AN: Fluff alert. It's one of those days and I needed just fluffiness, though, so here it is. Fluff/filler. Feel free to skip if you're not in the mood. LOL
I'll also plug here that if you don't know about it, I did start posting the chapters for "Northern Stars" which is the sequel to "Phantom Hearts". I'm trying to write it so that it "can" stand alone for those who haven't read the first story, but I'm sure that it would be "better" if you read it.
I hope you enjoy the chapter! Let me know what you think!
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Carol didn't ask any questions when Merle had called and asked her to come and pick Daryl up. She didn't mind that he'd had some drinks with Merle. If anything she hoped it might loosen him up. He'd been wound incredibly tight since the last day they were on their honeymoon and if a few beers helped that then she'd have picked him up from anywhere.
She was even more relieved when they got there, though, and discovered that despite the fact he'd spent a while with Merle, he wasn't acting like they'd had a bad time. He actually did seem at least a little calmer, though he'd obviously taken full advantage of the time he spent with his brother and sucked down as many beers as possible in the time frame.
By the time they got him out of the car at the house he'd started weaving a lot more than he normally did and Carol had gone ahead inside and gotten Lincoln out of the way so that Andrea and Axel didn't have to worry about the dog tripping Daryl as they walked on either side of him to keep him from straying too far in one direction or another.
It hadn't taken too much for Carol to convince her husband to go to bed early and she'd left the other two to finish up their cookie fun while she made sure that Daryl was sleeping. She was tired herself, so she wasn't upset about the early bedtime.
Carol got into bed after Daryl was already settled down. Before crawling under the covers she took off everything but her socks. Everything else bunched up or pulled or wrapped to tight here or there and tortured her all night long if she left it on. She really didn't care for the socks either, but her feet were always cold…so the socks had become a necessary evil.
Carol worked her way under the cover and hugged closer to her edge of the bed given the fact that Daryl had more or less spread out and overtaken his part of the bed and much of hers. She assumed he was asleep, or passed out if he'd had even more than she suspected to drink, and she didn't want to bother him.
As soon as she settled in, though, Carol knew she'd been wrong and Daryl wasn't passed out. An arm came around her and she felt him tugging her, bringing himself closer to her to wrap nearly around her. He moved and his hot breath hit her ear, making her shiver just as he nipped her earlobe between his teeth, growling softly at her.
Carol giggled. She wondered if the alcohol or whatever had gone on over there, was enough to make Daryl want to give up his silly abstinence declaration for the night. She was trying not to push him, but she just couldn't get enough of him these days and not having sex with him since she'd fallen was getting kind of old.
Carol rolled a little and Daryl kissed the side of her face before bringing his lips to hers, his tongue darting into her mouth. His mouth tasted a little like stale cigarettes and sour beer, but she felt like she could power through that without a problem if it meant that he was thinking of other things too.
Carol moaned into his mouth on purpose, hoping to let him know what was on her mind. Except that her plan backfired and Daryl sat up on his elbow, looking at her with slightly glazed eyes that she could barely see in the dark room.
"Don't be gettin' ideas," Daryl said, his voice gruff.
Carol huffed at him.
"You're the one kissing me and sucking on my ear," Carol responded. She rolled away. "If you don't have any intention of going through with what you start then roll right back on over there and pass out."
Daryl chuckled a little and rubbed her cheek.
"Don't be like that," he said. "Told ya I ain't wantin' ta do that 'til ya go ta the doc tomorrow an' we know for sure that everythin's OK."
"Mmm hmmm…" Carol moaned.
Daryl sighed and flopped over, shaking the entire bed.
"Now ya gonna be sore about it?" Daryl asked.
"I'm just saying that I already know that everything's fine," Carol responded. "Daryl…I would have known by now if something was wrong. Lil' Bit's acting just like she has been acting. She may even be a little more active than she has been. Nothing's wrong, and having sex with me isn't going to bother her one tiny bit."
"Tomorrow," Daryl responded. "After Andrea brings ya up ta the Y ta meet me an' we do our class…if everythin's just fine then ya get whatever the hell makes ya happy, alright?"
Carol sighed.
"Promise?" She asked.
"Promise…but'cha gotta be nice ta me an' let me hold ya tonight," Daryl said.
Carol sighed again, making sure that it was loud enough for him to really get the message. She rearranged her pillow.
