Born to Die
Part III
It had been a couple days since Odette and Glenn brought T-Dog to the Greene farm. While Hershel was off tending to Carl's bullet, one of his daughters Maggie allowed Odette to tend to T's wound in a separate room.
While everyone else was calm and grateful towards Hershel for helping Carl, Lori was unsatisfied. Odette kept hearing her mumble on how "a vet couldn't help their son."
Odette found Lori incredibly selfish. There she was getting help, and she wasn't satisfied. Clearly, no one could check into a hospital and expect treatment from the worlds best doctor. She had to suck it up. A chance was still a chance. Besides, even though Hershel was a vet, he still knew what he was doing. Animals honestly aren't that different from humans. Their anatomy still rubs off.
What really got Odette worried was the fact that Shane an Otis; who ended up being the one that accidentally shot him, went out of their way to go and get a respirator, Along with other medical equipment that the family didn't have. It didn't bother her so much that they were out where walkers inhabited. What raised her suspicions was when Shane came back alone.
Otis was gone. And Shane told everyone that he sacrificed himself.
Bullshit. Odette thought.
She knew for a fact that about a 10 people risked their lives to get supplies, and all of them (with the exception of Merle) came back. And, on top of that he went with a Sop (Odette believed he never was a good cop. And not as good as her) and Otis who had been around walkers numerous times.
Something had happened that night, and Shane was too big of a wuss to come clean.
Search parties for Sophia still happened daily. But, T and Rick (who had given a blood transplant to Carl) weren't allowed to go wandering off too far on their health condition. Hershel had no problem With Odette running off.
She liked the Greene family very much. She had a good friendly relationship with Hershel and his two girls, Beth and Maggie. She wasn't as close to Patricia and Jimmy as she was with everyone else, but they still got along.
It was a nice day outside, so Odette and Andrea were atop Dale's RV keeping watch. Lately, Odette noticed the slight obsession that Andrea managed to get over guns. In her hands was Dale's riffle.
"I know you really wanna use a gun. But seriously, if something does happen it's a Better idea to use something silent so you don't attract more walkers." Odette said for the umpteenth time. Andrea rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"Guns are faster. Easier to use." Odette raised a brow.
"Yeah. And they're loud and run on ammunition. Which by the way, we're low on." Odette added.
"Well. This is what we have to work with." Andrea replied. "We're keeping watch. It's our job." She said. Odette narrows her eyes. Andrea had never Been that fond of guns.
"Look you could hurt someone by accident. Look what happens to Otis and Carl." Odette explained. "He was experienced, you don't really know how to use one." She said.
"Yeah well unlike Otis. I'm not stupid okay?" Odette was furious.
"What is up with you? Do you have any respect for the dead?" She asked. Andrea scoffed.
"Yeah. Cause the dead deserve some respect." She said sarcastically.
"Well in that case, Amy was one of the dumbest blondes I've met. She gives me a bad name, oh and s-"
"Shut up! You have no right to talk to about my sister that way?" Odette shrugged.
"Why not? She was bit wasn't she?" Odette retorted.
"You fucking bitch!" Andrea shouted running over to Odette.
She grabbed her cane and jabbed it into Andrea's stomach and she fell over in pain.
"You have no idea who you're messing with." Andrea threatened as she grabbed a hold of her stomach.
"Yeah I do." Damn, that was almost too easy. She thought.
Odette helped her up and Andrea looked at her with suspicion.
"Oh now you're helping me?" Andrea scowled. Odette shrugged.
"Hey! I was only acting in self defence. Honestly though, I didn't mean anything I said about Amy. She was a great person." Odette said, "The point I was trying to make was that everything that happens here is going to be unsuspecting. And, w-" Andrea however wasn't listening anymore.
"Walker!" She shouted. Odette dropped her lecture and looked to where Andrea was pointing.
"I don't think its a walker, it doesn't really look determined to eat us." Odette said.
"Yeah but look at the way its walking. Its a walker."
"No. This is a bad idea. Give me the gun."
Andrea lay down on her stomach and then using the riffle shot the moving thing. She missed the head, yet the thing still fell anyways.
"It's Daryl!" Odette heard someone yell.
"I hate to say I told you so... But I told you so. Smart one." Odette muttered the last part.
"ODETTE!" She heard Rick yell.
