Chapter 13 - Penance

Highway 85

Tess couldn't remember at which point she fell asleep last night. The moonshine and short discussion with Daryl had certainly helped to take her mind off things and put her to sleep. She felt good about today. Today they were going to find Sophia and they'd continue on to better things. The plan was that the group would all be going out to scour the forest for Carol's daughter, that way they would be able to cover more ground at a faster pace. Dale would stay with the RV and continue his repairs and T-Dog would stay behind as well. He hadn't complained about his condition worsening but Tess could tell that it was taking on him. She just hoped that with some decent rest he'd be able to come right. They didn't have the medication or supplies necessary to do much more for him right now.

Carl had even managed to persuade his parents to let him join them, saying they needed as many people as possible to help find Sophia. The young boy's boldness was refreshing and Tess winked at him good naturedly when he got the go ahead from his mom and dad. Andrea had continued to try her luck at obtaining a firearm this morning but Dale was not having it; convinced that she'd only use it to off herself. As anyone could expect, that hadn't gone down well. She finally settled on a knife but was making it clear to everyone that she wasn't happy. Tess decided to leave the rifle behind with Dale in case he'd need to use it, instead carrying her handgun, knife and newly acquired machete with her.

Tess was walking quietly alongside Glenn and Carol. The distraught mother was twitching anxiously at every little sound that echoed through the trees and she kept a wary eye on her in case she bolted off. Carol hadn't said a word the entire morning but she'd been up before anyone else, ready to go track down her daughter. Glenn and Tess had spoken a little now and again as they walked, keeping their voices hushed and conversation short, not wanting to draw too much attention to themselves. It hadn't gone unnoticed by her that Glenn had been enviously eyeing the machete she'd been wielding all morning and only now decided to ask her about it.

"Where'd you get that thing from, anyway?" He whispered to her and Tess bit back a smile.

"Cool, right?" She teased and Glenn looked down at his baseball bat in disappointment.

"Swap?" He suggested hopefully and Tess snorted.

"In your dreams." Glenn pouted and it took all her willpower not to laugh at him.

As the group approached a clearing, a bright orange tent came into view, sticking out like a sore thumb amongst the greenery. There was no one in sight but that didn't mean that there was no one inside.

"She could be in there." Piped up Lori, hopefully.

"Could be a whole bunch of things in there…" Daryl retorted, warily.

"Carol." Rick whispered, getting the woman's attention. "Call out softly. If she's there, yours is the first voice she should hear." Carol nodded anxiously and slowly moved toward the tent.

"Sophia? Sophia, sweetie, are you in there?" She called out feebly, her tone sad but quietly optimistic. "Sophia, it's Mommy. Sophia. We're all here, baby. It's Mommy." Carol cooed encouragingly but there was no response from inside the tent. Daryl swept past her and into the shelter. He wasn't in there long before he left it, coughing as he stepped outside, having inhaled an awful stench inside the tent.

"Anything?" Tess asked him, hopefully.

"It ain't her." He shook his head grimly.

"What's in there?" Rick asked, the look of disgust on Daryl's face visible to them all.

"Some guy." He shrugged in reply. "Did what Jenner said. Opted out. Ain't that what he called it?"

The group didn't even have enough time to ponder and wallow before their attention was drawn to the sound of church bells ringing loudly in the distance. Without thinking, they all bolted in the direction of the noise. Perhaps Sophia was the one making the bell ring! At the very least, she should be able to hear it and would be heading in that direction too. It was a mad dash to track down the church before the bells stopped ringing and nobody let up as they sprinted towards the noise.

As the forest began to open up, a small white Church peeked through and it was unmistakable that the sound was coming directly from it. However something didn't add up.

"That can't be it! Got no steeple, no bells." Shane shouted over the ringing and Rick barged into the church.

"Sophia!" Rick yelled but there were only walkers in the church. Rick and Daryl quickly took care of them while the rest of them tried to figure out where the sound was coming from.

