Author's Note: Thanks again for the wonderful reviews. I have never had a story that has ever reached 500 reviews, so I really want to thank you all. I have been informed that it may be in my best interests to remove the song lyrics from the beginning of the chapters. That will be a process that will be undertaken later this week as I am a bit busy, but serves me right for not paying closer attention to a rule barring the use of song lyrics in stories.
***Italics indicate a flashback for Daryl
****Bold italics indicate a dream for Daryl
A Better Man
Summary: After Carol's death, Daryl makes a desperate wish to save her. Suddenly, he finds himself back in the quarry, staring as she and her daughter cower in the shadow of her husband. With all of his memories of the future intact, can Daryl change life as he knows it?
Disclaimer: From here on out, I do not own The Walking Dead or any of its characters.
Song that goes with the chapter: I'll Follow You by Shinedown
Chapter 34: Follow You
It had taken all of three minutes before Sophia noticed the ring on her mother's finger. Daryl had been concerned that the grin on the girl's face would get stuck there, but he was just as damn happy as she was. Daryl wanted to be an official part of their family more than anything and he was thrilled that Carol had said 'yes' and that Sophia was so damn excited about it. She was permitted to tell the others about it at breakfast, causing grins to split out and questions to be asked. Amy had teased him mercilessly about his wordless proposal, but Carol had told him that it was perfect for them, sweet and simple.
Lori had asked when they planned to actually get married, which prompted a bit of a debate about marriage in the apocalypse. After all, in this new world, there was no need to wait for a fancy cake, big dresses, or churches. If they wanted to get married, it was simple enough just to say that they were married and be done with it. Hell, they didn't even need rings to show it, but Daryl actually wanted to wear one, to show that he happily belonged to one woman and one woman only. Carol felt the same and so they decided that as soon as they found a set of wedding bands, they would exchange them in whatever way they deemed fit and be 'officially married'.
When Daryl and Glenn headed out on a run two days after Christmas, Daryl had decided that he would be looking around for those wedding bands as he was eager to consider himself a married man. It was a hat he had never worn before and he was eager to try it on. This plan was derailed by what they actually found in Gainesville.
They were on the hunt for more food and supplies so they were planning on raiding the grocery store in town. The only problem was that the grocery store was already being looted. Daryl and Glenn stayed in the shadows and climbed into an office building across from the supermarket. After killing about five walkers in silence, they made their way to a third floor window and watched the odd conglomeration of the dead and the living.
A large covered wagons was parked on the street. It were the kind that would have been displayed in a museum to show what the early pioneers had used to travel in the olden days, with a white canopy over a rickety wagon. Daryl was fairly certain, however, that the pioneers did not use walkers to pull their wagons. Where horses should have been hooked to the wagons, there were about ten handless and jawless walkers attached. Most of them were nude and disfigured.
"That is sick," Glenn said as he and Daryl stared horrified at the scene.
"Very," Daryl agreed. Daryl had never liked the idea that walkers could be used by the living. He thought of the governor, who used them for entertainment and war, or even to Michonne and Andrea, who used them for camouflage or as pack horses. Daryl himself had been used enough in his life and he hated to think that he could be used in death. He frowned at the small horse trailer that was attached to the only fuel-powered vehicle (a truck) and couldn't help remembering when the governor smashed their fences and dropped of a trailer full of walkers in their yard. If these people were using dismembered walkers to pull their wagons, he imagined that they had no qualms about keeping intact walkers for whenever they needed a little extra back-up.
It was a group of about ten men, all armed to the teeth, who looted the grocery store. Six other heavily armed men guarded the wagon, but neither Glenn nor Daryl could see what was inside. They soon found out what was in there. Through the opened window, they heard the voices of two men who looked to be inspecting the condition of their work-walkers.
"Here's another one," a tall, muscular guy in black leather said, pointing to the feet of a female walker. They were a mangled mess, leaving to walker to walk on her ankles rather than her mangled, bloody feet. The man lunged forward with a machete, ending the walker. He unhooked her, cut deep into her torso, and discarded her to the side where three other dead walkers were already piled.
Another man, this one looking to be of Hispanic descent, pulled two women out of the guarded wagon and ordered, "Spread the guts on the wagon. Now! Vamonos!"
