Hey guys!
Hope you're all doing well. Finished with my uni for now (on break), so I can rest a little and hopefully write a bit more.
I know you're all waiting for the herd attack and it's coming soon, I swear. There's just going to be a couple chapters in the 'day' of the attack. This is just one of those.
Also before you bombard me with messages about it, I'm pretty sure this situation might have happened in a different episode but I didn't do it earlier so I'm putting it here. We can blame on the time travel thing, I guess lol.
I'm sure a lot of you are going to realise the problem that happens in this chapter and you're going to worry about it. I promise it will be resolved eventually.
Daryl took a deep drag of his cigarette and stared out at the lake. It had been hard to leave Carol's side after their talk over breakfast. He had wanted to stay with her longer but she had shooed him off, telling him he needed to keep an eye on things out here. He knew she was right but he was already counting down the time until he could be with her again. It still seemed surreal how everything had changed between them.
Never in a million years would he have believed Carol loved him back. Maybe as a friend but never the real way that he wanted her to. Now he had heard the truth from her own lips. She loved him and more than that, she seemed to love him as much as he loved her. Throughout their time finishing up breakfast, he'd had to subtly pinch himself now and then to prove that he wasn't dreaming it all up.
As much as he had hated to leave her, he supposed the time apart would be good for them. They both probably needed some time to process it all. It had sprung up on them with practically no warning. So far, things had been going smooth enough—not counting Carol's minor breakdown the other night—but a break from each other's presence would probably help them calm them down a bit and come to terms with the change in their relationship.
And while it was a change, it didn't seem that all that much had changed between them though. Of course, they had kissed a fair number of times and they had hinted at further intimacy in the future, but other than that, things seemed to be the same as they had ever been. They still joked and teased each other—Carol more than him, as was usual—and they still felt entirely comfortable in each other's presence. It relaxed something in him that they could still have that ease between them even after crossing this line.
Daryl turned his head as he heard a peal of giggles coming from a little way over. He spotted the source and his mouth lifted a little. Sophia was laughing and holding her hands in front of her face as Carl splashed water in her direction. They had already been playing when he had gotten there about twenty minutes ago.
He had honestly forgotten how close Carl had been to Sophia but it was easy now to remember the determination the boy had had to try to find her. If he hadn't been as little as he had been at the time, Daryl didn't doubt that the boy would have been out there looking for her himself. Sophia deserved that loyalty in a friend and Daryl knew well enough that Carl was a good kid. He hoped both of them never had to lose each other.
In the rare role of child minder, Shane was standing nearby watching the children with amusement. He held a bucket in his hands but whatever he had been doing with it was forgotten for now. Daryl watched as the man moved over to a rock at the edge of the lake to sit.
As Daryl observed him, it intrigued him to see the contrast to the Shane that was clearest in his memory: Shaved head, mean expression and determination to stir up trouble at any given moment. There was absolutely no sign of the manic, angry person he had been at the farm right now. The man looked calm, collected and mostly at peace with himself.
At that moment, Shane locked eyes with him and after a beat, his mouth quirked in a small, but genuine smile. Daryl swallowed but nodded at him before turning away. Honestly, he felt uncomfortable in the man's presence knowing what was going to happen. While he hoped it wouldn't go down that way again, he didn't hold much hope of it changing—even with this weird time shit going on.
Lori was still around and he didn't doubt that she would—unintentionally—string both Shane and Rick along until they were at odds with each other. If it wouldn't give away the secret of being from the future before they were ready to confess that, he would have a talk with the woman himself—regardless of how much she glared at him—and let her know that her actions would have consequences. As it was, Daryl knew there was nothing he could do without giving the game away.
Daryl heard another peal of laughter, this time coming from the opposite side of the lake. He turned in that direction and spotted the group of women washing clothes. Carol was among them, sitting with Andrea, Lori and Jacqui. They had been chatting animatedly while they worked, though he had tuned out their conversation easily, not wanting to eaves drop.
When he had arrived earlier, he had seen Ed slinking around at the tree line, watching Carol. Daryl had sent a meaningful glare his way and the bastard had sniffed and turned around again, clearly not wanting to get his face pulverised a second time. He had watched with satisfaction as Ed wandered off to God knows where. Daryl didn't give a shit, so long as he stayed away from his wife and daughter.
