Hello. I want everyone to keep in mind that the dynamics are different in this story because of the amount of time that Daryl has been away from the group. I didn't make it clear who all survived in Rick's group. Rick, Carl, Judith and Michonne are alive. Glenn and Maggie, Abe, Rosita, Tara Sasha and Eugene. That's all. There isn't a whole lot of this story left to tell after we get past this hump. I'm not sure how many chapters are ahead but it shouldn't be too many.

Chapter Twenty Two

Carol was pacing a hole in the floor, her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes constantly going to the back door. Why in the hell would Cassidy leave in the middle of the night with Merle Dixon? Why would either of them do something like that without telling anyone they were leaving, and for what reason?

It wouldn't do them any good to try to find them because no one had a clue where they had gone or when they had left the house. The only consolation she had was that it was obvious they were together and they were more than capable of taking care of themselves, and would keep a watch on the others back.

"They'll show up," Daryl said from his spot on the counter but she could see the tension in his arms as his hands gripped the edge of the cold dark granite.

"I know," she said, rubbing at the tension in the back of her neck.

"I could find-"

"Please don't start that again," she pleaded, her eyes wide as they landed on his.

He nodded and looked towards the door himself. She knew he was worried about his brother but she also knew that he would play it cool for a while just to keep her from worrying even more.

They were silent for a long time. Eventually the gray morning light was pressing against the windows and she was just about to give in and tell him that they needed to try to track them when a sound came from the back of the garage. She was sure it was them but when she made a move to open the door Daryl grabbed her arm, pulling her back slightly.

"Gettin' rusty," he grumbled, shoving her gun in her hands.

She looked down at the rifle and shook her head. She was about to go in there not knowing what was on the other side of the door, unarmed. Daryl opened the door, his bow raised and ready to put a bolt into anything that happened to be on the other side.

"Why can't you use a gun like the rest of us?" Cassidy asked, pushing past him before he could step into the garage.

Daryl dropped the bow and turned as the woman sauntered over to the pantry like nothing was amiss. "Where the fuck is my brother?" He snapped. "Where the hell have you been?"

Cassidy kept her back to them as she rummaged through the space, obviously looking for something specific. "We saw some smoke in the woods last night. We checked it out. You two might want to go out back and see what we found."

Carol was livid. After spending all this time worrying about the two of them how dare this woman just walk right in so nonchalant like she hadn't done anything wrong! There were unspoken rules in this group and one of them was, don't go off and scare the hell out of the rest of them. She didn't trust her voice at the moment however so when Daryl grabbed her hand and led her out into the garage and towards the open side door beyond, she didn't fight him. She had a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach but she ignored it, forcing one foot in front of the other.

Once they were out the door the two of them stopped in their tracks, neither of them really believing what they were seeing. Her hand tightened around Daryl's and suddenly she could feel the tension rolling away from his body in waves. His anger was so real in that moment that she didn't really feel any of her own emotions. His were thick and dark and it was the strangest experience she had ever had.

The group was lined up along the back wall. Carol didn't recognize all of the faces but some she did. The moment was surreal. Maybe it would have been this strange when her and Daryl had found one another, if they hadn't been trying to beat one another to death.

So far everyone only seemed to have eyes for Merle, who seemed to be keeping all of them there by the far wall. Cassidy walked past Carol and Daryl and rejoined Merle, her sharp eyes focusing on the men in the group. All of them looked to be in bad shape. When one of them finally looked up, it was Carl and suddenly he broke away from the rest of them and started sprinting towards her.

Carol took a step towards the boy, then another and then she froze when Rick cried out, commanding Carl to stop, running after the boy, his eyes on Carol. There was still distrust there but this didn't surprise her. It didn't even make her angry, even though she knew that it should. She was too relieved to see Carl in one piece. Too relieved to see Judith in Michonne's arms, alive.

Rick put a hand on Carl's shoulder but Carl shook it off, giving Rick a look that surprised her, and then started walking towards her again. She let go of Daryl's hand then and met Carl half way. He was bigger, but that made sense. He threw himself into her arms but the relief in his eyes right before he did so had her smiling.

