( Holy cow! Been trying to post this chapter for two days now! Kept getting errors xD Hopefully you guys will enjoy it and it will make up for the wait. )
Daryl shut the water off and stepped out of the shower, grabbing a towel to wrap around Carol. "The fact yer the one thing I've always needed in my life, might be how."
Carol snuggled into the warm towel. "I don't deserve you." He insisted on drying her off, so she leaned against him and started thinking. It didn't make sense to her why she never felt good enough for anyone. Figured it had to do with Ed brainwashing her into believing he was the only person who would ever find interest in someone so worthless.
"No one else but you does." With a quick kiss he let her go to get himself dry.
"Guess there aren't any other women tugging at your heart then?" She winked only teasing him and slipped on a robe that had been left there by the Hotel.
"Actually..." He paused and slowly walked over to her. "We need to talk about Beth."
At first she tensed, not sure what he meant by the statement, but he was quick to make sure she understood after the look of terror spread across her face. "Not that I'm interested in her..." He had to chuckle, a little amused she would even think that. "But she is pissed about us."
"W..what?" Carol stammered, trying to figure out why the situation would bother Beth. "How do you know?"
"She questioned why I chose you. Implying she was another option." The moment replayed over in his head again as he remembered her yelling for an answer from him. It pained him in a way since he really cared about the young blonde, but those types of feelings weren't there. He saw her like a little sister and knew every time he rejected her a little piece of the innocent girl she once was chipped away.
"Should I talk to her?" She bent down to pick up their dirty clothes and waited until Daryl had a towel around his waist to reach for the door knob. It was a conversation she didn't even know where to start with.
"What would you say?" His arm extended to keep the door shut while they finished talking. They were in the bathroom connected to the bedroom they shared, but he still didn't want the others to hear them.
"That I don't know, I mean..." She stepped back to lean against the wall before continuing. "What is this exactly?"
Daryl's forehead crinkled as he looked across the room. Keeping his eyes away from her on purpose. "I guess it's whatever you want it to be." A part of him grew uneasy, wondering if letting her make the call would come back and bite him in the ass, but it was ultimately her choice.
"Daryl, I love you." She reached out to take his hand. "Have for a long time and the way I see it, I'm not looking forward to any part of my life that doesn't have you in it."
He sighed and squeezed her hand, turning to meet those beautiful blue eyes of hers. "Wasn't plannin' on letting you go either way. Was somethin' I told myself when I went to find you." He pulled her into his arms then, just so she knew it was true.
"What happened to the ignorant redneck that only care about himself and his brother?" Carol asked curiously, her voice vibrating against his chest.
"He died the day you put that pick axe through Ed's face." His lips brushed against her hair as he spoke.
"So blood and guts is what gets you going?" Carol joked, kind of glad she could talk about her former husband in that way and it not make her overwhelmed.
Daryl shifted so he could look at her. "Just made me realize there are people out there far worse off than myself. That maybe I could make a difference and help someone. That I had to grow up and stop lettin' my brother drag me down."
"You always were the nice one." Carol moved away from him finally with a smile, knowing they couldn't be locked in there forever with food that needed to be cooked and the end of the world to tend to. "If it gets brought up again with Beth do you want me to say something? Or are you going to handle it yourself?"
"I got it." That was something he was certain he could take care of, whether or not Beth handled it in a mature manner was a different story. The two of them went to get dressed and he paused at the pile of clothes he had never seen before that were sitting on top of the dresser.
Carol tossed their dirty clothes to the side so she could wash them later and saw him eying the stack of new ones. "Beth and I found them today on our run. Didn't know what you'd like, but its better than the two pairs of jeans you have."
He grabbed the first pair of pants and slid them on, a perfect fit. "Thanks." Next came a grey long sleeved button down shirt that he didn't bother closing and looked at himself in the mirror. The sleeves would definitely have to go since it was summer, but he didn't want to just start shredding it in front of Carol like he wasn't grateful.
Once she was dressed they went back out to their makeshift half kitchen where Carl and Beth were sitting on the bar stools talking. Didn't take long before one of them called them out on their alone time.
"Are we gonna have to get you guys a muzzle?" Beth teased, which caused Carl to snicker and shake his head.
