Chapter 2
Don't You Remember
"I can't believe you're here," Rick held Emerson's smaller hand in his own and stared at her in disbelief. They had gone inside of the prison to talk in private and no one had heard from them in over an hour.
Emerson brushed a stray tear out of her eye, "I thought it was just going to be me from now on. Then I went on a run and I saw Daryl and the others," she shrugged, "I wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible."
"How long has it been since your dads been missing?" Rick asked quietly.
"Months," she sighed, "I miss him so much but he is probably gone."
"It gets easier," he promised her.
"Yeah well," Emerson smiled, "Enough about me, how is Lori and Carl?"
Rick looked down, focusing briefly on his knuckles before speaking in a quiet voice, "Carl is fantastic but Lori," he sighed and looked back to Emerson, "Lori died in childbirth."
Emerson's face went white, "Oh my God, Rick I'm so sorry."
"It was quick and painless," Rick said quickly.
"And the baby?" she asked tentatively.
"Happy and healthy baby girl," he quickly smiled, "You've gotta meet her."
–
"What were the chances, that we go out on a run and return with Rick's long lost baby cousin?" Michonne asked aloud, to no one in particular.
The entire group was piled into the dining room, waiting for Rick and Emerson to reappear and fill them in on better details.
"I think it is kind of wonderful," Beth said from where she was standing at the stove cooking supper. She reached for a bottle of formula and handed it to Judith who was playing on the floor with Carl.
"I kind of remember Emerson," Carl said, his eyes focused intently on Judith's building blocks that he was stacking to make a wall, "My mom and dad used to leave me with her when we would go to the coast for summer trips and they wanted to have a date night at Hilton Head Island or something."
Maggie smirked, "I remember going to Hilton Head once," she looked at Beth, "We had so much fun."
Beth nodded eagerly, "Yeah, that was a good trip."
Hershel smiled at his girls, "Well I'm going to go check on them. I still haven't looked at this ankle of hers and I want to make sure it isn't broken."
"You need help daddy?" Maggie asked.
"No, I'll be fine," Hershel got to his feet and they watched as he walked to the next room.
"I'm gonna go with him," Carl got to his feet and quickly ran after Hershel, his curiosity was clearly getting the better of him.
"I'll be back in a bit," Daryl muttered, and he too got to his feet and headed into the cell block.
–
"Knock knock."
Rick and Emerson looked up to see Hershel standing in the doorway, "Oh hi Hershel," Rick got to his feet, "I guess I've been keeping you from your patient."
"It's alright," Hershel walked into the room and took the seat that Rick had just been occupying a moment before, "How are ya Emerson?"
Emerson looked Hershel up and down and shrugged, "Great now that I found Rick."
"Good, well I'm Hershel Greene, I believe you met my daughter Maggie already."
Emerson nodded, "Yep."
"Dad?"
Everyone turned to see Carl standing in the doorway, "Oh Carl," Rick began, "Good, come here."
Carl entered the tiny cell and stood beside his father, staring at Emerson in confusion and wonder.
"Oh my God Carl," Emerson shook her head, "You've gotten so big."
"Do you remember Emerson?" Rick asked, looking at his oldest.
Carl gave a nod of the head, "Yeah, from when she would babysit me while you and mom went to the beach."
"That would be her," Rick smiled.
"I always looked forward to your parents bringing you to see me and daddy," Emerson beamed, "I loved taking care of you."
Carl moved past Hershel and sat down beside Emerson, "You were my favorite babysitter because you'd let me stay up late and eat way too much chocolate."
"Carl!" Emerson fussed, laughing for the first time in months, "You aren't supposed to tell your daddy that."
"Oh believe me," Rick crossed his arms and leaned in the doorway, "We always knew because Carl would have the worst stomach aches ever the next day."
"Alright well," Hershel turned to look at Rick, "Let us alone a minute so I can take a look at her ankle."
"Alright, I need to check on Judith anyway, come on Carl," Rick said.
Emerson reached over and kissed Carl on the forehead, "Behave yourself," she told the boy.
Carl smiled at Emerson, "I always do!"
Emerson and Hershel watched as Carl got up and followed Rick out of the cell.
"Alright, let me take a look at this," Hershel said.
Emerson pushed a stray of red hair out of her face and carefully pulled her right leg up onto the bed, pulling her jeans up as she went so Hershel could get a look at her ankle. It had swollen up close to the size of a baseball now and had ventured through multiple shades of black.
"Geez, I didn't think it had gotten that bad," she muttered.
"Well it has just been sitting here," Hershel gently took the foot into his hands and began to feel around, "Does that hurt?"
Emerson clenched her teeth, "What do you think?"
"Sorry," Hershel murmured as he continued to move his fingers up and down the mass, "I think you've just sprained it, but because you've been on it, it has gotten nice and swollen. Glenn said something about a walker having your foot?"
She nodded, "When I tripped, I tried to get back up and the walker got my ankle and twisted it."
