Suddenly they heard noise coming from outside the block that sounded like the group coming back.
"Open the door!" They heard Rick shout. "It's Hershel. Rose now!"
Rose rushed out of the cell and met them down at Hershel's cell. "Oh my, get him on the bed. What happened?"
"He got bit." Daryl said.
"He's gonna turn." Someone said.
"No, maybe you got it in time." Lori said.
"We just gotta keep an eye on it. I need bandages." Rose said as she unwrapped the wound to take a look at it.
"We used everything we had." Glenn said.
"Well get more. Anything." Carol said.
"Ok, calm down. I need people out of here. I need some sort of bandages." Rose ordered as she checked his pupil and pulse. "He's unconscious but losing a lot of blood."
"Carl, go get the towels next to my bed." Lori said. Carl rushed out.
"Is he gonna die?" Beth asked
"No, he's gonna be ok." Lori said to her.
"Lori, can you get her out of here please?" Rose asked.
"Can you stabilize him?" Rick asked.
"We need to elevate his leg."
"Get some pillows." Carol said.
"He's already bled through the sheets."
"We could burn the wound to clot blood. I could start a fire."
People were rattling out ideas and it was not helping Rose. "Everyone shut it!" Rose ordered. "Give me some room and let me do what I do best."
There was a commotion outside the cell block. "What is that?" Lori asked.
"Survivors, prisoners." Rick explained.
"Oh that's fantastic." Rose muttered. The men went out to talk to the prisoners while Lori and Carol helped Rose try to stop the bleeding. "We've slowed it down quite a bit."
"We'll need crutches for when he wakes up." Carol said.
"Right now we could use some antibiotics and painkillers." Rose said.
"And some sterile gauze." Lori added. "There's gotta be an infirmary somewhere."
Rose blocked out their chatter while she concentrated on keeping Hershel alive. The men returned a little bit later announcing food along with their arrival. She glanced out of the cell as she heard T-Dog announcing what all they got to bring back with them. They must have found the cafeteria on their adventure.
"Any change?" Rick asked as he passed by the cell.
"Bleeding is under control and no fever," Lori answered.
"But his breath is labored and his pulse is way down and he hasn't opened his eyes yet." Rose finished with the bad news.
"Take my cuffs and put them on him." Rick said to Glenn. "I'm not taking any chances."
Glenn did as he was told and Lori walked away to talk to Rick about the prisoners and how they were going to deal with the situation.
"Why don't you take a break?" Lori suggested as she came back into the cell. "I'll watch him."
Rose nodded and walked out. She walked out to where Rick and the other men were with the prisoners about to head out and clear out their own cell block.
"Why do I need this," one of the prisoners said holding up a weapon, "when I got this?" He finished pulling out his gun.
"You don't fire guns." Daryl explained. "Not unless your back is up against a wall"
"Noise attracts them." Rose said as she entered. "It really riles them up."
"Well looky hear." The one with the gun said looking at Rose. "Looks like you all are holding out on us. We might have to renegotiate our deal. Give us her and we stay in our new cell block."
Jared stepped in front of Rose and glared at the guy. "How 'bout you stay away from her and the other girls and we let you live."
The other man pulled out his gun and pointed it at Jared. "Or you give me her and I don't shoot you."
The man wasn't paying attention to the others around him and Daryl walked up and punched him in the face knocking the man to the ground. He then leaned down and whispered in the guy's ear something only he could hear. When the two stood up again the man avoided looking at Rose and turned his attention back to Rick and waited for the plan.
Daryl walked right past Jared and up to Rose. "You should go back into the cell block."
"What did you say to him?" Rose asked.
"Nothing just made sure he knew his place."
"I thought you didn't want me."
"I don't."
"Then why did you hit him in my honor?"
Daryl didn't reply. He just turned around and walked back over to Rick.
"What did he say to you?" Jared asked Rose after Daryl left.
"Nothing." Rose said. "You need to stop worrying that he's gonna hurt me or something every time we talk. Be careful out there." She gave him a hug and for a split second saw an angry look on Daryl's face before he cleared it. She then turned around and walked back into the cell block.
