As soon as they'd entered the prison Carl had been the first to notice Daryl's return giving a loud whoop sound and had ran over, skidding to a stop before them. Carl continued to walk backwards asking how Daryl had escaped and if he'd taken down any of the townsfolk with him and probably would have asked more had Daryl not rolled his eyes and reached up knocking his father's hat off his head sending it rolling for him to chase with a groan.
Daryl smirked only to wince as he slowly eased himself down at one of the tables letting his back rest against the edge of the table. "Instead of askin all these damn questions, you could go get Hershel to dig this slug outta ma arm." The voice was gruff and strained but Carol watched as Carl merely smiled and gave a quick nod of his head taking no offense before racing into the cell block they all shared. When she turned her eyes back to Daryl she was met with those piercing eyes and found herself being studied quietly. Arching a brow she tilts her head slightly in question but her only response was a hint of a smile before he'd turn his attention to Rick and the others as they joined them leaving her to ponder what that look was for.
Rick took a seat at the table opposite and placed his elbows on his knees as he studied Daryl closely while Hershel sat next to him and began cutting at his sleeve to get to the bullet wound. He didn't say anything to the redneck other than placing a single hand briefly on his arm in welcome before he shifted his attention to his work. Carol stood close, watching the process with a student's eye, handing him the instruments he asked for without hesitation. She had been studying beneath Hershel and though she knew the concept, this was the first bullet wound that she was able to see in person.
She watched as he placed the tip of the scalpel slowly into the hole and crinkled her nose as she watched him begin to dig for the metal. Her eyes briefly left the scene to glance to Daryl's face, wishing that there was a way to stop him from hurting but he remained still, the only sign of pain was the occasional wince that twitched his features but for the most part it seemed his attention was focused on Rick.
"You able to tell us what happened?" Rick questioned and Carol tensed and sent a scolding eye towards their leader, frustrated that he wouldn't at least let Daryl get through this first before he questioned him. Her lips even parted to suggest that he wait but she felt Daryl's hand bump against her thigh, silently telling her it was alright. Her eyes still narrowed but her shoulders finally relaxed and she turned her attention back to Hershel, like him keeping a close ear to the conversation,
"Aint a whole lot to tell. They captured me, tried to get me and Merle to kill each other. Said we we're traitors, that Merle had helped us. Those folks, they were screamin for our blood with more sick glee than I ever saw a walker have. They're leader, that governor fella; he's one sick piece of work. Got all those folks thinkin he's the fuckin messiah or some shit. Oh and Andrea was there, seemed awfully friendly with him too."
That last part sent an abrupt chorus of gasps and numerous voices all trying to talk at once. Even Carol looked down at him with wide eyes though she didn't bother voicing what everyone else already had. They had all thought that Andrea had died the night they'd lost the farm, now to be told she was instead with the enemy… she wasn't even sure how to take that news.
"As glad as I am to hear that Andrea is alive, she's the last of our concerns right now. How long do you think we have till they make their way to the prison?" Rick asked, his eyes dark and serious, his face a mask as the two men stared at each other for a stretched moment which had gained the silence from the others as they waited with baited breath for the response. It was broken only by Daryl's harsh grunt as Hershel finally popped the metal free of his flesh, blood soon spilling free to be staunched by Carol's hand as she places a bunched up cloth there while Hershel reached to get the sutures.
"Aint sure, however long it takes for them to get rounded up, day or two at the most I'd reckon. We took out a lot of their men and their numbers are down but they still have more than we got and bigger guns too. And their pissed, that goes a long way." Daryl's voice was again rough from pain and growing exhaustion and the pull of the needle and sutures spearing through already irritated flesh weren't helping. Rick was silent for a moment before he would stand and look to all of them, meeting their gazes one by one before he'd give a nod of his head.
"Alright that doesn't leave us much time but we'll have to make do with what we got. Maggie, I need you to go and gather as much of the medical supplies as you possibly can, anything you think we might need. I want us to pick one room, deep in the prison where we can get too if things don't go our way. Pack them light encase we have to move out. Carl, sweep the armory again, get anything that we might have left, don't matter what it is. If we can use it take it. Beth I need you to pack up Judith's things and make a place for her in the room then go around and begin packing everyone's things, remember light bundles just like before."
Once Hershel had finished cutting the string and covered the wound with a protective bandage Daryl stood and met Rick as the others all scrambled to do as he'd ordered leaving only Daryl, Carol, Hershel and Glen remaining to gather around him. Carol placed herself there at Daryl's side, fear clenching her heart painfully at the thought of an attack, of loosing anyone else of her family. Yet no matter how frightened she was, she stood there with fierce determination to protect and keep what was theirs just like the others. She didn't fear death anymore, she wouldn't be found hiding meekly away while everyone else risked their lives for her.
"Carol I want you to go to the pantry and pack as much as you can, you know the way. After that meet back here and I'll go over the watch shifts with everyone. Thank god we took up those shooting lessons when we did. Glen, if you think you can, go and round up the other group and Axel, let them know what's going on. If they want to help we'd appreciate it but if not then they need to leave now before this gets ugly."
"Wait what other group? What the hell man. I'm gone for a day and we got even more strangers hangin around here. Aint you learned yet we can't trust nobody but us?!" Daryl shouted angrily at Rick who took it in stride.
"Daryl we don't have time for this. You want to discuss this later after we survive then by all means I'll listen but for now we need as many people as we can get. Do I trust them, hell no but we need them brother."
