Going Home

Blaine and Aaron broke through the overgrown bushes that blocked the dock from the main house. David and Chana were next and Carol and Lisa were right behind them. They could see the highway through that marked the boundary between this house and the golf course on the other side. The house was a large three story house with balconies that had views of the ocean. It looked deserted and there was an older sedan parked on the driveway that looked a little out of place in this pricey neighborhood. The back door to the house was ripped open and they turned to the garage hoping for a working vehicle inside. There was a sports car and a Tahoe inside but the batteries were dead on both.

Carol looked at the big vehicle and wanted it to work. It would use a lot of gasoline but they all could fit inside. "See if the older vehicle has a working battery".

Blaine and David grabbed some tools from the garage and made quick work of taking the battery out of the older car. Aaron looked to see if the gas had been drained out of the tank by a hole and was relieved to see that it wasn't. He and Lisa wiped the dust off the windshield and got the hood up. David took the old battery out and he and Blaine put the new battery in.

The Tahoe fired up after the fuel was put in. David was looking at the map and he remembered that they had always taken a rural route back to Charlotte. He nodded to Carol and showed her the route. They would follow that road for about two hours and then another rural route away from Charlotte. David drove and Blaine rode shotgun. Carol and Aaron in the middle seat and Chana and Lisa in the last seats. It reminded Carol of their trip out of Terminus when they didn't know where they were going.

David eased on the road and drove two miles to connect to the rural route. There were people living behind fences and he saw a few gardens. The route wasn't all that different from before except there were dead walking around. The golf courses were overgrown and it looked as if some people were living in the top floors of the condos. The roads were clear and he realized that there wasn't any gasoline left around here. He drove slowly to conserve fuel.

The group was quiet and Carol wondered what they would find when they got home. She had been gone almost three weeks. Mason had left Savannah two weeks ago. They had passed another hurdle in finding a vehicle and saving the gas from the jeep. She had not allowed herself to think what she would do when she got home if Daryl didn't want her in the house. He had learned to temper his anger but he would not welcoming her with open arms. At best, he would let her in and move out himself so that he wouldn't have to look at her.

Carol thought about Michonne. There had been a hospital in Adair and both the Hakims had brought surgical instruments. If she could get them home then they could save Michonne. Her babies would live and that would be enough. She could not beg for forgiveness from Daryl because she would do it again. Right now she needed to concentrate on keeping everyone healthy and alive. That would be enough to keep them busy.

It began to rain hard and she was reminded that they could use more fresh water and she met David's eyes in the rear view mirror and they both nodded. He pulled off at a house with rushing gutters and parked around back. Carol grabbed their water containers and Blaine led the others in clearing out the house. There wasn't any walkers inside but the doors had been ripped open. She and David collected water and they waited until the rain stopped to go on.

They stopped that night on the other side of Charlotte. They spent the night in a barn with strong doors. They had veered away from main highways and found this farm nestled on a little hill. They ate a cold supper and listened to rain fall on the tin roof. The Tahoe was parked out inside the barn and they slept in the loft. They were dirty and tired and a little hungry, but they were alive and they were closer home.

Blaine and Lisa had taken first watch. Chana and David would take the second watch because they said that they had learned during their residencies to stay awake and still be able to sleep when they could. She and Aaron took the watch that led to dawn. She was awake when Chana came upstairs and she nudged Aaron awake.

There was an old shed behind the house that looked like it was ready to fall down. She tapped Aaron on the shoulder and pointed. He nodded. They would check it out before they left. Carol wanted to look for gasoline on this road. It was isolated and lonely and they might find enough to make it home today.

Aaron and Blaine checked the shed while she went through the tools to see if any could be useful as weapons and she found a couple of machetes. The shed yielded a couple of gallons of gas and they spent an hour looking for gas on the road. They found more hungry walkers than gasoline but there enough to get home on if nothing happened. It was a long day and they were almost caught in a herd more than once. It was late afternoon when they reached the foothills. There was enough gas to make it and they pushed on into the mountains.

