My friend gave me a prompt today...haberdasher. I think I'll just do my own thing because how the heck can someone use haberdasher in a post-apocalyptic setting? You can't, that's how!
TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWD
Carol was starting to get use to the emptiness next to her in the mornings when the light would stream through the mesh of the tent and rouse her from the comforts of sleep. She always had that slight second of fear when she felt the vacancy at her side, but then her mind would register that he was hunting and he had left the machete in the spot he used to occupy. She ran her hand over the handle of the weapon and smiled, he was so protective of her.
"Mom," she heard Sophia's voice outside the tent and she sat, rubbing her eyes.
"Yeah, honey, come on in," she called through the thin material of the tent. Sophia unzipped the flap and stepped inside.
"Mr. Rick wanted me to come get you and Mr. Daryl," Sophia stated.
Carol sighed as she pulled her shoes on her feet and pulled on her thin cardigan that she realized was definitely not enough as of late, the days were getting colder. She emerged from the tent with a yawn and followed Sophia across the field toward the camp. Everyone was gathered near the vehicles and Carol heard the chatter as she approached, it sounded a bit heated like things always did when something like this happened. Honestly, could people not just...accept that things need to be done a certain way? She never fussed like Lori did when Daryl went on a run or was gone for days hunting, even if it did scare her out of her mind. She repected Maggie for her confidence in Glenn's ability to come back to her alive and safe.
"I think you should stay, Rick," Lori was saying as Carol joined the circle, she crossed her arms as she always did in a meeting, trying to keep from being noticed. Hmm, maybe she and Daryl were more alike than she thought.
"Lori, you know I can't send people out in danger while I just sit back," Rick sighed heavily, running his hand over his weary looking face. Obviously this argument had been going for a while.
"We need protection here too, Rick!" Lori shot back without hesitation. Carol agreed with her on that aspect, but why couldn't the woman just...let her husband be the leader he needed to be?
"I know that, Lori," Rick snapped, "Do you honestly think I would leave this camp unprotected?"
"What's she bitchin' about now?" Carol yelped in surprise and turned quickly to see Daryl standing right behind her. How the hell did he manage to be so freakishly silent?
"You scared me!" Carol whispered with a nervous giggle, "Same old thing...she doesn't want Rick to go."
Daryl stood there without any expression on his face for a while as he listened to the age old fight, then he sighed and stepped past Carol, slightly inside the group.
"Rick, I'll go for you," he stated calmly, like it was no big deal. Carol nearly let out a groan of disappointment at the thought of him going off on a run again but she swallowed it as she remembered her thoughts from earlier.
Lori's head turned and she locked eye with Daryl, relief flooding her gaze. He nodded in acceptance of her gratitude.
"Daryl..." Rick sounded hesitant, but Daryl waved him off and approached the map Rick had laid out.
"It ain't no big deal," he grumbled uncomfortably, "You thinkin' about that bigger town a little ways out to the west of here?"
"Yeah," Rick sighed, realizing he wasn't winning this battle unless he strictly ordered Daryl to stay. That was how their partnership worked. After the incident of Shane opening the barn, Rick had placed Daryl as his go-to second in command, much to Shane's shame and dismay. Daryl was confident that Rick was doing his best for the group and he rarely questioned an order given to him, he just did it in silence, whether or not he agreed with it necessarily. "We need to start thinking about winter. We need clothes, blankets, the works."
"Couldn't agree more," Daryl acknowledged with a nod. "I'll take a group, Rick. Just tell me who you want to go."
Rick raised his eyes from the map and looked at Daryl with something Carol couldn't quite place but...it looked a bit like respect.
"I think you're perfectly capable of deciding who to take on a run," Rick stated. Daryl met his gaze and nodded once, turning to the group behind them.
"Glenn," stated without hesitation, Glenn nodded in acceptance. "Andrea."
Andrea and Glenn silently made their way to the RV to get their weapons ready and Carol turned to leave, figuring the discussion was at an end.
"And Carol."
Carol stopped in her tracks, she turned around to stare in disbelief and found the majority of people doing the same.
"Are you crazy?" Rick asked sharply, "Carol's not a fighter!"
Daryl gave Rick a blank, unwavering look.
"We ain't goin' ta fight," he replied simply, "It's an in and out run and I say she's goin'."
Carol gulped loudly and shook her head.
"Daryl...I dont..." but one dead serious "don't argue with me" look from his coblt blue eyes made her jaw clamp shut.
Rick sighed and shook his head.
