Phoenix

Author's Notes:

Thank you to anyone who has left a review. I have been very lax about responding to them and for that I apologize. I know it isn't fair of me to ask for reviews and then seem like I don't care by not acknowledging them. I really have no excuses. I just wanted to let you know that I really do appreciate your feedback.

There is a little medical stuff in this chapter. As stated in earlier chapters, please forgive my lack of any real knowledge.

I ended up combining two chapters together. Since these are combined, the story will actually only be 15 chapters now.

Hope you enjoy…

Chapter 13

BATTLE

Just as the last of the liquid in the syringe disappeared into Daryl's vein, there were explosions, bright lights and smoke. Chase took advantage and reached behind Daryl, cut his ties and put the knife in Daryl's hand.

"Go kill the son of a bitch. I'll get the others free." Daryl nodded and took off after the Governor.

Chase quickly moved down the line freeing Michonne, Carl and Maggie, As the ropes fell free, they were met by Tyreese, T-dog and Sasha who were handing off weapons and they all jumped into the fray. Chase then cut Beth and Hershel free, grabbed Beth's hand and pulled her to safety with Hershel right behind them.

Carl's first thought was of Judith and immediately headed for the children. He saw Karen getting there just ahead of him. He felt a sharp pain on the side of his head and Martinez stepped into his line of sight.

In addition to the gunfire, random explosions and fires added to the chaos around them. A good portion of the Governor's men went down in the first hail of gunfire in the surprise attack. Glenn, Rick, Tyreese, T-dog, Sasha, Maggie and Michonne were in the thick of things trying to eliminate the rest of them.

The gunfire lessened and finally stopped. The group members gradually came out and met up with each other. With the fires still burning, the smoke was getting thicker. The smell of gunpowder was heavy in the air.

Rick started to yell for Carl. He came running up holding Judith, blood dripping down the side of his face. Rick pulled them both to him.

"Are you alright?" he asked Carl.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Just a graze. I'm fine. Judith's fine." He hugged them both again.

Over Carl's shoulder, Rick and Maggie saw each other. They moved toward each other and as soon as Maggie was close enough, she launched herself at Rick who caught her with ease.

"Thank God. Baby, I was so worried," he whispered to her.

"It's ok. I knew you'd find us," she said.

"Jesus, you're covered in blood," he said looking her over.

"I'm ok," she said. "It's just my arm. Bullet went clean through."

He pressed his lips to hers. When they separated, they pulled Carl and Judith in and stood holding each other for a minute.

Sasha joined the group. "I tried to go after Martinez as soon as it began, but I lost him in the craziness."

Karen jogged up carrying Olivia. "Don't worry about him. He was headed for the children. He shot the woman but Carl got him before he got to do anything to the children. T-dog is with them now."

Rick heard the doctor sob in relief at hearing the children were safe. Rick grabbed him and put him on knees.

"Why should I let you live?" he hissed pointing his revolver at the doctor's head.

"Wait! Wait! Stop! He saved Daddy and me," Beth screamed trying to get in between Rick and Chase.

"He saved us both when the fighting started," Hershel added. "And he cut them loose so they could fight."

"So what!" Maggie said with outrage. "That doesn't matter. He hurt you," Maggie yelled. "He violated you. He injected us with that poison. He killed Daryl with it same as if he shot him in the head and he put the rest of us in danger! Beth, what are thinking trying to defend him?"

"No, no, he didn't," Beth replied. "I'll fill you in later. We don't have time for this right now. Chase, tell them!"

He looked at them. "The real serum is secured. I hid it. Everything marked as the serum was just normal saline. It's harmless IV solution. The Governor didn't know. None of them got the real serum."

"Where's Daryl?" Glenn asked.

"He went after the Governor," Chase said.

"What direction?" Michonne asked.

"They headed that way," he said as he pointed toward a side corridor.

Glenn started off with Michonne and Rick right behind him.

DOWNFALL

Glenn, Rick and Michonne rounded the corner to see Daryl and the Governor battered and bleeding as they struggled against one another. Daryl grasped the Governor by the throat.

