DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING REGARDING THE WALKING DEAD - This includes any material or characters from any of the TV Series/Comics/Games Etc.
The only thing that I own is the characters I have created myself.
Gradually, after turning onto and driving down a dirt road for a bit the vehicles began to approach the Greene farmhouse and as they did Eilidh leaned forward slightly and stared out of the RV window in awe; the house was a large three storey and there were fields of green and forestry all around it for miles.
Perfect.
Perfect was the only word that came to mind when looking at this farm, it and everything surrounding it was untouched, it was as if it had been inside some protective bubble when the rest of the world outside of it had went to shit...it was beautiful.
As they drew closer the rest of their people started to appear from inside the farmhouse onto the wrap around porch, there were new faces amongst them too including the woman from the horse the other day.
Eilidh looked at Dale and they smiled at one another, she then looked back at those waiting on the porch and a thought which caused her smile to disappear suddenly entered her mind.
"Dale." she said then looked at him, he glanced from the road to her and back to the road, she then glanced back at where Carol was sat at the back of the RV looking out of a window too and she lowered her voice as she continued, "This place really isn't that far from the highway...do you think Sophia could have found it?"
Dale's own smile vanished immediately and he looked at her for a moment before facing forward once more and said in a hushed voice, "I really have no idea Eilidh...it would be nice to think so."
Eilidh stared at the side of his face for a moment, the tone of his voice told her he doubted it and even she herself felt that way, it felt too good to be true.
The vehicles began to slow down then eventually came to a stop infront of where the rest of their group was stood waiting and they then each, in silence, moved to meet them.
Eilidh noticed as she was exiting the RV that T-Dog's injured arm was now protectively bandaged and taped up, she also noticed Shane stood near the side of house further away from everyone else, he looked as if his mind was...somewhere else.
"How is he?" Dale eventually broke the brief silence that had fallen over the two groups who were now stood facing one another.
"He'll pull through." Lori replied and a huge smile of relief broke out on her face, Eilidh inhaled deeply at the news and she heard Carol exclaim with joy quietly, "Thanks to Hershel...and his people."
She looked over her shoulder at an older man that stood on the porch of the farmhouse, Rick then added, "And Shane, we'd have lost Carl if not for him."
After Rick had spoken Dale moved forward to hug him just as Carol did with Lori, Eilidh watched as Andrea moved forward to give T-Dog a quick hug and then she herself moved towards him to see how he was.
"Hey." T-Dog said as she approached and then he surprised her by wrapping his arms tightly around her.
"Oh, uh...hey yourself." She replied as she awkwardly patted his back briefly, she then smiled and hugged him back.
He lifted her off her feet when she returned his hug which caused her to let out surprised laugh.
"I see that you're all fixed up then." She said once he had set her back on her feet and released her.
"Hurts like hell still but yeah, I'm on the mend." He replied with a smile and a nod.
"What happened?" Dale asked Rick after they'd hugged one another, that's when Eilidh headed towards Lori who immediately embraced her with a relieved smile.
"Thank god he's okay." she said to Lori which seamed to make the woman tighten her hold.
"It was a hunting accident…just a stupid accident." Rick replied to Dale just as Eilidh glanced Shane's way, she noticed that he suddenly looked uncomfortable and was looking at his feet.
She kept her eyes on him until she finished her hug with Lori and the two women smiled once more at one another before Lori moved to stand beside her husband.
Eilidh kept watching Shane until he looked up and when he did their eyes met, she offered him a brief smile then began to head his way and at her movements his body twitched slightly, like he'd just been been jolted out of a deep daydream.
He gave his head an awkward rub as he returned the smile which was obviously forced before he then began to shuffle towards her.
"Sorry if I...startled you." she stated as she glanced at his foot with furrowed brows.
"Nah, I was in my own world." he replied.
She nodded then asked, "What happened to you?"
"I jumped from a window, landed on it wrong." he said with a shrug once he reached her.
