AN: I beg forgiveness for this and if you survive until the end, please let me know so I don't die from the guilt! This is the final chapter. I repeat, this is it folks. Enjoy! I hope.

Part Five

After the farm, she'd used any excuse to be close to him. She rode with him whenever his face was relaxed and welcoming. She took watch with him so she could see up close the way his fingers relaxed around his crossbow, how they gently, unconsciously caressed the weapon, revealing him as a man who had a great respect for the thing that helped keep him and the others alive. She'd bring him food, warmth, friendship, humour and more and more often, touch, and she held onto a dream that one day it would be her he'd caress, her he'd respect and cherish and love like he did that crossbow.

As time drew on, he'd grown comfortable around her. He sought her out more than he did the others, he sat closer to her around the fire, he shared his poncho on the coldest nights, and more than a few times he'd encased her freezing hands in his and tried to make them warm. Every night after the farm, and probably more than a few before it, she'd fallen a little in love with him until the day he'd carried her out of that cell, saving her life, she knew there was nowhere left to fall. Her descent had bypassed smitten and she was a woman fully, knowingly in love.

After they'd eaten, they'd talked. About the prison, about Rick and about the girls and Judith, Beth and Tyreese, and by the end Carol was exhausted but more sure she belonged with Daryl than ever. He held her hand through it all, didn't hide his winces, cried over what she revealed about Lizzie and hugged her close while she sniffled and indulged in more tears to soothe her heart, and when it was all over, she felt grotty and old.

With his help they'd brought buckets of water to the house, heated so much water that it felt like hours, but eventually Carol could stand in the doorway of the bathroom and indulge herself in the steam that arose from the bath, letting it open her pores, clear her sinuses, distract her from how hard her heart was beating with anticipation.

Daryl brought the last lot of the hot water in and poured it into the tub, checking the temperature before humming in that way of his that showed he was content with how things stood. He didn't say a word as he put the bucket and kettle outside the door then waited in front of her, allowing her to call the shots. With shaking hands, she smoothed his vest off his shoulders, her fingers tingling at this new familiarity. Next she fumbled with the buttons of his shirt, the roughness of the fabric sending her spirits soaring as at last she pushed it over his shoulders and sent it fluttering to the floor. Her palms then met his skin and her breath stalled. Clearly befuddled by this new sensory experience, Carol drifted toward him as if in a dream, her lips brushing against a hardened nipple before the tip of her tongue dared to dart out and taste him. He shuddered against her mouth and his heart pounded hard enough to vibrate against her lips, and Carol cried.

"Water's gonna get cold," he said swiping a finger through her tears and she wished it wasn't something he wasn't so used to seeing from her. She blinked them away, laughing a little to show she wasn't in despair, then let her cheek rest against his heart for a moment.

Her eyes were like clear crystals when she looked up and caught an expression of wonder on his face. She claimed a short but wonderful kiss, running her hand down the length of his chest to rest against his belt before stepping away.

"I'll go put some more water on to boil. You make sure you're in there by the time I get back," she said, pointing to the tub and wearing a no-nonsense frown he wouldn't dare to disobey, and then she left, a little sad she didn't get to see his back and his ass before he lowered himself into the liquid silk.

It didn't matter how long she was gone, it was too long. Kettle and another saucepan of water on the hotplate, Carol returned, and the first thing she did was position herself behind Daryl on a little stool, taking up a medium-sized jug she'd found in the bathroom and dunked him with it. Water cascaded over his head, down his face to form delicious rivulets on his chest, and she did it again and again until his hair was wet through. A dollop of shampoo and then she completely lost herself to the sensual art of washing his hair, mesmerised by the closeness she felt to him, to this man she'd loved for so long. When the kettle started to squeal, she instructed him to dunk and rinse, and she went to retrieve it, emptying the water down the end where his toes were before finally shedding her own clothes.

