Curative

By Kaimaler

Now that we're at the CDC, let's see what happens to our friends and, because everyone wants to know, what happens when Jenner shows up Laura? :O

No news yet, however, some drunk Daryl/Laura fun here. xD
Oh Daryl, not even a quarter of a way into a bottle of whiskey as you're already flat on your ass drunk. :/

Review Replies:

Dante's Desciple:

Well good, hearing that makes me happy! :D
Welcome to the story by the way, I'm trying to keep momentum up, but the more detailed and deep the episodes in WD are, the harder and longer they take to write. x.x

I hope it's original, I mean, I want people to think of a cured walker and think Laura, but she ain't so cured. xD
Anyways, enjoy this latest chapter, let me know what you think! ;3

Jenner drew blood, everyone's. Including hers, which she wasn't so keen on. He was in deep thought ever since he took Andrea's blood and she nearly collapsed. He was planning something and now, because of her past, Laura felt like if he was planning something, that it couldn't be good.

How wrong she had been when, not long after the blood had all been drawn, they were taken to the cafeteria where whoever could cook, made a meal. Carol, Lori, T-Dog, and Jenner to a lesser extent all started cooking, dealing out plates of food, glasses of wine and water. All fresh as could be.

Laura never drank a drop in her life and wasn't going to break that streak now. She found some soda's and popped two, sitting down and enjoying the sugary drink while everyone else found themselves gulping down wine.

It is quite literally a table full of laughter. To her utter shock, Daryl was laughing just as hard as the rest of the group and Shane was the one sitting and sulking.

It was like someone turned Daryl into Shane and Shane into Daryl without anyone noticing.

She wouldn't complain though, Daryl was enjoyable when he was happy. A rare occurrence, sure, but still a welcome one. Laura could hear him over everyone else, kind of like the room was underwater except for her and Daryl, his voice just stuck out to her, she took notice of it more then the others.

Laura would giggle here or there, but the topics were not much of interest to her. Until Dale tried to convince Lori to let Carl have wine. That was funny.

"You know, in Italy, children have a little bit of wine with dinner." Dale poured Lori a glass and handed it to her. "And in France."

"Well, when Carl is in Italy or France, he can have some then." Lori had her hand on top of Carl's cup.

Rick chuckled, "What's it gonna' hurt. Come on." He insisted, the warning look from Lori made everyone try and hold back their laughs. "Come on." Lori removed her hand with a do what you want.

Dale poured Carl a small amount of wine before handing it to him. "Here you are young lad."

He was anxious about it and gladly took the cup from Dale and sipped it. He recoiled instantly. "Eww!" And the room lit up with laughter again. Everyone finding the child's reaction humorous.

Lori rubbed his back, "That's my boy." She poured Carl's wine into her glass. Carl shook his head, "That tastes nasty."

"Why don't you stick to soda pop there, bud." Shane managed to crack a grin at Carl.

"Not you Glenn." Laura giggled, Daryl was rather forcefully giving Glenn more to drink. He innocently looked around, confused like hell. "What?" Daryl was now leaning over the table, pouring more to drink. "Keep drinkin' little man, I wanna' see how red your face can get."

Everyone laughed again, the confused amused grin coming from Glenn tickled everyone.

Their merriments were paused when Rick tapped his glass and stood. "It seems to me that we haven't thanked our host properly."

"He is more then just our host." T-Dog raised his glass, followed by everyone in the room crying out; "Here, here!"

"Booyah!" Daryl bellowed out, still clutching that whiskey bottle like it was an old friend. The room took it from there, announcing their "Booyah"'s to Jenner and his kindness to let them into the CDC then feed them.

People were laughing like the world hadn't gone to hell, like they didn't see their loved ones die. For once, they enjoyed the peace and quiet of not running from the undead or worrying about making too much noise. Nothing could hear them and even if they could, the walkers could never reach them.

All good things must come to an end, and this good thing met a very thick headed end named Shane.

