Branded
DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Walking Dead, I am merely twisting the characters to suit my own imagination.
Chapter One
Daryl looked at the woman standing before him, still not entirely believing that she was real. It had been so long since he had last seen her, that he had almost given up hope that she had survived, living a life apart from the rest of the group all of these past weeks. Before he could even formulate a complete sentence, he found himself surrounded by the warmth of her arms. Carol was deceptively slender, hiding a strong wiry build under an almost fragile appearance. Daryl tucked his head into her shoulder and send a silent prayer heavenwards. He had never been much of a believer but after a year of living near Hershel, had come to respect the faith the man had shown and after Carol had left the prison found himself talking nightly to the Man above. Carol wrapped a slender hand in his overlong hair and tugged his head back a little to look into his familiar eyes.
"Hey, Pookie."
"Hey, yerself." Daryl whispered hoarsely, trailing one scarred finger across the freckles covering the bridge of her nose. "Where've you bin all this time?"
"Not too far away, I found Judith and Tyrese out on the road a ways back, we had Mika and Lizzie along too for a while, but now it's just us."
"You had me worried, woman. When Rick told me what he had decided, I searched for you…" Daryl twined his fingers around Carol's hand and stepped back, leaving a little space in between them so that he could see her face. The lines of weariness worried him, as did the look in her eyes when she mentioned the little girls that she had doted on in the prison. He looked around for the rest of the group and noticed that they were all gathered around Rick and the baby, celebrating their reunion. Daryl led Carol over to the side of the tracks leading away from Terminus, and they sat quietly for a while looking over at the now deserted former depot.
"I'll let Tyrese fill you in about the girls, it's a little hard for me to talk about…" Even mentioning their names, caused Carol's throat to tighten and she felt tears threatening at the back of her eyes. She blinked hard a couple of times to clear them and nodded her head over in the direction of the Terminus building. "Tell me more about this place, we saw a couple of signs along the track, I thought that it was supposed to be some sort of refuge?" Daryl merely grunted and picked up a handful of gravel and started to throw them across the track a piece at a time.
"Shoulda known it to be a bunch of bull. Merle always said that if something looks too good to be true, then it probably is. We arrived early yesterday to find the place deserted and crawling with half eaten walkers. Took most of the day to clear the place out but after spendin' the night, Rick ain't too sure whether we should move on or not. The place is too big and exposed to shore up properly and after looking at the map it's not near enough ta proper drinkin' water or supplies."
"Has anyone else come along from the prison?"
"Maggie and Glen, Beth, Sasha and a few others."
"What about Hershel?" As soon as Carol asked the question, the answer was revealed on Daryl's face. She leant her head onto his shoulder and sighed heavily.
"When is it going to be enough?"
"Ain't givin' up yet, and don't you neither!" Daryl nudged Carol with his shoulder and she looked up wearily. What she saw in his steady, unblinking gaze gave her more reason to carry on than anything that Rick or Shane had done for the group. No, what Carol saw was the unwavering conviction that they would endure whatever God saw fit to throw at them next. She nodded her head slowly, only to have Daryl reach over to grasp her upper arms firmly.
"Naw, Carol! You ain't seeing it. I'm tryin' to tell you…" Daryl tried to let her know how he was feeling, but felt suffocated by the actual words. He had never been good expressing his innermost thoughts and was even worse when it came down to acting upon them.
"What, Daryl?" Carol looked deep into his eyes, sure she knew that he cared for her a little, but so what? Daryl cared for everyone in the group, the little everyday things that he did showed he cared far more than his gruff exterior would ever let on. It showed in the way that he would look out for the sweetest little romper suit for Judith, or slipping in a comic book for Carl right down to the fact that he knew Rick's preferred brand of gum. Somehow all of these things would end up in Daryl's sack whenever he was out on a run alone.
"I ain't ever been good at the actual words…" Daryl found himself rubbing her upper arms caressingly, hating the white press of the marks his grip had left in her soft skin, and was trying to rub them away. It brought to mind too many times those marks had been purple and blue from Ed's beatings and he never wanted to be associated with that scum in Carol's mind.
