Carol

When I woke up, I couldn't remember where I was. My eyes were focused at the white ceiling where the painting was coming off… and then it all came back to me. Walkers had split up the group, and T-Dog had… When I remembered how he died, my stomach turned and twisted, and I was sure I was going to be sick. I tried to move my head outside the bed, but a sudden headache forced me to go back to opening position.

"Carol!" A girl's voice almost made me jump. "You're awake." I heard the sound of a chair being pushed back, and footsteps against the floor, before Beth took her place at the side of my bed. I didn't feel sick anymore, but my stomach was just a tied knot I didn't know how to undo.

"How do you feel?"

"T-Dog… He didn't make it." My voice is barely carrying my words.

"We know." Beth's face went so quickly from excitement, to sorrow that I couldn't stand looking at her anymore. The expression on her face made me feel even worse.

We sat in silence for a while, not saying a word. I thought about T-Dog, and how he had given his life for me. How he must have suffered when they bit him, over and over again. The pictures that ran across my mind, was interrupted by a soft clinking-sound I couldn't place. It came closer until it stopped almost right behind me.

"Beth, how is… Carol!" Hershel's voice sounded joyful when he realised I was awake, but when I saw him, it didn't match his face. "How are you feeling, dear?"

"Like a train ran over my head," I said hoarse, with tears blocking my sight. But I was smiling, I was glad to see him. I was glad to see both of them. Thanks to two of the best men on this earth, I was still alive. Now there was only one of them left.

I got up from bed and gave them both a hug. My body was aching, but I didn't mind. I was back, and still alive. That was a blessing that made me hope for the future. Just then, Daryl decided to pop up in my mind for some reason. I frowned by the thought of him, but suddenly I remembered his face when he found me. There was something in his eyes I didn't catch then, but looking back, I remembered. It was shock, relief, but also some kind of affection. In the way he had touched my cheek, and how he gently lifted me off the floor. Did I hit my head really bad, or was I right about my observations?