Katelyn sat alone in the bunk, thinking about her father and the horrible monster he had become.
Poor Daryl, she thought, Having to make that kind of decision.
And it was all because of her father.
Katelyn hung her head in shame, tears falling from her eyes. Her father was a menace worse than the virus. Even in his absence, he found a way to hurt the people she cared about. Anger began to build inside of her at the thought of her father's treatment of Daryl. She had been so focused on her own pain, she hadn't realized what Daryl had suffered.
How could she be so selfish?
Sighing with sadness, Katelyn laid her head down and closed her eyes.
########################################################################
Carol found Daryl in tower, not watching for walkers, but sitting under the counter that once acted as a desk for the officers on duty. She could tell instantly that something was wrong. His location, however, merely confused her, as she wasn't sure exactly why he would be sitting under there.
He didn't look up when she entered.
"Daryl?" She called out softly.
He didn't answer.
"What's going on?" She asked, moving closer to him now.
Tilting his head back, he leaned it against the wall and looked at her.
"I fucked up." He stated without emotion.
"What?" Carol asked, confused as to what he was talking about.
"I fucked up." He repeated, thinking that he had finally found someone who he could love, but then he screwed it up, like he always screwed things up.
"What…how did you fuck up? I don't understand." Carol sat down across from him, trying to piece together the puzzle.
When Daryl didn't answer, she nudged him with her hand.
"How did you fuck up Daryl?" Carol prodded.
Daryl lifted his head to look at her. She could tell that had been crying and it broke her heart. She hadn't seen him like this since he thought Merle had died.
"I fucked it up with Katelyn." He whispered, his brows drawing together in anguish.
Carol shook her head in confusion.
"What makes you think that?" She asked, thinking how obviously happy they had been this morning.
"I killed the doctor that saved her." He explained, but it made no sense to Carol. She obviously was missing something.
"What doctor? Where?" She asked, trying to clarify.
"The doctor that saved Katelyn from the Governor. They was gonna burn her at the stake like some damn witch. They started the fire. I knew we couldn't save her and she was screaming in agony, so I shot her to put her out of her misery." Daryl said before continuing, "Just like Dale."
Carol took a deep breath and let it out sadly. Taking Daryl's face between her hands, she forced him to look her in the eyes, "You did the right thing, Daryl. You ended her suffering, just like Dale."
Tears sprang to Daryl's eyes and he shook his head out of her grasp but she grabbed it again, forcing him to look at her once more, "Why do you think Katelyn is mad at you?"
Daryl closed his eyes.
"I told her and she left." He said softly, sadness accenting every word.
"Oh Daryl, I'm so sorry." She said, pulling him forward to hug him.
Carol sighed as she put her arms around him in comfort. He deserved to be happy. He was a good man. One of the best she'd ever met. It was easy to love him…now. After the horrible, gruff exterior started to slip away, it revealed a sweet-natured, relatively boyish man. She'd never say it to his face, but he was adorable.
Kissing him on the forehead, she said, "This will all be okay. She loves you and that's too rare for her to give up easily.", but Daryl had already given up hope.
##########################################################################
Carol entered the cell block to find Katelyn asleep in her bunk. Walking quietly into the room, she smiled as Katelyn awakened with a frown of concern.
"What's wrong?" Katelyn asked Carol, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
"It's Daryl." Carol said quietly, sitting down on her bed.
Katelyn jumped to her feet in terror, turning pale instantly as horrible thoughts attacked her mind.
"Oh my god, is he…" She couldn't finish the question, her hands flying to cover her mouth as she burst out crying.
"No…oh my god…he's fine." Carol stated, rushing to calm Katelyn.
Sitting down on the bed, Katelyn couldn't stop shaking.
"You love him." Carol said, smiling softly and kindly, taking Katelyn's hand to calm her.
Katelyn nodded, wiping the tears away from her face.
"Very much." She whispered.
"You're not mad at him?" Carol asked, suddenly confused as to why Daryl thought she would be.
"Of course not. Why would you ask that?" Katelyn answered, not understanding.
"Oh lord." Carol rolled her eyes in amusement and couldn't help but smile, "You two."
Katelyn looked at Carol, confusion written on her face.
"Is Daryl upset with me?" Katelyn asked, thinking that Carol was inferring that her worst fears were now realized and Daryl hated her.
"God no." Carol assured her quickly, "Just go talk to him."
Patting her hand, Carol stood and exited the room with a twinkle in her eye.
Rick saw her walking out of the cell with an amused smile on her face and was curious.
"What's going on?" he asked her.
Carol smirked.
"Young love." She stated enigmatically.
Rick looked into the cell for a moment, still confused as to what she meant.
Carol patted him on the arm and walked over to sit with Maggie.
##############################################################################
Daryl needed air.
Grabbing his crossbow, he exited the prison compound and entered the woods. He thought that hunting might take his mind off of Katelyn.
Walking softly on the ground, he found the worn trail of a deer and began following it. Focusing his mind on the hunt, he began to stalk his prey.
The trail led to a thicker area and Daryl stopped to look around. That's when he noticed a small hunting cabin leaning precariously toward a deep ravine. Moving forward quietly, he raised his crossbow, readying himself for a fight. Tapping the door with his foot, he noticed it was slightly open and pushed. Ducking inside quickly, he swung his crossbow right to the right and then the left, making sure the hut was clear of anything moving. All of a sudden, pots were knocked to the floor in a loud crash, startling Daryl into shooting one of his arrows at a scrambling, terrified raccoon.
"It's yur lucky day." He muttered under his breath, taking a deep breath to calm himself.
Rummaging through the cupboards of the ransacked kitchen, he found cans of spam and some corn beef hash, but then something in the corner caught his eye. Turning, he saw a latch sticking out of the floor. It was obvious that the cabin had a cellar and Daryl hurried over, grabbing his flashlight. Shining it down below, Daryl saw gun racks and ammo alongside of shelves of survival gear.
"Jackpot." Daryl said to himself.
After searching, Daryl found an old army backpack and started packing as much as he could into it to take back. He knew he'd have to come back so he covered the cellar door with an old rug and turned to leave.
BAM! He didn't even hear the man enter, but he felt the gunshot tear through his shoulder, knocking him backwards into the wall.
The world began to spin as Daryl struggled to stand up. He struggled to drag air into his lungs as he reached out his hand to the chair in front of him for help, but his legs collapsed, sending him sprawling onto the floor again.
The last thing Daryl saw before the world went black was a pair of black boots standing in front of him.