( Notes: TW - Gore and Blood :3 )
It was Carol and Merle.
They were the ones who blew up Terminus and helped Rick and the group escape.
Daryl hugged them both tightly, almost crying in relief.
Rick went up to them, "Did you do that?"
"Hell yeah, officer friendly!" Merle smirked, nudging Carol with his shoulder, "We make quite the team, don't we, lovely?"
Carol scoffed, shaking her head with a smile.
Merle looked around, "Where's lil' Dixon?"
"He's not- He's not with you?" Daryl asked, all hope draining from him.
"He was for a while. We escaped the prison together. He had lil' ass-kicker in his arms."
Rick and Carl's heads perked up, Rick asked, "Judith's alive?"
"What happened, bro?!"
"Me, Hedley and Judith were together when the prison went down. We camped for the night then when makin' our way through, we found Carol." Merle explained, then sighed sadly, "A herd woke us up. Walkers all around. I gave Judith to Hedley and told 'im to head to Terminus and we'll meet 'im there."
Carol then spoke up, "When me and Merle saw you get taken into that cattle train, we thought Hedley and Judith were in there too."
"They weren't." Carl said, tears in his eyes, "He wasn't there."
"Then he and lil' ass-kicker could be close. I told 'im to go here." Merle was persistent.
"He's survived being alone before." Maggie reminded them, "He can do it again."
"With a crying baby?" Michonne asked quietly.
"We'll scope the area." Rick said, "He'll be in the trees somewhere, right?"
Merle nodded, "Last I saw 'im, he was swinging with Judith strapped to his chest."
"Okay. Then we'll head west. If we-"
Gunshots from behind them in the distance echoed the woods.
Daryl had a feeling and with his crossbow back in his hands, went towards it. The others followed suit.
They all stopped when they found Hedley's backpack, contents sprawled out. Baby bottles, wipes, diapers. And Hedley's headphones.
Daryl went to it, grabbing the headphones tenderly, "He's around here somewhere."
Merle was already looking at the ground for tracks, "He weren't alone. I see three other footprints."
"Maybe he found a group." Maggie said.
Rick then saw the bullet hole in the tree stump and gestured to it, "Or he found trouble."
Daryl and Merle followed Hedley's tracks until seeing the abandoned shed.
Rick, Daryl, Merle, Carl and Michonne grouped together to go inside.
Blood was everywhere on the floor and the first thing they heard was the crying of Judith in the tractor. Rick sobbed as he saw his daughter and reached in to grab her, Carl kissing her forehead but gasping when seeing the blood.
"Is she hurt?" Michonne asked.
After inspecting her, Rick shook his head. "Ain't her blood."
"Hedley!" Daryl called in shock as he found the boy laying against the tractor, three bodies surrounding him, and he was bleeding from his chelsea smile. Daryl didn't know what to do, frozen. Merle went forward, taking off his outer shirt and started stripping it to make cloths. He pressed the cloth to Hedley's face, making the boy whimper in pain.
"Fuck, lil' Dixon. What have ya got yourself into?" He whispered, tears in his eyes as Daryl looked around at the men. One of them had Hedley's crossbow on his back.
Michonne came through, seeing the damage to Hedley's face and gasping, "Oh my. Merle, hand him here." Merle and Michonne took the boy out of the barn to use the natural daylight to inspect the wounds more. The others in the group were appalled and shocked at the sight of a kid so beaten and injured. Rick gave Judith to Carl then went over to order Maggie and Glenn to get Hedley's bag and baby stuff from where they found it. The couple went to get the supplies.
Carl was crying, seeing his friend so hurt. Daryl came from the shed, in a state of pure disbelief, holding two pieces of paper and Hedley's crossbow.
Rick went over to him, hand cupping his neck, "Daryl?"
Daryl just handed over the paper.
'Judith. Help her.'
'Don't forget me.'
"He thought he was gonna die, Rick."
