We continue from Daryl's perspective now.
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Daryl stuck like a tick to Carol's side as they walked for the rest of the day. All the time they'd been apart, he hadn't had a chance to process it – to really think about never seeing her again. Rick had dropped a bomb on him in that cell block when he said he'd abandoned Carol, blowing a hole in his life and leaving a smoking crater where his heart had been. And before that even started to sink in, the Governor had come and destroyed everything that remained. Since then it had been a constant, nightmare struggle just to stay alive. Even if there had been time to think, he couldn't cope with it all – there was just too fucking much.
But now, somehow, they were together again. She'd turned up after their escape from Terminus looking like a grubby avenging angel, and for a second he thought he'd finally cracked and was seeing things like Rick had after Lori died. When he realized she was no vision, the crushing relief just about killed him. He couldn't reach her fast enough, couldn't hold her close enough. All the crazy shit tumbling around inside him was so overwhelming, he was left tongue-tied and teary-eyed, and he was so goddamn happy to see her, he didn't give a shit that everyone was staring.
Now they walked the tracks, and he kept his mouth shut for the most part – just so damn grateful Carol had come back to them. But as the day wore on, a burr of worry made his brain itch, and though he watched her carefully, he couldn't quite pinpoint the reason. Of course, they'd all been through hell the last little while, but still, she seemed...off somehow. The more he watched, the more clear it was that something was very wrong.
Near dusk, the group found a place to camp for the night. Daryl took watch a little way from where the others were bedding down. He chewed thoughtfully on the inside of his cheek as he waited for Carol to join him. She'd never exactly been a chatterbox, but today she'd hardly said a word. Maybe with the little bit of privacy that being on watch afforded them, she'd tell him what was bothering her.
She made almost no noise when she finally showed up, nearly sneaking up on him completely. Just before she came alongside him, he turned, both surprised and impressed with her stealth. When had she gotten so good at that? Giving her a quirk of a smile in welcome, he considered how far she'd come in this shitty fucking world. Since they'd met at the quarry, she'd become confident, strong, and independent. It made him proud that she'd survived on her own after Rick dumped her out here. Not just survived, but saved all of their sorry asses to boot. His smile warmed a bit thinking of the hellfire she'd rained down on Terminus. She really was one hell of a woman.
Carol answered his smile with only the ghost of one of her own as she parked herself on a tree root. Her eyes, usually so expressive and bright, were hollow. She wouldn't look at him other than the briefest of glances, and even then it was more like the wary regard of a stranger.
He sat nearby on a rock and sighed, resting his chin on the butt of his crossbow. He'd hoped she would open up to him, but instead she seemed even more squirrelly and closed off than before. What the fuck had happened to her out there?
The longer he watched her, the more she squirmed.
"I don't wanna talk about it. I can't." She answered the question Daryl hadn't asked. "I just need to forget it."
She turned then, looking directly at him for the first time since they'd left the cabin. Whatever'd happened out there had devastated her. He could see the aftermath in her haunted eyes and the tightness of her jaw. He was fairly sure she was trying to convince herself as much as him that putting it behind her was for the best. Fine – if she needed some space, he could give it to her. At least for now. Fuck knew she'd done the same for him a hundred times.
"A'ight," he agreed. Daryl held her eyes and didn't look away. She could have her space, but he wasn't willing to let her run away completely.
An instant later, he was on his feet with his crossbow at the ready, all his attention focused out into the blackness. A rustle in the underbrush... It felt wrong – not a natural sound of the forest. As he crept forward, he held up a hand to keep Carol still so he could listen, but he heard nothing but crickets.
After a moment, he relaxed a bit. "'S nothin'." Stepping back to his rock, he turned to glare at the trees some more. Whatever had made the noise, at least it wasn't walkers, but the hairs on his arms wouldn't stand down. The creeping certainty that something or someone was watching them made him stay on his feet. He didn't know if Carol could feel it, but she stayed standing, too, scanning the forest around them.
He listened for several more minutes, but didn't hear anything else, so he finally sat back down. Maybe it really was nothing. Maybe it wasn't. In the morning he'd come back to check for traces of who- or whatever might've been out there.