"I'M COMING!" She yelled as she stepped down the ladder and headed towards an unconscious Daryl.
As Odette approached Daryl and everyone else the first thing that really captured her attention. The necklace around Daryl's neck.
"Is he wearing ears?" She asked half disgusted an half curious.
"Take them off. Hershel's already operated on Carl. Y-"
"You want me to do it. Fine." Odette said biting her lip. "But uh- can I keep the necklace?" She asked hesitantly. Rick looked at her with his jaw dropping in unison.
"What? Have none of you guys seen pirates of the Caribbean?" She defended herself.
Daryl was in the guest bedroom of the Greene house. Odette used the respirator and gave him a small dosage of anesthesia. She wasn't an anesthesiologist, but she knew how to give the right amount of dosage. The surgery wouldn't take that long. 1) the bullet was still a whole 2) she was simply removing a bullet, not giving someone a heart transplant.
Odette started with the bullet. She numbed the area and then used a sterile marker to mark the incision lines. Next, Odette used the scalpel to cut an incision on his side where she drew her marks. After making the incision she used the Bovie to cauterize the veins and tissue so that extra blood didn't get in the way of her getting to the bullet.
If the bullet wasn't so far in his side, she could have easily just pulled it out. Andrea might have had a bad aim, but was clean with her shot. She was just grateful that the bullet didn't end up shattering into smaller pieces.
After looking around for a about a minute or so, she found it. Odette used some alcohol to help pull out the bullet.
"Bingo." She mumbled as she placed it in the tray.
Odette was now ready to close the incision. The markings that she made sting the market helped align the skin as she used the suture to stitch the tissue and skin back together.
Next, she moved to the side of his chest and began to tend to his wound.
Hours later Daryl awoke in bedroom. He lay under the covers of the bed shirtless. He had a couple bandages on himself. Two wrapped around his chest and sides, and one around his head. He touched them carefully and noticed that he still had a little bit of heavy bleeding. His body ached. He hadn't felt this much pain in years. Daryl was tired, thirsty and hungry. Every now and then his breath would come out shaky, but he managed.
It wasn't long till he heard a knock on the door.
"Yeah?" He croaked out. In came in Carol with a tray of food.
"I didn't think you'd be awake. I brought you some food." She said softly setting it down on the side table beside him. Carol pursed her lips and sighed.
"I just wanted to let you know how grateful I am. You're the only one whose really looking for Sophia and I'm very grateful for that. And, I just wanted to say thank you and to apologize." She said softly before leaving.
"Hey wait!" Daryl called. Carol stopped. "Why're ya apologizing?" He asked confused.
"If you weren't out alone, looking for Sophia t-" she began on the verge of tearing up.
"Hey. It's not cause of you. It's not yer fault. Remember that. I'm looking for Sophia cause it's what anyone with little morale left would do." He answered. Carol smiled.
"Thank you, again. I'll go get Odette. I'm pretty sure she'd wanna check up on you, now that you're awake." Carol answered. Daryl furrowed his brows.
"What about Hershel?" He asked. Carol coked her head.
"Oh no. Odette did everything." She said and then left.
"Oh boy." He muttered.
It was about five whole minuets till Daryl heard footsteps coming towards the bedroom door. And, seconds later the door finally opened.
"You know when you walked out of the woods we all thought you were a walker cause you were walking very dementedly." Odette said. Daryl cracked a smile.
"I got shot, got hit with one of my arrows, and yer tellin' me that I was a walker." Odette smirked.
"No. You could pass for one." She said. Odette cleared her throat then furrowed her brows. "You haven't eaten?" She asked him cocking her head. "You need food." She said. Daryl cleared his throat.
"I ate a bit. Just lost my appetite." He said. Odette scoffed and then took a seat on the chair by the bed that Daryl lay on. She propped her cane up by the side table. Odette stretched her legs so that her feet were on the side
"I hate to break it you, since obviously you're trying really hard to make it to your weight goal." She joked sighing, "But, seriously. You need to eat. You've lost some blood. Not enough for a donor thank God, but you still lost a lot. You need to eat." She said. Daryl looked her closely.
"Why'd ya help me?" He asked her softly, "I was an ass to ya." Odette shrugged and sighed.
