Chapter 25

The second Carol walked into the hospital room, Daryl's heart sank in his chest. She looked worn out, her eyes rimmed with redness from crying and lack of sleep. Her face lit up when she saw him, but there was still pain in her eyes. He could see she was anxious, but she slipped her hand into his as soon as she reached his bed.

"I missed you," he murmured when she leaned down to kiss him. She sighed softly against his lips and nodded.

"I missed you. And so did this little lady." Carol lifted Grace out of her stroller, and the baby grunted in her sleep. Daryl reached with her, but Carol pulled back. "Be careful. Don't hurt yourself."

"Lemme hold my girl," he urged. "Put her down in this arm. This side ain't hurt." Carol chewed her lip nervously before gently placing the baby down in his arm. He snuggled her close and kissed her forehead. "Hey Gracie, girl. Papa missed you." Carol's eyes welled with tears, and Michonne stepped into the room with Andre on her hip.

"How you doing, Daryl?" she asked.

"Better now," Daryl said with a nod. Carol slipped her hand back into his, and he gave it a squeeze. "Thanks for bringing' my girls."

"Anytime," Michonne said with a sparkling smile. "Carol, I'm gonna take Andre down to the cafeteria. You want me to get you anything?"

"Stop trying to feed me, Mich," Carol chuckled. "I'm alright." Michonne rolled her eyes.

"Alright, but if I see an extra Jell-o cup lying around, it's got your name on it." Michonne turned quickly and headed down the hall. Carol sighed and sat down in the chair next to Daryl's bed.

"Glenn stopped by."

"He did?" Carol asked. "That was nice."

"And Rick. That wasn't."

"They still haven't found Ed," she murmured. He shook his head.

"I ain't gonna let him hurt you."

"Daryl, he almost killed you last night. I…I can't sleep. I just keep thinking…what if…"

"Don't. I'm still here." He gave her hand a squeeze and rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. He watched as she leaned back in the chair, closing her eyes for a brief moment, seeing the exhaustion when she blinked and looked back at him. "You should go home. Get some sleep."

"I'd rather be here," Carol said tiredly, her eyes fluttering closed for longer than a blink. Daryl watched her, a marked concern creasing his brow. As much ache he had in his body, it was nothing compared to the worry he felt in his gut over Carol. She was pale. She had circles under her eyes. She was scared. She was stressed out. She wasn't eating like she should, and even Michonne couldn't get through to her.

"Are you ok?" he finally asked. She opened her eyes and stared at him for a moment.

"I'm not fine," she whispered, her voice breathy and shaky. "I'm barely holding on here, Daryl, but I'm trying." She gripped the arm of the chair. "I keep thinking how ridiculous I've been. Wanting to wait to move in. Wanting to…to put our future off for a while just to have a little 'me' time. It's the dumbest damned thing I can even think of." She shook her head. "I love you, Daryl. And I just…I just cannot lose you."

"You won't," he promised her. "You won't lose me, alright?" She shook her head, but he knew she wasn't convinced. "C'mere." Carol stood and sat down on the edge of his bed. He scooted over, and she gently curled up against him, resting her head on his shoulder. He felt her shoulders trembling as he held her, and he closed his eyes, listening to the sound of her breathing, thanking his amazing luck at having found someone like her to call his. In that moment, their forever began.

Michonne sat in the cafeteria with Andre on her lap, and she looked up when she saw a pair of shiny boots step up next to her. Her gaze went from the boots to the badge to the soulful eyes to the hat on top of a head of curly brown hair.

"Officer Grimes."

"Rick, please," he said with a nod. "Mind if I sit?"

"Sure," she said slowly. "What're you doing here?"

"Staying close," he said quietly. "Dixon doesn't exactly like having me around, but I feel partly responsible for him being here."

"You're not," Michonne said quietly. "I've known Carol and Ed for a long time. Ed's…changed. The man's never acted like this before. Nobody could have predicted he'd pull a gun, let alone the trigger."

"I'm worried. About Carol. I've been in this line of work a long time, and I've seen women like her hurt or killed by men like Ed. She's lucky she broke away, but until he's in custody, she's not safe."

"You always this involved in your cases?"

"No," he said quietly, clearing his throat. "I'm a widower. My wife, well, she cheated on me, and she kept it secret. Come to find out, the guy she was with was this…this hothead. Real nasty temper. You rile him up, and he'd sooner pull a knife on you or knock you into a wall than anything else."

"Jesus," Michonne murmured.

"Lori—that's my wife—well, she finally broke down, told me about it. I forgave her, and she told me she was goin' to break it off with this guy. I didn't know anything about him at the time, but I got a call at work that day telling me Lori was in the hospital, that she was bad, that I needed to prepare myself. Turns out, this guy pulled a knife on her, stabbed her right through the heart the second she told him it was over. He was angry. He told the arresting officers over and over that he loved her and that she loved him, and that he only killed her to set her free. Free of me." Michonne watched as the man's lip trembled slightly as he spoke. "He was crazy. Like Ed's crazy. And the past few weeks, all I dream about at night is seein' my wife's body on the table at the morgue. All I see is the…the blood and what he did to her because he loved her so much. I think that's the kind of crazy we're dealin' with here."

