Chapter Two: You Want to What?!

Daryl had barely dropped from the last stair when he saw Carol thrust the bag containing their lunch into his brother's arms. Her eyes were wide and panicked – not a look he'd ever associated with her during the course of their friendship – causing him to search out the cause of her upset. He'd barely had a chance to take a breath before she pressed herself flush with his body and smashed her lips to his. What th' fuck?!

He froze, his body rigid in shock. It took him a moment to realize she was whispering something against his lips. "Please, just play along," she begged. He'd fantasized about her trembling in his arms, but never from fear.

His arms rose, banding about her waist, crushing her against him. He gave himself over to her, not about to deny her request, not when it might be the only chance he ever got to taste her. The kiss was chaste, innocent, an act, but he didn't care. This was Carol, the woman he loved, keeper of his heart – even if she didn't know how much he longed to hold her forever – and his body responded. His lips softened, and the world fell away. Nothing mattered but the woman in his arms. He couldn't resist her, his tongue darting out to glide along the seam of her lips, her tiny gasp at his boldness giving him the opportunity to slip in to duel with hers. She tasted like pumpkin and cinnamon due to the expensive coffees she favored and the unmistakable ambrosia which was all Carol. Gawd, she was heaven!

Ed growled like a grizzly, outraged, and Carol trembled, clinging to Daryl as if she'd never let go. "Get your hands off my girl, you filthy piece of redneck trash."

Wrong thing to say.

Merle's fist caught him under the chin, sending him to the oil-stained floor. The eldest Dixon crouched over Ed's prone form, fisting his hand in the man's shirt. "Th' fuck y' think y' are, comin' into our business and showin' yer ass? Better yet, I don't give a rat's hairy ballsack!" He let go of Ed's shirt, the man's head slamming into the concrete. "I mean seriously – what the fuck?! Carol!"

Daryl's eyes narrowed on the rubbish littering their floor, his hand securely wrapped around Carol's nape, pressing her head against his shoulder as his thumb traced soothing circles on the soft skin beneath her ear. He looked down at her worriedly. "Should we call Grimes an' have him come out?" he asked, leaving the decision in her capable hands.

She shook her head. "No, just make him go away," she whispered, reveling in the strength Daryl exuded.

Of course, Merle wasn't done. He circled Ed like a hawk toying with its prey. "Y' ain't got no claim t' th' girl, y' hear? If she was datin' y' as y' said – leastways I'm assumin' that's what y' meant when y' laid claim t' her – we'd've known about y' before this." Merle leaned over, bracing his hands on his knees, sucking at his teeth. "Better watch yerself, boy. That girl right there belongs t' m' brother … an' he jus' ain't th' sharin' type."

Ed stared up at him warily. "She ain't never mentioned having a boyfriend before. It's only been three weeks since she went on that blind date with me!"

Daryl tensed, but didn't let her go as Carol's face turned an unhealthy shade of puce. "I went out with you for coffee, Ed. It's not like I slept with you and pledged to have your children!" she fumed.

Merle was coming to his own conclusions, and he didn't like them at all. "Y' been stalking her, y' pervert?!"

"I ain't done nothing to her!" Ed protested, scooting away from Merle in a last-ditch effort to protect himself long enough to rise to his feet.

Daryl released Carol, his angry stride carrying him across the room to confront the man Carol feared. He pushed Ed against the wall, making it rattle, his forearm wedged beneath his chin, pressing against his throat. "Y' stay away from her. Y' don't follow her, call her or text her. If y' see her comin', you'd best cross th' fuckin' street. If I so much as hear y' caused her t' break a fingernail … I. Will. End. You!"

Ed struggled to catch his breath as Daryl released him and let him drop to the floor. "You … You can't threaten me!"

Daryl's lip curled over his teeth, sneering at the man. "That ain't a threat … it's a promise. Now get th' fuck out o' my sight. And y' best remember what I said."

Merle gripped a fistful of Ed's collar in his hand and yanked him to his feet, propelling him towards the service door where he threw him out onto the sidewalk. When he came back inside, he locked the door and turned the sign to closed, crossing his arms over his chest as he met her eyes.

Carol's fingers twisted together as her gaze drifted from one brother to the other, her bottom lip clamped firmly between her teeth, never having seen them so angry before. Daryl crossed the room to stand in front of her, picking up the bag containing their lunch before his fingers wrapped firmly around her wrist, dragging her towards the stairs which led to the apartment above. "D-Daryl …"

He didn't stop his furious pace, listening as Merle's footsteps joined theirs on the stairs. He could feel her tremble in his grip, and took a moment to trace soothing circles over the delicate flesh of her wrist, assuring her it wasn't her who had earned his ire. "Seems y' got some explainin' t' do, Carol Ann."

