Hey guys,
Sorry for the wait for this one. I just started back at university and it's been kind of stressful. Hope you enjoy this one.
They were getting closer to the camp.
Daryl steered the truck with one hand while the other leaned on the open window. The air was getting a little chilly but not enough to bother him just yet. Merle sat in the passenger seat remaining oddly quiet. If Daryl hadn't taken stealthy glances out the corner of his eye at his brother, he would have thought he had dozed off. As it was, Merle's eyes were wide open, seemingly watching the scenery out of the front window.
"You know I mean it, Lil' Brother," Merle said soon. "I'm gonna do better."
Daryl ground his jaw and pretended to be oblivious to the sudden break in silence. Merle had made these promises to him many times over. He never followed through. Daryl gotten his hopes up so many times only for Merle to continually let him down.
"Daryl, I know I screwed up, but I mean it this time," Merle continued, his voice pleading. "I'm gonna change. I'm gonna be the brother you deserve."
He wanted to block out Merle's voice so badly right now. Because it was working. He could feel that familiar hope swelling up inside him. He wanted Merle to change more than anything. He wanted to have the brother that he had seen so rarely over the years, not this methed up, carbon copy. He just knew that the chances of Merle actually changing were slim to none. He was too set in his ways.
"It's alrigh'," Merle said when he still failed to respond. "I'mma prove it to ya. Y'can believe me then."
Daryl sighed inwardly but continued his silence. If Merle thought he could change, let him try. Daryl was not going to entertain the idea because it would hurt too much when he failed. He glanced in the side mirror and spotted the others following not too far behind.
The day was disappearing into night quickly. It would be well after sundown by the time they reached the camp. Still, he pressed on the gas a little harder, wanting nothing more than to get back sooner. He had so many questions he wanted his future self to answer, not to mention, he wanted to get as far away from Merle for some time.
He could feel his brother's eyes continuing to burn into him but he ignored it. For the time being, he was content with believing himself to be alone in the cab of the truck. He knew he would forgive Merle eventually. Now was not that time though.
After Daryl had finished helping with the laundry—where he had been subjected to a variety of topics from the women, including one instance where he had listened with burning cheeks as they all commiserated over their lack of vibrators—he checked the surrounding woods for any signs of the herd. He didn't want to be caught off guard if the walkers showed up early. The first time around, they had waited until nightfall to show up but this time, there was no way of predicting whether that would be the case.
Daryl hadn't anticipated things changing the way they have been when he had hastily planned the trip with Eugene. He had assumed that all he would have to do is rely on his memories of what had happened the first time around and intervene when necessary. This whole 'time possibly working against them' thing had thrown a spanner in the works of his plans. Still, there was no sign of the herd just yet. He had to force himself to accept that it was safe for the time being.
After another cursory look around, he made his way back to the tent. He couldn't deny that he was anxious to see Carol. Ever since they had revealed their feelings for one another, it was like the pull inside him towards her had become intensified. He just wanted to be with her all the time. The only thing that had stopped him from rushing back as soon as he had finished with the laundry was the knowledge that danger was quickly approaching. So, he had forced himself to practice vigilance and scope out the camp and its surroundings.
Now he was free to do as he really wished. As he neared their tent though, he frowned. There was laughter coming from inside and it didn't sound like just one voice. He pushed the material of the tent aside and stepped in, unsure what to expect. He took in the sight that greeted him in surprise. He wouldn't have been able to deny that his jaw dropped if he tried.
Carol and Carol were sitting there with matching smiles as they laughed about something. Never would he have expected to find the two of them laughing together. Carol had been so hateful towards her past self and Carol had seemed simply terrified. Something had obviously changed there, but when, he had no idea.
"Hey," Carol greeted with a warm smile. The sight of it momentarily distracted him from his confusion and he returned it wholeheartedly. She had such a beautiful, comforting smile. It could always make him feel like everything was right in the world, even when it really wasn't.
"Hello," Carol chimed in shyly from beside her, breaking him from his ridiculous mooning. He shook his head at himself inwardly.
