Carolina in my mind

Chapter 68

Carolina gripped Dary's hand as she stepped down out of the RV and onto the uneven ground. There were cornfields as far as she could see. And in front of their vehicle, a tan and white cow was resting in the afternoon sun. Carolina pushed her dark sunglasses back up onto the bridge of her nose, her smile widening at the sight of the large animal. She made it a few steps towards the cow before Daryl caught her by the elbow. He pulled her back to his side.

"It's a cow, not a puppy," he warned, biting back a smile.

"But it's so cute," she whined. Carolina learned a lot about roughing it since she woke up in the middle of the apocalypse. But she was still more city girl than country bumpkin. And to her suburban eyes, the cow looked like a giant friendly dog that just wanted a scratch on the head. From her. In reality, it was a thousand pound farm animal that could kill her with a well aimed kick to the head.

"We'll find ya a horse ta pet," Daryl teased, keeping his gravelly voice low enough that only she could hear him.

Daryl kept himself between Carolina and the cow as they passed. And after a little more walking, the cornfield opened up to reveal a tall wooden fence. Carolina stopped, waiting for everyone to catch up before she stepped out of the cornfield and revealed herself. For once, she was as nervous as the rest of them. Jesus said he was from a community called Hilltop. But it was as unfamiliar to her as it was to the rest of her group. For all she knew, they were being lured into another Terminus style trap. She didn't think that was the case. And with all the fields and pastures they had to pass by before they arrived at the gates, she was sure these people wouldn't need to resort to cannibalism anytime soon. Jesus was sneaky. And a major pain in the ass. But her instinct was still to trust him. If nothing else, he seemed sincere about his distaste for the men that called themselves The Savoirs. And like the old adage said, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Plus, he had plenty of opportunities to hurt or kill both her and Daryl and he hadn't laid a finger on either of them.

Two men were standing guard near the top of the high walls. Carolina noticed immediately that, like Jesus said, his people didn't have any guns. He said the Savoirs took them months ago. So that they wouldn't have to worry about any resistance when they came to demand their weekly tribute. The guards near the top of the wall were only armed with sharpened sticks. But that didn't stop them from making demands of their own. They wanted everyone to turn over their weapons before they would agree to open the gates. Jesus and the doctor they saved on the ride over both stepped forward, diffusing the situation before it could escalate. Daryl still kept his gun pointed at the men with the spears as they passed through. And Carolina stayed close to him as they entered the unfamiliar place.

They passed through the gates without any further confrontation. The doctor they saved pointed Michonne in the direction of his trailer, letting her know she was welcome to stop by for her exam whenever she was ready. Carolina reached out, gasping Michonne's hand and giving it a quick squeeze. She had no desire for children of her own. But that didn't lessen her excitement over Michonne's pregnancy. The promise of seeing Michonne's unborn baby on an ultrasound machine had her brimming with joy.

Carolina bumped into Daryl's back. He stopped quickly, his body suddenly much more tense than it had been just a moment ago. Carolina followed his gaze, sucking in a hard breath when she noticed one of her wanted posters nailed to the wooden post of an outdoor overhang. She adjusted her sunglasses, hoping that the dark lenses and her drastic change of hair color would be enough to stop people from recognizing her as the woman in the picture.

Daryl wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her close as they continued on their way. The setup of the community was interesting. There was one giant mansion in the center of the gated area. Off to the left, there was an area that looked like something from pioneer days. The structures were made of rough wood and brick. And to the right there were dozens of fema trailers. Small gardens were spread out all over the place. And besides the cows they already saw outside, there were chickens and other small livestock spread out around the area in makeshift pens.

Jesus gave them some basic information about the community as they headed for the large mansion. Stepping inside it was like stepping into the past. Carolina expected the interior of the place to have more of an apocalypse look. But instead, it looked like it had been perfectly preserved. Someone was even cleaning the place and keeping the floor waxed. The floor at their Alexandria house got trashed within the first week. Everyone came inside and went all the way to their rooms with their shoes in. If shit went down in the middle of the night, no one wanted to deal with it barefoot. Carolina found the mansion's pristine condition to be more than a little unsettling.

As she was taking another curious look around, a set of double doors popped open. People gripped their weapons, not really relaxing even after Jesus introduced the man that startled them as Gregory, the leader of this community and the person he'd brought them here to meet. If Gregory was looking to make a terrible first impression, he was certainly successful. Not only did he fail to greet them at the door, he startled them. And then he interrupted Rick while he was talking. That was actually hilarious. The look on Rick's face about did her in. He did his whole head tilt and everything. But Carolina kept her outward amusement to a minimum. She decided she was going to hold her laughter in so she could let it out when Rick flipped and punched the guy's pompous face in.

"Fuck this," Carolina grumbled, scowling as Jesus began to lead their group to somewhere they could go to 'wash up'. She caught Michonne by the arm. "Let's go see that doctor before Rick gets us kicked the fuck outta here." Michonne hesitated for just a moment before she grabbed Tyreese and started pulling him towards the door. Carolina caught Daryl by the hand before he could start up the stairs.

