REPOST NOT A NEW STORY – I missed posting this one when I changed profiles.
Get Thru This
Jen S. - I own nothing related to the Walking Dead.
Another Coda fix. One of many, but I don't think this has been done yet. Let me know if I'm wrong. I've moved to the point where I just hope this is some long con developed by the writers of Walking Dead. I know it probably isn't, but I hope they realize how badly they handled this and fix it some how. I haven't read the comics yet, but someone mentioned that Comic Carl survived a shot to the head. I pulled up images and was astounded. His wound was a lot worse than Beth's, it took out most of one side of his face! So hell yeah, Beth can survive. Mistakes happen to everyone. All that matters is that you try to fix them. Which led to this.
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
I've seen better days, yeah If I can get thru this If I can get thru this
So says the mirror
It's hard to find divinity
When you're the king of men
I can get thru anything
If I can make it thru this
I can get thru anything
I can get thru anything
If I can make it thru this
I promise you, I promise you – Get Thru This –
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
His mind was filled with the image of that gun coming up under her chin and firing. He couldn't comprehend why she would attempt to stab the woman cop. It made absolutely no sense. Worst case scenario was that it would end in a blood bath on either side.
No.
Not worst case.
Worst case happened. She was limp in his arms as he walked out of the hospital. Maggie screaming and collapsing just made it all the more real. He started towards her. This was the hardest journey he'd ever taken but he was determined to reunite the sisters.
She was still heavier than she looked.
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
She was falling. Slipping. She reached up instinctively to hold on.
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
He was losing his grip on her. He thought he could carry her forever, but she was falling. He started to shift her weight, refusing to let her drop.
Her hand slid up his back to grip his shoulder.
His first thought was that somehow she'd turned. He let out a gasping sob at the thought that after all this, they were going to have to put her down.
His second thought was joyful. She would open her eyes. He would see her eyes again.
His third was suicidal. He would let her. If she came up to rip out his throat, he would let her. Then he could go into the ground with her.
Her eyes opened, clouded. Still in pain. He hadn't expected that. For her pain to carry over into death. She let out a long low groan. Tears flooded his vision and he didn't even try to blink them away. Rick stepped up next to him, a knife in his hand.
"No," Daryl turned away from Rick, sheltering Beth from him. She needed to kill him first. His heart was already dead, she just needed to take him the rest of the way.
"Daryl," Rick said in a commanding voice.
"Dar…" Beth gasped.
Rick blinked wildly. His hand grabbed her face and pulled her chin up. The pressure of her head resting at her neck had kept the wound from bleeding, but as he moved her, blood poured out. "She's still alive," Rick whispered, then shouted, "SHE'S STILL ALIVE!" He yanked his t-shirt up over his head and wrapped it around her throat. "Take her inside, Daryl, NOW!"
Daryl turned and ran. Tyreese left Carol standing against the railing and yanked open the door, kicking a stone into place to hold it and disappearing inside.
Officer Licari was the first to meet them as Daryl raced inside with Rick on his heels. "She's alive? How in the hell?" He grabbed a gurney as the other cops arrived. "Lay her down."
Beth moaned in pain despite how gently Daryl put her down. "Daryl?"
"I'm here. I'm here." He wanted to say so much but all he could do confirm his presence.
"She's just not dead yet," Dr. Edwards said.
Rick and Daryl both aimed their guns at him. Rick glared intensely, "And you best keep it that way if you want to continue to breathe."
Edwards looked to Licari for help. Licari sneered, "Start digging through that medical knowledge, Doctor."
Edwards blinked rapidly then turned to the wards, "Start prepping the X-ray, CT scanner, and MRI machine. It's going to take a lot of power to run all three."
Licari nodded and turned to the cops, "Cut all extra power. Turn off every light except what is absolutely necessary."
"What do you need?" Abraham said as the others gathered in the doorway. "Fuel?"
