All That's Left (The Walking Dead FanFiction)

Chapter 37

The days that follow mostly consist of Jonah. He performs test after test trying to find any research he can on my immunity, but he's so limited with the medical equipment at the prison his findings lead to nothing. My forearm turns black and blue from all the blood draws, and I begin to grow impatient with our lack of progress.

I know Jonah's trying the best he can, but there has to be something more we can do. I know there's a cure for this. I know there's a way to stop people from turning.

Spinning around in Jonah's office chair, I wait for him to return from the lab. It's different being here and not seeing sick bodies lined up on the cots. The infirmary is the quietest it's ever been. I hear the creaks in the chair as it spins me faster and faster, making the walls blur into one.

Jonah enters the room and light from one of the windows catches his wedding ring.

"Do you think your wife is alive?" I ask, realizing I know close to nothing about him.

He glances up from the notebook in his hand before taking a seat next to me. I watch his face carefully to see if I've crossed any lines by asking him something so personal. "No, I don't," he answers, staring over my shoulder. "Becca and I stayed at the house for over a year. If she was alive she would have come home for her daughter. I know she would have."

"I'm sorry," I say quietly. "You must miss her."

He stays silent from a long time and I accept that as him not wanting to talk about it any further. I should've never asked. My heart sinks to stomach, drowning in guilt.

"I do miss her," he says suddenly. "Believe me I do. And I pray fervently that nothing bad happened to her, but um," he pauses for a moment before continuing, "we were in the middle of a divorce when the outbreak occurred."

"God, Jonah I'm so sorry." I should've never asked. I'm not good with sympathy and I don't know how to fix him or how to make him feel better. But in the end I know my curiosity is going to win.

"Do you mind me asking why?" I venture.

He laughs and his reaction takes me by surprise. I'm used to Daryl always getting angry at me for being so nosy. "I don't know why I laughed because it's not funny," he says as his voice becomes serious again. "She was cheating on me with Eli."

Well, shit. "And you let him stay with you after that?" I ask incredulously.

Jonah shakes his head. "Eli was a messed up kid. And I've always been known to be too gracious."

I stare at the ring on his finger. "Why do you wear your wedding band then?"

His gaze meets mine. "I loved her, you know. For me, it's easy to forgive the people that I love."

I spin around in the chair again. "Do you think all this testing is useless?"

"Of course not."

His eyes are bright and hopeful, and I find myself staring at them for too long.

"Do you think it's useless?" he asks.

"I don't know. I guess I'm getting impatient."

He gently squeezes my shoulder. "We'll find something eventually, I promise."

*****

Two hours later I sit on the floor in Daryl's cell as Sam runs around my feet, and Daryl lies down on his bed. The room is mostly dark. All I can see is Sam move back and forth in front of me, his fingers grabbing handfuls of my hair.