Beyond Tomorrow
Daryl tucked the covers around Carol. She wasn't asleep yet, the well-insulated log house was warm, and she was in no danger of chilling lying so close to him. He just liked babying her for a change. Just reminding her that he never wanted her to be cold in the night. Reminding himself that tomorrow night she would be in Alexandria and he would be in Charlottesville.
Being with Carol was making him weak. He felt like that dumbass boy with his finger stuck in the dike only instead of water the dike was holding back his feelings for Carol. The first real leak appeared outside Terminus when his overwhelming joy at seeing her alive in the woods outside the death camp had propelled him into her arms. He had followed her around after that like a love struck school boy.
Then they went to Atlanta to find Beth. Just him and Carol and a dead city. Talking. Sleeping so close to him that he knew when she went to sleep and that she hadn't been haunted that night by bad dreams. Seeing her sleeping peacefully on the bunk bed the next morning. Knowing that he loved her. Hoping that there was a tomorrow for them.
Everything went to shit in Atlanta and he went back to feeling numb. Back with his finger holding back the dike until she kissed his forehead and his sorrow over losing Beth and his guilt over not protecting Carol came back. He wallowed a bit in his sorrow and guilt because he knew how to handle that kinda shit. Wasn't like loving somebody.
He was on cruise control until Morgan showed up and started treating Carol like she was available. Single. On her own. Might want more than she was getting from Daryl. Rage and guilt gave way to jealousy. Daryl smiled when he remembered his Dear Hunter plan to win Carol. Cleaning himself up and plopping into Carol's bed pretending that he just wanted to flop there because the house was so crowded.
That dumbass plan worked because Carol loved him almost as much as he loved her. The dike had leaks all over the damn place and he was barely treading water here. He was, God help him, just going with the flow.
Now there was Sam. An orphan child. The boy who had extorted cookies and kindness from Carol and who she had risked her life for when the Wolves came. It was strange watching Carol with her finger in the dike trying to stem her love for that sneaky kid. Watching her gradually allowing Sam carve out his own place in her heart.
It had been great entertainment until that day he had taken them both outside the walls. One of the happiest times in his life, just being outdoors with the two of them. Showing Sam how to snare rabbits and how to protect himself. Somewhere in that afternoon he realized that he really liked that kid. That Sam had carved out his own place in his heart. That he didn't want to miss this chance to be a father.
The Universe had given him Carol, Sam, and now Alia. He had people that he loved in this house and more back in Alexandria.
It was time to stop living day to day. Time to start thinking beyond tomorrow.
"Carol, remember that night in the barn when Rick told us that we were "The walking dead", and I told him we weren't dead?"
Carol sat up. "Yes, Rick wasn't right. We're not dead. We're trying."
"Rick was right that night, about us anyway. I was walking around like a dead man. You were frozen inside. I was pissed at Rick for saying that, and I wanted to prove to Rick that he was wrong. We've both changed. We gotta stop living from day to day. We have three groups that we believe are good people, Alexandria, Salem Valley, and Charlottesville. How do we get these groups in one place all working together to make our little corner of the world safer?"
Carol got out of bed and turned on a lamp. She began to pace and Daryl could almost see her mind clicking. "We need to get Jacob, Deanna, and Elise together to talk this over. Jacob's group are food producers, Alexandria has all sorts of experience in sustainable living and technical expertise, and Elise has soldiers and scientists."
"They can't stay separated. Alexandria is too small to take him many more people. Salem Valley is too small and there isn't enough flat land to support more people. Charlottesville may be too large." Daryl contemplated Carol's nearly nude body. Her sleep shirt revealed more than it concealed. Deceptively delicate with long slender bones. Graceful. He sighed and tried to keep his concentration on this conversation, "You talk to Deanna and I'll talk to Elise. We'll talk to Jacob in the morning before we go. Just get them thinking about joining forces."
Carol sat down beside him on the bed, "Jada and Shawn told me one time when things got better that they wanted to live in the Shenandoah Valley and raise horses. Let's talk to them first."
Daryl nuzzled her neck, "I can feel the wheels turning in your head. You won't sleep a wink tonight. I need to distract you. Just for your own good."
Carol laughed, "Are you sure that you are up for the job? We've been busy a couple of times tonight already. You need your rest." She put her hand on his thigh and squeezed gently.
Daryl looked down at her hand. The palm narrow and her fingers long and tapering. Hands of an artist or a musician. He loved her hands and he was almost embarrassed at how easily he was turned on at the sight of those hands touching his body.
