Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This

Chapter 52

Author's Note: I've had a lot of concern that this is going to turn into a Carol/Daryl pairing. When I started writing this, I had just started season 1 and I felt sorry for Carol and was playing the whole Carol flirtation thing with Daryl. I hadn't made a decision. But with the whole thing with Karen and David then the girls, I kinda lost interest in Carol. That's why I made her the way she was in the last chapter. Without the death of Sophia, she's not going to be the same person, well it may take her more. And, all I could think of when Daryl was with Beth was EEK, she's your nieces age! I planned on introducing a female OC who was a friend of Jewel's in Woodbury, but she's coming into play earlier. So this is going to add another chapter to the eight months on the run. She may or may not get with Daryl. Please don't hate me for you Carol and Daryl lovers! Some things just don't work in when I write that worked in my head. Trust me please!

OC's:

Mariah Jacobson-Keri Russell

Jane-Viola Davis

Jewel looked up from the computer at the clinic. "You must be Mariah, Jane said you were startin' today," she said as she stood up. "I'm Jewel Dixon."

Mariah smiled as she extended her hand. "Mariah Jacobson Everyone calls me Mar."

"Not from Georgia huh?" Jewel asked as she noticed the shorter woman's accent. "Let me show you where you can put your stuff"

Mariah laughed. "No, originally from Boston," she said as she followed Jewel. "Jane didn't tell you anything about me?"

"Thing you need to know about Jane is that she doesn't gossip. You tell what you want other people to know. Jane isn't goin to tell me anything 'bout you that you don't want me to know," Jewel said. "So this is your locker."

Mariah smiled as she opened the locker. "Alright, so I went through a very messy divorce, my ex is a doctor and he works at the hospital in Boston. I needed to get away, start my own life. I have a five year old son named Peter, I'll have him during the year, John will have him during the summer. I moved here two months ago, didn't have a job, didn't have an apartment. I literally just threw an arrow at a map, and got into my car. I literally got my nursing license from Atlanta a month ago and started applying everywhere. Jane called me last week, interviewed me and here I am."

Jewel leaned against the table and watched the woman. Mariah had long curly brown hair and stood at five foot five. "She probably had hired you in her mind before she even met you. She's a sucker for single parents," she told her as she opened up her own locker and showed her a picture of herself, Merle, Daryl and Summer. "That's my daughter Summer, she's 13. My brother's Merle and Daryl. I think that's the only picture I have of the four of us."

"You must have had her when you were what? Twelve?" Mariah asked.

"Fifteen, what you aren't much older then me," Jewel told her.

"I'm thirty three," Mariah answered. "What's your specialty?"

"Emergency medicine, yours?" Jewel asked.

"Pediatric nursing," Mariah answered.

"You'll be snapped up from any of the hospitals here in no time," Jewel told her.

"She better not be, we've been lookin' for a good pediatric nurse here," Jane said as she hugged Mariah then Jewel. "I take it that this one's takin' care of you?"

"Very much so," Mariah answered.

"So you and Peter's comin' over for dinner tonight, no arguments," Jane said.

"I wouldn't argue," Jewel told the other woman.

Jewel held up her hand outside the Urgent Care and bent down. "This is blood, not walker blood and it's fresh," she told Daryl, Rick and Glenn.

"Should we abandon this?" Glenn asked.

"No, if someone's injured, we need to help," Jewel said as she stood up.

Daryl glanced at the three of them. "We don't know how bad," he said.

"And we don't know how many," Glenn added.

"One set of tracks," Jewel pointed out. "So we go in ready for anything. If you want to go, go, meet back at the library," Jewel said as she started up the stairs.

"Hold on, we do this smart Jewel. Glenn and Daryl in the back door, you and me in the front," Rick told her. "Count of ten."

Glenn and Daryl nodded as they went out to the back. "Ready," Daryl said when he got into position.

Rick nodded as he counted in his head and kicked in the door as Daryl did the same thing in the back door. "One dead walker," Rick said.

"Put it down!" Daryl yelled from the back.

Jewel held out her weapon and went with Rick to the back. A woman with hair down in her face and obviously favoring her left hand was holding a gun on Daryl and Glenn. "Hey…easy, we can help. I'm putting down my gun…look at me sweetie," Jewel said as she put down her gun.

"Jewel…." Rick said in a warning voice.

"Look at her Rick, she's no threat. And the three of you got me covered," Jewel said.

The woman looked up at her as she struggled holding the gun up. "Jewel…." she whispered.

"Mariah…Mar?" Jewel asked as she ran to the woman and moved her hair out of her face. "Are you bit? Scratched?"

"No…shot…" Mariah answered. "Is…it really you?" she asked.

"Yeah, give me the gun Mar…we're going to help," Jewel said as she took the gun out of her hand and handed it to Rick.

"You know her?" Glenn asked as Rick took it.

"Yeah, she worked at the clinic with Jane and me," Jewel stated as she helped her sit down.

"Glenn you and Daryl go stand guard," Rick said as he checked the gun. "One bullet…"

Daryl nodded. "Call if you need it," he said as he looked down at her.

"Rick, Mariah, Mariah, Rick," she introduced. "What happened? How are you here?" Jewel asked.

"Jane…she called me…told me not to come in….wanted me to find you….but she couldn't…get you back on the phone…I went to the house…you were gone," Mariah told her as she grimaced.

