Night Owl

A/N: Chapter 2! Woo lets do this, right guys?!

McBrideReedusLover.~

Carol stepped out of the little office, letting out a breath. The meeting had been rather intense, especially between her and Morgan. The two of them were total opposites in how they viewed the world. She could understand where he was coming from, but not all life was precious. No, the lives of those Wolves who killed their family, they weren't precious. They all deserved death. And if he couldn't see that... He was going to cause them all a major problem.

She rubbed her forehead, heading towards the lookout stand. Maybe he'd show up today. Just as she was climbing, she saw a car in the distance. The same car they took to distract the large herd of walkers. Hope filled her heart, and she hurried to find Rick. They would need to draw the walkers away from the gate in order for the car to enter safely.

"Rick!" She was running, gripping the rifle she carried with her, to keep it from bouncing around on her back. "The car, it's them! They're back." She panted, looking to him for guidance. He too, started to run then, gathering people along the way to distract the walkers. Her, she went to the gate, smiling to herself when the car pulled up.

With the walkers successfully distracted, she opened the gate, motioning for them to hurry. As soon as they entered, she locked it shut, hurrying for the car. Finally, Daryl was home.

Abe and Sasha stepped out of the vehicle. She was relieved that they were safe, yes. But there was something wrong. She knew it. Her mind immediately flashed back to the prison, when Daryl had left with his brother. She'd been worried sick back then, and she was worried sick.

The smile faded, and she walked over to the large man. "Daryl..."

He looked down at her, and he looked sorry. God, was he dead? She couldn't handle something like that.

"Thought we were safe. We had been, it was clear. Just as he was coming for the car, they all just... Flooded in. Told us to go and he ran for it. We couldn't wait for him, Carol. Sorry." His large hand found her shoulder, as a way of comfort.

Typical Daryl. Had to be the hero, didn't he? Damn him. She shrugged the hand from her shoulder, and walked coolly towards the house. On her way, she passed Morgan. She met his gaze, her hurt disappearing momentarily, being replaced with disgust. He looked down, and she continued on her way.

Carol waited until she was in the safety of her room, before she let her emotions loose. The tears slid down her cheeks slowly, dropping onto her shirt. "Idiot." She whispered, shaking her head. He always did this. Played the hero. Too many times she'd almost lost him because of it. With Sophia, he was nearly killed, twice. Now he was alone again, and who knows how far away.

Wiping her eyes, she looked up at the ceiling. "You better make it back, you hear me?" She stated into the silence, like he could hear her. She felt so many emotions. Anger, hurt, distress. It all flooded her like a tidal wave. She laid back on the bed, her arm now covering her eyes. She just prayed he made it back soon, and alive. Or else she'd go out there, and she'd find him herself.

~Night Owl~

Daryl leaned against a tree, panting rather heavily. He'd managed to outrun the herd for now, but who knows how long it'd be before they were back on his tail. It figured that he couldn't have a break. If there was a God, he was a jackass. Punching the bark on the tree out of frustration, he huffed.

There was a snap, and he whipped around, bow raised and at the ready. His finger was on the trigger, ready to pull and send the arrow flying.

The body emerged from the bush, and he lowered his weapon, as did the other. He couldn't really believe his eyes. He glanced around, before he walked towards the familiar face.

"What the hell are you doin' out here? I thought you'd be back with the rest of 'em." Daryl shook his head, and clapped the Korean on the shoulder.

"Shit went south, as you'd say." Glenn grinned, and wiped his brow. "Got separated from the group, and then got surrounded. I hid under a dumpster for days, Daryl." He exclaimed. The information caused Daryl to smirk, regardless of how exhausted and angry he was.

"Explains why you smell like one of them, then." The archer, relaxed slightly. "We ain't gonna be alone for long. Got a herd the size of Texas headin' for my ass. We gotta go. Find out way back."

Glenn nodded his head, and pointed behind Daryl. "You were going the wrong way, dumbass." He chuckled quietly. "That's the way home. Or at least, the way to one of the markers. If we can get there, we can signal we're almost home. They can help us."

Daryl wasn't about to argue. He nodded his head, turning to walk with the younger man. Both of them were eager to get home, and get to the women that they loved.

~Night Owl~

Carol was walking the streets with Judith in her arms, when Maggie rushed past. The look on her face was that of excitement and hope. Her eyes went to the sky, where she saw a dozen balloons floating by. That must mean Glenn was okay. She smiled a little. At least they knew Glenn was safe. That he was alive, and he was safe.

