Daryl and Kelly sat across from each other on the bench, defeated. They had been out searching nearly every day for the past two weeks. Kelly originally had been going on her own, but Daryl would track her to make sure she wouldn't get hurt. He felt responsible for her. He knew what it was like to lose a sibling. Granted, Connie was a much better sister than Merle was a brother, but family is family. Eventually, though, Kelly caught on and just asked him if he wanted to help search for them. From then on, they worked together, but there were no signs of Connie or Magna. They tried searching the caves again and looking through the rubble, but there was no sign of life. No sign of their bodies. No sign of anything. Just rock, dust, and destruction. They also looked at any hideouts that Kelly knew about. Kelly's group had created multiple safety points in case something went wrong. Nothing was touched. They clearly hadn't been there. They had tried everywhere that they could think of.
After another full day of a failed search attempt, Daryl and Kelly found themselves back at Hilltop sitting across from each other on the picnic benches. Daryl looked up at Kelly. She had her head in one of her hands, dozing off. She looked tired, but more than that, she looked worried. Everyday, he could see the worry on her face increase. Kelly really hadn't spoken much since the cave incident. He saw a single tear roll down her face. He reached out his hand and grabbed hers. She looked up at him and wiped a tear away.
"It's going to be okay," Daryl tried to assure. "We're going to find her-Them. We're going to find THEM."
Kelly smiled at the fumble and patted his hand. "I know we will."
"You should probably get some food and sleep. We'll head back out in the morning." Daryl promised. Kelly nodded her head and left for her room. He watched her walk away, worried about her. He knew Connie would want him to watch after her and make sure she was ok. He tried to make sure she would sleep, eat and stay hydrated. Daryl knew what it was like to stop taking care of and isolating yourself when someone you cared about was lost. It was hard to rein in Kelly when she was so hyper focused, but he knew what that was like after losing Rick. He missed Connie so much, but he didn't want to isolate himself again and he wants to make sure Kelly doesn't either. He had to stay strong if there was any hope of finding Connie.
Daryl wanted to find them, too. He wanted to find Connie more than anything. He wished he would have told her how he truly felt before the cave. He had so many opportunities and just let them slip away. He would make sure that never happened again. Connie changed him; made it ok to open up. She made him want to be open and around people again. She made him...better. He was lost, but she helped him find his way back. He needed to find Connie and bring her back, too.
Out of the corner of his eye, Daryl saw Dog squeeze under a small hole in the fence of Hilltop. He came running over to Daryl and dropped what felt like a stick into his hand, except it had a rubbery string attached to it. Daryl widened his eyes and took a closer look. It was a slingshot. It wasn't Kelly's because he saw her walk away with it. It was Connie's!
Daryl quickly stood up and leaned down to Dog, rubbing under his neck. "Where did you find this?" he asked Dog. Dog sniffed it. "Show me. Let's go, boy!"
Dog ran and Daryl, filled with renewed energy and optimism, ran after him as quickly as he could. Yumiko, Alden, Luke and Dianne were on watch. Daryl screamed at them to open the gate. Yumiko and Dianne quickly did so. Yumiko knew he could handle himself, but didn't want him to go alone. Especially with the possibility of Whisperers being nearby and it being nightfall. She ran after him, but it was difficult for her to keep up. Daryl was running so hard and fast, he could feel his legs vibrating every time his feet hit the ground. He was actually able to keep up pretty closely with Dog. He didn't know how long he ran. He just kept running. He didn't care. He ran through bushes and trees, jumped over rocks, like he was an Olympic track star. Dog took a sharp right turn and disappeared. Daryl stopped for a second. He tried to listen to where Dog went. He could hear Yumiko not far behind. He could feel his heart ready to burst through his chest. He was barely able to catch his breath because he could feel that Dog had found something significant. He heard rustling in a nearby bush and walked over hesitantly. Excitement started to come over him. He could finally tell her how he felt and bring her home to Kelly. He parted the bushes and saw Magna. She was injured and breathing heavily. It looked like she was bleeding from her side with Connie's button-down shirt wrapped around her. While glad he found Magna, he was disappointed that it wasn't Connie and concerned at the state Magna was in.
Magna tried to speak but was clearly very weak. He grabbed her arm and threw it over his shoulders as he gently grabbed her uninjured side and lifted her up by the waist. She groaned in pain. "Easy," she slurred out. She needed help now. Yumiko showed up around the corner and when she saw Magna, her body instantly relaxed; relieved that her love was back. She started tearing up so happy, but Yumiko saw how injured Magna was and went into life-saving mode. She ran over and grabbed Magna from Daryl, moving her wild hair out of her face and kissing her. "It's going to be ok, babe. We're gonna get you help. Just hold on. We aren't far."
