Written For:Â @lovesdaryl
Title: The Best Dream Author: spanishrose2002 (ramblinrose/theramblinrose) Rating: T Summary: Life has been a nightmare at times, so Daryl never takes for granted the moments where his dreams come true. A/N: Merry Christmas! I hope you enjoy!Â
The sadness was profound. It flowed through his veins like it had replaced his blood entirely. It was something entirely different than any grief heâd ever known beforeâand Daryl had known his share of grief.
The moment that heâd known she was gone, it had been like a tidal wave crashing over him. His brain had felt unable to process itâunable to believe it. There must have been some kind of punchline to the whole thingâa sick joke gone wrong. Thatâs what heâd believed, even though something inside of him had known that Rick was telling the truth.
He hadnât had time to truly process any of it. He hadnât had time to mourn. He hadnât had time to think about what he might do, or how he might remedy the whole situation.
Hell had broken loose, fast and hard, and it had slammed all of them with one loss after another.
He had almost felt like heâd sobered up, some time later, when he began to truly start to understand what had happened, and he began to think about the repercussions of all of it. It had been like an awakening, except heâd woken to find that he was in a nightmare, plain and simple. Heâd felt lost, consumed by a sucking pain inside his chest, forever with an ache at his throat that threatened to disarm him entirely.Â
Heâd focused on saving Beth, because he couldnât stand more loss. Heâd focused on saving Beth because, once, there had been a little girl that he couldnât save. Maybe, this time, he could beat the odds. Maybe, somehow, it would make up for what he hadnât been able to do before.
And, in the back of his mind, something made him believe that, if he could save this little girl, it might somehow bring Carol back to him. It might, somehow, make him worthy of such a miracle.Â
He had to believe, after all, that she was still out there. He had to believe that she was fine. She was making it. She was tough. She was a survivor. If anyone could go it alone, it was Carol.
He had to believe that, eventuallyâsomehow and some way, even if he couldnât begin to imagine how that might happenâhe would find her, or she would find him.Â
And, somehow, she found him.
Somehow, he had done something so right that heâd been worthy of the thing he wantedâneededâmost in an otherwise cruel world.
In that moment, he saw her. He noticed her and did a double-take, convinced that his mind was playing tricks on him. Heâd seen her so many times since heâd lost herâin Walkers, in glances over his shoulder, out the corner of his eyeâŚand, especially, he had seen her while he slept. Too many times, heâd believed that she would be there, only to wake and find that he was every bit as without her as he had been when heâd closed his eyes.Â
It had taken him a long moment to believe that what he saw was really, truly Carol. As soon as he was certain that it was her, though, he had run straight for her.
Daryl could feel her body making contact with his all the way down. He felt the solidity of herâthe confirmation that this was real. She was physically there, and she was wrapped in his arms.   He smelled herâthe smell of her sweat, even, seemed like the sweetest perfume that he could imagine. He had memorized her scentsâall of them. He knew the flavors of her. He closed his eyes and pulled her somehow closer to himâas close as the laws of nature would allowâand he nuzzled his face against her, pleased to feel her skin against his face as the smell of her filled his nostrils. He squeezed her tightly, determined that she would never slip away from him again.
She smelled pleasantâclean. He could smell the scent of her body and a crisp cleanness like when she emerged fresh from a bath.  She smelled so much cleaner than what he had expected, given her appearance there in the woods.
Daryl stirred, confused, and the woods began to change around him. Darkness began to fallâa darkness that he hadnât expected. It wasnât time for darkness, and the dusk never came and faded so fast.Â
âPookieâŚâ
âYeahâŚâ He said, as the darkness broke and a different sort of darkness took its placeâa darkness with a soft light mixed carefully into it. He squinted.
She smiled at him.
His heart responded to that smile. God, he loved her. He loved her more than heâd once imagined it was possible to love anyone. And he loved that smile.
âHey,â she said, softly. He felt her scratching her fingers lightly through the hair at his temples.Â
âHey yourself,â he said, teasing her. She understood. She laughed. It sounded like music and it disrupted his pulse in the best way. âShitâŚI wasâŚâ
âDreaming,â she said.Â
She shifted, lifting a little onto her elbow. Daryl became aware that heâd been holding her tightly. He let go enough to give her breathing room, and a bit of room in which to move about, but he kept a hand resting on her waist. She didnât try to deter him in any way.
âStill fuckinâ dreaminâ,â he said. âHope I never fuckinâ wake up. Itâs my favorite one.âÂ
âAnd which one is that?â Carol asked.Â
âThe one whereâyouâre in love with me, and Iâm in love with you, and we do this shit for the rest of our damn lives. Whatever the hell time we got left.âÂ
Carol laughed quietly. She brushed her cool fingers across his face, before she leaned and kissed him. He tasted her lips and hungrily took every bit of the kiss that she saw fit to let him have. He returned it just as enthusiastically as he could, and it didnât take long before sheâd moved closer to him so that she might let their bodies enjoy the same proximity as their lips.
âThatâs no dream, Pookie,â Carol offered, as soon as the kiss broke. She was breathing a bit more raggedly than she had been before, but so was Daryl. He knew that she could feel his bodyâs response to her. He knew, too, that she had to know that it was more than just the natural reaction to the morningâthis was for herâŚbecause of her.Â
She moved just slightly away from him and glanced between them, before she looked back at him and smiled softly. She hummed and held his eyes.Â
âAfter breakfast?â She asked. âCan it wait?âÂ
âFor you? Itâll wait. Itâll come back. Same difference.âÂ
âIâll make it worthwhile,â Carol said, winking at him as she sat up. âPromise.â
âYou always do, Woman,â he said. He reached for her as she was leaving the bed, but his fingertips only brushed against her back, touching the soft cotton of her nightgown, before she stood up.
