Carol was waiting for him when he got home after the run. She was usually waiting inside, ready to take his bow and make him sit down for something to eat, but this time she was waiting out on the porch and looking pensive. "I wanted to talk to you, without the others hearing."
Daryl nodded, setting his stuff on the steps, "Go ahead."
"It isn't anything bad, but I thought that you might want to pass it on." She ran a hand through her hair and frowned, "I don't know if I'm approaching this right. It probably sounds worrisome and it isn't. I just thought that you might tell Aaron that Rick has decided that he should know him better, and so he's been trying to talk to Eric more often."
"That doesn't sound bad, why shouldn't the others hear?" Daryl leaned against the porch railing, unsure of why Carol wanted to tell him about this.
"I like Eric and he mentioned this to me because Rick was starting to make him feel uncomfortable." She shrugged, "I can't really talk to Rick about a lot of things; our water under the bridge is easily stirred up still. I was hoping that if Aaron knew that Rick wanted to get to know them better they could visit in a way that felt more natural."
"So you want me to tell Aaron that they should stop by more often so that rick can get to know them better?"
Carol laughed, "I know it sounds strange. God knows I feel like I'm in middle school passing notes again, and I could have gone to Aaron with this myself. Eric doesn't want him to worry though. You know how that can be, right? Rick wants to know the people around himself and he doesn't trust easily anymore, if he ever did. I want him to trust Aaron and Eric because I think most of us see them as part of our group now. They saved us out there, and they've helped us in here."
Daryl was nodding, "I know, and I agree. They're ours. Rick should know that already."
She nodded sharply in return, "He should, but he acts as though he doesn't know anyone who hasn't been on the road with us. Except Morgan, of course."
"I'll ask Aaron to visit more. That's something I wouldn't mind happening anyway. If something happened I'd rather they were nearby." He frowned, thinking, "I'm gonna talk to Rick too. He wants us to accept his feelings without question, to trust in him, and I think we deserve the same. He should trust me about Aaron, and he should trust you about Eric since we're spending more time with them than anyone else."
She stepped back slightly, "Thank you. I wish I could do more to resolve this, but I feel that I'm still on the list of people he isn't sure of sometimes. It's easier to say that we've overcome the past than to feel as though it's done." Carol leaned down, grabbing the strap of his bow, and opening the front door. "Now, I made some dinner for you if you're hungry and Carl wanted to ask you a question if you have time. I think it's something about birds or the local wildlife." She shrugged, "He's working on some kind of project."
Daryl snorted, "And they don't have a hundred books on the subject?" He didn't sound as harsh as he might have if there was no interest, liking that some saw him as an expert on legitimate subjects. "I can talk to him while I eat." He followed her, taking his vest off and letting it hang on the doorknob to the closet as they passed into the house.