Characters are from TWD. I am just writing for fun :)
My Mistakes Were Made for You
"It's hotter than a spanked baby's ass out here!" Merle exclaimed as he emerged from his tent, taking a seat next to her. Daryl trailed behind his brother, yawning.
Alice looked up at the two brothers through groggy eyes, but she managed to mutter "mornin'" as she waved hello.
She had spent the majority of the night on watch with Amy. She was feeling exhausted. Her nightmares kept her up at night…she would dream of her parents or Derrick. She continuously replayed the incident leading up to her parents' deaths. The dreams were so vivid, it was as if she were there all over again. Every day she would wake up thinking she would find Derrick by her side. But, instead she woke to Glenn's snoring, which she thankfully found comforting instead of annoying.
They had been at the campsite for a little over a week now and she was getting used to the routine they had going. She was itching to continue the journey up to the CDC. She wanted more than anything else in the world to find Nancy. But there was still the issue of transportation and supplies. According to both Dale and Jim, Glenn's car would need serious work, meaning they would have to find a new mode of transportation. The RV and Daryl's truck were also low on gas and for the whole group to make it to the CDC, they needed to stock up on food, water, and gas.
"Shane s' sendin' a group to go to Atlanta today," Daryl told her as he sat down next to his brother.
"It's dangerous there. There's plenty of cars and they probably still have gas. I guess we could stock up on food there…but I don't think it's worth the risk." she said, handing him and Merle a packet of cereal.
Both brothers just grunted in way of thanks.
"When did you all decide?" she asked.
"Yesterday. Ya and Amy were on watch." Daryl answered.
"Need somthin'?" Merle asked her in between mouthfuls.
"You're planning on going?" Alice asked, suddenly on edge.
"Worried 'bout me?" Merle asked, leering at her.
"Who else is going? Are you?" she questioned Daryl, ignoring Merle.
"Nah. Gonna watch the camp n' hunt," Daryl answered.
"Chinaman volunteered," Merle added.
"God dammit, Glenn," Alice swore, "Is that why he didn't stay on watch with me and sent Amy instead?"
When Daryl shrugged, Alice frowned. "No. No he's not going," she insisted, standing up to go find Glenn.
"You ain't his mamma!" Merle cackled after her.
She found Glenn talking to T-Dog near the RV. "Hey!" she called, "I just heard there's going to be a trip up to Atlanta," she said, looking pointedly at Glenn who at least had the decency to look down at his sneakers in shame.
T-Dog looked between her and Glenn before muttering, "I'm gonna let you two sort this out."
"We need supplies," Glenn told her.
"And Atlanta is the best place to get them?!" she hissed, addressing Glenn, choosing to ignore T-Dog's departure. "It's too dangerous."
"I've done it before," Glenn assured her.
"Your ankle—
"Is completely fine now," Glenn finished.
"I don't understand why you have to go," Alice told him.
"I know Atlanta better than anyone else. I won't be going alone—
"Yeah, you won't. I'm going with you," Alice interrupted him.
Glenn shook his head vehemently, "We already have too many people. Shane already picked the volunteers—T-Dog, Morales, me, Merle, Andrea, and Jacqui. I'm going to be safe."
Hearing the names did not calm her down. If anything, it made her worry more. She liked Andrea and Jacqui because she felt they had backbones and could fight if push came to shove, but she didn't trust them enough to take care of Glenn. She didn't trust anyone but herself.
"Glenn, please let me go with you," Alice begged, hearing desperation creep into her own voice.
Glenn's response was cut off by T-Dog who called over to him, "Yo, Glenn! Get your stuff, we're headin' out soon."
"Sorry, Doc," Glenn said, "but the sooner we get the supplies, the sooner we can leave."
"Glenn, just…you'll be alright, yeah? If anything happened to you… I don't think I could bear it…" Alice trailed off, realizing how much she depended on Glenn… for friendship, for comfort…everything.
Glenn squeezed her shoulder and she managed a weak smile for him, "I'll be fine." She watched him walk away, trying to calm her breathing. She felt hurt and a little betrayed that he didn't discuss his departure with her first, but most of all she felt scared. She couldn't lose Glenn.
"Ain't cha worried for me?" She heard Merle ask behind her.
Truthfully, she wasn't. Merle seemed like the type that could handle anything singlehandedly.
"You'll be fine, Merle," she told him, "I'm going to go talk to Shane. I want to go too."
"Ya know," Merle bent down to her eyelevel so he wasn't towering over her and whispered in a conspiratorial tone, "Chink n' Darylina threw a hissy fit when your name was brought up to go. So nah, you ain't gonna go."
Alice blinked in surprise at this declaration. She knew that Glenn wouldn't want her in Atlanta after the debacle that had been their last trip to the city… but Daryl? He knew that she could handle herself. She felt a spark of anger at him for trying to dictate what she could or could not do. She'd been washing people's laundry for the past week, which she found slightly degrading. She dedicated the majority of her life to science and here she was, reduced to a glorified laundry woman who wasn't even asked if she wanted to volunteer for the trip to Atlanta.
"I'm just saying, if it were just me, I wouldn't go, but I have to look after Glenn," she told him.
At that moment, Glenn returned from speaking to T-Dog, Daryl trailing behind the two men. "You ready?" he asked Merle, "T-Dog is going to drive."
"I ain't lettin' that negro drive," Merle muttered under his breath to his brother.
"I'll go instead of Andrea," she told Merle confidently.
Merle shrugged, "ya can try, but we got no spots for you. Can ya even shoot?"