Chana looked at Carol sympathetically. She knew enough of Carol's story to know that Carol was not expecting a warm welcome from her husband. Chana knew that Carol had deceived him into thinking that she was in safe place when she had come to Savannah. Chana knew that Carol had slept with Mason Summers. She also knew that Mason Summers could do what he wanted in Savannah. She had repaired the injuries to women who had hurt by soldiers from the Army of the Carolinas. They took who they wanted and nothing was ever done about it.

Carol was silent but she betrayed her nervousness by the way she fiddled with her hands. She would be glad to lay this burden down. She was close to finishing her mission. Emily, Christie, and Gabriel would take care of the Hakims and the Parkers. Aaron would go with her hopefully to her home.

It was cooler here in the mountains and it had begun to rain again. The fog was rising up and that meant that it was going to continue to rain. Carol pointed out Adair and was glad to see that it was still standing. She had forgotten how steep the road was up the mountain but Blaine drove it confidently. Most of the houses seemed to have someone in them. They kept climbing all the way until the top and Carol was torn between wanting to go to Emily's house and home but in the end she motioned for Blaine to go on up.

He stopped at the top and they got out cautiously. It was raining very hard now and they all were soaked. Michonne and Morgan came out of their house and ran toward her and Carol ran to them. They hugged her tightly and Carol could feel how much bigger Michonne was. Eugene was next and then Alia and Matthias ran to her and motioned the others to come inside. She saw Daryl slamming out the back door and knew that he was leaving because he was too angry to deal with her.

The house was warm and inviting and Carol never loved it more. Morgan was making dinner and he swore there was enough to go around. No one mentioned Daryl but the children would not leave her side. Morgan said that the battle had been quick and decisive and the Army of the Carolinas had ran when they realized that their enemy was fighting back.

Chana had gone upstairs with Michonne for a quick checkup. Rick and Carl came over and welcomed her back warmly. He took David and Blaine for a walk around the farm and Carl talked to Aaron. Dinner was hot and tasty and the table was crowded just the way it should be. Maggie and Glenn brought dessert over and met everyone. Glenn almost cried when he realized that Chana was an obstetrician. Emily and Jesse showed up to take the Hakims and the Parkers to stay in Grandma Lydia's house until things settled.

That evening everyone showed up to hug and kiss Carol and to welcome her home. No one but Emily and Jesse knew why she left and where she had gone but they were just glad to have her back. Tyreese and Christie came by with Luke to welcome her home and Carol saw that they were becoming closer. Rosita must be back with Tara or somebody new.

Morgan and Michonne had given her a tour of the addition. It had a master bedroom and two bedrooms with a bath in between. It would be finished in a couple of days and then Aaron could have their room. There was a single bed in one of the bedrooms and Aaron said that he would just sleep out here tonight. The twins were going to be in one room for quite a while.

It was late before Daryl came back. He wouldn't look at her. "You take the kids in your room tonight. I'll sleep in their room. I don't want to talk about it right now. His tone was gruff but not as angry as she had thought it would be.

Carol nodded. She was too tired to deal with any more stress tonight. She introduced Aaron to Daryl and just said that he would be staying with them. Daryl had looked at the boy and saw himself at seventeen. He even sounded like him. Carol was always picking up these damn strays.

Aaron said shyly, "Carol says that you like to hunt. I do too. Maybe I could go with you sometime".

Daryl grunted at him and said, "I'ma getting your damn ass out of bed in the morning and we'll see if you can hunt or not".

Aaron ducked his head at him and smiled. "Sounds good to me." He stuck his hand out for Daryl to shake, "My name is Aaron Cantrell".

Daryl shook his hand and notice that the boy's hand was calloused. "You can call me Daryl."

Aaron took his backpack and moved into the room in the new part of the house. The windows were well off the ground and the place was shut up night. He kicked off his boots and hung his pants over a chair. He needed to get some sleep because Daryl was getting him up early to go hunting.

