The curtain is almost drawn on this story but I wanted to give the reader a glimpse of the world that our merry band created in the mountain. So the story takes a huge time jump to 50 AT (Fifty years after the turn). Carol is ninety years old and still defying all the odds by staying alive. The title is from an old tv show in which the characters end every episode by riding horses along a trail and waving goodbye.

Happy Trails

Carol came out onto to the deck and stood for a while in the summer sun. One of the benefits of being so old is that sometimes she could remember things that happened long ago better than she could remember yesterday. Fifty years ago she had watched Atlanta be bombed in a futile attempt to stamp out a plague that already had infected them. She was still amazed that she had survived marriage to her own personal monster and being stupid enough to camp out in sight of a major city. Ed got a deserving end and she had personally shredded his remains while Daryl watched.

Daryl. She had been afraid of him and his brother then; she hadn't seen past his mask of angry redneck to see the sweet man who hid behind it. That man began to peek out at her from that moment on. Daryl had lowered the mask to search for Sophia and she had seen who he really was. He might hide behind it with others after that but she knew him to be a man of honor and tender feelings.

Daryl. Her true husband and the father of her children gone now for twenty five years. How had she ever lived so long without him? She had thought that she would die from the pain of his death but somehow she had risen from those ashes and survived. She was looking forward to seeing him again in the next world and all those who had gone on before.

She and Carl were the last of the Atlanta survivors still alive. He came to see her often just to share the same stories about those they had loved and lost. She was the only one left that had known Lori. He was the only one left who had known Sophia. Their bond was forged by the pain of their losses and the need to remember those who hadn't made it. The sweet little boy and the battered gray haired woman had survived because they had seen this world as it was and adapted.

"Stop brooding". Michonne's voice came from the doorway to the deck. "Don't be all sad for our big day".

Carol turned and looked at Michonne still vigorous in her late eighties. They both were far past their shelf life but still mustered on. Carol knew she would have died years ago if she didn't have Michonne. They had been together for nearly fifty years, reared their children together, buried their husbands together, and had grown old together. "I am not brooding." Carol looked at Michonne's clothing. Cotton slacks and top with her katana on a sheath at the back, "Nice touch with the katana. Sweet old lady with a sword of destruction close at hand. You always did like to make a dramatic entrance".

Michonne snorted, "My dear Carol, today's event is all theater. They are going to trot us out and show us off like the prize pig at a county fair. Every one's dear old grandmother who was a warrior in her day. Now go get the knuckle buster and put it on. They want the outfit that matches the one on the mural at the town square."

Carol sighed, "I can't wait to take these boots off." She surveyed her feet. They weren't the boots that she had worn back in the day but they looked enough like them. "You'll have to wear the vest."

Michonne looked disgruntled, "Damn, I knew I was forgetting something. That is why I keep you around. Couldn't make it without you." She started back through their house.

Carol went back in and put on the knife and the pistol. She had used that gun to put Lizzie down and she had made peace with that long ago but she still remembered. Ty had told her that it was part of her and she understood that better now than she did then.

Alia called from the front door, "Are you two heroes ready?"

Carol stood up and adjusted her weapons. She felt like an idiot dressed as a warrior and Alia recognized her mother's discomfort. Alia hugged her, "You look hot. You and Mama Michonne will have to use those weapons to keep the men away today."

Carol hugged her Alia back. She had loved her from the second she saw her in that dirty warehouse. Alia was in her fifties now but her smile was still that of that sweet child who had chosen her to be her mother and Daryl to be her father. Alia had married Luke and had children and grandchildren now. Luke was a doctor at the local hospital and Alia taught biology at Adair University.

"We better get started. Can't keep your audience waiting too long. Matthias and Judith are going to meet us there." Alia opened the door and they obediently followed her out. Carol suspected that Michonne would say or do something outrageous today. She hoped so, because celebrating Founder's Day needed a dose of fun.