"No," she replied, "but Andrea probably can't either. I'm willing to learn and I think—
"Ya ain't going. Yer gonna put them all in danger if ya can't shoot properly," Daryl cut her off.
Alice's breath caught in her throat, realizing that Glenn was actually leaving. He was standing close to her, looking at her with a concerned expression. "I'll be okay," he assured her again, "I'll even look for a car for us," he promised.
"I've always wanted a Ferrari," Alice joked weakly.
"You got it, Doc," Glenn laughed, "I'll bring you back a pimped-out sports car."
Alice managed another weak chuckle before Glenn moved to hug her. She swallowed the lump in her throat, and hugged him back, holding onto him like a lifeline. When she let go Glenn saluted her and walked over to talk to T-Dog and Morales. Then she turned to Merle who was talking to Daryl in a hushed tone.
"Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong, so plan accordingly. Be careful, Merle…And please, look after Glenn, alright?" Alice told Merle as she approached the two brothers.
Merle ignored her plea and looked around the camp which was now hurrying to prepare everyone for departure. Glenn was busy helping T-Dog and Morales sort through the gun supply that Shane had provided, Lori was talking to Shane in a hushed voice, and Amy and Andrea looked like they were saying goodbye.
"This camp s' busier than a cucumber in a women's prison!" Merle suddenly exclaimed loudly, earning a disgusted scoff from Andrea and a stern look from Lori.
"Don't look at me like that, dolls," Merle cackled, "there ain't nothin' hotter than a woman pleasurin' 'erself," he elbowed his brother before turning to address her, "I'd pay good money t' see ya do that."
Alice rolled her eyes and turned to Daryl who for some reason was busy avoiding meeting her eyes, "can you please tell him to look after Glenn?"
"He'll be fine," Daryl told her, essentially dismissing her.
Alice turned away, feeling a wave of anxiety pass over her as she stared at Glenn who was now getting into the truck.
She scowled when she saw Ed standing near Sophia and Carol, his hand on his wife's shoulder, preventing her from saying goodbye to the departing volunteers.
"She's so skinny, she looks like a gut with the shit slung out of it," Merle suddenly commented, gesturing towards Carol.
She gave him an incredulous look. "Where do you come up with these things to say?" she asked him. Daryl frowned when he saw Carol and Ed, but Merle shrugged before turning away from her and Daryl. He didn't say goodbye to his brother. He just winked at her, shouldered his shotgun and strode towards the truck without a second glance.
I wish Ed would go instead of Glenn, she thought as she waved goodbye.
She didn't follow Daryl who stalked to his tent, tension in his shoulders. He was probably worried about Merle. She watched as the rest of the group dispersed, but stayed put, not knowing exactly what to do now.
"You want to help with laundry?" Lori asked her when she noticed that Alice was standing alone, staring at the place where the truck had been a moment ago.
Alice mentally groaned, but she smiled at Lori, "Sure. Of course. Let me just grab my stuff and I'll ask Daryl if he needs anything washed."
She had only walked a couple of paces before Dale caught up with her. "Hey, Alice. Do you have any Advil?" Dale asked her, "I think Jim has a slight fever. Maybe you could take a look at him?"
Alice smiled kindly at Dale, "Sure. Anything beats laundry duty. He's in his tent?"
"He's by the RV. Thank you, Dr. Alice."
"Not a problem. I'm going to grab my bag," Alice told him smirking at his title for her, before heading to Daryl's tent. He was sitting outside of it, sharpening an arrow.
"Want me to clean anything? I'm on laundry duty," she told him.
He looked up at her in surprise, "Yer doin' laundry?"
"Why do you sound so shocked? Who do you think has been washing your boxers for the past week?" She asked, cocking her head to one side so she could see him better, "I haven't been sitting around the river doing nothing you know."
"I've been givin' m' stuff to Glenn," he muttered, frowning and rubbing the back of his neck, looking slightly embarrassed and even a little apologetic.
"And Glenn has been generously handing it over to me," she said, "so you want anything washed? I haven't shrunk anything yet, I promise."
Daryl wiped the sweat forming on his forehead away, looked down at his worn-out boots before meeting her eyes and shook his head, "nah…thanks."
"Ain't a problem," Alice said, imitating his Southern drawl. Her tent was right near Daryl's, so she quickly stepped inside to collect her bag. She shifted through the medicine bag. She had a stash of medication—she had two types of antibiotics, a bottle of painkillers, Benadryl, Pepto-Bismol, a large first aid kit, Advil, several EpiPens, a bag of cough drops, her father's cholesterol medication, and her mother's eye-drops. She felt like a walking pharmacy, but she was glad that she had the foresight to grab every single bottle of medication she had in her home and in every single pharmacy her and Glenn had scavenged. She just grabbed the bag before heading back out to Daryl.
"I'm going to go check on Jim," she told Daryl, "and then I'm doing laundry. Are you going to go hunt?" now that Glenn was gone, she felt the need to share with him her plans and find out what he planned to do.
"Yeah," he answered, "S' wrong with Jim?"
"Probably just overheated. Or dehydrated. As Merle eloquently put it, it's hotter than a spanked baby's ass out here. Be safe, okay?"
Daryl smirked at her comment but nodded his head, "Ain't I always?"
Alice shrugged. "I don't want a wild boar attacking you or something like that," she turned to leave, walked only a couple of paces before she turned back to Daryl.
"You think you can teach me how to shoot?" she asked, "I want to be useful and I think I need to learn to shoot a gun."
"Yer accident prone," Daryl grumbled, "I don't want ya 'round a gun."
"Daryl, come on, you know I'm not. Please?" she begged.
