Ollo Carylers!
Here's a little thingy I wrote for the Caryl Oneshot Competition on Tumblr.
As per request, I've posted it here in addition to submitting it directly to the competition hosts.
As usual, I own not the TWD or the Caryl, and I hope you guys enjoy this sugary little oneshot!
She smiled at the way he kept close to her shoulder as they made their way from the bay area, her rifle in hand and the crossbow rattling against his back. It was midday, and she and Daryl had volunteered for patrol, relieving Rick and Carl from the job after lunch.
They passed a few of the Woodbury refugees, who all took the time to either nod or wave their way.
They were nice people, as evidenced by their almost overwhelming and consistent gratitude expressed over the past two weeks.
An elderly man smiled at her and Carol opened her mouth to ask how he was feeling when the entirety of the bay was startled by another of the older newcomers, a woman who came rushing in towards them with a look of sheer terror and worry on her face.
Glenn and Maggie jumped to attention and Carol stepped forward to grasp the woman by her shoulders, leaning in as the elder wheezed in a breath to rasp out,
"Molly….my little Molly…can't find her!"
Carol blinked at the panicked woman for a moment, processing the statement and recalling quickly that the girl she was talking about was one of the younger of the refugees, a five year-old whose parents had apparently been among the Woodbury residents slaughtered by the Governor on the highway not too very long ago.
The woman, Molly's grandmother, was already lowering her head and fighting a sob.
Carol squeezed her eyes shut and fought the familiar twinge of agony as Sophia's face flashed in the darkness behind her closed lids…
"A'ight, calm down now. We'll find her. Glenn and Maggie'll help ya look around the bay; maybe she's hidin' in a cell. Rick and Carl are still outside so we'll let em' know to look around. Me and Carol will head up to the south tower, get a bird's eye view. She's ain't left. We'll find her."
Daryl's voice, restrained and unusually soft, brought back a slurry of memories from a highway long left behind, and Carol quickly pushed them back into their dark corner to focus on his face as it came into view.
He seemed to study her for a moment before jerking his head towards the door, and with a nod in return she sucked in a steeling breath and followed him into the bright light of day.
He waited for her to climb the ladder first, even offered a tiny jerk of his head to tell her she could do so. If she were not so worried about finding a lost child, she would've probably commented on the gesture as "romantic" or "sweet", maybe even gone so far as to call him a gentleman, just to see him blush and scoff.
But no smile pulled at her lips as she started up the rungs, one hand over the other, the clang of metal resounding behind her as Daryl took to the ladder himself just beneath.
They were quick about it, the silence between them echoing just as loud as the ladder itself. She was worried, the sinking of her gut making her feel sick as she imagined the little five year-old wandering the yard haphazardly, or getting lost in one of the support buildings surrounding the blocks.
She was worried, and he knew she was worried.
And she knew he knew she was worried.
They didn't need to speak a word to get the message to each other.
Carol reached out to push at the metal door that led to the tower interior, heard it creak and groan in protest as its rusting hinges screamed. Already ajar, it swayed open after a forceful shove.
She had to angle herself to climb through the doorway, a somewhat dangerous undertaking as she first secured the rifle on her shoulder to keep it from falling. Gripping a support handle near the door she pulled herself up, swaying slightly before feeling a firm hand land on her thigh. She didn't glance down at him to offer thanks as Daryl helped steady her and push her up, or poke fun at him for coming dangerously close to touching her butt.
They had no time for such things, and Carol was already landing on her knees on the wooden floor of the tower, frozen in surprise and smiling in relief.
Crouched in the corner, half-shrouded in the shadow provided by the old tower's tin roof, was Molly herself, a box in her lap and an equally curious look on her face.
Carol opened her mouth to call out to the child just as Daryl toppled into her from behind, unaware that she'd not moved to give him room in the doorway.
"Dammit!" He cursed behind her as she scurried onto her butt and watched him right himself and offer her a half-hearted glare.
His eyes creased in confusion when she smiled broadly at him, and she quickly motioned to the corner where Molly still sat, a grin forming on the girl's face at their antics. Daryl grunted and blinked, standing and peering down at the child as he held a blind hand out to help Carol up.
She let him pull her to her feet, and could feel the tension in Daryl's muscles give way as he confirmed Molly alive and well.
