Chapter 1: Uncomfortable
No one said anything in the truck as they drove away from Grady Memorial. Carol sat in the back, avoiding anyone's gaze, trying not to wince every time they hit a bump in the road.
Daryl was next to her, his face buried in her chest. Her bad arm rested on his shoulder, her fingers threaded through his hair. The good arm was wrapped around his still heaving body, her hand vigorously rubbing between his shoulder blades.
She wasn't sure how long they'd been stuffed in the back of that truck, only that it was long enough that all the dried up tears had left matching stains on the faces of her family. Someone was still sniffling, she was pretty sure it was Carl. She craned her neck away to keep from checking, cringing silently when her gaze caught on the lock of blonde hair that had fallen out from under the sheet that had carefully been laid out across from her.
Fresh tears stung at her eyes and she squeezed them shut, sucking in a breath as she felt rough fingers tighten on her waist.
XXXXX
A flash of blonde hair came into focus through her blurred vision as the younger woman shook her head ever so slightly.
She frowned at the steady increase in the tone of the two voices, one familiar and the other not. She wasn't sure what exactly was being said, only that she didn't like what she was hearing. She stifled a groan, laying her head to the side and peering through narrowed eyes until the older woman disappeared into the hall.
The young girl sighed, coming closer to the bed, her eyes widening when she realized her companion was awake. "Carol?"
Carol blinked a few times, everything was still fuzzy. "Beth?"
The girl grinned, closing her hand around the older woman's tiny wrist. "Yeah, it's me."
"Where-where are we?"
"We're at Grady Memorial in Atlanta. You were in an accident. You.. you got hit by a car and you were brought in. Do you remember?"
Carol shook her head, still feeling disoriented as she struggled to prop herself up on her elbows and wincing at the sharp stab of pain in her ribs. "It wasn't an accident. They hit me. Two men, dressed in police uniforms."
"Oh." Beth lowered her eyes. "Well, anyway you're going to be fine."
Carol gasped, suddenly feeling panicked. "Daryl! Daryl, where's Daryl?"
Beth frowned. "He's not here. But he's still alive, out there somewhere."
"No, no.. he was here," Carol insisted. She coughed loudly and Beth patted her back. "We were here, looking for you. And Noah…."
The younger girl's head snapped up, her hand freezing on Carol's shoulder. "You have Noah?"
"Beth… what is this place?"
Beth shook her head. "It doesn't matter. We're getting out of here."
Carol sniffed, her hands shaking under the weight of her body.
Beth smiled, her grip on the older woman tightening. "Trust me. I've seen it happen."
XXXXX
"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust." Gabriel's voice drifted over the wind.
No one wanted to look at Maggie, or at one another for that matter and they all scattered slowly away, yet still close.
Daryl was huffing softly, the plain anguish on his face reminding her of a wounded animal. "We had her," he murmured, fists tightening as he choked on a sob. "We fuckin' had 'er. She was right there."
"I know," Carol whispered, her hand sliding over his bicep. "I know."
"Guess you were right. We don' get ta save no one anymore."
She shook her head fervently. "No. I know I said that, but I was wrong. She saved me."
He sniffed, stepping forward the short distance to close the space between them and nearly head-butting her as he leaned his forehead against hers. "Thank God for that."
He threw his arms around her, crushing her to his chest. "I can't- don't know what I would do without ya," he mumbled into her hair. "I fuckin'… I need ya."
She slowly wrapped her arms around his frame. "Me too," she whispered weakly.
"'M sorry…" He croaked.
"Hmmm?" She lifted her head.
"If this is uncomfortable."
"No," she said softly, leaning further into his embrace. "No, it's…. it's nice."
He lowered his head, burying his face in her neck. "Yeah," he said after awhile.