He glared at her before sighing. "Fine. But my list of favors I have to do for you s' growin'…Takin' ya to the zoo, teachin' ya to shoot, what next?"
"Well washing my laundry might be the next favor," she teased.
Daryl snorted, "Careful. Because on second thought, I think I do have some of Merle's underwear n' socks that might need washin'"
"You're the best, Daryl! I'll see you soon," Alice told him with a grin, enjoying the fact that despite his rough manner of speaking, he was actually teasing her.
She found Jim sitting underneath the RV's awning, his face in his hands. Dale was on top of the RV, keeping guard.
"Alright, Jim. What seems to be the problem?" Alice asked him as she removed her stethoscope from her bag.
"I'm fine. Dale shouldn't have bothered you," Jim told her, but allowed her to listen to his heartbeat.
"Jim, believe me when I tell you that you're doing me a favor here. It's either play doctor or do laundry. Now, take a couple of deep breaths for me."
"My wife always hated doing laundry," he told her, closing his eyes as he began to take the deep breaths.
"She's sounds like a smart woman," Alice replied, gently lifting his wrist so she could measure his pulse.
"She was," Jim moaned suddenly, "I lost her. Her and my children"
"I'm so sorry, Jim," Alice whispered, realizing that she was thankful she had outlived her parents. She knew it would have broken their hearts if she had been the one who died. Her parents loved her unconditionally and she loved them more than she thought was humanly possible. She felt their absence every single day.
She placed a hand to Jim's forehead. He was burning up.
"You do have a slight fever, but I think that's due to dehydration. Make sure you drink enough fluids. I saw a bottle of Gatorade in the RV, I'm sure Dale won't mind. I'll go get it for you. I'm going to give you an Advil just in case."
Alice gave his arm a squeeze before she stood up to get him his drink.
When she returned, she handed him the pill and the bottle of Gatorade. Jim leaned back in his chair, eyes still closed. "Thank you. You remind me of her. She was so kind." His voice cracked.
In medical school and in her residency program, Alice had noticed that there was something rehearsed and robotic about the way doctors dealt with loss in the hospital. She herself had also become accustomed to the deaths around her, but today, with Glenn's departure she felt her defense mechanisms cracking.
She placed her hand on his shoulder, trying to keep her voice steady, "when I was fourteen, my grandmother died and I cried for weeks. I asked my mother when the pain would stop and she told me that I would never really stop missing her. The pain would always be there, but I had to learn to live with it."
"Did you learn?" Jim choked out.
"I'm still learning," Alice whispered.
Jim let out another sob and Alice stood up, unable to bear the look of absolute sorrow on his face.
"Go into the RV—I'll bring back a cold towel for you when I'm finished with laundry duty," she told him gently, helping him up and ushering him into the RV.
She didn't go straight back to her tent. She slouched against a tree near the RV, suddenly feeling overwhelmed. The truth was she couldn't bear to think about her parents or Derrick. The memories resurfaced wounds that Alice didn't think even time could heal. She tried blocking any thoughts of their death away, but in moments like these when there were no distractions around her, Alice found no way of stopping the thoughts from clouding her head.
She steadied her breath and squeezed her eyes shut. Chin up, Alice, she heard her sister's voice in her head. Alice considered staying here and struggling with her thoughts, but she bit the inside of her lip instead and stood up, intent on not wallowing in her own misery.
Alice walked briskly towards her tent to drop off her bag and collect hers and Glenn's laundry. She tried to clear her head, willing her mind to find something to occupy itself with.
She walked past Daryl on her way to the tent. He nodded his head at her, watching her intently.
"You alright?" he asked, eyeing her carefully.
She offered him a smile, appreciating the concern that the usually withdrawn, reserved man showed her. "I'm good. I'll see you when you get back."
She gathered her things and began to make her way towards the river. She paused when she was about to enter the woods and looked back at him. He was shielding his eyes from the sun as he watched her walk away. She waved goodbye at him, adjusted her pile of dirty clothes and trudged off to meet Lori, Amy, and Carol.
"Alice!" Amy cried happily, waving her over when she saw her approaching them. Alice smiled and waved back, feeling a little better at seeing her friend. She liked Amy—she was cheerful, optimistic and her mindless chitchat kept her thoughts from straying towards depressing memories. She grimaced when she saw Ed in the distance, watching her as she approached Carol and Lori.
"Here, I saved you some soap," Carol told her, handing her a small packet.
"Thanks, Carol!" Alice replied, dumping her clothes into the water before reaching for the soap, "I don't have a lot of stuff to clean so I can help you with your laundry."
"Stay close to Shane," Lori called to her son when she saw him and Shane walking down to the water with buckets and a net.
"We're catchin' frogs!" Carl yelled back, waving at his mother happily.
Alice grinned at his enthusiasm, enjoying herself despite the fact that Glenn wasn't here.
"I do miss my Maytag," Carol commented as she continued scrubbing her clothes.
"Oh, I would give anything for actually clean, fresh clothes." Alice sighed.
"That would be nice," Amy mused, "but… I miss texting the most."
Alice laughed, "we should not go down that rabbit hole."
"Oh, maybe we should go down the rabbit hole," Amy challenged, "you might find Wonderland, Alice."
"I've heard enough Alice in Wonderland jokes to last me a lifetime, Amy," Alice told her, rolling her eyes.
"Well I miss my computer and the internet," Amy continued, splashing Alice with water.
"I miss shaving," Lori added, "and pretty much any other small creature comfort you can name."
"Amen! My legs are harrier than an orangutan's!" Amy exclaimed.
