"Have fun, okay?" Carol kissed Sophia goodbye on the forehead just before sending her into class. She smiled at Jeanette and wondered where Amy was. Carol went to the front office and ran into Amy. "Oh, sorry!" She jumped back.
"Carol." Amy averted her eyes. "Um, hey."
"I was hoping to see you."
"Really?" Her eyes flickered to Carol's. "Why?"
"I want to talk—really talk. Do you mind if I come over to your house tomorrow?"
"My—my house?" She crossed her arms. "Uh, no, I don't mind."
"Good. Great." She smiled. "Where do you live?"
"Why are you doing this?" Amy demanded softly. "Did Andrea put you up to this? Did Dale?"
"No one put me up to anything, I swear. I just want to talk to you."
"Uh, sure, but after school. I have to get to class." She smiled a little and left the office.
What in the world was wrong with her? She was so jumpy now, and stuttering so much. What happened to her? Carol hoped Amy hadn't been...assaulted and that's why she had Paige so young. Carol was going to find out, and Amy looked like she needed a friend. Carol needed a friend too, and having one that wasn't there all of her life was the type of friend she needed. Karen had to fake her part until she could get away from the lifestyle of the rich on Milton's mid-spring trip. They were coming down to celebrate their anniversary, but mostly because Karen wanted to check on Carol. The only downside was Milton was friends with Phillip who was Ed's brother.
She went to T-dog and Daryl's shop, finding a few kids and T working. She waved to him, and T excused himself, telling the kids to work harder on the Cherokee. "Hey."
"Hey." He smiled. "You came to see Daryl?"
"Yeah, I need to talk to him." She swallowed. "Is he here?"
"Not today. He's off, probably at home."
"Oh, well, thank you." She gripped her purse straps, offered him a goodbye smile and turned to leave.
"Carol, wait." He grabbed her arm. "We needa talk."
"About what?" She tucked hair behind her ear nervously.
"It's about Daryl." She nodded him on. "And you."
"What about us? We're...complicated, but we're trying to be friends. There are things we need to work out, but today...it ought to be resolved."
"Don't mess with him, Carol."
"Mess with him?" She frowned a little. "What do you mean? I'm not messing with him."
T gestured to her clothes, and she looked herself over. "Yeah, you are."
"How? Because of an asymmetrical hem?" She put her hands on her hips. "I just dropped my daughter off at preschool, and I have to go out after speaking with Daryl, I don't want to dress like a slob."
He pursed his lips. "Just don't lead him on, all I'm askin'."
She let out a laugh. "Even if I wanted to date Daryl, there's no way in hell he'd ever trust me again." It was the sad truth. "Anything else?"
"Yeah, when that house is done, make a big dinner and invite me." He grinned.
"Okay, deal." She returned his grinned. "I'll see you soon. Bye." She turned on her heel, more adjusted to wedges now, and she got in her car, driving to Daryl's.
– – –
Carol rubbed her shoulder, her teeth still aching from the dentist appointment Ed made her go to for her chipped teeth, and she was so exhausted. She was going to take Sophia and crash at Karen's. She didn't want to listen to Ed or expose Sophia to him any longer. God, she hoped Karen would let her soak in a tub. She needed it.
Carol unlocked the door and went inside, finding candles lit everywhere with the lights off along with rose petals on the floor. She closed the door and set her purse down on the floor. "Ed?" she called out softly.
Ed came running down the stairs. "You're home? How are you home?" He looked her over. "I was coming to pick you up." He took her in his arms, holding her tightly, and Carol was confused. "How do you feel?"
"Numb." She eyed him, wondering if he had just brushed his teeth to get rid of the alcohol, because he had to be drunk. "I thought you were busy."
"I took the day off." He rubbed circles gently into her hands. "I made you dinner. It's not much, but you can eat it, and it's filling." He smiled sweetly.
"Dinner?" He was going to let her eat?
He led her into the kitchen where they were more candles and roses lying on the table. He sat her down and grabbed a bowl from the microwave. It was mashed potatoes. "I bought yogurt and ice cream and other soft foods. If you run out, let me know so I can get you more, just until you can eat solids."
She blinked a few times. "What the hell is this?" She stood up. "Are you trying to apologize or what? Honestly, you're freaking me out!"
