Chapter Text
Daryl glanced up, reveling in the afternoon’s gorgeous weather. The cloudless blue sky was cast over a mid-temperature day. He was thankful that the Georgia summer day was uncharacteristically cooler than normal for July. It sure made for a much more pleasant grill out day. The smoke from the double grill and the light reflecting off the steel hood were the only things obstructing his views of the endless blue.
He looked around the courtyard of his small apartment building. As usual, most of the residents were in attendance for Dale’s monthly cookout. He mentally counted heads, making sure all those he could actually carry on a conversation with were there before he joined in. It was one of his quirks, a characteristic of his that was well known by those neighbors he counted as friends. They all knew he wouldn’t engage in chit chat if there was a chance that he would have to repeat himself. Everybody also knew his hatred for gossip. As such, they always saved that for before he came or after he left. It was a testament to how well liked he was that these people indulged him in this to make him more comfortable around groups.
There was Dale, back from his latest RV travel and manning the grill. Dale owned the building, and was recently retired. He had been the Security Manager at the neighboring shipping warehouse for decades. Most of the building's residents currently worked there, and Dale rented the apartments out at great rates by word of mouth to employees. This ensured that Dale could be surrounded by those former co-workers that he considered family.
Rick, Glenn, and Tyreese all still worked at the warehouse with Daryl. Rick and his wife Michonne were deep in conversation with Glenn and his pregnant wife Maggie. Tyreese was helping Dale to plate the burgers, passing them to Carol and her daughter Sophia who were setting the buffet style picnic table.
Carol and Sophia were notable exceptions to Dale’s preference for renting mostly to the warehouse’s employees. Carol was raising Sophia on her own. Daryl had gotten to be pretty close to them both. He knew that Carol and her daughter were getting more confident around their group, but they were just now starting to come out of their shells. Daryl was honored to be their most trusted friend. Carol had shared some stories of their former life, and his heart had ached for them both.
Carol had spent the majority of Sophia's life under her husband's restrictive views on a wife's role in a marriage. He had heard several stories about how her and Sophia had been viewed as burdens by her husband Ed.
It was only shortly before his death that Carol had made a stand against Ed’s beliefs. She had gotten a job outside the home at a bookstore. At first, she had done so for Sophia. The girl was shy, and Carol had wanted her in some activities where she could make more friends and spread her wings a bit. Ed had refused to spend one red cent on the girl he had frequently referred to as ‘his little tax shelter'. By getting a job, Carol would be able to pay for things for Sophia herself.
That minor act of defiance and independence from Ed had consequences. At first, Carol had been on the receiving end of what she saw as empty threats. Ed said that if she wanted to work, then she didn’t need access to his money. He took her bank card for their joint account, saying she could pay for anything she wanted by herself. Carol thought everything would blow over in time. She was wrong.
After a week, Ed had decided to begin putting his threats into action. Punishment was doled out by way of increasing hostilities towards both mother and daughter. Tension in the household ramped up exponentially. One night, Carol was actually afraid that Ed’s anger was about to progress to physical violence. Before it went that far, Carol decided to end things. The day she filed for divorce was the day she got her first paycheck.
The day of the filing, Carol had Ed served on an expedited basis at work, and had made a reservation at a cheap hotel. The cost was well worth the peace of mind. The hotel proved to be unnecessary. He never came back home. Instead, Ed left a message saying that he was going to be staying with his sister until ‘Carol came to her senses.’ They never saw him again. The next week, Ed decided to climb behind the wheel of a car drunk. When he crashed, he had his sister Dawn in the car with him. She had survived without major injury, but Ed had died instantly.
Carol had thought his life insurance would be enough to give her and Sophia a fresh start on life. She instead learned that all of Ed’s insurance policies were changed three days after she started her job. She now knew those supposed empty threats weren't so empty.
When she had inquired, she was told the policies listed his sister Dawn as his sole beneficiary. All of their joint bank accounts had been significantly drained on the same day that the insurance was changed. She found out later that he had opened new accounts jointly held with Dawn.
What Dawn did with Ed's money was anybody’s guess. It sure wasn't used to help with his funeral costs. That expense was solely with Carol, using the majority of the remaining money in their joint account.
The only three things Carol had gained from her split with Ed were her daughter, her freedom, and an angry sister-in-law who blamed her for Ed’s drinking and death. The harassment by Dawn became so severe that Carol lodged several complaints to the police.
Their modest starter home was no longer something that Carol could afford on her sole salary at the bookstore. It was already mortgaged to the hilt. Through the kindness of her co-worker Michonne, Carol was referred to Dale as a tenant.