Licari nodded, "We've emptied everything within a twenty five block radius around the hospital."
"Then we'll go thirty," Glenn replied. He kissed Maggie and walked back outside. Abraham, Sasha, Tara, and Tyreese followed.
Rosita grabbed Eugene and pushed him towards Edwards, "Help them."
"I'm not a doctor. I'm not a scientist," Eugene reminded. Rick turned and glowered. "I'm just a very smart liar."
Rosita shoved him again, "You say you're not a scientist, but you're still the smartest guy alive. Help. Fix. Her." Her voice dropped to a low, dangerous whisper, "Show us you are worth something."
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
Twenty hours passed in excruciatingly slow seconds. They'd managed to find enough fuel to run the machines needed to examine Beth. Scavenged water and some food. Now they all just waited.
They put Carol back into a bed with an IV and pain meds. Tyreese had taken up vigil on the sofa in her room. Michonne had taken over the room next door and set up a bed for Carl and a crib for Judith. Tara had helped her keep the baby occupied with random items from around the hospital.
The others watched the clock tick. Glenn managed to get Maggie to lay down after practically forcing a sleeping pill down her throat. Rick paced in the fresh shirt Noah had gotten him from the hospital supply.
Daryl sat in the corner, staring at the floor. He didn't respond to anyone's attempt to speak to him. Refused to accept any food and barely took any water.
He was the first to respond when the gurney carrying Beth was pushed into the hallway. He leapt to his feet and went to her side to grasp her hand. There was a thick bandage around her neck, and another around her head. Her eyes were taped closed and there was a tube running into her mouth.
"I am not a brain surgeon," Dr. Edwards began. "Just so we're clear on that. I didn't even try to go inside her brain. All the scans show that the bullet went clean through and there are no skull fragments left behind. The bullet entered under her chin, just missing the jawbone. I did have to remove tissue from her throat and ironically enough her tonsils. It went upwards through her brain and out through her skull. I'll have to go back in when the swelling goes down and replace the missing bone with a piece of cadaver bone."
"Where did you get cadaver bone?" Rick asked.
"Dawn," Edwards answered. "The top of her skull was mostly intact. I cut out what I'll need and am storing it."
"When will she wake up?" Carl asked.
"I've put her into a coma," Edwards replied. "To heal and to keep her from feeling the pain. I don't want to get your hopes up. She will probably never wake up. This kind of traumatic brain injury would be difficult to survive even before. Now." He shook his head. "I'm likely wasting time and resources."
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
A week. Seven agonizingly slow days.
Beth kept breathing.
Edwards performed the surgery to replace the missing part of her skull with a piece from Dawn's.
Beth kept breathing.
They took her off the ventilator.
Beth kept breathing.
Daryl kept watching. He never moved from the chair pulled up to her bedside. They brought in a sofa and put it against the wall. But he never moved from the chair. He drank very little, because drinking meant he had to walk the five steps into the bathroom. He ate even less. Sleep came in short bursts when his head dropped to his chest. He refused to acknowledge anyone. Even when Carol was able to walk across the hallway. His eyes never left Beth's face. Maggie tried. Carl tried, even trying to get him to take Judith. Nothing worked.
Her hand moved. Her elbow bent and her hand came up to her throat.
"She's posturing," Edwards said when they brought him in to see her. "It's a sign of severe brain injury. She won't recover from this. I told you. We are just postponing the inevitable. We are wasting resources on a corpse."
Rick grabbed him and shoved him out of the room, slamming him against the opposite wall with his forearm pressed against the doctor's throat. "If you use the word resources about her again, I will take you to the roof and throw you off. Do you understand me?"
Edwards looked to Licari who shrugged, "Why you looking at me Doc? I'm gonna be the one holding the door for him. Do your damn job. This here," he pointed at Beth. "This is on us. Our fault. We did this. By standing by and letting it happen. This is a mark on our souls."