He set the bowl down and grasped her shoulders, pulling her closer. "I love you, Carol, and I am so sorry. I never should've put my hands on you, and I promise you I never will again. I'm talking to a therapist, and I'm going to the gym more. I—I never meant to hurt you, baby."
She searched his eyes, and those gray-blue eyes were filled with regret and sorrow for what he had done. He was genuine. "Do you mean that?" Her voice was low, her eyes filling.
"I do."
She hugged him tightly. "I love you too."
He kissed her forehead and smiled. "Karen came by and got Sophia so we could be alone. I thought we could talk."
She smiled. "I would love to talk."
– – –
Carol knocked on Daryl's door, feeling a little nervous about having this conversation after the last one they had. She waited only a few seconds before he opened the door, rubbing the back of his neck and looking at her through blurry eyes.
"You look terrible." She frowned. "Are you hungover?"
"Tsk, no. Just woke up. I need coffee."
"I'll make you some." She walked into the house then stopped. "May I come in?"
"Yeah." He closed the door. "What're you doin' here?"
She prepared the coffee then grabbed a cup and fill it with water. She walked over to him and handed the glass to him. She watched him, concerned. "Daryl, you look really bad." She reached up and touched his forehead. "You're burning up."
"Just tired," he assured her.
"And you're sweaty." She frowned. "You're sick."
"Maybe."
"Daryl!" She took the cup. "You need to see a doctor. The last time you got sick, it was really bad. You rarely get sick, so let's just go see Dr. Stookey."
"Why? He'll just tell me the same shit I already know. I'm congested and sweaty and a little dizzy." He shrugged. "Ain't a big deal."
"Fine, then let's go talk to him and make sure." She set the cup down and grabbed his jacket. "Daryl, please."
"Fine." He snatched his coat. "Jesus." He threw it on and stomped out to her car.
She locked the door and hurried to her car. She drove him to see Bob Stookey, and since he was disoriented, she had to fill out his paperwork. She knew all of it, and she made herself his person to contact in case of an emergency. She wanted to make sure he all right.
Daryl, on the other hand, was against it, especially now that they were in the hospital. He hated hospitals. They reeked of death and illness. He didn't belong here. He wasn't going to sit here and listen to them try and diagnose him. That was bullshit.
Carol saw the nurse frown and she turned, finding Daryl stumbling around the waiting room. "Daryl, I told you to sit." She gripped his arm to support him.
"Get off me." He jerked his arm back, tripping backwards three times before catching himself. "I wanna go home. I—I ain't sick. I don't—I don't belong—" Daryl collapsed, blacking out.
"Daryl!" Carol dropped her knees beside him. "Help! We need help!"
Nurses and doctors swarmed him, Lilly Chalmers caught Carol by her elbow and hauled her up as they got Daryl onto a gurney. Carol told them he was sick, that he had a fever and to make him better as Lilly held her in place, but as they moved Daryl, Carol felt the world close in around her.
"Patient's unconscious." He waved a flashlight over his eyes after opening them. "Pupils are unequal and unresponsive."
"What does that mean?" Carol looked from him to Lilly, wanting an answer. "Is he going to be okay?"
A female came over. "What do we have?"
"High-grade fever," he told her, adding more to it, but Carol was just trying to see if he was all right for the moment.
They rushed him toward the back, Carol began to follow, her body just moving on its own, but one of the nurses saw her following them and politely told her, "You're not allow through here."
"But someone should be with him," she insisted. "He shouldn't be alone. Please."
"You're not allow through here," she repeated, slipping through the doors before they closed.
Carol hit the door hard with a closed fist and Lilly set a hand on her shoulder, pulling her away from the door. "Daryl."
"I'll get you some water." Lilly gave her an affection smile then left her.
Carol ran her hands through her hair and checked her watch. She couldn't meet Amy after school today. She had to know Daryl was all right. She needed to talk to Amy, though. Maybe if she had Amy bring over Sophia after school, they could talk a little thing. She had to know what was wrong with Daryl and why he just passed out. A high-grade fever? How did he managed to get so sick? The last time she saw him, he was perfectly fine. He wasn't at all sick. How did this happen? Daryl had the immune system of a god. He never gets sick. Carol always, always, always gets strep throat and the flu and stomach bugs, but not Daryl. He's been sick twice the entire time Carol's known him. How did he get sick this time?