"I'm telling you, it's the wrong church. It's got no steeple, Rick." Shane bellowed and everyone ran back outside. On the back wall of the church was a small black box. A timer. It was scheduled to ring for mass and it seemed the power supply it was using had yet to run out. It was a crushing blow for all of them and Carol sobbed, the optimism and hope she had gone in the blink of an eye. Tess felt completely defeated and she wandered back into the church to take a load off.

Sitting in one of the last pews down the aisle, she looked sadly up at the figure of Christ on the cross and she wondered if life would be easier if she had faith. It wasn't that she'd never tried, she'd actually tried a lot but the things she'd seen people do, the hatred and harm, she found it hard to believe in an omnipotent God. Rick was kneeling near the altar and Tess could faintly hear him praying but she did her best to give him privacy. This was maybe only the third or fourth time she'd been in a church and each time it had felt weird but now she felt more uncomfortable than ever.

She knew why too. It reminded her of Nate. Truth be told, she'd been doing an exceptional job at suppressing her thoughts and feelings about losing him, especially with so much going on but it all came crashing back like a tidal wave threatening to crash and drown her. She felt like an asshole for just leaving him there like that that day. She knew she didn't have the ability to give him the funeral he deserved but it was harrowing to envision him just sitting there, wasting away.

Tess scrunched her eyes closed tightly and tried to will the thoughts away but visions of his final moments played on loop in her brain. A hand touched her on the shoulder, which gave her a fright and she jumped, gawking at the owner of the hand in surprise. Rick stood beside her, looking tired and concerned.

"Are you okay?" He inquired, gently. She hadn't even heard him walk towards her and she felt her cheeks redden in shame.

"Not really. But it's fine." She confessed and gulped back her emotions and Rick didn't look overly convinced. He didn't push her to elaborate though, which she appreciated.

"You gonna stay for a bit?"

"Yeah, I'll just be a minute."

"Take your time." Rick let her be and exited the church, leaving her to sit in silence. Tess just sat quietly for a moment, staring straight ahead before getting to her feet and moving up to the front pew. She didn't really have a plan or much of an idea of what to do at all really but she felt like this might be the only chance she had to say a proper goodbye. I don't know what I'm doing.

"Hey, Nate… I- I don't know if this is right? Is talking to dead people like this a thing? I don't know. This was always more your thing than mine… I guess I just wanted to say I'm sorry. About everything. I wish I could have done something. Anything. You shouldn't have had to do that alone and goddamn it I wish I could be mad at you for it. But I can't and I'm not. But I feel like I let you down and I'm so sorry that I was too much of a coward to even see what you said… if I could go back I would.

"Things have gotten so messed up. I'm with this group now, you'd really like them, well, most of them. But one of the kids… we lost her in the woods yesterday. We'd hoped that we'd find her here but it's just another dead end. She's so young and I'm worried that… Life is so dangerous now and it's hard to imagine that she's okay. I keep waiting for you to tell me off for being a pessimist. It's hard not to be. I'm trying my best but…" Tess choked up.

She couldn't save Nate. She couldn't save Jacqui or Sophia. She felt like an imposter in her own body. What good was she? Who was she? She felt undeserving of any title she'd ever been given, any praise she'd ever received. What did it all mean if she couldn't live up to it?

"I'm really struggling here, Nate. I don't know what to do. I don't feel like myself anymore. I feel like… some sad imitation. I worry that I'm not gonna be able to find myself again. Man, I wish you were here. I miss you. I really hope you were right about all this God stuff and can actually hear me right now. Wherever you are." Tess got to her feet, her hands trembling and eyes burning with unshed tears. "Until I see you again." She took one last look at the altar and left the church.

—

The mood was significantly more glum once they all realized that there'd be no hope of them finding Sophia today. Carol prayed with all she had left in her that her daughter be brought back to her safe and sound but she was starting to feel like maybe she'd already used up all the grace she'd been granted so far and God wouldn't be looking out for her anymore. Yet, she refused to accept that she'd never see her daughter again. Maybe it was wrong to feel that way but it felt more wrong to lose faith altogether. And so she held out hope. Maybe not today and maybe not tomorrow but she'd get her Sophia back.

