The Fear (The Walking Dead / Daryl Dixon)

Chapter 27 - Should Be Interesting

This is short and I'm sorry, but I'm utterly exhausted right now and I wanted to get something up in celebration of the second half of S6 :D

HOW GOOD WAS THAT EPISODE?!?!?!? This is going to sound shallow, but that ep literally got rid of half my problems (in the form of characters) and Daryl was hella badass!!! Although, I'm still utterly terrified for his future.

After a while I decided I would check back in on my dad, kissing the top of Beth's head and rubbing the top of her arm comfortingly before standing. Maggie and Glenn also parted ways, Glenn going back to his post in the doorframe while Maggie looked over to us. I walked towards her, stopping just out of earshot from Beth.

"You okay?" I whispered.

She nodded and looked over her shoulder to the cell dad was in before looking back. "What are the chances of him not waking up?" She whispered back.

"It's too soon to tell."

"Which means not good." Maggie nodded and I honestly couldn't say another word, only gave her arm a light squeeze before heading over to the cell, leaving her and Beth.

I looked down at where Carol still held the towel tightly to the leg.

"Rick ask you stay with him?" I whispered to Glenn, but didn't look away from my father. I figured it would be something along those lines when Rick pulled him aside earlier, especially considering he hadn't moved more than a metre away from the door.

He didn't reply right away, only stared at dad and then I saw him nod his head in the corner of my eye followed by a silent, "Yeah."

"Thank-you." I stated, now looking up to meet his gaze, placing a hand on his shoulder as I walked away once again.

"There's a good chance he won't wake up." I faintly heard Maggie's voice as I was about to walk past another cell. I froze, stopping before I walked past and pressing my back against the wall, listening to the conversation.

"Why are you so eager to give up on him?" Beth asked.

"I'm not giving up on him."

"It sure sounds like it."

"I don't want you to get your hopes too high." Maggie explained as I closed my eyes, a tear falling down my cheek.

She was right. This had been the problem at the farm. I let Beth and dad believe that Annette and Shawn were okay, that they were simply sick and would come back to us. It spared them from the initial pain, something I didn't want to see, something I tried so hard to spare them from, but in the end it only made it worse.

"We're not equipped to deal with something like this." Maggie continued.

"Kat knows what she's doing." Beth stated. "She'll save him." Beth said stubbornly. "And Carol is helping."

"Dad only taught Carol a few things to help with the baby and Kat can only do so much without the proper..."

"They stopped the bleedin'." Beth cut her off.

I couldn't listen to anymore, quickly wiping away that one escaped tear and heading back the way I had come. I walked into the cell where my dad lay, walking around Carol and to the front of the bed. I checked his pulse, listened to his breathing and checked his temperature, squeezing my eyes shut for a moment.

"What is it?" Lori asked.

"He doesn't have a fever which is a good sign, but his breathing is laboured and his pulse is way down."