So this is the last chapter. It probably isn't what a lot expect but time moves on and you move with it; or get left behind.
"First comes smiles, then lies. Last is gunfire"
Daryl snorted but didn't smile when she quoted him. He was quiet and waited. A slight shuffle next to him had his hand flashing out and gripping her shoulder. All movement stopped and she stood completely still next to him. The wind swirled and danced around them and time kept moving but they remained.
The first person to break through the trees had a growl rumbling in her chest. Daryl looked down at her and made a noise in his throat. She silenced at his command. Enid was followed shortly by Carl. Daryl quickly scanned over him checking for injure even though he'd not find any. Carl wasn't a child anymore- hadn't been for awhile.
Judith was bouncing in place and Daryl let go of her shoulder. Carl smiled seeing her and Judith slammed into him hard. Enid smiled at Judith but she didn't even glance at her. Daryl snorted again when Enid gave up and walked away. Judith had no time for her. She refused to understand that her brother had someone other than her, him, and Carol in his life.
Carol stepped out of the woods silently just across from Carl and Judith. He watched her silently. He could feel her heart beat in his own chest like she was apart of him. Her eyes turned to him still wild and free. He didn't know many men that could look her in the eyes without having to avert their eyes. Her steps were light carrying the grace of a predator. He knew more than anyone just how savage she could be. How monstrous they both could be.
After finding each other again all those years ago they'd been inseparable. He'd cut any man's throat that thought to tear her away from him. There wasn't time for remorse or guilt in this world. There was the now. There was Carl, Judith, and Carol. He'd killed. He was a murderer and he'd look every fucking one of those men and women in the eyes again if it meant his family was safe. He'd go to his grave with the satisfaction that he'd done just that.
"How'd you keep her from following?"
Daryl smirked at her and his eyes went to Judith. Carol always asked but it was easy enough and she knew by now. Judith never went without him. She was a permanent shadow moving in his wake. Been that way since she could walk. She was on Carl's back as he came towards them. Carl was the same height as him now. Judith on the other hand was small. Even for her age. At eleven years old she resembled Lori in a lot of ways but she was nothing like Lori and Rick.
"Seen some tracks." Carl met up with them and let Judith down. "Few doe and a buck."
Daryl nodded, "We'll go tomorrow. Too late to go today now. They'll bed down soon."
"I want to go." Judith announced.
Daryl looked down at her. Despite her Lori's dark hair on her she made him think of Carol. Her face could remain completely neutral when he knew she was ready to tear into someone. Though the same could be said of him. He'd seen that protective nature Carol herself always carried. She was feisty and whip crack with her quips. Yeah- she was her mother's daughter. It was the hair though. Judith didn't like growing it out at all. All it took was one time taking her hunting her a few weeks ago and it getting caught in briars for her to whip her knife out and start hacking the length away.
Carol wasn't happy when they'd gotten back and her ass length hair was now as short as hers. He'd took to calling her a little pixie. Despite Carol's first reaction she quickly realized it was smart after all. If someone was to get after her or a walker they could easily snag her hair and the fight would be on. It was why he didn't stop her. The thought of anyone being able to get ahold of her was like a hot iron searing into his heart.
"You will."
Carol looked towards Alexandria's walls and sighed. They both hated it here. It wasn't home but it kept Carl and Judith safe. Gave them time to grow without having to constantly watch their backs. He thought the people were weak, stupid, and naive. Hiding behind walls while the world died around them. Most weren't worth the sweat it took the make them and he avoided them. It only took a few run ins with him for people to get it that he wasn't a fucking pet and wasn't a friend.
They were an means to an end. After all Carl was grown and Judith was getting there. He shook his head when he seen these people and their kids. The world ended. It'd died a fucking decade ago and they were still acting like things were going to go back to normal. Some never even have stepped outside these walls. They raised Judith ready to fight and die. There was no other option. Either you fight to survive or you get eaten- it wasn't always the walkers that took you either.
Carol elbowed Daryl and he looked where her eyes were. They both stopped on the steps looking at Judith's slow process towards them. Her knife raking under her nails. Carol sighed and glared at him.
"What?"
"If she was anymore like you I'd swear she was pulled out of your ass."
Daryl barked out a laugh and Carl snorted. "You suggesting Judy's a piece of shit?"