The women fearfully moved to the pile of bodies and began using their bare hands to smear the guts of the dead walkers onto the sides of the wagon. Two more men walked to the horse trailer and opened it, pulling four living people out of the wagon. All four were male and had their hands and feet bound together. The horse trailer was shut and then Glenn and Daryl watched in horror as all four men were impaled in the chest and then as their bodies were mutilated to replace those walkers that had been removed from the wagon. Then the macabre troupe moved out, heading towards the other side of Gaineswille to pillage more of the town. A woman from the wagon was chosen to walk out in front of the walkers to get them moving.
"Jesus Christ," Glenn struggled to breathe as he and Daryl made their way back to where they stashed their truck, "That was…they were…that…"
"That was the fuckin' sickest thing I ever saw," Daryl commented truthfully. He had never seen anything quite like that and he had never been more terrified, "We're gonna have to move out. We can't be livin' with that in our fuckin' backyard."
"It looked like they were headed west," Glenn said, "Just so long as we don't go that way, I'm in."
"Good thing they didn't fuckin' move south. They would see the signs for the storage units," Daryl grumbled, "Let's get back and get the fuck out of here."
0
"I thought you'd be out longer," Rick commented as he and Shane greeted Glenn and Daryl.
"We ran into some trouble," Glenn explained, "Another group."
"Sick fucks," Daryl added, "They use walkers to pull their wagons and if they need more, they have a damn horse trailer full of folks that they kill for more walkers."
"How many?" Rick demanded, going pale.
"Counted around fifteen men or so," Daryl replied, "Armed and dangerous."
"They looked to be heading west," Glenn supplied.
"Do you think they'll find the storage units?" Shane asked, his brow knitting in concern.
"It could happen," Glenn confirmed, "If there are signs around advertising for this place, they'd be fools not to go for it."
"Shit," Shane cursed.
"We're going to have to move," Rick directed, "Get everyone packed and up to speed. We don't want to get caught in a fight with these people."
Suddenly, there was a high-pitched howl coming from behind them. All four men glanced back, ready to react to danger, but it was the sound of an injured Paris Peletier followed by an angered shout from her brother.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" Charlie Peletier raged, "HOW DARE YOU HIT PARIS?"
It was then that Daryl realized who Charlie was screaming at. Sophia cowered away from her enraged cousin, holding her wrist to her body. Daryl moved forward on pure instinct, ignoring as Rick swore about the confrontation to come.
"What are you screaming at, Charlie?" Carol demanded, flying out of the storage locker when she realized her child was in danger. She pulled Sophia to her and glared at the young man. Sophia looked terrified.
"THIS IS YOUR FAULT!" Charlie raged at Carol, "There's no way in hell my uncle would have a disobedient, violent little brat like that! You-"
Daryl had seized Charlie by the back of his jacket and threw him down to the ground, snarling, "Shut ya damn mouth and stay the fuck away from my family!"
Charlie glared up at him, "I bet this is your doing! Dumb, violent redneck corrupting my cousin!"
"Charlie, stop!" Rick ordered, getting in between the two men, "Tell us what happened!"
"Look at my sister!" Charlie demanded, and everyone turned to glance at Paris, who was howling as blood dripped from her nose through her hands, "Sophia hit her!"
Then all eyes turned to Sophia, who was still holding her hand and looked like she was about to cry. Carol looked stunned, but Daryl felt pride stir up a little inside him. Rick pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Alright, get Hershel to take a look at her and get packed. We're moving out," Rick ordered, "We'll deal with this later, but we have to get moving!"
"I WANT TO SEE SOME PUNISHMENT-"
"And you'll get it," Shane assured Charlie, hauling him to his feet, "Take care of your sister, get packed, and let us handle it."
Charlie sulked away guiding Paris along with him. Daryl scowled at Rick.
"We ain't takin' the new ones with us," he growled.
"They're part of our group now, Daryl," Rick said, his voice bordering on impatience, "We don't have time for this now."
"We're gonna make time!" Daryl protested, "Ya seen how they act-"
"We also see how you and yours act," Shane commented, leaning against the wall, "You've been in more fights here than any of us."
"Stay the fuck outta this, Walsh!" Daryl snarled. Shane smirked and looked to Rick.
"Seems to me my gun was taken 'cause I was actin' like a hot-head and it was starting to threaten the survival of the group. I accepted that. Swallowed it," Shane reminded them, "Startin' to look like I ain't the only hot-head 'round here," he stated, looking over at Daryl.
"What the fuck are you on about?" Daryl demanded. Shane shrugged, seeming to fight off a smirk as he regarded Daryl.