"Just the best thing for you is to keep it elevated and if you need to get around, my old crutches will work for you," Hershel told her.
Emerson glanced down at the prosthetic leg, "What happened to you?"
Hershel followed her eyes and looked down at the fake leg, "A walker got my leg and Rick cut it off to try and stop the infection from spreading."
"How did Rick know that would work?"
"He didn't."
Emerson's eyebrows raised and her lips formed into an "Oh," but no sound came from her. She was about to ask another question when a figured appeared in the doorway, blocking the outside light. She looked up to see Daryl standing there, "Hello," she greeted.
"I cleared out a cell for you, right next to Rick's," Daryl began to say, "And I brought the crutches for you."
"Oh thank you," Emerson was clearly taken a back by his generosity but she wondered if it was just because of her connection to Rick.
"Thank you Daryl," Hershel stood up, "She needs to stay off her foot for a day or two so the crutches will help."
Emerson pulled herself into a sitting position and reached for the offered medical equipment which she instantly leaned on, keeping her foot behind her as she wobbled out of the cell.
"It's just this way," Daryl offered.
By the time Emerson had pulled herself into a new cell, she was exhausted, "Mercy, I consider myself to be physically fit and that was too much," she commented as she sat down on the bed.
"Just rest yourself now, okay?" Hershel offered, "My daughter Beth is fixing up something to eat and we'll bring it in to you."
Emerson shook her head, "I'm fine, please don't feel like you need to wait on me."
"Well you're staying off that ankle, doctors orders."
Emerson looked up to see Rick had joined the group once more, with the baby in his arms, "Oh my goodness, let me see her!"
Rick leaned down and handed Judith to Emerson, a smile on his face once more, "This is Judith."
"Hello lovely lady," Emerson greeted.
The baby giggled and grabbed at Emerson's bright red hair with one hand, and her nose with the other. Emerson's face matched Rick's as she laughed, "Okay Judith, calm down."
"Em, do you need anything?" Rick asked gently.
She shook her head, "No, I'm just looking forward to sleeping in an actual bed for the first time since," Emerson shrugged, "I guess since I left Savannah."
"Okay," Rick paused, "I can take Judith."
She shook her head, "Oh she's fine, leave her with me."
"You sure?"
She nodded eagerly, "Yeah."
"Alright, I'll see you in a bit," Rick turned around and left with Carl and Daryl following close behind.
"Is Emerson okay?" Carl asked quietly.
Rick looked down at his son, "What do you mean?"
Carl shrugged, "I just remember her differently."
"You remember a pre-apocalypse Emerson, that's why," Rick shrugged, "One who hadn't lost her dad."
"She said something about just being separated, you think there is a chance Uncle Charles is still out there?"
"I don't know," Rick sighed, "I don't think he would have left Emerson for this long unless something happened to him. I remember when his wife died, your great Aunt, and it really took its toll on the pair of them. But from that minute on, he dedicated his life to his parish and daughter, nothing else really mattered to them. Uncle Charles would never willingly leave his daughter like that."
"Yeah I guess," Carl shrugged, "It's crazy that she was so close to us the whole time."
Rick nodded and then looked over to Daryl, "Thank you for bringing her back."
Daryl shrugged and scratched his chin, "I mean I just saw this defenseless girl who wouldn't last two seconds with her ankle like that. How was I supposed to know she was your cousin?"
"Well I know, but the point stands," Rick said, "I'm just amazed at how this day turned out."
"We have to have good days every once in awhile," Daryl offered.
"This was definitely one of the good ones."
–
When Emerson woke up in the middle of the night, she was aware that Judith was sound asleep on her chest. She stayed still for a moment, staring at her baby cousin in wonder, before realizing she needed to get up and find the bathroom. Ever so carefully, she set the child down on the bed beside her, and Emerson reached for the crutches before pulling herself up into a standing position. Her ankle still looked pretty swollen in the moonlight but it was not as noticeable when she used the crutches. The prison was deadly quiet and she assumed everyone had to be asleep by now which meant she was essentially on her own in her quest for a bathroom. It was a long stretch to the doors that lead outside when on crutches and getting up the stairs was an adventure. When Emerson was eight she had broken her leg, so she had used crutches then, but she also had her father always nearby to help her out. At long last, Emerson had pulled herself up the stairs and as quietly as she could, let herself out of the prison. She looked around the courtyard, which was quiet with the exception of the walkers outside of the prison gates. She stared at them for a moment, they were so far away and yet they seemed so close.
"Ya okay down there?"
Emerson whirled around, searching for the voice, and finally she looked up the perch on the guard tower, to see Daryl standing guard, "Yeah I just needed to go to the bathroom."
"Ah," Daryl walked down the stairs and crossed the court yard until he stood just a few feet from her, "You can go down to the water house around the back, where there is a makeshift facility or you can go back inside and use the bathroom that sort of has running water."