Carol glared at Carl and he shrugged at her. He had a nonchalance about the gesture that made Daryl think of his older brother. There was a gleam in his eyes that was dancing with Carol's own.
"Shut your mouth, Merle." Carol snapped.
Carl nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. Enid was walking towards them now to. He looked over at Carol and smiled. "The way I see it, Carol, by calling me Merle Dixon that'd make me a hell of a man." He spit to the side, "Wouldn't you agree Daryl?" Voice sardonic.
Daryl ignored them though and left them to arguing. It wasn't something new. Carl and Carol squared off often. Both were snarky. Enid was standing with Carl now and like Judith he barely glanced at her. It wasn't his intent to ignore her he just didn't like talking to anyone that wasn't his family.
Judith stopped a short ways away when a group of kids approached her. Her face was passive but he could see the irritation in her body. Leaning into the rails her eyes went to him at the movement. A shadow. She was always watching to make sure she didn't get left behind. She gave him a pleading look to rescue her and he left out a whistle. When all the kids turned he motioned her to him. Judith left immediately.
"You can't keep rescuing her." Carol grinned.
"It's that or her break one of their noses."
Carol hummed, "Would that be so bad?" She teased whispering next to him, "She's not going to be a little girl forever. Those little boys are gonna be men."
Daryl turned regarding her and a threatening growl rumbled through his chest, "Don't make me massacre the little motherfuckers." He looked pointedly to the knife strapped to her hip, "If I castrate them then they won't have need for a woman."
Carol shrugged at him and Judith bounded up the steps. "Thanks Dad."
Daryl could feel anger burning through him. Why the fuck did Carol do this to him? He was perfectly content to keep his murderous thoughts tucked away. It was bad enough that he'd considered killing over half the fucking people here. Adding to the fucking list all the little horny fuckers that would be sniffing around Judith and he was ready to start gutting people.
Daryl walked inside and Carol frowned watching him. He ignored the feeling he got from her. He didn't question it. He never did. He knew that when she found him that something was broken in him. Something broke inside her all the same. But finding each other filled in the cracks. It didn't fix them. Not by a long shot. He could see fill the break- he could feel the rough edges that could rend and tear flesh. That spilled more blood than was necessary. The same fucking thing that had him killing Rick Grimes.
Judith followed him and raised a brow at Carol as she passed. He walked straight to the back. HIs and Carol's room was on the ground floor. They put Judith and Carl both upstairs that way if something were to happen whatever it was would have to go through them both first. She walked into the room and crawled up unto the dresser.
"I've never seen you two fight." Judith's voice was soft.
He looked over at her and shook his head, "We're not fighting."
"You're doing something."
Daryl turned then slinging his pack up onto the bed. Judith's eyes lit up and he could see the same longing he felt. Both preferred it outside the walls. He hated it here. Did since day one. He thought Deanna was a fucking idiot. Woman proved that more than a few times. It was made clear the day the walls were breached and she stood by as her people were torn apart. They were weak. And like any predator you could smell it. So the wolves came calling. Daryl smiled, the look feral and bloodthirsty, only they didn't expect to run into something even more dangerous on the inside.
That was the day Deanna woke up. She knew the moment she met him that he was dangerous. Like knows like. She might not have been shit in this world but back before the turn she was a no good piece of shit congress woman. She had power and lorded it over them. Now she wasn't shit. She was a face for the people too weak to face the real world now Being suddenly jerked from civilization and thrown into the deep end had him firing on all cylinders. This world was the heart of something primordial and only the untamed animals would claim it. When she looked at him she seen a man that would cut her throat while looking in her eyes and watching the life bleed out. She knew he didn't want to be here but knew that he was here for Carol and his family. Nothing more.
When those wolves came knocking and Carol stepped out of the shadows he'd been more than ready. Deanna was so focused on watching him thinking he was the threat that she was oblivious to the one at her throat already. She never tried anything and he knew she could sense that she was missing something. Bitch had to have some survival instincts after all.
When that guise slipped away and his Carol emerged his blood ran hot. Knives dripping blood as she moved like destruction and fury given form. They were in sync like always. Filling in the gaps where the other wasn't at. The feral need to keep Judith and Carl both safe burning like a fever through them both. Deanna was left in the wake of a disaster with him and Carol standing in the center of blood and havoc. Bodies littered the streets. There was no prisoners in war. No second chances.