"So when are you gonna' tell us what the hell happened here, Doc?" Shane had an almost unreadable expression, almost. Laura calls it the 'I want to be an asshole right now so deal with it' expression. She's seen it a few times. "All the other doctors, supposed to be figurin' out what happened. Where are they?"

"We're celebrating Shane." Rick warned cautiously, he knew his friend looked a little off. "No need to do this now."

"Whoa, wait a second. This is why we're here, right? This was your move. Supposed to find all the answers." Shane chuckled without humor, "Instead, we found him. We found one man. Why?"

"Well when things got bad people just left, went off to be with their families. And when things got worse, when the military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted." Laura could understand that, a little cowardice perhaps when they're the people trusted to, in the event of a catastrophic plague of some proportion, try and find a way to end it.

"Every last one?" Shane looked a little smug, Laura didn't know why.

"No. Many couldn't face walking out the door, they... opted out." Laura sighed, Shane was such a jackass for ruining this fine night. "There was a rash of suicides. That was a bad time."

"You didn't leave. Why?" Andrea was interested and her question made Laura the same. With so many leaving, running away, or committing suicide, you'd think the last man standing would've left too.

"I just kept working. Hoping to do some good." Laura smiled a little at that, Jenner was trying and that's all that matters now.

Glenn came walking around the table, taking a seat behind them. "Dude, you are such a buzzkill man."

"Let me show you where you'll be sleeping." Jenner rose, everyone else not too far behind him.

They followed close, carrying their bags with them as Jenner lead them down another hallway. "Most of the facilities have powered down, including housing. So you'll have to make due here. Couches are comfortable, but there are cots in storage if you like."

Jenner pointed in front of him, "There's a rec room down the hall that you kids might enjoy. Just don't plug in the video games, okay? Or anything that draws power." He had stopped and turned to face them all.

"Same applies, if you shower go easy on the hot water."

Every last person heard Jenner, but they only heard one thing. Glenn looked over his shoulder to them. "Hot water?"

With that, people rushed to their rooms, getting ready for their first hot shower in a long time.

Laura was looking forward to being clean, she knew that in the two days that she had eaten anything that her body has graciously chosen to start putting on weight again, she would gain it much easier in her condition, which had been starving for months, but with a little more food here or there, she figured that she could be back up to a healthy weight in no time.

She could feel her ribs, see them too. She was nothing but bones now, with the hope that that wouldn't be true for much longer.

Closing the door, she stripped and threw her clothes wherever they wanted to go in her room and ran into the bathroom, the water turned on and within a few seconds steam began to rise.

Stepping in, she froze as the heated water started to wash off months of dirt, blood, and grime. There were soaps, shampoos, conditioners, and two loufas. It was well stocked and she adored every scrub.

When she was done, she wrapped herself up and stepped out of the shower. Laura looked into the mirror, looking at her new clean face and body. She considered that, even with a few walker-like bits and pieces, she didn't look that bad...

She bit her lip, Okay, so it's kinda weird. She ran her hand down her face, it was losing it's narrowness caused by starvation, just barely but she wanted to see it gone. Laura wanted to look as healthy as she could in her position.

Her skin didn't tan well, it was pale but had a steely blue tint to it. Her white iris' contrasted against her dark scleras' unnaturally. It didn't matter though, these could be over looked like it could've been in the world of the past. She would look strange, but no one would try to put a bullet in her brain.

Or an arrow. She huffed, Daryl didn't seem cross with her that day in the woods or even when she rode in the truck to the CDC. He was quiet and let her think to herself. She needed the time to think about Daryl knowing.

He most certainly wasn't a bad person, she actually thought he'd give her a chance to show that she is not a mindless cannibalistic monster. Laura thought she did that already, to a certain extent, with everything she has done so far... but things happen.

Her mind noticed that she spent time more on Daryl then anyone else. She rolled her eyes, of course she'd think something like that. Laura would never say it, but she started to find him a little more attractive every time she looks at him.

