Chapter Forty Two
Daryl sat on the floor with his back against the bricks while Shane sat across from him. The nights when it was just Shane were the best. He hated that he actually looked forward to them. The jail had two sections and neither were very big. The part where he was being held was actually attached to the police station itself. Across the street was the bigger jail that held most inmates. Martinez had the pull to keep Daryl close so he was the sole inmate in this building. It had it's perks when the other guards were busy somewhere else. He didn't have to deal with them a lot but when he did it was hell.
Shane had brought him dinner and actually sat down with him, cell door opened, and ate his own. A box of fries sat between them. Daryl was quiet. More quiet than usual and Shane seemed to sense that he didn't want to talk about it. Apparently everyone that had been pulling for him had exhausted their efforts. His trial date was set and with Dave's testimony he was pretty sure the judge would end up giving him at least five years. That was a heavy burden and he had finally accepted the fact that it was his own damn fault. It wasn't Andrea's fault. It wasn't Martinez's fault. Hell, it wasn't even Dave's fault. Daryl hadn't had to beat the guy so badly. He just did what he wanted to do, when he wanted to do it, secure in the fact that Buck's influence and the ties he had would keep him out of trouble.
"I'm gonna do you a solid, Dixon."
Daryl looked up from his burger. It was almost gone and he hadn't even tasted it. "Yeah? You gonna spring me?"
Shane sighed. "I would man, if I could."
"Yeah, I know."
"I made a call and got you another visit. I figure after the news you got today you needed a pick me up. I can manage more time since it's just me and you tonight. The only reason anyone else would be around is if a damn riot broke out across the street and I don't see that happening."
He should have felt excited by the prospect of getting to see Carol again. Instead he felt sick. He didn't expect her to wait for him for five years. Hell, even if the judge took it easy on him, he didn't want her to have to wait for three either. It wasn't right for him to ask her to do that. Especially since he had never even really told her how he felt about her. He was pretty sure she knew or she wouldn't have stuck around for this long, but he'd never said it. Now he thought maybe that was for the best.
"You don't look too excited Dixon."
Daryl shook his head. "I ain't. Guess at least this way I can cut her loose in person instead of doin' it behind the glass."
"Cut her off? That woman? Man, are you insane? You ain't dealing with some bar whore there, Daryl. She's the real deal. Why the hell would you cut her loose?"
"Cause she don't need to sit around and wait for my ass to get out of prison. She's got a lot to offer. She's got a daughter. I don't expect her to sit on her ass and wait for me. What kind of asshole you think I am?"
Shane shook his head. "I'll be damned. I guess you have changed."
Daryl looked away. "Yeah. Too little too late, right?"
Shane gathered up the wrappers and empty cups. "There's still a chance your old man will find Dave. As soon as that gets handled then they won't have much of a case."
"They've looked man. They can't find him anywhere and those fuckin' feds are smart enough to not let you or any of your guys know a damn thing."
Shane stood up. "Well, I guess if you're gonna give this woman some kind of speech you got about ten minutes to hammer it out. I called her so she's on her way now."
Daryl stood up, nodding. "Thanks, man. You ain't gotta do any of this shit. Just know I appreciate it."
"We have to kiss now?" Shane grinned and dodge the kick Daryl aimed at him.
"Pussy," Daryl muttered, shaking his head and flinching when the cell door slammed shut.
~H~
Carol felt light headed at the prospect of seeing him again. Seeing him without the glass between them. Talking to him without the tinny quality of his voice through the telephone. She couldn't wait to see his face when he saw her and realized that her mysterious sickness was over. He worried. She knew he worried and she loved him for it but his worry only made it worse on her. Today was a good day. She had been able to do her job without stopping on and off to go throw up. She hadn't been plagued with that sick feeling that had stayed with her for weeks upon weeks.
Shane offered her a smile when she walked into the station. She held out a small box and gave him a smile of her own.
"What's this?" He asked, taking the box from her with the logo for the bakery printed across it.
