Daryl woke up a little confused where he was until he heard Merle and Tammy chatting in the kitchen. He picked up his phone and shuddered at the time, 7am and it was only his first day in town.

He got up out of bed and staggered into the kitchen in his boxers and t shirt.

"Good morning," Tammy said, cheerily.

Both she and Merle were dressed and ready for the day.

"You tired still? You wanna take a day to adjust?" Merle suggested.

Daryl thought it sounded like a hell of an idea until he remembered the pretty girl in the office.

He had been told to steer clear but Merle would have to give him a damn good reason to keep away from her.

"Nah, I'm good. Just need a coffee."

He scratched his ass, forgetting for a second he wasn't around only men and wandered back into his room to get dressed.

"I'm gonna go clear out my work truck, babe. Send him out when he's done," Merle said, kissing Tammy on the cheek.

"Yep."

Daryl came out a while later and she offered him a muffin and bagged lunch, just like she had made for Merle.

"He's out at the truck whenever you're ready."

"Thanks a lot," he said, sitting down at the table to eat the muffin but he'd never tasted anything like it and not in a good way.

"What is this?" he asked, trying not to sound like a dick but he was genuinely curious.

"Uh, it's gluten free. Don't you like it?" she asked, looking a little hurt.

"Nope, it's great! I love it," he said quickly. He couldn't bare to hurt a woman's feelings, neither could Merle.

He forced himself to finish the muffin with a big smile.

"Do you have any coffee made?"

"No, but Carol will have some down at the office for you. Her coffee is better anyway."

He grabbed some orange juice to wash down the 'muffin' and went outside to have a smoke and meet Merle.

The drive to work was just friendly chit chat and bullshitting between brothers. Merle was glad to have him back.

"You're gonna need to pick up a brass-in card with Carol at the office and have a cup of coffee. I gotta have a safety meeting with the crew anyway."

"Yeah right," Daryl answered, "nobody moves, nobody gets hurt, right?"

"You know it!" Merle laughed and headed over to the crew's trailer.

Daryl tossed his second cigarette of the morning on the ground and checked his pockets for some gum or something but found none.

"Hi," he said, walking in and approaching her desk.

She had on a black skirt and a blue top, she looked pretty and her red hair was up in a loose bun. He could get used to seeing her every morning.

"Hi, Daryl," she replied, looking up from her typing, "What can I do for you?"

"Merle says I need a brass-in card."

"Oh, of course. Just a moment."

She left the room to get a card and machine to program it.

"Do you have a moment? I can get you a coffee, unless you've had one already," she offered.

"Thanks, that'd be great."

She walked over to the coffee maker and reached up over her head to the shelf where they kept take out coffee cups. She stretched high on the tips of her toes and he stared openly at the back side of her, she was gorgeous.

"How do you like it, Daryl?"

"Huh?"

She giggled, "How do you take your coffee?"

"Uh...just cream, thanks."

She opened the mini fridge and grabbed the cream and then offered him the finished cup.

She worked on programming the brass-in card so he could clock his hours just by swiping it, all employees had one.

He took a sip and it was definitely the best coffee he'd ever had.

"What kind of coffee is this?"

"Just normal coffee. Do you like it?" she grinned.

"I love it, how do you make it taste like this?"

"That's a closely guarded secret," she teased, handing him the card.

"I'll get it out of you," he answered, confidently. He was hoping to get more from her than her coffee secret.

Every time Carol turned around he was there and she liked it. The first day when she left he had been standing near her car having a smoke, like he was waiting for her.

"So, you going to that thing at Bob and Sasha's? he inquired.

She peeled her blazer from her shoulders and tossed it in the backseat, remembering she really should take his photocopied license out before he saw it.

"Yeah, you?" she asked

"Yep. You gonna make me more of that coffee in the morning?"

"Uh huh."

She liked the playful banter between them already. Carol hadn't had fun with a man in ages, and she had a feeling he could be a lot of fun.

Merle and the crew, including Daryl were all very busy during the first week and a half he was there but she could be assured he'd stop by for no good reason whenever he could.

#####################

Merle was spending the evening working on construction plans and making one phone call after the other. The party was only days away and he had a lot of work to catch up on before he could relax. Daryl felt like lounging around so he and Tammy sat on the couch watching TV in their sweats.

"So what's the deal with Carol?"

"How do you mean?" Tammy asked, not turning to look at him and still staring at the TV.

"Why's Merle so testy about her?"

Daryl had been working on getting her attention now all week and with some success. She had a cute smile and her face lit up a little when he'd show up. He had a feeling she felt it too, there was something there for sure.

"He's just protective of her, it's kind of a long story."

"Let's hear it."

Tammy was swift on the uptake and she knew why he was asking so many questions.

"I guess it would be good for you to know if you two are going to be friends or whatever. Please, keep it quiet though," she warned.

"Cross my heart."

"A little over a year ago Carol turned up at the shelter where I work, that's how I met her. She is divorced now but she left an abusive marriage. I introduced her to Merle and she's worked there ever since."