They made it almost all the way out the door before Rick noticed they were no longer following him and the rest of their group. "Hey," he called out. "Where are y'all going?"

"To see that doctor," Carolina said, giving Daryl a hard push towards the door. "It's cool. We'll be right back." Rick cast one more irritated glance in her direction before he decided the argument wasn't worth it and continued on his way up the steps.

The exam room was small. And with all of them crowded inside, it felt even smaller. Daryl stayed by the door, pressing his back against the wall with his arms crossed. Michonne leaned back on the exam table. And Carolina jostled with Tyreese as both of them tried to take the point position at her side.

"Damn Tyreese," Carolina huffed with a snorting laugh. "You're in my way. You act like this is your baby or something." Tyreese shook his head and laughed. He caught Carolina by the waist, guiding her so that she was sitting on the table near Michonne's hip. That way she could still be close, but he could stand next to Michonne and hold her hand. As the doctor began his exam, Michonne was still gripping her sword with her other hand, which Carolina thought was very her and totally funny.

All three of them watched with wonder and excitement as the doctor moved the wand across the small swell of Michonne's belly. And when they started to ooh and ahh over the tiny picture of total perfection on the screen, even Daryl moved forward to see what the excitement was. Carolina wasn't sure what to expect. She'd never seen a real live sonogram before. And she was surprised by how much the baby in Michonne's still mostly flat stomach looked like an actual baby. She could see its face, and its tiny hands and feet. The baby even had little toes and fingers. Carolina was still relieved that the tiny human was growing in someone else's body. But even she had to admit, it was cute as shit.

"It's a little too early to say for certain," the doctor warned. "But it looks to me like you're having a boy."

Upon hearing the gender of her baby, Michonne started to tear up. Tyreese politely thanked the doctor and let him know they'd seen enough. Then he pulled her into his arms and held her. Carolina never had an ultrasound. But she guessed lots of mothers got emotional when they saw their babies for the first time. And Michonne was still grieving the loss of her first child. So that was probably adding to her emotional outburst. Carolina hated leaving her friend when she was clearly upset. But she thought Michonne and Tyreese might appreciate a little privacy. And Daryl was obviously uncomfortable with the whole situation. One look at Michonne's tears and he looked ready to run all the way back to Alexandria.

"I'll be right outside if you need me," Carolina whispered. She gave Michonne's leg a soft squeeze before she grabbed Daryl by the hand and let him pull her out the door. He was lighting himself a cigarette before the trailer door even clicked shut behind them. Carolina snatched his lighter and fished a cigarette from the pack for herself. Once she had it lit, she felt Daryl's arms wrap around her. Carolina leaned into him, enjoying the feeling of comfort she got from having his body against hers. He squeezed her tight before he let go and took a step back.

"Ya ever think about it?," he asked, ticking his head towards the trailer door. Carolina wrinkled her nose up at him and flipped her sunglasses back down onto her face.

"Think about what?," she asked, "...having a baby?" Daryl shrugged his shoulders and took another drag off his cigarette. Then he nodded his head. He was trying his best to ignore the hilarious look of total horror and disgust on Carolina's face. "Daryl, you can't be serious," she said. "I'd be the worst kind of shitty mother."

Daryl choked on the drag he was taking off his cigarette and barked out a laugh. "That's not true," he insisted. "All the kids love ya."

"Yeah?," Carolina countered. "Well I don't love them." That made Daryl laugh harder. Mostly because he knew it was a lie. Carolina loved the kids in their group like they were her own. That's why they were always following her around. And she was a teacher. Clearly she enjoyed being around children. But before Daryl could point all this out to her, he was distracted by a group of people that were being let in through the gates.

The group coming in must be people that were known to Hilltop's leader. Because instead of ignoring them and being a total ass, Gregory moved forward to greet them. Daryl watched the scene with casual interest until one of the men stepped forward and stabbed Gregory in the gut.

Aiden was the closest to Gregory's attacker. And to Carolina's surprise, the young man pushed forward and started to grapple with the man that was holding the knife. Daryl took off towards the fight. Carolina took a step in that direction, but quickly changed her mind. She turned, jerking the doctor's trailer open and screaming for him.

"Dr. Carson! Someone just stabbed Gregory!," she hollered.

Once she'd alerted him, Carolina rushed towards the fight. Maggie had Gregory on the ground, her hand pressing down over the knife wound in his stomach to keep him from bleeding out. Rick was fighting with the man that stabbed Gregory. And one of the man's companions had Aiden on the ground with his hands wrapped around his neck, choking him. Daryl got there before she did. And he must have assumed that Aiden was the person most in need of help. Because he grabbed the man that was on top of him and snapped his arm in half. The man started screaming. And one of his female companions started moving in behind Daryl like she was about to try something.