"She ain't posturin'," Daryl said from his spot, his voice hoarse and barely audible. "She sleeps like that sometimes. Holdin' on to her necklace."
"Necklace?" Edwards asked.
"Heart charm on a black cord," Rick replied.
Licari walked away. He returned several minutes later with Beth's necklace in his hand and a duffle bag on his back. "Saw it in Dawn's office a few days ago. Didn't know it was Beth's."
"Why did Dawn keep it?" Rick asked.
Licari shrugged, "Shiny object I guess." He handed it to Daryl who pulled a knife and cut the cord so that he could get it around Beth's neck without lifting her head. Once it was in place, he re-knotted the cord and pressed the heart into Beth's fingers. She clutched at it for a moment, then her hand relaxed. Edwards walked away, shaking his head.
"Hate to tell you this man, but you stink worse than a rotter." Licari dropped the duffle bag to Daryl's feet. "You should go shower and change. Got jeans and a clean shirt here. Noah's gone back to laundry duty so he may be able to do something about what you're wearing."
Daryl just grunted.
Rick and Tyreese moved to stand next to him. "Brother," Rick said. "You're wasting away here. You need to eat and shower. Get some real sleep. I'll sit with her. You aren't moving far, you can leave the door open. But you need to do this. Now."
Daryl looked up at him. Rick nodded, "Come on."
"Come on, man," Tyreese urged. He got a hand under Daryl's arm and lifted. "Up."
Daryl finally complied. He rose unsteadily to his feet and shuffled away from the chair. Suddenly Licari grabbed his arm. Daryl yanked free and stumbled, glaring fiercely at the cop.
But the cop was staring at the girl in the bed.
Daryl whirled, almost knocking himself off balance.
Beth's eyelids were fluttering. Her hand, that had rested in Daryl's, was grasping at the air. Daryl lunged, dropping back into the chair and taking Beth's hand back into his.
"Beth?" he whispered. "Beth you in there?"
Her eyes opened slowly, struggling like it was the hardest thing she'd ever done. Several blinks and another closing then opening, she finally seemed to focus on Daryl's face.
"Daryl?" she mouthed, no sound emerging.
"Hi," he laughed through tears that sprang free. "Hi."
Her eyes scanned the room, locking on Rick's grinning face. Tyreese returned with Carol and Carl.
"Maggie?" Beth mouthed.
"She and Glenn went on a run with Abe," Rick answered as he moved in to rub her arm. "They'll be back soon."
"Abe?" Beth looked confused.
"You ain't met him yet," Daryl replied.
Judith's squeal and giggle echoed into the room.
Beth's face brightened, "Judith?"
Rick nodded, "She's fine. She's in the other room playing."
"Can I see her?" a tear slipped out of Beth's eye but Daryl caught it before it reached the bandage. Carl darted and came back with Michonne carrying Judith, "Hi baby," Beth was obviously trying to put some sound into her voice but failing. She was also obviously tiring.
Judith saw her and squealed. Michonne leaned over holding her so Beth could see her but Judith began to struggle to get free. When Michonne refused to sit her down, Judith began to fuss, reaching for Beth. Beth lifted her hand to the baby and Judith gripped her fingers tightly, pulling hard. Rick was forced to peel Judith's hand away and Michonne carried her back to the hallway sobbing and wriggling.
Officer Shepherd stood in the hallway, "Is she Beth's baby?" there were tears in her eyes as she watched Michonne try to settle Judith. Carl and Carol came out to try to help her.
"More or less," Carol replied. "Rick's wife died in childbirth. Beth took over caring for her." They took Judith back into her room and shut the door to muffle the noise.
Licari emerged from the room. Shepherd looked at him, "We stole her from her family. We stole all of them. We did so much wrong here."