"Fine, but as long as you're awake, sleeping beauty, go and brush your teeth," Carol responded.
She yelped a little when Daryl surprised her by pinching her side before he chuckled and got up, making his way to brush his teeth.
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Carol got out of the car and thanked Andrea for being a trooper and hanging with her through the doctor's appointment, the quick dinner that they'd shared, and now for dropping her off at the Y. Andrea, of course, dismissed her thanks quickly and waited for her to slam the car door.
Daryl was sitting in his truck when they pulled up, but he started getting out as Carol was getting out of the car and by the time she slammed Andrea's car door so that her friend could pull off, Daryl was standing and looking at her over the bed of the truck.
"Did you bring my pillow?" Carol asked, starting toward him.
Daryl reached around and got it out of the truck, holding it up and slamming the truck door a minute later. Carol heard the rattle of the keys as he dropped them into his coat pocket.
"Ya told me three times this mornin' ta bring it an' ya left a note in my truck," Daryl said. "How the hell'd ya think I was gonna forget?"
Carol smiled and came toward him, his arm hooking around her shoulder and bringing her against him. She smiled up at him and he grinned, leaning in to kiss her before pulling away and offering her the pillow.
"Lil' Bit?" He asked.
"Fine, just fine," Carol said.
She hadn't been surprised to find out that everything was fine. She knew that everything was fine. It was really Daryl who was concerned and she considered the entire trip today to be just something to soothe his nerves.
"I did get a flu shot," Carol offered, walking just in front of Daryl toward the almost haunted looking building. Since they were the only people in the almost empty parking lot, she could reason that everyone else was inside. "And in two weeks we have an appointment and you get to see Lil' Bit again on the screen…if you're going with me."
"'Course I'll go," Daryl said, reaching the door just before her and holding it open for her to pass inside. "Ya ain't seen her today did'ja?" He asked, his voice sounding concerned.
Carol had told him that it would probably be a pretty basic checkup since she'd requested just to make sure everything was fine, and she was right. She knew, though, that Daryl was concerned that he'd missed something by choosing to stay at work rather than go to the late appointment.
"No, I didn't see her," Carol said. "I wanted to wait until you were there. I did get to listen to her heartbeat, though."
"Yeah?" Daryl said, almost pushing her down the halls, following the paper signs. "What'd it sound like?"
Carol snickered and rubbed her belly, feeling Daryl's hand on her shoulder as he directed her along the hallway as though she were incapable of reading the signs.
"Like it always sounds," she said. "Strong and healthy. She kicked the microphone or whatever you call that thing."
Daryl chuckled.
"Was a damn invasion a' her privacy," Daryl responded, lowering his voice as the lit room came into sight where beyond they would meet up with their class for the second time.
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Carol leaned back against Daryl, not offering to get off of him now that the two videos they'd watched were over. At least if she was going to be subjected to lying here on a mat on the floor and watching videos that had freaked her out a little more than she wanted to talk about the moment, he could be a personal recliner for her.
He wasn't protesting, though, and she imagined if she could see his face at the moment he was probably caught somewhere between fascination with the videos and some kind of smirk because it was probably all very exciting for him.
After all, he wasn't the one that was actually having the baby.
It wasn't that Carol hadn't known what to expect. She'd known for a long time where babies came from and how they got here, this wasn't some kind of surprise for her, and therefore she wasn't sure exactly why the two childbirth videos they'd watched had her stomach in knots that she couldn't blame on the baby.
There was, perhaps, a big difference between knowing the basics and suddenly wondering if you were even able to do something.
She kept quiet, though, and listened as they went around discussing the video. Everyone else in the room was a veteran at this. She was the only mother in the stupid childbirth class who hadn't been through childbirth before.
And on the one hand that gave her hope because they'd all done it and they were back to the mat again…but on the other it made her feel a little isolated at the moment. She wasn't going to talk about her feelings on the video because at the moment she wasn't thinking about the "beauty" of what they'd just seen. So she opted for keeping quiet.
And then when they moved on, she went through the motions, pleased at least that the breathing exercises they did helped to relieve a good deal of the knots that were tying her up inside.
Finally Bobbie went around and asked if they had any questions or anything that anyone wanted to discuss with the end of the class nearing. Most of the people, of course, didn't have too much to ask. They were veterans at this sort of thing…maybe even old hats…Carol wasn't sure because she hadn't been paying enough attention the first night when they'd all introduced themselves.
