A/N All characters belong to the writers and creators of The Walking Dead. Except those that arose from my own twisted imagination.
Also, any and all medical references, procedures, etc I've found via Google, WebMd & the CDC website. I have no medical knowledge whatsoever but I try to research enough to be somewhat accurate. Were this a published book, I would consult experts but for this, I have to make do with Uncle Google. My apologies if I'm completely wrong but I can't even watch someone get a shot without getting sick and passing out.
Chapter 42-Highway to Hell
They drove in silence for miles, each of them lost in thought. Daryl looked over at Michonne.
"I know you weren't runnin' away. I understand why you went after him. Trust me, I want that son of a bitch dead too." He looked back out the front window as a few walkers stumbled out of the woods. When the walkers were behind them he glanced back over and saw she was looking down.
"The thing is, we need you at the prison. You'll do more good there than you will huntin' down a guy for revenge. If we ever do find him, we'll be ready for him. But the group needs you to stay." Michonne frowned.
"Save it Daryl. Rick already gave me the kumbaya speech before we went lookin' for that camp." Daryl glanced in the rearview mirror and caught Taylor watching them both. Frowning, Daryl turned the radio on and nodded towards the cd case on the floor.
"Why don't you pick somethin' out? Too damn quiet in here." Michonne picked up the case and began flipping through it.
"This is like a collection of Nashville's greatest hits," she said as she quickly reached the center of the case. "How do you drive a Dodge Charger blarin' Lyle Lovett?" Daryl glanced down.
"They got anythin' good in there?" Suddenly, a voice crackled over the radio.
"….survivors…out there…sanctuary…help…"
Everyone in the car froze and Daryl reached for the volume to turn it up. Taylor's eyes were wide as he leaned over the seat.
"Was that a recor…"
"Look out!" Michonne yelled and put her hands on the dash as they rounded the bend in the road and almost plowed into a herd of walkers. Daryl swerved and felt the car start to skid. He got the car under control and floored it, attempting to plow through the walkers until he came to a slight rise overlooking a valley when he slammed on the brakes. Directly in front of them and heading their way was a sea of walkers. Hundreds, possibly even thousands.
"Shit!" Daryl threw the car into reverse and quickly backed up, not realizing that at least fifteen walkers were right behind them. He felt the rear of the car get hung up over the pile of bodies and the herd quickly surrounded the car. His heart was pounding as he tried to drive the car forward but it wouldn't move. He quickly grabbed his crossbow and looked at Michonne and Taylor.
"We've gotta run now!" Taylor and Michonne quickly threw open their doors and jumped out of the car, Michonne cutting a path through the herd. Daryl popped the sunroof and climbed out through the roof, shooting one walker as he slid down the windshield. He pulled the bolt from it's head and jumped off the hood, pulling his knife from the sheath on his waist. Michonne and Taylor were making their way through the gaps in the herd and Daryl followed their path, stabbing any walker that got in his way as they made their escape through the trees.
When Dani walked into Maggie's cell to get Jesse, Maggie didn't comment on her red rimmed eyes and handed the sleeping baby to her.
"He went right out, no problems. Oh, he felt a little warm so I changed him and put one of Judith's old t-shirts on him. Hope that's ok." Dani smiled.
"Yeah, that's fine. Thank you." She kissed Jesse's head and frowned. "He is a bit warm. I didn't really have him outside today at all and it's not too hot back here." Her blood ran cold. "Oh god Maggie. What if he's picked up what the others have got?" Maggie shook her head.
"That's impossible Dani. No one over here is sick and he hasn't been around anyone who is!" Dani shook her head.
"I'm gonna find Hershel." She walked quickly down the hall and heard Judith crying in Rick's cell. Beth had her up on her shoulder and was walking back and forth with her.
"Beth, what's wrong?" Beth shook her head, worried.
"I don't know. She's been real fussy today and I think she's runnin' a fever." Dani turned back to Maggie, who had followed behind her. Maggie nodded.
"I'll get Dad and Alice." She hurried outside towards D block. Jesse stirred in Dani's arms as Judith's cries woke him. Dani tried to quiet him but he began crying harder, making a sound he hadn't made since the day he was born and came out squalling like a scalded cat.
"It's ok Jesse. Please baby…it's ok." Dani smoothed his hair down and frowned when she felt a large bump on the top of his head at his soft spot. Judith was starting to calm down but was still crying, still fussy. Her head wobbled a bit and her eyes had a glassy, unfocused look. She began coughing hard, her cheeks growing redder. Desperate to do something, anything to calm Jesse down, Dani sat down and tried to get him to nurse. Normally, he would forget whatever made him upset and would settle down quickly as he was almost always hungry but this time he wouldn't take the breast. Dani pulled her shirt back down and stood up holding him against her shoulder. She felt so helpless. The only other time she had felt this way was when she was watching Abigail take her last…Dani shook her head violently, oblivious to the tears running down her face.
