'I don't pick up the phone, I don't pick up the mail

I don't answer the door, I'd just as soon be alone

I don't keep this place up, I just keep the lights down

I don't live in these rooms, I just rattle around…'

Daryl drifted into wakefulness, letting the familiar smells and sounds surround him. He sniffed the air and instead of the comforting smell of honey infused oatmeal, all he got in his nostrils was the acrid tang of something burning on the bottom of the pan. He wondered for a moment whether Carol had overslept and nearly fell out of the bunk when instead of rolling against the warmth of another body in the bed; he grasped at thin air instead. He forced himself up and sat on the edge of the mattress, sinking his head into his hands as the memories poured over him.

'She's gone, Daryl.' Rick had thought long and hard about how to break the news of Carol's departure to the hunter; and decided to keep it simple.

'Stop kiddin' around, Rick and let me know where she's at? Suppose she's up in A block with Lizzie? Or helping Beth out with Ass Kicker?' Daryl pulled at the edge of his poncho, and was getting more than a little irritated with the way Rick never seemed to be able to answer a question directly.

'No, she's gone, Daryl as in…not coming back.' Only Rick knew the true nature of the reason behind Carol's departure, and had decided to just tell the rest of the group that Carol had been lost whilst on a supply run; the group was heartbroken and naturally assumed the worst. Rick broke the news to Daryl as soon as he, Michonne and Tyreese had returned back from their run to the Animal Clinic, searching for desperately need medicine for the flu outbreak that was spreading like wildfire around the prison.

Rick watched at all of the colour drain from the hunters face and only just managed to catch the hunter before Daryl's knees crumpled as he hit the dirt.

'Ya took care of…' Daryl hoarsely whispered, unable to complete the rest of the question.

'Yeah, I took care of everything.' Rick assured his friend as he held out a hand to help Daryl to his feet. 'You need to rest, we'll talk more in the morning.'

'I wanna bring her back here, put her next to Lori…' Daryl's eyes were red rimmed as he kept his head bowed as he slowly made his way back into the cell block. Michonne crossed over to his side, offering silent support but recognising that he was no shape to accept condolences from the crowd gathering in the common area.

'I'll talk to Rick about that, I'm sure we can work something out…get some rest.' Michonne led Daryl to his perch and stood watching as he just sat staring into space; not making any move to get out of his poncho or to remove his crossbow. She knew that it would hit him hard and when he would least expect it. Michonne looked at her friend for a moment before sighing heavily and heading back downstairs to talk to Rick about funeral arrangements. It was strange but he was suddenly nowhere to be seen…

Daryl had left his perch around midnight and made his way to Carol's cell; for the last couple of months he'd been sneaking in more and more until they were virtually sharing occupancy. He still left most of his stuff out on the perch, but it was mainly for appearances sake; neither wanted to make a big deal out of whatever it was between them. He needed whatever comfort he could gather from the place they had called their own; Rick had said that it had happened two days ago, but he could still smell the faint fragrance of her lavender mint body wash clinging to the shirt she'd left in the corner, probably in readiness for her laundry day.

"Daryl, you coming down for breakfast? Beth managed to burn the pancakes, so it's cold cereal again." Tyreese poked his head through the curtain hanging in the doorway of Carol's cell; when he couldn't find him on the perch, the cell was the first place he'd thought of to look.

"Not hungry," Daryl muttered as he scooped up Carol's dirty shirt from the corner and carefully folded it and placed it on top of the dresser in the corner of the cell. He straightened out the bedclothes and made sure that her pillow was placed dead centre of the mattress; where he lovingly caressed it before moving away a few paces; resting his forehead against the top bunk. He heard Tyreese move away from the door and sent a quick prayer of thanks to have friends that weren't into touchy feely nonsense and knew just when to leave him alone.

A light tap on the doorframe came not five minutes later, and he just ignored it. A second tap had him sighing and calling out in a soft growl; "Please….just not now, okay?"

"Okay, but you can't stay in there all day and mope. Trust me, it don't get any better…" The husky tones of Michonne's low voice had Daryl slumping to the floor. He knew that the warrior woman had lost her boyfriend, Mike and her small son, Andre in the early days.

"I jest cain't, 'Chonne….all those people…" Daryl pressed his fingers hard against his eyelids, and saw the shadow of Michonne sliding to the floor from the narrow edge under the curtain.

"I know, believe me I know. I just wanted to let you know that I'm here for you, Daryl. Whatever you need." Michonne leant her head against the cold concrete and meant every word. She'd nearly lost herself when she'd discovered what Mike had done; his actions alone were the only thing that had caused her to lose her sweet baby boy. She wasn't going to let Daryl slip away from the group; she'd let him have a few days and then she was going to make sure that he came back to them…he needed them as much as they needed him.

"I'm going to switch off with Tyreese, we're going to make sure that no one bothers you for a while. You're going to be okay, Daryl…you really are." Michonne rose to her feet when she saw Tyreese making his way up the staircase toward her; his jaw was set hard but he held up a hand when she started to ask what was wrong.

"It just reminds me a little too much of Karen right now, let's just get Daryl through today…this one's gonna be the hardest." Tyreese sat down at the top of the stairs and gave Michonne a slight smile as she passed him by with a pat on one of his broad shoulders.

"Okay, big guy. Give me a shout when it all gets too much and I'll come and relieve you."