Disclaimer: Not mine!

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Carol was just coming into the cell block when she heard Beth's frightened call for her father. Without thinking, Carol broke into a run toward her cell where she had left Daryl sleeping earlier.

She found Beth standing just inside the cell, her eyes wide with panic. Immediately Carol went to Daryl, who was still convulsing on the thin cot. "Oh, God, Daryl!" She dropped to her knees beside him and started to touch him, but something stopped her. She'd taken a first aid class years and years ago, before Sophia was even born, and she remembered that seizure victims couldn't be touched, or they would only injure themselves or those around them. She was helpless to do anything but sit there and watch.

He was walking, but where he was going, he wasn't sure. His feet were bare and the green grass was soft beneath his tired soles.

Suddenly a large farmhouse came into view. Absently he reached for his crossbow, but he couldn't find it. He looked around the surrounding area. There were no walkers, no foul stench of death permeating the air. There was only green grass, a warm breeze and the sight of the farmhouse in front of him. His feet continued to move, carrying him closer and closer.

Just as he came a few yards from the farmhouse, the door swung open and a little girl with pigtails ran out. Unable to help himself, he stared at her. Without thinking about it, he realized he was looking at an older Judith. She had the same big eyes and little mouth, her mother's cheeks and her father's nose.

She was beautiful.

Judith looked over her shoulder. "Come on, guys!"

Daryl's breath caught in his throat as a boy and girl not much smaller than Judith joined her on the porch. Two more boys joined them, then another girl, and finally a little girl in diapers toddled out into the sun. All and all he counted seven children including Judith.

Judith suddenly looked over her shoulder and met his eyes. A spectacular smile lit up her little face. "Daryl!"

He dropped to his knee and held out his arms for her. She ran across the grassy yard, her arms extended and her wild brunette hair flying. The rest of the children remained on the porch, but they all watched him carefully.

When she was just a foot away from him, she launched herself at him and landed in his strong arms. He gathered her against his chest and kissed her head, not at all surprised by his instinctive reaction to her. "Hey, Ass Kicker."

Judith giggled and leaned back, smiling up at him. Her little hands came up and framed his face. "Daryl! I missed ya!"

"Missed ya too, kid."

Overhead, storm clouds suddenly began to roll in. Daryl frowned but held Judith tighter. "Where's Carol, kid?"

Judith frowned and looked away from him. Her little hand came up and pointed.

His eyes followed her finger to a single grave beneath an old tree. His heart suddenly sped up. "No…"

"She wen' away after Livvie was borned." She pointed back to the porch, at the smallest child in the group.

Thunder rolled ominously overhead, and Daryl felt sick.

A low growl sounded in his ear, and he spun around only to come face to face with a walker. Rotting teeth, bony fingers… The walker lifted its head, and he screamed a primal scream of rage and despair.

The thing snapping at him was Carol. It was reaching for Judith as the sky let loose with a freezing rain. He felt himself start to shake, and Judith's screams rang in his ears as the darkness closed in around him.

"Daryl!"

Carol watched Hershel work and she felt helpless. They had been able to do nothing but watch as Daryl's seizure continued until he finally went limp against the bottom bunk. Hershel had no medication to administer to end Daryl's seizure, and Daryl's temperature was steadily rising.

Finally Hershel backed away from the bunk, allowing Carol to take his place.

Carol eagerly knelt down beside Daryl and rested her hand on his hot forehead. "Fight," she whispered, her eyes studying his flushed face. "Please fight, Daryl. Stay with me."

Ignoring everything else, she leaned over and rested her head on his chest. Each breath he took rattled deeply in his lungs.

"Don't leave me, Daryl. Please."

It had been hours since he last heard any growls, and his body was simply too exhausted to move any further. So he set up a small shelter close to the river and made camp for the night. He didn't have much left in the way of supplies, but he managed to build a small fire and warm a can of beans. It wasn't much, but it filled his stomach and he was able to sleep for a while.

Beth woke up to a crippling wave of nausea. She barely made it to the toilet before she lost the meager contents of her stomach. It was a miserable thing being pregnant, compounded by the fact that she had no one to talk to about it. Lori was dead and Carol was too concerned about Daryl to be able to talk to her. So she was completely alone in her misery.

When the heaving finally stopped, she slumped against the wall and wrapped her arms firmly around her middle.

"Beth?"

She looked up and saw Glenn standing in the entrance of her cell. Her hand came up and wiped furiously at her mouth. "Yeah, Glenn?"

"Are you okay?"

"Fine." She forced a fake smile for his benefit. "Just feeling a little under the weather."

He came further into the cell. "Are you sure that's all?"

"I'm sure."

He didn't look convinced, but he also didn't push her any further, thankfully. He just nodded.

"If you want to talk, I'm here for you."

This time when she smiled, it was real. "I know." He had become like a real brother to her ever since he arrived on their farm. "Thanks."

"Anytime." He finally left her cell.

Beth watched him go, and after a little while, she got to her feet. She still felt nauseous, but there wasn't much she could do for it and she didn't want anyone catching on to her condition. So she took a deep breath, forced a new smile, and stepped out of her cell.

She had things to do.

"I didn't know the boy's name or anything, but one day I came home and he was just sitting on my porch, like he belonged there or something. He was so pitiful and scrawny, I gave him my sandwich from lunch. He looked at me like I had just given him a million dollars. It didn't seem like much to me back then, but looking back now, it must have meant the world to him."

Carol traced absent patterns over Daryl's chest with her fingers. He had settled down somewhat after the seizure, but Carol refused to leave his side in case another seizure occurred. She had no idea what she thought she could do, but it made her feel better just being there and knowing Daryl wasn't alone. As long as she was there, he would never be alone again.

"Carol?"

Surprised, Carol turned her head toward the entrance to the cell. Molly stood there, looking uncomfortable and uncertain. "Molly. Hi."

Molly motioned to Daryl's prone form. "Can I see him?"

Carol looked back to Daryl. "Of course." But she made no move to leave Daryl's side.

Molly shuffled over to the bunk and squatted down beside Carol. "Hershel said he had a seizure."

"He did."

"Sorry to hear it."

"Thanks."

Molly was quiet for a few minutes. "He called for you, you know?"

Carol froze and finally looked at Molly. "He did?"

The younger woman nodded. "He was out of it most of the time, and he would call for you in his sleep."

A lump formed in Carol's throat. "We are…we have…" How could she finish that statement? How could she begin to explain what Daryl was to her, their complicated past? "He's everything to me," she finally said, her hand absently stroking Daryl's arm in a slow, steady manner.

Smiling, Molly nodded. "I can tell."

"I thought you wanted to leave."

"I think I'm going to stick around for a while. I talked with your leader. He says I can stay for a while. I didn't want to at first, but I want to make sure Daryl's gonna be okay."

Carol understood her reasoning, even if she wasn't completely sure she trusted it. "He'll be okay. He has to be."

Both women contemplated those words for a while, until Molly excused herself from the cell. Once again alone with Daryl, Carol slipped her hand into his and squeezed tightly as she returned to her story.

"I was wrapped up in my own head when I met the boy, and I'm sure he's forgotten all about me. But I never forgot him."

Leaning over, she kissed his fevered brow.

"Never."

To Be Continued...