Time and place, man, his brain admonished him.
"Hey," he replied casually, trying to play off his distraction—hoping neither of them noticed it at all. "What's going on?"
Thankfully, they both seemed oblivious to anything amiss as they turned to face him properly. It was a little unnerving to see them both sitting side by side like that. While there were plenty of differences between them—like hair length and clothing style to name a few—they could have been twins. They even wore almost identical expressions of amusement.
"Nothing," Carol said, glancing at her doppelganger briefly. "Carol brought me some lunch then stayed to chat."
Daryl nodded but inside, his confusion still bubbled. Carol's explanation did not clear up anything about the change in the dynamic with her past self. He didn't persist the subject though. If they didn't feel like sharing, that was fine. He was sure Carol would explain in due time.
"That right?" he muttered a little awkwardly. He turned his attention to Carol. "You didn't have to do that. I woulda got her somethin'."
Carol got to her feet as she smiled at him. She shook her head.
"It was no trouble," she said in an offhand tone. "I figured you might have gotten caught up with whatever you were doing. It was nice to get to talk to future me too," she added with a conspiratorial look at Carol. They both shared a quiet chuckle and he wondered again what the hell he had missed.
"Okay..." he muttered. "Well, thanks."
Carol nodded and moved towards the entrance of the tent.
"You leavin'?" he asked. "Don't gotta just 'cause I showed up."
Even though he didn't understand how it happened, he was overjoyed that the two of them were getting along. He had hated when they had been at odds—though it had been mostly one sided on Carol's part—and was all for them continuing to sort out their issues if they needed to.
"It's okay," Carol said, pulling the tent flap aside. "I have to get back to camp. I'm helping Lori with today's lesson for Carl and Sophia."
Right. Those pseudo 'school' sessions they did for the kids. He refrained from mentioning that perhaps that time would be better suited to learning about weapons rather than multiplication. They needed their normalcy right now. They would get it eventually.
"Alright," Daryl replied. "But you make sure you remember what I told you earlier. You make sure you get you and Soph up on that RV."
Carol's eyes shone with fear for a moment as she looked back at him. She was clearly remembering what he had told her was going to come to pass later on. After a beat, she nodded gravely. Her fear was pushed back as she gave him a final smile.
"I'll remember."
With that, Carol left the tent and he and Carol were alone again. Carol remained seated where she was but looked at him with an expectant expression as if waiting for him to join her. After making sure the tent flap was in place properly, Daryl moved over and sat on the crate that Carol had abandoned. Carol still held a tiny remnant of the smile she had been sporting when he had entered. His curiosity couldn't be held back any longer.
"You wanna tell me what that was about?"
Carol's smile faltered a little.
"We have an understanding."
Daryl raised a brow.
"An understanding?"
Carol nodded.
"Yeah," she said simply. She bit her lip as if considering continuing but did not.
"About?" he prompted. He maintained his patience. There had to be a reason she wasn't just telling him everything straight up. He watched as she sighed and her smile disappeared.
"She knows about Sophia."
Daryl felt his heart stutter at that. Never would he have guessed that was what they had discussed and similarly, never would he have wanted Carol to find out what happened to her daughter. It would crush her—or he thought it would but she had seemed fine before.
"You tell her?" he asked, already feeling like it wasn't something Carol would do. She shook her head.
"I didn't have to," she replied solemnly. "She worked it out on her own. I wasn't exactly subtle at the lake."
Daryl nodded slowly. It was true. Carol's emotions had been clearly on display that night. She had tried to hide it but Carol wasn't stupid. It wouldn't have taken much for her to put the pieces together. He swallowed hard.
"You tell her how it happened?"
Carol bit her lip and nodded with a pained look.
"She wanted to know."
"How'd she take it?"
"I think she was in shock at first. She knew something had happened but hearing how it happened is different. I think it made it more real for her."
Daryl nodded again. He couldn't imagine how hard it would be to hear that something like that had happened to your daughter. Carol was strong but even she had her limits.
