Chapter 23
The kid's name was Noah. He and his dad had been in a car accident in Atlanta and the people at Grady had saved him. His father hadn't made it and now Noah had a permanent limp. They took people in, cured them but everything had a cost there. Corruption ran rampant. Rape, murder, the hole nine yards. Noah had been their Dawn's lackey for some time now. She was the Lieutenant currently in charge.
"Dr. McLaughlin, Joel, he never told me he had a daughter." Noah remarked as we drove back to the church. Daryl hadn't spoken a word while Noah told us his story.
"I'm not his blood daughter. They took me in when I was fifteen. That's where he found me, at Grady. He used to work there."
"Yeah, that's probably how they found him. Dr. Edwards used to work there as well, before everything went to hell." That name sounded vaguely familiar, but I rarely met anyone Joel worked with. Maybe I had just seen the name somewhere on his stuff.
"He and his wife were running a field hospital just south of the city. They came in demanding they hand over everything they had, shot and killed Norah when they resisted. Then took him anyway." I told him.
"Yeah sounds like something they would pull. Happened before I was there, because Joel was there when I came in. They aren't all evil though." I snorted.
"That remains to be seen."
I gently set my hand on Daryl's leg. He was white knuckling the wheel, his eyes full of emotion. I couldn't stop seeing Carol getting hit by that car. She was already in bad shape, I couldn't imagine the type of pain she was in right now.
"Uh Gwen, I think you're...bleeding?" he pointed to my head. I had been scowling so hard I had reopened the gash on my face from going through the windshield. Groaning, I ripped a piece of my shirt and pressed it to my face. I also retrieved my pack of cigarettes that were still in my back pocket. I took one then handed the last to Daryl. He took it, producing his lighter. I saw him wince as he dug through his pocket. He also was in pretty rough shape after going over the bridge.
He handed me the lighter, looking at me briefly out of the corner of his eye, then back to the road. He rolled down his window, letting the smoke escape. I leaned my head against the metal of the truck, pulling from my cigarette. When I was done I flicked the butt out of the window.
"I'm gonna get some sleep." I rolled my trench coat up and put it behind my head, "wake me up if there's trouble okay?" I said to Daryl, who didn't respond. I just sighed and closed my eyes.
"Gwen...Gwen, wake up." Daryl was shaking me awake. We were on the side of the road, "Out of gas. Gotta hoof it from here." I yawned and stretched. I threw my jacket on and hopped out of the truck. I was still pissed about my bow but it was a miracle that it lasted this long.
"That is one hell of a gun." Noah remarked when we were out of the truck, "you sure have this wild west esque vibe about you Gwen. The trench coat, the old style gun belt, a revolver that's probably as old as the state of Georgia." Daryl was giving him an uneasy look. I pinched Daryl lightly trying to get him to lighten up a bit, which just made him scowl harder.
"I found it the first winter I was on the road. My parents are from Kansas, have family ties all the way back to the Wild West days. I spent my young adulthood watching 'Bonanza' reruns on Sundays with Norah." A tear leaped out of my eye, and i hastily whipped it away, another already taking its place, "I don't really jive well with guns,"I moved on trying to stem the tide of emotions that bubbled up after all this talk of Norah, "but the Peacemaker hasn't done me dirty. It's a Wyatt Eyrpe replica, I'm pretty sure, and the grips are made from Ivory. The elephant is kind of my spirit animal."
"Hmm... I would have guessed wolf." I snorted, a bubble of laughter rippling through me.
"Right you are, kid." Wow roller coaster emotions over here...
It took the rest of the day to walk back to the church and night had fallen long ago.
"You seein' anything?" Daryl asked me as I scanned the woods.
"Not yet. Some walkers pretty far off but nothing close." Noah was pointing his flashlight all over the place, "Noah, keep it at your feet. The moon's full, you really shouldn't need it."
"How are you comfortable without one?" He asked. I tapped my face next to my eyes.
"Have the hardware built in." He just looked at me confused but he pointed his torch beam down at his feet.
I could see the faint outline of the steeple now.
