A/N All characters belong to the writers and creators of The Walking Dead. Except those that arose from my own twisted imagination.

Chapter specific content warning: Sexual Assault, discussions of rape and abuse and suicide

Chapter 57-Atlanta Medical Center

Beth opened her eyes and stared at the stained tiles of the ceiling. As she had done in the weeks since she had been taken, she counted the tiles. Twenty-six, just like the day before and the day before that. She focused on the crack in the tile by the door and tried to remember how big it had been previously. Now it looked like it was spreading.

"Maybe the whole damn building will collapse," she muttered to herself. She had stopped wondering if it was day or night. It didn't matter since the lights were on twenty-four hours a day, the windows were covered over and she didn't get to look outside except at meals in the cafeteria where one window remained uncovered. She would've been content to just lay on the cold, hard hospital bed but she knew that someone was watching her on the camera, and they'd know she was awake. Even as she thought this, she heard the distinctive sound of a key turning in the lock of the door. Whether she wanted it to or not, Beth's day was about to start.

She still wasn't entirely sure how she got to the hospital in Atlanta. She remembered hearing Daryl telling her and Dani to run. They'd run out the back door when she heard Dani grunt and hit the ground. Beth turned to help her and saw a man dragging Dani's lifeless body into the bushes by the back door. Beth started to yell for Daryl when a hand with a rag clamped down over her face and everything went black. She woke up some time later, bound and gagged, in the back of a car. The rag returned and she woke up later at the hospital.

"Get up. It's breakfast." Officer Dawn was glaring at her. Lieutenant Dawn Lerner. While several of the other guards didn't look or act like police officers, Dawn, Gorman, Edwards, Licari and Shepherd had all been on the force previously. Beth didn't trust any of them but especially didn't trust Gorman and Edwards. Gorman looked like a textbook pedophile, straight out of one of those "don't talk to strangers" videos they used to show in school.

Gorman and one of the other officers had taken her from the house. When she'd woke up the first time, Gorman was telling Dawn that he'd "saved" her from a bandit and walkers at a house. Beth had protested that Daryl and Dani were her family and Dawn had quickly slapped her face.

"We saved you and brought you to the hospital. You owe us now. You should be grateful you're someplace safe!" Since then, Beth had learned that the other "patients" at the hospital had also been "saved" in the same way. There were ten "officers" there, including two other women though only one, Amanda Shepherd, had been a police officer before. Beth had learned that the rest had been "patients" like herself at the beginning. Two of the other patients had actually been rescued and appeared grateful to be there. Beth suspected that they were trying to become "officers" themselves. However, Beth hadn't understood why she had been taken until Hannah, the woman in the room next to Beth, came over to talk to her. She told Beth that several of the patients had been taken by Gorman for the same reason: he liked young girls.

"Look, Gorman likes it when you fight him so don't fight. You don't have to act like you like it, just starfish. He goes limp and can't do it. Just be prepared for him to hit you a few times but it's better when you get hit. It doesn't hurt as bad. If you fight him, he gets excited and then he makes sure it hurts."

"Starfish?" Beth had asked. Hannah had raised an eyebrow.

"You know. Starfish. You just lay there like a starfish." She lay on the bed and splayed her arms and legs. Beth finally understood. Hannah sat back up.

"So do that and he'll eventually leave you alone. He'll get bored and move on to someone else or go take someone else. That's why he picked you up. They've got trap houses all around here and Gorman monitors them regularly. Makes them look real nice and if someone wanders in that he likes and he happens to check out the house while they're there, he'll kill whoever's with them and take who he wants." A woman screaming in the hall caught their attention. Another patient was being dragged by two guards. She was crying, had been beaten and was trying to break free. Beth heard Gorman laughing and the door to the stairwell closing behind them. Hannah shook her head.

"Joan fights him. I don't blame her, it was hard for me to not fight too. One of the other patients told me what to do when I got here after the first time and it hasn't happened since." Beth absorbed this and tried not to think about what Hannah was telling her. She knew it would be hard not to fight back.

"Ok, what else?"

