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Bella unhooked the tubes for the transfusion, it was enough for now so Carl could rest and heal. It would take time for him to heal from his wounds and right now, she just needed to clean up, get Carl's blood off her. She stood, a little woozy from donating too much blood, but she steadied herself. Rick left to go outside when the others pulled up in the RV to tell them where Hershel wanted them to park the RVs. They ended up bringing all of them since they weren't far off from the farm. It was dark outside now too and this was going on the second night that Sophia was missing. Carol was a wreck about Sophia and everyone was exhausted. Bella found Rick staring out the window in the living room. "Rick." She called to him. He was still wearing the clothes he was wearing when Carl got shot. He was drenched in Carl's blood and he needed to clean up. "Come with me." She said gently and led him to the bathroom. She closed the door behind them and she guided him to the sink and started the water in the sink.
Rick was tearing up again, his eyes were puffy and red and it seemed like he wouldn't be able to cry anymore, but he was still crying, weeping for his son who's life was just hanging on by a thread.
Bella managed to get the blood off his hands and hers. Rick was a shell right now, so she turned him, her hands unfastening the buttons on his shirt, pushing it off his shoulders. The blood was soaked through his shirt to his skin. She found a washcloth and she wet it and started cleaning him up. It was the least she could do right now. Rick was in shock and nearly lost his son, she remembered how in shock she was when she woke up in the hospital and being told that the car accident she was in, killed her baby. It was a lot to process.
Rick blinked a couple times and looked at Bella, realizing what she was doing. "Bella…" his voice was tight.
"Rick, it's okay. I can help."
Rick raised a shaky hand up and cupped her face. "Thank you." He murmured and then moved away from her to look in the mirror. "I'm okay." He whispered.
Bella nodded. "I'm here if you need me." She said and she left him to himself in the bathroom and walked outside to find clothes for Rick and for herself. Daryl met her at the RV. "Hey, I need to find some clothes for Rick."
"Glenn just brought some inside, you probably missed him." Daryl said and then his grey eyes searched hers. "Hey, are you okay?"
Bella blew out a breath. "Ask me that again when Carl wakes up and we find Sophia."
"I'm going tomorrow morning first light, with Jake, Jasper and Paul to continue our search. We won't give up." Daryl reassured her.
Bella hated that Sophia was just out there all alone. Carl getting shot, was more important.
"You need to change, hydrate and I'll get some jerky for you so you can put some food on your stomach." Daryl was worried that she might pass out before long if she didn't get fluids in her and food.
Bella had Carl's blood on her still and she needed to clean up. "Yeah, I'll clean up and then go back and check on Carl and Rick." She said and then offered a small smile. "Thank you…"
"Don't mention it." Daryl said with a nod and then left to go rummage for the jerky and water.
After Bella cleaned up and ate the jerky that Daryl brought her, she went back inside the house. Rick was by Carl's bedside, not wanting to leave again, but he looked tired. Hershel motioned to Bella to step outside the room to talk to her and she left Rick to speak to Hershel.
"I think if he can make it through the night, he'll be okay." Bella said, her voice low. She crossed her arms when she spoke.
Hershel nodded. "Otis feels really bad about what happened. I-"
Bella held up a hand. "We're not the type of people to seek vengeance. This was an accident. I know that, Rick knows that." She said softly. "Carl isn't my son." She explained. "But, he is one of my people. Rick is our leader but right now, he needs to be focused on Carl and his recovery."
Hershel nodded. "Yes, Carl should be his focus. I'm sorry, I assumed Carl was your and Rick's boy. You two-"
"We aren't." Bella said and then looked back towards the room where Rick and Carl were.
"You are a doctor." Hershel said.
Bella looked back at Hershel. "Yes. Surgeon. Enlisted in the Army as an Army medic. One of my guys, Jasper Whitlock, he's an Army medic as well." She supplied. "I know that we just met and it wasn't under the best circumstances, but we really would like to pull our own weight. We were looking for a farm area to settle down and build something. We want to be apart of something." She never imagined she would be saying those things. If you asked her a few weeks back if she would want to build something with a bunch of people, she would have said fuck you and went on her way. But after meeting this group of people and the children, she really wanted to make it work and to survive.
Hershel sighed. "Like you said. We just met." He said and then nodded. "You can stay until Carl recovers, after that…"
Bella understood. "Absolutely. I understand." She said. "In the meantime. If there are any rules or… chores, we can help until Carl is well enough and then we'll be on our way."
"The big barn is off limits, I don't want everyone walking in and out of the house as they wish. Carl, Rick and you are allowed in and out. I have cows that I don't want slaughtered so those are off limits. You're welcome to eggs from the coop, but not the chickens."
"That's very generous. Thank you. We have the two RVs and camper and the Highlander. We have supplies for hunting, we have no problem hunting for your family as well. I met Patricia, Otis, Maggie and Beth. Were there any others?"
