A/N: Thank you to everyone reading this! I'm sorry the update is so late. I went and caught COVID and have felt awful the last two weeks. This chapter feels like it's a little shorter than normal, but I wanted to get something up for you guys. Chapter 7 will be posted by this coming weekend, if not sooner. It's already written, I'm just editing and tweaking some things right now. Also wanted to say thank you for everyone following this. I've gotten a lot of love for this story between here and A03 and I cannot thank you guys enough. Super appreciate all of you!

Chapter Six

"Will you forgive me if I'm coming off a little bit obtuse?

Well it's been a minute now since I have had to tell the truth

I know I can

I won't

Suppose I thought that by this moment I would have it figured out

But instead I tend to spend my days consumed by seeds of doubt"

How I'm Feeling Now by Lewis Capaldi

I watched the group as they crowded around Daryl's bed. My eyes bounced from one person's face to the next, taking in all nine concerned expressions. They had barged into the infirmary shortly after I had placed the bandage on Daryl's stomach. He hadn't even been awake yet when they demanded entrance, but he was now.

I hadn't had a chance to check in with him yet, but I could see the uncomfortable expression on his face. I wasn't sure if it was because of the amount of people surrounding him or because he was in pain, but I suspected it was the former.

Carol's fingers ran through Daryl's hair lightly while she spoke to him and Rick had yet to remove his own hand from Daryl's arm, like the injured man might bolt if he wasn't held down. Merle stood to the side, watching his brother's face intently, while Michonne, Maggie, Carl, Glenn, Beth, and Hershel surrounded the bed from all sides.

I still didn't know what happened to Daryl. No one had explained and I hadn't asked as I'd been digging through his abdomen. None of them had said anything to me since Merle had told me to open the door and then the rest of them had demanded that I do the same later on. Which was fine, really. I was still trying to calm myself down anyway.

It had taken everything in me to remain tranquil and ensure my hands didn't start shaking. I had learned quickly while operating on Daryl why the AMA generally recommended that surgeons not treat people they knew. It was the most terrifying feeling in the world, but some voice inside my head kept whispering that he would be okay and that was the only thing that kept me from having a meltdown.

Movement caught my eye and I glanced up from the spot I had started staring at on the floor to find Hershel walking towards me. His crutches filled the space with a loud thud every time they hit the concrete below.

"You did good, doctor. Do you want me to help with anything while I'm here?" The man asked with a kind smile.

I shook my head. "No, I think I have it all taken care of. Thank you, though."

Hershel's eyebrows pinched together as he stared at me.

"You look worn out, Scarlett."

"Rough week," I said quietly, shrugging my shoulders.

"If you need a break, that's okay. I can always help out. You come find me if you need to take me up on that offer." His lips tilted up at the edges softly before he slowly made his way back to the group, no doubt sensing my reluctance for any sort of conversation.

Hershel was right. I was exhausted. Being here, in this prison with these people and all of these things happening around me, was exhausting. It felt like everyday was something new, something scarier than the previous day. What was worse is that I knew this wasn't even as bad as it could or would get. I had a feeling that I would be having a completely different experience if I was already close to the group, but given the recent chain of events, it had been relatively impossible to form a bond with anyone besides Jax and the Dixon's.

Regardless, I couldn't let myself sink into another pity party, so I squared my shoulders and took a deep breath before walking towards the group.

"Alright, guys. Daryl needs rest and I need to get him more meds, so I'm going to need all of you to head out," I said with a smile.

"You're right," Rick said with a nod of his head towards me before turning back to Daryl, "We're going to get out of here. You just focus on feelin' better."

"I'll be fine. Y'all quit your damn fussin'," Daryl grunted.

"It's our job to fuss over you, pookie," Carol sarcastically cooed before placing a dramatic kiss on Daryl's cheek.

The group said their goodbyes and started heading towards the door as I stood there and watched them all trickle out of the space. Carol and Rick stopped in front of me before leaving.

"Thank you. For saving him," Carol said earnestly, her hand grabbing on to mine and giving it a hard squeeze.

"Rick said he'd kill me if I hurt any of his people, so I'm not sure I had much of a choice, but you're welcome," I joked, sending Rick a big grin.