"I told you I would kill you," he growled. Daryl gripped his knife tightly and thrust it forward into the Gov giving it a vicious twist at the end. The Governor slid to the ground. He was bleeding from his mouth and gasping for breath but he was still conscious.

"Won't change the fact that you will die and you will change," he hissed with a smirk. Rick ran up and leaned over the Governor.

"Well, that's where you're wrong," he told him smiling. "Your doctor wasn't very loyal. He switched the serum for something harmless. None of them got the serum. They are all going to be just fine."

Glenn stood over the Governor. "You lose," he said as the Governor took his last breath and then he shot the Governor right in the middle of his forehead.

Daryl stumbled and they turned to look at him. All three were staring at the knife protruding from the side of Daryl's chest.

AFTERMATH

Daryl looked at Glenn in shock. Glenn and Rick ran over and eased Daryl to the floor.

"Can't…breathe…" he gasped, grabbing at Glenn. Rick ran back down the corridor.

"Doc, we need some help down here," he yelled. The others ran down to where Rick, Daryl, Glenn and Michonne were.

Chase did a quick evaluation of his patient. "It went in between his ribs. His lung's collapsed."

"What should we do?" Glenn asked.

"Do not pull knife out. It's too dangerous. I'll be right back," he said. He ran up and grabbed the syringe he used for Daryl's injection. He took the plunger out of the syringe and pushed the needle into Daryl's chest. They could all hear the hiss of the air escaping. It was far less than sanitary, but Chase figured that at least he may live to fight any possible infection. Chase turned to Glenn.

"Give me your shirt," he ordered. Glenn quickly peeled the button down shirt off leaving him in his t-shirt. Chase cut it up. He used it to tie the knife and wrapped it around Daryl's chest to stabilize the knife. Even through a pain-filled fog, Daryl had a sense of déjà vu flashing to when he did something similar to anchor the arrow that had pierced his side during his search for Sophia.

Once again, Chase looked to Glenn.

"I need you to keep the needle steady. Also, hold your finger over the end and then take it off. Coordinate with his breaths to allow air out through the needle but not back in, like this." Glenn nodded his understanding. "I can't do anything else here. The fires are out of control. This is a research laboratory. There are gas lines everywhere. We need to get out of here."

"We'll take one of the Governor's big trucks and get back to where we are staying," Rick said to Chase. "They have medical facilities. We'll get him out to the truck. I need you to get the serum and your research. Tyreese, can you help him carry whatever he needs?" They both nodded and took off to another area of the building.

As they were outside coordinating transportation, Chase and Tyreese returned carrying a couple of boxes, a locked briefcase and a large duffel bag.

"T-dog, Karen, can we drop you at the cars to bring them back to the lab?"

"Yeah," Karen said. T-dog nodded. Karen looked down at his tightly wrapped leg.

"Are you ok to drive?" Karen asked.

"Yeah, I'm good," he replied. "Let's go."

Rick walked over to get into the driver's seat of the truck but Sasha intercepted him.

"Ride with your family and Maggie. I got this," she said. Rick was torn between his responsibility to get the group back to PRD and wanting to be with Maggie, Carl and Judith.

"Seriously, it doesn't always have to be you. We take care of each other. I'll get us there. Go." He nodded and got into the back of the truck with the others.

A few minutes down the road, they heard the catastrophic explosions pulverizing the medical school.

Looking around, the adrenaline crash was obvious. Everyone in the truck was showing the exhaustion. They were dirty, sweaty, bloody and dehydrated. The smell of smoke and gunpowder was almost overpowering. Everyone was silent. The only sound was the steady hiss of air escaping from Daryl's chest as Glenn continued with the pattern shown to him by Chase.

Rick looked around taking inventory. Maggie had a gunshot wound to her upper arm. Carl had bullet burn leaving a laceration across his scalp. The thought of how close that was made Rick feel sick. He couldn't get a clear picture of Michonne's eye and face injuries, but he was sure her injuries were extensive. Chase and Tyreese had some minor burns from when they recovered Chase's research from the burning lab. There were also various minor cuts, contusions and abrasions. Beth and Chase both showed the remnants of the fight that they staged in her room, but she and Hershel were relatively unscathed thanks to Chase's quick action.

