This started out as a role play between myself (gunslingerdixon) and my Carol rp partner untapdtreasure (nolongeraxburden), and it was mutually decided upon to share with the rest of FF as a fanfiction. So here it is! Enjoy!

If y'all are interested in following us just go to: nolongeraxburden. tumblr .com or gunslingerdixon. tumblr .com

Also: we own nothing in regards to The Walking Dead. All rights belong to the copyright holder.

Immediately at her touch Daryl pulled away his arm from her grip. A seething anger was filling him up to the brim. His narrowed stare boring holes into her form. He averted his attention elsewhere working his jaw before catching a crooked glimpse of Carol and taking several steps away from her. Calloused marred hands had worked their way from his pockets to the belt loops, fingers hooked as he dropped his head searching the cracked asphalt for some semblance of an answer.

It was as if each stride he made to try and get her to come back to the prison, she would take several more back making it increasingly difficult for him to keep his anger and voice in check. She was so resistant— part of him felt like simply giving up on her. And Daryl Dixon was no quitter. He wouldn't beg her to go back. He just wouldn't. That wasn't anything a Dixon would do. Absently he shook his head, steely eyes still held to the asphalt, lip curled up in a frustrated scowl.

"You think y'all make it on yer own? Huh? Think by refusin' t'come back that yer gon' prove that yer strong?" He replied roughly lifting his head some to glare at her. He scoffed looking away from Carol, not willing himself to make eye contact again. "Yer gon' wind up all alone out there and you won't know what t'do with yerself— 'cause yer not my problem, my burden, no more, right?"

The anger within him was bubbling over and he desperately was in need of venting someway somehow. He wanted to kick his boot through something. Maybe throw a fist into the side panel of the car. He wasn't sure but either way… If he kept at it, he was going to say something downright nasty that she wouldn't bat an eyelash at wanting to forgive him for. He could do that to her. He could make it so she never wanted to come back if this was how she was going to act towards him.

Daryl chewed the inside of his cheek uneasy about everything. He was a knotted piece of rope and there was no means of uncoiling him back. He thought coming to some sort of resolve to coax her back would be easy, but this had turned out to be nothing more than a rueful headache and a bitter taste in his mouth. To him it was like all the time they had spent with one another were of no value.

"What're you so 'fraid of, huh?" He finally growled not directing his attention back up to face Carol. He wasn't completely sure if he looked at her and saw the words in her eyes if he'd be fine with her answer despite what he saw there.

The night back on the farm flashed in her head. The words then were almost the same as they were that night. She could still feel the sting they left on her heart as they whipped across it, scarring it forever. These were reopening those old, healed wounds, and it was her own damn fault. She hadn't known what to do with herself that night. She just hoped that together they could find a way in the world for them both. Together. And they had. And it had been glorious. She'd never had someone complete the other half of her so completely as the man standing before her. She'd never anyone in her life before him that she wanted to protect, nurture, and love the way she wanted to with him.

Why was she being so stubborn? What did she have to prove? Was it really Rick stopping her from going back to the prison with him? Or was it herself? She already knew the answer to that question before she ever even entertained it as a thought. She swallowed hard; the lump almost choking her. She had to move her hand up to her throat, almost physically loosening it in order to breathe freely again. Her eyes were watery and wild as she saw the agony that she was putting him through.

Her head snapped in his direction when the last question parted his lips. The one question she hadn't wanted him to ask. The one thing she knew for a fact that she couldn't lie about, wouldn't even try, even if she wanted desperately to do just that.

It wasn't because she didn't want to be there with him. With the girls. Nothing would ever be further from the truth. Nothing. But what if she let it happen again? What if she harmed anyone else in their group? Unintentionally or intentionally wouldn't matter any more. This time she'd done it with the hope of saving lives, and she had failed. She wasn't sure she could trust herself to make the right decision in the future. She wasn't sure she could risk his life or that of the girls because of it.

"Myself." The word itself was almost inaudible, but the wind seemed to pick up then and carry it away, causing an even bigger void between the pair. She didn't lower her head or look away. Her eyes were on him, waiting for his to find them and lock onto him. She needed him to understand.

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