One Broken Heart Could be Fixed by a Flower

Carol Peletier didn't always used to be considered weak. There had once been a time when people had looked up to her. They had thought she was so strong and wanted to be like her. But then, her heart had been broken, not too much, but enough to change her. The love of her life had been killed in a horrific car accident and her whole life had changed. She became depressed and met Ed Peletier. He seemed nice…at first. Then they got married and everything changed. He was an alcoholic and delighted in beating her. It came to a stuttering halt when she got pregnant. He quite the physical abuse and moved onto emotional and mental abuse. Lowering her self-esteem and breaking her apart even more. Nine months later, beautiful little Sophia was born and Ed calmed down a little. But as she grew up, she began to look more and more like Carol, and it simply enraged Ed. He went back to his old ways, and not only hit Carol, but sometimes hit Sophia too. Even when the world went to shit, it didn't stop. He kept doing it, and everyone knew. But no one did anything about it. Carol and Sophia were beat up until Ed's death, and then a weight was lifted off of their shoulders and Carol finally started to see the sun again.

Carol sat in the RV reminiscing on times with just her and Sophia. The only happy memories the two had left. Well, the only ones she had left. She blinked back tears but they consumed her and she was left in body shaking tears. She could hear Daryl tossing and turning on the floor of the RV, obviously agitated by her loud sobs. He stood and put his crossbow on his back and looked back at her. Carol had always kept her eyes on the other man, he was rough around the edges, and most didn't like him. But Carol had a way with seeing through people, and she could see the real Daryl. The Daryl that was much like her. Being abused since before you could remember, bearing the scars of it your whole life. She saw it all. And in that one second, when his brown eyes met her hazel ones, he saw it too. He saw the broken woman. And he knew, he had to find a way to fix it.

It turned out Daryl had been sneaking glances back at her. He felt her eyes on him every time they wandered over to him, and after they were gone, he looked back at her. He would kill himself if she ever caught him looking back. As he walked through the woods with Andrea, searching for the lost girl, he thought back to the quarry. He had found out right before his big hunting trip about Ed's abusive ways when he'd come across Sophia crying and her lip and nose bleeding.

Daryl stopped at the sound of sobs. He knew the sounds of the forest, even an apocalypse ridden forest, and he knew that was not a normal sound. So silently as if he were hunting a deer, he followed the noise until he came across the small blonde girl, hugging her knees to her chest, crying. She looked up when she felt his presence and he saw the blood. "The hell happened t'yeh?" he asked.

Sophia sniffled and wiped her nose a little. "N-Nothing." She said turning to look away.

Daryl growled a little and walked over to her, he knelt down and awkwardly fumbled with his crossbow, not sure if he should keep it on his back or place it on the ground. He finally decided to leave it on his back and pulled out a clean rag from his back pocket. He grabbed her chin and raised her face to look at him and he began to wipe the blood from her face. He noticed some of it had already dried so he grabbed his water bottle from the pocket and poured it on the rag and finished what he was doing. "Now tell me who the hell did this t'yeh an' why." He demanded.

"My dad…" she said quietly, averting her baby blue eyes.

Daryl growled and stood straight, "Why?"

"I don't know…he always does this…and to my mommy too." She said quietly.

Daryl growled and cracked his neck a little. "Go to Lori." He snapped.

Sophia nodded and stood up. "Thank you Daryl." She said. She hugged him tightly before running off.

Daryl shook the odd feeling off and turned back towards the camp. Finally he found the tent that held Ed. He slipped in uninvited and saw that only Ed was in there. "What the hell do you want?" Ed snapped.

"If I get word that you've laid one more finger upon yer daughter and yer wife, I will come back here and beat yeh t'death. Yeh understand?" Daryl growled. Ed rolled his eyes and then closed him to go to sleep. Daryl stepped forward and placed his boot on Ed's throat making his eyes shoot open. "Do yeh understand?" he snapped.

