Chapter 3…The Deal
Well thank you guys so much for all the love for this fic. We know it's dark, we know that it's hard for some of you to read. This chapter has a warning, so if this kind of thing is a TRIGGER for you, you might not want to read the last part of this chapter. The section is marked so you can skip it. Thank you so much for all the support. Soa and Vickih
-Darkest-
Rick told the others to go get some sleep. Martinez didn't want to leave and neither did Michonne.
"I got this guys, I'll lock the cell like you said and make sure I give her the drugs. We can talk later about all this." With those words, Rick convinced Michonne and Martinez to leave, get some rest.
Rick pulled a chair close to the door and leaned back. He wondered how everything went so wrong, how his two closet friends ended up like this. He had thought he lost them, mourned them, and mourned them still. He didn't know how they would recover, but vowed to stand by them while they did.
After a few hours, Daryl started to stir, soft moans coming from him as he tried to sit up.
"Daryl, let me help you. Do you want a chair or do you want to sit on the bed?"
"Bed." Was the only thing Daryl said, the man grunting as he pulled himself more, his eyes never leaving Carol's face.
Rick helped Daryl to a sitting position on the bed and handed him a pain pill. Daryl swallowed it down almost drinking the whole bottle of water that Rick had given him.
Through all of this, the man never took his hand off of Carol. It was almost as if he just need to make sure she wasn't pulled away from him.
"Is there anything else I can get you?" Rick asked.
"Did ya give her a shot yet?"
"Yeah, 'bout 20 minutes ago. Are you ready to talk about what happened?"
"Not yet. Just… just don't let her wake up for a bit. We're gonna need Martinez and 'shonne before she does." Daryl's eyes were already closing, even though he was still sitting up; it was enough to make Rick's heart break a little more.
"Lie down and sleep. I 'll keep an eye out."
"M'k," Daryl laid down as carefully as he could next to Carol, gently wrapping an arm around her. He placed one more kiss on her head and whispered "Love ya, remember" before falling back to sleep.
Rick continued his silent vigil, guarding his friends.
-Darkest- TRIGGER WARNING
As dawn broke over the next day, Rick, Michonne, Martinez and Hershel met at the cell where Daryl and Carol were sleeping. Rick decided it was time to get some answers.
" Martinez, I know you said there were things you wouldn't talk about, but I need to know what your involvement is in this."
" I can tell you parts, but let's not do this here. Lock the cell and take me somewhere close by that's private."
Rick, looking in on the couple one last time, locked the door and led the group to an office.
"Will they be ok if we leave them for a bit?" Hershel wanted to know.
"As long as you gave her the dose and Daryl is there, she'll be fine for now," Martinez replied.
After they entered the room, Martinez, giving himself a little shake, started talking. "It started about two months ago, the governor he just didn't trust me anymore. He kept me around for the bitch jobs, to protect him and go on runs. You see we found this group outside of Clayton. They were the worst kind of humans and I've met some bad people, but these men. They had no trouble doing what the governor wanted, the governor fed off them. When women were taken, hell sometimes children, they were passed around like they were nothing. Killing, rape, torture, the loved it, relished the pain and the suffering they brought."
Martinez looked around at them, "I'm a lot of things but a rapist, a child molester, I'm not. I might be a murderer, but I would never force a woman."
Michonne swallowed hard, "We understand."
Martinez shook his head, "No, you don't. I was on a run, gone for almost a week when I got back they were there, Daryl and Caro. I only found out after overhearing two of those bastards talking. I tried to get in to see them, but they wouldn't let me in. Remember I told you he didn't trust me anymore. It took me two days to get into the room and when I did….."
Hershel stiffened, "Go on son, we're listening."
Martinez's chin trembled, "The sight of Caro's battered body being….violated by one of the meanest assholes in the group, it was too much. I left, backing out of the room like a fucking coward. But that night when I closed my eyes all I could see was Caro, cut and bleeding. She had her eyes locked on Daryl's." Martinez looked up at them, tears forming in his eyes, "She never made a sound, she didn't cry, she didn't beg or plead. She just focused on Daryl. Daryl's face was hard and stoic, he just kept whispering to her that he loved her, to keep looking at him, and for her to remember."
