As Daryl lead the small group through the woods he couldn't help but wonder where the hell Cassie,Shane,Carl and Rick were.
"How much farther" Lori asked pulling him from his thoughts.
"Not much. Maybe 100 yards as the crow flies" Daryl answered.
"Too bad we're not crows" Andrea whined as she walked a little away from the rest of the group.
As Daryl walked his mind wandered back to Cassie and wether or not she was okay. He was also trying to realise why he cared so much. It wasn't like he had feelings for Cassie was it? These thoughts were running through his head before the sound of Andrea screams broke his train of though.
Just as they were run in over to Andrea who had a walker on top of her some girl on a horse came riding out of no where smashing the walkers skull with a baseball bat.
"Lori? Lori Grimes?" the women asked as she looked around at all the people before Lori identified herself.
"Rick sent me. You've got to come now" Maggie explained.
"What?" Lori asked confused.
"There's been an accident carls been shot" she explained as loris face shifted from confused to worried. "He's still alive but you've got to come now" Lori just stood there shocked before the women said "Rick needs you just come"
As Lori took of her pack getting ready to climb on the horse Daryl stepped forward. "Whoa whoa you we don't know this girl"
Maggie took one look at Daryl and realised who he was reaching into the pocket on the side of her horses reigns. "Your Daryl right?" She asked as he nodded slightly. "From Cassie" she said as she threw him the arrow.
Daryl heard her saying something to Glenn some type of directions about how to get to their farm but he wasn't paying attention. He turned the arrow over in his hands realising it was Cassie's by the purple fletching on its end. He took the rubber band off the end of it and looked down at the piece of paper that had been wrapped around it. "Serve me servebo te" was written on it and he instantly remembered what it meant. It was the tattoo Cassie had on her chest. The tattoo he had seen and they had talked about the night of the cdc.
He folded up the piece of paper and placed it in his back pocket before any of the other group members saw. He saw the walker the horse riding women had hit with a bat ride up so be shot it in the head with a bolt before he began to storm off back to the highway, securing Cassie's arrow in the holder his crossbow had with the others so he wouldn't lose it.
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As Cassie sat in the room alone with only Carl she felt the tears start to fall again. What if she hadn't lost Sophia? Then they wouldn't of been out there and Carl wouldn't have been shot. She then remember the gift she had gotten him taking the soft lion out her bag and placing it by him. He'd probably think it was too childish for him but it reminded her of the one she gave him when he was little.
Just then she heard footsteps coming and turned her head to see Rick come through the door with Lori who instantly started to sob at the sight of her son laying unconscious. As Rick held her closely Cassie got up and walked round the bed to see her sister in law pulling her into a hug of their own. When Lori pulled away she gave Cassie a sad smile before walking over to where Carl lay on the bed lying down next to him whispering comforting words in his ear. Rick and Cassie stood at the end of the bed holding hands as Lori added her own hand over the three Grimes together trying to comfort each other.
Later on when Carl needed blood again but before Rick could get the needle put in his arm Cassie insisted she would do it.
After Patricia had taken all the blood she needed Cassie went to stand up stumbling a bit from going too fast. Lori rushed to the women's side gently setting her back into the seat
"Take it easy Cassie" she told her placing a hand on her face as Cassie nodded. Lori looked between the two grimes twins before smiling slightly saying "He wanted to give you in the hospital. Cassie convinced him not to by doing it herself." She saw the two twins look at each other before smiling slightly.
Lori then gently lead Cassie and Rick through to Hershel's dining room where two glasses of orange juice were waiting for them. Cassie sat down in a chair as Hershel passed her glass over to her. She thanked him before taking a large sip just now realising how thirsty she was. Rick was still stood up across the table from her taking a sip of his juice and Lori was stood next to her chair leaning on the table as she began to talk to Hershel.
"Okay so I understand when Shane gets back with this other man-" Lori started.
"Otis" Hershel added.
"Otis. The idiot who shot my son" Lori said with a sigj.
"It was an accident" Cassie said softly placing a hand on top of Loris.
