Daryl stared at the still figure in front of him, his fingers still gripping the shirt as if he couldn't let go. He felt as though he was about to choke, eyes tracing the large gash on the teenager's forehead, the blood that had dried and cracked down one side of his face.
He squeezed his eyes shut, and bent his head down to rest it on Jimmy's chest. Daryl knew what he was going to have to do.
But then the body beneath him moved, to take in a breath. And then after a long pause, another one, strained and wheezed.
He scrambled back from Jimmy's body, watching with his lips pressed tightly together as the teenager that he had come to think of as his own struggled with each breath. Jimmy was in bad shape, but he was still alive. They both were.
Setting a hand on Jimmy's chest, to reassure himself that the kid was still breathing, Daryl turned back to Carol, who attempted to give him a weak smile. "He hit… his head off… the door when—we were getting in… here. He cursed… and then passed out…"
Carol looked like she was about to pass out herself, so Daryl just nodded, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.
Then he was faced with a dilemma.
Jimmy obviously wasn't walking out of here. But neither was Carol, not any time soon. He scowled, turning away from Carol for a moment, to consider his options. He could leave one of them in the cell, to come back for them as soon as he got the other to the group. He could try to carry both, which he wasn't sure that he could do. He could leave both, and come back with help.
Looking more closely at Jimmy's unconscious body, and feeling the outline of ribs under his hand, Daryl realised how much weight the teenager had lost. How much they'd all lost.
"Can ya stand?"
She looked at him with glazed over eyes, as if she was barely seeing him at all, and nodded slowly. When Carol didn't seem able to start the process herself, he forced himself away from Jimmy's body, and eased her onto her feet, leaning her against the wall. Carol swayed precariously, but he only needed a few seconds.
It was harder than he had anticipated, manoeuvring a limp Jimmy into a somewhat functional fireman's carry, the kid slung over his shoulder. He grunted, as he walked the few steps over to Carol, who was already slipping down the wall.
Daryl caught her before she could reach the ground, biting his lip as he tried to balance her weight in a less than ideal bridal position. Her legs tangled with Jimmy's as they hung over his shoulder, and it couldn't have been comfortable at all, but it seemed bearable and Carol's eyes were slipping closed with every step. Jimmy's head thudded slightly against his back with every step that he took, and Daryl winced inwardly when he imagined the kid's headache when he regained consciousness.
The walk back to their cell block was the longest of his life.
His knees shook with exertion, his breathing slightly laboured, as he tried to balance the two of them without risking dropping one. It was a close call, for most of the journey, due to Jimmy's lanky figure that threatened to topple to the ground at any moment, and Carol's average stature that he didn't really have the space for in his arms. Despite the difficulty of the task, Daryl wouldn't have left either of them behind, not for a second. He'd just gotten them back.
The weight of the two combined was challenging, but more so was the emotional weight of it. He'd found them. They were both right there, breathing and not bitten, and alive. His breaths came out in pants as he neared the rest of the group, almost wanting to make the moment stretch out longer.
Because they were both alive, and he'd found them.
.
Dean screamed when Beth finally let him into see Jimmy.
A shriek of excitement and disbelief escaped from him, as his tiny figure froze in the doorway, staring in at the motionless form on the bed. Daryl smirked, and gestured him to come closer, "Jimmy's gon' be fine, kid. I was wrong. We were all wrong."
He watched as his nephew approached the bed, chewing at his lip in an attempt to keep any more screams from being made. He'd been trained from months on the road to contain loud noises and Daryl felt a surge of pride at the boy's self-restraint. Dean's whole body was coiled with tension, as he reached over to touch Jimmy's face gently. The bandage wrapped around his forehead to hide the garish wound made the boy falter slightly, but he pressed his fingers to Jimmy's cheek, and Daryl could see the tears streaming down Dean's cheeks.
"He's sleepin'," Daryl explained, folding his arms across his chest, "But Hershel says he'll be up soon."
Dean looked back to him for confirmation, and then carefully climbed up on the bottom bunk. He paused for a second, but when hearing no reprimand, snuggled in gently to Jimmy's side. For a moment, there was silence, and just blissful confirmation that they were still safe.
But Dean started rummaging in his pocket for something, finally digging out such a worn and tattered object that Daryl couldn't help but recognise it. With just as much care as before, Dean reached up his hand, and tucked his yo-yo into Jimmy's shirt pocket.
"You watch him fer a few, will ya?"
Daryl felt his heart swell up several inches, as Dean looked up at him contently, "I will. I'm gon' stay till he wakes up."
.
"Rick. Who the hell's this?"
The woman on the floor stared up at Rick with such contempt that it almost made Daryl interested. He studied her carefully, taking in the katana on the ground, and the gunshot wound in her thigh. She was so tense that he was half surprised she hadn't risen to her feet out of pure willpower.
Daryl's hand stayed firmly on his knife sheath.
