It has been an awfully long time since this story has been updated. Life happens. The good news is I have been slowly chipping away at this story and a few others. Check my profile for updates on what I'm working on at the moment. This story will eventually be finished!
There's a language warning with Daryl's mouth as always.
Chapter 7
With the first rays of dawn emerging slowly over the horizon, Daryl was up and running, still dressed from the day before with his crossbow slung over his shoulder. Carol's confession to him the night before about Sophia being his daughter had both stung him, and elated him. He had a daughter with Carol. They'd created a daughter together out of love, and now that little girl was missing.
Nothing else was important now except Sophia.
Climbing down the ladder from the roof of the RV where he'd slept all night, Daryl found himself face to face with Rick. The former sheriff frowned when he took in Daryl's appearance.
"Don't go running off alone Daryl. We have a plan to find them, and we're going to need your help." Daryl snorted.
"I ain't waitin' all damn day for you bunch ta get off yer asses so we can find Sophia, an thet old man too."
-0-
"Daryl, Sophia she… she's your daughter. You are her biological father."
For a moment the world seemed to stop as Daryl let Carol's words sink in. His daughter. Sophia, his own flesh and blood. He had a daughter.
The anger welled suddenly, the sting of learning such a large secret that the woman he loved kept from him made his heart clench painfully.
"Why didn't ya tell me Carol?" He looked so lost, it made Carol feel even guiltier.
"I wanted to Daryl, more than anything. But she's my little girl, and Ed- if Ed had found out, if he knew that we… that she wasn't his…" she trailed off, looking at her feet, and he got the picture.
In a flash he picked up a rock bigger than his fist and sent it hurling towards the woods, anger spilling out of him.
"Did that sumbitch ever touch her Carol?" She was caught off guard by his question, alarmed by his sudden anger. But she shook her head no.
"He never got the chance. I was careful, kept him away as much as I could. Took… took it all on me." She hesitated on the last part.
"Damn it Carol." Daryl's fists were clenched in anger. "No more secrets like this. Yer gonna tell me all about this shit later, after we find 'phia and she's home safe."
-0-
Rick bristled at Daryl's words. "We're going to need you out there. You're the only one who knows how to track."
"And have ya'll stompin' along behind me, whining and muckin' up the trail? No thanks. I do jest fine by myself."
"Having you go running off by yourself is the opposite of helpful, we need to stick together and find them!"
"I ain't got time for this shit! She's out there and I'll be the one to find 'er! I don't need ya'll slowin' me down!"
The shouting match between Rick and Daryl began to draw attention from group members, poking their heads sleepily out of windows or tents and emerging to find out what exactly was going on. Upon seeing the alpha male showdown happening right in front of them, the group intervened.
"Rick's right, you know. We'll never find them if we just go running off into the woods." Andrea was the first to speak, arms folded across her chest with her gun attached to her hip.
"Besides, someone has to stay and take care of T-dog." It was Lori who spoke this time, Carl at her side.
"I don't need ya'll!" Daryl snapped. "I can find 'em just fine on ma own. Ya'll will jest slow me down!" He pointed at Andrea, who bristled. "'specially you, stompin' along like a goddamn elephant. Anyone ever teach any ya'll ta be quiet?!"
Andrea opened her mouth to argue, but was cut off. "I'm coming with you."
It was Carol who spoke, looking determined as she looked Daryl straight in the eye, daring him to tell her otherwise. For a long moment the two stared at each other, a wordless battle raging between them until Daryl finally huffed and stomped off through the cars, heading towards the trail of woods he had come through the night before. The rest of the group stared at Carol in amazement.
"Guess that means yes." Carol said cheerfully, moving to follow Daryl.
"Lori, you and Glen go with Carol and Daryl. Shane and Carl come with me. Andrea, you stay with T-dog and see if you can find medicine for him." Each group member set off in the direction Rick sent them, and the hunt began.
-0-
The last thing Daryl needed was a bunch of people stomping along behind him distracting him. The news about his daughter was distraction enough, really all Daryl wanted was focus, have some peace and quiet so he could-
"How long have we been walking?"
"A while," Daryl replied without missing a beat, keeping his focus on the woods in front of them. He heard Glenn sigh in annoyance, but ignored him.