"I told her that we aren't going to let it happen this time," Carol continued without prompting. "I might have made a little white lie and said that it was the reason we came back here."
"Ain't a lie," Daryl replied immediately. "Might not be the whole truth but savin' her was part of the plan. Biggest part of the plan."
Carol nodded in seeming agreement. She sighed and rubbed her hands together. She seemed rattled now that her past self was gone. It occurred to him now that it mustn't have been easy for her to reveal the truth of what happened to Sophia.
"You alright?" he asked, putting his hand on her shoulder and squeezing gently. She blinked at him with apparent confusion.
"I'm fine," she replied. "Why?"
He sighed at the way she still tried to hide from him. Surely she knew by now that he could see through her fronts—just like she could easily see through his. He understood it though. Like him, she found it instinctual to hide her pain and discomfort. They had both had that instinct beaten into them many years ago.
"Know you ain't fine," he said softly. "C'mon, it's just me. Don't gotta pretend you're okay."
He watched her lip tremble and then her body slumped. She let out a long breath and shook her head. She brought her hands up and wiped them down her face.
"Sorry," she said once she lowered her hands. She smiled a little. "Force of habit."
He inclined his head, telling her he understood. Feeling a little nervous about it but determined all the while, he scooted closer to her and wrapped his arm around her. Without hesitation, she leaned her frame into him. After a beat, she even dropped her head onto his shoulder.
"You wanna talk about it?"
He felt her head move against him and without needing to look, he could tell she was shaking it.
"There's nothing to talk about really," she replied in a weary tone. "It's just been so long since I've thought of that day."
Daryl hummed and started to rub his hand up and down her back, trying to comfort her as best he could. It was no secret to him that Carol tried not to think or talk about Sophia. When Daryl grieved, it manifested in tears or sometimes even anger. When Carol grieved, she would repress that shit until the cows came home.
"Daryl, what if we can't do it?" she asked then. She pulled out of his embrace to meet his gaze. Her face was full of worry. "What if this thing—whatever is happening with time—what if it stops us from saving her?"
Daryl understood her worry. He had admittedly worried about the same thing once it was clear that time was changing. To dwell on it though was the worst thing they could do, he believed. It would just become a self fulfilling prophecy and that would kill her before any walkers got close enough to.
"You can't think like that."
"How can I not?" she asked rhetorically. "Daryl, I've already lost her once, I can't do it again. I just can't!"
She was starting to get hysterical now and he gripped her shoulders gently but firmly.
"Hey, look at me," he ordered, making sure to keep his voice soft. She hesitated but eventually met his eyes. "You ain't gonna lose her. You ain't."
"You don't know that," she replied with shimmering eyes. "You can't promise me that."
Daryl sighed. As much as he hated it, he knew she was right. He couldn't promise her that everything was going to go how they wanted it to. They had been through too much shit and lost too much to be that naïve.
"No, I can't," he admitted. "But you and me, we're gonna do everythin' we can to make sure she survives. We're gonna make her strong and she's gonna kick the shit out of this world, alrigh'?"
Carol laughed loudly at that and he cocked his head in confusion.
"I told Carol the same thing," she explained once she had calmed down. "I didn't even realise at the time that I was channelling you."
Daryl huffed and shook his head but he smiled. If she was laughing and joking then she must be calming down. Some of the tension left him at the knowledge.
"I mean it," he said, trying to bring them back to the matter at hand. "Everythin' I said. This world might come for her but we're gonna make it so the world takes one look at her and thinks 'fuck that!'"
Carol chuckled again but she nodded. She returned her head to his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his left arm. She grabbed his hand in both of hers and started tracing patterns on it. It was soothing whilst also being incredibly distracting.
"I love you," she murmured soon and his heart soared in a way he would have scoffed at before. He turned his head and hesitantly pressed a kiss to the top of her head. It was hard to remember that he was allowed to do things like that now.
"Love you too," he murmured into her hair.
As he pulled her in closer to his side, he silently prayed that all went well later that night.