Title: Evidence

Pairing: Daryl/Carol

Plot: Takes place at the prison, set around season 4. Carol and Daryl have admitted their feelings for one another and have been in an open relationship for several months. The only problem is Carol can't seem to get Daryl to go further than 'making out' and it's starting to frustrate her. After biting her tongue for so long, Carol finally manages to get Daryl to tell her why he keeps pushing her away.

(WARNING) This story contains mentions of violence, child abuse and sexual abuse.

Carol sighed heavily when Daryl pulled away from her for what seemed like the hundredth time and moved to sit on the edge of her bunk. This wasn't the first time she'd have to go to bed sexually frustrated after being with him and it was starting to become irritating. She loved the man to death and wanted to be with him in every way possible, but she couldn't figure out how to get them passed this point in their relationship they seemed destined to constantly repeat.

"What is it?" Carol finally asked when he continued to stare at his feet.

Daryl lifted his head, acting as if he'd almost forgotten she was still laying there. "What is what?"

Grabbing the bars on the bunk above her, she lifted herself to sit with her back against the wall. "Is there something wrong with me?"

"No...what?" He asked again, his brows furrowing in confusion as he moved to face her, placing a hand on her thigh.

"Well I must have done something...I mean, if you expected something better from all this just tell me..." Carol tried to keep her voice steady, not wanting him to know how much it would crush her if that was the reason he kept pushing her away.

A frown quickly spread across his face. "Ya ain't done anythin'...I...I don't understand..."

Carol groaned, failing to hold back her frustration. "Daryl you're driving me crazy!" Her hands smacked the mattress underneath them, her fists balling into the sheet.

Daryl flinched at her outburst and quickly stood, looking between her and the exit. Carol wasn't about to play that game.

"You better not walk away from me." Carol growled and pushed herself to stand, taking a step closer to ensure he wouldn't bolt the moment she called him out on his torture. "Do you enjoy this? Watching me suffer? Teasing me to the point where I need to beg you to make love to me?"

Daryl swallowed hard, the wall behind him suddenly hitting the back of his boots. He hadn't realized she was backing him into a corner with no escape until it was too late. "No." He choked out, not even recognizing his own voice at how weak it sounded.

"Then what's the problem?" She whispered. "I know you want this as much as I do." Taking a chance she reached out to palm the obvious erection still strained against his jeans to prove her point. It was the first time she had been brave enough to feel him with her hand.

Daryl tensed, his lips parting to suck in a deep breath as he grabbed her wrist. Attempting to stop her since he couldn't possibly move back any further.

"Daryl it's me. I'm not gonna hurt you if that's what you're afraid of. I love you." Carol pulled her hand from his hold when she felt him start shaking and instantly felt bad for being so straight forward. She had no idea he'd react that way. "We're in this together, talk to me...please."

Daryl shut his eyes and let his head drop against the wall. "M'sorry." He sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. "I ain't never...I...Fuck..." Embarrassed, he snapped his mouth shut and stopped talking.

Carol looked at him dumbfounded for a moment while she registered exactly what he was trying to tell her. There was no way Daryl Dixon hadn't been with a woman. It didn't seem possible. Carol knew the other women around the prison were attracted to him, she heard their comments and saw the way they stared when he walked by, so to think he didn't receive the same attention before the world went to shit seemed unlikely. "You've never had sex?"

The pain in his features when he shook his head made Carol frown and she reached out to touch his cheek lovingly. "Hey, look at me." She insisted.

Daryl opened his eyes hesitantly, afraid to see her reaction.

Carol leaned forward to press her soft lips against his in a sweet kiss. "Is it because you never found the right person or is there another reason?"

Daryl looked away from her and brought his thumb up between his teeth, chewing at the skin around his nail. "Ya already know my Daddy was a mean sum' bitch, right?"

Carol crinkled her forehead in confusion, but gave him a nod, already not liking where this was heading.

He surprised her when he took her hand and moved them to sit, lacing their fingers together. There was no way he could tell her what he was about to without having some sort of comfort from someone he trusted. After running a hand through his hair he found a place off in the distance to stare at before he was finally ready to tell her something he'd never told anyone. "He always said I was weak...that I cried too much ta be a Dixon..."

Carol dropped her eyes to her lap when he started talking. Staring would only make him uncomfortable, so she placed a hand on his leg and squeezed gently to let him know she was there if he needed her.

"Kind of hard ta be tough when ya got beat just for lookin' at the bastard the wrong way..." He shifted to lean against the wall and bent his leg she wasn't touching, resting an arm on his knee. "Was constantly called a pussy for tryin ta run, for not taken his beatin's like a man. Told me a girl wouldn't cry as much as I did..."