Rick said in a controlled voice, "You wanna tell us your name?" Then his tone dropped to a whisper when he got no reply, and he leaned in closer, "You wanna tell us your name?"
"Yo, c'mon in here," Daryl finally cut in, seeing that the woman wasn't going to talk any time soon.
Rising to his feet, Rick didn't take his eyes off her, turning his body slightly towards Daryl, "Everything alright?" Rick shifted on his feet, moving his weight slightly as he stood over the woman, controlled frustration in his eyes.
"Yer gon' want ta see this."
With a few calm orders, Rick stayed beside her until Hershel and Carl had begun to leave the room, only going to walk into the cellblock when he was sure the others were clear. "I'll keep this safe and sound," He told her, holding up the katana, as Carl peered into the basket of baby formula. "Doors are all locked—you'll be safe here. Now, we can treat that."
She held herself in a sitting position, long fingers locked onto the metal grill behind her, "I didn't ask for your help," It was almost spat at them, like an accusation.
"Doesn't matter. We can't let you leave."
Daryl locked the cell door behind them, staring at her for a moment as he turned the key in the lock. He could feel her eyes following him for a long time, as he walked out of sight.
.
When they'd reached the cell, and Carol poked her dirty face out from the shadow of the bottom bunk, Daryl watched as Rick froze. He pulled Carol into a tight hug, in disbelief, and the rest of the group gathered around, while Daryl leaned against the cell wall and smiled.
Then Hershel was hugging her, and she was cooing at the baby, and a sense of relief settled over everyone. "Found her in a cell—near passed out an' dehydrated." He offered as a form of explanation, crossing his arms over his chest.
Carol stopped to look at Rick suddenly, and then she just knew. Her hand went over her mouth, as she twisted to look and Rick and the baby, while Carl tilted his hat to cover his eyes discreetly. Daryl shifted awkwardly, and looked up to see the stranger, pressed against the cell bars watching, silently. "Oh, Rick."
When Rick turned to him, a clear question in his eyes, Daryl nodded.
"Jimmy's in th' next cell. Kid's gon' have one hell of a concussion, an' a headache, but Hershel think he'll be fine. Dean's keepin' guard." That made them chuckle, despite it being so perfectly true, and the little huddle moved to the next cell over, to smile despite the tears in their eyes.
Dean remained curled up on the bunk, asleep.
.
"… They were taken."
Daryl's grip on his crossbow tightly reflexively, as Hershel stood upright on his crutches. The stranger was finally talking, describing Glenn and Maggie as a means of explaining her being there, and he didn't like the feeling that was forming in the pit of his stomach.
"Taken by who?" Rick's hand never left his gun, his eyes staring into hers.
"By the same son of a bitch who shot me."
Rick moved in closer, both his stance and tone getting lower, "Hey, these are our people. You'd better tell me what happened now." One of his hands snaked out and grabbed her wound, her shout of anger making Daryl lift his crossbow up easily into full aim.
"Don't you ever touch me again!"
He cut in, anger coursing through him, "You'd better start talkin' or yer gon' have a much bigger problem than a gunshot wound." Their gazes connected then, one side of her lip curling up in fury, while he held his crossbow an inch from her head.
"Find 'em yourself…"
Daryl moved back willingly, with only a hint of resistance, as Rick pushed his crossbow down, stepping carefully in front of him. He found himself back beside Hershel, as the other two began to speak once more. His finger twitched on the trigger, out of frustration that he couldn't do more for Glenn and Maggie.
Then it all came out about the town, Woodbury, and the potential backdoor. Daryl could see Rick calculating things in his head, as he stalked off, and followed, with one more glance at the woman, who still hadn't offered her name. His eyes flickered towards the cellblock, to make sure it was still locked and secure.
.
He stopped to look in on Jimmy and Dean before they left.
Jimmy was just starting to wake up properly, still blinking around groggily, but he burst into a huge smile when he saw Daryl leaning in the doorway. He ran a hand through his bloody hair, grinning sheepishly, and said, "Heard you dragged me out of that cell, like I was a damsel or somethin'."
"Damn heavy one," Daryl retorted, and crossed the cell to pull the teenager into a hug.
Dean managed to get into the middle of their hug, and blew a raspberry with his tongue, laughing when they both pushed him away softly. He laughed even louder, as Jimmy threw an arm out half-heartedly to snag him, but missed sluggishly by a lot, and the sound of a child's laughter filled the entire cell block for a few moments.
"C'mon, kid, before ya get th' whole group in here thinkin' we're havin' some sorta party," Daryl pulled Dean back into his lap, still wary of the new people 'in' their group now, not wanting to draw attention to his nephew in any sort of way.
Jimmy studied him carefully over Dean's head, rubbing at the missing digits of his hand like he sometimes did, "You going after Glenn and Maggie?" When he raised an eyebrow, Jimmy shrugged, "You weren't exactly quiet, discussing who was going while I was tryin' to get some shut-eye." He grinned then, as if it was all some sort of big joke, like he did when he was trying to relieve the mood for Dean.