He wasn't an overly large man, but not small and lanky either. He was buff, average height, short tempered, but willing to fight for the people he appears to hate. Daryl was always covered in sweat and dirt, and that telltale musky smell of Daryl Dixon. He walked around like he owned the place and instead of acting like his brother did that day on the roof, Daryl tolerated people and helped them when he could, even if it was something small.

He'd also deny it to the ends of the Earth. Daryl wouldn't willingly tell anyone he was helping out even if you were to torture him.

Laura hadn't said much to Daryl in the last few days she'd known him, but she wasn't going to lie to herself and say the man was unattractive, that was most certainly not the case. Daryl had a real mans' body, not all that oiled up muscle made at the gym on late nights, he had real weight on his bones, the muscle was thick and dirsty. His bicep was as big as her, especially in her current state.

Stop thinking about him like that. You weirdo. Laura groaned so loud she was actually worried about someone hearing her. She was attracted to Daryl, the man had a body, but it was more then just sexual tension, she liked him. How he carried himself, how he talked, she listened to him and ignored everyone else. She always thought more about his words then anyone else's.

God, you're acting like a teenage girl. Grow the fuck up. Laura closed her eyes and ran her hands down her face, her nails dragging lightly on her skin. On the topic of people knowing... Laura groaned, she'd have to talk to Jenner before he fell into a panic.

When she stepped into her room to get her clothes, she was met with a very estranged looking Daryl Dixon, still holding onto that bottle of whiskey which was, for his pride, actually below half empty now.

"Daryl, what are you doin' here?" She pulled the tower around her tighter, she felt exposed in her minimal clothing choice.

He sauntered over to her, probably on accident judging from how amazingly drunk he was. He stood close to her now, not saying a word yet and reached out to run a hand up her upper arm.

Goosebumps formed and she got a little concerned, drunk Daryl was definitely more forward but clearly not as intelligent. "Daryl, you're drunk. Go to bed."

"I ain't that drunk." His nose twitched, "I was just checkin' in on ya'. Didn't say nothin' at dinner, figured somethin' was botherin' ya'." He gulped, his words weren't too badly slurred, there were a few that proved quite challenging to him, but she wasn't about to let this continue while he would wake up in the morning and forget ever speaking to her.

"Come on." She took hold of his arm and lead him to the couch, there were no read beds unfortunately.

Sitting him down, Laura untied and pulled of his boots and laid him down. She took out her two blankets and put them over him. Apparently, he was drunk enough to let her put him to bed and take the whiskey away.

"I came here for a reason, woman." He grasped her forearm, the one that had just been placing the blanket on his far side. He didn't grip it hard, but enough to get her attention.

"And what reason would that be?"

Daryl chewed on the inside of his lip, his jaw tensing. She knew this was one of his nervous twitches, two of them really, but that he only did it when he was actually nervous about something. Whatever he wanted to tell her, he thought it was important enough to come here in a drunken haze to say, but couldn't get it out right away. Laura was alright with waiting, Daryl wanted someone to listen, she was going to do just that.

"I..." He coughed a little, it sounded more like purposeful fake coughing, but she had no problem being patient with him. He looked down to his feet. "I think ya look fine."

Laura blinked, was he talking about seeing her, about outing her?

"I mean... I think ya' look..." He groaned, his drunken state causing a little hiccup. "I like how ya' look. Ya' look... different. Ya' look good."

"Daryl... Are you complimenting me?" Laura squinted her eyes, looking at Daryl's troubled ones.

"No, well... yeah. I was just thinkin' that... I-" He let out a loud frustrated sigh. Something Laura was not used to hear coming from him of all people, but it was a reminder that he was drunk as he could possibly be without killing himself. "Ya' look... pretty."

Laura froze just like she did when she got under the shower and Daryl looked about ready to jump out a window. If there was one to jump out of. "Why would you tell me this?"

The hunter huffed, "Need a reason ta' tell a girl she's pretty?" Laura looked away for a moment, before facing Daryl and nodding. He tried to go for his whiskey, but Laura held it out of reach with a warning expression. "Fine... I like... I like ya' a bit, that's... all."