Carol kissed his shoulder and tried to offer him a reassuring smile when he turned to look at her. It didn't last long though and he quickly flicked his eyes back to the place he picked out on the wall in front of them that apparently made it easier for him to get this out in the open.

"One night he was drunk...found one of his dirty magazines Merle had stolen from his stash in the bathroom. I was sittin' in front of the TV eatin' a bowl of cereal when he smacked me upside the head. Didn't know what was goin' on or what I had done ta piss him off... but next thing I knew he was jerkin' me up by my arm, bitchin' about messin' with his stuff and dragin' me in ta the kitchen." Daryl remembered the moment when his father tossed him to the floor and he cowered in the corner against the refrigerator as his Dad started unbuckling his belt. The sound of it snapping out of the loops made the hairs on the back of his neck stand at attention and even as an adult the sound still made his skin crawl.

"Get over here." Will Dixon growled at his son who was still sitting on the floor and holding the side of his head where he'd been smacked.

Seven year old Daryl avoided his father's eyes and risked a glance at the back door, silently hoping Merle would come through it any minute to save him. With his lower lip already quivering, Daryl pushed himself to stand on his shaky legs and took a step in his fathers direction when he knew no one was coming to his rescue.

Will reached out to grab a hold of Daryl's hair, forcing him to look up as he jerked him closer. His belt tightly gripped in his other hand. "Already told ya 'bout messin' with what ain't yers. When ya gonna learn?"

When Daryl saw his father's hand raise he lifted his own in an attempt to protect himself from the blow, but he was slow and the belt hit his side, breaking the skin even through his shirt. He whimpered softly and bit his lip to keep from crying out when he got hit again, knowing he'd only get it worse if he made a sound.

Will let his son's hair go and dropped the magazine onto the table. "Why'd ya take it?"

Daryl opened his watery blue eyes, seeing the magazine for the first time. He was too young to know about naked women or how sex even worked, let alone what a magazine filled with both was doing abandoned in the bathroom. His father had more than likely forgotten it in there himself or Merle had stolen it while Will was passed out the day before. Either way Daryl would be the one to suffer for it being misplaced because trying to explain to his drunken abusive father that he was innocent would go unheard.

Will snapped the belt against his own leg to gather Daryl's attention when he remained silent, the sound making him flinch. "That there's for a man." He pointed at the magazine, his voice full of anger. "Somethin' ya ain't never gonna be. Fuckin' little sissy, should of been born a damn girl." Will opened the refrigerator to grab a beer. "Take ya pants off." He demanded, popping the top on the can to take a sip of the bitter liquid while he leaned against the counter.

With a trembling hand, Daryl tugged on the elastic waist of his dinosaur pajamas to slide them down his legs, unable to control the sudden tears that ran over his cheeks. He quickly tried to wipe them away. Not wanting to give his father another reason to hit him.

It was no use though. Will had seen him crying and was already wrapping the belt tighter around his fist as he crossed the small distance between them to grab Daryl's hair again. He whipped the leather against the back of his son's bare legs and threw him to the floor when he started sobbing.

Before Daryl had a chance to react to the fall, his father was ripping his underwear from his small body and flipping him over so he was laying on his back. The belt forgotten at the moment, tossed to the side with his clothes.

"Please tell me he didn't..." Carol couldn't finish her sentence as she struggled to swallow down the lump in her throat. Part of her wanted to know what had happened, but the other part was scared to know something that apparently haunted him for a good portion of his life.

Daryl squeezed her hand and shook his head. "My daddy was a sick fuck, but he weren't no homo."

Carol released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding and gave him a nod.

"After all the beatin's...and what he did that night...I couldn't be touched anymore, not even in a good way without feelin' sick ta my stomach, without flinchin'...Merle didn't help none either...teasing me about the size of my junk as we grew up, sayin' I'd get laughed at if I tried ta be with a woman...so I never wanted ta be..." Daryl lifted their conjoined hands to kiss the back of her knuckles, his cheeks going red. "Ya the first person I've trusted since then, the only one I've wanted ta let get close...and I'm afraid I'll disappoint ya since I dunno what ta do...or scare ya away when ya see..."

"Hey..." Carol interrupted, shifting from beside him to straddle his waist. She brushed her fingers over his stubbly cheek and waited for him to make eye contact before continuing. "First off, your brother was an asshole. You have nothing at all to worry about when it comes to size...trust me." It wasn't like she had seen him up close and personal in the nude, but the undeniable hardness pressed against her at the moment proved he definitely wasn't lacking in that department. "And you don't have to worry about messing anything up. Just keep doing what you've been doing and I'll help you along the way."

