Rick watched Allie skin the deer with ease; he wasn't surprised by it after seeing her cut into Daryl's side down in the clinic. He helped by holding back the hide as she cut it away, watching her every move; learning so he could help more on the mountain lion.
"Where'd you learn to process an animal? Much less all the medical stuff? You're 18?" Rick was trying to make conversation; the near silence was making him edgy.
"My mom married a guy who was an avid outdoorsman. He was a combat medic in the Air Force too. He taught me to shoot guns and bows. Taught me to hunt, fish, ride, all that kinda stuff, so I learned everything I could from him before they divorced. Mom's a nurse, plus all of Grandpa's medical books. I wanted to be a Physician's Assistant when I grew up. I'll be 18 next year, not too sure what month it really is, so I figure I'm 17 now." Allie breathed out a tired breath as she stretched her shoulders, "We'll get the cat done and then put them in the cooler to cure overnight. We can always finish tomorrow. We've been lucky, we still have power here. So it's been a godsend for keeping food."
"You've been lucky; we've been out there struggling the last year and a half. We'll get by as we always have. There's not many of us left as there used to be." Rick sighed; holding back the hide of the cat, watching Allie wipe a bead of sweat off her brow with the back of her hand.
"How many of you are there at your camp?" Allie questioned, severing the hind legs of the cat at the shoulder joint. The cat was proving quicker to butcher, especially since Allie had dissected one in her high school Anatomy class.
"There's seven of us now. Used to be more. But you know how things go, people eventually die. Nothing is for certain out there. Thank you for taking care of my friend." Rick sighed, remembering all the people that had been lost, his wife and his infant daughter included.
"It's the least Mom and I could do to help. If there are only seven of you, maybe Mom would let you all stay here? We have room here for sure, maybe the house too. I could ask her later. Here, help me get these down and moved." Allie unhooked the deer, slowly lowering it to the barn floor.
Rick and Allie got both carcasses into the cooler, spraying them down with the hose. "That'll get them through the night; I'll come out in the morning and quarter out your part. Dinner sounds good right now. Let's go see what we can find for dinner." Allie could feel her stomach growling, that bowl of cereal didn't go far this morning. Besides, she had a bone to pick with her mother, to be able to find peace within herself.
Natalie slowly introduced her patient's blood back into his system. Luckily for him, only a pint had drained out so far. God only knew how much he had lost in the field before ending up on Natalie's doorstep. Natalie pulled the last of the blood from the collection container, pushing it through the IV port in his arm. Desperate times called for desperate measures when saving a life; and this life laying in the guest bedroom was important to Natalie, even more so to Allie, even though she wasn't aware yet why.
Natalie carefully disconnected the transfer syringe; one more check tonight of the collection container to see if there would be enough to transfer. If not, it would all be disconnected and sent out to the burn barrel. Natalie wrung out the warm rag in her hands, tenderly wiping the dirt and grime from his face, watching him for signs of rousing. She could see his eyes moving behind his lids in the drug induced slumber. He had been through so much in his life; he needed this rest here, safe with her.
Natalie sighed as her fingers ran over scars old and new on his chest. Some of them she had taken care of when they were younger, others her father had cared for. Tears came to Natalie's eyes as she remembered the last time he had been in this house with her, so many years ago; the night before Natalie had left for the Air Force. It seemed like a lifetime ago now, being twenty years past.
Natalie sniffled as she wiped down his hands, "Damn it Daryl, there's so much I need to tell you. I wish we'd never had that fight before I left. I wish I had came back and kept our promise. We were just kids; we didn't know anything outside this farm. I wanted something more for us, you wanted to stay here. Twenty years my heart's stayed with you." Natalie felt tears prick her eyes as she brushed his hair away from his eyes. "I should have never led you on when I came home on leave, which was wrong of me. You loved me; I was trying to get you out of my system. I should have taken you with me, kept our promise. You gave me the greatest gift you could ever have. Oh God Daryl, you have, I mean, we have a daughter. Her name is Allie Josephine, after your momma. She's beautiful, smart, she has your eyes. She's so much like you; she saved your life tonight. I missed you Daryl."
Natalie searched Daryl's face, seeing how time had aged him, there were squint lines in the corners of his eyes, his goatee speckling with grey, the scar that ran around his left eye was more apparent than she remembered. Even though life had aged Daryl, Natalie still saw him as the man she had fallen in love with so many years ago. No matter how hard she tried, he was always there in the private recesses of her heart.
Natalie reached down, taking his hand in hers, laying his fingers and palm against her cheek. The heat that radiated into her face warmed her soul, as she shuddered out a breath. "I prayed for you every night, to be ok in this mess we live in now. I hoped I would find you, or you would find me. I just didn't wish for it to be on these kinds of circumstances. Sleep well Daryl. Goodnight."
Natalie pulled the blanket up to cover Daryl's chest before she left the bedroom. The easy part was done, getting him patched up. The hard part was coming, him waking up and facing the gravity of the situation. If there was one thing Daryl Dixon didn't like, it was surprises.