Laura grinned, "I like you a bit too." His turn to smirk at her, "Figured that part out darlin'. You always... starin' and shit. Thought... that must be somethin'... ya' likin' for ya' eyes... eyes to be glued ta' me like that."

She barely ever realized that she stared at Daryl when she though he wasn't looking, but she did. She remembered doing it. "Oh shut up and get some sleep." She shook her head, That was relatively painless. Laura realized she was still in that stupid towel, Daryl hadn't given her time to change yet. "You get some shut eye, I'm going to..." Telling him about going to see Jenner would be a HUGE mistake. "I'm going to go find a book to read, I'll come right back."

Daryl was already nodding off.

She smiled and picked up her clothes off the floor. Dressing herself back up, she left the room quietly and made a bee line to the big room where she was hoping Jenner was in.

"-never told them what I really thought." Laura's attention snapped ahead of her, she saw Rick there with Jenner. Rick knew about her, sure, but Jenner may think that he doesn't. He could raise alarms. "I just kept it in."

"It'll be alright." Jenner's words sounded like baseless comforts, "It'll be okay."

After a few moments of sitting there drunk, Rick got up unsteadily and headed out the door, passing by Laura without even acknowledging her.

She stepped into the room, quiet as a mouse and slowly approached Jenner in his seat. He already knew, he must've, it just wasn't possible for him to not know if he'd done those blood tests. "So, about those tests...?"

Jenner turned in his chair, leaning back. "Yes, is there anything you would like to tell me?"

Laura had her hood up again, Jenner couldn't see her. "Look, it ain't what you think. I'm fine, really, it happened a long while ago and I'm not going to eat anyone. I would never."

He sighed, "I actually don't know what you're talking about."

She reeled back a little, "But, you asked...?"

"I asked if you wanted to tell me something, but judging by what you just said... I'm going to say you were bit? It must've been just before I let you in, otherwise, you'd be showing signs of a fever." Jenner inspected her, but couldn't get a good enough look. "Unless you are and I just can't see it."

"No, I'm not sick... I was bit before the outbreak really happened, before it got really bad." Laura pulled down her hood, revealing herself. "I turned thereafter like anyone else would, but my father, a scientist who actually used to work here, had taken me away and after two months of continued study he was able to return me my free will and sanity."

Jenner stood up instantly and crossed the room, Laura took a step back ready to run, worried of what he might do. But he slowed to a near stop and held his hands up, "No, don't go... I just... I want to look at you."

He was so close she could feel his breath, but he was trepid, like she was a wild rabbit and the wrong move would scare her off. He reached out to her and touched her face, it was shocking at first, but he wasn't doing anything strange, he was checking, as best he could without the proper equipment, her density and muscle structure.

"Are you experiencing decomposition?" He asked, pressing a thumb to her temples, a soft spot of the skull that often collapsed first.

"No, I didn't even when I was a walker. My father had the room treated and kept me alive to the best of his ability." Laura answered, "Say ahh." He asked and she complied.

He leaned down to look in her mouth. Sure enough, her glands were creating healthy amounts of saliva, her pigmentation in her mouth was a little off, but it wasn't a problem. Her teeth were healthy and her jaw worked fine.

Jenner took a single step back and looked over her. "Jacket off please."

She unzipped it and showed her dirty, bloody tank top underneath. He was checking her arms, they were very boney and didn't have much to them. "Emaciated, heavy bruising, but functional."

"I work fine thank you very much." She rotated her shoulders, elbows, wrists and wiggled her fingers. "I have a heart beat, but it is very faint. I can bleed to death, but it would take me a long time to do so rather then you or the others."

"I can't believe it." Jenner took a few weary steps back to his seat and sat down. "Here I've been studying to find a way to solve this for months and then, all of a sudden, you walk in. The answer. You solve everything."

"I what?" Laura's brow furrowed.

