I Get By…with a little help from my friends.
Summary: The group is on the road again. Things are better now that everyone is together again, but Carol still isn't sure how she fits in. Will she let her friends help her when she needs it?
A/N: After everything she's been through, Carol deserves some love! I hope you like it!
…
It was late afternoon when the first snow flurries began to fall.
Carol gritted her teeth against the chill. Sophia always loved the snow. She shivered. That thought came out of nowhere, surprised her with how easily it slipped up.
Stop it. Don't think about the snow. Just keep walking. She kept her head down and plodded on. The group of survivors had formed a lose train, walking day in and day out, hoping to find shelter, food, anything. They never stayed anywhere very long and the days started to blur together.
Carol actually didn't mind the endless walking. It was hard, sure, but she didn't really mind. The thing is, when you start each day walking, it's easier to pretend that you're going somewhere new, leaving everything else behind.
The group was finally reunited again; all the remaining survivors from the prison, plus a few new faces. The final showdown at Grady Memorial had been tense. When the woman running the place tried to belatedly renegotiate the prisoner swap, Rick hadn't even let her finish talking. He lunged forward and punched her square in the face, knocked her right to the floor.
Later he said something about suddenly seeing Beth holding something sharp and getting a bad feeling. That was his story and he was sticking to it, but Carol secretly thought Rick must have wanted a guns-blazing plan of attack and couldn't quite adhere to the new script. Try as you might, Rick Grimes, you will never stage a more stunning rescue than me.
Carol glanced up to see Tyreese fall into step beside her, glanced away again before he could catch her eye and say something.
I let him help me after the hospital and now he won't leave me alone, Carol sighed, then immediately regretted the resentful thought.
Shortly after their narrow escape from the hospital, their get-away fire-truck broke down and they were forced to continue on foot. She healed from her injuries pretty well, but for those first few days she leaned heavily on Tyreese for support, him constantly checking if she had enough water to drink, if she took her medicine.
You should really try to be nicer, Carol told herself.
"Hey," she acknowledged Tyreese, still keeping pace beside her. They followed Rick and the others on a windy almost-path through another patch of forest.
He had that concerned look on his face again. Don't say it. I don't want to hear it.
"Are you alright?" he asked, watching her carefully. And there it is.
"Ty, I'm fine," Carol replied, feeling like an annoyed teenager, which frustrated her even more.
Two nights ago, Tyreese had joined her while she kept watch, and ended up telling her that he knew she'd been trying to leave the group, going on about how she had to forgive herself for the past, how she belonged here, how they all needed her.
Carol tersely assured him that she wasn't leaving and she'd meant it, at least for the moment. She didn't want to talk about it then and she didn't want to talk about it now.
"No you're not," Tyreese said, frowning in concentration.
"Ty, stop!" Carol stopped walking and turned to face him, "I don't need you to-"
"You're shivering," Tyreese interrupted her. What?
He reached up and slid off his ever-present knit hat, shook it out, and placed it instead on Carol's head. Then he adjusted the hat so that it covered the tops of her ears.
"There," he said, smiling, stepping back to admire his work. Big snowflakes fluttered down around them.
"Oh," was all Carol could say.
Before she could recover enough to say 'thanks', Tyreese was already walking again and she had to hurry not to be left behind.
Carol felt disappointed in herself. Here's Tyreese being nice and me getting ready to tell him off, how typical, she sighed again.
She walked on, boots crunching on the frosted leaves underfoot. The snow fell faster and someone said 'We ought to find some shelter' and someone else said 'What do you think we're doing?' but Carol didn't mind the walking.
After all, her ears were nice and warm now and wherever she was going, it was someplace new. As she walked, Carol did something she hadn't for a long time.
She smiled.
….