A/N: Thanks for the support, guys. I appreciate it. :)
Once things were fairly well settled in C Block, Rick headed over to D Block the first chance he got. He wanted to check to see how things were going with Daryl and he figured Maggie and Hershel could use a little break, get something to eat. Rick just assumed he would go ahead and take over on watch after checking up.
The first thing Rick noticed once he made his way into the other cellblock was that Daryl was still right where he was last time he saw him, unconscious. He met Maggie's stare and caught a weak smile from her as he walked over to her and her father. "Any change?"
"By the sounds of it, I'd say worse if anything. Maggie told me he was sick through the night." Hershel shifted enough so that he could face Rick as he spoke.
"Not all through the night. But he did get sick. He tried to get away and as I was trying to get him back here he passed out…" Maggie's voice trailed off as she hugged her arms around herself. "He's stubborn."
"That's one way to put it," Rick nodded. It wasn't exactly the news he was hoping to hear but maybe Daryl would just have to get a little worse before he started to get better. Things always had a way of working out in the strangest of ways. "I just wanted to come see how he was doing. Figured you two might like to grab some food while I'm here as well."
"Yeah, and maybe some sleep." Maggie stifled a yawn and managed another weak smile in Rick's direction. "He's been out like a rock for quite some time now."
"I'll be back after we get some breakfast. If he wakes up, try to make him drink some water." Hershel explained briefly. Rick nodded again in understanding before the two left the cellblock and headed back for C.
Rick got down on one knee next to Daryl and rewet the washcloth before returning it to his forehead. He was now lying on his back so the wet cloth stayed put a little better than it had when Daryl was lying on his side previously. Rick reached out and touched the backside of his hand to Daryl's cheek and frowned. He was still burning up, maybe even more than before if that was even possible. He couldn't help but wonder if this illness that Daryl had succumbed to would get any better if the fever could at least break.
Upon hearing the door to the cellblock squeak its way open on worn out hinges, Rick glanced up to see Carol walking over. She didn't even bother with a fake smile, worry etched on her face. "He's not doing any better, is he?"
Rick shook his head. "Still really sick. I think his fever feels like it's gotten worse." If Rick hadn't had the chance to speak to Daryl when he did yesterday, he'd almost think Daryl was lying about not being bit.
Carol knelt down on the opposite side of Daryl from Rick and placed the backside of her hand to Daryl's cheek as well. "I don't understand how he got this bad…"
Rick stood back up straight and rubbed his eyes. "He just wore himself down I guess. It finally all caught up with him. Your body is pretty susceptible to just about anything at that point." He glanced back down at Carol and noticed she had her hand on the side of Daryl's face. That's when he realized Daryl looked like he was coming back around.
"Daryl?" Carol tried calling out to him but it seemed like Daryl still wasn't all there. Something wasn't quite right.
Daryl's body started to convulse at that point. Febrile seizure. It wasn't exactly something Rick was familiar with but he knew what it was and he knew it couldn't be good. It meant that Daryl's temperature was a lot higher than what they suspected and they needed to bring it down. Fast.
"Get Hershel—" Carol practically choked out her words as she took the washcloth from Daryl's forehead and worked on undoing some of the top buttons of his shirt.
Rick's feet felt like concrete. He felt like they were somehow going to lose Daryl right then and there. But he pulled himself together and hightailed it out of there in search for Hershel. He wasn't sure what the man could do but he was their best shot at getting Daryl better.
Luckily, Hershel was already on his way back so Rick didn't have far to go. Hershel immediately noticed the look of panic on Rick's face and started moving as fast as he could with his crutches while Rick kept up beside him.
"What's going on with him?" Hershel asked as the door to D Block came into view.
"Seizure—febrile seizure. Carol's with him. I—we don't know what to do." Rick quickly opened the door and allowed Hershel to go before him. The only thing Rick knew about febrile seizures was that they weren't suppose to last long and that the body's temperature was at least 104 degrees Fahrenheit for them to occur. It was more common for children to have them. Rick recalled all of this from when Carl was first born because Lori looked into everything, always worried that something was going to happen and she wanted to be prepared.
"Get him on his side if you can," Hershel called out to Carol as he approached. Rick ran over to help Carol who was near in tears at this point.
"Is there anything we can do?" Carol wiped under her eye before returning her hand to Daryl's forehead and running her hand through his hair.
"I'm afraid not. Just make sure there's nothing that can block his airway and keep him on his side so that he doesn't choke," Hershel instructed. "We'll have to wait for it to pass. Then we need to start working on getting his temperature down and keep it down."
Rick stayed close by just in case but when he glanced over at Hershel, he felt like every muscle in his body clenched. The look on Hershel's face was so stern and that alone was enough to keep Rick in his panicked state. But thankfully Daryl came out of the seizure shortly after that, and Rick knew he had to act.
"We need to get him out of his clothes and it probably wouldn't hurt to get some more washcloths. Since he's not conscious to take anything, we'll have to work around that and do everything we can. And if it's possible, I'd like to be able to get him into one of the cells and onto a bed so that I can reach him easier." Hershel listed everything he could think of.
Rick looked to Carol. She was still running a hand through Daryl's hair while she wiped her face with her other hand. He wasn't sure if she needed a quick break or not but since she didn't tear her stare from Daryl, Rick guessed she wasn't planning on going anywhere. "I'll go grab Glenn and Tyreese. They can help lift him back into the cell where the mattress came from." Rick rested his hand on Carol's shoulder and gave a firm squeeze before he got back up and left.
Carol felt torn. She almost didn't catch all of what Rick said but she knew she had to snap out of it. She had to pull herself together for Daryl. He needed help and they were all going to do everything they could for him. She started to finish unbuttoning Daryl's shirt as she glanced up at Hershel. "I'm sorry. I didn't even think about moving the mattress out here. I just figured it would be better for Daryl."
"That's okay. I would have done the same thing if I were in your position. I know he doesn't like these cells but right now it's all I've got. I have one leg and I'm certainly not getting any younger." Hershel smiled.
Carol returned the friendly gesture and nodded. Daryl would pull through this, it would just take time. After living together for however many months it had officially been, she had never seen Daryl come down sick. It was like he couldn't just come down with a simple cold. No, he had to come down with whatever this was and scare her half to death. By the sounds of it, Daryl hadn't even been conscious at all yet today. At least not fully if his eyes flickering open before his seizure counted. She had a feeling he was going to be out for most of the day too.
The sound of footfalls filled the cellblock like music to Carol's ears. It meant that they could finally start working on getting Daryl onto the road of recovery. Rick led the way over with Tyreese and Glenn in tow. Tyreese looked a little taken aback by Daryl's presence, seeing as he hadn't been around Daryl since everything that happened. But nevertheless, he was there to help and he didn't say a word.
