Newly Revised

The kids stayed to ask a few more questions before Daryl and Merle told them to get to the administration building. They promised to come check in later, staying down in the field rather than come up, and would bring some food for the pair and leave it down with the water. Daryl walked them out, heading up the field with them to the courtyard before heading over to where they kept the cars. They needed a faster, more fuel efficient vehicle to get as far as they were going, the only one fitting the description being Zack's. Daryl checked the battery, oil, and filter as Michonne came out and put her gear down on the trunk of the car before walking up to him. For once the woman hadn't left the prison long enough to get away before this mess happened. Sure, she'd hurt her ankle when she'd come back, but at least she came back. They needed everyone they could get to go on this run if they were going to get everything they needed from the college.

"Son of a bitch is about a quart low," he informed Michonne, not wanting to deal with the look of concern she was giving him.

"You still keep it in the bottom of tower three?" she asked him, referring to the oil.

"Yeah."

"I'll go get one," she said as she turned around and walked away.

"Hey," he called out to her. "I'm glad you're here."

"Where else would I be?"

Daryl looked down and fiddled with the rag in his hand while he answered, "Runnin' off."

He looked back up to her, seeing her confused face as she told him, "You know I'm not running off." Daryl just looked at her for a moment, his face conveying everything Michonne needed to know before she brushed it off and asked, "So it's just gonna be me and you like in the old days? How's Ani doing anyway?"

"As good as she can be. And Bob's comin' too. Still, feels like we could use another person."

"Well, who isn't sick?"

"We don't ask Rick. He wants to stay here with Carl and Little Ass-Kicker. Keep 'em safe. Plus there's plenty of stuff he could do here. Merle's stayin' with Ania, so he's out of the question. Ain't leavin' her alone when she's sick."

"So who else we got?"

Daryl thought about it for a moment before telling Michonne to fetch the oil and fill the car and heading into the prison. He walked through the commons and the cells, down to the library, over to the shower. He checked D block and the infirmary before heading down towards A block, finally catching sight of the person he was looking for. Tyreese was standing vigil in front of the door to A still looking like shit from the beating Rick had given him. His eye was swollen half way shut and his lip was busted even with the angry and determined look on his face. Daryl couldn't blame him for wanting to keep an eye on Sasha; that was the whole reason he had Merle in the tower. None of them wanted to take a chance on what happened with Karen and David to happen again even if it was unlikely. The illness had spread to the better part of the prison's population which meant that there was no point in just killing the afflicted.

"There you are," he told the man. "Took me damn near forever to find you. Whatcha doin'?"

"Somebody needs to stand watch. Ain't that why you've got Merle locked up in that tower with Ani?" Tyreese asked as he turned around.

"That's why we went to the tower yesterday," Daryl admitted. "Man, I wanna find 'em too. Put a bolt in 'em for what they did, what they'd a done to Ania. These people are cut off. Ain't no way anybody's gettin' in or out without a whole bunch of people seein' 'em."

"Sasha's in there. I ain't goin' nowhere."

"Standin' guard ain't gonna do no good unless we come back with them meds. Merle's in the tower to take care of Ania, not to stand guard. Got people in there takin' care of Sasha too. We need you." When Tyreese just turned around and looked back through the window into the cell block, Daryl shook his head in frustration and said, "Alright. We're gassin' up by the front gate in case you change your mind."

Walking out of the room, he took the shorter route to head straight into the courtyard where Michonne handed him the oil, but he just put it down and booked it over to the tower. He wanted to see her one last time before they took off just to at least give her a proper goodbye. This illness made him feel worse than when she'd been pulling away over the winter. He'd been able to take action to bring her back to him, been able to do something about it then while now all he could do was go get medicine. It was the only thing he could do other than sit there watching her get worse before she started getting better. And if she didn't get better, he didn't want the last memory he had of her being her laying in the bed with her eyes closed. Taking the stairs two at a time, he moved quickly to the top of the tower and threw open the door to see she was still sleeping and Merle coming in from the balcony.

"What's the matter, boy? Watched you book it like there was a fire in your pants."

"Just needed to see her before we left," Daryl told him, not caring if he sounded weak at the moment.