If Merle was alive to see these people he would scoff and storm right back out the gate. The same fucking thing he wanted. The same thing he'd waited on since Carl's eyes met his. Since her brother looked Daryl himself in the eyes and told he was her father. Carl refused to speak of Rick or Lori. He didn't talk about the past or the group they'd been with. When they'd arrived here Carl stunned him when he gave the name Carl Dixon and not Grimes. He was shedding the stain of his father from his back. A weight lifted from the boy like he could breathe. His eyes met Daryl's when he'd given the name unapologetic and Daryl only cocked his head to the side. Carol, Judith, and Carl were all Dixon's.
"When can we leave. I hate people." Judith sighed dramatically. "Mom got to go out today."
Daryl looked over as he picked up his knife roll. "You so desperate to be out there that you'd give up your home?"
"This isn't a home." Judith waved her hand around, "A building, walls, a bed don't make a home. You, mom, and Carl make my home. Where you are is my home."
Daryl nodded along with her. He felt the same. He'd always felt that way but then he'd always been a bit wilder, different, and antisocial.
"I over heard Carl talking to Michonne." Judith's voice lowered. "He tell you he wants to leave?"
Daryl looked up at her. A look he knew well because he wore it himself often met him, "Yes."
"And us...what will we do? You're here because you think I need safety but these people can't even keep themselves safe. What if you or mom died saving one of them. We're better off on our own."
Daryl straightened and Judith did as well. She was setting high enough to meet his eyes and he raised a brow. Judith didn't ask permission before her arms went around his neck when he was close enough. He grunted but braced himself as she swung up onto his torso. Her chin was on his shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her keeping her steady.
"If they cost me my dad or mom- I'll kill them; kill them all." Her voice resonated through his head.
"Am I missing something here?" Carol asked from the door.
"We're discussing exit strategy." Judith quipped.
Carol walked over kissing Judith on the forehead before meeting his eyes. He swung her around quickly before she could react and tossed her on to the bed. Judith yelped and sprawled out like a frog glaring up at him. Her pixie like hair a mess like his own.
"And what pray tell are we exiting?"
"This death trap." Daryl muttered.
"Yeah we're busting out of this death trap. Carl told me about the time uncle Merle survived Atlanta with only one hand." Judith rolled over looking up at them, "If Merle can do it one handed then I can, obviously."
Carol looked at him and raised her brow, "This is your ego..."
Daryl ignored her and finished packing. Carol watched him silently and then sent Judith away. When she let Carol closed the door. He felt her eyes on him but waited to look at her. He knew what she wanted.
"Is this something you really want to do? Do you think she's ready to go out there?"
Daryl looked up at her, "She was raised in this world- by us. Carl made it when it all started."
"We had a bigger group then."
"They were all liabilities." Daryl sneered. "What good did they do in the end?"
Carol mulled it over and then nodded, "They took a group in today of twenty."
Daryl stiffened. Deanna proclaimed she was taking in no more survivors. It wasn't safe. People didn't want to cooperate. People wanted to kill, rape, and survive. There was no law and she seemed to forget that. She was going to get everyone here killed.
"We aren't staying here." Daryl snarled.
Carol mirrored him a growl rumbling in her chest. "We pack light." Carol stood and her hand ran through his hair tugging roughly. "I'll be back."
Her hand tightened to the point of pain and then she was gone. He felt her chuckle like it rolled through his own chest. He wanted to tear her apart and she knew it. He could smell her arousal even as she went down the hall. Licking his lips he shook his head. He slipped out of the room and made his way to Judiths. She was in the window seat that look to the woods.
"Pack." He ordered. Her face turned to him expectantly.
"And what about Carl?"
Daryl stared her down, "Pack Judith, we leave before sun up. After you pack get your ass in bed."
She slid off the chair with the same predatory grace Carol epitomized. She walked straight to him and hugged him tightly. His arms came around her and he lifted her with ease making her meet his eyes.
"You listen to us out there. If we say run you fucking run. If we say hide you hide."
Her face lost the passive mask she wore for everyone and he could see the little girl underneath. She nodded at him her eyes wide and open. "Nothing in the wild can hurt us dad, we are the wild."
Leaving her room he walked straight to Carl's. He was up sharpening his knives. He wasn't surprised to see Enid there. He knew he made her uncomfortable. For all the years they'd been here she'd barely heard him speak.