He turned back to Carol, who was following his lead and sitting on her root again, although she kept her attention out on the trees. Her shoulders were hunched tight, like she was just waiting for life to try and knock her down again. She'd become confident and strong, but he wondered if her strength might have turned brittle under so much pressure. And he hoped her new-found independence didn't mean she would shut him out completely – not now, when they needed each other so much. He frowned. Maybe she didn't, though. What if she didn't need him the way he needed her?
The tic in his cheek jumped. That thought was uncomfortable, so he pushed it aside.
Sighing, he scratched his beard scruff. He'd said he would give her some space, but it was harder than he thought. "If you're tired, you should go on and get some sleep. I'm good here."
She studied him in the faint moonlight, then shook her head. "It's safer to watch in pairs when we're camped in the open, since we have the numbers."
He nodded and went back to scanning the trees around them. He'd given her an out, and she didn't take it. That was a good sign, right? He thought it might be, although they kept watch in silence for the rest of their shift.
Maggie and Glenn came to relieve them a few hours later. Carol slipped away without a word, and Daryl chewed his lip as she disappeared between the trees.
"Keep sharp," he told the couple. "Heard some noises a while back. Felt like we were bein' watched."
Maggie nodded and settled herself on Daryl's rock.
Glenn muttered under his breath, "Creepy much?"
Daryl snorted and headed back through the trees to where the others were sleeping. A quick glance confirmed what he'd expected. Carol had huddled up to sleep on the outskirts of the group with her back to the others. His heart sank. She was keeping herself distant, and he wasn't used to that. She had always been his comfort zone – accepting, supportive, and safe. He thought he'd been the same thing to her, but it seemed she wanted nothing from him now.
In the morning, he told Rick his suspicions about the watcher in the woods. Rick studied the ground, nodding as Daryl laid it out. "You all can go ahead and get walkin'. I'll see if I can find any sign that someone was there, then catch up. Maybe hunt us up a few critters on the way."
Rick clapped him on the shoulder. "A'right. Watch your back, brother."
"You, too," he replied.
Daryl sneaked a glance across to where Carol was rummaging through her pack. She'd lifted her chin in greeting to him this morning, but hadn't spoken to him at all. He didn't like the distance she was keeping between them, but the more he tried to close it, the harder she pushed back.
Discouraged, he headed back to the little clearing, and though he searched for a good half hour or more, he couldn't see any trace of anything but his own people. Even so, uneasiness clung to his skin like the humid morning air. Working his way back to the group, he managed to skewer a few squirrels to add to their meager food supply.
When he caught up, he told Rick what he found – or rather, didn't find. After that, as they plodded on through the hours, he kept one eye on Carol even as she seemed to be actively avoiding him. The group didn't walk in any kind of formation – they shifted and flowed, walking in pairs or clusters or alone, but never in the same place for long. But wherever Daryl was, she always managed to keep at least one person between them. The subtle rebuff stung, but he tried to accept it as part of giving her the space she needed.
At one point, he was trailing at the back of the group when Tyreese dropped back to walk with him.
"I talked to Rick," Ty murmured to keep from being overheard. "He said he told you...about Karen and David."
Daryl kept his face stone still.
Tyreese blinked repeatedly before continuing. "You were there. You saw how I was when I first found 'em." He ducked his head, looking ashamed. "I just wanted you to know that Carol told me what happened. I forgave her."
"You did?" Daryl had a hard time reconciling forgiveness with the berserker rage he'd witnessed at the prison.
"I did," Ty confirmed. "I had to. But I just wanted you to know she's in no danger from me."
With a cautious nod, Daryl said, "Appreciate that."
"I was just lucky she found the girls and me so quick after the prison fell. Never woulda made it without her."
Daryl glanced up at the big man. "The girls? It wasn't just you and Asskicker?"
Tyreese's mouth pressed tight and he blinked hard again. His face twitched, and he seemed to fight himself about what to say next. "I left the prison with Lizzie and Mika, too."
"Shit... I didn't know," whispered Daryl. The air suddenly felt too thick to breathe.
"Well. Now you do." Ty paused and cleared his throat. "Go gentle with her. I know nobody had it easy after we all scattered, but that woman's gone through more than anyone ever should."
"That was already true."
"Naw, man. Not like now." Ty's dark eyes burned into Daryl before he picked up his pace to join his sister up ahead.