If Merle had anything to say about it, he kept it to himself as Daryl walked over to the bed and knelt down. Turning to sit on the mattress, he watched Ani's sleeping form and took in how fragile she looked. Her normally glowing skin was pale and had a sheen from sweat while her lips were dry and cracking rather than the sweet, plush things they were usually. Even her hair seemed to have lost it's luster as the braids started falling out, leaving a tangled, wild mess in its wake. He ran his fingers through the locks to get a few of the snags out before he sighed and adjusted the blankets. Daryl bent down and gave her a lingering kiss on her temple, feeling how hot she was and getting worried all over again. He sighed and leaned his forehead against hers while he said a silent prayer that he would make it back in time.

"Stay alive for me. I'll be back soon," he told her before moving to stand up.

"Daryl?" her voice called out weakly.

Turning back to her, he watched as she opened her eyes slightly and looked at him, "I'm here."

"Thought ya were leavin'."

"Gettin' ready to. Just wanted to make sure you were okay, baby girl. Rest up while I'm gone, and don't let nobody talk you into leavin' the tower. Stay here, stay safe," he told her, doing his best not to choke up as he wiped the tears off of her face.

"Ya come back ta me, ya hear?" she said before turning her head to cough.

"I'll be back before you know it," he told her as he helped her sit up and rubbed her back until she stopped.

After making sure she was tucked back in bed with his poncho under the blanket, he gave her a kiss and told her he loved her. Heading back to the door, he told Merle to help her with her hair if he felt generous before turning back to her. This time, she was watching him leave, and for some reason that made it a little better. Seeing her just laying there earlier had done nothing good for his already frayed nerves, so seeing her eyes watching him walk out gave him more of a reassurance than he could have hoped for. Seeing her there, he couldn't help but walk back over to her and kiss her again, just a soft kiss that lingered as he didn't want to get her worked up. He leaned his forehead against hers as her fingers came up to caress his cheek before grabbing his hands.

"Go else ya not goin' ta go," she told him, earning a scoff in reply.

"Yeah."

"I love ya, D."

"Love you too."

~x~

"Where are you going?" Carl asked Hershel as he and Sophia made their self-appointed rounds around the administration building.

They hadn't wanted to sit around coloring like the rest of the kids even if Beth was content to do that, but Carl and Sophia quickly got bored with it. They'd decided to take watch, going on rounds of the offices to make sure everything was in order and none of the sick were able to come in. It just so happened that they had been on the rounds when they found Hershel heading for the door. They'd been planning on sneaking out so that Sophia could go back over to the tower to talk to Merle and Ani and Carl could try to convince his dad to let him help. The little girl was afraid of how the older woman was doing and wanted to make sure Merle had enough to read and munch on. Neither of them had been happy to be pooled in with the other kids to begin with and were only going because their parents wanted them to be. Carl was just plain out angry at his dad for still treating him like a little kid when they needed people helping outside. Now Hershel was trying to sneak off to who knew where when he was supposed to be quarantined in the administration offices, too. They walked closer to him dead set on getting him to go back to where he was supposed to be so they could make their hasty escape.

"I'm down here away from y'all 'cause you kids are supposed to stay away from me," Hershel told them.

"We've been walkin' the halls. My dad told us to look out for everyone," Carl told him.

"Well, you should keep your distance."

"You're walking towards the exit," Sophia commented.

"I need to go out there."

"To the cell blocks?" Carl asked.

"To the woods."

"So you're sneakin' out?" he asked once more.

"Don't need anyone worrying about me and I damn sure don't want someone tellin' me I can't go," Hershel said, a little miffed that the kids were trying to stop him.

"I can't just let you go out into the woods by yourself!" Carl said, Sophia nodding her head in agreement.

"Let me?" Hershel questioned with a look that clearly told Sophia and Carl they'd crossed a line.

"We can't stop you," Sophia said. "But we can't let you go alone. You have to go with someone! Those are Ani's rules!"

"Yeah, I have to tell my dad," Carl agreed.

"Go ahead then," Hershel told them while turning towards the door. "I'll be out there by the time you find him."

"Hershel!" they both called at the same time, moving to catch up to him.

"If you have to go, then I have to come with you," Carl told him.

"And I'm comin' too," Sophia said. "Whatever you need in the woods, Ani and I know where to find it. Since she can't help, I will."

"Carl, Sophia," Hershel said.