"That was...clumsy." she said.
"Yeah." he replied then lifted his chin at her bandaged hand, "What happened to you?"
He reached for her hand and held it in both of his for a closer look.
"I tripped, landed on the wrong thing." She said.
"It's bled through." he replied with a frown as he examined it some more.
"Yeah, it keeps doing that for some reason." she said as she moved her hand away from his to look at it more closely herself.
"Get Hershel to take a look at it." he said.
"The man on the porch?" she asked and he nodded.
"Hey Eilidh." Glenn said with a smile as he suddenly appeared next to her.
"Glenn!" She exclaimed and grabbed him in a tight hug, she was a little surprised how happy she was to see him again, "It's good to see you again."
"You too." He said with a chuckle before they finished their hug and then he tutted at her.
"I was gone not even a full day, when I left you were fine...what have you been doing?" he said with a smile whilst he looked at her hand.
"Tripped." She said with a sigh.
"Get Hershel to look at it." Shane interrupted them in a firm voice before he headed towards Rick.
"It's really not that bad." She said to Glenn in a lowered voice, but not low enough.
"Don't make me say it again Eilidh." Shane retorted over his shoulder and she narrowed her eyes at him before looking back at Glenn and found he was staring at her bandage.
"It's bleeding." he said.
"I'm aware of that." she said sharply and his eyes widened a little before he gave her a sheepish smile and she immediately regretted what she'd said.
"I'm sorry Glenn." She said after a beat and he waved his hand in a 'don't worry about it' kind of way, she then offered him a brief smile before she hooked her arm through his and began to drag him towards the others which made him laugh a little.
"Did I miss the moment we turned into twelve year old girls?" he asked her with a smirk, "What's next, daisy chains? Braiding each other's hair?"
She grinned at him before tugging some more, "Come on."
"Hershel and his people are having a service for Otis later, we said that we'd attend…he helped save Carl's life too." Eilidh heard Rick say to the group as they approached and she released Glenn's arm, she didn't know who Otis was but Rick said he had helped save Carl and he must have died because of it, of course they would attend.
"Yes, absolutely." Carol said as the others were also nodding their heads in agreement.
"I appreciate that." Hershel said to the group and then he looked around each of them and asked, "Who is Eilidh?"
"That's me." she said with a frown but walked towards him anyway, she held her hand out to shake his once she was infront of him, "It's nice to meet you, Sir."
Hershel shook her good hand briefly then pointed at her injured one, "Shane told me I should take a look at your hand."
His tone implied he wasn't happy about it, whether it was having to fix her up or the fact that Shane had TOLD rather than ask him to.
She looked from Hershel to where Shane was stood and he nodded his head at her with his arms folded across his chest, she looked back at Hershel and said, "There's no need for that, it's really not that serious and honestly, I wouldn't want to waste your time."
"You couldn't really sleep because it was painful." Carol said to her.
"That's just because we didn't have any ice." Eilidh replied.
"I'll take a look anyway, if you'll follow me into the house?" Hershel said as he began to walk away.
"Okay." She said with a sigh after a beat and followed him.
o
"That doesn't look good." Glenn said from where he was stood over Eilidh's shoulder.
"Looks can be deceiving, Glenn." she replied, not wanting to agree with him.
He was right, it didn't look good.
Hershel had taken the bandage that was wrapped around her hand off to reveal that it had swelled up a bit more than the previous night and there was now some bruising around her wrist.
The scrapes that had been on her palm last night now looked worse, as if over night more had appeared but the pain wasn't that terrible, only slightly irritating.
"Ow!" she cried out when Hershel pressed both his thumbs against her palm, he hadn't pressed hard in the slightest but as soon as he did she felt an intense pain, as if she'd just been jabbed
"That hurt." She said, her hand had now began to ooze blood from one of the scrapes, she looked up at Hershel.
