Chapter 35

"I want to see him," Carl seethed as he paced the hallway of the uninhabited house they'd taken Shane to. Hershel and Tyreese were with him. Hershel was checking his wounds, while Tyreese was there with a gun for protection.

"It's better if you don't," Carol urged.

"He killed my dad!" Carl yelled. "I want to see him!"

"Listen." Daryl clapped his hand on Carl's shoulder. "I know you probably wanna kill the sumbitch. Hell, I wouldn't shed a tear if he died. But we can't do that. We ain't him. We ain't like him."

"You should have let him kill himself. Noah said he tried. It's what he wanted, anyway."

"He deserves to pay for what he did to your dad," Daryl replied. "And that's the easy way."

"I don't care," Carl choked out, trying to force back the urge to cry. "He was his best friend. He killed him! He…" The door opened, and Hershel stepped out, and at that moment, Carl's eyes fixed on Shane's from the bed. "You killed him! You killed my dad! You were his friend!" He started into the room, but Daryl held him back. The boy struggled against him, and Shane kept his gaze fixed evenly on the wall, not taking a chance at looking into the boy's eye.

"Carl, calm down!" Daryl urged. "Don't do this to yourself." Carl pulled away from Daryl and brushed past Hershel and into Shane's room.

"Why? Why'd you kill my dad?"

"I'm sorry, bud. I don't…I don't know why. It just…happened."

"I hate you," Carl spat. "You took my dad. Judy's dad. He was your best friend! We used to go camping together. You…" Carl wiped at his eyes, sniffling as Carol wrapped her arms around him from behind.

"Come on," she urged. Her gaze fixed cooly on Shane's face.

"I hope you die," Carl cried out. "I hope you turn!" He turned and flung himself onto Carol, crying against her chest as she stroked his back.

"You might just get your wish there, Carl." Carol ushered the boy out of the room, closing the door behind.

"It's ok," Carol urged.

"It's not," Carl sobbed, his shoulders shaking as he backed away. "We shouldn't have brought him inside. You should have let him die!" Carl ran off, and Daryl started to go after him, but Carol put her hand on his arm.

"Let him go. He needs a minute." She gave his arm a gentle squeeze before looking at Hershel. "What's the news?"

"I've cleaned and dressed the wound. We'll have to see if Glenn cut the infection at the source."

"Fuck," Daryl muttered, kicking the wall hard enough to make a dent in the drywall.

"So what do we do? Just wait and see if he turns?" he asked. "Maybe Carl's right. Glenn should have let Shane…"

"No," Hershel replied with a shake of his head.

"We ain't got laws no more. No jails. No prisons. We just gonna keep him around and let him eat our food and stay in our houses? I ain't watchin' him the rest of my life."

"You might not have to," Hershel pointed out. "Even if Glenn stopped the spread of that infection, Shane could still die. We have antibiotics we could try, but he's refusing."

"We force him then?" Daryl asked.

"Forcin' him to live? That any better than forcin' him to die?" Hershel pondered. "We'll keep watch 'til morning. He gets blood poisoning from that ax, we'll know it soon enough. Symptoms'll present a lot like they do before a turn. We won't know. We'll just have to watch. Wait. I suggest keeping an armed guard posted tonight."

"I'll stay," Tyreese offered, walking out of Shane's room and shutting the door behind him.

"So will I," Carol offered. "I want to make sure he's not coming anywhere near my family tonight."

"You stay, I stay," Daryl said with a nod. Carol reached out and squeezed his hand.

"You should go to him now. Carl. He's had a minute. He's going to need you now." Carol's eyes welled with tears as she spoke. "I know he says he doesn't want another father, but right now, he needs one, and you're it, Daryl." Daryl swallowed hard and nodded, clearing his throat.

"I'll be back in a while."

"Take all the time you need," she encouraged, standing on her tiptoes to kiss his forehead. "I love you."

"Love you," he murmured before turning and heading down the stairs to find Carl Grimes.