*.*.*

Daryl didn't let go of her until they were standing in the kitchen, his hand hitting the switch to bring the bright fluorescent light to life. He set the bag down on the table, and his turbulent eyes pierced hers, his brows drawn together into a concerned frown. "Did he hurt y'? Has he laid his hands on y'?" he asked, his voice raspy as he fought to keep his anger in check.

Carol bit her lip, her worried gaze searching his. As upset as he was there was no chance of her telling him about Ed grabbing her arm at the deli. Thankfully, the long sleeves of her light cardigan hid the bruises from Daryl's view. "Are you angry with me?"

"What?" he asked, confused. "No! Why would I be mad at y'?"

Her relief was so great, it sapped her strength and she could be grateful for his quick reflexes as he caught her and lowered her to a chair. Daryl reached behind him into the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water, pressing it into her hands. She felt better after she'd taken a few sips, noticing he'd dropped to his knees before her, watching her curiously.

"I just thought … Daryl, I didn't tell you what was going on," she said by way of an excuse.

"No, y' didn't," he agreed, his hand rising to his mouth to worry the cuticle on his thumb. "But I ain't mad at y', Carol."

Merle followed them into the kitchen after slamming the door, nudging Daryl out of his way so he could grab a beer from the refrigerator. "Not mad?! Well, I'm fuckin' furious," he roared, staring down at the woman. "How could y' not tell us what th' hell was goin' on with y'"

Daryl shoved him. "Stop yellin' at her!"

"I ain't yellin'!"

Carol leapt from her seat and wedged herself between them, her hands braced on Daryl's chest in a feeble attempt to push him back. "Boys! Please … don't fight," she murmured, her beseeching eyes boring into his. "I screwed up, ok? It's my fault, and fighting your brother is only going to make me feel worse. Please?"

The tension eased from his shoulders as he took a step back, his hand settling against the small of her back, guiding her once again to her chair. "Y' shoulda told us."

"I know," she lamented, sipping from the bottle again. "I just didn't want you to worry … either of you."

Merle took a seat at the table with his beer, his palm slamming down against the surface. "Well, y' can tell us now. Why th' hell would y' consent t' go out with that creeper? Thought y' had better taste."

Carol sighed under the weight of their stares, searching her memory for the events leading up to that day. "My roommate, Michonne; you've met her. She was concerned. She didn't think it was healthy to stay cooped up in the dorm or here at the garage so much. It was a blind date."

"Why would she set y' up with such an asshole? Shit ain't addin' up, sugar," Merle growled, upending the beer against his lips.

Carol shook her head. "She didn't know, Merle. That's the thing with Ed," she said, her fingers tracing a scratch in the worn surface of the tabletop. "He can be quite charming when he wants to be. 'Chonne said he'd been hanging out around the bowling alley at the commons where she works nights. He seemed ok to her. I figured if she thought he was ok, it wouldn't hurt to at least have a coffee with him."

Daryl's eyes narrowed, not liking the way she kept her gaze averted, wondering if she were trying to avoid setting off his temper. Which is why when he asked, "What changed your opinion?" his voice gentled.

"I don't know, really. I should, considering I'm a psych major, but … I think it was his body language while we were talking. And he seemed to get angry when I refused to hold his hand. He tried to hide it, but I could tell." She shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. "I tried to be nice, but all I wanted was to get away from him."

Daryl had to bite back the surge of jealousy churning acidly in his gut. Just thinking of Carol sitting there with that man … But he couldn't expect her to wait around for him, now could he? She was young and beautiful, smart and vivacious. If he had manned up and asked her out when he'd discovered just how deep his affections ran, she never would have found herself in such a predicament. Damnit! "So, when did y' notice him stalkin' y'?"

Carol raised her luminous eyes to his. "Almost immediately. He kept calling and texting, begging me to go out with him again. I finally had to block him. But then he began showing up at the coffee house, outside my classes, waiting for me. He even went so far as to change some of his own courses to sign up for mine."

"What about t'day? What'd th' fucker do t' have y' runnin' into th' garage an' shovin' yer tongue down m' brother's throat?" Merle snickered. "Not that I didn't enjoy th' show, mind y'."

Daryl shot him a look that could have curdled what was left of the beer in the bottle Merle held.

"He followed me to Pumpernickel's. He tried to pay for our lunch, and we got into an argument." Carol reached for the bag, pulling out her rotisserie chicken green salad with extra tomato and Italian vinaigrette before she passed a roast beef sandwich to Merle and a turkey with extra bacon over to Daryl. There was no reason for them to starve while she poured out her whole sordid story. "I ran over here as fast as I could. I didn't want to take the chance of him cornering me in the parking lot where I'd left my car."