"I'll take that under advisement later. For now he's the idiot who shot our son." She announced before Rick turned to face his wife taking her hand.
"Lori their doing everything they can to make it right"
"Okay as soon as they get back you can perform this surgery?" She asked.
"I'll certainly do my best" he reassured them.
"Okay. I mean you've done this procedure before?"
"We'll yes in a sense" he told them a hint of uncertainty in his voice.
"In a sense?" Lori asked repeating Hershel's words in confusion.
"Honey we don't have the luxury of shopping for a surgeon" Rick told his wife trying to calm her down.
"No I understand but you are a doctor right?" She asked
"Yes ma'am of course" Hershel assured her. "A vet"
Cassie was confused by what he meant but before she could ask Lori asked for her "a veteran? A combat medic?"
"A veterinarian" Hershel replied and Cassie nearly choked on the orange juice she had been drinking. She didn't want the offend Hershel or be disrespectful seeing as he had saved her nephews life but she couldn't help but wonder how the hell he could do this surgery.
"And what you've done this surgery before on what? Cows? Pigs?" Lori asked Hershel but before he could reply Rick fell down collapsing into a seat. Lori rushed to her husbands side before saying "Completely in over your head aren't you?"
"Ma'am aren't we all?" Hershel replied answering a question with a question. Cassie could see Lori was nervous about having a vet operate on her son. She couldn't blame her she was slightly nervous too.
"I'm sure Hershel is perfectly capable of performing this surgery. He's done so much for us so far he's the reason carls still living. And I have faith in him" Cassie said confidently nodding at Lori and Rick before turning to Hershel who gave her a grateful smile.
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It had turned night and Shane and Otis still weren't back yet. Cassie,Rick and Lori stood together as Hershel measured carls blood pressure before announcing "Pressures dropping again. We can't wait much longer."
Rick stepped forward offering his arm out to Hershel "Take some more whatever he needs then I'm gonna go" he announced.
"Go? Go where?"Lori asked as the same time Cassie asked "What are you talking about?"
"He said five miles they should be long back by now something's gone wrong" he explaine before both his wife and twin sister began to shut him down on the idea.
"Ricky you can't leave" Cassie told him knowing her brother wouldn't make it far after giving blood so recently. Neither of them would.
"Are you insane? Your not going after them" Lori said in a firm voice.
"Rick listen to your wife and sister." Hershel told him.
"If they got into trouble-" Rick started before Hershel cut him off.
"Your in no condition to do anything about it. You've given blood far too recently. Your barely on your feet. You wouldn't make it across the yard." Hershel explained to him but Rick simply ignored him.
"If something happened, I have to go" Rick said again trying to convince the other adults in the room he had to go.
"No your place is here. If Shane said he'll be back he'll be back he's like you that way" she told him but Rick still wasn't listening.
"I can't just sit here" he argued back.
"That's exactly what you do" Lori shouted snapping at Rick "If you need to pray or cry or tell god he's cruel you go right ahead, but your not leaving Rick."
Cassie took a step towards her brother putting an hand on his arm "Rick Carl needs you. He needs you to be here. And we need you. We both do." Cassie could feel herself getting upset as she continued "you weren't there last time this happened okay you were the one in the bed. We've been through this and believe me when I say we need to stick together"
Lori nodded at Cassie's words agreeing with the blonde women's words as Rick agreed to stay pulling his sister in for a hug. He hadn't know fully how badly she had been impacted by him being shot or just how hard she had taken it by now after hearing those words he just wanted to hold his twin sister and not let her go. He always considered himself to be the older brother as he was born 12 minutes before her so he felt it was his job to protect her. So that's exactly what he would do from now on.
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Lori,Cassie and Rick sat around Carls bedside watching him incase anything might happen. Lori looked over her son and only now noticed the stuffed lion that sat by his shoulder. She leaned forward to pick it up from her position across the bed showing it to Rick letting out a small laugh.
"This is just like Mr Roary" Lori holding the cuddly toy out to Rick who took it in his hand "Cassie where did you find this?" She asked knowing it had to have been her.