Emerson glanced back at the stairs she had just climbed down and shook her head, "I'll take my chances with the one out here."
"Alrigh' jus' go roun' the corner here and keep going straight. It's separated by a plank of wood for privacy, so ya can't miss it."
"Thanks," Emerson nodded her head and turned in the direction that Daryl had pointed.
When Emerson returned a few minutes later, she found Daryl had not returned to his perch but instead had begun to clean up around the court yard. Slowly but surely, she made her way over to the table closest to where he was working and sat down, "You know I kinda forgot how much I like being outside," she said, to no one in particular.
Daryl looked up from the box he had been cleaning out and looked to her, "You mean since all this happened?" He nodded his head to the creatures who were only fifty feet from them.
"Yeah, my daddy owned a big house in the middle of Savannah and we had a lot of land. I used to ride my horse all over the property and everything. I was hardly ever inside," Emerson smiled at the memory, "I loved it."
Daryl studied the girl before him and he wasn't at all sure how to react to anything that was happening. Just a few hours before she had been trying to get away from all of them, but now that she knew that they knew her cousin, everything seemed to be okay and here she was, opening up to him and talking about her life; to a stranger. Since the world had gone to shit, it wasn't like people to just open up and start talking about their lives, especially to him. He glanced away, afraid she would notice him staring at her, and when he looked back, Emerson was staring at him expectantly.
"Oh sorry, I was just thinking," Daryl pinched the bridge of his nose, "I grew up hunting with my brother til' he left home. Then it was just me fendin' for myself. I never made it as far East as Savannah though."
"You have a brother?" She asked, raising her eyebrows.
Daryl shifted uncomfortably, "Had, he was killed last year."
"Oh goodness," she bit her lip, "I'm so sorry."
"Yeah well," he sighed and sat down on the seat opposite from her, his gaze was fixed out on the gardens that they had been working on since the weather had changed, "Seems everyone is losin' someone these days."
Emerson stared down at her hands for a moment, her mind racing to try and find a new subject, "So how did you meet Rick?"
Daryl looked at the girl and smiled, "Well we just happened to have some mutual friends but I didn' exactly get alon' with him at first."
She raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"
"Yeah well, my brother was being kind of an ass hole-" Daryl paused when he saw the look of annoyance on Emerson's face, "Excuse my language, my brother was being an idiot and Rick was concerned about the safety of the others so he chained Merle to a rooftop and left 'im."
Emerson frowned, "Wait, he did what?"
"It isn't all that bad," Daryl scratched his head, "Well maybe it is a bit," this time he smiled at Emerson, "Rick and I went back for him but that was kind of the bizarre start of our relationship and eventually we became very good friends. I'd trust him with my life and vice versa."
She raised an eyebrow at him, "Has it been very hard for him since Lori passed?"
Daryl glanced at Emerson, his eyes searching her features. As he thought about the best way to answer the question, he couldn't help but notice the beauty behind the lines in her face that marked a settled in sadness. He could also, at long last, see the family resemblance to Rick, but assumed her fiery red hair must have come from her mother. Daryl thought for a moment longer before answering slowly and purposely, "It was hard at firs', but he worked through it as best as he could for the sake of those kids."
"Rick was also a really good daddy," Emerson nodded as she spoke, "Worshiped Carl and Lori. I don't think Lori ever liked me that much, but that's okay."
Daryl snorted with laughter, "Why you say that?"
"That Lori didn't like me?" Emerson had a faint smile, "I dunno, she was just always weird around me. Maybe it was because of how much I spoiled Carl."
"That's what extended family is for," Daryl told her, "Spoilin' the little ones."
"I guess," Emerson yawned and slowly, she raised her arms above her head and yawned, "I should probably get back to Judith. They left her with me and she's in my room on her own."
"Yeah, I prolly' should get back up to the tower, I see things better up there," Daryl shrugged.
"It was nice talking to you," Emerson smiled up at him.
"Yeah, you too."
Daryl remained silent as he watched Emerson pull herself up into a standing position. His eyes scanned her body up and down briefly before he turned to head back to the tower, "Emerson?" he called back, turning to watch her go.
"Yeah?" she stopped and turned her crutches so that her body was facing him.
"You gon' be okay?"
A confused smiled crossed her face, "What?"
"You gon' be okay?" Daryl repeated.
"Yeah, I should be," Emerson laughed, "Are you gonna be okay?"
Daryl smiled at how thick her accent came out as the words left her mouth, he couldn't help but be reminded of home and a time so long ago, "Yeah, I'll be okay."
The two of them shared a smile with each other, these two strangers stared at each other for only a moment longer, until Daryl finally broke the gaze and turned back to the guard tower. Emerson shook her head, clearly perplexed by the entire situation that had just passed before her, and eventually she headed back into the prison.
–
A/N- Thoughts? I feel the situation with Daryl and Emerson was awkward at best but I was going for this awkward feel between the two of them. PLEASE review.