He held his hand out for her to hold as she stepped in and the whole time he captured her eyes. She was about to sit up the other end before he encouraged her forward, directing her to straddle him, and as her knees hit the bottom of the tub, his erection bumped against her slit and with no effort at all he was stretching her open and she was welcoming the leisurely slide of him home. She shuddered, happy to sit with his hard length inside her, her body accommodating him so confidentally that she wondered how they had never made it to this before. Why they'd taken time when this world had taught them endlessly there was never any time to waste.

Carol wound her arms around his neck and rested her forehead against his, and as she stayed still and he used the cloth she'd found in the linen cupboard to soap her up, he throbbed with life inside her. The urge to move built until it was too erotically painful to stay still, but still Carol didn't move, didn't surrender this control he'd given her even though she could see that rather than losing interest like she'd have suspected her inactivity might have resulted in, he grew harder and thicker until she was whimpering against the play of his lips along her neck.

"I love you," he whispered against her ear, and it finally broke her immobility, but only so that she could swirl her pelvis and tighten and contract the muscles that gripped him. Torturing them both for a while like that was satisfying like nothing Carol had ever felt before, and so when she experienced the first sharp, shocking burst of pleasure, she sighed and whimpered and finally allowed her body to move, but even then the pace was measured, precise, and leisurely. Goosebumps erupted along her flesh, despite the warmth of the water, and she arched her back, loving the rough surface of his chest hairs as her swollen nipples scraped against his chest as she rose up and then sank down on his cock.

Eyes filled with tears, Carol raised a finger and traced the line of his lips, then braced it around the back of his neck and brought him closer, tasting those lips for herself. They felt like the fulfilment of every promise, every dream she'd ever had since she'd first known her heart beat faster for him, and it was a kiss she wanted to go on forever. "I can't remember not loving you, Daryl"

He came at her words and shame tore across his face. She bounced tiny kisses of his face—his eyes, his nose and cheeks and lips—until that look disappeared and he stared at her taken over with wonder. Like a man who'd finally found every single thing he'd ever wanted out of life if he'd ever had the courage to want anything, he seized her with a grip to the back of her head and fiercely claimed her mouth. He blitzed her, starting with little bites on her bottom lip, a swirl of the tongue against the slit of her lips before they fell open and he dived in to truly claim her. His tongue was hot, and as it darted around her mouth, feeling out teeth and her own tongue, she felt totally consumed with fire and lost herself to wondering how much sleep they might get in that bed when all she wanted was to map his body and search out every secret with her tongue.

They stayed entwined until the water was cool. Together they rose, still in each other's arms, unable to let the other go. Getting dry was more of an accident than effort and then Carol slowly backed out of the bathroom and led him to the bedroom, and Daryl spent the night showing her exactly how much he stood behind his words and how deliciously addictive privacy could be.

He was already up and dressed when she managed to pry her eyes open the next morning, the crossbow across his back showing her he'd been out checking for walkers, making sure she was safe. He sat on the edge of the bed and watched her, grinning in that shy way he had. She smiled and reached for his hand. She liked the roughness of it, liked that she could tell how hard he worked and how strong he was just from this.

"Is everything okay out there?" She was husky still from sleep, and a building desire she couldn't contain as she spread her fingers, his moving with hers, matching finger for finger and stroking softly the joins between.

"All quiet," he confirmed, sweeping a contemplative gaze over her supine form. "Wanna make some noise?"

She giggled, feeling girlish and wanton, throwing the covers away to show the swell of her breasts, the hard tips just aching to feel the slippery, wet furnace of his mouth as they were sucked deep into ecstasy. She was writhing on the sheets even before he touched her, her back arching up to push those tingling nipples closer in invitation and thankfully it was one he accepted and the first flick of is tongue had her gasping.