"I thought I'd make you something. Just to thank you for everything you do for him," she said, feeling a little stupid now that he was opening the box and sliding the cupcake out onto his desk. His eyes grew wide.
"You made this?" He asked.
She nodded, feeling more proud than she should have that she could make a decent cupcake. She had worked on it before leaving. Daryl had one too. "I figured since Merle sucks those down like they're going out of style that maybe it was just a man thing. There's real Reece cups baked inside and the peanut butter icing is homemade. June helped decorate though. She's better at that part than I am."
He grinned, "Well hell, I don't know whether to eat it or set it up to be admired."
"I'd eat it. You don't want ants."
He chuckled and came out from behind the desk, leading her through a few doors and then into the hallway that housed several holding cells. A distinctive flutter low in her stomach had her stopping in her tracks, her hand going over the spot and a gasp escaping her. She hadn't realized that she had stopped directly in front of his cell. She felt Shane's hand low on her back and she looked up, sharply. He looked concerned.
"You okay?" He asked, brows raising.
She nodded quickly and then her eyes slid over. Daryl was standing there, his hands on the bars, watching her worriedly. She dropped her hand quickly, her heart beating hard and fast. It was such a strange feeling, that his baby would pick this moment to move for the first time. Like it sensed that he was close and needed to remind her that it was there. When he took in her face she could see the relief in his eyes, much more intense than what she had seen in Merle's when he had first seen her this morning.
"You're better." It was a statement, not a question.
She nodded and hurried inside as soon as Shane had the door opened. "Much."
Shane walked away then and she threw herself into his arms. She wasted no time with sappy words or tears. Today had been too good for any of that. Her lips sought out his and he tightened his grip on her. The familiar texture of his lips, the familiar feel of his hands on her hips, all of it had her head swimming, giving her no option other than to deepen the kiss, to taste as much of him as she could.
He reluctantly pulled out of the kiss, meeting her eyes. "You sure you feel okay?"
She nodded. "I do. I feel better than okay. Are you okay?" Her voice was breathy and she couldn't keep her eyes off of his lips.
He shook his head. "We need to talk, Carol."
She hated the look in his eyes when he said her name, like it caused him pain. She didn't want him to be sad right now. She wanted him to feel as good as she felt. "You didn't say you liked my dress," she muttered, her lips brushing his throat.
He looked confused but then his gaze swept down. "It's a nice dress," he muttered. "But I need to-"
She pushed gently until he sat down on the edge of the bed, looking up at her with a strange look on his face. "What's the best thing about this dress?" She asked, her body radiating heat.
"Uh... I don't know."
She grinned because it was the first time she had ever seen him remotely flustered. "The fact that it's a dress," she answered for him.
He still looked confused until she grabbed his hand and moved it from her hip to her inner thigh. He didn't need any more urging than that. His eyes darkened when he realized that she wasn't wearing anything underneath. He stood up. "We don't even know when the fuck Shane'll be back," he said, eyes searching her face.
"Then you better make this quick, huh?" She muttered as she started working his pants down his hips. With a growl he tore off his shirt and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her down with him as he sat back down on the cot.
"I don't think that will be a problem. We shouldn't be doin' this here, though," he whispered as she adjusted herself over him, coming up on her knees.
She met his eyes intently. "I need you. And I know you need this," she breathed right before she lowered herself onto him slowly.
His breath stuttered out of him before his teeth sank into her throat. She stifled a moan as he filled her. She rolled her hips in a slow rhythm, needing no urging from him. She knew what he liked, despite their brief time together. That was the beauty of them. They read one another easily. His hold on her tightened so much that she could barely move at all, but it didn't matter. Every small rise and fall of her hips brought her closer and closer to the brink that she could only reach with him.
