A/N All characters belong to the writers and creators of The Walking Dead. Except those that arose from my own twisted imagination.

Chapter 41-Soul Cleansing

Alice and Taylor tore through the infirmary, loading boxes up with the remaining IV kits, prepared saline bags and the few remaining antibiotics. Cassie was now awake, her fever down and would probably make a full recovery. Alice hoped they could do the same for the others. She glanced at Tyreese, Rachel and Carl.

"You guys doin' ok?" They nodded. "We'll get you moved someplace else tomorrow. This doesn't appear to be viral so you all should be fine." Rachel stopped her before she could leave the room.

"How are Maddie and Jeremy?" Alice smiled.

"They're good. Maddie's staying with Andrea, Abraham and Dylan right now. D block is on lockdown. Jeremy is helping out doing whatever he can since we're down on manpower at the moment."

Rachel sat down hard in the chair, sighing with relief.

"Keep my babies safe Alice please. I can't lose another child." Alice nodded.

"I will. I promise." She hurried out of the infirmary back to D block.

Dani woke to Jesse's cries and looked for Daryl. It didn't look like he'd come to bed at all that night. Dani didn't bother to turn on the lantern and made her way the few steps to Jesse's bed.

"Hey boo. Are you hungry?" He quieted down when she picked him up and immediately started rooting for her breast. "Oh yes you are. Just give me a second." She sat down on the bed, settled him in to nurse and he latched on immediately, making noises like a contented kitten. Dani ran her hand over his head and frowned. He was eating a lot more as he grew but Dani was having a hard time eating enough to keep them both going. Daryl would hunt when he could and they set the snares and fishing lines daily. Unfortunately, more often than not the walkers took their squirrel, rabbits and grouse before they could get to the snares and the fish were not biting in the creek. That meant that the only proteins available were the eggs, the soybeans and whatever could be found on supply runs. Dani tried to eat as much of the available proteins and fats a day as she could but she knew it wasn't enough and that her milk was thin. So far, Jesse was healthy and growing fine but she was afraid she would have to supplement with formula soon and they just didn't have enough. Judith was eating solid foods and not taking as much of the formula but they still didn't have enough to feed both babies. When Marci finally had her baby, Dani thought, she would be in the same boat. At least Dani had been in a safe, secure place with a steady supply of food when she had been pregnant. Marci had not. Dani was starting to doze off with Jesse at her breast when Daryl came through the door.

"How long has he been up?" Dani reached over and turned on the lantern. Daryl was dirty, sweaty and had a bandana tied around his neck. He had obviously been hard at work for hours. .

"Not long. Where have you been?" Daryl wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.

"Burnin' walker bodies in the back. You didn't hear the gunfire earlier?" Dani shook her head.

"I was out. I was really tired today. What happened?"

"We can't work the fence and take the walkers out one by one anymore until we figure out what's makin' people sick. We still have to keep them off the fence so we take the trucks out and shoot 'em from there. Rick said we're gonna have to just risk the noise bringin' more in. Too many walkers on that fence will bring it down, no matter what Bill uses to prop it up. That Martinez asshole did more damage than we thought when he tore in here." He looked down at his dirty clothes. "I should probably wash up before bein' around Jesse. Don't want to get the walker blood near him." Dani nodded and smiled.

"Are you comin' to bed soon?" He nodded.

"Yeah, soon as I clean up." He turned to leave and Dani got the feeling that he was holding something back.

"Daryl, what's wrong?" He stopped and looked back over his shoulder.

"Marci had a baby boy." He turned completely around to look at her. "He didn't make it. Marci was sick when he was born. He lived about an hour before he died. Alice doesn't know if it's because of the sickness or because of the way Marci lived before she came here." Dani closed her eyes, choking up.

"Hey." Dani opened her eyes at Daryl's voice and saw him looking at her hard. "Don't worry about Jesse. Ain't nothin' gonna happen to him, not on my watch. Understand?" Dani nodded.

"Hurry back and you can fill me in on everything." Daryl smiled at her.

"I will."

"Alice!" Dani hurried over to her friend as she was walking out of D block. Alice looked exhausted. "How's everyone doin'?" Alice shook her head.

