I stayed by Carol's bedside most of the day. She was severely dehydrated, tired, She'd been down there for a few days stuck in that closet. She slept peacefully, like she had been since we brought her back. I frowned, feeling her brow.
"How she doin?" Daryl asked. I jumped in my chair, forgetting he was in the cell with me.
"She's fine. No fever, no bites." I smiled up at him, standing for the first time in a while. "She's tired, dehydrated, but she'll be fine." Daryl smiled, looking the happiest he'd been in days.
There was a ruckus down the hall and I raised my brow at him quizzically. I peaked my head out the door, frowning as I saw Rick carrying something and dropping it the floor. Slowly Daryl and I made out way to the rec area. The first thing I noticed was a woman laying on the floor, dirty and bleeding.
"Rick." Daryl inquired curiously. Rick looked up at us, just now noticing we were there. "Who the hell is this?" I nodded and Rick glanced back down at the woman. Her wild eyes found me, she was afraid and confused, probably feverish. I slowly made my way over to her, crouching down beside them. She watched me warily.
"It's okay, I'm a nurse, I just need to feel your forehead." I said as quietly as I could, so as not to upset her more. I put my hand to her skin and she immediately sat up, pushing my hand away.
"You wanna tell us your name?" Rick asked gently. She watched Rick quietly, studying him. She looked at me briefly before again turning to Rick.
"Ya'll come on in here." Daryl asked gesturing to the cellblock. I looked back at him and then again at the woman on the floor. Rick stood and I followed his lead.
"Everything all right?" Rick asked, not turning around.
"You're gonna wanna see this." Daryl said. I had completely forgotten about Carol amidst the new comers arrival. Rick shook his head, bending over to pick up her Katana. I eyed it, impressed, wondering where she found a weapon like that.
"We'll keep this safe and sound. The doors are all locked, you'll be safe here." The woman glared up at him, eyeing the sword he held in his hand. She didn't trust us, but that's okay because we didn't trust her. In this world, now more than ever, trust is a thing earned and not lightly given.
"We can treat that." I said, gesturing to her leg. I looked over at Herschel and he nodded at me in agreement. The woman looked down at her thigh to what I can only assume was a bullet hole and then up to me. The woman sighed, taking a deep breath.
"I didn't ask for your help." She said finally, looking away from us.
"Doesn't matter." Rick explained, turning away from her and walking into the cellblock. "I can't let you leave." I gave her one last look before following him out, Daryl ushering me through the door, locking it behind me.
Carol took the news of Lori's death pretty hard. At first she was in denial, claiming Lori was just lost like she had been, that we needed to search for her. I was the one who had to tell her how Lori died. That I'd killed her to deliver the baby.
She took it better than I'd expected, hugging me instead of slapping me. She hadn't been separated from the baby since she woke up, other than to eat. But even then the baby was not far away from her, swaddled on the table beside her.
My thoughts were far away, back with Carol and Ass-Kicker, something Daryl has reluctantly brought me around to calling her, when Rick's conversation with the new woman brought me back to the present.
"We can tend to that wound for you." He said matter of factly. He looked at me and Herschel and the old man nudged me forward, I held out the medical kit that we had compiled, smiling at her politely.
"Shouldn't be too hard, just looks like stitches and a few days of antibiotics." She looked at me with her eyebrows raised when Rick spoke again.
"Then we'll send you on your way with a little food and water." Rick's tone was colder and I stepped back so that they could talk. "But you're gonna have to tell us how you found us, and why you were carrying formula." She stared at us unflinchingly. I narrowed my eyes at her, setting the med kit on the table next to me. When we searched her bag we found the normal essentials, but buried down at the bottom was a single can of formula, something that put us all on edge.
"The supplies were dropped by a young asian guy with a pretty girl." My eyes widened and my heart sank. I shifted awkwardly, looking up at Daryl. He ran his thumb across his lip anxiously.
"What happened?" Rick asked quietly, standing straighter hand on his side arm. She looked at his hand, pausing thoughtfully.