Yumiko started leaving, but Magna grabbed Daryl's sleeve, breathlessly trying to get out a single word. "Connie...close….hurt," she said, but started fading.
"Where?" He asked her desperately. "Where is she?" But his effort was useless.
"I have to get her back," Yumiko said with urgency motioning to her wounds, "Connie must be close. Go find her. I'll send help."
Daryl nodded and looked around for Dog. "Come on, boy. Find her!" Dog started sniffing the area thoroughly and suddenly took off in one direction and started barking. His head whipped in the direction that Dog was barking and ran over. Daryl saw Dog in a clearing in the woods, and up against a tree, looking dazed and bloodied, was Connie. Daryl's heart sank and time seemed to slow down, including trying to get to Connie. It seemed like she was so far away and he couldn't get to her fast enough, no matter how hard he tried. Once he had reached Connie, he lightly grabbed her arm, but she pulled away and started swiping her knife at him. He could see that she was scared and that her vision was impaired by the blood falling from her head. She clearly either hit her head or someone had taken a hard object and hit her with it. He knocked the knife out of her hand and grabbed her wrists. She kept fighting back, kicking and pulling, with every bit of strength she had, so he grabbed her and pulled her in to hold her.
Her body was tense, at first, but started to relax. She was shaking and shivering. Clearly cold and scared. Her breathing started to even out, so he started to loosen his hug. He didn't want to ever let go. Daryl took her hand and placed it on his face. She felt around and tingles ran through his body. Her finger lightly traced the scar over his eye and she signed, "Daryl?"
He gently put his hand over hers, still cupping his face and nodded his head yes. He wiped some of the blood from her eyes. She struggled to see still, but smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in tightly before she started to fall to the ground. She clearly hit her head hard and possibly had a concussion. He caught her and hoisted her over his shoulder. Daryl started immediately running to Hilltop to bring her to the infirmary. Dog ran ahead and Daryl could see flashlights as well as his people calling out to him. Alden was the first one he saw with Yumiko and Manga not far ahead.
"What happened?" Alden asked.
"I don't know, but it looks like a head injury. She needs help now!" Daryl demanded.
Alden had been practicing his medical skills over the past year since Enid. She inspired him. While he was still new to it all, he was a quick learner and knew enough. Luke came over to assist with Connie. She was fading fast.
"I got her, Luke. Go get Kelly. We'll meet you at the infirmary." Daryl yelled. They made it to the Hilltop infirmary and he gently laid her onto a bed beside Magna's bed. She was fading in and out of consciousness as they started working on her. She stopped them and pushed them away, shaking her head slowly.
"Help Magna first," Connie signed. "She's worse."
Alden and Daryl looked over at Magna and saw that she was, in fact, bleeding badly from her side. It did not look good. He looked up at Daryl and they nodded in agreement to help Magna first.
"What can I do to help Connie in the meantime?" Daryl asked.
Alden took out the kit with supplies, "Stay with her. Make sure she doesn't fall asleep. If she has a concussion, she has to stay awake."
Daryl agreed and grabbed a washcloth to clean the blood off of her face. He sat on the bed next to her, propping her up and putting a pillow behind her head while clearing the blood away gently, taking it all in that she was back home. He was able to get a better look at Connie in the light and see the extent of the damage. It wasn't just her head. She had cuts all over her. The same kinds of cuts that he and Lydia have had. She clearly had been hit with birch tree Whisperers must have gotten to them and tortured Connie. Why just her? Daryl went from worried and upset and downright angry. He had to rein it back, though, and care for Connie. He was just happy she was back in his arms.
"What happened to Connie and all of these scars on her body?" He asked Magna to get answers now that she was awake since they were prepping her wounds.
"She saved me," Magna said, "She knew they were coming. They were looking for us. The Whisperers. They didn't know both of us were out there, so Connie and I were hiding in two different places. When Connie saw they were getting close to me, she distracted them and they went after her. I watched them try to get information out of her, but they didn't realize she was deaf. They just kept hitting her with those twigs if she didn't answer. OW-" Magna cried, "Be careful, doc, we haven't started yet. Anyway, I couldn't let it go on and I had to do something. I snuck in with my knife and killed a couple, but one of them stabbed me when I went to get Connie. I saw the big Frankenstein freakazoid hit her over the head after she tried to go after Alpha, but I grabbed her and bolted before it could get worse."
Before Daryl could say anything, the door burst open and Kelly and Luke ran through. The instant Kelly saw Connie she burst into tears and fell at her side. Connie opened her eyes a little more widely as Kelly held her hand and looked at the pain inflicted onto Connie's body. Kelly's face went from relief to worry very quickly. Connie smiled and signed, "I'll be ok," before Kelly hugged her like she was holding an expensive and fragile vase. Daryl was so happy he could reunite Connie and Kelly. He was grateful that they didn't have to lose each other. He moved so Kelly could sit on the bed, with Connie. He grabbed a chair on the other side of the bed, holding her hand. Despite the pain, Connie could feel the love with her sister on one side and Daryl on the other.
