Morning
Daryl glanced at the bedroom window and knew by the faint traces of light that there would soon be enough light to track the wolves that had gotten away last night. It had to be him because none of the others could track as well as he could. Daryl slid out of bed and went into the bathroom trying not to wake Carol or Sam. Carol was dressed by the time he got back and he waited until she was finished in the bathroom so that they could go downstairs together.
Morgan and Rick were in the kitchen watching the coffee maker as if that would hasten the brewing process. Carol handed out protein bars and water purification tablets. Rick silently taking his share and Morgan thanking her. Rick looked rough this morning and Daryl and Carol exchanged that "Is Rick okay?" look.
"Rick, you should be here in Alexandria when the sun comes up making sure that the clean-up is done right. The outside world found its way inside Alexandria last night and everyone will be shook up. They need a leader this morning." Carol hesitated and then went on. "If you aren't here, then someone else will take charge. There are people here who resent how quickly our group has moved into power positions. You should be here." This morning the walkers were being cleared out of the trenches and moved to a burn site two miles away. The trenches were being deepened and widened to provide another layer of defense. The herd had damaged structures inside Alexandria and they needed to be fixed. This afternoon there would be funerals for those that were lost and Rick should be here for that too.
"Abe and Glenn will handle the walker removal this morning. Maggie is keeping Deanna informed of what is going on." Rick wasn't going to be dissuaded from this and Carol gave Daryl her best "I tried" look. She took her coffee and drifted to the front porch hoping that Daryl would follow her.
Their usually immaculate front porch was a mess from last night. There was blood and walker muck on the porch, front steps, and sidewalk and Carol set her coffee aside trying to control the need to vomit. The smell of death was here and she remembered the men she had killed last night. Daryl was behind her and he muttered, "I'll get it."
He went around the side of the house and brought back the garden hose and by that time she had gathered up some cleaning supplies and together they cleaned the porch, the steps and the sidewalk between their house and the Anderson's. Morgan had joined them in scrubbing the evidence of last night's attack away and Rick went on to meet Aaron.
Morgan washed his hands with the garden hose and left while she and Daryl were gathering the rags to be trashed. They washed their hands together using plenty of soap and water. Daryl muttered, "I should be helping you today."
Carol handed him a dry hand towel, "You're a good man, Daryl Dixon. I wish I could take you upstairs and show you how much I love you." She waited for him to say "Stop" or turn ten shades of red.
"Better be prepared to walk that talk when I get back." Daryl dried her hands with the towel. "I'm not good with words, but I more than love you." He shuffled his feet and she was sure that he was through talking. "You delight me." He bent and kissed her hands tenderly, "My sweetheart, you delight me. Be safe."
She kissed him back, "Daryl, you amaze me." Carol was always disarmed by these moments when Daryl revealed his heart to her. He could have tossed out a "love ya" but he had sought precision when he told her how he felt about her. "You delight me, too".
He snickered, "I am that good. Full throttle Dixon sex is damn impressive. You'll get used to it in twenty or thirty years." He pulled away from her and gave a slap on her bottom, "Now go inside and behave yourself until Big Poppa gets back.
Carol laughed, "I like me some Big Poppa". Tender Daryl had morphed into cocky Merle, but she understood that personas were part of who you were or who you wanted to be. She went inside up the steps and inside without looking back. They had never liked to say goodbye to one another.
Daryl
Daryl had picked up the track of the Wolves fairly easily. One of the wolves had been wounded and he had left spatters of blood on the ground here and there. Morgan had chosen to go on point and Daryl figured that anyone who could make it from Georgia to Virginia could be trusted not to let you walk into a trap.
Last night he and Aaron along with a few men from Alexandria had waited out here for the trucks to arrive. He and Aaron had spread the word that the attack was close and then doubled back. The walkers had been led toward Alexandria by one truck which had rammed its way through the gate. The Wolves had waited until the walkers had moved into Alexandria and then moved into position. Daryl had given the signal to disable the trucks along the road and to begin firing at the Wolves. That was the signal to turn the music to start the walkers toward the new back gate and deep trenches. Morgan's plan had worked except for a few glitches caused by a few of the locals who had deserted their posts at the sight of a walker herd.
Aaron was driving an old Land Rover today. Daryl and Morgan were going to be in the woods and Rick and Aaron were scouting along the roadway. They were using radios to communicate. Daryl was happy to be aired with Morgan. He knew how to keep quiet in the woods. The blood spatter trail stopped at an abandoned house. The house was empty. Daryl was ready to turn around and go back to Alexandria. The trail had gone cold. Rick wanted to go toward the warehouse that the Wolves had kept the walkers to see if they had headed back there. The other three went along reluctantly.
Daryl checked his weapons and tried to tamp down his uneasiness. The Wolves could be setting a trap for anyone following them. They had lost most of their pack, but they were still wolves. He didn't like being in a vehicle. The woods and fields were familiar friends; they warned him through his senses when danger was near. He could hear enemies coming toward him, smell walkers, and see a sudden flight of birds that gave him warning. He could feel a trap out there and in here he felt like the bait in a snare.