"Here." Lilly sat beside Carol and held out a bottle of water.
"Thanks." She accepted the bottle and stared at it.
"This bug has been going around," Lilly told Carol. "It's been going around the schools mostly. It's powerful. Daryl will be fine in time."
Carol met her eyes, tears in her eyes at the thought of something happening to Daryl. "Powerful? And it's not fatal, is it?"
Lilly hesitated. "Don't worry. Daryl will pull through."
She finally makes a decision, and Daryl gets sick with a powerful and definitely fatal illness. She was willing to find out if his life was about to change forever, and now he may not make it to forever. She shouldn't have done that, even considered doing that to him. Her first opinion was right. He didn't need to know, because he wasn't the father. This had to be a sign telling her that. She was just...killing him, apparently.
"I have to get back to work," Lilly said after a moment, "but I want you to know that Daryl is with our best doctors. They've been busting their asses to get people better, and since Daryl came in so early, they'll probably flush it right out of his system. He'll be home in two days, I promise."
Carol lifted her head. "You think?"
"I know." She nudged Carol. "He's a fighter, and this bug doesn't stand a chance."
"I know he is, but... I've never seen him look like that before," she admitted.
"Don't think about how he looked. It'll only make you feel worse. Why don't you call his brother and let him know?"
"Me?" Carol frowned. "Call Merle?"
"Yeah. Daryl's phone fell out of his pocket, so here." She handed it to Carol. "Call him."
"But—"
"Wouldn't you want to know?" She left then.
Carol whimpered. Merle? The last time she saw Merle, he was talking to Daryl about Ethan. She had nothing to say to Merle, but Merle would have a hell of a lot to say to her. She left his baby brother after two years of marriage, a miscarriage and a stack of divorce papers. He was going to chew her out and probably kill her then Daryl and then her again. God, how the hell was she supposed to talk to Merle Dixon? He was so unreasonable and sarcastic and rude. He had to hate her too. She still hated herself for leaving Daryl, but that wasn't the point right now.
Gathering her courage, she flipped through Daryl's contacts—surprisingly he had a lot—and found Merle. She would have sent him a text, but Merle would've just called when his phone went off. He probably wasn't the texting type.
"Hello?" Merle's voice was husky, groggy. He'd just woken up too.
"Merle? It's Carol Greene."
"Yes, it is." He chuckled darkly. "Back after all this time. Why're you callin' me, Carol "Greene"."
"It's Daryl." She quickly changed the subject. "He's really sick, Merle. He's in the hospital right now."
"Sick? Sick with what?"
"They haven't told me anything. He passed out with a high-grade fever and they took him away. I don't know anything, but I assuming it's a flu bug that's been going around. I just thought I'd call and let you know."
"I'll be right down."
"Oh, there's no need to—" she cut off when Merle hung up on her. Great. And there was nowhere to hide either. She had to see him sooner or later, so it was better this way. He would be worried about Daryl's health and not her blatant abandonment of Daryl, but that really didn't matter right now, because Daryl was sick, and they needed to focus on him and hope he got better
––
Merle walked into the emergency room half an hour later, scanning the room, but it was easy to find Carol. She still wore suggestive dresses without knowing they were suggestive. He had to admit he liked her hair longer. With long hair, she looked less like an abused housewife. He saw how she chewed her thumbnail, and he knew they still hadn't told her anything. What the hell did Daryl catch to make him so damn sick?
Carol stood up when Merle appeared beside her.
"Where is he?" Merle studied her face.
"He's still in the emergency room," she assumed.
"I wanna see him."
"They won't let anyone in. I tried, Lilly tried." She crossed her arms. "Oh, good. There's Dr. Stookey."
"Carol Greene." He walked over to them. "Merle."
"Is he okay?" Merle barked.
"We were able to stabilize—"
"Is he okay?" Merle demanded.
"He's going to be fine."
"Damn straight he is."
"I want to keep him here a few days, though. He still has recovering to do."
"Thank you." Carol smiled at him.
"You can him now as well. Follow me."
"Do you want me to stay?" Carol asked Merle, her eyes on Bob Stookey.