She was about to pull away when she looked up and saw Rick storming towards them. He didn't only look angry. He also looked unsure. She stepped away from Carl and opened her mouth to speak but she didn't get a chance to say anything.

Daryl intercepted Rick's advance, his body blocking him, their foreheads touching as Daryl backed the other man up a few feet before shoving him so hard Rick lost his balance, landing hard in the grass.

Daryl towered over him. "Get up," he bit out from between clenched teeth. His eyes were hard and dark. Dangerous.

Rick's hand went for the gun at his hip but Daryl's foot came down on his arm, stopping him. He howled in pain. Daryl reached down and grabbed the gun, tossing it to the side.

"Get up!" He snarled, pacing in front of the man.

Rick did just that, pulling himself up off the ground carefully. All of this happened in a matter of seconds but to Carol it felt like everything was moving in slow motion. She saw Michonne hand Judith off to the another girl that Carol didn't know. Saw the woman, eyes narrowed, go for the sword at her back and then, to her horror, she saw Cassidy use her rifle like a bat and slam it into the back of Michonne's head.

"Stop!" Carol managed to yell right before Cassidy went in for a finishing blow.

Cassidy was in no mood to listen but, to Carol's surprise, Merle grabbed her around the waist, hauling her back. That was when the bigger guy, another one that Carol had never seen before, went for Merle.

Rick held up his hands but Daryl ignored him, shoving him hard again.

"Why?" Daryl demanded.

Glenn, had broken away from Maggie, grabbing the red headed man by the arm, stopping him just as the rest of Carol's group came from either side of the house, guns raised, causing the commotion to come to a stand still.

Carol finally snapped out of her shock and went to Daryl. The rest of Rick's group had their hands up, looking wearily at the women advancing on them. Rick was looking at the ground, his hands up, breathing heavily. She placed a hand on Daryl's arm then, stopping him. His chest heaved with anger and when his eyes slid over to her she almost looked away. She'd never seen so much loathing in his eyes before. It was unsettling but it was also a quiet confirmation. Rick had been his friend. They had survived together, but Rick putting her in danger wiped all of that away in Daryl's mind. Rick was the enemy now.

"That's enough," she said, her voice quiet. "Please."

Daryl's gaze slid back to Rick, disgust clear on his face. "Nah. You get the others inside. Make sure them kids get something in their stomachs. Looks to me like their fearless leader here has let the whole lot of them starve."

Rick looked up, his own eyes hard but he didn't say anything else.

"That okay with you, Rick? You gonna let her feed your kids or are you scared she's gonna poison them?" Daryl sneered.

"Daryl," Carol began but he cut her off with a look. She sighed and stepped away, turning to the women behind her. "It's okay. We know these people."

The guns lowered then but every woman in her group was still leery. That was a good thing because some of the people with Rick were strangers. She had no idea what they were capable of. Maggie and another girl were helping Michonne up off the ground. Thankfully, she didn't seem hurt too badly. She met Daryl's eyes one more time and then she turned, leading Carl towards the back door while Merle got Rick's people moving.

Referring to them as Rick's people, even in her mind, stung a little. But she pushed it all back.

~H~

Daryl eyed the man as the others left them there. Even Merle walked away, which was surprising. When Rick looked up his eyes narrowed.

"You don't know what she was like after you left," Rick said defensively. "You don't know what she did to our own people."

Daryl swallowed down the anger that threatened. He would talk to him. He would say what he needed to say. "She killed two people. There was a virus and they were already too far gone to help and she thought that if she killed them and then burned their bodies, that it would stop it from spreading. Spreading to you and your kids and the rest of the people she loved. She didn't hide anything from me when I found her."

Rick shook his head. "That wasn't her call to make," he snapped.

"So you took her out and you told her that she was a danger to your kids, a danger to your group, and you abandoned her there. One woman."

"I knew she'd make it somehow-"

"Did you? Did you really think she'd make it?"

"She was cold! She isn't the same woman you left."

