Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This

Chapter 130

Author's Note: More reviews make me happy! Keep reviewing! I'm sorry that it's been a few days between updates, but work is killing me. Keep reading I'll keep writing. Deal? Now don't forget to take the poll on my profile page. I've changed a few things around. Glenn and Sasha got sick earlier in the day so they are missing the meeting. And now on to our somewhat regularly scripted show.

Group POV:

Summer leaned against the wall. "It's spreading isn't it Hershel?" she asked.

Hershel nodded. "Five more people have came down with it since Sasha went in. We keep the sick people in A, like we tried with Karen and Ridge," he told them.

"What are we gonna do about that? I mean if someone killed them because they were sick, isn't it possible that all the sick people are in danger?" Joey asked.

"Rick's going to look into it, make a time line where everyone was," Hershel told the group.

"How are we going to stop this?" Jes asked as she looked at the group.

Summer sighed. "It's just like any cold or flu before the turn, you don't stop it, you go through it. Now the stakes are just higher and more dangerous," she answered.

"She's right," Hershel told them.

"But it kills you right?" Daryl asked.

"The illness doesn't, the symptoms do. We need antibiotics," Hershel told the group.

"We've been through every pharmacy nearby, and then some. The veterinary college at Westtree Tech, that's the one place people may not have thought to raid for medications," Daryl told them.

Hershel nodded. "The drugs for animals, there are the same we need," Hershel told them.

"That's miles away, do we have that kind of time?" Summer asked.

"We'll make the time. I'll take a group out," Daryl said. "You in?" he asked his niece.

Summer looked at him. "No, I'm helping dad with something. I promised, and Dixon's don't break promises."

"I'll go," Joey said as he gently nudged Summer's arm.

"Count me in," Jes said as she looked at Merle. "You stay, help with the fences?"

"Yeah, I got it," Merle answered.

"You haven't been exposed, Jes, if you get in the car with Daryl," Hershel told her.

"Haven't caught anything from this one," Jes answered as she pointed at Merle, "so I'm not to worried about Daryl."

Summer rolled her eyes. "Eww," she said. "So Jes, Uncle Daryl and Joey? That doesn't seem like a lot," she pointed out.

"Who else do we have that's not sick?" Carol asked.

"You're going to need someone who needs to know medical terms. Mom can't go, Mar and Dr. S are both in quarantine, I know Mar's not sick but she's not going to want to leave Mitch. Ronnie is being the go between plus with Ridge," Summer said.

"Bob," Daryl answered.

"Shouldn't we be taking more precautions? Isolate the younger ones? And the older ones?" Carol asked.

"The Admin building is clear, best we got," Daryl said.

"Still think you're going to need another person to go with you Uncle Daryl," Summer said.

"Who else we got?" Merle asked.

"Tyreese," Carol suggested.

"I don't know if he'd be in such an agreeing mood, considering he's holding us all responsible for what happened to Karen and Ridge," Joey pointed out.

"Hell, if I find out whose responsible, I'll make them regret taking a breath," Merle said.

Mar, Glenn and Mitch's POV:

Mar wiped Mitch's head with a washcloth. "You know you just wanted to be in here with your buddy Glenn. You Atlanta boys stick together," she teased.

Glenn leaned on the door cell as he coughed. "Mar caught us Mitch. We shouldn't have tried to fool her."

Mar glanced up at him. "You should go lay down, Glenn."

"I'm alright," Glenn assured her. "How are you doing Mitch?"

"I don't feel as bad as you look," Mitch teased him.

Mar tried not to laugh. "He does look pretty rough, huh? At least one of you is listening to me when I tell you to rest. You're not running a fever, and your breathing seems alright. I'll be right back, I'm going to go make sure this one rests. If you need anything, call alright?" she asked as she kissed the top of his head.

Mitch nodded. "Glenn you better listen to Mar, you got to get better for Maggie."

Glenn patted the boy on the shoulder. "I'll do my best. If I can sneak away from this one later, I'll come by and check on you."

Mitch nodded as Mar and Glenn left. "How is he really?" Glenn asked.