"I bet it does and I'll tell you why…you have a piece of glass stuck in there." He replied and her brows furrowed.
"You didn't mention glass." Glenn said as he moved around from behind her to crouch down beside the chair she was sat on.
"I can't remember there being any." she said to both men.
"See here?" Hershel asked them both and tilted her hand to the side a little so they both could look at what he was showing them, "That little mark."
Eilidh and Glenn peered closely at her hand, the mark Hershel was pointing to looked like a small spot that was slightly risen.
"Oh yeah." Glenn said and he took her hand from Hershel and twisted it around more for a better look.
"Glenn!" She gasped and he let her hand go instantly.
"Sorry! I'm sorry! Oh man I didn't think...Eilidh I'm really, really sorry." he babbled with a worried expression on his face.
"It's fine." she told him with narrowed eyes and moved her hand a little further away from him, he gave her a sheepish smile.
"You ought to be more careful son." Hershel said as he stood up from the table and walked across the room.
"I know, I'm sorry." Glenn replied to Hershel's retreating form then turned to face Eilidh, "I mean...it's you that I'm saying sorry to."
"Glenn it's fine, stop apologizing." she replied with a roll of her eyes and then she examined her hand herself, "Glass...was there glass?"
"There must have been." Glenn said, mistaking her musing to herself as a question directed at him.
She shook her head and thought back to the day before, Glenn watched her quietly and listened when she spoke, "I fell backwards and then...I jumped straight back up incase there was a walker."
"It wouldn't take much effort for it to happen, you could get it stuck in there by simply brushing your hands together." Hershel said as he walked back towards them with a small first aid box in his hands, he sat down in his seat once more and lifted the lid.
Her eyes widened when Hershel reached in and took out a pair of tweezers then a clear box that had needles and a roll of thread inside.
"Whoa, what are doing? What's that for?" Eilidh demanded as she all but jumped up and out of the seat, knocking it backwards process.
Hershel looked from her to the chair lying on the ground then back to her surprised, "I need to stitch that up."
"No. No you don't...this is minuscule." she replied quickly whilst pointing at her injured hand.
"It looks that way yes-" Hershel began to speak but she immediately cut him off with her good palm raised in the air.
"It looks that way because that's what it is." she said and looked at Glenn, "Am I right? I mean...what's even going on here?"
Glenn looked uncomfortable and took a long moment to speak, "Well I uh, Eilidh...Hershel's a doctor and, well, what he says is probably right. He has more experience with this stuff than what we do."
Eilidh shook her head and let out a brief humourless laugh, "Really Glenn? Who's side are you even on here?"
"What? Sides? Eilidh...I'm not taking any sides, I just think that Hershel knows-" Glenn started to reply but she wouldn't let him finish.
"Glenn you are taking sides, you're taking his side here, not mine." She said with extra emphasis on the word 'his'.
Hershel's brows raised at what she said and he looked down briefly which caused her to feel slightly guilty at the harshness of her tone but she shook her head and took a step back whilst saying, "I don't want you to use a needle on me."
"You don't like needles?" Hershel asked her after a beat.
"Who does?" she asked immediately then swallowed, "Look...a plaster will do me fine or even a fresh bandage, it'll probably come out on it's own in a couple of days anyway."
She turned and started to head for the door but Hershel's voice stopped her in her tracks.
"I'm afraid that's not true, I have to take it out as soon as possible and stitch it up." he said.
"No, no I can't, it's not even that bad...it only hurts when it's pressed against. I don't want it out." She replied and as she spoke her panic began to rise, even more so when she looked at the box with the needles inside, "One of those things could get stuck in my hand!"
"I promise you, that won't happen." Hershel replied confidently but she still wasn't convinced.
"I'll take my chances." she told him.
"Eilidh it'll be okay, Hershel knows what he is doing...and don't worry, here, you can hold my hand." Glenn said with a smile and held his hand out to her.
