Ahh, so glad you guys enjoyed the last two chapters! I'm sooo excited for things to come but I'm still trying to figure out...some things. I want it to be the best it can be.

Words: 1,653

Charlie had planned on leaving right after getting patched up. But her body had other plans. She's asleep before Denise finishes the many, many stitches in her side. The number isn't important. Or she hopes Daryl will accept that as an answer when he gets back.

She wakes slowly. Her entire body feels like it weighs a ton. She doesn't feel rested at all. Releasing a steady breath, head still fuzzy with b̶l̶o̶o̶d̶ ̶l̶o̶s̶s̶ sleep, Charlie squints at the ceiling above her. It's quiet. So that means everything's fine or everything's not fine.

The teenager decides to wait before sitting up and turns her head to the side instead. She's surprised by what she sees. Or who she sees. "Rick?" The man himself, sitting in the chair beside the bed, his elbows resting on his knees, head bowed, looks up when he hears his name. "You guys back?"

Pursing his lips, Rick hesitates to answer. The kid looks worse for wear. At least Maggie had wiped some of the blood off her face while she was sleeping before she came and got him. Denise told him the damage when he'd first entered the infirmary. Her healing wrist has been set back. The deep cut on her palm couldn't be stitched but there's a heavy bandage wrapped around it. A gash and bruising on her forehead but luckily no concussion. A lot of blood loss and twenty-three stitches in her side - The ones Rosita said she made Denise do without anything to numb the pain - And she still got off better than most.

"Not-not exactly," Rick clears his throat. "Things...we had to do it today," He sees Charlie's eyebrows furrow and wonders if she really understands what he's saying. "Half the heard broke off when they heard the horn, headed straight here. Glenn, Daryl, they're all still out there. Me, Morgan, and Michonne are the only ones back."

"What?" Charlie goes to sit up only to wince and fall back down when pain shoots through her side.

"There's fine," Rick stresses. He doesn't stand but he sits forward in his chair, his hand hovering over her shoulder. "They're out there and they'll be back."

"Half the herd is outside the wall?" Charlie asks after a moment. Her eyes are closed again and it's not because she's tired anymore. Though she still feels exhausted, she's a hundred percent awake now.

"Yeah," Rick says slowly and sits back in his chair, assured that Charlie won't try to get up again. He should've known better. "Hey, don't-" Rick stands when Charlie pushes herself but, grimacing in pain as she does so.

"I need to-need to," Charlie cuts him off, waving away the hand he hovers over her shoulder. She needs to do something, she's just not sure what. "Go. Uh, change." The blood caked into her clothes has well past dried at this point. Her clothes still stick to her skin. They itch, feel heavy and thick. She can't think...but maybe that's a good thing.

Rick thinks about arguing. He probably should. But she won't listen and he knows that. So instead he helps her stand, keeping a strong grip on her arm when she sways. "I'm good," Charlie mumbles but doesn't refuse his help.

They make it back to the house a little slower than either would like, both ignoring the looks people shoot their way. People could never mind their won business before the world went to shit and they can't now, apparently.

Carl, who Rick sent home earlier to be with his sister, rushes to help them when he opens the door. He wraps his arms around Charlie in a hug that the girl returns. "Ooh, watch the side," She winces but smiles when he pulls away. No one mentions the obvious force behind it. She ruffles his hair then and does her best to stand up straight. "I need a shower."

Moving slowly up the stairs, Charlie pretends not to notice Carl following from a distance until she reaches her room. She doesn't touch anything, only goes straight into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Showering with stitches and the bandage on her hand will be difficult but there's really no other way around it. And she really doesn't care about it right now.

Peeling away her clothing, Charlie steps under the hot spray of water, letting it ease the tension from her shoulders. She closes her eyes as the water pours over her head to avoid looking at the blood washing off her skin and out of her hair.

When standing becomes too much, Charlie lowers herself to the shower floor. She doesn't want to think, doesn't want to see. She keeps her eyes closed and rocks back and forth.

Half the heard is outside the walls, it's not Chris's voice this time. This one sounds like her own. Daryl, Glenn, Sasha, Abraham, they're still out there. They might even be dead. Who knows.

