A/N: 1/24/2015
wildcow258: Thank you! I thought it was the perfect place to end that chapter :D And yes, keeping group morale is important too, so Axel's not completely useless, lol ^^
gibbymom: Haha yep, poor Axel indeed. Thank you!
Stargate533: As you should be! It won't end on a very friendly note!
Reading time: 5 mins.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead.
"I never truly learned what the words 'I miss you' were until I reached for your hand and you weren't there."
- Unknown~
Chapter four: Not Ready~
Back?
How could he be back?
He was gone, left to be with his brother.
How could he just suddenly burst back into her life after so long of an absence?
It didn't make sense.
...How could he be back?
"Where is he?" She asked once they were alone.
Rick bowed his head. "Outside. Been wantin' to see you since he got here."
"And how long has he been here?" She asked, placing a hand on her chest and avoiding his gaze.
"About an hour," he said truthfully, placing his hands on his hips.
She stayed quiet.
"Hm."
Rick shifted on his feet, uncomfortable with her silence.
"...You know, if you want, I could tell him you're not-"
"I want to see him," she said, cutting him off.
He looked at her, surprised and maybe a little disbelieving.
"...You sure?" He asked, brows raised.
She nodded. "Yes."
He tried searching her face for signs of uncertainty, but she turned her head away and cast her eyes down so he couldn't see.
It was stupid, she knew. And childish. But she had never been comfortable with long, hard stares from people, and although she could handle them now, they only reminded her of how Ed used to scrutinize her face. When he bothered to look at her, that was. Still, she saw no need to oblige in letting Rick decide whether or not she was lying. She wasn't lying. And she didn't need her best friend to go into 'Sheriff mode' and decide that for her.
"...Okay," he said after a while. "I'll let him know you're comin'."
He turned on his heel and left, going back the way he'd come down the hall and past the cells, and Carol sighed.
Axel chose that moment to reappear from around the corner.
"Wow," he said, and her head shot up to look at him. "That sounded heavy. Like some kinda...Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, 'force' stuff or somethin'...Luke Skywalker is a character from-"
She hastily nodded her head, a quiet chuckle rising from her throat. "Yes, I know."
He nodded, stepping closer so that he was standing next to her, and smiled, the ends of his blond mustache curling up with the movement.
She wasn't sure how, but she was still able to smile despite the dire situation Rick had just presented to her. She was going to be face to face with Daryl in a few minutes, the person who had gone and left her without saying goodbye, who she'd wished she'd forgiven, who she'd thought was her friend.
Axel slowly dropped his smile, realizing full well that what she'd been discussing with Rick had been beyond the scope of being fixed by a simple Star Wars joke.
"You know," he said, and she looked curiously at him. "I may not be the smartest man alive, but I know an unhappy lady when I see one."
Carol bowed her head and smiled softly, grateful of his efforts to make her better. He continued.
"I may not know exactly what you're goin' through, but I do know one thing. If you're ever feelin' down about yourself, just-"
"WHERE IS SHE?!"
There was a loud bang, and the doors on the far end of the hall burst open to reveal a fuming Daryl Dixon.
He was walking - well, stalking, really - towards she and Axel as Rick and Glenn tried to calm him down. His eyes were downcast, and he viciously wrenched his arm away when Rick tried to slow him down, and the Sheriff briefly stopped in keeping up with the younger man's stride to send her an apologetic look.
"Why the hell won't ya let me see 'er?!" He yelled, clearly pissed.
He came to stand at the edge of the hall, just beyond the cells and just outside the open room she and Axel occupied, and he finally lifted his eyes from the floor to look at her.
She swore that for a moment, the world stopped.
And as he stared at her, it slowly started back up...
"Who's this?" Axel asked politely, and Daryl's eyes landed scrutinizingly on him as the stranger put an arm around Carol's shoulders.
And then it stopped again.
A/N: Oooh, Axel's gonna be in trouuuuble. And Carol's gonna have some explaining to do O.O
Sorry to cut you off like this, but this is a short story, so I wanted short chapters...plus I wanted to be able to include all my quotes XD They will get longer starting with the next one though, so be prepared for 7-10 minutes of reading.
Well, judging from my posting habits so far, see you tomorrow! :D
