AN: I'm a little bit ashamed of the fact that I've spent all day in my pajamas, just writing this story, but I love writing it. The characters are surprising me and I can't even wait to see what's next. I feel like they're turning into this epic awkward couple…like it's so wrong, but it's so right. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! I'm happy to see the reviews, at least I know I'm not writing in vain. Thanks, everyone.
111111111111111111111111111111111
Daryl still hadn't really figured out how the "us" thing worked. He had never been an "us" before. He'd always been more of a loner. His family had taught him early in life that people were good at letting you down. People were good at not being what they said they would be. He'd always just felt like attachments weren't worth it in the end. But Michonne didn't feel that way. It didn't feel like she was going to let him down.
Still, this whole "us" thing was a little confusing. He wasn't really sure how it worked. They had been an "us" now for two weeks and nothing had changed except that Michonne spoke a little more freely around him. He didn't think anyone at the prison even knew about them. There hadn't been anything to let them know. Neither of them had touched each other except on watch, and even then there'd only been a little making out. He wasn't sure they were doing it right. It seemed a lot different than Maggie and Glenn, and a whole lot different than Rick and Rachel.
1111111111111111111111111111111111
Maggie and Glenn pulled into the gate in the delivery van that they had stolen for their runs. Rick closed the gate behind them and walked behind the vehicle up to the prison. Daryl popped the last of the crackers he was eating into his mouth and dusted his hands off on his pants.
"Delivery's here." He yelled into the prison. Everyone shuffled out slowly, except Hershel and Sasha and Tyreese who were on watch and had alerted Rick of the approaching vehicle. When Maggie and Glenn hit the town for a run, they usually hit it hard. They were going from store to store now every few days, trying to get the last of everything that they might need or want. Soon that town would be picked over, and they'd have to find another farther out for supplies. It wasn't an ideal situation, but it was the best that they could do for the time being. The size of their deliveries, however, meant that unloading and sorting things was an "all hands on deck" experience.
As they started getting boxes and bags out, passing them down the line that they formed as though they had all become a human conveyor belt, Glenn was reporting to Rick on the run.
"We got most everything today." Glenn said. "I think there might be enough for one more run, but we need to make it soon. I think there's another group in the area."
"Do you think it's some of the good citizens of Woodbury?" Rick asked.
"Could be, it's hard to tell. Whoever it is it looked like they might have stayed at the pharmacy. Someone had made a bed there since the last time we were there." Glenn said.
Michonne shot Daryl a look. He honestly had zero idea what the look meant, but he definitely saw it. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do about it, but the look definitely was meant to give him some sort instruction.
"Daryl and Michonne were the last to do a pharmacy run. Did y'all see anything suspicious?" Rick asked.
Daryl looked at Michonne. Her expression was of absolutely no help to him whatsoever.
"Suspicious? No, man, we didn't see anything. There was only one Walker. The place was deserted." Daryl said. He passed the box to his left and looked at Michonne again. Man, he had to have a talk with her about her facial expression communication skills.
"Was the bed there when y'all were there?" Rick asked. Rick was always worried about other groups these days. No one at the prison was delusional enough to think they were the only ones out there anymore. The fiasco with Woodbury and their own acceptance of a few more into their numbers had taught them that they had no idea how many survivors there were in the world, or what they were capable of. Daryl wanted to tell him not to worry about it, but if he told them that they had put the "bed" there, it wouldn't take them long to figure out what they'd done on that run and Michonne might not find that the best way to introduce the "us" to the group. There was no way around Rick freaking out. If Daryl told him the bed was there when they got there, he was going to react. If Daryl told them it wasn't, he was going to react. The only way to avoid wasting energy on extra watches and tightened security against some imaginary group roaming around the area was to admit that they'd been responsible.
"Rick, can I talk to you a minute?" Daryl asked. Rick looked confused.
"Sure, Daryl." He said.
"Uh, over there…alone." Daryl said. He passed down a bag that he had in his hands, waited for Rick to get rid of the box he was holding and then the two went walking through the courtyard together.