"You did th' right thing, Carol," Daryl mumbled around a bite of his sandwich, taking the small bag of jalapeno chips Merle passed him.

"Daryl … god, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to attack you! I'd just told Ed I had a boyfriend, hoping he'd leave me alone if he thought I was involved with another man, but … he followed me," she cried, her lower lip trembling as a solitary tear trailed over her cheek. "I panicked. Please, Daryl … don't hate me. I never wanted to put you in a position like that. You have to believe me."

Merle cursed in light of her tears. He'd never been able to stand the sight of tears from the fairer sex. "Fuckin' hell."

"Carol … Shit, don't cry," Daryl groaned, reaching out to her. "C'mere."

She didn't hesitate to vacate her seat and find a new one on his lap. It wasn't quite what he'd meant, only having wanted to offer her a hug, but it was better than he could have hoped. He'd always wondered what it would be like, to have her in his arms. Would he be able to handle the close proximity, always having shied away from close physical contact? Yet, even with his aversion to touch, he had wondered how it would be with her. He shivered as she settled into his embrace, her slender arms slipping beneath his to curl around his ribs, her face burrowing against his throat as she wept. He was helpless to resist, almost desperate in his need to comfort her, one hand rising to bury itself in the loose curls at her nape, the other banding about her waist.

His lunch abandoned, he pressed his cheek atop her crown, meeting Merle's smug stare across the table. Well … just … shit! He could just imagine what his brother would have to say about the display once they were alone. "We'll fix this, Carol."

Those softly uttered words only made her cry harder. How long had she been suffering her fears alone? She hadn't even wanted to share all that much with Michonne, though her roommate knew more than the Dixon brothers did about the situation. Carol hadn't realized how much she needed Daryl to understand. "I don't want you or Merle d-doing anything to get you in trouble. Promise me?"

Merle snorted. "First thing we need t' do is call Grimes out here an' let him know what's up. Maybe he can get y' one o' those restrainin' orders or somethin'."

Carol shook her head as Daryl reached for a napkin on the table to dry her tears. "Those never work, Merle. Besides, he's in some of my classes now. I doubt they would kick him out just because I have an order stating he can't come within five hundred feet of my person. I'm just going to have to get better at ignoring him. I can't let him continue to push my buttons."

Daryl reluctantly let her go, his face twisted into a mask of outrage as she slipped back over to her seat with a shaky smile of thanks for him. "So, what y' gonna do if he follows y' home one night and forces his way into your dorm? This ain't high school shit, Carol. He's a grown man, an' what he's doin' is illegal."

Merle finished his sandwich and gathered up his trash, tossing it in the bin before getting up to grab another beer. "So, keep up this pretense. I'm sure it ain't gonna hurt nothin' for lil' brother t' pretend he's yer boyfriend."

"Merle, that's not fair to Daryl."

Daryl wasn't even listening, his mind too focused on finding a way to remove her from Ed's immediate vicinity. "Come stay here … with us. Y' can commute back an' forth. I mean … it's only a ten-minute drive t' th' campus. I can clean out th' spare bedroom for y' … won't even have t' pay rent, so you'll save money," he said, barely pausing to take a breath. "You'll be safe here with us. For fuck's sake, y' here all th' time anyway."

Carol stared at him in wide-eyed astonishment, and Merle nearly choked on his beer, never having heard his brother say so much at one time. Especially when it involved asking the object of his infatuation to move in with him. Th' fuck?!

"Daryl, I couldn't do that. I know you like your space, and I just … I couldn't impose on you. Either of you," she protested, ignoring the little ball of happiness settling in her chest at the mere thought.

Merle leaned his elbows on the table, his gaze swinging between the two as a calculated grin formed on his face. "Now hold on a sec there, sugar. This could be th' answer t' yer problem. Y' come live with us, an' ol' Ed ain't gonna be able t' get near y'. Y' might have t' deal with him durin' class or at work, but there's other people around y'. He won't be able t' get y' off alone somewhere."

"That's not going to help me when I have to go to the retreat next weekend, though," she groaned, burying her face in her hands.

"What's that?"

Daryl shot his brother an annoyed look. "Don't y' ever listen? She told us about it last week." When Merle still looked confused, he sighed. "Michonne is doing a behavioral study for extra credit. So, they're goin' on a retreat – a vacation – up t' Lanier Island for the weekend." He turned back to look at Carol. "What's th' retreat got t' do with the asshole stalkin' y'?"