"We have to!" they said at the same time.

"Ani's sick and we're stuck here doing nothin'," Sophia said softly before taking on a determined look and tone. "I have to help!"

Hershel looked at the pair before simply sighing and turning to leave, letting them follow him out into the woods. He had a bag with him while Carl had his gun out and silenced and Sophia carried her bow, managing to shoot a couple big squirrels and a rabbit. Sophia lead them through the woods to the spot she and Ani had been picking the elderberries that Hershel had asked for. There were a lot left since they only had picked those that were ripe before for her medicines and the bushes had had plenty that were still maturing. Ani was very careful in not taking too much at one time because they weren't all ripe, for one, and for two, she didn't want to upset the balance of nature. She'd always told Sophia that if they took all the berries, the creatures of the forest that relied on the bushes would have to find food elsewhere. There were a few patches around the prison within an hour's walk, so she took him to where they could find the most berries.

"She used up the supply she brought back making that tonic. We're going through it fast, though," Hershel said as he and Sophia worked on picking while Carl stood on watch. "Did you know she's got it?"

"Yeah, Mr. Grimes told us before we left the cell block. She doesn't look very good," Sophia told him.

"You saw her?"

"Only from a distance. We went to the tower, but stayed at the door. She could barely speak. Is that how Glenn and Sasha are, too? The others, they'll get back in time with the medicine, right?"

"Don't you worry about it. Daryl won't let anything happen to Ani, neither will Merle. And we use these right, it'll help with the tonic. Everyone will pull through," Hershel told her before addressing Carl. "When did your dad give it back?"

Carl's gun had been taken away when Rick made him help with the farm and he'd only just gotten it back, "Yesterday, after everything happened."

"You've grown a lot these past few months. The both of ya. There's a responsibility about ya. I think it's done you good to step back, Carl, and you to step up," he told Sophia.

"Yeah, it's alright," Carl said as Sophia just shrugged. "Can't be like that all the time."

"I would have been fine on my own," Hershel insisted. "It's peaceful out here. These last couple a days, we might be safer outside those walls than in."

"No, we're not," Carl said harshly the sounds of a walker could be heard.

Cautiously walking further into the woods, they came across a campsite that was withered and torn with a decomposing walker laid at the base of the tree it was under. Carl was somewhat fascinated about it before Hershel declared that they had enough and could go back to the prison. He had enough berries for what he planned on doing, letting Sophia know that if she waited a little bit, he would give her some tea for Ani. They were all rather melancholy over what was happening as another walker came into sight with a trap on her leg. When he raised his gun to take it out, Hershel called out to him, realizing that the walker was trapped by the tree. The woods had been a nice reprieve from the walkers that normally built up outside the gate and it was nice to know they'd been able to get the elderberries easily enough. It wouldn't cure the illness, but at least it would give the others a fighting chance until the others came back with the medicine. Hershel still had to make the tea when he got back and go into A block to distribute it and didn't want to wait too long.

"Don't. You don't need to," he told the boy before looking around. "It was so peaceful."

"It was," Sophia agreed.

"Can't be like that all the time," Carl told them as he walked past, leading the way back to the prison.

~x~

Daryl finished putting the oil into the engine before he slammed down the hood and moved over to the side to pop his head through the driver window. Daryl still felt bad about using Zack's car, but he had to admit he'd kept his car in excellent shape. If he were still alive, he'd probably be going with them seeing as how Ani had saved his life when they met him. He'd been trapped inside a broom closet by several of the dead and they were almost through the damn thing when Ani and Daryl busted through the door. It hadn't been that he couldn't have taken them out on his own; he'd broken his knife in the skull of one of the ones he'd killed. For someone that had lost all but two of his friends on that run, he sure had been a resilient and helpful kid. Even in death, the boy was helping them at the prison by using his vehicle. Daryl was still lost in thought when Bob walked up with two containers of gas in his hands and loaded them into the trunk.

"Everything look alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, kept this thing runnin' pretty good."

"This is Zack's car?"

"Yeah, it's the fastest one we got," Daryl informed him. "Sooner we get there, sooner we get our people medicine. Sooner Sasha and Ania's feelin' better. You alright?" he asked as Bob stared at the car.

"You really want me coming along?"

"What's that word?" Daryl asked, holding up the list Hershel had given him.

