This is my first TWD fic and I hope you guys enjoy it. Not a native speaker so excuse any grammar or spelling mistakes! This is set after 7x08 - a glance into how I would imagine the season to continue Caryl-wise...
I don't own anything from The Walking Dead.
When Daryl laid eyes on Rick all his composure was gone. The man he considered a brother looked at him with understanding and relief and Daryl couldn't hold back. His head sank as tears started spilling from his eyes and Rick pulled him in a close embrace silently telling him how glad he was that his brother was back and safe at Hilltop.
Daryl looked around in familiar faces. Michonne, Carl, Tara all smiled at him, hugged him and welcomed him back into the family he belonged to. They made their way towards the main house at Hilltop. "Where is she?" Daryl whispered to Rick. "Daryl…she…" "What? What is it Rick? Tell me dammit!"
When he had looked around to the people welcoming him home she wasn't there. He had looked for her sparkling blue eyes, her smile and her beautiful face. Carol was the one who helped him through the horrors he had suffered in the cell. All he did when he was sitting naked and cold in the pitch-black darkness was picture her, remember her laugh, the way her arms felt around him. Returning home to her was the reason he didn't give up, his only reason to keep going, to look for a way out. Although they drifted apart since they arrived in Alexandria he was still certain that Carol would always be there for him in the same way he would be always there for her when she was ready to talk. He understood that it was easier for her to wear her happy housewife mask without him constantly looking at her. So he decided to let her be and tried to tell her with a look and a smile now and then that nothing had changed between them. Carol was the one person in the world he trusted completely and would give his life for without even blinking.
During his captivity he came to realize that she was more than just his best friend. When he sat there in total darkness, with no knowing what day or time it was or how long he was there already he pictured a future with Carol and he finally admitted to himself that he not only loved her but was very much in love with her and had been ever since his search for Sophia, when she kissed him on the forehead after they discovered her in the barn. His affection towards her grew as he watched her develop from a shy, beaten woman into a fighter, a leader, someone with incredible strength who never failt to impress him. But also she was the most loving, warm-hearted person he ever knew. She was damaged just like he was, beaten by her shitty ex-husband, made believe that she wasn't worth anything or good enough for anyone.
Daryl didn't know if he would ever make it out of that cell alive but he swore to himself that if he did he would tell Carol how he felt, never waste another second and risk her never knowing how much he loved her. Although he was never good with expressing feelings, taught by his father that no man would do such things, he promised silently to show her how a relationship should be, show her the respect and love she deserved in a man.
When the gates opened to welcome the people from Alexandria in he was focused on seeing the familiar cerulean eyes. His heart sank when she wasn't there and a thousand questions raced through his head. Where was she? Was she alive? Hurt?
He looked at Rick's worried eyes and started yelling. "Rick! What is it? Where is Carol? Tell me for fucks sake!"