"I left because you didn't give me any fucking choice. It was your way or the highway," Daryl barked. "I left thinkin' that you were a good man and that you'd take care of her! Instead you climbed up on your high horse and condemned her. Leaving her was the biggest goddamn mistake I've ever made, but I did it because I thought she was safe and I thought keepin' Merle away from the rest of you was the only choice I had. You turned her out because you're a power hungry piece of shit."

"I did what I had to do to protect my family!" Rick shouted.

Daryl laughed. The sound was brittle and carried no humor. "From the looks of them, you're doin' a real piss poor job."

"I didn't have any control over-"

"I don't care, Rick. I don't care about you and I don't care about your group but I ain't like you. I won't turn out women or kids. If your people wanna play nice, I think she might let them stay. And if she wants to keep Carl and Judith here with us, she's got a lot of people, strong loyal people, that have her back and will make that happen. You just better hope she takes more goddamn pity on you than you ever did her." He turned then but Rick's hand landed heavily on his shoulder.

"She isn't taking my children from me!" Rick barked, but there was a fear in his eyes that told Daryl that Rick knew that finally, he wasn't in charge anymore.

"If she wanted to, I'd blow your brains out and burn your body before you told her she couldn't. But she's a better person than you are. She wouldn't hurt you like you hurt her. She knows you love them and she'd never try somethin' like that. She'll let you stay here if that's what you decide to do because that is who she is. No matter what you say about her. No matter how you see her in that warped head of yours. But you keep in mind that me and you, we ain't nothin'. I trusted you with the only goddamn thing that mattered and you turned around and shit on it. If she lets you stay, you keep your goddamn distance from me and you watch your ass around her. Right now, she's in there takin' care of the group you let down."

Rick stood there, gaping at him. Daryl still wanted to hit him but he wouldn't. He wouldn't touch him. He heard Rick following him into the house but he ignored the man. When he stepped into the kitchen Carol had Judith, her eyes alight and one of those rare smiles on her face as the little girl stuffed food in her mouth. She looked up, meeting his eyes. The smile stayed in place.

"Can you believe how big she's gotten?" She asked, looking back at the little girl.

Daryl nodded. Carol had blinders on, that was for sure. Judith's cheeks were sunken in, heavy dark circles under her eyes. She was smiling, sure, but she had been through a lot and it showed. It made his chest hurt.

Reluctantly she handed the girl over to Maggie, who looked just as bad as the others, and then turned to him. Her eyes were questioning. When she glanced behind him, to where he knew Rick was standing, they hardened. "Can I talk to you?"

Daryl nodded and let her lead him out of the room. When she stopped she didn't drop his hand. "You okay?" He asked, his voice still shaking with the rage he felt towards Rick.

She nodded, glanced over her shoulder and then turned her attention back to him. "What are we suppose to do now?"

Daryl stared at her, unsure what she wanted him to say. "We do whatever you want."

"Daryl, they're dying. We can't just offer them something to eat and then turn them away. There has to be something we can do."

He felt the corner of his mouth turn up despite his lingering anger. Rick could think whatever he wanted. Yeah, she was different. She wasn't exactly the same woman he had left at the prison, but deep down she would always be Carol. She would always do what she had to do for her family. Just like he had told Rick a few minutes ago.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked, her mouth turning up in a slight smile.

He shrugged. "All this time I've been worried about what it would do to you if you had to look Rick in the eye again and so far all you're worried about is feedin' the bastard's pups."

She sighed. "He did what he did. There isn't anything I can do about Rick's bad decisions but that has nothing to do with Judith or Carl. I don't know what to do about the rest of them."

"Carol?"

Daryl's head shot up and Carol looked over her shoulder. Rick was standing there watching them closely.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Fuck you, Rick-"

"Daryl," Carol placed her hand on his chest, keeping him still. "It's fine."

"Anything he has to say he can say it now. You don't owe him a goddamn thing," he snapped, his eyes still boring into Rick's.

"It's okay. I'm a little tougher than I look, remember?" She asked, trying to pacify him.

He glared at her. "Keep that gun at the ready."

Rick scoffed. "You think I'd try to shoot her?"

Daryl didn't say a word. He stormed past the man, his shoulder slamming into him enough to nearly knock him off balance again.