5.
Hershel had Daryl on his side, checking the wounds on his back for signs of infection when the hunter rolled over.
His blue eyes met Hershel's, a panicked look to them as he tried to process where he was and what was happening. "Daryl?" Hershel asked.
Daryl didn't keep his gaze on Hershel, as his eyes darted round the room. But the familiarity of the prison seemed lost on Daryl as his breathing only increased, his distress clear.
"Rick?" Hershel called out and seconds later Rick entered the cell. Seeing Daryl awake and struggling, Rick came over to the other man.
"What can I do?" he asked Hershel.
"Try and get through to him, he's not seeing me."
"Daryl? It's Rick," the former officer told him clearly, his voice calm as he spoke. He grabbed hold of one of Daryl's arms to stop it flailing around, tried to anchor him to reality. "Hey, c'mon," he encouraged, but it seemed as though Daryl's panic wouldn't settle.
"Carl?" Daryl gasped out between gasping breaths.
"He's here, he's okay," Rick reassured him.
But Daryl kept looking for him, searching the room.
"Get him here now," Hershel demanded, thinking it might be the only way to calm the man down.
Hershel noticed that Daryl's thrashing around had irritated some of his wounds and blood seeped from beneath the bandages as he struggled to keep Daryl calm. "Maggie?" Hershel called out.
In seconds, Maggie was there. "Help he hold him down, he's just hurting himself." Hershel said. Maggie called out for Glenn and the three of them attempted to hold Daryl still, but he just struggled the more they held on.
"Through here," they heard Rick call as he rushed Carl into the room.
Hershel motioned for the others to let go of Daryl as the boy came into view.
He was out of breath, much like Daryl after his struggle. And his blue eyes met Daryl's.
Carl was taken back to The Governor forcing Daryl to look at him, seemed Daryl was too as his eyes dropped.
"Can I... talk to him alone?" Carl asked hesitantly.
Rick nodded and the others quickly shuffled out. Carl heard the door to the cell block close and he realised they must have all gone right outside the block. Carl was grateful and he sat in Hershel's chair.
"You're okay?" Daryl whispered, his voice still sounding breathless.
"I'm okay. Thanks to you," Carl said.
Daryl looked away again, shook his head. He was shivering with the cold, his breath still coming in harsh gasps. He didn't sound right. Didn't feel right.
Carl knew it too. "Daryl? You're bleeding," he said, surprised by it. He noticed Daryl was shaking and he grabbed at the blankets that had been lowered while Hershel worked on him. He pulled them up around Daryl's shoulders, and went to get Hershel to come back in, but Daryl reached out and grabbed his wrist. His grip was tight.
His was all but panting now, small desperate gasps for breath and it just didn't seem to be helping.
"Hershel?" Carl called, hoping the man could hear him as he couldn't free his arm from Daryl's vice like grip. It seemed that Hershel and Rick hadn't left with the others, they must have hung back as they were both quickly back in the cell.
Rick went to try and free Carl's arm but Carl quickly told him he was fine.
Hershel looked over Daryl quickly. He'd spent enough time with him to know that Daryl had no serious chest injuries. "It's anxiety, some type of panic attack." he quickly reassured them.
"He'll be okay?" Rick asked.
"He just needs to calm down. He was panicked when he woke, it's just escalated out of his control. It'll pass."
"He looks like he can't breath properly," Carl acknowledged, his hand numb in Daryl's grip.
Hershel nodded. "If he's not getting enough oxygen, he'll pass out. But he'll breath just fine then. It's his mind that's doing this to him. His hurting and had no idea what was happening, and then his fear for Carl was the tip of the iceberg."
Despite their efforts to give Daryl some space and reassure him to try and calm him down, the hunter passed out. They all breathed easy once Daryl's own breathing went back to something calmer and more regular.
Rick sat with his back against the wall and rested his elbows on his raised knees, cradled his head in his hands. He gathered himself before he spoke. "Carl, Hershel, we were talking before. About some of the people who are vulnerable leaving the prison. Me and Michonne need to stay back, so that The Governor knows we're here, but I want Judith and any of the people who can't defend themselves to go. Some of the others need to go too, to protect them in case anything happens. Carol, Michonne, Maggie and Glenn are already in agreement to this idea, in fact, it was Michonne's. So, I need to see what everyone else wants to do."
Carl and Hershel looked at one another, and Rick saw the anger in Carl's look already. "You want to split us up."
"No." Rick shook his head, emphasising the point. "When Michonne suggested it, I thought it was crazy. I thought that most people can still hold a gun, still fight. But she's right. People can hold a gun, they can fire it, but they can't become a fighter. Judith is dependent on us to protect her. Make the right decisions for her."
"You want me to go with her, don't you? Because you think I need protecting." Carl asked, furiously.
Rick shook his head. "No, Carol wants to go. She'll take care of Judith, I know she will. You need to take care of Daryl."
"Daryl can take care of himself..." Carl started as his eyes drifted down to the unconscious man.
"Not right now he can't. And if he's here with us, he'll try and help if The Governor comes for us and he'll get himself killed." Rick sighed, rubbed a hand across his face. "You don't have to decide right now. Hershel, I'd want you to go too."
Hershel nodded as Rick left the room.