All three women burst out laughing, giggling as they rolled up their pants to compare their legs. "You don't have any hair, what the hell?!" Amy exclaimed when she ran her hand over Alice's leg.
"Many sessions of laser hair removal and electrolysis," Alice explained, "if you are an orangutan, I'm a hairless, naked mole-rat."
"Ugh, I'm jealous. Not that any of that really matters…" Amy trailed off, her face suddenly falling, "Andrea did that too, but I was too much of a wimp. It hurt too badly."
"I miss bright, overly powerful fluorescent lighting," Alice quickly said, wanting to distract Amy from worrying about Andrea.
"You would say that," Amy scoffed, gently shoving her, "that's such a doctor thing to say. Pick something else."
"Fine. I miss coffee…Starbucks coffee!" Alice giggled, shoving Amy back.
"Ohhhh coffee… I miss that," Carol sighed.
"Glenn misses candy. And not the good kind…!" Alice whispered to the women in a conspiratorial undertone, "he misses licorice!"
"Oh, Glenn…why?" Lori laughed and Alice giggled too, not feeling the least bit guilty for throwing Glenn under the bus.
"Andrea misses her vibrator! She told me!" Amy declared, cackling gleefully at having ratted out her sister's secret.
"Amy!" Lori chastised, but she couldn't fight off her smile.
"Me too…." Carol suddenly added, giggling. She turned to look at Ed before turning back to them, satisfied that he hadn't heard her.
"Carol!" Lori and Amy exclaimed at exactly the same moment.
"Don't let Merle ever hear you say that," Alice grinned, remembering Merle's comment from earlier in the day.
"Oh my god, no!" Amy grimaced, "why do you even hang around them?"
Alice shook her head at Amy, "no, Merle is not that bad." When the three women gave her disbelieving looks she continued, "honestly. Him and Daryl really helped me and Glenn out."
"Glenn told us about what happened. It's awful there's people like those monsters out there," Lori sighed, "what has the world come to?"
"I'm glad Merle and Daryl were there to help you," Carol told her, gently patting her hand, "you were lucky they were there."
"Oh sure, but he's still a total pervert," Amy interjected, lightening the mood. "Daryl seems…uh…fine though," she added as an afterthought.
"Yes well, apparently, sometimes your knight in shining armor is just a redneck with a crossbow on his shoulder and a knife strapped to his waist," Alice told them, chuckling at the thought of Daryl wearing a medieval costume, "I guess I couldn't be too picky."
"I had no idea you and Daryl were like that," Amy confessed, looking slightly scandalized.
"I think it's sweet," Carol added.
Alice suddenly realized what was happening. "Oh, no! We aren't like that!" Alice hurried to explain. It almost seemed preposterous to her that her and Daryl would be romantically involved. Even at the mention of being with someone caused her heart to clench…she had met Derrick when she was eighteen—after a month, she knew that she didn't want anyone but him.
"I totally knew that," Amy scoffed. "I bet you the majority of guys you dated were rich bankers, doctors, or lawyers. Probably like Andrea—you know, she once introduced me to this total tool—
"Amy, let's not think about the past," Lori interrupted Amy when she saw Alice's face fall.
"Sorry, Alice. I wasn't thinking," Amy apologized, looking guiltily up at her.
"It's fine, Amy," Alice said, now unable to think of anything else but Derrick. "I actually only ever dated one guy. I met him in college as a freshman and he was already in graduate school. At the time, he was dating this girl that he had been with for four years. I didn't look at anyone twice after I met him, but it took him over five years to even realize that I wasn't the young nerd he had to supervise. He's the reason I even considered getting a PhD and he's the reason I stayed at Hopkins. I mean he's—
Alice stopped talking, realizing that if she continued she would start bawling. "I guess you could say that I miss him," Alice finished.
There was complete silence. Alice was staring at her hands, willing them to stop shaking.
"So, I bet you lost your virginity super late, huh?" Amy asked. Carol let out a nervous giggle, breaking the awkward silence.
Alice stared up at Amy in shock and then let out a hysterical laugh, which almost sounded like a sob. "You're right. I was twenty-five!"
"Somethin' funny?" Ed interrupted. Alice turned to see that he had wandered over to them. She exchanged a look with Amy who was also clearly annoyed at his presence.
"Just swappin' stories, Ed," Lori told him without looking up from her laundry. Ed didn't leave. Instead, he lit a cigarette and made himself comfortable on a nearby rock.
"Something wrong?" Alice asked him, not liking the way he was looking at them.
"Nothin' that concerns you," Ed told her smirking down at her.
"And you ought to focus on your work," he added, "this ain't no comedy club."
Alice was tempted to tell him to shove off, but she noticed Carol's hunched figure and decided against it. They sat in silence for a minute, before Ed chose to make another comment.
"Careful with that shirt," he told Alice, "s' mine."
Alice looked down at the shirt, realizing that she was indeed scrubbing one of his shirts.
"If you don't like how I do your laundry, you can do it yourself." She scowled, stood up and extended his shirt out to him.
He took it and then flung it at her. "Ain't my job."
Alice stared down at her now soaking wet shirt in shock.
"Better close that mouth before someone puts a dick in it," Ed told her, puffing a cloud of smoke into her face.
"Excuse me?" she asked not believing he had the audacity to tell her that. She took a step away from Ed, wishing that she had Daryl or at least her baseball bat at her side.
"Alice, don't…" Carol implored, but she didn't move from her spot near the water.
"I don't need some cunt tellin' me what I should be doin'," Ed growled deep in his throat, flicking his cigarette-end onto the ground.
"Come on. Let's go," he ordered Carol.