"Alright, Daryl," he said quietly, "I sure as hell hope you know what you're doing."
TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWD
"Don't forget that bow," Daryl's voice made her jump...again.
"Daryl, you've got to stop sneaking up on me like that!" she snapped.
But Daryl only smiled his crooked half smile and waited with his crossbow slung over his shoulder, buck knife at his hip. Carol grabbed her bow and the quiver of arrows that Daryl had made her out of squirrel hides backed out of the tent.
"I don't understand why you want me to come, Daryl," she said wearily.
"You need to get out of this place, Carol," Daryl replied simply, "I know you'd rather pretend the world out there doesn't exist, but it does and you gotta learn to take care of yourself."
Carol gaped at him. Was this his way of testing her?
"So you want to throw me right out in it with only a bow to protect me?" she asked.
"I'll be with you," Daryl assured her quietly, his eyes staring her down with the intensity of his promise. "I'll watch out for you, and I'm also gonna give you this."
He handed her the machete she was very familiar with by now. She grasped the handle firmly, trying to show him that she wasn't afraid, but her eyes told him the truth.
"Hey, hey," Daryl's voice suddenly lost its hard edge and he stepped forward, placing a hand on the side of her face. "You're gonna be fine, Carol. Just stick with me and stay on your toes."
Carol nodded, sticking her chest out and taking a deep, steadying breath. She nodded firmly and fell in step next to Daryl as they headed toward the camp again.
TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWD
Carol loved riding behind Daryl on the motorcycle, it gave her a thrill and made her feel alive as they tore down the road. She had her arms tight around his middle and her left cheek pressed into his back as she watched the scenery flash by.
She was stil on that position when they rolled to a stop on the road and she lifted her head to see where they were. Daryl swung his leg over and motioned for her to do the same and then he pushed the bike off the road into the woods, Glenn parked the Hyundai off to the side of the road as well and then they gathered on the road to discuss the plan.
"Here's the deal, we're all going into town together until we see what there is," Daryl stated, cocking his crossbow and setting an arrow. "This is our rendevous point, anything goes wrong try the walkies, if we can't make contact you get your asses out here to this point. This point on, no one speaks, got it?"
Everyone nodded their agreement and Daryl led the way into the town. The first building they came across was a convenience store that Andrea and Glenn swept through, not that there was much left. They managed to find some Tylenol, a few bags of chips a few boxes of candy, three packs of menthol cigarettes for T-Dog, and a dented gallon on sweet tea. They waited by the store while Glenn literally ran their finds back to the Hyundai and then continued on when he got back.
"Walker," Andrea whispered, pointing ahead as they rounded a flea bag motel building. The walker was behind a fence in a used car lot, wandering without purpose and groaning as it shuffled between cars. Daryl raised a finger to his lips and put up his hand in the universal "stop" sign and then locked eyes with Carol and jerked his head motionging her to follow. Carol did her best to copy the crouch he dropped into, trying to move her feet as silently as he was but she was pretty sure she just looked stupid. They crept right up to the fence without being noticed by the walker and Daryl brought a second walker to her attention to their right.
Daryl stood up slowly and took aim at the one that was further across the yard and took it down with a quiet twang as the arrow released and a thunk as it sunk into the walker's skull. The closer one didn't even seem to notice anything had happened, but it had stopped to sniff the air and Carol knew it was going to smell them and she glanced at Daryl to see if he was ready for the next shot, but he just stood there looking at her. She looked at him with wide eyes and begged him silently to take the shot but he shook his head and nodded to her bow on her back.
Carol took her bow off her back slowly and quietly and pulled an arrow from the quiver, her nerves were on edge and fear clutched her as the walker turned and noticed them by the fence. It started to stumble towards them, growling and making god awful noises as it approached. Carol's entire body started to shake as she tried in vain to nock the arrow on the bow string.
"Carol, calm down and take the shot," Daryl stated quietly from her side.
Carol took a deep breath and focused on the string and arrow coming together and she almost laughed in giddy relief when they connected correctly. She raised the bow and almost let a scream escape her throat because the walker was only feet from the fence, without a second thought, she let the arrow fly and the walker fell, crashing into the fence and then sliding down. Carol sighed in relief when she saw that the arrow was protruding from a now empty eye socket.
"Good job, Robin Hood," Daryl said with a grin.
"Daryl, that was too close for comfort," Carol replied quietly, her voice quivering.
