Going Rogue

Carol stared out across the fields to the woods that hid their enemy from their view while her mind clicked through scenarios that ended badly for their group. The Calvary wasn't going to ride in because they had planned on staying here tonight. Jesse had been serious about persuading the sisters to move and they had planned to take this day to pack their belongings and come home tomorrow. This little group was on their own.

She considered her enemy. They were waiting out there for reinforcements. They would kill all the men and rape all the women. Probably kill the children because they would be a nuisance. They would take their vehicles and leave after they burned this place down. Probably take a few of the women to use over and over. That was their modus operandi. The key to changing the outcome was in getting them off their plan.

She whirled around and went to talk to Kathleen, Morgan, and Michonne. Kathleen looked at her as if she was certain that she had lost her mind but ran to get the things that Carol wanted. Morgan shrugged his shoulders, "We have to do something and that might work."

Morgan left the wall to visit his babies for a bit. He wanted to look at their innocent faces and tell them that their daddy would do whatever it took to keep them alive. Morgan still felt guilty that he had let Jenny exist as a walker long enough to bite Duane. He was going to make up for that today by protecting Joshua and Amelia from true evil. Jenny had no control over her actions but these men had chosen to join themselves with other beasts like themselves.

Kathleen was surprised at how quickly the others agreed to the plan but they seemed to trust Carol. Kathleen had met Daryl when he came to visit his family only to find that Carol wasn't there. She had talked with him in her office and he was stunned that Carol had never been there. Jesse had told him that she had decided to come here and stay with their children and Daryl had believed that she was out of the line of fire here in the retreat.

Jesse showed up about then. Apparently someone told him that Daryl had decided to go visit his family. Jesse had sat with Daryl in her office and told him that Carol had gone to Savannah to find a doctor. Jesse had driven her there instead of to the retreat. Daryl was both devastated and furious. He had calmed himself down long enough to spend some time with his children but hadn't said anything to them about Carol until he came back to bring them home. He had brought Alia and Matthias to her office and told them that their mother was gone and he wasn't sure when she was coming back. Matthias had cried and Alia had comforted him by telling him that their mother would never leave them forever. She would be back soon.

Jesse had visited at least once a month since that he had come with a bus to take the women and children home. He had been happy to report to Kathleen that Carol had come back with two doctors. Last month he had told her that those doctors had performed a successful C-section on Michonne and that the mother and both babies were fine. Kathleen had become very close to Michonne while she stayed here and whatever Carol had done to get those doctors here was alright with her.

Morgan fired up the charcoal grill and put the venison on. Justine had killed a deer that had come to close to the retreat the night before. John put some music on the portable CD player and turned the music up loud. It appeared that the people under siege at the retreat were going to have a good time.

Daryl and Jesse had taken their time getting closer to the marauders. They were surprised that they hadn't met anyone in the woods sneaking in closer to the retreat. Daryl noticed the smell of cooking meat and thought it was from the raiders. He heard the sound of party music coming from the retreat and smirked, "Carol is making sure that they aren't paying attention to anything but what is going on down there. She wants them to get pissed off enough to make a run before the others get here. Hope it works".

Jesse nodded. The marauders would be distracted by the food and the music. The communion wine would get handed around. The raiders would start getting antsy knowing that there was women, wine, and song so close by. Carol was poking the bear, riling them up, and showing them disrespect. Dangerous move, but they would be outnumbered when the others got here.

They inched closer to the camp and saw ten men standing and one lying down. He looked like he had been shot in his side. The other men were standing at the edge of the encampment watching the retreat.

Daryl saw that it wasn't much of a camp. They didn't have much water and he didn't see any food. Jesse motioned for him to stay and he crawled closer. Daryl waited and after a while Jesse came back and motioned him farther away.

"They are talking about sneaking in the back way and just rushing the fence. They think that everyone is concentrating on the front and that they will be able to take down the men inside. Don't seem to respect our women fighters too much." Jesse was relieved that they were attacking now but he was worried about how much damage they could do.

