Chapter 49: What Happens Next

After the meeting with Glenn, Rosita and Aaron, Carol and Daryl had pulled her aside to ask her a few questions. It turned out that Eugene's talk of being a scientist had been an outright lie. He'd had zero physical combat skills and knew if he didn't have somebody fighting at his side, he would've died within a month of the world going to shit. But, Rosita had explained, Eugene had admitted his lie about week after they'd left and headed back to D.C. Still, he'd proven to be a big asset with his vast knowledge of things most people didn't think about in the day to day scheme of things.

Still, as Daryl lay awake looking at the ceiling, he couldn't help but think how it would have been damned nice to have just a little piece of the old world back to show his children. He still remembered the excitement of the rare treat to the movies, sitting in the front row with a big tub of popcorn while the larger than life characters came to life on the screen in front of him. He remembered as a teen, hitching a ride with some friends and sneaking into the amusement park and riding roller coasters until he was dizzy. He still remembered the colorful lights whizzing past him at what then felt like a hundred miles an hour.

This world was less colorful, less exciting, and more dangerous. He hated that his children were confined to living behind walls, but it was necessary. They had plenty of freedom to run about the place in safety, but there were always threats. As long as there were people, there would be threats.

They'd gotten lucky. Their biggest threats had been drought and walkers. Back in Alexandria, they'd had it much worse. He remembered Rick, even right at the beginning when he was angry as hell at him for leaving Merle on that rooftop. Rick was a man with a level head and a heart focused on being a good father and husband but also on being a decent human being. And with all the shit he'd had to endure since the farm, it didn't seem right that he was quickly losing everything and everyone important to him. Daryl counted himself lucky he had Carol and their kids and all the people they'd welcomed into their lives.

A heavy sigh escaped him, and Carol shifted in bed beside him.

"You ok?" she asked softly, stroking Daryl's chest with her fingertips. Daryl yawned and groaned softly, rubbing his hand up and down Carol's arm.

"Mmm."

"You've been quiet."

"Just tired. Thinkin'."

"Me too," she murmured. "If you want to go…"

"I ain't leavin' you. Don't even ask me to do that," Daryl insisted. "I ain't goin' nowhere you ain't goin'."

"Daryl." Carol grimaced and sat up in bed. She turned to face Daryl, and he stared up at her. "Maybe there's a way to join both communities."

"What? Them come here or us go there?"

"Well, we could have Merle feel it out. If Alexandria has more space and more possibility, maybe we could…"

"Pick up and move everybody all the way to D.C.? How're we gonna do that?"

"I don't know," she sighed. "I guess, maybe it doesn't necessarily have to be everybody."

"What're you sayin'?"

"We've made this place work. We did what we could with what we have," Carol said quietly. "But we've struggled through more than one drought. Sometimes the crops are weak. And we're surrounded by woods. We're a target out here in the middle of nowhere."

"Alexandria sounds like a target, too."

"Yeah, but from the looks of Aaron's pictures, I think the walls seem taller. It looks like they have a more active presence in guarding the wall. Trained fighters. They fought off a whole herd of people surrounded by walkers and won. That's an asset. And they're close to the ocean. You've got a natural wall at your back, and it has an endless supply of food."

"You're really thinkin' about this?"

"I'm thinking of our friends. Of us. The kids. This is a great place, Daryl. It's ours. But it wouldn't take much for us to be in the same shape as Alexandria right now. And the closest towns we make our supply runs to are wiped clean. We're going further and further out." She lay back down and put her hand upon her belly. "I don't know."

"Hey," Daryl murmured, reaching up and stroking her cheek. "This place right here? This is the place that I'm worried about the most. I'm sorry for what they're goin' through back in Alexandria, but this place takes priority, 'cause our family's here." Carol stared down at him. A lot of things had happened, and a lot of time had passed since Hershel's farm was lost. In the beginning, they'd nearly gotten themselves killed on more than one occasion trying to find Rick and everyone else. But life had had a different plan and sent Rick on a different path. Daryl's journey had led him to having everything he'd never had before. Happiness. Love. Family. Stability. "This is the first home I ever had, and I ain't givin' up on it." Carol took a deep breath then and blinked back tears.

"Me neither," she agreed. "This is our home."

"Made our family here. Even if we ever leave it for a little while, we'll come back." Carol gently brushed her hand over his cheek and sniffled.

"I love you," she murmured.

"Me too," he grinned, before pulling her down to him for tender kiss.

...

Merle stood in front of Andrea's house, looking up at the pale light coming from the upstairs windows. He looked back toward his house. He was gonna miss that place. It had been home for the last few years, and he'd even surprised himself in volunteering to go. But he knew if he hadn't, his brother would have been conflicted about going. He knew Daryl was devoted to his family, but there was always going to be that part of him that felt he had to help everybody. He was good like and always had been.

The last of his things were packed, and it wouldn't be long before he was heading off east with people he barely knew to help a group of people he knew even less. The idea of leaving Daryl and Carol and the kids stung to think about it, but the more he thought about leaving, the more he realized he was leaving someone else behind that he really didn't want to leave.

Andrea's arrival to the community had done more for Merle's outlook on life than anything had in a long time. He'd been a downright prick in the past, but she seemed to look past that and see that he was trying to be a better man. And that boy of hers looked up at him like the sun shone out of his ass or something. The kid was constantly following him around asking him questions, and at first he hadn't known how to react. But the more the kid hung around, the more he got used to it and the more he looked forward to walking him right back home to his mama just so she'd invite him in for some lemonade or cider.

