"Maggie go!" her voice was filled with determination to make the young pregnant girl escape.
Her voice trembling at Maggie's hesitation to leave her but this wasn't just her decision she had a baby to think about.
She would be unable to comprehend the love she would have for that baby until she was cradling her in her arms, feeling the warmth of him or hers tinged pink cheeks.
Maggie's arms would soon be the safe harbour that her baby would soon not be able to live without, it only made Carol fight harder.
Gritting her teeth she shoved her hard in the shoulder almost causing Maggie to lose her footing, she looked accusingly at her before her mind landed on a conclusion.
With conflicted emotions she took one last look at her before she took off in a run her head down and her feet tossing dirt her way.
She nodded to herself in satisfaction searching for a brave breath of air as the chill of the dusk air seemed to somehow find her. The light wouldn't last much longer staring up above at the canopy the trees provided she felt as if she would never leave.
Maggie was safe, good one thing at least she didn't have to worry about so like a thief in the night she started to move forward. Taking in her surroundings like Daryl had taught her listening to the light rustle of a leaf or a twig snapping underneath someone's un careful boot.
She could feel it before she heard the proof. Someone was coming all she could do was brace herself she didn't know who she was dealing with, not yet anyways.
She tossed the hand that was gripping her knife so hard her knuckles had turned white and jerked it backwards in hope of catching whoever was sneaking up on her.
Her body stumbled as she felt a snarling red head holding her knife away from them both, twisting her hand painfully until she had no choice but to watch it almost silently drop to the dirt floor.
She smirked in satisfaction alongside her brunette friend, "Negan will love you," she laugh cruelly while Carol tried to jerk her arms and shoulders away from them.
She wouldn't go down like this. She wouldn't. She hated to admit it but she might need some help out here, where was Daryl?
She was forced forward by a gun to her back, the barrel tickling against her spine taunting her but she forced her head high and stepped forward.
"Daryl!" Maggie's scream was hoarse and desperate as she reached his side panting and sweating.
Glenn was instantly at her side checking her over and letting her body sag into is and as sweet as the whole exchange was, he couldn't give a dam. Where was she.
"Where is she?!" he thought he wouldn't be able to make the words that clogged his throat out but they ripped from the back of his throat pulling at his vocal chords.
He couldn't help but demand answers from her and he also couldn't help the anger that seemed to vibrate through his voice causing any dam stranger to shake in their boots.
She paused for an agonisingly slow moment and he felt his hands start to tremble what the hell was she waiting for, a parade? Good lord. "She dead." He tried to keep his voice still but he'd have to be stupid to not catch the pitying stares around him.
He was like an animal caught in a trap. "She helped me escape. I think they have her-I don't know. She made me go. I swear I wanted to stay I did." She was pleading with him and he knew he should say something but the words just didn't present themselves.
"Let's go get her." he turned to Rick sharply and in formation took off at a run to find Carol he'd find her trail.
No fucking way Carol went out now she'd been through too much.
She walked compliantly forward like any ordinary woman might, waiting for an opportunity, finally she felt the tension and edge start to fade.
She was just some housewife how could she be that dangerous right? She swung her shoulder back rolling it so it knocked the gun from her hand. Just as quick she kicked her leg upwards so it caught the gun that the other woman was gripping lightly in surprise.
The darkness was starting to engulf the forest, her senses were dulling, her eyes straining but she still dropped her hands to the ground trying to scoop up the guns.
Her scrambled desperately her heart lurching in excitement every time she came across an object solid, fear was starting to resurrect itself again until she felt the familiar feel of the gun.
As she reappeared solidly on her feet the red haired knocked her head forwards in a head butt but her hand was waiting expectantly on the trigger as it pierced her chest.
The other woman screamed a guttural cry shooting a knife in her direction without thinking twice about it and that's what you needed to survive. She was left open. Defenceless. This was it.
A knife collided with hers just as it floated like the grim reaper above her chest causing the clang of steel against steel. The next second a shot rang out hitting the woman in the head and she toppled backwards to be forgotten about.
She found Daryl's face in the darkness exhaling an angry breath. She somehow found her resolve crumbling away like reaching out for something but never quite being able to grasp it. Her face dropped and her body soon followed suit. Before she knew it her knees hit the dirt and guns slipped from her hands like a broken down warrior.
A small cry broke her and she whispered a plea into the night, "Daryl."
Before her head could no longer stand upon her neck he dropped to his knees in front of her, holding her upright. "It's gonna be okay Carol." He whispered huskily cupping her face in his calloused hands but they couldn't be any softer.
