So, I have a few prompts floating around in my head and I think I've devised a chapter...let's see if I can get it out of my mind and onto the "page" (as it were)!
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The first thing Carol heard when she woke up was a deep, rumbling moan and she sat up immediately and grabbed the machete at her feet. Not until her brain caught up to her did she realize she wasn't alone in the tent. Daryl lay on his back next to her, arms and legs spread out, snoring lightly because his mouth was hanging open slightly. Carol sighed in relief as she laid back down with the machete clutched to her chest, her heart was pumping wildly. What the heck was he still doing in this tent anyway? The sun had been up for a long time and he should be out hunting! Annoyed at having been frightened out of her skin and having no one else to take it out on, she reached over and smacked him on the chest. He jerked wildly and sat up with his fists clenched, ready to fight...until he realized who had done it.
"What's your problem?" he growled in annoyance, but whatever else he might have said got cut off by a huge yawn.
"What are you doing here?" Carol asked, "You scared the crap out of me!"
"I scared the crap out of YOU?" he shot back in disbelief, "Who's the one who just got assaulted in their sleep?"
Carol felt all the previous anger melt away as the amusement of the situation hit her and she began to laugh.
"You're insane," Daryl groaned as he fell back onto his sleeping back and threw his arm over his eyes to block out the light. And it dawned on Carol why he wasn't out hunting...she had worn him out last night.
"Mmm," she mumbled as she snuggled into his neck, "Maybe I should call the shots from now on. You never know how much is too much for you to handle."
"I can handle anything you can dish out," he muttered back, using the arm he'd had over his eyes to pull her close. She felt his lips press to the top of her head. "Don't tell me you had any energy left either?"
Carol smiled mischievously but didn't answer. To be honest, she had been completely worn out...but she hadn't wanted it to end either. She never wanted it to be over.
"You'll be the death of me, Carol," Daryl said offhandedly.
Carol's heart jumped into her throat at his words and she felt a flash of anger. Without thinking too much, she grabbed him by the nipple beneath his shirt and gave him a firm twist.
"Ow, fuck!" Daryl sat up like he was spring loaded and pushed Carol off of him. "What the hell is your problem?"
"Don't ever say that again!" Carol demanded, a tear dripped down her cheek, "And don't you EVER let your guard down for my sake!"
And he realized how the words must have sounded. He rubbed his now sore chest and stared at her in disbelief.
"It's just an expression, Carol!" he griped.
"Not anymore it's not," Carol sighed, "Because it's a possibility in this...existence."
Daryl sighed in acceptance and his shoulders slumped in defeat. He nodded his acknowledgement and pulled her back down to the bed with him. She resettled herself and immediately felt sorry.
"Did that really hurt that much?" she asked timidly.
"I've felt worse," Daryl muttered darkly, making Carol's guilt even more intense.
"I'm sorry, Daryl," she whispered.
"You're pretty scary when you're mad," Daryl commented.
"You've never seen me mad," Carol replied mysteriously, "That was just...annoyance."
"Well then remind me not to piss you off."
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Carol found herself hanging up laundry later that afternoon when Sophia came charging up her, carrying her brand new compound bow that Daryl had brought back from town.
"Mom! Look what Mr. Daryl just gave me!" she squealed with delight, striking an archer's pose and pulling back the string. Carol almost scolded her about dry firing, but she couldn't bring herself to do it when she saw the happiness on her daughter's face. It was the type of happy she hadn't seen in Sophia for years...even before the world had gone to hell.
"Wow, Sophia! That's a nice looking bow!" she dropped Glenn's shirt she was about to hang back in the basket to give her daughter her undivided attention. Sophia offered her the bow and she took it, looking over it with nods of approval before handing it back. Sophia looked up and down the camo frame of the bow, her face beaming.
"It's awesome! And it's just my size!" she chattered, "Wasn't it nice of him to give me this?"
"It most certainly was," Carol agreed, her heart filled to the top with admiration for that man.
Sophia's eyes suddenly went from delight to confused.
"Mom...?"
"Yeah, hon?"
"Is...is Mr. Daryl going to be my dad someday?" Sophia's voice was quiet and her eyes stared back at Carol with an intensity Carol didn't recall seeing there ever before.
"I...oh, Sophia..." Carol's chest tightened at her daughter's question and she found herself wondering for the first time where exactly her and Daryl's relationship WAS going. "Listen, honey, we aren't married."
"I know," Sophia said, like it was common knowledge...which it was. "But you love eachother, right? Why wouldn't you get married?"
Carol wished it was that simple...
"Sophia...would you want him to be your dad?" she was curious about the answer, because Sophia had always been terrified of Daryl before.
"Yes!" Sophia squeaked without hesitation, "Mom, he's perfect for us!"
Carol couldn't agree more but she shushed her daughter with a finger to her lips when she saw Daryl come around the tents, walking toward them with his regular angry/bored expression.
