Chapter 13

Carol woke her a few hours later; they were back from the run and had managed to get everything the medics needed. They were working on Daryl now, having given him some stronger painkillers and a sedative to make sure he didn't come round again while they were treating him. He was attached to an IV bag and his skin was grey and covered in a film of sweat.

"He's doing well. Breathing easy, heart rate's even and his blood pressures okay, a little low but not enough to be a problem." Hershel explained the situation to her as he worked alongside Bob to repair the damage. "Now we've got the supplies we need we can get him sorted. We think it's best to keep him sedated for a while afterwards, give him time to heal. We all know if he's awake he won't stay still." He gave her a rueful smile and she had to agree.

It took several hours to finish repairing the damage, but finally the two men stood back, rubbing tired eyes and stretching aching backs.

"We've done the best we can. The rest is up to him now" Bob turned to Eleanor. "He should be fine with rest, but it may take a good few weeks before he's back on his feet fully recovered."

She nodded, "Thank you" she leant over the table, brushing hair from the side of Daryl's face.

"Thank you both." She embraced both men, an arm around each of them. Carefully they hugged her in return, aware of her own damaged back.

Rick entered the room and saw the three way hug, for a moment his heart sank, fearing the worse, then he saw Bob's smile. He hurried over and Bob filled him in on the situation.

"We need a hand getting him to a room away from everyone, he just needs somewhere he won't be disturbed. Last thing he'll want is everyone passing by staring in." Hershel explained to Rick.

"He can have my room" Eleanor offered immediately, "It's away from everyone and got a door that can be closed" Rick looked at her confused

"I thought you shared with Emily, from Woodbury" he said

Eleanor looked guilty "I did for a couple of nights, but I couldn't cope with the snoring. Daryl helped me move to one of the offices out back" She pointed to one of the barred doors that they usually kept locked. There were several small office rooms just the other side. A couple were used for storage but most were empty, or so Rick had thought.

"You've been sleeping through there on your own for weeks." He was angry "We still get walkers in there every now and again. How could Daryl let you take such a risk?"

"He didn't let me, I chose to do it. We went in one night and cleared the area back to the next set of gates and secured them. Nothing can get in now" Eleanor was defensive, knowing they should have told Rick but she liked being away from everyone and didn't want others moving into the area near her.

Rick was about to argue with her but Hershel interrupted "That sounds ideal. Rick you go check the gates are still secure. Me and Eleanor will make sure the rooms suitable" His tone wouldn't allow argument so they did as they were told. The mattress on the floor was too low to be suitable so with Glenn's help they dragged a wide desk from another room. They lowered it by cutting the legs down and put the mattress on top. As a makeshift bed it wasn't ideal but it would do the job. Daryl was moved in and left to rest. He was kept sedated and either Hershel or Bob checked in every hour or so. For the next 24 hours, Eleanor only left the room for bathroom breaks. She made herself eat and drink what either Maggie or Carol bought her, she knew she had to keep her strength up. If she met anyone on her way to or from the bathroom they greeted her warmly, either congratulating or thanking her for bringing their hunter back to them. The two brothers, who had helped her escape had been welcomed into the group and came to see her regularly. They had told everyone how she had freed them and then rescued Daryl despite being so badly hurt herself and she was treated like a hero. None of them realised how badly she had been affected by what she had done to get them all away. At the time it had seemed the only thing to do, but now when she closed her eyes she could hear the sound of the truck hitting the people in the crowd and the screams of the injured before she coldly shot them. She could still see the face of the man she had let fall into the fire pit to burn alive. Even though they had been evil and twisted she had still killed them. At her reckoning it had been at least twenty people and she was finding it hard to live with.

Now Daryl was stable and sleeping she spent less time in the room with him. On the rare occasions she did sleep she slept in his bed up on the perch. A few days after their return Rick caught her re-entering the prison alone, a couple of squirrels and a rabbit in her hands.

"You know the rules, no one goes out alone" he was concerned about her and it made him angry.

She handed him the small animals "Checked the snares and reset them" she muttered as she drifted past him, leaving him shaking his head in frustration.

The fourth time she was caught coming back alone he made it clear no one was to allow her out the gate. The next day it was noticed she was missing and a quick search found a blanket draped over the barbed wire at the top of the fence. As he debated whether or not to send a search party out to look for her Carl ran up to him.

"Dad" he cried "my gun's missing. I think Eleanor took it. She asked to borrow it yesterday 'cos it's the only one with a silencer but I told her no. I thought she'd try to go outside again" he was upset and Rick hugged him to calm him down.

"Eleanor's in a bad place at the moment. She's struggling with what she did so she and Daryl could escape. It wasn't wrong but it was hard on her. She needs time to get through it. I guess her way to deal with it is to go off on her own. We just have to hope she gets over it soon." He reluctantly decided not to send anyone out to look for her and prayed she would be okay on her own.

She didn't return until the next day, finally staggering back to the gap in the fence where they had first entered, when they had made the prison their own. The gap was held with a padlocked chain and was guarded at all times. It was the turn of a young man called Zack, who had been taken in by the group after being found sleeping in his car, alone on the road. He was surprised to see a tall, slim woman stumbling towards him, a small, young deer across her shoulders. As he fumbled with the padlock he saw several walkers approaching her , drawn by the scent of the freshly killed animal. Tiredly she dropped the deer , pulled her knife and turned to face the approaching creatures. She killed the first couple but more were coming and she was getting outnumbered. Zack was weaving the chain free from the fence and as soon as it was open he pushed his way through and took out several walkers with his own knife. He then caught the swaying woman around the waist and helped her back into the prison. Once she was safe he collected the deer and carried it through. He couldn't believe she'd been able to carry it any distance, even though she'd gutted it and removed as much unnecessary weight as possible it still weighed a lot. He secured the chain and padlock again before turning to her.

"I guess you're the infamous Eleanor I've heard all about. I'm Zack, don't think we've met yet" He held out his hand and she took it, letting him pull her to her feet .

"Rick's pretty pissed at you and I don't think Carl's too happy. Hope you haven't lost his gun" He picked up the deer again, "Come on, time to face the music. Maybe this meat'll make him go easy on you"

It didn't, Rick was as angry as she'd ever seen him. He yelled at her, calling her stupid and irresponsible and then he'd given her a relieved hug.

"You gotta stop doin' this. What I'm supposed to tell Daryl when he wakes up and finds you've got yourself killed. You know he'll blame me and I aint ready for that." He tried to reason with her, then gave up and handed her to Carol and Beth.

A/N A bit slow I know, but I am trying to show how Eleanor was affected by what she had to do for them to escape.