"The last time I wanted anything from you, your ass left. What hell do you think?" Merle fell into step beside Bob as Carol dropped her head. "C'mon, "Greene"."
She didn't waste time. She caught up to them and saw them wheeling Daryl toward a room. He was still out of it, but he was conscious. She was so relieved. He looked a lot better, and he even had some color back in his face. His eyes were really blue against his skin still. "Daryl?"
"Merle?" Daryl glanced between the two of them. "Is that your ugly ass?"
"He'll feel better after he's been here a while." Lilly pushed open the door to his room.
"What?" Daryl was pushing himself up. "No. Let me go! I wanna leave!"
One of the male nurses pushed his shoulders down as another grabbed his arms, but Daryl was a big guy, buff too, and they were struggling to hold him steady. Lilly had a sedative ready, and after a few moments of struggling, they managed to keep him still long enough for her to inject him with it.
Daryl groaned as the drug ran through him, becoming very still. "I wanna go home," he murmured.
"You'll be home soon," Carol promised.
"Don't make me stay here..."
Carol and Merle waited as they pushed him into his designated room, Carol shuddered at the tone in Daryl's voice, and Merle shook his head. He hated seeing Daryl like this. No one knew it, but ever since their mom died, Daryl couldn't stand to be in hospitals. He hated them, and Merle couldn't blame him. Hospital visits only came after fucking nightmares were unleashed on them.
"Looks like he's asleep," Merle commented. "Reckon I should call T-dog and tell him Daryl's sick."
"I can call him," Carol offered. She knew Merle wasn't fond of other races, and he and T-dog had gotten into many fights.
"T's been good to my brother, it oughta be me." He backed up and went to find a phone.
Carol watched Daryl for a moment longer then left to get some air. She found Amy in the lobby with the girls, who were in the room full of toys and games, and she offered a slightly confused smile. "It can't be time for them to get out yet," Carol mumbled.
"It's not, but with that flu going around, we thought it would be best to close school for a couple of days. A lot of the teachers have it and now the principal." Amy looked a little pale herself. "I had to disinfect my entire classroom."
"I'm glad I'm not a teacher."
"How's Daryl?"
"They want to keep him here a few days, but he's stable now."
"That's good."
"How are you feeling?"
"Not too great, I'll admit. I'm going to buy soup on my way home and give Paige some vitamins so she won't catch it."
"How about I come by tomorrow?" Carol suggested. "I can make you soup, and if you do get sick, I can tend to Paige. I have a good immune system, so does Sophia, so don't worry about me getting it. How does that sound?" Aside from lies. Good immune system? Her immune system laughed at her as sickness infected her. It was a traitor.
"Really sweet." Amy smiled. "I would love for you to come over, and Paige would love to see Sophia."
"I have...no paper with me or a pen." She felt Daryl's phone on her hip, resting in her pocket and bit her lip. He was sick and in the hospital, so he wouldn't need it for a while. Besides, she needed a phone anyway, and she would repay him eventually. He would never notice. She grabbed his phone and found his contacts, adding Amy and she added the address Amy gave her.
"Just call before you come, okay?"
"Yes, of course."
"I'll get the girls." She tried to walk away before Merle came over to them.
"Amy?" Merle blinked and did a once-over. He hadn't seen her in five years, but she looked a hell of a lot better now than she did then. Her hair was longer, her eyes weren't bloodshot, and she wasn't living with a bunch of meth heads. What happened to change her, he wondered.
"Um, hi." She smiled.
"You know each other?" Carol heard the surprise in her voice. "From where?"
"Around," Merle replied, unable to look away from her. "It's been a long time."
"Five years." Amy nodded.
"You look good."
"So do you." Amy began to feel uncomfortable, so Carol went to see the girls to give them some space. Amy didn't want Carol to know what she was like before, but Carol would figure it out, especially now. She had to tell Carol the truth. She had to tell her how she knew Merle, not let Carol jump to conclusions. "Are you clean now too?" Amy whispered.
He nodded. "Somebody had to look after my brother."
"Good for you." She tried to walk away, but he grabbed her wrist. "No, Merle, don't."
"Amy, look, I wanna talk."
"Well, I don't." She met his eyes. "We have nothing to talk about. The only thing we had in comment back then were drugs, but we're both clean now, and I can't afford to not be. I have responsibilities now, a decent job, and people I have to take care of, so let me go."
