A/N: Hey everyone! I am so so so sorry this took so long. I just moved back into college and it's been rough. I have a lot of classes and work. But enough about me. I hope y'all like it. Please please review! Let me know what you like, what wasn't so great, and all that fun stuff. Thank you everyone!
Disclaimer: Sadly I do not own the Walking Dead. I just play with them.
Daryl stalked out of the forest, pissed to hell. Those damn geeks had scared all of the game away, leaving Daryl only two measly squirrels. He hated going back to the prison without enough meat. The group all looked raged, especially Carol who was all skin and bones. He knew Carol wouldn't take the meat for herself either. He would have to fight to get her to accept just some of the meager meat he had procured.
"Fuck Dixon, don't be a pussy," Daryl muttered angrily. He didn't owe this group nothing. Yet he knew he did. Despite all his blustering when he was pissed, Daryl knew he would never leave this group. He would never leave her.
"Open the fuckin' gate" Daryl yelled when he had reached the barriers to the prison. What the hell was up with these people? Daryl wondered. Where the hell were they?
A pale faced Glenn rushed to open the gate and stared at Daryl nervously as the dirty hunter entered the prison.
"What?" Daryl snapped. He was in prime form tonight. He was just itching for a fight.
"It's just…well..I don't.." Glenn stuttered nervously under Daryl's hostile gaze. Trying to buy time he made a show of locking the gate and slowly walking back towards the building.
"Spit it out short round" Daryl snarled.
"It's Carol." Glenn's words were rushed, high and panicked. Almost as if he was afraid Daryl was going to hit him. It was a well warranted fear. When it came to Carol, the entire group knew that Daryl was completely unreasonable.
Daryl froze at the quivering man's words.
"What?" he hissed out; praying he had heard wrong.
"She's…well we don't know what's wrong. We think she's sick but they had to handcuff her because she was-"
"What." Despite the wording it was not a question that was hissed through the hunter's clenched teeth.
"Look man, I wasn't there. I did-" Glenn frantically backpedalled as he saw the enraged man before him swell with fury.
"She's fuckin' handcuffed? What the fuck happened?" The redneck yelled. However he gave Glenn no chance to answer as he fell into a sprint towards the prison.
Daryl was equally terrified and outraged about what he had heard from Glenn. What the fuck they cuff her for? Was she bit? Grunting, Daryl picked up the pace, running faster than he ever had towards Carol. He was going to kick someone's ass if they let her get bit. Damn it, he shouldn't have gone hunting for so long. He should have fuckin' been there. He would have saved her. These assholes would sacrifice anyone to save their hide.
As he entered the cell block he could hear voices echoing around the space. It seemed like everyone was up in Carol's business and shouting about it too. Then he heard a sound that stopped his heart and made him catch his breath. Carol. She was screaming in agony. He could barely make out what she was groaning under all the overlapping voices but it sounded like she was hot. No she was screaming fire. What the fuck?
As he ran up the steps, taking three at a time, he was able to make head of the voices and conversations coming from Carol's cell.
"She was fine earlier, I just don't know what-" Maggie, Daryl decided.
"Her fever has risen. We need to cool her off, or-" Hershel was cut off by Rick saying "We need to warn Daryl before he come in here. He would kill us if he saw-"
That was the final straw for Daryl. Saw? Saw what? It had better not be the fuckin' cuffs Glenn had mentioned.
Snarling Daryl stomped to Carol's cell and was frozen by the scene before him. Maggie, Beth, Hershel, and Rick were crowded around Carol's bunk. Hershel was crouched down on his good leg trying to feel Carol's forehead while Beth was vainly trying to pry one of Carol's hands off her forehead. Rick and Maggie were standing off to the side looking on as the old man and daughter tended to the sick woman.
And then there was Carol. She was writhing in the bed. One of her arms was locked to the bed in a familiar set of handcuffs. Carol in her desperation to get free had yanked and pulled on her arm so much that blood was running down her arm. Carol's other arm was clawing at her hair her face, anything she could get leverage on. Her eyes were open but they were vacant, empty. Their blue hues were filled
Daryl barged into the cell, scaring all its occupants. Rick immediately reached for Daryl, trying to restrain him while the others all tried to explain to him what was happening. their voices rose as each tried to over talk the other. Daryl only had eyes and ears for Carol though. So when he saw how she was cringing and trying to escape all of the noise he blew. Daryl wrenched his arm from Rick's grasp and viciously punched the wall.
"What the fuck are you shit heads doing?" The angry hunter demanded.
The group was silent, cautiously staring at him.
Daryl stalked over to the bed and tensely held his hand out in Rick's direction, silently demanding the key to the handcuffs. Once the metal touched his hand Daryl was working on unfastening and freeing Carol's arm. The woman as still convulsing on the bed which scared the shit out of the hunter. As soon as her got her arm free he gently lowered it back onto the bed and watched as she immediately threw the arm up to cover her ears and head. Terror was ripping though Daryl. Had she been bit? He hadn't been gone that long, what the fuck she been doin'?
"She bit" he spat at the others.
It was Hershel who braved further angering the violent redneck.
"No." He began calmly " I believe she has an extreme case of the flu. She was under so much stress and she is so thin that her immune system just couldn't fight it off like she should have been able to."
