Chapter 25

"God damn it," Daryl spat, slamming his hand down on the steering wheel. Carol was too stunned to cry. She felt sick to her stomach, and she trembled in her seat. "This ain't happenin'." They were parked in front of a large gate. The people Carl, Sasha, Bob and Tyreese had run into in the woods hadn't been lying. There were walls. It had been a safe zone, but it wasn't anymore. One door to the gate was hanging off of its hinges, and walkers ambled in and out of the safe zone. The place was overrun.

"Oh God," Carol murmured, her hand moving to her mouth. It was so still, save for the moans and shuffling of the walkers as they weaved in and out of the gates. "There's nothing left." When a few walkers caught sight of their car, they began stumbling toward them. Daryl hit the gas and sped down the road, the other cars quickly following his lead.

About a half-mile down the road, everybody stopped and got out of the car, defeat etched in all of their faces.

"Well, that's that," Glenn muttered, stuffing his hands deep in his pockets.

"We're almost out of gas," Carol murmured. "We could find more, but then where would we go?" Daryl heard the waver in her voice, and he could tell she was fighting back tears. He chewed his lip in thought, as everybody else spoke around him.

"We could stay," Carl offered. "I mean, we fought into the prison."

"There's more walkers here than at the prison. We don't have the kind of ammo we used to have," Rick pointed out.

"We could fight our way in," Daryl replied, finger tapping against the trigger of his crossbow. "We run out of ammo, we go back to basics. Knives, boots, anything heavy that can bash in walker brains." Carol glanced at him, saw the fire in his eyes. Since the attack at the hotel and Carol's close call with that walker, he'd gotten very protective and a little bit creative when it came to putting down walkers. The more she considered this, the more she felt like he carried himself as if he had a new purpose in life.

"Then what?" Maggie wondered. "We sit and wait for somebody else to come in and try and take it from us?" Wisps of sadness blew over her face like a fresh breeze.

"No. We fortify the walls, we get more ammo, and if anybody comes tryin' to take what we got, we blow 'em the fuck away." Daryl's voice had a low growl to it. "We take in those who need takin' in, we put down those that don't wanna share." Everybody looked at Daryl with a little bit of surprise. Impending fatherhood had brought out a different side in him.

"He's right," Carol murmured. "We can make it work. We have to fight for it, but what haven't we had to fight for? We can have the kind of life we had at the farm. We can help people like we did at the prison. But we aren't going to let it go, not without a fight. We can do this."

"We do this, we're gonna need a hell of a lot more ammo," Michonne murmured, eyeing the herd of walkers heading down the road.

"We'll get more ammo," Daryl insisted, glancing at Rick. "You in?" Rick looked around at the group, at the people he now called family. He looked at his son, standing strong and sure holding baby Judith in his arms. He looked at Michonne, seeing an encouraging, if not adventurous smile starting on her lips, and he looked at Carol and Daryl, standing together, ready to fight whatever came at them for the sake of their unborn child.

"Alright," Rick said with a nod. "We find more ammo, more weapons, I'm in."

"Alright," Daryl said with a grunt. "Let's get started. We got a lot of work to do."

"Oh my God," Carol groaned, as Daryl's fingers dug deep into her shoulders. "Right there. Yeah. Oh…that's perfect." She sighed and leaned forward, her head dipping down, and she gasped softly as his fingers pressed harder into her shoulder blades. "God, you're getting better at this." Daryl smirked from behind her. "Where'd you learn that?"

"Don't take a rocket scientist to know how to give a good shoulder rub," he murmured, leaning in to press a kiss to the back of her neck. "That better?"

"Much," she whispered as his arms encircled her, and she leaned her back against his chest in the bed. He situated himself so she was seated between his legs, and he leaned back against the headboard of the rickety old bed.

They'd found an old house to stay in for the night, and it had become an unspoken rule that Carol and Daryl got the bed. Nobody was going to make a pregnant woman sleep on the floor. And Carol wasn't going to argue tonight, because every muscle in her body ached, and her shoulders were particularly sore from all the hauling of ammo and firearms they'd done after gathering supplies at a hunting shop. There was still a lot left, despite having been ransacked before by other survivors. They cleared out most of it, loaded what they could into all of the vehicles, and by the time the sun went down, everybody was just looking for a place to sleep.

