Carolina in my mind

Chapter 12

"Welcome to Marlboro country," Carolina quipped as Michonne climbed into the backseat of the large truck and took the spot opposite Daryl. Martinez was riding shotgun. And he turned, holding out the green and white pack of cigarettes open for her. Michonne wrinkled her nose up, shaking her head and leaning closer to the open truck window.

Carolina finished her smoke as she watched Merle finish the hushed conversation he was having with the governor and head in her direction. She waited until he passed by directly in front of the large truck before she laid on the horn, laughing like crazy when she managed to startle him. She laughed harder when she heard Daryl's low rumbling chuckle behind her. Carolina squirmed a little in her seat when she noticed the governor casting a disapproving glance in her direction. And she supposed at least the dirty look was fair in this instance. Honking Merle up was not exactly in line with keeping all noise to a minimum.

"Gettin' horny in there?," Merle teased, poking his head through the driver's side window. Carolina laughed harder, her giggles turning into a high pitched squeal when he nipped at her neck. "I'm gonna get ya fer that later," he said, whispering the words into her ear. Ducking back out of the truck, Merle rabbit punched Daryl in the shoulder on his way towards the rear of the truck. Carolina shook her head, watching him in the side view mirror as he headed back towards the center of town.

Carolina felt bad for Andrea, riding shotgun in the governor's truck. Not that she seemed to mind. He was still putting on his prince charming routine for her. And from the way she was smiling at him, Carolina guessed that Andrea was going to sleep with him. Just like she did on the show. The thought of it made Carolina want to puke.

Once the governor fired his truck up, Carolina did the same. She followed him out, feeling a flutter of nervousness when the tall gates swung shut behind them. The ride over to the prison was uneventful. She enjoyed the feeling of the breeze from the open window whipping her hair around.

When they arrived, she noticed that the prison gates had been temporarily secured back into place. Daryl did his part, hopping out of the truck and convincing Glenn and Carl to unlock the chains and allow the small convoy inside. It was obvious that the residents of the prison were impatiently waiting on them to arrive with news. By the time they pulled through the second fence and up near the large gray building, everyone was already filing outside. Carolina parked the truck, feeling her excitement rise when she noticed a large black man standing off to the side of the group. While she was helping Lori, Tyreese and his sister must have arrived at the prison. And because Rick wasn't batshit nuts over Lori's gruesome death, she guessed he let them stay instead of chasing them out like he did on the show. Daryl was Carolina's all time favorite, of course. But Tyreese was definitely in her top five. She always thought he was underrated. And even better than that, he was a professional football player. So she could totally fangirl out on him without arousing any suspicion.

Carolina poured herself out of the truck, bouncing around on the balls of her feet. The governor was shaking Rick's hand. And Rick looked like he was giving his best effort to make nice with the man. At least for now. Andrea was reuniting with the people she knew. But at the moment, Carolina wasn't concerned with all that. She squealed, trying to control how fast she was approaching the large man. Quasi celebrity or not, Carolina knew everyone was still a little jumpy. It was the apocalypse after all.

"Ohmygod," she gushed. "Aren't you Tyreese Williams, the football player?" Carolina couldn't give a shit less about sports, professional or otherwise. If they ever revealed what team Tyreese played for on the show, she didn't remember what it was. But calling him a football player seemed to be enough. Tyreese's face lit up into a big smile.

"Guilty," he admitted. "Running back for the Jacksonville Jaguars for the last five years."

"Not just a running back," Carolina chirped. "The best running back!" She wasn't sure what a running back was. She guessed they might be the big guys that tackled the guy with the ball. Who cares, she thought, offering her hand for him to shake. "I'm Carolina Mason."

"Very nice to meet you," Tyreese said, taking her hand in his much larger one. Since her greeting was going so well, Carolina decided to push her luck just a little further. Releasing his hand, she moved forward and wrapped her arms around the giant of a man, giving Tyreese a big hug. His body went stiff for a moment. But he quickly relaxed into the unexpected contact and hugged her back.

"This is my sister, Sasha," he said, gesting to the more petite woman at his side once Carolina released him. Since Tyreese accepted her sudden affection, Carolina ignored Sasha's outstretched hand and hugged her too. The smaller woman laughed and hugged her back.

"Carolina!," the governor barked. She spun, a sour look on her face now that she suddenly remembered that psycho was here too. Didn't he know she was busy living out her personal comicon dreams and he was running it for her.. When she took in his expression, she could see that he really thought her behavior was more funny than disruptive. Though he looked like he was trying to hide it. "Can you let Rick know about his wife's medical complications please?," he asked.

Carolina nodded, reluctantly scurrying over towards the small group of men. She was nervous that the governor might have some villainous reason for wanting her on this run. But it appeared that he just wanted her there since she was one of the medical staff that helped Lori give birth.

"She had to have an emergency C-section," Carolina explained, staying slightly behind Daryl since Rick's body language was still making her uncomfortable. "She lost a lot of blood. We gave her two transfusions. She and the baby are both stable now. But her incision is going to take some time to heal."

Carolina noticed that the governor was nodding his approval.

"We won't be able to bring your wife back here until she's been cleared by medical," the governor said. "...but we can take all of you back to town. As soon as you're cleared, you'll be welcome to stay with her in the infirmary as long as you like."

Carolina fought the urge to roll her eyes. That was why the jerk wanted her here. The part about Lori needing to stay in bed was true. But even if she was in perfect health, the governor would still want to hold her in Woodbury. As his 'guest'. He sure wasn't going to drive Lori back to the prison and drop her off. He wanted to force Rick and his people to come back to Woodbury with him. He wanted the group firmly under his control. Which was still creepy. But somewhat better than dropping a walker bomb on them and shooting Axel in the head.

"We're in," Tyreese said, lifting his hand into the air and giving Carolina another friendly smile. Maggie and Beth were quick to chime in, saying they wanted to see their dad. Carol didn't say anything. But from the way she'd tucked herself in close to Daryl, it was obvious that she was going wherever he was going. It took Rick one look around before he came to the same conclusion that Carolina already had. He was heavily outvoted. And if he objected to the governor's offer, his people might pack up and leave with or without his approval.

"Give us a few minutes to get our things together?," Rick finally said.

"Take all the time you need," the governor replied, his gracious tone contrasting with the smug smile on his face. Andrea smiled up at the man before she ran her eyes over her old group again. So many of them were missing. And at first she assumed that there might be more people inside the prison. But now, it was becoming clear that this was the entirety of the group.

"Wait," she said, catching Rick with her hand on his shoulder. "Where's Shane?"