The fact that Daryl couldn't do the world a favour and kill the asshole still pissed him off. No one would miss Ed Peletier when he was gone, that was for sure. Hell, it hadn't taken Carol all that long to get over him after he died. He didn't even think her tears at the time of his death had anything to do with grief. And Sophia? He didn't think he ever saw the girl shed a tear for her father's death.
Regardless, Daryl knew he had to bide his time and wait for the pack of walkers to take him out. For one thing, Carol had pleaded with him not to kill her husband and for another, the people in this group would not look kindly to knowing a killer was amongst them. It had taken a while for the idea of killing living people to be accepted in the group.
"Am I the only one who thinks this is unfair?" Daryl heard Andrea grumble, pulling him from his thoughts.
He watched as she dropped an article of clothing in the bucket in front of her. There was a look of disdain on her face as she did so. Curious in spite of himself, Daryl listened intently, taking another drag on his cigarette.
"I know this is a necessary job but this all seems so backwards," she continued. "It's like we've gone back in time or something. Men folk go do the hard work and leave the women to the washing."
A hum resounded from the other women who paused in their washing to turn to Andrea.
"Honey, I know what you mean," Jacqui said and held up her hands in front of her. "I've been washing so much, my nail beds have been cracking something awful lately. Whatever's in that laundry soap does not agree with my skin."
"Ugh, same here," Lori groaned, glancing at her own hands. "It's the only stuff they could find on that last run though. Boxes of it too, so we'll be stuck with it for a while."
There was another shared groan. Daryl noticed though that Carol didn't contribute her own complaints about her task. She just continued working while listening politely to the other women. He didn't know if she shared the other women's disdain for their assigned duties but it didn't surprise him that if she did, she would keep it to herself. The Carol of this time was not very assertive and rarely spoke up at all.
It struck him though that the women were right. It was always them who were handed these menial tasks. While it was true that a lot of the men had more strenuous duties to occupy them most of the time, some of them just sat on their asses doing nothing. Daryl knew that he had been guilty of that too at times—hiding himself away in his tent, when he wasn't hunting, to obsessively craft bolts. It didn't sit right with him to realise it. Their 'society' in the future was built on equality and everyone doing their part, after all.
Daryl dropped his cigarette, crushing it under his boot and approached the group with determination. As he neared, he received glares from Lori and Andrea. He wasn't surprised by it. He knew they didn't trust him. Jacqui just seemed curious, trailing her intelligent eyes over him carefully. And Carol? Carol looked pleased to see him, sending him a shy smile.
"Need some help?" he asked in as polite a tone as he could manage. The women—including Carol—gave him baffled looks.
"You want to help?" Andrea asked disbelievingly with a bit of bite to her tone.
It didn't bother him. He knew Andrea and knew that deep down, she was alright. He had hated how things had gone down with her in the end. She had been caught in the crossfire in the war with the Governor and in hindsight, they could have done better by her. They had treated her like the enemy when really, all she had been trying to do was barter peace. He hoped he could change her fate this time around.
"Sure," he replied easily, not letting on that he even noticed her sarcasm. "Got two hands, don't I? Can wash someone's drawers as good as you."
He waited as Andrea glanced at Lori. The two shared a silent conversation for a long moment, visibly arguing without words. Eventually, Andrea shrugged and held a hand out, gesturing to the pile of washing nearby. Unsurprisingly, it was pretty huge.
"Be my guest," she said before crossing her arms in an obvious attempt to look tough.
Daryl took the invitation silently and settled on the ground next to Carol. He grabbed up some items of clothing and settled them in a pile beside him. Carol offered him another smile and pushed her bucket closer so they could share it.
After Carol handed him the laundry soap, he dunked a shirt in the bucket and scrubbed at it carefully. He frowned as he realised that the shirt was awfully familiar. He snorted quietly as it dawned on him that the shirt belonged to him—well, the other 'him'. Carol gave him a questioning look but he waved her off.
They worked quietly for a while, though the other women continued to chat amongst themselves. He tuned out their words, not particularly interested in whatever they were saying. His mind turned to the impending fight that would be coming later that night.
