It was close to midnight when Daryl found Carol atop the battlements as a group of men readied the fortress for the inevitable onslaught. She was deep in conversation with Brian, one of their chief security men, who was in charge of the operation. She looked magnificent – eyes glittering in the orange torchlight and cheeks glowing with excitement – but damn was he pissed at her.

'Can we talk?' His intonation was no more gruff than usual but his irritation was clear. She excused herself and ducked into the unoccupied East Tower, followed closely by Daryl.

'What are you doing?' he asked when they were finally alone.

'I'm overseeing the repairs – making sure we're prepared for what's coming.' Her voice was matter-of-fact and unapologetic.

'What was that all about in the barn, huh?'

'We had to make a stand – Abraham had Carl…'

'I could'a talked him down. I could'a handled Rick, but you talked war and that was all that anybody heard after that.'

She shrank a little at his words, knowing that he was right but holding firm in her determination not to back down. 'This was going to happen eventually, Daryl. We were always going to have to defend this place sooner or later…'

'I'da preferred later. Are you really ready to fight them, Carol – our family? To kill Rick and all of them?'

'What's stopping Rick from turning into another Negan? Another Governor?' she countered. 'Maybe it's time we taught him a lesson.'

Daryl flung an arm wide, encompassing their little world. 'Is this the time and place for that? We got families in here, kids…' He paused. 'And what about Judith, huh? Are you strong enough to kill her too? 'Cause that's what you led us toward when you took her hostage.'

A look of pain and turmoil crossed over Carol's face. The conflict between her role as leader and her instincts as a mother tore her up inside. Every child in Fort Sophia was an avatar for her lost daughter, a reminder of her enormous responsibility to protect the people under her care.

Daryl felt guilty, knowing that children were Carol's Achilles heel. It was a cruel tactic, but he had to get her to see sense.

'That's why we built this place, ain't it? So people would have to kill anymore – so people could be safe.'

The statement hung in the air for a long time. It was a long speech for Daryl, but over the years he had gradually found his voice and become more articulate. It was as if the challenge of running Fort Sophia had unleashed the leader within him.

Eventually Carol spoke. 'What do you suggest we do? Rick will do anything to get Judith back. And we know the unsavoury people he associates with.'

'Lemme talk to him. I know Rick – he'll go back to Alexandria to regroup and figure out his next move. I'll take my bike and be there by morning.'

'Your bike?' The implications flitted through her mind.

Daryl had built the bike from scratch and lovingly kept it in repair, despite the fact that it was forbidden. It was the only vehicle that they hadn't been able to convert to vegetable oil, and he was only able to persuade her to keep it on the grounds of emergency. Having a gas-powered vehicle in Fort Sophia was dangerous for morale. It would give people ideas and make them doubt one the central tenets of the settlement: gas was wasteful and destructive – a relic of the old world and a major cause of strife and conflict.

Carol knew that if Daryl rode out on his hog it would be obvious to those who weren't already aware that trouble was on its way. Panic would rapidly spread throughout the settlement. However, Carol knew that her partner would never be able to live with himself unless he did his level best to prevent bloodshed.

'You can't go out on your own. You could be ambushed by bandits or Walkers –'

Daryl accepted her tacit acceptance of his plan with a curt nod. 'Leroy can ride with me. We can cover more ground and watch each other's backs. We'll be back tomorrow.'

'If something happens to you…'

'It won't,' Daryl replied. 'Nine lives, right?'

Carol reluctantly nodded, and Daryl leaned in to kiss her. She still tasted of cider and cherries and he was quietly amazed that she was still able to set him aflame after all these years. The thought of returning to her sustained him on his many trips beyond the walls to barter with the other communities or tend the animals. He would imagine falling into bed with her soft and warm beside him – the one thing that made all the toil and frustration worthwhile.

He remembered how they finally came together in the Kingdom after Glenn's death – how easy and natural it had been despite all the pain and grief, all the doubt and hesitation. He had not intended to make a confession of love, merely to voice a tribute to Glenn, of how he was the best one of all of them, admitting that he had envied his relationship with Maggie. Their love made them stronger – gave them a reason to fight, to stay human and carry on. Neither he nor Carol knew who moved first, but suddenly they were kissing.

He was pulled out of his reverie by the sight of Carol looking back at him, her expression one of implacable determination. 'You'd better be back by sundown. Otherwise I'll come to Alexandria and bring the fury of hell down on Rick and all of his people – I swear by Christ I will.'

Daryl felt a little unnerved by her intensity, but at the same time her words stirred his blood. He felt eager to get back to her so they could be alone and leave the madness of the world outside.

He blazed out of the front gates on his cycle, rousing people from their huts in confusion. Carol climbed down from the balustrade to calm the gathering crowd.

'Go back to your homes. There'll be a meeting in the morning where everything will be explained and discussed.'

Carol saw a distinctive mop of brown curls in the middle of the departing and sighed with irritation. 'What are you doing out here at this time of night?' she asked the little girl.

'I couldn't sleep, Ma.'

'I'm not your Ma. Catherine and Paul are your parents now, remember?'

Pip stared at her, two fingers shoved childishly into her mouth. A little over a year before, Daryl had found the girl out on the road and brought her back to Fort Sophia. She was half-starved and feral, but Carol guessed from her height that she was about six years old. It took a while for her to speak but when she did she offered no information about herself or where she had come from. They had no idea where her parents were or how she had managed to survive on her own.

