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lemonbxrry · 3 months ago

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Doctor's Orders

ZERO / ONE / TWO / THREE / FOUR / FIVE / SIX / SEVEN

Season Two, Episode Two: Bloodletting

Season Two, Episode Three: Save the Last One

I look at the cop that was lying on the gurney, checking his pupils and seeing that he wasn't responding at all. I expectantly looked up at my attending, waiting to hear the orders that they gave me.

"[Last Name], did the bullet go through or not," my attending, Dr. Fresk said, being on the opposite side of where his wound was. I quickly check, trying my best to not add more injury to him, finding that it did shoot all the way through.

"Alright, what do we need now [Last Name]?" Dr. Fresk asked, making sure I knew exactly what we needed, the consequences were me being kicked off of this trauma.

"We need to get an MRI scan, see if the bullet grazed any organs, and to see if there are any possibilities of shrapnel, we will then irrigate the wound and get some antibiotics, we need to also get a head CT to ensure there isn't any brain bleeding," I answered quickly. Dr. Fresk nodded his head in agreement, we waited as the MRI loaded.

"Alright [Last Name], we need a stapler, lidocaine, morphine, and an irrigation tray, you're gonna do it and I am going to oversee you do not mess up, got it?" I stare at him in awe, surprised he was even allowing me to do this, yet it was expected if I wished to go into trauma. I nodded my head quickly, asking the nurses around us to get what we needed as we headed to an operating room.

THE WALKING DEAD

I exit the operating room, heading to the waiting room where there stood another man in a cop uniform, having been with the man who we just did surgery on, he was anxiously pacing around in the same place, his hand in his hair. I gently call out to him.

"Are you here for Mr. Rick Grimes?" I pulled my surgical mask down, looking up as I got closer to him, he was slightly towering over me. He stopped his pacing, stopping in front of me.

"Yes, yes I am. Is he okay? He has a wife and a kid, he can't leave em," the man said, spilling out information from his anxiety.

"Yes, he is, his surgery went well, we just don't know when exactly he will wake up since he didn't seem to be responsive when we got him, and when we took him to a CT it didn't show any brain bleeds," I explain to him, clasping my hands together gently, having a small sympathetic look on my face.

"Wait, so there's a chance that he won't wake up?" the man asked, worry evident on his face.

"There is a possibility, slim, but there is a chance that he won't wake up, we won't know for a while," I tell him. He put a hand to his mouth, cupping it as tears seemed to pool into his eyes, as he bent over, putting his hands on his knees as his body shook quietly. Sympathy flooded my mind as I gently patted his back, bending a little bit to try and help him stand back up, "I'll be one of the doctors that are always on his case, okay? So if I find anything new or if you ever come in during these times I'll be here," he nods his head in reply, seeming to calm down from his emotions.

"Thank you Ms., Ms. uh," he said, wiping at his eyes. I give him a gentle smile, taking a small step back to give him space.

"Doctor [Last Name], you can call me [Name] if you prefer, however a lot of people call me [Last Name]," I put my hand out to shake.

"Deputy Shane Walsh, a pleasure to know that someone that is good is going to be taking care of him," Shane said, shaking my hand, I nod my head.

"Well, visiting hours are close to ending, so let's get you to see him before it ends," I tell him, walking with him down the hall to Rick's room.

THE WALKING DEAD

I race alongside Rick, having used my jacket to try and cover the bullet hole that tore through Carl. My lungs burned and I felt like I could pass out at any moment, yet all I could focus on was getting Carl any type of help.

"Hey, you move shithead! You get us there!" Shane screamed at the man with the shotgun, yanking him forward.

"Shane! That's not going to help us right now!" I yell at him, halting my run with Rick, turning to look back at the man,

"How far?" Rick asked, fear and anger evident in his tone.

"Another half-mile that way, Hershel. Talk to Hershel. He'll help your boy," he wheezed out. Rick and I turned and continued to run, panting and struggling to keep running for as long as we have been. We soon reach the outskirt of the barn.

"Rick I can carry him, let me help," I tell him, he nods hesitantly, giving me Carl as we ran the rest of the way, watching as a family came out, guns in a few of their hands.

"Was he bit?" the older man in front asked.

"He was shot," I called out, blood dripping from the now-soaked jacket onto my black short sleeve shirt.

"By your man," Rick added, having been by us the whole way.

"Otis?" someone asked, already knowing who was out there.

"He said to find Hershel. Is that you?" Rick asked as the group got closer, "Help me. Help my boy," Rick begged, holding Carl's head, careful the boy was going to break even more.

"Get him inside," Hershel ordered.

"I can help, I'm a doctor," I tell Hershel as I carried Carl inside, following after.

"Good, good, Patricia, I need my full kit," Hershel said, pulling his sleeves up, "Maggie, painkillers, coagulates, grab everything. Clean towels, sheets, alcohol," he continued listing off as we turned into the bedroom closest to the door. I set him down on the bed, immediately helping him get to work on helping Hershel with Carl, "Pillowcase," Hershel said.

"Is he alive?" Rick asked quietly, not gaining either of our attention.

"Pillowcase, quick," Hershel repeated.

"Is he alive?" Rick asked, louder this time as he reached for a pillowcase by Carl's head, handing it to me. I quickly folded it, making a small pad out of it, and took my jacket off of his wound more fresh blood began to flow out I quickly press the pillowcase against his wound, Rick pressing with me. Hershel grabbed a stethoscope, listening for Carl's heartbeat, I could only hear my own though, anxiety eating away at my mind that we didn't arrive in time.

"I've got a heartbeat," Hershel said after a moment, Rick took a shaky breath in, shaking, "It's faint,"

"Rick it's okay, I got it," I tell him, he slowly nods, taking a careful step back, "You gotta take a step back. Do we have an I.V.?" I asked, looking around at the other women here in the room.

"Your name?" one of the women asked, gently pulling Rick back.

"Rick," he answered, not taking his eyes off Carl.

"And who's the little lady with you?" she asked, seeming to be asking about me.

"[Name], she was my doctor before this happened," he said, stumbling over some of his words.

"Rick, [Name] and I are gonna do everything we can, okay? You need to give us some room," Rick only glanced at us as we bandaged Carl, I press my hand gently against Carl's back, trying to find an exit hole, "Now," Hershel said, seeing Rick didn't take a step back or attempt to leave. I glance up, seeing the teary and sweaty face of the sheriff, we held our gazes for a moment before he nodded stepping out of the room, seeming to be in a daze.

I glance back up as Rick, Shane, and the man who I am assuming is Otis enter.

"Do you know his blood type?" Hershel asked, looking up at Rick.

"A positive, same as mine," Rick answered.

"That's fortunate," He said, glancing back down at Carl, "Don't wander far. I'm gonna need you. What happened?" Hershel asked, looking over at Otis and Shane, the two men standing behind Rick.

