Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Judith was sick. They had to make it back to the Prison. They finally found the Medicine but he remembered something else... Screaming. Gunshots. A knife in his side... He could hear his heart beating and felt a body beside him. Beth was stroking soothingly his hair as his blood soaked in the car seat. "We almost made it. Hold on." She stroke his cheeks gently with her hand and he was almost relaxed. Then whiteness blinded him for a second. "Drive faster, Glenn." Beth said. His Head was on her lap. His body hurt. His side burned. "I'm trying. We almost run out of gas." Maggie looked worried to him, gave her Shirt over to Beth. "Put this on his wound. He can't lose more blood." Beth pressed the cloth roughly at his side and Daryl hissed. "I'm sorry." She said with Tears on her Cheeks. Judith was sick. He tried to spot his backpack. Had they forgotten the medication? "Where's the ... Bag?" He managed to gaps out. Blood soaked already the Shirt. "In the trunk of the car. She's goanna be alright." He felt hands again. "You'll be fine too. Just hold on" Hands stroking him again. The Car rumbled, came to a halting stop. "Shit." Glenn cursed.

Maggie looked worried at Glenn, not knowing what to do. He gave her his Jacket in an attempt to keep her warm. Snow made their way even difficulter and again he coursed the Winter. If the nights hadn't been that Cold, Judith would not be sick. "We need to walk. Come." It was difficult to get him out of the car. Daryl almost blacked out. He would have fallen to the ground if Beth hadn't caught him in time. "I've got you." She said in a teary voice. "How long will it be to the prison?" she asked her sister. Maggie looked as desperate as she. "Might be three Miles on foot from here." Glenn opened the trunk, took the Backpack out of there. Another walker stumbled out of the woods, a few meters in front of them. Glenn shot it through it's brain. Beth and Maggie helped Daryl to stand up, both one arm her shoulder. "He won't make it in his condition. He barley made it out of the car." Glenn looked at Daryl who almost passed out. They needed to keep him conscious. He took a step towards his friend, searching for a sign of awareness. "Daryl." he tried. No reaction. Glenn slapped him across his cheek. "Daryl. Stay with us man!" Daryl's head spun and glazed eyes looked at him. "You need to stay awake." Maggie said beside him. "I fucking am awake." He grumbled and if their Situation wasn't so bad Glenn might have grinned at his reaction. "Can you walk?" Glenn urged, Daryl disoriented as if he haven't even known he was there. He grunted. "Yes." His head upright, but his eyes haf closed, his arm over Maggie and she bound the Shirt as an bandage over his body. "Then fucking walk." he urged. They stumbled their way, blood leaving tracks and Glenn killed walkers silently with his Knife. If more came across and they smelled his blood they all where fucked . Beth comforted Daryl, urged him to move faster, to hold on. Glenn searched in the Backpack for fresh bandages, handed them over to Maggie while she changed the Improvised cloth. After Daryl stumbled and almost fell, Glenn heard her calling out for him. "He won't make it like that." Maggie said, her voice deepened so he couldn't hear them. Glenn knew the wound was deep. She was right. It was a wonder that Daryl could move at all. Glenn looked gently at Maggie, giving her his gun. "I am going ahead." Glenn said finally. "I'm trying to get the RV. You stay here. I am right back."

Chapter Text

Rick

When the walkers wouldn't be there at the fence , they could almost pretend what happened to the world. They all knew of course, but live at the Prison was peaceful. They spend Weeks in Peace, killed easily off the Walkers that came towards the fence. Rick and Hershel made an to plant Vegetables. They had enough food for a time. They had room enough to be relieved. Enaugh room to breathe. They where happy. And then winter came. The Nights where freezing cold. They shivered in the coldness of the Prison. They collected woods to burn but they only spend warmth for a few hours, and the solid ground of the Prison didn't`t let them burn long. They where all Hungry and even Daryl's Hunting skills weren't enough to feed every Person living there. They found some survivors which where weak and sick, they needed to eat too. Every week they had to go hunting for supplies. Hershel was worried about the small amount of Medication they still had left. Ever since the Apocalypse began, most places where robbed, so meds where ever hardly to find. And then, week before all of this, Carl came to him crying and pale with a broken voice. Judith wasn't normally breathing. Then the deep old fear set in, which he had only known from losing Lori. He never moved from Judith`s side. He watched her breathing. He held her the whole night. Tried to feed her. Tried to comfort her crying. Her fever was burning and after a few days she didn't make any loud noises like a normal Baby uses to make. Hershel said she was too tired for that. She needed to sleep much. Carl's eyes where now red rimmed, like Rick's. If they would lose Judith ... He wouldn't`t knew how to live with that. Yesterday, Maggie, and Glenn came to him, telling him they studied a map to make out a few hospitals nearby. Beth and Daryl wanted to came with them to. She already talked to Hershel about it. Beth had a large knowledge of medical plants which where important and also knew which meds Judith needed to heal again. "I am coming with you." Rick tried. He wasn't going to be left when others searched a cure for his Baby. "No." Glenn said. Rick tried to protest but Maggie interrupted him. "Judith needs you here. She needs her dad." Rick was silent for a moment, watching Carl holding her. "Okay." The hours seemed to pass like Days. When Glenn came running back to them, Rick was watching over his Baby. Held in the quarantine Room Judith's tiny fingers. While Tyreese and Glenn got armed into to the RV with Glenn yelling that they needed to hurry and Hershel following closly behind them, Michonne came with the cure. Mixed with Milk in a tiny Baby bottle. "She's goanna be alright." she said.