Shane and Rick were off to the side arguing about where to go from here and Tess could imagine exactly who was on what side. Something had felt off about Shane all day, more so than usual. He'd been tense and fidgety, appearing as though he were looking for the perfect opportunity to dip out and Tess was curious what he was planning. She wouldn't be anything but relieved if he did decide to leave them but she couldn't understand why he'd suddenly grown a conscience. The men wrapped up their discussion and headed back over to the rest of the group, having finally come to a consensus. Shane cleared his throat and told them the plan.

"Y'all gonna follow the creek bed back, okay? Daryl, Tess, you're in charge. Me and Rick, we're just gonna hang back, search this area another hour or so just to be thorough."

"You're splitting us up? You sure?" Lori quizzed them both, anxiously.

"Yeah, we'll catch up to you." Rick reassured her with a stiff smile.

"I want to stay, too." Carl chirped, stepping forward. "I'm her friend." Lori and Rick both looked at their son in apprehension but caved to his request and let him join the men in their search.

As the husband and wife exchanged words, Tess eyed Shane guardedly, recalling the information Dale had shared with her just the day before. She trusted Shane about as far as she could throw him and didn't know how confident she felt about the three of them going off on their own. Rick attempted to give Lori his gun but she refused and instead Daryl stepped in and gave her his spare. Satisfied that his wife was safe, Rick said his goodbyes and the two groups prepared to part ways.

"Hey, Rick, just a sec." Tess pulled him aside, ignoring the curious looks she got from everyone else.

"What is it?" He asked her, uncertainly.

"Are you sure just the two of you on your own is a good idea? Especially with Carl to look out for? I can come with you if you want? Daryl can handle the group on his own." She spoke in a hushed tone, ensuring no one would over hear them.

"I appreciate the offer, Tess but we're not gonna go far. Besides, the more eyes we have along the creek bed the better."

"I just don't think it's a good idea…" She pressed while trying not to express that she was distrustful of his tracking partner. Rick looked at her gratefully and put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"You worry too much. We won't be far behind." He walked away before she could protest any further and she sighed in frustration. She would have told him outright her concerns if everyone else weren't so nearby. But it wasn't worth causing a scene right now.

—

Andrea was becoming a real pain in Tess' ass now. She seemed to have an argument for everything and had the world's biggest chip on her shoulder. Tess had tried to remind herself that Andrea was clearly not coping well with the events of the last couple of weeks but she could only be so reasonable for so long. And it was apparent that she wasn't the only one getting annoyed too.

"This is the whole plan?" Griped the blonde woman. When no one acknowledged her, she continued on her rant, "I guess the plan is to whittle us down into smaller and smaller groups. Carrying knives and pointy sticks." She grumbled and Tess grit her teeth in an effort to remain quiet. Andrea set her sights on Lori now and sneered, "I see you have a gun." Fed up with the whinging, Lori whirled around,

"Why, you want it?" She snapped, "Here. Take it. I'm sick of the looks you're giving me." The dam had broken and Lori was letting everything loose now. "All of you." She faced Carol and her tone softened, "Honey, I can't imagine what you're going through. And I would do anything to stop it. But you have got to stop blaming Rick. It is in your face every time you look at him. When Sophia ran he didn't hesitate, did he? Not for a second. And he's not the only one that went after her, so to blame him for everything is just wrong."

Tess almost choked on her own spit at the subtle accusation Lori just made and she seriously considered ripping her a new one. She could see Daryl glaring at the back of Lori's head too, clearly not impressed by her whining.

"I don't know that any of us could have made the hard decisions that he had to make or that anybody could have done it differently. Anybody?" The woman looked around and Tess didn't hide the annoyance she felt but Lori made a point of avoiding her gaze.

Tess was irritated because she didn't actually disagree with what Lori was saying, her husband was undervalued and overly criticized but she didn't appreciate being included in those that expected more from him and certainly didn't appreciate being thrown under the bus like she just was.

All she'd ever done was support Rick and, sure, maybe she wouldn't have made some of the same call's he had but she never felt like he was leading them astray. Daryl definitely hadn't been demanding of Rick and neither had Glenn.

"Y'all look to him and then you blame him when he's not perfect. If you think you can do this without him, go right ahead. Nobody is stopping you." Lori finally finished reprimanding them, leaving them all in a stunned silence.

