It had only been twenty four hours since Hershel and I tended to Daryl's wounds the first time and from what Hershel told me, the redneck was well enough to go back out to his group instead of being inside. I personally didn't feel he was well enough, but I unfortunately didn't make the rules around the house. Daryl's side should still be tender and shouldn't be moving around too much. I was making my way to his room to check on him one last time, before kicking him out. Giving a quick knock on the door I walked in, pausing at the door as I watch as the redneck pull on one of his trademark cut off shirts. Looking down to give him space and walking over to the bed setting my supplies down, I noticed Daryl walking into my peripheral vision when I noticed his boots and jeans. Peeking up, he was buttoning up the top buttons of his shirt, standing close to me. "Ya gonna clear me doc?" He stated with a chuckle as I could only roll my eyes. I had probably checked on him more than I should have last night. After I checked him out after dinner that night, I'm pretty sure I did a quick check on him around three in the morning. Luckily he was asleep so I just left him be, but another three hours later he was awake and waiting for me it seemed. After checking on him this morning I probably came in every other hour after that. He didn't get annoyed with me though and even started talking little bit by bit to me. Not that we had any deep conversations, it was more of me asking him about his pain and what he wanted to eat and his answers.
Slowly reaching up my hands to his face, I cupped his chin with one hand as I began unwrapping the bandages from around his head to view that graze that the bullet had caused. His body tenses momentarily, before relaxing his face into my hand. I had to remind myself to move slowly around him, especially when touching him. He was a little more comfortable around me touching him now because he knew why I was doing it, but I didn't want to make him tense up too much or make him uncomfortable at this point. There was no longer a need to clean the wound and putting a small band aide over it instead of a wrap would be preferred at this point. Reaching down onto the bed where the supplies were, I grabbed the small bandage and opened it, putting it on his wound. "That one's basically done, just keep a small bandage on it to prevent the scab from opening." I said as I motioned for him to pull up his shirt. I didn't rush him with this one especially and let him take his time as he lifted up his shirt. This one seemed to really make him uncomfortable as I began pulling off the bandage his body went rigid. It always made me wonder what had happened to this man that he would avoid touch so frequently. I flashed him a smile seeing the wound. "Lookin pretty good Dixon." I said as I touched the pink skin around the wound. It was still a little warm, but was healing quite nicely. I let my fingertips travel a little from the pink of his abdomen to light toned skin, feeling the softness under my touch. It's not like he was ripped like one of those men that used to go to the gym for two hours every day, but he did have the makings of abdominal muscle that had light skin stretched over them. He was much fairer on his stomach compared to his tanned arms and there was a scant amount of hair that traveled from his abdomen to below his pants. Not wanting to linger any longer at my staring, I began preparing a new bandage for him. I also didn't want to make him too uncomfortable with my touching. His steely blue gaze eyed me questioningly, looking at the patch. "If I were you, I'd still keep it covered, just in case if you're moving around a lot. Which is another thing you should not be doing. Too much activity will cause it to open back up, and I really don't want to deal with you again. Also it'll hurt like hell."
Pulling away as he dropped his shirt, he nodded at me slowly. "Sorry, I didn' mean to be a bother." He groused as I gathered my supplies once again. My mouth fell open as I looked in his direction with worried green eyes. "T-that's not what I meant Daryl! I just don't want you getting hurt again is all… Just take things slow will you? I know you're trying to find this girl, but you need to be in top condition to do so. I wasn't trying to say you were a pain to deal with. You're actually a more pleasant person to take care of than most…" I mumbled towards the end of my sentence. I actually liked taking care of him. It was… weird. He was like an abused animal that just needed attention and to be shown kindness, when the world didn't seem to show him any. He eyed me with his steely gaze, making me blush, but I matched his gaze with my own. It was very slight, but I noticed the small upturn of the corner of his mouth and it was gone as fast as I noticed it.
He knew he had to get out of the house by how he was motioning for me to head out of the room. If it were my choice, his whole group would be allowed to stay inside. There was plenty of room in here and I just couldn't understand why Hershel wouldn't just let them have somewhere comfortable to lay down for a while. Daryl made his way towards the door and held it open for me, making me fumble with my supplies, and quickly slip through the door, under his arm. I had muttered a quick thank you and made my way to the bathroom we kept medical supplies. We separated from there, him going back to his group outside where I hope he will be will resting, and then myself off to find Maggie. Who I was sure was giving Glenn a hard time with her hot and cold attitude towards him. They just needed to… well I don't know. I guess have a lot of sex and just shut up.
