A/N: Sooo, I'm finally posting this. I wanted to wait until I had all the chapters written, but I'm more than halfway done so I figured I'd just go ahead and do it.

So basically, Daryl leaves with Merle and instead of being gone for a few hours (or however long he was gone) he's gone for a little over a month. Carol doesn't 'understand' as well as everyone expects her to, and in her grief she clings to the nearest form of comfort, which happens to be Axel. Daryl comes back (without Merle) and isn't in the least bit happy about their closeness...you can see where it's going from there.

I'm including quotes for this story, as I feel they're a nice touch and can help one get in the mood for a given chapter. I tried to choose thought-provoking ones, or at least ones related to grief/misery/love. Most are from books, but some are from songs and movies.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story. It's more angsty and heartfelt than most of my other stuff, so I'm hoping I'll do okay.

Reading time: 3 mins.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead.


"If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger."

― Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights


Chapter one: Prologue~


He was gone now.

She should have been happy.

Daryl was with his brother, who he'd assumed was dead. Hell, they all had. But now he'd found him, and after an ill-fated rescue attempt at Woodberry, after months and months of being separated, they were together again.

She hadn't been there to see it, but she bet it had been beautiful, their reunion. To have been separated from a family member for so long, to think they were dead, and then to be reunited...she could only imagine the whirlwind of emotions he must have been feeling. And so of course, she couldn't rightfully blame him for leaving with his brother. Because family came first. And she of all people knew that better than most.

Besides, she told herself, she couldn't have expected it to last forever.

In this world, one could never tell when their lives would end, or their friendships severed. She should be glad that he was safe with his brother, who was probably the only other person on the planet who could keep him that way. It was only right. He would go on with his life, and so would she.

It wasn't that he didn't care - she knew better than that - but it didn't make it any less difficult to hold onto that fact, to truly believe it, that his leaving wasn't because of her own incompetence, her inability to make him want to stay. And she would cling to that until the day she died.

No, Rick had been right, to let him go. To be with his brother and go galavanting off to the far reaches of the country and meet new people, better people. She wouldn't blame the Sheriff. She wouldn't. He didn't deserve it. It wasn't his fault. He couldn't have got him to stay even if he tried. Stubborn Dixons.

And now, as she stared out into the fields surrounding the prison as she held little Judith in her arms, even though she wasn't sure what she was going to do without him now, she did. Even though she didn't know, she did.

She would look after Rick's baby.

She would cook.

She would clean.

She would help out around the prison.

She would continue to do everything that she'd done before, only now, she would do it without him. She would move on with her life.

And it was almost funny, because the situation was so simple, and yet still she struggled to come to grips with it.

He was gone, and she was still here.

He was with his brother, and she was with no one.

He wasn't coming back, and she wasn't leaving.

...No. That wasn't right.

She was with Judith, and Rick and Carl and Glenn and Maggie and Hershel and Beth, and Daryl was with his brother.

She would stay and fight for her makeshift family until her last breath, and Daryl would go and fight for his.

She should have been happy; Daryl was with his brother, where he belonged.

She should have been happy.

She wasn't.


A/N: I know 'Axel lives' stories are pretty old hat in the Caryl universe, but I still think it's a fun thing to tackle. And I think we all know that for Daryl and Carol to get together in the 3rd season, Axel would've had to have lived. Jealousy is the perfect catalyst for a fast trip to Carylville. Am I right?

I'll try and update this every 1-3 days. It's a short story (less than 15 chapters) so I kinda want to pace myself, but if enough people review or whatever I'll post faster.

'Til next time!