AN: Here we go, another little chapter.
I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think!
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Randy had been right that Daryl wouldn't notice too much change in Carol's demeanor right away. It would take time for the drugs to leave her system.
There were small changes…but they were very small.
She was more conversational, she asked more questions, she laughed more often…but there was nothing that Daryl could really put his finger on and say that the one action or another was the shining example of how she was coming out from under the fog she lived under.
But, by the time that he'd reduced her another half pill, he could tell that she was starting to feel the effects.
And one day, when he got home from work, there was no doubt at all that she was starting to…change.
When he came through the door from work, he was met by Josephine Greene, which was nothing unusual, but the woman looked a little flustered. She held her hands out to him, shaking her head as she approached him.
"I must have said something," she said. "I never meant to upset her…"
Daryl felt his heart leap right into his throat and threaten to choke him. He told himself he was prepared for whatever might come. He told himself that he could handle anything that did come his way…any mood swing…any change in demeanor…but that was just something that he told himself. He wasn't convinced of it by any stretch of the imagination when it really came down to it.
He even became slightly panicked when the woman had questioned why they were having chicken for dinner one night when he'd told her that he was bringing pork chops for her to prepare.
"Where is she?" Daryl asked, trying to hold his voice steady enough that it wouldn't give away what he was feeling.
"She's in her room," Josephine offered. "I don't know what I said that set her off…we were just chatting and then she got up…she closed herself in her room."
Daryl could tell that the woman was flustered and thought that she was guilty for whatever was going on, and she may have triggered it, but he didn't think she was actually responsible for anything.
"It's fine," he said. "Just…lemme…"
But he never finished what he was going to say. He made his way directly to Carol's bedroom door and knocked at it. He waited a moment, but when there was no response, he knocked again.
"Carol Ann? You OK in there? I need you ta answer me," Daryl said.
He waited a moment, leaning his head toward the door, and he held up a hand toward the woman who was still trying to apologize for something that she wasn't responsible for. He waved at her and she hushed.
He knocked again.
"Carol Ann…I don't wanna do it, but if you don't tell me you're OK…you don't unlock this door right now, I'ma take it down," Daryl said, raising his voice enough to be heard but still trying to keep from scaring her in any way.
And a moment later, the door did open and Carol stood in front of the opened portion, blocking his view into the room.
Daryl scanned her quickly with his eyes. She was fine…at least physically she was fine…and that was his first concern.
"You can't come in my room," Carol said, shaking her head at him. "It isn't…it isn't proper for you to be in my room."
Daryl nodded his head at her.
"I weren't comin' in your room," Daryl said. "Not if you open the door…an' you did. I weren't comin' in. I told you I wouldn't."
She stared at him a moment.
"But…we gotta have some rules around here," he said. "And the first thing we gotta have is that doors stay unlocked. You can close it if you gotta…change…or sleep…or do whatever the hell else you do in private, OK? You can close it but you can't lock it…an' I ain't gonna lock mine either. That way if…one of us needed ta get in a room, we can, OK?"
"I shouldn't be living with you," Carol said. "I shouldn't be here…living with you like this. It's not right. She knows…she knows it's not right."
Daryl turned to glance at Josephine Greene who was a little more wide eyed than before. She shook her head and started to mutter something, but Daryl waved at her to quiet her again and she said something softly about stepping outside to wait for Hershel.
And Daryl thought that might be best so that he could have whatever discussion he had to have with her. He dismissed her quickly, thanked her for her time, and turned back to Carol who was still standing there, though now she looked almost like she was on the verge of crying.
"Why am I here?" Carol asked him.
"You wanna sit down? Talk about this in the living room?" Daryl asked.
Carol shook her head at him. No…she didn't want to talk about this sitting in the living room. She wanted to talk about it with her standing on one side of the threshold to her little room and him standing on the other side of it.
"You live here, remember?" Daryl asked. "Where else would you be right now?"
"I was…home before…I should be at home…it isn't right for me to be living here with you," Carol said. "It isn't respectable."
