No Caryl moments last episode? Sad...and Carol, please don't be getting comfy with walkers, it makes me nervous when you're out there all alone in the yard dissecting zombie bodies.
Also, it has come to my attention I have been spelling Hershel's name wrong this whole time. My apologies. It is now remedied.
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Daryl was up before the butt crack of dawn, early even for him. He shouldered his crossbow and snuck out of the RV quietly and carefully, trying not to wake Carol or Sophia in the process. Lulu, however, jumped up immediately and he rolled his eyes as she followed him out.
"Lulu, ya better be smart and keep quiet," he grumbled at the bobcat as it walked beside him on his way to the woods. "Can't have ya messin' this up."
The bobcat slunk into the underbrush in silence, not even acknowledging his words and Daryl shook his head as he went in the opposite direction of her. He walked till he came to the place he'd been planning on visiting for the last month and then he looked around carefully before choosing one to climb up into. He pulled himself up, branch by branch, and settled in carefully when he found a spot that suited him, blue eyes scanning the field below carefully.
It wasn't too long until his quarry showed up, exactly how he'd hoped it would. He knew just by the look of the place it was the perfect spot. Smiling, he raised his bow and took careful aim, then let his bolt fly.
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"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty," Carol moaned loudly and rolled away from the voice and the hand shaking her shoulder. For a moment she thought she'd escaped the early wake-up call, but then she felt the mattress shift and she was suddenly airborne above it. When she came back down and hit the mattress she sat up and glared at her husband who was kneeling on the bed with a huge grin on his face.
"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to jump on the bed?" Carol moaned, rubbing her tired eyes. "What do you want?"
"I need you to get up and help me with something," Daryl replied with a wink and a grin. "Sophia's already up and at it with me. C'mon, lazy bones, get up!"
Daryl stood up and took hold of her ankles, pulling her slowly off the bed even as she scrambled for a hold on the sheets to prevent it. She lost and she found herself on her butt on the floor, Daryl standing over her with a smile on his incredibly handsome face.
"I'll carry you out it I gotta," he threatened playfully.
"Why the heck are you so happy?" Carol sighed, standing up and rubbing her slightly sore tailbone.
He didn't reply, he simply winked and made his way back out of the RV. Carol shook her head with a small smile at his antics and started getting ready to face the day, not that it took very long these days. So a few minutes later she stepped outside and gasped at the sight before her.
Sophia and Daryl were sitting underneath one of the trees with a large mass of brown feathers in between them. They were grabbing handfuls of the feathers and placing them in a bag and Carol realized now that they were plucking a rather large bird and she approached with interest. It was a turkey, no, not just one, TWO turkeys! One was a decent size, but the Tom was very large and Daryl grinned up at her as she eyed the birds happily.
"Daryl, that thing is HUGE!" she said excitedly.
"You know, I get that a lot," Daryl winked up at her and she rolled her eyes at his try at humor.
"Shut up," Carol laughed crouching down next to them, "We're gonna eat like kings tonight!"
"Of course we are," Sophia said, stuffing another handful of feathers in the bag next to her, "It's Thanksgiving!"
Carol looked up in shock. Was it really Thanksgiving? She'd completely lost track of time! She stood up and clapped her hands together.
"Well, we're gonna make it as good a Thanksgiving as we ever had!" she announced, "Bring those turkeys in when they're ready!"
With that, she turned and headed for the house with a skip in her step. The kitchen was empty, most everyone was still asleep, which was fine with her. She rolled up her sleeves and started digging through the cupboards for everything she would need.
"What are you doing, Carol?" a sleepy voice asked a few minutes later. Carol turned and found Lori standing in the doorway, rubbing her eyes tiredly.
"Good morning, Lori," Carol smiled, "It's Thanksgiving, did you know? Daryl went out this morning and got two turkeys and it got me in a cooking mood! What do you say, wanna help make an amazing Thanksgiving dinner?"
Lori perked up immediately and she smiled.
"It's Thanksgiving?! Oh my goodness, I love Thanksgiving!" she practically squealed with delight, "Of course I'll help you!"
Before long, Maggie, Beth and Patricia had joined them in the kitchen and they were all laughing and cooking up a storm.
"Sounds like a coop full 'o hens in this here kitchen," Daryl's voice made Carol turned around from the counter where she was chopping up carrots and she smiled when she saw he was holding up the freshly cleaned and gutted turkeys.
