Anything recognizable is the property of the appropriate owners. I do not make any claim to ownership, nor do I make any money from this.
Note: I have not seen past Season 4, Episode 9: After.
Warning: Things get rough here. Read at your own discretion.
When he wasn't out looking for the Governor, Daryl skulked through the prison, close enough should he be needed, but far enough away to avoid anyone he didn't want to talk to, which was just about everyone. He listened and observed, still half sure that the Governor had an inside man, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Frankly, the hunter was surprised with what kinds of things people got up to when they thought no one was watching. He knew who liked to go streaking through the tombs, who ate their boogers, and who was screwing who, but he resolutely avoided lurking around Carol.
He still told himself that it was none of his business, but she had been persistent in trying to talk to him for a couple of weeks after he left her sitting in the wet grass. She would bring him meals as had been her routine since the farm, but he managed to never let her alone with him, partially because he didn't want to know the particulars of her relationship with Tyreese, but mostly because he was afraid he would say something stupid and ruin whatever comfort she had managed to find with the big man. Yet no matter how many times he told himself that the older woman had a fully capable man looking after her now, Daryl couldn't completely stay away from Carol. From the shadows and across the common area, he watched her go about her day, smiling at everyone and always pulling on the sleeves of her shirts. It reminded him of how she was when he had first seen her creeping through the woods just for a moment of peace from her abusive husband but she had grown so much since then.
Daryl let himself indulge in some of his favorite memories with the silver haired woman. All of the times she made sure he ate, sewing up all the torn seams on his shirts so they wouldn't fray. Not to mention her thin arms wrapped around his middle as they dodged walkers on the bike, or the time she let him rub her shoulder for a moment when they first arrived at the prison. He should have taken her up on her offer to fool around, would have if he had known then what he did now; but the hunter had no idea how to even go about accepting an offer like that, let alone how to really treat a woman. Not that it mattered now, slim pickings and all. Besides, who would want to put up with him? The hunter started packing up his trimmings from making new bolts, and a deep chuckle from further down the catwalk drew his attention. Tyreese and that Karen chick were standing in front of one of the cells, probably thinking they were alone as they joked together, her hand reaching out to tap the big man playfully on the elbow.
The rough man narrowed his eyes at the pair further down, knowing enough to recognize that they were flirting and he wondered how Carol fit in. He had hesitated to think of Tyreese and Karen together, but their quick, but explicit kiss before parting made it hard to ignore. Daryl's first instinct was to run to Carol and tell her what he'd seen, but then he remembered that it was none of his business what other adults did together.
Still, when he thought he heard muffled crying coming from her cell or saw her hug herself tightly and disappear for hours after watch, the sole surviving Dixon wondered if maybe he shouldn't broach the subject of Tyreese's apparent infidelity, just to make sure she was happy. Especially after he noticed her smiles getting thinner and the fact that she seemed to spend a lot of time avoiding the big man, only to follow him into the tombs after dinner. And now that he was looking, Daryl realized it had been weeks since he had seen her wear anything but long sleeves, even when elbow deep in laundry out in the hot Georgia summer sun. He finally made up his mind to have a good long talk with the silver haired woman when the literal shit hit the proverbial fan and people started coughing up blood and then she wasn't there anymore.
Then the Governor's attack left everyone running for their lives. Daryl wasn't sure anyone else had even gotten out by the time he made it into the trees long enough to look back. All he could do was run from the herds drawn by the artillery fire and hope. When he finally paused long enough to catch his breath, he was miles away and utterly alone. The hunter barely spared a moment to mourn what was lost at the prison before he was scoping out the surroundings, looking for any sign of walkers, checking for defendable structures, and searching for supplies. At least he had his bow, and more than a few useful skills, better off than just about anyone else on his own, but all the skills in the world wouldn't save his ass if his luck ran out. As he stalked along, peeking in windows for anything useful, Daryl realized that he was in just about the same situation as Carol when Rick abandoned her, and the same place. Well if the wheel doesn't come full circle.
