Chapter 35

Time line clear up B34chGr1; a few weeks of winter has gone by and been skipped with Daryl and Bella hunting together. The time line picks back up as the baby is born, the sickness setting in the same week. They are almost 2 weeks post baby Judith when Daryl finds Bella in the bunker.

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MPOV (Michonne)

The Governor had proved to be elusive as I watched Woodbury from a distance for the past few weeks. He never left in a small group anymore and he had doubled the amount people on watch; so sneaking in was almost impossible. Then the dead started to show up with bleeding eyes and Woodbury seemed to have shut down for the most part besides the people on watch; no one came or went. It had to be some kind of virus for them all to have the same blood streaks on their faces; so many newly dead were appearing daily, all with bleeding eyes.

Bella. I was concerned for the young girl as she didn't seem to take care of herself properly already; add some kind of virus going around, there is no telling how she would fair. Since nothing was going on at Woodbury, I started to make my way to the bunker to go check in with her. It was slow going, making sure I wasn't followed by looping back around every so often; all while thinking about what she had said about the Governor. He was supposed to die in the coming spring according to her… how she knew, I wasn't sure, but she seemed to know a lot of things as I'd observed during my stay with her.

I came up to the bunker and knocked lightly to see if she was in, but no answer came; after waiting for a while I bent down to unlock the door but when I pulled the handle, it was already unlocked. Slightly weary now because Bella always locked the bunker up, both when she was in it and when she left it; I drew my sword and pulled my dead followers by their chains inside the first room. The first thing I noticed was that it was really cold inside, and then a rancid smell hit me as I pulled the door shut. It didn't smell like rotting, which was good, but it still smelled bad. Dropping the chain to my followers, I went into the second room, locating the cause of the rancid smell to the pile of vomit on the rug next to her bed, and some in the bathroom, along with clothes that had started to smell like mildew balled up on the floor; but no sign of Bella. Her comforter was gone from her bed and there were half empty pots of water on the cold wood stove. Pure panic welled up inside of me; she had been nothing but kind to me when I was in need, asking for nothing in return. Looking around once more, I noticed the shower head still hung down in the bottom of the bathtub. That could explain the slightly damp clothes balled up on the floor if she had tried to wash off the vomit, but the fact that this place was still a mess and unused left me with an uneasy feeling.

If she had walked out of here on her own, she wouldn't have left her guns. She was meticulous with those and her holsters, taking great care in cleaning them almost every day. She had told me they were gifted to her by a very special friend, and I got the feeling that they were no longer alive by the sadness in her eyes as she would run her fingers along the perfectly polished golden snaps. Now they were carelessly tossed to the side, near her bow on the floor, where arrows had spilled out of her quiver and looked like a pile of pick up sticks. She was unarmed, which most likely meant she didn't leave here on her own.

With only one other place I knew to check, I grabbed a duffle bag and carefully emptied its contents, which consisted of grenades and multiple types of explosives. I pulled some clothes out of the drawers, picking the ones I had seen her wear the most, along with some under garments, then continued to the bathroom. I tossed her brush and toothbrush in, unsure of what all she might want if she was where I thought her to be. After carefully placing her guns and bow on top, I zipped it shut before looking around once again.

The place needed to be cleaned, badly, but I needed to know if she was ok or not. I dreaded going to meet a group of people this size, but I needed to know. Before I closed the first door, something else caught my eye; her boots were half way under her bed, next to her open laptop. She had no other shoes, besides an extra pair of worn and bloody boots that still sat next to the stacks of wood in the first room. She didn't walk out of here… I shook the negative thoughts away as I closed the laptop and placed it under the bed, and tied the laces of the boots together before wrapping them around the strap on the duffle. I put the duffle on one of my dead followers, or pets as Bella called them, and locked up the bunker.

Hoping that these people were as friendly as she had let on, I made my way to the prison. I observed them from the tree line for a while, hoping to catch site of Bella with no luck, before stepping out into the open. I made it halfway to the gate before guns were drawn as I put my hands up. I slowly made my way closer, the dead outside the fence not paying any attention to me, before a blonde woman shouted "Who are you?! What do you want?" while tightening her hold on the rifle she held. A man in the tower pointed his gun at me from above while another man slowly made his way down the fence line, stopping to catch his breath multiple times.