Carol trudged along behind him, just close enough that he could hear her and keep an eye on her. She was fairly quiet, focusing on the ground in front of her to keep from tripping. Lori and Glenn trudged along just behind her, talking quietly here and then between the two of them.
They'd followed the foot trail from the day before deep into the woods, moving northwest from the highway. The trail had gone cold several hundred yards back, but from the direction of the tracks they'd been headed in this direction and Daryl was hoping to find some sort of trail before it got dark.
He heard Lori's quiet, shuffling steps as she slid up next to Carol and began to whisper to her, the two women talking quietly enough he couldn't make out their conversation. Two minutes after they began to whisper is when he spotted a track and came to a halt, causing Carol to crash into him.
"What is it?" The three group members were by his side in an instant as he knelt down into the mud, studying the print before him.
"It's a print." He replied. The print was small, but light. More than likely Sophia's print. He stood up, peering at the ground in search of more prints.
"Looks like 'phia's print. Got flat shoes without a ridge, jest like her shoes." Carol stared at him with a puzzled look on her face.
"How do you know that?" Daryl had to refrain from rolling his eyes. "When we was lost, she had flat shoes with no ridge, had trouble climbin' trees 'cause of it." Spotting a slight print several feet away, he jerked his head forwards.
"Keep movin', trail heads thet way."
They had been walking in a long circle for what felt like hours when they came to a small cliff that dropped down to a valley filled with brush. A long waterfall trickled down the edge and streamed into a waist-deep pool of water. It was at the edge of the pool that Daryl noticed a small doll resting on the bank.
"Ya'll stay here." He ordered, slinging his crossbow over his shoulder and making his way down the embank with Carol, Lori and Glenn watching from above.
"Be careful." Carol called out softly as he descended down into the valley.
"Dale! Sophia!" he called out as soon as he picked up the doll, but no answer. He returned up the embank, carrying the doll with him. Carol's eyes were wet with tears when she saw the doll clutched in his first.
"They have to be around close by!" Glenn remarked, taking the soiled doll from Daryl and inspecting it.
"Or they were, at least." Lori scanned the surroundings as she spoke. This was no place for a little girl to get lost. She didn't notice the lithe body of the snake until was brushing up against her ankle…
Suddenly, a single gunshot echoed through the woods, loud enough to be heard clearly, but distant enough they knew it had to be Rick, Shane and Carl. At the exact same moment, Lori screamed when the snake slithered between her legs, panicking and flailing her arms in an attempt to get away. Glenn lunged for her arm, trying to pull her away, but it was too late. One of her flailing arms caught Daryl off guard, sending him over the edge and tumbling back to the pool of water.
"Daryl!" Carol screamed and watched as he fell down the edge, knocking his head against the rocky side before he landed at the bottom, unconscious with an arrow sticking awkwardly out of his side.
"Oh my god." Glenn breathed in shock. Lori was crying, tears streaming down her cheeks as she clasped her hands over her mouth in horror.
"Daryl!" Carol was still calling, praying he wasn't dead. "We have to get down there!"
"How?! Daryl could barely get down there safely!" Carol ignored him and moved slowly towards the edge, using trees and shrubs to hold on as she slowly inched her way down.
"Lori, stay here and keep watch, if we can't get him out you may have to go and get help!" she nodded, watching carefully as Glenn moved to follow Carol, and the two group members inched their way down the rocky edge.
What felt like hours later, Carol made it to the edge of the pool, plowing into the waist-deep water with no thought to her own safety. Glenn followed close behind as she rushed to Daryl's side and dropped next to him, her hands immediately going to his face. Glenn appeared next to her and moved his hand over Daryl's mouth, waiting.
"He's alive. God, he's hurt but he's alive Carol." He peered around Daryl's side where the arrow was and gagged loudly.
"Is that thing sticking out of his body?!"
"Don't touch it. It'll bleed worse if you pull it out I think." Carol instructed, leaning over Daryl's chest to inspect the arrow. Her eyes were wet, but she was trying not to break down.
"So what do we do then? Just leave it?" Carol bit her lip, "I think so, I just know you aren't supposed to pull that out."
"Glenn! Carol! Behind you!" Lori called out a warning, pointing to the thick expansion of bushes behind them. As if on cue, they began to rustle loudly, as if a walker was stumbling through it.
Glenn sighed loudly as he pulled himself up to his feet. "Um, I got it, you stay with him." If it wasn't one thing, it was another.
