A/N: Disclaimer - I do not own The Walking Dead in any part, characters, concepts or otherwise. They are property of Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and AMC. Also, warning for spoilers up to episode 3.16!

So here's the thing: Lately, a few of my drabbles on tumblr have gotten a little more attention than I thought they would - and it seems like some of you guys want me to follow up on them! So, since you're all absolutely lovely, I'll see what I can do.

This first chapter, A Hint of Jealousy was a prompt for queen-carol, who requested that Carol feel a little jealousy towards the new Woodbury woman named Karen, after she expresses an interest in Daryl. I then received another request (that I will reveal in the next chapter) that I thought would tie in perfectly with this story, so I decided to make it into a multi-chapter fic.

I hope you guys love it! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing - it means a LOT to me. :)

- Ren

A Hint of Jealousy

"Hey, Carol..."

The woman named Karen approached Carol slowly, walking up the stairs of C block with a hand on the metal railing. Two weeks had passed in the prison, and though tension in their original group were running high, the addition of the Woodbury folks had been for the best. They provided some joy, some new faces and stories, and more than that they provided more security for the group. Carol happened to like the newcomers, and had no trouble letting Karen tail her whenever she set about the chores. She had even told her on the first day that Daryl had pulled her from a truck on the highway, the sole survivor from the Governor's attack on the 'army'.

Sounds like Daryl. Carol thought to herself with a smile, happy that he had been able to save another life.

"Mmhmm?" The older woman replied, turning her head away from folding laundry to look at Karen as she approached.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course." She smiled.

Karen seemed to hesitate for a moment, the notion not going unnoticed by Carol.

"What do you have to do to get Daryl to crack a smile?"

Well she hadn't been expecting that.

Suddenly, her chest was uncomfortable, in the same way it had been uncomfortable to see Shane eyeing Lori in Atlanta. Her blue eyes darted to Karen, who looked at her in earnest, a little shyly.

"Why ask me?" She asked, trying to mask the annoyance with humor.

Karen seemed to buy it, replying with: "Well, you're close aren't you? I see you two talking all the time." She paused, taking a second to chuckle and add: "When Daryl actually talks."

"Guess you could say that." Carol replied, possibly took quickly as she finished folding the last of the shirts - and realizing with some emotion that it had been one of Daryl's.

"Anyway," Karen continued, pushing a stray, dark curl back behind her ear as she leaned on the railing. "I just, I think he could do with a few more smiles, you know?" She said, her smile making Carol feel sick.

What makes her think she can make him smile?

She bit back her first thought, appalled at where her mind had gone in that instant of reaction time. The realization seemed to set off a chain reaction while she nodded, expressionless, at Karen's comment. Her thought churned, abstract memories of the interactions they had over the last year swam through and threw his face into sharp relief in her mind. Daryl Dixon was an attractive man.

"He just, he's an attractive guy." She sounded dangerously close to reverent as she spoke, which only made the uncomfortable feeling more apparent.

"He really is." Carol answered before she had the chance to stop herself.

Karen didn't seem bothered by it, as she had been the one to make state it publicly.

The silver-haired woman sighed. "He's a good man, too." She added, more for herself than for Karen's benefit.

A good man, a man of honor. That's what Daryl Dixon was, a good person, and a good friend. And suddenly, being his friend didn't seem like it was enough.

Glancing over at Karen, Carol noticed her high cheekbones, her beautiful dark hair that curled loosely in thick strands, and her soft brown eyes that were downcast and looking at the place where Daryl had hung his vest over the railing to mark his cell.

She was beautiful, and Carol hated it.

Carol didn't know she could get jealous. She hadn't known, because never once in her life was she given the option to feel like anyone wanted what she had. But now that Karen, a beautiful woman with long eyelashes and dark hair was showing an interest in her closest friend, Carol was jealous.

"But no advice on the smiling thing?" Karen said, breaking Carol's concentration on her own twisting emotion.

Carol pursed her lips in a forced smile. "Nope, sorry." She chuckled. "Good man, tough shell."

"Well I guess I'll just have to try something different." Karen sighed, a mischievous smile quirking her lips into a near-smirk.

Carol raised an eyebrow, the urge to scream coiling in her ribcage as she repressed it with years of self-taught restraint. "Yeah? Like what?" She asked.

Karen chuckled, turning her body toward the stairs again and shrugging. "Oh I dunno, something that might get a little more attention than just words."

It took everything Carol had not to go running after her, ahead of her, to find Daryl.

For the first time in her life, Carol was wildly jealous of a woman she barely knew. And all because she was hit with the realization that she had something to be jealous of. She had her love for one Daryl Dixon, and that felt like the one thing she couldn't afford to lose.

Karen wouldn't get the time to make her move on Daryl, and the silver-haired woman made sure of that. Instead of going to the kitchen to prepare food for the others, Carol headed to what remained of the south tower, the highest point on the prison that hadn't been touched by the Woodbury war.

Carol headed there, because she knew that was where Daryl hid from people when he wanted some space.

She knew, because she loved him.