"Oh, hush your mouth, Daryl Dixon," Lori laughed, taking one of the turkeys from him and dropping it in a large bowl to wash it off.
"Holy goodness, that thing is HUGE!" Maggie squealed when Daryl laid the bigger turkey on the island.
"I know it," Daryl said with a grin and a wink in Carol's direction. She rolled her eyes, but she set down her knife and the carrot she was working on and walked over. She slid her arms around his waist and stood tip-toed to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth.
"Thank you, Daryl," she said genuinely.
"No need t' thank me, Carol," he said, clearly uncomfortable with this very public display of affection, "I'm just...doin' what I can."
All the women in the kitchen were smiling at the pair with wide smiles and soft eyes and it made Daryl very nervous so he finally pushed Carol away gently and stated he was going out to see if Rick needed any help. Carol watched him go with a smile, her eyes trained on the back of his cargo pants as he left.
"Hate to see him go, love to watching him leave?" Patricia suggested when the front door closed behind him. All the women cracked up and got back to work.
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By that evening, the kitchen counters were filled with bowls and plates full of food and the smells coming from the room was starting to attract everyone. Glenn had actually snuck in and snatched a sweet potato out of the pan, earning him a smack on the forearm with a wooden spoon from Maggie. One by one, the group members learned the consequences of trying to pilfer food before dinner, all except for Daryl who hadn't been seen all day.
Finally, Carol and Patricia declared the final touches were done and that it was time to partake in the new world's first Thanksgiving dinner. Word spread very quickly and soon enough, everyone had flown into the house, everyone had the same look of excited hunger on their faces as they started claiming places at the tables.
"Whoa, whoa," Lori said suddenly, "You boys are filthy! Get upstairs and wash up a little, please! At LEAST wash your hands but up to the shoulders would be preferable. Go or no Thankgiving dinner for you!"
The sound of chairs scooting and feet running up the stairs made Carol giggle. The men were acting like children at Christmas. Finally, everyone was decently clean and fit to sit at the table.
"Ok, since we have far too much food to fit on this table, it's all staying in the kitchen," Maggie announced from the doorway between the dining room and kitchen. "So, if ya'll would bring your plates in here, we'll fix ya right up!"
So a line was formed and the group filed through the kitchen, holding out their plates as they went down the line, being loaded up with turkey, mashed sweet potatoes, cooked spinach, squash, cooked apples, wild onions, and cornbread. Daryl eyed the extra large piles of spinach and squash on his plate and he looked up at the server and was caught in the familiar gaze of Carol. She was all smiles, she looked happier than he'd ever seen her and he remembered her saying once how much she loved Thanksgiving.
"Save you a spot," he told her with his signature smirk and she nodded happily as she scooped out squash for Glenn. Daryl sat next to Merle and glared at anyone who made a move to occupy the seat on his other side until Carol finally joined the fray and placed her plate next to his and sat.
Hershel said the blessing, a particularly long and in depth blessing, full of thankfulness, and then they all tucked in to the amazing food they were indeed blessed to have. Everyone was farm raised, found in the woods, or taken from the root cellar, hardly anything was from the life they knew before except for the cinnamon on the apples. But the biggest hit was by far the turkey and Carol saw how Daryl ducked his head and mumbled that it was no big deal every time someone threw a compliment his way. Some things about Daryl Dixon never changed, Carol could see he would never lose that humbleness he had about him.
"Oh my good Lord in Heaven," Beth sighed as she let her fork drop to her plate, "That was so good!"
"I need bigger pants," T-Dog moaned as he clutched his rather swollen stomach.
"I need a bigger stomach!" Dale complained, looking sadly at the food that remained on his plate.
"I'll take care of that for you, Dale!" Daryl said with a grin, spearing the turkey off the older man's plate and shoving it all in his mouth. Dale pushed the plate across the table to him and Merle wasted no time in snatching the remains of the turkey, leaving the vegetables for Daryl. Daryl gave him a glare but ate the veggies without complaint.
It wasn't long after that when everyone declared they were too stuffed to eat another bite and they all leaned back in the their chairs with their hands resting on their over stretched stomachs, happy sighs were heard every once in a while, but it was otherwise silent.
"We made pie," Maggie piped up. Everyone groaned loudly.
"Ok, well we also made hot apple cider," Lori announced, standing up and heading into the kitchen. She turned and leaned back into the room. "Someone want to get that fire in the living room back up to size?"
