July 29, 2002
Daryl watched as Carol stared out the passenger side window of the car. The trip to the lake had been quiet, with barely a word passing between them. The silence proved to be one that was not altogether comfortable. Usually, the two were so in tune with each other, any silence was easily shared. That was definitely not true today though. The tension was radiating off of her in waves, and he was pretty sure she was just zoned out enough that she wasn't seeing much of the scenery that usually delighted her on these annual trips to pick up their kids from camp.
It had been a long four days since Milton's arrival. The man had stayed in Atlanta for two days helping the Dixon's through this new hitch in their annual grief ritual. It proved to be helpful to have him there, as their emotions were all over the place. Often, the couple would find themselves bouncing from one emotional extreme to the other. Every time they turned around it seemed they were dealing with an entirely new emotion to assail them. Each was different from the next, though tied together in a chain of events to exhaust them all. One thing was sure though, throughout all the differing feelings, all of the emotions were grief of some form or another because they didn't know if they were presented with false hope or not yet. That made them unsure of if they should grieve a death, mourn a lost life still out there, or celebrate their newfound hope. It was so confusing. The new uncertainty in their lives was not any easier to deal with than their previous years of abject grief.
Milton has been a godsend. He continued to work with the couple on a more intense basis in the same manner as he had done occasionally in the past eighteen years. After two days spent at a nearby hotel, Milton had finally gone home, his future at the hospital uncertain as it was still one of the facilities being raided by authorities. Even with his career uncertainty, he was still available to talk on the phone when they needed it, and they had. It was difficult now to reconcile their past compartmentalization of grief that they had previously practiced. When he was still in Atlanta, Daryl had spoken to the man about needing to get back to some semblance of normal before Mika and Luke got home. He didn't want his children to be affected by the turmoil.
When grieving the loss of Sophia, the couple had allowed themselves to have that week in isolation, the week of intense mourning apart from their kids. When the week was over, they had always dusted themselves off and made it a point to provide a life of normalcy. Now that they had learned about the existence of Michelle, the case against Little Angels, and the complete uncertainty that the media coverage provided, it was harder to go back to that base line of normal. But Daryl had to try.
He and Carol had agreed that the children would know nothing about the events going on until they found out something about the investigation from either the authorities or their contact at People. Apparently, the magazine had been flooded with dozens of calls regarding Michelle upon the article's publication. That number had increased exponentially when the raid on Little Angels hit the media. Daryl felt for Michelle, whether or not she was really Sophia. The young lady had gone from having no parents to having numerous people claiming she was their blood kin. He and Carol had talked about that a lot with Milton. They had talked about the emotional whiplash the girl had to be experiencing. It was that phrase 'emotional whiplash' that he thought about summed up his and Carol's last four days.
The last part of their drive to camp was a winding road, so Daryl tried to turn off his thoughts to concentrate on navigating the mountain roads. What had always struck him as ironic was the fact that he brought his kids to camp in the area he and Carol had grown up in. While they had been kids, they had envied the 'rich kids' from Atlanta who came every summer. Now he knew their perception had been off, because the Dixons definitely weren't rich. But still, having his kids a stone's throw from their blood relatives and the hospital where Sophia had been born always tore at him a bit. His kids loved their camp though, so it was worth it for everybody.
Daryl could see the signs now directing them to the camp pick up lot. He put his hand on Carol's knee to get her attention. She looked up and saw where they were, and immediately, her attention and focus were back. Her eyes became clearer, and she sat up straighter. He should have known that when she got within a mile of her children she would be back. He had been really worried about her this whole week.
They parked the car and began the familiar walk to the meet up area. It was the usual bedlam that they had come to expect from the end of camp. The cabins had all been emptied of campers, equipment, and staff. They were standing with doors and windows open to air them out. Campers were gathered in the large field where they would meet their parents. Some campers chose to hang out a bit with their families, showing them projects they had done, or regaling them with tales of their accomplishments. That was definitely the type of campers that their kids were year after year. This year did not disappoint.
"Mom!" Mika was waving her parents to where she was, her brother at her side. At nine years old, Mika was their youngest. She had long dark blonde hair matching her father's and a kindness that was borne of both her parents. She was artistic and creative. Her time at camp focused on art and creative writing.
"Dad!" Luke was thirteen. He had a head of curly hair inherited from his mother, and a snarky sense of humor that both his parents adored. He spent his time at camp perfecting his archery, a skill learned from his father.
With both their children clamoring around them, Carol took a moment to look around and realize just how blessed they really were. Even if Sophia was lost forever, they still had these two children that they were immensely proud of. They were wonderful children and possessed within them a light that would one day light up the world around them in whatever ventures they undertook. Carol was always choked up at these camp pick up days, but this time she had within her hope for a future that included their first born. Once they had been properly brought up to date with all activities and awards by the children, Daryl and Carol herded their kids towards the car, prepared to be regaled with further tales of fun on the way home.
They were halfway to Atlanta when Daryl's phone rang.
"Hello?" Daryl had the phone on hands free, so the voice rang through the car's speakers.
"Um, hi. Is this Daryl Dixon?"
"You've got 'im. Who's this?"
"I got your name from Belinda at People Magazine. She said you called about me? I'm Michelle."