Carol stayed quiet and started to blush as she returned to making the potatoes. Daryl just rolled his eyes and grabbed the bowl of meat that someone had taken the time to washed off. "No idea what yer talkin' bout." He grinned and walked out onto the balcony where they had made a place to grill the squirrel.
The chill in the air from the summer night breeze had Carol and Beth wrapped in a blanket, leaned against the sliding glass door while Daryl and Carl grilled. It was peaceful. No sounds of walkers, no gun shots, no threats as the small family relaxed and enjoyed sitting outside in each others company. There was little conversation, but the girls seemed entertained watching Daryl teach Carl how to cool like a man. At least that's what Daryl kept saying. Insisting eating out of a can wasn't for real men.
"Stop playing with the fire." Daryl knocked the stick out of Carl's hand playfully when he kept poking at it.
Carl grumbled with a grin and moved to lay on his back so he could look up at the stars. His legs dangled through the bars around the balcony, thinking about Judith and his Dad. Wondering if it was a bad thing he was actually happy in that moment with just the four of them for the first time since they separated.
"Giving up already?" Daryl asked as he flipped the meat so it would cook evenly.
Carl tuned his head. "Just thinking." He lifted one of his legs to rest his foot against a chair.
"Bout what?" Daryl met the boys eyes for a minute and went to place some of the squirrel on a plate. Hoping he was doing alright, knowing this new setting might be hard to deal with.
Carl looked back up at the sky. "That this isn't bad." He picked up the stick he had before and idly tapped the railing with it quietly. "I guess if this were to be permanent, I'm glad I got stuck with you all."
With the fears of his previous thought aside Daryl smiled, feeling the same way. He was glad the kid was thinking about the future and accepting where life was leading him, instead of dwelling on what could of been.
"I agree." Beth piped up before Daryl could respond. As much as she wanted to find the others, at least she knew with them she'd be safe.
Daryl stayed quiet and watched out of the corner of his eye as Carl roll over on his stomach to look at the young woman. "Really?" Since they had been there Beth seemed to be the one taking everything the hardest.
She nodded and gave him a smile. Much like Carl she was growing to understand that this right now could be it. They may not end up with anything better or even have each other the next day. Everything could change in a split second and one wrong move or choice could be the end. It was something Daryl had come to appreciate over time. Finding himself more grateful for every little thing that happened. Every bit of hope, happiness, something as small as a smile were now things he looked forward to seeing. They had become so rare now a days. His life before was so full of anger and chaos, never opening up to anyone, always alone and quiet. That's when his eyes drifted over to Carol, who had fallen asleep leaning against Beth's shoulder. Knowing she was the reason he had changed so much over the past two years. She needed to eat, but he didn't have the heart to wake her. Not after the week she suffered of stress and insomnia while worrying about his fate. He handed Carl the plate of food once the meat was cooked and Beth put out the fire, careful not to stir Carol when she moved. Daryl gently lifted Carol into his arms and went to put her to bed. Surprised she didn't wake at all.
Carol jerked awake the next morning with a gasp, almost giving Daryl a heart attack who had been spooned up behind her asleep. He sat up fast and let her go confused. "What's wrong?"
She sighed and leaned against the headboard. "Sorry, just a bad dream." After a minute she got out of bed to get ready for the day, not saying anything else.
Daryl waited to see if she would need him, but she obviously didn't want to talk about it. He respected her privacy and went to join her in getting ready.
Beth and Carl were already awake and in the living room playing cards. Both fully geared up and patiently waiting to start the search. Carl even had a map spread out on the floor beside him and marked off where they were currently located. He wanted to go back to the prison and see if anyone got left behind or if anyone came looking for them, but it wasn't his call. To everyone else he was just a kid, unable to make a decision that important, so he was going to have to try his hardest to convince the others it was a good idea.
After much debate the boy was surprise everyone agreed to checking there first. It was the only place any of them could think the others would go and had been. The potential dangers of the prison were addressed and everyone was fully prepared for what could happen. They didn't need to be caught off guard.
Beth, Carol and Carl piled into the station wagon and Daryl lead them on his bike. It hadn't dawned on them just how far they had traveled until it felt like it was taking forever to get there. Carl was constantly checking the map to make sure they were going the right way and finally the familiar hill came in to sight and he knew exactly what was on the other side.