"No Glenn." She said whilst shaking her head.
"Please Eilidh, it's just too dangerous to leave it in there...it might get wedged much deeper into your hand the longer it's left and there's no knowing what germs could have been on it before you fell on it." Hershel replied.
"He's right Eilidh...that highway was filthy." Glenn said with wide eyes.
Eilidh's heart was beating hard against the inside of her chest now and she felt as if the walls were closing in around her, both Glenn and Hershel's voices were becoming a blur.
She closed her eyes briefly and then took long, deep breaths to calm herself down before she eventually spoke again, "In the CDC...Jenner let me do it."
Hershel's brows furrowed at her words, Glenn looked at her with raised brows and said, "Oh really?"
"Yes, that's the only way I would let it happen." she replied to him but she was looking at Hershel who was looking at her in disbelief.
"You want me to let you take a piece of glass out of your hand and then stitch it up yourself?" he asked and she nodded.
"Well...the glass, that might not be too bad I don't think, you could probably do that." she said and Hershel looked at Glenn.
"Is she serious?" he asked and Glenn's mouth opened and closed a few times before he shrugged then nodded, "Suturing is part of what I do for a living Eilidh."
"Right." she said slowly.
"And I'm good at it, forgive me but...doing it once before doesn't make you an expert in the skill." he said and shook his head.
"It was blood drawn that happened at the CDC." Glenn said and Eilidh's eyes zeroed in on him, she narrowed them and he rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "I mean, well...I guess it doesn't matter, same thing and all that."
"No it's not, it's very different." Hershel said to him then looked at Eilidh, "Eilidh please...allow me to do this, I will have it done for you neatly and in less than five minutes."
"It has to be me Hershel, please I...if this is really necessary then I need to be the one doing it." she replied and stared at him.
He stared back for what felt like an eternity before he rubbed his face with his hand and then placed both his hands on his hips.
"Are you sorted yet?" Shane's voice suddenly filled the room as he appeared outside the screen door, he then pulled it open and stepped into the house.
He looked at Eilidh as he pulled the door closed behind him and his eyes narrowed.
"Something wrong?" he asked nobody in particular.
"Eilidh uh...doesn't want Hershel to stitch her hand." Glenn replied and Shane looked between her and Hershel with a 'what the hell' expression on his face.
"She doesn't like needles." Hershel explained.
"Come on bud, it'll be over in a matter of minutes." Shane then said and took a couple of steps towards her, she began to panic once again and held a hand up to stop him as she took a step backwards.
"What are you doing?" she asked him.
"Eilidh." he said her name in an impatient way.
"Hershel and I were talking about what to do before you came in." she replied sharply.
"Yes we were but Eilidh, I'd prefer it if we got it sorted as soon as. I'm worried it may already be infected, the colour around the glass doesn't look too great." Hershel said before Shane could say anything and Eilidh stared at him, this would take time, she couldn't just rush into it, she needed a moment.
"You'll get sick Eilidh." Shane's voice interrupted her thoughts but she ignored him, she had begun biting her thumb as she shifted from foot to foot, "Eilidh!"
She along with Hershel and Glenn looked at Shane in surprise at the way he snapped at her, he then went on to say, "I said, you'll get sick, don't you care about that?"
"Ease up Shane." Glenn said from where he stood and Shane glared at him.
"What? Do you want that? People can't afford to get sick these days...it's a death sentence." Shane almost growled out in response and Glenn looked at his feet.
"I need a minute." Eilidh finally said and Hershel along with Glenn nodded in understanding.
"You don't have a damn minute." Shane said as he marched the rest of the short distance towards her and she stared up at him open mouthed, "It's getting fixed NOW."
She glared up at him and then took a step back before saying, "No. I'm going to take a minute before I do anything, why don't you just get out? I don't want you in here if you're going to be a dick."
They both seamed to stare at one another for the longest time after that, Eilidh saw his jaw twitching and his nostrils flaring throughout.