Daryl called her Pipsqueak, and somehow the nickname stuck. Despite Carol's best efforts, the child became attached to the pair of them, even after she had been placed with a childless couple nearby. Carol had gladly acted as surrogate mother for any number of kids in town, but Pip was different. Every time she looked at the girl, the memories of Sophia became too painful to bear.

'Back to bed now, you hear?' Carol tried to maintain a stolid exterior, even as her heart went out to the child. 'I don't want you under my feet.'

'Ok, Ma.'

Carol smiled to herself as she watched Pip trotting back towards the clapboard house where she lived with her foster parents. When the girl was safely inside, she turned on her heel and headed for Carl's place. It was one of a row of bungalows that had once belonged to farm workers on the original property. Since his marriage to Millie, Carl had done a lot of work on the place, making it into a comfortable home for their young family.

Carol gave a cursory knock on the door before entering. She felt a little foolish for standing on ceremony when Carl was almost like a son to her, but she made it a point never to throw her weight around as leader of Fort Sophia. She found Millie standing in the middle of the kitchen with a slightly helpless expression.

'I shouldn't have put this on you,' Carol said with an apologetic smile. 'Especially with the baby so sick. It's just that you're the only one I can trust with her.'

Millie's shoulders slumped and she burst into tears. Carol put her arms around her, suddenly realising the enormity of what she was facing.

'Sorry,' Millie sniffed. 'It's just too much. First the baby and now Carl…'

Carol fixed her with a look that projected both consolation and authority. 'Carl is going to be fine. I know Rick – he'll die before letting anything happen to his son.'

The younger woman dried her eyes, buoyed by Carol's words and a little ashamed of her own display of weakness. 'You want to see her?'

A guard had been posted at the door, but otherwise security was kept to a minimum. Carol was surprised – even a little disappointed – to see that Judith hadn't even attempted to jimmy the lock on the window. Instead, she sat on the bed with a closed-off, unreadable expression.

'You look so much like your mother. It takes me back,' Carol commented wistfully. It was a partial fib, a ruse to encourage the girl to open up. In truth, she rarely thought about those early days after the world changed. The memories were too difficult to dwell on.

There was no response from the sullen girl. She focused on worrying a patch of peeling skin on her thumb.

'I hope Millie's been treating you well.' Carol's eyes fell on the untouched plate of food that lay on the bedside dresser and her tone immediately hardened. 'We don't tolerate waste here. I don't know what it's like in Alexandria, but here people labour hard to grow food. Millie cooked that for you.'

'Do I look like I care?' Judith retorted.

'You're in your brother's house – you should treat it with respect.'

Judith's expression registered such spite that Carol was taken aback. 'Respect? Where was his respect when he left?' She looked embarrassed the moment the words left her lips, as if realising how petulant and childish she sounded.

Carol sat down at the edge of the bed, gently sighing. 'Carl had his reasons for leaving – we all did. He and Rick couldn't live together anymore. I know it's hard for you to understand.'

'You think I don't understand?' Judith's eyes lit up with anger. 'I know what Dad's like – I have to live with him. Carl left me to deal with him alone.'

Carol was astonished. Ever since Judith's arrival, she had assumed that her resentment of Carl was of a piece with their father's. Realising that she and the girl might be on the same side was a relief, but it was troubling at the same time. She was ostensibly their prisoner. Carol wondered if she would have the strength to do what was necessary if things went wrong.

'There's a photograph at home of Carl holding me as a baby,' Judith said sadly. 'Dad used to tell stories about the times before Alexandria and they were all about Carl. I used to ask people who knew him to tell me stories – Enid, Rosita, even Abraham. Nobody understood, not Dad – not even Michonne.'

'But you have a brother and sister, right?'

Judith shifted uneasily. 'I love Jake and Lucy, but they belong to Dad and Michonne – I hardly get a look in. I wanted Carl there so badly that I started hating him. And then seeing him today… he was just like those stories – kind and sweet. I felt like he must have loved me.'

'He did, Judith, believe me.' Carol placed a hand on the bed between them, trying to foster the growing trust between them. ' I saw how he was with you as a baby. It tore him up to leave you – it was one of the reasons he was so committed to being here for his kids. He's a really great father.'

Judith shyly glanced at the older woman for the first time. 'I don't think my Dad's a good person,' she confessed. 'He does business with bad people. I'm afraid of them.'

Carol felt a tug at her heart followed by a sudden, crazy impulse to protect the girl. 'Judith, do you want to stay here with us?' she enquired.

A tiny spark of hope appeared in Judith's eyes before being quickly extinguished. 'Dad wouldn't allow it. He needs me.'

'It's your choice – only you can make it. Leaving Alexandria was the hardest thing I've ever done, but it was when my life truly began.'

She closely watched Judith's face as the girl pondered her words. Her lips opened, forming words that Carol would never hear because at that same moment, she heard a faint voice carried on the still night air.

It sounded like a warning or a cry of terror. It sounded like her name, but somehow different. Carol ran to the window and saw Brian racing towards the house with an expression of terror painting his features.

He cried out one word just as he burst into flames: 'Harrowers!'

And then the sky exploded with fire.