"I was tracking a buck. Bullet went through it, went clean through," Otis said, his voice having pain in it and sadness. I glance back up at Shane and Rick, then back at Carl.

"The deer slowed the bullet down, which saved his life, but, now it's still inside of him, it didn't go through Carl," I explained, giving a small sigh through my nose, "It broke into pieces, so we will need to do a small surgery here, Hershel, do we have anything that can help?" I ask, turning to look at the man. He shook his head in response. "I can count six so far, but I won't know until I go through the wound," I look up at Rick, feeling a wave of Deja vu hit. This felt like how it was before, except ten times worse. I started to tune out Otis, not wanting to hear how broken he was sounding, I keep the pressure on Carl's wound.

"Lori doesn't know," Rick murmured, swaying a bit, he leaned into Shane, "My wife doesn't know. My wife doesn't know," he repeated, crying now.

"Rick, you gotta be strong for your Carl, I know it's scary right now, but you gotta be as strong as you can be because he's just as scared," I tell him, trying not to cry myself, "He is strong just like you and he's going to get through, I just need to the right supplies,"

THE WALKING DEAD

"Maggie, go get Rick," I tell the brown-haired woman, looking up from my spot, having lost some feeling in my arms from pressing so long, trying to console the now awake and crying boy. Maggie comes back with Rick, explaining that he needed blood as Carl continued to cry and groan. "Shane, please help hold him down, he's moving too much and it's going to cause more problems," I explain quickly.

"Dad," Carl cried out, his face pale and sweaty, continuing to squirm under our hands.

"Almost there," Hershel said, extracting one of the pieces out of Carl, the boy screaming loudly.

"Stop! You're killing him! [Name] make him stop!" Rick screamed, trying to rush to where his boy was laying, Maggie having to hold him back.

"Rick this is the only way that helps him live," I almost snap at him, cleaning the area where Hershel was extracting the bullet fragment.

"He needs blood," Patricia reminded, telling Rick.

"Do it now!" Shane screamed at Rick, holding the boy close and watching Carl and me. I glanced between Carl and Rick, continuing my own side of work.

"You are doing such a great job Carl, I know, I know it hurts," I tell the boy, pushing his hair back while trying to help soothe his mind, "You are so strong buddy, you're gonna be okay," I murmur, tears pricking my eyes, I blink furiously to try and stop them, only a few escaping. His crying soon stopped, his head falling to the side, causing an uncomfortable quiet.

"Wait, wait, hey," Shane said worried, staring at me with worry.

"He just passed out, he'll wake up again," I reply, just as Hershel pulled out the first shrapnel, placing it down into a bowl.

"One down, five to go," He said solemnly.

THE WALKING DEAD

After bandaging Carl I sat in the living room, resting my elbows on my knees to prop my head up in my hands, breathing deeply. It felt great to be doing something surgical again but god did it hurt knowing that it was Carl that I was going to do it to. I felt the couch sink next to me, I glance to see Shane have a faraway look but have a small look of worry on his face.

"Are you okay?" he asks, putting his hand on my back. My body felt so warm and his hand felt so cold, it was nice, yet I knew it was just the anxiety that was making me feel so warm.

"Best as I can be, I really need that supplies," I tell him, rubbing my temples and groaning at the small headache that was forming, "Are you okay?" I ask after a moment.

"Not really, but, Rick needs someone right now, or people who can support him," Shane responds, I give a small nod.

"I'm gonna go talk to Rick, possibly go out and get the others, I'll be back," I nod, watching him get up and leave, I close my eyes tightly, finding a small moment to finally rest. Yet all I could think of is the fact that something was going to be wrong.

THE WALKING DEAD

I awoke to Shane shaking me gently on the couch, I sat up quickly, panicking.

"What happened, is Carl okay? Did someone else get hurt?" I stumble up, almost falling, he quickly helps stabilize me, shaking his head.

"No, no, I'm going with Otis to find the supplies, doc says that one of his blood vessels got nicked, and Otis knows what it looks like. We decided it would be best if you stayed here, don't want anything happening to our only other doctor," Shane explains. I nod slowly, blinking as I try and remember where I was at.

"Okay, be safe, if you find anything else, like medical books, please bring me, I don't know every single surgery and I don't want to have to go in blind someday," I tell him, following him outside, Rick catching up with us, "You better be safe too, Carl needs one of his favorite people coming back in one piece," I try and lighten the mood, making it seem like I am still completely on his side.

Stepping to the side we watch the two men drive off in the blue truck. I head back inside with Patricia, Rick, and Hershel following after as we go to check on Carl and see how he's doing.

THE WALKING DEAD

I stay in the bedroom with Carl, holding onto his small clammy hand. I place my forehead down on the edge of the bed, praying to whatever higher being was out there.

"I'm so sorry Carl, we should have just had you go with your mom, none of this would have happened to you," I tell the sleeping boy, soon watching as Rick and Lori came in, her expression breaking at the sight of her boy.

"My boy, my baby boy," she quietly said, crawling into bed with him. I took that as my queue to leave, nodding to Rick as I watched them hold hands, holding one another tightly. Rick gave a small nod back, about to reach back but pulling his arm back, going to hold his wife instead. I walk outside, taking in a deep breath of the warm summer air, and closing my eyes. Hershel seems to be taking care of him for now. I stay outside for a bit before coming back inside, coming in during a conversation between Rick, Lori, and Hershel.

"Well, yes, in a sense," Hershel answered, I pop in next to Rick, confusion going through my head.

"In a sense?" Lori asked, turning to look at me, "Have you done this surgery [Name]?" she asked, looking between Hershel and me.

"I didn't ever have it happen like this, the only recent one that I got to do was with Rick's surgery," I answer her honestly.

"Honey, we don't have the luxury of shopping for two surgeons," Rick told her, taking her hand in his.

"No, I understand that. But I mean, you're a doctor, right?" She asked Hershel, giving him her attention.

"Yes ma'am, of course. A vet," he said, nodding.

"A veteran? A combat medic?" she hurriedly asked.

"A veterinarian," Hershel looked her in the eyes as he said this, glancing at Rick and me. I place my hand over my mouth, shock filling my body.

"And you've done this surgery before on what? Cows? Pigs?" Lori asked, taking a shaky breath in.

"I have to, I have to sit," Rick said, falling into a chair, I carefully catch him on his other side, careful to not let him fall onto the floor.

"Completely in over your head, aren't you? At least [Name] is here, she can help," Lori said, looking at Hershel.

"Ma'am, aren't we all?" the man replied. I gave a sigh, gesturing for Rick to continue drinking his orange juice.

"You should get some rest [Name], you got a big surgery to do tonight," Lori said, sighing, she gently rubbed my shoulder, "Thank you for helping," she said, honestly, bringing me in for a hug. I freeze for a moment, surprised, before going to hug her back, closing my eyes. It felt like my mom's own hugs. It felt like family and warmth. I take a step back and go to the living room. I take a seat on one of the couches and close my eyes, finally finding a moment to rest.

