Big thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing. Also a huge thanks to my beta Jaded79 for going over this for me. Hope you all enjoy and let me know what you though

Chapter 30

Fighting for life.

Carol had driven out of the gate ten minutes beforehand; she had quickly dispatched her men and moved through the surrounding woods, killing any man that was a threat. She was growing frustrated; it seemed Warren's brother was staying hidden and she needed to draw him out, looking up she moved fast climbing a nearby tree. She stayed quiet and waited.

She didn't have to wait long when she saw a man appear in the clearing below, gun in his hand and looking around. She knew right away that it was Warren's brother cause not only was he his brother, but he was his identical twin brother. Smiling, she swung down from her tree branch, kicking him in the back as she came down. Landing on her feet, she stood above him, crossbow pointed at his face.

"I hear you've been looking for me," she smirked at the shocked look on his face.

"You the bitch that killed my brother?"

"Well I prefer to go by Sophie, but yes I'm the one that put your brother down like the dog he was."

"You fucking mole!" he hissed at her from his position on the ground.

"Such a temper," she sighed at him. "You killed someone tonight, someone important to me."

"A means to an end," he smiled. "I knew it would get you out here."

"Fat lot of good that did you."

"I don't need anything but you right here to make you pay," he laughed showing something in his hand. Before she could stop him, he had pulled something from it and thrown it into the woods.

A loud high pitched alarm sounded from the small device in his hand. She realized quickly that it was one of those handheld distress alarms a lot of women used to carry back before the world went to hell.

"Shut it off!" she hissed pushing the crossbow against his head, but he just laughed at her.

"It doesn't matter if you kill me, I have nothing left to live for, nothing to lose but you have everything to lose." She looked at him venom in her eyes. "How will that little girl of yours get by without her mother or that man… Daryl… he seems to love you a lot. When they find your dead body, torn apart by walkers, so mutilated they can barely recognise you, he will be devastated." She knew his game in that moment, at first she thought he was trying to alert his men but she knew her own men to well; his people were dead already. He intended to draw in every walker for miles. Kicking the device from his hand, she pulled out her gun and shot it, silencing it, but it was too late she could hear the groans getting closer. "They're coming, you're going to die," he laughed.

"One day but not today, I think it's more likely that you're going to die," she smiled.

"Yeah be the commander, avenge your soldier, kill me like you did my brother," his voice was glib, but when her smiled turned sinister he knew he was in trouble.

"Why would I kill you like your brother when I can leave you for the walkers as a distraction?" shooting an arrow, she quickly re-loaded, putting one in the other wrist to pin him down when she saw Michonne pull up in a Ute.

"Come on, we have to go," she yelled, Carol leant down looking at the man.

"Enjoy hell," she smiled running and jumping in the back of the Ute, she was barely in when she heard a gunshot fire, and felt a sharp pain shoot through her back and explode inside her chest as she fell forward. Jake and Eric grasped her arms pulling her up into the back of the Ute tray, she looked back seeing that Warren's brother had raised his arm just high enough to fire a shot at her before he was swarmed by walkers, she heard his screams as they began to tear him apart.

"Commander, are you alright?" Eric asked sounding panicked as they drove away from the gathering walkers.

"I think I'm…" she spoke sitting up on her knees looking down at the wound on her chest, blood oozed from it and she started to feel light headed. "I'm fucked," she gasped unable to stop herself from collapsing.

"Floor it, the commander has been shot," Jake yelled over the sound of the engine. She felt the Ute speed up as the men moved to try and stop the bleeding, thoughts of Rose and Daryl filled her mind before her world turned black.

Daryl had been pacing out in front of Carol's house since the moment she had left, both Rick and Andrea were watching him closely and hoping that Carol was okay but the moment they saw the front gates open and the cars speed in before screeching to a sudden halt, they knew things had gone very wrong.

"Tammy, stay with Rose," Daryl yelled into the house before running full speed to the cars, watching as Michonne jumped out of the front of the Ute. She looked at him as he ran towards them.

"Please tell me it's not her?" his voice begging her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Oh god," Andrea gasped turning into Rick's cheek as he held her tight.

"She's still alive but she is in bad condition," Michonne told them, the doctors all ran out of the hospital loading her onto a gurney, moving to take her inside.

Daryl ran to her side, grabbing her hand. She was still out; she was covered in blood as Jake tried his best to keep pressure on the wound. Once they were inside the hospital, her eyes started to flutter open, straining against the light, she looked at Daryl.

"You're going to be okay," he spoke looking at her with tears in his eyes.

"You're a terrible liar," she whispered, hissing as white hot pain burned through her.

"Please don't leave me," his voice begged her. "I just got you back." She felt tears burn her own eyes.

"I'll always be with you and Rose," she cried. "Oh god," she groaned as the doctors worked around them.

"I love you… I never stopped loving you… I'm so sorry for all my mistakes," she struggled to get her breath; he moved forward cupping her cheeks and placing his forehead on hers.

"I forgive you and I love you too, more than you could ever know," he cried.

"Tell Rose… tell her I loved her fiercely and everything I did… I did for her and I'm sorry… I… couldn't… stay," she struggle to speak, the air seemed to be choking her, but she needed him to know what they meant to her so she choked through the pain.

"No please god no," he cried as he heard her choked words, blood started to ooze from her mouth.

"Sophia stay with mummy." He looked down confused and saw her eyes rolled back into her head as she started to convulse all over, blood and foam spraying from her mouth as the doctors moved to roll her on her side.

"She is seizing," he heard one yell.

"What is happening? Is she dying?" he screamed praying someone, anyone would say she was going to be fine.

"Get him out of here," he heard one say as he was dragged from the room by one of the nurses before the door was closed behind him, leaving him in the hall. Michonne, Jake, Rick and Andrea all moved towards him.

"Daryl… is she… is she alright?" He heard Andrea's tear-choked words; turning slowly he felt his world crumble.

"I think she is leaving us," he choked as his body slid down a nearby wall, sobs shaking his body violently. He could hear people crying in the halls but he was so overwhelmed with grief and loss that he couldn't bring himself to look up. Carol was loved by many, she had touched so many lives, saved so many people and now there was nothing anyone could do but wait, wait to see if she lived or died.