Judith and Matthias falling in love had been a happy surprise. The baby girl that she and Ty had brought to Rick and Carl had a place in her heart from the first time she had seen her at the prison. Lori's little girl was now her daughter in law. She and Matthias had four children who all worked with their father at Dixon Enterprises. Matthias designed and built vehicles at his factory and they were used all over the Carolinas. Alia was driving them to Adair in a Dixon. She and Michonne drove a Dixon when they needed to go somewhere. Michonne still drove too fast and Carol has suspected that their eventual end would be a Thelma and Louise dive off of a mountain somewhere when Michonne didn't make the curve. There were worse ways to go.

The drive off the hill with Alia was uneventful. McAllister Mountain had lots of new homes on it now. Most of the farms that fed the people of Adair were along the river bottoms, but the mountain was still home to small farmers and artisans.

Carol was horrified to see that the streets of Adair were thronged with people. Alia weaved in and out of traffic and parked at a spot designated for them. Matthias and Judith were waiting to escort them to the podium.

Joshua and Cara were waiting with them and she knew that Amelia would be on the podium with them. Amelia was the military leader of Adair and married to Jesse's son James McAllister. He was the artist that had created the murals that surrounded the square. She hadn't seen them since they were finished. James had designed them as a visual history lesson. The first ones were gory but slowly they changed to more peaceful ones. They honored those who had fallen to build this place from a deserted ghost town to a thriving community with a teaching hospital and a university. This was still a dangerous world though eventually the virus had been conquered by work done here at Adair.

Lydia arrived at the last minute and hugged everyone. Tall and thin with silver hair her daughter looked like her when she was that age. She was happily married to Sarah's son Michael who ran a construction company while Lydia Grace ran Adair. It was a daunting task task because Adair had grown to take in the foothills and a considerable chunk of the mountains. Lydia's two boys were both soldiers and out there somewhere today keeping them safe. She had named the oldest one Merle and the next one Daryl and they were both good men.

The actual ceremony was mercifully brief. Amelia had introduced her mother and Michonne had behaved herself long enough to make a gracious speech accepting their award.

Then Lydia Grace got up and Carol watched the crowd. Lydia could claim herself queen today and have a coronation service and there would scarcely be a murmur. They trusted her girl to do right by them and Carol knew the burden of leadership. Mistakes were made and you had to accept responsibility for your own actions.

Finally, it was her turn and as she moved toward the podium she heard the murmurs. Michonne was right. Most of these people weren't even born when she had come to these mountains but they believed every outrageous story about how she and Michonne had killed walkers with babies in their arms, destroyed swarms of walkers, and marauders and still lived to tell the tale. She and Michonne were mythical warriors and they didn't really see the old ladies at all.

"It's good to be here today." Carol gave her still infectious smile. "It's good to be anywhere." The crowd laughed and cheered and she knew she had them from the get go. "This is a wonderful memorial to your history, the history of a people who never succumbed to the evil around them. Adair is a testament to those who sought their own humanity as they struggled against forces that threatened to make them cruel, cold, and inhumane."

Carol stopped to get a drink of water. She knew the importance of making people wait for what you are going to say. "My grandmother sold the family farm to raise money that she used to build fences that saved families on McAllister Mountain when the virus hit. It was a sacrifice that she was glad to make. Men and women sacrificed their lives so that they could create a world in which another generation could live in relative peace. This place honors those sacrifices but don't think that you are only called to honor. You are also called to sacrifice to keep this place for your children and grandchildren. You are the sons and daughters of warriors and you may yet hear the siren call to battle. Don't long for it but if it should come then know why you must fight. Look around at these children. They are worth your sacrifice as you were worth the lives of those who fell protecting you."

Carol took another drink of water and knew it was time to finish this off, "I am so proud to be a small part of Adair. It reminds me of two workman who were laying brick at a construction site. A man came along and asked what they were doing. One worker said, "I am laying brick." The other man said, "I am building a cathedral. You are building a cathedral. Don't forget that." She smiled and waved goodbye.

Carol took a seat beside of Michonne who looked at her sourly but took her hand, "Show stopper. Now can we get this dog and pony show over?"

