The sun was just rising above the trees when they knocked on Tammy's door.
They were all a little worse for wear; rumpled, grumpy, and sore from sleeping in strange positions.
Daryl knocked on the door again and Carol couldn't help but notice the tuft of hair that refused to lie down neatly despite his earlier attempts to tame it in the rearview mirror. She reached up to smooth it down and he leaned his head into her touch, turning to look at her over his shoulder when she dropped her hand.
Tammy opened the door dressed in a white robe and despite the fact that it was just after dawn and they'd presumably woken her, she leaned against the doorway and smiled at Merle.
Carol sighed, drawing the woman's attention to her. "Please tell me Brenda's here this time."
"Oh, she's here alright," Tammy laughed, "and she brought the hangover from hell home with her. Come on in and I'll get her up."
They followed her inside as she swished off down the hallway and Carol caught Merle by the arm.
He bent down to let her whisper in his ear and she told him, "I don't know if you're interested but just so you know, you've definitely got a shot there."
She saw a look of surprise cross his face and then he smirked, eyes following Tammy down the hallway. "I'm always interested, sugar."
They heard the two women arguing and then Tammy reappeared, dragging someone behind her.
She shoved the woman down into a chair at the kitchen table where she sat glowering at them, wrapped up in a fuzzy blanket emblazoned with yellow ducks.
She was younger than Carol expected. Her short blonde hair was as untamed as Daryl's had been, sticking up all over her head, and her big green eyes were ringed with last night's smeared mascara.
"Brenda?" she asked, uneasy as she pulled out the chair across from her and sat down.
She stared back at Carol with jaded eyes. "Carol."
Carol glanced up at the others. "Could y'all give us a few minutes?"
Daryl caught her eye and she nodded, giving him a little smile as he followed Merle and Tammy out into the hall.
"I'll be right out here," he muttered, eyeing Brenda warily.
When they were gone and it was quiet in the kitchen, Carol looked back at the world-weary young woman sitting across from her.
"Who is he?" Brenda asked, jerking her head towards the door.
"He's a friend," Carol answered coolly. "Brenda, is Sophia okay? Have you talked to Ed?"
She looked away, jaw working as if she was grinding her teeth together, and didn't say a word.
"Please?" Carol asked. "I really need your help. I know what he told you about me but none of that's true and – "
"I know," Brenda interrupted impatiently. "I know. Mama knows, Tammy knows, the whole goddamn world knows that you're a perfect angel and I'm a fool for listening to him again."
They both fell silent and Carol felt the chasm between them widen.
Carol took a deep breath. "Listen, I'm so far from perfect that it's not even funny. I've made a lot of mistakes in my life. Ed was just one of them."
"I know what you mean," Brenda sighed, head in hands. "I know."
"So was my daughter okay?" Carol asked softly.
Brenda looked up and met her eyes. "She was fine. She missed you but she was okay when they left here Saturday afternoon. I haven't heard from him since."
The words cut through her like a knife. Of course she'd known her daughter would miss her but to hear someone confirm it nearly took her breath away.
"Why didn't you go with them?" she finally managed to ask.
Brenda smiled but it was an ugly, bitter expression. She ran her tongue over her swollen, split bottom lip and that told Carol all she needed to know.
"I thought it would be different this time," she said in answer to a question Carol didn't ask.
Carol shook her head sadly. "It never is."
"I really loved him, you know?" she said in a broken voice. "I don't know why but I really did."
Carol listened. She understood it all too well.
"I guess I was just fooling myself when he called, thinking he wanted me back," Brenda said, wiping furiously at her wet eyes. "But all he wanted was a babysitter because he was so fucking clueless that he had no idea what to do with her. And I tried to take good care of the kid and show him that I could be what he needed but he didn't care. He never cared. All he talked about the whole damn time was you and what was gonna happen when he saw you again."
Carol's eyes were drawn to Daryl as he stepped into the doorway and leaned against the frame.
"What did he say?"
Brenda looked over at Daryl and then back at Carol. "He wants to hurt you."
Carol nodded, her eyes locking with Daryl's. "I figured as much."
"He wants to hurt you," Brenda repeated, then added, "but I think he wants you back too. He's crazy."
Carol's stomach turned and she quickly changed the subject. "Do you know where he was going?"
Brenda shrugged. "I heard him call his sister Jeannie. It sounded like he was going to stay with her."
"Where does she live?" Daryl asked wearily.
"Virginia," both women answered in unison.
"You know we ain't gonna let that asshole hurt you, right?"
Carol looked over at Daryl, at the serious expression on his face, and bumped his shoulder with her own. "I know. I'm not worried about that."
She didn't tell him what she was worried about; that Ed would hurt Sophia or him or Merle. She wasn't sure when she'd come to count the Dixon brothers among the people she cared about in the world but somewhere along the way, it had happened.
She and Daryl were sitting on Tammy's front steps, waiting for Merle to emerge from Tammy's bedroom, or her "den of iniquity" as Brenda had called it. Carol could only hope he'd return in one piece. She glanced up at the sky and saw the sun was already creeping higher.
"Those two have been at it for an hour and a half," she sighed.
Daryl snorted. "I think ol' Merle might have met his match with that one."
She had to agree.
The urge to get on the road and start the eight hour trip to Coeburn was eating at her. She tapped impatient fingers against her thigh, staring out at the empty street.
The warmth of Daryl's hand on the back of her neck caught her off guard. She looked over at him and he glanced down at her lips. She held her breath, certain that he was about to kiss her again.
And then the door flew open, banging against the wall. They both jumped apart and turned to see Merle stumbling out onto the porch with his shirt in his hand and Tammy still attached to his lips.
He tore his mouth away from hers and she immediately started kissing his neck, running her hands up and down his bare back.
Carol looked away, eyes wide.
Daryl gave Merle a pointed look. "She coming with us?"
He flipped his middle finger up at Daryl and finally, with some effort, managed to extricate himself from Tammy's arms.
"Stay," he told her gruffly, slapping her on the ass.
They left her on the porch, staring after Merle with a wistful look on her face, as they all climbed back into the Cherokee.
"Get me the hell outta here," Merle hissed as he slammed the door behind him. "That woman's worse than a kudzu vine."
As the day wore on and they closed in on Virginia, Carol felt the fear steadily rising up inside of her.
For the first time, it seemed like a very real possibility that she could have her daughter back before the night was over. But it was also becoming clear that she would have to face Ed.
Just the memory of his cold, mean eyes and sweaty, groping hands made her shudder.
She looked over at Daryl, hands on the wheel and eyes on the road. "Got a cigarette?"
He glanced over at her, then pulled one out of the pack and handed it over with his lighter.
Her fingers trembled as she fumbled with the striker.
"Here," he mumbled, taking the lighter from her hand.
He kept his eyes on the road as he lit her cigarette and she rolled the window down to let out the smoke, glancing over her shoulder into the backseat to make sure the sound hadn't woken Merle.
They had devised their plan of attack shortly after leaving Martinsville, after she told them everything she knew about Jeannie, her house, and the small town she lived in.
"You think you're gonna be able to find the place?" Daryl asked, drawing her attention back to him.
She studied his profile until he met her eyes. "I think so."
"You okay?"
She nodded, the cigarette helping to steady her breathing. "Just scared."
Exhaling, she watched the smoke as it snaked out through the open window.
Daryl took her hand and she looked down, watching as he threaded his fingers through hers, a bit stiffly as though he wasn't sure of himself or what he was doing. She felt his eyes on her face and looked up at him.
"It's gonna be alright," he told her firmly.
She gave him a weak smile.
"You promise?"