"Kid you ran off before I could even give you the arrows," he groused, handing Sophia a quiver that was identical to Carol's only the fur was slightly lighter in color. Sophia took the quiver with a look of awe and the smile she gave him as she looked up at him was as bright as the sun.
"Thank you, Mr. Daryl!" she said happily, "You're the best man in this family!"
Daryl's blush was missed by Sophia, who waved at them as she ran off to show Carl her bow and arrows, but it didn't get past Carol.
"She's right, you know," she said quietly, standing up and brushing the dirt off her knees.
Daryl rolled his eyes and watched her as she picked Glenn's shirt back out of the basket to hang.
"I ain't one bit better than anyone else in this group," he muttered, embarressed.
"You are to Sophia," Carol replied, "And to me."
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Something about the way Carol was hanging up those clothes was driving him crazy...or maybe it was just the testosterone rushing through his veins at the moment. He hadn't bothered to tell her about his hunting trip earlier that after noon and the fact he had faced a half a dozen walkers at an old farm house he found a few miles off. They were the owners of the house, he was sure by the photos on the walls inside. But, anyway, it had been a close call...and he wanted nothing more than to take her back to their tent and get rid of the adrenaline.
So he found himself behind her before he even knew quite what he was thinking, pulling her hips back into his as he nipped at her shoulder gently.
"Daryl!" Carol squealed, attempting to push his hands off her. "What are you doing?"
"What do you think?" he replied with a small laugh, "C'mon, Carol, use your head."
"You're not using yours!" Carol shot back, still struggling, "Or at least not the right one. We're right in the middle of the camp, Daryl...can you contain yourself for a little while?"
With a heavy sigh, he backed off, knowing she was right.
"Maybe for a little while," he said huskily, his tone full of promise as he reshouldered his crossbow and gave her a wink. He turned on his heel and walked off.
But the need for relief didn't seem to subside no matter what he did to take his mind off of it and make time go faster. Even while he skinned and gutted the squirrels she was all he could think about and he cut his thumb with the freaking knife because of the distraction! After he had skinned and cleaned them all he gave them to Patricia, who had offered to cook them that night, and went to find Carol before he went crazy.
She was in the house, he discovered from Andrea who was in her usual spot on the RV.
"What do you need her for?" Andrea asked with a sly smile.
"Ain't none of your damn business," Daryl shot back rudely, not feeling like listening to any crude remarks Andrea might make. She had been shooting those at them recently.
"Alright, just don't break her!" Andrea called after him loudly. Lori looked up from where she was sewing Carl's shirt with a look of shock, but when she saw Daryl stomping away angrily with his head ducked in shame, it turned ornery.
"Andrea, is he looking for Carol for any specific reason?" she asked.
"What do you think?" Andrea asked with a waggle of her eyebrows, "They've been joined at the crotch for weeks now!"
Both women burst into laughter and Andrea suddenly had a wicked idea.
"Lori...come here and hear this horribly delightly plan of mine..."
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"C'mere."
Carol found herself yanked out of the kitchen and into the laundry room and she squealed in surprise. She spun around and came face to face with a very determined looking Daryl Dixon.
"Daryl, didn't I tell you recently to STOP sneaking up on me?" she snapped.
"Hush," was all the reply she got before she found herslef lifted onto the now useless washing machine. Daryl's hands were in her shirt before she even realized she wasn't on her feet anymore.
"Daryl, what...?" his hand clapped over her mouth and the look he gave her made her words catch in her throat. His eyes were dilated and almost black with desire and there was something extremely exciting about that, so she tried not to think about the fact that they were in an easily discoverable place as he pushed himself between her legs.
"Oh, hey!" Lori's voice made them both freeze and Carol pushed Daryl away in panic. Lori stood in the doorway with a bottle of laundry soap in her hands, apparently wanting to put it back on the shelf where it belonged. She suddenly grinned broadly and set the soap on the dryer instead. "Don't mind me...I'm just...wow, you two are like a couple of rabbits."
Carol jumped down from the washer, blushing like crazy.
"Lori, we...we were just leaving," she shot Daryl an embarressed glare and he met it with an annoyed roll of his eyes before he walked out, mumbling as he went.
Carol ducked her head as she returned to the kitchen, completely missing Lori's grin.
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The next opportunity Daryl saw was when Carol headed out to the well for a bucket of water for Patricia. He followed her as silently as possible and when she set the bucket down he scooped her up without so much as a "how do you do" and set her down behind the shed, placing his hands on either side of her shoulders, boxing her in.
"Daryl...are you serious?" Carol seemed annoyed but he didn't want to think about it right now so he shut her up with a needy, desperate kiss. He felt her tenseness relax slightly and grinned into her lips.
He hesitated for a moment, ears pricked for any noise signaling the chance of another interruption, but he was soon satisfied that no one would come out here and got serious. He gripped Carol under the thighs and pulled her legs around him, pushing the rapidly growing bulge in his pants into her and pushing her into the wall behind her.