She eyed me down as she waited for an answer, more of the dead coming closer, attracted to her shouting. I eyed her as I slowly moved my hand up to my sword, before drawing it and killing three that had caught my scent. The man from the fence line had arrived by this time, "I want to know where Bella is" I stated somewhat quietly, not wanting to draw more attention to myself out in the open. Recognition flashed in her eyes as she slightly turned to look at the man that was still bent over with his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. She didn't lower her weapon, but loosened her hold on it, before turning back to me, "Who are you?" Killing another of the dead that got to close, I sighed in frustration before answering her "I am Michonne, a friend."

The dead had started to notice the commotion and were closing in fast; if they didn't let me in soon, I was going to have to fight my way out. The man still breathing heavily looked at me before turning to the blonde woman "Let her in" he said breathlessly. "But Glenn.." she started to object before he interrupted "Andrea, let her in before the walkers surround her." With a sigh of her own frustration, she slid the rifle to her back walking slowly to open the gate, but not before drawing a pistol and pointing it at me. As I walked in, pulling the chain for my dead to follow, she backed away, leaving me to close the gate. Just as I moved away from the fence, multiple 'walkers', as they called them, ran into the gate behind me. I was relieved to be inside the fence away from the dead, but now I had to face the living; more often than not, it was the living that needed to be feared more so than the dead.

The man named 'Glenn' seemed to catch his breath and smiled at me, "That's awesome!" he said enthusiastically, pointing to my followers "They are like pack mules that hide you from the walkers". I nodded once and smiled slightly back at his smart observation, but still on edge from the guns pointed in my direction. "I want to know where Bella is" I told him while wiping my blade off before sliding it back in the sheath. He nodded slightly, looking down, "How do you know her?" he asked looking back up, avoiding the subject of where she was for now. "She saved my life" I told him pulling my shirt up just enough to show the still puckered scar on my stomach. He gave a nod once more, taking his time to think over what he was going to say.

"She caught the sickness." He said after a while, waving his arm to the 'walkers' with blood running down from their eyes at the fence. "She was in bad shape when she was brought here; she still isn't awake… going on three days now. Our doctor said she had a bad case of pneumonia on top of whatever this sickness is… He seems to think she will pull through, and wake up when her body is ready…" He said tiredly, running his hand down his face. I was worried that she hadn't woken yet… more worried than I thought I would be for a girl I had met just a couple of months ago, even if she did save my life. She had worked her way into my heart without even trying, and earned my respect the same way.

"I want to see her" I told him, steadily ignoring the guns still pointed in my direction. He shook his head at me, "Only the sick or exposed are allowed to go in there… we are trying to keep it from spreading", I objected immediately, "I have been exposed, look around. I want to see her. I brought her some of her stuff." I told him as I pulled the duffle bag off my dead one. He still seemed to want to deny my request when I spoke again, "I know the risk, I want to see her. She is my friend." He finally nodded reluctantly, before speaking "You'll have to leave… uh.., them, here, along with your sword…" he winced at the last part, probably knowing that a request like that is a tall order in a world like this; but I didn't hesitate to pull the blade from its sheath before placing it on the ground behind me, pulling the duffle onto my shoulder.

He nodded to the others, and said "Keep watch" before we started our way up a hill to a building labeled D-block. He stopped a few times along the way before I finally raised a brow at him, wondering how he made it this far if he had problems like that. He smiled slightly, catching his breath, before saying "I had whatever this stuff going around is, not too long ago. I am just now getting my strength back to be awake for most of the day" before he continued to walk toward the doors. I had thought him to be frail and weak, but he was just recovering from this virus. Bella had spoken of a person named Glenn as their 'go to town guy'; saying that he was quick enough to go unnoticed by the dead when making runs for the group.

