Carol had finished the laundry and had dinner duty to look forward to. She enjoyed preparing and cooking meals for everyone more than her earlier task. It was approaching early evening and dinner had to be spiced rices with grains and some tomatoes they had managed to grow over the summer. She was waiting for Maggie to appear as her right hand woman.
The sun had just set and the sky was still alight with burnt orange tinted clouds, a breeze playing with the ends of the tarpaulin which enclosed the outdoor eating and cooking area. They couldn't run the generators long enough to use the main prison kitchens so this was the best solution to that problem.
"Hey, sorry I'm late. I was clearin' Walkers from that congestion down by the outer fence." Maggie approached and fastened an apron around her waist. "How are you?"
"I'm fine." Carol smiled. She didn't feel 'fine' and her mind cast back to Daryl talking about having a feeling something bad was on the horizon. Now, she felt her senses on high alert. Maggie started chopping tomatoes. "Wonder when we'll get some meat to work with? I miss meat. I miss burgers and fries at the mall. I miss going to the mall. I miss my phone and my computer and I miss college work. Never thought I'd say that." She laughed.
"Mmmm." Carol agreed. "I was saying to Carl a while ago; I miss noise, traffic, jumbo jets. I miss my washing machine." She glanced at Maggie with good humour. "I miss my vibrator."
Maggie threw her head back and laughed. "Ms Peletier!!" She nudged Carol "There's always something you could do about it!"
"Ask someone to pick me one up on a run? Oh sure!" Carol snorted with laughter. "I'll put it on the list!"
Maggie pointed her knife at her friend in mock seriousness, "Nooooo. Ask a certain redneck to help you out in that department. He'd not say no."
Carol exaggerated shock and was speechless for a moment and then laughed. "He'd run a mile."
"Uh-oh. Someone's in denial." Maggie went back to chopping. "He massages your shoulders whenever they're sore. He offers to, for God sake! And I have never known him to touch anyone else voluntarily. He stares at you all of the damn time! You two just need to get your act together."
Carol was about to reply when the warning signal came from the main gate.
The two women looked at each other and abandoned dinner to run down towards the sound. "Carl's down there, on gate duty." Maggie breathed as they ran. Carol could hear the footsteps of others coming to investigate, running behind them.
Once at the main gate, the pickup sat, doors open and a bustle of activity, Daryl's bike parked to the rear.
"What's going on?!" Maggie shouted.
Glenn and Bob were carrying a prone Zack with Daryl and Sasha carrying him from the other side and Michonne had hold of his shoulders.
"He had an accident. His leg looks pretty bad. Might be broken but he's been passed out since it happened. We'll need Hershel quick." Daryl informed them, directing the details to Carol, who had been building up her medical knowledge from the elderly vet. Carol nodded, turned on her heel and ran as fast as she could back up to the prison to prepare their 'medical' room which was a housed in the old prison infirmary.
Maggie walked alongside the group.
Glenn looked at her. "We got medical supplies, they're in truck." His wife quickly ran down to the truck to gather everything they had found.
As they headed for the infirmary, Ty approached and asked if there was anything he could do but Daryl gave him short shrift.
Once in the treatment room they filled Hershel in on the accident and advised him that Zack hadn't woken at all on the way home. The vet nodded solemnly and dismissed everyone from the room except Carol. He rolled up his sleeves and set to work.
In the main atrium of the prison, Maggie rushed to Glenn when she saw him and swept him into a hug. "Are you ok?" She whispered in his ear as he nodded and clung to her. Daryl watched them as he made his way to go back to the truck, the jasper stone had been transferred to his jacket pocket and he rolled it in his hand now.
He wished he had someone to run to, someone to embrace him whenever he returned. Someone to lean on….he stopped for a moment and caught himself before he started down that road in his mind. They had other things to deal with.
Glenn was telling Maggie how Zack came to be injured and he suddenly stopped. "Where's Beth? She doesn't know. Zack really likes her, he'd want her to know."
"She's got Judith," Maggie informed them, "She's may be in Carol's cell though."
"I'll tell her," Daryl said from the door. "I shoulda looked after the kid better out there." Before anyone could protest, he turned and left the room, heading for Carol's cell.
"Where's Rick?" enquired Glenn.
Maggie shrugged, grasping her husband's wrist and tracing the outline of a bloodstain on his skin, "Out in the woods. He was mutterin' to himself earlier, could have sworn at lunch that he smelled of whiskey."
Glenn grimaced and kissed his wife's forehead before they headed to the shower block to clean him up.
Judith was sleeping soundly in the cot in Carol's cell while Beth worked on her sheets of music and diary when Daryl approached.
"Carol said it was ok for me to lay Judith down in this cot whenever," She explained to him, sitting up on the bed and placing her music on her lap, as though he'd caught her somewhere she shouldn't be.
"I know," he nodded, leaning against the wall of the doorway.
"Judith prefers it in here in general but she likes this cot better than the one in Rick's room….wait," her words faded as she caught the look on his face. "You're back early. Is everyone ok? Is it Glenn? Is he…"
Daryl put up a hand to stop her. "Glenn's fine. It's Zack."
"Oh." The young girl said, sweeping the stray strands of her hair from her eyes. She took a deep breath. "Tell me."
Daryl explained what had happened and that Hershel and Carol were working on her boyfriend's injuries in the infirmary, and that she could see him as soon as she could.
"At least he's alive, Daddy will patch him back together," she sighed. "I'll let them work and then I'll go see him and show him the song I wrote him. Thanks for telling me. You didn't have to. Suppose it's part of your code. To be the bringer of news."
"My code?" Daryl repeated, crossing his arms across his chest.
"Yeah," Beth scribbled on the loose pages on her knee. "When you left with your brother, I was mad because I thought we'd be weak without you against the Governor." She glanced up guiltily. "I told Carol I was pissed at you." The girl looked at him sheepishly, "She said not to be because you have a code. And that this world needs more men like you."
Daryl looked puzzled for a moment. "She said that?"
"Yep." Beth nodded. "I kinda think she knew you'd come back. You wouldn't abandon us. That would be against your code. She knows you cos here you are." She gave a small smile as though she was unsure about telling him.
Daryl felt his cheeks flush, thinking about Carol defending him, even through her upset at him leaving. Aware that he was blushing in front of a kid, he pushed himself off the wall.
"Someone'll come get ya when you can see him. Just don't wear him out with love songs. It's not a damn romance novel around here." He tried to keep his tone light so she'd know he wasn't being entirely serious. His 'romance novel' phrase was becoming well worn, matters of the heart were escalating all around him. People were coupling up and their close quarters contributed to relationships forming. Even Carl had a crush on the girl before him.
Beth made a sound like a laugh but he thought she probably wanted to throw herself onto the bed and weep. Judith stirred and cried as though sensing the young girl's distress. "She needs feedin'" Beth said, her voice thick with emotion.
"I'll take her. I'll find her daddy and he can see to her." Daryl gathered the infant up, aware that his jacket had blood on. He set her down again and she cried out. "Ok, ok, ass kicker. Just takin' off my stinky jacket." He hung it on the back of the chair next to the bookcase. "Here we go." He whispered as she settled back in his arms, while he looked back at Beth. "Zack'll be fine. He'll be expecting a whole lot of sympathy once he's awake."
Beth nodded vigorously as her eyes filled with tears. Daryl turned and set off to find Rick, hoping that Zack would come through relatively unscathed, if it was a broken leg, it would have to heal as best it could without a chalk.