He eased back on the bed holding Carol. "I'm going to talk to Jesse. He has flown all over Virginia. We're looking for a town in the Shenandoah Valley. Out in the country with farms all around, but with a college or with some sort of high tech business located there. Maybe a hospital. Good water supply. We find the town and we spend the winter putting up fences. Clearing out the dead. Gathering supplies."
Carol yawned, "You need to bring Elise to Alexandria to talk. Deanna will listen. Even if they don't sign on? We can decide for ourselves." She turned on her side and was soon asleep.
Daryl spooned her. He wasn't always so clingy but he wanted to have his last waking memory to be the feeling of Carol close to him.
TWDTWDTWD
Jacob and Esther were just finishing breakfast when they got there early the next morning. Carol and Daryl outlined their plan. Jacob and Esther exchanged glances, and then Jacob spoke, "I'll visit with the others in the next few weeks. Each family will decide for themselves. You need a town like Clendenin. It's maybe twenty miles from here. Good farmland close by. Small town. It has a Walmart, grocery stores, a community college, and a hospital. There's a courthouse, a few restaurants, tractor dealership, and home improvement store. Lot of dead though. Take a bunch of people to clear the town out. No one from here ever scavenged there."
Carol was encouraged. Jacob hadn't said "No". He was too wise to jump into anything but he had to know how vulnerable Salem Valley was. The Wolves would have torn it apart.
Sam and Alia were up and almost packed when they got back. Daryl and Jesse visited with Jada and Shawn while Christie and Morgan did "rounds" at the church. Carol checked the doors and windows and locked the house up.
Everyone kept their goodbyes short. Jesse and Daryl had Shawn drop them off at the airplane. Michonne drove and Carol comforted Alia when they drove past her former home. Her grandmother had insisted that she not come back. They had said their goodbyes. Jacob had told them that morning that Miriam was in a coma.
They were back on the open highway before they saw the airplane. Shawn had rigged up radio communication between the Tahoe and the airplane. "Good morning, my angel. Are you missing me yet?" It was Jesse teasing Michonne.
Eric grabbed the receiver, "Jesse, I thought we were keeping our love secret? Now everybody will know."
Jesse laughed, "I missed you too much. My bad. The road is clear for ten miles unless a walker pops out of the fields and the woods. Daryl and I are going to go see Clendenin from the air and maybe take some photos. We'll be back with you shortly. Tell Michonne to slow down and I miss her a lot more than I miss you."
Michonne took the receiver, "Don't tell me how to drive. Better pay attention to your flying."
"My sweet Samurai, just slow down so that you don't get too far ahead of us. See you soon."
Michonne muttered a few rude words but Carol noticed that she did slow down considerably. There was an occasional walker sighting and two staggered out of the woods toward the road but Michonne veered around them.
About thirty minutes later the radio crackled again, "It's time for another report from your eyes in the skies reporter. We're seeing some activity about seven miles north of your location. Be advised that there are several dead unfriendlies on the road there. Looks like five or six."
"Should we take a detour? Take them out?" Eric had the receiver.
"Don't see any more around and there isn't a detour close. Get your swords and machetes ready. You cross a bridge and they are congregated about a mile north." Daryl had the receiver. "Be safe, we're right with you now. Just look up." Eric put the sunroof back and they could hear and see the airplane. Everyone waved and Jesse took the plane higher and ahead of them. The walkers were off the road when they got there and they drove by without a fight.
The next "Eyes in the Skies" report came before they reached the intersection that led to Alexandria, "Got a sizable herd hanging out at the next intersection. Keep coming toward us but be prepared to turn around if you need to."
Eric knew the area well, "Just go slow. The road is wide and open. We see anything in our way we'll turn around."
Michonne cursed, "I don't like this. Jesse is going to do something stupid. I just know it."
No one said anything for the next five minutes. Michonne was driving slowly and everyone's eyes were glued to the road. They rounded a curve and saw the herd milling around in the road ahead of them. "Just hang tight, we got this." Daryl's voice on the radio and suddenly the airplane skimmed the walkers and landed on the highway about fifty yards from the walkers. The noise of the airplane seemed to stir the dead into movement and they began to amble toward the still idling plane.
The bulk of the herd had left the intersection but there were a few stragglers who were slow to move toward the noisy plane. Jesse taxied another fifty yards down the highway and finally all the walkers were headed toward the plane. Michonne hit the gas and they sped through the intersection safely. Jesse did the same with the airplane. The airplane seemed to touch the treetops as it became airborne.
Carol held her breath and prayed with every ounce of her agnostic heart for Daryl and Jesse to be alright. She let her breath out and said, "Thank you." Daryl had asked her this morning about their getting married. "We've got a son and one half of a daughter. I love you. Just think about it. No pressure." She hadn't given him an answer. She had one now.