"I think Carol should stay," Amy told Ed, crossing her arms over her chest, looking at Alice for assurance that she was doing the right thing.
"It ain't none of your business," Ed replied before turning his attention to Carol. "Come on now. You heard me."
"Carol," Alice begged the older woman not to leave with Ed.
"Alice, please. It doesn't matter…" Carol said, looking imploringly up at her.
"Hey!" Ed exclaimed, taking a step closer to Alice, "don't think I won't knock you on your uptight ass just 'cause your some Harvard-educated bitch. Got it?"
Alice and Amy both gasped in shock. Lori stood up, looking desperately around for help.
"Johns Hopkins, asshole." Alice muttered under her breath. She moved to stand in front of Ed.
"Your gonna come now or you'll regret it later," Ed warned his wife, pushing roughly past Alice.
"Don't take another step, Ed!" Alice warned him.
"Ain't none of y'all's business!" Ed screamed, reaching towards Carol. Alice slapped his hand away. With an angry roar, jerked away from her and then he slapped Carol's face so hard the impact raised an echo.
"SHANE!" Lori screamed, moving away from Ed's assault.
"Get off of her!" Alice yelled, trying to grab one of his meaty arms. Ed swung at her, the back of his hand making contact with her jaw. Alice recoiled, more in shock than in pain. She saw Ed raise his arm again to hit Carol, but the next thing that Alice saw was Shane, dragging Ed away from her. Shane flung Ed to the ground and pulled his fist back—it connected with Ed's face. His head snapped back and blood starting flowing from his nose.
Alice watched from the sand as Shane hit Ed again. Again…and again…and again.
"SHANE! STOP!" Lori cried.
Carol was sobbing, gripping Amy for support, but Alice just watched as Shane continued beating Ed, unable to look away.
"Put your hands on your wife, your little girl, or anybody else in this camp, and I will not stop next time. Do you hear me?" Shane ordered, stopping his assault for a moment.
"Yes," Ed slurred out.
Shane's fist connected with Ed's jaw with a sickening crunch one last time. Shane moved away from Ed, his eyes locking in on Lori before he hung his head in shame.
"Oh God," Carol sobbed. She ran to her husband. She cradled Ed to her, "Ed…I'm sorry!"
Alice sat frozen in the sand, knowing that she should help Ed. He would need more than a couple of stiches. He probably had a concussion too. But, she didn't move, feeling nothing but disgust and contempt for him.
Daryl adjusted the rabbit he caught on his belt, which already had five squirrels strapped to it. That should be enough for today, Daryl thought smugly. He'd been at the campsite for a week now, and Daryl found himself looking forward to seeing Alice's incredulous grin when she would catch sight of him walking back from the woods with the game he had hunted down for the group. When Merle got back tomorrow, Daryl decided he would follow the deer tracks he saw in the forest earlier today. But, it was already too dark to start the tracking today and he didn't want to leave the camp unattended for too long with just Dale as lookout.
He began to walk back towards the campsite. From a distance, he could see the RV, but the voices were the first thing to reach him. Alice was loudly speaking to someone. Daryl could easily make out the anger in her voice... after all, he had been on the receiving end of it only a few days ago. He sped up, wondering who Alice was shouting at.
When he reached the camp, he saw that she was talking to Dale who was standing near her. From afar, he could see her sitting on the ground, Shane's hands on her knee, her own hands were placed over his. He blinked, his footsteps faltering, suddenly unsure if he wanted to know why the two were sitting so close. There was a sudden pang of something inside of Daryl, but he forced himself to ignore it, concentrating instead on what Alice was telling Dale.
"For the last time, I don't want to…and won't… look at him. Medical supplies are running low everywhere. Someone else might need them," he heard Alice argue. She crossed her hands over her chest momentarily to glare up at Dale.
"You're a doctor, Alice. Have some compassion," Dale urged her.
"The American Medical Association is not watching over my shoulder and I don't feel obligated to uphold those ethical standards anymore. Shane was right to beat the living daylight out of him," Alice snapped, before turning her head back to Shane's hands. "you've seen the way he treats Carol and Sophia. If I met them in the clinics, I would have called child protective services!"
"But you still would have treated him," Dale interjected.
"Yes, well, times are changing. I say let him suffer," Alice scoffed, "he's not going to die."
When he walked closer, he felt his blood boil. He could clearly see that Alice's lip was split. Someone had hit her. For a second his anger was replaced with something akin to relief when he understood that Alice was just cleaning Shane's bloody knuckles. But that relief was short lived.
"What the fuck happened?" he barked at Shane as he stormed towards him to reach Alice.
"Who hit you?" he growled. When no one answered him, he yanked Alice up and took her face in his hands to look at her lip. She jumped at the contact, her eyes wide.
"Careful." Shane told him. He also stood up, forcing Daryl to drop his hands away from Alice's face. Shane's mouth turned into a snarl as Daryl swiveled to face Shane. He already disliked Shane, and his warning only angered him further.
"No, I'm fine, Daryl. It was Ed. We handled it," Alice explained, placing her arm on his shoulder. He shrugged it off roughly.
"Where's the piece of shit at?" he asked Shane, ignoring the hurt look Alice gave him.
"I've dealt with Ed," Shane told him, Daryl looked down at Shane's bloody hands and then turned to where Carol was hovering nervously around her tent. She was watching him carefully, her eyes tearful and her cheek bright red.
After years of enduring beatings from his dad, Daryl had found it easier to notice and pick up on the little hints and signs of abuse. Those signs in Carol and Sophia were more than little suspicions—it was obvious to anyone that Ed beat his family.
