AN: so...weird chapter. Not sure what I think of this. Let me know what you think :)

I do not own or profit from The walking dead

Chapter 8

When she heard the voices they swirled around her, a slight edge of panic seem to ooze into her soul at how frantic they sounded.

"Fuck...she's been shot...fuck fuck. Perez do something!"

Daryl. His voice was nearing hysterics which was unusual for him. He always seemed to excrete an air of calmness despite the volatility Carol had witnessed at the quarry. It was what had attracted her to him initially. She'd gotten the impression of still waters running deep. He'd intrigued her and confused her all at once. Unlike Ed who had kept part of himself hidden, she'd never felt that way with Daryl. He was an open book to be read, if you took the time to read him.

But he was panicked now, that couldn't be good.

"Jesus Christ why the hell did she do that? That was fucking stupid."

Merle. Pfft...she should have known he would be ungrateful. That bullet would have hit him square in the heart.

She felt hands on her shoulders. Not Daryl's she knew that instinctively. She could hear Daryl cursing from behind her. Kicking something for all he was worth.

"Wake up ...you hear me girl? You ain't dying for me."

Huh, maybe Merle wasn't as apathetic as she thought.

"Don't shake her."

"We should move her."

"She's bleeding too much"

"Perez stitch her up"

"I'm on it."

They were worried ...that was nice. If only she could wake up.

"You don't have to, you don't have to wake up, not if you're ready." That voice was familiar. Comforting somehow.

"T?" Carol whispered her eyes were open as she stared past the flurry of activity that surronded her body. To T-dog who was sitting on the floor, that smile she had grown to love beaming from his face.

She smiled a laugh bubbling up from her chest, she could feel blood seeping in to her throat.

"Hey sweetheart...look at all the trouble you get into when I leave you alone." He said with a grin.

"Am I dead?" She whispered. She must be dead.

"Naww just somewhere you can decide what's next." T said with his trademark grin.

She was sprawled on the floor. She could see her four guys working to stitch up her shoulder. Daryl was holding her hand as T-Dog knelt next to her. It was as though they were in an alternate bubble of consciousness. Or maybe somewhere between wakefulness and dreaming.

"You've never had it easy, life's been unfair to you. Big guy upstairs knows that. You can come now, if you want. It's beautiful there, Sophia is there, and Lori and everyone you loved." T said with a smile.

"Heaven?... But what about, Karen, and David...Lizzie...?" She trailed off biting her lip.

T smiled touching her cheek. "We both know those were acts of mercy. You have that in you Carol. You deserve a chance to happy. The big guy sees that. He's done what he needed to do to throw your destiny into your path." T dog said nodding at Daryl.

"Daryl?" She whispered confused.

He grinned at her and chuckled. "don't say you don't feel it. You know you do. It was always supposed to be that way...you and him. That's why we couldn't make it work. It doesn't work when you have already met your soulmate, and you had...So what will it be?" t-Dog asked.

She could see him. Kneeling at her side. Daryl. He looked absolutely shattered. Like his heart was breaking, right in front of her eyes. Like his world was being ripped from him and they barely knew each other.

All the years with Ed flashed before her eyes. The heartache, the longing to feel loved. Sophia had filled that void, but a part of Carol had always wanted the connection. With a man. She had wanted it all her life..to be loved. Maybe this was her chance. Daryl was grasping his own hair, fisted in his hands watching as Perez, worked on her wound. It was still there, that light, that presence in his eyes that seemed to connect somehow to her. She'd seen it, that day at the quarry. There was something there. This was probably all a hallucination from the blood loss a trip inside her own mind. But she knew one thing was true. She needed to decide right now, if she intended to go on, to live. She looked up at T-Dog's knowing smile, and realized her most important choice. She needed to decide to forgive herself.

She closed her eyes for a moment. Why was she being given this choice and not Sophia.

"You only have a choice when the situation allows it. Sophia was alone when it happened...But you should know she never suffered. You deserve this girl, but you need to believe that.

She nodded taking a deep breath, feeling a weight lift from her shoulders.

"I'll stay"