The flu. Or she was infected. But no one said that. No one dared.
Just then Carol started gagging. Daryl managed to catch her head and position it over the mattress before she started vomiting. Daryl wanted to run. He wanted to leave. The fact that Carol was currently throwing up all over his shoes didn't faze him in the slightest. Vomit was low on the list of things that were disgusted him these days. No, what fazed him was how scared he was about the woman in his arms.
"Daryl we need to get her to the showers. Her fever is dangerously high." Hershel implored, trying to talk sense into the irrational redneck standing before him.
Daryl didn't even spare a glance at the old farmer before her swooped in to scoop up Carol's shivering form. Cradling her gently to his chest, he realized how hot she was. Heat was radiating off of her in waves. The terror rooted in his chest when Glenn had told him began to grow branches spreading sickly tendrils of fear into his very being. Carefully the terrified hunter began moving quickly in the direction of the bathroom.
However before Daryl couldn't get more than ten steps away from Carol's cell the woman was groaning in his arms and feebly moving around. Daryl cast one eye down on Carol before rapidly stopping and lowering her to the ground. But before Daryl could get to Carol's head she was vomiting all over him. Spasms gripped the weak woman as her stomach tried again and again to expel whatever was left in it. Daryl just knelt on the ground with her and let her get sick all over him, all the while wishing he could take her pain away and bear it himself. She didn't deserve to suffer this way. She was too good.
When Carol's stomach had seemingly emptied Daryl cradled her closer to him and stood out of his crouch to continue their trek to the showers. Daryl was distantly aware of the entourage that seemed to have surrounded him and Carol. Maggie was scurrying behind Daryl's right shoulder and Glenn tagged along after her. He had long lost the crippled old man. Who the hell knew where Rick had gone. Probably off finding his kid. Daryl could almost feel Carol fading in his arms .The heat of her skin was becoming unbearable. Grunting, Daryl picked up the pace and was in a flat out sprint as he crossed into the shower room.
Gently the hunter set Carol down so she was leaning against the wall. He hovered for a couple seconds, however when he was sure she was properly supported and wasn't going to fall over he darted over to the shower, adjusting the knobs so it was shooting out water at the coldest setting possible. Wincing sympathetically Daryl moved back to the sickly woman. This was going to be hell for her. The damn water for freezing to him. He could only imagine how badly it was going to hurt her.
When Daryl approached Carol to pick her back up Maggie was there already, stripping the bile covered garments off the semi-conscious woman.
"Daryl, I can take it from here." Maggie said; completely focused on her task.
"Like hell you can." Daryl practically spat.
"Daryl she's undressed.." Maggie began and then trailed off as she finally looked at the hunter's face.
"I don't give a fuck about fuckin' modesty." Daryl spit at Maggie, shoving her arms aside and stripping of Carol's pants himself. He couldn't believe she was seriously trying to keep him away from her. He would go through hell for this woman. Hell he had gone through hell and he was going to fuckin' kick the shit out of someone before they told him he couldn't help her because she was undressed.
Once Carol only had her bra and underwear on, both of which were mercifully free of sickness, Daryl once again hoisted her into her arms and steeled himself to step into the freezing water with her. Sucking in a deep breath, Daryl plunged the both of them into the icy spray and immediately Carol began to scream and squirm in his arms.
Daryl felt like something was breaking inside of him. He struggled to hold her down. He easily overpowered her even on her best days but he was terrified of hurting her more. Daryl settled for clutching her to his chest, effectively trapping her flailing arms between their bodies so she could do no harm to herself.
However in Carol's fever addled mind she didn't recognize she was beat. The woman fought and fought despite being bound by Daryl.
Finally Daryl yelled out "Stop it." Please. Please just stop it.
Carol's fighting persisted.
"Stop now." Daryl was begging. He never begged.
He could feel the tension leaving her body. Relief flooded his system. Either she could hear him; or she simply didn't have the strength to carry on such vicious fighting. He was almost positive it was the second one, but at least now she wasn't in danger of hurting herself.
"That's right. I'm here. It's okay." He knew she probably couldn't hear him. But he had to let her know. She had to know that he didn't know she was sick. He would never have left if he had known. She would never have been locked up. He was supposed to be there for her. He failed her. Like he had failed Sophia. He fucked up, just like always.
Daryl clutched Carol closer to him, trying like hell not to let the terrified sobs escape from his throat. Gently he cupped her closely to him and rocked her.
"That's my girl" He murmured as he felt her relax further into his hold.
Daryl stared at her face and say fluttering of her eye lids. Hope cautiously grew in him as he detected her eyes opening.
As Carol blearily opened her eyes, he stared at her anxiously. When he saw her blue eyes gazing at him he could cry from relief. However, that relief was quickly crushed when he saw the accusation and terror in her eyes. She didn't know what was going on. And she blamed him.
He opened his mouth to explain, no, to beg for her forgiveness. But he was too late. Again. He watched helplessly as her eyes rolled and her eyelids came down, shutting off his view of her pale blue orbs.
Daryl closed his own eyes; wishing he could join her in her blessed unconsciousness. But he couldn't. He had to be strong for her. He couldn't fail her again. He would hold her up when she couldn't do it for herself. And when she could stand again, he would be by her side ready to catch her if she falls.