"You weren't a total ass. Sides, you're one of the few people I actually like here. And you can hunt, you're looking for Sophia more than anyone." Odette nodded and licked her lips, "Cause deep down. You actually care." She said. Daryl just stared, and it was hard for Odette to pick out what he was thinking.
"One of the few huh?" A small smile formed the corner of his mouth, "who else ya like?" He asked. Odette rolled her eyes and scoffed.
"Feel honoured?" She asked raising a brow.
"Feel curious." He muttered.
"Well," Odette cocked her head and began to count on her fingers, "There's you, Dale, Glenn, Carol, T and Hershel's family." She answered. Daryl raised his brows.
"What about the rest?"
"Lori and Rick I just find annoying. Shane is kinda stupid and needs anger management. The three of them together like getting all up in everyone's pooch." She said, "and Andrea is kinda iffy for me. One minuet she's all fine and the next she goes all haywire. But yeah, she's cool." She said. "Carl is just kind of like the kid whose just there ya know?" She explained furrowing her brow.
"Now, since I've been spilt the beans on everything. Eat." She insisted passing Daryl the tray of food.
"I can't." He muttered.
"What? Cause you're not hungry?" Daryl nodded, "Bullshit."
"Then what is it doc?" He mumbled.
"It's cause your chest is in pain right? From your bow." She said. "Hershel doesn't have very good pain killers." She said.
"What makes you think I need pain killers?" He asked.
"Cause you're in pain which is why you won't eat." She said.
"I ain't takin' any." He scowled.
"I would have thought that a guy whose brother likes carrying around drugs would have at least wanted something to ease the pain." She said.
"Fine." He said. Odette smirked and pulled out her bottle of Vicodin. She pulled out two and handed them to him.
"It'll work faster if you chew them. Then you have to eat." She said. Odette watched as Daryl slowly began to pick and chew at his food. She grabbed her cane and began to leave the room. Then, she stopped in her tracks.
"Oh. I'd be careful while eating. You might throw up just a bit." She said.
"Why's that?" Daryl asked, his eyes growing wide.
"It's the anesthesia. Sometimes it can have that affect." She said.
"Hey Odette." Daryl called stopping her just as she was about to leave. "Thanks." He said. She shrugged.
"No problem. Rick didn't give me much of a choice anyways." She said with a smile, "joke." She added raising a brow. "Oh!" She raised her brows as she remembered. She pulls out Daryl's walker ear necklace. "Here. Rick was the one that pulled it off. I thought you might want it back." She said as she placed it on the side table.
"Heh. He's always tryin' ta keep this place PG." he muttered. "But thanks. I was In a daze when I did that." He muttered.
"No problem. Looks very- Jack Sparrow-y." She said. Daryl narrowed his eyes.
"Am I supposed to know who that is?" He asked gruffly. Odette rolled her eyes.
"Johnny Depp?" She asked him.
"Yeah, what 'bout him?" Odette shook her head.
"You uncultured bastard." She muttered. "Captain. Captain Jack Sparrow."
The following day Hershel, Shane, Rick and Odette went to go check up on Daryl. Odette listened to Rick and Shane and Hershel nag Daryl about how irresponsible it was leaving without a partner, while Odette played with her cane.
"How are you feeling?" Hershel asked. Odette shrugged.
"Meh. I've had better days." She said, "And nicer canes. The one I had before had re-"
"I meant Daryl." Hershel said. Odette shrugged.
"I thought that it was an open question." She muttered. Shane gave her an irritated look.
"Better than before." Daryl answered as he lay sprawled across the bed in his side, still shirtless.
Every now and then Odette found herself staring at his chest for far longer than needed. She couldn't help it though. Not her fault that he was attractive for a 35ish year old. The previous scars and bruises didn't bother her much. She had he fair share of baggage as well. His tattoos though
were rather interesting.
"Any idea what happened to my horse?" Hershel asked as he cleaned up some of the blood on Daryl's chest.
"Ya mean the one that almost killed me? If she were smart she would have left the country." Daryl said, his voice full of threat. Which caused a giggle to escape from Odette's lips. Everyone stared, Shane was annoyed.
"What I up with you? Why don't you leave?" Shane yelled. Odette looked at him unthreatened and cocked her head.
"Um before you start telling at me about how crazy I am, let's start with your bald spot and your nose. Besides, I'm the one who saved him from dying. And you have no reason to be here anyways so why don't you just piss off." She snapped. "Americans." She muttered.
