampshade spilling over her. Daryl was struck for a moment, though, despite his best efforts to stay focused.
"Then why'd ya make me go through all that shit ta get 'em?" He asked.
Carol looked worried.
"I didn't know you that well…" she said. "And I didn't want you to think I was easy either."
Daryl chuckled a little and stood there, the condom in his hand, thinking about what she'd just said.
"Daryl?" She said, snapping him back out of his contemplation. "Are you still going to sleep with me or…" she let her voice trail off.
Daryl crossed the room then and came back to the bed. He crawled onto the mattress and kissed her, holding the kiss for a long while and enjoying the feel of her hands tracing over his back, her soft fingertips almost making him shiver as they ran lightly over his scars. When he went back to her breasts, she threw her head back and he came up to kiss her throat.
He wanted to say so many things at that moment, but none of them would be right. He wanted to tell her that he missed her, that he wanted to stay right there, in that moment, because he was afraid of all the time that might come later. He was afraid of seeing her face again, the way it was the day she sat on the arm of her sofa and told him that she didn't want him anymore.
He decided not to tell her any of those things, though. He shucked himself out of his underwear and hooked his fingers in her panties, pulling them down and tossing both to the floor. Seeing her naked in front of him, he almost lost it. He wasn't ready to lose it, though, to lose that time with her. He moved and dipped his head, smelling her. He let his tongue trace her slit slowly and he came up to suck at the nub that she tried to touch with her fingers. When he did, she moaned out and bucked, her arms going back and her hands tangling in her hair.
He repleated the action, this time letting the tip of his tongue flick at the spot as he sucked it. She responded with a louder moan than before and he held her hips to keep her from escaping him.
"You like that, huh?" He asked.
She was panting, her eyes closed. She didn't say anything, but she did moan in the affirmative and he returned to repeat the action, feeling himself grow harder every time that she responded to him. Finally, she whined and the whine broke into a cry as she trembled against him. He moved then, coming back up over her and he kissed her throat again before bringing his lips to hers. She panted into his mouth, but met the kiss, moaning.
Daryl rolled the condom on anyway, figuring that since he'd bought them he might as well use them. He kissed her again as he pushed himself into her and he felt her quake a second again. Out of curiosity, entirely, he dropped his hand between them to tease the nub that he now that was some kind of magic button. She jerked again and wrapped her arms around him, whining. He smiled, very happy to discover the magic qualities of this button.
He turned his attention, then to himself, still careful to keep teasing the spot from time to time that seemed to distract her entirely every time he touched it. He felt his release building, and just before it did, she whined again, bringing her mouth to his chest. He felt her teeth scraping against him as she cried out into his skin and her muscles squeezed around him more forcefully than they had before. He came, then, unable to hold back his own cry.
Once their link had been broken, Daryl lie beside her in the bed, both of them panting. He reached over, putting his hand on the soft skin of her stomach and let it rest there. She intertwined her fingers with his.
He felt like they should talk, but he didn't know what to say. The more he ran words over and over in his mind, the more they just didn't seem like the right ones. By the time he rolled a little to see if she wanted to talk, she appeared to be asleep. He smiled and leaned a little, gently kissing her jaw. He decided to leave the lamp on, not wanting to wake her in his attempt to switch it off.