"You know we lost Dave right?"

"Yeah and I heard Marci's baby died too." Alice nodded.

"Yeah, that was a bad one. Taylor took care of it. You know those two girls, Kristen and Jessica? The ones you and Maggie called Barbie and Skipper when they first got here? They're helping me out over there now which is great. Only thing is, no one is going to be gettin' much help if I run out of antibiotics. Even if we get these people healthy again, if it's comin' from the walkers, then every time someone works that fence they're at risk. Right now, it looks like it's bacterial and not viral, which is good. The only people who are sick are people who worked the fence and had direct contact with the walker blood." Dani blanched.

"Daryl's helpin' burn the bodies though Alice. Could he pick somethin' up and give it to me or to Jesse?" Alice shook her head but she didn't look as sure of herself.

"He wears a mask and gloves, as does everyone now. The odds of him getting something are really slim. I haven't seen anyone sick yet who cleared the bodies who didn't also work the fence. Besides, I think germs are afraid of Daryl Dixon." Dani smiled.

"That wouldn't surprise me." She rubbed her neck and Alice frowned.

"What's wrong with your neck?" Dani shook her head.

"My neck and shoulders are just stiff. It's carryin' Jesse around in the Snuggie all the time. That's all. He's getting heavier." Alice reached out and put her hand on Dani's forehead.

"At least you're not runnin' a fever. That's all I need right now!" Dani smiled.

"So what are you gonna do about antibiotics? I thought everyone had cleaned out pretty much everything around here." Alice looked down towards the fence where Bill was having his crew shore up the exterior and interior fences.

"Hershel wants to have a meeting with you, Daryl, Taylor, Carol, Rick and Abraham about that. I think he's got some ideas. Right now, everyone who is sick isn't terminal. Marci's pretty bad but she's all torn up about her baby. Dave was older and pushing himself to hard. None of the kids have it which is good because we need to keep the babies healthy. I just need those antibiotics and soon before I run out. If they stop taking the antibiotics, it could make this strain more resistant to treatment." Dani nodded and turned to look back to C block.

"Greg still in the infirmary?" Alice nodded.

"He's healing and not sick, the lucky bastard." Dani smirked.

"If this is comin' from the walkers, I can tell you why he ain't. I'll bet you money he never got close to one if someone else was there to kill it for him. Oh I know he said he's taken out a bunch but I'll bet he only did it because it was either get his hands dirty or die. He probably hid in his REI tent and let the others in the camp kill the walkers when they attacked. Cassie probably picked up the bacteria from her parents." Alice nodded.

"Yeah, that's sounds about right. You know," Alice smiled. "He's moving around now but with that broken jaw, he won't be able to talk back if someone were to finally unleash all the things she's been sittin' on for years. I brought Cassie over to D so I can watch her better without runnin' back and forth so he's all by himself in there now." Alice shrugged, winked at Dani and headed back to D block.

Greg sat back on the bed flipping through one of the books Abraham had brought him from the prison library. He wanted to leave the room but figured that dumbass hick would live up to his promise of killing him.

"Comfortable Greg?" He jumped when he saw Danielle in the doorway. Her face was cold and his blood turned to ice. Danielle saw the fear in his face and smiled. "Don't worry. I'm not here to kill you." She walked through the door and closed it behind her.

"I know what you're thinkin'. Redneck white trash hick inbred cunt whore bitch, right? Those always were your pet names for me, weren't they? Shame on me for holdin' on to you for as long as I did knowin' how much you hated who I was." She walked slowly across the room, not looking away from his fearful stare. "What I love about this right now is that you can't interrupt me to tell me how stupid I am or that I just need to shut my goddamn mouth. I can finally stand up to you like I should have after our first date. All those years of my momma tellin' me I was worthless swamp trash, I believed it just enough that when those words came out of your mouth, they rang true. Everyone here thinks I'm so strong but they didn't see me with you. They never saw how weak you wanted me to be, how weak I let you make me." Dani raised her chin up and smiled.