"You hang back for a second." Daryl told Noah. He nodded, concealing himself in some shrubury. We pressed through the foliage and came face to face with Michonne. She let out a sigh of relief, her sword sliding back into its sheath. When did she get that back? It was lost at Terminus. She looked at the pair of us and her smile fell.
"Where's Carol?" Daryl sighed.
"Come on out." He called back to Noah. the kid limped out.
"There's a lot we need to talk about." I told her.
"Yeah, us too. Who's this?"
"I'm Noah." He answered.
"It's okay; he's okay." I told her. She nodded, knowing by now to trust my judgement.
"Let's get inside."
The first thing I noticed was all the blood. Then the fact that there were people missing, but this blood wasn't theirs luckily. Rick stood when we came in and strood over to us gripping Daryl's forearm then squeezing my shoulder.
"You made it back. And it looks like you brought a stray." he looked around us, "Carol?"
"We should sit." Daryl told our leader. He nodded leading us back to the pews.
While we had been gone, survivors of Terminus had tracked us down, mutilated Bob and ate his leg. I knew the meat at Terminus smelt way too familiar for comfort. Like burning flesh. Now it made more sense why they didn't kill us. Bob, who had survived the ordeal, was dead all the same. He had been bitten in the run to the food bank the other day. Gareth and the other survivors tried to ambush Rick and the others but they had killed them all instead. Glenn and Maggie had left with Abraham and his group for Washington. Rick didn't want to leave without us. He was our family, and we were his. I was surprised though that he agreed to let Glenn and Maggie go with them.
"I don't think Eugene was telling the truth about a cure, Rick." He was already nodding his head, "Back at Terminus, he was explaining who he was and this 'cure', he was lying through his teeth." I told our leader.
"So do you think Washington is a bust?" I shook my head.
"No, I don't." I let out a heavy sigh, "I think that maybe what he said about a surviving infrastructure, could be true. He seemed to believe it to be true. One of the few truths he told."
"So what happened to Carol?" I explained what happened in Atlanta, Daryl's face bared in his hands. He and Bob had mended fences after Terminus, and he wasn't taking his death well. I told him we'd tracked down where Beth had been taken, that they now had Carol, and that they had killed my mother and took my father.
"This is Noah. He's friends with Beth." Noah waved anxiously, "She helped him escape but was recaptured. We ran into him while we were scouting. He's going to help us get Carol and Beth back."
"What about your dad?" Rick asked.
"Dr. McLaughlin is a key piece to that community surviving. The cops who run the place, they are the issue. Joel has saved a lot of lives since they brought him to Grady." Noah spoke up.
"If he is safe, and he has people who need him, he will stay. That's just who he is. This is just for our people." I told Rick, "Also if I find the piece of shit who shot my mother, I'll rip his throat out." Tyreese and Sasha came back then, Rick bringing them up to speed.
"We're coming with you." She said immediately.
"Sasha…" Ty started but she just gave him a look. She had just lost the man she loved and it looked like she was having a similar reaction that her brother had when Karen died.
"We leave first thing in the morning." Rick decided, "you said you had a truck."
"Left it a few miles from here. Tanks dry." Daryl told him.
"We scavenged some fuel for the short bus. There should be enough left to get there and back." Michonne informed us. Once the decisions had been made we broke apart.
I stole a can of beans from the pile, opened it then retreated to my bag. I slid down the wall, taking a deep breath before I dug in. Daryl was still talking to Rick. Michonned came over and sat down next to me.
"You look like hell McLaughlin." she said with a smile. I snorted.
"Falling off a bridge in a van then going through the windshield will do that to you. Other than this cut on my face, I'm okay. My ankle is a little sprained but it should be okay by morning." she laughed.
"Girl, you are damn near indestructible. You want to bite me?" She joked.
"Believe me, the cons greatly outweigh the pros. You saw what I did to that guy that beat the shit out of Daryl. I had the urge to eat his heart right there while he watched. Sometimes, especially now, the wolf is so much stronger, like the part of me that still is human is slowly withering away." Michonne was shaking her head.