"Rick, I hate to say it, but his attitude is going to cause trouble…could get someone killed," Shane said, gesturing to Daryl, "Might be time to consider a similar type of justice…you know, take away his weapons, check him, before he does something to hurt someone."
Daryl's blood ran hot in his veins as he realized that Shane was suggesting that Rick disarm Daryl. He was suggesting that Daryl was the threat.
"Are you fuckin' kidding me?" Daryl spat, "I done more than anyone to keep this group safe and you're up my ass 'cause I'd rather not die in my sleep 'cause of the new fucks?"
Shane let out a small chuckle, "See, Rick, he's paranoid and that's gonna be trouble-"
"And if memory serves me right, Asshole, you lost your gun 'cause ya fuckin' shot me in the side of the head!" Daryl shouted.
"And I'd hate to see someone else get hurt because of his violent tendencies-"
"And what about your violent tendencies? Ya tried to kill me!" Daryl spat, ignoring the dangerous look in Shane's eyes for the moment.
"Worse still is the fact that his violent behaviour is rubbing off on the kids," Shane continued, glancing over to Sophia, "Rick, something needs to be done."
Rick scowled and sucked in through his teeth, looking between Shane and Daryl. His voice was low when he said, "We can't do this now. We have more important matters to deal with at the moment. We can sort this out after we hit the road."
"You're going to leave it?" Shane asked incredulously, "You're going to leave it alone until this asshole does something to jeopardize the group…maybe even Lori?"
"Shane, go pack," Rick ordered, waiting for Shane to obey before he said to Daryl, "You do the same."
Then the sheriff walked away to sort out his own family. Daryl stood there shaking in anger.
"Daryl, what's going on? Why are we packing?" Carol asked. Daryl fought to retain control, reminding himself that the bullshit with Shane and Rick didn't matter; Carol, Sophia, and Lily came first.
"Came across a large group. Sick as fuck. Best I can figure is they captured other groups and are turnin' 'em into walkers to pull their wagons. We need to get out of the area," Daryl explained, glancing at her and Sophia, "We need to pack our shit and go."
Carol nodded, understanding the reality of the threat and moved into the locker to begin throwing things into a pile. Daryl followed, directing Sophia to gather up blankets as he moved to help Carol sort their things.
"How long do we have?" Carol asked, lifting Lily out of her laundry basket and starting to strap the baby into the car-seat.
"Dunno," Daryl replied, "Sooner we get outta here, the better."
He started tossing Lily's bottles, clothes, and diapers into the basket before moving to toss his and Carol's clothes in as well.
"Are you in the RV or on the bike?" Carol asked.
"RV," Daryl answered, "Bike's on the truck. Too damn icy for it right now anyways."
"Good," Carol nodded, "You and I need to talk," she said. His stomach clenched automatically at the words, but then he relaxed slightly as she saw her eyes flicker to Sophia. He followed her gaze to where Sophia was struggling to fold the blankets with one hand. He moved towards her, quickly folding the blanket for her and then reaching for her hand.
"Let's see it, Slugger," he demanded. Sophia reluctantly placed her right hand into his outstretched one. Carol moved over to take a look as well. Sophia's hand was starting to swell, particularly around the thumb and a couple of her knuckles.
"Oh, Soph," Carol murmured as tears leaked out of Sophia's eyes.
"Shoulda taught ya how to punch proper," Daryl groaned, knowing that there was something broken in her hand.
"Is it broken?" Carol asked, concerned, "Should we get Hershel?"
"Somethin's busted in there," Daryl admitted, "We'll get Hershel to look at it in a bit, but for now, don't use it and hold it above your chest. Go sit down in the RV and I can set it for ya once we get packed. Ask Dale for some aspirin or somethin'."
"Ibuprofen works best for swelling," Carol suggested, gathering up an armful of blankets and the handle of the car-seat to take to the RV. Sophia followed while Daryl gathered up the last of their crap and took the laundry basket to the RV. Outside, it looked like Rick was having his own problems.
"It's safe here!" Derrick was protesting to Rick, "Out there, those things are waiting to eat us!"
"I understand, but these people could be worse than walkers," Rick tried to convince him.
"We nearly died out there," Charlie commented sourly.
"Derrick, Charlie, I promise you that nothing like that will happen with us," Rick vowed, "You and your group are safe with us. You have my word."