Carol and Andrea looked guilty and while Tess didn't much care for the way the blonde woman was behaving, she didn't believe Carol deserved to be scolded as such. Sure, her anger and frustration might be misdirected at Rick but her only child was missing. Tess found it hard to believe that Lori wouldn't be behaving much the same way if she were in her shoes.

"We should keep moving." Daryl grumbled assertively and started walking again, everyone soon back on their feet and trailing behind him.

Tess kept her distance from everyone, taking up the rear as they trudged back toward the highway. She scanned the ground for any sign of Sophia but continued to come up empty. If anything, it felt like they were getting further and further away from her. No one spoke a word after resuming their trek back. Lori's berating speech had put everyone in a bad mood and the air among them felt awkward and heavy. The tension only got worse when a single gunshot echoed through the trees. Instinctively, Tess un-holstered her handgun and turned to face the sound, gun pointed in the direction of the noise.

"What was that?!" Cried Lori, visibly shaken.

"Gunshot…" Daryl murmured as he backtracked to get a better look. There was nothing Tess could see in the distance that gave her cause for concern but that didn't mean there wasn't something further away. She was worried that Shane had been the cause of the gunshot.

"Why one? Why just one gunshot?" Lori pleaded as though any of them knew. Tess looked over at Daryl to gauge his reaction but he was stoic as always.

"Maybe they took down a walker." Andrea shrugged casually. Lori sent daggers her way,

"Please don't patronize me. You know Rick wouldn't risk a gunshot to put down one walker, or Shane. They'd do it quietly."

"Shouldn't they have caught up with us by now?" Carol commented, the fear and worry clear in her voice.

"There could be any number of reasons why someone's fired their gun. These woods are huge, for all we know it came from someone else miles away from any of us." Tess tried to reason with the frantic women, doing her best to sound calm and convincing.

"There's nothing we can do about it, anyway." Daryl added, moving to the front of the group again. "Can't run around these woods chasing echoes."

"So what do we do?" Asked Lori.

"Same as we've been. Beat the bush for Sophia, work our way back to the highway." He instructed her, his tone insinuating that that was the obvious option.

"I'm sure they'll meet us back at the RV, Lori." Tess assured her and put on a brave face. She returned her gun to its holster but pulled the machete out from her belt loop just in case.

At the back of the group, Andrea approached Carol.

"I'm sorry for what you're going through. I know how you feel." The younger woman told her sincerely. Carol looked at her gratefully and gave her a timid smile.

"I suppose you do. Thank you. The thought of her out here by herself… It's the not knowing that's killing me. I just keep hoping and praying she doesn't wind up like Amy." The mother lamented and Tess cringed as she overheard her, expecting Andrea to lash out.

"Oh, God! That's the worst thing I ever said!" Carol gasped, realizing what she'd just said. Andrea remained surprisingly calm and told her,

"We're all hoping and praying with you, for what it's worth." As Tess breathed a sigh, thankful that they weren't going to have to deal with another blow up this afternoon, she nearly stumbled when Daryl wheeled around suddenly. His usual stoic facade was gone and he emanated ire and frustration.

"I'll tell you what it's worth. Not a damn thing! It's a waste of time all this hoping and praying. We're gonna locate that little girl. She's gonna be just fine." Tess gawked at him as he snapped at the other women, stunned and amused by his outburst. "Am I the only one zen around here? Good Lord!"

He huffed and turned back on his heel, storming away and leaving everyone else to wonder what the hell had just happened. Every time Tess thought she'd seen all the sides of Daryl Dixon, he surprised her with a new one.

—

"How much farther?" Andrea whined, sick and tired of trudging through the forest.

"Not much. Maybe a hundred yards as the crow flies." Daryl shrugged and Tess felt herself rolling her eyes at his less than helpful estimate.

"Too bad we're not crows." The blonde woman griped, clearly not impressed either. "As the crow flies, my ass." She grumbled and slowed her pace, kicking up the ground as she went.