"All I see is Gwen, maybe a little more hardened but still Gwen. Plus you saw what Rick did to that pervert." I nodded.
"I'm still a little jealous that he beat me to bitting a man's throat out." She snorted.
"Yeah, that was wild." The events of that night crashed through my mind. So many emotions that night too.:
"That whole night was just…"
"Scary." She finished. I nodded in agreement.
"To say the least." I finished my beans and set the can down.
"I'll let you get some rest, Rick wants to leave first thing." She gripped my hand, giving it a squeeze then wandered back over to Rick. Daryl was heading over to me now. He plopped down next to me with a groan, leaning over and putting his head in my lap. I ran my fingers through his hair, lightly massaging his scalp.
"Mmmm…" he hummed turning over on his back so he could look up at me.
"What?" I asked his expression fully loaded with...something, indescribable. But it made my heart palpitate. He bit the inside of his lip then shook his head, "Tell me." I poked his chest.
"I love you." I rolled my eyes and kissed the tip of his nose.
"I love you. But that's not what you were going to say huh?" He huffed sitting up, his back to me.
"Do you think she's alive?" He asked.
"I think they both are, yes. Carol is strong and if Beth is there, she'll watch over her." Daryl nodded. I removed my jacket and balled it up, laying on my stomach. I patted the space next to me and Daryl laid back down on his side. He rubbed my back for a while, his head resting on his other arm.
"As great as that feels, you need to sleep. Even if it's just for a few hours. You've been acting tough but I know yer hurting physically." He sighed in defeat.
"I don't think I can sleep."
"Try. Just put your head down and close your eyes." he huffed but he did as he was told, rolling onto his back.
Rick woke us just before dawn. Michonne was going to stay back to defend the church with Carl. Sasha, Ty, Rick, Noah, Daryl and I were about a quarter of the way to the truck by the time the sun rose.
Rick drove, Daryl and Noah upfront with him. I sat in the back of the truck with the siblings, using my knife to whittle at a sturdy piece of Ash wood I found into a new bow.
"What happened to your bow?" Ty asked.
"It snapped after I went through a windshield. It was getting to that point anyway. I had it for several years before the world even ended." I huffed, pushing my hair out of my face for the seventh time, "Ugh im so tempted to chop all of you offI" I scolded my hair follicles.
"Come here." Sasha beckoned, "Let me braid it back for you." I nodded, setting my bow down to take her up on that. She french braided it back in a single plait down my head.
"It's so long and thick." That's literally what she said...I stopped using that joke like after the third time a hair dresser made the mistake of that unfortunate phrasing.
"Yeah, grows like a weed. I could shave my head bald and have hair to my shoulders a month later. Same with these." I spread my fingers. She tied it off with an elastic with my thanks and let me return to my whittling.
It was around noon when we reached the city. Noah had led us to a warehouse not too far from the hospital, where we could have a good line of sight of the hospital and secure a spot for our temporary headquarters.
"At sundown we fire a shot into the air. Get two of them out on patrol." Rick told us. He was crouching in front of a map he drew in the dust, "Then once it's dark enough that the rooftop spotter won't see us, we go. We cut the locks on one of the stairways, take it to the fifth floor. I open the door, Daryl takes the guard out."
"How?" Ty asked.
"He slits his throat." Rick said matter of factly, "This is all about us doing this quiet, keeping the upper hand. They're not expecting us. From there, we fan out knives and silenced weapons." He marked three x's in one of the rooms, "Sasha, Tyreese you take them. Daryl and Gwen, you take care of whoever is in the kitchen. I got Dawn. If they're smart, the rest of them will give up. Then it'll be six on three." I didn't miss the look Daryl and Ty shared, "Seven on three once we get a weapon to Beth."
"Thirteen on three," Noah corrected, "The wards will help."
"That's best case. What's worst case?" Tyreese asked, shaking his head, "All it takes is one of those cops going down the hall at the wrong time. Then it's not quiet. All hands on deck. We're talking about a lot of bullets flying around."
