Wow, thanks for the fast and encouraging reviews, guys! Ya'll are wonderful readers! You make me want to write more, so I'll put off my homework for a while and do just that :D
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Carol had never felt more embarressed than when they walked back into that dining room. Daryl didn't seem to be shaken at all, he strutted right in with his head held high and a cocky pep to his stride, but Carol followed a little slower, avoiding eye contact as she sat down in her seat.
Andrea immediately leaned over.
"So...how was it?" she asked with a wicked grin.
"Shut it."
If anyone suspected anything, they kept it to themselves and Carol was very grateful for that. Everyone...except for Andrea and Shane, of course.
Shane was flicking his eyes between her and Daryl and a knowing smile crept into his expression. But thankfully, he had the dignity not to say anything out loud anyway. Andrea was a different story.
"Everything come out alright?" she asked out loud, taking a bite of chicken.
"I'm ignoring you."
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Once dinner was over and the dishes were washed, dried and put away, everyone went into the living room where Jimmy had started a roaring fire in the hearth and sat around letting the food settle. Lori leaned back into the couch cushions and let her baby and food swollen belly relax and Rick sat next to her and planted a kiss on her temple. Carl and Sophia chose to join Carol and Daryl where the sat on the floor underneath the window next to the couch.
"Mom," Sophia said as she buried her face in Carol's shoulder, "Can we stay here forever?"
Carol smiled down at her daughter.
"That's not my decision, honey," she replied honestly, "This isn't our home."
As Carol looked around the room, she felt the very same desire. Everyone was laughing about something or other, except for Shane and Daryl who were in a serious discussion about how to fix the windmill and get it working again. Glenn and Maggie were huddled on the loveseat while Hershel eyed them carefully. Andrea and Beth were playing a game of chess with the old stone set they pulled down from the shelf. T-Dog, Dale, Jimmy and Patricia were howling with laughter over by the fireplace and Carol wondered vaguely what was so funny. The atmosphere spoke 'family' to her...and they were a sort of family after all, they were all eachother had anymore.
"Hey," Daryl's whisper broke her thoughts, "Whatcha thinkin'?"
"I was thinking...I want to stay too," Carol admitted, "I mean...look at us. We're all smiling, all happy. It's the first time in a long time we haven't been at eachother's throats or running for our lives."
Daryl didn't reply, but she could see the thoughfulness in his eyes as he scanned the room as she had just done.
"You know...I ain't never seen anything like this in my life," he said quietly, "Never really had a family. At least...not a good one."
Carol knew she was making a bold move doing this in public, but she reached behind Sophia, who was sitting between them, and placed her hand on top of his. He didn't give any sign of acknowledgement except for the half smile she saw on his lips. But somehow that was enough. It was her way of conveying that he was part of this family.
Sophia was looking up at Daryl with big, sad blue eyes and he seemed to feel it on his skin because his jaw twitched and he tunred his head to look down at her.
"What?" he asked, a little gruffly.
"Nothing," she whispered softly, turning her eyes back toward the fireplace.
Carol was about to ask Sophia what was wrong but then Glenn piped up from the loveseat.
"Let's play a game, guys!"
A mix of groans and cheers were his reply but everyone fell silent out of curiosity more than anything.
"Like what game?" Carl asked, voicing what everyone was thinking.
"Truth or Dare!" Sophia piped up.
"Yeah, Truth or Dare!" Carl echoed.
There was a lot of laughter following the suggestion, but Glenn apparently agreed because he grinned.
"I'll start!" he said, turning to Rick, "Rick, truth or dare!"
Rick rolled his eyes good naturedly.
"Truth, I suppose," he said with a sigh.
"What made you want to be a cop?" Glenn questioned.
"Well, obviously not the pay grade," Rick joked, earning a chuckle of agreement from Shane. "I'd say it was because I was raised to do what was right, and upholding the law is just...in my blood."
"Your turn, dad!" Carl stated when Rick had finished.
"Ok, um...T-Dog?"
"Truth, I'm too lazy to get up off this floor after all that food," T-Dog replied weakly.
"What did you do before all this?"
"Dude, I was a locksmith," T-Dog answered.
"A LOCKSMITH?" Shane asked with a laugh, "Doesn't seem like you, Dog!"
T-Dog just shrugged and smiled and turned to Andrea.
"Truth or dare, Andrea?" he asked.
"Dare."
"Of course, never would have guessed," T-Dog teased, "Alrighty, dare you to give us a dance, right there in the middle of the living room."
Andrea just shook her head and stood without a reply and went to the center of the room.
"What dance should I do?" she asked.
"The Dougie," T-Dog challenged and the whole room burst into laughter.
"Hard to dance without music but...ok."
And Andrea proceeded to dance like a freaking star, putting T-Dog in his place and causing an appreciative uproar from the crowd as they cheered her on. She "tore it up", as Carl called it and then she sat down like nothing had happened.
"Didn't know ya had it in ya, Blondie," Daryl teased with a wink.
"Daryl, truth or dare," Andrea shot back. "Or are you just gonna run your mouth all night?"
Daryl squinted at her in that expression he usually got when he was about to stomp someone's ass, but he crossed his arms and snorted like an angry horse.
"You don't scare me, girly," he mumbled, "Dare."
Andrea's grin was absoluetly devilish and Carol knew right away that she should probably head for the hills because Andrea's eye suddenly locked on hers.