No matter what he had told Carol—and he had believe what he told her—there was still a part of him that was a little worried. They had a solid plan in place but that plan was riding on things happening the same as they had the first time around. They had learned from experience that it was more than likely that everything would go down in a completely different way.
When it came down to it, as long as Carol– both Carols—and Sophia remained safe, he could deal with whatever else happened. He knew there was no guarantee that they would manage to save everyone tonight. He certainly planned to try his best but sometimes his best wasn't enough. There was no way anything was happening to three he cared most about though. No way in hell. He knew it was selfish and unfair but he would choose them to survive without question.
"You know you didn't have to help," Carol said soon, breaking the quiet. "Andrea didn't really mean what she said. Sometimes we get a little frustrated but we're all happy with taking care of things like this."
"It's alright," he replied without pause, ringing out a pair of pants and setting them aside. "Don't got nothin' else to do right now. And she's right. Ain't fair that y'all are left with this crap all the time."
Carol blinked and studied him for a long moment. He shifted a little under her gaze but focused on scrubbing the next shirt from his pile.
"You're a strange man, Daryl," she said quietly—most likely so the others didn't hear her use his real name. He shrugged in response.
"Been called that before," he said. Plenty of times, he added silently.
Even Merle had always thought he was weird. But then, Merle's reasoning was because Daryl didn't act like him. Didn't go out getting drunk or high all the time or sleep his way through the population of women in a town. Daryl had never minded being 'strange'. If anything, he liked that it didn't make him like all the other people—people he had thought of as 'sheep' before the world ended.
"Shouldn't be strange that I think we should all contribute equally," he continued. "That's how it worked in my time. Hell, the one that was runnin' most of the washing 'fore I left was a guy named Albert. Shane's got some backwards ideas 'bout women, I think."
Daryl knew that it was Shane who delegated duties in the camp and as such, allocated the women to tasks like cooking and cleaning. It wasn't hard to see the misogynist in Shane though. He had never really tried to hide it. He didn't seem to believe women could do much on their own.
"And you don't have 'backwards ideas about women'?" Carol asked, quoting him, with a look of interest. He shook his head.
"Don't think I do," he replied. "Met a lot of women over the years and most of 'em have been braver than any man I've met in my life. Y'all are made of strong stuff."
If he needed proof of that, he could just take one long look at Carol. No matter what she went through—and she had been put through the ringer so many times—she always came back stronger. Maybe a little more broken, but her strength just seemed to double as time went on. He had thought it before but he didn't doubt that, if it ever came down to it, Carol would be able to take him out easily. She was deadly. He watched as Carol thought over his words.
"Maybe some women are. Not me, though," she said with a sigh as she scrubbed at a pair of boxers.
"That's bullshit," he replied quickly and Carol turned to him with a look of surprise. "You're as strong as any of those women I was talkin' about. Maybe even stronger."
She shook her head and let out a laugh that sounded strained. She dropped the boxers into the bucket and turned to him properly.
"How could I possibly be strong?" she asked. "I wasn't strong enough to leave my husband. I tried once but I just went crawling back to him."
"That don't mean nothin' about you not being strong," Daryl told her with determination. "You're strong 'cause you're stuck with that piece of shit and you're still you. You still care. You're still the best damn mama to that little girl," he said with a nod in Sophia's direction. "Ain't a lot of people who can go through what you have and still keep a'hold of who they are."
He watched as Carol started to cry. She mostly stayed quiet but little sobs escaped her lips. All the while though, she sent a smile his way. She ducked her head a little but looked up at him from under her wet lashes.
"You… You really see me that way?" she asked through her tears. He smiled at her kindly.
"Always have. Known you for years now and through it all, you've been the strongest damn person I've ever met."
Because it was instinct, he moved closer and was about to offer her the comfort of a hug. Before he could though, a hand clamped down on his shoulder. He flinched and got to his feet, on the defensive. He came face to face with Andrea, who had a look of rage on her face.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she spat, glaring at him. "What did you do to her?"
Daryl realised quickly that Andrea had seen Carol's tears and had gotten the wrong idea. He hadn't even considered that anyone might have been watching him and Carol. He had honestly tuned out the other women so well that he had momentarily forgotten about them. Now he had to defend himself, lest they think he was as bad as Carol's husband.
