It had to be a dream. A nightmare. This couldn't be happening, not to him. And certainly not to her. He couldn't take those words out of his mind. We have your woman.He didn't even know it was that obvious she was his woman. It wasn't obvious to him...until now.
The wolves had taken Alexandria, claiming it theirs. They had been stalking them for weeks, so they knew each other's weaknesses pretty well, and they didn't hesitate to use them against him.
He had been on a three days trip with Aaron. It was intended to be a longer trip, but they turned around as soon as they heard the gunshots. By the time they arrived the place was already taken down, and she was nowhere to be seen. The thing he regretted the most was to have been this blind. Things in Alexandria weren't easy, least of all to Carol. She had so much to mourn, but she was too afraid to break down...too afraid to never recover again. She had pushed everybody aside, including him. And it made it even more difficult to him to have this girl following him around at every chance she got. She was a nice girl, he couldn't deny that, but every girl turned invisible when she was around, and he could see it now...
He was cornered by the Wolves. They had taken his weapons and they were pointing theirs at him. A man carrying colt very similar to the one Rick had, approached him. He figured it must have been his. He was pretty shocked to be honest. They had a plan for when these people arrived. Assuming they would be too much and they would be armed, they decided to take it easy and to hide in a basement of one of the last houses of the town, believing they wouldn't search every house from head to toe. They would watch them from there, and plan something to take them over. Everybody agreed to stick to the plan, the prison family did at least. But he figured they must have taken them by surprise.
The man with Rick's colt approached him.'If you don't want us to bring you her head, you better tell us where your leader is'.
Their leader?Wasn't it clear to them that Rick was their leader? They were supposed to be watching them for weeks. He was missing something.
'I wanna see her' Daryl said, trying to sound calm. He needed to see her.
'Bring the bitch!'
He tried to stay calm, but time was passing too slowly, and he didn't have more fingers to chew on. He didn't know where Aaron was, they were supposed to bring Carol to him, probably tortured, and he didn't know where the rest of his family was. He wanted to die, but he couldn't. They needed him alive, more than ever. He was being held in one of the houses that were given to their group when they arrived. The one he shared with Carol, Rick, Michonne and the kids. What an irony, he thought.
After what seemed like a lifetime the main door opened, showing their leader holding a woman. Alice. The girl that followed him like a lost puppy.'Daryl!'Shescreamed as soon as she saw him. Thank god. It's not her. It's not her. It's not her. It's not her.He repeated like a mantra. They had captured the wrong woman. He knew it wasn't fair, but he couldn't help feeling relieved. Happy, almost. It's not Carol.
'Are you okay?'He asked her trying his best to sound worried instead of relieved.
'Yeah...'She answered in a meek voice. God, she was terrified. She had her hands tied in her back and her face was covered in blood, her blood. She had been tortured not so long ago.
'You'll suffer for this you son of a bitch'he said in a raged voice. They had to keep thinking that Alice was his woman, so he could save everybody. So he could safe his real woman.
The man muffled a laugh. 'Yeah, right. Take the bitch out, let's give Romeo some time to gather his thoughts'.With that they took the girl out and left him alone. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Carol was alive and most likely well.
That's when it hit him. They didn't capture his core family, just the Alexandrians who didn't know about their plan. His family was hidden just where they said they would hide. They were safe. He wasn't alone. Daryl couldn't help but cry and laugh at the same time. Maybe he wasn't dreaming after all. Maybe life was smiling at him just this once. He had to get out of there. Now.
He figured there would be some men watching the front door, so he couldn´t escape from there. But after months of living in that house, he knew the place pretty well. He could escape without them noticing him. Shit, life wasn't smiling at him, it was taking a beer with him while massaging his feet.
Just as he thought, the back door wasn't being guarded. He didn't know exactly how, but he managed to arrive to the house where his family was supposed to be hidden without being noticed. Maybe the Wolves weren't as smart as he thought they would be.
The nearer he got to the basement door, the faster his heart was beating. Please be here. He couldn't bear with them not being there. He needed them to be there.
He slowly opened the door, waiting for someone to react, and someone did. The moment he opened the door he had Michonne's katana pointing at his throat. He could not be any happier. She exhaled as soon as she saw it was Daryl, taking back her katana. Everybody started greeting him, but he only had eyes for her. His Carol. She was looking at him smiling and crying at the same time. Crazy woman. He quickly made his way to her and took her in his arms. He hid his face in her shoulder, trembling while holding her close to him. She put her arms around him, smoothing his hair quietly. They breathed each other's scent for what felt like an eternity. Memorizing each other again.
Slowly he drew her back to a couch separated from the rest of the group and sat her there, burying his face in her stomach, between her legs. Surprised, she kept her hands in his hair, stroking his head.
'You´re here…' He kept repeating in awe.
'Of course I'm here…Where else would I be?' she said lovingly. She would always be waiting for him, even in the end of the world.
'You're mine' he cried trembling against her stomach.
'I´m yours sweetheart, as you're mine'