Tess kept a close eye on what little daylight they seemed to have left, guessing it was probably getting close to four o'clock. Deep down in her gut she had a terrible feeling that Rick, Carl and Shane wouldn't be meeting back up with them at the highway and she chewed on the inside of her cheek anxiously.

"You got a look on your face." Muttered Daryl, unexpectedly and Tess stared at him senselessly.

"What's that?"

"You-" He was cut off by screaming and the both of them whirled around instantly.

Andrea had fallen to the ground and was scrambling to get back to her feet as a walker advanced on her. Before Daryl could even raise his crossbow, a horse and its rider thundered towards her and trampled the walker, crushing its skull with a sickening blow. Tess was gobsmacked and her feet felt frozen to the ground. The rider was a young woman, maybe only a few years younger than she was, with short brown hair and a serious face.

"Lori? Lori Grimes?" She demanded, looking down at Andrea who gaped up at her like a fish.

"I'm Lori." The thin brunette woman stepped forward hesitantly.

"Rick sent me. You got to come now." Her tone was firm and grave, leaving no room for argument.

"What?"

"There's been an accident. Carl's been shot. He's still alive but you gotta come now." Lori's face turned a ghostly shade of white and tears swelled in her eyes; her worst fear coming true. "Rick needs you! Just come!" The young woman shouted, losing patience and the horse fidgeted beneath her. Lori quickly moved to join her on the back of the horse.

"Woah, woah, woah! We don't know this girl. You can't get on that horse." Daryl protested and started to march towards them but Tess grabbed him by the arm to stop him.

"Where can we find you?" She asked firmly. Lori needed to go with this woman and they needed to go now. The newcomer looked at her appreciatively and told them to head back to the traffic snarl at the highway.

"Backtrack to Fairburn road. Two miles down is our farm. You'll see the mailbox. Name's Greene." The Greene girl urged her horse on and it took off at a gallop, quickly leaving their sight. Everyone was understandably stunned by the encounter and the terrible news they had just received but they didn't have time to waste. Tess started to formulate a plan of action in her mind. They had to get to that farm as soon as possible.

"Glenn, close your mouth, we gotta go."

—

The five of them hurried back to the highway as quickly as they could. It wasn't the all out sprint that Tess had hoped for but they made it back to the road fast enough. The way in which they raced up the hill clearly spooked Dale and he immediately stopped whatever it was he was doing.

"What is it? What's wrong?" He cried out to them.

"Carl's been shot." Glenn panted, trying to get his breath back. Dale gasped in shock,

"Shot? What do you mean shot?"

"I don't know, Dale. I wasn't there. All I know is this chick rode out like Zorro on a horse and took Lori." Dale turned his indignant expression to Daryl now,

"You let her?" He exclaimed and Daryl glared at him.

"Climb down out of my asshole, man. Rick sent her. She knew Lori's name and Carl's." He growled, defensively and stormed past the older man.

"Dale, where's T-Dog?" Tess asked, unable to see him.

"He's in the RV, resting. He's not looking good." Dale told her uneasily. "That cut has gone from bad to worse. He has a very serious blood infection." Tess cursed to herself and grit her teeth.

"We need to get him to that farm. If they have the ability to save Carl, they'll have the medication we need for T."

"Why'd you wait till now to say anything?" Daryl questioned them both, irritably. "Got my brother's stash." He lifted the flap on one of the saddlebags of his brother's motorcycle and pulled out a plastic bag filled with a mixture of prescription and illegal drugs. "Crystal, X… Don't need that. Got some kickass painkillers. Doxycycline." He rattled off the names like this was everyday for Merle and Tess found herself looking at the bag of pills nervously.

"Not the generic stuff neither. It's first class." Daryl told them and handed her the bag of medication. She gave him an apprehensive look and turned the bag over in her hands. "Merle got the clap on occasion." He shrugged, assuming that was the reason she was looking at him strangely.

Truth be told, Tess hadn't cared why Merle had this stuff in his possession. She was more concerned with whether this bag contained the likes of Hydrocodone or Oxymorphone. She tried her best not to think about it and just grabbed the Doxycycline.

"Here's what we're gonna do. Glenn, you and I are gonna take T-Dog to the farm."

