A/N: Hello followers…all 102 of you! EEEEEE!

I had high hopes of getting this chapter out quicker than this, so I apologize for that. Had a little family drama that sideswiped my plans, but all is good again.

I also get the feeling that I might be in the doghouse with some of you. I was expecting a little backlash about the Daryl incident from the last chapter, but it sounded like some of you are ready to stone him (and possibly me) to death—that was definitely not my intention. No one should hate Daryl. As always, there is a method to my madness:)

On a happier note, the show released 69 official photos to rev us up for the premier in two weeks…there's one showing Daryl with his arm around Carol's shoulder, which made me squeal very loudly. We may finally get our wish for some Caryl romance on the show…fingers crossed!

Anyway, let's get back to the story before I start getting gushy, lol. This chapter definitely has a lot of emotion behind it, but also a lot of redemption. It was difficult to write, but at the same time very rewarding. Hope you enjoy it! LLACO:)

Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead or its affiliates.

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Ch22.

Daryl paced the guard tower like a mad man. He had no idea how to undo what he had done. There was no easy fix when came down to it.

He had fucked up big time.

She'd never forgive him for this. Why should she? He'd probably made her feel as pathetic as Ed used to. For someone who spent most of his life feeling the same way, he should've known better. He had no idea what he'd been trying to prove anyway. In fact, he'd probably just made it harder to get out what he had to say.

You're a bastard just like your daddy. You hurt the people you care about and make them feel worthless.

The voices were back and louder than ever. They buzzed through his head like a swarm of bees; stinging him exactly where they knew it hurt the most. Daryl knew it was what he deserved. Why had he ever listened to Merle in the first place? All it ever did was get him in trouble. This time, it had ruined the only chance he'd had at having something good in his life. Now, he'd be lucky if she ever talked to him again.

Did you see her face? You fucking destroyed her.

He could still see it in his head. It made him sick to his stomach. How could he have even thought something like that, let alone said it? There was no excuse for it. In that moment, he was no better than the scum she'd been married to. She didn't need this kind of torture. Not from him or from anyone. He had nothing left to offer now that she was better again. If he'd ever needed a reason to jump ship and go off on his own, this was it.

You wouldn't make it a mile down the road before you regretted it. It'd be better off putting a bullet in your head.

Daryl screamed and kicked the inside railing. No matter which was he spun it, he couldn't make this right. Why had she even bothered with him? All he did was drag her down to his level and make her feel worthless again. It was a sick joke thinking he could ever have a relationship with a woman. He'd tried to tell her that night he'd brought her up here. He couldn't be what she wanted. Now the cold honest truth was staring him in the face.

She picked the wrong damn guy.

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Time seemed to have stopped the minute Daryl left the room.

The initial shock of it all had hit her the hardest. It had literally knocked her off her feet, but as she regained her senses, something started to feel different. In all of the chaos, she had missed something. Something big.

It wasn't the first time she had been verbally assaulted, but this had been different. It had come from a place of fear. She had heard things like that out of Ed's mouth plenty of times, but he had always done it to tear her down. The words held no power unless she let herself believe they were true. Daryl's words weren't true, but they had still managed to wound her.

Yet despite everything, she felt no need to retaliate. Daryl was probably doing more damage to himself in that moment than she ever could. His face had said it all as he'd realized how much power his words had over her. She wished she had taken the time to listen to what he'd been asking her instead of getting defensive. There had been a hidden message in his accusation, but she hadn't seen it in time. Maybe if she had, she wouldn't be standing alone in a room regretting her choices.

I need to give him time.

In truth, they probably both needed some time away from each other. They had been together every day for weeks, and it couldn't have been easy on him having to take care of her all the time. She would never ask him to give up the room, which just meant that she had to get her things out again before he came back. It would be the easiest way to deal with it. She just hoped she could handle moving everything out herself. She started with the easiest thing first; grabbing her duffel bag and headed for the door. Carol was so focused on getting a head start on the trip back that she hadn't noticed someone had come over to the door. She screamed when they nearly collided.

"Oh Maggie." Carol's hand flew up to her chest. "Didn't see you there. Are you okay?"

Maggie looked just as shocked. "I'm fine. Are you all right? I heard shouting."