Despite his fears they arrived safely. Aaron parking a good distance away and they spread out to walk toward the warehouse leaving the radios in the Land Rover. Daryl could see a dusty Jeep parked at the front entrance. Rick tapped Daryl's shoulder, "Let's go check out the back."
Aaron nodded, "Morgan and I will stay here and make certain that our canine friends don't get away. Don't start anything that we can't finish. We can get reinforcements if we need them."
There were two summers worth of grass and brush to provide cover and Daryl and Rick moved toward the back of the warehouse by following an eight foot fence that slowly being covered with vines. The bays were open on this side of the warehouse. It looked empty and Daryl hoped that this would soon be over.
There was the sudden unwelcome sound of vehicles moving along the road toward the warehouse. At least two vehicles had stopped in front of the warehouse and more were coming their way. Daryl and Rick used a large dumpster for cover and moved to a position behind some thick bushes.
Three Humvees and a box truck parked by the chain locked gates. There were a dozen or so men standing outside the trucks and they were watching the back of the warehouse. One man approached the gate with a set of bolt cutters. Rifle fire came from the warehouse and they scrambled back into the trucks and backed up out of range.
Daryl could hear rifle fire from the front and he wondered if the wolves had taken flight. "Let's get out of here," he hissed at Rick. The army was going to take care of the Wolves for them. This party was getting too crowded. Just get the hell out of Dodge and back to Alexandria.
There was another round of rifle fire from the front and that seemed to stir half of the men in the trucks to move in that direction. Rick hissed, "They are distracted. Let's go."
Rick and Daryl headed back toward the front. An army truck was parked there and uniformed soldiers were setting up on the perimeter. It looked as if they were going to take the warehouse. Aaron and Morgan were not where they had left them, but Daryl figured that they had retreated to the Land Rover which they had hidden behind a copse of pine trees a half a mile away.
Daryl heard a noise behind him and he turned toward the sound. Two soldiers were aiming weapons at them and he felt a sharp sting and then everything went dark.
Carol
Carol went upstairs when she left Daryl. Judith was an early riser and Sam might be awake soon. Judith was contemplating her toes this morning and waiting patiently for someone to come in. Judith smiled at her while she changed her diaper. Alexandria was good for Judith and that in the end was what was important.
Carol carried Judith as she went into her bedroom. Sam was asleep, but stirred when Judith babbled at him. He looked small and defenseless and Carol felt that tug toward him that she still intended to ignore. She had saved him last night, but that worked out because Michonne and Rosita had risked themselves to clear a path for both of them.
Sam opened his blue eyes and smiled at her. Carol had never noticed how much he looked like Daryl. His eyes were nearly the same color and his dirty blond hair was sticking up like Daryl's when he woke up. Carol sat down on the bed beside him and resisted the urge to ruffle his hair. Sam sat up and scooted toward her. He buried his face into her shoulder and Judith patted his hair and cooed at him.
Michonne peeked her head in the door and watched silently for a few seconds and then came and took Judith from Carol. "I'm going to make breakfast." Her dark hand rested on Sam's back for a few seconds and Carol knew that her friend was thinking about Andre. Michonne's eyes were welling with tears when they met hers.
Sam stayed pressed against her until Michonne started downstairs. He pulled himself away then and rubbed the tears from his eyes. "Can she cook?"
Carol had to laugh, "Yes, she can cook, but you need to get dressed so I can get downstairs and help."
He favored her with a weak version of his cocky grin, "I gotta go pee. Then we'll save breakfast."
Michonne was staring at the kitchen cupboards when they got downstairs. "What do you want for breakfast?"
"Carol and I will make breakfast. She promised me pancakes." Sam smirked at Carol who shook her head at him.
Carol hadn't promised pancakes. Sam was sneaky and willing to stretch the truth to get what he wanted. He might look like Daryl but he acted like her. "Maybe you could feed Judith some applesauce while we make the pancakes?"
Sam stirred the batter while Carol made some syrup out of brown sugar and some maple flavoring that the previous owners had left. It was better to keep him busy anyway because she could see that his lip was trembling a bit.
The pancakes were a hit with Sam and Judith. Carl came downstairs and finished off the rest. Carol thought about Rick telling her that Lori wanted to make pancakes on the weekend and how terrible they were. Carl might remember that but Judith would never know her mother. What a sad lot they were. Three motherless children and two childless mothers. Carl was holding Judith and talking to Sam. Carl had lost his mother but he had Rick and the rest of the family. Judith had a father that adored her and loving adults in her home. Surely Sam would have that love like that in his next home. Wouldn't he?