"How do you…what makes you think that?"

"The night we arrested Ed? After he broke into Carol's? After he finished hollering about being arrested, he got real calm. We were halfway to the police station, and you know what he said?"

"What?" she asked, a bit uncertain if she really wanted to hear Rick's answer.

"He said that he loved Carol too much to see her happy with somebody else. He said he loved her the way she was supposed to be loved. The way she deserved it. He was cold. He was…I shoulda known that night. I shoulda known, because that's the kind of crazy shit Lori's killer wrote to me after she died. The sick son of a bitch knows my kids' names." Michonne felt her blood run cold, and she hugged Andre to her, thanking God that she had the good fortune to have her baby safe in her arms right then.

"Are you alright?" she asked him softly.

"Most days, I think I am," he confessed. "I got two kids. Carl, he's eleven. And Judith's…Judith's about seven months."

"God…so this is…this is recent," Michonne realized.

"Yeah. Most days I try to be strong for my kids, but I'm…I'm terrified. I know the man who hurt their mama won't ever be able to hurt them, but…the fact that he knows their names, he's seen their house…it's just…it's too much. And I try not to let 'em see I'm afraid." He cleared his throat, and Michonne looked down at Andre, kissing the top of his head. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm telling you all this."

"Please," Michonne said with a little smile, "people tell me everything. I've got a way of getting people to open up, and some days, I don't know how I do it. I must have one of those faces people think they can trust."

"Can I trust you?" Rick asked, a half-smile pulling at his lips. Michonne felt her heart begin to pound in her chest, and she stood quickly.

"I should get back and check on Carol," she said quietly. "I'm really sorry for your loss."

"Thanks for listening," he said quietly. "It felt good to just…talk to somebody." Michonne held Andre close and gave Rick a little smile. She felt a little unbalanced, a little uncertain. She wasn't used to feeling this way. She'd sensed something when he'd looked at her just then, some kind of attraction, some kind of understanding. Her heart hurt for this stranger, and she wasn't certain why she felt like she was about to cry. Sad stories never had much of an effect on her, unless they hit close to home, and for some reason, his story had gotten to her.

She cleared her throat, deciding it was simply because of what was happening to her friends, and she hurried off to join them again, leaving behind the officer with the gentle smile and the kind eyes.

Daryl fell asleep after the nurse came in with more pain meds. Daryl had given the nurse permission to speak with Carol, telling her she was his fiancée, though that wasn't exactly the truth. But the nurse had told Carol that Daryl would probably be sent home the following day so long as he was infection and fever free, which he seemed to be for now.

After he'd fallen asleep, Carol had gotten up to head down to the cafeteria with Grace. She pushed her in the stroller, and the baby fell asleep quickly. About halfway down the hall, Carol ran into Michonne, who looked a bit flushed.

"Mich, you ok?" Carol asked softly.

"I was just coming to check on you," her friend responded, glancing over her shoulder.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"No," Michonne said softly, a little smile curling at her lips.

"What?"

"No, it's nothing," she said with a shrug.

"It's not. I know that smile."

"Shut up," Michonne said with a grin. At that moment, Rick came walking up, and Michonne blushed a little more. She shifted Andre on her hip and attempted to look casual. Carol narrowed her eyes at her friend briefly and then turned to Rick.

"Daryl's sleeping," Carol announced. "He'll be out for a while. I think I'm going to go home and rest. I hate to leave him, but…"

"But he told you to go, and you know you should, because a hospital is no place for Grace to be today," Michonne interrupted.

"Exactly," Carol said with a little smirk. "Mich, you want to follow me home?"

"Sure. Andre and I can hang out for a while. I'm taking him to his grandma's later."

"Great," Carol said with a nod. "Rick, thanks for everything. I'm sure Daryl's not exactly been…"

"Daryl doesn't bother me," Rick said with a little shrug. "I get it. He's angry. He feels powerless. I'd be pissed off too." Carol nodded shortly and she cleared her throat.

"Call me if you learn anything about Ed. I want to know when he's off the streets. Maybe then I can breathe again."

"I will. You take care of yourself, Carol." Rick glanced at Michonne and nodded to her, their eyes locking for a few moments before he walked away.

"What was that about?" Carol whispered.

"Nothing," Michonne said with a shrug. "I don't know what you're talking about." Carol watched as Michonne walked ahead, and she just shook her head. Yeah, something was definitely up, and sooner or later, Michonne would talk about it. If Carol knew her best friend like she thought she did, it would take a bottle of wine and a good romantic comedy, but for now, she accepted that Michonne wanted to keep whatever it was all to herself.

As Carol turned to follow her, she felt a warmth spread over the back of her neck, and she gasped loud enough for Michonne to turn. Everything seemed to move in slow motion, as Carol felt head swim and her knees buckle under her. She let go of the stroller as her vision blurred, and before she hit the floor, everything went black.