"Found it on the highway on the back of a car. Don't worry I made sure it was all clean before I gave it to him." She explained to them.
Rick placed it back down next to Carl smiling at his sister when he did. "Lori did you-? I mean it was legendary. Cassie you must remember the time Shane stole Kingsleys car?"
Cassie nodded her head with a smile thinking back "Yeah of course i do. Principals car out the teachers lot right in the middle of a school day" she recalled.
"Yeah Shane stepped out at lunch made a beeline to Kingsleys Hyundai. Wires the ignition,peels out, drives down Dylan drive to that chicken farm out there. He pulls into one of the big holding pens. Kingsley he waxed that thing every month had the auto shop vacuum it out every week" Rick chuckled as he finished speaking before Cassie took over.
"Shane parked into this huge pen with a couple hundred chickens. He tears open a few bags of seeds in the back seats, rolls down the windows and then sprinted all the way back to school. It was three miles away but I remember he still had time to come in and finish his sandwich before the bell rang."
Rick turned to his sister with a smile as he decided to finish the story "After the bell rings Shane gets up and when he runs into Kingsley in the hallway and when he did he looks out the window and say 'Principal Kingsley your coups gone'" Rick finished as Cassie said it at the same time chuckling together.
"Coup as in chicken coup" Rick explained to Lori.
"I get it" she said with a smile having had heard this story many times before from both twins and Shane himself.
"Of course you do. You've heard this story a thousand times. What you said before your right. Shane's gonna make it back with what the doctor needs. He'll make it back" Rick tried to reassure Lori
"Ricky Hershel said you need to eat" Cassie said placing a hand on her brothers shoulder as his wife nodded in agreement.
"Listen to Cassie" Lori told him.
"Carls gonna be alright" he said with confidence.
"Please for our sakes you've got to keep your strength up" Lori said pleading Rick to eat something. Rick then turned to the bedside until he was sat beside and started to eat the sandwich Hershel had made passing half to Cassie.
"You gave blood you have to eat to" he insisted shoving the sandwich in her hand.
"Yes mom" Cassie replied as she took a bite of her sandwich.
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As Daryl lay on the rv floor he couldn't sleep. He was twirling the arrow given to him from the farm girl from Cassie in his hands unable to take his mind off her. He had never felt this sort of thing for anyone before but he couldn't help it. She was always managing to get into his thoughts with her beautiful eyes-. Daryl shook his head trying to stop his thoughts. He wasn't good enough for Cassie and even if he was who's to say she would feel the same way. The sounds of Carol crying and Andrea messing about with guns she obviously didn't know how to use wasn't helping his train of thought any so he decided to get up and head to the woods. Maybe he'd find Sophia or at least manage to think of something over than Cassie.
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When Glenn and T-dog entered the room where Carl was they looked over at their friends and instantly felt bad for them. All three had the same look of despair with a small bit of hope that Carl might make it on their faces. After announcing their arrival Cassie looked over to the door and when she saw her best friend she got up out of her seat, not to fast so she didn't collapse, and made her way over to him. When she did she pulled him into a tight embrace wrapping her arms around his neck.
When Glenn pulled away from the hug he looked down to see her white tank top stained with blood. "Oh my god are you ok?" He worriedly asked moving his hands down to her stomach to try and find out if she was bleeding.
"I'm fine I'm fine" she reassured him making him sigh in relief "It's not mine" she told him causing him to look at Carl then Rick and Lori.
"Um we're here okay?" Glenn told the anxious parents trying to give them a sense of comfort.
"Whatever you need" T-dog added.
When Maggie started to lead Glenn and T-dog out of the room Cassie looked between them and Carl before saying "I'm gonna go with them make sure T-dogs alright and stuff. Just come get me if anything changes?"
"Of course Cass" Rick reassured her before she followed Glenn through the door. Glenn put a hand on her back as they walked through to the kitchen.
Maggie made the two men who had just arrived something to eat but before she could offer something to Cassie she heard Rick calling her name causing her to get up from the table and move as quickly as she could through to the room.
"What's wrong? Is he okay? What happened?" Cassie frantically asked but Rick never gave her an answer as he simply gestured to the bed infront of them.