"Didn't do nothin' to her," he replied without raising his voice. He wasn't upset with Andrea for her protectiveness. On the contrary, he appreciated someone looking out for Carol like that. "She just got overwhelmed by what we were talkin' about, I guess."
Andrea scoffed disbelievingly. She shoved him backwards, though he hardly moved an inch. At this point in time, she had no real muscle on her. She had a long way to go before she became the strong fighter he had known.
"I knew we couldn't trust you," she growled. "Shane said you weren't like Merle or Daryl but you're just as bad as them! No, you're worse. You're just another asshole like Ed!"
Daryl had to admit that that stung a bit. He remembered that Andrea hadn't had high opinions of him at this point, but she had still become a friend with time. He pushed his hurt aside though and was about to try to plead his case further when a flash of silver hair appeared in front of him. He watched as Carol held her hands out to Andrea in a placating way.
"Andrea, it's okay," she said, still sounding a bit teary. "He's telling the truth. We were talking and I lost control of myself. He didn't do anything to hurt me, I swear."
Daryl waited and watched as Andrea processed that. Her agitation held for a long moment before she deflated a little. Her eyes ran over Carol carefully, probably looking for any signs that she was lying. A sheepish look took hold of the woman when she clearly had no luck in finding any. She turned embarrassed and apologetic eyes on him.
"I… I'm sorry," she stuttered, her cheeks pink. "I just… I thought…"
Daryl decided to save her. He knew what she had thought and he wasn't angry at her for jumping to conclusions. She had just wanted to defend her friend. There was no way he could be upset with her for that.
"It's alright," he told her with a half-smile. "I get it. You were just lookin' out for her. Can't fault you for that."
Andrea looked surprised by his easy acceptance of her apology but nodded weakly. She crossed her arms over her chest and shrugged.
"I just hate seeing her get hurt," she said. "She already gets it enough from Ed."
"Andrea…" Carol started meekly.
"No, Carol, it's not right," Andrea said firmly. "We should have done something. We should never have let this go on as long as it has."
"You didn't need to do anything," Carol argued softly. "He's my husband. He's… He's my problem."
"But you're my friend," Andrea replied, looking tearful herself now. Daryl spotted Lori and Jacqui standing nearby with matching looks of sadness. They clearly both felt the same as Andrea. "We should have tried to help you."
"I would never ask you to do that," Carol said, shaking her head. "It's too dangerous. I would never want you to get hurt because of me."
"Well, if not us, then Shane should do something," Andrea insisted, clearly not intending to drop the subject. "He's our leader. I don't understand why he let Ed stay at all.
"I don't need Shane to do anything, Andrea," Carol said assuredly. He watched her pause before she glanced at him. "D- Norman has promised to protect me and Sophia."
Daryl caught her almost slip on his name and was thankful she corrected it quick enough. The last thing he needed right now was to add more suspicion to his character. Andrea turned her inquisitive eyes on him again.
"You offered to protect her?" she asked with interest.
Daryl nodded easily. He supposed Carol hadn't told them about her new gun and knife or her—albeit very fresh and slightly clumsy—fighting skills. He understood the decision. Her friends probably wouldn't have agreed with it, especially with including Sophia. He remembers the fit Lori had pitched when Rick and Shane had wanted to teach Carl.
"I did," he told Andrea. "If I had it my way, that bastard'd be a footnote in history already but she didn't want me to do nothin'."
Daryl found no harm in voicing the threat. He knew they wouldn't take it literally. They would just assume he was being figurative. He watched a new appreciation enter Andrea's eyes.
"Thank you," the blonde said with sincerity. "You have no idea how it makes me feel to know there's someone looking out for her. Someone that can actually do something to help."
Daryl didn't tell her that he knew exactly how she felt. For all she knew, Carol was only an acquaintance to him.
"You'd do the same," he told her. She nodded in agreement and gave him a weak smile.
"I would," she said. She looked at Carol again and her smile widened. "She's my friend. That's what you do for friends."
