cassette tapes |d. dixon| [1]

24

AS MUCH AS DARYL WANTED TO GO into the tombs to look for Caroline, to make sure if she was dead or not, he had to take care of this baby first. 

He should've been with her. Or had her go with them to get fire wood.

How could he be so stupid?

Daryl knew how selfless that girl was. She'd sacrifice herself to protect any of them. So the question was if she was still alive or not.

When he found her gun by T-Dog's body, for the first time, his heart dropped to his stomach. He wanted to puke. To punch something. To take his anger out on the dead sons of bitches.

If she was here, she'd be making this run with him.

After getting all the formula and other supplies they could at a day care a few miles away, Maggie and Daryl raced back to the prison. That baby girl needed them.

When they walked in, the baby was crying in Carl's arms. Maggie and Beth went to take care of the formula and Daryl took off his crossbow, 

"How's she doing?" He lifted the little girl who was wrapped in a flannel into his arms, "Shh." He rocked her in his arms, taking the bottle from Beth and giving it to the baby, who immediately started drinking, "She got a name yet?" Daryl asked, smirking down at the little girl.

Everyone thought it was sweet. The big bad hunter feeding the little baby in his arms.

Then they thought of Caroline. Their smiles fell.

"Not yet." Carl answered. "But I was thinking maybe Sofia. Then there's Carol, too. Caroline, maybe. And..." He sighed, "Andrea. Amy. Jacqui. Patricia. Or... Lori. I don't know."

Daryl nodded, looking down at the baby girl in his arms, "You like that? Huh? Little ass-kicker." Everyone let out a laugh, "Right?" Daryl smirked at everyone, "That's a good name, right? Little ass-kicker. You like that, huh? You like that, sweetheart?"

Soon, everyone went to sleep. They all needed it after the day they had.  Carl and Beth had taken a bunch of sheets and made it into a makeshift holder for the baby on the bottom bunk of Carl's cell so she wouldn't roll off the bed while she was sleeping.

Daryl sat on the perch, looking over at Caroline's cell. He quietly walked over and looked around inside. Her bow and quiver were sitting in the corner by the bed. He shook his head, grabbing one of her arrows before sitting down on her bed.

"Why couldn' ya have stayed with Hershel? Or Maggie?" He sighed, "Why did ya have to be the hero?"

Daryl sat there until sunrise. Once he saw the orange in the sky, he left Caroline's cell. Grabbing his crossbow, he went out hunting.

It was barely mid morning when he found something. Not a squirrel. Not a deer, nor a rabbit.

 It was a flower. A white one with a yellow middle. It was a Cherokee Rose.

Daryl bent down and picked it up, gently placing it into his vest pocket before making his way back towards the prison.

He walked towards the field, where four crosses stood. The one on the end had a scarf wrapped around the tip of the cross. A 'C' was written with rocks in the raised dirt. Daryl stood there for a moment, glancing at the other grave next to it with an identical 'C', before taking the flower out of his vest pocket and placing in into the dirt.

He gave one more glance towards the other graves before making his way inside.

He needed to make sure Caroline wasn't still deep in the prison.