âThe fireâs almost out,â Carol said.Â
âI got it,â Daryl said, starting to rise, himself.
âI can put wood on the fire, you know,â Carol said.
âNo, you canât,â Daryl said. âI already said that I donât want you messinâ with it. I donât want you even touchinâ it.â
âBecause the wood is so heavy?â She asked, laughing to herself. She heaved the water bucket up and onto the counter, as though that was her personal response to her own question.
âJesus, Woman!â Daryl spat. âI thought I told you not to do that shit, either.â He rushed over and picked up the little pitcher from the counter area. âPut the pitcher in the bucket for the water, Carol. Donât try to pick the whole thing up! My whole damn heart just stopped. Are you tryinâ to kill me?âÂ
She laughed and turned to face him.Â
âItâs barely half-full, Daryl, and Iâve carried a lot of heavier things in my life.â
He caught her face in his hands. She flinched, slightly, and closed her eyes. It was instinctâa residual reaction left over from the asshole that hadnât know what heâd hadâhadnât valued her. Daryl didnât hold the instinct against her anymore than she held the occasional flinch against him when she ran her hands over his back and kissed his scars.Â
He placed a soft kiss on her lips when he was certain that she wasnât going to respond negatively, thanks to some horrible memory from her past.Â
âYou carried a lot of heavy shit in your life,â Daryl agreed, his voice low. He pressed his forehead against hers, and she laughed quietly, letting them rest together like that. âBut this? This is the heaviest thing I want you carrying right now. The heaviest thingâthe most important thing. The only thing thatâonly you can carry, OK? Let me handle the rest.âÂ
He dropped his hands and let them rest, now, on either side of her belly. It was growing. In fact, it had grown a good bit since theyâd first set out on their own. Back then, it had been practically invisible. The little one between them had been a whispered promise to both of them for a future that was like something they had barely dared to even imagine.Â
Carol would never rest againâtruly restâin Rickâs presence. Daryl wouldnât either. She would always fear that something she did, even with the best of intentions, might land her with something like a death sentence. Daryl would always remember what it felt like to have her snatched away from him and to have Rick there, trying to explain to him why he ought to find that absolutely acceptable. He would never truly feel comfortable letting her out of his sight for fear that he might never see her again.
The only choice for either of them had been to set out, together, and try to find a life that suited them both.
And boy had they found it.Â
The cabin was small and rustic, but well-built. Theyâd chosen it for that reason. They had no reason to believe that there might be another baby born to them after this oneâif this one made it, and they were doing everything they possibly could to ensure that it didâbut theyâd chosen a cabin with a large open room and with one extra room for a little additional space, if there came a need for privacy.Â
For now, they didnât need privacy. They had their bed right there, close to where they made their meals, ate them, and spent whatever time they had around the chores that must be done daily.Â
The cold of the year was settling in well now, and Daryl had chopped wood and stored it in places already provided for him, so that it would be dry for the winter. Heâd hunted and smoked the meat in the smokehouse that had probably been in use for hundreds of years and still fulfilled its purpose. They were stocking up supplies, and the pump at the nearby well worked just as it ought to, so they had the water they needed practically at hand.
This was their little slice of paradise.Â
Daryl was putting up fences every day, and soon the house would be fully protected. When the spring came, they would see about a garden. Carol would can food to make sure that they were well-prepared for next winter.Â
They would have a lifeâthe kind that nobody could take from either of them. Never again.
âThe bucketâs only about three-quarters full,â Carol said. âThe pitcher would have been just as heavy.â
âPleaseâplease, Carol. I ainât tellinâ you what to do. Not like him. ButâIâm askinâ you.â He kissed her face. He kissed her cheek. âYou told meâŚIâm a manâŚâ
âThe best manâŚâ Carol said.
âThen, let me be the kind of man who takes care of his family,â Daryl said. âCan you justâlet me be that?âÂ
She smiled at him.
âIâve never known you to be any other kind of man,â she said. âAnd thatâs the truth. ButâI wonât touch the bucket again. I promise. AndâI wonât touch any wood.â
She immediately made a face, and he raised an eyebrow at her in question.Â
âWhat?â He asked. She laughed before she ever spokeâthat musical laughter that made his heart beat out of rhythm in the best kind of fluttery way.
âI wonât touch any wood that you donât have for me, specifically, Pookie,â she teased. She winked at him and grinned.Â
Daryl immediately felt his face flood with warmth.
âStop!â Daryl said. She snorted, trying to make herself stop laughing. Daryl couldnât help but laugh in response. âOKâdonât stop, butâŚjust for that, Iâma teach you a thing or two about wood just as soon as we finish up eatinâ some biscuits and venison.âÂ
âI canât wait for my lesson,â she teased. She gave him a soft kiss and loosely hugged him, taking a moment to simply stand there and touch him in the easy sort of way that she had, now that she was really his in every way possible.  âWhat was your dream about, Daryl?â
âHmmm?â He asked.
âWhen you wereâwell, just before I woke you up.  You were having a pretty intense dream. What was it about?â
He smiled at her.Â
âJust you,â he said.Â
âWhat about me?âÂ
âJustâabout the moment before you made me the happiest fucking man on Earth.âÂ
âThatâs some dream,â Carol said.Â
âThe best fucking dream,â Daryl agreed.
âWhat happened in this amazing dream?â
âNothing,â Daryl said. âI held you in my arms.âÂ
âThat doesnât sound too exciting,â Carol said.
âThatâs where the hell youâre wrong, Woman. Itâs my favorite fucking thing to do. And I hope I spend the rest of my life doing it.âÂ