"Be careful," Carol said softly as Glenn waited tensely, knife in hand and a small gun at his hip.
Within seconds a walker stumbled from the bush, growling with its arms outstretched towards its next meal. Glenn waited until the walker came close enough, then jumped forward and brought his knife down into the walker's skull, killing it instantly. He ripped his knife out and let the body tumble to the ground, unmoving.
"We need to get out of here." Glenn announced. "Blood could bring walkers around."
"I think you're right." Carol responded, her eyes sweeping up the cliff side. "But how are we going to get him up that?"
Glenn opened his mouth to respond, but Daryl's eyes suddenly shot open and he began to thrash, thinking a walker had him.
"Daryl wait! It's only us!" Carol's hands connected with his face, her eyes meeting with his to show him it wasn't walkers.
"You're ok." Carol mumbled as he stopped thrashing.
"Well, not ok-ok but you're safe at least." Glenn blurted out, his bloody knife still in his hand.
"The hell ya talkin' about short round?" Daryl wheezed, paining shooting up his side.
"There was an accident." Carol explained. "The arrow, we didn't want to remove it in case we made it worse." Wincing, Daryl twisted his torso to look at the wound.
"Damn good thing ya didn't." He sat up quickly, ignoring Carol's protests and the pain shooting up his torso. Ripping the sleeves off his shirt, he handed them to Carol. "Tie thet around the wound, should hold in place ok." Wordlessly, Carol did as he asked.
"Where's ma bow?" Carol and Glenn exchanged a glance. "umm… " was all Glenn said just as Carol responded "it fell when you fell." She glanced towards the pool of water and he groaned loudly.
"I'll go get it." Glenn said quickly, eager to escape the hunter's wrath.
"I think it fell into the water." Carol nodded her head towards the generous pool of water at the base of the rocks. Glenn shuffled through the water, feeling the bottom with his foot while Carol gripped his bicep and helped haul him to his feet. She slid his arm over her shoulders, letting him put a generous amount of weight on her.
Glenn let out a cry of triumph and hailed Daryl's crossbow out of the water just as the pounding of hooves approached from the top of the ravine.
"Lori?! Lori grimes?!" A woman on a horse appeared at the top, shocking a stunned Lori.
"You need to come with me right away. There's been an accident, Carl's been shot!" With trembling hands, Lori climbed on the back of the horse behind the strange woman.
"Hey! Ya'll can't jest ditch us here!" Daryl hollered up the ravine at the two women.
"We're headed to the Geene farm, take the highway east a few miles; you can't miss it!" The strange woman instructed.
"I'll send help after you!" Lori called down to them as the woman nudged the horse into a run. And then they were gone, the pounding of hooves gradually fading into the background.
"Did that actually just happen?" Glen whispered a moment later, after the three of them stood in stunned silence at being abandoned.
"I… we, we um, we can't just wait for them to come back."
"Damn straight we ain't jest sittin' on our asses. I ain't no bitch like olive oil that jest ran off on us." Glenn slung Daryl's crossbow over his shoulder, sliding his arm under Daryl's and taking the other half of his weight.
"I'm with you there Dixon. Let's get our asses up the hill and let Andrea and T-dog know."
It took a hell of a lot longer than getting down did, but thanks to Carol and Glenn's support; and a few thick walking sticks to brace themselves with, the trio made it all the way back up an hour later.
"Walk a bit ahead short round, I ain't gonna be very useful if we stumble on a shit ton of those dead fuckers." Glenn gripped his knife in hand and nodded, letting Carol take as much of Daryl's weight as she could and leading the way a few paces ahead of them, making sure they didn't stumble on to any surprises
"Jest like old times eh?" The hunter joked at Carol before hissing at the pressure their movement put on his side. Carol bit her lip to keep from smiling, he must really be in pain if he was joking like this.
Thanks to Glenn, their slow retreat back to the highway was walker free. Andrea did a double take when they finally stumbled through the trees, shouldering her gun and running forward to help Carol and Glenn haul the hunter back.
"Ya'll quit fussin' on me already. 'M fine." Daryl shuddered at the overabundance of people touching him, but made no attempt to shake them off.
"Where's Lori? Any sign of Dale and Sophia?" Andrea peppered them with questions as they hauled Daryl into Dale's RV. T-dog was looking worse for wear, his face pale and flushed from the injury.
