Quinn, Hilltop

"What do you mean you have to operate?! Siddiq?!" I felt like I was struck by lightning. I became so scared from one moment to the other. Siddiq let out a sigh and the three of them stepped next to me.

"I'm afraid you have internal bleeding," he told me. "I have to open up and close the blood vessels to stop it."

I gasped.

"What… You… You want to open my stomach? While I'm awake?" I breathed heavily.

Jesus took my hand and squeezed it a little.

"I will stay with you the whole time," he reassured me.

"Me too. Not that I could go anywhere," said Eugene.

"Hey," Jesus said scoldingly.

"I mean, I would stay, even if I were able to go," Eugene tried to fix the meaning of his sentence, but it was wrong anyway. I wasn't able to laugh at his joke at that point.

"I have to check on the girl, but I'll come back," said Daryl.

"Okay…" I said, my voice was shaking. Daryl nodded, squeezed my other hand a little, then let go and left.

"Henry, bring Enid here, please," Siddiq asked him. Henry was standing at the door all along, shocked. He nodded and followed Daryl outside.

"What is going to happen?" I asked Siddiq.

"I know it's hard to relax now, but everything's going to be fine. Don't worry."

"You seem worried, so how should I be calm?!" I raised my voice, I was nervous. Eugene took my other hand and squeezed it a little. Jesus was holding my left hand and Eugene my right hand.

"We are here with you. I know you can do it," said Jesus.

Henry came back with Enid, then left, I think he wanted to check on the girl too.

"What's going on?" asked Enid. Siddiq brought her to the next room, I think he told her what they were about to do. I breathed heavily, I was scared shitless. I saw Enid jog across the room and out through the door.

"Where's she going?" I asked.

"I told her to get someone to stay at the door, so no one will come in while we are working," said Siddiq," Jesus, can you come for a moment?" he asked.

Jesus smiled at me and followed Siddiq. His smile was so sad like I was already dead. Eugene started to sit up as much as he could and was trying to take a look at my stomach, but the cut was on the other side, so he had to crane his neck to get a glimpse. He made a grimace.

"Positive. That's a real nasty cut," he said. "But you don't have to worry, Siddiq and Enid will take good care of you and Jesus and I will be here all along."

He squeezed my hand a little again, to hearten me.

"Eugene… Just when I finally decided I don't want to die, I'll die from a cut… I won't see Negan ever again," I said and tears started to roll down my cheeks.

"No, Quinn, don't say that. You will get through this. I'm 100% sure of it. And you will meet Negan again, someday," he said. I wiped away my tears.

"You think so?" I asked, I was still breathing heavily.

"I'm 100% sure," he repeated, then glanced at the door to see if Siddiq and Jesus are coming back, but they weren't, he looked back at me and continued in a suppressed voice. "I promise you, when you are completely healed, I will bring you to Negan myself."

I could feel my heart skip a beat.

"Would you really do that?" I asked while I tried to hold back my tears. "Would you go against Michonne?"

"Sure, I will," said Eugene and squeezed my hand a little to reassure me. I smiled sadly. I wasn't sure if he said that only to calm me down or he really meant it.

"Thank you," I said, when Siddiq and Jesus came back.

"As soon as Enid comes back, we'll start. I'll have to open up, close the blood vessels and close the wound. We have some lidocaine, but unfortunately, I don't have the tools to put you under anesthesia."

"You'll pull through, Quinn. I know you are strong enough," said Jesus reassuringly. I glanced back and forth at the two of them, I breathed heavily.

"Okay… Alright… I'll try," I said. Enid came back and locked the door. As soon as I heard the click of the lock, I started to tremble. Eugene squeezed my hand a little again to hearten me. Siddiq and Enid prepared themselves and the tools they needed. Siddiq injected my stomach with lidocaine. Enid combed her hair into a ponytail and stepped next to me, she smiled slightly.

"We will be quick," she said. "We'll finish in no time. Don't worry."

I closed my eyes tight. We waited for a little while for the lidocaine to numb my stomach.

"I'm not going to lie, Quinn, it will be painful," said Siddiq seriously.

"It's gonna be like a C-section, right?" I asked, breathing heavily," Women do that all the time. I should be able to deal with it."

"Similar to a C-section, yes," said Siddiq.

I tried to calm myself.

Enid put a piece of rubber in my mouth to bite on, then she tied my legs to the bed, so I wouldn't move during the surgery. Siddiq examined my stomach for one last time, then held up the scalpel, glanced at me, then back at my stomach, and cut…

I screamed like hell, biting on the rubber so tightly I was afraid all my teeth would crack and fall out. I felt tears pouring down my face. I squeezed Eugene's and Jesus's hands so tight, that I might have broken them, but I couldn't help it, I had to hold onto something. They didn't react, they just let me squeeze. There was a lot of blood. Enid was grabbing towels. Then everything went black…

Next time I woke up I saw Jesus.

"She's waking, she's waking!" said Jesus, he was excited.

"Alright, good," said Siddiq, he was really deep in work. Deep in my stomach.

"Wha…?" I tried to ask, but my tongue didn't function and I still had the rubber in my mouth.

"Don't worry Quinn, everything's going fine," said Jesus. "You passed out, but that's normal."

"Siddiq is already finished with the blood vessels, he is closing now," Enid added. She was stroking my hair to calm me. I was still biting the rubber, I whimpered painfully.

"Let me in!" I heard Daryl's voice outside.

"Sorry, you can't go in, Siddiq asked me to keep everyone out," said Tara. She was standing guard at the door.

"We're almost finished!" Siddiq shouted out. "You can let him in!"

He was already suturing the wound. Tara locked back the door after Daryl stepped inside. He hurried next to me. My tears were falling, I was biting the rubber and I was lying in my own blood, it was dripping down from the bed to the floor. Enid had a lot of towels to wipe it, but still, everything was bloody. Daryl glanced at my stomach, to see what Siddiq was doing, but he had no idea, so he stepped closer to me.

"It's alright," he said in his low, growling voice. I closed my eyes tight, then I opened it again. Enid was getting gauze. It was almost over.

"How did the interrogation go?" asked Jesus quietly.

Daryl shook his head. They didn't get anything out of the girl. Siddiq sterilized my wound, then applied the gauze. When he finished, he held his head high, everyone let out a huge sigh almost at the same time.

"It's over, Quinn, you hear me? It's over!" said Eugene happily.

"That was awesome," said Enid, amazed, she smiled at me.

"Don't mention it. We are ready, Quinn," said Siddiq, smiling. Jesus, Eugene, and Daryl smiled at me too. Enid took the rubber out of my mouth. I felt my jaw was numb from pressing it so hard for so long. Siddiq addressed me again. "Don't try to talk, you bit the rubber really tightly, so your jaw must hurt. I think it might have cracked. Just relax. If you try to speak now you might break it. Relax and don't open your mouth," then he looked at the others. "We have to lift her to another bed, she can't lie in this bloody mess. Quinn, don't squeeze your muscles, be completely relaxed as we lift you," he said. I nodded weakly.

The rest of them nodded too. Eugene let go of my hand, then the others lifted me to a fresh bed.

"Alright, now you can sleep," said Siddiq smiling. Enid rolled the bloody bed to the next room and the guys pushed my new bed closer to Eugene's. Enid came back and covered me with a blanket. Jesus caressed my left hand, Eugene took my other hand again, Daryl stepped to me and brushed my hair away from my forehead. He smiled at me. Then I fell asleep so fast I don't remember anything.

…

Author's notes: Listen to "Breathe me" by Sia. Thank You for reading! ❤