"What abou-" Daryl had to swallow his words when Carol was more interested in kissing him over talking and it was a good momentary distraction, because he hadn't even realized she had started unbuttoning his shirt and had it almost falling from his shoulders by the time he opened his eyes and let her lips fall from his.

He took a second to watch as she scanned his eyes with her bright blue ones and then slowly slid her hands down his bare chest. He sucked in a breath and the muscles in his stomach tightened as her fingers made their way lower, exploring his well defined abs and the thin trail of hair that disappeared into the front of his pants.

"Carol..." He breathed, trying to get his head clear enough to comprehend what was happening. Their conversation should of prepared him for what was to come, but he didn't expect things to go in this direction so soon after admitting to her his fears. It was starting to become a bit overwhelming for the shy hunter and she'd hardly even touched him.

Picking up on his discomfort Carol leaned forward to kiss up his neck, sucking lightly just below his ear. "It's alright." She whispered. "Just calm down and remember its me, I'm not going to hurt you."

When his breathing returned to normal she decided to put herself in a more vulnerable position to get him to loosen up. She pulled away from his neck and sat up straight, still straddling his waist and reached down for the hem of her shirt to lift it over her head. She heard him gasp softly and when she saw his face again his eyes were glued to her breasts. She gave up on wearing bras some time ago when all the ones she owned slowly started to fall apart and trying to find a new one was the least of her worries.

Daryl startled her when he took the upper hand and moved to kiss at her collar bone. He left sloppy, open mouth kisses down the front of her chest and in between her breasts before taking one in his hand where he experimentally twisted a nipple between his thumb and finger, causing Carol to moan and arch her body forward.

Happy with her reaction he kissed lower and claimed her other nipple in his mouth where he sucked gently. He nipped at the tight bud and the corners of his mouth started to curl into a smile at the sounds she was making. Apparently everything he was doing was something she liked because she grabbed a hold of his hair and pushed him harder against her chest while rocking her hips against his, a growl escaping his lips at the friction she created.

"That feels amazing." She moaned, her eyes falling shut. It had been a long time since she'd been touched this way by a man and her whole body felt alive. Even when she was with Ed he hadn't bothered to do things that would bring her pleasure, so if Daryl honestly had no idea what he was doing she never would of known the difference.

After Daryl finished teasing her nipple with a swirl of his tongue, Carol fist his hair and pulled him away from her chest to make him look at her. She gave him a shy smile and a quick kiss before letting him go to push his shirt the rest of the way from his body. He shook his shoulders and tossed the shirt across the small cell, quickly flicking his eyes to her hand when she tugged at his belt buckle.

Carol stilled her fingers and placed her free hand on his cheek, bringing his eyes back to hers. When she had him focused on her face and not what she was doing with her hands, she continued to undo his belt and popped the button on his jeans.

Daryl tried to stay focused on her beautiful face, her red and slightly swollen lips, but couldn't stop his nerves when she pulled his zipper down. He instantly tensed and went to grab her hand, but Carol had anticipated his reaction and was quick to knock his hand away. She reached up to push on his shoulder so he would lay down with his back against the sheets while she shifted her hips to gain better access to open his pants.

"Carol wait." He pleaded, but she was too fast and was already pulling him free from his boxers. His hands instantly went to cover his face when he felt the cool air of the prison brush over his hardened member.

When he covered his face Carol just assumed he was embarrassed at being naked in front of her, but as she began to slide her hand up and down over the smooth skin of his erection she noticed an old scar at the base of his shaft. It went almost all the way around and trailed up his length in a jagged line to the underside of the tip. She quickly loosened her hold on him and moved her hand to rest at his hip.

"I'm sorry...I..." She stammered. "Did I hurt you?" When she asked the question out loud she closed her eyes and sighed at how stupid she sounded. However in her defense she had no idea if he was extra sensitive in that area because of the trauma he endured there or if over exertion caused him pain.

Without moving his hands, Daryl swallowed hard and shook his head.

Carol idly rubbed his hip and smiled even though he couldn't see her. "Daryl?"

Spreading his fingers he looked through the cracks and made a sound in response.

Carol couldn't help but giggle and leaned forward to kiss the back of his hand. "Stop hiding from me."

With a sigh Daryl dropped his hands to where his fingers were touching her knees. "S'alright if yer disgusted...I understand." He said pathetically, making her frown.

"Daryl I'm not disgusted, I just didn't want to hurt you...whatever...whatever happened..." She paused a minute to put together exactly what she wanted to say and cupped his cheek. "I'm so sorry he did this to you, but it doesn't make me want you any less. I still love everything about you."

Daryl blinked and slowly slid his hands up her thighs to grip her hips.