I eventually did find the brunette in question, back at the stables once again. The only place she ever seemed to be these days when she was avoiding Glenn. I sighed, leaning up against one of the stall doors, watching Maggie brush the chestnut mare in front of her. "You're back to wearing long sleeves again? One day and you tap out?" Maggie noted after peaking at me. I tugged on the end of one of my frayed sleeves and crossed my arms under my chest. "Well maybe once that Shane guy leaves I'll go back to wearing tank tops. Just trying to keep a wandering eye from headed my direction." Maggie could only laugh, coming out from behind the horse, putting the brush up on one of the old wood shelves in the stall. "What about Daryl's wandering eye?" She asked with a giggle, making me glare at her which only caused her to bubble with laughter. "I know you went and checked up on him more than you needed to." Maggie continued, causing my face to continue to turn red. She was avoiding what she knew I was going to ask her about. "Besides, considering your last boyfriend was just about 30 years older than you, then the two before that 15 and 22 years older than you respectably, also from what you told me you dated those who were either redneck or country. I'd say that redneck there is so your type. Girl from Texas with boy from Georgia. Perfect southern match right there." She drawled, slinging an arm over my shoulders. "I ain't no country bumpkin like you Mags. I'm a city girl." I said with a smirk, leading her out of the stables.
She began to get quiet as we made our way back to the house. I knew something was on her mind. "So you gonna tell me what's going on with you and Glenn?" I ask, giving her a slight smile to where she only rolled her eyes at me and scoffed. Things aren't going well in paradise I see. "Glenn knows… about the barn. We were trying to find somewhere to… and well he went into the barn and saw them." I frown, biting my lower lip as I stare down at the hot ground as we head back to the house. "Is he going to tell his group?" I ask, praying that he doesn't. Maggie could only shrug as we disappeared within the house and to our separate rooms. This situation will cause problems for sure between Hershel and Rick's group. Shane was a hot head and I just know he'd be the start of everything. Tomorrow and these next few days will be interesting indeed.
Getting up the next morning seemed to be tough. I didn't want to move. I was stuck between being hot and cold. I missed having a fan in a room where I slept. One that I could watch until it helped me fall asleep or just kept the room cold enough to where I would have to curl into the blankets and sleep the day away. I missed working nights, or rather being awake in the night. I wasn't used to working in the heat or even to being outside much and I guess it's finally catching up. After hearing the front door slam for probably the seventh time that morning, I figured it was time to get up. Slipping on my jeans and long sleeved baseball tee I made my way downstairs watching Maggie pace the hallway by the entrance to the house. She glared up at me, making me raise my hands in defense. "What I do now?" I asked, raising my brows watching Maggie's light green eyes shift back towards the front door. "Glenn told 'em." She said, her voice filled with a mixture of anger and betrayal. I signed, rubbing my eyes and just felt like climbing back up the stairs and flinging myself in the bed. It will only be a matter of time before Rick or someone in his group come up here for Hershel. "I think I'm going to go hunting today…" I mumble, biting my bottom lip with worry, tearing a little bit of skin. Maggie gave me a look of disbelief, placing her hands on her hips, while I scurried upstairs to grab my pack and bow, not wanting to deal with the fuming brunette.
The world was cruel though. Just as I thought I was going to be leaving, at least semi-early in the day, Beth asked me to help her in the kitchen. When she gave me that sweet smile and those big blue eyes that were much too big for her face starring up at me pleadingly. I just couldn't say no. I wasn't going to be happy doing it though. Anything that had to do with kitchen work, I dreaded. It's not that I couldn't cook, it's the fact that I despised doing to job. Mostly because I hated doing dishes. It was my number one chore after dinner growing up. After mom and dad cooked the food, it was my job to clean up and do dishes. Which is what I was doing now. Washing the fucking dishes while Beth and Patricia meal prepped for the next few days. The Greene's had that nifty generator going that made the fridge work so they were able to store foods for a few days at a time. It seemed I spent my whole time slaving away with the dishes or helping them cut food that my day just passed on by to late afternoon. I could have been taking a nap in a tree five miles outside the farm, waiting for a deer to come by, but instead I was being domestic and cooking. Beth and Patricia both thanked me immensely though and now they had some free time before heating up some food for dinner. Beth had said she wanted to play checkers with Carl and said if it weren't for me, she wouldn't get to do that. Children.