He held her chin upwards to see her eyes filled with glassy tears, "I killed her." And he knew that she wasn't talking about the red haired woman.
His thumb brushed her cheek forgetting the others were there and he held her eyes with his own.
"We've to go." He said softly lifting her up in his arms and striding forward not glancing anyone else's direction.
Rick nodded grimly they had to go home but they would have to go back out here and face this all again tomorrow.
He had her curled against his chest the whole ride home, the sound of her breath rising and falling was the best sound he'd heard in a long time.
He wasn't going to let this woman go again. Why the hell was he waiting so long shit was going to happen no matter how much he done avoided it.
Better to spend whatever time he'd left with the one person who could ease up on the suffering this world created. He'd been an ass. Glenn, Maggie, all of em stared at him like he was about to up and bite them. Alexandria was a welcoming sight his buckling legs fell out of the camper.
He had to nudge her upwards with his knee to balance out the weight and not wake her.
Denise shot out of the house before he could shout for her, looking at him warily.
"She okay?"
He nodded quickly avoiding her scrutinising stare, "Just check her over. She needs some rest."
She placed one hand awkwardly on his shoulder in some sort of comforting gesture, "I'll make sure she's okay."
He shrugged her off trying to not make a big thing of it. "Thanks."
After getting the okay from the doc he carried her up the stairs laying her on the bed as best he could, which probably wasn't very good.
Now all you gotta do is wake up so's I can talk to ye.
He placed a chair at her bedside still waiting for her to wake up after she'd passed out in his arms tears exhausting her. He grown agitated waiting for her to open her eyes at him again and was now pacing and biting at his nails like a beaver, in frustration.
"Daryl?" her voice called out weakly at with the moonlight hitting her face he could just see how forlorn she looked as her face dropped and her eyes stopped scanning the room.
"M'here." He sped towards her dropping himself into the chair.
He took her hand in his own giving it a slight squeeze and that is how they sat for a few minutes just holding onto one another.
"Where have you been?"
He felt guilt naw at him where the hell had he been?
"M'not too sure." He replied honestly like he always did with her.
She squeezed his hands tighter, "its okay."
He smiled weakly at her only feeling a little better, he should've been with her. Always.
He moved to take his boots off releasing her hand for a second and he saw her lose her composure something he hadn't seen a lot of lately.
"Where are you going?" a hint of urgency in her tone.
"Just taking off my boots. M'not going anywhere." It held a promise.
She nodded smiling happy tears tucking her face discretely into her hand so she could wipe them away. "Will you stay?"
He patted her leg lightly almost tapping it, and in his gruff voice responded, "What ye think I'm doing. Move over."
She shuffled to the side a laugh caught in her throat. He pulled her across his chest so her head and arm were tucked neatly on top of him.
His other arm wrapped tightly around her so's she couldn't go nowhere and he could pull her close enough to feel the warmth of her breath on his face.
He felt himself able to take an easy breath for once.
"About before…" he didn't know how to ask her to tell him unless she was ready.
A broken sob left her mouth she tried to hide it in his chest but she shook on top of him barely holding it together, "I killed Lizzie. When she was still her. I had to, she killed Mika and she would've killed Judith. There was something growing inside of her I couldn't stop it."
She cried harder and he bit down on his lip to avoid how hard it was to see her break down like this, to see her need him, he should've been there. "I killed my three kids. I'm a killer." She whispered a false realisation.
He forced her chin upwards his eyes blazing with rage, "That ain't true. Not everything is your fault you gotta stop doing that. You're not a killer, you're a protector. You protected me."
She shook head baffled opening her mouth to question him, "How?"
"From myself. I woulda been too pig headed to stick round if not for you."
She laughed through tears and he figured he must've done something right cause the whole feeling in the room seemed to lift from darkness to hope.
"Carol…" his words hung in the darkness and he hoped to god she hadn't fallen asleep he didn't think she had.
Her breathing was still soft and steady on his neck. "Mhm."
"It's just me and you from now on. Is that aright?" he fidgeted awkwardly beside her instinctively wrapping her closer.
He felt her lips curl into a smile and she gently placed a kiss on his chest sending shivers up his spine didn't take much for this woman to unravel him.
"It's more than alright."
He let out a sigh of relief and she chuckled causing his lip to twitch into a smile so big he hadn't thought possible, without thinking he placed a comforting kiss on the top of her head.
They still had Negan and his pricks to deal with but fighting side by side this time he knew they'd win, they'd kick his ass cause he had a family to protect. She was it.