The prison was almost in ruins. Not the safe haven they once called home. Fences were down, towers fallen, walls crumbled and the grounds were covered with walkers. It was hard to believe anyone was able to survive there, but they couldn't leave without giving it a chance. The walkers in the yard were at least spread out enough to where they could get around them easily.
Once their transportation was parked outside the fences they split into groups. Carol and Carl went around one way and Beth and Daryl took the entrance to the tombs. It wasn't ideal for them to leave one another, but they could get in and out faster this way with more ground covered.
Carol and Carl ran up the gravel path, killing several walkers along the way while trying to avoid drawing attention to themselves. They passed many of The Governor's men that were now laying in the grass torn to pieces and a few shuffling around with the other brain dead corpses. Sadly many good people they had rescued from The Governor's town were with them.
Carl took his machete to the side of a walkers head as it approached Carol. She had been in the process of getting a door open and jumped when the blood splattered against her face, quickly she moved a hand to wipe it away. "Ugh."
"Sorry." Carl apologized and reached up to clean her face off with a handkerchief he had in his back pocket.
"You don't have to do that." She insisted and took it from him to finish herself. "Thank you though."
He smirked and lead the way inside slowly. Making sure to stay on alert so there weren't anymore surprises. Only one walker lingered around the entrance to cell block C and Carl took it out in one slash to the face, it collapsed to the floor with the other bodies in a second. Someone had come through there since the attack because the bodies all had gun shot wounds to the head and the hall was covered in walker guts, blood and the foul smell of rotting flesh.
Carol stayed behind in the room where they used to store their food and weapons to see if anything was worth taking. A few rounds of ammo and some guns were still sitting on a table and she stuff them into her bag along with what ever food she could find. After gathering anything useful she kept an eye out for any notes or clues to where the others had gone, but came up empty. It wasn't until she heard what sounded like Carl's machete hitting the floor with a clank that she stopped searching and went to find him.
"Carl?" Carol called and got no response. Panic set in and she ran down the hall of their old cell block about to call his name again when she saw him standing there frozen once she rounded the corner. His weapon sat at his feet and he just stared at the sight unfolded in front of him.
In the middle of a circle of walker corpses sat Rick. His now lifeless body was leaned back against the wall with a self inflicted gun shot wound to the head, from the looks of it he had fought his way inside after being shot in the leg and ended up getting over run. There were bite marks on his forearm and shoulder which lead to his decision of taking his own life.
"I'm so sorry." Carol whispered and wrapped her arms around the boy from behind. He instantly turned in her hold and cried against her chest. A part of Carol hurt just as bad as he did in that moment, but she had to keep it together for him. Even after Rick dismissed her from the prison she still respected him. He was a good man and it made her heart ache to see him go in such a violent way. Alone and fighting with everything he had to stay alive. She couldn't help but shed a few tears herself and tried to move Carl away from the scene.
He went willingly and she bent to pick up his machete, heading back to the exit. The chance of someone actually being there after witnessing that was slim to none.
Carol held him close until they were outside and he moved away from her to kick the metal cage that protected them, sobbing. He gripped the fence and dropped his head against it. "Its not fair...all my Dad ever did was try to help people. Even before all of this..."
"I know sweetie." Carol tried to go to him.
"No you don't! You don't know anything!" Carl yelled and jerked away from her.
Despite his rejection she pulled him into her embrace once more. Knowing he needed some sort of comfort and was only angry at her because he didn't know how to deal with his feelings. The whole situation was even overwhelming for her.
They stood there together for several minutes, to the point where Carol's shirt was soaked with his tears. She stroked his hair, trying to get him to calm down even though she knew there truly wasn't anything she could say or do to make his pain go away. However having someone there with you in a time of grief was better than being alone. He had to know even with his father gone she would still always be there for him.
"Do we have to do this now?" Daryl griped as they walked the tombs and not exactly in silence. Beth hadn't stopped talking since they stepped foot inside.
"It's just a simple question." Beth pushed, stepping over a rotting corpse.
Daryl sighed and stopped. "Because I love her." He admitted with a glare. Hoping she would get the point he didn't want to talk about it.
"Before all of this you hardly even looked at her. Every time she would flirt you would act oblivious or tell her to knock it off." Which is why Beth always assumed he wasn't interested. Leading to her gaining a crush and thinking she had a chance.