"Zanamivir," he said.

"Yup, we need you. Not even sure Ania could pronounce some of this, and she can figure a lot out," he told as he replaced the paper and Tyreese walked out. "What's up?"

"Still got room for one more?"

"Hell yeah," Daryl said, eyeing the man.

"Good," he said. "Just gotta get my gear."

"Alright," Daryl said as Tyreese walked to the cells. "Just hurry up! And tell Michonne to shake a leg while you're at it!"

About ten minutes later, the four of them got into the car with Daryl in the driver's seat when he heard Merle hollering out. Looking over, they all saw Ani, still in Daryl's poncho, standing at the railing of the guard tower, waving out at them. She couldn't yell anything out to him and was leaning heavily against the rail, but she was still out there to see him off. Tyreese clapped his shoulder while Michonne smiled softly,

"You know, Sasha's doin' fine. Well, as fine as she can be. Tonic's keepin' her from coughin' too much and the fever isn't so bad she's dizzy anymore. Least I can do is help get the meds when we're usin' up all of hers," Tyreese told him.

"Appreciate it," Daryl said, driving down the road as fast as he safely could; if it weren't for his promise to Ani, he wouldn't be paying attention to his speed at all. "Hey, I know you weren't runnin' off," he told Michonne after a few minutes of silence. "The thing is, that trail went cold. You know that, right? If it was any different, Ani and I would be right out there with you." Daryl began fidgeting with the radio only to find static on every station and pointed over to Michonne, "Would you hand me one of them CDs right there?"

"Terminus...determined to survive...Keep alive."

Daryl looked over at Michonne, Bob and Tyreese having heard the same thing they had coming through the static. He couldn't believe his ears and started fidgeting with the radio, trying to hear more, before something caught the corner of his eye. He managed to avoid the first walker only to lose control of the car as he tried to avoid more. There was little he could do as the tires got stuck on some of the walkers they'd plowed into while even more surrounded the vehicle. He tried throwing the car in reverse to get out of the predicament they were in, but they remained stuck due to the corpses beneath them. Daryl told everyone to grab something as they once again became surrounded by the dead. They were banging on all the windows and they only had so many options to get out. Even if it meant taking a longer route to get to the college, they were going to have to abandon the car.

"We're jammed up!" Daryl informed everyone, pointing out Bob's window. "Alright, we'll make a run for the gaps right there! You two, you make a run for the woods and you don't stop for nothin', you hear me? Now!"

He busted the sunroof off the car and popped up through it with his crossbow, taking out the walker closest to Michonne's door so she could get out, Unsheathing her sword and kicking a walker away from the car, she swung her weapon and took out another so that Bob could get out. Daryl threw his knife into the head of a walker as he slid down the roof of the car so he could make way for himself. He stopped long enough to retrieve the blade before running towards the woods behind Michonne. Bob left the car and tried to keep the way clear for Tyreese, calling for him as he hesitated. For a moment it looked like the man had froze before he started using his hammer to take the walkers surrounding the vehicle as the others ran for the woods. Daryl and Michonne dodged and slashed at walkers the entire time as Daryl yelled at Bob not to use his gun. The three of them ran through the woods, managing to lose the walkers as they exited into a rather clear area. Daryl had them wait for a moment while he loaded his bow as the other two watched out for walkers, all of them tensing as they heard the bushes rustle. Tyreese stumbled out, covered in walker blood and out of breath, prompting both Daryl and Bob to take either side and help him quicken his pace. Daryl took one walker down as Michonne took another, more following behind them as the four to kept running. It seemed like they'd been running for miles before they had a chance to stop and rest.

They had been cut off by the heard they'd caught the tail end of when they left their shelter early the next morning. They'd had to go a few miles around, getting lost until they came across a bridge over a creek that Michonne seemed to know. Tyreese decided to rinse his shirt out while the others looked at a map Michonne had been smart enough to stash away. Being forced to spend the night in the woods, they were all worried about whether or not they'd lost too much time. Daryl could tell the man was still severely affected by what had happened with Karen and he was barely holding it together now. He couldn't blame him considering he was just as worried about Ani as he was his sister, but they couldn't let that stop them. He refused to believe that their group wasn't holding out or that they'd lost everyone that had been afflicted. They hadn't known about the illness when Patrick had died and had distributed the medicine they had on hand as soon as they did. While there wasn't a guarantee that it would work with everyone, it would at the very least help them hold on until they got back; it had to.