Chapter Text

Beth was terrified. There was that man and a knife at her throat, so close. A hand pressed at her mouth so she couldn't scream. A few seconds later she tried to fight him, tried to fight his hands from her. He would kill her. She knew that. She tried to make noise, draw attention to anyone, someone, because she couldn't breathe ... And then that man was pushed of, the crushing weight was gone. There was a blur of crashing bodies on the ground and she saw how Daryl landed one punch after the other on the attacker's face... But then the man grabbed for his knife... she heard someone screaming." Beth.. Beth.."
OoO
"Beth!" Maggie shook her hard. Held her in a hard grip with her hands on her shoulder and stared right into her eyes. "You need to focus. Listen to me." There was a growling sound from somewhere behind her and a gunshot. And then Maggie was back. Breathing heavily but determined. "You are no help for him like this." She whispered quietly. Beth nodded and saw how more walkers came through the forest. Daryls knife was on the ground. She took it, just in time to save Maggie from a biter that came from behind.
Then hell broke lose. She didn't knew later how they managed to kill twenty Walkers alone, with one shotgun and two knifes. The field was filled with them. She turned back to check on Daryl, to see if he was still breathing. Sweat was on his brow and blood soaked again through the bandage on his wound. He was far paler than she ever had seen him. His pulse was so weak. She gently moved a hand across his face. "We need to move him." She said. Her Sister seemed to think otherwise. Maggie shook her head while she pulled out her hunter knife from a head. "We can't. We might cause Internal Damage. We need to wait for Glenn." Beth wanted to protest. If they wouldn't move him, he would die here. He already had lost to much blood. Somewhere in the Distance she could hear roaring wheels. A rumbling van. She looked at Maggie and felt some kind of relief. Help was coming.

Chapter Text

Beth silently begged her father to move faster. Glenn almost jumped out of the van and the others followed quickly behind him but her Dad humbled with his one healthy leg behind them. Her Heart was pounding loudly in her Chest and she thought she might have a panic attack.
She could see other People moving around her. She felt a Hand on her shoulder and heard Glenn asking if she was alright. His voice faded, there was a high buzzing sound in her ears and she almost ripped her hair out when it send headaches through her Brain. Because there was Daryl, his bandage carefully opened and she could see his wound. It was deep. Like fucking deep. The white snow on the ground was already splattered with blood and she could see glimpses of what looked like insides coming out of him. The Cut was dangerously close to the abdomen. As much Maggie tried to shield her from the view she could still see the Picture of it behind her closed lilds. The image of her father sticking a needle through Daryl's Organs to stitch it up and fix the internal bleedings as best he could. It was a small mercy that Daryl was unconscious. The Pain would have been unbearable. This was her fault she thought. This was her fault, this was her fault. If Daryl died today, she would be the one responsible for it. An gently shake on her shoulders make her look up. She realizes how dizzy she was. Glenn's voice sounds like its a million Miles away. "You can't help him, Beth. Let us take care of him. Go back to the Van, get some rest." She realized that Glenn was right. She was no help here. The only thing she could do was sitting here, next to him and watching Daryl's unevenfull breathing. She couldn't leave him. After everything he did for her she couldn't leave him here alone. Beth digged her Fingernails into her skin on her arm and felt sharp Pain from it. Then she shaked her head stubbornly and tried to make out what Hershel was saying. The Wound couldn't be stitched up completely. They couldn't risk infection. He asked for disinfection med and Maggie handed it over to him. He took the towel and carefully cleaned the wound. He cleaned it as best as he could. Beth stood up weakly and felt her legs shaking by the effort of it. Daryl's skin was freezing cold. She went to get him a blanket. Glenn followed her to fetch a litter. Her father nodded agreement as she silently asked to put the cover gently on his body. Then they moved him onto a stretcher and carefully, moved him to the Van.