The worry churning in my gut grew stronger as I thought about Glenn's condition and how he said that Bella was worse off due to the pneumonia. Glenn looked terrible, and Bella had already been having a rough time before I had left; not eating all her meals and getting only a few hours of sleep at night at the most. When the cell block doors opened, it smelled just like a hospital as the warm air welcomed us in. We were met by an older man with white hair, who smiled politely at both of us, "Hello there Glenn, I hope you are taking it easy out there like I asked. And who do we have here?" He asked while holding out his hand to greet me. I reached out to shake his hand, when Glenn spoke before I could, "This is Michonne. She's a friend of Bella's." "Well now, any friend of Bella's is a friend of mine. I am Hershel, the vet turned doctor around here." He said with a genuine smile, making me give a small smile in return.

Looking around, I noticed about 7 cells that seemed to be occupied with patients; or at least that's what I guessed with the sheets that were tied to the bars to give each their own privacy. As Glenn started to walk off and I went to follow, Hershel stopped us, waving Glenn closer to him, "Maybe you should go warn him we have a guest coming to see her…" he said just loud enough that I could barely hear, looking toward the end of the cell block, away from everyone else. What appeared to be understanding washed over Glenn's face, before he nodded and quickly walked away, while I was left to walk at a much slower pace with Hershel.

I looked to Hershel, raising a brow at the instructions he gave; he seemed to already anticipate my question before I asked, answering in a low voice as we walked at a turtle's pace, "She is being cared for by her… other friend" he hesitated slightly before continuing, "one that's very protective of her in her current state… " he trailed off as we continued to walk further down the block. Glenn came out of one of the cells at the end of the row, as Hershel once again waved him over, "Can you get Maggie to meet me by the barn, please? Just Maggie; we'll still keep our distance, but I need to speak with her privately." Glenn nodded his acceptance, and set off to go find this Maggie person.

We still continued our slow pace even though I wanted to leave him behind, I kept pace with him to be polite; after all, he had shown me nothing but kindness so far. There didn't seem to be anything underhanded going on here, though I was concerned of who this Maggie person was and why she was being summoned after I had arrived; of course I was watchful, being mostly unarmed besides the knives I had and the weapons I carried in Bella's duffle for her. He seemed to pick up on my unease as we grew closer to where I had seen Glenn exit, "Maggie is my oldest daughter; Beth my youngest. We have been unable to really see one another, except through plexiglass in a room full of people, at least on her side that is; everyone is worried about the patients and our continued health, so they would crowd our conversations… I um… I believe someone else to be sick in the other cell block and I need her to be my eyes over there without worrying all the others."

Unhappy that he seemed to pick up on my worry so quickly, I changed the subject, "How is Bella doing?" I asked him, struggling to maintain the slow speed he had set. "She is doing the best her body is allowing her to do. She has improved over the last couple of days, her lungs sound much better and her fever has dropped to acceptable levels. At this point, it is up to her; but I have high hopes she will make a full recovery, and quickly. If you have known her for any amount of time, you know how determined and stubborn she can be." He said with a smile, one which I returned. He knew her well. At this point we finally arrived to the cell that she was in.

I noticed the man standing close to her, but I didn't pay him any attention at first. Hershel walked past him, giving him a comforting pat on his shoulder and went to check the bags he had Bella hooked up to. She looked terrible… Her skin an ashen color, eyes sunken in, and her hair a dull mess; from what I could tell by the outline of the blanket, she was thinner than the last time I had seen her. Hershel spoke to the man before he left the cell, "I need to go speak with Maggie for a moment; we'll be down at the barn if you need me for anything. I will check on everyone and lock up before I go." At the man's nod he walked away, at a much faster pace than he walked with me on the way here, I noticed.

I turned my attention back to Bella, but only for a moment, turning back to our open cell door quickly as I heard the clang of a cell door closing down the block. And then another, followed by another…. That's what he meant by locking up; he was shutting the sick in their cells. It was smart, and scary, but a smart thing to do in case anyone passed away while he was gone. I looked back to Bella, noticing she was breathing well on her own, not using the oxygen tank that was in the corner. Then I turned my attention to the anxious looking man, who was shifting his weight from side to side, watching my every move with blue eyes through his shaggy brown hair.