The Walking Dead

I look out at the field from the porch, having decided to stay outside while I wait for Shane and Otis to come back with the supplies. I barely even moved when Maggie came and sat down next to me, having a sandwich made, gently holding it out to me. I hesitantly reach out for it, holding the plate in my hand, and giving a small nod of thanks.

"You doin' okay, sweetie?" she asked, looking down at me from where she was standing.

"Oh, I'm doing the best I can right now. Thank you guys for letting us in, haven't really had the time to be civil, y'know?"

"Of course, Otis didn't mean to shoot your brother," Maggie said, giving a small sympathetic smile.

"I know, Otis was simply lookin' for some food, not gonna blame a man for that, it was a freak coincidence that we were both there," I tell her, not bothering to even say that Carl and I weren't related. The Grimes family was the closest thing I had to feeling like a normal family, and I wasn't gonna let that go. I eat half of the sandwich and it was silent for a while before a car decided to pull up, and two figures came into view. I put my sandwich down, eyes wide with recognition of who the two figures were.

"Did you close the gate up the road when you drove in?" Maggie asked, looking at Glenn and T-Dog. Glenn held his gun close to him, seeming to be dumbfounded.

"Uh, hi. Yes, we closed it. Did the latch and everything," he said, gesturing back, "Hello, nice to see you again. You too, [Name]," Glenn said with a bashful smile. Maggie stayed quiet, only raising her eyebrows a little. I took a glance at T-Dog, noticing how he was shivering, and it was not from the cold. "We, um, we met before briefly," Glenn elaborated.

"Look, we came to help. There anything we can do?" T-Dog asked, I stood up from my spot walking over to them with Maggie.

"T-Dog, what's happening with your cut, did it get infected?" I asked worriedly, gently taking his arm and looking at the makeshift bandage, lifting it up and seeing the pus leak out a bit. I scrunch up my nose, shaking my head, "This isn't looking too good, you can't help when you have an infection like this," I tell him. Maggie took a step back, eyes darting between the three of us.

"Like the ones out there type of infection?" she asked, fear evident in her voice. I quickly shake my head.

"No, no, he cut himself on a car out on the highway," I explain quickly, "We're also waiting on Shane and Otis to come with some supplies, so hopefully they get here soon for you and Carl," Maggie nods.

"Alright, I'll let them know you both are here then," she replies, heading inside, "Come on," she said, gesturing for the two men to follow after us.

We go in a line into the room where Carl was laying, Patricia, Hershel, Lori, and Rick were sitting around the young boy. Glenn took off his hat, glancing at the three of us standing behind him.

"Hey," he called out softly, a look of pity on his face.

"Hey," Rick replied, glancing up at the four of us at the door, and looking back at his son.

"Um, we're here, okay?" Glenn said, trying his best to sound supportive.

"Thank you," Lori said, nodding at Shane, glancing at her husband then putting her attention back to Carl.

"Whatever you need," T-Dog rasped out, before I gently took him by the arm, leading him into the living room, Glenn following after, Maggie leading him.

"Let's get this bandaged correctly and redone with antibiotics," I tell him, taking the bandage off, Maggie has already gone off to get fresh bandages and ointment. When she came back I began to apply more of the ointment, watching as Lori exited the room, heading outside seeming to be crying. My heart clenched in sympathy, before putting my attention back once I saw Rick go after her.

"So, how'd y'all meet?" Maggie asked, looking at the three of us.

"Found each other on the highway, trying to get out of Atlanta, some awful traffic," I told her, finishing T-Dog's new bandage, patting him on the shoulder, and looking at the painkillers Glenn brought, saying it was from Daryl. I give him the amount it says to take, passing them to him, "I'll hold onto these, can't have you getting addicted," I explain, putting them into my pocket.

"Well, [Name] and I kind of knew each other since I was always somehow delivering to her apartment," Glenn said shrugging.

"Oh yeah, you found me when I needed to finish my studying for my board certification," I tell him, him nodding.

"So you're a real doctor then? Not like a nurse?" Maggie asked, sounding surprised.

"Well I mean, nurses are also trained, they just don't go through the same training as surgeons, both are tedious," I pop my neck, "I'm gonna see if they need any help inside, you will know where to find me," I said, giving a small wave. I lean against the door frame, watching Carl sleep until he started coughing and gasping, waking up, his eyes frantic and looking everywhere.

"Where are we? [Name]?" Carl asked, his voice full of fright as he tried to sit up, shaking.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down, it's okay," I tell him, ushering him to stay laying down, Rick and Lori came out of the bathroom, rushing to Carl's other side.

"Hey little man, that's Hershel," Rick said, trying to help calm him down. Hershel gave a small smile, passing a small look toward Rick. "We're in his house. You had an accident, all right?"

"It hurts, a lot," Carl gasped out, reaching to touch his wound.

"It's good that it hurts, means that your nerves are intact still," I reply, smiling at the three of them softly.

"You should have seen it?" Carl said, smiling up at his mom.

"What?" She asked, playing with her son's hair.

"The deer. It was so pretty, mom. It was so close. I've never been..." Carl trailed off, stopping mid-sentence. My heart dropped, a feeling of dread filled my entire body.

"Carl?" Rick asked, his voice cracking. Just as he called out to the boy, Carl started convulsing on the bed, grunting. I quickly flip him to his side, making sure his head doesn't snap in an awkward direction, holding him up.

"Stop, don't hold him down, you'll hurt him," Hershel instructed Lori and Rick, seeing as the two parents tried to hold him down.

"You can't stop it?" Lori asked, glancing down at her son and then back up at Hershel and me.

"No, he has to go through it. We can't stop it, we can time it, Rick, make sure it doesn't exceed five minutes," I quickly tell him, still keeping Carl on his side. Carl continued to convulse, Lori sobbing, soon Carl stopped convulsing, falling limp. "Brain's not getting enough blood. Pressure is bottoming out. He needs another transfusion," I say out loud.

"Okay, I'm ready," Rick said, about to sit in the chair where he had been getting his blood drawn out for the past day.

"Rick we can't, you've already drawn out two liters, you could go into a coma or cardiac arrest," I explain, looking up at him from watching over Carl.

"You're wasting time," Rick pleaded, sitting in the seat next to Carl. Hershel grabbed the device, beginning to set it up and get ready for the next transfusion despite my warnings.

THE WALKING DEAD

I pace out on the porch of the house, biting at my thumbnail, glancing out to the field and back to the floor, having just hooked Rick up to do the transfusion for Carl since Shane wasn't here yet. All I could think about was how this was all caused because of a deer. A deer stopped for Carl and stared at him. I take a deep breath in, finally stopping my pacing and just looking out at the field we came from. I enter back inside the house, making my way to the bedroom, and passing a small glance at Glenn, who seemed to be absolutely in a trance with Maggie, I look away, biting the inside of my cheek.