"If that's what it takes." Sasha said. Normally I would agree, but my dad was somewhere in there, and I didn't want him getting tagged by friendly fire.
"It's not." Ty urged, "If we get a couple of her cops, alive out here, we can do an even trade. Theirs for ours. Everybody goes home." Ty had come a long way from the rage fueled titan on that trip to the college.
"Yeah I get it," Rick said standing, "And it might will work." Rick said to Ty.
"Nah, that'll work too." Daryl commented, that voice of reason, kicking in.
"I agree with Ty also, Rick." I added in.
"You say Dawn, she's just trying to keep it together, right?" Daryl asked Noah.
"Trying and doing are two different things." He answered.
"You take two of her cops away, what choices does she have? Everybody goes home. Like he says." he pointed to Ty. Rick looked at Daryl for a long time before he finally nodded in agreement. I let out the breath I'd been holding.
"Means we can bump up this time table a bit." I told him, "We should start now. We play our cards right, we can be home for dinner." I really, really wanted to get out of Atlanta, out of god forsaken Georgia.
Noah was going to be the bait. He went down to the ground firing off a few rounds. About twenty minutes after Noah fired the first shot, I saw a patrol car. I whistled to the others and we got into our positions. There was a man and woman, they got zips ties around Noah's wrists.
"Where are those rotters you were shooting at?" The man asked him. Rick whistled in response, they turned to see five armed living people aiming guns at them.
"Whatever this is, we can help." The man said, his eyebrows up, trying to look as peaceful as possible.
"You do what we say, we don't hurt you." Rick warned.
"Okay." The male officer put his hands up. The other officer, reluctantly followed suit.
"Good, now turn around. Put your guns on the floor and kneel." Rick ordered. They did as in structured, Daryl and Sasha collecting their guns before zip tying their hands.
"We need to talk." Our sheriff told them, "We have water or food if you need it."
"Mind if I ask you something?" the man asked as Daryl hauled him to his feet. Rick turned, "The way you talk...the way you carry yourself...were you a cop?" He asked. Rick didn't look like he was too keen on answering that.
"Believe it or not, I was too." The man said. Noah came over to Rick.
"That's Lamson." his voice was hushed, "He'll be down for this. He's one of the good ones." A car came squealing around the corner. We opened fired, trying to take out their back up. He managed to cut us off from them and get them in the car. It took off down the alley. Sasha hit the tire though. He didn't have long. We gave chase.
Rounding the corner, Rick signalling for us to stop. There was a grizzly scene ahead of us. Bodies melted to the ground, victims from the bombings. Several were walkers, just fused with ground. The car was there, the occupants had bailed out.
Catching sight of them, the chase beginning again. I hung back with Daryl as the others raced ahead. He moved towards a burnt out RV with FEMA painted on it. He opened the door cautiously, but no one was in there. He closed the door and I got clocked in the face. I went down hard to the ground, the man who hit me dropping on Daryl, his hands around his throat.
"Daryl!" I yelled and tried to get up just to slip on a walker, going right back down, my already damaged ankle further straining. Daryl managed to get his fingers in the eyes of a walker, pulling the skull free and bashing it over the man's head a few times till he was able to get up. Rick had made it back, shooting a shot into a walker by the cops face. He looked up to see the barrel of a gun pointed at his face.
"Okay, you win asshole." THe cop said, putting his hands up. Rick wasn't dropping his gun, a murderous intent in his eyes.
"Rick. Rick!" Daryl said standing up, helping me to my feet, "Rick, three is better than two." He told our leader. He reluctantly lowered his gun. Daryl zip tied his wrists good and tight.
"That's for hittin' my woman." he growled. The cop smirked at me.
We lead our three hostages into the warehouse.
"You're friend, what's his name?" the female cop asked, "I need to talk to him. Your plan is going to get me and my friends killed."
"We're gonna make it work." Sasha said to her in response.
"It would work if you had different cops to trade." Her voice was full of worry. We stopped and turned our attention to her. When she was sure we were listening, she continued, "Dawn's running Grady into the ground. A bunch of us want her out and she knows it. Pretty sure she knows we want Lamson to replace her, too."
