A/N: 12/25/2014 Another one of my favorites to write. Merry Christmas, you lovely souls!

wildcow258: Yeah, me too. And when I thought about it more deeply I was pretty amazed. Honestly, if it were me, I probably would have given up on all the stress and patience it took just to get him to be a part of the group, especially if my daughter had just died. Thanks for your review, they are lovely together indeed :)

I love Fanfics: Welcome, recent Caryl fan! I gotta say, I love people like you. Who review every chapter even after they've long since been posted. Thank you very much for your boatload of reviews, I love every one of them! ;)

Guest: Thanks :)

Terp4Life: Thank you! I'm glad you think so ^^

Reading time: 3 mins.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead.

Chapter nine: Saved~

Just as he'd suspected, the farm wasn't meant to be.

It had been a nice setup, while it lasted.

But then the horde came, and it - everything, the crops, the house, the animals, the fields - fell.

It was Hell trying to get out of there amidst all the chaos. Walkers at every turn, gun shots coming from every direction, the barn blazing, people dying, the group scattered. But it wasn't impossible.

The first and only thing on his mind at the time had been to hop on his motorcycle, grab his shit and go. Just get out of there. Screw everyone else. They were nice enough, but they weren't family. And they were probably dead, besides. No sense in sticking around when the world around you was going to Hell in a hand basket. And his plan had worked, for a few seconds.

But then he saw her.

Carol.

She was out by one of the barns, running from walkers. He honestly couldn't believe she was still alive - he figured she'd be one of the first to go. But she was there, and she was alive, and he was the closest person to her for yards. And so he saved her, stopped his initial plan of ditching that Godforsaken farm and everyone on it, and prolonged her life for just a little more.

Daryl squinted in the darkness, trying in vain to see past the fog as he sped down the dirt road on his motorcycle.

Carol wrapped her arms tightly around his midsection, and although he couldn't hear it over the roaring of his bike, he knew that she was crying.

Not sobbing, mind you.

Just mildly, quietly crying.

He wasn't sure why; he didn't know if it was for Sophia, for the loss of the farm, for everything that had ever happened, or for another reason altogether. But really, it didn't matter. Because this had been the first time she'd willingly touched him since that moment at the barn, since Sophia's fate, and as much as he hated to admit it, it was a little much for him to handle.

He contemplated stopping and telling her to get off his bike, she could walk from here, but the thought passed as quickly as it came, and he realized that he was happy he'd saved her.

And as they rode down the skinny path and away from the burning sanctuary they had come to know and love, Carol molted her broken shell and gave way to become something else.

She was saved.

And if he had anything to do with it, she would be a survivor as well.

A/N: Up next: Funny.

See you tomorrow!