Chapter 33

"We lost track of time," Carl said quietly, as he sat next to Daryl's bedside. They'd gotten him cleaned up and put quite a few stitches in the back of his head, and they'd gotten him warm, but he still wasn't waking up. "We found a deer, and I wanted to track it. I wanted to learn. We had enough daylight, and Daryl said we could track it for a while. I wanted to kill it for meat. For the group. It was stupid. We already had the turkey. I should have just…"

"It's ok," Carol said softly. "It wasn't your fault."

"We got deeper into the woods, and Daryl wanted to turn back, but I caught sight of it, and I just…I went after it, and he went after me. I'm sorry, Carol. This is my fault."

Hershel Greene came walking into the room.

"How's the patient?" he asked, moving to open Daryl's eyes to check his pupils.

"Nothing yet," Carol said gently.

"Give him time. He really went down hard." Carl dipped his head low, covering his face with his hands. "If it wasn't for this boy here, he'd be dead now." Carol cast a glance at the boy. Carl's head popped up, and he stared at the older man. "That dog would have ripped Daryl apart, but Carl here acted quick. Put the dog down. By the time I got there, he was already trying to drag him to the truck. Carl Grimes, your father would be so proud of you." Carl swallowed hard and blinked away hot tears.

"It's my fault," Carl murmured. "I got him hurt."

"You saved his life," Carol breathed softly, stroking the boy's back. "And I know Daryl wouldn't blame you." She placed a kiss atop Carl's head, and she nodded for Hershel to follow her out of the room. Once outside, she gave him a quick hug.

"Thank you."

"You keep an eye on him. I suspect he'll be waking in a couple hours. When he does, he's gonna be wanting to get up. You tell him to stay in bed and not move around too much. He's gonna be feeling pretty rough for a couple of days." He took a deep breath. "I have to ask about Jenna." Carol's eyes filled with recognition. "Shane told Glenn that Jenna was dead."

"You were with Shane?"

"We were. We separated from him. He told us Jenna was dead. Andrea got sick, and as she was dying, she told us that Shane lied. That he didn't know. Glenn…he's going to want to know. Did you see? Did you see what happened?"

"She's ok," Carol said with a little smile, tears falling again. "She's doing great. She's…Hershel, you have to find them. The only thing in the world this little girl wants is her mom and dad."

"Sarah didn't make it, but Glenn, he's been…lost without Jenna. He needs this."

"Find him. Please. See if you can get Noah to go with you and look. He's becoming a good tracker." Hershel nodded his thanks before disappearing down the stairs. Carol took a couple of breaths before peeking in on Judith and Jenna, who were still both sound asleep.

"I hope he finds your daddy, sweetheart," Carol whispered, leaning against the door frame. "I hope he's not too late." With a sigh, she shut the door and headed back to be with Daryl.

"Daddy, I'm going with you," Beth insisted, as she followed Hershel and Noah out of the house and to Daryl's truck.

"It's easier this way. I don't want to have to worry about you, too," Hershel explained, as he hopped in the driver's seat. Beth sighed and hopped in the passenger's seat.

"I'm not a little kid. I know how to shoot. I can even track a little. I can do this."

"I believe you," he said quietly, "but I want to know you're safe. I need to know that." He gave her a little smile. "You'll understand someday. When you're a parent."

"I would never bring a baby into this world," she said quietly, eyes fixing on the gate as Noah opened it so Hershel could pull through. "No baby deserves to be born into this Hell." Hershel stopped the truck outside the gates and waited for Noah to come out and shut them behind himself.

"The only way we get to live in this world is if we really live," Hershel said quietly. "If we give up and let ourselves die out, then the world truly does belong to the dead."

"It already does," Beth murmured. "What do we have? Some houses behind a wall? What houses behind the wall? What are we supposed to do? Repopulate the world? I want no part of it." Beth folded her arms across her chest. "I'm going with you. You can't stop me, Daddy. I'm going."

"You looking for us?" Hershel turned his head quickly to see his daughter and Glenn walking toward the truck, faces red from the cold but smiling nonetheless.

"How…"

"That's the beautiful thing about snow," Maggie said with a smile. "We followed your tracks." Hershel jumped out of the truck and pulled his oldest daughter into a crushing hug, and her own tears began to flow as she hugged her father. "We got sidetracked by walkers. That's why you didn't see us. It's why we were behind. But we made it. We're ok. So are you. Thank God."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left. He was bleeding, and the boy was crying, and…I wanted to look for you, but the snow was starting and I…" Hershel was trembling now, his face somber and guilt-ridden. Maggie held a hand up.

"Daddy, it's ok. Daryl was hurt. You did exactly what I knew you'd do. You helped. And I'm glad you did, because you brought him here, and we followed you. Look at this place," Maggie sniffled. "And you know I can take care of myself. You know Glenn can. We're ok. You did the right thing, Daddy."