"Dawn used to be Gorman's partner back in the day. She knows what he does and who he is but she chooses not to do anything about it. Edwards and Licari are the only two others with any real power here, besides Dawn. Licari turns a blind eye to Gorman because Dawn does. I think they've got a thing going. Shepherd was a rookie before this so she just does what everyone tells her to do. Edwards though, he's nicer. If he likes you, then he'll get Gorman to back off. You don't have to do anything with him unless you want to and he's not that bad honestly. He actually wants to help people and he's told me afterwards that he hates what Gorman does but since Dawn allows it, he can't go against her. The other ones, they won't help you. They were here from the beginning and doing whatever Dawn tells them is what keeps them alive. Just do your chores, do what she says and don't try to run. Trust me." She held out her arm to show a large burn scar.

"Dawn held my arm over the stove when they caught me. Said I needed to learn to be grateful. She's psycho." Hannah stood and smiled at Beth though her smile didn't reach her eyes. Beth recognized the look from back in the prison. Hannah had given up and resigned herself to whatever was coming to her. However, unlike the people who wore that look when they were brought to the prison, there was no safe refuge here and no hope. "Welcome to Atlanta Medical Beth."

Since that day, Beth had caught Gorman licking his lips while he watched her work. She tried to follow Hannah's suggestion and was friendlier with Edwards though she hoped that would be enough. She just knew that she couldn't be like Joan. Gorman still had her dragged upstairs into his room every single day, sometimes twice a day, and Beth saw the bruises all over her face. So far, the only upside was Edwards did his best to stay in the same area if Gorman approached Beth. Beth also stayed away from two of the other guards, the ones who would take Joan upstairs to Gorman's room.

Now, Beth followed Dawn down the hall to the cafeteria. The floor was cold under her bare feet. Patients weren't allowed shoes or even socks as a way to discourage them from running. Beth counted four other patients this morning besides herself. Joan wasn't there. Beth got a bowl of plain oatmeal, her first of two daily meals, and sat down next to Hannah and another girl who called herself Ginger. They weren't supposed to talk during meals but they'd learned to communicate with looks and developed a sign language. Beth locked eyes with Hannah and then flicked her eyes to Joan's empty chair. Hannah put two fingers on the table and ran them across the top, covering the movement by picking up her napkin. Beth understood. Joan had run away again. That explained why Gorman and his two lackeys weren't in the cafeteria.

"Beth! Carter!" Beth stood up quickly when Dawn barked her name. Carter glanced over at her as they both walked over to Dawn. Beth had been glad that she was used to working without much food because she often had to make due with the two or three bites of oatmeal she was allowed in the morning until they gave her two or three bites of food at night. Carter, on the other hand, was apparently not used to not eating. He'd been caught twice sneaking food and now was paired with at least one person for his chores. He was still limping from the last time he'd been caught and Beth saw his ankle appeared to be broken.

"You're both on med duty," Dawn said. She glared at Beth. "Go see Doctor Jeffries." Dawn hated Beth for some reason Beth didn't understand though Beth hated her for allowing Gorman to abuse women when Dawn was the one with authority.

She followed Carter downstairs to Doctor Jeffries. The doctor was sitting at the old nurses station, reviewing old patient files. Beth had quickly realized the Jeffries was not mentally there. He would alternate between awareness of the present situation to talking about his former patients as if they were still in the hospital. She wondered what reality she would find him in today. Jeffries smiled when he heard them approach.

"Oh good the new interns have started. I always forget when it's that time of year. Welcome!" Beth sighed. It was going to be a pretend day and she didn't know if she had the patience to do it again. Jeffries stood and motioned them to him.

"I'm sure you're anxious to get into your first surgery today but formalities first!" He waved at the nurses station. "Nurses are the lifeblood of every hospital. They know more than you do, never forget that. Treat them with respect. Don't piss them off or they have the power to make your life hell, right Bridget?" He listened as the imaginary nurse spoke to him and then he laughed. "You're exactly right. Ok then, let's give you the rest of the tour." Jeffries took off down the hall. Carter and Beth exchanged looks and Carter shrugged.

"We've just got to do inventory. He won't notice we're gone." They walked into the medication and supply room and Carter picked up a clipboard.

"Let's start on the right. We should have two sealed bottles of Tylenol and another opened but half empty." Beth touched the bottles and confirmed the count.

"Why do they make us do this every day?" Carter initialed by the count and handed the clipboard to Beth to do the same.

"So they can steal the drugs, blame us and then get rid of us." Beth handed him back the clipboard.

"What do you mean?" Carter sighed and looked at her.

