The cops had shown up relatively quickly. As Ed had said, someone from the shelter had called them, sending their security out to drive him away as they waited for the cop car and ambulance they'd requested. Carol had been unconscious for most of it, though she flitted in and out enough to hear Sophia crying by her side, to feel pain as she fought to breathe in, as her ribs - broken, she thought - grated against each other, as she was jostled in each bump of the speeding ambulance. Sophia was the last thing she'd heard, her frantic voice spilling out harsh and strident amidst the whirling siren just as Carol's vision had gone dark.
The next time she woke up, Sophia was gone.
That was what she noticed first. Not the stark walls of the hospital or the beeping of the monitor or even the dull ache of pain lurking just beneath its morphine cover, though she'd notice all that later. She was far too focused on the sudden absence of the one person she needed to see, of the fact that she was gone, that the person who mattered more to her than life itself… wasn't there.
A nurse showed up as if on command - hazily, it occurred to Carol that it probably had been on command, that the hospital electronics would have alerted the nurses to her return to consciousness - and was immediately besieged by Carol's worried questions. "Sophia. Where's Sophia?" She was gasping for breath after as little speaking as that, but she didn't mind. She had to know.
The nurse was a young girl, blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail, her name tag announcing her name as "Beth Greene." She didn't seem concerned by Carol's fear, smiling at her calmly while answering. "She's with Mr. Dixon, Mrs. Peletier."
"That's not my name." The words were out of her mouth before she realized how snappish and rude they sounded. She looked down sheepishly. "Sorry."
The nurse shook her head. "It's no problem. Since we're on the topic of names…" She stepped forward, checking her vitals. "I'm Nurse Greene, but I go by Beth. Who needs formalities?" She was still smiling, and Carol got the sense that she did that a lot. "What do you go by, then?"
Carol didn't know what to say. She didn't like her maiden name any more than she liked "Peletier", though for different reasons. Eventually, she shrugged. "Carol."
Beth smiled wider - how was that even possible? - and nodded. "Carol." She sat there, just smiling, for a few more seconds, then nodded towards the door. "Sophia's right out there. You want me to bring her in?"
Carol thought back to what the girl had said when she entered, finally processing the full sentence beyond just Sophia is safe, her mind catching on the second name. "You said she was with Daryl?" She paused, thoughts fuzzy as she tried to understand.
Beth's brow furrowed. "Yeah, he's listed as your next-of-kin?" She tilted her head a bit. "Is… Was that a mistake? I can ask…" She trailed off.
All at once, Carol remembered the day, sometime during her month of peace, that she'd tried to take Ed off as many of her contact lists as possible. She'd succeeded, for the most part, but the hospital had insisted that she replace his name with someone's, and, for the life of her, she hadn't been able to think of anyone other than Daryl.
She shook her head hastily. "No, I just… forgot." The sentence was weird, and Carol could see Beth trying to figure it out, but she continued before the girl could ask. "Can you ask them both to come in, please?"
Beth nodded, then turned and left the room, leaving Carol in silence before returning a few seconds later. Carol was half-surprised that Sophia hadn't sprinted in first, her childish energy giving her the energy none of the others had, but the reason why became easily apparent: Sophia was completely and utterly, dead-to-the world asleep.
Carol couldn't help grinning at the sight, a fond smile stealing over her lips as she processed her daughter being brought into the room on Daryl Dixon's hip. She very purposefully ignored both the pain in her jaw at the motion and the tugging of her side as she shifted to make room, relaxing again as she felt her daughter curling up next to her. Carol reached down, carefully brushing her fingers through her daughter's soft blonde hair and smiling at the familiar sensation. With a sigh, she settled back against the pillow, closing her eyes and reveling in the temporary peace.
She stirred from her reverie with the quiet whisper of wind that told of motion, and she stuck out her hand, languidly letting it flop out. "You better not be trying to sneak away." She paused, lips twitching a bit as she added, "Pookie."
Her eyes were still closed, but she heard his snort, could practically see him awkwardly shift closer. "Ain't ma damn name."
She laughed, stilling as the motion jostled her ribs, shrugging instead. "If you say so." She didn't feel like laughing, if she were being honest. The fear for Sophia had faded with her actually being in the room, but it hadn't faded enough. The memory of Ed's voice - Unless ya want me ta go find our brat from wherever it is she's run ta - kept running through her head with vicious regularity. Her hand clenched reflexively in her daughter's hair, loosening again quickly.
It wasn't quickly enough for the motion to go unnoticed. "Y' alright? Want tha nurse?"
"No." The word was quick to come, urgent in its rapidity as her eyes snapped open. The light rushed back quickly, disrupting the darkness behind her eyelids. She could see him freeze from where he'd started to move towards the door, slowly leaning back against the wall with barely-hidden concern in his eyes. "No, I'm fine."
"Ya ain't fine." The words were spoken simply, no hint of judgement in them as his face was kept purposefully blank, and she couldn't deny the truth in them. "How're ya doin'?"
She could answer explicitly. She could tell him every single ache she felt. She could tell him that her ribs were broken or that seeing was difficult out of one eye. She could tell him that she was scared. That she was terrified of what Ed would do when she went back, terrified for Sophia. She could tell him all of that, blunt and matter-of-fact and easy.
Except she knew she didn't need to. He could see the bruises that likely took up half of her face, the vicious mix of blues, purples, and yellows that never belonged on human skin. He saw the mark of a hand visible at her jaw, splayed fingers having left their impressions - she could feel them every time she shifted her jaw - her split lip and the traces of blood it left on her chin, the blood-red of her eye where, the nurse had said, the retina had detached.
More than that, he could more than see her injuries because he knew how each one felt, on their own, sure, and even all together. She could see him eyeing the IV in her arm, watching the steady drip, drip, drip of medicine as it flowed into her veins, and she knew that he was watching it to make sure she got enough. She knew his tricks - knew that he was monitoring her breathing from where he stood, watching for signs of any complications - and she could see tension in his stance as he waited there, ready to move if anything went wrong.
She knew him, and he knew her. He knew how scared she was, knew why she was clutching Sophia close like she might disappear if she ever let go. He had seen her after enough of Ed's "love" in the past to know their routine, to ask "How are you doing?" instead of "What did he do this time?" and to avoid "Why don't you just leave?" like the plague. He knew it wasn't that easy.
Except, this time, Ed had made a mistake. All of a sudden, with merely a single sentence, it had become that easy. He had dared threaten Sophia and that… that Carol wouldn't allow.
So, instead of answering with her normal codewords and double-speak - no "I'm fine… just clumsy" or "Done worse to myself" or "Nine lives, remember?" - she looked back down at Sophia and ran her hands through the silken threads again, putting together her words.
"He threatened her." She heard the light rustle of material as Daryl tensed, bristling at the words even as he forced himself to stay still. She closed her eyes and spoke the words aloud. "Unless ya want me ta go find our brat from wherever it is she's run ta." She opened her eyes, fixing once more on the shining gold of Sophia's hair. "He's done." She looked over to gauge his response.
He was making eye contact with her, blue eyes seeming to look right through her as his teeth bit into his lower lip. He must have seen whatever he was seeking - that she was certain, perhaps, or that she was in the right mind to make such a decision - and nodded. "A'ight." He looked over at the door, probably checking to make sure it was shut (it was), then added. "What're we gonna do?"
Carol wasn't sure whence the calm that suddenly stole over her came. Perhaps it was the readiness with which Daryl bought in, or perhaps it was just finally knowing what she had to do, but, all at once, everything made sense. She knew what she was going to do, and she felt no qualms about it. "I'm going to kill him."