The doctor and the children were the only survivors of Woodbury or the Governor's group. In addition to Judith, eight children survived with ages ranging from 18 months to 10 years old. That meant that, along with Judith, Olivia and Leigh, they now had six orphaned children with them. Chase was holding Leigh and Rick was holding Judith. Karen had taken Olivia with her. Beth was sitting with the other six children who were huddled together seeking comfort from one another.

TREATMENT

As soon as they got to PRD, medical teams took everyone in to evaluate them and treat their injuries.

Rick, holding Judith, went with Carl, unable to let them out of his sight.

"How is he?" Rick asked the doctor who was treating Carl.

"The bullet only grazed him. I'll sew it up and he'll be as good as new. He will probably have quite a headache for a while, though."

"Dad, I'm fine. We are all safe now. Go and find Maggie." Rick pulled Carl to him.

"I am so proud of you," he told Carl. "The children, including Judith, are alive because of you."

"Thanks, Dad," Carl said blushing. "Now, go!" he said giving him a little push toward the door.

From the next bed over, as T-dog was getting his leg stitched, he was laughing to himself. 'Maggie and Rick? How did we miss that?'

Maggie ended up with a bullet wound through the muscle of upper arm. Luckily, it missed the bones and joints. It was cleaned out and bandaged. It would hurt like hell for a while, but it would heal. Chase and Tyreese both had some minor burns that they needed to keep bandaged and dry. Chase's and Beth's other minor injuries were cleaned up, but nothing else needed to be done for them. For Michonne, there wasn't much they could do. Her wounds were older and her eye was simply unsalvageable. Everyone injured was put on antibiotics to prevent infection.

Daryl was by far the most serious. As soon as they arrived, Kevin put in a chest tube and he and Susan took Daryl into surgery. The surgery to remove the knife was successful. The bite wounds were cleaned out and stitched where needed and he was placed on a strong IV antibiotic. He would recover physically but it would take time. Emotionally, they weren't sure.

AWAKENING

Daryl slowly felt the fog lifting and the pain invading his consciousness. He could feel a hand in his and knew it was Glenn's. He cracked his eyes open, glanced around and took inventory. Daryl's arms and chest were wrapped in bandages and he had an IV in one of his hands. He couldn't help but let out a soft moan that immediately alerted Glenn to his awakening.

Glenn jumped up, happy to see Daryl awake. He leaned over him and placed a gentle kiss on his lips.

"Hey," Glenn said as he brushed the hair from Daryl's forehead. "Are you in pain? I can have someone get you some pain medicine."

"Nah, 'm ok right now," he whispered hoarsely.

"Do you want some water?" Glenn asked. Daryl nodded. Glenn held the cup and straw to Daryl's lips and he took a few sips.

"What happened?" Daryl asked.

Glenn filled him in on everything that went down with the rescue and his fight with the Governor. Glenn updated him on everyone's injuries and treatment. Daryl nodded.

"Want you closer," Daryl whispered. He carefully shifted over in the bed, allowing a small hiss of pain to escape.

"Stop. You're hurting yourself."

"No," Daryl said. "Need this." He continued to scoot over.

Glenn slipped into Daryl's bed, laying on his side facing Daryl. He put his head on Daryl's pillow and his hand on Daryl's chest, feeling the rise and fall. Daryl turned his head so could feel Glenn's forehead against his cheek and Glenn's breath against his neck.

"That's better," Daryl said with a sigh and then he drifted back to sleep.

SCARS

The first time Daryl saw his arms without the bandages, he had gotten physically ill. After that, he had them covered at all times. He even tried not to let Glenn see them. He was withdrawn and edgy. He didn't want to be around any of the others. He rarely came out of their room. When he did it was only to pass through to get outside. He'd leave for days at a time, alone with his crossbow. Glenn knew it wasn't about aesthetics. Daryl wasn't vain and everyone knew that. This was something deeper. Glenn knew Daryl needed time to work it all out and tried to support him in any way that he could.