"Jane's good at that. Peter?" Jewel asked. "Rick, hand me bandages. Were you with a group?"

"I had just sent him out….to his dads in Boston two weeks before. I tried to call…" Mariah explained.

Jewel touched her head. "She's burning up. Mar…I need you to stay with me. When did this happen?"

"Glenn!" Rick yelled as he stood up. "I'll look in the back for medicine."

"What's up Rick?" Glenn asked.

"Go back to the library, get Hershel," Rick instructed.

"Got it," Glenn said.

"Summer? Merle? Daryl…he was here right?" Mar asked.

"Yeah. Summer's with us, Merle…we lost him in Atlanta. So how did you get here? How did you get shot?" Jewel asked.

"Was…with a group….bout thirty men….they…they were bad…" Mariah answered as she grimaced.

Rick and Jewel exchanged glances. "One of those men named Randall?" Rick asked.

"Yeah….he went out with a few people…never came back…." Mariah said. "Wasn't sad to see Tony and Dave not to..come back," she said. "Guess you…ran into them?"

"Yeah, we had a run in with Tony and Dave in a bar," Jewel answered. "How…did you get away? Did they…" Jewel asked as she looked at Rick.

"Yeah…" Mariah answered. "I…they…all slept at the same time…I escaped with two other women…they got attacked by walkers…I kept moving…one of the assholes…followed me…shot me, used my next to…last bullet on him."

Rick gave her some water. "Easy."

"Just us," Glenn said as he came in with Herschel.

"Mariah this is Hershel he's going to help me with him. Keep talkin' with me alright?" Jewel asked as she helped her sit up.

"It's nice to meet you, Mariah, I hate that it's under these circumstances," Hershel told her. "Nice to see that old friends can reunite even under the circumstances. Rick going to need you to take one of Jewel's knives and disenfect it over a fire."

"Got it," Rick said as he squeezed Jewel's hand.

"You…got a good group huh?" Mariah asked.

"Yeah…I got lucky. Good people. Met most of them in Atlanta. We met Hershel at his farm, Rick's son was shot, Hershel saved him," Jewel told her.

"Glenn get me some of those bandages," Hershel instructed as Rick brought him the knife. "Mariah, this is going to hurt."

"It hurts…now," Mariah told him.

"Rick, Jewel gonna need you to hold her. We need to do something so she don't scream, can't attract walkers'," Hershel told Jewel.

Jewel nodded. "Rick hold her," she said as she opened the back door. "Daryl give me your rag."

Daryl nodded as he handed it to her. "How's she doing?"

"Not good," Jewel answered as she went back inside. "Mar…it'll be over soon. Alright?" she assured her as she put the rag in her mouth.

"Rick hold on to her. Jewel get clean bandages ready for me," Hershel instructed.

Rick nodded as held onto her and Hershel started to work.

Summer grinned as she threw a ball at Peter. "You're pretty good at catchin!"

The five year old giggled as he caught it again.

"Is Jane always adoptin' us strays?" Mar asked as she sat on the porch.

"Are you dogs? I can say that bout this one's oldest brother, he's worse then a dog," Jane said as she gave them more sweet ice tea.

"Yeah, Merle's not allowed past the driveway," Jewel said as she laughed. "You find a place yet?"

"Yeah, my parents gave me money and helped me out when I moved out here. They knew John wasn't gonna help….and that I needed to go," Mariah answered. "He hit me, when he started on Peter, I knew that I needed to go."

Jewel glanced at Jane then at her. "They let John have shared custody?" Jane asked.

"His uncle's a muckety muck in the court system in Boston. I'm glad that I got to take him out of state. My brother is there, won't let nothing' happen," Mariah said.

"Well good thing we got all winter to worry bout that," Jewel said. "Jane watches her strays like a hawk," she teased the other woman.

Carol looked at Rick as Daryl helped Hershel helped Mariah up to the office with a couch in the library. "You brought her back here without askin' us?" Carol asked. "She's a stranger."

Jewel glanced at Summer. "Summer go sit with her, we don't want her alone," she instructed.

"See, you don't want her alone, you don't trust her either," Carol said.

Jewel looked at her. "She's almost near death, Carol. This isn't up for discussion, she's not a threat."

"She was with the group Randal was in," Lori reminded her.

Jewel turned and looked at her. "They raped her, they chased her, and they shot her. Why are we even discussin this?"

Rick glanced at the two other women. "She's staying. Jewel and Daryl both know her, we found her with one bullet in her gun. One bullet. She was almost near death. Glenn, Maggie what's your vote?"

"She's staying," Maggie said.

Glenn nodded. "She needs us."

"What skill does she have?" Lori asked.

"I could ask you the same thing," Jewel hissed. "She's a pediatric nurse, you are pregnant," Jewel reminded her.

"No one can survive out there alone," T said.

Rick nodded. "It's decided. We'll stay here til she gets stronger, then we decide our next move. Jewel go sit with her, I'll be up in a bit," he said as he kissed her. He watched her go upstairs. "What is wrong with the two of you? Carol, Summer said that you wouldn't let Sophia handle knives today. I thought we discussed this."

"She's my daughter," Carol told him.

"And it's our lives," Rick said as he left the two women.

TBC (I really hope you like Mariah!)