"Now that's what I'm talking about." Jesse's breezy voice, "Just another game of Walker Tag."
"Well, Carol has stopped breathing and Michonne is hyperventilating. The kids have something to say."
"You rule, Fly Man. How is Daryl doing?" Sam was a little concerned about his new dad.
"That was amazing, Jesse. I would have loved to have been with you." Alia was exultant.
Michonne took the receiver, "Damn it, Jesse. I would kick your ass all the way to Charlottesville if you were here."
"Now, now, my Ebony Queen, a simple thank you will do." Jesse chided. "Do you miss me yet?"
Michonne snarled, "Yes, I do. Carol is breathing again and wants to talk to Daryl. Put him on."
Carol took the receiver, "Daryl?"
"Carol?" Daryl low rumbling voice was in her ear and she blinked back the quick tears, "Yes, I do."
He didn't answer for a moment, "I'm going to tell Jesse. He's going to be the best man because he didn't laugh at me when I was screaming like a little girl a few minutes ago. Love you. Give Sam and Alia a hug for me." Daryl obviously had forgotten that everyone in the car could hear him."
"Stay safe. I love you too. See you soon."
"Not soon enough."
TWDTWDTWD
Team Family turned out in force to welcome them home. Judith demanded that Michonne hold her and then it was Carol and finally they sat together with Judith on both their lap's and Sam and Alia at their sides.
Sam and Alia went upstairs to Sam's room while they talked to the others about Alia. Carol waited until everyone but Rick and Carl had drifted back to their jobs. She mentioned that Daryl was glad to know that Elise and her soldiers were at Charlottesville.
Rick was casual, "So Elise was part of the plot all along?"
Carol smiled, "She is securing Charlottesville a site to make more vaccines. Some of the soldiers from Fort Belvoir are there too. Christie is joining them." She wasn't getting involved in the Rick-Elise-Michonne-Jesse situation. It wasn't her business. She would let Michonne talk to Rick about the Clendenin settlement.
Deanna predictably adored Alia when she and Michonne asked if they could add a member to their family. Alia left with Sam and Buck who were taking her on a tour of Alexandria. Maggie handed out tea as the four women settled down to talk.
Carol decided there was no time like the present to talk to Deanna and Maggie about Clendenin, "There's a town between Alexandria, Salem Valley, and Charlottesville named Clendenin. It's heavily populated with walkers right now but we hope that the soldiers will clean it out, put up walls and fences. Farmers will come from Salem and move into the farms outside of town. We'll have room for more people there.
Deanna stood up and looked out the window toward Reg's rose garden. Carol had noticed that there were still roses blooming in the sheltered space. "I'll think about it. It would be good to have more food production and not be dependent on finding food outside these walls. What else does the town have to offer?"
"A hospital, a community college, a courthouse, schools, and businesses. It has lot of walkers. So many that we think that it hasn't been picked over. We're also hoping that Elise will bring her soldiers and maybe the Charlottesville group will move there too."
"I'll talk to the town council. Winter is coming and we won't make any decisions until the place is cleared out. A cold winter might weaken the dead so that removing them will be easier."
Maggie asked nonchalantly, "There are farms close to the town?"
Carol nodded, "Farms circle the town according to Daryl. One of the businesses in town sells farm equipment. Jada's a veterinarian and there are all sort of farm animals at Salem Valley."
Deanna mused, "Courthouse will have maps and deeds. You will need some sort of government to distribute the land and settle disputes. I'll talk to the council. Maybe Rick, Michonne and I can go out there and look the place over sometime this winter."
TWDTWDTWD
Four days later Michonne went on a run with Rick and Glenn. Sam and Alia were visiting with their teacher. Carol was cooking dinner with Judith in her high chair while Buck dozed at the back door. Judith was being particularly adorable, waving her hands and cooing at Carol.
"You're just a doll baby. That's what you are." Carol kissed Judith's toes and fingers and the baby smiled at her looking so much like Lori that Carol wiped her eyes.
"First time I've seen you do that." Enid's flat voice startled everyone. Carol jumped, Buck barked, and Judith's sunny smile vanished and she looked afraid.
Enid was standing at the kitchen door. Apparently she had crept in the house and all the way down the hall without Carol knowing she was there. "First time I did what?" Carol asked.
"Be so affectionate to Judy." Enid walked over to the high chair and picked up Judith who went back to being all smiles.
Carol considered Enid before replying. Enid never seemed to have much to say to Carol before. . Carl had told her that the girl had lost all her family and had eventually wandered into Alexandria. Enid had an edge about her, but what survivor didn't?