Carl looked up and stilled his hands, "It's time?"
Daryl nodded his hand tight around the doorknob, "Before first light."
"I'll be ready. You told Judy?"
Daryl nodded and his eyes went to Enid. She shifted on the spot and Daryl looked to Carl again, "We'll be ready."
Daryl nodded at him and walked out shutting the door behind him. He down the steps quickly. He walked out onto the porch. He chuckled low and dangerous in his throat. He expected this. Michonne, Deanna, Carol, and Aaron were walking right towards the house. Carol's eyes met his and he was lashed with a wave of anger that had his jaw clenching. Michonne was watching him wearily but none so much as Deanna.
Deanna came to a stop at the bottom of the steps and he crossed his arms over his chest looking down them at her. Carol walked around her and stood by his side mere inches between them.
"Carol tells me you all plan to leave." Deanna questioned. Like she had a fucking right.
Aaron shifted on his feet and Daryl's eyes snapped to him. He harbored no ill will towards the man. After all he wasn't as defenseless as some of these useless fucks. He'd found them after all and if the animal that burned in his blood trusted him then Daryl figured he could.
Aaron shifted again and sighed, "Are you sure this is the best idea? You know better than anyone how it is out there."
"Yes." Daryl deadpanned.
Deanna bristled, "Were you going to tell us that this was on your mind?"
When he looked at her Reg stepped closer to her. The man had a healthy dose of fear thrumming through him.
"Didn't know I needed permission."
Michonne intervened silencing Deanna. "Where will you go?"
Daryl met her eyes, "Home."
Michonne arched a brow at him but didn't say anything else.
"Carl? Judith? What do they think? You're taking them FROM their home." Deanna spouted smugly. For all the smugness she was slathering on he could hear it. Fear.
Carol snarled next to him and stepped down a step. "Carl is grown- if he chooses to stay that is his choice."
"Judith is yet a child." Deanna snapped, "I've lost a child. You can't imagine the pain and you taking her out there is death sentence."
Carol entire demeanor changed and Michonne bristled. Daryl moved down the steps shadowing her. The sun was setting casting them in shadows and flame.
"Don't you ever presume to think you know me or what we've suffered." Carol's voice was low. It clashed with the peace of Alexandria shaking the foundation. "Judith is NOT yours. If you try to stop us then it'll be your last act."
Deanna tensed but didn't back down. She was more fool than he thought. The loss of Sophia was thick around them and Carol's emotions were running high. Carol leaned back into his frame and he could feel her shaking. He wanted to kill this bitch.
"Are you threatening us?"
"You." Carol hissed, "I'm making you a promise."
Deanna's hand went to her belt where she carried a knife and Daryl growled. Deanna's eyes went to him. He didn't need a weapon for this bitch. Michonne caught Deanna's wrist in warning and Daryl brought his arm around Carol and shifted her. If she pulled her knife then it was done. His chest was heaving with the implied to threat to Carol. His Carol. His mind was roaring inside his head, the word mine echoing like poisoned silk. Poisoned silk that spun a web around this bitch.
"You can ask the last man who tried to tear us apart how that went." Daryl smiled. Michonne went rigid and he could see the frost and pain as ice encased her spine. "If you so much as touch a fucking hair on Carol's head, my daughters or Carl's head I'll take you apart piece by piece."
"Last man..." Deanna muttered her eyes widening. "Did-you-y"
"I killed him." Daryl's voice was devoid of emotion.
"Deanna it isn't our place to tell them what to do." Reg soothed, "This isn't a prison and we aren't their wardens. If they want to leave I think they are more than equipped to handle it."
Deann was still locked with his eyes. Everything he felt about these people, this place, her, and Rick fucking Grimes was roaring through him. His blood was pounding furiously through him and he could taste blood in his mouth. Licking his lips she shuddered. It'd been awhile since that possessive and feral feeling had raged so hard. It was always there. Always lurking in the back of his mind but it'd been dormant as other things took precedent. Judith and Carl; their safety. These weak fucks always whining and needing. They were draining him and he couldn't fucking take it. He felt like he never seen Carol and it was starting to make that animal inside raise it's hackles.
"We need you." She whispered.