Licari glared at her, "No shit. You now just realizing that?" He glanced back as Rick and Tyreese slipped out of the room, leaving Daryl with Beth. "I was a soldier. You follow the orders you're given even if you think they're wrong. It's just the way it is. I never forced anyone to come here. I never raped the women or hit anyone. But I never stopped the ones who did. Didn't like it, but didn't stop it. You follow orders from the guy in charge, until someone new is in charge." He looked to Rick.
"We need Edwards back here," Rick said. Licari nodded and strode away.
Beth was starting to drift to sleep, but was fighting it. She kept opening her eyes to look at Daryl. She swallowed and managed to whisper audibly, "You really smell bad."
Daryl huffed a laugh.
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
Something plastic crashed to the floor and Judith laughed hysterically.
Daryl opened his eyes. He was stretched out on the sofa in Beth's room. He sat up and rubbed his face, looking around. Judith and Carl sat on a blanket under the window. Carl was stacking plastic specimen containers in a pyramid. As Daryl watched, he finished and leaned back. Judith reached over and knocked them down with a squeal. She sat back clapping her hands and laughing, then looked to Carl with a wordless sound. Carl gathered the containers and started stacking them again.
"You awake?" Rick asked from his seat next to Beth.
Daryl nodded. Maggie walked into the room. He frowned at her, "Thought you were on a run? Beth opened her eyes."
Maggie smiled gently at him, "That was two days ago, Daryl."
Daryl blinked rapidly and looked to Rick, who nodded, "You took a shower, ate for us, and crashed. Been asleep for about fifty hours now."
"You don't remember?" Carl asked as Judith bulldozed his building again. Daryl shook his head. "You woke up a bunch of times. Drank some water. Peed. Without closing the door by the way. Then went back to sleep."
"She wake up?" Daryl stretched as he walked over to take Beth's hand in his.
"Not much," Maggie admitted. "Just a few quick peeks here and there. She seems to know us though, Dr. Edwards said that's a good sign. And she's moving her arms and legs. Responds to pain."
"Who's hurtin' her?" Daryl growled.
Maggie reached over and pinched Beth's arm with her fingernails. Beth grumbled and yanked her arm away. "Edwards says it's too soon to be sure," Rick reported. "But he doesn't know Beth like we do. Go take another shower, Daryl. And you've got to be starving by now."
Daryl started to shake his head, but his stomach growled loudly. Judith laughed at the sound. Beth stirred, bringing her legs up slightly and twisting. Daryl leaned over to watch her face. Her eyes fluttered and opened. She smiled up at him. "Hi."
"I missed you," he whispered. Finally able to say what he'd been thinking, "I missed you so bad when you were gone."
"I'm here."
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
It would be days before she could keep her eyes open for more than a few minutes at a time.
Another week before she could sit up without nausea or dizziness knocking her back.
There were issues. Her hand eye coordination was very poor. She had trouble with her memory. Most of her older memory was intact, but new information didn't always stick. She frequently looked at Abraham, Rosita or Tara with only vague recognition. Some of her recent memories were hazy or completely gone. But in some ways that was a blessing. She remembered that Hershel was gone, but didn't remember their final day at the prison at all. She remembered being told to dress for the hostage exchange, but nothing of the actual event or shooting. She couldn't recall or even think why she would try to stab Dawn in the middle of such a tense standoff. She did remember opening her eyes outside, feeling absolute agony, but seeing Daryl and Rick's face hovering over her.
There were dizzy spells that had her grabbing for the nearest object or person. Sometimes falling completely. She still had headaches. Random, excruciating migraines that reduced her to curling on her bed in the darkness until the medication kicked in and she could sleep.
Eugene worked with her daily. He finally came clean and told them that he'd been a high school science teacher before, explaining that was why he knew all the cool little tricks that made him seem so much smarter. He worked with her coordination, having her pick up small objects and drop them into cups. For her memory, he taught her little tricks to help cement things in her mind. 'Building new pathways' he said repeatedly to her. Teaching her word association to help her remember names. When she got frustrated, he stayed patient. When she threw things, he just ducked out of the way, picked them up and made her take them back.
