A/N: WOW! I cannot believe all of the follows and favorites! Thank you all so much! Also, special thanks to my lovely reviewers!

Please note that there will eventually be SPOILERS for events in the show, mainly from "Still" onwards. Also, there will be musings re: future events. I have tried to improve my formatting for this chapter so it will be easier to follow. I will eventually go back and revise Chapter 1 to reflect that, so be on the look out!

As always, much love and appreciation! Leave a review on your way out! –T.

DISCLAIMER: Any and all canon events and characters herein belong to the great minds at AMC. I own absolutely NOTHING related to The Walking Dead. However, The Walking Dead very much owns me!

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Chapter 2: Him

What in the world could she say to him? Carol cautiously eyed the angel wings in front of her. He had barely said two words to her since Terminus and she knew why. Hell, he'd barely said two words to anyone. Not that that was particularly out of character, but this time it felt different. He was different.

She knew all about that. Their little group's time apart had changed everyone; the dynamics were different. But she knew her own change started long before - before her excommunication, before the prison fell. She glanced back at Tyreese. His shoulders were set, eyes alert, glancing into the woods around them as they followed Daryl's newest "trail". When his eyes finally met hers, they held the same look they always had since – a disturbing combination of guilt and distrust, understanding and empathy. She was bound to Tyreese; bound by what she had done at the prison and what they had done at the grove. The things they had to do, she reminded herself. Sometimes it felt as if the weight of it all would crush her. They were all changed.

She nodded and turned to look ahead once more. She wondered if that's what this was for Daryl. Was he bound to Beth, too? What had that month with Beth done to him? This was different than Sophia; that much was clear. It was more than just some sense of obligation or doing the right thing. Daryl had his code. She had told Beth as much. But the look on his face as he spoke to the group, told them that Beth was "just gone"… that look had stolen her breath. Remembering it now gave her that gnawing feeling in the pit of her stomach all over again. She idly wondered if the prison hadn't fallen, would he have searched for her with the same fervency? With the same inextinguishable hope? She doubted it.

Her eyes turned upwards, squinting in the Georgia sun. They'd been walking for hours, continuing the wild goose chase. She had disagreed with it from the start; it was only a matter of time until everyone else saw it for what it was. It would crush him, she knew. But it would be for the best. They'd been at it for more than a week. The girl was more than gone. She just wasn't made for this world. Carol knew that sounded cold, unfeeling. But it wasn't; it was just a fact. Just like with Mika. Mika. She shoved it back down. The world was different now and she couldn't be weak anymore. So, she trudged on.

xxxx

The sun was setting when they stopped to make camp. The dusky evening light filtered through the pines shading the small clearing. Carol busied herself rigging the alarm system with Rosita. We shouldn't even have to do this, she thought bitterly, remembering the abandoned house they'd come across earlier. The grim look on Rosita's face suggested she felt the same.

They had cleared and scavenged the house, coming up mostly empty handed. The supplies they'd smuggled out of Terminus were essentially gone and Daryl had only managed to bag a few squirrels. Carol had suggested they set camp then, fortify the house. Abraham and Rosita agreed. Daryl had shut them down immediately. "Still got plenty of daylight," he'd argued, "We ain't stoppin'." It took every ounce of patience she had to check her tongue. Abraham made no such effort. Out voted once again, they had continued. Of course, hours later the trail had run out, just as Carol had predicted.

Now here they were, stringing cans and hubcaps. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Rick and Daryl pouring over the tattered map that had been scavenged soon after they left Terminus. That was their nightly ritual now, picking new "points of interest". More like new wild geese to chase.

Alarms set, Carol made her way over to the fire. Maggie had the squirrels spitted over it and three cans of beans warming on the edge. Carol observed Maggie quietly; the worn planes of her young face, the wearied look in her eyes, and the determined set of her mouth. Then when Maggie looked up and gave her a small hopeful smile, something in Carol broke. She sighed inwardly. Something had to be done.

xxxx

Carol lay quietly, waiting, on the small tarp that was her bed these days. The soft sounds of the woods and hushed conversations signaled everyone settling in for the night. Everyone except him. He took first watch, as usual. She could see him, pacing slowly just beyond their camp, the soft glow of the low fire reducing him to an inky silhouette. A ghost, she thought humorlessly. With a resigned sigh, she rose and quietly made her way to him.

As she approached, he stopped his patrol. He knew she was there, but didn't turn. His disappointment was palpable, which was why it surprised her when he spoke first. "Figured you'd've come sooner," his voice low and back still to her.

She couldn't rein the small smile creeping onto her lips. "Had to work up to it," she replied wryly.

The silence stretched for a moment. "Daryl, I –," but her statement cut short when he turned to face her. All of his walls were down and the look in his eyes stopped her dead. For the second time that day, she felt something in her break. Carol didn't know exactly what she had expected to see – judgment? hatred? Those she was prepared for, those she could handle. Not this. His eyes were brimming with pain. Such excruciating pain, that it pierced Carol like a knife. Sharp blue daggers straight into her heart. And she knew instantly the silence, the disappointment, all of it… had nothing to do with her.

Carol finally managed to tear her eyes from his, choosing instead to focus on the ground. It took several slow breaths for her to check her racing mind, reduce the burning behind her eyes. Put it away. Carol realized she had chosen not to see this; wrapped up in her own bullshit. Significant bullshit, yes, but she still felt ashamed. She knew exactly what this was, this pain in his eyes. She felt the breaking in her chest all over again, certain she could actually hear it this time. Breaking for him. Breaking for the shitty situation. For Karen and David. For Mika. For Lizzie. For Tyreese. For Beth… but mostly for him. It made her feel heavy and light at the same time.

It startled her when he finally spoke. "I – I can't do this, without ya," the pain from his eyes leaching into his voice.

Despite her best effort, tears slid silently down her cheeks. "Daryl, I'm so…" her voice cracking, eyes hesitantly meeting his again.

"Naw, don't," he said quietly, mercifully looking away from her, "She would have already forgave ya."

And just like that, the broken place in her chest felt different. Something was growing there. And she finally understood. She understood the pain, the hope, the desperation. Knew what bound Daryl and Beth. Tears still streaming down her face, Carol managed a small smile. Didn't he know? Didn't he already know? She would do anything for them…for him. "We're going to find her, Daryl."

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Daryl is up next! Y'all ready? I hope I am!