AN: hey, me again, not really sure what this is, I have been home with my sick four year old( nothing serious, she just has a cold) Anyway the Disney movies are starting to make me a little insane :) if there's any interest in this, I'll continue it, but I have absolutely no idea how long it will be. Let me know what you think:)

I do not own or profit from The Walking Dead

Time After Time

Chapter 1

If you're lost you can look - and you will find me

Time after time

If you fall I will catch you - I'll be waiting

Time after Time

~ Cyndi Lauper-Time after Time

Sleep eluded him, tossing and turning he stared at the stain in the ceiling for what seemed like an eternity.

Throwing off his blanket, Daryl walked over to the window pressing a hand against the frame, as he stared out into the night.

It had been three weeks since their escape from Terminus, and they were held up in some dive of a motel on the edge of a town.

The group in the train car had managed to overpower a guard and then fight their way to the fence and Rick's weapon bag. It hadn't been without casualties. Rosita, one of Glenn's new friends hadn't made it. Glenn had taken a bullet to the arm and Michonne, the leg. Hence why they were stalled at the flea bag of a motel. Michonne's leg was infected, badly, they were heading out in the morning to make a run, see if they could find some supplies to deal with it.

For the first time since the fall of the prison, he was alone with his thoughts, he had time to think, to worry, to regret. He had fallen asleep earlier in the night but his dreams had been plagued with her...Carol.

In his dream he'd been walking threw the woods when she suddenly appeared before him. She had glowed in his dream, bathed in light. Daryl had wanted to touch her, to see that she was real, to hold her in his arms. She had simply smiled and walked away, giggling over her shoulder. He had followed her, calling out to her, but he had fallen behind and gotten lost, then she was gone and he awoke. He hadn't been able to sleep since then.

Daryl's mind wouldn't stop replaying, how he had felt in his dream when Carol had appeared before him; Complete. Like she was what was missing in his life, like he was whole.

Leaning against the window frame, Daryl pressed his forehead to the cool glass. He wished he could go back in time, he wished he had just told her how he felt, he wished he hadn't fucked up. Truth was he hadn't known how he had felt until Rick had told him she was gone, and then it was like a fog had lifted. Everything in his world suddenly shifted.

Flashbacks, had run through his mind, suddenly it was a all crystal clear. The way he felt when she smiled at him, the reason why he had more nights than he could count made his way to her door and watched her sleep. He loved her, and she was gone, story of his life right there.

Daryl had made up his mind on the spot, he was going to find her. If Tyreese, couldn't live with her well they just wouldn't come back to the prison. He had no doubt that he would have found her if everything hadn't gone to hell. He had before, he could have done it again.

He didn't care what Rick said she had done, if she did it then he knew she had a reason. He knew her, trusted her heart. She wasn't cold like Rick said, her problem was that she cared to much, felt to much, would do anything for them, never thinking of herself. His heart ached, she must have felt so alone, to do what she did. He should have seen it, if she was overwhelmed, if she felt alone, if she felt like she was falling, he should have been there to catch her. She had to still be out there somewhere, if she was gone, he would feel it. Wouldn't he? There was so many things out there that could hurt her, the chances she was ok were slim, but for some reason he felt like she was. Maybe it was his mind's coping mechanism, he sure as hell didn't want her to be scared and alone, or even worse to have run into a group with less than honorable intentions.

He knew Carol though, she wouldn't have fallen for the bullshit of Terminus and got caught in their trap. Hell she would have pegged Joe and his group for the assholes they were, from a mile away. She could take care of herself, she didn't expect anyone else to do so for her. He realized now that was the difference between her and Beth. Beth had been a spoiled princess, sheltered and protected before the turn and definitely since then, when he'd been with Beth he had thought that her naïveté was hopeful. He had wanted to feel hopeful so bad, but now he saw it for what it was, a teenage kid who still saw the world through rose coloured glasses. Beth hadn't grown like Carol, she expected others to take care of her, be there for her, rescue her, love her, like it was something she was owed.

They had found Beth wandering aimlessly on the side of the road three days after the escape, she had been quiet refusing to say what happened to her, but overjoyed to see Daryl. Daryl had been shocked when he realized Beth had perceived their time together in a romantic light, that thought had never even crossed his mind. He'd set her straight, firmly. She wasn't Carol and Good Lord he wasn't some perv.

There would never be anyone else for him but Carol, and if he never found her, he would spend the rest of his life alone. It was nothing new, Daryl had been alone most of his life, but his time with Carol had given him a glimpse of what could be, and the what ifs were what was killing him.

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Three blocks away in a small abandoned medical center Carol sat grasping Tyreese's hand as he fought for every breath, praying that he would live through the night. Her hands shook as she checked his stump yet again, she'd had to amputate his gangrenous arm, in hopes of saving his life.

She sat back in her chair and glanced over at Judith sleeping peacefully in her makeshift crib. Thank goodness for small favors she thought. Carol hadn't eaten all day, she'd been too busy, too worried. She needed to eat, she couldn't fall asleep, or pass out, Tyreese might need her, or worse.