"Leavin' in a few," Daryl grunted out, his line of vision moving to where he'd propped his crossbow up beside the door, "Think you can hold the fort down fer me?"
There was tension in his jaw that was starting to become more and more common, but Jimmy nodded, "Next time I'm coming with. Can't leave me behind every time."
Daryl grunted, and settled for giving Jimmy a half-hearted punch to his bicep, "We'll see."
.
"… and I've got the teargas—never know what yer gon' need." They were packing up the car for the journey to Woodbury, taking advantage of the prison riot materials that they'd uncovered early on. "Don't you worry 'bout yer old man, I'll keep an eye on him," Daryl muttered to Carl, heaving another heavy bag of supplies into the boot of the car.
Carol was holding Lil Asskicker gently when he moved to stand beside her, taking his eyes off Rick and Carl for a moment. The baby was a firm favourite with Dean by this point, and Carol had already been hounded several times by his nephew begging to hold the new-born, swearing that he'd done it before even though Daryl knew it was a total lie.
"Stay safe."
She smiled softly up at him, rocking Lil Asskicker, "Nine lives, remember?"
Without another word, he turned to head over to the others, giving the baby one last glance. Daryl could feel Carol's eyes on him, but there was nothing that he could say that she didn't already know. Their group had long since moved past needing words to fill silences and goodbyes.
.
Later, when they were walking through the woods, just a few minutes before everything went to hell, Rick spoke, gaze fixed on the trail again, "I know what you did for me—for my baby, while I was… working things out. Thank you."
"It's what we do."
Because it was. It was what the group had done when Rick and Shane had carried a malnourished Dean out of the woods, when they'd been reunited and the group had undergone a huge change. They'd done it when they'd lost people, banded together even stronger, pulled ranks in tighter, and did what needed to be done.
Michonne and Oscar trudged on ahead of them, not even nearly a real part of their group, but seemingly willing to stand beside them and fight. She had offered her name up to them in the car, sullenly while gripping her katana, and Rick had nodded, accepting the introduction for what it was.
Daryl narrowed his eyes against the sunlight filtering through the trees, and did another scan through the trees around them for walkers.
"Rick." He held up his hand, reverting back to one of their old signals, and looked sharply to his left for the source of the salivating moan.
"Down."
They slipped to their hunkers smoothly, crouching in among the dead leaves and foliage, watching as dozens of walkers emerged from the trees all at once.
Rick moved to the front of the group, his machete out and ready, "Formation. No gun fire." The walkers went down easy enough, nothing they hadn't done a million times before, but their numbers were overwhelming, and Daryl wondered how they could've missed the sudden influx. "Oscar," The man took Rick's warning, smashing in a walker's face with a heavy hammer.
"There's too many of 'em," Daryl pulled out his knife, retreating back towards Rick.
So they ran, weaving through the trees quickly. Michonne hung back, limping slightly, as Daryl glanced back at her. She was keeping up though, and he silently recognised the small part of him that respected the woman, even after the circumstances that made him wary.
The cabin was just what they needed, almost too perfect, his suspicious mind supplied, but they slipped inside carefully. The smell hit them then, but it didn't stop them from moving through the cabin, mindful of the walkers pressing their decayed faces against the door and trying to batter it down.
When the man in the bed, who they all had thought to be a dead body, rose up with a shout—Daryl almost threw his knife on principal alone, heart hammering in his chest.
He didn't let himself pause when Michonne ran the man through with her katana, despite the shock of Rick and Oscar, forcing himself to step over the body and check the window. Daryl heaved the body up with Rick with a grimace, focusing on getting out of there alive, even as Oscar shook his head with disgust, "You've gotta be kidding me…"
They threw the body out, and none of them hesitated as they ran past the walkers' feeding frenzy.
That was just the way things were.
After that, getting to Woodbury was simple enough, Michonne leading the way as the light faded slowly. Daryl took up the rear, watching more closely for any more walkers, and smirking slightly when he saw a squirrel scurrying along beside them for a moment. His crossbow twitched towards the creature for a second, as a force of habit.
The security was tight, on the gates bordering the town, and even Daryl couldn't find an immediate flaw in their armed guards and searchlights. Rick looked at him briefly, for some sort of silent confirmation, and Daryl nodded, his eyes calculating.
"Alright, let's do this."
.
So, you guys all saved Jimmy! Ryack had a good point though, when they said that it is the walking dead after all—but I like Jimmy too much to kill him off. Yet.
I hope this update was good for you guys anyway, would love any feedback that you have for me :) I'm thinking Merle in the next chapter so get excited! Any thoughts on how he'll react to Dean? He is his father, at the end of the day.
Thanks for reading,
ArmedWithMyComputer xx