Now, though, Daryl was sitting beside her, his hand on her thigh, and he raised his other hand.
Carol had no idea what he was going to ask, but she was simultaneously proud and terrified. On the one hand, it was a big step for Daryl to raise his hand in the room full of people with a question. On the other hand, she was a little afraid of what the question might be. She could only say a silent prayer that no one would embarrass him if it was terrible.
"What is it, Daryl?" Bobbie asked.
Carol looked at Daryl and smiled. He was already looking a little redder than usual, and she knew he hated having everyone look at him the way they were. At least the people in the class were a little like what she imagined an AA meeting would be like and they offered broad smiles of encouragement long before they heard what you had to say.
"Just wonderin'…" Daryl started. "Well…we went on a trip an' while we was out there, Carol fell…" Daryl glanced at Carol and she nodded at him, hoping to encourage him to ask whatever it was he wanted to ask and still hoping that no one would laugh at him.
"Are you alright?" Bobbie interrupted.
Carol smiled and nodded at the woman whose face was now concerned.
"Went to the doctor today," Carol offered. "Everything's just fine. It really wasn't a big deal."
"But'cha could get hurt from fallin', right?" Daryl asked suddenly.
He wanted to be verified for his concern. Carol realized it suddenly and she didn't mind it one bit. She assumed that meant that he felt, at least to some degree, safe and validated in this little group even if she was still trying to find her niche here.
Bobbie nodded her head.
"If Carol were to fall a certain way…" Bobbie said with some hesitation, "or if she were to suffer a certain amount of trauma from the fall there could be problems, but if the doctor said that everything was fine, then I wouldn't worry."
Bobbie offered one of her smiles and Carol thought that she was pretty good at this kind of thing. She imagined the woman was probably a teacher or something, and if she hadn't been, she'd missed her calling because she had the face of someone who was trying to offer a steady stream of encouragement.
"OK," Daryl said. "Then is they anythin' else that might shake the baby up too much…like anythin' we might oughta not be doin'…?"
Carol was mortified and she felt her face growing warm. She knew already where this was going. Bobbie looked confused at first and then realization started to settle over her face. She offered the warm smile again.
"Do you mean everyday activities?" She asked. "Or were you thinking along the lines of sky diving?"
Daryl chuckled a little, obviously slightly embarrassed by bringing this up in the class, but not very embarrassed, which was a little surprising.
"Well…maybe not every day, but I weren't thinkin' no extreme sports…" Daryl said.
Bobbie smiled broadly and openly winked at Daryl. The action made Carol smile and chuckle a little despite her moment of discomfort earlier.
"Are you asking about sexual intercourse?" She asked.
Daryl shrugged and bit at his thumb. Carol hoped the woman was capable of figuring out that was the best she was getting out of him for such a direct question. Apparently Bobbie figured it out, though, because she smiled and nodded.
"All of that is fine," Bobbie said. "Unless your doctor says otherwise for some reason, of course. As long as everyone is in agreement, there's no reason that you can't have a healthy and happy sexual relationship right up until the baby's born."
"You might have to get creative, though," Karen, one of the other women in the group offered.
A chuckle rolled through nearly everyone there and Carol felt her embarrassment melting away. Granted sex was something she wasn't entirely comfortable talking about outside of her tight group of people, but it was pretty evident how each and every one of the couples had come to be in the class, so she assumed there was no need hiding that all of them had at least had sex before…and very likely were continuing to do so if they liked their partner.
"I actually have a book on that," Bobbie offered, nodding her head a little. "I've got my own kids at home and I can promise you that where there's a will, there's a way," she said with a chuckle. "I'll bring you the book next week, though."
Daryl smiled and nodded, squeezing Carol's thigh. She reached over and put her hand over his, squeezing his hand in response.
She was oddly proud of Daryl, though she couldn't have readily explained why in any certain terms. It just seemed like a big deal to her, though, that he was comfortable enough in the class to ask such things, and she was grateful that no one had done anything to embarrass him in any way. In fact, he looked almost like he was beaming a little at knowing for sure that things were safe for them to do now.
And after all, Carol didn't think that was a bad thing at all. It meant that she could finally get him to stop fighting her over what she wanted when they got home.