Daryl rubbed her belly as they sat together on the bed, and she yawned in his arms.

"You oughta sleep," he murmured, his breath tickling her ear.

"My body's exhausted, but my mind isn't. I just can't stop thinking about tomorrow."

"We'll be alright. We'll make it."

"You sound awfully confident."

"Somethin' good's gotta happen. The farm burned to hell, the prison too. We had a good thing going at the house until everybody started showin' up, and we ran outta room. This place looks strong. We get rid of the walkers, we'll be set. We can live like we did at the prison, only it looks like they got actual houses."

"Yeah," Carol said softly. "But I can't stop thinking about…" She sighed heavily.

"What is it?"

"The baby," she admitted. "I know…I know we've been trying to think positive, but the closer I get to the end, the more I worry. I'm scared that something will happen, and…"

"Bob's gonna be there. Maggie, too."

"I know," Carol said with a little nod and sighed, deciding to lighten the mood for his sake and for her own. "I guess Rick will be there to pick you up off the floor when you faint." Daryl snorted.

"Who's gonna faint?" he asked, kissing her neck. She laughed and shrugged her shoulders.

"We'll see," she said with a grin, leaning back, turning her head and capturing his lips with her own. As his lips brushed over hers, he felt something curious against his fingertips. He froze, mid-kiss, and Carol pulled back with a knowing look in her eye. "You felt that, didn't you?"

"Yeah…" he said slowly, his eyes peering down over her shoulder and to her belly, where his hands still rested. "Was that…"

"Yes," she said with a grin. "You felt the baby." Daryl's lips parted a little, and he sat very still, raising her shirt up to place his fingers against her bare stomach. He waited, and Carol bit her lip to keep from giggling at the amazed look on his face. When his brows went up in surprise, she couldn't help but let out a laugh.

"Whoa," he murmured. "That feels…wow." He felt the tiniest series of bumps against his hands, and he couldn't believe how amazing it felt to feel his child—their child—moving inside of Carol, kicking and strong. "Does it hurt?"

"No," she said soflty. "It might later in the pregnancy, when there isn't much room for him to move around."

"Him?" Daryl asked quietly.

"Or her," she allowed. She turned in his arms, and he lay back against the pillow, pulling her close. "Do you want a girl?"

"I don't care," he said with a shrug. "Either's fine, so long as she looks like her mama." Carol laughed.

"Oh, no, you don't care," she teased, craning her neck up and kissing him again. "We may have a Daryl Dixon Junior on our hands."

"I'm sorry," he laughed. She swatted his arm.

"I bet you were adorable as a boy," she said dreamily, resting her head on his chest.

"I was a pain in the ass," he muttered. Carol laughed and closed her eyes, relishing the feel of her child still kicking away in her belly. "Think I could handle a girl better."

"Why's that?"

"Dunno," he murmured. "I mean, look at Carl. That kid was a serious pain in the ass for a while."

"Don't be mean," Carol grinned. "I was a pain in the ass, too."

"Was?" he teased, nibbling her ear. She elbowed him gently in the side, and he coughed. "Yeah, if she's as stubborn and strong as her mama, I'd be alright with that."

"Well, then I suppose I could handle a Daryl Jr. just fine then. Just gotta keep him in line and make sure he doesn't get too wild."

"You tryin' to say somethin' 'bout me?" Daryl asked, his hand moving up to graze over her breast.

"Oh, maybe, if you keep going." She sighed softly as his lips brushed over her neck, and his hand moved up her shirt to graze over her breast. "Yeah, I think I'm saying something. Maybe you better keep me quiet." She bit the tip of her tongue, grinning up at him, and he brought his lips down on hers in a claiming kiss, thankful that she was his, and he was hers.

They all took turns peering through the binoculars, checking out the place that had once been a safe zone. It appeared to be a two block area that was closed off with man made walls and two gates. There appeared to be several houses, a small building that was probably once a church, and even a couple of stores. From where they stood at the top of the hill, the walkers looked like little ants invading the small town like a cancer.