Carol gave the children their bath and left them with Daryl while she took a shower. She stayed in the warm water until she stopped crying. She came out of the shower to find the children waiting for her in bed.

"How come you left us and how come you turned brown?" Trust Alia to be full of questions.

"I had to go and get those people so that they could live here on the mountain with us. Chana and David are doctors and they are going to help Michonne when her babies come. I was out in the sun and my skin turned brown." Carol got in the middle and Alia curled up beside her. Matthias put his arm around her and burrowed under her arm.

"I missed you so much and I am so glad to be home." Carol brought the covers up over them and thought that she was washing bed clothes in the morning. She went to sleep holding onto her two children and thinking about her baby nestled inside her.

Daryl took a blanket and pillow from Alia's bed and threw it on the couch for later. Carol was home. She had waltzed in here this evening with those strangers and everything about the house had changed. The children had been chattering like blue jays all evening and not leaving her side. People had been in and out of the house welcoming her back. Their arms and their lips had welcomed her. Michonne had smiled all evening and flirted outrageously with Morgan because they were so happy to have Carol home. Eugene had been grinning like a possum eating shit at Carol. Everyone but him had hugged her and kissed her and told her how glad they were that she was home.

He ate his lukewarm dinner and thought about the strange conversation he had with Gabriel tonight. Gabriel was leaving Sasha's house and going back to the house he shared with his sister. He had been walking back to this house with his head down still seething with anger. He had bumped into Gabriel and had been angry at that.

"Angel, slow down a minute. You need to let this go." Gabriel had stood there in the rain looking at him with those kind eyes.

"Mind your own fucking business and don't call me angel. I ain't no angel". Daryl wanted to hit him for just being so calm while he raged at him.

"No, you aren't an angel tonight. You know the parable of the prodigal son?" Gabriel spoke softly and that pissed Daryl off again.

"No, I didn't go to Sunday School like a good little boy. My parents were always too hungover from being dead drunk the night before. Those are just stories in that book. They don't have anything to do with the real world." Daryl was now mad at himself for whining about his sad childhood like a damn pussy.

"The prodigal son took his share of his inheritance and blew it on wine, women, and song. He finally comes home and his father is joyful and his brother is jealous. The father reminds him that he is happy because his son has come home. Just let yourself be happy that she is home and safe." Gabriel's deep voice had been a little sterner.

"She lied to me. She left her wedding rings at home and went to Savannah. She never told me nothing before she left about what she was gonna do. She has been away three weeks and then just shows up like nothing happened. "

"You opened the door to my jail the night I met you, Angel. You just did the right thing and you went on your way to save Carol. You were willing to risk your life that night to save her. That took courage. Now risk your hurt feelings and listen to her when you are calmed down enough to listen. There are all kinds of jails, Angel. Don't lock yourself in to this one". Gabriel went on toward his home.

Daryl stretched out on the couch. It wasn't all that comfortable. He hadn't had a good night's sleep since they had come back from Allanvale. He had been so excited when those soldiers ran off. He had went to the retreat to get Carol and the kids only to find that she had never been there. He needed answers and he just hoped that he could handle the truth.

Lying here was like being in jail. He had seen the exhaustion on Carol's face and that cooled his temper a bit. Gabriel had calmed him down by reminding him how much he loved her. One part of him wanted to go in and carry the children to their own beds and then just lie down next to her and know that she was as Gabriel had put it, home and safe. The other part was still angry and hurt. Gabriel would tell him to listen to his better angels.

His last thought before he went to sleep was to ask forgiveness for his anger and to thank the Creator for bringing her home.

AN

I decided to not prolong the trip home. I wanted Carol to be able to concentrate on repairing her relationship with Daryl and for him to begin the process of accepting what he can't change.

I downplayed the big battle because I am tired of writing battles.

So expect that there is going to be some more angst here. I have some free time this week so I will start the next chapter this evening. I can't wait to find out how Daryl handles this.

Review please.