Throughout the night both Carol and Daryl had a hard time sleeping and eventually gave up trying. Neither one of them said anything, but it was understood their time was short. They just laid in bed together holding each other, whispering sweet words and sharing passionate kisses.
As the sun came up, Daryl looked at Carol and in the light, saw how much she had weakened during the night. She had not let on that anything was amiss other than saying her stomach hurt from the scratch. He looked her in the eyes and quietly asked, "Wife, how are you feeling? Are you in any pain? Can I get you anything?"
She replied weakly, "I would like some water please. I am hot and my throat is so dry." Unbeknownst to her, she had been taking sips of water all night long.
"Sure, let me grab some more from the kitchen," said Daryl as he got up off the bed.
"Daryl," he stopped and turned to her with such pain in his eyes. "Please bring the others in here. I can feel the exhaustion coming on faster and I want to say goodbye, before I can't remember them being with me."
His voice held a profound sadness as he answered, "Yes, I will. Give me a minute to wake them up, ok, my rose?"
"Sure Pookie, no problem," as she closed her eyes and laid her head back on the pillow.
He closed the bedroom door behind him and sank to his knees. The tears filled his eyes and spilled over onto his cheeks as he struggled to maintain some type of control. Now was not the time to fall apart. Now was the time to do what his wife had asked of him. Wiping his face, he stood up and made his way outside only to find a majority of the group gathered on the front porch.
"We found that none of us could really sleep last night," Rick said as he grabbed Daryl's shoulder and gave it a supportive squeeze. "We wanted to be here for whatever you needed."
Daryl bit his lip as he said, "Carol wants you all to come now, she says she is tired and wants to be able to say goodbye while she can."
Abraham, Rosita, Eugene and Tara went with Daryl into the house first. After a few minutes, they came out with red rimmed eyes and walked down the driveway a bit to collect themselves.
A loud sob escaped Maggie as she made her way up the porch steps with Glenn and Sasha. Maggie still struggled with the loss of Beth not too long ago. They entered Carol's room and were distraught at how fragile Carol looked already. She smiled weakly at them and said, "Glenn, Maggie, promise me that you will keep the faith of loving another person alive. It is good for the group to see that through the two of you, there can be sun in the midst of all this dark. Will you do that for me?"
"Of course we will," said Glenn as he held onto Maggie while she wept. They each took turns giving Carol a hug goodbye and she gently whispered, "I love you," to both of them.
"Sasha, I want to thank you again for your help with getting me out of the hospital. I know how hard things have been recently with the loss of Bob and Tyreese. Stay strong and know how much the group relies on you," Carol sàid. Sasha nodded as she leaned over and and hugged Carol telling her, "You will always hold a place in my heart for getting us out of Terminus, Carol."
They left the room with heavy hearts as Carol turned to Daryl who sat quietly next to her stroking her arm. "Daryl, thank you for being here. I know this isn't easy for you, but I love the strength that I draw from you in order to do this. It brings peace to my heart."
He caressed her cheek as they heard a noise at the door. "This is the only place I want to be my wife," he whispered in her ear as Rick, Michonne, Carl and Judith came in.
Rick struggled to stay strong as he saw Carol laying on the bed. Her eyes had lost their blue sparkle and she looked worn out. Carl and Judith walked up to Carol first and Carol held out her arms to hold Judith. "Hey Judy-Boodie, how's my sweet girl?" asked Carol with as much enthusiasm as she could muster.
"Caro, Caro! Hi Caro!" said Judith as she touched Carol's cheeks. "Cry? No cry Caro."
"It's ok sweet pea, Carol is just happy to get sugar from her Judy-Boodie. Give me a kiss." Judith leaned over and gave Carol a big smack and then jumped down and ran to Michonne. Michonne scooped her up and held her close.
Carl went over and sat down by Carol, but would not make eye contact with her. Carol saw the tears as they rolled down his cheeks and nose. She grabbed his hand, "Carl, look at me." He looked up at her and said abruptly, "This sucks! This whole thing freakin sucks! You know what!? Now is a time I wish we were in a jumbo jet. Right now! You wouldn't be...dy-dying if we were in that plane!"
"I know, Carl, I know." She thought back to the time when they were on guard duty at the prison and they had that conversation. She was surprised he remembered that. "Carl, promise me you will be safe. Always make safe choices and help your dad take care of Judith. I am so proud of you Carl and I love you."
He stood up and went to his dad to get comfort only Rick could give him. He tucked himself in Rick's neck and a sob filled "I love you too," could be heard. Rick shook his head and caught Carol's eye. "Carol, I know we have not always agreed on how things happened with the group. I know one thing is for sure. I will never forget how you saved us from Terminus. When I think of what they could have done to Carl...I can't breathe at the thought. Thank you for always stepping up to take care of whatever needed to be done. We could always count on you. I am sorry that we didn't get to...to you in time. I love you Carol and I promise you that I will take care of your husband."
Carol's shoulders shook with the emotion she felt over Rick's words. "Thank you Rick, I love you too. You taught me so much and I know deep down, that if I hadn't been part of your group, I would have died long ago. Take care of these precious babies." He nodded his head and went over to get Judith from Michonne.
Michonne leaned over to Carol and whispered quietly, "I am not a woman of many words, as you know. The thing I do know, is you saved me from a gruesome death. Thank you for that and thank you for becoming a total bad ass. Much love girl."
"Love you too Michonne. Watch out for Rick and the kids," said Carol with a smirk. Michonne turned, grabbed the handle of her katana and said, "No worries."
Over the next few hours Carol's health deteriorated quickly. Daryl never left her side and made sure she was comfortable.
"I love you my handsome husband," Carol whispered between shortened breaths. "You are so wonderful and have such a caring soul. I am so lucky to have known you and I promise Sophia and I will watch over you. Remember, what we talked about. Look for the signs I send you...a breeze that smells like me, a Cherokee Rose in bloom, a mention of my name...it will be me."
He looked into her eyes as he ran his fingers gently through her hair, "I love you my rose. You have given me so much joy in such a horrible time. You are an amazing woman and I was so lucky to meet you." His voice was thick as he murmured, "It's ok now Carol, you can let go."
She closed her eyes, relaxed into her pillow and after a few more minutes, Carol drew in a few more breaths and did just that.
Daryl began to sob loudly as he took his knife out and made sure she would be at peace forever.