Moving slowly towards the occupied corner Carol smiled down and leaned over slightly, catching Molly's dark brown eyes in her own,
"Hey there sweetie, you okay?"
The little blond nodded quickly, clutching what appeared at closer inspection to be a shoebox tightly to her chest.
"I'm sorry I ran away…"
The air moved behind Carol as Daryl stepped forward, drawing closer but still keeping enough distance as not to intimidate or smother the girl.
His voice was soft again, kind and calm as he assured her,
"S'aight, darlin'. You ain't in trouble. Yer grandma's worried sick about you, though."
For the briefest of moments Carol felt the world spin around her at the tone in Daryl's voice, and she could suddenly imagine him so clearly in the woods outside Hershel's farm, crouching down to pull her little Sophia out of her hiding spot, whispering words of assurance and understanding…
His hand on her shoulder jerked her from her daydream, and Carol glanced back to see him staring into her, brows furrowed in concern. Ignoring the familiar sensation of threatening tears in her eyes, she breathed deep and kneeled before Molly, who sat a bit straighter in the corner but did not move to stand.
Daryl's shadow cast over them as Carol nodded down at the shoebox still held vice-like in Molly's grasp,
"Can I see?"
Molly seemed to hesitate, eyes drawing inward a moment before finally meeting Carol's own. She nodded, holding the box out a bit.
Carol smiled and settled onto her knees before moving to scoot next to the girl, finally landing on her butt.
She winced when a sting through her jeans signaled a possible splinter, and she nearly laughed at herself.
Above them, Daryl hovered in silence, curious and patient.
He moved a bit to let the sunlight shine into their little corner, as Molly opened the box to shove her little hands in start fishing.
Carol giggled when the girl pulled out an old rubber duck, briefly squeezing it to show it still made the squeaking sound. Molly smiled up at her when Carol took it and squeezed herself, a warmth penetrating her chest both from the child's suddenly adoring gaze and Daryl's deep chuckle nearby.
"I used to have one of these. My little girl loved playing with it in the tub when she was little."
As she handed the toy back to Molly her little voice mumbled hesitantly,
"Where is she?"
Daryl froze at the question, and Carol glanced up to find him looking away, suddenly fiddling with his crossbow.
Carol smiled down at the girl despite the sobering question she posed.
"She's gone to heaven."
"The monsters got her?"
She breathed. Heard Daryl sigh in a moment of sudden frustration.
"Yes, they did."
There was no point in lying to the child, no matter how cruel the truth seemed. It was more a mistake, she figured, to lead the little one on to believe that the monsters couldn't hurt her. In the end, it would do more good to ensure Molly understood that they could.
Carol quickly shifted the subject as Daryl began to once again divert his attention down to them. Reaching to tilt the box toward her, she pointed to the flash of purple curled around the other items inside.
"What's that?"
Molly instantly pulled it out, the length of silky cloth shining slightly in the sunlight.
"My Mama's scarf! It was her favorite. Feel how soft!"
Carol giggled again when the scarf was shoved against her cheek and rubbed roughly. Taking it from her, she fingered the material before glancing up at Daryl.
He grinned down at her, eyes bright blue in the light. She held the purple cloth up to him as she looked down at the girl beside her,
"Can Daryl feel?"
Without a moment's pause Molly nodded, assuring Carol she was not put off by his presence. The girl had obviously run away to the tower for a reason, and Carol could easily guess what that reason was. If they were to get her down into the safe arms of her grandma, they needed her trust more than anything.
Carol locked eyes with him as Daryl reached out to take the scarf, nodding at her in understanding.
He pretended to be in awe of the thing, stretching it out and twirling it around his hands.
"Need me one a' these…"
She laughed at his mumbling, and Molly followed suit before peering back down into her box. She snatched something thin, holding it up with a gleam of pride,
"This is my toothbrush!"
Molly's boasting was accompanied by her flashing of tiny white teeth as she smiled widely, and Carol nodded, wide-eyed.
"You take very good care of your teeth!"
"My Mama used ta' brush with me. But now I have to do it by myself cause' Nana's teeth are fake."
Above them, Daryl snorted.
The girl paused to glance at him as if in warning before reaching out to take the scarf from him and shove it back into her box with the toothbrush.