If he could see inside her mind right now he would have known that his very actions proved that Daryl had never needed the actual words to show his feelings. Like the day after the attack near Atlanta where he had handed over the pick axe without a word; knowing that she would want the satisfaction of seeing that axe sink far into her abusive husband's head to be certain that he would not rise again. Even more so, when she continued to vent six years of pent up anger and frustration, pounding that axe over and over into Ed's skull long after it ceased to be a skull any longer. The picture of him returning back exhausted after another fruitless day searching for Sophia, Daryl had never lost certainty that he would eventually find her, and long after she herself had given up all hope. Daryl reaching into his vest pocket to reveal a carefully preserved Cherokee Rose and telling her that she was as strong as the wild rose and if that could find a way to survive the devastation all around them then so could she.
"Sometimes we all need the words, if only just the once..." Carol whispered just as softly back to him. She saw him swallow hard and he removed his hands from her arms, leaving her feeling instantly bereft from the loss of his touch. Daryl looked down at his scarred and weather beaten hands and started to nervously pick at his thumbnail, a habit which had continued all through his life. He thought about what it was that drew him to the quiet woman sitting down next to him on the tracks. He admired her spunk and bravery, who knew that the mouse of a woman that had suffered from years of neglect with an abusive husband would turn out to be one of the council members of the group? She was one of the best amongst them with a knife and for someone that had served up squirrel on more than one occasion, had never shirked from skinning and gutting anything that she once would have squirmed away from in disgust.
Carol looked over at the thoughts flitting across Daryl's face, she had feelings for this man that she never thought she would experience. Not even in the best days of her marriage with Ed, had she felt this almost overwhelming emotion. She had kept it hidden deep inside for so long and then one day had just decided to start to let it shine through. It started with little things at first like keeping a plate warm for when he returned from a watch shift and then looking out for a warmer coat and gloves for the long nights spent up away from the group in the perch. Daryl shrugged the idea off at first, thinking that Carol just treating him the same as the other guys, before realising that there were times when Carol was actively seeking out his company and it made him feel uncomfortable at first until he couldn't imagine not spending his quiet times with her. It was only after he thought that she had died in the tombs that he realised exactly how much this spunky woman meant to him. He had insisted on digging her grave alone, waving off any offers of help and then spent a long time sitting alone staring into the empty space that would never hold her body. When she returned to them, to him; he didn't know how to react. At first, he was overly protective trying to keep her from any harm and it was only when Carol snapped back at him one day he realised that he was smothering her and backed off a little.
"Pookie? What are you thinking about so hard?" Carol nudged him playfully with her shoulder, bringing Daryl out of his daydreams. She could see that expressing his feelings to her was causing him difficulties and so reverted back to the playful flirtation that had been the mainstay of their relationship for the past year or so.
"Just thinkin' that if I had been a lawyer or banker or somethin' instead of a backwards hillbilly, I might have been a better match for you…"
"It doesn't matter to me, or to any one of us, what we were before. It only matters what we are now! Do you really think that a banker or a lawyer would have known how to have kept this camp fed over the long winter? Do you think that a banker would have known where to find me in those tombs and been able to bring me back like you did?" It was Carol's turn to grasp him by the arms and force him to meet her forthright gaze. "Daryl, don't you know how important you are to the group?"
"Never wanted to be important to the group, just to…"
"You're important to me." Carol interrupted and Daryl's lazy smile made her blink. He reached up a hand in between them and gently placed it over her lips.
"Woman, don't you ever let a man finish his sentence? I was jus' about to say that I never wanted to be important to the group and didn't want to belong…until I saw you again. When you came back from the tombs, I just wanted to stay wherever you were. Carol, you mean everythin' to me and I may not ever say the words that I know you want to hear…" Carol struggled to speak against the hand pressed against her lips but Daryl was determined to carry on.
"Let me finish, or I may never get up the gumption again… I ain't ever had the words said to me, 'cept maybe once or twice by my Mamma. But I will try and show you every day just how much I do…" He finally took his hand away from her mouth, only for Carol to bring her own hand up to her mouth to hide the trembling. After all of this time, she just couldn't help being overwhelmed by the emotions brimming to the surface at his returning feelings that she thought were hers alone. Suddenly all of the events from the last week rose to the forefront of her mind and she collapsed against him shaking with sobs.