Daryl didn't speak. He caught Carol around the waist and hoisted her over his shoulder in fireman's carry. He was done. Michonne was next to him and opened the door. Carol's nails were sunk into his waist, her anger biting into his skin as growls rumbled through her chest. The door shut and Daryl let Carol slide down his front. She stayed pressed against him. Michonne moved into his peripherals and sighed.
"I knew this day would come." She tilted her head down, "Judith's strong. She's like her mother and father- like Carl. With you two at her back I don't see her falling. Home though...home was destroyed a decade ago. Where are you going?"
"Georgia." Daryl felt a smile tug at his lips and Carol looked up at him. "Nobody knows those woods better than me."
"I imagine not." Michonne smiled, "And if someday I want to come looking for you all...where should I start."
"Ellijay." Daryl nodded, "My home town."
Ellijay when he thought about was ideal. It had a small population even when he'd been young there. He had hope that whatever happened near there was small and that they would luck out. If not he was use to rough living and so was Carol. They weren't fool enough to have hope but prepared themselves to make their own way. Even so they would have plenty of fresh water with the rivers that ran through there. The Ellijay and Cartecay both meeting to form the Coosawattee River. Where there was water there was game. He knew that though because he'd hunted those woods. And not just small game either. There was bear and deer there and plenty of small game. With thousands acres of Rich Mountain Wilderness that Ellijay backed into he wasn't worried about going hungry.
"Don't think I've ever heard of it." Michonne raised a brow.
"You wouldn't have." Daryl snorted.
Michonne looked pensive then nodded, "Ellijay..." She looked at Carol still tucked into his chest. Her nails had yet to detach from his skin and he knew it'd be a bit before she was ready to talk. "Is that close to something that anyone besides you knows?"
"Atlanta. About an hour and half away."
Michonne nodded and then gave him a resigned look, "Look after them. They love you- you are their parents. They need you two."
Carol looked at her then. "Take care of yourself. Don't trust these people."
"Not everyone is bad." Michonne spoke quietly. "The world might have soured but there are still some out there who aren't."
"Don't count on that."
She clapped Carol on the back knowing better than to touch Daryl. He'd long since gotten use to people. Hell he'd been use to them when he'd been at the prison but it was Carol that kept her back. Always had and did everyone else. Carol wasn't jealous- had no reason to ever be. Just like he wasn't a jealous man but touch what was his and he'd tear your fucking arm off and kill you with it.
Carol drug him towards their bedroom then. He could hear her working buttons open as his eyes dropped to the sway of her hips. He'd always loved her ass since the first day he'd seen her on the highway on the way to Atlanta. The way any pair of jeans she put on looked like she'd been poured into them. He'd been a starving man up until the moment he'd finally took what he wanted.
Shutting the door behind him she let her jeans fall. They stuck when they were met with her boots that went to her knees. He should be more concerned with getting her clothes off but see her with her own hand buried between her thighs as her booted feet spread was too much. He stepped behind her and she moaned low in her throat.
"I'm not waiting."
He didn't need anymore coaxing as he jerked his belt open. The sound of his belt buckle jingling had her fingers sinking further into herself and her to lean further over. He could watch her all day but right now he wanted his cock buried between her thighs not her fingers. He didn't bother with interrupting her before he was lining himself up with her. No warning was given before he sunk into her.
Carol buried her face in the bed muffling her sounds. Hand going to her shoulder and the other to her hip he was pulling her back into his driving thrust. All the anger and need that'd been burning in his blood since she'd left earlier was pouring into her. Carol eyes met his over her shoulder and then she was gripping him tightly. He groaned and buried himself as deep as he could get before he was done.
-Two Years Later-
Carol watched Daryl and Carl both splitting wood. Judith was close by but she couldn't see her. Winter was coming and everyone was working to get everything ready. The woods were as alive as her family. Adjusting Dean on her hip she turned hearing the door open. Enid stepped out and smiled weakly.
"Still sick?"
Enid flushed slightly and nodded, "Yes."
Carol smiled and Dean babbled at his mother. "You should try to eat in a bit."
Judith launched herself up on the porch and held up her find. Carol huffed at her but smiled all the same. "Carl said you were craving honey."
"And I just bet your dad told you where that was." Carol laughed.