"Seriously?" It scared him a little, the idea of getting involved with a woman who had so much in her past. He knew it was cowardly to shy away from it. It certainly wasn't her fault but it sounded like something he wouldn't know how to deal with.

"She's really special to Merle and to me. He just wants to watch out for her like he's her dad or something, like nobody is good enough. It's kinda cute but he has to learn to let go a little," Tammy laughed.

The next morning Carol hardly saw Daryl at all. It was almost 4 and she had only seen him in the morning when he came in for a cup of coffee and even then he'd been quiet and smiled less. She started to wrap up her work for the day but kept looking up at the door occasionally. Carol wondered what had changed.

By 5pm she headed out to her car and said goodbye to Merle. She had no idea where Daryl was but felt awkward asking. Carol went for a long run to clear her mind in the park near her apartment and by the time she got home she felt better from all the endorphins.

Tammy texted just as she got out of the shower and asked if she needed her book back for the book club.

~ yeah, I need it for tomorrow. Can I come grab it?

~sure, come on over.

Carol took longer to get ready than she normally would and she couldn't lie to herself why. She drove over to Tammy's and although she'd been there a hundred times and normally walked right in, she knocked.

Merle answered and held the door open with a puzzled look.

"Since when do you knock?"

"I don't know? You have company now so..."

"Daryl ain't company, he's a pest," Merle laughed.

She found Tammy in the kitchen and sat down to have a chat.

Daryl wandered in looking like he'd kill for a great excuse to be there but just grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.

"Hi," she said with a smile, hoping she'd get one back.

"Hey, Carol," he said. She did get her smile but it felt different. He ended up back in the living room without another word.

She chatted for a bit and decided she must have read the whole thing wrong, maybe it was for the best since he'd only be there a few months.

"Thanks for the book. I better get home now."

"Night, Carol," Tammy said, giving her a short hug, "Remember you said you'd come shopping with me for something to where to this shindig."

"I remember," she assured her and walked out the front door.

Carol got to her car and tossed the book in the back seat. When she looked up he was walking onto the front steps, lighting a smoke.

She stood looking at him for a moment before opening the car door.

"Goodnight, Carol."

She smiled a little sad smile, she had hoped he wanted to talk some more.

"Goodnight."

Daryl felt bad for the way he acted the night before and purposely went in early to see her. Merle was working from home and leaving the foreman in charge for the day, so he took Merle's truck.

Tammy told him Carol was always there eary before everyone else. He did a lot of thinking and it decided he was man enough to deal with her past after all, he liked this girl too much to let it stop him. Maybe he had found a reason to stay put but it was still too soon to know, he was so used to having no ties.

It was still not quite light when he knocked on the trailer door. She was inside making coffee and getting her work in order and she opened the door looking surprised to see him.

"Daryl? You're early today!"

"I need your coffee, you got me hooked."

It wasn't a great line but he wanted to see her smile and it achieved that, at least.

She poured him the first cup of the day and added cream.

"Here you go."

"Thanks."

Daryl sat next to her on an office chair with wheels and fidgeted.

"Sorry I was acting weird last night."

"Is something wrong?"

"No, everything's great. It was nothing."

He looked up and smiled at her again and she looked relieved.

"I was wondering if I could tag along with you at this work party thing. I don't really know anybody here, unless you're going with someone else."

She wanted to go with him, she wanted to take him home for the night but in a few months he wouldn't be here.
"Sure, that sounds nice."

"Great," he answered. He looked at her wondering what else he could say to keep her talking to him.

An awkward silence filled the room and she looked into his eyes. There was something between them but with him leaving she was scared to pursue it. Being left with a broken heart didn't sound like fun after the year she'd had.

He could see something in her eyes that was contemplative. She was thinking about it, maybe that was enough. With nobody else around their eyes locked and he felt he was being pulled like a magnet. The stare was held by the both of them for so long he was getting mesmerized by her eyes. Before he knew what the hell he was doing he leaned in to kiss her.

"Wait," she said, laying her hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry...I just thought-" he began.

"It's not that I don't want to but...you're leaving aren't you?"

"Yeah, but not for three months or so," he answered.

She looked down at her hands knowing she wanted desperately to kiss him but she'd get burned if she wasn't careful. Sometimes the right thing to do felt so wrong.

"That's the thing, Daryl. I could like you a lot in three months...maybe too much."

"Too much?" he asked, dumbly.

"Too much to not be hurt by you leaving."

This girl was smart, she knew what she wanted and what she didn't. He wanted to make her promises he didn't know if he could keep just so he could kiss her.

"I understand, I'm not trying to make things complicated." He settled on the adult response.

He got up and nodded and even right then she still wanted that kiss. She wished she'd kept her big mouth shut.

He opened the door to the trailer and looked back at her, she looked a little lost.

"Will you still come with me? As friends?"

"Sure."

When he closed the door they both had the exact same thought for completely different reasons.

What the hell did I just do?