"What's going on, Daryl?" Rick asked when they were out of earshot of the group.
"Listen, there ain't nobody been in that town but us." Daryl said. Rick looked confused. "It was me that put that pallet there in the pharmacy."
"What do you mean?" Rick asked. For a fleeting moment he started to get mad, concerned that Daryl would take something like a supplies run lightly enough to take a nap, but that wasn't Daryl. Then it dawned on him. Daryl had not been alone on the run, and he had insisted on taking Michonne, even though she would have been the least helpful person besides Hershel or Judith.
The look on Rick's face told Daryl he understood. Rick smiled at him.
"Michonne?" Rick asked. He glanced back at the group.
"Man, don't look over there." Daryl said. "And don't say nothin' neither."
"Oh, it's a secret?"
"Naw, it ain't no secret, it's just I don't want people talkin' 'bout her. It ain't like that. I mean it wasn't supposed to be somethin' like that. We just wanted, you know, to be alone and you can't get alone here very much." Daryl said. The way Rick was grinning was making him uncomfortable.
"So are you two supposed to be some kind of item?" Rick asked. It seemed highly unlikely to him. He'd always thought that maybe Daryl and Carol would eventually seal the deal, but he'd never imagined Michonne to ever be with any man.
"Yeah, we're givin' it a go." Daryl said. Rick patted him roughly on the shoulder.
"Well, OK then. Have you told Carol?" Rick asked.
"What am I gonna tell her? Sorry you thought I was with you, but I'm not with you 'cause I'm with 'Chonne?" Daryl was tired of everyone always bugging him about Carol. Sometimes he thought that was why Michonne never touched him or kissed him.
"I don't know what you need to tell her, but you need to tell her something before she finds your clothes in Michonne's cell." Rick said. He smiled again, shaking his head and started back toward the group.
111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
"So, it sounds like we might have another wedding to plan before long." Rachel said to Maggie while they were sitting at the table sorting personal supplies into boxes. Everyone got a box, and everyone got the same rations of things. The only difference made between any of the boxes was that the women also got feminine hygiene products. It was mindless work, but it had to be done.
"Don't tell me Rick asked you!" Maggie said.
Carol was listening to the two of them, not really joining in. She liked to listen to them gossip, but she hardly got involved. The table gossip while they were working made things more normal. It brought back that lighthearted world that they had all enjoyed once, before Walkers became a common threat. They talked about wedding plans for weddings that would never actually happen that way. The reality was that when Glenn and Maggie were married, there would be no dresses and no flowers, but she deserved the chance to imagine how it would have been, in the world they had known before. Now apparently Rachel would get to plan her dream wedding that would never take place.
"No, he didn't…at least not yet, but he did tell me some pretty interesting news." Rachel said. "Apparently there's more than meets the eye around here."
Maggie looked so excited that Carol had to smile at her. She couldn't imagine what Rachel was talking about. Most everyone around here that was likely to find someone had already settled in. Maybe Tyreese had his sights set on Michonne? If he did, she imagined that would be quite the job for him, but it could at least provide them with something more to talk about.
"Apparently Daryl told him that he and Michonne are a couple. I think it would be safe to say that we need to put a little WD40 on Michonne's cot." Rachel said.
Carol froze. Daryl and Michonne? That couldn't happen. That wouldn't happen. Daryl had always kind of shucked any of her advances, under the pretense that he didn't believe in relationships, especially not in the world that they lived in now. Carol sat down at the table.
"I'm sure Rick just heard him wrong." She said.
"No, I don't think so. Rick said that Daryl told them they were sleeping together and that they were pretty official." Rachel said. Maggie looked at Carol.
Maggie knew that Carol loved Daryl. He had been the one that had gotten her through losing Sophia. He had been so cute about things, bringing her flowers, offering her a shoulder to cry on whenever she needed it. Maggie had been fairly certain that if Daryl ever decided to give love a chance, Carol would have been the first that he had chosen. Daryl and Michonne seemed an unlikely couple. Maggie didn't know Michonne well. No one knew Michonne well, but she couldn't imagine her finding anything of interest in a guy like Daryl. They liked to go on runs together, and they liked to fight Walkers together, but that was because they were typically the two strongest of the group. It couldn't be because they were interested in each other.