"Look, they have a system here. You play by the rules or you have an accident. I figured the last time I stole food they might send me to Jeffries and that's why I did it." He sized up Beth. "Don't know why you're down here too now. Usually, they keep the girls around longer. Unless you're just here for them to set me up." Beth shook her head.

"I'm not working with them so I'm not setting you up." Carter looked back at the clipboard.

"Three sealed bottles of Zofram." Beth stood on her toes to find the bottles on the next shelf.

"My dad and Alice would have loved to have this stock in the infirmary at the prison." Carter looked up from the clipboard.

"Prison?"

"We lived at the old Georgia Correctional facility for over a year. It was safe, everyone pitched in, we didn't get beaten or raped or have a tyrant lording over us. We were family and a community." Carter put the clipboard down on the counter and winced as he shifted his weight off his bad ankle.

"What happened?" Beth turned her back to him and quickly blinked back tears.

"We were attacked, the place was destroyed and I was with my friends Daryl and Dani. We were at a house when Gorman and someone else took me. I think they killed Dani. Daryl was in the house with a herd of walkers. If he's still alive, he'll come looking for me. But my dad and probably my sister are dead." She heard Carter pick up the clipboard.

"Let's get back to inventory. Dawn will be down soon to check on us and I don't feel like getting my other ankle broken today."

Dawn came down about an hour later and ordered them back upstairs. Jeffries was back at the nurse's station and didn't even glance up as they passed. Just as they approached the stairwell, the door burst open and Joan ran breathlessly onto the floor. She skidded to a stop when she saw Dawn and turned to run down the hallway.

"God damn you bitch!" Gorman huffed through the door holding his arm. The other two officers followed behind him, guns drawn.

"Shoot her!" Gorman barked.

"No! Stand down!" Dawn ran down the hall after Joan. Joan stopped at the end of the hallway, the look on her face one of a cornered animal.

"He's not touching me again!" Dawn held up her hands.

"Joan, no one touches you. It's all in your head. You are doing this to yourself."

"Fuck you, you bitch. You know what he does to us!" Dawn motioned for the other two officers to follow her.

"No one hurts you, Joan. You hurt yourself. You're sick. We're trying to help you." Joan looked from side to side and ran down the hall around the corner. Dawn and the other officers ran after her. Beth heard glass breaking and ran after them, rounding the corner in time to see Joan climbing through the broken window, giving one last look to Dawn before jumping. Beth heard a distant thud as her body hit the ground and moans and snarls from the walkers outside.

"Dammit!" Dawn whirled around and looked at Beth. "What are you standing here for? Get upstairs!" Beth stepped back as Dawn and the other two officers walked back to Gorman. Dawn pulled his hand off his arm and looked.

"How did this happen?" Gorman's voice was whiny.

"We found her at the parking garage and she bit me." Dawn glared at him.

"I'm sure that was all you were doing. I told you if you didn't give it a rest you were going to kill her." Gorman pulled his arm back and drew himself up to his full height.

"You never gave a shit about what I did before this. Some crazy chick jumps and somehow it's my fault?" They glared at each other for a moment before Dawn backed down.

"Go see Jeffries to get that taken care of." Dawn turned and looked at Beth. "Go with him." Beth's heart sank. Edwards wasn't around and she was going to be alone with Gorman for the first time. She started to follow him down the hallway when he stopped.

"I don't think so. Get in front of me so I can watch you." Beth took a deep breath and clenched her fists down by her sides. She could feel his eyes on her as she walked in front of her.

"Mental starfish," she thought to herself. She thought of her sister and what the Governor had done to her. Of Dani who had survived not only the Governor but the other men who had brutalized her. They had endured and they survived. If she had to, she could do the same. She could feel Gorman getting closer to her when Jeffries stepped out into the hallway.

"I heard some commotion, Officer Gorman. What happened?" Beth felt slightly relieved that Jeffries was lucid. Gorman showed the Doctor his arm and Jeffries frowned. "Human bites can be nasty." He looked up at Beth.

"Beth, go get some saline solution, sterile gauze and bandages, penicillin and an IV bag." Gorman shook his head.

"Not penicillin. I'm allergic. Get something else." Jeffries nodded.