Carol leaned closer to her, "I do want to walk around and see all the murals but after the crowd moves out a little. Need to go to the bathroom."

Michonne laughed, "We have to meet and mingle with the local dignitaries for a bit. I think I have been on my best behavior too damn long."

There was a private reception in their honor at the town hall and then a family gathering at Lydia's house. She and Michonne had a good time though occasionally they were a little confused with the latest round of babies. Michonne whispered, "Was that my great grandchild or yours?"

Carol laughed, "I'm not sure. I just think all of them are ours and smile."\

That evening they toured the murals. Lydia had had the square blocked off so that they could see it without a thousand requests for photographs. James walked with them. "Aunt Carol, I used your photographs to create the mural. So I hope you think I did them justice."

They quickly passed by the first scenes. She and Michonne had seen enough of that in real life. They lingered over the scenes that showed the people that they loved. Daryl with his crossbow and Morgan with his rifle looked young and handsome. Aaron sat between them looking so much like Daryl that the tears came to Carol's eyes again. They had died together defending a settlement a quarter of a century ago. Daryl had told Alia almost a half century ago, "That is who we are." You had to respect that about them even when it tore your heart to shreds.

There was an area devoted to Eugene, Justine, David and Chana Hakim, and the others that had used their education to create a teaching hospital and a university. Eugene was taking care of Justine who had surgery recently. Their children were scattered along the square. Eugene and Justine and their children lived in the old house. Both David and Chana were gone now but their three children were doctors in the hospital.

There was a wall devoted to her and Michonne looking heroic as they pushed back a group of raiders. "Damn, I looked good". Michonne commented.

Carol patted her arm, "Your son in law was afraid not to make you hot. James, it is marvelous."

She and Michonne went home then and put on something comfortable and sat in the shade and watched the sun go down.

"I miss them every day. I am glad that we just have this little house now. I couldn't bear living in our house without them." Michonne had been fighting her own grief all day.

Carol patted her hand, "You were right to insist that we move here. I couldn't have made it without you. Sometimes when I wake up I still think Daryl will be there. It still hurts when he isn't."

"I can almost hear Morgan sometimes. Telling to get up and face the day and never give up. I would have turned my face to the wall a long time ago if I didn't have that voice and you." Michonne grinned, "We still have them guessing you know, trying to figure out how close we really are."

Carol put her head on Michonne's shoulder, "There isn't a word for what we are. I love you, Michonne."

"They do know that you and Jesse were together." Carol had approved of that relationship. They had turned to each other after Tempy died and Morgan was killed. Jesse had been around a long time but he had died ten years ago.

"And they know that you and Rick did the horizontal rhumba a few times." Michonne teased.

Carol blushed, "Desperate women do desperate things. We were both lonely and Rick had been part of my life for so long. I don't regret it; I did love Rick and he loved me. It just wasn't the same way I felt about Daryl. It was comfortably pleasurable but I was never overwhelmed by love or pleasure with him. It only lasted six months or so."

Michonne kissed Carol's silver curls. "We are just two old crones sitting here talking about our sordid past. What are we going to do tomorrow?"

Carol started, "We need to go visit that town on the border. It's close to where we first lived after Terminus. Matthias is going to drive us because he wants to go back to that house we lived in. Josh and Cara are driving themselves because they are bringing some grandchildren. Don't remember which ones though. Alia and Judith are going too."

Michonne asked, "Daryl and Merle are stationed there? It will be good to see them again. No use to ask Amelia or Lydia, they'll be too busy."

They both shook their heads at their busy daughters. They hung out on the porch long after the sun went down and then went into their house to get some sleep. Tomorrow would be a busy day and they needed to rest.

AN

Don't hate me because I gave you a dose of Carick. Those two have an intense relationship and Carol after losing Daryl might turn to him for some comfort.

Happy Trails to all of you. I started this story angry with the direction the show was going but mellowed out as I went along.

Tell this story goodbye with a review.