"Dawn doesn't know that." Big and Burly, that hits like a truck, told his comrade.
"She might." The woman returned, "And she's smart. So there's a good chance you can't make this deal work and that'll leave us all dead. But if you let us go, we'll take care of Dawn ourselves and then we'll let your friends go and this is over."
"No, we're not gonna do that." Lamson said. Shepherd, the woman, looked at him.
"Do you want to die?"
"No." Lamson interrupted, "I just need you to shut up right now." The other officer looked away. Lamson looked at Daryl, "You can make this work. But you've got to be able to talk to her."
"Noah told us all about her." Sasha told the man.
"I've known her for eight years, ma'am." Lamson continued, "I know this woman. And my only interest is a peaceful resolution, not dying, and sleeping in my bed tonight. So please, let me help you. Please." Everyone looked to Daryl, and he looked at me. Even with impending doom, it still made my heart palpitate. I looked back at this Lamson, squinting at him before I nodded.
"Hey, Rick." Daryl called our leader over, "You're gonna want to hear this."
Rick sat Lamson a little ways from the others and crouched so they could work out a plan. Ty and Sasha went outside to scavenge their car. I sat against the pillar, nursing a hell of a headache, my ankle propped up on some rubble. I was keeping watch on the other two prisoners.
"Sorry." Big and Burly said, seeing me working and massaging my jaw with my fingers, "Although I'm shocked you got up from that. Pretty badass. Should have broken your jaw, not that I was trying." I narrowed my eyes, in response and pulled my bandana up over my nose. He huffed.
"Name's Licari. I really am sorry." It was my turn to huff, because he was telling the truth.
"McLauglin." I offered.
"What a coincidence, we have a doctor with that last name."
"I know, he's my father." Shepherd heard and looked over.
"Joel is your father?" I nodded.
"Not by blood, took me in as a teen."
"You're Gwen?" I narrowed my eyes at her, but the interest in her voice was sincere. I just couldn't tell how much she might know about me already. I clammed up, "I was there." She continued. I felt my breath hitch.
"You were where?" I growled. Dary had stopped pacing and was keeping his eye on me, when he heard the shift in the tone of my voice.
"It was our old leader, the one Dawn overthrew. He was crazy. Your mom put up a fight and she was shot."
"That's a lie." And I knew it to be true.
"He threatened Joel, told him that if they didn't come with them with all of their supplies he would kill her. She was a threat to him because she did put up a fight. Took out several of our own before he got her. Joel surrendered and promised they would come quietly. He shot her anyway." Licari told me. I had my hand over my eyes as tears cascaded down my face.
"Yeah, and I betcha just stood there and watched." Daryl growled. He was behind me, offering me his hand. I took it and let him help me up. He gave me a little push in the other direction and stood with the two cops instead. I walked down the stairs a few floors and bawled in private, all of the unshed tears from the past weeks overflowing from me.
About ten minutes later I heard Daryl use the whistle we used on hunts. I wiped my eyes, taking a shaky breath and went up to meet the others, still limping heavily on my ankle. I was ascending the stairs when Lamson flew by me. I stood there for a hot second blinking then I heard Rick racing down the stairs and I was off.
I was a bit wobbly still reeling from getting knocked on my ass, and now my ankel was screaming too Rick, in the car raced past me. I slowed to a stop panting in the effort it took to get this far. Fuck… why the hell was this punch effecting me this bad? I pinched the bridge of my nose and started back towards the building. I took off my bandana, taking a gasping breath suddenly very nauseated. I stopped, putting my hands on my knees. I took a few breaths then headed inside. A gun shot made me turn my head.
"Shit." I should have just kept going. I pinched my nose again, needing to sit down. I sat down heavily, my head falling between my knees.
"Gwen?" Daryl was there.
"Daryl, that guy really knocked the daylights outta me. I can't shake it off. Plus I aggravated my ankle again." I groaned, "And I'm pretty sure Rick just killed Lamson. I don't think I can stand." He reached down and carefully helped me onto his back. I wrapped my arms around his neck and rested my head on top of his. He snorted.