"You spyin' on me?" Daryl's temper rose thinking he couldn't even have his own privacy.
"No." Beth was quick to reply. "Everyone has seen it. The way she looks at you. How she talks to you. You were the only one too blind to notice apparently and now you suddenly love her?"
Daryl growled and closed his eyes to not get angry and started walking again. Figuring saying nothing was the best thing to do. However much like he anticipated she didn't stop there, but he continued to listen as she followed closely.
"You were the only close friend I had. I told you everything and thought there was something special between us." Beth tried to get him to understand why she had the type of feelings she did.
"Why would you want an old man like me anyways?" As much as he didn't want to have this conversation, he knew if he stayed silent she would keep going. He did feel bad though that he had given her false hope by getting close. All this time thinking he was just being a good person.
"You aren't old." Beth informed and grabbed the handle of her knife when she heard a shuffling sound in the distance.
Daryl caught sight of a small heard with his light after going around a corner and turned to grab Beth when she yelped at seeing it, covering her mouth from behind and pulled her into a room. He crouched down with her between his legs and leaned against the wall to stay out of view. The door was still cracked so he turned the flash light off trying to stay quiet as they passed. Beth's heart pounding through her back against his chest made him keep his hand over her mouth, afraid she would make a sound and give away their location if he let her go.
He tensed when she moved to grip his thigh and he carefully reached down to take her hand in his free one, knowing she was scared. At least at first he thought that's why she did it. When she shifted closer to him to where her ass was pressed against his crotch he knew it wasn't out of fear. He swallowed hard and moved his hand from hers to grab her hip and slide her forward away from him gently.
"Please." She whispered from behind his hand on her mouth and he could feel tears falling down her cheeks, puddling against his skin.
Daryl sighed and dropped his head against the wall. "Don't do this." He whispered back, she was going to get them killed.
Beth turned in his hold to where her hip was now between his legs instead of her ass so she could see his face. It was dark, but she still made out his features once her eyes adjusted. "I have no one. After Zach...we might not make it out of here..." Her breathing was heavier from crying and he instantly felt guilty. Guilty for getting her boyfriend killed and guilty for getting himself in this mess by letting their friendship get so deep. "Just kiss me." Beth demanded softly with a whimper.
Daryl bit his lip and everything racing through his head was telling him to get out of there and away from her, but on the other hand when a woman was crying in front of him it was hard to think rationally. He always tried to fix everyones problems and didn't have it in him to be an asshole to her when she was this upset. After cursing to himself he reached out to cup her cheek and pull her to his lips. She eagerly moved against his mouth in a slow lingering motion that probably would of taken his breath away under different circumstances. One of her hands gripped the back of his neck as he slid his tongue in her mouth and shifted them forward so she was laying on the cold cement. He moved over top of her and kicked the door shut so it latched quietly once the herd passed, never breaking the kiss. It wasn't until she moaned into his mouth that he realized just how wrong this was and pulled away before he allowed himself to continue.
Beth tried to grab the front of his vest to bring him back, but instead he pinned her wrists to the floor beside her head to prevent that from happening. "I can't..." He admitted, keeping his voice low.
She lifted her head to kiss the side of his neck and tried to wrap one of her legs around his hip since he was still between hers. "Stop." Daryl hissed and that's when he completely moved. Shifting to grab both her wrists in one of his hands and used his free one to remove her leg from around him. He then held her hip down so he could straddle her waist to keep her from trying anything else. "Now I want you to listen to me. Got it?" The flashlight was in reach so he turned it on to make sure she was going to pay attention, but left it laying in the floor so the light bounced off the wall and wasn't directly in their faces.
Beth nodded hesitantly.
Daryl let her hands go once she stopped fighting and leaned in closer to meet her eyes. "I care about you a lot. All of you mean the world to me, but this has got to stop. I love Carol and she is the only woman I want." Beth frowned and he was quick to make sure the water works didn't appear. "No, you don't get to do that." He moved off her and sat down so he could lean against the wall again and sighed. "You can't keep takin' advantage of my emotions." Beth sat up then, keeping him in sight.
"Do you have any idea how fuckin' horrible I feel now?" Daryl spat.