"Better get back there and get them before they get in". Daryl started back as quick as he can. He could hear some whooping and hollering behind him and he figured that they were psyching themselves up for a raid.

He and Jesse hustled down the hill to the back of the retreat and Daryl moved to the edge of the woods and saw Carol waiting at the back gate. He waved until she saw him and he pointed up the hill and made a waving motion that ended right there. She nodded and disappeared. He slipped back but kept his eye on the back wall. He knew she would bring the best fighters back here to defend the wall. The music was louder here and he saw the marauders before he heard them. He and Jesse got behind a fallen tree and waited. It wasn't long before they heard the raiders moving through the woods toward them. They stopped far enough back in the trees so that they wouldn't be seen from the back gate and still have a view of the retreat.

Their leader was a cautious man and he waited for a few minutes before attacking. The back wall was made of logs and the gate was steel. One of the men had a huge pry bar that would pop the gate open. The leader motioned two men around the right and two around the left. One of the men in each group carried an aluminum ladder. They appeared experienced in going over defenses. That left six to take the back gate and they had a ladder too. Daryl hoped that they were ready on the back wall because these guys were coming in fast when they came. Daryl motioned to Jesse that he was following the men to the left. The dorms were that way. Lots of places to hide in while the battle was going on. Daryl started to move through the woods in their direction; he couldn't chance letting them have too much of a head start.

The leader started the group to the right and the group to the left and then he scattered his men out and they rushed the wall. Jesse figured it was fifty yards from the edge of the woods to the back gate of the retreat. He held his breath as they ran toward it. Morgan would hold them down from firing until they got close. Then a volley came from the fence. Jesse had built that wall and he had put in places to stand and shoot. Four rifles fired in unison and three men went down in front of him. Two more went down a second later and one was all the way to the edge of the wood before Jesse killed him with one shot.

There was the sound of rifle fire from the right front and Jesse could only hope that those defenders were taking down the two. Daryl was on his own but knew Daryl was better on his own than any two fighters that they had. Jesse ran toward the raiders that had been shot and began putting them down with a knife thrust.

Daryl was following the two raiders on the left. One had put the ladder against the wall and the other scampered up and disappeared over the wall. Daryl got the last man and used their ladder to climb the wall. He jumped to the ground and then rolled behind a small outbuilding but he felt a piercing pain in his side and knew that he had been shot. Daryl saw his target take off for the dorms with all its potential hiding places.

Daryl took off after him trying to ignore the weakness that threatened to engulf him. He saw the man try to open the door to the building but it was securely locked. Daryl didn't think he had the strength to use the crossbow so he took out his pistol and began firing. The man turned and raised his rifle but one of Daryl's bullets caught him in the arm and he dropped his rifle. Daryl tried to get to him before he could pick it up but the man grabbed his knife and ran at him when a single shot was fired from behind Daryl and the man fell face forward onto the ground. Carol ran forward and shot him in the head. Kathleen was right behind her and she caught Daryl before he collapsed.

Carol had trusted Morgan to handle the back fence and had taken her post beside of Michonne. Eugene and Justine were beside her. Eugene had motioned that he saw something and there was a volley of automatic gunfire headed their way. Eugene stood up and shot down onto the raiders. He took a shot to his arm and leg but Justine caught him before he fell off the wall. Michonne was able to shoot the other marauder. Carol and Kathleen came down off the wall and ran toward the other side. Carol didn't know why but she felt as if she needed to be there. She got there in time to see the raider run toward Daryl with a knife and instinctively she had shot him once and then again to make certain that he wouldn't rise as a walker.

Carol turned to Daryl and saw that he was seriously wounded. That part of her that seemed to always function when everything around her was in chaos kicked in. She needed to get Daryl back to the mountain so that David Hakim could operate. A small crowd was gathering around and she ordered Aaron to drive them back now. She made Michonne promise to bring the children out with her and she told Jesse that she would take Eugene and Justine with her. Eugene had been wounded too and she needed help.

Michonne nodded, "I am getting them out now. All of them. The men will wait until they finish off the ones that are coming. "

Carol turned to Kathleen. "You get your stuff on that trailer and follow Michonne. It's over. You can't stay here now."