"I'm surprised ya didn't pass out." I snorted softly.
"Me too. I think it was adrenaline but it's finally worn off."
"Sounds 'bout right. Well I wonder what's gonna happen next." I shrugged.
"Guess we'll find out when Rick comes back."
When we got to the top floor he helped me down and I leaned against a pillar. He handed me the water skin which I gladly took. I sipped on it so I didn't aggravate my stomach further. Maybe it was something I ate? Food poisoning is common nowadays. Or it could be that I had a concussion. A toss up, that one. I thought of something then, that might help. I had hand rolled a few cigarettes on the way here and a joint. I lit the later, taking a long inhale. Then another. I licked my fingers and extinguished it. Maybe that would help a bit. I put the joint back in the box and put it in my back pocket.
"What you didn't want to share?" Licari commented.
"Nope."
"Doesn't that make you feel weird smoking pot in front of a cop?" Shepherd asked.
"Pfft, no. Plus I'm technically behind the cops. I ain't scared of no cops."
"Sounds like you've had a few run-ins with the cops."
"Stop talking." Daryl warned. Rick came up the stairs, Lamson wasn't with him. He pulled Daryl aside. They were talking softly but I could hear them from here.
"He wouldn't stop." Rick started.
"This change things?" Daryl asked him.
"It has to."
"Maybe not." Daryl argued.
"She said the plan won't work. The guy who did, is dead. Maybe we gotta rethink this." He told his friend.
"They also said the cop in charge didn't have any love for him. Maybe you did her a favor." Trying to show Rick that we could still end this peacefully.
"I don't know if they'll play ball."
"Let's find out." They walked over to us.
"He was a good man." Shepherd said, "he was attacked by rotters. Saw it go down." I was impressed. If I had been normal that would have felt like the truth.
"You're a damn good liar." Rick complemented.
"We're hanging by a thread here. He was attacked by rotters. That's the story."
"You said the trade was a bad idea. What changed?" My partner asked.
"Lamson was our shot. So it's this or you go in guns blazing, right? You don't want that."
"If this is some bullshit yer spinnin' and things go south-" Daryl warned.
"I know." She interrupted, "I know the good ones from the bad. Let us help you." Rick looked at her for several seconds, then turned to Licari.
"What about you?" He asked, "you wanna live? How much?" The other officer had a smirk on his face.
"Dawn's afraid she'll look weak in front of us. Thinks it'll tip things against her." he looked at his comrade, "Hell, it will. She'll see this trade as a rip-off if she thinks you took out one of her guys. So it's a good thing Lamson got aced by rotters." Rick and Daryl looked at each other, Daryl nodding his approval. Looks like the deal was still on. I pulled my bandana up, the adrenaline pumping through me making my fangs elongate.
We found a parking garage where we could be above Rick, as he did the initial contact. They tied a red plastic bag to a truck antenne to alert any patrols. Rick would be down there by himself. The hostages sat on the ground up here on the overlook, with the rest of us.
Daryl and Sasha were on the edge keeping an eye on things below. Only one shot was fired, and that was to kill a walker. Rick signalled us that the trade was on. We got the others up and into the vehicles and followed the officers squad car to the unlocked the door and we went inside. Rick and Daryl held our hostages and I was just behind them, my Peacemaker at the ready. They led us up the stairway to the fifth floor.
When we turned the corner we were met with double doors. Through the window I could see a small force of cops. I could also see Carol and Beth behind them, as well two doctors. One of them I did not know but the other, I would never forget him as long as I lived. He looked okay, sad but okay. I was glad these doors were here. Gave me time to compose myself before I went in. He would know it was me right away. They lowered their guns, holstering them.
"Holster your weapons." The woman in front said through the radio. I heard it through the radio and through the door, it was rather disorienting.
"You, too." Rick told us. I slid the gun away, adjusting myself. Almost if grooming myself was going to make many any more ready to see my dad again.