The others helped, too. When it became obvious that writing things down helped her, Glenn spent three days hunting for journals. They came across an intact bookstore and he found several to bring to her. A few trips later and the entire collection of books had been transported back. Michonne and Carol took turns reading the same book as Beth so that they could talk to her about the stories, even quizzing her about facts and events.
When Beth started describing a man and an incident that she remembered, Maggie burst into laughter. Finally calming to tell them that the man was an actor Beth had a crush on before the end, and the incident was a movie. Two days later, Licari appeared with the movie and a portable DVD player. It triggered the memory of Beth's confrontation over this very player and Dawn's subsequent order to let Carol die. Carol had hugged her gently and loaded the movie for Beth to watch.
Daryl found a few more bolts for the crossbow and started taking Beth to the roof to practice. Guns were harder. At first the loud noise would trigger a migraine every time. But eventually they stopped. She remembered how to shoot both weapons, but it took a while to regain her aim. Daryl just kept taking her to the roof.
He was never far away. He went on runs, but only alone, so that he could be fast. If she started to fall, he was usually the one to catch her. If she had a headache, he sat next to her in the silent dark until she fell asleep. He brought her books, pencils, and rare fresh fruit.
She didn't sing. He heard her try a few times with Judith. But she said her voice sounded wrong to her ears.
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
Rick walked into Beth's room. Judith was playing on the floor with a stuffed dog and an empty bowl. Beth was making the bed.
"Beth?" Rick said gently, "We're leavin' today, honey, you don't need to make the bed. Remember?"
Beth nodded and looked at him. The scar under her chin was only visible if she tilted her head back, which she rarely did. The shaved spot on her head was growing in well enough to hide it with her hair pulled back. "The new girl…" she broke off and frowned.
Rick stayed silent. They had found a few more survivors and brought them in. Licari was firm, they could stay if they wanted, leave if they chose. They were expected to contribute to keep the place going, but there was no more talk of debts. Rick watched Beth struggle to recall the name. Then she smiled, "Julie. The new girl, Julie, wants to move in here because she likes the view. I thought I'd make up the bed for her before we go."
"Hey," Licari greeted from the doorway.
"Hi," Judith piped up.
"Hello Judith." Judith laughed in glee of being acknowledged. Licari smiled. He was dressed in cargo pants and a t-shirt. One of the first things he did after taking over was get rid of the police uniforms. "Cars are stocked and ready."
Rick nodded and scooped up Judith and her toys. "Ready Beth?"
"Yes," Beth replied. She looked to the door and smiled as Daryl appeared. He walked in and picked up her backpack. He twined his fingers with hers and led her out. They said their goodbyes and walked outside.
The sun pierced her eyes. Beth flinched and ducked her head. Daryl gently gathered her into his arms and lifted her to carry away from the hospital. Beth pressed her face into Daryl's neck.
"She OK?" Rick asked.
"Sun's too bright," Daryl replied. "I got her."
He'd made this walk with her, believing her dead in his arms, ready to die himself. Now he was ready to live, simply because she was living.
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
It could be much worse, yeah If I can get thru this If I can get thru this With every ounce of who I am If I can get thru this If you come when I'm leaving If I can get thru this If you come when I'm leaving If I can get thru this I can get thru this
But the call is close
Tomorrow's my reason
For today to let go
I can get thru anything
If I can make it thru this
I can get thru anything
I can get thru anything
If I can make it thru this
I promise you, I promise you
And I will fight until the end
I can get thru that
If you cut me wide open
I can cut you some slack
I might never be back
I know it's not easy
It's a matter of fact
I can get thru that
If you cut me wide open
I can cut you some slack
I might never be back
I know it's not easy
It's a matter of fact, yeah
I can get thru anything
If I can make it thru this
Oh, I can get thru
I can get thru this
I can make it thru this
Oh, I can get thru – Get Thru This –