Carol looked at the few items remaining, choosing to pretend not to see the small family picture of the girl and her now deceased parents. Instead she pointed at a tiny notepad with a crayon laying on top of it.
Without even needing to ask, Molly dove in to grab it, scooting closer with an almost giddy squeal.
"I can draw! Look!"
She struggled to follow the girl's quick flipping of the little pad's pages, smiling as images of trees, suns and flowers, all colored blue, flashed before her eyes. And then, Molly paused at a page in the middle, holding it up to both her and Daryl.
"I just drew this one! It's a deer!"
Carol leaned forward to look at it as Daryl leaned down, and the blue stick figure of a deer with three tiny antlers had them grinning at each other.
The child surprised them both by standing suddenly, pointing up to the open space between the railing and the roof,
"I saw it outside by the woods. Maybe it's still there!"
Carol met Daryl's gaze and she stood to pull the rifle from her shoulder, handing it over to him. Carol looked down at Molly and quietly reassured her,
"He's just gonna use the scope to see if he can see it, okay?"
Daryl raised the gun to peer through its scope in the direction Molly indicated, sweeping the field outside the prison in silence.
A few moments of searching and he finally seemed to nod to himself, not moving to pull away from the scope,
"Yep, I see em'. A few of em' out there, now. Good eye, Molly."
Molly's short blond hair flew about her face as she bounced excitedly, raising her hands up to Carol.
"I wanna see em'!"
The warmth bubbled in her chest again, the twinge in her eyes biting just slight enough to make Carol squeeze them shut a moment and force the feeling away. Reaching down she picked the child up, settling Molly on her bony hip and pointing in the direction Daryl was facing.
Over the fences, through the yard, across the field, just at the edge of the woodland, three deer grazed carefully, heads bobbing up periodically to look into the woods or around the field.
As they watched, Carol saw movement directly beneath them.
Looking down she found Rick standing at the base of the tower, a hand shielding his eyes as he peered up.
Carol hefted Molly a bit higher, taking a moment to flash an "OK" sign his way. Silent and smiling in relief, Rick nodded once before moving out of her field of view.
A moment later Daryl lowered the rifle slightly, seeming to sense the presence of others around the tower. Jerking his chin towards them he glanced at Molly before finding Carol's eyes and holding them.
"'Bout time we get word out we've got her, huh?"
Carol smiled and nodded just as a knock sounded at the metal door.
Rick and Maggie helped guide Molly and her shoebox back down the ladder to the solid ground below, where her much calmer and happier grandmother was waiting to hold her tight.
Rick quietly commended them even as Daryl brushed it off, calling it "luck" that the child was in the very tower they were going to use to look for her.
The others huddled beneath the tower, showering Molly with relieved hugs.
Carol leaned against the railing to watch them, noting Daryl doing the same beside her for a few moments before reaching down to pick up her rifle. Raising it to look through the scope again, he hummed to himself and pulled back to glance at her.
"Still out there…"
Without relinquishing the rifle back to her he held it out and to the side, allowing her to get a better look at the woodline.
The close-up image of the deer, now moving slowly into the sunlit field, brought a smile to her face. She chuckled to herself,
"Look at the one with the horns on him. Deer are…majestic."
Daryl grunted in response, pulling the rifle back to raise it again, finger creeping towards the trigger.
"Yeah, they're damn tasty, too."
Carol glanced down to find the group beginning to disperse, Molly still in view by the base of the tower.
She frowned, but did not move or speak to stop Daryl.
Watching him quietly, she heard him inhale deep and tighten the gun against his shoulder, following the moving animals with deadly precision.
And then, laughter cut the air below them.
Daryl paused, finger sliding from the trigger slowly. After another second's hesitation he finally ripped the scope from his face, lowering the rifle with a frustrated huff.
Carol smiled at him quietly, catching his gaze as he flipped the safety back on and handed her the weapon.
"I'll just…take early watch, while everyone's still asleep. They move more around dawn anyway…"
When he offered a small grin Carol reached out, finding his fingers with one hand as she hefted the rifle back onto her shoulder with the other.
"We still have this watch to finish."
With no response he slid his hand into hers, breaking her gaze hesitantly to look back out over the yard.
As the sound of Molly's laughter grew more and more distant, they stood in the tower together and watched her deer graze along the forest.
He never let go of her hand.