Our guides opened the doors and we walked in, all of us stopping just inside the door. Our guides walked back towards their people and Beth wheeled Carol forward. She was alive, in a wheelchair but alive. I was trying very hard to avoid eye contact with my dad, so I just stared at Carol.
"They haven't been harmed." Rick told Dawn.
"Where's Lamson?" Dawn asked.
"Rotters got him." Shepherd replied.
"We saw it go down." Licari continued the yarn.
"Oh." She replied. She had tears in her eyes. She might have not had any love for him but his dying affected her, "I'm sorry to hear that. He was one of the good guys. One of yours for one of mine." Rick nodded to Daryl.
"Move." He ordered Licari. Another cop wheeled Carol forward, her bag in his hands. Daryl grabbed it from him and took our friend from him. The other cop took Licari and walked back to Dawn. The Lieutenant walked Beth forward herself, meeting Rick halfway. He let Shepherd go pulling Beth to him and kissing the top of her head lightly. They started to walk back to us.
"Glad we could work things out."
"Yeah." Rick said and we turned to leave.
"Now, I just need Noah." She said. Rick halted as Noah looked back, "And then you can leave.
"That wasn't part of the deal." Rick said striding back to her.
"Noah was my ward. Beth took his place and I'm losing her, so I need him back."
"Ma'am please. It's not-" Shepherd started.
"Shepherd!" Dawn interrupted, "My officers put their lives on the line to find him. One of them died."
"No." Daryl pushed Noah back, "He ain't sayin'."
He walked up to stand next to Rick.
"He's one of mine. You have no claim to him." She argued. They take you from your homes by force then keep you by force.
"The boy wants to go home, so you have no claim to him." Rick informed her.
"Well then we don't have a deal." Dawn shook her head.
"The deal is done." Rick growled.
"It's okay." Naoh started, hobbling forward.
"No. No." Rick put out his arm. Noah came in close to our leader.
"I gotta do it." He handed his gun back to Rick.
"It's not okay." Beth was facing us angry tears in her eyes, her hands balled into fists.
"It's settled." Dawn said. Man I'm glad that we didn't have to deal with the guy they called crazy. She was already crazy and couldn't imagine what could have been worse?
"Wait!" Beth said and came forward hugging him.
"It's okay." He told her.
"I knew you'd be back." Dawn said. Beth slowly let go of Noah turning to Dawn. She came to stand in front of her.
"I get it now." Then she stabbed Dawn with a pair of scissors hidden in her sleeve. Dawn discharged her weapon,shooting Beth in the head. Dawn was shaking her head, trying to tell us that she didn't mean it, but Daryl was already pulling his gun. He shot her in the face, the cop dropping to the ground.
"No! Hold your fire!" Shepherd ordered, "It's over, it was just about her. Stand down!" She ordered again. They lowered their weapons. Daryl was sobbing, his gun still raised. Carol, who could slowly walk, got to him first, slowly lowering his arm. He looked down at Beth's body, tears streaming down his face. I finally met my father's eyes, my tears soaking my bandana.
"You can stay." Shepherd offered.
"We're surviving here. It's better than out there." Another offered.
"No." Rick said tears in his eyes, his voice thick with emotion, "And I'm taking anyone back there that wants to leave." He addressed the wards behind them, "If you want to come with us...just step forward now.
My father came forward and walked up to me.
"No Daddy…" my voice was shaking, "You need to stay here. They need you, your guidance." He was vigorously shaking his head.
"Gwen I'm not going to watch you leave again, not after your mother." I shook my head.
"You're safe here. I can go on knowing you are safe. Please… stay alive for me and Norah." Daryl grabbed Beth's body and started outside.
"Go with your friends, make sure he's okay. Then come back in here." I nodded. Carol stopped me as I turned to walk out.
"I'll keep an eye on him, go say goodbye." I nodded and turned back to my dad. He took my hand and pulled my bandana down gently. Tsking at the sight of my face. He walked over to his people.
"I would like to know who hit my daughter." Licari cleared his throat, raising his hand, "latrine duty for the next three months." He led me through them and into a hospital room.
I sat on the exam bed, my head in my hands, tears streaming down my face still. I should be out there right now. So much grief on his face...