Rick swallowed harshly, re-reading the notes over and over.
"He locked her in the tractor to protect her and accepted it."
"He's alive and with us." Rick reminded the hunter, "He's with us."
Michonne called from where she was beside Hedley, "He needs stitches, or he'll bleed out."
"Here!" Maggie called, holding a first aid kit and Hedley's bag. She threw the kit over to Carol, "Found it in his bag."
"The men inside had bags, might have stuff in there." Rick said, nodding over to Abraham and Sasha, "Go in and get anything you can find."
The two went in, rummaging in the dead men's bags.
"I've got water!" Sasha yelled, coming out with a few bottles of water, giving them to Michonne - who used them to dampen the cloths to wash away the blood and dirt.
"I've got a small first aid box. Got needle and thread inside." Abraham said, coming in, handing it to Carol.
Carol was the one who began to stitch Hedley's face together. The boy wasn't moving or thrashing to stop her, too weak. But he was whimpering and making small noises of pain.
Daryl cradled his son's hand, silent tears falling. Merle had his hand on his brother's shoulder in support, his own heart breaking at the look of his nephew. Maggie was holding a distraught Carl, Judith now quiet and looking at her brother in worry. Rick ordered Glenn, Rosita and Tara to remove the bodies from the barn so they could use it to rest for the night. As the three got to work, Carol kept going, Michonne cleaning the blood as the other woman stitched.
"He saved Judith." Carl sobbed, "He did it. He can't die without me telling him how thankful I am."
"He's not gonna die." Maggie whispered, rubbing Carl's back, "He's tough."
"He's a Dixon." Merle said proudly, "He took down three men and kept lil' ass-kicker safe. He's not done yet."
Daryl shook his head as if he didn't believe the words so Merle tugged his head up gently so that the brothers could make eye contact. "He ain't done. He's a fighter."
"That's clear as day." Carol joined, examining her work. A crooked smile will forever be embedded into his skin for the rest of his life and the scar under his eye from before seemed to have blended into the chelsea smile. "He's one badass kid."
Daryl chuckled wetly, "Yeah. He is."
Merle lifted up his nephew and took him into the shed when the stitches were done. Daryl made up the hay into a bed for the boy and when Hedley was laying in it, Daryl couldn't take his eyes off of him. He never thought he'd see his kid again, and there he was. Beaten, sliced up and bruised to hell... but he was there.
Carl gave Judith to his dad so he could sit beside Hedley, reaching out for his hand. He held it tight, resting his head on his friend's chest for a while to hear the rhythm of his heartbeat.
Tara came over, tapping Daryl's elbow. He turned to her.
"I found this." She said, handing over Hedley's flipbook.
Daryl took it carefully, before going over to Hedley's unoccupied side.
As everyone rested, adrenaline draining them into exhaustion, Daryl, Carl and Rick were the only ones awake. Daryl saw Merle and Carol sleeping cuddled into each other and smiled thinly; it was nice seeing his brother finally opening up to someone.
Rick took watch at the door, the moonlit glow the only source of light.
Carl was running his fingers through Hedley's hair, brushing out the dried blood that tangled in the locks.
"You should sleep." Daryl muttered, "He's gonna be 'ere when you wake."
"You don't know that."
"I don't?"
"He could get an infection; it could spread quick. He could die from it. A lot can happen in a few hours."
Daryl hummed, "Maybe. But I'll keep an eye on 'im."
"You don't get it." Carl's eyes watered, "He- I don't know how to put it." After a pause, he said, "He almost died keeping Judith safe. I just feel like I need to watch over him."
"He's ya best friend. It's natural to feel that way."
Carl nodded, then yawned, "Maybe I could close my eyes... just for a little while."
"Okay." Daryl smirked. "I'll wake ya if anythin' happens."
"Promise?"
"Yeah. I promise."
Carl rested his head on his arms, one of his hands seeking Hedley's. He closed his eyes gently and a few moments later, was asleep.