"I agree with Carol." Maggie said. "Rick probably heard him wrong or is reading into things."
"Well you remember that bed that you and Glenn found in the pharmacy? Apparently they were the ones who made it." Rachel said. She didn't really know Carol that well, but she couldn't figure out why Maggie would doubt the validity of anything that Rick said.
Carol got up from the table.
"I'm…I'm gonna go get some more water. We need to do clothes soon." She said, taking one of the buckets and heading out to the courtyard. There was a small river nearby where they often went to get water, and the walk would do her good. Normally none of them went without someone to back them up, but Carol didn't want company.
111111111111111111111111111111111111
Daryl saw Carol going through the courtyard; bucket in hand, and alone. Normally they went in bunches to get water. It didn't look like anyone was going with her, and from what he could see, she didn't even look armed.
Daryl jogged after Carol and caught up with her just as she was reaching the gate.
"Carol! Carol! What are you doin'?" He called out.
Carol turned around and looked at him. Her face was wet with tears. Daryl didn't understand what was going on, but she was clearly upset. She was also clearly unarmed. He followed her, even though she hadn't responded to his question.
"Is it true?" She asked as they neared the river. Daryl had been silently following Carol along, picking off at least a half a dozen Walkers that she wouldn't have been able to kill.
"What? Is what true?" Daryl asked.
"You and Michonne?" Carol asked. She stopped walking and turned to face Daryl. The look on his face was partially one of confusion and partially one of understanding. She read it clearly. He knew exactly what she was talking about, but he didn't know how she'd known about it.
"What do you mean?" Daryl asked.
"You could have at least told me." Carol said.
"Told you what? I didn't think I had to tell you nothin'!" Daryl said.
"So you're with Michonne now?" Carol asked.
"Yes…I mean, I guess I am. We decided we'd be together." Daryl said. A Walker approached and he stabbed it with an arrow. "I really don't feel like dealin' with you right now, you nasty asshole." He said.
"When were you going to tell me?" Carol asked.
"Tell you what? Carol, I didn't know I had to tell you everything I was doin'!" Daryl said.
"You always said you didn't believe in relationships. You said you didn't believe in them before, so you surely didn't believe in them now." Carol countered, nearly slipping on some loose leaves. Daryl caught her by the back of the arm and heaved her back to her feet.
"I didn't believe in relationships…" Daryl said. "I still don't know what I believe in. I don't even understand what's going on between me and 'Chonne and I sure as hell don't know what's going on with you right now."
"Don't you get it? I loved you!" Carol said. Daryl stopped for a minute. Two more Walkers were sauntering their way and he ran at them. "Sonsabitches! Can't nobody get no damn peace no more!" He yelled at them as they crumpled to the ground.
"What the hell you mean?" He yelled at Carol's back. She was continuing on as though the Walkers that had approached were invisible. "You loved me? Who the hell asked you to go and do a thing like that?" He asked.
"Nobody asks you to love, Daryl, it just happens that way. Anyway, I'm sorry that I wasted my time on you." Carol said.
Daryl didn't know what to think. She was obviously angry, any fool could see that. No one walked as stupidly through the woods as she'd been doing unless they were absolutely furious or downright insane. They reached the river and Carol filled her bucket, turning to angrily head back to the prison. Daryl stopped her, putting a hand on each of her shoulders.
"Listen, Carol, I don't really know what's going on here. I care about you. I always have. You're like family to me. I never had a sister, but if I had one I would have wanted her to be like you. It's just different between 'Chonne and me…it don't mean that I don't care about you." He said. Carol shook him off.
"I never wanted to be your sister, Daryl. I wasn't looking for a brother." Carol said angrily. She trekked back to the prison and Daryl followed behind her, trying to make sure that no Walkers got her, but positive that he'd never understand women.