"Look up Gwen." Joel said, I jumped slightly at his voice. I lifted my face.
"I am very sorry about your friend." He shinned a small flash light in my eyes to check the severity of the head damage, "Did they tell you about Mom?" I shook my head.
"Yes, but I knew already." He lowered the flashlight, "Ten days ago, I almost died. I was stabbed in the chest-" His eyes got wide.
"Come on, i need to see." i rolled my eyes in typical Gwen fashion when Joel was over worried.
"Really, that wound is basically healed." But i still did as i was asked, removed my jacket and tank top so he could examine my torso, "Anyway, in my near death state, she came to me. Told me what had happened. Then she told me my friends were in danger, and I woke up after almost three days in a coma." He sighed.
"Gwen, LIcari hits like a truck, he can break a man's jaw with one swing. I need you to walk me through all your injuries in the last ten days, because honey, you look like you've been used as a punching bag."
"Dad, I'm a fighter I can't keep track of every bruise." He crossed his arms not convinced. I groaned, I hated telling him how I got hurt. He always needlessly worried, "Fine. I was stabbed in the chest, ran for three day without rest with a damaged lung looking for Daryl after the battle. Then when i finally stopped to rest and take care of my wounds, i was found by the shit stain group that forced Daryl to join them. I was kicked repeatedly in the abdomen. I also scraped my tail bone on a storm drain, from um...I fell." I really didn't want to tell my dad that Daryl and I had banged in a storm drain and that I had gotten concrete burns on my back from the side of the drain, "Then yesterday I fell from an overpass in a van, and went through the front window, messed up my ankle, hit my head. Then today I got clocked by Licari and tweaked my ankle again. Um and i think that's it Doc." He glared at me for a few seconds before he let out a sigh.
"Gwen, just 'cause you can take the hits and get back up. Doesn't mean you should. Your body has limits too. On a scale of one to ten how bad is your pain, and just be honest, hon. I just want to help." I had heard that before.
"Probably about thirteen right now. Now that I'm off my ankle it's throbbing. I've been nauseous all day, I'm dizzy. Minor wounds are taking longer to heal."
"Told you, you reached your limit. You really are Norah's protege. Pushing yourself to the point of exhaustion not willing to give up. God, I really wish she were here. A few tears leaked out of his eyes. I put my arms out and he came over lightly hugging me.
"I'm not going to break dad." He snorted, hugging me a bit tighter. He let go and went back over to his desk then turned back to me
" Well, go pee in this." he handed me a cup, "Then I'm going to take a blood sample."
"Dad… really are you trying to drug test me? I'm going to fail." He rolled his eyes.
"No, I just want to run some overall tests. Just get to it." he pointed to the bathroom.
When I was done, he took my blood and the urine sample and left the room. After about twenty minutes, and after i had redressed, there was a knock at the door. Shepherd peered her head in, then came in shutting the door behind her. She wrung her hands for a few moments before she finally spoke.
"Thank you... for convincing him to stay."
"After seeing the state of things here I am half tempted to take him with us. If I had roots down somewhere, I would have. You should listen to him. He has three Ph.D's. Turned a heroin addicted teenager into someone who could survive the apocalypse mentally. Well, he had help; so help him." She nodded and my father returned, glancing between us.
"I'll uh- I'll be outside." she closed the door behind her. My dad sat down with a troubled look on his face.
"Gwen, I found something in your test results." I narrowed my eyes at him, not partially willing to beat around the bush, "Something that...well it might be concerning given the situation you are in. Makes me want to leave and come with you anyway." He trailed off looking into space.
"Joel McLaughlin, out with it." He jumped a bit then continued.
"When was your last menstrual cycle?" I blinked at the question. Unfortunately mine were especially erratic given my condition, and with everything that had happened lately, I really hadn't kept track.
"Uh...a while ago." I was shaking my head, like if I just kept shaking my head the words he was about to say weren't going to come out of his mouth.
"Gwen...you're pregnant."
MUHAHAHAHAHA! See ya next week folks!