"He's losing blood faster than we can replace it, and with the swelling in his abdomen, we can't wait any longer or he's just going to slip away," Hershel said, gently placing Carl's arm down, "We need to know right now if you want us to do this," He said, looking at Lori and Rick, gesturing to himself and me.

"He might be out of time, we have to do it now or he won't make it," I solemnly tell them, tying my hair back up, having taken it down in between working on Carl and taking short naps, "You have to make a choice,"

"A choice?" Lori asked.

"A choice," Rick echoed, turning to face his wife fully, "You have to tell me what it is," Lori placed her hand on Rick's face gently, her lips twitching in a frown, she then turned to face Hershel and me.

"We do it, you save our boy, [Name]," she tells us, giving a small nod of her head.

Patricia comes in with a metal moving table, wheeling it into the room, we carefully place it at the front of the bed.

"Okay, get the corner of that bed. Let's get the sheets down, and get the I.V. bag on the sheet. Okay, on three," Hershel instructed, I stay at my corner of the bed, "One, two, three," we carefully and quickly pull Carl up, placing him onto the table, Patricia pulling out the tools and getting a lamp to help light our area better.

"Rick, Lori, you may want to step out. This isn't going to get better," I tell them, looking up from the other side of the table. Then the sound of a truck approaching filled the air. Rick quickly strides over, pulling the curtain of the window, revealing the blue truck we saw hours before leave comes back, "Hershel, I'll stay, go help them get everything in, we don't have much time," I order out, they all quickly run out of the house, a moment passes before Hershel comes back inside with a bag, and we quickly set to work.

THE WALKING DEAD

Hershel and I step outside to where everyone was waiting on the porch, wiping our hands off on some towels they had laying around that were clean. Rick and Lori stand up quickly turning to us with expectant eyes.

"He seems to be stable," I tell them, giving them a smile, Rick lets out a small hopeful laugh, tears in his eyes he hugs Hershel, Lori comes up and hugs me tightly, pressing a small kiss on the top of my head, holding me close, I quickly hug her back, not wanting to let go.

"I don't have words," Lori tearfully said, almost laughing in joy.

"I don't either, wish I did," Hershel said, once Lori broke our hug, he glances around at us, "How do I tell Patricia about Otis?" I blink, looking around at my group with furrowed brows, not knowing what happened, I stare at Shane, who had an unreadable look on his face as he stared right back.

"You go to Carl," Rick says, turning to his wife, "I'll go with Hershel," he says, following Hershel inside, Lori glances back at Shane before coming inside, the two of us watching as Patricia breaks down in sobs in the kitchen. I pat her gently on the back, making my way back outside, sitting down on the porch steps, T-Dog sitting down next to me.

"You did a good thing today," he says, I glance out the side of my eye, giving a small shrug.

"It was scary. Especially with the fact that we barely even got the supplies in time, pure luck," I tell him, running a hand through my hair, taking it down from its up-do.

"You still saved Carl's life, I know you would do anything for us, especially them," T-Dog says, patting my shoulder, throwing a glance at the front door, I already know who he is talking about, which is the only whole family left within our group.

"Yeah, they remind me of my own family back before this whole, epidemic started," I explain, closing my eyes and putting my head against the pillar on the stairs. "I don't wanna lose them to anything, so of course, I'll try my best to make sure they stay connected and together. Within my couple years of being a resident at the hospital, I saw so many families be torn apart because of so many things, it kind of leaves you fearful of losing your family," I elaborate.

"I'm sure that you won't lose them, not for a while," T-Dog said, patting my shoulder and standing up, "Let's get some rest now, we'll be seeing everyone else tomorrow," he says, I nod, standing up and walking in after him, giving one last glance back outside.

"I think I need to take a shower, I got too much blood on me," I mutter, pulling at my shirt which was slightly solid from all the blood. I walk around, looking around for Maggie, finally finding her. "Hey Maggie, do you have any clothes I can wear? And if there's an available shower?" I ask her, giving a small thinned smile. She nods, heading into a room and coming back out with a flannel and a couple of towels.

"Flannels were Otis's, so that's why it won't fit, didn't want you to be in too small of clothing, sadly don't think we have any pants for you that'll work," I shook my head.

"No, no, that's okay, my pants are okay to wear, it's just the shirt, thank you," I tell her, she nods, pointing to a door down the hall.

"That's the bathroom," she said, soon walking away. I walk into the bathroom, and set my new shirt and towel down on the sink. I looked at myself in the mirror as the shower heated up, I wash away all that had happened, scrubbing until my skin felt raw.

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lemonbxrry · 11 months ago

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Doctor's Orders

ZERO / ONE / TWO / THREE / FOUR / FIVE / SIX / SEVEN

Season Two, Episode One: What Lies Ahead

"[NAME], LET'S GO," Dale called out, slapping the side of his RV a bit. I look up from where I was crouched, having been looking through the cars that we were siphoning gas at. I nodded, standing up and dusting off my pants, walking back to where Shane was so we could get into the RV. I tried to keep my distance from him as best as possible, but somehow we always wound up working together.

"You doin' good?" he asked, knowing that once we made the first stop the first thing I did was throw up after getting out of the car.

"Yep, with all the bodies and events of today, I think that was the way of my body pushing everything out," I told him. We head down the freeway, having only two cars fully working now, aside from Daryl driving his motorcycle. I hummed to myself quietly, looking out at the view that we were passing, sitting in one of the seats. I heard Andrea make some small talk with Shane, not paying much attention as we continued down the road.

"Oh jeez," Dale said aloud, slowing down before coming to a stop. I looked over from my notebook, having written down most of what happened the past couple of days, seeing as I couldn't really write as much as I used to at the quarry.

"Aw, no," I muttered, putting it away. Daryl pulled up, talking to Dale before circling around and heading ahead of us again.

"Maybe we should just head back, there's a bypass," Glenn began, looking at the map.

"Can't waste the fuel like that," Dale and Shane said, I give a small sympathetic smile at Glenn before leaning over his seat and looking out through the windshield, watching as we made our way around all of the cars, seeing more and more pileups and abandoned cars. I held my breath, seeing how many still had dead bodies. Then a white smoke popped out where the engine was, causing a sputtering noise to be made.

"Jeez," I muttered, the RV coming to a stop. We exited the RV, Dale shaking his head.

"I said it a thousand times. Dead in the water," he said as we checked up where the engine was.

"Problem, Dale?" Rick asked, popping up.

"Just a small matter of being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no hope of," he glanced back, seeing Daryl pick something out of the back of a car. "Okay, that was dumb," he said, sighing a bit.

"If you can't find a radiator hose here, there's a whole bunch of stuff we can find," Shane said as Daryl continued looting the back.

"I can siphon more fuel from these cars for a start," T-Dog said, passing by us to check out other cars.

"Maybe some water," Andrea suggested.

"Or food," Glenn added to the list.