Daryl eyed her for a moment before he lifted his right hand. He had his buck knife clutched in his grip, and Carol realized she was safe all along. He had simply let her do whet she needed to do...and Carol was suddenly grateful for his harsh teaching style because she was now aware of what she was capable of doing.
TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWD
When the time came for them to split up Daryl and Carol went to the left side of the street where there was a small sporting goods store and Glenn and Andrea went to the Wal Mart on th hill just off the road.
Daryl opened the door to the store quietly and let his eyes adjust to the darkness inside before he stepped in. Carol followed, machete in hand as she scanned the large single room for movement. The place proved to be empty but she knew never to let her guard down. Daryl went immediately to the archery section and Carol went to the camping section.
Carol knew they she had struck paydirt as she scanned the pegs and shelves and she ran to the front of the store to grab a basket and then started filling it with freeze dried rations, lighter fluid, butane lighters, gloves, hot hand packets, water bottles, and water filters as well as any other items she assumed would be useful. And her eyes fell on a lone sleeping bag in the corner which she grabbed and dragged to the center of the store where Daryl had laid down a collection of arrows, arrow heads, fletching feathers, beeswax, strings, and two compound bows.
"Nice," he stated when he saw her basket of goods, he looked like a kid in a candy store and Carol smiled as he rocked from one foot to the other as his eyes scanned the walls and landed on a locked safe behind the counter. He shouldered his crossbow and ran over, vaulting the counter and eyeing the lock to see if it was penetrable.
"Is that a gun safe?" Carol asked, reaching under the counter for the buck knife that was buried under broken glass and shattered wood. It was smaller than Daryl's knife, but it looked to be in pretty good shape. She found a sheath on the wall full of the leather holders that fit it and she strung it on her belt with a smile.
"Aha!" Daryl's satisfied voice made her turn around. He was kneeling in front of the safe and the door was hanging open.
"Daryl...how did you do that?" Carol had a feeling she didn't want to know the answer.
"You'd be surprised what I can do," was all she got as a reply before he reached in and pulled out the biggest gun Carol had ever seen in her life. "Oh, baby..."
"Wow..." Carol watched as Daryl ran his hands lovingly over the black metal of the rifle.
"This is an A-R 15 assault rifle," Daryl stated, not that it meant anything to Carol. "This is mine." And he slung it on his back by the strap to settle that statement.
When they finally exited the store, Carol didn't feel very safe carrying the weight of their loads, especially since Daryl had pulled out two more rifles from the safe, so they made the almost mile long walk back to the rendevous point and dropped the stuff into the trunk of the Hyundai along with the stuff from the convenience store.
"Should we go meet up with them at the Wal Mart?" Carol asked as they shut the trunk.
"Yeah," Daryl nodded, "It's a big store, probably quite a haul for just a girl and a little Asian to carry."
Carol smacked his shoulder for the racial comment, but she knew it was all in good fun. Daryl repected Glenn and would go out of his way to save the Korean boy if it ever came down to it.
TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWD
By the time they had raided Wal Mart, they had four shoping carts full of winter clothes, coats, packaged food that would last through winter, ammunition, shoes, cases of water, and assorted other necessary items.
They made it out of town with only three walkers showing their nasty faces and getting arrows through the heads for it. Carol was back on the bike, clutching her arms around Daryl again in what seemed like no time. The familiar and comforting vibrations of the boke beneath her, coupled with the warmth that radiated from the firm body in front of her made Carol's eye drift shut and she dozed off as the roared back to the farm.
"Hey, let go," Daryl's voice cut into her sleep and she blinked rapidly in the darkness. "We're back."
Carol unwound her arms and leaned back on the bike, rubbing her eyes as she yawned. Daryl put the kickstand down and got off the bike then lifted Carol off without a second's hesitation. It surprised her but it was a good surprise.
The rest of the group were around the campfire but now a few of them had stood and were making their way over to them. Soon, the stuff was being grabbed from the Hyundai and taken inside the house to be sorted and stored and such. Carol grabbed the box out of the back that she had set aside specially and left the rest of them to it as she and Daryl headed to their own campsite. Everything specific to them was in her large box and neither of them felt like getting in the middle of the separating and unpacking and such.
"Ugh," Daryl moaned as he set his crossbow in it's place inside the tent, he unslung the rifle and set it next to it as well. Then he unbuckled his belt and dropped it, and his buck knife with it, on the ground by the head of their "bed". A place for everything and everything in it's place. Carol laid her bow and quiver in the corner at her head where it was meant to go and laid the machete at her feet. Her new knife she laid next to her bow.