He released her. "If your old dealer gives you any shit, tell me."
"Why?"
"Just tell me."
"You don't owe me anything," she promised.
"Just lemme know." He left the hospital then to smoke a cigarette.
Paige grasped Amy's hand, and Amy bent down, smiling at her. "Can we go horseback riding?"
"What?"
"Sophia wants to invite you both to come horseback riding with us." Carol slipped her hands into her back pockets. "Not today since you don't feel well, but maybe some Wednesday? Shawn's usually home on Wednesdays. He's a really good teacher."
"Um, sure. Why not? It sounds like fun. I'll let you know a date."
"Yes! Thank you, Mommy!" Paige hugged her.
Amy laughed at her daughter's excitement and gave Carol a thank you smile, and Carol was glad to see Amy happy. She was worried about her. How did Amy know Merle? The only way they knew each other was if Amy did drugs five years ago before she got pregnant. Amy wouldn't risk her child like that, and Carol knew Amy wasn't using now, so five years ago Amy and Merle were...what? Drug buddies? Was he her dealer? Why would Amy ever do drugs? How bad did Amy's life get to make her want to do drugs?
Amy had problems too. Maybe Carol could, at least, help her with them. Maybe.
– – –
Daryl woke up in the hospital at six in the morning. He kicked the blankets off and ripped the IV out of his wrist. He got out of bed and wandered out into the hall, ignoring the knot in the robe he wore. He could hear coughing from all of the rooms around him. Peering into some, he discovered a bunch of teenagers and kids had caught the same flu he had.
Daryl was looking for the exit, but between the sedative and the flu, his vision was shit. It was all a blur and the ground shift underneath him, he wasn't getting anywhere anytime soon.
A baby's cries drew his attention. He found a room with a set of parents and a newborn baby. He wasn't sure if it was girl or a boy since it was wearing white jammies, but the baby was obviously sick. He could see the worry and fear in the parents' faces, and he wondered if the baby was sick with the same flu he was sick with or if it was something else entirely.
"Excuse me, Mr Dixon." Lilly rushed over to him. "You shouldn't be out of bed."
"What's wrong with it?" Daryl asked, nodding his head toward the baby.
"Nothing you need to concern yourself with. You need to focus on getting yourself better. Now, come on."
"Is he gonna be all right?"
She could see Daryl wasn't going anywhere until he knew what was wrong with that infant. She went to see, asking the nurse about the child, and she returned to find Daryl leaning against the wall, even more pale. "I will tell you, but only when you're lying down."
"Fine," he grumbled.
She helped him back to his room and placed the IV back into place. "The baby is going to be just fine. It's just an ear infection. Happy?" She didn't get a grumble, so she looked up and saw he'd passed out. She set a hand on his forehead and shook her head. Poor guy.
She wet a cloth and placed it over his forehead, gently pressing it against his forehead. "Good night, Daryl." She left the room and closed the door.
––
Daryl turned his head and opened his eyes, seeing Dr. Stookey beside him, looking over his chart. He felt heavy, and he wasn't sure he could move. He was so tired.
"Good morning."
"Coulda fooled me." He lifted his hand to his forehead.
"How are you feeling?" He glanced over the chart. "Looks like your fever's gone down."
"Then I should go, give y'all more room."
"Not so fast." Daryl groaned. "Soon. We have to make sure that fever's gone. That's a strong virus you had, maybe not as strong as you."
Daryl glared.
"May we come in?"
Daryl looked over and saw Sophia and Carol.
"Yes, maybe you can keep our patient from bolting." He closed the door on his way out.
"Hey!" Sophia smiled at him as Carol lifted her onto the bed. "Good morning!"
"Sophia, not so loud, honey." Carol was digging through her purse.
"It's all right." He sat up. "Those for me?"
"Uh-huh." Sophia tied the get well soon balloons to his bed. "I don't have school today, so I ask Mommy if we could see you. How are you?"
"Not too good." He shrugged. "How 'bout you?"
"I'm sad you're sick." She crossed her legs. "I wish you felt better."
"Me too."
Carol sat down beside him and continued to dig through her purse, ignoring him.
"So, no school?" He sniffed.