His shoulders, which she clung to, felt more broad under her touch. His arms felt wider, more defined. These were small realizations that barely made it to the forefront of her mind as she felt him start to tense. He quickly brought his hand between them, his fingers playing over her flesh, driving her quickly to the brink. He lost himself with a shudder just seconds before she did, the heat of his release pulsing deep driving her over and sending her trembling against him as she buried her face in his neck.
He was breathing heavily, his brow sweaty. She pushed his hair back and kissed his forehead. He was still holding her against him with a strength she didn't know he had. It seemed like he was afraid to let her go. Like if he did then maybe she'd never come back. Now that she had her wits about her she realized that when she had first came in, he had seemed off to her. It made her feel bad for not giving him the news that she had came here to give him in the first place.
"What's wrong?"
He shook his head and pulled her face to his, his lips desperate against hers. When he finally pulled his face away he moved her so she could sit down next to him while he fixed his pants. He didn't bother putting his shirt back on. "I wanted to tell you somethin'. Now it just don't seem right to say what I need to say."
She frowned and turned on the narrow cot so she was facing him. She felt a ball of dread form in the pit of her stomach, causing her to feel sick but in a different way than she had grown used to. "I'm here. If you need to tell me something then just tell me, Daryl."
He ran a hand through his hair, glancing at her briefly before looking away. "I talked to my lawyer today. I made her promise not to say anything to Buck yet. Not until I got a chance to talk to you."
She felt her heart leap in her chest as she took in his tortured expression. She stayed quiet and very still.
"She wasn't able to stop it. The date is set. Four more weeks and I go to trial. I'll probably get at least five years," He looked up then, meeting her eyes. "I want you to... uh. I mean, I know that things have been all fucked up since you met me and that it might seem like I'd expect you to wait for fuckin' ever on me to get out but that ain't the case."
She opened her mouth to stop him from saying anything else but he shook his head, turning to face her.
"Look, you need somebody that isn't into the same kind of shit I'm into. You need to take Sophia and you need to go live your damn life. I can't deal with you thinkin' I expect you to stay around and wait."
She saw how bad that those words hurt him. They would have hurt her too but they didn't. This day wasn't a day for pain. She came here to tell him something big and he wasn't giving her a chance to say anything. He was going on and on like he was going to be sent away forever. "Daryl, just to make it perfectly clear, I don't know what this is. I don't know if there is even a label out there for us. What I do know is that you going away for years wouldn't change anything. I would wait for as long as I needed to wait."
"I don't want you to do that, damn it," he growled, shaking his head.
She shrugged. "I don't care. Unless you don't want me to wait simply because you don't want me. Then I'll move on but-"
"That ain't it and you know it!" He barked, standing up in his outrage.
Her eyebrows shot up. He had definitely been working out. She stood up with him. "And I came here to tell you that there is a huge chance that you'll be coming back home right after the trial."
He shook his head. "That's what Andrea was fightin' for. To avoid a trial. She knew if it came to that then I was gone."
"Well, things change," she said with a shrug.
He shook his head. "How?"
"Because Buck found Dave Henderson and he isn't going to testify. Without him, what do they have? A few Rookie cops? I think Martinez and Walsh can handle that."
Daryl stared at her, his eyes going wide with disbelief. "How? How the hell did they find him?"
She shrugged. "He wouldn't tell me. All he said was that there were a people looking that ended up being smarter than the rest of them. He said he hadn't even known others were looking. He got the call last night and he already went to talk to him. He won't testify."
Daryl sat back down heavily, staring off at nothing for a moment as his mind processed this new information.
"Are you okay?" She asked, running her hand down his arm.
He looked over at her and nodded. "So I'm gonna be out in a month?"
She nodded, unable to hide her smile.
"And you ain't dyin', which we were all pretty damn sure you were."
"No, I am definitely not dying."
"And I just got laid in jail."
She laughed. "And I made you a cupcake. It's in that box," she pointed to the window ledge.
"I guess today was a damn good day then," he said, still sounding stunned at the turn of events.
That month flies by so don't worry about that. Thank you for reading!