The feedback I have been getting for this story is just simply overwhelming, I love you all so much for it! It's really what keeps me motivated and interested in Nikkis story!

Also in my previous chapter I asked you guys when you think Nikki and Daryl should get together or if they should be together at all and I was so happy to read that everyone is rooting for Nikki and Daryl!

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I couldn't help but glance to my left at T-Dog every now and again. The medication from Merle's stash had definitely worked wonders, keeping him awake and upright of his own accord but I couldn't help but notice every time we hit a bump in the road he let out a significant grunt of pain.

"How much longer do you think we have left?" I asked Glenn, trying to sound casual although I'm sure anything else heard in my voice would be picked up as worry for Carl.

"It can't be too long more." He replied. The thought occurred to me on numerous times that we didn't know anything about these people, we didn't know if they were actually looking after my family we only knew that they at least had them in their home.

Did they have medication, supplies? Is that why Carl was being kept there. If he was being treated then he had to be alright. There had to be hope.

"This has got to be it." Glenn whispered more to himself than either of us. He had turned into a long drive, a large white farm house was positioned at the end of the winding dirt road. It could have been beautiful in another life, it almost looked like something from the movies. Something from The Notebook.

I jumped out of the truck after Glenn, T-Dog moving more slowly. My hand automatically went to my sickle as we approached the steps to the porch, my eyes trained on the spots of blood that were leading up them.

"So do we ring the bell?" Glenn asked, he was carrying his gun as well but limply. "It looks like people live here."

"We're past this kind of stuff, homie." T-Dog shook his head as he led the way up the steps.

"Close the gate up the road when you drove in?" The voice made Glenn and I jump, the girl from earlier, the one who was on the horse, was nestled into a chair in the shadows, her arms resting on her knees.

"Uh, hi." Glenn stuttered, clearly trying to hide his shock. "Yes we closed it, did the latch and everything." A short, awkward silence filled the air before Glenn began talking again. "Nice to see you again, we met before, briefly."

"I need to see my brother." I interrupted, desperation clear in my voice this time. "You said he was here when you came to get my Mom?"

"Yeah he's here." The girl nodded. "I'll show you to his room."

We filed into the house which was just as rustic and antique as it was on the outside. Everything about it boasted a home, probably once filled with a number of children and always busy.

The girl pointed Glenn and T-Dog towards the kitchen before leading me to a large door, she knocked on it once and an unmistakably older voice called for her to come in. Sucking in a breath I stepped into the room, I felt the breath freeze in my lungs.

Mom and Dad had both jumped to their feet, their arms wrapping around me tightly but I could only halfheartedly hug them back. My eyes were trained on Carl, he was lying, unconscious in bed, looking smaller than ever and as white as the sheet underneath him.

"How's he doing?" I heard myself ask.

"Shane's gone to get some more medical supplies that are needed, until that we can only wait but he's stable for now." Dad told me quietly.

I watched as an older man who was sat at the other side of Carl's bed stood. He was obviously the girl's father.

He pulled the blankets down from around Carl's torso, I wanted to tell him to stop, that he'd be cold if he did that but the words evaporated from my mouth when I saw my little brothers stomach. White gauze was taped onto his skin, a large red circle in the middle of it, unmistakably blood. But none of that was what shocked me, what made my hair stand on end was the purple and yellow bruising that was covering a large portion of his stomach, elevated by some swelling.

"They don't get back soon we're gonna have a decision to make." The older man told my Dad.

"And that is?"

"Whether to operate on your boy without the respirator."

"Operate?" I asked loudly, frowning. No one answered me.

"You said that wouldn't work." Mom spoke up.

"I know, it's highly unlikely but it seems we won't have a choice." I felt tears stinging my eyes at the older man's words. Mom and Dad quickly left the room.

I moved closer to Carl's bed, sitting down beside him and taking his hand in mine.

"Remember the time I skipped school and you found out and told Mom and Dad." I couldn't help but smile at the memory. I don't know if Carl could hear me or not but this is the way I used to talk to Dad in the hospital. Sharing some old memories that make me laugh now. "I didn't speak to you for two weeks and you were the golden child because of it. Nearly killed me that Dad got so angry." I felt the tears spill over as I thought back on the memory, it wasn't that long ago but it felt like a million years ago in a different life. "And in the finish up you got so worried that I was never gonna talk to you again that you started sneaking me your bit of dessert and whatever cookies Mom had got that week. Said I'd never let you live it down and I never ever will."

The tears were flowing fast and hot down my face now, my lip quivering. I knew the older man was still in the room with us but I didn't care. It was easy to pretend that it was just Carl and I on our own.

"You have to wake up and show Dad that he's not the only one in the family that can survive a gunshot wound. We could tease him for weeks, tell him it's no big deal if his kid could do it too."

I bent my head down to Carl's, gently kissing him on the forehead. "Please wake up." I whispered before squeezing his hand one last time before letting it go and exiting the room.