Protective had been an understatement from Hershel. This man seemed slightly anxious, but looking past that, you could see his muscles taunt and ready to leap to her defense if I dared to attack. He made no move to introduce himself but observed me as I observed him. Behind him, leaning on the wall, was a cross bow; but he was not unarmed as he appeared to be, much like me. We both had knives, ones I had no doubt he had already noticed, and he had what appeared to be a pistol on his hip, mostly hidden by his shirt. Feeling the tension rise in this awkward situation, I tried to break the ice, "I'm Michonne" I told him boldly without offering my hand, knowing he wouldn't have taken it if I had. Some recognition flared in his eyes, but his face remained blank for a long while, before he finally offered an answer, but nothing else, in return, "Daryl" he stated in a rough voice.

We were both silent, sifting through memories, or at least I was. So this was the Daryl she often dreamed of and called out to, but was reluctant to mention while awake. She would talk about things then suddenly come to a halt, hesitate, only to steer the conversation off in another direction. He seemed to care for her, besides the obvious of him standing guard while she was unconscious; he wasn't here because he had to be but because he wanted to be, and he didn't appear to be leaving anytime soon. I smiled slightly at the thought of my friend finding someone who cared for her so deeply, but if she was as reluctant to talk about her feelings with him as she was with me…; well maybe a little push in the right direction would help them both, as he didn't seem to be a man of many words either.

If she was awake, she would probably want to reopen my wound for throwing her under the bus, but in this world, time wasn't on anyone's side; "She dreams of you often" I told him plainly, while sliding the duffle bag off my shoulder and slowly opening it. I set her weapons to the side carefully, and pulled out the hair brush I had grabbed from her bathroom. As I looked up, I noticed for the first time since I entered the room, he wasn't staring at me but his own feet. His face seemed slightly flushed but he snapped his gaze back to me as I stood with the brush in hand. I hesitated for a moment under his watchful eyes but slowly made my way over to Bella, carefully working the brush through the mass of knots in her hair.

By the time I made it to the other side of her head, he finally relaxed enough to lean on the back wall of the cell; seemingly content that I wasn't going to injure her with the brush, but I still felt his gaze burning a hole in the side of my head. I relaxed some as well; no longer worried he would try to stab me to death for daring to touch her, and continued to brush her hair. It felt nice to contribute something in return after everything she had done for me, even something as simple as brushing her hair while she was unable to. Her breaths came steadily and smoothly, but yet her color had not returned, not that she had much to begin with. She didn't seem to have a fever and was breathing well on her own; I just didn't understand why she hadn't woken up yet…

Long after I had finished brushing her hair, I just sat with her holding her hand, under the watchful eyes of Daryl. He never left, not once; not even to get something to eat or to use the restroom, and I had a feeling he wouldn't do any of those things until I was gone. Hershel had come back, the cell doors sliding open announcing his arrival; if Glenn had returned, I hadn't heard him. The sun was starting to get low in the sky and I decided to return to the bunker, even though I wanted to stay to hear about any changes in her condition, if there were any. She was being well cared for and in no immediate danger, especially with the limited number of people allowed in this building. The bunker needed cleaning and Daryl needed to take a break, so I left with a plan to return as the sun rose tomorrow. Cleaning up the bunker was the least I could do after the weeks she waited on me hand and foot; it didn't compare to her saving my life in the least.

Sorry it took so long. If you didn't hear on the news, part of the southern U.S. pretty much froze around Valentine's Day. We didn't have power for over a week, but were fortunate enough to have running water and a gas stove to make hot meals on, which we shared with our neighbors. -2 degrees is not something we ever see here nor do we really ever deal with cold for more than a couple days so it was rough (and by cold, I mean like 30F not anywhere close to negatives). The last couple of weeks have just been getting everything back to normal and I am hoping to update regularly once again. This chapter is an in-between one, helping me get over my writers block and back on track. Daryl's point of view most likely to follow Michonne.