So I sat down and this chapter just poured out. I loved writing it. Because it all came out so quickly there is probably a lot of editing errors but I'm just dying to share it with you guys. So try not to judge to harshly as you're reading it.

I looked down at Lori's face, wondering what I could have done differently. I must have gone over the procedure a thousand times in my head already. It went as well as I could have expected it too, I guess. Trouble was, I was so slow. If only I had only been able to get the baby out sooner maybe... The words bounced around in my brain and I remembered what my mother used to always say to me. "If only and maybe are the devil's words. They do no good in the past tense. They only make a person fill with doubt." So true. Besides, Lori was still alive.

She had lost a critical amount of blood, probably close to forty percent of her total volume. That amount of blood loss was devastating. Maggie's blood donation probably didn't even make a dent, even though we took as much as we could. If only Lori would wake up. "Patience Stella," I cautioned myself. I knew her body was in shock. Unconsciousness was her body's way of protecting itself. Still, what I wouldn't do for a simple CBC and chemistry.

Rick shifted his body in the chair next to mine. His eyes were closed, he had fallen asleep. I leaned over and shook his shoulder gently. "Rick, wake up."

Instantly his eyes flew open. "Is she awake?" he asked hopefully.

"No, not yet. Go to bed, I'll get you if anything changes. I promise." I could see that he was going to protest. "We're going to need you to be functional tomorrow. It won't be any good if you can't stand on your feet. Go. It's been a long day."

Rick stared at Lori for a long minute and then looked back at me. "You promise? The moment anything changes?"

"I promise. Go get some sleep. I'm sure Carl could use the company." I watched Rick leave. Part of me envied him, going to lay down. My body and mind felt as though it had been a week since I slept. But, even if I could stop running the surgery over and over through my head, all the activity today had really done a number on my ribs. There was no way I'd be able to sleep tonight.

Sighing I leaned over and took Lori's blood pressure for what must have been the thousandth time. As I watched the numbers on the gauge I felt, more than saw, someone sit down next to me. I felt somewhat irritated. I was tired and cranky and didn't feel like being nice. After being alone for months I still wasn't used to having people around all the time. Satisfied that her pressure hadn't dropped I sat back and was surprised to see that it was Daryl sitting in the chair next to me.

"How you doin'?" He asked.

"She's still the same, no change." I answered.

"I didn't ask how she was doing, I asked how you were doing. I saw Rick leave. Figured he wouldn't be going anywhere if things were headed downhill."

"Oh, ah, I'm... fine, you know. Just a little tired." I looked over at Daryl. He looked exhausted too. "How about you? You doing alright?" Daryl simply shrugged. "You know Daryl, you were really something today. It would have taken me so much longer to get that baby out without your help. I don't think either one of them would have made it if you hadn't been there."

Daryl looked down at his shoes then back at me. "You and Hershel did all the hard work. What I did wasn't nothing special. Anyone would have done it."

"Maybe, but they weren't there. You were. You stood there and did what needed to be done. You didn't pass out or throw up. You have a knack for being places where ever and whenever people need help. Take the credit Daryl. You deserve it." As I spoke Daryl looked extremely uncomfortable. I had a feeling he wasn't used to hearing good things about himself. The thought made me sad.

"Wasn't there for T-Dog though, was I?" Daryl retorted. He stood abruptly and I thought for sure he was going to walk out, but he didn't. He simply stood there for a moment then sat back down. There was a beaten feeling about him.

I wanted to reach out and wrap my arms around him. But I had no doubt he would shun the offer of comfort and would probably even resent it. I was even afraid to take his hand. Instead I tried to soothe with words. "Glenn told me what happened. It wasn't your fault. T-Dog tripped. It could have happened to anyone of you. Sometimes Daryl, shit just happens and there isn't anything you can do about it. I will say this, I'm truly sorry you lost your friend." I could see the tension in his shoulders easing.

Tentatively I reached out and took his hand, lacing my fingers through his. Daryl looked down at our hands twisted together. When he didn't shake me off and bolt out of the room, I continued. "You can't save everyone Daryl. But today, you helped save Lori and the baby. And Daryl, you saved me too. Seems like you win more than you lose."

He didn't reply, but he didn't leave either. Instead he sat there, looking at our hands. After a moment I turned back to look at Lori. I was content to be silent, to hold Daryl's hand. As much as I had thought that I wanted alone time, I was glad he was here with me. His presence filled me with a sense of comfort. I closed my eyes to rest them for a moment.

The low moan woke me. My head sprang up from where it had been resting on Daryl's shoulder. I was immediately wide awake. Lori was shifting slightly in bed, and her eyelids were fluttering. I turned to wake up Daryl but he was awake, looking at me expectantly. I wondered if he had slept at all. "Can you go get Rick? Tell him to be quiet though. I don't want to wake her all the way up if she isn't ready." Quickly I took listened to her heart and took her blood pressure. Her heart rate was a little bit lower and her blood pressure was higher. Not by much, but I'd take it. I felt the sheets underneath her and sighed with relief. They were wet. Her kidneys were still functioning.

Rick stumbled into the cell. "Shhh," I admonished him. Whispering I said, "She looks better. Not out of the woods yet by any means, but better. I'm going to get her some pain medicine and a fresh change of sheets. Can you stay here with her?"

Rick looked down at Lori, hope flooding his face. This was the first change for the better we had seen in her. "She's stable enough for pain medication?"

"Her blood pressure is up a bit and her heart rate is down. That's all good. I don't want to send her body back into shock from the pain. She's had major surgery. I'm just going to give her a little and see how she does." I touched Rick lightly on the arm and headed out to get what I needed.