She was a beauty, Andrea Harrison, and when she smiled at him, it was like looking into the face of an honest to god angel. And the idea of not seeing her face every day was unsettling. There was a hollowness in his chest he couldn't describe, but he didn't like the feeling.

"You gonna stay out there all night?" Andrea asked.

"Why not? Wasn't all that many years ago I was used to sleepin' under the stars."

"Hmm." Andrea took a seat on the porch steps, and she scooted over. Merle shifted his weight from heel to heel before finally taking a seat beside her. "Dylan keeps asking if he can go, too." Andrea chuckled. "I keep reminding him we've spent his whole life outside these walls. But he thinks you'll need backup." She grinned, and Merle laughed.

"You got a helluva kid there, you know that?"

"Yeah, he's pretty great," Andrea agreed. "He's kept me going the last five years. Some days I look back and wonder how the hell I did it. But I did."

"This world has a way of pushin' ya right through the limits ya thought were holdin' you back." Andrea turned her head to look at him.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," she said with a little nod. "I've done a lot of things out there that keep me awake at night. I did them for him. To keep him alive. To keep us safe. And I'm here behind these walls, and it feels like someone else's nightmare. Only, I carry the scars." She pulled her arms around herself and shivered.

"Whatever you had to do to get where you are now, it's part of ya. Ain't goin' away. Just gotta live with it and move on."

"That's what you're doing? Going with Glenn to Alexandria? You're moving on?"

"Takin' care of things so Daryl don't have to. He's got a lot to look forward to, and I wanna let him enjoy that. Didn't have much growin' up, but he got himself a family that's worth holdin' onto."

"That's sweet."

"Yeah, well, don't tell him I said that. He wouldn't believe it anyway." He glanced at her, and a little smile twitched at the corner of her mouth. A moment later, she pressed her lips against his in a soft kiss that ended almost as quickly as it started. And then she stood up and started toward the front door. She paused just inside the doorway and turned. He looked over his shoulder and watched the smile spread over her face.

"Are you coming in or what?"

...

"Where'd you go?" Rosita asked, sitting up in bed and pulling the sheet up over her chest.

"What?" Glenn asked, folding his arms behind his head. He tore his gaze from the ceiling he'd been staring at for the past ten minutes and looked at Rosita.

"You were a million miles away for a minute."

"Sorry," he murmured. "Just a lot on my mind."

"I know." She leaned down and kissed him. "You ok?"

"Yeah." He reached for her hand and placed it against his chest. "Glad you're here with me. I know leaving Coco was hard for you."

"It was," she agreed. "But I can sleep at night knowing I'm doing something that's going to hopefully give her a chance at a future. I know you're doing the same thing for Hirsh." She settled back down in his arms, and he slowly slid his hand along the curve of her hip. "I know you have a history with Merle."

"He's willing to help. I'm grateful. I don't know how Rick'll react, but maybe seeing him will pull Rick out of wherever his head's at right now. If he can help us get Alexandria back to what it was, I'll owe him."

"I know you want Daryl along."

"I'd like to bring them all with us," Glenn admitted. "But that'd take more planning and more cars." Rosita smiled a little, bringing her hand up to brush through Glenn's hair. That little smile grew wider, and Glenn couldn't help but grin back. "What?"

"I'm just thinking how it feels like I was supposed to meet you."

"What do you mean?"

"I was here first. We stayed a while, we got to know people, and then we moved on. And then we found Alexandria. And surprise, you knew people we knew, and it just felt like we were meant to end up there. I'm just sorry about all the bad shit that went down since then."

"Me too," Glenn agreed, bringing his hand up to stroke through her hair. "But I'm not sorry about us. I loved my wife. I thought I'd die right along with her. But I didn't. I survived it somehow. And a lot of that's thanks to you. I never expected to fall in love with you."

"Me neither," Rosita admitted. "Surprised the hell out of me the first time I got those butterflies." Glenn chuckled, and Rosita leaned in to kiss him.

It had been a long road for both of them. After the funerals, they both kept to themselves for a long while, taking care of their kids on their own until one day, Rosita showed up at his door with an inconsolable Coco. She'd gone to Lori's first, only to find Lori and Rick in a heated argument. And the only other person she knew to go to that had experience with babies was Glenn. He'd let her in, and he'd helped her calm Coco down, and when Coco was finished crying, Rosita started. Glenn had just let her cry until he could find the words, and they'd spent a whole afternoon talking about raising a child alone in a world that kept trying to kill them. Glenn talked about Maggie. Rosita talked about Siddiq and how even though they weren't a couple, he was a good parenting partner and a good man, and she wished Coco would have gotten to grow up to know her dad.

After that day, they would schedule play dates for Hirsh and Coco, despite an age gap between the toddler and infant. Hirsh loved Coco and always asked for her, and they both figured it would do some good to let the kids bond. And as the kids bonded, so did they, until one evening after a late supper, Glenn got up to leave, and when Rosita walked him to the door, he turned and kissed her. In that moment, they found something in each other they never thought they'd find again, and while Glenn felt guilty about it for a long time, the more time he spent with Rosita, the more he realized he loved her more than he ever thought he could love another person again. And that night, without words, they began a journey together.

Author's Note: Thank you all so much for your encouraging feedback! Please let me know what you think. Your feedback means more to me than you know!