Hello lovely fellow Carylers!  Long time no see on here.  It’s nice to see everyone so happy, and it’s nice to have our girl return!

This was originally written as a one shot, and it came to me after we got the devastating news of Melissa not being in season 1 of the spinoff.  It had been an idea that would not leave my head and I wrote it all out to channel the disappointment and heartbreak I was feeling along with you all.  

I had written my version of what a Caryl goodbye scene would look like, and the only way I was able to make sense of it was to write it with the notion that it wouldn’t be goodbye forever.  The one-shot became a two-shot, and then when we’d heard later that July that Mel would likely make a return, I decided to expand the story further. 

I had written the first seven chapters of this story before 11c aired.  Some of the earlier events are based on filming speculation we had at the time, and I’ve also made minor tweaks to canon from earlier season 11.  I took a writing break after the season 11 finale, but by the time we got the first few filming spoilers of Mel filming in season 2 (the airplane photo to be exact!!) I had only about four chapters left to write.   

As you can tell by all my ramblings, this story has been over a year in the making, for more than one reason.  Had taken some breaks here and there and unlike my last two stories, I had written this all down before typing it up.   For anyone who has followed my stories in the past, you’ll know that I like to have it completely written before I start posting, so I should have my updates every other day or so after giving them a final read through.

I’d like to give a special thanks to a good friend of mine Freefromthecocoon, who had put up with some of my ramblings via PM during both the good and tough times in the fandom.  

I hope you all enjoy what I’ve created here.  Even though parts of it may be tough to read, as some of it deals with their separation, just know that I will always create a good ending for these two. Thank you in advanced for reading and it would make me so happy to see what you think after each chapter, I’d really appreciate hearing your thoughts! 

Enjoy and cheers to our future! 

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.