She found herself involuntarily swallowing under his gaze because he looked so menacing.
"Well if that's how you're going to be...then you leave me no choice." He eventually said in a low voice and before she could react to what he'd said he had her in his arms and was carrying her back to the seat she had been sat in before, Glenn must have lifted it back up onto it's legs at some point.
"Let me go!" She snapped as he set her in the seat and knelt down beside her.
"Glenn, hold her still for Hershel." he said firmly.
"Let go of me Shane!" Eilidh said loudly as she tried to get up but he held her in place.
"Hold her? Are you serious?" Glenn said in a horrified tone.
"Do it now!" Shane all but roared and Glenn did indeed do what he said, he grabbed Eilidh's arm with her injured hand and held it down on the table.
"No!" she shouted as she tried to lift her arm but Glenn was stronger than he looked, "Glenn, please, let go of me."
"I-I'm sorry, Eilidh." Glenn stuttered.
"This is not the way to do this Shane." Hershel said in a firm voice.
"There's no other way, she won't let you fix it!" Shane replied as Eilidh cursed him in a broken voice.
She hadn't even realised she was crying until she felt a tear roll down her cheek.
"Shane." She said then gasped on a sob, "Stop."
"I'm sorry. I'm just trying to help you." he said in her ear in what sounded like a pained voice and she moaned in respone before continuing to try and break free.
"Hershel!" Shane then said firmly and Hershel stood for a moment then to Eilidh's horror, nodded his head.
"You both need to...keep her still." he said with a sigh, "As much as you can, once that glass comes out I need to clean it quickly and stitch it immediately."
"Got it." Shane said and Eilidh told him once again to let her go which he in response told her to shush and that enraged her.
"Can you do this?" Hershel asked and Eilidh looked at him to see he was speaking to Glenn who looked as if he was going to be sick.
"Sure, I...I just need a minute." He replied after Hershel said his name.
"No time for that." Shane said firmly.
"I know, I...yeah, I can do it." Glenn replied immediately then exhaled a deep breath before giving Eilidh a sympathetic look.
He then took a hold of her arm and held it down for Hershel whilst Shane held her other one along with keeping her body still, but that didn't stop her from thrashing around to get free.
She sobbed when she tried to pull her hand away but couldn't as Glenn held both her arm and hand down tightly, so tight that it hurt.
"This will sting, Eilidh." Hershel said as he pressed on the wound with a cloth to clean it, it was worse than a sting and she let out a barely suppressed moan.
"Shh now, it's all right." Shane tried to soothe her and she shook her head in response.
Once her hand was clean Hershel got ready to take the glass out, he had to put the tweezers inside her wound and she couldn't stop herself from crying out in pain, when the tweezers were gripped on the glass he stopped moving them.
"I need her still." Hershel said and Shane tightened his hold on her which made her gasp. The glass was then slowly pulled out, it wasn't big but it wasn't small either and as soon as it was removed, blood began to pour from the wound.
Glenn let out a groan when he saw the blood and looked away briefly, Hershel quickly cleaned her hand some more then positioned the needle and thread over it and her eyes went wide when she saw it.
"Hold her steady." Hershel said to Glenn and Shane as she tried to get out of their hold once more.
"I've got her." Shane replied as he once again tightened his hold on her, she let out a pained groan.
A beat then passed before Hershel started to stitch her hand up and the moment the needle pierced her skin, she was back in Atlanta, she tried to think of something else...something better.
She couldn't.
She began to scream until Shane's hand clamped down over her mouth, he then gave her head a light shake as he hissed, "Stop, Eilidh."
The front door then burst open and Daryl came charging in, his eyes widened when he saw Eilidh and demanded, "What the hell's going on?!"
Eilidh said his name but it only came out muffled, Shane shushed her again before telling her to relax.
"Get the hell off of her." Daryl retorted.