"Medicine, there has to be more medicine here," I mumbled to myself, glancing around at the cars, pulling out a bandana I found, and dabbing at my head, wiping off the sweat that collected. I stuff it into my back pocket, hoping to find a hat or something to keep off the heat.

"This is a graveyard," Lori said, we stayed quiet, not knowing how to argue that we were morally right. "I don't know how to feel about this,"

"Come on, y'all, let's look around," T-Dog said after a moment, soon everyone heading into different areas of the board we were on.

I carefully make my way around a couple of cars, peeping in and seeing if there was anything. I looked inside a blue car, grateful that it was unlocked, I opened the door and spot a couple of bags of trail mix on the floor, unopened. I put them into my backpack, looking around for more stuff we could use. When I turn to tell Lori and Carol what I found I see Rick racing towards us, the man obviously running to warn us.

"Get down, get down low and stay quiet," Rick orders us quietly as he could. I do as told, taking out my knife and crawling underneath the car, pushing my bag into the backseat of the car, far enough that I could reach it without the worry of the walkers getting to it. I held the knife tightly, watching as they made their way along the road. I held my breath as they passed by, the car rocking by how many were pressing up against it. I glanced to the side, seeing Sophia, Carl, and Rick in the car line with me. No longer hearing the shuffling I stayed low, not daring to move. After a moment Sophia crawled out, right as a walker stumbled right in front of her. The girl immediately took off to the side where the woods were, and a couple more walkers stumbled after her. I crawled out from under the car, about to run after her and go with Rick until I heard someone shout.

"[Name], you gotta help him," Daryl called out, carrying T-Dog who had fresh blood all over him.

I jogged over to them, "Where is it, where's the blood coming from," I asked T-Dog, grabbing my bandana out of my pocket and putting some of the clean water I had over the bandana, wiping away at the blood that collected on his arm, causing T-Dog to hiss in pain, "Hey, hey, it's gonna be okay, what happened?" I ask, looking back at Daryl, knowing that T-Dog wouldn't be able to really answer from the pain.

"I don't know, doesn't look like it was a walker," he said, I relaxed at his words, before grabbing T-Dog's arm, pushing T-Dog to sit down.

"We gotta keep this elevated," I told him, raising his arm up a bit, at least above where his heart is. Blood trickled down his arm, showing a shallow and long cut going down his arm. "It didn't hit any major veins, so we look good here, however, we might have a chance of infection since we don't know what was on what cut you," I told him, "Shane, grab me some water or something to clean him up," I ordered, applying pressure onto his arm. The blood quickly soaked up the rag, he jogged over with a jug of water, placing it and kneeling next to me to help. "Lucky for you I got some ointment to help clean it out too, it's gonna sting like a bitch though," I told him, grabbing a shirt that I packed from the CDC building, tearing off a part of it, and pouring some of the water onto it, cleaning around his wound and at the edges of it, he winced in discomfort, closing his eyes. "C'mon, keep it together T-Dog, this is the worse of it for right now," I told him, finding the antibiotic ointment and applying it to the wound as best as I could, soon wrapping it with another part of the shirt as tight as I could without hurting him. "Let's get him back into the RV, he needs a change of clothes, don't remove the bandaging without me, we can risk infecting it if it's removed too much," I explained as we helped T-Dog up, seeing Rick come back up without Sophie. I gave a frown, knowing that the news he was to bring us wouldn't be good news at all.

THE WALKING DEAD

I looked through the cars before Shane started pushing them out of the way of the road, finding anything useful we could use, thankful for getting some canned goods and even a small first aid kit someone packed, but it wasn't going to be enough to last two months depending on how severe people's wounds could get. I soon began to head back to where everyone was grouped, helping Lori and Carl stack items that are able to be moved to another area.

"Going back's going to be easier than trying to get through this mess," Shane commented, looking at the cars that lay on the road.

"We're not going anywhere till my daughter gets back," Carol stated, looking like we were trying to abandon her.

"That goes without saying," Lori chimed in, trying to reassure the other mother.

"Rick and Daryl, they're on it, okay? If Sophia is hurt [Name] is here to help too, she knows what to do," Shane said, gesturing at me. "It's just a matter of time,"

"Can't be soon enough for me," Carol told him.

"I'm still freaked out from that herd that passed us by, or whatever you'd call it,"

"Yeah, what was that? All of them marching along like that,"

"A herd sounds about right," Shane mused.

"I feel like it was almost like a migration, like the night the camp got attacked, and how there was a herd of them," I comment, giving a small sympathetic look towards Andrea. "Like when animals have to migrate because of how cold it's getting, they might be migrating because there's no, well, food," I continue, looking down the road that the herd came from.

Shane cleared his throat, looking at me then looking around, "Come on, people. We still got a lot to do," he said, "Let's stay on it. Let's go, come on," he said, pushing us to get right back to work clearing the road and scavenging for what we can. "[Name], let's go look for stuff," Shane said, looking at how many cars we haven't checked out yet.

"Oh, I thought you wanted to move the cars out of the way," I tell him, opening my bag and checking to see how much room I had in it, there was still quite a bit of space left seeing that there wasn't too much of anything in the cars.

"It's fine, let's go," he said, gently grabbing my arm and pulling me along after him, glancing back at where the others were, Lori and I had locked eyes before she was hidden by the cars.

"Why'd you want to go collect with me?" I ask him after checking a couple of cars.

"Just didn't want to be around everyone while we talk," he said, shrugging.

"Oh, what did you want to talk about?" I ask, feeling my hands get clammy and a cold feeling washes over me despite the hot sun beating down on us.

"What happened back there? You looked so out of it when you got back to the jeep," Shane said, grabbing my wrist, stopping me from trying to look further into the car, I look up at him, seeing him glance back at the group, only seeing their silhouettes, then glance back at me.

"Nothing, I just, it took a little longer to convince Andrea," I told him, trying to pull my wrist from his grasp.

"Seems a little more than that, don't think you noticed this but I have seen the glances you throw at me," he replied, turning me around fully to face him. At this, I furrow my brows, and I feel my body grow cold and clammy despite the heat that beat down on us. He knows that Lori told me. "I can protect you, y'know, you can depend on me, you can, need me" he comments. I take in a deep breath, realizing he doesn't know. He thinks I'm into him. I glance back towards the silhouettes of the group, I could do this for Lori, but I couldn't do this to Glenn, it's unfair to him.

"What about Glenn, he doesn't deserve this," I told him, grabbing his forearm, my heart beating heavily against my chest, feeling like I am doing the worst thing morally possible. Shane gave a hum, thinking this over, he rolled his shoulders back, letting go of my wrist.