Daryl chewed his lip.
"Listen, Carol…where you were livin' before? It was a home, but it weren't a real home. It weren't your home. An' they were just…lookin' out for ya…takin' care of ya…but they got done takin' care of you an' it was time for you ta leave…so you come with me. Now I'm takin' care of you," Daryl said.
"I should be with..." she broke off.
"I come ta get you, don't you remember? We're gonna get married…an' I come ta get you because they were done takin' care of you there…brought you here so I could take care of you…brought you here ta live with me," Daryl said. "I come ta get you…an' you came with me."
"My parents are dead," Carol said.
Daryl wasn't sure if she didn't know it before, or if it was something she'd forgotten and it was coming back to her, but she said it like it was something that she'd only just learned. So he nodded his head slowly at her.
"You're right," he said softly. "They are…an' that's why I'm lookin' out for you."
"We're going to be married?" Carol asked.
Daryl nodded his head.
"Yeah…we are," he said.
"But when?" Carol asked. "When are we going to be married? Because I'm living with you…and I don't even have a ring. She doesn't believe…no one will believe that we're going to be married…I don't even have a ring."
Daryl swallowed and nodded his head.
"I ain't bought you one yet," Daryl said. "Can't afford no real nice one, not right now. An' I didn't wanta buy you a cheap ring…I wanted ta…buy you a real pretty ring. One that was pretty enough for a woman as pretty as you…but I can't afford one right now."
Carol looked even more like she was going to cry, but she swallowed it back. Daryl almost wished she would cry, because it was an emotion that he hadn't seen from her yet.
"It doesn't have to be nice," Carol said, shaking her head. "I don't have to have a nice ring…I don't, really…"
Daryl didn't know how to respond right away and she spoke again before he could figure out what to say.
"Did you take it away from me?" She asked, almost like she was pleading with him. "Did you take it away because you don't want to marry me? I'm not good enough for you?"
Daryl tried ot keep his eyes from naturally widening as much as they wanted with the feeling that ran over him. He shook his head.
"Carol Ann…I ain't took nothin' from you," he said. "I never gave you a ring…I ain't bought one yet…but I surely wouldn't take it away from you if I had. It'd be yours…ta keep."
He moved toward her, just a step, meaning to take her hand, but she backed up, shaking her head at him.
"You shouldn't come in my room…" she repeated.
"I'm not comin' in," Daryl said coolly.
"You want me here…living with you…but I'm not going to give you anything," Carol said. "I'm not…not until we're married. So if you don't intend to marry me…people can say what they want…and she can believe we aren't going to be married…but I won't let you in my room."
Daryl nodded his head slowly at her.
"Carol…I don't want nothin' from you," Daryl said. "Not before we're married. Don't you remember? You ain't never even kissed me…not even offered me a cheek ta kiss…only let me hold your hand a couple times an' you let me kiss your hand…the day I asked you ta marry me."
"I said I would marry you," Carol said.
Daryl nodded.
"You did…you said you would marry me out there under that shade tree at the home you was at. You were leanin' up on it…an' I asked you if you'd marry me…I asked you if you wanted ta go with me…if you wanted ta go to my home…an' if you'd marry me…'cause then it'd be our home," Daryl said.
"And I said yes," Carol said.
He nodded again.
Carol looked at her hand again and then back at him, confusion spreading over her face.
"Why did you take my ring from me?" She asked.
Daryl shook his head.
"Carol Ann…I never took your ring from you," Daryl said. "I couldn't take it because I ain't bought it yet. I wanted you ta have somethin' nice…'cause I figured you was gonna keep it forever an' it oughta be nice. So I ain't bought it…"
"I don't need a nice ring," Carol said. "I don't…it doesn't have to be nice…that doesn't matter to me…"
Daryl hummed at her and reached his hand out.
"Come with me? Just for a minute?" He asked.