"Why me?" He moaned.

"Because I don't think T-Dog can see straight, so I need you on directions." She told him, her tone making it clear this wasn't up for discussion. Glenn huffed but acquiesced.

"Carol, I know you want to stay and I wish we could but come tomorrow, this group can't stay split up. You have tonight to leave Sophia supplies for if she comes back and we're not here. Rig a big sign, do what you need but tomorrow morning the rest of you need to make your way to the farm." It was difficult to tell Carol that they were basically abandoning any hope that Sophia would be returning to the highway but they couldn't stay here. The older woman nodded sadly but seemed to accept the situation.

"You can take my car." She offered and Tess gave her a small grateful smile.

"Dale, will you be good to go by tomorrow?" The old man nodded affirmatively and Tess sucked in a deep breath, her heart racing with all that was going on. "Ok, good. Glenn, get T-Dog and let's go."

Glenn jogged off to get T-Dog from the RV and Tess went back to the pickup truck she'd slept in last night to get her backpack and tent that she'd been given.

"You sure it's a good idea to split us up more?" Daryl asked her as he followed her to the truck.

"T-Dog needs medical attention and I don't have what I need here. And Carl… If I can help then I need to be there." She told him as she reached into the truck bed and dragged her belongings over towards the edge. A pair of strong, tan arms stretched out beside and hoisted her gear out of the truck for her. Daryl handed her backpack without a word and she took in gratefully.

"Thank you." She said, shouldering her backpack and expecting him to hand over the tent bag as well but he held onto it for now. She chose not to question it and the both of them walked back to Carol's Cherokee.

Slowly, T-Dog was making his way out of the RV as Glenn supported him and the two of them teetered towards the car. T-Dog was much bigger than Glenn but he did his best to keep the injured man upright and walking. He was cautiously guiding him into the back seat when Tess and Daryl walked up. Tess' belongings were thrown into the back seat and she leant over to talk to T.

"Take these." She said and dropped a couple pills into his hand. "It should help with the infection."

"What about the pain?" T-Dog groaned as he dry swallowed the pills.

"Try find something ending in 'one." She told him and pushed the bag of pills towards him. "But run it by me first." She shut the door to the back and hopped into the driver's seat.

Oh God, stick, she thought to herself. It had been years since she'd driven a manual transmission vehicle but it was just like riding a bike. Right? The car started up with a rumble and she took one last look at Daryl before driving away.

"Don't do anything stupid while we're gone." She told him, only somewhat serious.

"You too."

—

Once Glenn finally located Fairburn Road on the map, the three of them were on track to reach the farm by nightfall. Tess had only bunny-hopped once, which she was proud of and had glared at Glenn when he laughed at her for it. T-Dog had managed to find some Vicodin and was sitting in the back quietly, cradling his arm and waiting for it to kick in.

Tess kept thinking about how the two most vulnerable people, the children, in their group had been made to suffer so much and her mind was torn between focusing on Sophia and focusing on Carl. The thought of the young boy laying somewhere, near death, was harrowing and made her shudder in fear. Tess also felt terrible for the way she'd been so stern with Carol earlier but they needed to have a plan and they couldn't stay on the highway any longer. Giving her the night was the least she could do though.

"So uh-" Glenn started, indecisively, like he hadn't quite made his mind up about what he was about to say.

"What?" Tess asked, frowning at him.

"You and Daryl. What's going on there?"

"Come again?" She laughed, surprised by his implication.

"You guys seem… Close." He continued and the look on his face told her that he was enjoying her reaction.

"Yeah… Right…" She said skeptically. "No closer than you and I are."

"I don't wanna sleep with you." Glenn teased and Tess could feel her neck and cheeks get hot.

"Well good! That makes two of us."

"That's not what I meant!"

"I bet you wanna sleep with the Zorro girl, though." Tess teased, changing topic as quickly as she could and Glenn was thoroughly caught off guard.

"H-Huh? What?"

"Oooh, you got a crush, Glenn? That's cute."

"I do not!"

"Would the two of you shut up? God, my head is pounding. You're like siblings." T-Dog scolded them and they both sheepishly mumbled their apologies to the man in the back.