Carl was in the watch tower, and it hadn't taken Daryl long at all to find him, because Carl was firing off shots at the walkers that were making their way toward the gates. Daryl rushed up and pulled himself up into the tower.

"You tryin' to draw 'em all in on our heads?" he growled, swiping the gun from Carl's hands. Carl sighed and kicked the side of the wall before settling back and looking at Daryl with tear-reddened eyes.

"Is he dead yet?"

"No," Daryl said quietly. "Hershel says it still might happen."

"Good."

"I know you hate him. I don't blame ya," Daryl said quietly. "But you can't let him do this to you. Your daddy wouldn't want that."

"My dad's dead. He wouldn't have wanted that, either." Carl sniffled and wiped his nose on his shirt sleeve.

"What your dad wanted was for you and Judith to be safe. The last thing he asked for before he died was for me to look after you and your sister. I ain't goin' nowhere. Now I know you say you don't need a dad. That's alright. Ain't nobody gonna ever replace your daddy. But I'm here. You need anything, Carl, I'm here." Carl looked up at him and sniffled, blinking back tears. "I know you're growin' up, and I promise I won't tell the girls I saw you cry." Carl couldn't help but let out a little chuckle at that. "I know what it's like to grow up without anybody. I'm gonna make sure you never gotta know what that feels like. I'm here for ya, alright?" Daryl cleared his throat. "I love ya, son."

Before Daryl knew what was happening, Carl practically tackled him, throwing his arms around his neck and hugging him hard. He patted the boy's back and just let him cry and have his moment, and when the boy pulled back, he looked up at Daryl with something he hadn't seen in the boy since Rick's death. Love.

"Thanks, Daryl," Carl murmured.

"C'mon. Let's go check on your little sister, huh?" Carl nodded and followed Daryl out of the watch tower and off toward home.

Carol jolted awake sometime in the early morning hours. The sun hadn't yet risen in the sky, but she could hear a scritch-scratching at the door.

"Daryl, Sugar needs let out," she mumbled, blinking sleepily as she grew accustomed to her surroundings. She wasn't home. Sugar wasn't there. She nudged Daryl's arm. He woke with a start, and he blinked rapidly as tried to figure out where they were.

"S'wrong?" he asked.

"I heard something. I think we should…check on Shane." She motioned toward the door, which was shut. Tyreese sat in a chair against the wall next to it, shotgun across his lap. He was sound asleep. With a sigh, Daryl stood and helped Carol to her feet.

"Ty," Daryl mumbled, shaking the man's shoulder gently. Tyreese snorted and woke, yawning and stretching before he realized he, too, had fallen asleep on watch. Flashing an apologetic look at Daryl, he stood and put his hand on the door knob. With a gentle tap of his gun against the door, they all heard what they'd all expected. A lazy bump bump bump against the door, followed by the sound of teeth and nails gnashing against the wood.

"Shit," Daryl breathed, gathering his composure. "Ty, get back." Tyreese did as Daryl asked, and Carol stepped aside as Daryl cocked his gun and reached for the door knob. Then the snarling began, and Daryl began to fire shots into the door, unwilling to open it and endanger any more of his people. It had to be done. It had to be over. They had to move on.

Four shots later, and a thud thundered through the hall. Then silence. Carol grabbed Daryl's hand, and he squeezed hard, and when he reached for the doorknob, the door swung open, and Shane Walsh's body laid in a pool of blood, his eyes unnaturally white, his gums and lips and fingernails bleeding from trying to claw through the door.

"Oh God," Carol choked, covering her mouth. The bed sheets were soaked in blood. At some point in the night, he'd bled out. He hadn't bothered to call for help. He hadn't even tried to save his own life. But he was gone now, leaving the rest of his group to clean up the mess he left behind. Shane Walsh, no stranger to messes, no stranger to leaving them behind.

Daryl sat on the front porch swing with Judith in his lap as she attempted to sound out the words from her little picture book.