"Touch me, Daryl. Please?" They'd fucked all night, made love until the sun was a promise more than a memory and it still wasn't enough. She needed to feel him all over her, know that her flesh was as much his as hers. He didn't want her to beg, running a finger along her slit even as he drew back and released her breast with a sloppy pop. She thought he was leaving her and she felt tears of frustration, of loss battle with her heart, but he dropped the strap of his crossbow from his shoulder, shed the rest of his clothes and then crawled up the bed between her legs. His tongue travelled the same route his finger had just left and Carol curled up against his mouth, pushing her pussy into his face and surrendered to the voracious exploration of his tongue.

He'd become an overnight expert on making her come and the trembling started soon after his lips connected with hers. He breathed in her clit, sucking it between his lips before lathing it flat with his tongue, following with a flick across the sensitised bud until it created fire and lightning to whip through her body. She thought she might have been growling even before her orgasm crashed right over the top of her, carrying her swiftly away while he continued to dredge every last ripple of climax from her body, licking and sucking and tasting and swallowing her down until she was overwrought with pleasure.

When she had reached her limit, flesh sweating and feverish but already needing more, he slid himself up her body and thrust in deep and hard. Carol wove her fingers through his hair as her thighs clamped around his hips, her heels against his ass supporting the steady, sliding pace he set. She held his head so she could look her fill, witnessing a maelstrom of emotions battle it out in his steel blue eyes that had seen not enough love in their life but were now staring straight into all the love he could ever wish for. The echo of their hours of passion prickled across her skin and while he watched she was keening at how good everything felt, how addictive these sensations were and how much more she wanted him as soon as he emptied himself inside her.

Carol was already pulling ahead, thinking of the next time and the time after that and grieving at the loss of privacy, the invisible walls that would appear preventing them from being this close to each other again as soon as they left the house. She felt desperate that he know, that everything she felt when she was with him would be there always whether they could be together like this or not. Wanted him to take every sensation and bottle it up in his memory so they could open it up and share it when there was nothing else they could do. He dipped his head, exhausted probably from her thinking, and drew her bottom lip into his mouth, teasing it with his teeth and tongue until she was sure it was beautifully bruised and tender.

The rhythm of his hips sped up and the steady bump of his cock activated some kind of sensor, warning her body that it needed to explode with release. It wasn't even about wanting anymore, it was about how essential he was to her and the way he dug beneath her skin, leaving trails of Dixon she'd never be able to remove.

The sound of his body slapping with hers rose her spirit up higher, making her more aware of their physicality, his lean body and powerful muscles rippling across his shoulders, the cords of his neck standing out pronounced as he strained and hummed high under his breath. They were both slipping against each other with a light sheen of sweat, gliding across the other and sparking every inch of skin that met to an unbearable anticipation.

He'd almost lost all comprehension as he pushed toward fruition, his cock surging and at last pulsing to the frantic beat of his heart. His body jerked out of time, a jumble of cries and words and jibberish being shot from his mouth across her chest as he shuddered and breathed heat across her breasts. He was whimpering like a baby, holding himself above her with shaking arms when his final thrust released the whole world and she was there, clasping him bravely against her for a long time so she could hold it all within her heart to remember it for always.

He rested his weight on top of her and the last thing she did was mind. She liked him diminishing inside her, growing soft. She'd learned the overwhelming pleasure of him staying there long enough to swell anew, expanding her body around him as he grew thick and heavy again.

She'd thought he might go to sleep, but instead he teased her collarbone with a calloused finger, stroking along the hard bone back and forth until his path wavered toward an aching nipple. He teased that to the point of cruelty, and as she was about to throw him off if he didn't take more decisive action, he licked it, allowed the tip to just sneak past his lips and sucked on it till it throbbed, fanning a new craving in the pit of her belly.

"Fuck. You want to go again, don'tcha." He chuckled and Carol blushed, wondering if it was too much, if wanting him for so long had made her so sex-starved she didn't know the proper boundaries.

"I'm sorry." She wasn't sure what to say, wondering if this was something that might push him away.

"Don't be sorry, sweetheart. I like it. I been wantin' to do this so long my balls had turned blue."