Tess could still feel the heat creeping up her neck from the embarrassment. She didn't think she treated Daryl any differently than Glenn or even Rick for that matter and she certainly didn't think Daryl considered her as anything other than a helpful member of the group; which was probably the only reason why he deigned to talk to her. Glenn's just being an idiot. She really didn't have the capacity to even think about anything like that in her life right now.

"Turn right up here." Glenn pointed to his right and Tess took the corner to Fairburn Road. It was dark now and their only source of light came from the headlights, which made it difficult to spot the 'Greene' letterbox. Tess drove them slowly down the road taking care not to miss the right house.

"See anything?" She asked nervously, hoping that hadn't driven past it yet.

"Wait! There!" Glenn pointed across her and sure enough the mailbox read Greene. Tess turned into the gated dirt driveway and Glenn swiftly hopped out to open and close the gate before speeding towards the Greene's home.

An old two-storey farmhouse with a wrap-around porch was lit up in front of them and had they been arriving in any other circumstances, Tess would have taken her time to admire the place. Instead, she pulled up and quickly jumped out, grabbing T-Dog from the back seat.

"Glenn, can you get the meds?" She called out to her friend and walked with her arm around T-Dog to the front door.

"Should we knock?" Glenn inquired as he joined them on the porch. Tess hesitated, uncertain, when the young woman from earlier stepped out from the shadows where she'd been seated on the porch swing.

"You close the gate up the road when you came in?" She asked, her eyes firmly locked on Glenn. The poor guy looked like he was about to melt.

"Y-yes." He stammered nervously under her gaze. A low groan from T-Dog broke up whatever moment they were having and the woman looked at him nervously.

"I'm not bit. But I did cut myself pretty badly." He told her, wincing as he felt his legs start to give.

"His arm needs stitches and redressing. We were hoping you'd have something?" Tess said, doing her best to keep the big man on his feet.

"Come inside. My name's Maggie by the way." The woman finally introduced herself and led them into the kitchen where T-Dog could finally take a seat.

"Tess."

"You a doctor, Tess?" Maggie asked, hopefully.

"No. Military."

"You've got medical training?"

"Some."

"My daddy's operating on that young boy. Maybe you can help him? Patricia and I can take care of- sorry, what was your name?"

"T-Dog."

"We've got you from here, T-Dog." Maggie reassured him. Tess grabbed the medicine bag from Glenn and pulled out the Doxycycline and Valium.

"For the infection and pain." She offered them to Maggie who took them gratefully.

"Down the hall to the left you'll find your friends." Maggie told her and Tess nodded, steeling herself for what was to come.

"Glenn, you good out here?" He just nodded at her in response and told her she could go. Gathering up the plastic bag filled with medication, she left to find Carl.

Slowly opening the left door at the end of the hallway, she immediately noticed both Rick and Lori sitting anxiously at the foot of the bed.

"Tess?" Rick gasped, getting up on shaky feet and slamming her with a hug.

"Hey. How are you doing?"

"C-Carl, he…"

"I know. I'm so sorry." She told him in a hushed voice. Rick's eyes were red and his face was pale. He slowly lowered himself back into the chair, too exhausted to stand and Tess looked at Lori sadly.

"I'm so sorry, Lori." She whispered but the woman was too transfixed on her son to notice her. Tess finally turned to look at Carl and her heart plummeted. If it weren't for his small, shallow breaths, she would have thought he was dead. She walked to the side of the bed and held his wrist, observing the slow rhythm of his heartbeat.

"Where's the doctor?" Tess asked, looking back to Rick again.

"He's not a doctor." Bit Lori through gritted teeth. Rick sighed,

"Hershel. He's a veterinarian." Tess nodded thoughtfully. Obviously, a trauma surgeon would have been preferable but a veterinary surgeon would have to do.

"And Shane?" She asked, noticing his lack of presence.

"He's with our friend Otis getting the supplies we need to operate safely." A new voice came from the doorway. An old man with white hair, likely early to mid-seventies, walked into the room with a pile of fresh linen.

"You must be Hershel." Tess guessed, judging by the way he checked on Carl.

