Heya guys!

Still reeling from the events of "Home", but here's a tiny little tidbit of where my brain has been straying.

Enjoy!

I disclaim the stuff. And the thangs.


She was leaning forward against the fence as she watched them make their way into the inner yard, her fingers lacing around the thin, cool metal and balling inward to help keep her steady.

It was the adrenaline, she was sure. Her nerves were shot, her heart was pounding. Everything was blurring in and out, and she fought to focus on the figures running her way.

Gunshots come and gone rang in her ears.

The first one fired echoed in her memory.

Red seemed to splatter into her eyes, veiling everything in slimy crimson. The world darkened a bit, tunneling.

She couldn't see them anymore, couldn't make them out.

Couldn't hear them.

Maybe they weren't really there at all. Maybe…

Maybe she was just having a very vivid, horrible nightmare and none of this had even happened—

"Carol."

An arm slipped around her waist, jarring her just enough to realize she'd been falling, sliding down against the fence to her knees.

A hand reached up and rubbed its heel against her cheek, coming away red.

Blue-green eyes narrowed into hers.

Carol sucked in a breath and smiled wearily at the worried look on Daryl's face.

"It's not mine, it's not mine…"

His chest heaved against her, exhaling.

And then the strength of his arm left her, as an old, familiar cackle sounded close by. She ignored Merle's presence for the time, focused instead on the sturdy support of Rick's shoulders as he budged in to pull her arm around his neck and grip her side, steely blue eyes darting to her once before scanning the yard around them with an angry, vengeful snarl.

She wasn't yet sure exactly what had happened, and at that moment, she was fine with not knowing.

Daryl shoved Merle's shoulder ahead of them, glancing back to meet her eyes and nod.

Torn between relief and fresh loss, she smiled tiredly at him.

And let the world settle into silence around her as Rick led them into the still darkness of their home.