"Shane, don't move. This could get infected. I don't want you touching anything that a walker could have come in contact with. I'll wrap them in bandages," Alice told Shane, reaching for his hands again, but not before giving Daryl a reproachful look.
Daryl turned away from the pair, his hands clenched, acutely aware of the fact that he wasn't there to protect Carol, Sophia… or Alice. He strode towards Ed's tent, intent on finishing whatever Shane had started.
"No. Please, don't hurt him," Carol whimpered, blocking his way.
He turned his heated glare on Carol, "move aside."
"Daryl, stop!" he heard Alice calling him back.
He ignored her and pushed past Carol, only to find himself in front of Sophia who had just exited the tent. When he made to move past her, she reached out to him, as if to stop him. He felt her small hands grab onto his arm, and moving purely out of instinct, he wrenched away from her, his crossbow nearly knocking her over. Sophia stared up at him in fear and she flinched when he straightened the crossbow.
In a moment of clarity, Daryl could see the fear he had felt numerous times in his father's presence reflected back at him through Sophia's eyes. He could hear the sound of his old man's belt whipping through the air, making contact with his back. It was as if he were a kid again, cowering in fright in front of his father in a feeble attempt to protect himself.
He snapped back to reality when he heard a sniffle escape from Sophia. When heard Carol gasp he took several steps away from the young girl, squinting at the ground, refusing to meet anyone's eyes.
Shane growled something incoherent behind him. Daryl didn't need to turn around to know that someone was probably holding him back from attacking him. He couldn't hear what Alice was muttering to Shane.
He looked up to see Shane glaring at him. His hands were crossed over this chest but he wasn't making a move towards him. He turned away from Ed's tent and strode towards away without a second glance back at the group. He didn't meet Alice's eyes, not wanting to see the inevitable fear or disgust that he knew he would see on her face.
Alice turned away from Shane, wanting to walk after Daryl, but she was immediately approached by Carol.
"Alice! Please! Take a look at Ed," Carol begged, grabbing her arm, preventing her from leaving.
"No," Alice stated simply, "I won't."
"Alice, please," Dale added.
"Jesus, why do you want me to tend to him, Carol?" Alice asked, frustrated at the woman.
Carol didn't reply but she sniffled slightly, nodding her head towards Sophia who was hovering near Ed's tent, looking distraught.
Alice hesitated before she jerked her head in agreement. "Fine. But I'm doing this for you and Sophia. I have a split lip because of that monstrosity you call a husband," she snapped.
Carol let go of her arm, looking at Alice as if she had just kicked a puppy. She didn't allow Carol to say anything else and marched towards Daryl's retreating back, ignoring the reproachful look that Dale sent her.
"Daryl?" she called, trying to catch up to him.
"Mind yer own goddamn business!" he snapped. He strode further into the woods without turning to look at her.
She stopped walking after him, deciding that she would wait for his return near his tent. She didn't understand why Daryl was so tightly wound all of a sudden—it was clearly an accident that he had almost knocked Sophia. Even Shane had understood that. As she walked back to the tent, she also realized that she felt guilty for barking at Carol like that. Her lip would not even need stiches and it didn't hurt too badly. She'd apologize to Carol soon. She knew that victims couldn't always see clearly. She was about to enter Daryl's tent when she heard the sound of footsteps behind her. Dammit, she sighed, not really wanting to deal with anyone right now.
"Hey Alice?" she heard Lori hesitantly address her.
"I already told Carol I'd take a look at the cretin. I never said when I'd do it." Alice muttered, not turning around to look at Lori.
"I'm not here about Ed," Lori said quietly, "I was thinking about what you told us at the lake about your boyfriend…and I just wanted to let you know that if you ever want to talk about…you know…your family… I'm here."
Alice let out a sharp breath and buried her face into her hands, "I don't want to talk about him…ever again. Please, don't mention him...I can't."
Lori walked up to her, placing a hand onto her shoulder. "I lost my husband right before this all happened. He was a cop and he got shot."
"I'm so sorry, Lori," Alice told her, a new wave of guilt washing over her.
"Yeah," Lori sighed, "it's difficult for Carl to be without a father…and it's been difficult for me too."
"Lori…" Alice began, wanting to somehow comfort the woman.
"I just thought you should know and it's okay to remember him, but I also think that it's good to try to find happiness elsewhere. Everyone deserves a little bit of happiness right now…." She trailed off before turning to look away. She was staring at Carl and Shane who were now sitting near the RV. Shane was explaining something to Carl, who looked up at the cop in excitement.
"I think those people around you, who can bring you that happiness, are the reason I can find anything to smile about these days," Alice agreed, sensing that Lori wasn't talking about her anymore.
"Yeah, I suppose you're right." Lori said, giving Alice a weak smile, "I'm here if you ever need someone to talk to." She walked over to Carl and Shane, gently ruffling her son's hair. Shane smiled at Lori, leaning over Carl to whisper something to her. Oh, thought Alice, Lori and Shane are together.
She paused in front of Daryl's tent, suddenly unsure what she wanted to do. She wondered how Lori could have moved on from her husband so quickly. She tried not to make any judgments though, but it was difficult not to. She had lost Derrick months ago and even considering trying to move past his death made her stomach curl in guilt and shame. She turned away from Daryl's tent. C'mon, Alice, she mentally chastised herself as she entered her own tent. Don't be silly…you only wanted to see Daryl because you needed to explain to him that no one blames him for the incident with Sophia. That's it. But, the knot in her stomach didn't disappear.
She paused when she noticed that her stuff had been sifted through. Her duffle bag was open…and the medicine bag wasn't in its correct place.
