It grew eerily silent in no time flat. No one moved and no one said a word. Daryl cautiously opened an eye to see what in the world was going on only to find Maggie stooped down beside him now. She smiled at him and stretched her hand out that was holding the two pills. "It'll bring your fever down some, and if you're having any pain."
Carol stooped down on his other side now with a glass of water and a smile. If he didn't know any better, he'd swear they were trying to run him away from the prison, killing him with kindness. That or maybe he was trapped in some strange dream.
Daryl prayed his limbs would cooperate long enough for him to take the pills and hold a measly glass of water. He tested it out by first grabbing the pills from Maggie's palm and popped them in his mouth before eyeing the glass. At least nobody could read minds—he would have done buried himself out of humiliation by now otherwise.
Daryl took the glass from Carol and tipped it back enough to get a few sips before passing it back to her. It was more than enough to get the medication down, not wanting to risk putting a whole lot into his stomach with the way it still felt like it was trying out for the Olympics. As far as he was concerned, his stomach could take home the gold medal in hopes of the pesky organ to just call it a damn day already.
A frown tugged at Carol's lips seeing how little Daryl drank. "Do you want to try and eat? I figured oatmeal was bland enough—"
"Hell no," Daryl shot back at her. He quickly bit his tongue. He wasn't exactly meaning to snap at her but he didn't even want to hear the word 'food', or 'oatmeal'.
"How are you feeling?" Hershel questioned.
"Like shit." Daryl pondered at the idea of getting out of Glenn's grasp and lying back down. Surprisingly enough, when Daryl tried to maneuver his way back down to the mattress, Glenn let up and allowed it. Daryl lay on his back and placed an arm across his eyes to block out everyone's unyielding stares.
Hershel chuckled softly. "I'm glad you're being honest but I was hoping for something a little more specific."
"Head hurts. Stomach…" Daryl mumbled. "Just need sleep." And since Daryl still had his arm resting over his eyes, he didn't see Hershel nod and glance at everyone in turn.
"Alright, we'll let you get some rest. The others will head on back and get some sleep themselves. If you need anything, I won't be far." Hershel readjusted the crutches under his arms and headed for the door out of D Block, the sound of everyone's footsteps following.
Daryl was just relieved to know that they were finally going to leave him alone. That was all he wanted to begin with. So he rolled back onto his right side with his back facing the door in an attempt to try and get comfortable, which was nearly impossible with the way he was feeling—some ridiculous fever, chills, throbbing headache, and his entire body ached overall. He figured this was as good a place as any to just stay put and sleep.
After everyone stepped out of the cellblock, Rick was dead set on stopping Hershel. He couldn't believe everyone was just so willing to leave Daryl like he was. What if he got worse? But when Hershel stopped on his own accord and stared back at everyone, Rick noticed he must have missed some little cue that the old vet shared because he had a faint smile on his lips.
"I'll stay in here with him a couple cells away in case things get worse. I'd like to have someone almost on watch at all times with him though just to be on the safe side. I know it's not the most ideal situation but for Daryl's sake, I think it needs to happen," Hershel explained.
"So he's worse than he looks?" Carol furrowed her brow. The question plagued everyone's mind by this point.
"Not exactly. I just want to make sure he doesn't get worse."
"I'll stay then," Rick immediately offered, stepping forward.
"No, it's best that you stay with everyone else. If you disappear it'll only send everyone from Woodbury into some kind of fit," Maggie countered. "I'll stay for tonight and then we can work things out later."
Hershel nodded, "She does have a point, Rick. And it may be best that we keep everything quiet for now."
Rick knew Maggie was right, he just didn't want her to be. He felt like this was his fault and the least he could do was stay by Daryl's side. If he hadn't ever mentioned his plan to Merle, Merle wouldn't have taken off to try and fulfill it. Merle would still be alive. Then Daryl would have been in better shape than he was.
"Okay," Rick nodded. "Keep us informed." It was all he could do for the time being though he would be back to check on Daryl in the morning. He took off and headed back for C Block with Glenn and Carol, leaving Maggie and Hershel with Daryl.
Maggie turned to go back into D Block but Hershel placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "I think it may be best that we don't hover. Give him some space but do what you need to do."
Maggie nodded. She already planned on keeping her distance so that she didn't unnerve Daryl anymore than what he already was. It was only obvious that Daryl didn't want anyone around and Maggie would give him that—he just wouldn't know she was there. As long as he got some rest, that was everyone's main concern.
Hershel and Maggie entered back into D Block as quietly as possible, shutting the door behind them. Hershel made his way over to one of the cells to rest for the night and Maggie didn't stop until she was beside Daryl. She glanced back at her father and gave him a small wave to let him know things would be fine before he completely submerged himself into the cell and out of sight.
Maggie bent down beside Daryl and stared at him for a moment before coming to the conclusion that he was asleep, his chest steadily rising and falling with each breath he took. She grabbed the washcloth from off the floor where Daryl had placed it and dipped it back into the Tupperware container before wringing it out and carefully placing it back on his forehead. Daryl didn't stir and she was thankful for that. Like Rick had said, Daryl was hard to wake and it didn't seem like that changed any from earlier that day to now. Whatever Daryl was hit with, it hit him hard.
Carol had taken the oatmeal back with her since Daryl wasn't willing to eat and they couldn't exactly force him to, but she had left the glass of water. Maggie moved both the glass and the container of water back in case Daryl was to somehow smack either of them in his sleep. She figured she'd take a little precaution in case.
Once she was satisfied, Maggie leaned back against the wall and slid down until her bottom reached the floor. She wasn't exactly hovering over him but she wasn't exactly leaving him out of her sight either. It didn't take much to realize that something was really wrong with him when he was typically like the Energizer Bunny of the group, always on the move. It was all finally starting to take a toll on him.
It was probably a couple hours later when Maggie's attention snapped back to Daryl. He had suddenly woken up and started in on a coughing fit. Maggie jumped to her feet and retrieved a small bucket of the sorts that they had been using earlier to clean up the cellblock. She carelessly dumped its contents and rushed back to Daryl's side as he was now sitting up, his face buried in his hands and breathing heavy. Maggie set the bucket down next to Daryl having assumed that he was going to throw up. But as soon as she set it down, Daryl grabbed it and did just as she suspected, causing Maggie to cringe.
Maggie got down on her knees beside him and rubbed his back while he lost the battle with his nausea. It felt like a couple minutes had passed before he started to settle down. He spit one last time before setting the bucket to the side and pulled his shirt up to wipe his mouth. It was when he started to get up and onto his feet that Maggie felt even more concerned.
"Are you okay?" Maggie followed his lead and got up as well, staring at him.
"I gotta take a piss. You gonna watch me do that too?" Daryl grumbled, trailing off toward the door.
Maggie hesitated but bit her tongue. She could at least allow him that privacy. And he seemed okay to walk.
So she let him go.
