Redemption - The Walking Dead

Loving you, isn't the right thing to do.

Negan eyed up the tall brown stallion. "You sure we can't walk it?" He put his hand to the horses cheek but stumbled back as it whinnied.

Carol laughed, "Don't tell me you're afraid of horses?"

"No not afraid, just inexperienced." He grunted as he threw himself onto the saddle. "Prefer a steel horse." He grabbed the reins as he steadied himself.

"Great. You can tell Daryl that when we find him." Carol mounted her horse with ease and clicked her tongue to make it line up with Negan's.

"Yeah, not sure if we're gonna bond over motorcycles and suddenly be best buds." They spoke as they began their trek.

"Well, you're both gonna have to try to get along."

They rode for a few miles on the road. They were headed for the spot by the river where Daryl had lived previously. Carol was almost certain she'd find him there. She wasn't sure if she could convince him to come home with them.
Negan was yelling over the sound of the horses slow gallop. "So what's the game plan? We're gonna have to tell him right? Can't have him getting back there then fucking off again once he does find out. Also, what if he's just out on a hunt and the dog got lost and came home? Boy, that'd be embarrassing for some folk back in Alexandria huh? Do you think he's gonna take it well? I am too sore to be beat on again."
The horses hooves hammered the dirt beneath them.

"Negan?" Carol shouted back.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up!" Carol dug her foot into the side of her horse prompting it to ride faster.
Negan grinned as he watched Carol for a moment before prompting his horse to follow suit.

Eventually they made it to a clearing that Carol was familiar with. "Alright, this is it." She dismounted and handed the reins to Negan. "You wait here ok? Let me do the talking." She gave him a serious look.

"Alright, I'll be here." Negan huffed and climbed down from his horse. He managed to grab Carol's elbow just before she could turn away from him. Their eyes met. There was a sadness in Negan's eyes. He pulled Carol closer to him, she held his sides.

"It's gonna be ok." She wasn't sure if she was trying to convince him or herself.

Negan softly placed his lips on hers. He whispered to her, "Or this might be the last time you see me without a bolt through my skull."

Carol couldn't help but laugh a little, she kissed him again. "Stay."

Negan nodded "Yes ma'am." And watched as she left.

Sure enough Carol found a makeshift hut right where it always was. A fire was burning. Daryl was sitting near the river edge gutting what looked to be some fresh fish. She knew he'd already be aware of her presence. He didn't say a word as she sat down beside him.
"Why didn't you come home?"

He continued scraping meat from the fish bone, he didn't answer.

"Daryl?" She put her hand on his arm.

He shrugged her off. "I did come home, I came to check on you, apologise for being an asshole before. I shoulda knocked." He threw the dead fish into the river in anger.
Carol covered her mouth with her hand, images of what Daryl might have seen flashed in her mind. Her naked body tangled with Negan's, Negan licking down her torso, Negan's head between her thighs...
"Y'all were sleeping." Daryl was staring at the ground, his eyes glazed over as he relived the moment. "Ya know, you're one of the lucky ones. You weren't there that night, you didn't see it. You didn't hear Maggie cry. You didn't see Rick break. You didn't see them take me... you were just gone, an' we needed you. You weren't there." Tears fell down Daryl's face, leaving trails in the dirt on his cheeks.