Making my way out onto the porch I dropped into the chair the girl from earlier was sitting in. My elbows rested on my knees as I held my face in my hands, trying to get the tears to stop. There was no point in crying, Carl was going to make it. I knew he was.

As my tears began to subside that's when I heard them. Angry whispers. I strained my hearing once I realized it was Mom and Dad, they were at the other side of the porch arguing over something, not aware that I was there.

"I turned around to tell Jacqui something, I almost said her name. It was just a second and then I remembered." I could hear Mom saying, for some reason I couldn't move, I couldn't make myself stand up and walk back into the house even though I knew I shouldn't be listening to this conversation. "Then I realized she didn't have to see any of it. The highway, the herds, Sophia, Carl getting shot. She doesn't have to be afraid anymore, hungry, angry. It's like we live with a knife to our throats everyday Rick but Jacqui doesn't. Not anymore, and then I thought maybe Jenner was right."

My vision was flooded with red, I could hardly believe what I was hearing, the conversation that was actually taking place feet away from me. Bile rose in my stomach at the words that were unmistakably coming from my Mother.

"I can't accept that." I heard Dad answer after a while, clearly trying to keep his cool. "I won't accept that, that man surrendered, it doesn't matter what he said."

Before I knew it my legs were carrying me towards the voices, anger shaking through me. I knew my eyes were still red-rimmed from crying as I rounded the corner, Dad was stood with his back to me while Mom was facing me.

I watched as her eyes slid towards me, she knew in that instant that I heard everything.

"Nikki." She whispered, causing Dad to spin around.

"You don't even have a right to sit and cry at your son's bedside after the words that just came out of your mouth." Each word was spoken clearly and carefully. "I can't believe that our own mother would actually wish death on us."

"Nikki, come on back inside." Dad was speaking gently, his hand on my shoulder. "You're angry, you're gonna say something you regret."

"No!" I almost shouted, throwing his hand off me. "If Carl's mom, our mom, can't sit there and pray and hope with every single ounce of who she is for him to get better, for him to wake up and be able to laugh and work and make his way through this alongside us then I don't even know what to believe anymore."

I turned on my heel and stomped through the house, making my way back to Carl's room.


Minutes had passed since the confrontation had happened outside, Carl was still as pale as ever as I sat by his side, his hand held firmly.

Mom and Dad had not returned to the room but I had heard them come in, they were somewhere in the house.

Just when I started to feel my eyes getting heavy the sound of coughing shook me back to being alert. The coughing was coming from Carl.

"Hey, Carl." I called to him, Mom and Dad were at my side in seconds.

"Where are we?" He asked, looking around him frantically.

"Hey, little man." Dad spoke gently, his voice barely above a whisper. "This is Herschel, we're in his house. You had an accident."

I looked up to the older man that my Dad has gestured to, it was nice to put a name to the face.

"It hurts." Carl winced, glancing down at his waist where the bullet had entered.

"I know baby, I know." Mom muttered, stroking his head.

"You shoulda seen it." Carl smiled, glancing between Mom and I. "The deer, it was so pretty, Mom. It was so close. I don't think I've ever been –"

My breath caught in my throat as Carls eyes slid out of focus before his body started convulsing rapidly.

"It's a seizure, he has to just go through it." Herschel explained as I felt Dad dragging me away from the bedside. Once the seizures subsided Herschel rushed forward, shining a light into Carls eyes. "His brain isn't getting enough blood."

Well, c'mon then, I'm ready." Dad muttered, rolling up his sleeve to reveal a large white bandage, much like Carls. Only I understood what this meant as a flashback came rolling back to me. Mom, Carl and I in the hospital after Dad had been shot, Carl being informed that he was a blood match for Dad and him begging Mom to let him give Dad some of his blood.

"If I take any more out of you your body could shut down or go into a coma." Herschel explained.

"You're wasting time." Dad told him urgently, shoving his arm in Herschels direction. I sat back and watched as Herschel inserted the needle into Dads arm. The blood beginning to flow quickly through the tube into Carls arm.

"I'm gonna go see how T-Dog is doing." I muttered, lifting myself from my seat and exiting the room.

Walking in the direction the girl had pointed the boys in when we first arrived I found them sitting around a large wooden kitchen table.

T-Dog had his injured arm stretched across the table, a sheen of sweat covering his skin as the girl held his hand down firmly on the table. A blonde woman was sat tending to the wound as T-Dog struggled.

"You got here just in time." The blonde woman was saying. "This couldn't have gone untreated for much longer."

Glenn had a barely touched cup of tea in his hand which he shoved in my direction when he saw me. I shook my head, giving him a short smile in thanks.

"Nikki." I introduced myself to the blonde woman who was now eyeing me. "Carls sister."

"Herschel will do all he can to make sure that boy is okay again." The blonde woman smiled sympathetically.

"We appreciate it." I nodded back.

"Maggie and Patricia." Glenn muttered over T-Dogs grunts, gesturing to the girl first and then the blonde woman.

"Merle Dixon." Patricia was saying. "That your friend with the anti-biotics."