"No. I'm not losing another one. He's a fighter, he's just like Daryl and I won't lose him!" Dani closed her eyes, sank to the floor and began rocking back and forth, humming softly to her son. His hot cheek was pressed against hers as she rubbed his back.
"Dani." Dani opened her eyes and saw Alice standing over her. "Dani, let me take him." Reluctantly, Dani let her friend take Jesse from her arms. She saw Glenn holding Judith while Hershel looked her over, Rick standing back with his hands covering his mouth. Someone lifted her to her feet.
"Daryl…I need Daryl." Maggie stroked her hair.
"Daryl will be back soon and he'll have medicine. Jesse will be fine." Alice looked up.
"I'm gonna take them both to the infirmary. I don't want them with the others just now." Dani's eyes flashed.
"Not around Greg! Don't you dare take my baby near that man!" Alice ignored her and hurried down the hall with Glenn right behind her. Dani fought against Maggie. "Alice! Don't you dare let Greg near my son!" She collapsed back against Maggie and finally broke down. Rick put his arms around her and she cried into his shoulder.
"They'll be ok Dani. Jesse and Judith both, they're fighters. You know this. Don't worry about Greg." She nodded and wiped the tears from her face. Rick looked her square in the eye and Dani could tell he was fighting like hell to keep his own emotions in check. "Now, you ready to go in there with them? I'll be right there with you, regardless what happens with Judith, and I'll stay with you until Daryl gets back, alright?" Dani nodded. Rick put his arm around her waist and led her to the infirmary.
They made it across the creek before they finally stopped to catch their breath. Daryl knelt down and splashed the cool water on his face and neck. Taylor watched the woods on the other side of the creek.
"You think we lost them?" Michonne shook her head.
"You never really lose them. You just get far enough ahead that you can't see 'em anymore but they're always comin'." Daryl stood up and wiped his hands on his pants.
"Exactly. We should keep goin'. I don't want to still be on foot when that big herd catches up to us." He looked around and pointed off through the woods towards a bridge in the distance. "We just need to follow the creek up there and get back to the road, find us a car." Michonne nodded and looked at him.
"Lead the way then Mountain Man." Daryl flinched and then smiled, looking down.
"That's what Dani called me when she first got to the prison." Michonne shrugged.
"The name fits." Daryl looked over at her, ran his hands through his hair and threw his crossbow over his shoulder.
"C'mon let's get goin'." The three started walking towards the bridge, hyper alert to any sound of walkers around them. Once there, they climbed to the top and walked down the road. Taylor started looking at the abandoned cars and Daryl stopped him.
"Don't bother. Most people left their cars out here because they ran out of gas. We're still too close to that herd to even try to mess with one of these." Michonne nodded up ahead.
"I think there's a gas station about a half mile up this way. Might be something there." As they walked up the road, Daryl kept his eyes on the woods. He had a feeling that someone was out there, watching them. He brushed it off as hyper vigilance about the walkers but his gut knew that someone alive was out there. It wasn't outside the realm of possibility. There were still survivors out there, he knew that. He hoped that whoever it was stayed out of his way and didn't want to fight or be rescued.
Michonne had been right about the gas station. It also had a garage with a car inside along with five walkers that they quickly dispatched. Daryl popped the hood.
"It's runnin' about two quarts low." Michonne turned to head into the gas station store.
"I'll get the oil." After she left, Daryl continued his inspection under the hood. Taylor climbed into the car to check for keys, quickly finding them in the visor.
"You know, if civilization ever comes back, I hope people realize that the visor is not a smart place to keep your keys." Daryl smirked.
"Yeah, well there's still enough stupid people around." Taylor tried to start the engine and it didn't even click. Daryl frowned. "Battery's dead. Hope the alternator still works." Taylor watched Daryl work for a moment.
"If they're still alive, they'd have to be smart right?" Daryl disconnected the battery and cleaned the corrosion off of the cables.
"Not really, they might just be lucky. You can get far in life bein' dead stupid and still be lucky enough for shit to work out, you know?" Taylor nodded.
"Like Dani's ex." Daryl snorted.
"I don't think he's stupid, just knows how to use people to get what he wants." He reconnected the battery cables. "I'm talkin' about the people who are just damn lucky. The right person picked them up, they found the right group or the right leader. Those are the people that wouldn't last a day on their own. Like a lot of people from Woodbury." Michonne walked back into the garage with a box containing eight quarts of oil.
