Phoenix

Author's Notes:

I felt like I was taking too long getting the next chapter out, so I pulled this little short off of the beginning of the next chapter.

As always, thanks for the reviews, favorites and follows!

Chapter 6

QUESTIONS

Rick approached Glenn and Daryl's cell slowly. He wanted to make sure he didn't walk in on anything the he really, really didn't want to see. As he approached, he called out a good morning greeting to let them know he was there.

"Figured it was ok to come and unlock your door now. Looks like everything is ok," Rick said.

"Yeah, it's good. No changes. Don't think there's any danger now," Glenn replied.

"Good. We were glad to see, or rather hear, you guys were able to work out a few small things in your relationship last night…and last night…and this morning," Rick said with a shit-eating grin. Glenn blushed furiously.

"Not so much that we worked things out. More like gave some things a workout…and they're not small, for your information," Daryl countered as he flipped Rick off.

"TMI," Rick responded with a smile. "Let's go. Everyone's downstairs and we all have a lot to talk about."

They all got settled around the tables.

"Well, to start, here is what I am wondering about," Hershel began. "One, why did Glenn get a fever but not die or change? Two, why did Daryl not even get sick at all? Three, why did the first person from Woodbury only last for two days, but Roger only for a few hours? There are some specific medical questions, too," Hershel continued. "How does the body's chemistry change once bitten? Will immunity continue if bitten more than once?"

"All good questions," Rick said. "Also, is it possible Glenn has been immune this whole time. Was he born with it? What about Daryl?"

"What is the probability that two people so close just happen to both be immune? It must be incredibly small," Maggie said.

"It would be," Hershel said. "So, did Glenn somehow pass immunity to Daryl? Or it's always possible Daryl passed it to Glenn. Just because Glenn was bit first doesn't mean he was immune first."

"So, um, what if I passed it to Daryl or he passed it to me? How does that help anyone? If I passed immunity on to Daryl, then what? Do I have to have sex with everyone that's still left on the planet?" Glenn asked jokingly.

"Well, Daryl's immune, too. Maybe he can help," Rick answered sarcastically.

"Ha, ha," Glenn responded.

"It could work exponentially. You do two people, they do two people, and the count doubles each time so, boom, we would have this knocked out in no time," Rick said with a smile.

"Wasn't that an old shampoo commercial or somthin?" Daryl asked.

"Wait," Glenn said, "they 'did' each other in old shampoo commercials?"

Daryl and Rick glared at him.

"We need to figure it out 'cause, no offense, I don't want to sleep with either of you."

"Well we can joke about this all we want to, but we don't know if the immunity was even transferred, right?" Maggie asked. "But, if it was and immunity was transferred before they were bit, we don't know what would happen now. Yes, maybe they'd transfer immunity, but could they also transfer the bite? Like be contagious? Before and after the bite is like comparing apples to oranges."

"Well, we need to get some answers, but protecting Glenn and Daryl is the number one priority. Let's try to figure out the next step. If we can find someone to make sense of this, we need to make sure that we don't put Glenn and Daryl in any more danger that they're in."

"I'm not sure I follow," Beth said. "Why would they be in danger?"

"We need to make sure whoever we find can be trusted. We don't know if we're the first to figure out that some are immune. We already know that there are some very unsavory characters out there. If unscrupulous parties found out, there might be issues of control. This could be a very big deal if it can be managed and manipulated. It could end up being a major power issue. Imagine if you could control who is or becomes immune?"

"Got it," Beth said wide-eyed.

"Obviously, the CDC is out. Any other ideas?" Rick asked.

"I think we need to have a full meeting including everyone here at the prison," Hershel said. "We need to unite. It's time. Fill them in on everything we know and see if there are any thoughts. Then we can come up with a plan."