Rick ran his hand over his face, "Jesus Christ."
Hershel shook his head, wiping at his own eyes, "What happened next son?"
Martinez nodded, "I spent the next few days trying to come up with a plan to get them out there. My buddy Jimmy that I brought with me, he's a good kid. He never had a part in any of this, his dad was part of the group, but he never…."
Rick nodded, "We've talked to him, he seems young….you have our word we'll judge him on what he does here."
Martinez sighed, "I came up with the idea to go to the governor. Told him I wanted to prove my loyalty to him, show him I was with him. I told him that I hadn't had a woman in a long time, I knew he what he would do. He made me wait two days and then he sent me into the cell. The guard was excited because he got to watch. On the governor's orders he was supposed to watch me, make sure I did it." Martinez looked up at them, tears now rolling down his cheeks, "I've never….I didn't know what to do….I had to get them out. I told her I was sorry and I tried to be gentle with her."
Michonne turned around trying to control herself, "You raped her!"
Martinez nodded his head, "I did what I had too to make sure they lived. Once I did what the governor saw as an act of loyalty I was allowed into the room. The next day when I went in, Caro was out, sagged against the wall, but Daryl was awake. He just looked up at me, told me that once he got out of there he was going to kill me for what I did. I told him that I was trying to help, told him that I wanted to get them out of there. I knew the governor wouldn't leave them alive much longer. So we came up with a plan to get them out."
Rick couldn't believe what he was hearing, "So what happened next?"
Martinez shook his head, "I loved my wife and my girls, but I've never seen love like those two have. Caro came too and we told her about the plan. She asked him where their rings were, Daryl told her that they had taken them from them when they caught them. Daryl, he knew what she wanted, he asked if I could unlock their hands. I did. He asked me to hand him my knife, I figured he would kill me, but he didn't. He just stared at her and started craving her name above his heart. Carol reached out and took the knife and finished her name. Afterward she leaned in kissing him softly. Then she handed the knife to him, he didn't want to cut her at first, but she smiled at him and told him it didn't matter. That if they died there she wanted something that showed who her heart belonged too. So he put his name above her heart."
Rick wiped at his tears, "Damn it."
Martinez took a deep breath, "I got permission to come back the next day to take my 'bonus', using that excuse to be alone with them. I made sure that I went at midnight, telling the guard that I was collecting on my 'bonus'. I was getting ready to let them go when two of the men came in, they were gloating saying that they were taking Daryl to be executed. They walked out dragging Daryl with them. Caro's face was frantic, she was screaming for him. I told her I would go with see where they were taking him. The two assholes were drunk; they had Daryl up against the wall with a dirty shirt shoved in his mouth. That's what they wanted, they wanted her to scream, they fired their gun, making her think they killed him. The two of them went back inside, they wanted her terrified and if Daryl was with her, she didn't make any noise. One of them made the mistake of unlocking her cuff. Caro grabbed the knife off one of the men and stabbed him. Before the other man knew what was happening she stabbed him in the neck. I was in the hallway; Daryl was leaning against the wall thrashing trying to get back into Caro. I ran inside with the guard, he raised his gun to fire at her; I shot him before he could kill her. I got Daryl and unlocked him, we went into the room. Caro was primal, the savagery of what she did, there was nothing left of them. If you found them on the side of the road you wouldn't even know they were human."
Hershel shook his head, "That's why you want us to keep her drugged. To keep her under control."
Martinez nodded, looking at the floor, "I couldn't get near her to unlock her legs, she was gone, checked out. She thought Daryl was dead and she was ready to take down anyone that came near her. As soon as she saw him though, she calmed down. I promised her that the men that hurt her were dead. I sneak us through the compound, stopping at the clinic I grabbed the sedatives and got Jimmy, hoping you folks would take care of him."
Michonne shook her head, "How did you get her to the car?"
