So, this might have been done a few times, but after last night's episode I wanted to write my own version. This got very optimistic and happy towards the end and I KNOW that this isn't how the show is going to go, but I needed to end it some where and that's how it happened. You can probably already consider it AU lol.
The days after Lizzie and Mika had been hard, but Carol was no stranger to heartbreak and had been able to push through the sadness. At first, Tyreese had walked on eggshells around her, afraid that she might snap. The first night had passed and Carol was still as resilient, as ever. Tyreese had underestimated the woman's strength, but never would do so again.
They had been following the train tracks for a few days and still had no idea where they were headed or what they would find along the way. The tracks were a large landmark, though, and Carol hoped that others from their group would be following them, too.
Carol spotted a warehouse up ahead and motioned to Tyreese, who walked behind her with Judith strapped to his back. They had been on the road since early morning and it looked like a good place to rest for a few minutes, if not for the night.
She dropped the bag she carried on her back, took out her pistol and told Tyreese to stay put with Judith while she scoped the place out. He protested, of course, insisted that he go with, but Carol would not have the baby be exposed to any unnecessary danger. Despite what Rick thought, Carol loved Judith, always had, and would never allow any harm to come to the child.
If Rick knew what she done to keep his daughter safe...Carol squeezed her eyes shut and willed the thought away. It was done and over with now. She had failed the Samuels girls, but she would not fail the youngest Grimes. Not if she could help it.
Maybe later, she would be able to think about them, but now, she had to keep her head cleared and focused on surviving and keeping Judith alive.
As she approached the building, something caught her eye. A mangled corpse lay at the below a landing that led to a door. However, that wasn't what had caught her attention, it was the arrow that was sticking out of the body's eye socket. Stepping on the corpse's chest, she pulled the arrow from its eye socket. She knew the arrow, anywhere.
It was Daryl's.
"Find something?" Tyreese called out to her, seeing that she had paused. Carol turned and showed him the arrow.
"It's Daryl's." It meant he was still alive out there. Taking a break at the warehouse, no longer appealed and she itched to get back on the road. Maybe he wasn't that far ahead of them. The blood on the body was still wet, so that meant he hadn't been killed that long ago.
Tyreese was by her side, then. Judith cooed on his back. "Do you think he's alone?" He asked.
Carol crouched to the ground, brushed aside some leaves and found that there was more than just one set of footprints. "Doesn't look like it. Maybe others from the prison are with him."
"Sasha?" Tyreese asked, hopeful.
At closer inspection, Carol said with a heavy heart. "It's all men's footprints." She looked up at him. "I'm sorry, Tyreese."
"It's all right, Carol." He watched her stand up. "She's still out there. I just know it."
Carol admired Tyreese's hope. The man had been a huge blessing to her in the days since...the grove. He had shown her mercy and because of that, she was allowed to live.
And to see Daryl one more time...
"Come on," Tyreese looked off to where the footprints headed, which was back to the train tracks. "Let's find your man." He winked and began walking.
Daryl needed to get away from these men, but he didn't know how. They watched his every move and didn't doubt they'd try to kill him if he ran.
It was growing darker and Joe had led them a little ways to the side of the track to set up camp. Daryl was relieved to find that they were no longer out in the open and they had trees and other vegetation to give them cover. Before he could set his stuff down in a place that was unclaimed by the others, Joe called out to him.
"Yo, Daryl, you're the only with a bow, now. Why don't you go do some hunting for us all." Joe had propped himself against a tree, hands behind his head and legs crossed at the ankles. The lazy motherfucker.
Daryl wasn't going to turn down the opportunity to get away from these men for a bit, so he simply nodded and picked up his crossbow. Maybe he'd come across a deer or something that could keep them fed for a couple days. Or he could claim all the meat he caught and watch them all starve. How would Joe like that?
It was growing dark and Daryl knew that it was a perfect time to hunt. Deer and other animals like to come out of hiding around dusk to avoid the heat of the day. He made sure to walk far away from the camp. The farther, the better. He wanted to leave them, but knew he was too chicken shit to do it. He'd be alone and even Joe had known no one could survive on their own.
Carol...
Thinking about her hurt. She was out there all by herself because of Rick. His friend. His brother. He thought playing fucking house with Beth would help ease the pain, but it didn't. Then, he lost her, too.
Bushes rustled to his left and Daryl realized how unaware he was of his surroundings. He could have been killed while he was in his own head. Would that have really been such a bad thing, though?
He swung his crossbow to where the noise was coming from and when a person emerged from the bushes, Daryl definitely knew he had to be dreaming.
Carol felt like they had made no progress in the search for Daryl and decided they needed to stop for the night. Tyreese had carried Judith all day, and while he was a big man, he was sure to be exhausted. After building a quick fire, Carol decided she'd use the last remaining minutes of sunlight to look for some food in the woods.
"Stay with Judith," Carol said and winced. "Sorry. I keep sticking you with her, but I-"
"It's all right, Carol. I need to rest and I don't mind taking care of Lil' Asskicker here." Carol quickly blinked back tears at hearing Daryl's nickname for Judith come out of Tyreese's mouth. She needed to find Daryl.
"Okay, I should be back in a few minutes and...if I'm not, don't look for me and keep following the tracks."
"Don't say that." Tyreese said, firmly.
"I don't plan on anything bad to happen, but I just want you to know that you shouldn't look for me, okay?" Unclipping her knife, she turned to the woods. "I'll be back and stay alert."