Mar took a breath. "He definitely isn't as sick as you or Sasha, but neither is Lizzie. But that can turn on a dime."

"He's a tough kid, been through a lot," Glenn assured her as he squeezed her shoulder.

"We've all been through a lot Glenn," Mar told him. "I've already lost one son, I can't lose another," she said as she leaned against the wall.

"Hey, you don't know, Peter could be alive, just trying to make his way to you," Glenn told her.

Mar ran her hand through her hair. "Even if he is Glenn, what's the chances that I'm ever going to see him again? None. It's better to think of him as dead….not that I want too, but it's to hard to think that he's out there without me. Mitch makes that pain a little less, he needed me, I needed him. When I opened that door and saw you both there….I could have lost it then."

"But you didn't lose it, you did what you had to do," Glenn said as he coughed. "He's going to be fine."

Mar took a breath as she straightened up. "Let me check on you, you heard Mitch, you got to get better too," she said as she put her hand on his shoulder.

Carl and Lexi's POV:

Lexi leaned against the wall and read as she looked over at Carl. "You shouldn't be mad at your dad, he's just trying to be safe," Lexi told him.

Carl sighed as he looked up from his comic book. "I'm not some kid, Lexi, neither are you. We shouldn't be in here, we should be out there doing something. Sasha's sick, you should be out there trying to help her. How can you just be so calm?"

Lexi looked at him. "I'm not calm Carl, I'm worried sick. But what good is it going to do to be fretting about things we can't change. Your dad needed someone in here, to help keep an eye on the younger ones, to walk down and check on Jewel and the baby, and Judith. This is a job just as important as anything else. I figure the adults can't do it all alone Carl, sometimes we got to step up, and sometimes that means doing things we don't like to do. Yeah, I'm worried sick about Sasha, but she's sick, and I'm not. She's in A block, and she doesn't need me staring at her, praying that she gets better…or worse…waiting for her to die. Tyreese is mad about Karen, and there's nothing I can do for him. So being here, right now, even if it's just reading, or playing a game of checkers with Mika, or having a conversation with you, it's what I'm meant to be doing."

Carl shook his head. "Anyone tell you just aren't normal sometimes?"

"You mean that I'm not a brooding teenager. I think you got that covered for the both of us don't you?" Lexi questioned as she playfully hit his arm.

"I told dad that I may have to put someone down, if they get it and die. He hesitated, but if it's got to be done, it's got to be done," Carl said.

"You don't have to do it alone," Lexi told him. "I've got your back."

Carl nodded. "I'm sorry about Sasha….I hope she gets better."

"Yeah me too," Lexi told him. "When my mom got sick, it was just the two of us in the house. She told Ty and Sasha she was sick over Thanksgiving dinner, they dropped everything, there lives, there apartments, Ty quit his job, and was moved back in by Christmas. I think it made things easier for her to know that we were all together, that even when she was gone, that we'd be together, that we had each others' back. We couldn't control her being sick, and we can't control this either. But at least then, you know we had some kind of control, we could go to the doctor, we could get prognosis. When she died, we didn't have to worry about her coming back. I think that's what I'm scared of most. If Sasha died, would Ty and I be strong enough to do it?"

"You have to be," Carl told her. "When my mom died….giving birth to Judith, I had to do it. Summer offered, but she was my mom. I needed to be the one to do it. It's not easy, it's not fair, and it hurt, but I needed to be the one to do it."

"You worry about Jewel and the baby?" Lexi asked.

Carl nodded. "Hard not to, you know? But, besides this, we've been pretty well safe. Got to hope for the best. Jewel's strong, didn't need a c section like my mom."

"You think you can be there for her when she has the baby?" Lexi asked.

"I want to be, I know Summer wants to be. But, I don't know if I can. I know dad isn't going to leave her side when it comes near time," Carl told her. "Right now, I just hope we all get through this."

"Do you have any idea who could have done this to Karen and Ridge?" Lexi asked.

Carl shook his head. "I don't know any of us that heartless to do anything like that," he simply said.

TBC