It was getting close to nightfall, and they needed to get to a place to call home for the night. Daryl certainly wasn't going to force Carol to sleep here. Tyreese mentioned a larger house about a mile from where they were now. On their first trip through here, Carol suggested they move forward in hopes of finding a smaller house for their stay, one that would be easier for one adult to keep watch from while the other adult protected the three girls.
Seeing that Carol still didn't look strong enough to walk that mile on her own two feet, Daryl got down on one knee, and swept her up into his arms, Normally, she would have insisted she was fine walking on her own two feet, but for right now, she was content with him carrying her until they found shelter. At least this time she was in better shape than the last time he had carried her this way.
Remembering the pain he felt in his heart as he sat outside the cold cell in solitary, delaying what he thought to be inevitable - putting down the woman who had become his best friend. The woman he had grown to love. Somehow, luck was on his side. He found her just in time and carried her to Hershel then, just as he was carrying her to safety once again.
He looked ahead to Tyreese, still carrying Judith as though she was the one person holding him together. Flanked by Sasha and Bob, he kept his eyes on the child, always moving forward. He no longer resembled the vengeful, hostile man from that morning in the prison. Now, he reminded Daryl of the woman in his arms back at the quarry; jumpy, meek, and much like she would, he protected the little girl in his arms above all.
The woman in his arms, however, had changed so much. Rising from the ashes, she became stronger, confident, and most importantly, her own person. Somehow, she had acquired all of the positive traits known to the Dixon name. If Merle could see her now, even he would be proud.
Then again, she had already shown his brother her claws once. Daryl could still recall the stunned look on Merle's face when Carol vowed to hurt him if Merle ended up hurting his little brother as he had done so many times before.
Carol's head was resting against his shoulder, her left arm coiled around his neck. Her right hand was rubbing the fabric of his shirt, grazing his skin at times. They weren't much for public displays of affection, preferring the rush of rushing around corners at the sound of footsteps coming down the halls before at the prison. Daryl loved stealing a moment of physical contact before anyone could notice. Sometimes it was a kiss, other times it was just a brush of the hair, fingers intertwined, or something like what she was doing now. He lived for these moments.
Just as the last glimmers of light were fading behind the trees, the group found themselves at the larger house Tyreese had described earlier. Much like they had before the prison, a few people went inside to make sure the building was safe. After a few minutes, Glenn reappeared on the porch to let everyone know they had found the house empty. The others gathered their meager belongings and followed him inside.
Daryl refused to put Carol down until they were upstairs. He had claimed the master bedroom for them before Maggie and Glenn were able to. Holding her against his body with one arm, he pulled the blue flannel sheets back on the large white wooden bed. He tucked her in between the sheets before walking around the bed to climb in beside her.
Carol turned towards him and placed her head on his shoulder, burying her face in his neck. She was torn between needing to talk to him, to get out what happened, and not being strong enough to make the words flow once she opened her mouth. Feeling his fingers trailing up and down her back, she decided to draw on his strength and confide in him.
"Daryl? Do you know what happened with the girls?" Carol could feel the wetness pooling in her eyes knowing what she had to relive. There was only one other time she had ever felt so empty and lost in her life.
"No. I didn't see them at the prison. Beth saw some of the kids along the tracks, but it wasn't Lizzie or Mika. The other ones though, they didn't make it. Sorry, Carol," he said as he wrapped his arms around her. The sadness in his eyes confirmed her thoughts that he would feel as though he failed her once again when it came to the children. No matter how many times he told her that she appreciated everything he had done, that he wasn't a failure, he had been beaten down so much in his life, that he couldn't believe what she told him.
"They saved Tyreese during the attack. He kept both of them and Judith safe after they escaped. When I found them, Lizzie had her hand over Judith's mouth to stifle the crying, but she was suffocating her." The tears were already falling and she was only at the beginning of the story.
The thing he hated most in the world used to be his father. Now, it was anything that made Carol cry. He kissed her forehead and pulled the blankets up over her shoulders.
"I know, sweetheart. Ty told us the story, what you had to do, and I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you, or to be there for you." Daryl held her close until she fell asleep. Once she did, he remained awake, unable to shut off his brain.
Under the circumstances, he knew he couldn't blame himself for what she had been through, but he couldn't help but run through the list of what could have been. What if he had been with her to help take care of the girls? What if Rick never decided to kick her out? What if she didn't feel the need to take care of David and Karen all on her own? What if he would have manned up and told her how he felt a long time ago?