Hey guys,
I wrote this a while ago (I think back when S10 first started). I decided to upload my other stories over here, so keep an eye on my page as I will be uploading many more. Hope you like this.
She approached the border carefully with hard eyes. Her gaze zeroed in on the pike that stood out firmly in her memory. She blinked furiously and started forward again. She looked to the left and right of the area. There seemed to be no sign of walkers or whisperers but she was not going to be caught off guard.
"Stop!" came a voice from behind her. Carol froze and her shoulders slumped. She steeled herself and turned around.
Daryl stood a few feet away with a concerned look. His crossbow was slung over his shoulder as was customary for him.
"You shouldn't be here!" she spat at him angrily. He scoffed at her words.
"Neither should you," he retorted with a pointed glare.
In this moment she felt so angry at him. He wasn't supposed to follow her. He was going to ruin everything she had been planning. She needed to get him to leave. She stormed over to him.
"Go home!" she ordered with a stern expression. His eyes narrowed as he watched her.
"I ain't going nowhere unless you come too."
She made a frustrated noise and took a step back.
"I can't go back! I need to do this!"
"You don't."
She huffed a bitter laugh.
"Easy for you to say. You didn't have a psychotic bitch cut your son's head off!" she shouted. She watched as he winced at her tone. His eyes looked sad.
"I know you're hurtin' but we need to be smarter about this."
She shook her head. She took another step back towards the border.
"You be smarter. Go home. Let me do this." With that, she turned fully and marched forward, intent on her goal once more.
Carol had barely placed her foot over the invisible line when she found herself being pulled backwards. She resisted the grip that was firm but gentle. She tugged at the arms that were around her middle.
"Daryl let go of me!" she growled. She dug her nails into his arms, hearing him grunt.
"Stop!" he urged in a surprisingly soft voice.
It caused her struggle to cease momentarily and she felt his body relax a little. She snapped out of it quickly though and she used the brief calm to push against him again. She succeeded in escaping his grip for about half a second before his hands grabbed her arms. She cried out in frustration and then her stomach dropped. Her foot had caught on a tangle in the grass near one of the pikes and now she was falling to the ground. Unfortunately, Daryl was pulled down with her.
The impact of the ground wasn't as painful as she expected but Daryl's weight on the small of her back knocked the wind out of her. She gasped as she tried to catch her breath again. She heard Daryl groan and felt him lift himself from on top of her. With the loss of his form, she managed to take some deep breaths.
A beat passed before she realised her captor was gone and she had the moment she needed to continue her plan. She glanced over her shoulder, seeing Daryl had rolled to the side when he had moved off of her. He wasn't looking at her at all and she guessed he thought she had given up. Perfect opportunity.
Her legs felt too wobbly to stand yet so she pulled herself across the border on her hands and knees. She tried to keep as quiet as possible so he wouldn't notice her absence until it was too late and she was able to walk again. She made it about a meter before she heard Daryl cursing behind her.
"Goddamit!" he growled and she could hear him moving after her now.
She tried to get her legs under her to stand up and make a run for it. It was too late. She felt his hand close around her ankle and she tumbled to the soft grass. She kicked out at him blindly but he wouldn't let go. Her heart felt loud in her ears.
The moment brought back some terrible memories. Ed grabbing her when she tried to get away from him. Him dragging her back over the brash carpet, leaving carpet burn on her arms. Then pinning her to the floor and tearing her clothes from her. Her fingers curled into the earth beneath her in the present moment.
The only thing that stopped her from panicking wildly was the memory that this was Daryl. He would never do something like that to her. Her mind and body were absolutely sure of that. What he was doing was hindering her damned plans.
She made to kick back at him again but he had gained some momentum while she had been lost in thought. Both of his hands wrapped around her thighs and he used the grip to flip her over. She felt the soft ground beneath her back as the night sky appeared above her.
She breathed deeply in and out, feeling exhaustion taking over. She was expending energy she didn't have.
Her view changed soon as Daryl loomed over her. He looked out of breath now too. This knowledge reignited the fire in her and she brought her arms up, ready to shove him backwards. Her attempt was intercepted before she could even try. He gripped her wrists and brought them down with his beside her head.
"I said stop!" Daryl shouted at her, still panting heavily. If she hadn't known him as well as she did she might have been afraid. He looked furious and his strength easily overpowered her. She pushed uselessly against his hands, feeling her wrists ache.
"I can't!" she cried hysterically, feeling tears burning her eyes. His gaze softened and he looked more like her Daryl. The gentle soul who had brought comfort to a mother without hope. She took a hiccuping breath. "Why can't you just let me go?" she asked brokenly.
"Because I can't lose you," he replied in a soft voice that was nothing like his usual gravelly tone. His eyes had begun to tear up and her heart clenched at the sight. She was hurting him.
She had been so selfish with her revenge scheme. The only thing that she had been able to focus on was killing Alpha. She hadn't let anything else matter to her. Daryl had become collateral damage so to speak and it was her fault.
"Daryl," she choked as her throat became tight.
His eyes were pained as he continued to stare down at her. She relaxed every muscle in her body. The fight had left her completely now. She saw the moment he realized her surrender. His eyes flickered over her form and she felt his grip loosen on her wrists.
"I'm sorry," she sobbed regretfully. The dam inside her had a huge hole in it and it was about to start flooding out. Daryl let go of her wrists and he sighed. He backed away from her and sat back on his legs.
She missed his presence immediately. She didn't have to miss it for long as he tugged her up and towards him. She fell against him without protest, burying her head into his neck. She felt his hand stroke the back of her head.
"I'm sorry," she whispered again. She let herself sink into his familiar presence and scent. Her tears seemed never ending and it felt like she wasn't just crying for Henry. She cried for Sophia, for Lizzie and Mica, and even for herself. For that woman she had lost all those years ago in an unlikely home of a prison.
"It's okay. It's okay," Daryl murmured into her ear over and over. His fingers continued to massage into her curls that had become loose in the scuffle.