"Looks like Uncle Glenn is okay." Carol cooed to the infant in her arms. She seemed to just look at her. Carol could see Lori in her. Her heart ached for her fallen friend. She missed her, along with all the others they'd lost.

"Come on, Judy. Let's bring you inside." She headed for the house. She pushed open the door, and saw Carl standing by the window. Offering a smile, Carol handed over Judith. "It's your big brother. He's gonna look after you for a while now."

"Did you see those balloons?" Carl asked, balancing Judith on his hip. "One of the signs that someone is okay. Do you think it was Glenn?"

"Who else would it be?" Carol smiled, a little sadly. It likely wouldn't be Daryl. From what she heard, they weren't near the markers. "I bet he's going to be here by tonight."

Satisfied with Carol's response, Carl took Judith upstairs. That left Carol on her own. She didn't want to dwell on how Daryl was out there alone, so she decided to cook. Cooking took her to a different world. She always would cook or bake back before the world ended. It was a good distraction from how her life was. How it had all turned out.

Stepping into the kitchen, she noticed a note, along with two little bars of chocolate. Her brows furrowed as she picked up the paper. It was written in crayon, and she immediately knew without even reading who it was from.

I stole some more chocolate for cookies. Thanks. Sam.

Rolling her eyes, she pulled out the recipe. That kid and his damn cookies. He was obsessed. With the cookies and with her it seemed. He hung around her more than his own mother. She tried her hardest to push him away, distance herself from another child. She already suffered three losses, she didn't need to add another to that list.

Preheating the oven, she got to work, making the cookie dough, portioning it onto a baking sheet. She went so far as to hum to keep out the silence. As she normally did, she was lost in the process. She didn't even realize that it was almost dark by the time she finished all the baking. With a soft sigh, she put a dozen on a different plate, and wrapped it for Sam.

Walking over to the Anderson household, she knocked on the door. She was thankful that Pete was gone. Another man like her own husband wasn't needed, especially in this world.

Jessie was the one to open the door. Carol smiled, holding out the plate. "I just came to drop by some cookies for Sam. He asked for them earlier."

"Oh, thank you, Carol. You know I'm sorry, about him. You don't have to keep doing this. I know it must be troubling for you." The woman smile, offering up an apology to which Carol just shrugged off.

"It's okay." She said softly. "I don't mind. Distracts me."

Her attention was brought towards the gate, when she heard it open. And what she saw, shocked and surprised her. But overall, she was ready to burst into tears. She couldn't stop herself, as she ran for the gate.

~Night Owl~

It had taken a long time for the two of them to figure out a way to get past the walkers. Clearly, the plan had failed worse than they imagined. The walkers were all at the town, surrounding the fences, desperate to get in. But by the looks of things, it was still in tact. Nothing bad had gone down, from what they were aware of, anyway.

It was Rick who had spotted them, and cleared a path for them. They ran, getting in the gates and back into the safety of Alexandria. Both of them were sweaty, dirty, and downright exhausted.

Daryl stepped to the side when Maggie came running. He chuckled quietly when she literally knocked the kid on his ass. As annoyed as he got with their continuous displays of affection, he had to admit, it was sweet. They managed to find something worth living in this world. And it took Daryl a long ass time to realize that he'd found the same thing, with a certain silver haired fox.

Speaking of which, his eyes moved to the figure running for him. Carol. His Carol. His heart melted, and his feet were carrying him before he knew. He met her half way, arms closing around her frame. Her thin, but toned arms wound around his neck, and he held her close.

Daryl heard her sniffle, and he only hugged her tighter. He couldn't, well actually he could imagine how upset she'd been when he was gone, because he was upset too, being without her. Especially because lately, they hadn't been on the greatest terms.

"You're home." Her words were muffled against his shoulder, as she clung to him. He couldn't speak, so he just simply nodded. After they shared another long embrace like they had back after Terminus, she did something he had not at all been expecting.

She slapped him.

"What the hell?" He frowned, his hand coming up to his cheek.

"That's for being so stupid and playing hero again. You could've gotten killed, again!" There was a fury in her eyes, and it was oddly hot to him.

"Look, m'sorry. But we all would've died if I hadn't. And I didn't get killed, I'm here ain't I?" He rubbed his face, which was stinging a bit now.

Carol let out a huff, and grabbed his arm, dragging him away from the crowd and towards the house. She wanted to hear everything that happened while he was gone. All the details. They had a lot of things to talk about now. And she wouldn't rest until they were all out on the table.

A/N: Chapter 2 complete! There might only be one chapter left, now that I think about it. I don't see it going anywhere else haha. But I promise, the sweet sexy times will come next chapter!

McBrideReedusLover.~