"Maggie!" Beth exclaimed excitedly, rushing over to pull her arms around her sister. They held onto one another, crying and laughing as Hershel moved to give Glenn a welcoming hug.

"You've got to be freezing."

"Just a bit," Glenn snickered. "How's Daryl?"

"Hasn't woke up."

"Carol's with him. Carl too," Noah spoke up from nearby, opening the gates again. "You all get in, I'll pull the truck inside." Everybody did as Noah said, and he got the car through the gates before they shut it, securing themselves once again.

"This is Noah," Beth said softly. Maggie saw the blush fill Beth's cheeks, and she smiled, holding her hand out.

"Nice to meet you, Noah. I'm Beth's sister Maggie. And this is our dad, Hershel."

"Nice to finally meet you both. Beth's told me so much about you." The group caught up on their way back to Carol's house, and before they reached the sidewalk, Hershel grabbed Glenn's arm.

"I have something to tell you."

Carol heard the soft tapping at the door, and when it swung open, Jenna stood there with sleepy eyes. Her hair was a mess, her pink pajamas were all wrinkled, and one of her socks hung halfway off of her foot. Despite the grim situation, Carol couldn't help but smile at the little girl and motion her over.

"Good morning, sleepyhead."

"Why's Daryl sleeping?" she asked softly.

"Daryl hurt his head, honey," she said gently, pulling Jenna to sit on her lap. Jenna frowned and crawled off of Carol's lap and onto Daryl's bed. She gently put her hand on her cheek. Carol curiously watched the little girl for a few minutes. Jenna sighed, studying Daryl's face before she looked up at Carol with a very serious expression.

"You should kiss him."

"What?"

"Like sleeping beauty. The prince kisses the princess, and she wakes up. You should kiss him."

"Honey, I'm afraid that won't work," Carol said gently.

"Did you try?"

"Well…"

"Try! Please?" The little girl's eyes welled with tears, and Carol sighed softly. She scooted over and gently sat on the bed and leaned in, pressing her lips gently against Daryl's forehead. "No, you gotta kiss him on the lips! Like in the movies!" Carol humored Jenna and leaned in, giving Daryl a soft peck on the lips.

The door opened slowly, and Carol looked up in time to see Glenn step into the room, his eyes fixed on the little dark-haired girl sitting on Daryl's bed.

"Why won't he wake up?" Jenna asked sadly, gently nudging his shoulder.

"Give him time, honey," Carol urged. "He needs his rest." Carol gave Glenn a little smile, and she moved to sit back in the chair by Daryl's bed. "You know what, Jenna? I think today might be Christmas. And you never know what kind of miracles you'll get on Christmas."

"Daryl's gotta wake up. It's Christmas!" The little girl said with an insistent nod, leaning forward to give Daryl a kiss on the cheek, frowning in disappointment when her kiss didn't work either.

"Merry Christmas, Jenna," Glenn murmured from the doorway. Jenna turned around on the bed, her eyes wide, and she saw her daddy for the first time since that night.

"Daddy!" she cried out. "Daddy! Santa did it!" Glenn knelt on the floor, and she scrambled off the bed and into her father's waiting arms. Glenn let out a choked sob as he held his daughter in his arms for the first time in too long.

"Daddy's hear, baby."

"Don't go away again, ok? I thought the monsters got you."

"They almost did, but you know what?"

"What?"

"Daddy fought the monsters just to get back to you." Jenna peered over one of Glenn's shoulders and then the other.

"Where's Mommy?" she asked softly. "Did Santa bring her, too?" Glenn's face fell, and he placed a kiss to his daughter's nose.

"Mommy's not here, Jenna."

"Daddy? Is Mommy in Heaven?"

"Yeah, honey. She's in Heaven. And I think she worked with Santa to get me back here to you."

"I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too, baby. Merry Christmas." He held his little girl and mouthed a silent 'thank you' to Carol, who nodded slowly and wiped her own tears away. She sighed softly and turned back to the bed, lacing her fingers with Daryl's.

"Merry Christmas, Daryl," she whispered gently, bringing his hand to her lips, kissing his knuckles. She closed her eyes and bowed her head and did something she rarely did these days. She said a prayer, and as Jenna began to talk excitedly about everything she'd seen and done since she'd last seen her father, Daryl's fingers twitched in Carol's hand.

She gasped softly and opened her eyes to see his eyelids fluttering open. He groaned softly, and she bit her lip, trying to contain the pure joy she felt that he was going to be alright.

"Hi," she whispered gently.

"Somebody say somethin' 'bout Christmas?" he asked weakly. Carol let out a little laugh and pressed kisses against his brow and cheeks and lips. "Careful, woman." He put his hand to the back of his head. "I got stitches." A grin spread over his face, and Carol sighed happily.

"Merry Christmas, Pookie." He closed his eyes, letting out a soft chuckle.

"Merry Christmas."