Carol let out a choked sob before moving forwards to hug Andrea. The blonde held her back tightly and a few tears slipped down her cheeks. Daryl watched it, feeling touched by their moment. He had forgotten how close Carol had been to Andrea. He remembered now that Carol had been the only one to treat Andrea with any decency when she had shown up at the prison.
"What's going on over here?" came a voice from nearby. Daryl turned his head and saw Shane observing the scene with concerned confusion. He didn't miss the slightly distrustful look Shane threw him too
"Everything is fine," Lori said with a stilted smile as she came closer. Things were clearly still weird between her and Shane. "Just a misunderstanding."
Shane considered that and looked at Andrea and Carol again sceptically. His eyes were calculating as he took in the two of them and Daryl guessed it was his 'cop instincts' taking over.
"That true ladies?" he asked the still hugging pair. They broke apart with watery chuckles and clasped hands.
"Yeah," Andrea said, bringing her other hand up to wipe at her eyes. "Just peachy."
Carol wiped at the moisture on her face too and wore a bright smile as she nodded.
"We're good, Shane," she agreed. "Thank you."
Shane observed them silently for a moment before nodding in acceptance.
"Alright," he said, starting to back off. "I'll leave you all to it."
He started to walk away but paused beside Daryl. Daryl waited for him to reveal whatever he wanted.
"You want to take watch tonight, man?" Shane asked pleasantly enough.
Daryl didn't hesitate as he nodded. Being on watch tonight was actually the best course of action for their plan. It meant he didn't have to pretend to be content with sitting around the campfire while he waited for the herd to show.
"Fine by me," Daryl told Shane. The man nodded and marched off back to where he had been watching the kids.
Daryl turned back to the women and saw that Lori and Jacqui were each having a turn at hugging Carol now. All of the women were laughing and grinning at each other. Daryl smiled at the rare light moment. He hoped there would many more as time went on.
"Come on," Andrea said soon. "That pile is not getting any smaller and I'm looking forward to my dinner tonight. I want this over with ASAP!"
Daryl refrained from telling her that she would not get to enjoy her dinner tonight but he did settle down with the women again to start washing. The atmosphere was much less tense this time around and every now and then, the other women would send smiles his way. It felt a little weird but Daryl wasn't going to complain. It was certainly a lot better than the glares.
"I need you to do somethin' for me tonight," he said to Carol, leaning closer so as to not be overheard. Carol turned intrigued eyes in his direction.
"What's that?" she asked.
"Tonight, when everyone is having dinner, I need you and Sophia to get up on top of the RV," he told her, keeping his voice low. "Something's gonna go down and I don't want either of you anywhere near it."
He watched the colour drain from Carol's face as she swallowed heavily.
"I don't understand. What's going to happen?"
Daryl chewed his lip but he knew there was no point in keeping it from her. The time for worrying about fucking with time was over. Time was clearly already fucked.
"Herd," he said. "Gonna bust through camp tonight."
Carol's eyes widened and her breath caught.
"Oh my god," she breathed. "We have to warn people. We need to make sure everyone is armed."
She started to get to her feet but he grabbed hold of her wrist firmly but gently. She glanced back at him with a confused frown. He shook his head at her.
"Can't tell anyone," he told her. "I know you mean well but nobody's gonna believe us. We tell people and it's gonna cause a whole other problem to deal with. They'll think we're nuts."
Carol considered that before nodding. She didn't look happy about it though and he couldn't blame her. Things would be much easier if they could reveal the truth. He still didn't know how to go about it though. He was sure eventually a solution would come to him but this was not it.
"Me and Carol are gonna take care of it. Herd that size is a piece of cake for us, but we can't be worrying 'bout you and Sophia. We need you to be out of the way of the fight 'fore it even happens."
"But the others…" Carol tried with a look of worry.
"We're gonna help 'em. Gonna try our best and save everyone," Daryl said, cutting her off. "Just need you to promise me that you'll take Sophia and stay on that RV until me or Carol comes to get you."
Carol bit her lip but hardly a second later, she nodded.
"I promise."
So there you go. Hope this wasn't too self indulgent. I just wanted to keep the lake scene but do it differently. Plus the idea of Daryl doing laundry is amazing.
I know, I know. What about Ed? He didn't get beat up by Shane. Well, we'll see what happens very soon. Not going to spoil. You'll just have to wait and see.