Kathleen looked at Justine with Eugene's blood all over her and thought of Teresa waiting in the

Aaron drove quickly. Daryl had lost consciousness when they put him in the vehicle and drifted in and out on the way home. Eugene had lost a lot of blood from the leg wound and he was in a lot of pain. Aaron put the big sub to a test on the relatively straight stretches of road and they were pulling into the Hakim's farmhouse in less than 30 minutes. David and Chana were able to get Daryl in surgery in record time. Aaron gave blood for Daryl and Gabriel donated a pint to Eugene. David did most of his surgeries at newly constructed building beside his house and Carol waited with Gabriel to find out the results of the surgery. David had warned them that he needed to get in and get the bullet out as quickly as possible.

David had taken a look at Eugene's wounds and had Christie clean them. David would do Eugene's surgery after he finished with Daryl. Carol had checked on Eugene and found him a little loopy from the pain medication but still finding ways to keep Justine by his side.

Michonne and Kathleen arrived in a couple of hours after they arrived. They had been escorted to the main road and then they came on alone. Rick, Abe, Glenn, and Elijah had already arrived and were helping to set up the ambush before they left.

Everyone had helped the sisters to pack and with Michonne and Kathleen driving they had made it home safe. The children were at Emily's house for now and Brian had taken Teresa to their new home and he and Tyreese were unloading

.

Carol hugged Michonne and Kathleen insisting that Michonne go home and get some rest. Kathleen had offered to wait with her but Carol had shook her head, "You need to go and help Teresa set your place up. Justine is keeping Eugene company right now. Gabriel and I are waiting together."

Carol and Gabriel didn't have too much longer to wait until David came out shaking his head, "You really can't kill a Dixon. He has lost a lot of blood but I got the bullet out and I don't think there is any more internal damage. His vital signs are improving and he'll be waking up soon. He'll be in pain and it is going to take a few weeks for him to recuperate, but you'll probably have to deal with him as your husband another forty or fifty years or so."

Carol wiped back her tears, "Another forty years sounds good to me. Thank you, David."

David patted her shoulder, "I'll let you back to see him when he starts waking up. I had better go check on Eugene. I don't think he's had more than a paper cut in his life so this should be fun." David walked toward the room that Eugene was in.

Carol and Gabriel sat back down on the hard plastic chairs and waited some more. Carol was glad to have him with her. Gabriel and Daryl had become good friends and it was good to have someone who cared about Daryl with here.

Finally, they were called back to the recovery area to see a drugged Daryl. Carol bent and kissed him and Daryl opened his eyes, "Don't be kissing on me, I am a married man." He squinted at both of them. "Oh, it's my two angels. Angel wife and Angel Gabriel. Oh, shit. I'm dead, ain't I?"

Carol laughed and kissed him again. "You are still alive, Daryl. David did surgery and you are going to be fine."

Daryl looked at her, "I am pretty damn fine right now. Merle would be nabbing these babies if he was around. You have the bluest eyes." He made a conscious effort to ask a question, "What happened out there?"

"We killed that bunch at the top of the hill. Morgan and Jesse set up an ambush for the rest. Aaron and I brought you and Eugene to David. The children are at Emily's." Carol saw that Daryl was probably too looped to actually follow the conversation.

"All the babies home?" Daryl looked at her and tried to focus.

Carol said, "They are safe and sound."

"What in the hell is wrong with Eugene? Did he fall off the wall?" Daryl was worried and Carol smoothed his hair.

"Eugene was shot in the arm and the leg taking down one of the raiders. He is going to surgery right about now."

Daryl eyed her suspiciously, "Our Eugene shot a raider? Did it to impress that nun I bet. Poor guy is barking up the wrong tree there."

Carol laughed, "I think our Eugene is going shake that tree until she falls out. You wait and see".

"Eugene ain't got no shake that I know of." Daryl turned his attention to Gabriel, "Friend, go tell Eugene to not give up. I didn't give up and that is how I got Angel Carol who really ain't so much an angel all the damn time if you get my drift." He tried to leer and it came across as a sort of a tic.