Merle immediately stood up and volunteered for the task, receiving many grateful looks from the stuffed individuals around the table. One by one, they pushed their chairs back and headed for the living room, everyone started taking their seats around the room and Carol found herself on the floor to the right of the fireplace with Daryl reclining back on his palms to her side and Sophia leaning back into her from between her legs in front. Merle came in moments later with an arm full of wood and went to work on getting the flames back up. Lori brought in cups of hot cider one by one and handed them out. Eventually, everyone finally settled in and the chit chat began to flood the room.
Carol remained quiet, as did Daryl beside her. His eyes were focused on Merle across the living room where he was talking to Andrea and Carol recognized that look. It was the look he got back whenever Shane would get into one of his moods, the look he got when Maggie had rode up on the horse and rescued Andrea so long ago, the look he once gave even her...distrust, cold hard distrust. Carol reached out secretly and covered his hand with hers and gave it a gently squeeze which caused him to break his stare and look at her with mild surprise. Carol noticed that he still felt surprised at her touch and she knew he still felt in the back of his mind that he didn't deserve her...which was bullshit.
"Daryl," she whispered, "Relax. You're all tensed up like a cat about to pounce."
Daryl gave her that cute little lopsided smile he had and he nodded. But she knew he was concerned over Merle's recent attention towards the blonde woman. He cared about everyone in this group and Carol had no doubts the man would hurt Merle very badly if he harmed anyone. To Daryl, every member of this family was his responsibility to guard and protect.
"Daryl, we can trust him," she assured her on edge husband. "Please don't start anything. It's Thanksgiving."
Something about the pleading tone in her voice made Daryl close his eyes and sigh. But he nodded and gave her a genuine smile.
"Love ya, woman," he whispered, leaning over to press a quick kiss to the side of her face. She smiled and was glad, for his sake, that no one noticed.
"Love you too, you big softie," she teased.
"I think we should go around the room and say something that we're each thankful for," Sophia suddenly stated, all eyes turned her way. "That's what we always use to do at our Thanksgivings, right mom?"
Carol nodded, remembering how her answer was always the same because it was what Ed wanted to hear: her marriage.
"Great idea!" Beth said happily.
"Who'll start?" Maggie asked. "How about you, Daddy?"
Hershel nodded and looked around the room.
"I'm thankful for my daughters and this farm," he stated solemnly, "The gracious Lord saw fit to allow me to keep the things that He knew I needed."
"I'm thankful for my family too, of course," Maggie stated, but then she looked at Glenn, "But that is no surprise and it's something I always have been thankful for. This year I have a new person to add to that list, I'm thankful for Glenn."
Glenn blushed brightly and mumbled something inaudible before he cleared his throat and looked up again.
"I'm thankful for Hershel's approval in letting me be with Maggie," he said honestly, "Without that, I'd be pretty miserable."
"I'm thankful for that amazing dinner we just had," T-Dog said happily, "We're so lucky to have such wonderful cooks and lots of land to provide us with foods that'll never run out."
"I'm thankful for good friends, new friends," Beth stated, "Carl and Sophia, you especially."
"I'm thankful for the safety we've all been provided with so far," Patricia said.
"I'll second that," Jimmy clinked their cups together.
"I'm thankful for peace amongst all members of this group," Dale said seriously, and many nods and murmurs of agreement were heard.
"I'm thankful for the knowledge that someone has always got my back," Rick stated solemnly, giving both Merle and Daryl almost unnoticeable nods.
"I'm thankful for a pregnancy that was successful and for the new addition to my family," Lori said, hugging Carl tightly. For once, the kid didn't look annoyed by the hug.
"I'm thankful for my new baby sister too," Carl stated.
"I'm thankful for second chances," Andrea said quietly, giving Merle a kind smile.
"Me too," Merle said quietly, but everyone was so quiet waiting for his answer that they all heard it anyway, "Especially when someone don't really deserve it."
Now everyone's eyes turned to the small family by the fireplace and Carol saw Daryl wiggle nervously out of the corner of her eye.
"I'm thankful for mom and dad," Sophia piped right up with no hesitation, "And that Dale is letting us use the RV for our home this winter!"
Carol saw the eyes move to her and she closed her eyes to let it sink in again. She was free from her past, free from Ed and the fake attempts at happiness she had to make at every family holiday, she was truly happy for the first time in a long time.