"What the hell…" she muttered, bending down to open her bag. The contents were no longer in order. What stood out to the most was the missing bottle of Percocet. She knew for a fact that the painkillers were there after the group's departure to Atlanta, meaning they disappeared after Merle left. If not Merle, then who had entered her tent to take the painkillers? Nothing else looked to have been stolen.
She jerked upwards and exited her tent, wanting to see if any of Daryl's equipment had been taken. Before she could enter Daryl's tent, she heard a crunch underneath her shoe. She looked down at the ground—lying close to the edge of the entrance was a clear, orange bottle of Percocet. It was nearly empty. Her mind began to race. Daryl had access to her tent—he could have easily taken the bottle while she was doing laundry. He probably dropped it here by accident. She felt cheated, fooled, and deceived. She exhaled in despair. Abruptly, she began to walk towards where she saw Daryl enter the forest. It only took her a minute to locate him. He was leaning against a large tree, eyes snapping towards her when he heard her approaching him.
She wasn't thinking logically, acting purely on impulse. He eyed her wearily as she stormed up to him, clutching the bottle of painkillers. She was furious, but most of all, she felt disappointed. She was so hurt, she could just smack him. She wanted to slap him, make him hurt… make him feel the way she did. She trusted him and he messed everything up.
"Are you going to explain to me how my painkillers ended up in your tent?" She hissed, throwing the nearly empty bottle at his feet.
Daryl narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest but didn't say anything.
"You and your brother are both druggies, is that it?" she continued, her temper boiling over.
When he didn't answer, she scoffed and turned to walk past him, "unbelievable!"
"You don't know nothin'," he growled, taking her upper arms in his iron grip, preventing her from leaving. His hands were warm and rough on her skin, and so strong.
"Yeah? So, explain," she snapped, "because to me, it seems that you are just here to collect people's medication so you can get high. I found my painkillers in your tent. Merle's gone so it's pretty obvious that you actually had the gall to pick through my belongings and take it."
She tried to wrench herself free, turning her head so she didn't have to look at him. Daryl didn't let her. Instead, he tightened his grip. He was really tall…big… and intimidating. He was all hard angles and steel. Even his eyes were a steel blue colorAlice realized.
"You're wrong," His voice was suddenly low and intense. He released one of her arms to cup her chin in his large hand and hold her so she couldn't look away. He was so close to her. Involuntarily, she blushed.
"So. Who. Took. It?" she enunciated each individual word, feeling the heat from his hand scorch her cheek. "Was it Carl? Sophia? Carol? Dale? Amy? Lori? Or Ed…who can't walk? Because they were the only one's around except for you. Is this why you wanted to invite me and Glenn along? So that you could steal valuable medications that people might actually need?"
"I didn't take shit," he hissed, eyes blazing, "n' I don't hear you accusin' Shane."
"I don't believe you," she finally snapped, dismissing his comment about Shane. He jerked his arm back, causing her to stumble forwards into him.
"Bitch," he growled, wrenching away from her and spitting on the ground next to her feet. He didn't look back at her as he stomped deeper into the woods.
Alice looked at his retreating figure, breathing raggedly, not understanding why she cared so much.
She stumbled back to camp, ignoring the questioning look that Dale sent her.
"Alice, what happened? Where's Daryl?" he asked her as he climbed down from the RV.
"He went hunting," she replied tersely, moving past him.
"Again? Everything okay?"
"Oh yes, just peachy," she replied sarcastically.
"Hey, slow down," Dale called, walking after her. She let out a choked sob before collecting herself.
"Listen Dale, I'm just going to grab my bag and look at Ed," she told him, sighing in exhaustion, "I'm sorry I'm so on edge… I'm just worried about Glenn. After I tend to Ed, I'm going to help Amy and Carol prepare dinner, okay?"
This time Dale let her walk past him, accepting her apology and explanation. She grabbed her bag from her tent, trying not to look at Daryl's tent as she walked past. She was about to head back to see Ed when Sophia ran up to her, her eyes welling with tears.
"Dr. Alice?" she gulped, "you have to come look at my Dad."
"Don't worry," she calmed Sophia, "I'm heading over there now. What's wrong?"
Sophia hiccupped before replying, "he's not responding when I call him."
Alice jerked her head in understanding. She walked briskly over to the tent, Sophia jogging behind her to keep up with her long strides.
"I'm coming in," she warned before she entered the tent. Ed didn't reply. She grimaced slightly when she saw what Shane had done—Ed's face was almost unrecognizable.
"Ed? Are you asleep?" she asked. When he didn't respond she immediately sat down next to him, feeling for a pulse. His breathing was slow and labored, but his eyes shot open when she pinched his ear.
Well, he's not dead, Alice determined, shocked to see how dilated his pupils were. His pulse was abnormally slow.
"Alice?" she heard a small, timid voice behind her.
Alice turned to see Sophia standing at the tent entrance, looking at her father warily. "Is he going to be okay? I think it's my fault he's not responding."
"What do you mean, Sophia?" Alice asked the girl, turning back to Ed, moving him into a recovery position. He didn't react when she opened his mouth to make sure he hadn't swallowed his tongue.
"He was feeling really sick…" Sophia began to explain, "and I wanted to help him." Alice winced feeling even more guilty—Dale was right, she was a doctor, who had taken the Hippocratic Oath as a medical student. She had pledged to "do no harm" to her patients. It seemed that with the world ending, she had forgotten that she had promised to do her best to aid the sick.