With the blessedly cheaper rent, Carol had been beginning a new life living in the apartment building next to the warehouse. There, she felt safe living amongst the warehouse's workers. She felt safe there from the blame and the continued harassment from Dawn. The other tenants had started to become Carol and Sophia's only real friends, and now slowly were becoming their only family.
Daryl had always done his best to try not to stare at her, but was surely failing miserably. He knew he was staring now. He internally berated himself for it, but he just felt drawn to her. He admired her quiet strength, her courage in starting a new life for her daughter. It also didn't hurt that Carol was so beautiful. She had a smile that would light up her blue eyes. Her hair had been inherited by her daughter. Both of them sported reddish brown hair that had wild curls. Her freckles were something that Daryl could happily imagine spending time counting.
He was now watching her so intently, that he reminded himself of a hawk eyeing its intended dinner. All these thoughts were doused when he remembered that she wasn't his to stare at. Sighing, he reminded himself that Carol wanted nothing to do with dating anyone, let alone his socially awkward ass.
Daryl abruptly turned away, chastising himself brutally for staring. He was headed over towards the rest of his friends when Dale called him name, requesting that Daryl grab the loaf of Carol’s coveted brown bread for the table. It was this change in his focus that allowed the other tenants to continue their current topic of conversation.
“If he had stared at her much longer, he was gonna get caught,” whispered Maggie.
“I hope he does get caught,” responded Glenn. “He obviously cares for her. Maybe if she caught the way his eyes always followed her, he would be forced to actually admit his feelings.”
“Carol always says she isn't interested in dating,” Rick murmured. This was his usual contribution to the frequent topic of romance between the friends.
“I don't believe that. In the past year that Carol has lived here, they have gotten so close. Did you know that Carol invites him over for dinner at least twice a week, and they have breakfast on Sundays? Or that he goes to all of Sophia's soccer games? Those two are dating without even knowing it,” argued Glenn.
“They are friends. Close friends.” Michonne said. “Maybe she does ha—”
“Just friends? No way. They are clearly right for each other, and if you are say—"
“What I was going to say if you would stop interrupting, is that maybe she does have feelings for him. But having feelings for a friend can get dicey. I have known Carol a bit longer than you all have. Even at work she talks about him. Maybe she is just afraid he would not welcome a change in their friendship. Women who are hurt don’t trust easily, but she trusts him. Daryl is not one to trust easily either, but he trusts her. What if she is afraid that going after him would break that trust?”
“Carol always says she isn't interested in dating,” Rick murmured yet again.
“Whatever.” Glenn couldn't help the exasperation in his tone. “Do you even know how to say anything else? You have got to come up with a new argument. That is all you ever have to say.”
Rick turned to Glenn and conceded the point. “Fine. Tell me what I should say then that is any truer.”
When Glenn couldn't come up with anything, Maggie did.
“What if Carol is gun shy about dating? What if they really do belong together? It's not like either one of them is gonna come out and just admit things to each other. I think the only time they would confess their feelings is if it were too late to do anything about it. They are just gonna deny everything and either end up alone or with the wrong person.”
Glenn's face lit up like it was Christmas morning and Maggie had gotten him a new PS5. “That’s It! Let's make sure that they are put into a situation where they feel it necessary to talk about their feelings.”
Michonne looked him over warily. “How, by making them admit they don’t want to be alone forever? I know them both, and neither would want a relationship with anybody just to be less lonely”
“Thank you for proving my point Michonne. We want them to see each other as the first prize, not a consolation prize awarded to escape loneliness or as a second choice to somebody else.”
Michonne still looked unconvinced, not sure what Glenn was scheming. Maggie however looked at Glenn with pride, seemingly knowing his intentions. “You, my love are a true genius.”
Confused, Rick turned to the couple. “If you two could wrap up the happy newlywed mind meld and explain, that would be great. What are you two gonna do?”
“Oh no Grimes. Not just the two of us. You two are gonna help.” Glenn was practically vibrating with excitement at the force of all the ideas hitting him at once.
“Care to expand on that mind meld then? Explain please,” added Michonne.
“We are going to set Carol up on a date,” Glenn beamed.
“Daryl won't agree to be set up with Carol. You know that.” Rick sighed.
“Oh no, not with Daryl. With somebody else Carol feels safe with. Somebody else single in our building,” Glenn nodded over to where Dale and Tyreese were closing up the grill hood. “Here's a clue. Who is divorced and not 30 years her senior?”
“You want to set Carol up with Tyreese?!”