"I need concentration, please…leave my house." Hershel said as he continued to stitch, Eilidh tried to shake her head free of Shane's hand but he wouldn't let her.
"Get out Daryl." Shane said to him.
"Like hell I will!" he shouted.
Rick then came running in with Lori and the rest of their group behind him, he had his gun ready.
"What's going on?" he asked as his eyes landed on Eilidh in Shane's arms.
"Hershel said her hand needed stitched and she was being difficult about it." Shane replied then he lowered his voice to add, "So we're helping him get it done."
"By holding her still?" Lori demanded angrily, "For god sake Shane, take your hand away from her mouth!"
A beat passed before Shane reluctantly removed his hand from her mouth and she gasped in a breath.
"You let me go." she said in what she hoped was a firm voice but it came out wobbly.
"I'm almost done Eilidh." Hershel said and she looked from him to Daryl who made a move towards Shane but Rick placed a hand on his chest and held him back.
"Don't tell me you're okay with this!" Daryl shouted and shoved Rick off of him.
"Hershel's a doctor, he knows what he's doing, if he says it needs to be done...we won't stand in his way." Rick told him firmly.
"Even if it's against her will?" he asked.
"If it's going to help her, then yes." Rick said after a beat and Daryl scoffed.
"This isn't right." Carol said.
"No, it's not." Lori agreed.
"I would like you all to leave and let me work, now." Hershel said to the group.
"Yeah." Rick replied and began to usher the group out.
"I ain't going anywhere." Daryl said firmly, "And I ain't gonna let you do this."
He pointed at Shane with a scowl and headed for him again but once again, Rick stepped infront of him and held him back.
"Get your hands off me!" he snapped.
"One more Eilidh and you done...you're doing really well." Hershel said as he finished stitching her hand, all of the group apart from Rick and Daryl had left the house.
"I know you want to help but so does Hershel." Rick told Daryl as he held him back again.
Daryl shoved his hands away and tried to pass him again but Hershel's voice halted him from moving, "That's it. It's over."
She turned her head to the side, peaking a glance Glenn's way as she did, he let her arm and hand go then stood back immediately and held his head in shame.
Shane still had her firmly in his arms as he asked Hershel, "Can I let her go now?"
He nodded then said to Eilidh before he stood up, "Try to be careful Eilidh, with your hand I...I'm very sorry this upset you."
Shane let go of her slowly then stood up and she immediately turned her body away as she silently cried, she cradled her legs with her arms wrapped tightly around them.
"I'm…we." Shane began to say before he gave his head a light shake, "We had no choice, this was the only way."
A beat passed before he placed a hand on her shoulder and when she felt his touch she shot up to standing and slapped him.
His head moved to the side at the contact along with his jaw clenching and a moment passed before she saw him glance at her from the corner of his eyes, she looked from him to Glenn who had a shocked expression on his face but under her gaze he looked at his feet.
She looked back at Shane when she heard him inhale a deep breath and found he was facing her once more.
"We had, NO choice, Eilidh." he said and for a moment she just narrowed her eyes at him.
"Fuck you." She eventually growled at him and with a sigh he hung his head, her eyes then met Daryl's to find he was staring at her and her angry expression began to dissolve, hurt replacing it.
"Eilidh." Shane said as she began to walk away from him but she ignored him and picked up the pace until she was almost running out of the farmhouse.
"Eilidh wait." she heard Rick say from behind her then footsteps following her.
The rest of their group were waiting just outside the doorway when she appeared which caused her to halt, they were all staring at her and she hated it.
Rick appeared infront of her and let out a sigh, she hesitated for only a moment as she looked around the group then back at him before she started to move and immediately Rick moved to grab her whilst speaking some soothing words as she was passing him but she didn't want to hear it, she wanted to get away, she shoved his hands away whilst side stepping him and then she bolted before he could grab her.
She ran towards the forest as fast as her legs would carry her, ignoring the others calling after her from the house.