"They were taken." She said bluntly. I took a deep breath, panic setting in. I heard Herschel groan behind me, like a wounded animal.
"taken by who?" Rick asked, bending over to meet her eye level. His voice was deadly serious, he was in no mood for games.
"By the same son of a bitch who shot me." She didn't skip a beat, firing her answer just as quickly as he'd asked her.
"Hey. These are our people! You tell us what happened now!" Rick growled, reaching out and grabbing her wound. I stepped forward, going to stop him but she began to struggled, Daryl cut me off, raising his bow, pointing it at her.
"Rick." I said warningly, though I knew what he was doing was necessary, especially now that Maggie and Glenn were involved.
"You better start talking, or you're gonna have a much bigger problem than a gunshot wound!" Daryl threatened her. I shook my head, staring at him wide eyed.
"Find 'em yourself." She said calmly, glaring daggers at Daryl. I brought my hand up to his bow, lowering it for him. If we wanted her help we couldn't take it by force, that much I knew. She looked at me confused and I walked closer to her, edging my way between her and Daryl.
"Please." I only said one word, not taking my eyes off of her. One word was all it took and she softened, hand still on her leg. I nodded over to Herschel, who seemed to stand taller. "This is Herschel. That was his daughter. Please, we need your help."
"There's a town, Woodbury." Michonne said after a long pause. I looked back at Rick, my point proven and I nodded my thanks at her, stepping away. When she realized I was backing down her attentions turned to Rick. "About 75 survivors, I think they were taken there."
"A whole town?" Rick seemed not to believe her.
"It's run by this guy, calls himself The Governor. Pretty boy, charming, Jim Jones type." She explained.
"He got muscle?" Daryl asked coolly.
"Paramilitary wannabes. They have armed sentries on every wall." Rick frowned, shaking his head and looking at Daryl and I.
"You know a way in?" He asked finally.
"The place is secure from walkers, but we could slip our way through." I narrowed my eyes at her use of the word walkers, but I chalked it up to her picking it up from Maggie and Glenn. Rick smirked.
"How'd you know how to get here?" He asked again. The woman shrugged.
"They mentioned a prison, said which direction it was in, said it was a straight shot." Rick turned to Herschel and I again.
"This is Herschel, Him and Beau'll get that taken care of for you." Rick pointed at me. The woman followed his hand to look at us. Rick gave me a tight smile before walking out, Daryl hesitantly following him. He stopped in front of me, before looking at the woman.
"I'ma be standing right there, Darlin." He said, tilting his head in the direction of the cellblock door. I nodded at him, walking over to the woman. I looked up at Herschel, but he still seemed to be in shock. I frowned at him, realizing I'd probably be doing these sutures on my own. Now more than ever I was glad that Herschel had been slowly showing me how to do these things.
She stared me down, trying to make herself seem bigger, before looking at the piece I had on my belt. I followed her gaze, glancing down at it, before removing it from its holster and dropping it to the floor. I clattered loudly and I kicked it away, not taking my eyes off of her.
"I don't want to hurt you." I said quietly, gesturing to the table bench. Slowly she approached me, sitting down quietly and turning onto her side. I placed the medkit on the table, unzipping it.
"You got anesthesia?" She asked. I narrowed my eyes at her, confused and she gave a dry chuckle, smirking at me. "Then you're gonna hurt me." I said nothing to her, only look at her wound. I pried open her pants where the bullet passed through. I did the first thing I knew to do, check for the bullet. It seemed like it was still stuck in there and I reached into the kit, pulling out a scalpel and a set of tweezers.
"Sorry." I said before I went to work on her. She flinched, but only slightly, her breathing quickening. She watched me warily, her eyes wandering over to where Daryl stood waiting, and then back to me. I had successfully dug out the bullet and now I began to stitch her.
"Thank you." She said. I was taken back by her words and I paused, looking up at her, before returning to work. I glanced up at her, forcing a smile
Hmm. probably could have combined these two chapters... Sorry they're so short x( this was my writers trike week.
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