Hershel shook his head. "That's all of us." He said. "I know this isn't a big farm, but it's my home. Since everyone started getting sick, we've stayed to ourselves over here. The world isn't too kind anymore."
"It isn't." Bella agreed. "Thank you for the hospitality that you have given us anyways. I know it wasn't easy to open your home."
"My man shot your boy." Hershel said. "It's what's right."
Bella nodded. "We're looking for a little girl. Sophia. If you… or your family see her, please-"
"Of course." Hershel said with a simple nod. "Go, be with Carl. I'll fetch some water." He said and walked away.
Bella watched him walk away. It was going to be hard once Carl was healed enough to travel. He was just a kid. It would be hard on his body to travel without healing all the way. She was suffering some for her shoulder, but she was an adult and this wasn't the first time she had been shot.
"He'll change his mind." Maggie spoke. She was leaning against the door frame from the living room. "He's wary of strangers. Always was, but give him time. He won't put y'all out."
Bella smiled a little bit. "If he does, that's fine too." She said and then she walked back to the bedroom where Rick and Carl were. She set a hand on Rick's shoulder. "Rick." She said softly.
Rick blinked a couple times and looked up at Bella. "He's just so pale still." He murmured.
"He's still breathing. His body needs to heal. It undertook a lot of trauma." Bella explained. "You need to eat. Why don't you go outside, get some fresh air, get some jerky and I'll sit with Carl for a little bit." She offered.
Rick shook his head. "I don't think I can leave his side. I changed clothes and… and you helped me wash up, so… for right now… I'd like to just sit here with him."
Bella nodded. "Yeah. I understand. I'll check on him in an hour. I'm going to go talk to the others, give them the boundaries and rules while we're staying here with Hershel." She explained and patted his shoulder a little before she started to walk away, but Rick grabbed her hand to stop her.
"Thank you." Rick said, his voice a little tight. "You saved Carl."
Bella smiled a little. "Thank me when he wakes up Rick." She said and then she walked away outside. It was already starting to get dark. Carol was standing by the fire that Jake and Glenn had going. They pulled the RVs together making an 'L' and the camper sat off to the side and the Highlander was backed up closer to the camp they had made. She walked over and Carol looked up at her.
"How's Carl?" Carol asked, her voice trembling a little.
"He's sleeping. He'll likely be sleeping for quite some time. He lost a lot of blood, but I transfused him. The hope is his body rests enough so he can heal and recover."
Carol teared up a little. "That's good. Um. I'm sorry, he wouldn't have been shot if-"
"No, don't apologize. This isn't anyone's fault. This was an accident. We're dealing with it, Carl will wake up and recover and we will find Sophia."
"This is the second night." Carol croaked.
"I know." Bella went to Carol and she hugged her while Carol cried. She couldn't imagine how hard it was for Carol to sit here and just wait. "I'm sorry we haven't found her. My intention was to find her today, we-"
Carol pulled back. "Carl got shot. That was more important." She choked out. "Sophia is ten… she's… she's afraid of the biters, she won't go near them. She'll hide… right?"
Bella nodded. "She's a smart little girl. She will hide and wait for us to find her." She reassured Carol.
Jasper walked up then, carrying rabbit. "Daryl shot some wild rabbit in the woods nearby. Everything seems secured. Double pasture fences."
Bella nodded. "Good. Um. Hershel set some rules. Big barn is off limits, no killing livestock, but we can have some eggs from the coop. We're not allowed in the house. Carl and Rick are because of the situation and I can go inside because I'm taking care of Carl, but other than that, we have to camp here outside and once Carl is mended enough, we have to be on our way."
Jasper wasn't surprised. They were a large group. This wasn't a large farm. "Alright. Sounds good. Anything we should be doing in the time being?"
"Yeah, try to help with farm chores. Maggie, Hershel's daughter, said that he'll change his mind and won't put us out, just give him time. I want to show that we're helpful people and that we can earn our keep so maybe he does change his mind." Bella glanced up at Glenn when he walked up. "So?"
"Dale says that the radios are a work in progress. Right now it's about battery power." Glenn relayed.
"How about the Sat phones?" Jasper put in. "We charged them in the RVs. One group take one, one group take the other. Do the search party in two groups. We can call in when we find Sophia." He suggested.
Bella thought about it. "Yeah, that will work. Daryl is going to lead a group in the morning. Jake and Paul can split and be the second group." She said.
"Daryl and I can be the first." Jasper said and looked around. "Keep the groups in pairs. Don't want everyone stumbling around in the woods. Especially in unknown territory."
"Right." Bella said with a nod. "I'll go with Glenn tomorrow into the town near here. I want to get some more supplies. I don't want to use everything Hershel has to take care of Carl."
Glenn nodded. "Yeah and maybe we can find some batteries for the radios." He put in.
"Sounds like a plan." Jasper said and looked at Carol. She was still distraught. "Carol, we're going to find Sophia." He reassured her. Everyone had been reassuring Carol, but it was hard to wait like this. Especially as a parent.