"I've always loved her, but maybe I felt more comfortable keeping her at distance in the past." Might as well admit the truth. Carl is at school. She's cutting class again.
Enid unexpectedly smiled at Carol, "Judith is special. She has something that breaks down all our resistance eventually."
Sophia would be close to her age now if she had lived. This girl has lost everyone she loved and her adoptive parents don't seem to care very much about her. She has a chip on her shoulder, but only the strong survive in this world.
"I could use some help while I make dinner. You tend to Judith and I'll cook. Then, you can eat dinner with us."
Enid rolled her eyes, "Have to sing for my supper?"
She was being rude and dismissive, but Carol remembered herself at that age. "It's lasagna."
Enid finally grinned, "I love lasagna. It's a deal."
Judith went to sleep and Carol spent a pleasant afternoon teaching Enid how to squeeze out perfect rolls and making a huge amount of lasagna. "We're making enough for two dinners. I'll freeze half of it."
"So you really are the happy homemaker? I noticed that you gave up the Sally Sunshine routine. Why did you do that anyway?" Enid paused in her roll making and looked at Carol.
"Because I didn't think I could be who I really was and be accepted here."
Enid nodded, "They aren't bad people, but they are so clueless. I like this you better. Carl said that you had a daughter about our age.
Had a daughter. That had defined her for so long. Remember that this child has lost both her parents. "I think about her every day, but I have given myself permission to be happy. Do you know what I mean?"
Enid squeezed the roll too hard and then started over. "I feel guilty because I made it and Mom and Dad didn't."
Carol took the mutilated dough from the girl and put it away, "You get to start over. Your parents would want you to be happy. Sophia is happy that I have people that love me and that love." She gave Enid another lump of dough and a little pat on the back.
Everyone began to drift back into the house and Carol decided to bake both pans of lasagna. Michonne and Rick came back with some looted wine. Before long the house was full because there is nothing like lasagna to draw people in. Carol looked out the kitchen window and sighed because it was getting dark outside. The days were so short now and the nights were almost always cold.
The front door opened unexpectedly and Jesse popped in, "Honey, I'm home." He drew out home long enough to make everyone laugh and right behind him was Daryl who brushed by everyone on his way to the kitchen. He grabbed Carol and whirled her around, "I couldn't stay away too long. Missed you too much."
Carol kissed him, but sent him upstairs to shower, "We'll wait dinner on you."
"You could come upstairs with me," Daryl wheedled.
"Too many hungry people waiting. You hurry up." Jesse had already disappeared to a basement shower.
Rick asked Daryl about Charlottesville and Clendenin at dinner. Carol noticed that everyone stopped talking to listen.
"Charlottesville is reasonably secure. They have cleared several buildings and will be able to start manufacturing the vaccine soon. It's a good sized town and it will take a long time to have it all clear. The Fort Belvoir soldiers are going to do that. Elise is moving her soldiers outside Clendenin tomorrow. They are going to go in and clear the center of town and the shopping mall. They put up fences and then draw the walkers out with noise. They'll haul the bodies off to a mass grave. They leave the fences up once they secure the area and then just clear it out in a grid pattern until they have the area secure. They are staying in Clendenin this winter and gradually widening the safe zone."
"Elise is staying in Clendenin? Isn't she coming here? She needs to meet with Deanna," Rick stopped feeding Judith and looked at Daryl.
"She won't visit until her soldiers are in a secure place. Jesse and I are going to take her to Salem Valley and here."
Glenn looked at Maggie, "We're interested in getting a farm. One of us knows something about being a farmer." He squeezed her hand and Maggie leaned on his shoulder.
The evening passed quickly. Buck was given a final walk and the children went to bed. Michonne and Jesse disappeared for a walk and Carol and Daryl went upstairs.
Daryl was sitting in the chair by the window when Carol came out of the bathroom, "I want to get married at Clendenin. Jacob to do the ceremony. Then we can stay at the log house for a few days."
"When?" Daryl has it all planned.
"Christmas. I think we'll have Clendenin cleared out. Michonne and Jesse can take Sam for a few days."
Carol laughed. She had the mental image of Jessie and Daryl planning this wedding. She decided to trust Jessie. "Sounds good." She sat on his lap and nuzzled his neck, "It feels like Christmas having you home tonight."
He began to unbutton her pajama top, "I think it's time to unwrap our presents and play with our toys." He kissed her shoulder and she scooted off his lap. "Hey, where you going?"
Carol turned down the bed coverings. "Not doing a show in the window. Christmas can happen over here."
Daryl grinned and turned off the light.
AN
This story has slowed down because I just can't seem to get through writer's block. I hope you like this new chapter.
Review.