I walked over to where Hershel and I had spread out the medications. I placed my hands on the small of my back and stretched. It felt good to stand. I grabbed a vial of morphine and started drawing up a dose. I jumped as a voice behind me said, "So?"

I spun around, and of course it was him. Only he could move so silently. "Daryl Dixon!" I whispered loudly. "Don't you know better than to go sneaking up on people that have needles in their hands?" The smile I had on my face belied my firm words.

"Quit your bitching woman and just tell me what's going on," he quipped back.

"I'm going to give her some pain medication. I think she can handle it. BUT, the big news is, she urinated. I have to change her sheets." I was all but doing a dance of joy.

Daryl looked at me strangely. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone so excited over a little bit of pee."

"Well, now you have," I retorted coyly. Picking up the linens and the syringe of Morphine I headed back into the cell. As I pulled the curtain aside I glanced back at Daryl and sent him one of my best smiles. I paused as I entered the room. "Am I flirting with Daryl Dixon?" I asked myself. The simple answer was yes.

The sun came up, and slowly everyone started to trickle in to see how Lori was. I gave them all the same answer. She hadn't truly woken up yet, but was drifting in and out. But things were SLOWLY going in the right direction. When Beth came in she insisted that I take a break.

"Go, get something to eat, stretch, take a bathroom break for goodness sake. I'll watch her, and if anything happens someone will come and get you. Besides Daddy's right next door."

I looked at Beth gratefully. I knew she was capable of monitoring Lori's vital signs. "Alright, but don't wake your father unless it's absolutely necessary. Yesterday was really hard on him." Fact was, I thought at one point I might have two patients on my hands instead of just one. Hershel had stood on his one leg with just one crutch stabilizing him the entire surgery. Neither of us had thought to ask anyone to see if they could find him a stool. He was doing so well it was easy to forget he had just gone through a major operation himself not two weeks before. After the surgery, the toll it had taken on him was apparent. He was exhausted. When we moved Lori back to our cell block Hershel moved very slowly and kept tripping. Maggie had ended up walking next to him just in case.

As I stepped out into the hallway I looked around. I was impressed. I hadn't really seen it in the light of day. You couldn't even tell something had happened here yesterday. While Beth, Hershel and I set everything up and cleaned Lori up, everyone else cleared out bodies, cleaned up the mess, and dug a grave for T-Dog. Oscar and Axel even joined in. After helping so much yesterday Rick grudgingly agreed to let them move over into our cell block. Carl was the only one who didn't have to help with the backbreaking work. He got the privilege of being the first one to feed his baby sister. Thank goodness Maggie and Glenn had found that stash of formula a few weeks back.

I used the bathroom and washed my face. The water was refreshing and it felt so good I was tempted to climb into the shower. The urge to get back quickly to Lori won out however, and I headed outside to see what was for breakfast.

Maggie passed me a bowl of rolled oats. I raised my eyebrows questioning, "Are we out of deer?"

"Remember how Daryl and Rick moved the deer inside to keep it out of the sun? Well, what do you think the walkers did with it?"

I looked down at the bowl of rolled oats then smiled up at Maggie. "I was getting tired of deer anyway."

Maggie laughed. "No kidding, right? The first night I didn't think I'd ever tasted anything as good. By yesterday morning I was thinking, 'God, not again'. Only good thing was, it was all you can eat."

Chuckling I turned to go sit down. And saw Oscar, Daryl and Glenn gathering weapons and checking their guns for bullets. I hurried over, "What are you three doing?"

Glenn answered, "Figured we should clear out the sections around us. We're going to try to create a bigger buffer zone. Look for Carol on the way."

I had forgotten about Carol. All my focus had been on Lori. I felt bad that I hadn't even given her more than a minute's thought since finding out she was missing yesterday. "Why don't you guys wait a bit? She probably found a place to hold up for the night and will be back soon. Besides, all of you could use some rest since yesterday was so busy."

"Best get it over with," Oscar said. "Some things I'd rather just get done. You guys ready?" Glenn and Daryl gave their assent and the three began to move towards the door.

"Daryl wait for a minute, will you?" I moved closer to him. "When was the last time you got any sleep? I really wish you guys would reconsider this till you've all rested up."

Daryl flashed a quick smile at me. "Slept about as long as you did last night. I'll be alright." Daryl looked me up and down, a frown creased in his forehead. "Damn woman, didn't you learn anything yesterday? Come here." Daryl grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me over to his bike. Releasing me, he rummaged through his saddlebags before he found what he was looking for. Suddenly his stepped right up next to me, chest pressed against mine, his arms around my back. I had just enough time to register that he smelled like sweat, leather, and sunshine, (a combination that I found surprisingly pleasing), before he stepped back. His hands were fastening a buckle in front. "There, that's better" he said grinning. I looked down. There was a leather belt with a scabbard attached. I pulled the knife it housed free. It was a good size for me, big enough that it would do some damage, not too large it would be cumbersome.

"Thanks," I said somewhat dazed.

"No problem. You keep that on you, always. And get your gun. Carry that whenever you're out of your cell." Daryl paused. "Right, I gotta go. Gotta catch up with the others. See you later."

"Be careful," I called out after him.

Daryl looked back and winked. "You too."

After he had gone back inside I looked down. "Shit. I spilled my oats." With a groan I started back down to the cooking area to see if I could beg some more off Maggie.

Well? What did you think? Did you love it as much as I did?

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