"That's fine. Beth, bring the gentamicin instead." Beth nodded and went to the med room. She quickly grabbed the supplies and opened the refrigerator for the antibiotics. She started to reach for the gentamicin and paused. If she got back to the room, Jeffries might be back to his own world. She could pass off the penicillin and then Gorman could die of anaphylaxis. But if Jeffries was lucid, he'd probably read the vial. She decided to grab a vial of each and slipped them both in her pocket. Jeffries mental state would be the deciding factor. She got back to the room, her heart pounding. Gorman was watching her carefully as she placed the supplies on the tray. Jeffries lay Gorman down and prepped his arm for the IV. Beth kept her back to Jeffries and took both vials out of her pocket, palming them both to hide them.

"Beth, go ahead and hand me the gent now." Beth closed her eyes in frustration and she had to compose her face before turning around. She handed Dr Jeffries the correct drug and slipped the other back into her pocket. She'd have to sneak that back into the med room to return it. Jeffries gave Gorman the medication through the IV and draped his arm to clean and bandage it.

"I've told you before you need to leave those girls alone. One of them is going to kill you." Gorman snorted.

"I don't need you to tell me what to do about anything Doc." He looked Beth up and down. "It's not like they mind." He reached his free hand out and ran it down Beth's hip. Beth felt her skin trying to crawl off her body as she steeled herself to keep from jumping or running away. Now that Joan was dead, he was going to start with her. She kept thinking "Mental starfish" and froze in place, refusing to look at him as he reached around to cup her butt.

"Hey," Edwards' voice from the doorway caused her to mentally relax. Gorman snatched his arm back and glared at Edwards.

"What do you want?" Edwards entered the room, looked at Gorman's arm and then at Beth.

"Heard what happened. Just wanted to see if you were alright." Edwards kept his eyes on Beth while he addressed Gorman. Annoyed, Gorman smacked Beth on the butt.

"Get back upstairs. I'll talk to you later." She squeezed past Edwards who met her eyes and nodded. Realizing that Edwards had probably come down specifically to keep Gorman from being alone with her gave her hope. Edwards liked her. She just hoped that he wouldn't want anything more than that. Hannah had said he wasn't like Gorman so Beth kept that hope alive. She made sure the hallway was clear and then snuck back into the med room to replace the vial of penicillin, completely forgetting the camera that was mounted right outside the door.

The next few days after Joan were pretty much the same as before. Dawn would get Beth for breakfast, she'd walk down the hall to the cafeteria, get her bowl with the three bites of oatmeal and sit at the table across from Hannah and next to Ginger. Joan's seat was like a memorial to her, everyone glancing at it, even lightly touching it as the walked past. Beth's chores were the same though she wasn't sent back to the med room again. Carter was paired up with the other male patient for that duty. Gorman kept his distance from her and from the other girls though and that made life tolerable for everyone. Hannah and Ginger whispered about who was next. They had all been chosen by him once or twice but, since they didn't give him what he needed, he'd moved on. Since they knew what kind of man he was, this terrified the group. Ginger had been caught sneaking a fork out of the cafeteria to use as a weapon and had been beaten by Dawn and another officer. Gorman was leaving the hospital regularly again and each time they prayed he wouldn't return.

Beth was mopping the cafeteria floor after breakfast one morning when Dawn came in with Shepherd and another officer, Percy. Beth's blood ran cold and she quickly stood at attention. Dawn walked over to her and stood directly in front of her. The officer was Beth's height and they met eye to eye.

"Med count just came up short," she said. "Where'd you hide the oxycontin?" Beth frowned.

"I don't.." Dawn slapped her face, cutting her off.

"We have you on camera sneaking down to the med room yesterday and the count this morning was short. Now where is it?" Beth glared at Dawn.

"I was in the med room getting supplies for Doctor Jeffries the other day but that's it. I didn't take anything he didn't tell me to take." Dawn slapped her again.

"Stop lying to me. I watched the tape. You were there again yesterday." Beth finally realized what happened. Someone had watched the footage of her going back to the med room to return the penicillin, taken the oxy and then showed Dawn the tape as proof Beth took it. Beth suspected it was Gorman and Dawn's next words confirmed her suspicions.

"Take her upstairs to the holding room until I can decide what to do with her." Beth never looked away from Dawn's eyes and spit squarely in Dawn's face. The baton cracked against Beth's thigh and she dropped down immediately. She covered her head and face as the baton came down on her body repeatedly before it suddenly stopped.

"What the hell are you doing Lieutenant?" Hearing Edwards' voice Beth looked cautiously through her fingers. Dawn wiped at her face in disgust.