"A snake spooked Lori and Daryl fell into a ravine. Carol and I went to haul his redneck ass out when some chick on a horse swooped out of nowhere and took Lori off. She said Carl's been shot. We found Sophia's trail, but no sign of Dale." Glenn explained quickly as Carol peeked at the bandaged wound on t-dog, pressing her hand to his forehead to check for a fever.
"And she just left you all there?" Andrea fussed as she headed for the driver's seat of the rv.
"Didn't even hesitate." Glenn said bitterly. Carol placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently. "I'm not happy either, but her son was shot. She's a mom, it comes with the territory, your kids always come first."
"Did zorro happen to tell y'all where she was going?" Andrea's lips turned up at her own joke as she started the rv.
"Some place called the Greene farm. Glenn and I will drive two of the cars and lead the way. Thank god Daryl's motorcycle is on the back of the truck." Carol ducked out of the RV and headed for the truck, while Glenn hopped into another vehicle and together, they made their way slowly towards the Greene farm.
—-
"Son of a bitch! That hurts old man!" Carol smiled at Daryl's colorful language as she made her way up the steps of the Greene farm.
True to the girl on the horse's word-Maggie- they soon found out, they did indeed find the Greene farm a few miles east from their location. The farm was beautiful, with clear water and green fields stretching out for miles. Carol would have loved to admire it, but it would have to wait until another time. She helped Daryl out of the RV, noting she was the only one he didn't flinch at when touched. Andrea helped T-Dog out and the four of them stumbled their way towards the stunning farmhouse. Rick was sitting in a chair on the porch, his face white and pale with a bandage pressed in his elbow. He greeted them weakly as several people made their way out of the house, one of them Lori and the others introducing themselves as Hershel and his daughter Maggie.
Hershel agreed to patch up Daryl and T-dog, directing them into the house and separate rooms where T-dog fell asleep and Daryl had been complaining ever since.
Carol knocked on the door gently and peeked her head in, seeing the scowl on Daryl's face and the stoic look on Hershel's.
"I came to check on you." She explained, easing into the room and sitting at the edge of the bed. "T-dog is asleep and feeling better, how are you feeling?"
"Like I fell down a damn ravine and got an arrow in the side." Daryl snipped, rolling onto his back with a groan as Hershel washed his hands.
"You're lucky you didn't do more damage son, take it easy a few days and let the stitches do their job."
"Hell no. Sophia and Dale are still out there. I ain't layin' 'round on my ass while they're missin'!"
"Son, It's dangerous running around with an injury like that. You need rest and relaxation." Daryl snorted so hard at the idea it was almost a laugh.
"Rest and relax? How the fuck am I supposed to relax when that's my daughter out there!"
"I'm sure Rick is planning to put a search party together." Carol soothed, daring to reach over and run her fingers through his bangs affectionately. Daryl glared at her over the action, pain making him angry.
"Yeah right, Rick has plans my ass." He dropped his head back on the bed and relaxed for a moment. To Carol's surprise, a minute later his body relaxed and sleep took over. She shot Hershel a look and he shrugged, slipping a pill bottle into his pocket and leaving Daryl behind to sleep off whatever pain medication Hershel had given him. Carol tucked him under the covers as best she could, leaving him to rest knowing she would have a hell of a fight on her hands when he woke up.
-0-
Daryl jolted awake early the next morning, feeling the softness of the bed under his skin and wondering where the hell he was until the memories started flooding back. He growled and kicked the covers off- that old man had drugged him! His side burned, telling him whatever shit the old man tricked him with was wearing off.
"Something for the pain" my ass.
Managing to get his shirt on without too much trouble he stumbled first to the bathroom, then down the stairs somehow without being yelled out.
An older woman was washing vegetables in the sink when he stumbled into it, doing a double take when she saw him.
"You all right hon?" She raised an eyebrow in a very judging mom type of way that said I-know-You-aren't-but-I'm-asking-You-anyways. Daryl snorted, rolling his eyes at her.
"Don't give a shit about thet. My daughter is out there and I ain't lazyin' in bed waitin' fer someone else to find 'er." He stumbled out the door without another word, feeling his side burn awful. He pushed it aside, he'd had worse, his daddy used to beat him worse daily.