"Daryl loves that I'm strong now. He loves me and he loves our son." Greg's eyes grew wide. "That's right. I have a baby boy and I love him with every breath in my body, just like I loved my daughter. More important, his father loves him too. You never loved Abigail, Greg. I don't know why you didn't get your vasectomy before I got pregnant if you didn't want kids. I mean, it certainly took long enough for me to get pregnant. You tried to tell me I was sterile and wouldn't see a doctor. Of course, I know now that was you and not me but still, I don't know why you didn't keep us from havin' kids if you didn't want 'em…and to be honest, I don't want to know anymore. I'm done with you, done hating you, done even acknowledging you exist. I take full responsibility for the choices I made and I know I made the right one taking Abigail away. The only truly stupid thing I ever did was that I didn't do it sooner. If I'd just taken off in the middle of the night and went home way before all of this, you never would have followed us. You're too much of a chicken shit to have confronted my family, just like you're too much of a chicken shit to have confronted those walkers that attacked your camp." She narrowed her eyes and looked down for a second.

"I don't care what happens to you now. I wish you'd just die and make it easy on everyone but knowing what a selfish bastard you are, you'll live and make us kick you out. Trust me though," she looked back up. "Rick, Daryl, Hershel…every single person here would love to feed you to those walkers for what you did to Cassie but they're too honorable to do that. They'll drive you out someplace, give you some food, your tent and maybe wish you luck. Then they'll come back here and we'll never think of you again." Greg reached for the notepad and pen and quickly scribbled a note.

"Why are you doing this?" Dani read it and shrugged.

"A little soul cleansing I guess. All those years of bein' afraid of you, hatin' you, all of that's gone now. I look at you, and I feel nothin'." She turned around and headed for the door. She paused for one second, feeling Greg's eyes burning into her back, willing her to turn around and look at him again. Dani fought against the urge, opened the door and closed it behind her.

Maggie smiled down at Jesse and he smiled back at her, kicking his legs as she tickled the bottoms of his feet.

"You are getting so big! Yes you are!" She had to laugh as his blue eyes lit up and a dimple appeared in his cheek. Even at just shy of seven weeks old, Jesse looked so much like Daryl already except he smiled a lot more. Maggie wondered for a moment if Daryl had ever been this happy when he was a baby but brushed the thought away as it made her sad. Glenn pushed the curtain away and walked into the cell.

"You got stuck with baby-sitting duty huh?" he asked as he sat down next to her on the bed and kissed her cheek.

"I hardly consider this work Glenn. Just look at him. He's precious." Glenn put his hands on her shoulders and squeezed gently.

"Hey, don't be sad. We'll have one of our own soon, ok?" Maggie turned to look at him.

"Yeah, that's what we said last year. Then Woodbury happened, we brought all those people in and now the walkers are making people sick. If we wait until the time is perfect, it'll never happen." Glenn frowned.

"I just don't want anything to happen to you Maggie." Maggie shook her head.

"Nothin' happened to Dani. And look at Jesse. He's happy, healthy…"

"But for how long Maggie? How long have any of us got these days? I'm…scared alright? I'm afraid that I'll lose you and I…I can't handle that. I've lost too many people. I can't lose you too." Maggie smiled, leaned over and kissed him.

"You're gonna have a hard time losin' me, I'll tell you that right now. I love you." Glenn smiled and nodded.

"I love you too."

"Ok Hershel. We're all here." Rick leaned back in his chair. "You said you have an idea for where we can get more antibiotics." Taylor nodded.

"Yeah. We swung by the big hospital down in Thomaston over the winter and it had already been wiped out. All the doctor's offices, pharmacies and army camps around here have been picked clean of anything stronger than Tylenol. I don't know where else to go." Hershel nodded.

"There's a small veterinary college at West Peachtree Tech. I doubt anyone's thought to look there and the antibiotics are exactly the same for animals as for people." Daryl frowned.

"That's almost fifty miles from here. We haven't made a run that far yet." Hershel nodded.

"We could try the local animal hospitals or clinics but I think it would be just hit and miss. We might get lucky but I'm sure most of the places round here didn't have that big of a stock of medicine. We can't afford to take that chance. I think this is our best bet." Everyone was silent while they thought this through. Finally, Taylor looked up.

"I'm in. Just give me a list of what we need and I'll find it." Daryl glanced at Dani who closed her eyes and nodded slightly. Daryl then looked around the table.