Sophia looked up at her, tears welling in her eyes. "I'm sorry Dr. Alice. Dad told me he needed some painkillers. He said you had some. And I found them for him. I think he took too many like Uncle Jack did. And that's why he's not waking up!"
It took a second for Alice to process what Sophia had told her. "Sophia, how many did he take? When did this happen?" she asked the young girl slowly, beginning to realize in horror what had happened.
"I don't know," Sophia cried, her voice quivering, "he gave me the bottle back and I tried to return it, but I got scared…I dropped it by your tent and ran."
"Sophia. Go get Shane and Dale," she commanded. Sophia didn't need to be told twice—she rushed out of the tent as Alice turned back to Ed, realizing she needed to empty his stomach. She didn't have any of the proper equipment for pumping his stomach so she settled on inducing his gag reflex, knowing that if she didn't do something fast, liver failure was highly possible. He must have taken the pills hours ago, but she needed to try nevertheless.
Sophia was back a minute later, but Shane wasn't with her. Instead, she saw Daryl standing beside Dale, looking past her to where Ed was curled up. When his eyes turned on her she looked away.
"Sophia, go wait with your mother," Alice ordered, ushering Daryl and Dale into the tent. She avoided Daryl's gaze as she turned back to Ed, knowing that she needed to concentrate on the patient—she refused to feel guilty right now.
"I think he overdosed on painkillers," she explained, gesturing for Daryl and Dale to haul Ed up.
"You gave him too many?" Dale asked in shock.
"No. Sophia took the painkillers and gave them to him. I don't know how many pills he took," Alice explained, still unable to look at Daryl. She positioned Ed between the two men so that his airway would be open.
"I need you to hold him like this… make sure he is facing downwards," she told Daryl. He flinched when she readjusted his hold on Ed. As they exited the tent, Alice looked up from Ed she noticed that Daryl's dark gaze never strayed from her face. She looked away, realizing that Carol and Sophia were standing nearby, their eyes wide and frightened. Ed began to mumble something incoherent, attempting to swat away Dale and Daryl.
She gestured Carol over to her, who quickly rushed over to her side. "I'm going to induce vomiting. I don't have the proper equipment to pump his stomach. The vomit could be potentially aspirated into his lungs, which would interfere with his breathing. But it's the best that I can do," she explained to Carol, "do you want me to go forward?" When Carol nodded, she walked into the tent, grabbed a pair of gloves from the first aid kit and squatted near Ed. She stuck two fingers down Ed's throat before removing her hand. He gagged twice and then vomited down the front of his shirt. Alice didn't flinch as the mess splattered onto the ground in front of her.
"Is Ed going to be alright?" Carol asked her hesitantly. Her eyes were wide and she looked like she would be sick, but above all, she seemed weary and worn out.
Alice sighed as she inspected the ground where Ed had thrown up, "he didn't throw any pills up. I'll ask him how many he took when he's more coherent."
Alice lifted her eyes to meet Daryl's gaze, "can you place him onto his stomach?" He didn't respond, but his jaw clenched. Nevertheless, he complied, entering the tent with Ed walking shakily next to him. When he returned he moved past her, angling himself away from her. She bit her lip and winced at the sensation.
She had no idea how she had gotten into this mess…why had she blamed Daryl? She was always logical, calculating, and precise, but today she wasn't thinking clearly and had acted purely on impulse. She should have known that Daryl would not have taken the painkillers.
She turned to look at where Daryl was standing. He was talking to Carol, his voice too low for her to hear. Carol was taking up his time, and at this particularly moment, she was annoyed with her. She supposed the sensible thing to do was to apologize to Daryl immediately. But, Alice found it a difficult, if not impossible, thing to do when Carol was standing so close to him.
Instead, she chose to walk into the tent to finish looking at Ed, deciding that she would make things right between them later, brushing away the small jab of jealously she felt when she saw Carol give Daryl a watery smile. When she finished tending to Ed, satisfied that he could be left alone for the time being, she looked for where Daryl had gone. She found him near his tent smoking a cigarette. When he saw her, he scowled, turning to leave.
"Daryl!" Alice called, reaching to catch him before he could disappear into the woods. He stopped so suddenly, she crashed into him, full force. She stumbled, but before she could fall, Daryl reached out, catching her. Almost instantly, he released her, thrusting her away from him. She stared at him, suddenly unsure of what to say.
He stared back. His eyes were dark and his hands were clenched in fists at his sides.
Alice took a deep breath. "I have to apologize for what I said about the painkillers. It was an unfair thing to say and you have every right to be angry."
"I have yer permission t' be angry?" Daryl sneered, his voice harshly controlled.
"I jumped to conclusions and I know you would never do that, so please, don't be upset at me. I'm sorry." she told him with sincerity. He didn't say anything, turning to leave.
"Wait!" she called again, reaching to grab his arm. When she made contact, he froze.
"Daryl?" she asked, dropping her hand, unsure what to expect from him when he turned to meet her gaze.
"You think I care?" he growled, "we ain't friends. We ain't family. We ain't nothin'. You mean nothin' t' me. I don't give a shit what you think—
"We are something. You mean something to me," Alice interrupted him, "what can I do to make you forgive me? Just tell me and I'll do it."
His eyes on her widened for a moment before he snorted in derision, "leave me be." He turned to leave and she didn't follow him.
Next chapter: the group from Atlanta returns and Alice heads to the CDC.
I hope you all enjoy this longer chapter :) I can't believe that I have over 50 followers (crazy!) I appreciate all the feedback and reviews. I will change the story to M in the next few chapters (I will but a warning up too). And sorry for Merle's language (I wanted to stick to his character's habits, but I apologize if it made anyone uncomfortable).