"And as long as everything works the way it's suppose to, I don't see a problem here." Carol let her fingertips glide over the underside of his erection, hoping to keep him interested.

Daryl's legs shook at the light touch and without thinking wrapped his hand around hers that was teasing him to seek more contact. "It's fine...s'not the prettiest thin' ta look at, but it does what it's suppose ta I reckon."

Carol squeezed him when he trapped her hand and kissed him hard to let him know how badly she needed this. He eagerly grabbed a hold of her short hair and kissed her back, thrusting his tongue into her mouth to slide against hers in motion that had them both moaning.

While keeping their mouths conjoined, Carol lifted her hips to rid herself of her remaining clothes. Once they hit the floor she returned to straddling him and only fell from his lips to kiss across his jaw and down his throat. Her hand snaked between them to grab his throbbing cock and guided him toward her dripping entrance.

Carol felt his slight resistance and before he had a chance to change his mind she slowly lowered herself onto him, letting him sink deep inside her heat with the roll of her hips. His whole body shuddered at the new sensation and he wrapped his arms around her waist, sitting up more to drop his head to her shoulder as she started moving up and down his length.

"Christ" He groaned, trying to calm himself enough to think about what he should be doing to make her feel as good as she was making him feel. It was impossible though. The way she rocked her body and gracefully shifted her hips against him like a well tuned engine had him a quivering mess in a matter of minutes.

"Oh, fuck Carol...ya gonna have ta stop...I can't..." Daryl bit his lip, his abs tightening. "Shit...I'm gonna cum." As soon as the words left his mouth he jerked his hips uncontrollably and shot his warm liquid deep inside her as a loud growl rumbled in his chest.

Carol gasped when his nails dug into her lower back, the slight pain causing a thrill to run down her spine and even though she wasn't close to her own release, she continued to move on him until he buried his face in the crook of her neck and stopped shaking.

"I'm sorry..." He whispered, pressing his lips against her neck.

Carol furrowed her brows and stroked his hair. "For what?"

He pulled her tighter against his chest trying to avoid having to face her. "That wasn't even good for ya..." He said painfully.

Carol kissed the side of his head and smiled. "What gave you that idea?"

Daryl grumbled, clearly embarrassed at his performance. "I came in like two seconds...ya didn't even get off."

"We can always do it again when you're ready." She said with a sweet smile that he hadn't missed this time because she somehow managed to get him to look at her.

Suddenly his eyes went wide. "We didn't use a condom neither."

"Daryl, calm down." Carol said gently. "You're thinking too much, just relax and enjoy the moment."

"But Carol-"

"Stop." She insisted, giving him a quick kiss. "I had my tubes tied after I had Sophia, so we don't have to worry about a little Dixon running around here raising hell." That caused him to chuckle quietly.

With a slight shift of her hips, she let him slide out of her and reached for the towel hanging at the foot of the bed she'd placed there after her shower that evening.

Daryl rolled closer to the wall to give her room when she moved and watched as she cleaned herself off. When she was finished she handed him the towel to do the same and went to slip on a clean pair of panties and a shirt to sleep in. She was about to ask if he was going to stay, but snapped her mouth shut and grinned when he was already laying there in his boxers with the sheet drawn to the side waiting for her to join him.

The cell sank into darkness when she blew out the lone candle that had been keeping the small room lit and slowly took a few steps forward in the direction of the bunk, careful to not bump her shins on anything that might be in the way.

"Here." Daryl's deep voice rang out, his big hand wrapping around her wrist to pull her down into the bed with him. He brought the sheet up and draped it over her shoulder, his chest pressing firmly against her back as he settled them into a comfortable sleeping position with his hand rested on her flat stomach and his face buried in her hair. "Thank ya." He said with a yawn.

Carol reached down to grab his hand that was on her stomach and brought it to her lips, kissing his knuckles. "Are you thanking me for sex?" She asked with a giggle, only teasing him.

"No...thankin' ya for everythin'...for bein' patient with me...for showin' me I can be close ta someone and not get hurt." He paused, clearing his throat. "I know I ain't the best at this stuff, but ya always been kind ta me and never looked down on me like everyone else...I guess...I guess I'm just glad ya here cus I dunno where I'd be if ya weren't."

Carol felt her chest ache and she closed her eyes briefly to push back the tears she could feel threatening to fall. "Just don't forget who you belong to Pookie." She probably could of thought of a much more heart felt response, but she had to keep things light to keep from crying in front of him. She knew he hated it.

Daryl chuckled and pressed his lips against her shoulder. "Never."

"I love you." She said, turning her head to kiss his cheek.

"Love ya too woman."