"There's too many people in here, man," Alden said as he and others tried to concentrate on helping Magna. "I either need you to help or leave." Luke nodded, worried about his people, and jumped into action to help Magna anyway he could. Yumiko tried to hold back tears as she held Magna's hand and let her squeeze hard through the pain.
It took a couple hours, but Alden was able to stitch up Magna. She had lost a lot of blood, but luckily, Luke was a match for her and they were able to do a transfusion. Alden took a look at Connie. He cleaned up her wounds and determined that while she took a very nasty hit to the head, that she only had a mild concussion, but should be ok to sleep as long as she was being monitored. Kelly and Daryl took watch over her.
Kelly looked at Daryl and told him while signing, "I'll take first watch."
"Kelly," Daryl also spoke and signed to keep Connie in the loop, "You haven't gotten any real sleep in days-"
"Daryl," Kelly replied, "I got it."
Daryl nodded, not wanting to argue. He knew she was just glad Connie was back. He was, too, but he didn't want to be selfish. Kelly kissed Connie on the forehead and moved from the bed to give Connie more space. She decided to take a seat on a corner bench.
Daryl wasn't tired at all, so he stayed up and watched Connie. He watched to make sure she was breathing. He watched the gentle rising and falling of her chest, making sure it stayed consistent and steady. He looked at her scars and thought about the pain she must have endured, wishing he could take on all that pain for her. He suddenly started to hear snoring. It wasn't coming from Connie, though. Good thing he stayed up, because he looked over and saw that Kelly had dozed off. She must have been exhausted. He got up and grabbed a blanket to drape over her and a pillow for her head. He carefully moved her head to place the pillow underneath. When Daryl turned to go back to his chair, he felt someone touch his hand lightly. He turned around and Connie was holding his hand. She pulled him in and patted the bed for him to come over. He smiled and complied. Daryl sat on the bed next to her as she propped herself up next to him. They sat shoulder to shoulder so they could communicate.
"Thank you for taking care of Kelly while I was gone," She signed. "I worry about her."
Daryl nodded. He wasn't good with taking gratitude, "She's badass," He replied, "I just knew what it was like to lose family.. I didn't want her to go through it alone."
Connie looked up at him, grateful for his kindness in looking out for Kelly. She knew he would never admit to everything he did for her, but he could tell that Kelly and Daryl had gotten closer and that made Connie elated. She took his hand and intertwined her fingers into his. He took his free hand caressed her arm. He felt her bandages that covered her cuts. He could still feel the cuts underneath the bandages and on her skin that the bandages didn't cover. He was distressed when he thought about what she went through again. She didn't deserve any of that. She was so brave. He thought about how it was his fault. He should have tried to get her out before he got himself out. He should have been the one in her place. Connie was looking up at him and could see the distress on his face. She separated her hand from his.
"What are you thinking?" She asked worriedly.
He could barely look at her as he said it. He was ashamed he couldn't protect her.
"I'm sorry," He signed. "I should have gotten you out of the cave. It's all my fault that-" She touched his shoulder and stopped him. She had him look at her.
"It's not your fault," she replied. "I wanted to stay and help. I couldn't leave Magna behind. And I went back for you and Carol because...I couldn't leave YOU behind."
Daryl's heart fluttered. He had always thought about how he should have saved HER, but he didn't really consider that SHE had saved HIM. He never really had anyone who worried about him in situations like that. Everyone knew Daryl could handle himself and get himself out of situations, but Connie cared and worried enough about him that she prioritized getting him out of the cave above getting herself out. Daryl took a deep breath as he was filled with emotion. He started to get flustered, but he had practiced extensively in sign language just what to say to Connie when he found her.
"I missed you so much, Connie." He started. "I should have told you all of this before, but I was scared. I was scared about my feelings for you. I've never felt anything like this before you came along and-" Connie stopped him again and gently pulled his face towards hers. She kissed him deeply. Surprised, but overjoyed he kissed her back. He took in her kiss like you soak up in the sun. It was warm and comforting. You had no choice but to enjoy it because everything about it was enjoyable. She pulled back, but he didn't let go of her. He kept his forehead against hers and his hand cupped over her face. Connie put her hand over his.
"I had a whole speech that I practiced," He signed. They both chuckled and kissed again. "But this is way better. I'm never gonna let you go, again."
"I'm not going anywhere. You can't get rid of me that easily. You're stuck with me now.," she signed. Daryl put his arm around her and she leaned in to cuddle up against him.
"There's no one else I'd rather be stuck with," Daryl signed before she dozed off.