Once I was dismissed from the kitchen, I made my way back to my room to grab my bag, bow, and handgun, ready to leave for a couple days. Maybe I was an introvert? I liked being alone a lot more than hanging out with people, but being alone just made me clear my head for a while. Making my way outside onto the back porch, I saw Beth, Patricia, and Carl, enjoying their game of checkers, and then I saw Glenn and Maggie sitting on the porch talking to each other. Finally. The rest of Rick's group seemed to have come up to the house together, Andrea with T-Dog, and Daryl with Carol, all wondering where Rick ran off to. Shane started walking up to the house, bag of guns in tow, and Daryl walked up to the man wondering what was going on. "You with me, man?" Shane asked Daryl, pulling out a gun and handing it to Daryl. Shane passed out weapons to the rest of his group instantly making the rest of us uneasy. I could tell what this was. Shane was planning on clearing out the barn. Lori tried to interfere, but shit just kept stirring up from there.
I noticed Rick, Jimmy, and Hershel coming out from the wood with two walkers in tow. My eyes were sure to have flashed with worry and I knew Shane saw too as he took a good look in the direction I was looking and went off running to meet up with them. What set in motion from here on out could have been described as chaos. Shane killing the walkers that Hershel and Rick were holding causing the group to flinch stare in shock. Hershel falling to the ground, Maggie instantly at his side. Shen opening the barn, breaking the lock and chains, releasing the walkers from the barn. The firing squad setting up, taking aim, and firing, killing every walker that emerged from that old wood door. The few seconds it took them to clear out the barn, seemed like it took hours. Until every body of the dead fell to the ground. The quiet that settled over was unsettling. I could only watch from where I stood, furthest away from the barn. Shocked at what had happened. I couldn't tell if they were in the right or not. Specifically Shane. As the group thought they were done, growling was heard behind the door and a small figured stepped out into the sun.
Shock was probably the best word to describe the looks that were given by Rick's group. A small walker that had once been a young girl, emerged, dirty and very dead. The blue shirt she once had on with a rainbow on the front was torn, muddy, and caked with blood from a shoulder bite she had obtained that had made her turn. Matted and frizzy light brown hair framed a gray skinned face and empty eyes. "Sophia?" The voice cracked, causing me to jerk and look to my side, watching as Carol pulled her hands up to her mouth. The middle-aged woman ran forward, calling the name again, and was stopped by Daryl, as he dropped his gun and they both fell to the ground. It was quiet, other than the sobbing that was coming from the mother, starring at her dead child, and the growling coming from the hungry walker. My eyes followed Rick, as he moved to the front of his firing squad, and pulling out his revolver. There was a pause. Then he pulls the trigger, watching as the body of the young girl they had been searching for falls to the ground.
Both Beth and Hershel were not taking what happened well. Hershel's belief shattered before his eyes and Beth just watched as her mother was shot, tried to kill her, and being shot again. Helping them inside, I assisted Beth to her bedroom, watching the poor girl break, tears falling down her face. Patricia agreed to stay with Beth and I walked out of the room, running into Maggie and Glenn in the living room. "Did you know she was in there?" Glenn asked Maggie, who only was sitting with a blank stare. She shook her head in response, before looking back to me. "Did you? When you helped Otis?" Maggie whispered. I looked down, brown hair falling in my face, and shaking my head. "No. It must've been when I went out hunting the day before Rick's group found us." I sighed, walking upstairs to my room when I set my bag back down. I wasn't going hunting. Not until this shit storm blew over.
They were going to have a small service out by the barn for Sophia, Annette, and Shawn. I didn't attend. There was no point considering I didn't know any of them. Funerals made me nervous. Death made me nervous. If my adrenaline wasn't pumping, like how it was when I worked in the ER and every move I made was life or death, I didn't want to be a part of it. Maybe that's what really spurred me on while at work? Was me being so nervous is what made me love it so much. So while they had their funeral service, a couple yards away, I started helping them out by putting bodies in the bed of the truck they were using. Carol wasn't at the funeral either I noted. I think I would have done the same. Their service was short and everyone separated, Andrea, T-dog, Rick, and Dale all came over to help me while Lori stood to the side as she tried to calm the group about what they were going to do from here on out. Andrea thanked me for the help and hopped onto the tailgate while T-dog slowly drove away as we all dispersed.
Not wanting to go back to the house I began to walk the perimeter of the land, not really knowing what to do. I just walked. It was hot and I wanted to just take my clothes off and lay in bed, but there was no way I was going back to that house right now. I didn't want to know how Maggie or Beth or Hershel were handling things and I didn't want to hear people talking. I just wanted quiet. Somewhere to think for a bit. I spotted Daryl out sitting down with his knife, by what looked to be an old chimney that was once connected to a house. He was sitting on a small curb, rubbing his knife over some sticks, making them sharp. Curious, I made my way over to him slowly, making sure he would be able to see me coming and not wanting to startle him. His blue gaze looked up momentarily, watching me for a moment, before continuing what he was doing once I sat down in the grass. I leaned my back against the side of the chimney as I grabbed one of the sticks he had just finished working on, playing with the sharp tip he had made. I stayed quiet, not wanting to talk. It was almost like being alone, but obviously not. I'm guessing this rough redneck would be good company if I just wanted a presence without conversation. I'm also guessing he didn't mind me sitting here either or else I am sure he would have told me to get lost. I closed my eyes, leaning my head against the stone wall, listening to the sound of his knife cutting into wood.
