Carol's heart ached as looked at the faces around her. There were a few members of her family missing. Hershel and Beth weren't with them. Hershel was good on his crutches, but not good enough to make a quick escape unassisted. Beth never participated in any of the weapons training sessions they had. She insisted it wouldn't be necessary while living in the prison, that it was safe there. Maybe Daryl had helped them escape during the attack. The older man had been more of a father to him than his own was, and Carol knew he would have done anything he could to save them. Still, with him missing, a part of her was missing.
They had somehow managed to keep their relationship a secret in their not so private prison home. Everyone knew they shared a cell, but assumed it was just a way to make room for newcomers. Sure, that was how it started, but as time went on, they grew closer. They kept warm on the colder nights by sharing a bed, sleeping back to back. Eventually, they spent every night wrapped up in each other. They were never intimate, never admitted their true feelings, never even kissed. None of that was needed to know how the other felt. They just knew.
"Ma'am, I may not know you, but I'd like to thank you for opening this can of whoop ass on this cult of godforsaken asshats," Abraham said, pulling Carol from her thoughts. His outstretched hand waiting to shake hers as congratulations for a job well done. "It looks to me like you kicked some ass, and instead of names, you took their weapons."
Carol gave the man a tiny smile as thanks as she shook his hand. She truly was grateful for the appreciation shown to her by her family and the newcomers, but she just couldn't be happy. The one person she hoped to find, needed to find, wasn't there.
Just as she began walking away, the shuffling sounds of someone dragging their feet caused Carol to turn her head back to the rail car. It was him. Daryl, looking ragged, his eyes empty of emotion, appeared in the open doorway. He walked down the steps, eyes focused on the his feet. Unaware of her presence, he walked forward a few steps before stopping, still studying the ground under his feet.
Carol wasn't sure what his reaction would be to seeing her. Did Rick tell him what she had done? Was he mad? Would he want her to leave?
Daryl had stopped walking and was looking at the boots he had brought back for her on a run. His head whipped up and looked right into the clear blue eyes that were staring back at him. As the realization hit him that she was truly there, she wasn't a figment of his imagination, he threw his arms around her with an intensity that knocked them both to the ground.
"Are you…" Real? Hurt? Okay? All the things he wanted to ask raced through his head as he held on to her, her body vibrating as she sat on the leaf covered ground sobbing. He reached out to wipe the unseen tears from her cheek and pulled her into his arms.
Shame on him for thinking she wouldn't be alright on her own. Once they were settled in at the prison, she had come to him looking for any sort of training he could offer her. Her natural abilities gave him a solid foundation to build on. She moved silently, more so than even Michonne. Her eyes were always scanning the area, inside or out, looking for any possible threats. Carol had even become almost as skilled at tracking as he was.
"Thought you were gone, woman. I gave up on everything." Daryl whispered, smiling as he put his forehead to hers, lost in the eyes he had been dreaming of. His tears fell as he finally said the words he had refused to say out loud.
"Nine lives," Carol replied. "I missed you so much." She moved her hands to his cheeks, dabbing at the wetness there. Her eyes drifted to his lips, desperate to taste them. She couldn't, not when he was so overcome with emotion. "Let's get out of here. We can talk later." Carol started to pull away, but Daryl kept his arm around her waist. It had been so long since he had seen her, since he had touched her. He couldn't let go of her now.
"Wait a minute. I got something to tell you that I should have said a long time ago. I love you, woman. Won't let anything happen to you again." Daryl smiled, feeling the weight lift off of his shoulders by telling the woman how he felt. It felt good to finally accept that she wouldn't hurt him, that he could knock the wall down and let her in, like she had done for him a long time ago.
"I love you too," Carol said. She pulled his lips to hers, not caring who was watching, and kissed him. Her tongue danced with his as though it wasn't their first kiss, but rather their last. In that moment, she vowed to make every kiss as though it would be the last. After all, in this world, it could be.
"You guys can make out later. We need to go!" shouted Glenn as the others grabbed what they could from the stockpile Carol had accumulated as she moved through the compound.
The blood rushed to Daryl's ears as Carol grabbed his hand, hesitating for a moment before pulling him along with her. After finding his crossbow with no sign of him alive, she needed to keep physical contact with him as they followed the others out through the gate. She couldn't bear the thought of being separated from him again for any length of time.