Broken Angels: Daryl Dixon + OC Fanfic

Chapter 5: Till We Meet Again

After Jayden locked herself in her room, Herschel approached Rick seething. Maggie and Glenn followed closely behind. Rick was still processing what had happened. At this point he didn't know how to feel. Not only was he angry that she lied to him but Herschel, Maggie, Glenn, and even Daryl had kept this information from him.

"Rick, what on earth were you thinking!?" He demanded.

Rick whirled around to face them. He looked at every single one of them before asking, "How long did you know?"

"Maggie and I have known from the start. We have been taking care of her. She's like family to us. Glenn just recently found out." Herschel understood Rick's anger but to act the way he did was out of line. He didn't even give Jayden the chance to explain herself.

"So you allowed me to bring this group here? You led us to believe it was safe and that we could trust this stranger. Why!?" Rick's eyes started to gloss over. At this point he didn't know what to feel. Guilt, maybe a little. Anger, hell yeah he was angry. But there was also a feeling of pity for this woman.

"We can trust her, Rick. In no way has she been a real threat to us or the group. She's sick, possibly immune and she is just trying to survive. No one here could even imagine what she has gone through." Herschel sighed, "I may only be a vet, but I know what PTSD and survivor's guilt looks like. She has been going through that alone. She doesn't know how to cope."

Glenn and Maggie looked towards Herschel. Sure they knew that Jayden had some problems and that she was probably a little depressed but they did not understand how deep it went. She was struggling by herself with no one to help her.

"Ok, I get that. If you truly believe she is immune then I'll allow her to join. But let me make myself very clear, You three are responsible for her. If you even get a whiff that she might turn then you put her down. She's valuable and could help keep the group safe with her experience. We need that after losing... After losing Shane." Rick nodded before turning away.

As the Greene family made their way inside, Glenn started to walk towards the stairs. Before he could make his way up to them Herschel put his hand out stopping him.

"She won't want to be bothered. Come on, we need to finish packing. We leave in a few days." Herschel removed his hand and walked towards the basement. Glenn looked up at Jaydens door before following behind the Greene family.

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A few days had passed since Rick almost killed Jayden. She had still refused to come out of her room and didn't let anyone in. Herschel tried to persuade her because she was still recovering from her wound and her fever. No matter how hard he tried he was only met with silence. He left food/water and medical supplies outside her door every few hours so she could at least take care of herself.

Not only was Herschel concerned about Jayden but Daryl was feeling some concern as well. He hadn't told Rick Jay's secret and he didn't know what to think of the look she gave him when she saw him yesterday. He didn't understand what she was feeling and how it made him feel.

While everyone was worrying about Jayden hiding out in her room, she was on the move. No one knew but she had broken her fever two days ago, since then she has been going through and packing her clothing in her military pack. At this point she was just waiting til nightfall when everyone was asleep so she could sneak down to the armory.

She didn't want to leave without saying goodbye to the Greenes and Glenn but after what happened, she thought it was for the best. She sat by the door listening to the group shuffle around. They were going to leave tomorrow which meant they were most likely to hit the hay early and rest up. She just needed to get her weapons and her jeep.