"We get in that watch tower and get the gate closed off, we can start pickin' 'em off one at a time like we did at he prison," Daryl offered. "We close the gate, least we won't have to worry about more gettin' in."

"We're still going to have to clear the houses," Michonne pointed out.

"We've got firepower now," Carol pointed out. "We can make it work. We can get in. Somebody's going to have to make a run for the tower, and when the rest of us will cover them until they get to the top safely.

"I can do it," Glenn offered.

"No," Maggie insisted. "You don't have to be the one to make the suicide runs every time." Her voice was low and tense as she spoke.

"I'll be fine. I'm the fastest one here."

"I'll do it," Carl offered.

"Carl," Rick warned, hesitantly, "you cover Glenn."

"No, Dad. I can do it. I'm quick, and I can do this. Maggie's right. Glenn shouldn't be stuck doing this stuff all the time. I can do it." Rick could see he wasn't going to talk his son out of anything at this point, so he finally conceded, but he wasn't happy about it.

Rick shoved a backup gun in Carl's hand, and the boy stuffed it in the waist of his pants.

"A'right," Daryl murmured, "Carl goes in first, we cover him. Soon as he hits the top of the tower, we open fire and blow those fuckers to hell where they belong. We'll worry about the cars later. We can bring 'em in one at a time if we have to. Just gotta fix that gate."

"Everybody got extra ammo?" Rick asked, checking his own supply. When everybody was satisfied that they had enough ammo to get them through the gate, they all piled into the cars and started down the hill toward the broken gate. Carol shifted nervously in the seat of the pickup, and Daryl chewed his lip, trying to focus.

"Stay behind me, alright?" She started to speak, but he cut her off. "I know you can handle yourself, but I wanna know you're safe." Carol nodded.

"Alright," she assured him. "I'll stay close." She reached for his hand, and they held onto one another, both feeling trembles in the other's hands. This was it. This was what they'd travelled so far for, and they weren't going to give up until they could call it home.

Carl had made it successfully to the watch tower, and by the time he'd make it up safely, there was an array of walkers lying still on the ground with gunshot wounds still smoking from their foreheads and temples. That was only the tip of the iceberg though. There were still dozens upon dozens that were going to need to be put down.

When Carl gave a holler that he was up safely, the group piled through the broken gate door one by one, taking down walkers that got too close as they did so. Rick, Daryl and Carol were the last through the gate, and Carol started popping off rounds as soon as she was inside, and Rick and Daryl began working quickly to try to prop the gate back up on its hinges.

"Shit, this fucker's heavy," Daryl grunted, putting all his weight into lifting with Rick. Bob covered Tyreese as he rushed over to help Daryl and Rick with the door. The three of them were abel to lift it enough to get it set back in its hinges, and a couple tightening of the screws was all it needed. They successfully closed the gate, blocking out the rest of the walkers from getting in.

Gunshots rang out left and right, and bodies thudded simultaneously. Rick, Daryl and Tyreese drew their guns, putting bullets into the heads of the closest walkers. Daryl kept an eye on Carol, whose aim was sure and accurate, and he watched her reload without even fumbling. She could definitely take care of herself.

Michonne, with Judith strapped on her back, climbed up into the tower to help Carl pop off walkers in the distance.

Rick and Tyreese spread out, taking on a group of walkers to the left, while Carol, Daryl and Bob went off to the right. Maggie and Glenn stood at the gate, making certain it wouldn't give way and putting down the walkers that swarmed in from the sides.

Rick had strayed a bit from Tyreese, working on putting down a group of walkers coming from the side of one of the houses. Tyreese was just putting down one walker, when he felt a hand on his arm, followed by fierce pressure. He screamed out, turning his head just in time to see a walker's rotten jaw coming toward him. He called out and flung himself back, trying to get out of the grasp of the walker, and he lost his footing, falling back, his finger slipping on the trigger.

Daryl heard the sharp cry right behind him, and he turned, as if in slow motion, to see the color drain from Carol's face and the blood staining her shirt. Her kneels buckled, and she began to fall, her body going limp.

Daryl ran to her, reaching out, pulling her into his arms as she collapsed against him, her blood flowing out onto him. She looked up into his face, seeing the fear and the shock as his mouth fell open, and his eyes filled with tears. And then everything went black.