"I am for now." Carol looked down at the bag. "I'm just trying to move my stuff back to my old room before Daryl gets back."

"What?" She looked confused. "But Daryl just moved all that in there for you."

"I know. It's a long story."

"Carol, are you sure you're all right?"

She shook her head. "I don't want to burden you with my problems Maggie. You have enough on your plate as it is."

Before she could stop her, Maggie grabbed the bag out of Carol's hands. "Look, I know I don't have any right to ask what's going on with you two, but before you go off and start packing up all your stuff again, maybe you should think this through a little bit better."

"I have thought it through." Carol explained. "Daryl and I are just going through something right now and I need to give him some space. It's better for me this way too."

"Have you tried to talk it out?"

"Daryl's not exactly a big talker." She sighed. "That's what led to the yelling."

Maggie walked back into the room, looking around. "If you're really serious about moving out of here, you're going to need some help."

"I would appreciate that." Carol agreed, picking up some books from the floor. "I'd like to do it before he gets back."

"Don't you think he's going to be pretty devastated when he comes back in here and you're gone?"

She sighed. "Maybe, but I don't know what else to do. He's not in a good place to work things out right now."

Maggie looked surprised. "Was it really that bad?"

"In Daryl's eyes, it was."

"I know you don't want to burden me," Maggie noted as they walked down the hall. "But if there's anything I understand, it's stubborn men. I'd be happy to try and shed some light on the situation."

Carol hesitated. She didn't feel comfortable hashing out all the details of her relationship with the young woman, but Maggie was right. She did have insight into the situation that no one else in the group did.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Absolutely."

"Before the accident..." Carol tried to remember the details. "Back when Daryl was avoiding me…didn't he talk to Glenn at one point?"

Maggie nodded. "He did, but I don't know exactly what they talked about. Glenn refused to tell me. Said Daryl made him promise."

"I think I know what they might have talked about." Carol realized suddenly. "Maggie, would you say that in your opinion that Daryl's pretty inexperienced when it comes to women?"

"You'd know that better than I would." She replied honestly. "But I've always thought you were probably his first real girlfriend."

Carol stopped dead in her tracks. Dear god, it all made sense now. How had she not seen it sooner? He hadn't been attacking her with his request into her past. He had been trying to brace himself for what he'd have to live up to. She'd had it all wrong.

"If I tell you something, you have to swear that you will never tell another soul. Not even Glenn. Do you promise?"

Maggie nodded, her face etched with concern. "I promise."

"I think you're right. I am Daryl's first girlfriend." Carol closed her eyes, letting it all sink in. "But I misjudged him. Daryl's lack of experience goes deeper than I thought. In fact…I don't think he has any experience at all."

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Daryl needed help, but he knew he couldn't go back inside the prison. There would be too many questions. There was a good chance the whole damn group knew by now too. He needed to figure out what to do.

Rick would know what to say, but he had to get to him first. Daryl looked around the perimeter, figuring that he'd be out in the yard somewhere. He finally spotted him down in the field with Glenn and Michonne. Getting his attention without tipping off the others wasn't going to be easy, but he had to try. He whistled loudly, which immediately made Rick to look up. Daryl gave him the signal for suspicious activity, telling only him to come up. Glenn and Michonne noticed too, but Rick gestured to them to go over to the other side of the field as he made his way up to the tower. By the time he got there, Daryl was already getting cold feet.

"You spot something?" Rick asked, grabbing a pair of binoculars. "I thought I saw something earlier out in the bru-"

"Don't bother." Daryl stopped him. "It was a hoax. Just needed to get you up here."

Rick put the binoculars down and turned to face him. "Why would you do that?"

"I need your help man. I messed up bad."

"Daryl, what are you talking about?"

"Carol." He sighed. "I blew up at her and I don't know how to fix it."

Rick took in his confession. "All right…so what happened?"

Dammit. It should have seen that question coming up. "It's not important. I just need to know what to say to make her forgive me."

Rick folded his arms. "I can't tell you what to say if I don't know the situation."

"I can't tell ya. It's personal."

Rick chuckled dryly. "Let me get this straight. You need my help but you can't tell me why or how I'm supposed to help you?"