"Oh no you don't bitch," Carolina hissed. Despite the weight she lost while they were on the road to Alexandria, she was still thick through the hips and taller than most women. And she did not check her force when she slammed her entire body into the woman she was after, hip checking the bitch so hard she flew back a foot before landing hard on the ground. Carolina loomed over her.

"Stay down," she ordered, the threat in her voice making it clear to the woman what was going to happen if she got up and started more trouble.

The Hilltop residents began to gather around. They looked upset and confused. And angry. Most of them weren't there when the fight started. So they had no idea that one of their own was the one that attacked their leader. All they saw was Gregory on the ground bleeding from the stomach. The man that stabbed him was dead. And his blood was all over Rick's shirt. Thankfully, Jesus stepped in and explained what happened before the situation could escalate.

Carolina helped Aiden up off the ground, wrapping her arm around his waist since his face was red and he was running his hand over his throat like he was still having a hard time breathing. She was worried he might not be able to stand up on his own. Carolina's sunglasses flew off her face when she slammed into the other woman. Daryl grabbed them off the ground, handing them back to her. But before she shoved them back on her face, she saw a glimmer of recognition in Gregory's eyes. It gave her an unsettling feeling, like a shiver up her back despite the heat of the day. Carolina shook it off, telling herself that the weird intense look she saw on Gregory's face was probably just because he was in a lot of pain.

Jesus calmed the confrontation between them and the Hilltop townspeople. But just in case, he brought them up to an office room to wait while the doctor worked on Gregory. Rick filled them in on his previous discussion with the man while they waited. During their talk, Gregory insisted he was happy with the arrangement he had with the Saviors. He had no interest in aiding their group with any sort of coup or confrontation they might be planning. Carolina didn't find any of that surprising. But Gregory also wasn't even interested in any type of trade deal. He didn't want the weapons Rick was offering, even though his people clearly needed them. And though the hilltop had food and livestock in surplus, he wasn't willing to trade with them.

"He said we could come here and work for food," Rick said, with a slight roll of his eyes. Even if Gregory wasn't insulting them by implying their only worth was that of indentured servants, just the gas they'd have to expend to get here made that deal impossible to even consider.

"You act like you're surprised," Carolina said, shrugging her shoulders as she gestured towards the door. "He's a douche." She favored Rick with a big grin before she added, "...an even bigger douche than you."

Rick shook his head, as he tried to pretend he was coughing and not laughing at her honest appraisal of the situation. It was the closest thing to a compliment he'd ever received from her. So there was only one way to respond. "Well thank you, Carolina," he teased back. "I appreciate that."

Rick took a step closer to her, extending his hand out for her to grab. Carolina stared at it curiously for a moment before she reached out and clasped his hand with hers. She squeaked when he jerked her up off the couch and wrapped his arms around her. The hug took her by surprise. But she found she didn't totally hate it. Carolina hugged him back, laughing when he tightened his grip and leaned back to force her up onto her tiptoes. As quickly as he grabbed her, Rick released his hold. Carolina moved in, knocking a chaste kiss to the side of his face before she returned to her spot on the couch next to Daryl. She was already laughing a little. But she laughed harder at the surly look on Daryl's face. He didn't like anyone touching her, even though it was just Rick and there clearly wasn't anything going on between them.

The room was still tittering with conversation and laughter when Jesus opened the door and entered. He told them Gregory was stable and able to speak, but only wanted to speak to Rick. The rest of them waited impatiently. When Rick reentered the room, it was obvious that whatever talk he had with Gregory went better than the first. Hilltop was going to help them as much as they could in their plan to take out the Savoirs and rescue the Hilltop resident they were holding hostage. And since Hilltop's help was more of the giving information variety, rather than actual physical help, they were going to pay them to do it. Rick hashed out the details with Jesus, asking for as much food as he thought they could spare. In theory, they wouldn't have to give tribute to the Savoirs anymore once they were gone, so they had quite a bit to bargain with. Everyone seemed happy with the arrangement, blissfully unaware of what Gregory was doing in his bedroom down the hall.

Gregory inched slowly towards the edge of the bed, moaning loudly at the pain in his gut and side. He was going to have to speak with Dr. Carson about this. He knew he told the man to ration their pain meds. But he didn't mean for that to apply to him. He was in much more severe pain than anyone else, having been stabbed in the stomach. And he was much more important to this place than anyone else. Hilltop would be nothing without his leadership. After a few more painful groans, Gregory was able to slide the drawer on his bedside table open. He pulled out a long range radio. The one he'd been instructed to use only in cases of extreme emergency. He pressed down on the call button a few times, waiting impatiently for a response. Just when he was about to give up and try again later, a familiar voice came crackling through the device's small speaker.

"What the fuck can I do for you, Gregory?"

Gregory heard the irritation in the man's voice. From his perspective, Gregory was probably supposed to be dead by now. Not calling him on the radio. The radio crackled again. And then went silent. Gregory cast a nervous glance towards his bedroom door before he held down the button and spoke into the radio.

"I saw something today that I think might be of interest to you," Gregory said. "That girl on the wanted posters… I know where she is."