"Figured we might need it for later." Daryl took two of the bottles and began pouring the oil into the car.
"Find anythin' else in there we might need?" Michonne shook her head.
"Not really. Most of the place has been picked clean. To be honest, I'm surprised the oil was still there." Daryl smirked.
"People always think about gas but they never think about anythin' else." He poured the last quart in and looked around the shop. Finding a portable battery charger, he quickly hooked it up and nodded to Taylor who turned the key. After several attempts, the car finally roared to life. Daryl carefully unhooked the charger and put it in the trunk of the car with the rest of the oil. Taylor climbed out of the driver's seat and held out his hand to Daryl.
"I gotta hand it to you man, you can work miracles with a car." Daryl shook Taylor's hand and clapped him on the shoulder.
"Let's load up and get out of here. We still got a run to finish."
When Alice walked into the infirmary with the babies, Greg had slowly gotten up from his bed. She took Jesse's temperature and then Judith's, frowning both times.
"Jesse's temp is a hundred and three, Judith's a hundred and two. Not good but not as high as it could go." She grabbed two IV kits from the cabinet and a couple of bags of saline. "Good thing I left some stuff over here for emergencies." When she walked back over to the beds, she paused. She felt comfortable starting an IV on Judith as she'd done it on kids her age a number of times in her career but she'd never started an IV on a baby as young as Jesse. She hated to ask but Alice knew that only one person at that prison could start that IV on Jesse and turned to Greg.
"I need you to do this IV." Greg frowned and slowly shook his head. Alice narrowed her eyes. "I ain't askin' you. I'm tellin' you. And if you think Daryl Dixon beat you bad for callin' Dani a whore, think what he'll do to you if somethin' happens to his boy and he finds out you could've helped him and didn't." Greg slowly walked over and opened the kit. He motioned for Alice to straighten out Jesse's leg and inspected his foot. Nodding as he found a vein, he cleaned the spot with the alcohol wipe and got the IV started, motioning for Alice to tape it down. He backed away from the screaming baby as she finished hooking up the bag. She looked over and nodded.
"Thank you." Alice heard the door open and Dani rush to her son's side.
"Why have you got them hooked up?" Alice had Rick and Glenn gently restrain Judith as she put the IV in her arm.
"I'm gonna start them both on the antibiotics. I have two vials left and then I'm out." Rick and Dani both exchanged a worried look.
"Thought you said if they don't finish the treatment it could make it worse," asked Rick. Alice hung the IV bags and pulled out her stethoscope.
"I have to get these babies started on something Rick. If I let this go…Rick, at this age meningitis can cause deafness, brain damage…" she trailed off and looked at him. "What odds would you rather play?" Rick didn't answer and ran his fingers through his hair, pacing the room. Glenn stood back frowing.
"Alice, how could they get this? When this all started Dani, Daryl, Beth and Rick talked about who the kids have been around the last week. I mean, they've been in common areas but they haven't been in direct contact with anyone who's sick now. How could they catch anything?" Alice didn't answer right away as she inspected both babies for a rash. Finding none, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"I can't explain it. Right now, all that matters is getting their fevers down and keeping them down." She grabbed a vial of Gentamicin and glanced over at Dani as she administered the drug through Jesse's IV. Dani's hands were shaking as she watched Jesse and smiled. Jesse was kicking his legs, his face wrinkled and red in anger as he screamed, the familiar Dixon anger mixed with the Lahane stubbornness from her side. He was fighting everyone and everything. Dani laughed softly and reached out to take his hand. As soon as he felt his mother's touch he began to quiet down.
"Just like Daryl. Jesse baby you are so much like your daddy, you're so strong and we both love you so much. I just need you to fight for me, for us. That's all I need baby, please." Rick looked up from Judith to see that Greg was watching Dani with a mixture of confusion and awe. He frowned and looked back at his little girl as she slowly went to sleep.
"The place looks deserted doesn't it?" Michonne and Daryl both looked at Taylor and shook their heads. He shrugged. "C'mon guys. You know what I mean." Daryl smirked.
"Yeah, no walkers. That's good. Means we can get in and get out quicker." Taylor led the way down the hall until he finally came to the room Hershel had instructed them to find.
"In here." They carefully opened the door, scanned the room and found it empty. The locked cabinet was on the back side of the wall, just as Hershel had said. Taylor pulled his bolt cutters from his backpack and cut the lock. The cabinets were filled with medicine and Taylor shouted with happiness. Daryl smacked his arm.
"Keep it down alright?" Michonne kept watch as Daryl and Taylor loaded up their backpacks with medicine.