"Shut up," Charlie whispers while bringing her hands up to her ears as if to block out the voice in her head. "Shut up. They're fine. They'll be back. They're fine, they're fine, they're fine." Yeah, keep saying it, maybe you'll start to believe it.

A ghost. That's what Charlie sees when she looks in the mirror. She was always a pale child but after spending so much time in the sun, she'd tanned. Though not as much as one would suspect. But now she feels paler than ever before.

After getting dressed, Charlie lies on her bed. She can't do much else. She wants to throw up but there's nothing in her stomach to throw up. There are hundreds of walkers outside, surrounding the walls. Carl and Judith are safe here, what else is there for her to do other than worry and think? She doesn't want to do either of those things so instead, she sleeps.

It's surprisingly easy to do. Charlie knows it's because her body is trying to heal, trying to replace the blood she lost. Sleep helps you heal faster, Chrissy told her once. That's why we become so tired when we're injured.

Sleep comes easy, but so do the dreams. Well, dream is a nice word for them. Charlie's never liked the word nightmares. She likes actual nightmares even less so.

When she wakes with a start an unknown amount of time later, Charlie takes a moment to remember where she is. To remember what's happened. It's not much better than her dreams.

After calming down and trying to shut off her brain, Charlie's eyes land on her nightstand. Or more specifically, the food resting there. That definitely wasn't there when she'd gone to sleep. Ignoring it, the teenager pushes herself onto her feet and moves to the window. The sun is setting...today feels like it's been an entire week already.

Leaning her forehead against the cold glass, Charlie tries to push down the churning in her gut and opens the window. She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, listening. It's not hard to hear, the moaning of the walkers outside the walls. Something that used to be a part of her everyday life, especially at the prison, makes her skin crawl now. Especially when she thinks of the others outside the walls...she shudders before slamming the window closed.

The room is dark and quiet. Cold. Charlie grabs a hoodie and wraps it around her shoulders before moving into the hallway. She can hear voices downstairs and follows them. The blinds are closed, there are two lamps lighting up the living room and that's it.

"Hey," Maggie notices her first and moves towards her, a small smile on her face. But despite this Charlie knows she's worried. For Glenn, for the others. About the walkers outside the walls. "Did you eat? How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," Charlie forgoes answering the first question. One lie is enough for now.

"You sure?" Maggie questions, lifting her hand to brush some hair behind her ear, looking closely at the closing cut on her head.

"Mm-hmm," Charlie hums with a nod, ready for the attention to be off her. "You?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Maggie's lip form a tight line and Charlie almost hums again. So everyone's lying tonight then.

Charlie sits in one of the living room chairs and listens to the others talk about...whatever. She can't bring herself to pay attention. She doesn't want to think about it. So, she lets herself drift to the sound of her family's voices but doesn't let herself sleep.

A soft hand on her arm has Charlie opening her eyes. She blinks up at Maggie and furrows her brows in question. "Hey," The woman smiles. The others have moved into the kitchen, Charlie can see over her shoulder. "You want to stay with me tonight?"

Charlie goes to shake her head but stops herself. She considers for a moment. She doesn't want to go back up to her room where it's cold and dark. Where she's alone. But what if she has a bad dream? Or-... "Yeah," Charlie nods and lets Maggie help her to her feet. The woman waves goodnight to the others before leading the teenager into her room. She lifts the covers, allowing them both to climb under.

Lying on her back, shoulder to shoulder with Maggie, Charlie closes her eyes and wills herself to find a deep, dreamless sleep.

You may be thinking, Charlie's acting overly cool about this. But no, it only seems that way. She's not reacting because she's not thinking about it. She's not letting herself feel anything over this. I wasn't sure if I got that across in the story so I thought I'd add a note.

Also, she's hearing voices, that's never a good thing.

Uhhh, yeah, much more to come. I have some ideas for future Walking Dead fics I might try to write after this ones done but I'm not sure. What do you guys think of a Daryl and Bio-sister fic? Starting in the later seasons.

Also, I want to maybe write some alternative scenes (Like deaths) For no reason! Expect to see you know, how the characters would react and..you guys...but don't worry, it's just my curiosity. So don't worry.

DON'T WORRY

Until next time, friends!

'-'

I mean, maybe worry a little