Daryl raised his hands to her back, hating feeling so helpless and not knowing how to console her. He finally settled for gently rubbing his hands along her back, letting her cry it all out. The others in the group heard the wrenching sorrow and from along the track, Daryl saw Rick hand Judith over to her brother and bending down to say a few words in his son's ear. As Rick jogged back along the tracks, he signalled to where Glenn and Maggie were patrolling the far end causing them to bring the patrol a little closer to the Terminus buildings. Tyrese and Sasha took watch on the far side of the compound and Daryl saw that all four sides of the complex were now being closely watched as Carl led the last few members over to the far corner of the main yard where a few picnic benches were set up holding the last few of their possessions.
Rick approached Daryl quietly, bringing Maggie along with him. Maggie gently helped the still crying Carol to her feet and started to lead her into the complex. Daryl only seen Carol this devastated on two occasions before, the first was at the moment Doctor Jenner at the CDC had informed them all that they were locked them in a facility about to explode. Carol had pleaded with the doctor to let them have a chance to live with tears running down her face only to be told that there was no way of stopping the catastrophic decontamination process once it had begun. The other time was when Carol realised that her daughter had been locked in the barn on Hershel's farm the whole time that they had been there, only it wasn't her daughter as she remembered her. The realisation that Sophia had risen again was too much for Carol to bear and she had collapsed on the ground and had to be held back from reaching out to her daughter by Daryl once Rick had stepped forward with his revolver.
"Carol, go along with Maggie. I just want a quick word with Daryl and then he'll be right behind you. Go on now," Rick gently urged the two women to go into the complex before turning to kneel at the other man's side. "Daryl, Tyrese filled me in on what happened to the girls along the way. Carol had noticed Lizzie exhibiting some strange behaviour at the prison but just brushed it off as fear of the situation. Tyrese caught her feeding a walker a few days ago and then the day before yesterday he and Carol returned from a hunt to find that Lizzie had killed her little sister, Mika and seemed proud of the fact. Carol felt that she was too blame for not acting sooner, and wouldn't let Tyrese deal with the girl. Carol took care of the situation and then immediately confessed what she had done at the prison at the same time. Tyrese said that Carol seemed too calm, but there was something in her eyes that worried him; she wouldn't let him go on any of the hunts after that, insisting that he be the one taking care of Judith. It was Tyrese that insisted that they head for Terminus, hoping that some of us might have made it as well." Rick delivered the news and watched as the shock and horror of the tale showed on Daryl's face.
"Rick, she loved those two girls as if they were her own flesh and blood. She made a promise to their Dad that she would protect them, especially little Mika. What else does that poor woman need to go through? I'm telling you right now, man – you ever think of throwin' her out again, consider me gone too." Daryl delivered his last statement coolly and calmly, inwardly crying out at the cruel injustice that seemed to follow their small group. Rick rose to his feet holding out his hands in surrender.
"Now wait up a minute Daryl! I've already apologised for my actions of before and I meant it. No one has mentioned Carol leaving the group again, and as far as I am concerned we all stick together from now on. I just came over to fill you in and to mention that there is a little railway car that's set off a little ways inside the complex. I think it might be best for the two of you to spend a little time alone this evening, just until Carol feels more like herself again. She's been through a tough few weeks and doesn't need the rest of us gawking or throwing awkward questions at her, that she isn't emotionally capable of dealing with. I've asked Beth to set aside some blankets, clean clothing and some fresh water. You just settle yourselves in and come on out when she feels ready to face the world again."
"Okay, thanks Rick." Daryl accepted the hand that Rick offered to help him to his feet. He looked around for where he had carelessly dropped his crossbow when he had first noticed Carol approaching. It was the first time he had ever mistreated his weapon, and he looked it over carefully when he found it alongside the track. The two men walked slowly along the track and entered the complex, Rick waved goodbye and left Daryl peering around the corner of the sliding door of the railway car. Beth met him at the door and stepped down to greet him;
"She's been asking for you, D. Maggie's in there now with her, I think she's all cried out now…"
"Thanks, Beth. You go along now and get yourself something to eat. I'll take care of Carol." Daryl awkwardly patted Beth on the shoulder as he passed around her to jump up into the car, he noticed Carol huddled in the far corner wrapped in a faded cotton quilt. Maggie rose to her feet when Daryl approached them. She laid a kiss on Carol's cheek in farewell and nodded goodbye to Daryl before leaving them both. She gently slid the door of the car partway shut as she left, offering them a little more privacy from the rest of the group.