"I did your blood test and found something I've never seen before." Jenner explained, "A kind of anti-bacteria that would destroy any stems of the virus. I can mix your blood and theirs and it's the same result. The virus in their blood stream is eliminated completely, erased like it wasn't even there. Then it starts it's own chain reanimation. It's a hybrid of the virus, it works the same way but somehow, somehow, it uses what virus there is and builds off of it, until the brain had restarted and the virus is turned to a different cause."

"So, I still have the virus in me?"

"Yes, but..." He turned his chair to the desk and took out a piece of paper and a pen. "Come here."

Laura looked over his shoulder as he drew the human skull, brain, and make little lines all around the brain. "This is the brain, these lines are synapses." Laura nodded, "I went to a good school, was going to become a doctor. I understand this."

He nodded, "Good, I won't have to explain everything then." He smirked before returning to his work. "The virus," He erased a part of the brain, at the cranium and redrew much darker lines. "It effects the brain stem, it gets them around, makes them capable of walking, grabbing, all the normal things."

"So is that what mine is?" Laura frowned, she wasn't still a walker and she knew that she couldn't possibly be able to do half the things she does now without her frontal cortex.

"The best I can guess it that this cure, and I use that word loosely, your father developed uses the virus to rebuild the parts of the brain that were lost to the virus, but I can't know for certain. The machines are all powered down." Jenner looked disappointed, "You being here, being alive despite the odds is nothing short of a miracle. He created a way to build a human from the virus, it's ingenious really, but it is not a cure."

"I still don't know how I feel about being... me. Being like this is a hassle, the others... Only Rick knows, I told him everything and he's willing to accept me because I've helped them and have continued to do so." Laura paced, "Walkers don't bother me, haven't since I woke up cured. I can treat them like dirt, beat them, kill them, shout at them, they don't do anything to me."

"They still see you as one of them, you have no human smell, you have none at all aside from the soaps in that shower." Jenner chuckled, "You look like them, albeit still more human then the others, but to do all that and still have them not harm you? I don't know the answer to that."

"I don't need answers about what I am, I just want them to know I would never hurt them, but I'm unsure how to even bring it up." Laura smiled, "I mean, it's not everyday someone you know walks up and says Hey guys, nice day. Oh yeah, and I'm a walker. Sorry. No big deal right?" She laughed out loud finally, she was being serious but still found sharing it tickled her.

Jenner nodded, "Yeah, I can't imagine that ending well."

"Well, Doctor, I just wanted to come in here and talk to you..." She shrugged, "And I did. I'm glad you're so... nonchalant about all this. It's a lot to take in, I should know, I have to live with it."

"There's nothing wrong with you. You're human again." Jenner stood and rested his hands on her shoulders, she jumped at the contact, but remained in the same spot. "That is a gift, no matter what they say."

"Thank you Doctor." Laura let out a deep breath, "I'm just going to go check on the others. Maybe call it a day and read a book. Goodnight Doctor." She waved goodbye, he just watched her go.

She made a point of going to the rec room and picking out a few books, she'd be up all night just reading. She had to do something to pass the time.

When she got back to her room, there was Daryl, arm across his forehead and that bottle of whiskey back in his hands. "Daryl, dammit." She crossed the room after closing the door and snatched the bottle up. He'd been drinking like it was his last day on Earth. "You gotta' lay off the booze, get some sleep."

"Where ya' been?" He was definitely more drunk now then before.

"Went to get a book, didn't get ya' anythin'." She smirked, "Go to bed, you jackass. You're gonna' feel like shit tomorrow anyways."

He grumbled something but she couldn't hear him, he'd already passed out again and she went straight to reading.

Talking with Jenner actually made her more hopeful, more excited about the world even though it was ending. She felt, for the first time in her life, like she was important. Something that she couldn't explain right no matter who asked, she just couldn't put words to how wonderful it felt being needed in the world, somewhere, by someone.

She didn't know how, but she could help people, maybe even find her father and help him develop more of the cure.

Laura didn't care how they did it at this point, only that the cure be produced and distributed so they could return people back to normal again.

It would really be a miracle.