"Fuck me, he's a fucking girl!".
Carol looked up sharply at Daryl's outburst, then raised her eyebrow at him, wondering why this was a surprise. She had known right off this was a woman when Rick and Daryl had dragged her out of the back of the truck, tied up and bleeding all over the place. Carol had quickly taken control, calling out for their first aid supplies and immediately tending to their new guest.
They had laid her down, and Carol did a quick once over. Shaggy hair and covered from head to toe in blood, dirt and walker grime, Carol admitted she could've been mistaken for a man from a distance.
As soon as Maggie had returned with the first aid supplies, Carol had cut the shirt open so she could clean and stitch the gash on her midsection, and that immediately showed Daryl that this was indeed a woman.
Daryl paced, looking at their patient and away, then back. If Carol wasn't mistaken there seemed to be a bit of a blush creeping up Daryl's neck. He still had his crossbow loaded and ready, and he was agitated, like he thought the woman would jump up at any second and attack.
Carol looked at him. "Daryl stop your pacing and go somewhere else. She's not going anywhere and certainly can't attack anyone in this condition".
Daryl snorted at Carol. "You aint seen what I saw. He fought off a herd a walkers like that." He stopped, and kind of threw his hand out towards her. "Well, I mean, 'she' I guess. Fuck you know what I mean".
He kept pacing. "I ain't takin' no chances".
Carol went back to work, stitching and cleaning the woman as best as she could. After tending to the wounds, she tried to bathe the rest of her as much as was possible. The woman had been out cold the whole time and was dead weight. After cleaning off her face she saw the bruising and the cut lips, and saw what looked like a fresh bruise on the side of her head.
Carol took in all of the bruising on her face, and recognized the tell-tale signs of a beating. It brought up painful memories that she had been working hard to bury. Despite it all, Carol looked at her and could see she was pretty. And she obviously was strong and could fight well, even injured, just from what little information Rick and Daryl had provided.
She sat back and wondered what this newcomer would do. Would she leave, would she stay. Was she an ally or enemy?
Two days of laying around healing and Mac was going stir crazy. The woman who was tending to her, Carol, kept demanding she stay in bed and rest. She sat up in the tent, determined to escape its confines. Just as she was trying to get her boots back on, damned Carol came in. "Shite, busted", she muttered. Carol just gave her a small smile and helped her. "You're as bad a patient as Daryl" she said softly, and chuckled.
Mac looked at her, "I'm no one for lying about, it drives me daft".
Carol sat back on her heels and looked at her. "What's your name hon? And, you're Scottish right?"
Mac nodded. "Aye, I'm from Inverness." Carol noted that she seemed very reserved, wary. She wasn't sure if there was a reason for it or it was just due to her current situation. "MacKenzie Douglas, but most call me Mac".
Carol smiled warmly at her and placed her hand on her leg. "Well it's nice to meet you MacKenzie Douglas. What do you say we get you out of this tent and get some fresh air?"
Daryl was just coming back into camp for a quick bite of food before heading back out to continue a perimeter sweep when he saw Carol helping their newcomer out of the tent.
Stiff and wincing, she was still a mess. Her face had multiple bruises of varying colors and he could see cuts on her hands. They had made sure none of those cuts were from walkers, they all seemed to have been courtesy of the two guys who had beaten her.
Rick hadn't been able to get past Carol to interrogate the woman, but now that she was out of the blasted tend, Daryl would make sure it happened quickly. He wanted to know who she was, and what the whole mess with the guards had been about.
As Daryl passed by, his crossbow slung across his back, he made direct eye contact with the woman, a silent challenge. Mac stared at him right back, and didn't blink as he kept going, never stopping or even slowing down in the process.
Carol put her arm through Mac's. "That ray of sunshine is Daryl. He's one of the two men who saved you and brought you in".
Mac snorted. "He's the fucking wanker who cold-cocked me with that crossbow." But Mac couldn't help but notice he had amazing blue eyes.
A/N: So Daryl has discovered his prisoner is a woman, not a man. Coming up, a dangerous trip to town.