She never thought she'd ever be able to feel peace again. Of course she had the peace Daryl brought her but they both were different than the others. That fissure in her would always be there just like Daryl's would be. They were left with so much hurt, rage, and hate that it was all consuming. Killing Rick didn't take it away but it helped. When Carl and Judith though came to depend on them completely is when she started to feel the edge of that pain go away. She didn't lose Daryl. He didn't lose her. Merle and Sophia were waiting on them but until them they still had a family that needed them.
"What of it?" Judith pursed her lips and handed the honeycomb to Enid. Enid smiled at them both and Dean held his arms out to Judith.
She grew more like Daryl every day. Carol chuckled at that and looked at the man i question. His eyes came to hers; always aware when she was looking at him. The ax was over his shoulder and Carl was speaking.
"Did you go outside the wall?"
Judith flushed red and looked away. "Well I couldn't cure a craving if I kept my ass in the fence now could I?" She grimaced, "Besides I was more...well on top of the fence. Didn't technically leave. Am I in trouble?"
Carol pointed towards Daryl, "Tell him what you done."
Judith's eyes came to hers wide and nervous, "He'll be mad at me!"
"Damn right he will be." Carol snapped, "You know better than to leave the fence without even telling us or having someone with you.'
"I'm not a baby!" Judith snapped back.
Carol handed Dean off and she heard the thunk of an ax sinking up. She didn't need to look over to know Daryl was coming. Enid skirted away waddling slightly; very much pregnant. Judith shifted and huffed before looking at Daryl.
Carol knew she wasn't a baby. She was already thirteen almost fourteen. That didn't mean she was ready to be alone out there. She could hunt, track, and fight but if the wrong person came up on a young girl out there then anything could happen. Being on the road on the way here she seen more than enough to know that it was dangerous out there. Men and women weren't human anymore. They were shells of their former selves. She would never forget Judith's face after Daryl and Carl came back blood soaked. They'd had a run in with another group and it went south fast. The clothes they'd worn that day had to be thrown away. Still the image of Carl and Daryl both walking out of the woods blood soaked and adrenaline pumping from the fight stuck with Judith. She asked Daryl that night why he'd killed those men. It was only when he looked her right in the eyes and told her that the men were hunting them that Carol understood his reasoning. Of course she didn't question his actions but knew that he'd killed them over the threat of the men getting their hands on Judith, Enid, and her. It wasn't the only run in that ended bloody and before long Judith understood even more that the world was dangerous. Not just from walkers because those were predictable. It was people. You couldn't trust them, never could.
"I went out of the fence."
Daryl stared at her for a while and then shook his head his shoulders sagging slightly. Carol linked her fingers with his feeling his displeasure. When he finally opened his mouth the disappointment was in his voice and it was worse than if he'd lost his temper with her. It crashed over her but Daryl was already helping Carl again. Carol watched the play of emotions over her face and directed her inside. Pushing Daryl never worked. He would buck up and then you'd get the temper. With his temper Carol's appeared. Judith was good at picking her battles and this was one she'd never win.
It was later that night that she found Daryl outside the moon shining on him. Her heart beat faster just being close to him and she smiled. Growling as she walked up he chuckled and she wrapped her arms around him. Hand sliding under his shirt she sought out the marks that lay against his hips. Marks that her nails alone branded into his skin a decade ago. Daryl breathed deeply his face buried in her hair.
"You feel that?"
Daryl stayed quiet but she expected that. Still a man of few words.
"It's peaceful here."
Daryl held her tighter and her feet left the ground briefly. He hummed in his throat. He was still tense and Carol ran her hands up and around to his back. Nails raking over his skin he groaned leaning into her.
"I know you were worried." Carol spoke softly not wanting him to get worked up. His back tensed again though and she chose her words wisely. "You talked about Merle raising you...told me all about it. You're a good father Daryl. Carl and Judith both love you. She idolizes you and she's strong. So strong because you made her that way." Carol kissed the base of his throat, "She was brought into this world bloody and has fought every step of the way. She's her father's daughter- as much animal as him."
Daryl's arms tightened and she felt the pounding of his heart. Her own synced with his both quiet as the moon hung in the sky. The woods around them coming to life and the sounds of rushing water dancing into the night. Fog was rolling in up around their legs like the forest knew them as it's own. Carol smiled and felt him let out a breath.
"We've changed."
Carol nodded again and met his eyes. "We've always adapted to survive. We're free now and it feels good."