"Which ones we lookin' for the most?" Daryl asked as he frowned at a bottle. Taylor picked up a bottle and showed Daryl.
"Just look for anything ending in 'cillan' or 'cin'." Daryl nodded and continued grabbing the bottles. When they had cleaned out the cabinet, all three of them continued to loot the room looking for anything they might need. After a few minutes, Daryl signaled time.
"These packs are heavy enough. Don't want to get too weighed down, you know? Just in case." Michonne slowly opened the door and checked the hallway.
"We're clear." Daryl moved in front of her and kept his crossbow at the ready as they made their way back to the front door. Seeing movement through the glass doors, he raised his hand and motioned for them to stop. The figure outside bumped against the door and slapped the glass. Other figures appeared in the dirty window and the doors rattled in their frames
"Shit!" Daryl turned and looked down the hall. Three walkers stumbled out of one of the rooms, blocking access to the doors leading out the back. "Upstairs now!" They ran up the stairs as the front door slammed open behind them. Upstairs, Daryl checked the first open door and found the room empty. Once Michonne and Taylor were inside, he slammed the door shut. Daryl looked around the room and nodded at Taylor.
"Help me move that cabinet over there in front of the door!" Taylor ran over and the two men moved the heavy cabinet in front of the door just as the walkers pushed up against it.
"Over here!" Michonne had pushed the window open and climbed out on the roof. Daryl and Taylor followed as the cabinet crashed over to the floor and a dozen walkers flooded into the room. Michonne slammed the window shut behind them. Taylor looked around.
"Now what?" Daryl walked to the edge of the roof, looking over to the other building.
"Gap's not that wide. We can jump over there. If we get around the front our car's right down that way." Taylor shook his head.
"I don't know about that man. I'm not too good with heights." The window glass shattered behind them and the walkers leaned out the window, reaching for their ankles. Taylor took a deep breath and looked at Michonne.
"Guess it's time I got over that right?" Taylor closed his eyes, said a quick prayer and ran to the edge, jumping the gap to the other building.
Alice checked Jesse's temperature for the third time.
"It's down to one hundred one. That's good." Dani looked up at her.
"Doesn't sound good. It hasn't gone down much and it's been twelve hours since he finished his IV." Alice moved over to Judith to check her temp.
"But it hasn't gone up either. He's eating now and doesn't have any other symptoms other than the fever. I'm taking that as a good sign." Looking at the thermometer, Alice frowned and lifted Judith's shirt.
"Judith's temp has gone up to one hundred four and she's got a rash on her chest. Dammit." She walked over and picked up the last vial of Gentamicin. "Dani, I need to give this all to Judith. Jesse's stable, he'll hold on until Daryl gets back but Judith might not." Dani looked down at Jesse, his cheeks no longer a violent red. His blue eyes were open and focused on her as she fed him from a bottle. She reached over and ran her hand over the top of his head, feeling that his soft spot was no longer swollen. Looking over at Judith, she saw the little girl's glassy, unfocused eyes and bright red cheeks. Dani looked up at Alice.
"Do it. Jesse will be fine." Alice took a deep breath and picked up the vial. As she injected the medicine through Judith's IV, Rick came back into the room.
"How is she?" Alice looked up and shook her head.
"She's getting worse Rick. I've given her another dose but all we can really do now is wait." Rick put his hands over his mouth. Tears filled his eyes as he looked down at Judith. Her eyes were closed and she was sleeping again, her arms and legs jerking slightly.
"But she's gonna make it right? You're gonna save her." Alice nodded.
"I promise you Rick, I'm doing everything that I can." She jerked her chin over to Dani. "Dani's giving Judith Jesse's dosage. He's getting better." Rick looked over at Dani.
"Are you sure?" Dani nodded.
"Jesse'll hold on until Daryl gets back. I want your little girl to get better." Rick nodded and ran his hands through his hair as his lower lip trembled.
"Thank you." Alice looked up from Judith, glanced at Greg and then to Rick.
"It's late and I need to check on the people over in D. Greg, can you keep an eye on her please?" Dani stood up, her mouth open in protest and Alice held up her hand. "Dani, save it. We're short medical personnel. Hershel's been over in D since I've been in here with the babies and he needs his rest. He's as vulnerable as they are ok? Greg can keep an eye on Judith. Jesse should be fine so long as his fever doesn't spike but Judith needs to be monitored. Greg can do that until I get back." Rick glared at him.
"Are you sure?" Alice raised her eyebrow at Greg.
"If he knows what's good for him he will." Greg looked at Rick and nodded quickly. Alice smiled. "Good. I'll be back over as soon as I can."