"We'll hold you to it," Charlie grumbled. Daryl shook his head. It would be a better idea to leave the new folks on their own if they wanted to stay so bloody bad. He carried his load onto the RV and pushed it under the table, where Sophia was sitting and holding her hand with a grimace.
"Here, luchador," Miguel said to the little fighter, passing her a couple Ibuprofen. Sophia popped them into her mouth and swallowed some water that Carol offered her.
"Let's see it," Daryl requested, sitting on the opposite side of the table. Sophia placed her hand on the table. It was still swollen and it was starting to bruise.
"It really hurts," Sophia whimpered.
"Amy's going to get Hershel to come take a look," Carol supplied, "While we wait for him, I think you ought to tell us why you punched your cousin, Young Lady."
Sophia grimaced and not just from the pain in her hand, "I'm sorry, Mom."
"What happened, Soph?" Carol asked, not letting her daughter escape with an apology, "We've talked about this, Honey. You can't let anything Paris says hurt you. If she says anything, you know that you're supposed to walk away and find an adult."
"But I'm sick of it!" Sophia cried, "I'm sick of her calling me a baby and saying all the stuff she says about you and Daryl! She never stops and no matter where I go, she's always there!"
"Soph, we told ya that we don't give a shit what she says 'bout us," Daryl reminded her.
"Honey, it shouldn't bother you-"
"Well it does!" Sophia shot back at them, tears streaming down her face, "All the things she says…it does bother me!"
Daryl was at a loss and he could see that Carol was too. Miguel saved the day.
"Maybe it's a good thing," the young man offered, "Now that brat knows not to mess with you, Chica."
"It's not okay to hit people," Carol reminded them.
"Ah, but Mamacita, I seem to remember you giving Officer Shane a good smack when he shot Daryl," Miguel reminded her, grinning playfully. Carol glared at the young man, but Daryl could tell her heart wasn't in it.
"Keep it up and I'll give you a good smack," Carol playfully threatened, gently shoving Miguel's arm. Amy, Dale, and Hershel then got into the RV. Dale went to bring the old girl to life. Daryl opted to get to his feet so Hershel could take his place at the table.
"It looks like I'll be riding with you all this time," Hershel said as he gently took Sophia's hand and examined it, "I don't think her knuckles are broken, but the thumb is. It'll be best if we set her whole hand."
Amy had already retrieved a first aid kit and Hershel was reaching for it in search of anything that could be of use. Sophia gave a little whimper as he reached for some tape.
"Just think, Chica," Miguel said, sitting down beside Sophia, "When all this is over, your hand will still look better than mine."
He showed off his own disfigured right hand, his souvenir from the group he had been a part of before meeting up with Daryl and Andrea. In truth, Daryl hadn't really paid too much mind to Miguel's injury. After a while, he just sort of forgot that Miguel had the injury, partly because Miguel had taken to wearing a black glove over it and partly because after a while, you just seem to forget that anything is out of the ordinary. Now, though, the glove was off and Daryl could see the scars from where an iron had been pressed to Miguel's hand. It had left his fingers badly scarred and basically useless, but thanks to some careful care from Hershel, the young man had been able to heal with minimal infection.
"And hey, you've got two hands," Amy pointed out, smiling brightly to reassure the girl. Amy's stump extended to just past her elbow. She tended to wear long sleeved shirts so that she could tie the end off for extra warmth.
"Christ, this group is hard on hands," Daryl commented gruffly as Dale shifted the RV into gear to follow the caravan out the gate.
"You don't know the half of it," Amy laughed, reaching over to ruffle Sophia's hair, "Next time, Slugger, you might want to aim somewhere else. That little brat's broken nose is going to heal faster than your busted hand."
Carol, content that Amy and Miguel were being more than enough to distract Sophia from thoughts of her injury, tapped Daryl on the shoulder and pointed to the back of the RV. He followed her and closed the screen, anticipating that talk Carol had promised him, and watched as she put Lily's car-seat in a more sturdy position.
"Sorry," he apologized, figuring that was his best course of action. Carol frowned up at him.
"Daryl, it's not your fault," she assured him, but then paused, "Wait, you didn't tell Sophia to hit Paris, did you?"
"What? No!" Daryl replied, "Told her the same thing ya did…even though it went against everythin' Merle tried to teach me when I was her age."
"And how did Merle's advice work out for you?" Carol wondered.
"Honestly? Not that fuckin' good," he admitted, "I was a scrawny thing growin' up. Anytime I tried finishin' shit, I got my sorry ass kicked up until I finally filled out a little."
