It was dusk when Daryl finally returned. She had waited, hopefully, by the gate since Michonne had arrived, alone, and had explained to the others what happened. He looked older somehow, depleted. His eyes were sad and swollen and didn't meet hers. That's when she knew Merle was gone.
Carol unlocked the gate in silence and let him in. Pausing before heading up the road towards the prison entrance, he rubbed the toe of his boot in the dirt as she closed the gate behind him. She turned towards him and waited silently.
"He's— he's dead, Carol," he stammered as the words caught in his throat. The memory of Merle's reanimated corpse hung heavily on Daryl, his shoulders collapsed with the weight of it. "The son of a bitch went kamikaze on some of the Governor's men, looked like." He straightened slightly with pride for what Merle had done for them. "I had to—" He looked into her eyes briefly, and then looked away again off towards the tree line, unable to finish. He gasped, struggling for air that seemed to quickly leave his body. And all at once his strength left him.
Knowingly, Carol stepped closer to Daryl. He reached out a hesitant arm towards her as his grief gripped him. Finding her shoulder, he steadied himself. "I'm here," she said softly, letting him lean on her.
Images of Merle's dead face lunging towards him exploded in his vision. Daryl's breathing became more shallow, almost panicked, as he fought the reality of what had occurred.
She rested her hand on his and quietly rubbed at it with soothing, gentle strokes. Her heart ached to hold him, but she knew enough to leave him be. She would be patient. She had to be.
Merle's starving, dead eyes haunted Daryl. He was gone. His brother had finally left him for good. The world had gone to shit and he was alone. The sob began from deep within him and erupted like a coarse belch, wracking him. It hit him in violent, painful waves. Merle had left him behind, again. Daryl struggled, but he couldn't stand the weight of his lonely grief. He felt empty and weak, like he would dissolve into the dust beneath his feet. As he trembled, he felt her strength beneath him, holding him up. Of course she was there. In desperation, he pulled her into himself. He needed her. He needed her now more than ever. He needed her closer to him.
Suddenly, she felt him seizing her arms and pulling her strongly against him. With his resistance collapsing, she instinctively wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly as he sank into her. She held him, and he let himself be held, releasing everything he'd been carrying into her embrace. She solemnly accepted what he gave her, holding it all without a word. She held him without question as he openly grieved his lost brother.
She remembered the warm strength of his arms that horrible day on the farm. How he'd held her in her grief as it ripped her apart. How she howled and wailed as her world shattered and crumbled into dust.
The shadows crept in as they stood together under the darkening amber sky. They clung to each other, bearing each other's pain because it was all that was left. Being together was the only thing that truly mattered anymore.