Rick rolled his eyes but returned my smile.

"We all appreciate what you did for him, Scarlett. Even if you didn't have a choice," Rick responded with a wink.

I let out a low laugh as the two left the room, which left me with just Daryl and Merle, who had stepped closer to his brother's bed. Merle was murmuring something quietly to Daryl and Daryl appeared to be focused on whatever it was he was saying.

"When I said everyone out, that meant you too, Merle."

"Was just tellin' my baby brother to make sure he's extra nice to ya since ya saved his life and all," he said with a grin.

I made my way to the other side of Daryl's bed to grab the bottle of painkillers. "Daryl's always nice. It's you that's typically the problem."

"You wound me, angel," Merle dramatically sighed, "But yer right. He's always been the better one."

The last half of his sentence was said in a solemn tone that made my eyes bounce up to the man. He was looking at Daryl with an expression I was familiar with. One I had used on other people throughout my lives and had been used on me. It was a mix of fear and realization that you had or almost had lost someone. It was a sobering feeling, one that tended to stick around in your soul for a while and put everything in perspective.

"I'm going to go check on David," I said, dropping the bottle back on the nightstand and stepping away from the bed when the brothers looked up at me, "You have five minutes, Merle."

I watched emotion flicker behind his eyes as I walked towards David's cell. Merle hadn't gotten the opportunity to really talk to Daryl when the group had been hovering so close. I think they forgot sometimes that Merle was Daryl's brother, or they just disliked the crude man so much that they simply didn't care, because they hadn't left any space for him to get close to Daryl. While it might have been rough for everyone to come so close to losing the younger Dixon because of how much they cared about and depended on him, I knew it had been worse for Merle.

Merle wasn't exactly one to open up about his feelings, but that didn't mean they weren't there. They man was prickly like a damn cactus and it had been nothing short of a miracle that he even let me as close as he had, but his feelings towards his little brother were obvious. He had almost sacrificed his life to give Daryl a chance against the Governor. In some alternate timeline, he had sacrificed himself.

I checked in with David and gave him his next round of antibiotics. He took them orally this time. It was obvious he was starting to feel a little better. I could see the color starting to faintly return to his face and his cough, while still present, wasn't as bad as it had been. After a few minutes, I went to leave but the man reached out and grabbed my hand.

"Thank you," he got out, his voice scratchy, "Thank you for helping me."

"You don't have to thank me for a single thing. That's what I'm here for," I said with a smile before leaving the room.

I stopped at the makeshift sink I had set up and scrubbed my hands quickly. When I got back to Daryl's bed, which I had situated at the opposite end of the cell block as David's inside the fenced off area, Merle was patting his brother's hand and stepping back. His head turned and his eyes connected with mine.

"Was just headin' out, angel," he grinned at me.

He stepped away from Daryl and walked towards me, surprising the hell out of me when he threw his arms around me in a hug. My feet left the ground as he crushed me to him.

"I will never be able to thank ya enough for helpin' him. Now I owe both our lives to ya," he murmured into my hair as he sat me back on the ground.

The 'dream' flashed in my head again.

"You're more than welcome, big guy," I whispered back to him.

He stepped back and smiled at me once more. "How 'bout we have our talk later tonight? Ya look like ya need to rest."

"I'm exhausted, so I'd appreciate that. Bring me some dinner tonight and then we can go talk in the viewing room?" I suggested. "And I'm going to need you to explain to me what happened to your brother."

"Deal. We were able to get some pretty good stuff from that store, ya know. Had a little problem with a helicopter and some walkers on the roof, but we took care of it and got what we needed with no issues. Luckily I saw that helicopter before we got inside. Crazy, huh?" He raised an eyebrow as he looked down at me.

A small smile pulled up my mouth. "The craziest."

"I'll see ya tonight, angel," he said as walked towards the door and let himself out.

I shook my head, the smile still on my mouth as I turned towards Daryl, who was watching me intently.

"How're you feeling?" I asked, stepping up his bed.

His blue eyes stayed hooked on mine as he responded. "Feelin' like I got shot, but it's not terrible. Thanks for patching me up."