"This is Turner Creek, so Barnesville will be a few miles downstream," Michonne told Daryl, bringing his thoughts back to the map.

"Sounds like our best chance at finding a new ride," Bob said cheerfully.

"Yo, Ty! Come on, let's go. Vamanos!" Daryl yelled at him.

"We lost a whole night!" he cried, ringing his shirt out for a last time. "My sister. Ani. Everybody else—they're probably all dead."

"Don't think like that. We can't think like that," Daryl told him. "Gotta keep goin' 'til we get what we need and get the fuck back to 'em. Ania ain't dyin'. Neither is Sasha. They've got the tonic and I'm sure Hershel and Dr. S have something figured out."

"Maybe," Tyreese said dejectedly.

"Look," Bob cut in. "We have to get the meds one way or another. Might as well try to look on the bright side. It helps to keep moving."

As Tyreese put his shirt back on, he looked at the shorter man, "No, it don't."

~x~

Ani was sleeping after she had managed to hold it together long enough to see the car out of the gates before she'd broken out into a fit of coughing. Merle watched as she spat a small amount of blood out, looking at it horrified as he remembered what Daryl had said about the tracks and blood on Patrick. Ani assured him that it was probably from her throat from the coughing, not her lungs, but that didn't stop him from worrying over her. He took her back inside and forced her to take more tonic before making her lay back down. She'd fallen asleep shortly thereafter, Merle just listening to her labored breathing as she lay in the bed. He tried to think about anything else, even grabbed a book to read, but he couldn't concentrate as he could hear the illness settling into her lungs. She was getting worse even if he didn't want to admit it and wouldn't allow her to think it. He'd kept Daryl's mind off of it when he'd had the flu so bad he'd been under for a few weeks; he could keep Ani's off of hers. The fact that she never wanted to believe things were as bad as they were when in regards to herself helped him accomplishing that endeavor even if it would piss Daryl off when he got back. She needed to believe that she was on the mend or all she'd do would be worry about the two of them and waste all her energy on that instead of getting better.

He left the small room and walked outside to the balcony, grabbing his rifle as he watched Carol set up their noisemaker before heading out past the fence line towards the creek. He'd seen her heading into the tombs the night before, which was why he'd been so adamant about coming and keeping an eye on Ani. Daryl hadn't asked too many questions, just made sure he knew what he was risking, but Merle hadn't gotten sick from anything but questionable life choices in a long time. He wasn't afraid of some cold that was knocking his little sis on her ass and he damn sure and well wasn't about to let the woman threaten Ani. If he was right about what Carol had done, there was no way he was going to let the little chick go near the psycho fox playing a mother hen. They already were dealing with the illness; they didn't need to deal with a human threat as well.

Merle looked on with rapt attention, the woman not even paying much attention to her surroundings as she fiddled with the hose they used to draw water behind the fence. As Rick ran up to the fence, the walkers got a little to close to the woman, causing Merle to raise his rifle and take aim. He shot two before Rick got out to help her, taking out three more before the pair got back inside the fence. Merle could hear Rick yelling at her and telling her she was lucky Merle was in the tower with his gun. He didn't stick around to see or hear what else happened because he really couldn't bring himself to care. The night before, Sasha had made mention of wanting to keep Ani down in the tombs just in case her allergies weren't allergies. Daryl had shot that down quickly by telling her Ani'd had to clear her throat for a few days, not something that popped up over night. After Daryl had stormed into the cell block and started grabbing shit from his and Ani's room, Merle had gone in to find out what was wrong. When his brother had told him about Karen and David and how Ani was coughing more and more, they'd both gone into overprotective mode. Merle had figured out Carol was the one that had killed the others pretty quickly. He couldn't help but wonder if she'd have done it to Ani, too, if the girl had been down there. It wasn't as if the pair hadn't come to peaceful terms with each other, but Karen and David had never done anything to the woman. She still had a slight beef with Ani over how much Sophia had changed and, by extension anymore, himself for helping the girl get even more self-reliant.