"That I am. And you are?" He inquired firmly but not sternly. There was an underlying hint of annoyance in his voice, which Tess could understand, they were after all taking over his home. Regardless of the situation, it was hard to know who to trust these days.

"My name's Tess. Maggie said I should come help you. I had medical training in the army."

"Good. I could use the extra pair of hands."

"Whatever you need." Tess nodded in his direction, prepared to do whatever necessary to save Carl's life.

From the bed, Carl began to cough lightly, rousing from unconsciousness. His pale eyelids opened and he tried to sit up. Rick got to his feet before any else could even move and was pushing his son back down to lie on the bed.

"Where are we?" Carl croaked, looking around at everyone looming over him.

"Hey, little man." Rick whispered sadly, "That's Hershel. We're in his house. You had an accident."

"It hurts. A lot." The young boy groaned and Tess winced with him. She'd thankfully never been shot but she knew pain. Lori knelt beside her son and did her best to hold back tears.

"Oh baby, I know. I know." She cooed and brushed the hair out of his eyes with a trembling hand. Carl's eyes grew wide and wistful,

"You should have seen it."

"What?"

"The deer. It was so pretty, Mom. It was so close. I've never been…" Carl suddenly stopped talking and his eyes glazed over.

"Carl?" Lori mumbled, troubled by the way he became silent all of a sudden. Carl began to twitch and quickly broke out into full spasms, thrashing in the bed.

"What's happening?!" Lori cried out, looking up at Hershel desperately. She went to hold him down but the old man was quick to tell her not to.

"Don't. It's a seizure. If you hold him down, you could hurt him."

"You can't stop it?" Rick implored, his heart breaking further at the sight of his son convulsing.

"He has to just go through it." Hershel told them all grimly and Lori began to sob.

Carl slowly began to settle but his breathing was more shallow than before now. Tess checked his pulse again and could faintly feel it thudding against her finger tips. They were running out of time and she didn't know how much longer they could feasibly wait for Shane and Otis to return.

"His brain isn't getting enough blood. His pressure is bottoming." Hershel said, expressing the severity of the situation to the boy's parents. "He needs another transfusion." Tess looked between the old man and Rick, the latter of which was quick to offer up his arm even though he looked close to passing out.

"Okay, I'm ready." He said stiffly, teetering on his feet.

"You're no use to Carl, dead, Rick." Tess scolded him and faced Hershel, "I'm O-Neg, set me up."

"I can't have you doing a venesection while helping me to operate." Hershel replied hesitantly but she didn't see any other option.

"I guess we better hurry up then." She told him firmly, not leaving room for argument and the old man grabbed a plastic hub, a hypodermic needle, and a vacuum tube to allow Tess to donate her blood.

"I don't know how to thank you for this, Tess." Rick told her, more grateful than words could describe.

"You can thank me by getting yourself something to eat." She quipped smartly and Rick breathed a laugh. "Actually, I think it would do you both a world of good to at least get something to drink." Rick nodded in agreement but Lori seemed hesitant to leave the room. "If anything happens, we'll get you straight away." She assured them and Rick was finally able to convince his wife to go to the kitchen with him.

Tess took a seat in one of the chairs by the bed and Hershel hooked her up to draw blood.

"I've been trying to get them to take a break all evening." The old man sighed and he threaded the needle through her skin. There was a small pinch but Hershel's deft hands made it relatively pain free.

"It's gotta be a hard thing to walk away from." Tess shrugged and watched the blood leave her arm.

"You know the family well?" The vet asked and he walked over to check Carl's wound.

"Not really." Tess admitted, "A month now, maybe?" Time didn't really seem important anymore and it was hard to keep track of the days.

"Thank you for doing this, Hershel."

"It was our guy, Otis, that shot him. Tore right through that deer. It's the least I can do." The old man admitted. Tess couldn't accept that they might lose Carl simply due to a stupid accident.

"Well, we're lucky to have you." She told him genuinely. Not much was spoken between the two of them for a while and Tess kept her gaze between Carl and the bag that was slowly filling with her blood. She thought about the others back on the Highway and hoped she'd made the right call about leaving them there.