Martinez smirked, "Daryl. I don't know how he was still with it, but he kept talking to her. She just stared at him, asking him if he was real if he was alive. When we got to the car Daryl talked her into letting me inject her. Daryl talked to her until she fell asleep; the last words she said were 'Daryl, Michonne, Rick, Daryl." Martinez swallowed hard, "You know before that she said she forgave me…me…I didn't deserve that."
The room was silent as Martinez shifted on his feet, "It took us three days to get here. We would've been here sooner, but I screwed up. I didn't dose her soon enough and she tried to take off go back to the camp. She wanted to kill them all, Daryl finally talked her down. Told her that they were going home and that you needed her and he needed her. I dosed her again and got her into the car. But it took so much from Daryl that he was unconscious for the rest of the trip. When she did wake up I told her that Daryl was alive and that all the men were dead that hurt her. I know I lied, but it was the only thing that could penetrate threw the whirlwind of her mind. When Daryl was awake he only had to say remember and I love you. And then we rolled up to the gate and you know the rest."
-Darkness-
Rick, Hershel, and Michonne sat in silence for a few minutes trying to digest the information Martinez had just shared. The thought of what their friends, their family had been through was almost too much to bear.
Michonne dry eyed at the moment, turned to Martinez. "If we kill all of the men who did this.."
Martinez, head hung, chin on his chest, cut by her words, "The last man to die will be me. I promised Caro and Daryl to help them home and to stop those men. I can't leave them to do this alone."
Hershel blew out a deep breath, staring at the man, "How long do we need to keep her drugged? She can't stay like that."
Martinez, shaking his head answered "As long as Daryl is with her, we can cut back the doses. It will be a few days before I would let her totally off of them. She needs to feel safe and to know he's alive. You also need to keep everyone away for at least a few days. I'll lower the amount when the time comes. I know she has people here that love her, that Asian kid, the big black guy, but they can't get near her right now. Maybe some of the women or kids can start visiting in a day or two but no men. Is there another cell we could move them to, something more isolated and quiet?"
Rick nodded, "Yeah, we still have their original cell closed up and all of their things are still there."
Martinez sighed, "Take all of the weapons out and anything that can be turned into a weapon. She'll get over this, but I don't want to take the chance that she hurts someone. She'd never forgive herself. Michonne, can you stay with her until we get things set up? Rick, is there a cell next to theirs I can use?"
Michonne looked at Rick, "I'll stay with her, their cell is at the end of the row and my cell is next to theirs, you can move in with me for now. "
With that the group moved to get things set up. Hershel went to tell the others the news, without giving any real details, he made it clear everyone needed to stay away for a while so the couple could recover.
Martinez and Rick ran to Daryl and Carol's cell and pulled every weapon out, hiding them in Michonne's cell for now.
Afterwards, Michonne , Rick and Martinez, moved the couple back to their room. Daryl roused enough to lay on the bottom bunk and pull Carol back to him.
"Are we lowerin' the dose now?" his sleep filled voice asked.
Martinez nodded, "It's time, you're home, we're here and we can't keep her drugged. I'll still give it to her, just not as strong."
Daryl looked up at Martinez, "Did ya tell 'em?"
Martinez nodded, "Only the basics, I told them the rest was for you and Carol to tell. Michonne's got her back so we're ok there, but it's gonna be hard to keep the others away from you two right now."
Daryl ran his hand down Carol's cheek, "Where ya stayin'?"
Martinez stood up, motioning with his hand, "I'll be next door with Michonne. Don't worry, I'll be close."
"M'k," was the last thing Daryl said, before pulling Carol closer, tuning Martinez out. He gently touched her face, "Ya hear that baby, we're back in our cell. Back where ya will be safe and I ain't goin' nowhere, just rest baby. Remember and I love you." Daryl laid his head down on the pillow next to hers, his arms wrapped protectively around her, his eyes closing.
Hershel leaned on the bars next to Rick watching them, "They've been through hell together."
Rick nodded, "But at least they had each other. He's doing better; I'll talk to him tomorrow and try to find out what the hell happened."
Hershel sighed, clapping Rick on the back, "Just remember he went through this too. Don't push too hard, he's in protective mode of her right now. Just go slow."
They didn't know what the next day would bring, but they were doing the best they could to prepare for it.
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