"She stole drugs and then she spit on me!" Edwards snatched the baton out of Dawn's hand and held her at arm's length.

"That doesn't mean you get to kill her for it," Dawn straightened her uniform and smoothed her hair. Edwards looked down at Beth. "You ok?" Beth nodded though she wondered if she had a cracked rib. She slowly got to her feet. Dawn glared at Beth but spoke to Edwards.

"She's going to learn respect around here. I am tired of the attitude." Beth continued to meet her glare for glare. Beth wouldn't back down. She was a fighter; she was strong and she had survived worse than this. Edwards looked back at Beth.

"We need you out front. Gorman's got another patient." Dawn snapped her head to Edwards.

"You can't override my authority, Officer Edwards! She's going in the holding cell!" Edwards glared at Dawn.

"I'm not letting you set another girl so your partner can fuck her until he either kills her or she kills herself. That's done. I've let it happen for two years and I'm done." Dawn's eyes narrowed.

"Officer Gorman is a decorated officer, you can't just accuse him..." Edwards cut her off.

"Don't give me that bullshit Dawn. You let him do whatever he wants to these girls so he won't do it to you." He turned back to Beth. "Go with Officer Shepherd and Doctor Jeffries and help with the patient. Gorman said she jumped in front of his car." Beth walked as quickly as she could through the pain in her hip. Officer Shepherd, Doctor Jeffries, Carter, and Hannah were standing at the nurses station listening to the radio.

"Get the snipers on it, we got goons outside!" Gorman's voice crackled through the radio.

"Copy that," Shepherd turned to the officers behind her. "McGinley, Franco, Alvarado. Get upstairs and clear a path, he's coming in hot. Bello, you're coming with us!" She motioned to her group. "Let's go, downstairs! We'll have to use the backboard and bring them to the third floor." Beth followed Hannah as the group hurried downstairs with the EMT backboard. Once they reached the first floor, Beth could hear the gunfire from the officers above taking out the walkers. Shepherd held them back, waiting for word on the radio.

"You're clear. Go!" Shepherd nodded and motioned for the group to go outside. Beth blinked in the bright sunlight and then saw Gorman pulling up in a tan sedan with a white cross on the window. The hood was dented and the windshield was cracked. Gorman jumped out of the car and ran to the back door.

"She just jumped in front of my car." He threw open the rear door and Shepherd motioned for the patients to bring the backboard over. Jeffries watched them closely.

"Gently, gently. Let's get her on there and get her head secured." As Jeffries moved out of the way, Beth saw the patient was Maggie. She fought her instincts that wanted to immediately cry out and hug her sister and instead helped the other patients load her carefully onto the backboard. After she was secured, Jeffries motioned them back.

"Ok let's take her in carefully!" Beth looked behind her and thought she saw movement in the parking garage across the street. She must have stopped walking because Hannah nudged her.

"Keep going," she hissed in Beth's ear and Beth snapped back to attention.

Jeffries stepped back from the gurney.

"She'll be ok. Definite head injury and bruises but surprisingly no broken bones, especially her legs. Normally you'd see that when someone is hit by a car. I'd almost say she jumped up on the hood to avoid getting hit." He glanced back at Gorman standing in the doorway.

"Told you she just stepped out in front of me. Couldn't avoid her." Jeffries nodded, not in agreement but in acknowledgement of the lie.

"Well, we'll see what happens when she wakes up," He looked up at Beth, who had been cleaning Maggie's wounds. "You can go now." Beth brushed past Gorman and walked back upstairs. Dawn was sitting at the nurse's station with Shepherd. She glared at Beth but didn't say a word. Beth walked past her to her room and shut the door, standing under the camera so they couldn't see her. Only then did she allow herself to react. Maggie was alive and she was here. Gorman had deliberately tried to hit her and Maggie must have jumped up on the hood to avoid him. Was Glenn there? Daryl? Was she by herself? No, Maggie wouldn't have gone into Atlanta on her own. Someone had to be with her. Beth was sure someone was in the parking garage across the street watching and knew it had to be one of the group. She hoped they got reinforcements and came back soon. Until then, she was going to keep an eye on Maggie and watch her back. She was on Dawn's list now and Gorman had obviously picked her as his new target. Edwards couldn't keep both of them away from her for long.

"Please God, let them hurry," she prayed before stepping away from the door and sitting on her bed, keeping the emotionless mask on her face so the camera wouldn't capture her hope.