Chapter 20

Her arm was severely bruised, and while it was extremely painful to the touch, it wasn't broken. Thankfully, that was the most serious injury, aside from the loss of blood, which had been replenished through the night. By the next morning, she felt worse than the night before. The swelling seemed to be worse, but Dr. Daniels insisted that Carol was doing well and should be home in a few days if she continued to improve.

Daryl's boss had been kind enough to let him take a few days off of work to be with her at the hospital, and in between taking care of Sophia and sitting with Carol, he was pretty much putting in a full day's work, but he wasn't complaining a bit.

Carol had talked him into leaving to take Sophia to the park for a while so she could have some fresh air, and while he hadn't been keen to leave her, she insisted that she felt safe with the officer right outside of her door. While Ed was still out there somewhere, she knew there was no way in hell he was brave enough to step foot into the hospital when the police were standing guard outside his ex-wife's hospital room.

She'd managed to doze off for a little bit. Part of it was the painkillers, the other was pure exhaustion. She hadn't slept much at all the night before. When she had slept, she'd had nightmares, and Daryl had soothed her through all of it. Maggie and Glenn had offered to take Sophia for the night, but Carol and Daryl had both wanted her close, wanted to know where she was at all times. Dr. Daniels had ordered a hospital crib from the pediatric unit, and Daryl had thanked her. She had simply told him that Carol was one of many women she'd seen over the years, and she was always willing to help her patients cope with these sorts of traumas as best she could.

During one of Carol's little dozes, she woke to a soft rapping on the door. She moaned softly, placing her hand to her forehead as the raps pulsed in her head, making her feel ten times worse. She groaned softly, and then the rapping came again.

"Come in," she called softly. A bouquet of flowers wrapped in pretty purple plastic came through first, held by the small, pale hand of wide-eyed Beth Greene.

"Hi," Beth said softly. "You up for some company?"

"Come on in," Carol said with a little wave toward the seat. Beth stepped into the room, peeking around expectantly, ducking her head slightly before closing the door behind herself.

"Picked these in the meadow out by the house. Maggie helped me pick out the wrapping. Thought they might brighten up the room."

"Thanks, sweetheart," Carol said softly. Beth moved around, looking through the cabinets until she found a vase. She disappeared into the bathroom to fill it with water before coming out with a lovely floral display. "They're beautiful." Beth gently placed the vase on the table by Carol's bed.

"How're you feeling?"

"Sore," Carol said quietly. "I was lucky." Beth nodded a little and moved to sit down next to Carol's hospital bed. "Your dad bring you down?"

"No. I came alone," she said quietly. "Just wanted to see you. I'm sorry this happened to you." Beth looked away then.

"What's on your mind, Beth?"

"Oh, nothing. I just…"

"Talk to me," Carol said softly, wincing as she sat up a little.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. Just going to be sore for a while."

"Oh," Beth said with a nod, standing up and helping Carol sit up, adjusting the pillow behind her.

"Thank you." She leaned back against the pillow and watched the younger girl. "Beth?"

"I was awful to you," Beth said gently.

"Honey, that's all the past. We've talked about that," Carol said gently. "I've been where you were with Jimmy."

"I know, but...I still feel awful," Beth murmured, eyes welling with tears. "He could have…and I didn't…"

"Just be thankful he's not in your life anymore," Carol said softly. "He's gone, and you're stronger than you thought you were."

"Your husband came back," Beth said quietly. "You thought it was safe, and…"

"Honey, even when I felt the safest I've ever felt in my life, Ed was still there in the back of my mind. Part of me thinks he always will be." She took a deep breath, wincing in pain. "I fought back. I tried. He just…he was stronger."

"How do you…how do you trust after that?" Beth wondered. "How can you let somebody get close to you after your own husband…"

"Hey," Carol said softly, "not everyone is an Ed or a Jimmy." She took a deep breath. "I was lucky. I knew Daryl before I knew Ed. I knew what happy was. I knew what trust was. I thought I could have that with Ed, but I was wrong, and I figured that out too late. You don't give up. You fight. When you feel that fear rising up in you, you fight it, because if you let it take you over, you'll never get through it."

"You're not afraid?"

"Of Daryl? I trust Daryl."

"But you trusted Ed enough to marry him." Carol sighed softly.

"That's true. Everybody in this world has the capability to hurt someone else. But I know Daryl. I know Daryl better than I know myself, I think. I trust Daryl with my life, and I know he could never do the things Ed's done. I trust him. I have to have trust, because I didn't, I'd spend the rest of my life alone, trusting no one, and that's not something I want my daughter to see. I want her to know love. I want her to see what a family is." Beth gave Carol a sad smile.

"I hope I can be that strong someday."

"Honey, you will be," Carol promised. "You just have to remind yourself that somebody out there is going to love you more than you ever thought possible, and that somebody would go through hell and back to keep you safe. You'll find it, Beth. You're young yet. You have to trust your heart, and you can't shut people out. That's no way to live."

"There's a boy," Beth said with a little smile. "Zach. He's asked me out a few times, but I'm afraid."

"I know," Carol said gently. "That'll pass. Why don't you invite him to dinner?"

"Yeah," Beth said gently. "I could do that. Zach's really smart. We have a lot of the same classes together, and he used to date my friend Molly. She says he was really nice to her when they were together."

"Well, there you go," Carol said quietly, feeling the pain in her head returning with a vengeance. "You'll be ok, Beth. You're strong. Maybe it doesn't feel like you are, but you are. You just have to find that strength and wear it proud. You'll be ok. You'll see."

...

Daryl yawned, rubbing his hand over his face, as he made his way down the street toward the house. Sophia had dozed off about three blocks ago, and he needed to stop by the house to pick up a few things for her before heading back to the hospital. It had been a long day. An exhausting one. But sleep was the last thing on his mind. He needed to get back to the hospital and to Carol.

It hurt to see her like that, all bruised and bandaged and almost broken. And to think that Ed hadn't been found yet, that he was out there somewhere, probably biding his time, hoping the police would give up their manhunt and he could make his next move, well, it made his skin crawl. He hated Ed Peletier. He didn't even know the man, but he hated him, and a slow, painful death was too good for someone like him.

He pulled into the drive and stared up at the house, a sick feeling bubbling in his stomach as he thought of coming home to find her beaten so badly on their bedroom floor, the panic in his chest as he realized Sophia was gone and Carol was hurt and had been lying there for God knew how long.

"Alright, Soph," he said softly. "We won't stay long. Gonna stay at the hospital tonight. Just you, me and yer mama, alright?" He stepped out of the truck and got the baby out of her car seat, carrying her cradled against his chest. He nodded to the police officer in the unmarked car that was parked three houses down, and he headed inside, a shiver running up his spine as he unlocked the door.

He lay Sophia down in the center of his bed, keeping an eye on her as she played with her feet and rolled about. She babbled and giggled when he would talk to her, and as he tossed some of Carol's things into the bag, he paused and opened his own drawer, feeling around in the back until his fingers found the small case with the ring inside.

"I'm gonna marry your mama, Sophia," he murmured, moving to sit on the bed, pulling the baby into his lap. "You think she'll want to marry me?" Sophia hiccupped, and he chuckled, kissing the top of her head. "I hope you're right, Soph. I hope you're right." He put the ring in the bag. It wasn't time yet. It wasn't nearly time. But he didn't want to leave it in this house one more night. This place he'd called home for the past several years was now a striking reminder of what Ed had done. Blood stains on the carpet, bits of plaster from the wall peppering the floor, a crack on the corner of the bedside table where she'd hit her head, blood dried to the phone cord.

This wasn't home anymore. This was a crime scene.