"Just tell him you guys should stop, easy," he replies, smiling a sickeningly sweet smile, "He'll understand, plus, it looks to me you guys haven't done anything in a while anyway," he shrugged, "You can't depend on a guy like Glenn, you can depend on me, after all, you need me, you need me to protect you, haven't I been doing that from the start?" he asks rhetorically, then glances back at our group. "Just, give it some thought, I already know your answer, but think about it [Name]," Shane said, leaving and heading back. After he made some distance between us, I fell onto my knees, covering my mouth and squeezing my eyes shut. Tears spilling out, I muffled my cries to make sure he wouldn't come back, planning to blame it on me dropping something if he turns back and questioned why I suddenly disappeared from view. I opened my eyes, tears still flowing as I looked back at the whole group, minus Sophia. I can talk with Lori about this, but there's no good way to tell the whole group about Shane and his antics, I scratch at my cheek, wincing as a small stinging sensation appears. I take a deep breath in, wiping furiously at my eyes and cheeks to get the tears away, I stand up, brushing off the dirt that's collected onto my pants, and head back to the others, not daring to look at anyone in the eyes.

"I found some food and some medicine, not too much," I muttered quietly, heading into the RV and setting my findings down on the table, coming back out and looking around, not seeing Carl anywhere in the immediate area. I glanced at Lori, furrowing my brows. "Where's Carl at?" She turns to her side, about to answer before she falls quiet, stopping.

"He was right here with me," she muttered, looking up and around, panic set in between the two of us before we hear footsteps running towards our area.

"Shane!" Carl called out, running with a black object to where Shane was working on a car.

"Carl, what happened?" Lori asked, running up to Carl, I follow after, my anxiety calming down after seeing he was okay.

"I found something cool, [Name], look," he said, putting what he had carried in his arms down on the ground, unraveling it to show some axes and similar, "It's an arsenal," he said excitedly, looking up at me and then back at Shane.

"That's cool bud, go give them to Dale," Shane said, giving just a glance and then back to what he was doing, not sounding at all interested in what Carl was trying to show. I bit the inside of my cheek, he didn't need to be taking out his anger on a child.

"Check this one out," Carl said, not noticing Shane's tone, pulling out a hatchet, "Whoa, it's a hatchet,"

"Whoa, careful there Carl, they're pretty sharp," I tell him, standing beside him while giving him my attention and showing him interest. He still played around with the hatchet though, his mother giving a sigh and holding her hand out to him.

"What did [Name] just say?" she asked him.

"Can I keep one?" Carl asked instead, not paying any attention to his mom.

"Are you crazy?" Lori said in reply, grabbing the hatchet.

"No way. Shane. Shane tell her to let me keep one," Carl begged, looking at the man. I glanced at Shane, looking back at Carl.

"Maybe when you're a little older or something kid," I told him, ruffling up his hair.

"Hey, man, go give them all to Dale now. Go," Shane said, putting his tools down, his voice filled with annoyance. Lori picked up the arsenal, putting the pack back into Carl's arms, Carl looked down, hurt on his features. I gave a look at Shane, an annoyed look on my face as I walked with Carl to where Dale was, rubbing his back in reassurance.

"I'll talk with him, [Name]," Lori said, squeezing my shoulder softly, watching as we walked off.

"Shane might have a lot on his plate right now, still not fair he told you that," I told Carl, trying to lift his mood a bit. Carl only shrugged in response.

"He's been like that for a while I think," Carl told me, we waved at the other members of our small group, them waving back at us. We make it to Dale's RV, put the arsenal into it, and head back out, seeing everyone huddle around the car Shane was working on.

"Is that a local signal?" we heard Glenn ask once we got closer to the group.

"It's got to be fifty miles of here," Dale said, glancing around at everyone.

"Avoid anyone infected at all costs. Remain calm," the radio said, I rolled my eyes, it seemed to be a very late broadcast, "Help is on the way. The emergency alert system has been activated," it continued before Shane leaned down and turned it off.

"Asshole," Shane muttered, shaking his head and looking at all of us, I held Carl to my side, his arms wrapped around my leg a bit, "Okay, let's get back to work," he patted the car door, everyone dispersing. "[Name], do you have all your stuff together?" Shane asked, right as I was about to head off after Carl left with his mom.

"Uhm, yeah, I always keep my stuff together," I furrowed my brows, popping my knuckles anxiously.

"Good, good," Shane said, looking back at the car, seeming to have dismissed me. I blink a couple of times before heading back to the group, wrapping my arms around Glenn's waist, who turns and gives me a soft kiss on my forehead.

"Haven't really seen you too much," he said, smiling down at me. I give a soft hum, nodding, cuddling closer into him.

"Yeah, things have been getting a little too hectic despite how life is right now," I tell him, shrugging. I choose to not tell Glenn about what Shane did earlier in the day, feeling like Lori was the only person I can actually talk to. He gives a small hum back, gently kissing my lips as we set off together to look for more supplies.

THE WALKING DEAD

Dale was showing Glenn and me more about how to fix the engine of the RV, Andrea walking over to where our small trio was.

"Where's my gun?" she demanded to Dale, Glenn, and I standing awkwardly, watching the interaction, "You have no right to take it," she told him, slight anger in her tone. Glenn gently tugged me away, I flashed a small sympathetic smile at Andrea, following after him.

"Do you think Sophia is okay?" Glenn asked as we looked at the edge of the forest, the two of us holding one another's hand. I gave a small frown, shrugging in reply.

"I would like to think that she stumbled upon some people who were kind enough to let her stay with them," I told him honestly, walking off to carry some food in a crate with him, making small talk as we walked back to the RV.

"Oh god, they're back," Glenn said, setting down his crate, I set mine down, putting my hands on my hips, furrowing my brows again, they didn't show up with Sophia.

"We'll pick it up again at first light," I heard Rick tell Carol, getting close enough to hear their conversation.

"You can't leave my daughter out there on her own to spend the night alone in the woods," Carol's voice started to break towards the end, crying. I hold Glenn's hand tightly when he stands next to me, placing my head against his shoulder. Is this what my mom is feeling right now? I can't imagine the grief that she must be in.

"Out in the dark's no good," Daryl said, shaking his head, his voice laced with pity, "We'd just be tripping over ourselves. More people get lost,"

"But she's twelve. She can't be out there on her own, you didn't find anything?" Carol begged, close to full-on sobbing as Lori reassuringly rubbed her back.

"I know this is hard, but I am asking you not to panic," Rick told Carol, "We know she was out there. We tracked her for a while. We have to make this an organized effort, Daryl knows the woods better than anybody. I've asked him to oversee this,"

"Is that blood?" Carol gasped out, looking at Daryl. Everyone's attention diverted to where he stood, he looked down at himself looking back up.

"We took down a walker," Rick explained, trying to calm her down.

"Walker? Oh my god," Carol said, fidgeting around in place, swaying almost.

"There was no sign it was ever anywhere near Sophia,"

"How can you know that?" Andrea asked, antagonizing Rick.

"We cut the son of a bitch open, made sure," Daryl answered, Carol sat down against the railing, muttering a small 'oh god'.

"How could you just leave her out there, to begin with?" she asked Rick, anger, and sadness in her voice, "How could you just leave her?"

