Carolina in my mind

Chapter 11

Carolina stirred slightly, still hovering on the edge of consciousness. After the tiring day she had, she slept the kind of sleep that left her disoriented, wondering what day and time it was when she finally blinked her eyes open. Since she felt the presence of a warm body tucked in behind hers, Carolina at least knew where she was. In Woodbury. With Merle. It wasn't the first time Carolina stayed the night with a man. She had more than her fair share of boyfriends over the years. But after they finished having sex, she had a tendency to roll away onto her own side of the bed and stay there. Waking up with someone still wrapped around her was a new experience. One she was slowly realizing that she rather liked. It felt warm and safe and snuggly under the blankets. Merle's bad arm was draped over her. But seeing the mangled stump of his wrist didn't elicit the same gagging response from her that it had the first time she saw it. His body radiated heat. And since she must have shucked her tank top sometime during the night, his skin felt warm and soft against hers.

"Mornin'," he drawled, clearly not any more interested than she was in rising from their bed despite the fact that his behavior the day before branded him as a morning person in her mind. Carolina hummed, arching her back and wriggling her hips until her backside was pressed flush against his morning erection. "Yer askin' fer it," he teased, bucking his hips against her.

A little sigh of pleasure escaped her. And Carolina shifted her body, lifting her hips up so she could shimmy her pants down and kick them off under the blankets. With her bottom half now bare, she resumed her previous position. Reaching between them, she pushed his shorts down far enough to bare his dick. A soft groan of satisfaction slipped from between his lips as she used her hand to line the head of his dick up with her already slicked opening and guide it slowly inside.

They made the sort of gentle lazy love that you could really only make when you were still part of the way asleep. As he pumped into her, Carolina reached between her legs and rubbed her clit, helping herself over the edge. She came with a few soft gasping moans that increased in volume when she felt him jerk and spasm inside her. They stayed snuggled up together until his erection softened and slipped out of her on its own.

"Start the coffee?," Merle asked, kissing up the back of her neck. Carolina nodded, voicing some approximation of uh-huh as she slid away from him and climbed out of bed. "It's already set up," Merle added, rolling onto his stomach, "...just turn it on and press start. Don't fiddle with it."

Carolina plucked one of Merle's discarded shirts off the floor, threading her arms through and fastening one of the buttons to keep it from flapping open. She rubbed at her sleep rumpled hair as she padded into the next room. Yawning, she opened the back of the coffee maker to make sure the water tank was filled. It was. Then she flipped the top open to reveal the coffee that was already scooped into the paper filter. Merle said it was ready. But she wasn't convinced. Carolina lifted the filter, intent on checking to make sure the coffee was about to be strong enough. The filter flopped open on one side, slipping grounds down into the machine and sprinkling them across the counter.

"Didn't he just tell ya not ta do that?"

Carolina yipped and dropped the filter and its contents, which thankfully landed mostly back into the coffee maker. Then she turned towards the voice. Daryl was sitting on the couch, the blankets and sheets they put out for him still strewn across the cushions underneath him.

"Gawdfuckin'dammit," Carolina cursed. "I forgot you were fucking here!"

Carolina yanked her shirt closed, feeling the heat rise in her face as her cheeks turned about five different shades of red. Not only was she walking around half dressed. In front of Daryl. But since their bedroom door wasn't even clicked shut, it was an absolute certainty that he just heard her having sex with his brother. She was used to living alone. Having a live-in boyfriend and a possibly long term houseguest was going to take some getting used to.

Carolina turned, flipping the coffee maker on and pressing start, like she should have done in the first place instead of making a mess. She heard the low rumble of Daryl's laughter behind her as she dashed back into the bedroom to get dressed. The hangover he must be suffering from clearly had not lessened how much humor he was getting out of his brother's newfound ability to commit to a relationship.

Despite having two cups of coffee, a granola bar, and a cigarette, Carolina was still yawning as they walked down to the infirmary together. She was a little surprised when Merle left his brother under her supervision. But then again, Merle probably didn't want Daryl around while he and the governor schemed about all the horrible things they wanted to do to the rest of the prison group. From the show, she remembered the governor dropping a walker bomb in the prison yard just for kicks and shooting them up later. But in this new reality, she was hopeful that things might not come to that.