"This bug's gotten a lotta people sick." She frowned. "My friend's mommy is sick too."
"Sorry to hear that." He wondered what Carol was looking for. Either she was ignoring him by relentlessly digging through her purse or she was trying to find something important. He knew Carol kept most things neat, so she was avoiding talking to him. He wanted to talk to her, so how did he get her attention?
"Oh, no, no, no." Carol tucked hair behind her ear and pulled something smeared with lipstick out of her purse. "Damn it."
"What is that?" He couldn't tell.
"Is that my card?" Sophia frowned.
"No." She set the item down and handed Daryl Sophia's card. "Excuse me." She grabbed the item and went into the bathroom.
Daryl opened the red envelope and found a get well soon card to match the balloons inside. He read what it said, finding a cute—yet poorly drawn—doodle of him in the hospital inside. "Thanks, Sophia."
"You're welcome." She smiled. "I like Mommy's better."
"Like her what better?"
"Her card. She's really good at picking out cards. I just doodle." She shrugged.
Daryl frowned. She got him a card? That's what that thing was. Her lipstick must've opened and gotten all over it. "Excuse me." He stood up and went to the bathroom, finding Carol groaning in annoyance inside. "Carol?"
"Hold on." She wiped her hands on a paper towel then removed the card from the envelope. She held it out to him and tossed the envelope.
He read the cover and opened it, finding paint samples inside, and he chuckled. "How'd you know?"
"Shawn. He told me last night. After the accident... I'm sorry it took me so long."
"Nah, don't worry 'bout it. Kid needed you more than that house."
"Look, Daryl...I have plans with Amy in an hour, so I need to go to the store. I just wanted to drop these off. Merle's gonna come by too." She shouldered her purse and slipped by him. "Beth and Maggie sent the flowers, by the way." She motioned to the vase. "They brighten the room."
"You're goin' now?"
"But I will be back. We have paint to decide on." She smiled. "Until then sleep well and be good. Lilly told me you tried to escape last night."
"Tsk."
"That's an order," Sophia added.
"Great, now a four-year-old's bossin' me around."
"Is it working?"
Carol laughed. "C'mon, honey." She picked her up. "Let's go meet Paige and Amy. Goodbye, Daryl."
"Bye, Daryl."
"See you later then."
She nodded and left to go meet Amy. She called to check on her before pulling out of the hospital parking lot, but Amy's neighbor answered and told her Amy didn't want her to come over today. Carol could hear Amy coughing and possibly vomiting in the background, and then the neighbor hung up on Carol.
"How rude."
"What?" Sophia asked.
"Nothing. I don't think we can go see Amy today, honey. She's really sick."
"Okay." Sophia sounded disappointed. "I wanna make her a card."
"All right. We gotta go to the store anyway." Carol set the phone in her purse and backed out, going to the local store. She ran into Maggie there, and they shopped together. It was strange since the last time they stopped together, Maggie was still trying to decide if Beth should use tampons or pads.
"Vitamins?" Maggie pushed the cart.
"I am not getting sick." She grabbed her usual, and Maggie looked them over, wondering why she needed so many, and one of them caught Maggie's eye. "Do you need toothpaste, Sophia?" She dropped a bottle of kid's vitamins in the cart as well.
"Yeah." Sophia was playing with Maggie's badge.
"Uh, Carol?" Maggie held up a bottle. "Is there something you want to tell me?"
Carol looked at the bottle. "No. Why?"
"This is birth control."
"Yeah, so?"
"So? Are you seein' somebody?"
"Birth control has more uses than preventing pregnancies."
"Fine. How are you going to afford all of this? Did you get a job?" She set the bottle down and followed Carol with the cart.
"Dad gave me some money for groceries," she replied.
They picked the rest of the items and checked out, Carol helped Maggie load them into the trunk, and Maggie went home with Carol since she'd gotten a ride with Rick and was going to just call Beth to pick her up after class.
Carol glanced back at Sophia and saw her playing with Ethan.
– – –
"I'm fine to go by myself," Carol insisted, smoothing the baby blanket Beth had finished making over the bed. "It wasn't major. He said it was normal."
"I can be there all the same," Daryl grumbled.
"I'm a big girl. If I need you, you're a phone call away."
