AN: Here we are, another piece to this story!

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111

Daryl looked up when Carol knocked on the screened door. It was getting dark, and there were beetles flying around outside the door, slamming their hard-shelled bodies into the doorframe and surrounding wood as they tried to get inside, too—or, at the very least, to get where there was light. They made tapping noises that almost added to the sound of the music that came from inside the shop.

"It's unlocked," Daryl said.

Carol smiled to herself and opened the door.

"That could be dangerous, you know? Out here at all hours of the night, alone, with the door unlocked."

Daryl stopped what he was doing and smiled at her.

"You worried about me?" He asked.

Carol was quiet for a moment while she considered her response to that question. She and Daryl were—what were they?

They were at least pretending that all they had was a business relationship that enjoyed a few benefits of friendship, since an amiable business relationship was good for everyone involved. After all, if they were going to raise a child together—which was the hoped-for end result of this endeavor—they should at least have a friendly relationship with one another.

Carol wasn't certain, though, if she only felt business-like about the whole thing. She kept that to herself, mostly because she didn't want to frighten Daryl, and she knew that wasn't what they'd agreed upon when they'd started this.

Still, it meant that every response needed to be carefully considered and weighed, lest she say something that she didn't really mean to say and upset Daryl.

She was willing, she realized, to live without all the full perks and benefits of a relationship with Daryl to simply avoid losing the friendship that she was allowed to enjoy now that each of them had opened up about the fact that they didn't hate the idea of having that familiarity beyond the business transaction.

Carol pulled the stool around that she sat on whenever she visited Daryl at the shop after he got off of work. She sat down.

"I have to be concerned about my investment…or involvement…or whatever," Carol said. "If something happens to you, where does that leave me?"

Daryl laughed to himself and went back to half-heartedly sanding the area of the car that he was working on. Carol could tell he hadn't been doing serious work, like he sometimes did, where he was entirely involved in what he was doing. Daryl was simply out here keeping his hands busy right now.

"Somethin' tells me you'd do alright," Daryl offered. "But—Merle'll cut you into my will, if somethin' were to happen." He shrugged and got up from his seat. Carol watched him walk to the workbench and help himself to a cigarette. He lit it and came back to sit near her again. "I'm not too worried, though. Fuckin' tire iron to the temple will stop damn near anybody that's got a mind to come in here and fuck with me."

Carol laughed quietly in response.

"Yeah—I guess you're right," she said.

Daryl stared at her a moment. She made eye contact with him, but Daryl's stares were intense. Sometimes she had to look away from him because something inside of her felt like he might somehow be able to see into her and know what she was thinking—what she tried her best to keep hidden.

"You come to see me for somethin' specific, or you just here to pass the time?" Daryl asked.

If anybody else had asked Carol that question, she probably would have felt like they wanted her to leave. She would have wondered if she were bothering them. She might have even apologized and run away without telling them the real reason for her visit. Oddly enough, she didn't feel that way with Daryl, though. She felt like he was asking a genuine question. After all, they'd both already had several nights of enjoying hours of each other's company simply because they'd learned that both of them sometimes got tired of being alone.

Carol sighed.

"I got my period," she said.

Daryl hummed. He frowned, but it wasn't as dramatic as Carol might have imagined it would be. In actuality, Carol had imagined that he would have a much more dramatic response. She had allowed herself to go so far as to imagine that he might blow up in anger and frustration. Now, of course, she recognized that the imagined response she'd given to Daryl was only something built on the manner in which her ex-husband would have reacted to not getting something he so desperately wanted.

Daryl wasn't at all like her ex-husband.

"No baby, right? That's what that means?" Daryl asked.

There was no accusation there. There was no anger. There might have been a hint of disappointment, but it wasn't enough for Carol to feel like Daryl's emotions had the possibility of running away with him. He was asking a question, and it was genuine, to make sure that he fully understood their shared situation.

"No baby," Carol said.

Daryl hummed and nodded.

"Fine," he said. "Well—I guess…I mean…that's just…it's just what the hell it is, right? I mean—no baby—and that's what it is."

"That's certainly what it is," Carol said.

"Want a cigarette?" Daryl asked. "There's beer in that fridge over there, too." He laughed quietly and shrugged. "If there ain't no baby…you might as well help yourself."

Carol shook her head.

"I don't want any of that," she said. "Thank you for offering," she added quickly, so that he didn't take her tone or intention wrong. "It's just…"

"Bummed?" Daryl asked.

Carol laughed at his tone, and at the fact that she could feel an ache in her throat that she hadn't been able to kick since she'd first seen the evidence of her period.

"Seriously fucking bummed," she offered.

"All the more reason for a beer," Daryl said. She looked at him. He laughed. "Just kiddin', really. I ain't tryin' to pressure you."

"I know," Carol said. She sighed. "And—I'm sorry, Daryl. I feel so…"

"Bad?" Daryl offered when Carol broke off.

"Yeah," she breathed out. "Listen—I really just…came to tell you that. And—I wanted to say that, if you want to…to go with someone else, I'll understand. You know?"

"Go with someone where?" Daryl asked.

"I mean—do all this with someone else," Carol said.

"Why the hell would I do that?" Daryl asked.

"Because I clearly can't do it," Carol said. "You know what you want. You know you want a baby…"

"I thought you did, too," Daryl said. "I thought that was at least part of what the hell was gonna make this work out so damn good."

Carol stopped. Daryl stopped. In silence, they stared at each other a moment.

"I do," Carol said. "I do want a baby."