"I dare you to kiss Carol," Andrea stated, Carol felt her cheeks redden and she closed her eyes to shut out the looks everyone was giving her and Daryl. When she opened them, she couldn't make herself meet anyone's eyes but Daryl's. He was still squinting, but it was a calculating, stubborn squint now as if he was sizing Andrea up.
"Or do you give up?" Andrea asked, knowing damn well Daryl wasn't going to give up.
"Fuck you, Blondie, I ain't afraid to kiss 'er," he replied hotly and Carol was suddenly face to face with him as he shifted to get into a better position for this.
"And, Daryl," Andrea spoke up when he was only inches from Carol's lips. "When I say 'kiss', I mean kiss. I want to see some tongue at least."
Carol heard a few giggles and some nervous laughs at Andrea's bold statement and even a surprised gasp from someone, she wasn't sure who.
"You're a freak, Andrea," Daryl mumbled, but his han slid behind Carol's neck and he pulled her half way into the kiss as he took the other %50.
Carol had wanted his to be open to showing affection in public, but she hadn't been expecting this level. The second their lips met, she could feel the passion in the kiss and she wasn't surprised at all when his teeth nipped gently at her bottom lip and she felt her nervousness and the entire room around her fade away...and all that mattered was Daryl. She returned the kiss with gusto and gasped slightly when his tongue slid between her teeth, but she had gotten use to his style and she knew now how to work well with him and she added her tongue to the mix, placing her hands on his chest, grabbing the material of his shirt firmly as that amazing electricity shot through her like it always did. Daryl's kisses never failed to absolutely fry her brain and make her legs into jelly.
Daryl's left hand slid down her back and rested on her hip as the fingers of the hand behind her neck twisted into the hair that had grown out a lot on the back of her head. She returened the gesture by threading the fingers of both her hands into his hair and pulled slightly, causing a small moan to issue from deep within his chest.
But the kiss broke suddenly and Daryl was leaning back, his eyes locked on hers, his expression was dark with lust. The tiny twitch at the corner of his mouth told Carol she wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight when they went back to the tents.
Everyone in the room was staring in amazement and the two kids with digust.
"Eeeeewwww," Carl was the first to say what he thought and Carol couldn't help the giggle that escaped her as she looked over at him sheepishly.
"Shit...that was hot," Andrea said, leaning back looking totally satisfied with herself.
"So, I'm assuming you two are..." Lori suggested from the couch.
"LORI!" Daryl snapped, "Truth or Dare?"
Lori shut her mouth and just stared at him.
"Uh...truth?"
"Is it even remotely possible for you to mind your own business?"
And that was the end of the game. Rick pretty much kicked Daryl out of the house and he shouldered his crossbow and nodded, leaving a thick awkwardness in his wake. Carol watched him leave but then realized she should probably try to repair this little rift.
"Sorry, Lori," she apologized as she stood, "Sorry, guys. You know how he is..."
"He's rude, filthy, uncouth, uncaring and he needs to control that tongue of his," Lori replied harshly.
Carol smirked slightly at that last part, but Lori's words made her flare up inside. After everything Daryl had done for this group, Lori had no right to cut him down.
"Shut your mouth, Lori," Carol's voice became deadly quiet, "None of you can get past what you see, can you? He's not just some redneck, he's strong and he's smart and he cares, you better believe he cares. He cares about this entire group or he wouldn't have stuck around this long. Just because he doesn't go searching for approval or appreciation doesn't make him any less of a good man than Ricl or Shane or...ANYONE! And, for you information, he controls that tongue of his just fine."
Carol looked around the room and found everyone's jaw hanging open, except for Andrea who was smiling and nodding. Carol gave her a grateful nod and spun on her heels, stomping out of the room and then out of the house.
She spotted Daryl making his way across the yard, so she took of after him at a run and soon caught up.
"Hey," she said softly as she fell in step with him.
"Hey," he replied, his voice sounded flat.
"You're kind of rude sometimes," Carol said with a smile.
"Yeah, I know," Daryl replied darkly, "But that bitch gets under my skin."
"Was it really Lori," Carol ventured, "Or were you just uncomfortable?"
Daryl stopped walking and looked at her with that angry squint of his.
"I ain't ashamed if that's what you mean," he snapped.
Carol stepped back and smiled.
"I know you're not," she soothed, placing a hand on the clenched muscles of his forearm. Daryl graced her with a half smile before he relaxed and started walking towards their tent again. She watched him go for a moment, simply because she loved the view, the man had a sexy walk.
"You comin' or what?" he called over his shoulder.
"Yep, I was just...yeah, I'm coming!" she caught up to him again and stuck her hand in his back pocket, making him jump slightly with surprise.
"Whoa there," he laughed, but made no move to remove her hand. Carol just gave him an innocent flutter of his eyes. He rolled his eyes and commenced walking, and Carol enjoyed the feeling of his muscles working as she followed along, hand in his pocket the whole time.
"You're a weirdo, ya know?" he asked when they reached the tent and she finally removed her hand.
"Yeah, maybe a little," Carol admitted, "Or it could just be that you've got the tightest ass I've ever seen and so I naturally wanted to give you a squeeze."
Daryl just stood there looking at her in silence with a smirk on his face.
"You know somethin'?" he asked, "I think Rick and Lori may have some things to explain to Carl after that game."
Carol started to laugh, but then a horrible realization hit her...she had some things to explain to Sophia too.
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There you go! I'm doing pretty good at whiping out these chapters :D Any suggestions for the next chapter? Let me know your thoughts!