2. Help

Miraculously the small group met no one, living or dead, as they left the abandoned house where Dean and Sam had taken shelter.

The three adults moved at a quick pace, forcing Dean nearly to run in order to keep up.

As they neared the end of the street, Dean saw a silver car parked on the sidewalk. The three men were moving rapidly towards the car.

Rick reached the vehicle first and opened the rear passenger door.

"You sit with Daryl and your brother in the back," he told the boy once they had reached the car.

Dean scrambled into the backseat along with Daryl and his brother. Dean taking the younger boy from Daryl's arms and resting Sam's head on his lap.

"Is your community far?" Dean asked as Rick climbed behind the wheel and pulled a U-turn to head back the way they had come.

"We'll be there in no time," Glenn said, half-turning to address Dean from the front passenger's seat.

All talk was silenced as each person in the car was lost in his own thoughts.

Dean reached out and brushed his brother's hair from his face, peering down at the lightly closed eyelids, the slightly parted lips, the pale skin. Lifting his gaze, he saw that Daryl was watching him but the man said nothing, instead, turning to look out the window.

Everything is going to be okay, Dean thought, these are good guys. They're gonna help Sammy.

SPN

Rick drove quickly, knowing time was of the essence to save the little boy but well aware that they could already be far too late. He had a thousand questions for the siblings but right now they could all wait. Once they had reached the prison and Hershel had had a chance to look at the younger boy, perhaps then they could hear Dean's full story.

Glancing at the older boy in the rear-view mirror, Rick saw Dean murmuring quietly to his brother, and he felt a tug at his heartstrings.

It was always a gamble to bring new people in and Rick knew some of the others might oppose this but he knew that if his son or daughter were wandering out in the wastelands of what had once been America, he'd want a kind soul to help them.

Returning his attention to the road and the real purpose of their outing, Rick frowned. They had to travel farther and farther from the prison every time they went out to find food, the areas closest had been picked clean already, and now they were bringing back two more mouths to feed.

Soon a decision would have to be made, should they stay at the prison or move on and hope to find another building large enough to house all of them? Even if they found appropriate shelter, would they be able to supplement their resources as they were here? With the little bit of farming they were able to do? It would be enough work to move so many people but could they also transport the pigs and crops?

"-all right, Rick?" Glenn's voice cut through his thoughts and he glanced at his friend from the corner of his eye.

"I asked if you think the kid will be all right, or if we should be prepared to, you know," Glenn said, letting the sentence trail off without finishing it.

"Let's just wait and see what Hershel says," Rick replied.

He slowed the car down as they approached the prison, watching out for Walkers as he did so.

As they neared the gates to the prison, Rick saw Maggie, Carl, Carol and some others gathered at the fencing, rattling the chain-link and calling out to the Walkers, distracting them while the gates were opened. The car slipped through a gap in the gate just large enough for it to pass through, the edges of the doors nearly touching the sides of the car.

As soon as they were safely inside, Rick put the car in park and jumped out. Daryl opened his door and took the unconscious boy from his brother.

Carl ran to his father and hugged him.

"Are you okay?"

"Where's Hershel?" Rick asked Maggie.

"He's inside," she said, "Are you hurt?"

"We're fine but we brought a couple kids and one needs help," Glenn replied and Daryl stepped around the car, Dean close behind him.

Maggie took one look at the child in Daryl's arms, "This way."

Rick, Daryl, Dean, Glenn and Maggie all hurried towards the prison building, Carol and Carl following after, firing questions at the group.

"Who are they?"

"Where did they come from?"

"What happened?"

"Did you find more supplies?"

They found Hershel quickly, the older man sitting with his daughter, Beth, while she watched over Judith. At seeing the group approach, Hershel struggled up on his crutches and met them.

"Was he bitten?" he asked Daryl.

"Head injury," was the reply.

"Bring him in here," Hershel indicated an empty cell and Daryl carefully deposited Sam on the lower bunk. Dean squeezed himself between the two men and stood beside his brother.

"We found these two while we were searching a house for supplies," Rick explained, "Dean says his brother's been unconscious for around two days."

As Rick spoke, Hershel bent over and began running his fingers through Sam's hair, feeling for signs of trauma.

"Can you tell me exactly what happened, son?" Hershel asked Dean.

Dean stared at the old man for a long moment, "Are you a doctor?"

"I was a veterinarian," Hershel admitted, "And right now it's the closest thing to a doctor we have."

Dean seemed to consider this for a moment before he nodded.

"Okay," he said, as though to himself.

"Sammy and I found a convenience store that hadn't been looted and we were staying there," Dean explained, giving a more detailed story to Hershel then the one he'd told Rick, "It seemed safe enough and we were really quiet."

"But it was on a street with other stores and there were dead people walking around outside," he continued, "Sammy saw something on a shelf that he wanted and he started climbing on it, but it fell over and made a loud noise. The dead guys heard us and we had to run. We escaped through the backdoor but there were even more out in the alley than out front."

Dean paused, taking a deep breath, "I really thought we were done for. They just kept coming, you know?"

"You didn't try to shoot any of them? You had a gun." Glenn asked.

Dean shook his head, "There were too many. I could probably get a few, but not all."

"Go on," Hershel encouraged the boy.

"We just kept running but Sammy was getting tired," Dean continued, his voice shaking, "And then he tripped. He hit his head on the curb but I helped him back up and we kept going. We saw this house and got in through a basement window. We were real quiet and hid and eventually the dead guys left.

Then Sam said he wasn't feeling good and he got sick. I decided to stay in the house for a few days, to wait until he felt better, you know? But when I went to wake him up in the morning, he wouldn't open his eyes. He was still alive because he kind of groaned and he was still breathing but he just wouldn't wake up."

Hershel nodded as Dean finished.

"Can you help him?" the boy asked, "He's the only family I have left."

"I'll try my best," Hershel told him, "But I can't make any promises."

Dean nodded, swiping his nose with his sleeve.

"Rick, why don't you and Carl show him around while I see to his brother?" Hershel asked and although Dean looked like he would much rather stay with Sam, Carl reached out a hand to the older brother.

"You're brother's safe with Hershel, c'mon."

Reluctantly, Dean followed Carl and Rick from the cell, glancing over his shoulder at Hershel and his brother before allowing himself to be led away.

"You think he has a chance?" Daryl asked Hershel.

"Everything's a gamble, especially now," the old veterinarian said, "But sometimes you'll be surprised."

Daryl nodded even though Hershel hadn't really answered his question. Leaving Hershel to tend to the boy, he went in search of Maggie, Glenn and Carol who were huddled together discussing their latest supply run.