"Let's get goin' if we're gonna do this." Rick looked from Daryl to Dani.

"Daryl, are you sure?" Daryl nodded.

"It could be Jesse next. Or Little Ass Kicker or any of the kids. This is as much about protecting my son as it is helpin' the group." Hershel stood up.

"I should go with you, show you how to get there. I know where most everything is kept anyway." Daryl took one look at Hershel's leg and raised his eyebrow as he stood and hoisted his crossbow over his shoulder.

"You know how it is out there. Sooner or later, we run." Hershel thought a moment and then nodded.

"I could always draw you a map." He sat back down, picked up a pencil and started writing directions to the college on a piece of paper. Everyone looked up as Michonne walked into the library.

"I guess I'm goin' too. You're gonna need someone out there to watch your sorry asses." Daryl smirked.

"Didn't think we'd get out of here without you taggin' along." Michonne looked over at Dani and winked.

"Just gotta make sure Jesse's daddy makes it home." Daryl quickly looked at Dani and then at Taylor.

"Alright then. Let's head out."

Dani was silent until they got back to their cell. Once there, Daryl pulled the sheet down in front of the door.

"You haven't said much." Dani looked back at him over her shoulder.

"Daryl, I can't change who you are. You protect the group, I understand that now. It's selfish of me to make you stay here when they need you." She walked over to him, putting her arms around his neck and leaned her head against his shoulder. She felt his arms encircle her to hold her close. "You just promise me, same as always. Stay safe and come home." Daryl smiled and pulled back to look at her.

"I always do." He looked her up and down. "I love you Danielle." She smiled back.

"Keep sayin' that Dixon and I'll start to think you mean it." She winked at him, trying to keep the moment light but the crack in her voice gave away her anxiety. He kissed her and then gripped her chin in his hand, forcing her to look at him.

"You listen to me. Anything happens here, you take Jesse and you run. The fences come down, people start dyin', or if the damned Governor or anyone tries to get in here, don't you dare fight. You see an opportunity, you take Jesse and run. Head for Hershel's farm. You remember where that is right?" Dani nodded, remembering from going on the run to clean out the last of the supplies before she even knew she was pregnant. "Good. If I come back and find the shit's hit the fan and you're not here, that's where I'm goin' to look for you, understand?" Dani felt her throat tighten up.

"Daryl, if you don't get outta here soon, I'm gonna beg you to stay." Daryl nodded and backed away.

"Alright. I'll see you real soon. I promise." He turned and walked through the door, closing his eyes as he walked away. He stopped by Maggie and Glenn's cell to see Jesse. Maggie was holding him and singing him to sleep. She looked up when she saw Daryl in the doorway.

"You headin' out?" Daryl stepped forward and took Jesse from Maggie.

"Yeah, pretty soon. Taylor's getting' the car gassed up." He ran his finger down Jesse's cheek.

"Don't you go gettin' big before I get back, alright? I promise I'll just be gone a couple of days." Jesse yawned and looked at Daryl under heavy lids. Saying goodbye to his son was harder than Daryl thought it would be. It was one thing to only be five miles out and know the terrain. Going on this run was taking them miles from their comfort zone. It hit Daryl hard that this might be the last time he would ever see Jesse and he didn't want to let him go. Maggie saw Daryl's face start to crumble and stood quickly to put her hand on his shoulder.

"Daryl, you gotta get focused now. Jesse's fine and Dani will be fine. You can't worry about them right now, especially since you're headin' out there, alright?" Daryl took a deep breath and nodded. He kissed his son's forehead and handed him back to Maggie.

"You'll check on Dani in a bit right?" Maggie nodded, smiling. Daryl turned quickly to head out the door. Taylor had brought the car around and was loading two full gas cans into the trunk. Michonne stood by the passenger door and nodded at him before climbing into the car. Daryl walked over to Taylor.

"You got the list?" Taylor patted his shirt pocket.

"Hershel wrote down everything we need." Daryl quickly opened up the driver's door.

"Good. Let's get goin' then." Taylor climbed into the backseat and Daryl started the car. He waited for Bill and Marcel to open the gate before quickly peeling out down the driveway.