"OK—me too," Daryl confirmed. "So—so then, what's the problem?"

"The problem is I'm not pregnant, Daryl. There is no baby."

"And?" Daryl responded.

"And…and you want a baby," Carol said. "So—if you want to find someone else…"

"There ain't no baby today," Daryl said. "But—you ain't been to no doctor that's told you that there ain't never, ever gonna be a baby, have you?"

Carol's stomach tightened.

"No," she said. "But—they haven't told me that there absolutely would be one, too."

"Hell—they ain't told me that there would absolutely be a tomorrow," Daryl said. "But I'm bankin' pretty heavily on it until they throw dirt in my face. There ain't no baby, Carol. As I understand it from Andrea, that's like pretty fuckin' normal. She said it can take like months and shit—maybe even longer—to get one. So, there ain't no baby today, but it just means we gotta…do the ovulatin' thing again, when the ovulatin' happens."

"That's just it?" Carol asked. "We just—do the whole thing again when I'm ovulating?"

"That's just it," Daryl said. "Unless—am I misunderstandin' some key element to this whole thing?"

Carol laughed quietly.

"It's just—you're not angry?" She asked.

"Why the hell would I be angry?" He asked. "Should I be angry?"

"My ex would have been angry," Carol said. "If he'd wanted children, I mean…I only ever saw him angry when there was a chance that we might've had children, though. He didn't want them. He got mad every time my period was late or…irregular…or anything."

"Well, he's an asshole," Daryl said.

Carol laughed.

"He was. He is. You're sure you're not even a little angry? I'd understand if you were. You've got a right to feel whatever you feel, Daryl."

He laughed and shrugged.

"Well—it ain't angry I feel, if that's what you mean. But—hell, I guess I feel a little disappointed. Kinda already started thinkin' about it happenin', you know? I was thinkin' it wouldn't be long and you'd tell me there was a baby. Figured—it wouldn't be long after that and we'd be talkin' about what comes next."

"What comes next?" Carol asked, seeking clarification, afraid to give even an ounce of hope to the swelling her chest.

"Doctor's appointments…maybe…those little pictures and things where we can see the baby. I thought I might frame a couple of them up, you know," Daryl said. "I can paint a room for you, and one in my place. Furniture…and I don't know what all babies need, but you do, and we'll figure it all out. You know—all the shit that's comin' when there is a baby. I guess, I just let myself get ahead a little too much. But I don't feel mad. I just feel kinda…"

"Disappointed," Carol supplied. Daryl hummed and nodded. "Me too," Carol confirmed.

"So—we're disappointed together," Daryl said.

"It would seem so," Carol said.

"What do we do now?" Daryl asked.

"You mean—right now?" Carol asked.

"I mean—is there anything else we can do to get ready for when you're, you know, ovulatin' again?"

"Not that I know of," Carol said. "Just wait. Hope that I don't let us both down next time."

"Hey…" Daryl said. It was a little sharper than his other words. Carol frowned at him. He shook his head. "Don't do that, OK? Don't talk like that. Don't act like this is some shit that's like just on you or…like it's on you at all."

"It kind of is, Daryl," Carol said. "Your part in all of this is pretty simple."

"And? If my little assholes get lost on the way to what you got, then what? It ain't on you that they took a left turn at Albuquerque, or some shit, and never made it to the destination in time."

Carol couldn't help but laugh.

"I don't think that's what happened," she said. "The road to the destination is kind of a straight shot."

"Don't ever underestimate how fuckin' dumb a Dixon can be," Daryl said. "My brother is a prime example of that shit…and that's the fuckin' little asshole that found the right location in time, so just imagine how damn dumb the Dixons that got lost was."

Carol laughed. Her whole body flooded with warmth and appreciation. Daryl wasn't mad at her. More than that, he didn't want her to be mad at herself.

"I happen to think that Dixons are wonderful," she offered. She thought Daryl's cheeks ran red, and she wondered if she'd overstepped.

"So—we're waitin' on the next time, right?" Daryl asked.

"Right," Carol said. "I mean—that's the next time I can get pregnant."

"But—we could like…still hang out," Daryl said. "On account of—I don't always like to be alone, and neither do you."

"Of course," Carol said.

"And—it's probably good," Daryl said. "There's probably like a whole emotional side to things, you know? And spendin' time together strengthens that bond or whatever. It probably makes it so your body's more acceptin' and it don't…you know…don't feel invaded or disrespected, or whatever. It don't reject my guys when they get in there tryin' to find their fuckin' way."

Carol didn't point out that she didn't think that was the way it worked at all, mostly because she believed that Daryl didn't think that was the way it worked at all, but it helped him say what he seemed to need to say. She was, honestly, happy to hear it.

"If you think they need a little practice," Carol said, "I mean—just so they find their way easier, there's always that possibility, too."

Daryl smiled.

"I'm not against practice," he said. "Anything worth doin' is worth doin' the best you damn can."

"So—what do we do now?" Carol asked.

"You said you didn't want a beer," Daryl said. "And—I respect that shit. But—you ain't said shit about a burger and a shake. You wanna…go get somethin' to eat? It won't fix that there ain't no baby, but a strawberry shake does fuckin' wonders for me when I'm feelin' kinda down."

Carol smiled at the innocent and very welcomed suggestion.

"I can't think of a better cure for my disappointment than…going to get a shake with you, Daryl," Caron said.

"Go do whatever you gotta do," Daryl said. "I'ma close up here, wash up, and I'll pick you up at your place."