Carol sighed and glanced towards the front of the RV, "That hand is going to give her more of a punishment than I could ever give her."
"When it heals, I'm gonna teach her to throw a proper punch," Daryl warned, "Ya gotta keep ya thumb out," he said, making a fist to show his point. Carol groaned.
"Can we fight more about that when the time comes?" she asked, "I think we need to talk about Rick and Shane…what they said."
Daryl groaned and flopped back on the bed beside her, saying, "Rick ain't gonna listen to that shit. I've never held anyone in my sights and I ain't never nearly killed nobody either. 'Sides, he disarms me and we all go hungry. Shane's just tryin' to make my life miserable."
"But what if he does disarm you?" Carol questioned nervously, "We both know that Shane's going to be getting his gun back soon and if you don't have your weapon-"
"Then I expect I ain't got much to worry 'bout seein' as you got yours," Daryl teased, "Ya could save me for a change."
"Daryl, I'm being serious," Carol deadpanned, leaning over him with her hand on his chest, "I love you and the thought that something could happen to you-"
"Hey," he chided, sitting up and clutching her hand over his heart, "Ain't nothin' is gonna happen to me. Ya ain't gettin' rid of me that easy."
"Daryl, I just have a bad feeling about all this," she admitted. He sighed and pulled her closer to him.
"Way I see it is we don't have to worry 'bout Rick takin' anythin', even with Shane whisperin' in his ear," Daryl reasoned, "See, Rick ain't gonna just disarm me and if he did, I reckon the rest of the group would have somethin' to say 'bout it. 'Sides, Rick'd give me a choice like he did Shane. He'd tell me to either turn over my weapons or leave. I certainly ain't walkin' 'round this apocalypse with nothin' to protect myself so I'd probably tell him that we'd be leavin'."
"The last time we talked about leaving the group, you said it was better for the girls if we stayed in the group. Safety in numbers," Carol reminded him.
"That's true," Daryl nodded, "but d'ya really think we'd be the only ones leavin' in that scenario?" he asked her, "Everyone knows better than to believe the shit Shane's sayin'. I betcha if we said something, Amy, Miguel, and Dale would be leavin' with us. Same with Jacqui and T. Maybe Glenn and the Greenes too. Just as much as we rely on the safety of the group, Rick and his family do too."
"If you're so sure about that, then why don't we just go?" Carol wondered, "If you think the rest of the group would follow us, than why not just leave?"
"'Cause I ain't a hundred percent sure if the group would follow us if we just up and left. None of us followed Morales when he took his family away," Daryl admitted, then thinking about his supernatural role in the past, "and despite it all, I'm still responsible for keepin' these people safe. If somethin' happened to them and I weren't there to help, it'd be my fault."
"So in other words we're walking a very thin line," Carol responded, leaning her head into the crook of his neck.
"Very thin one," he agreed, letting his thoughts wander to what would happen when the tightrope that they were walking finally snapped. He wouldn't be the only one to fall and his decision to stay could cause his family to plummet along with him. He then reached up and raised her chin so that her clear blue eyes locked with his.
"Hey, if ya ever think it's time to go, leave the group, ya just say the word and we'll go," he told her seriously.
"Really?" she asked, frowning.
"Absolutely," Daryl confirmed, "You're better with people than I am and I trust ya instincts 'bout 'em. If ya think it's in our best interests to leave, then we will. You, the girls, this family…ya'll come before the group every time."
Carol bit her lip and nodded, kissing him once on the lips and deciding, "We should stay as long as it makes sense to do so."
"Then we'll stay until it doesn't no more," Daryl decided, "Just remember that I'd follow ya anywhere, Woman. That's a promise," he vowed, his hand going to the ring he had put on her finger, the one that bound her to him and him to her.
TBC
So the group is on the road again and Shane is up to some new tricks. The wagon group was the incentive to leave and I may bring them into play at some point again, but for now, they're heading out. I wanted to show some insight into why the folks at the prison avoid using walkers if they can help it.
On an unrelated note, two days later and I still feel like I've been punched in the gut on account of Carol's reveal at the end of 'Isolation'. Here's hoping she's covering for Lizzie. There is something not right with that kid.
Next chapter: To appease Shane, the group votes on whether or not to disarm Daryl. A revelation causes Dale to once again beg Daryl to share his secret with him.
Read and review! Let me know what you're thoughts are about the future of this story. Your reviews keep me going!