"You sure are crazy today," Carol comment breathlessly, her fingertips digging into his back as he ground into her.
"You have no idea," he growled, kissing her collarbone firmly. Carol felt his teeth dig into the skin there, just hard enough to make her squirm.
"Hey! Who left this bucket here?"
"Shit..." Daryl's voice sounded like he was going to break into a legitimate roar at any moment. Andrea came around the corner, Carol's forgotten bucket in hand and her eyes got huge.
"Oh...hey you two..." she said, and Carol could see she was trying no to giggle. Daryl sighed and backed away, letting Carol's feet set back on the ground. "I'm SO sorry! I just came down here to refill my water bottle..."
"It's fine, Andrea," Carol said with a forced smile. Daryl didn't share her easy forgiveness and he was glaring daggers at Andrea.
They all walked back to the house together, Andrea big them goodbye in the driveway and went back to the RV.
"Sorry..." Carol whispered to Daryl, who still looked livid.
"What's with all the cock blockin' today?" Daryl growled, "It's like they're doing it on purpose!"
And suddenly his eyes got huge. Carol wasn't sure she liked the look that they now held.
"Those little shits..." he said darkly, his gaze went to Andrea where she sat on the RV.
Carol saw it all now...Lori and Andrea were in cahoots, the little stinkers!
"I'm gonna kill someone..." Daryl threatened, deadly quite.
Shane chose that moment to come out of the house. He stopped next to them and glared at Daryl.
"Hey, you're suppose to be second in command her now," he said rudely, "You should be doing something productive, Carol's perfectly capable of getting water on her own."
Shane had done this many times, pick at Daryl because of his anger at being replace by him...but he had really chosen the wrong day to bring it up again. Daryl's fists clenched and Carol saw the muscles in his forearms go rock hard from the effort, he turned to Shane and got right up in his face.
"I ain't takin' this shit today, you son of a bitch!" he roared, causing Shane to back up a tiny bit, "Take my advice and get your ugly face out of my sight before I decide to improve your looks with my fist!"
Shane immediately got defensive and his eye narrowed dangerously.
"You lookin' for another ass whoopin', Dixon?" he threatened, "I've done it before and I can do it again!"
Carol realized Shane was right. Daryl was very strong, no doubt about it, his arms were solid and every other bit of him was hard from years of natural work. But he was shorter than Shane and Shane was trained in defense and knew how to fight...but Daryl fought out of pure rage instead of discipline and Shane would take him down. She knew she had to stop the inevitable bloodshed so she shoved herself between them, pushing Daryl back by the chest.
"Stop it!" she shrieked, but they didn't separate easily. Every time she turned to push the one of them back, the other would readvance. Finally she closed her eyes and slapped Shane with all the strength she could muster. She was pretty sure she hurt her hand more than his face but he stopped trying to get at Daryl and looked at her in shock. She heard Daryl snort behind her.
"I'm sorry, Shane," Carol said sincerely, "But this is ridiculous! You know Daryl never asked for this position. And Daryl, you need to control your temper. What the hell is wrong with you today, anyway?"
Both men took a step back, Shane hung his head slightly before stomping off towards the barn. Carol turned back to Daryl and glared at him.
"Sorry..." Daryl's voice sounded utterly defeated and his shoulders slumped. Carol felt her heart squeeze at the dejection of his stance.
"Seriously, Daryl, are you alright?" she was honestly concerned by his behavior. "You're acting like a caged animal today!"
"Come back to the tent and I'll tell you?" he asked hopefully.
One look at those puppy dog eyes he was giving her and Carol's determination to be firm melted away and she sighed.
"Alright...but you'll tell me BEFORE anything else, got it?" she bargained.
"Got it," Daryl agreed, yanking her nearly off her feet in his haste to get across the pasture to their tent, "It's not a long story anyway."
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Did anyone else who's watched the new Season 3 trailer recognize the song Beth was singing? It's an Irish song called "The Parting Glass" (one of my favorites) so I was delighted to hear it...but the lyrics fit that show so well!
"Of all the money that e're I had, I spent it in good company. And of all the harm I have ever done, alas, it was to none but me. And all I've done, for want of wit, to memory now I can't recall.
So fill to me the parting glass and drink a health whate're befalls, then gently rise and softly call 'Goodnight, and joy be to you all!'
Of all the comrades that e're I had, they're sorry for my going away. And all the sweethearts that e're I had, they'd wish me one more day to stay.
But since it fell into my lot that I should rise and you should not, I'll gently rise and softly call 'Goodnight, and joy be to you all'. Fill to me the parting glass and drink a health whate're befalls, then gently rise and softly call 'Goodnight and joy be to you all'. "
It's talking of days that have gone by and things the singer use to know...and how there is nothing left to do but to move on. Anyway, my heart is Irish (as well as half of my genes) and I was glad to hear it.