"Yea, we need them to put a bullet in our back while we aint lookin." Daryl growled but even he knew that it was pointless to argue at this point. "What the hell am I doin then?" Like hell he was going to be left out of the fight just because he was hurt, one look into Glen's eyes and he saw the same heated determination. They wanted their hands on the governor and no busted up face or bullet hole was gonna stop them from getting it.
"You and me are going to go take a look at that breached wall that Tyreese and them came through. See if there is a way to block that portion off so we don't leave ourselves vulnerable at the back. I want every cell block closed down, every gate shut unless it's the one's we're using. If they get in we need them to have a hell of a time getting to that room. We also need to pick which room is safest, more cut off than the others but close to an escape so if we have to run we can."
"What about the vehicles?" Carol spoke up for the first time and at first Rick looked like he'd forgotten she was even there, followed by confusion at her question so Carol elaborated. "If we have to make a run for it, we need to get the vehicles that we are going to run in…able to run. Take the gas from the ones we leave behind and put it in the car's we'll take."
When all the eyes left in the room turned to her Carol could feel the heat in her cheeks and had to fight the urge to lower her head and apologize for even speaking. She knew that she'd never have to do such things with anyone of them but old habits were hard to break and all the attention was making her even more nervous. She went to take a step back but felt Daryl's good shoulder there stopping her as it pressed against her shoulder blades keeping her in place. When she turned her head to gaze up at him he would merely shake his head then look back to the others making sure she was right where she had been. Rick's voice captured her attention again and when she turned her gaze back to him she blinked in surprise to see his smile.
"Excellent Carol, hell I'd forgotten all about the cars. Glen, you think you can cover that after getting the others. "He asked turning his attention away from Carol, allowing her to slowly release her breath and calm her nerves.
"Aint like he'd bite your head off for helpin woman, 'sides wouldn't let him even if he tried. You did good." Daryl's voice came quietly in her ear as he lowered his tone for her to hear him only while Glen and Rick talked amongst themselves. Hershel moved on to help Maggie with the medical supplies leaving just the four of them in the common area.
At his words Carol couldn't help but give a soft laugh and roll of her eyes as she turned to meet his gaze finding amusement there as well. "Yea well, in this world you never really can tell. Biting seems to be all the rage." She teased and her smile only grew when she heard his answering chuckle.
"Point taken."
Carol smirked and turned her attention back to Rick once she heard a break in the flow between him and Glen. "Before you get started Rick, Daryl needs to get some type of food in him if he isn't going to rest."
"Bah I'm fine woman, aint no need…" but before he could finish, ignoring the glare that Carol sent his way, he was interrupted by Rick.
"No Daryl, Carol's right. You should be in bed resting but some food will keep you going. You've lost a lot of blood and energy getting back to us; let's not make that for nothin. I'll come and get you after I make my rounds checking on everyone."
Carol smirked, happy to have him take her side for a change, leaving Daryl to glare and grumble. Rolling her eyes heavenward she prayed for patience. Any other person would be demanding to rest for just awhile. He'd been shot and god only knew what else and instead of wanting to take five minutes to put some food in his belly he wanted to go and get to work. As much as she admired the trait, and hell she wasn't gonna lie it was sexy as hell to have a man around as tough as Daryl was, it was still a pain in the ass.
"Oh, stop your whining, you're worse than Judith. Come on I'll fix up something quick and you can go run off quick enough." She heard his huff of indignation but didn't stick around to hear just what he was working himself up to say. Instead she simply turned and made her way towards the cafeteria leaving him to follow after her. When no footsteps immediately followed she almost turned around, afraid she'd gone too far but then she heard his grumbling before she'd feel his presence there at her side.
"Gettin a little bit bossy dontcha think?" he asked, his eyes narrowing as her lips merely twitched into a hint of a smile, her eyes bright even in the darkness that they lived within the prison. Daryl would reach out and give her shoulder a little shove making her skip a step and release a laugh that surrounded them in the darkness.
"And here I thought you had a thing for the lippy girls." She teased right back, so much of her tension easing from her now that they were alone and able to talk freely. Of course it wasn't some deep conversation about their feelings or any such thing, but this was more than enough for her, to even have him there to tease her in his bashful way, as if still not sure if it would be welcomed or not.
When they reached the cafeteria door and he still hadn't responded she turned going to open the door with her back only to feel him reach out and grasp the handle making it stay closed while she found herself pressed against its solid length. Blinking she cast those pale orbs of hers up to meet his mischievous hues and felt the breath within her lungs freeze up as he leaned in slightly so she could feel his breath tease against her lips making her force back a whimper.
"Damn, hearing must be going bad in your old age," he winked to take the sting of his words away, knowing her issues with her age, "I said…I like girls with pretty lips." Even in the dark she could feel his eyes travel down to her lips and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't help but drag a tongue across them to ease the sudden dryness that had stolen over them.
"Hmm, not bad…not bad at all. But sorry, seems someone else has even prettier ones than yours." Carol frowned, wondering which of the women had stolen his attention when she wasn't looking. It couldn't be Maggie; Daryl wasn't the type to go after another man's woman, especially one he thought of as a friend. Beth was far too young, he wasn't a pervert like Axel, so then who, surely not Michonne?
Daryl enjoyed watching her try and figure out who he was talking about, loving the way he could read each of her thoughts simply by watching the way her features shifted and changed. When finally she just looked up at him completely at a stump Daryl laughed and took pity on her. Normally he'd made her wait it out, a day or two even, but seeing as they might not have that long he decided to not make her squirm.
"Hey, aint my fault the little ass kicker has better lips than you. Take it up with her." He then opened the door suddenly making her stumble back and nearly trip if she hadn't caught herself just in time. Whistling he made his way past her, enjoying the fact that she was the one now left to grumble and follow.
