It had been a 6 hour drive, for the past two both Carol and Joey had slept. They stopped for sandwiches which they had at a park, drinks and let Joey run and jump for an hour. Both leaning back on a bench seat watching him play alongside some other little kids in the park.
He had driven along lost in his own throughts keeping the music low thinking about what they would do next. What he wanted to do next was try and move on a little. Get out of there. He drove into the small town that he used to live in driving towards the small motel to get a room. He nudged Carol awake when he had parked and she opened her eyes looking around at where they were.
'I'm just going to get a room,' He told her, she blinked a few times and nodded as he moved out of the truck. 5 minutes later he come out holding a key he jumped back into the truck to move it along to their rooms.
'I got two rooms, a double, so we can have him in his own room or...' he looked at her, she didn't look happy that he was going to put him in his own room. 'Or we can have him in bed with us again,'
'Its fine,' Carol told him, he pulled into the park, and picked up Joey up from his car seat and moved with him in his arms towards the door, Carol followed him and took the key off him. Unlocked the door and pushed it open. She stared into the room, it wasn't that bad. Nicer than any of the other motel rooms they had stayed in for the past few days. There was a lounge with two doors off it.
'It's nice, where do you want me to put him?' Daryl asked her.
'In the room you got for him, I've got doggie,' Carol held up the toy dog he loved that they had been carrying around in the truck for the past two days. Daryl moved around taking him into the room. Carol helped get the shoes off and tuck him into sleep. Carol half pulled the door shut behind her. Daryl went out to start bringing in their gear. Putting it in the lounge of the room. Carol went through it looking at all the washing they still needed to do.
Daryl opened up the cupboards under the sink pointing to a washer dryer that was under there.
'It has one of these in here babe,' He called her over to the little kitchenette.
'Really,' Carol brought over Joeys clothes and Daryl went out to the truck bringing in a box of washing powder. She watched as he did the task of putting everything into the wash. Something that was so boring and mundane that was a part of every day life.
'You bring that?' She queried. To be honest she really didn't have a clue what he packed or brought the truck was full of stuff, he kept surprising her with what he seemed to have remembered to pack. She felt bad she was so deep in her own grief that she forgot about his. He was holding everything together for her and barely had thought about himself constantly trying to comfort he and look after Joey.
'Yeah, thought we would have to wash his clothes so saved us running to the stores or a laundry mat or something,' Daryl told her, she stood watching and nodded and stepped towards him. He hugged her to him and she nodded again.
'I'm going to try, I'm so sad, my body is sore,' She told him.
'I know,' he squeeze her, 'But we gotta keep going, we ain't dead,'
'I feel like I am,' she whispered.
'But we are not, we got to keep going,' Daryl told her, 'Even if we don't want too, we gotta, Rick, Merle wouldn't want this,'
'I know, ok, tell me whats so special about this town?' She asked him, he led her to the couch where they sat down with their arm's wrapped around each other.
'Well for a start, we are here,' he leaned over and kissed her, 'but there is more, there is a dinner that makes the best cheese burgers,'
'Cheese burgers huh?' Carol shook her head, 'It better have more than cheese burgers to offer if you are wanting to move us here.'
'There is a gas station,' Daryl teased her a little.
'Good to know,' she let him have a little grin.
'The farm I was working on had baby ducks,' Daryl offered knowing she liked little things like that.
'Now your getting a bit warmer, so how far is the dinner,' she asked him.
'Two blocks we can walk, then if you want too we can go out and visit the old guy out at the farm, I sent him a text to say we were coming here this morning,' Daryl told her, they both looked up as Joey staggered out of the room he was in, he come over and climbed on Daryl.
'I'm hungry,' he told Daryl.
'Good job Daddy knows the best cheese burger place in town,' Carol told him, 'Come I'll help you get dress and to the toilet then we are going for a walk.'
Daryl watched as Carol busied herself around trying to get Joey ready, he knew she was trying but she was trying to pull herself out of her deep grief where she could go too deep and never be able to pull herself out. The key was Joey, while they had Joey to focus on, to care for it wasn't as bad as it could be. Carol looked over at Daryl nodding that she could see what he was trying to do for them. They both looked at the door when there was a knock at it.
'Its for you,' he told Joey, who run to the door opening it so fast that the door hit the wall. Carol looked up and a smile hit her face that they hadn't seen in ages hit it with a big cheesy grin.
'Uncle Shane,' Joey shouted, already reaching out for his pockets to see what was in there. Carol's face mouthed 'How?'
'Heard they had good cheese burgers here,' Shane told her walking in with Joey firmly attached to him, Carol moved to hug him, looking behind to see Shane's boyfriend and Andrea following him into the room. They were there, Daryl looked slightly pleased with himself. Carol hugged them all she looked like she was going to burst into tears but happy tears. 'Thought we better come see what this town had to offer, Daryl been talking it up some, so here we are.'