"Y'all moving into the suburbs?" A voice, Lori, asked as she made her way over to us. I jerked my eyes open and found her walking up. Did I fall asleep? Or was I just that out of it? Looking up from where I rest my head I eyed her while Daryl continued what he was doing. "Listen Beth's in come kind of catatonic shock and we need Hershel." Daryl grunted, shaking his head and focusing more on his task at hand. "Yeah, so what?" His gruff voice spilled out, causing me to turn my attention to him now. Lori squatted in front of him, both her arms on her knees with hands dangling between her legs. "So I need you to run into town real quick and bring him and rick back." A pause. "Daryl?" He finally looked up, halting his movements with the knife to give Lori a hard glare. "Yer bitch went window-shopping. Ya want him? Fetch him yourself. I got better things ta do." Lori's eyes widened as she leaned back on her haunches slightly. "What's the matter with you? Why are you being so selfish?" I dropped my head, hair covering my face as I saw the look that flashed across Daryl's face. "Selfish?" He asked, standing up and pointing his knife in Lori's direction. "Listen to me, Olive Oyl. I was out there looking for that little girl every single day. I took a bullet and an arrow in tha process. Don't ya tell me I ain't been getting my hands dirty! You want those two idiots? Have a nice ride. 'm done lookin for people." As Daryl finished his rant he sat back down, continuing what he was doing with his knife. Lori stood up, looking down at me. "Devin? You got any experience with this? I looked up at her, shaking my head, but standing up anyways. "This shock is probably different from septic shock, but I'll see what I can do." I said, walking with Lori back to the house that I didn't want to reenter.
I saw Maggie sitting on the bed with Beth, holding her hand. When she looked up at me, her spirits seemed to have lifted. Looking to Beth, pale and staring blankly at the ceiling, I knew she was depressed. Mourning over the loss over her mother and brother. The events that had just happened on the farm. "Can you help her?" I heard Maggie's voice croak. Shaking my head, I grabbed the blanket that was folded on the end of the bed and threw it around her before tucking her in. "No, I can't. She's gotta get through this on her own." I stated, looking down at Beth. This was a mental health problem. Not really something that I had looked into all that much besides my naturally curiosity. I did know there were different kinds of catatonia and the only thing I knew they used to treat with were benzos. I ran upstairs to my pack and pulled out my stethoscope and blood pressure cuff, bringing it back downstairs to Beth. Taking her blood pressure I noticed it was fairly normal, at least for someone Beth's weight anyways with it being 108/72. So it was sitting pretty well. "Hey Patricia, let's start an IV on her? Since she's feverish and her heart rate is up, her body's working harder, she needs to have fluids running." Patricia nodded her head, running off to find some normal saline to infuse while I went off looking for some kind of sedative to make her body not work so hard. I know Hershel was a veterinarian and animals used the same kinds of drugs people did and when I found that diazepam in the drawer in the bathroom we keep medical supplies in I wasted no time in giving Beth some through the IV Patricia had set up.
Maggie and I stayed in the room with Beth while Patricia went out and prepared a meal. Hershel had run off somewhere too and Maggie told me Rick and Glenn were off getting him. Sitting in the rocking chair in the corner of the room, I watched Maggie stroke Beth's blond hair out of the way. This poor girl. Her blank stare continued to look upward at the ceiling, no expression at all across her face. Patricia came in the room, informing us that dinner was ready. Maggie told me to go first and that when I was done to come back to watch Beth. Nodding my head I made my way to the dining room, sitting on one end of the table while Patricia set down a plate in front of me. Looking around the table I cocked my head to the side. "Where's Lori? And Daryl? He still cutting wood or something?" I asked looking around the table. Shane looked at Andrea and Carol. "Where is Lori?" He asked, standing up and looking in a few of the rooms downstairs. "I last talked to Lori when she found Daryl and me out a ways. We were just sitting out until she found us, telling us Beth wasn't doing well. I came back with her and haven't seen her since." I said, standing up to help look for the woman.