She flushed from her breasts to the tips of her ears. "They looked pretty pink to me."

"And they would after the work out you gave 'em."

He kissed her, shifting his hard body a little so he could comfortably take his time, seek her out. He was an expert at this, too. Carol hadn't enjoyed kissing, not for a long time. The exercise had lost its attraction when Ed discovered that for him, causing pain was more stimulating than giving pleasure. She'd forgotten it could be like this, that the sheer intimacy of searching a lover's mouth with your tongue could be the most erotic thing on earth.

He nipped at her lips and she sucked in a breath, feeling it stutter and stall as his tongue swirled inside her lower lip then tentatively seeking a connection with her own. His kisses killed her, tossed her into a raging sea of desire that caused her whole body to react, to raise and rub against his, relishing the few hairs on his chest, loving the hollow of her belly glancing against his. She loved how he sucked on her tongue as her calves ran a smooth run across his buttock, clamping tighter as her hips started to gyrate, eager for movement. He caught her hands from his hair and drew them up, stretching her body out and she arched up again, loving the drag of her nipples across his chest, moaning into his mouth at the bump of her swollen tips against his. She was fucking his dick before it became fully hard, and in her desperation she bit his lip, hard. She nearly crowed when he grew rock solid so fast that she wasn't quite ready for it, crying out at the exquisite ache that his pulsating cock gave her at her core.

She was so far gone in her squirming desperation that she was shocked when he flipped them, helping her climb back on as soon as he was comfortable, and then she was riding him hard, crying as she bounced, hands braced against his chest, his fingers twisting and tugging furiously at her nipples. She felt his thighs at her back and rested back against them, bracing her feet beside his hips on the bed and played with her clit while she used the momentum to work her way up and down his length.

"Fuck, that's hot." He rubbed her hard peaks then cupped her breasts in his hand, squeezing gently before giving in and surrendering a hand so he could prop himself up on one elbow for a better view. His free hand came up to hold her around her neck, running down her chest and then back up, caressing her neck before repeating the process, his eyes glued to her clit.

She unravelled the second he increased pressure on her throat in a lover's caress and he tugged her forward and slammed his lips to hers as his hips bucked up violently into her, all rough pants and expletives as his cock emptied in a blinding rush, completely wiping him out.

Carol collapsed on top of him this time, wrung out and exhausted, itching with combined sweat. She laughed, letting go to the euphoria that flooded her bloodstream.

"I love your tits."

She snorted, imagining him pouting. She was pretty proud of her breasts, round and shapely.

"Hmmm, I love your shoulders." She snuggled up against those shoulders, feeling warm and lethargic and thoroughly sated for possibly the first time in her life. Her hand stroked along the ball of his shoulder and clasped around a bicep, feeling a thrill in her belly when he flexed it. She was almost back to sleep when he spoke and once the words had hit the air, she lay quietly and considered them.

"You ain't said nothin' about leavin'. You wantin' to stay?"

Did she want to stay? Just outside rested the most recent ruin of her life, buried with pieces of her heart. In her arms was her future, and as much as she didn't want to go back, didn't want to have to constantly question whether the people she'd done everything in her power to protect trusted her anymore, she would follow him wherever he needed to go.

"I think—" She allowed the beaten thought to drift out of her mind, clinging to the memories of before when they had been family and that was all that mattered. "I think you need to go back."

His arms banded around her so tight she couldn't breathe and then she worried about the strange noises coming from his throat, animal-like and heartbreaking. "I'm not leavin' you," he declared fiercely, and in that second she believed it with everything she had.

"I'm not asking you too," she reassured, her fingers threading through the soft strands of his hair, smiling at his obvious commitment to her and knowing it was matched wholeheartedly. "We'll both go. They're our family."

He relaxed against her after a grateful nod, his hold still firm but not wincing-tight, and Carol finally allowed herself to sleep. Later they'd pack up and go, return to Terminus and the people they belonged with, and they'd do it together.

The End