Andrea and Hershel were already present in Lori's recovery room when Carolina and Daryl arrived. And when Carolina entered, she noticed that Michonne tagged along. The woman was standing with her back to the wall, her arms crossed and an unreadable expression on her face. Other than tracking them with her keen dark eyes, she gave no outward response to their arrival. Andrea rose from her chair. If she was holding onto any resentment over the way she was left behind by the group, she didn't show it when she stood and greeted Daryl with a wide smile and an extremely awkward hug. Carolina tried not to laugh at him while Hershel filled her in on Lori and the baby's condition. They were both doing well. Because of all the blood she lost, Lori's body wasn't producing much milk yet. But now that she was getting plenty of water and enough to eat, Hershel was hopeful that the situation would resolve itself without having to supplement with formula.

The room was littered with baby items and flowers. Despite the early hour, it seemed that at least half the town had already stopped by to offer some small tribute. Though Lori wasn't officially a resident yet, her daughter was still the first baby born in Woodbury. The first of many to come, according to most of the governor's disciples.

Since it was obvious that Hershel had taken charge of Lori's recovery, Carolina saw no need to repeat the basic tests and checks she was sure he already completed. He had miles more medical experience than she could ever even dream of having. She was more of a cna than a real nurse and even that was a stretch. Carolina took a seat next to the wise old farmer and tried not to laugh. She wasn't sure what was funnier, the way Daryl was digging though all Lori's offerings using manners equal to those of a wild raccoon, or how hard Hershel was trying to ignore what he was doing.

When he got done pocketing a prime selection of candy and granola bars, Daryl headed for Lori's bedside. Lori reluctantly allowed him to lean in and lift the baby from her arms. She kept a nervous eye on him at first. But after a moment, it was obvious that Daryl was handling the baby with more confidence than she expected. Lori relaxed back into the pile of pillows behind her, reaching for a large insulated cup and sipping at the warm tea it was filled with.

"She's gonna be a little ass-kicker," Daryl announced with certainty, "...I can tell."

Hershel shook his head and chuckled as Carolina uncrossed and crossed her legs again, fiddling with a bit of string that was hanging loose from the rip in the knee of her jeans. Between the way the sleeves of his t-shirt were stretching over his arms and how cute Daryl looked with Lori's daughter in his arms, Carolina was left wondering if spontaneous ovulation was an actual phenomenon. She quickly reminded herself that she didn't even really like babies. They were the human equivalent of pinky rats. And that she ought to be spending her energy figuring out a way back to her own reality instead of figuring out a way into Daryl's pants. Especially since she was, in fact, willingly sleeping with his brother.

"Hey," Merle said, drawing her attention to his sudden appearance in the doorway. He ticked his head towards the hallway, indicating he wanted to talk to her. But his attention was quickly diverted towards the baby in his brother's arms. Merle scrunched up his face in obvious disgust, shaking his head before he headed back out into the hallway with Carolina behind him.

"Are you a'right to go on a run back to the prison today?," he asked. Carolina nodded.

"I'll go with you if you need me too," she assured him, feeling her stomach drop a little when his face turned dark.

"I'm not goin'," he grumbled. "Gov'ner thinks he'll have a better chance ta bring 'em in if I'm not there. He asked fer you."

"Oh," Carolina replied, wrapping a strand of her long blonde hair around her finger and twirling it nervously as she considered this development. "The governor wants me to go with him? Alone?," she asked, already shaking her head. It was bad enough just being around that psycho and having to pretend he didn't scare the shit out of her. There was no way in hell she was going anywhere alone with him. Not in any reality.

"No, not alone," Merle assured her.

Carolina could tell that he was trying hard to sell her on the idea, even though he clearly didn't like it any better than she did. And she wondered what the governor promised Merle in exchange for his cooperation. Some private time with Rick after they sweet talked him into Woodbury and made him give his weapons up? That was her best guess. Though knowing the two of them, it might be something even more sinister.

"Daryl's gonna go with ya," Merle added. "Martinez and Shumpert. And blondie," he said, gesturing towards Lori's hospital room. "I wouldn't let ya go if I didn't think it was safe."

"Andrea's going?," Carolina confirmed. Merle nodded. "What about Michonne?," she asked. Merle wrinkled his face up and shook his head. But before he could give his opinion on Andrea's silent friend, Carolina quickly presented him with her ultimatum.

"I'll go if Michonne goes."