Daryl's voice rumbled; his hands gripped the railing. "This ain't easy on me! I wanna tell ya but I don't know how."

"Do you want me to guess?"

He knew that wasn't going to get them anywhere. It wasn't time to be playing charades when he had a serious issue on his hands. It was time to man up. "Carol and I…we were in the room. Everything was going good and then…" He sighed, trying to find the words. "She wants more. I thought I was ready, but I ain't. I don't know how to handle it. Said somethin' I didn't mean and now I need to take it back."

Rick looked pretty shocked but he didn't chastise him either, which was more than he had been expecting. "Well it sounds to me like you have more than one problem here. What exactly did you say to her?"

"Use your imagination."

His eyes widened. "Must've been pretty bad. Where is she now?"

"Don't know." Daryl said honestly. "I can't do this man. Don't know what the hell I was thinking."

Rick walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Daryl, I know you can handle this. Relationships aren't easy, but you learn as you go. There's always going to be ups and downs, and sometimes it doesn't work out, but you keep trying. It's only when you stop trying that things really start to go bad."

"What if you try and you realize that you can't live up to what she wants?"

Rick threw him a look. "I highly doubt that Carol told you that you weren't living up to her standards. She hasn't had it easy in the past. I think any form of companionship for her would be enough."

"S'not what she deserves." Daryl grumbled. "She should at least get somethin' out of the deal."

"Maybe she already has."

"Like what?" He huffed. "A stupid redneck from the sticks who don't know how to keep his damn mouth shut?"

Rick sighed. "You've stood with her through some of the roughest times of her life. I think she'd follow you to the ends of the earth if you asked her."

Daryl got a lump in his throat. He knew that Rick was right. She would follow him into hell and back if he asked. He didn't deserve that kind of loyalty.

"I need advice. What do I do?"

Rick leaned against the glass. "You apologize from your gut. If you're sincere, she'll know."

"And what about…the rest of it?"

Rick looked over at him. "If you're feeling a little…unpolished with your skills, I'm sure I can give you a few pointers. I had a good teacher in Shane."

Daryl leaned back against the glass too. "I know how it all works. It ain't like I've never done nothin' before. I just…I don't know how to make her feel special. All I end up doing is making her feel like trash."

"Sounds to me like you're overthinking it." He chuckled. "I used to get myself all worked up over trying to figure out what Lori wanted, but in the end, all it ever did was make me crazy. You've gotta just relax and go with the flow. In the end, it all comes down to trust."

Daryl shook his head. "I'll be lucky if she ever lets me touch her again after this."

"I don't know about that." Rick threw him a sly look. "Once I'm done with you, she'll be picking fights with you on purpose."

"Why the hell would she do that?"

Rick laughed. "Lesson number one…there's no greater joy than make-up sex."

A/N: I'm sure you can all guess where the next chapter is headed**evil laugh**

As for those of you who might be doubting the fact that it took Carol this long to figure out what was really going on, I happen to know from experience that the most likely scenario is usually the one everyone overlooks. Since the accident, Carol's only focus has been on grieving and trying to heal herself, so it would make sense that she hasn't really had the time to think about what was really bugging him. She is also too good of a person to ever try to make Daryl feel bad about something he said when it came from a place of pain. She knows better than anybody what it's like to have someone force you to do something you don't want to with no say in the matter.

As for Daryl, it's no secret that he's been cruel to her in the past (the man called her a stupid bitch days after her daughter disappeared) but it doesn't mean that he doesn't regret it. Daryl knows that what he did was wrong, but he let his anger get the best of him. He's still learning how to control his emotions around people, and even when he says mean things, he always makes it right in the end. As for the pointers he's about to learn…well, I think he probably picked a pretty good teacher;)

Otherwise, it's almost time for the final countdown…yes I am humming the song while replaying scenes from Arrested Development in my mind, thank you very much! There are only two chapters left, and I will try to post the next one in a few days, but please be patient. I'm getting a little weepy at the thought of being done with this whole thing, but at the same time I'm also elated at the thought of being able to move on and do some other projects. I am not the greatest multi-tasker when it comes to writing, and find it difficult to work on more than one thing at a time, so I'm definitely ready to get into a new frame of mind. Hopefully you guys will still check out my other work when this is all done, but until then…on with the show!