Tobin came by to take Sam back to his house. Sam had been staying there after Pete had been killed. The boy didn't want to go but Carol bustled him out of the house. Tobin lingering on the steps asked, "Could you go and get some clothes for him to wear for the graveside service? Father Gabriel is going to say a few words this afternoon and then we're burying all we lost last night."
Tobin was a decent man but Carol detected a faint hint of anger that so many had been lost. Michonne had stiffened beside her but she said nothing until Tobin had left, "You're right, they are children. We lost people last night but we still have Alexandria and we wiped out almost every invader. They have no conception of what lies outside these walls." She sighed, "Let's go get the clothes now."
Carl took Judith from Michonne, "Judy and I are gonna hang out. I got her."
The door to the Anderson house was unlocked and Carol wondered if it had been searched for wolves last night. Houses that were cleared were supposed to have a rag tied around the doorknob. This one didn't. Michonne unsheathed her katana and Carol took the safely off her pistol. Together they crept through the house.
The Anderson house was eerily similar to the home that Carol lived in before the Turn. Ed had a good job and Carol had renovated enough houses by then so that they were able to move into an upscale neighborhood. Carol noticed the dents in the dry wall that might have been put there by rowdy boys but were likely the results of some tantrum of Pete's. There were liquor bottles stashed everywhere and she could almost feel the sadness in the house. Sam had grown up in a house similar to Sophia's. What if she had been lost and Sophia left to survive without her? Who would have taken her in and loved her then?
The wolves had been here searching for their prey. All the hiding places had been searched and left with their doors open. The closet door upstairs were all open and Carol knew that Sam would have been found last night. They found a gym bag and filled it with enough clothes for a few days. Carol added a book that she found on Sam's bed. It had an owl bookmark in it so he must not have finished it.
The room depressed her. The bedspread had little bears and rainbow. It must have been the nursery and someone had painted unicorns on one wall. It was a room for a small child and didn't fit Sam at all. There were books piled on every surface and she could see imagine Sam reading books that took him to worlds far removed to his reality. Sam with a book wasn't living in a walled town surrounded by the walking dead and he wasn't living in a house with an abusive father who terrorized his family.
Michonne had been silent during the search, too silent even for her, "Carl's room could have bunk beds put in. Carl's wanting to move downstairs to the basement anyway. We have room for him. You have room for him."
Damn, Michonne. Tell me how you really feel. Carol was suddenly angry, mad enough to drop every persona but angry Carol. "You don't know what happened to Mika and Lizzie. Keep that boy away from me." She was crying now, crying mad now and losing control. "You don't know what I've done."
Michonne sat down on Sam's bed. "You tell me then and we'll both know."
Carol sat down beside her and buried her face in Michonne's shoulder as Sam had hers that morning. Gradually she was able to control her tears and her anger. She edged away from Michonne and told her about Karen and David and then what had happened at the Grove.
Michonne held her hand and never moved away. She kept silent as if she knew that Carol had to get it all out. Finally when Carol was out of tears and words, "I knew about Karen and David and I know you wouldn't have done that if they weren't in pain and in the final stages. I am damn sorry that you lost Mika. She was a doll baby. Judith is alive because you did the hard thing that had to be done. We're all alive because of you. I believe that God has kept us around for some reason. We've lost so much but we're still alive, still striving to survive, and still capable of finding love. We've both lost our children, but God keeps bringing children into our lives. I avoided Judith at the prison until one day Beth just plopped her into my lap and there she was all soft and sweet in my arms. I cried all over her. Next time was easier."
Alexandria was noisy this morning. Men and a few women were working to repair the gates or to move the walker/wolves to the burn site. Tobin and Abe were repairing walls and Glenn and Nicholas were overseeing moving the dead. Glenn was still wearing his arm in a sling. For the first time, Carol started to believe that these people were going to be able to survive in this world.
Carol visited her friends this morning. All but the Thompsons had survived and back in their own homes. Maggie was waiting on the steps of the last house. "Deanna wants to talk to us this morning."
Deanna's office was crowded with members of her family when Carol got there. Deanna was sitting at her desk and to her right was Aaron and Morgan. She looked around the room for Daryl and Rick but all she saw was blank faces. No Daryl leaning on a wall. No Rick tilting his head at Deanna.
Morgan began speaking, "Aaron and I stayed in front of the warehouse. Daryl and Rick went around the warehouse to check out the back. All at once a small army showed up. Dressed in fatigues and looking and acting like the good guys. Aaron and I moved back further into cover. There was gunfire from the other side of the warehouse.
More soldiers arrived in a Humvee and we retreated closer to our vehicle. We couldn't see much but it looked as if the army threw tear gas into the warehouse and flushed the Wolves out. There shot them with some sort of dart. We crept back and saw that Daryl and Rick were loaded into the box truck with the Wolves. Then, as suddenly as they arrived the army left. We ran back to our vehicle but they were gone and there were a dozen directions they could have gone. I'm sorry, but Daryl and Rick are gone and we don't know where."
AN
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