~From Daryl's point of view~
Carol smiled up at me, and I took her hand in mine, looking at her arm. It always hurt me inside whenever Carol got hurt, even if it was something small like this. I would never admit it to anyone in this group, probably because they believed I was a tough guy who barely showed raw emotions, such as love, around them, but I really did love Carol. She was my other half. We had both been through hell, with abusive people in our lives, the loss of loved ones and scars decorating our skin. We understood each other, how we thought, and what we thought about certain things. Most people wouldn't see our relationship coming, or even think we were good for each other, but that was the beauty of our relationship. We didn't care what others thought, since we knew that all we needed to be happy was each other, even in this shit-hole of a world we lived in. I knew when Clary invited Carol to go on a run, she felt my anxiety and nervousness. In my head I only thought of what would happen if she never came back, how it would effect me. I would continue on, but only in the hopes of proving to be the man she would deserve to love.
A look of curiosity took over her eyes, and she asked, "What's wrong?" Her tone was dripping with concern. She always knew when I was thinking about something like that, and I thought that was a pretty unique characteristic for a relationship.
I smiled at her, looking her in the eyes. "Nothing, I'm just thinking about if something would happen to you..." I didn't finish and I looked down at my lap. She put her hand on the side of my face, waiting for me to look up at her. I didn't lift my head up but I looked at her from beneath half-closed lids, and I covered our hands with my free hand, enveloping hers in both of mine. "I'm sorry, I just like to think about these things..."
She chuckled quietly and said, "It's okay, I do the same thing." She nodded and looked me in the eyes, letting me know she was here for me. "It happens."
Just then, the metal, side-delivery doors right near Carol and I rattled, and we both stood up, her pulling out her axe, and me grabbing my crossbow. I aimed at the door, and my heart rate picked up, not worried for me as much as Carol. Clary came up next to me, holding a rifle, aimed at the door as well. No one dared go and open it, just in case they were walkers, but we didn't hear any moaning or groaning from the other side.
The door opened, and on the other side were six people, one bit. A woman around my age saw me and ran up to me, "Please help! We need to help him!" She was screaming and crying, but I didn't even blink, the smell of her sweat filled my nose and the metallic taste of blood was prominent in my mouth as she grabbed onto my shirt, pleading "Please!" I made her let go of my shirt and backed up. Carol had a strange look in her eyes as she stared at the woman, but I didn't get a chance to decipher it before she looked away.
Clary walked up to her and placed her hand on the woman's shaking shoulder, "There's only one thing we can do for him...but you won't like it." Her eyes bulged out as she fell onto the floor.
I looked at the frail, vulnerable woman, and then at the man who was bit. The bite was in the curve of his neck, and by the look of it, the bite was deep. He was about the same age as the woman, and my suspicions were confirmed when she mumbled, looking up at me, "Please. He's my husband."
The energy around Carol changed so dramatically that I looked over at her. But she wasn't looking at me, or the woman. She was looking at Clary, as secret message passing in their glance and she said, "I'll do it." Carol set down her axe and grabbed her pistol. I watched her walk over to the two men holding up the soon-to-be-walker. "Drop him." As if mesmerized by her, the set the man down on his knees.
He was looking up at her with pleading eyes, "Please..." he said weakly. "...do it...end...the pain..." His voice was small and raw, but the message was clear. Looking over at the woman he called, in a suddenly stronger voice, "Goodnight Jessica, my Love." The woman, whose name I guessed was Jessica, screamed, but it was too late. Carol had already fired, and I watched the man's body fall, a hole in his forehead. A constant stream of blood flowed down onto the ground, a puddle beneath his face beginning to form.
Jessica ran over to him and stood there, mesmerized by her husbands dead body. As if a switch had flipped, she turned on Carol, lunging for her throat. I walked over and raised my crossbow to her skull, but Carol had already caught her hands. "It's not my fault you were too weak to protect him. Survival of the fittest. And if they aren't, it's the job of others to protect them." She paused, her tone dark and threatening. "And you failed."
Everyone in the group was surprised about Carol's dark tone towards Jessica. The woman stood there shaking and shivering, crying. Then she knelt down and held her husband's head in her lap. We all walked away, leaving the door open for them to come in.
~~~~~
I was standing with my crossbow, taking watch late at night when I heard footsteps behind me. Thinking it was Carol, I turned around, but as I turned, I saw Jessica instead. "What do you want?" I mumbled darkly.
She smiled, "Now Daryl, is that anyway to talk to me like that?"
I stared at her, confused. "What the hell do you mean by that?" I asked.
She walked very close to me and laid her hand on my chest. "Don't tell me you didn't feel that spark between us, when you saw me?"
I glared at her, disgusted that she was hitting on me, only afters hour her husband's death.
Just before I got the chance to tell her off, I heard Carol's footsteps behind us. Jessica turned around and asked, "What are you doing here?"
She glared at her, and said, "I believe I should be asking you that. Or, maybe a different question, like why the hell are you touching my boyfriend?" Her voice took on the same tone as before, dark and threatening.
Jessica squirmed a little bit, "I don't know what you mean?"
Carol walked up to her, getting in her face and asked, "Why don't you go and learn how to kill some Walkers correctly, and make yourself useful? Maybe now, you can learn how to kill these things and protect the group that brought your sorry ass in so we don't all end up like your husband?"
A tense silence fell over the conversation and Jessica walked away, tears beginning to form in her eyes. I looked at Carol and asked her, "What was that about?"
She stared at me for a few seconds, probably trying to figure out exactly what to say. "She needs to know her place. And it's not by your side. That's my place." She walked over to me and took my hand, holding it tightly. "And don't you ever forget that."
I smiled at her and squeezed her hand, and leaned down to kiss her cheek. "I promise I won't." Half-smiling, I said "It's kinda attractive when you talk like that. You know, all in charge and stuff."
She laughed and took watch with me, just being in each other's company made us feel whole.