"Carol, he might have had reason to, like walkers were around them, he had to steer them away," I tried explaining, wanting to find a reason that he had no choice.

"There were two walkers on us. I had to draw them off, it was her best chance," Rick explained, glancing at me and giving a small nod, giving his attention back to Carol.

"Sounds like he had no choice, Carol," Shane came up beside Rick, looking down at her.

"How was she supposed to find her way back on her own?" Carol asked, tearing up again, "She's just a child," she repeated, now sobbing, Lori having to pull her back away from Rick.

"It was my only option. The only choice I could make," Rick told her, kneeling down and staring up at Carol.

"I'm sure nobody doubts that," Shane said, leaning against the rail, I bit my cheek, he sure sounded like he doubted Rick.

"My little girl got left in the woods," she cried, everyone quiet and hurting too. Rick walked off towards the area Shane and I were looking at earlier, his mind seeming to be filled with trouble.

"Let's go back to the RV," Glenn said, steering me away from where Andrea and Lori were comforting Carol, I gave a small nod, following after him, exhaustion hitting like a brick.

THE WALKING DEAD

"Everybody takes a weapon," Rick said, spreading out the arsenal.

"These aren't the kind of weapons we need, what about the guns?" Andrea said, scoffing at Rick.

"I mean, these are the best to have right now. It doesn't draw any noise if used correctly, and they're sharp enough to go through the walker's head," I tell her, looking over it, I decided I didn't need any, seeing as I have my bat and knife that I could use if I couldn't use my gun.

"We've also been over that, Daryl, Rick, [Name], and I are carrying. We can't have people popping off rounds every time a tree rustles," Shane said leaning against the RV.

"It's not the trees I'm worried about," Andrea said, giving Shane a look, before nodding in confirmation at my reasoning.

"Say somebody fires at the wrong moment, a herd happening to be passing by. See, then it's game over for all of us. So you need to get over it," Shane slung his bag over his shoulder, making it known he was ready to go.

"The idea is to take the creek up about five miles, turn around and come back down the other side," Daryl explained, I watched as Glenn picked up a hatchet, a smile on his face as he held the weapon in his hand. I give a small laugh, patting his shoulder before walking over to where Shane, Daryl, and Rick stood, "Chances are she'll be by the creek. It's her only landmark,"

"Stay quiet and stay sharp. Keep space between you but always stay within sight of each other," Rick said, turning away.

"Everybody assemble your packs," Shane ordered, tossing up his water bottle and catching it.

"Dale, keep on those repairs, we've got to get this RV ready to move," Rick told Dale, the man standing up.

"Won't need to stay here a minute longer than we have to. Good luck out there, bring Sophia back," Dale said in response.

"Keep an eye on Carl while we're gone?" Rick asked him, glancing at his son, I stood near them, having not been told if I was on his pack or Daryl's.

"I'm going with you, you need people, right? To cover as much ground as possible," Carl said, not understanding that he couldn't.

"Your call, I can't always be the bad guy," Lori said, shaking her head.

"Well, he has all of you to look after him. Even got a doctor with ya," Dale said, propping his arm up on the door frame of the RV, "I'd say he's in good hands,"

"Okay, stay close with [Name] then, she's the best chance for helping you if you get hurt," Rick said, smiling at the two of us. I give a smile and thumbs up, following after Carl, helping him collect his own bag.

"Always within my sight, you mom's, or your dad's, got it?" I tell him, ruffling his hair as he nodded, I spot Glenn walking over to us, giving him a small peck on the cheek, "Be safe, got it?" I tell him, and he nods, kissing my cheek back.

"When am I not?" he asks jokingly, walking off to his own crew, all of us soon making our leave to the woods.

THE WALKING DEAD

We follow after Daryl, a trail being made for us from when Daryl and Rick looked last night. I hum quietly to myself, looking around, the scenery was beautiful despite the reason we were here. Carl left my side, going behind me to talk to Shane.

"Shane, look, dad said I could carry it and mom said as long as I was-" Carl was telling him excitedly before Shane cut him off.

"Keep it down. We're looking for Sophia, you need to focus on the task," he told the young boy. I walk back to walk alongside Carl, giving Shane a look, he only shrugged his shoulders at me, as Carl slowed his steps, walking dejectedly.

"Got to keep up," Lori said, ushering her son to walk with her.

"Shane, whatever is going on, don't take it out on Carl, he's a good kid and he respects the hell out of you," I tell him, shaking my head.

"Well, more important things are happening [Name], can't coddle him and listen to him all the time," he huffed out.

"Still, he's a kid, doesn't matter if it's the end of the world or not, he's a child who still thinks there's good," I catch up after Lori and Carl, not staying to listen to what Shane has to say next.

Daryl stops us, everyone crouching at the sight of the tent, quiet settling among us.

"She could be in there," Shane muttered quietly amongst the group, the only one standing close enough to the tent.

"Could be a whole bunch of things in there," Daryl muttered, making his way towards it. Daryl, Rick, Shane, and I walk towards the tent quietly, I have my knife out, ready to stab into the walker if needed. Daryl motions for me to follow, seeing that I had my knife out already, we walked to the tent, peeking inside the tent, not seeing anything.

"Sophia, sweetie, are you in there?" Carol called out softly, her voice having hope as Daryl and I stood, ready to attack if it wasn't her, "Sophia it's mommy. Sophia we're all here baby, it's mommy," her voice started to break a little. No movement came, as Daryl unzipped the tent an awful stench came through, showing the corpse of a man inside, having shot his head through his mouth, Daryl grabbed the gun, glancing at me before pocketing it. I shrugged, not caring he took it.

"It's not her," I say, coming out of the tent.

"What's in there?"

"Some guy did what Jenner said. Opted out, ain't that what he called it?" Daryl said, reloading his crossbow. As we looked around to see if Sophia was around here the sound of church bells ringing sounded. We looked around at each other, soon racing to find the source of the bells.

"What direction?"

"I think that way. I'm pretty sure," Rick pointed, we raced forward a bit, losing the sound a bit.

"Damn, it's too hard to tell out here," I mutter, popping my knuckles again.

"If we heard them, maybe Sophia did too," Carol said hopefully.

"Someone's ringing those bells, maybe calling others," Glenn suggested.

"Or signaling they found her," Andrea added.

"She could be ringing them herself," Rick suggested, leading us to follow him.

THE WALKING DEAD

We cross the tree line, coming upon a church, standing on the outskirts of a graveyard.

"That's can't be it. Got no steeple, no bells. Rick," Shane called out, as Rick decided to move forward anyway despite the obvious. Soon he broke into a run, forcing the rest of us to race after him, our bags almost slipping off as we chased after the sheriff. We make it up to the front door, finally catching up to Rick. He motioned for us to be quiet, slowly opening the door to let us see inside, there sat a few people spread out on the pews, looking right where the priest would be. Instead of living bodies, it was the undead, still, in their Sunday clothes, they snarled at our arrival, turning towards us. They slowly got up, not making too quick of moves to attack as a few of us went around to kill the walkers. We looked around, seeing that Sophia was still nowhere in sight.