Our meal forgotten we went out and looked around the land for Lori. Carol followed me out to where Daryl had seemed to set up camp, away from everyone. He looked up spotting us and glared, making his hands busy. "Hey, has Lori come back out here?" I asked, crossing my arms under my chest a small distance away while Carol walked a little closer. He shook his head, grumbling under his breath. "Hell no. She ain't been here since she took you. I told her to go find her damn husband herself. I ain't no errand boy." He growled, giving me a harsh glare. I rubbed my head, forgetting that she might have gone off on her own. I mumbled a quick curse under my breath, turning on my heel and heading back to inform the rest of them. Carol stayed behind, but I didn't wait. I just felt it was better to leave Daryl to his own devices at this moment. He'd come around and interact with us soon enough. As I got further away I could hear Daryl's voice pick up, yelling at Carol. I could only imagine what they were talking about.
I stayed with Carl while he worried about the worst with his momma. We stayed on the porch, watching as Rick's group paced, and waiting for Shane's or Rick's arrival. Shane had gone off as soon as I had told him there was a possibility that Lori went after Rick. The boy leaned against me and I wrapped my arm around him, rubbing his arm and keeping him close. He was scared. Scared that his mom wasn't coming back. All I could do was hold the poor boy and give him words of encouragement. I didn't know if his family was going to come back and I wasn't going to promise they would either. Our attention turned to the headlights that were coming in the distance. Watching the lights pull up Carl jumped off the bench we were sitting on and ran up to the car Shane took to go and find Lori. Once Lori got out of the car her son went up and held onto her. "Where's Rick and Hershel?" Lori asked immediately, looking up to Shane after she glances around. Shane looks to Lori, running his hand over his head. "You wouldn't come back with me if I told the truth." Lori scoffs, grabbing Carl by the arm and led him to the house. "Asshole." Lori murmured taking Carl to the house. Shane flashed a look at Andrea and myself, running a hand over his face. "We'll go out and look for Rick, Glenn, and Hershel tomorrow." Nodding my head I made my way up to my room, deciding now was a good time to turn in for the night.
Waking up early the next day I had made my way downstairs to check on Beth with blood pressure cuff and stethoscope in my hands. Maggie was still at the bedside, speaking with Patricia, and I walked up to Beth, pinching the skin on her chest gently, watching it go back down slowly. "She needs more fluids… she's still dehydrated." I mumbled, peeking up at Patricia. The woman nodded her head, off to get another bag of saline while I wrapped the cuff around Beth's arm, checking the blood pressure as I did the first time I found out she was like this. It was slightly lower this time, with her systolic number around 98. Checking her heartrate I was pleased to know that it was still around 103, but hadn't increased at all. I stayed with Beth for about an hour after administering some more of the saline, then grabbed my pack to head out and help Shane and the others.
Walking outside I saw Daryl next to one of the vehicles, placing supplies inside. Shane and T-dog were a ways away, preparing their own equipment. Walking over to Daryl, he looked up at me momentarily, before continuing what he was doing. I leaned against the vehicle, arms crossed under my chest, as he filled the car up. I saw his eyes peek over towards me, then down to my chest, and then back to the task at hand. I smirked, noticing the movement of his steely eyes, but deciding not to comment on it and pushing my chest up a little more, leaning closer to him. "So you own actual shirts?" I comment, slowly moving my hand towards his sleeve of his shirt, tugging on it gently. He looked to my hand, quirking a brow, and looked back up at my face. "I can clean up when I want to." His voice gruff and manly, making me shiver slightly. I personally preferred the cut off shirts, watching as his biceps flexed and moved under his skin.
I was just about to tell him just that, but unfortunately Shane and T-dog finally made their appearance, tossing their supplies in the trunk of the car. "You gonna be coming with us today, Dev." Shane asked, giving me that ungodly, horrendous nickname. Well it wasn't that bad considering I used to go by that around famil, but I didn't want to deal with him calling me that. I gave Shane a tight smile, looking in his direction. "Yeah, whatever I can do to help." Shane smirked, giving me a look of great approval and motioned to the car. "Well get in, girl and we'll head on out." Closing the trunk, we headed towards the car doors, but stopped, hearing tires grinding over the dirt road in the distance. We all stopped in our tracks as the truck that was coming closer to the house, pulled up with an abrupt stop. Rick got out first and his family ran towards him, greeting him with a hug. Maggie came out the door of the house, gasping in delight and ran towards the truck, past her own father, and into the arms of Glenn. A little cold, but at least things settled down with them. I noticed another figure in the back seat and gave Rick, Hershel, and Glenn a nervous look. "Who the hell is that?" I asked, looking between the three men and the one sitting in the car. Daryl walked up next to me, getting a closer look at who I was referring to and Glenn was the first to speak. "That's Randall. He got hurt in town and we agreed to help him out."