"You're the one that picked me up when I was unconscious and carried me back here in the first place, right? I'd say we're even now. No thanks needed," I said, smiling at him and ignoring the fact that a nervousness settled in my bones now that we were alone, "I'm going to pull the blanket down and look at your bandage, okay? I stitched you up good, but I just want to make sure everything is holding and you're not bleeding."

He nodded his head and settled into the pillows behind him. I tentatively grabbed the sheet, my fingers briefly touching his bare chest, and slowly started pulling it down until it rested across his hips. I don't know what it was that caused my face to burn until it was a bright shade of red, but I'm sure the color that spread across my face caused me to bear a striking resemblance to a tomato.

His chest was so hard. There was not an ounce of fat on the man. He just looked so strong and that alone sent a flash of heat through my body, which did nothing to tame the flush of my face. I hadn't really had time to appreciate his body early, because I was up to my elbows in blood, but now that I knew he was alive and well, I just wanted to stare at him.

My eyes danced across the expanse of muscles, tattoos, and various scars before landing on the large white bandage on the left side of his abdomen. I took in a shaky breath, trying to make myself focus, and started peeling the tape around the gauze back slowly. I looked up to Daryl and noticed his eyes were locked on my face. He looked confused more than anything.

"Nothing leaking," I said quietly, my voice squeaking as I carefully replaced the bandage, "Do you want something for the pain? We have some pretty good painkillers right now. I gave you some when you were out, before I started digging around in you, but you can have more to take the edge off."

He shook his head. "Nah, save 'em. I'll be alright."

"If you need them, you need them, Daryl. You suffered a pretty serious gunshot wound. You should take at least one. I don't want you to be in pain," my voice was harsher than I meant for it to be.

I snatched the bottle of pain pills off the nightstand where I had placed it before and started shaking one out. He would never admit it, but I could see that he was uncomfortable. His mouth tightened in a grimace anytime he shifted in a certain way.

"Why'd you ask if you were just going to make me take one anyway?" He mumbled.

"Because I foolishly thought you would make the right decision. Hold your hand out," I commanded.

Daryl rolled his eyes but held his hand out and I placed the small white pill in his palm. I passed him the cup of water from the table and glared at him until he tossed the medication in his mouth and swallowed it with a mouthful of water.

"Happy now?" He grunted, handing me the cup.

"Ecstatic. Now get some sleep. You need it."

Without thinking, I started pulling the sheet back up his body and laid it across his chest again. His bright blue eyes darted up to meet mine for a brief second. I snatched my hand back.

"I think I'm going to take a shower real quick. Probably take a nap afterwards. I'm going to put my bed between yours and David's, so if you need me, just holler," I said, turning away from him and hurrying to grab some clothes and water.

Why was I acting like a nervous preteen? I had just dug a bullet out of the man's stomach and stitched him up but my fingers grazing his warm, hard chest for a second made butterflies erupt in my stomach.

I busied myself with thoroughly scrubbing my body. I felt disgusting, but I decided that was just going to be a part of everyday life in the apocalypse. The showers weren't set up in the bathroom of this cell block yet, so I had to make due with a rag and a couple gallons of water. When I had successfully scrubbed every inch of my body, I quickly threw on a t-shirt and some more leggings, which was apparently going to be my new uniform.

I drug my mattress away from David's cell and put it in the middle of the walkway, between both men. As I slid under the blanket, I heard soft snores coming from Daryl's bed. A small smile tugged my lips up as I let the darkness pull me under.

I pulled myself back through the window and stood just to the side of it as I put two fingers in my mouth. Using all of the power in my lungs, I let out a loud whistle. The sound of yelling stopped.

"There's a group coming from the east!" I screamed with fake panic coating every syllable, "And walkers from the north! Run!"

A smile settled on my face as what was left of the Governor's men started to scatter, but quickly disappeared when I realized the man still had Merle by the collar of his shirt. Motherfucker. Merle's eyes were darting around, trying to find where my voice was coming from.

"Phillip!" I yelled out, keeping myself hidden, "Turn around! It's Penny!"