"No ma'am, Merle is no longer with us, his brother Daryl gave them to us."

"Not sure I'd call him a friend." T-Dog muttered through his pain as Patricia stitched him up.

"He is today, this doxycycline may have just saved your life. Do you know what Merle was taking it for?" Patricia asked Glenn. I cleared my throat uncomfortably before glancing to Glenn whose skin was now tinted red.

"Clap." A small smile broke onto my face at Maggies expression as she turned to Glenn. "Um, venereal disease." Glenn explained.

"Merle Dixons clap was the best thing to ever happen to you." Patricia told T-Dog, forcing me to laugh.

"I'm really trying not to think about that." T-Dog muttered back as I grinned at Glenn who was also smiling at the situation in front of us.

"Come out for some fresh air with me?" I asked Glenn quietly, he nodded before following me through the kitchen, I couldn't help but feel Maggie's eyes on us as we walked.

"How's Carl doing?" Glenn asked as I hoisted myself onto the fencing of the porch, he took the seat opposite me.

"He woke up, was talking and all, then he had a seizure and fell unconscious again. Herschel says he's not getting enough blood and Dad has nearly given him all he has."

"Maggie told us that Shane and Otis are gone for the equipment so that Herschel can operate." Glenn said, his voice was calming. "He'll be okay, Nikki."

I smiled slightly, I wouldn't have expected any other answer from Glenn.

"Mom thinks he'd be better off dead." I muttered, looking at my feet swinging above the wooden floor of the porch.

"I'm sure she doesn't" Glenn answered.

"No she does, she said it exactly herself. She and Dad were arguing about it and I overhead."

"She's scared Nikki, we all are. We don't know what's gonna happen next, where we're gonna go."

"Yeah but we fight every single day, we're fighting for Sophia right now as well, none of us have given up. That's a decision we all made back at the CDC. It's not a choice for Mom to make for Carl." I don't know when I had started crying but Glenns arms were now wrapped around me and my tears were soaking the shoulder of his t-shirt as I buried my head into his neck.

We stayed like that for a long time, Glenn shushing me quietly.

"Once Carl is better we'll find somewhere to make a home out of again and everything will be okay." Glenn muttered as I lifted my head from his shoulders.

"I'm just so angry with Mom, why does she have to jump ship every time things get a little bit hard, first with leaving Dad, then Shane and now Carl." I hadn't realized what I said until a look of confusion passed over Glenns face only to be replaced with realization. "Yeah she's been sleeping with Shane."

"Nikki, she thought Rick was dead." Glenn spoke again, his voice gentle even though the shock was still evident on his face.

"Is that really an excuse?" I almost laughed. "And I'm pretty sure I'm the only other person that knows so I have to go around lying to my Dads face every day about something so horrible and I hate that she's put me in this situation."

"Hey, things aren't as black and white as they were before, everything is more confusing and we're all just tired, the best you can do for yourself is get some sleep, I'll ask Maggie if you can borrow a bed or something."

"No, no, don't do that it's okay we'll be back with Daryl and the others soon enough, I'll sleep in the RV." I sniffled, wiping my face with the bottom of my T-shirt. "I better go see how he's doing."

As I made my way back into the house I passed Maggie in the hall way, I smiled at her shortly before continuing on to Carls room.

Dad was sitting by Carls bedside, Mom behind him. I tried to ignore the fact that Dad was now paler than Carl was, tried to ignore the dark circles that were now hanging under his eyes but it was so hard to watch him draining the life out of himself.

"He's still losing blood faster than we can give it to him." Herschel said from behind me. He had followed me into the room, going straight to check on Carl. "We can't wait any longer or he's just going to slip away."

Tears sprang back into my eyes as I looked desperately towards Mom, Dad doing the same.

"You need to tell me what it is." I heard Dad whispering to her.

"We do it." She said before meeting my eyes, I nodded to her slowly before turning my attention back to Carl, hoping with everything in me that we could get two miracles in this nightmare.

Patrica soon had a large metal surgery cot in the room, we all helped to lift Carls small frame onto it.

"Rick, Lori, Nikki." Herschel spoke to each of us as he washed his hands and arms. "You may want to step out."

Just as I was about to protest the unmistakable sound of tyres on gravel came from outside before lights flashed over the windows.

"Is it them?" I asked Dad who had rushed to the window.

We raced down the porch steps as Shane exited the vehicle, what I assumed was the medical equipment held tightly in one hand as he rushed towards us.

"Carl?" He asked, glancing to each of us.

"Still with us." I confirmed, pulling Shane into a hug.

"Otis?" Herschel asked as I relinquished my grip on Shane's shoulders. His lack of an answer was enough to confirm Otis' absence.

"Say nothing to Patricia." Herschel told everyone. "I need her."

I watched as Dad pulled Shane into a hug, every fiber of my being screaming against the brotherly action in front of me.

Was it ever gonna be the right time to tell Dad about Mom and Shane?

Now definitely wasn't it, Carl needed his family.