"Fine, be stubborn."
"I love you too."
"I gotta go. T's here."
"Bye."
"Bye."
She sighed and looked over the nursery once more, smiling at all the work they'd done, and she set a hand on her stomach. "This is your room, Ethan. Your daddy made almost everything all for you." She turned the light off. "You'll love it."
In the morning, Daryl had gone with T to inspect the shop across town, and Carol went to her appointment. Beth and Annette had to work the cafe today, and Maggie was helping Hershel with the cattle, so it was just her. She didn't mind. She just wanted to make sure everything okay. It was just a little blood in her urine. Just a little.
"Hey." Lilly smiled at Carol. "You look adorable."
"Oh, I feel adorable." She leaned back, trying to relax.
"Are you nervous?" She pushed Carol's shirt up. "About going through labor?"
"Terrified." She let out a nervous laugh. "Mom isn't helping alleviate my fear either."
"Well, I'm sure you'll do fine." She began the examination to make sure everything was all right, and Carol watched her face. "Hold on." She stood up. "Let me grab a new one. This thing is so old."
"Okay." Carol watched her closely, especially when she came back with new equipment, and Carol's heart beat slowed down as Lilly didn't meet her eye. There were no sounds in the entire hospital as Lilly searched the screen with a guarded look in her eye. "Lilly?"
"Umm, excuse me for a second, honey." She smiled warmly then left the room, closing the door, but it was open just enough for Carol to see Lilly wave over Dr. Caleb Subramanian and have a whispered conversation. He came into the room, and Carol felt panic flood through her.
"What's going on?" She looked from Lilly to Caleb.
He did the same thing as Lilly, but he turned to her and spoke. "I'm very sorry, Carol, but your baby's...gone."
"What?" Carol must not have heard him correctly.
"Your son is dead. I'm very, very sorry."
"Uh, could you check again? He's fine. I can feel him, and he's fine."
"Carol," Lilly began.
"Just check again! You're wrong!"
"We're not wrong," Lilly gently said. "Did you come with anybody?"
Carol swallowed hard, numb to everything. "No. No, I came alone."
"Is there anyone you want me to call? Your husband?"
The room became one massive blur as Lilly spoke, and Carol couldn't make sense of anything. She kept thinking over everything that happened the past nine months, and she was trying to understand what went wrong. He was fine just yesterday. He was kicking. He even had the hiccups, so how could what they said be real? He was fine...
The world seemed to melt away, Daryl was there now, talking to the doctor, and he was upset. He had to swallow his feelings for Carol. He had to be there for her, but at the look on her face, he was worried that she might not be there. Her eyes were empty as she gazed off, looking at nothing in particular, and she was so still.
They made plans for her to give...birth tomorrow, and they made arrangements for his...funeral. Daryl did most of the talking, holding Carol's hand tightly, and he took her home. He wasn't sure what to do, but he called Hershel and let him know what happened. Daryl could hear the pained cries from Annette as Hershel told her, and Daryl had to hang up, because he couldn't handle that. He could barely handle the emotions inside of him.
He joined Carol in bed, wrapping his arms around her, and she gripped his hand tightly. He kept waiting for her to cry, but she didn't. He watched over her through the night, and in the morning, they went to the hospital, not calling anyone, they waited for the medication to take effect. They didn't speak much, Carol kept twisting her wedding band, and Daryl chewed his bottom lip. It was so quiet. They could hear everything. Every footstep, every scribble a pen made and every single sad, whispered word.
And it only got worse when Ethan was... When he came out. He was cold and blue, but the staff told them this was the only time they'd have him with, so they should make the most of their time with him.
Carol held her son in her arms, looking him over. They'd wrapped him in a little blue blanket, little hat on his head, and the only diaper he'd ever wear. He was beautiful, like his father. She looked over his little face. He had her nose, his father's chin and mouth. His little mouth that would never draw in a breath or exhale muttered words of annoyance or of love. This baby boy who Carol loved with all of her being...would never get to hear her say those three words, and she would never get to hear him say them back.
Daryl watched her for the longest time as she examined Ethan then he joined her. They took a couple of pictures with him, Carol took some of his hair, and they said goodbye to baby Ethan. They never even got to say hello, and yet they had to say goodbye? How was that even fair?