I crossed my fingers that the psycho would drop Merle's collar long enough for him to just duck and run. And he did, even though he knew Michonne had put down the walker that had once been his daughter. He let go of Merle's shirt and spun around, his eyes wide and frantic.

"Penny!?" he bellowed.

And Merle took off like a lightning bolt. He started running, making it behind a building before the Governor even noticed he was gone. I watched with a smile as Merle disappeared and I hoped he made it back to Daryl.

It was time. I needed to find my way to the prison.

My eyes fluttered open and I was immediately greeted with Merle's grinning face hovering over me, but shock was still coursing through my veins. I had saved Merle. That wasn't just a dream. It had happened.

"Havin' a good dream, angel? Ya kept sayin' my baby brother's name," he said loudly enough that I knew Daryl had heard him, but nothing was registering right now.

"It was me. I saved you."

"I - What?" Merle asked, his eyebrows pinching together.

"I was there. When you went to kill the Governor," I repeated, "I told him Penny was behind him. You ran."

Merle's eyes widened as he looked at me.

"I fuckin' knew it was you!" Merle whooped, standing up straight and looking real proud of himself.

"She saved you that day?" Daryl's voice called.

Merle looked down at me with a grimace, but threw his hand out to help me up. When I was on my feet, still a little shell shocked, we turned towards Daryl. Daryl's eyes bounced between the two of us, slightly narrowed.

"Yeah. She didn't know me, but started yellin'. Distracted the Governor's men so I could run," Merle said.

Daryl's eyes grew dark and I could feel a change in the air.

"What else are you two hiding?" He asked as Merle and I approached his bed.

"Nothin', Darylina. Don't get yer damn panties in a twist," Merle grunted, scowling at his brother.

"I don't believe that for a damn second. I know you and I know when you're hiding something. And you're hiding something. Tell me what it is," Daryl demanded, glaring at Merle. It made me hope I was never on the receiving end of that look. "You two keep disappearing together and you talk like you're the only ones who know somethin'. She's been here less than a week and you already trust her more than you do anyone else. Why is that?"

"I'd hardly say we keep 'disappearing' together," I scoffed, only to have that glare turn on me. I shut my mouth quickly.

"She's right. We disappeared once together, maybe twice. We're friends. Ain't we, angel?" Merle said, his shoulder bumping mine.

"Unfortunately. Lack of options and all."

"Yer an asshole," Merle mumbled under his breath.

"You ain't ever had a girl that was just a friend in your life, Merle," Daryl huffed.

"Well, I do now. First time for everythin'."

"Tell me what you two are hiding."

"We're not hiding anything," I said, shaking my head.

Merle sighed loudly and started a back and forth with his brother that was mostly just insulting nicknames and scowls. As the two kept up their heated debate on whether or not Merle and I were harboring some kind of deep dark secret, my mind started spinning.

It made sense, I guess, that my body had been here before I was. It's not like I would've just appeared out of thin air, but I didn't understand why I didn't remember things from before. Maybe I had hit my head harder than I thought before Daryl found me. That could definitely have something to do with it.

And now Daryl thought I was conspiring with his brother on something wild. Which, yeah, kind of, but the conspiring was strictly a 'I'm trying to keep everyone safe' thing. It got under my skin a little that everyone always assumed the worst in Merle. Historically speaking, I could see why, but he had stepped up a lot recently.

You know what? Fuck it.

I cleared my throat and squared my shoulders. "Merle isn't hiding anything from you. I'm hiding something from everyone, including Merle."

"Angel, let's go talk. Ya don't have to tell him anythin', even if he is being an ass right now," Merle said, his big hand clasping around my forearm and tugging me slightly.

"'M not bein' an ass. I just want to know what's happening," Daryl grunted, glaring at Merle for a second before returning his gaze to me.

I said a quick, silent prayer that whatever higher power was responsible for throwing me into different bodies didn't wipe me out for what I was about to do and then I sat in the chair beside Daryl's bed. I pulled my legs up in front of me, wrapping my arms around them, before resting my chin on my knee.

My eyes connected with Merle's. His eyebrows were drawn together as he sat at the end of Daryl's bed.

"Is this big?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah, it's big."

I took a deep breath and then for the first time in a very, very long time, I told someone the truth about me.