As they walked to the tower, they both swore they weren't leaving her side until she was over whatever it was she was dealing with. If it weren't for the need for medicine, Daryl would be with them, holding Ani and worrying more than anything else. At least the man has something to do, Merle thought to himself as Ani started coughing again. She stayed awake for a couple hours, managing to get some food down more than just broth and water. Merle offered to brush her hair out as long as she stayed wrapped up. Taking him up on that offer, she did her best not to wince as her hair was horribly knotted as he ran the brush through it, but he was rather gentle considering. It took quite a long time to get all of the knots out, and she was half asleep by the time he was done. She knew it was out of character for Merle to be so nice and that he must have really been worrying to offer to do it for her.

"Damn girl, you really need to cut this a bit," Merle said. "All your braids are out, too. And the feather's tied with the bead. Gonna have to redo it all at some point."

"Nah, think I'll jus' do 'em myself next time. Do one braid that's got the featha and bead on it tagetha," Ani said slowly. "D's not back yet?"

"No, don't look like he's makin' it back today," Merle told her. "Don't worry, girly, he'll be fine."

"I know," she said before breaking out into a cough again.

Merle sat and patted her back while she coughed before standing up and grabbing her tonic and some more water. Urging her to take more tonic, he sat back down next to her and made sure she drank some water. She leaned her head against his shoulder after another coughing fit, making him stiffen for a moment as he tried to think of something to say. Daryl was the one that had the bleeding heart and soft side; Merle still didn't care for all that touchy feely crap. Hell, if it weren't Ani, he'd have slapped the woman away for trying to seek comfort in him outside of a good romp in the sack. He had to admit that he wasn't fully comfortable with Ani doing it, but it didn't feel totally bad. It was different from when Daryl had been a kid and whiny the entire time he was sick. Ani barely complained about anything other than the fact that he and his brother were idiots for hanging around her. Even now she was trying to make him feel better about her predicament and that was something he didn't know whether to be impressed by or strangle her for.

"Told ya that blood had nothin' ta do with my lungs," she told him. "Used ta happen when I'd cough too much from takin' a hard hit. Used ta get nosebleeds when I did that, too. Jus' a popped vessel or torn muscle, nothin' too bad."

"Still, can't blame me for worryin'. Cough's not gettin' any better, but it ain't gettin' any worse, either. That's gotta count for somethin'."

"Yeah, I guess," Ani said, sitting up and looking down. "Merle, do ya think it could a been Cars?"

"What?"

"Do ya think Cars was the one who killed Karen and David?"

"Why do you think that?" Merle asked, not wanting to tell her what he knew.

"'Cause she was down there. She wasn' with us when we went down inta the tombs, but she was there when we found the bodies. I dunno. It's jus', somethin' feels funny."

Merle sighed, "Yeah, I think she did it. Saw her sneakin' down to the tombs the night before last. Didn't think nothin' of it 'til Daryl came in and told us what happened. Best not to think of it. She was just tryin' to do what she felt she needed to do to keep the prison safe."

"Can' help but think 'bout it," Ani said honestly. "Sash wanted me down there. She wanted me ta stay 'cause a my cough. And I should a. But I didn'. And I can' help but think, if it was Cars, she would a killed me, too."

"Best not to dwell on thoughts like that, Ani. Just gonna give yourself a headache. How about I read to you for a little while, get us both out of our heads, hmm?"

"Ya goin' ta read me a bedtime story?"

"Might as well. Already tuckin' you in," he said as he helped her lay back down on Daryl's side of the bed.

Kicking off his shoes, Merle sat on her side of the bed, propped up against the wall after moving Ani's pillows to the side. He'd grabbed Steven King's The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger and started reading it to the woman, getting five chapters read aloud before hearing her snore. Laughing to himself, he closed the book and got up, readjusting Ani's pillows so that she'd have them when she rolled over. Even though she was in it for the long haul, she was managing to pull through just fine with minimal effort. Merle could only hope Daryl hurried back with the medicine that would help her completely recover before the tonic stopped working. He walked over to his chair, reclining it before pulling out his own blanket and settled in for the night. He couldn't help the small, sad smile that formed on his lips as she turned in her sleep. He'd managed to find the little damaged girl he'd heard so much about only to find out she wasn't so damaged after all. She's a fighter, he thought to himself as he looked at her. She'll fight her way through this.