"Yes." Ed croaked out.

Daryl released Ed. "Good." He said before exiting the tent nonchalantly.

Carol sat in the RV, still transfixed by the flower resting in the beer bottle before her. Daryl had brought it to her hours ago, and she was still staring at it. Replaying all that he had said, and feeling her heart slowly begin to mend. The heart that had been abused for so long, was healing because of one little flower. And she honestly loved the feeling of it. She couldn't explain the feeling that was slowly welling up inside of her, but it was a feeling she hadn't felt in almost 20 years.

Sitting in the walls of the prison Carol felt safe, but confined. Like she had been when she was with Ed. So when Beth relieved her of Judith duties she delighted in taking walks around the compound. Generally up to the guard tower where she could look all around and feel a little free. Today was no exception and after placing Judith in Beth's arms, she grabbed a bottle of water and exited the main cell block and headed outside. She nodded at Carl who was standing guard outside and she entered the guard tower. Once to the top she looked around before sitting down and breathing in the fresh air. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the cool stone. Soon they'd be at war with Woodbury and Carol might lose all of her loved ones. Especially one in particular. One who seemed to be distancing himself from her. Carol and Daryl had become so close, and now? He barely even looked at her. Because he brought Merle back. Even after everything we've been through. And everything I told him… she thought with a shake of her head a small tear escaping her eye.

Footsteps coming up the metal stairs of the guard tower woke Carol from her nap and she noticed it had grown dark. A light appeared and quickly fell upon her. She shielded her eyes and looked passed the light to see the familiar form of Daryl standing before her. He clicked the flashlight off and made his way to her. He leaned against the wall beside her before sliding down to sit beside her. "Yeh missed dinner." He said quietly as he handed her a plate.

"Thank you." She said quietly. She gently took the plate from him and began to eat the contents that were on it.

"Yeh've been up here all day…" he said.

"Just thinking…"

Daryl nodded. "I'm sorry."

"For?"

"Avoiding yeh."

"Ah." She said as she pushed the empty plate off her lap. "I see…"

Daryl sighed a little. "I just…" he stopped himself and took a deep breath. "I care 'bout yeh too much. And…I guess I figured that if I distanced m'self from yeh before this war…if something were t'happen t'yeh or m'self…the one left behind would be okay." He looked over at her and like that night in the RV all those months back, they saw each other for what they truly were. Scared, abused people afraid to love. "But I know I was wrong. I've only hurt yeh more. I've only crushed yer heart more. I didn't help yeh, I caused you pain. I see it in yer eyes." He said quietly as he took her hands into his. "And I can't lose yeh Carol. I don't think I'd survive long without yeh here with me…"

Carol sat there; she was too stunned to speak. It was like the day in the barn when she had told him she couldn't lose him. "Say it again…" she whispered.

"Carol…I can't lose yeh. I ain't sayin' I love yeh, because I just don't know. But right now…I can tell yeh that yer the most important thing in my life. And I am goin' t'do everything in my power to keep yeh safe." He said. "Would it be alrigh' if I kissed yeh?" he whispered.

"You never have to ask that Daryl." She said before his lips came crashing down onto her's.

After a few seconds they pulled away breathless, he then pulled a small bouquet of flowers from behind him. "Yeh forgive me?" he asked.

"Of course I do." She said as she took them and smelled them. Carol sighed happily and leaned against his shoulder, staring at the flowers happily. The flowers that had fixed the broken girl she had been. The flowers that were the start to something better. Even though there was an impending war, Carol now found a reason to smile brightly and laugh once again. And it was all because of Daryl, and the fact that a broken heart could be fixed by a flower.

Author's Note:

This was for my dear friend CocoaPuppiez.

I stole my title from one of my old stories on Quizilla that I never got around to finishing. :D

I hope y'all enjoyed!

Keep reading & reviewing my stories!

Yours Truly,

~Daryl-Dixons-Gurl~