The trip back to the prison was quiet. As the darkness closed in around them for the second time, all three of the car's occupants were lost in thought. Daryl was worried about Dani and Jesse. He had a feeling that something was wrong and knew he had to get back to the prison as soon as he could. Taylor was thinking hard about how useful he could be at the prison. Sure he had medical knowledge but he'd never gone on to med school. Michonne couldn't take her mind off her own babies, taken away from her by her ex. The man had played her out to be a drunk and a crazy woman. He had set her up and taken away her babies, her career and her life. She remembered her little boy, so full of life running towards her on the day his dad took him away, crying for Momma to not make him leave. That broke her heart. She'd let her children down but she couldn't dwell on that now. Jesse Dixon reminded her so much of her son and Judith Grimes was a painful reminder of her sweet little girl. They both had daddies that wouldn't hurt them or leave them and that was more than Michonne's children had.
It was almost two AM when Daryl pulled through the gate. Tyreese and Bill were working the front gate and Tyreese greeted Daryl with a handshake.
"It's good to have you back." Daryl nodded and saw the look on both Bill and Tyreese's faces.
"What's wrong?" Tyreese nodded towards C block.
"Jesse and Judith both got sick. Jesse's doing better," Tyreese said quickly when Daryl's eyes widened and his fists clenched up. "He's really getting better Daryl. But Judith, she needs medicine badly." Daryl turned back to Michonne.
"Let's go." He pointed towards D block and handed his own bag to Taylor. "Taylor, take those meds into D." Taylor nodded and left with Bill for D block. Daryl ran towards the infirmary, throwing open the door to see Dani sound asleep on the bed with Jesse asleep on her chest. Daryl woke her up and carefully picked Jesse up. He noticed the bandage on Jesse's foot and the IV pole next to the bed. He kissed his son and kissed Dani.
"You ok?" Dani nodded.
"His fever came down. He never got into the bad stage. Hershel was over earlier, said it might have been because Jesse's been breast fed and my antibodies passed on to him." She nodded towards Judith. Rick was leaning on her bed, his eyes barely open. "Daryl, make him go lie down. He's not going to do her any good like that." Daryl held Jesse to his shoulder and put his hand on Rick's arm.
"C'mon Rick. Go lie down. We're back and Little Ass Kicker will be fine." Rick looked up as Greg pulled one of the vials from Michonne's bag and prepped another dose of antibiotics for Judith.
"You made it back?" Daryl nodded.
"Yeah, we're back. She's gonna be fine." Rick nodded, rubbed his face with his hands and sat back in his chair.
"Wake me up if she needs me, alright?" Rick closed his eyes and Daryl walked back to Dani, jerking his chin towards Greg.
"What's he doin'?"
"Alice can't be in two places at once so Greg's been monitoring Judith and Jesse when she's not here." Daryl watched Greg take Judith's vitals before writing a note on a piece of paper and handing it to Dani. Dani quickly read it and showed it to Daryl.
"Her fever's down from the last time. That's good." Greg wrote another note and this time and handed it to Daryl. It only had two words written on it. Daryl read it and crumpled the paper into a ball. He rubbed Jesse's back through his onesie and felt his son cuddle closer to him.
"Sorry doesn't cut it. You're still out of here soon as Hershel gives the ok." Greg blanched, closed his eyes and nodded, turning back to Judith.
Karen watched from the woods as the car pulled into the prison yard. Baylor lit his cigarette, inhaled and blew a cloud of smoke into the truck. She glared at him.
"Not the time or the place." Baylor smirked and ground the cigarette out in the truck's ashtray.
"They all still there?" She nodded.
"From what I can see. It's the middle of the night though. We'll need to watch them for another day, see how many people are there now and then had back to camp, inform Phillip. He'll want to know what we're up against." Baylor reached over and put his hand on her leg.
"I don't know why he's so worried. We got most of the arsenal from Fort Benning plus we've got those Army grunts now." Karen turned from her night vision goggles and glared at him.
"Yeah but you don't know what they've got. Bill's in there and Abraham. That's two we know of, without even counting Merle's brother and Rick Grimes. Who else have they picked up over the winter? Phillip wants this prison cleared and now but we can't if they're in a position to fight back." Baylor shook his head.
"Ever since he hooked up with that nurse with the little girl, all he's talked about was taking this prison so they'd have a safe place to live. I don't know Karen. The plan was a lot easier when he just wanted to demolish the place, kill everyone and let the biters have it back." Karen removed his hand from her leg and lifted the goggles back up, focusing on the guard towers.
"Let's just finish this so we can head back soon, alright?"