Beth's brows furrowed and she moved to sit against the opposite wall. "Why?" She asked in a soft voice.
"Because I was stupid enough to give in to yer pleadin' and only made things more difficult." Daryl ran a hand through his hair and bit the inside of his cheek. He debated telling her that if Carol wasn't in the picture maybe things could be different to make her feel better, but quickly tossed the thought aside as it would only cause more problems.
"I'm sorry." Beth apologized. "I thought if I could just show you...you'd see there was something there. I was wrong, I'm sorry."
Daryl looked over at her while chewing on his thumb nail, trying to make out if she was telling the truth. "Carol's a good person, she doesn't deserve this. You need to promise me this stops today, right now."
"I promise." Beth gave in defeated. Feeling embarrassed and ashamed of her actions as her eyes fell to the floor.
"I'll always be here for you Beth... just not in that way. Besides I think Carl likes you." Daryl smirked, trying to lighten the mood so she didn't beat herself up.
Beth chuckled and dropped her head in her hands to rub her eyes. "He's just a kid."
"One hell of a kid." Daryl corrected as he stood. "Hes only a few years younger than you, give him a break." He reached down to help her stand and gathered his bow and flashlight.
"I guess hes kind of cute." Beth admitted with a smile that caused Daryl to roll his eyes.
"That went too far." Daryl teased and opened the door. Glad the awkward situation ended on a good note. He still feared she'd slip through the cracks again until she was completely happy with someone else, but tried to hold her promise to being genuine.
"Are you going to tell Carol?" Beth asked as they went back to their mission of searching the tombs.
"Have to." He told Carol he'd take care of it if it came up again and he wanted her to know it had been handled.
"Oh..." Beth grew slightly uncomfortable. "Will she be mad?"
"Nah." Daryl lifted his bow to take out a walker standing by the exit and went to grab his arrow before opening the door. There was nothing living inside and seemed pointless to go any further. The bright light from outside made them both wince and close their eyes.
As they walked around the building Beth noticed the sight of Carol and Carl out of the corner of her eye, huddled behind the fence that protected the door way to their old cell block. "Think they're alright?"
Daryl didn't know what she meant until she pointed to where they were and his heart instantly sank with worry. He could tell even from there something wasn't right and quickly ran over to them after taking out a few walkers.
Carol had Carl wrapped in her arms sitting down on the stairs inside the cage and Daryl approached slowly on the outside, meeting Carol's eyes in question. She didn't have to say anything for him to figure it out from the look on her face. Sadness came crashing down and Daryl had to clear his throat to not let it take over. Losing Rick was like losing his own brother.
Beth went to rub her hand down her friends back once they were inside the enclosure and Carl lifted his head.
"It'll be okay, we're here for you." She said trying to encourage him to either talk or at least help in some way.
"Thanks." Carl spoke softly and moved to stand. Not appreciating all eyes on him. "Lets get out of here." He couldn't be there any longer and as much as he wanted to bury his father he couldn't bare going back and seeing him like that.
Daryl took the lead as they left and quickly moved the group through the yard and back to their vehicles. Beth and Carl went ahead and got seated inside the station wagon while Carol and Daryl stood by his bike to talk, making sure nothing could sneak up on them.
"He alright?" Daryl asked Carol and she shook her head.
"It was awful." Carol admitted with a frown and moved to him to drop her head against his chest.
He slid an arm around her waist and kissed her temple. "I'm sorry you had to see it."
"We can't leave him in there..." She looked up at him and he was pained at the look of heartbreak in her eyes.
Daryl pulled her tighter against him. "I'll come back tomorrow and take care of it."
"Alone?" Carol stepped back.
He nodded. "No one else needs to deal with it. I'll find a place close to where we are and then everyone can be there, but only once hes in the ground..." Daryl paused and looked away. Hating he was going to have to lay someone as great as Rick to rest. He moved from Carol without a word and went to start his bike, unable to speak as he swallowed the lump in his throat.
Carol got in the car and drove off while Daryl sat on his bike and looked out at the prison. A place that had been filled with nothing but bad memories. The only good thing to come from there was Judith, which cost a life and her faith was currently unknown.
Daryl cursed and slammed a fist against his handle bars as a few tears escaped down his cheeks. He quickly wiped them away and spun the bike around to catch up with his family.