When she looked she saw a pale Carl with eyes open taking in all his surroundings.
"Aunt Cassie" he smiled as he looked up to see his Aunt smiling back at him.
"Hey you cheeky monkey" she replied with a small laugh and a sniffle. Carl then began to look all around the room and realised he didn't know where he was.
"That's Hershel" Cassie explained to him "where in his house. You had an accident but he's gonna help you. He's a good man" Cassie told the boy.
"It hurts a lot" Carl groaned in pain as Lori tried to comfort him and calm him down. "You should have seen it" he told her a small smile on his face.
"What?" Lori asked slightly confused.
"The deer" Carl told her which made Cassie grin. Even after what had happened he still found something good in the world. "It was so pretty mom. It was so close. I've never been...." But then all of a sudden Carl stopped talking. He just laid there before all of a sudden his body started seizing. Lori and Rick jumped out of the chairs they had been in and went to hold him down to try and stop the seizure but Hershel stopped them.
"Don't it's a seizure. You hold him down you could hurt him." Hershel told them.
"You can't stop it?" Lori asked him scared for her son.
"He has to just go through it" Hershel explained leaving the four adults having to just stand there and watch Carl seize on the bed. Cassie felt a tear fall down her cheek as she had to watch her nephew in so much pain and couldn't help him. Hershel moved round from his side of the bed and place a comforting arm around the women until Carl stopped seizing and he went to check him.
"His brain isn't getting enough blood. His pressure is bottoming he needs another transfusion" Hershel told them concern for Carls survival clear in his voice.
"Okay I'm ready" Rick said as he prepared himself for Hershel to take more blood.
"If I take anymore from you either of you" he began turning to Cassie as well "your body's could shut down. You could go into a coma. Or cardiac arrest" however his words were ignored by the two grimes twins.
Before Cassie could offer her blood Rick beat her to it already sat down and ready to have his blood taken "your wasting time"'he told Hershel who excepted he wouldn't convince Rick otherwise and began to take his blood.
Cassie wiped her red eyes before returning back to the kitchen where Maggie and Patricia were beginning to fix T-dogs arm. When Glenn heard her come in he shot up from his seat to go to her seeing how distraught she looked. "Hey okay? What happened?"
"He started seizing" she sniffled "and Hershel said his brain isn't getting enough blood. What if he dies Glenn? What would I do?" She asked him telling the tears threatening to fall again.
"Hey hey you can't think like that. Carls a fighter just like you. He'll pull through" Glenn reassured her before leading her to a seat at the table.
"How you doing T-dog?" She asked hoping s change in conversation might distract her mind a little bit.
"Just peachy" he replied with a groan causing Cassie to chuckle a little. Glenn was happy to see his friend feeling happy again even if it was just for a brief moment.
"You got here right in time. This couldn't go untreated much longer" Patricia told them as Glenn passed Cassie a mug of hot tea. She looked over to Maggie who she assumed made it and mouthed a 'thank you' to her before thanking Glenn as well. "Merle Dixon? Is that your friend with the antibiotics?" She asked them. Cassie simply sat their taking a sip from her mug as she was unsure of what had happened back at the highway or how Merle was involved in some way.
"No ma'am. Merles no longer with us. Daryl gave us those.... His brother" Glenn explained to them.
"Not sure I'd call him a friend" T-Dog groaned still unsure where he stood with the redneck after everything that went down in Atlanta.
"He is today" Patricia told him "This doxycycline might have just save your life. Do you know what he was taking it for?"
"The clap" Glenn replied to which Cassie spun around in her seat to give Glenn a look that said 'change your answer' "um venereal disease" he changed his answer to "that's what Daryl said"
At the mention of Daryl's name Glenn noticed Cassie shift slightly in her seat as if she was worried about the redneck so Glenn decided he'd tease her about it later.
"I'd say Merle Dixons clap was the best thing to ever happen to you" Patricia told t-dog who was still in a lot of pain.