"Sophia!" Rick screamed, opening doors as we spread around, trying to find out if there was another way she could possibly be arriving at.

"Yo, J.C., you taking requests?" Daryl asked the crucified Jesus statue, I let out a small snort, shaking my head at the dumb joke, or desperation Daryl was coming to at the moment, turning my attention back to looking around.

"I'm telling you, it's the wrong church. It's got no steeple, Rick," I heard Shane say once I got close enough to hear them talking. I gave a small frown.

"Maybe it's a-" I was cut off by the bell ringing again, we all rushed outside again to only see a speaker, and I give a sigh of defeat, "A timer," I mutter, kicking the grass as Glenn tore the wires out to stop it from ringing.

"I'm gonna go back in for a bit," Carol said, her voice sounding far away. Everyone started to follow after, I stayed back for a bit, clenching and unclenching my hands. We felt so close yet so far away from where she could be. It sucked. I glanced to the side, spotting Andrea standing for a moment, I reached my hand and squeezed hers gently, giving her a sympathetic look, and she gave a sad smile before going to the side of the church, and sitting down. I go back inside quietly, seeing Lori and Shane exit, the two of them looking a bit heated.

"Hey, [Name], come sit with me," Glenn called out, patting the spot next to him, smiling as I sat next to him. I give a thin smile back, thinking back to what Shane said. Telling Glenn what Shane did could put the three of us at risk of the ex-cop's wrath, and I would rather not put Lori's or Glenn's life in danger.

"Are you okay?" he asked, seeming to catch onto the low mood I was feeling.

"With everything going on, especially with Sophia going missing, I don't think I can handle being with you like this right now. It sounds so shitty, but I just, I can't right now," I tell him, biting the inside of my cheek as I watch his once-happy smile going into a frown, seeming to have not expected that.

"Oh, oh..." he trailed off, not seeming to find anything to say, "Did I do something?" he asked, furrowing his brows, trying to find an answer to why I suddenly wanted to end things.

"It's not you at all, just with the stress of everything I don't think I can be the right type of support in a relationship," I quickly tell him, not wanting him to think of it as anything else, "I'll always be here to support you but I don't think I can do that as your partner," I explain, trying my best to try and make this situation better. It felt wrong though. This whole situation felt wrong. Right as Glenn was about to talk again Lori walked up, a worried look on her face as her eyes darted between us.

"Um, [Name], I just gotta talk with you," She said, glancing at Glenn.

"Oh, I'll take that as my queue then, I'll talk with you more [Name], don't think you can't talk to me after this," Glenn said, standing up and going to talk with T-Dog.

"Is it Shane?" I asked, my voice soft and quiet so that she can only hear. She nods her head, glancing around.

"He wants to leave, but he seems to want to take you with," she messes with the flannel she's wearing. I blink, absolutely surprised that he would even think about wanting to take me with him.

"What? Why would he be thinking that?" I ask, anxiety already eating, feeling a deep dread within my stomach.

"I don't know, he just seems to think that you are for sure on his side and going with, even after I mention how it'll break Carl's heart if both of you go," Lori explained better.

"That's worrying, I'll definitely see why he is thinking that, I know I don't want to go, at all," I tell her, she only nods in return, squeezing my shoulder in assurance and leaving to go sit behind Carol. I take a deep breath in, clenching and unclenching my hands again, feeling my fingernails press hard into my palms, soon unclenching my hands when the pain got too much. I lost my vision for a minute before I blinked a couple of times, taking in a deep breath, 'Things are getting bad again,' I thought to myself, walking to where Glenn and T-Dogg were at.

THE WALKING DEAD

"Y'all gonna follow the creek bed back, okay? Daryl, you're in charge," Shane said after a moment of talking with Rick outside, "Me and Rick, we're just gonna hang back, search this area for another hour or so just to be thorough, [Name] is staying with just in case Sophia is hurt,"

"You're splitting us up, you sure?" Daryl asks, making sure that they're certain of their choice.

"Yeah, we'll catch up to you," Shane said, trying to convince us all.

"I want to stay too, I'm her friend," Carl says, taking a step forward toward Rick and Shane. Lori and Rick share a look before looking back at me.

"[Name], can you make sure Carl stays careful, don't want him to get hurt or anything," Lori said, giving a small smile at me.

"You can trust me, no worries here," I tell her, giving her a thumbs up.

"Carl, stay by [Name] as best as you can," she told her son, hugging him.

"I will," Carl said in reply, hugging back.

"Oh when did you start growing up," she said, most likely reminiscing about what Carl was like when he was much younger. Rick then walked over, giving her a kiss and a tight hug, the two saying their goodbyes for the moment. I glance to my other side, seeing Andrea and Shane share a look before she glances at me, and he starts walking off. Andrea lets out a huff before following the rest of the crew. I put my hand on Carl's shoulder, gently leading him after Rick, waving goodbye to Glenn and the others as we make our way to continue searching. Rick walked up to where Shane, Carl, and I were standing, stopping for a moment to talk with us.

"Give me a minute?" Rick asked, heading back towards the church, we nodded in agreement, following after him. We stay out at the front of the church, waiting for Rick to come back, I hold Carl close to my side, trying to make sure Shane doesn't try and snap at the poor boy. I stare at the graveyard, thinking about how I used to go to church when I was younger with my family almost every Sunday, despite my parents having been very religious they still allowed us to go out and figure out ourselves and what we believe in.

"[Name], do you think we can talk when we get back?" Shane asked, pulling me out of my thoughts. I shrug my shoulders, about to reply until Rick came back, seeming to be finished with what it was that he needed to do, "Get what you needed?" he asked Rick, watching him come out of the church.

"Guess I'll find out," Rick answered, walking off in a direction.

We quickly follow after him, keeping quiet, I kept Carl in front of me, glancing back periodically to see how Shane watched the two of us, I kept my mouth shut, not wanting to call out his creepy behavior and cause problems in front of Carl. A branch snaps, stopping us, I put a protective arm out in front of Carl, pulling out my knife and going into a defensive stance. Shane stepped in front of me, we watched as a figure stumble, the trees obscuring our vision. We get to the side, and seeing that it was a deer, we watch in awe, surprised that we were so close to it. I give a small smile, it was a gorgeous sight.

Carl took some careful steps toward it, as we watched him step closer and closer to it. The deer turned his head towards the boy, still standing proud. I held my breath, surprised it was allowing the boy to stay so close. Then a gunshot rang through the air, tearing through the deer and Carl fell flat onto his back. I felt my body grow cold as I ran forward, screaming his name. Shane and Rick yell after and try to help stop the bleeding and see who shot Carl.

#reader insert #x reader #romance #daryl dixon #female reader #rick grimes #shane x reader #daryl x reader #twd daryl #daryl fanfiction #the walking dead daryl #the walking dead show

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