04: With Eyes of Fire

Daryl frowned as he watched Carol give him a wide berth to avoid accidentally bumping into him around camp. He chewed at the inside of his cheek, unable to figure out how to go about apologizing to her. So the void grew bigger and bigger as time passed.

He sat on the edge of the camp with the sewing box he'd borrowed from Dale and tried for what felt like the hundredth time to thread the needle to mend a hole in his pants. He gave up, cursing under his breath as he gathered the pants, the thread, and the needle up and moved toward the tent he knew she shared with Sophia.

He cleared his throat. "Carol?" he called out softly, unable to raise his voice any louder as he ducked down and peered inside. All he saw was Sophia reading a book. He narrowed his eyes. "Where's your Mama?"

Sophia smiled when she realized it was him, marking her page in the book and bounced up from her cot and out of the tent. She bounced from one foot to the other. "She's getting water with Ms. Lori. They're washing clothes, I think." She glanced around the tents on the far side of camp and pointed in the direction of the well where she could see both of the women.

He nodded, chewing the inside of his cheek again. He narrowed his eyes as he looked from the women back to the girl. "Think your Mama could patch these up for me?" He hated to ask, but he hadn't quite figured out how to do it himself yet. "Or maybe teach me how to do it myself?"

She nodded eagerly, happy that he'd finally started talking to her again. She reached and grabbed his free arm and gave it a squeeze. "Sure. Leave it with me, and I'll be sure she gets it." She looked up at him, tilting her head a bit. "Daryl, can I ask you something?"

He let her take the pants and the thread with the needle and place it just inside the tent. He narrowed his eyes as he looked down at her before he stuck his thumb into his mouth and chewed at a loose piece of skin around his fingernail. "You just did, didn't you?" He cleared his throat, mentally kicking his own ass because he'd just done it again. "Sure, kid."

She ignored his gruff response. She had been around him enough to know that was just how he was. She was certain that her Mama would get over it sooner rather than later. "You going to apologize to my Mama or not?" She put one hand on her hip as she squared her shoulders and met his eyes. "I mean, I know you can be an asshole, but you're not like my Daddy. You can be nice, too."

His eyes widened when she called him an asshole. He hadn't expected a word like that to come out of her mouth. A bit of him was impressed, but there was a part of him that knew she shouldn't be talking that way. "Don't you use words like that, Sophia. Ain't right." He cleared his throat, letting his gaze wander back in the direction of the well where he saw that Carol and Lori were on their way back.

"Suppose I should, huh?" He forced himself to look back at the girl. He gave her a nod and reached out to touch her shoulder with his fingertips. "Yeah. I'll do that. Thanks, kid."

Daryl took a deep breath as he approached Carol from behind. He stepped up beside her as she hung laundry to dry on the clothesline that Rick and Shane had strung up for them all to use. He held up his pants that Sophia had just returned to him. "Thanks. I tried to do it, but I couldn't figure it out. Appreciate it. A lot."

She put the clothespin into place and reached for another shirt. She was surprised when she saw him toss his pants on the ground near the basket of wet laundry and hold the shirt into place for her. "It's no problem," she insisted. "It was the least I could do for everything you've done for me, for us."

He met her eyes as their hands touched as she placed another clothespin into place. "I, uh, wanted to say I'm sorry for yesterday. I didn't mean for it to come out like it did." He narrowed his eyes, trying hard to hold her gaze and not look away. His nerves were getting the better of him.

She saw the sincerity in his eyes and gave a slight nod. "I appreciate that," she admitted. It wasn't often that a man sincerely apologized to her. She stepped around him to grab another shirt. When he took it from her and hung it on the line, she chuckled softly. "Careful, Daryl. Keep showing me what else you can do, and I'll put you to work."

He gave her a shy half-smile. He wiped his hands on the back of his pants. "I guess I better go then," he teased as he turned to walk away. He turned after several steps, watching as she continued to hang the laundry. "I got some time now if you wanted to work on handling that knife," he offered.

They'd been practicing for about an hour, and he was impressed with her eagerness to learn. She really had improved since the first time that he'd shown her how to wield the knife. He showed her another move, landing the knife exactly where he had intended. "Just make sure that you follow through once you strike. If you hesitate, the knife won't penetrate as deeply as you'd want it to."

He pulled the blade free, repeating the motion once again and landing it where he'd wanted once again. He nodded at her. "Okay. Now you give it a try."

She tried to mimic his stance, but something didn't feel natural. She felt her heart speed up when she felt his hand reach around her to position her and make sure that her footing was more secure. Her breath caught in her throat as his hand steadied her on her hip. She turned her head slightly as their bodies pressed tightly together from her back to his front. "This better?" she managed to ask.

He turned his head at the same time and nodded. He gave her a half-smile. "Just hold it firmly, but not rigid, and strike." Their lips were close together. He could feel her hot breath on his skin. He felt her lips touch his for a brief moment. His eyes closed slowly as he leaned into the kiss.

And then it was over. He wasn't even sure if it had really happened. He licked his lips, discovering a taste on them that wasn't his own. He met her eyes as his cheeks turned dark pink. "What-what was that for?"

Her cheeks flushed as she lowered her eyes and chewed at her bottom lip slightly. "I, uh, I just wanted to."

He gave a slight nod. "We should concentrate," he gently prodded her as he put a bit of distance between them, but he forced himself to stop before he moved too far away. His entire body wanted to run the other way, but he forced himself to stay put. Something about Carol calmed him, making him want to be close to her. It made him want to find out what it was about her that was different from everyone else he'd met in his life.

He swallowed the lump that rose in his throat, forcing his hand not to shake as he lifted it to her face. He gently touched her bottom lip with the pad of his thumb to show her that the kiss hadn't been unwelcomed. It had just been unexpected.