Carol gulped the last of her water before she dropped her bombshell. Now that the boys knew what was going on with her, there was no way they were going to take it well – at least not without trying to stop her. "Ed's in that class, and the trip is open to all students. Michonne told me today his name is on the signup sheet."

"Oh, hell no!" Merle barked, slamming his hand against the table. "That jackass is gonna do everythin' he can t' get y' off alone somewhere, an' god only knows what he'll try t' do t' y'."

She wrapped her arms around herself, her short nails digging into her arms. "I have to go, Merle. I can't get a refund this close to the trip. And I can't let Michonne down."

"Michonne is th' cause o' all this shit, Carol Ann!"

"She's still my friend."

Daryl couldn't stand to see her looking so forlorn and dejected. It tugged at his heart, wanting to comfort her again, but he didn't think it would be welcome this time. Carol was a proud woman, and she'd likely see it as a sign of pity. "Y' ain't goin' up there alone. I'll go with y'. We'll play out this game y' started, and I'll pretend t' be your boyfriend … on one condition."

Carol's eyes filled with hope as she locked her gaze with his. "Really? I'd do anything to fix this and get rid of Ed Peletier."

"Y' move in here with us. Y' do, an' I'll go with y' t' th' retreat. Ed won't know what hit him."

*.*.*

"You're serious?" Michonne asked, her brow drawn in confusion. "I thought you were joking when you told me yesterday."

Carol shrugged as she added her small electric skillet to the box she was packing, her Keurig and crockpot already stored away. "It's not my fault you didn't believe me."

Michonne glared at the Dixon brothers as they each wrestled with an armload of Carol's belongings, carrying them downstairs to place in the bed of Merle's pickup. "Are things really this bad with Ed?" she asked, still feeling guilty for setting him up with Carol. "Why didn't you tell me? We could have gone to the police, or the dean … hell, even campus security. You can't just let him chase you away, Carol."

"I didn't want you to worry," she said, abandoning her packing and taking a seat on her bed. She hadn't even told Michonne about the altercation three days ago which had brought her predicament to her boys' attention.

"Carol Ann, I am your friend. I worry about you because I love you. Whether you need to talk, or hide a body … I'm here for you."

Carol snorted a laugh, tears of mirth glittering on her lashes. "Same goes for you," she chuckled. "But this wasn't really my idea. There are circumstances …"

"Oh, god, what haven't you told me?" Michonne asked, all traces of humor vanished.

Carol went on to explain what had happened at the deli and later at the garage, much to Michonne's horror. "You told him you were dating Daryl? How'd Dixon take it?"

She flopped back on the bed and pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to relieve some of the pressure building behind her eyes. "He never would have known if Ed hadn't followed me to the garage. Considering I broke all his rules concerning personal space and kissed him, I'd say he took it rather well. Apparently, he has no problem 'pretending' to be my boyfriend." Carol couldn't disguise the bitter edge to her voice. "He was very understanding."

"Oh, you've got it bad, honey," Michonne teased, arching a brow. "So, whose idea was it for you to move in with them?"

Carol plucked nervously at a loose thread on her jeans, refusing to meet her friend's eyes. "Daryl's. Merle thought it was a good idea too."

"Oh, really?" She nudged Carol playfully. "Maybe this could work in your favor."

"Chonne, stop," she admonished. "He's my friend. Both of them are, and this is their way of protecting me from someone they see as a threat … nothing more. Besides, this is the only way Daryl would agree to go to the retreat with me. They were all for me cancelling, but seeing as it wasn't an option, we all think this is the best solution. And if I move into the apartment, I don't have to worry about Ed following me back to the dorm."

"Carol … if I had known he'd turn out to be such a psycho, I never would've encouraged you to go out with Ed," Michonne apologized for what must've been the hundredth time.

"It's not your fault. You were tired of watching me pining away for Daryl. I understand."

"Well, maybe Daryl is just really shy? What if he's hiding feelings of his own for you?" Michonne pried. She'd seen how the man looked at Carol when he thought she wasn't looking. There was more there whether Carol chose to acknowledge it or not.

"He doesn't see me that way, 'Chonne," she murmured dejectedly.

"Uh-huh, ok. One thing's for sure, though …"

Carol returned to her packing, hearing her boys out in the hall as they made their way back to her dorm room. "Yeah, what's that?"

"This will be a weekend we will never forget!"

A/n: Well, at least Carol will be a lot safer with the brothers than stuck at the dorm with Michonne. Things are about to get interesting. Thank you to everyone who reviewed and threw some love this way. Love and hugs to you all. And a great big shoutout to my darlings, BettyBubble and Geektaire for going over this for me.