"Why are the ears there?" Rick asks annoyed pointing to the necklace that Odette places on the side table. "I don't want that around here. And I sure as hell don't want my son seeing it." He snapped.
"We'll I'm sure he won't be too alarmed." Odette muttered. Rick looked angry at her, "What? Have none of you guys seen Pirates of the Caribbean?"
Daryl had been moved back outside in his tent where he would stay and rest. So, his searching for Sophia was momentarily put to a stop. Carl was back in his feet now, but he had been nagged constantly by his parents to stay close to the farm house. Andrea stopped taking watch for a while. Glenn and Maggie kept going in and out of town coming back with supplies when things were low.
Tonight, Carol, Lori Andrea and Odette were thanking Hershel and his family for their hospitality. They were cooking his family dinner as a small token if their appreciation. Maggie, Beth and Patricia obliged and had no problem with them using the kitchen. Hershel however wasn't too fond of the idea.
"So uh. This silence is just too much." Odette said as she began to season the chicken breasts.
"Tell me about it. Last time things were this silent, I was about to tell Rick I was pregnant." Lori said with a small laugh.
"We'll then, lets hope the next time won't be so bad." Andrea said causing the small smile on Lori's lips to fade into anxiety.
Trouble in paradise? Odette thought.
"How's Daryl feeling?" Carol asked, "Will he get better soon?" She asked. Odette nodded.
"Yeah. He's getting better. I've treated worse." Odette answered.
"In a zombie apocalypse?" Andrea joked.
"True. But, when I was in Budapest with my partner while I was still in the agency, and I remove multiple bullets from his chest... In a bathtub." She explained. "He lived." She added. "And I had a few drinks before hand." She muttered.
"That's good to know... What about now?" Asked Andrea.
"I have no clue. We were both compromised, but I know he made it out alive too. I saw him in New York before all of this happened." She said.
"Odette," Carol called, "I was wondering of you could take this plate of food over to Daryl. I know it's a little late for lunch, but he was sleeping when I brought it to him." Odette shrugged.
"I guess."
Daryl lay awake in his tent skimming through the boom that Andrea has brought to him from Dale just this afternoon. He was hopelessly and utterly bored. Couldn't do shit with his body all bumed up.
"You awake?" He heard the familiar voice of Odette from outside his tent. "Carol sent me over to give you some food." She said.
"About damn time." Daryl said as Odette unzipped the door to his tent.
"Carol said that she came by earlier but you were fast asleep." She said as she placed the food down. Just as Odette was about to leave, Daryl stopped her by grabbing her wrist which caught her off guard completely.
"You wanna stay a while? You can only entertain yourself so much." He said as he began playing with one of his arrows. Odette shrugged.
"Gee I don't know, as a cripple I find it hard to sit down on my ass, and then back up without a nurse following me around every second of everyday." She said sarcastically.
"Alright. I get it. I'm sorry 'bout what I said, about the whole leg thing." He said. Odette cocked her head and sighed. Daryl raised his brows then narrowed his eyes. "What! I apologized. Don't ya say something after that? Isn't that how it works?"
"I'll think about it, if-"
"'if' whataya want from me?" He asked somewhat confused.
"Once you're ready to get back on your feet, you'll let me go out looking for Sophia with you." She said. Daryl growled and rolled his eyes.
"You're one stubborn bitch ya know?" he said.
"Oh come on! Just once! Besides, after your whole accident I'm 99.98% sure that Rick and Shane wont let you go out alone. Please."
Doctor stubborn has a point. he thought
"Fine." He said.
Odette's lips grew into a wide smile. Without thinking, she pressed her lips to Daryl's cheek. Shocked by what she had just done, she grabbed her cane, then pulled herself back up from the ground then quickly left Daryl's tent. As she left, Daryl could see a faint pigment of blush sneak its way onto her cheeks. Without thinking, his hand traveled to his cheek.
It was still warm.
A/N Okay, so I added the Pirates of the Caribbean reference I guess cause when Daryl wore the necklace, it reminded me of Dead Mans Chest when Jack and his crew were captured by the natives on that island, and they wore like body part jewelry. so yeah! also, i LOVE JOHNNY DEPP! :D thanks for reading guys! I Hope you liked it just a little :)