She reached her hand out to him and he pulled her along with him to the living room, gesturing for her to sit. Outside he heard the sound of a car pull up, but he never heard anyone knock at the door, so he assumed that Josephine Greene had told her husband that right now might not be the very best moment to pay a visit.
When Carol sat, Daryl fumbled around and found one of the sewing bags tucked to the side that Josephine left in the house. He dug around in it and came up with a skein of yarn. He brought it over and sat next to Carol, unrolling a little of the blue yarn.
"Gimme your hand," he said.
She held out her right hand to him and he shook his head.
"Other one," he said. She complied.
"What are you doing?" She asked as he knotted the yarn around her finger and produced a pocket knife to cut the sample loose. He rolled it off her finger and put it to the side.
"Gotta have somethin' to take with me tomorrow…" Daryl said. "An' I'ma get you a ring…it ain't gonna be nothin' grand…an' maybe one day I'll be able ta get'cha somethin' better…but I'ma get you one just the same…an' you can keep it. I ain't takin' it away from you…never."
He unwrapped another small length and knotted it more securely around her finger, cutting it loose as close as he could with the pocket knife.
"And that one," he said, passing her hand back to her with a gesture, "oughta hold you over until I get your ring, right? See? That one'll hold the place of the other one…an' then you can show anyone that don't believe we're gettin' married that we most certainly are…an' you gonna have a ring to prove it. An' you ain't doin' nothin' wrong…'cause I ain't comin' in your room…an' you ain't so much as let me kiss your cheek yet…so you sure ain't guilty of nothin' that they can say is improper.
Carol examined the little blue twist of yarn for a moment and then she looked at him and looked at the yarn.
"Is that yours?" She asked, pointing at the yarn.
"Why?" Daryl asked. "You want it?"
"I can knit…if you've got needles…I'm not very good at sewing, but I can knit," Carol said. "I learned it when I was just a little girl…it's nice, you know? It's relaxing. I knitted an afghan once…and my father liked for me to knit him cardigans he wore as smoking jackets…"
Daryl was taken aback at the moment. The little yarn ring had soothed her over quite well, and now she was telling him about her past…something she didn't do often. He offered her the yarn and got up, burrowing in the bag and finding knitting needles. He gave them to her and figured that he would simply replace them for Josephine…he'd buy all the yarn and knitting needles that she desired if it was something that she found relaxing…if it was something that was a pleasant tie to her past.
"Yeah," he said. "You do that…knit somethin' you wanna knit."
He passed her the needles and she looked, for just a moment, almost happy.
"You…feel better?" He asked.
She stared at him.
"I'm sorry," she said, the happy look fading. "I'm sorry…I shouldn't have made a scene…I thought that you…took it…I got…confused…I thought that you took it because you didn't want to marry me. You brought me here…but you didn't want to marry me. I wasn't good enough for you to marry…"
Daryl shook his head.
"Don't be sorry," he said. "An'…if there's anybody here ain't good enough…I probably ain't good enough for you…but my word an' my name are about all I've got that's worth anything at all…and I don't go back on my word. I'ma marry you one day…soon…an' I ain't gonna take your ring away from you 'cause you gonna be needin' it…but I gotta get it first."
Carol smiled at him softly and nodded her head, but she didn't say anything.
"You sit here," Daryl said. "Knit something nice…something you wanna knit…I'ma make some supper."
Carol started to get up, to protest, and Daryl gently put a hand on her shoulder and pushed her down, shaking his head at her.
"Remember? Sometimes I like ta cook…an' I been wantin' ta cook all day today. You ain't gonna try an' deny me that, are ya?" Daryl asked.
Carol started to protest again, but finally she shook her head and Daryl smiled at her.
"Good," he said. "You knit somethin'…I'll let you set the table when it's time ta eat…an' we'll have us a nice supper…ain't nothin' happened here for nobody ta sorry for…"
And he left her, starting a project or whatever it was that people did when they knitted…Daryl didn't know anything about it…and he thought about the fact that, for the first crisis they'd had, and he feared it was only one of many to come, things hadn't turned out so bad.