She was about to walk back into Hershel's cell when Glenn stopped her. "Maggie wanted a minute alone with him"
Rose nodded and sat against the wall they were standing by. When Maggie was done they all went back in and stay silent as they just watched Hershel sleep. After a while Carl came walking into the cell with supplies.
"I thought you were organizing the food." Glenn said.
"Even better." Carl said. He walked into the cell and dropped a duffle bag on the floor. Rose opened it and found fresh gauze along with other stuff that would help with Hershel's leg.
"Where did you get all this?" Rose asked him.
"From the infirmary." Carl said. "Wasn't much left, but I cleared it out."
Rose immediately started dressing the wound with fresh gauze.
"You went by yourself?" Lori asked.
"Yeah." Carl answered.
"Are you crazy?"
"No big deal, I killed two walkers."
"Do you see this?" Lori asked him while gesturing towards Hershel. "This was with the whole group."
"We needed supplies so I got them." Carl argued.
"I appreciate that but,"
"Then get off my back!"
"Carl!" Beth interjected. "She's your mother. You can't talk to her like that."
"Look, I think it's great that you want to help," Lori started but Carl walked out before she could finish.
Rose kept working on Hershel but kept thinking about how the guys were doing with the prisoners. "The bandages will help with infection." She said as she wrapped new gauze around Hershel's leg.
"It's good." Glenn said. "It's good that we have a doctor in the group."
"Who knows what we would do without you." Carol said.
"You all would be fine without me. Hershel knows stuff and he would have taught someone something." Rose replied. "He'll be fine for now. I'll let you have some time with him." She got up and went to her cell. As she sat there, she thought about Jared and how he was so into her. He was a great guy but she felt nothing there for him. She also thought about Daryl and how much she wanted him but then she remembered the harsh words he said to her the night before. 'I don't want you' he had said.
"Somebody help! Help" Rose heard Beth scream from Hershel's cell. She rushed out of hers and ran to Beth.
When she got there Lori was there. Hershel was not breathing and Lori was in the middle of CPR. Rose watched making sure she was doing it right. As Lori went to give the second round of breaths, Hershel's arm came up and clung to Lori. Rose thought he had become a walker and ran over to help Lori. Carl had his gun drawn and Rose pulled Lori away. When she was free they looked at Hershel as he fell back on the bed and continued sleeping. He was still alive.
They all stayed in there after that to watch Hershel. The men came back and Rose walked out of the cell to greet them.
"Hershel stopped breathing." Carl informed them. "Mom saved him."
"It's true." Rose answered as Rick looked at her.
Rick walked into the cell and Rose stayed out. Daryl and Jared were standing next to each other and Rose was looking at them. She heard a commotion from within the cell, sounding like Hershel woke up. She quickly turned around to go in and everything went black. Before she was out completely she felt strong arms catch her. She didn't know who it was but they smelled of woods, dirt, sweat, and blood.
Rose woke to the sound of sirens blaring. She felt a little groggy and had no idea how long she was out. She slowly got up out of bed and looked around. No one was in the cell block, the alarms were going off and she was alone. She started mentally freaking out a little. She rushed down the stairs to the gate that led out of the cell block. It was left open. She prepared for the worst. What if everyone was gone? What if they had to pack up and leave and they left her behind. She grabbed her gun and knife and strapped them to herself and then picked up her bat. She cautiously walked out of the cell block and prepared to have to make it on her own. She felt for sure they left her behind and she was gonna have to survive on her own now.
She felt a bit sad at the fact that they would just leave her but she was a burden unconscious. She would only hold them back and probably get them killed. She didn't blame them but now she knew how it was. She bit back the tears and walked on.
She didn't know the prison very well. She never went out on rounds with the others. She was always left behind incase Lori went into labor. She was a mouse in a maze looking for the cheese. She had no idea where to go and she was afraid she would die alone. Most of her life she didn't care about being alone. But now that she was at the end, she wanted to have someone she loved to be with her so she could see them one more time. And now, she knew exactly who that person was. Too bad it was too late.