"So, I was thinking..." Daryl said, breaking the silence of the tent, "Sophia's been messin' around shootin' your bow, right?"
"Yeah..."
"One of those bows from the store is a kid's bow," he continued, "Would she want it?"
Carol smiled softly in the darkness. This man never ceased to amaze her.
"You've been giving her a lot lately," she commented.
"She's gotta have a head start in this world if she want's to survive," Daryl said, defensively. "Someone's got to make sure she gets it."
"I know," Carol replied quietly, "By rights, it shoulda been her daddy."
Daryl spun on her quicker than she though possible, even for him. She found her arms grabbed tightly in his hands as he glared angrily at her.
"By rights he shouldn'a even been able to be a part of creating a kid like that," he growled, his eyes flashing in light of the lantern, "By rights he shouldn'a ever been allowed to even touch you. By rights he doesn't deserve to even be remembered by you."
Carol's eyes widened a little further at each statement and she felt tears stinging her eyes, not out of pain or sadness...but out of the depth of his words.
"It ain't right!" Daryl's rant continued and his grip tightened slightly, "That piece of shit didn't deserve any of it!"
Carol pulled her arms out of his grip and placed her hands on either side of his face, pulling him close so she could stare him down.
"Daryl!" she tried to snap him out of his anger, and it worked. His entire body seemed to deflate as he slumped into her, pressing his lips to her neck and kissed his way to her ear.
"Carol," he whispered softly, "By rights, I don't deserve you either."
Carol pushed him away from her so she could look at him.
"Daryl Dixon, don't you ever say that again," she demanded sternly, "Do you hear me? You're a good man and you've shown me and my little girl what a real man is. You deserve anything you decide you want."
A heavy silence fell over them at that point, but Daryl's crooked twitch at the corner of his mouth told her she had said the right thing.
"And, Daryl," Carol said, breaking the silence, "I think she'd love that bow."
Daryl seemed satisfied and he began to do his nightly routine before bed. He took his crossbow up again and went to do a perimeter sweep of their little campsite to be sure there was nothing lurking nearby. He made sure his bike was covered and the keys were hidden where he always put them and whatever else he did out there each night. Finally, he came back in and Carol was giddy with excitement.
Daryl's eyes spotted the items on his sleeping bag and his expression became confused.
"Surprise!" Carol said with a grin. "Happy Birthday!"
"Excuse me?" Daryl cocked an eyebrow at her.
"I looked in your wallet last week," Carol admitted. "Patricia keeps track of the days on her calendar in the farmhouse. It's September nineteenth and you turned thirty three today. So, happy birthday and I got you presents!"
Daryl remained silent and got down on his knees at the foot of his bedroll, reaching out tentatively to pick up the brand new brown leather and camo hunting boots sitting in front of him. Carol had expected maybe a smile or something but she hadn't expected this...Daryl's eyes were squinting in a way she had seen only once before, the day when Rick had told him he'd handcuffed Merle to the roof. And were those tears glistening in his eyes?
"Daryl?" she venutred to ask. He was still touching the boots as if he thought they would disappear. He looked up at her and she saw something like deep hurt in hs eyes. "Are...are you ok?"
"It's just..." his voice sounded thick and he cleared his throat, "I've, uh...never really..."
"You've never celebrated your birthday, have you?" Carol suddenly understood his shock.
"Never celebrated anythin'," Daryl admitted, "'Cept for 4th of July...and we only celebrated that with explosions and beer, so it wasn't much different from a normal day."
Carol couldn't help it, she burst into laughter. Daryl's smile became genuine and full, his eye crinkles made her laughter stop and she smiled back.
"They're insulated so you won't get frostbite this winter while you're hunting," Carol pointed at the boots, "And this...will keep you even more warm than those."
She closed the distance between them in a flash, pushing him onto his back as their lips clashed together, she felt him laugh for a second before he returned the kiss.
"So..." Carol murmured quietly, "Anything special I can do for you? It's your birthday, after all so you're in control here."
"This is the best birthday I've ever had," Daryl stated huskily before showing her exactly what he wanted.
TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWD
So, this is how old I view Daryl as, sorry if you don't agree. I see Carol as...somewhere aroud 40-42. Am I right?
So, thanks for all the reviews you guys, I really enjoy seeing what you think of these musings! The prompt for the next chapter is pretty...typical but useable so we shall see what comes of it!
Remember...reviews save pandas!