They were lying in bed one night. Their kissing was becoming more passionate and progressing into more. When Glenn reached for Daryl's shirt, he pulled up and away.

"Daryl, I don't care about some scars. You know that."

"Well I do," Daryl said, hitting the wall in frustration. "They just show the whole world what my daddy told me my whole life…I'm weak…a sorry excuse for a son and a waste of breath. My old man taught me that with his belt and the Governor taught me the same thing with what he did."

"Daryl, I'm not going to offer platitudes like 'I don't see them, I only see you' because I do see them and they are a part of you. When I see them, I'm not disgusted. I'm proud…proud of who you became despite the scars on your back and proud of who you are despite the scars on your arms. I see decency and goodness. I see courage and I see strength. You are the best person I have ever known. I love you…all of you."

Glenn kissed him lightly and pulled at Daryl's shirt again. Daryl let him slide it off, baring his chest, back and arms. Glenn slid his fingers across Daryl's back, around to his chest and down his arm. This wasn't the first time they made love since the rescue and Daryl's recovery, but it was the first time that they were completely bare, skin to skin, and it felt amazing. Afterwards, they fell asleep. For the first time in a long time Daryl didn't have any nightmares.

TRYING

PRD continued to work on capsule development. Chase reviewed all of his research with them and gave them all of the serum that he had created. He hoped it could help them. They thought that if they can see how the capsules can be destroyed, it may help them figure out how to create them. They all knew, however, that it was much harder to create something out of nothing than to find a weakness and destroy something that exists.

CONVERSATION

Chase slowly approached Daryl who was sitting at one of the tables in the cafeteria.

"Daryl, do you have a minute?" Chase asked. Daryl looked up at him. He could tell Chase was uncomfortable and would probably rather be anywhere else right at that particular moment.

"Guess so," he replied giving a curt single nod toward the chair across from him. Chase sat down. Chase looked down at the table. "So, ya got somethin' to say, or what?"

"I don't know where to start. I am so sorry for what I did." Chase took a breath and opened his mouth like he was going to say something else, but nothing came out.

"Ya want me to tell ya it's all ok? That it?" Daryl asked.

"No, I don't expect that and I don't deserve it. I don't know why I came over. Just wanted to let you know that I will regret what I did every minute of every day for the rest of my life. I know it doesn't fix anything. I'm sorry to bother you." Chase made a move to leave.

Daryl held his hand up to indicate to Chase to sit back down.

"Governor had your daughter, right?" Daryl asked. Chase nodded.

"Leigh. She's only 18 months old…still a baby. I'd do anything to keep her safe." Daryl thought about that for a minute, about what he might have done in the same situation. What if someone had Glenn and was blackmailing him by using Glenn's life as leverage? Would he have done differently? Would he have the ability to gamble with the life of the only person he ever loved, even if it was the right thing to do?

"Sounds like ya didn't have a choice. Ya can't choose some stranger over your own kid. Ya did what ya had to."

"I should have come up with something."

"I know who it was that did the bad stuff. It was that bastard ya had to work with. You was never there when they was questioning me. You was never there when they's torturing me. I know ya tried to keep the Governor from getting what he wanted."

"I should have stopped them. I should have been stronger, should have done more."

"I can't tell ya what ya should'a or shouldn't'a done. Can't change the past. Can only deal with today."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Ya saved Beth from that sadistic fuck. Ya hid the serum from the Governor. Ya made sure he couldn't use it. Ya cut all of us loose and ya took care of Beth and Hershel when the shit all went down. Ya tried to make it right. It took a while, but ya tried t'make it right."

"I'm still trying. I'll keep trying. Thanks for talking to me," Chase said getting up. Daryl tipped his chin up acknowledging him. They both knew they still had a long way to go, but it was a beginning.

A/N: I was going to end the chapter with the knife sticking out of Daryl's chest, but decided to add the next chapter right onto this one. I have to admit, though, while I hate reading cliff-hangers, they are a ball to write. Still, I decided to give you guys a break. Please note, though, regardless of how a chapter ends, I will never leave a story unfinished. There will always be a real ending. I will not leave you hanging. The last two chapters are outlined so hopefully I'll get them written and published soon.