Gabriel laughed to the tears came to his eyes. "You just got lucky that she saw the hidden angel in you, Daryl."

Daryl went on, "She is the most beautiful woman in the world, did you know that, Gabriel?"

Carol had had enough. "Daryl, stop talking. You are stoned."

Daryl rolled his head back and laughed, "Tomorrow I'll be straight and you will still be the most beautiful woman in the world. Just calling it the way I see it."

Gabriel patted Daryl's shoulder, "I am going to go. I am glad that you are going to be whatever passes for normal soon."

Daryl eyes him suspiciously, "You've been sniffing around our Sasha long enough. You love her?"

Gabriel drew up to his impressive height, "I do".

"Then marry her ass right now. Carol and I never screwed around until we go married and you wanta know why?" Carol looked horrified and Gabriel thought it was a good thing that Daryl was so hurt. Carol would probably forgive him for running his mouth. " 'Cause I had no idea how good that shit was. I should have married her the hour after we mulched up her husband. So get your ass in gear, Gabriel, and shake that damn tree." Daryl looked at Carol, "You are so damn pretty." Carol bent and kissed him again.

Daryl closed his eyes and went back to sleep. Carol watched him for a few seconds, "Gabriel, he might be stoned but he is right. Don't waste any more time."

Morgan came by around sunset to check on Daryl and make sure she got home safely. The Hakims ran her out of Daryl's room and promised her that if he wasn't running a fever they would send him home tomorrow.

Morgan told her about the ambush. They had blocked off the narrow road as it ran beside the creek and that had stopped the trucks and a few volleys later it was all over. They had a few injuries but David was working on them now. Carol knew that there would be no survivors among the raiders. The old rules didn't apply any more. Any good man who hooked up with marauders would die with them. You were guilty by association and punished by death. She thought of the long wrangle over Randall back at the farm; they had all changed since them. They had to go rogue once in a while to survive.

Michonne and Aaron were finishing up supper and she was surprised to see Eugene and Justine at dinner. Gabriel had waited around until the Hakims had decided that Eugene could go home. Gabriel had asked Justine to help him get Eugene home. She smiled knowing that Gabriel was helping Eugene "shake that tree".

Alia and Matthias sat on either side of her at dinner as she continued to reassure them that their father would be home tomorrow. Carol remembered that she hadn't eaten since breakfast a very long time ago and ate everything in front of her.

That night Alia and Matthias slept in her bed. Eugene slept downstairs on the couch. Aaron had taken Justine to the house that the sisters were now calling home and Eugene pouted when she left. Carol and Michonne sat outside for a while catching up.

"How are Josh and Amy?" Carol had eaten dinner and had a shower and they were asleep by the time she got back to the living room. Alia and Matthias had crawled into her bed and went right to sleep. It had been a long day for them too.

"They slept through everything. Just woke up to eat some more. Alia and Matthias were worried but they didn't fall apart. Those kids are tough. Pure Dixon. I am glad the sisters are living here, but no one is happier than Eugene." Michonne snickered a little but she didn't want Eugene hurt. "Justine is just sort of a nun by circumstance anyway. She had been on a retreat there when all of this went down and she didn't have anywhere to go. She never took final vows or anything. I think she likes him."

Carol laughed, "He really likes her. Can you believe how brave he was today? He did it for us, you know? You just had the babies and I'm pregnant and he wanted to protect us. I saw him look at us before he stood up and killed that raider. Our hero."

They stayed on the deck for a while talking about their day before going to bed. They checked Eugene before going to bed. He wasn't feverish and was sleeping soundly. Carol went on to her crowded bed and crawled in Daryl's spot beside the door. He always slept closest to any danger and she would take that place tonight.

Carol smiled to herself. Daryl had been loopy but funny this afternoon. He probably wouldn't remember a thing he said, but it was good to know that he thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world.

AN

I watched a youtube video of a man who had surgery and his wife was sitting with him. She had taped his antics on her cell phone. He didn't seem to know who she was but he kept telling her how pretty she was. So I wanted to put that in this story.