Walking through the trees, Carol kept her eyes peeled for any kind of plant or berry that was edible. Daryl had made sure to teach her what was go to eat and what wasn't. Daryl had taught her many things. The number one being surviving. She wouldn't be here right now, if wasn't for him. She would have probably been killed within hours of Rick's banishment, if Daryl hadn't made it his job on their flight from the farm to teach her how to fight.
A smile quickly came to her face when she saw a raspberry bush in front of her. These would be perfect for at least curbing some of their hunger. She wished she had brought something to put them in, but it was too late to go back, now, so she started stuffing berries in her pockets not caring that they'd probably stain her jacket.
Circling the bush, she heard a nose coming from behind it. Freezing in place, she made sure to take out her knife and moved to go around the bush.
She was surprised to come face to face with Daryl.
Daryl immediately lowered his crossbow and gathered Carol in his arms. At first, she was unresponsive, but after awhile, she let out a sob and clung to him. Words couldn't describe how much he missed the woman in his arms.
Putting her at arm's length, Daryl looked her over and was relieved to see that she was unharmed. A purple stain was spreading on one of her pockets and without hesitation, he stuffed a hand into it and came back with a handful of berries.
"I was getting some food for Tyreese and Judith," she explained with a smile.
Daryl's eyes widened. "You're not alone?"
She shook her head. "I was for a little bit after... but then I found Tyreese, Judith and the girls."
The girls could only mean Lizzie and Mika, but she hadn't mentioned them being back with Tyreese.
Oh no... Fuck.
"I'm so sorry."
"It's all right, Daryl. Maybe some day, I'll tell you what happened. Now, I just...can't." Carol crossed her arms over her chest, a defense mechanism she hadn't used in such a long time. Daryl opened his mouth to say something, but a rustling behind him had him whipping around and bringing up his crossbow.
"Well, Daryl, what do you have here?" It was Joe. "Thought you were taking too long and now, I can see why."
Without thinking, Daryl grabbed Carol by the arm, pulled her to his side and kept a firm grip on her. "I found her wondering around. She's mine." He growled and Carol hadn't heard him sound like that since the quarry when he had been with Merle. "I claimed her."
Joe laughed. "I see you've finally gotten the hang of how we do things around here." His eyes raked across Carol's frame and it took everything in Daryl not to lunge at the man. "Ain't you lucky, huh? I haven't been laid in a long time. Maybe you'll share with your ol' buddy, Joe?"
"Fuck, no." He snapped. "Told you, she's mine. I ain't sharin'."
A look flickered across Joe's face and Daryl didn't like it. "All right. I get it. I'll just let you have fun with your piece of ass. You best keep on eye on her at camp, though. Some of the other men have been itchin' to get their hands on a woman, too, and who knows what they'll do to get one." Without another word, Joe turned and started back to camp.
Daryl waited a few minutes before turning to Carol, who had remained silent the whole time. "We have to get out of here. Now."
When Tyreese saw the couple burst back into their campsite, he didn't ask any questions when Carol told him they needed to pack up and go. Now. Scooping up Judith, he stomped out the fire and followed Daryl and Carol into the night.
They had gone in the direction they had come from, hoping that they would have a significant head start on Joe and his men. If they ever got a hold of Carol, Daryl shuddered at what they would do to her. Now, that he had finally found her, there was no way he was going to let her out of his sight again.
The group of three and a baby were on the run continuously for three days. They had even veered off the tracks a bit. Daryl had mentioned a sign for a place called Terminus and both Tyreese and Carol had said they had seen a sign for it as well. So, they circled back and kept the tracks within their sights. It was too risky to walk on them. Especially with Joe and his men still out there. Daryl knew they shouldn't have left the men alive, but it would have been three against five and one of them had a baby. They couldn't and wouldn't take the risk.
On day five of finally finding one another, Daryl manned up and kissed Carol. She had been surprised at first, but it didn't take her long to kiss him back. Tyreese had woken up to see them kissing and wolf whistled. Daryl's face turned red and Carol told Tyreese to shut up.
Things were looking up for all of them, but the closer they got to Terminus, the more nervous Carol seemed to get.
"What if Rick's there?" She confessed to the two men. "Will he make me leave?"
"As far as I know," Daryl spoke up. "He ain't the damn leader at Terminus and he won't have a right to kick you out."
"I'm a murderer, Daryl. What if whoever is the leader won't want me there?"
"Then, me and you will find someplace else to go" Daryl's mind was made up.
"I can't ask that of you, Daryl."
Tyreese watched the two of them. They weren't very open about it, but he could tell that they loved each other.
On day seven, they made it to the gates of Terminus. Inside, they found Maggie, Glenn, Bob, Sasha and four other people they didn't know. They were all safe and welcomed them warmly.
Daryl couldn't help but get an uneasy feeling when he was introduced to Mary and after confiding in Carol that night, he found out she felt the same. But for now, they were safe behind four walls again. Daryl knew deep down that down that it wasn't going to last, but he had Carol by his side now and knew that in the end, they'd be okay.
Okay, this whole thing was pretty much very happy and probably way OOC with all the depressing stuff that has happened in the show so far, but I needed to get it out of my system and I hope you all forgive me for it! I also know that Terminus is a very shady place, but I had to end it there. So for now, they're staying there and shit hasn't hit the fan yet. This will stay a one shot.
Thanks for reading!