Aside from a small campfire with Glenn, Carol, Andrea and the horse girl around it-cooking breakfast by the look of it-no one else was in sight. He ignored them, especially when they caught sight of him and began calling his name. He headed straight for the barn, his nose telling him there were horses before he was even close. He'd barely taken a few steps before the three of the four caught up to him.
"Dude, what the hell are you doing?" Glenn was the first one to bark at him, throwing his hands dramatically in the air.
"I ain't sitting around while 'phia is out there. Ya'll ain't gonna stop me, so get the fuck out of ma way." The horse girl flinched when he cursed, but said nothing else.
"So help me Daryl I will get Shane and Rick to stop you if I need to. It's barely been 12 hours since you fell down a ravine!" As much as she wanted their daughter back, Carol was pissed, and he knew it.
"V'had a hell of a lot worse then this and ya know it woman."
"That was different! Here you can rest- here you're not alone! Daryl please." Glenn and horse girl were staring at them, a weird mix of horror and pity on their faces. Horse girl's expression changed, and she grabbed Glenn and pulled him away, back towards the fire where Andrea was regretting her decision to watch the food.
"Carol, please. I ain't never meant thet more than right now. Ma brother is gone, you and 'phia, Ya'll are all I got left. I need to find her."
Carol's expression softened, she knew he cared about them- he always had, but to know his feelings went this deep- that he was willing to share how much Sophia meant to him, he meant it, all of it.
"We're going to talk to Rick, and you're going to follow whatever he says in regards to you searching." She poked his chest with her finger and then jerked her head towards the house. He relented and followed her towards the porch, ready to ease off his side for a minute.
Carol returned from the house with Rick, Shane, Lori, Hershel and the other lady he'd met a few minutes ago. Andrea, Glenn and horse girl joined them, nosy as always.
"We need to figure out a search party for Dale and Sophia." Carol started quickly.
"And make it fast, or Daryl will crawl to those woods if he has to." Glenn pipped in, giving Daryl a look that said 'really dude, really?'
"I ain't sitting' on my ass like the rest of Ya'll when they're out there waitin' for us!" He snarled defensively; not ready to announce his relation to Sophia.
"Take it easy Daryl, I've been working on plans for a search party while sitting with Carl. Shane's out, he's going with Patricia's husband Otis to get medical equipment Hershel needs for Carl. That leaves me, Glenn, Carol, and Andrea."
"I'll help to." Horse girl spoke up, arms crossed over her chest. "I know these woods well, I'll think of places they could have gone."
"With Maggie then, we'll split into 2 groups. Glenn, go with Maggie, I'll go with Andrea. We meet back here in 6 hours, no matter what."
"'Oi, ain't you forgettin' something sheriff?" Daryl crossed his arms over his chest, ignoring the burn in his side as he shot the former officer a dark look.
"No, I'm not. You need to heal Daryl, and Carol will be here to make sure that happens. We'll make a grid and keep track of where we've searched. Shane should be back tomorrow, and we'll make new plans then. Get as much rest as you can, and tomorrow we'll start fresh." Daryl snarled and stomped off into the house, hearing someone mutter "what's his problem?" as he let the door slam shut behind him. By the time he made it up the steps, she was right behind him. He practically threw himself on the bed, hearing her angry huff as she followed him in the room.
"Daryl, I know you want to be out there, but you're no good to Sophia hurt and in pain. Give yourself a chance to heal, and tomorrow we'll be out there with them. Dale is out there somewhere too, hopefully he and Sophia have been able to keep each other safe." Daryl ignored her, staring at the wall.
"You know how to ride?" He blurted out after a moment. Carol blinked and shrugged. "No, I've never tried it before. Why?" he shrugged, still staring at the wall.
"Old asshole has horses in thet barn. We'll take two tomorrow 'n case we find Dale and 'phia. Easy way to look and take it easy since ya'll keep coddling me like a damn baby." He shot her a dark look but she held her ground.
"Not sure how I feel about riding, but it's not a bad idea. We can cover more ground that way." She reached over and patted his leg a few times.
"Get some sleep, I'll bring you some food later and you can tell me your plan to tell Rick." She smiled and left the room, leaving Daryl with thoughts of his daughter and the look on Carol's face when he brought her back.
Glenn has some of the best lines and I adore writing him.
It may be a bit before the next chapter is up, but it will happen!