"I'm thankful for new beginnings, " she finally found herself saying, "For the chance to start over and make a new life. I'm thankful that, for some reason, a certain redneck decided that I was worth taking care of and that my daughter was worth looking for. I'm thankful for this whole damn world going to shit if that's what it took to break free."
She wasn't surprised at the looks on the faces around her. Shock, surprise and disbelief...except for three faces. Sophia's, Daryl's...and Merle's.
But soon, the attention left her and was directed at Daryl who swallowed nervously and looked down at his boots as he wiggled his feet back and forth.
"I'm thankful for this woman next to me and that little girl in 'er lap," he mumbled, "I ain't never had much in the way of a family before and...I never expected when I went out lookin' for a lost little girl I'd end up finding myself. An'...I can never be grateful enough that this woman right here saw past me and never gave up on my worthless ass."
There was silence. But it was the type of silence where no one felt the need to talk. Carol barely even noticed it at all because she was looking into those blue eyes that she adored and soaking up the moment, logging it into her memory for the rest of time. Daryl gave her a genuine smile and she felt his hand slide into hers, all shame in maybe getting spotted doing so seemed to have disappeared as his thumb traced the back of her hand.
"Anyone up for some persimmon pie?" Maggie's voice interrupted Carol's musing and she looked up with a smile.
"Maggie made it herself," she stated, making Maggie blush slightly, "She said it's a great substitute for pumpkin pie."
By this point, everyone felt that they could fit some pie in their stretched stomachs and everyone claimed so. Maggie disappeared into the kitchen to start plating the pie and Carol went to stand and help her but Daryl's hand was firm on her wrist and he prevented her from rising.
"Woman, you ain't always gotta do everything that involves the damn kitchen," he whispered, pulling her against him now that Sophia had moved over to sit by Carl. Daryl was still watching them very closely as the kids talked. Carol giggled and gripped his chin, turning his face her way, then leaned in to kiss him.
"Aww, you two sure are cute!" Patricia said happily.
Carol saw Daryl's hand raise, undoubtedly to flip the woman off, so she grabbed it before he could and leaned back, eyes twinkling. He grinned at her and silently assured her with his expression that he wasn't going to cause any trouble.
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The persimmon pie was a huge hit and, by the time they'd all had two or more pieces, it was getting late and the kids were starting to yawn, Sophia had actually fallen asleep leaning on Carl's shoulder.
"Well, happy Thanksgiving everyone," Carol said as she and Daryl stood up to leave, "See you in the morning."
Everyone said their goodbyes to them and Daryl went over to get Sophia. He eyed Carl with a threatening squint as he leaned down and picked Sophia up, bridal style. Carl gulped but nodded in silent understanding, this was something he should not get use to, Carol rolled her eyes at Daryl when he turned around and met her at the door with Sophia.
"You've got that kid scared of you," she whispered.
"Good," he replied with a wink.
Together, they walked to the RV, Carol held his crossbow at the ready since he was indisposed at the moment and they made it safely with no trouble. They went inside and locked the door behind them, a precaution Carol insisted on because she considered it was possibly for walkers to open doors. She set his crossbow down, leaning against the wall of the small "bedroom" in back and smiled as she watched him settle Sophia down in her makeshift bed on the floor. She didn't even move she was so passed out tired.
"She's bushed," Daryl whispered as he sat on the end of the bed and kicked off his boots. "She's been runnin' around with me all day, cleanin' those birds and helpin' out on the farm. She didn't leave my side all day."
"She loves you," Carol assured him, "She's never had a father she could spend time with and not get hurt for it."
Daryl sniffed angrily at that and scooted backwards until he was lined up next to her. Carol put her arm over him and laid her head on his chest, enjoying the fact that he was there, not even asking for anything more than just to be there next to him.
"Daryl," she whispered after a long silence.
"Mmm?" Daryl asked, sleepily.
"Thank you so much for making this a wonderful Thanksgiving," she said softly, "It's the best I've ever had."
"Even if I can't always do it, I love makin' ya happy," Daryl replied groggily, pulling her a little closer, "I think we all needed this little pick me up, huh?"
"Yep," Carol sighed, feeling her eyes getting heavy, "Can't wait till Christmas."
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So, I hope this flows well, I felt like I wrote this under very distracting circumstances. Leave me some feedback and any suggestions on the next chapter! I'm so very tired now so...I'm gonna go to sleep, dang it!
Much love to all my readers!