Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own The Walking Dead.

0 Miles

Someone should be dead.

Maybe one of the cops, caught in the crossfire during the exchange.

Maybe Beth when she stuck her chin out defiantly and declared that Noah was leaving too.

Maybe Daryl, for the chill-inducing glare he shot at the officers just before he reached out to her.

Someone should be dead.

Instead, the hospital hallway was alive with their footfalls and the squeaky wheels of Carol's chair. No wounds left bloody trails in their wake. No curses were slung at their backs. All were accounted for, all were safe.

Carol could not blame drugs for her delirium. Over the last hour the painkillers had trickled out of her system and now her blood throbbed. Every bump in the tile brought on another flinch. She wiggled her toes and pinched the uninjured skin on her hand to test her consciousness. Rick's commands sounded legitimate. There was no mistaking the scarred hand that reached down to brush her shoulder or the comfort the small caress brought. All of it was so very real.

Still she felt she was in a fog. Her ears rang. Her eyes narrowed at every change of light, every shadow, trying unsuccessfully to find holes in this reality. The impossibility of their survival had her head spinning.

Someone should be dead, but nobody was.

When Carol joined Daryl on his quest to rescue Beth, she had determined it a meaningless and dangerous effort. A missing girl? She had swallowed a frustrated scream the moment he jumped into the car to give chase; he should have calculated how low the odds were for Beth's survival! Who was to say that whoever took her hadn't already killed her? Who knew if this car was even related to the same group? Disappearing for one day was dangerous enough, but the girl had been gone for weeks. Doubtful, Carol had gone along expecting the end result to be bloody and devastating.

Now, that missing girl was smashing Carol's doubt and leading them all out of this hospital.

Ahead, Beth pushed open a door and the group crowded into the stairway landing. At the sudden halt, Carol's musings paused. All eyes went to the young teenager.

"We have four flights till the bottom," Beth whispered, bumping her cast against her leg as her eyes flickered to Carol.

Carol blanched at the concrete descent. Just the idea of leaving the wheelchair rattled her bones. Everyone else silently pitied her; Rick peered over the edge with a frown and Tyreese winced before looking away.

"We'll carry her," Rick decided.

"No need!" If they could defeat the odds and rescue Beth, she could make her way out of this hospital. Carol clenched the armrests for a second before tightening her muscles in an effort to ease herself up. The railing looked solid enough and Daryl would be there to lend a shoulder. Worst case scenario, if her legs gave out she could make her way down on her bottom, one lurching step at a time.

She didn't get to move more than an inch. Daryl slid one arm under her calves, another behind her back, and lifted her. A swift kick sent the chair rolling backwards. Sparks flashed in front of her eyes with the abrupt movement.

At her weak whelp Daryl stalled and asked, "Ya good?"

All the pain in her body rushed to her shoulder, her hip, and her leg. Teeth clenched, she began counting, waiting for the sharp stabs to decrease to throbs. Stiff fingers dug into his shirt on the count of six. The pain slowly ebbed and spread back out into a full body ache. Finally, Carol blinked away the lingering spots, met his worried gaze, and nodded.

Without looking away from her, Daryl sent everyone downstairs with a jerk of his chin. Sasha pushed past Noah, asking hushed questions about what laid ahead. Tyreese and Beth followed, disappearing quickly. They soon yelled back an "All clear." Rick carried the rear, bobbing his head slightly at Daryl before heading down the steps.

Just as Rick's footsteps began to fade, Daryl swayed slightly, sucked in a ragged breath, and touched his forehead to hers. "This ain't gonna be easy on ya. Ready?"

Carol wrapped her arms around his neck, the skin there slick with sweat, and was instantly calmed by his pulse under her palm. Despite the upcoming difficulty and pain, she grinned at him.

Somebody should be dead, but no one had perished.

She curled her nose into his collarbone, inhaled the smell of him, and willed her erratic heart to match his steady one. "Let's get out of here."

"Hang on."

He marched down to the exit, lower, lower, and lower. Once Daryl started his descent there was no hesitation in his movements, no signs of labor except for how his usually silent steps echoed up and down the stairway shaft with her added weight. At every half floor he whispered their progress encouragingly, his breath teasing the hair at her temple. Even though each bounce prodded her injuries, somehow Carol's energy increased.

By the time they reached the bottom, she could hold her head up again. Tyreese braced the door open as they burst into the sun blinking and a small parking lot, surrounded by the defensive stances of the group.

Rick counted heads and gestured toward the street. The door slammed behind them, the final toll on the entire situation. As they all hustled across the concrete to the fence, footsteps rushed in their direction from just out of sight. Rick signaled them all to a halt and raised his gun. Daryl eased Carol down gingerly. In a swift movement he looped a supportive arm around her waist and drew his pistol. She steadied herself against him.

The mystery person stirred and gravel shot out from a misplaced foot. Rick's finger fidgeted over his trigger. From behind the dumpster, Maggie stumbled into view, eyes wide in disbelief. She was followed shortly by Glenn and Michonne.

"Beth?"

It took mere seconds for recognition to process and then the Greene sisters sprinted to each other. Tears and embraces followed. Beth disregarded her cast and threw her arm wildly around her sister again the second after they had parted. The entire group relaxed and soaked in the joy. Rick holstered his gun and clapped Glenn on the back. In hushed tones and muted gestures, he explained the situation to Michonne.

Carol took in the scene from Daryl's shoulder with teary amazement. The missing little girl had been found and returned; their group was whole again. For the last time, she shook away the persistent and ugly thought: Someone should be dead.

"But no one is." Overwhelmed, Carol reached for Daryl and he took her offered hand without hesitation. Her throat tightened as Michonne and Glenn embraced Beth.

After banishment, after the prison's destruction, after Lizzie, the idea of hope had disintegrated into a relic of the past. What good was hope when death and failure were much more likely than success? That conclusion was incorrect, the proof beaming right before her. Rejuvenated, Carol no longer felt as if her losses were swallowing her whole.

Despite the pain and her buckling knees, she broke out into a chuckle. "I was wrong," Carol declared with a small grin. "Maybe we still do get to save people."

Daryl shifted his weight and caught her just as she staggered. The corners of his mouth tweaked upward even as he lifted her with a grunt. Pride flickered in his eyes, but in the end he cracked, "Was afraid I lost ya. Again."

Carol just about burst into tears, knowing she had almost left him of her own volition. That crossed car driving by had disrupted what surely would have been her biggest mistake. Trapped by circumstance, she went into Atlanta with him to rescue a girl, but Beth wasn't the only one who was saved today. Carol no longer recognized that woman from just days ago.

She cupped his jaw and reminded him, "Nine lives, Pookie."

The old joke and name drew a watery snort from him. "More like six at this point," Daryl warned, his voice low. Crumpling, he nuzzled her palm and began moving toward the fence. "Can't have ya losin' more."

His shirt absorbed her first tears, the next she quickly wiped away. "Hey, I still have more than half, right?"

"Right," Daryl agreed with a conceding huff.

Carol poked his chest lightly and proclaimed, "Let's make good use of them then."

Author's Note: Hey, thanks for reading! There will definitely be more. It's a long road to Richmond, after all. Feedback would be awesome!