"I'm trying not to think about that" T dog groaned before Glenn decided to walk outside. When he passed Cassie he had this look on his face that told her he needed some space and time to think so she let him go staying at the table with T-dog and Patricia.
She stayed with him until she saw Hershel going through to check on Carl and decided to follow him wanting to know how her nephew was doing.
Hershel pressed his fingers to carls wrist before saying "he's still losing blood faster than we can replace it. And with the swelling in his abdomen we can't wait any longer or he's just going to slip away" Cassie let out a shaky sigh running her hands through her hair from her position beside Hershel. She looked over and saw her brothers eyes red from all the tears. "Now I need to know right now if you want me to do this because I think your boy is out of time. You have to make a choice"
"A choice?" Lori asked horrified.
"How are we meant to make that choice?" Cassie asked walking over to her brother and sister in law.
"A choice. You have to tell me what it is." Rick said to Lori looking in her eyes.
She placed a hand on Ricks cheek before saying "we do it"
Hershel immediately spring into action as Rick pulled Lori into a hug and then pulling Cassie into one too. As Patricia wheeled in a metal table on wheels Lori hugged Cassie thankful to have her sister in law there at that moment.
Once the table was in position Hershel,Lori,Rick and Cassie each grabbed a corner of the sheet Carl was laid down on and moved him over to the table as Patricia got surgical instruments and lights ready.
"Rick,Lori,Cassie you may want to step out" Hershel told them as he was about to start the operation. Before he did through the sound of a truck pulling up stopped them. Rick ran to the window muttering an 'Oh god' before running out followed by Lori,Cassie and Hershel while Patricia stayed with Carl.
When they got out the house Glenn, T-dog and Maggie met them there to welcome Shane home. He was hobbling having hurt one of his ankles and was carrying three bags of medical supplies for Carl.
"Otis?" Hershel asked making Cassie realise the other man was no where in sight and from the look on Shane's face she could guess what happened.
"No" was all Shane muttered out. Cassie turned to see Maggie who had a look of horror and sadness on her face.
"No one tells Patricia. Not till after. I need her" Hershel demanded before going back into the house.
Cassie was went over to Maggie and pulled her close holding the sobbing women as Shane explained what had happened. He told them how they were surrounded and that Otis said he would cover Shane so he could get out. Maggie sobbed harder hearing how Otis had died so she pulled the women closer trying to comfort her by telling her it would be okay.
Maggie pulled away from the hug walking into the house and Glenn followed wanting to make sure the women was okay. Cassie then went over to Rick and Shane pulling Shane in for a hug which caught him by surprise slightly. He hugged her back though squeezing her tightly. He pulled away and sat down on the grass in front of the blue pick up and Cassie sat next to him not wanting to leave him alone after seeing how shaken up he was.
The Frimes family, Shane and T-dog sat down for a while before Hershel came out the house causing everyone to stand up and walk over to him Cassie helping Shane to his feet. "He seems to have stabilised" Hershel told them causing Cassie to let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in.
As Rick went up the porch stairs to hug Hershel Lori hugged Cassie the two women in relief. As they pulled away Lori turned to Hershel saying " I don't have words"
"I don't either. Wish I did" Hershel told them before the happy environment was brought down slightly "How do I tell Patricia about Otis?" He asked them.
Rick and Lori shared a look before Rick spoke. "You guys go to Carl. I'll go with Hershel." As everyone started to head inside Glenn grabbed Cassie's wrist signalling he wanted to talk. Lori saw Cassie stop but she waved her off telling her to go to Carl.
"Told you he'd be okay" Glenn said with a cheeky grin and Cassie smiled back pulling him into a hug.
"Thank you" she told him to which Glenn started to shake his head.
"You don't have to thank me." He said pulling away to look her in the eyes. "I didn't want to say anything before because you were worried about Carl but Daryl was worried about you"
Cassie get her face heat up slightly as she looked down at her shoes to hide the blush that she was sure was costing her cheeks. "He was?"
"Oh yeah. He definitely has some feelings for you Cassie" he told her to which she let out a laugh. The two laughed together before heading into the house Cassie going to check on Carl and Glenn to see T-dog