"Th…the kate…"

"Cat," he corrected.

"Cat," she said with a sigh, "cat likes his paws."

"I bet he does, but that's licks, not likes."

"It's too hard," Judith grunted in frustration.

"Judy, you're four. You're already readin' better than I did when I was…hell, eight."

"You said the 'h' word," she scolded.

"You gonna tell Mama on me?"

"No," she giggled.

"You sure?" He attacked her with tickles, and she giggled and flailed in his arms.

"Daddy, stop!" she laughed. "I won't tell. Promise!" Carol came out of the house, sighing with frustration.

"S'wrong?" he asked, mid-tickle. Judith took the opportunity to quickly wriggle out of Daryl's arms.

"Sophia. And Carl. I caught them kissing in the garage."

"Ew," Judith giggled.

"Ew is right, missy!" Carol laughed, picking the girl up in her arms and kissing her on the cheek. "At least for the next twenty-six years anyway." Daryl snorted at that, and Judith giggled, having no idea what her mother was talking about. Carol put her down, and Judith ran off into the house.

"Well, they're sixteen. What were you doin' when you were sixteen?" Daryl asked.

"I was a very good girl, I'll have you know," Carol said with a wink, sitting down next to him on the porch swing. "It's just…she's my baby. And Carl's…well, he's like a son to me. It's weird."

"They ain't siblings. They weren't raised that way."

"I know," Carol replied with a sigh. "I just…before we know it, they'll be getting married and having babies."

"Reminds me," Daryl said quickly. "Promised Noah and Beth we'd watch Anna tonight. She's been wantin' a playdate with Judith. Told Sasha she could send Lily over too, if she wants."

"So we're going to have a house full of kids again tonight, huh?" Carol asked with faux exasperation. "You do realize this puts a damper on date night."

"I know," he grumbled. "I'll make it up to ya. Promise."

"You better," she teased.

"Have a little faith, woman. I always keep my promises, don't I?"

"Yes. You certainly do." She smiled and kissed him softly. "C'mon."

"Where we goin'?"

"Carl and Sophia are on Judy Duty for the next two hours. I thought we could go on a run."

"Don't need no supplies," Daryl said, furrowing his brow. "'Sides, we got groups for that now. It ain't our turn." Carol sighed and shook her head.

"Just go with it, Pookie," she murmured, kissing him once more.

"Oh. You mean…we're goin' somewhere to…alright." Carol snorted as Daryl scrambled up and grabbed her hand and headed out toward the truck.

"Slow down. We've got plenty of time."

"We got two hours," he replied, opening the door for her. She scooted inside, and he came around and hopped in the cab, starting the engine.

"It's gonna take us two hours, huh? Two whole hours?"

"Hey, I'm always up for new challenges." Carol cast a look downward at his crotch, and snickered.

"I can see that."

"Stop," he chuckled, knowing fully damn well he never wanted her to stop.

The last four years had given them a chance to build their community. Their numbers grew every month, and while they still had a dozen homes to fill, they had a close group. They had functioning gardens, they had scavenging teams. They had guards. They had everything they could possibly need, but most of all, they had each other, and that was really all they ever needed.

As Daryl pulled up to the gates out front and honked the horn, Noah gave a little wave and opened them up, watching Daryl pull the truck through and out onto the open road. Carol cozied up to Daryl in the cab of the truck, sighing as the summer breeze blew through the windows as the rows of abandoned houses passed by in quick flashes.

She closed her eyes, resting her head on his shoulder, blocking out the sights around her, listening to the sound of the wind through the window, inhaling the scent of the trees and the fresh summer air. For a moment, it was like they were back to the way it was before the turn. For a moment, there was no danger, no walkers, no illness. For a moment, it was just her and her husband and their truck and the whole world stretched out before them. She opened her eyes and smiled softly, curling her fingers into his shirt. The real world, as grim as it had become, was still better, because without it, she never would have found him.

The End