𝑵𝑬𝑼𝑹𝑶𝑻𝑰𝑪
𝘊𝘏𝘈𝘗𝘛𝘌𝘙 𝘌𝘓𝘌𝘝𝘌𝘕
☼
Dawn leveled Delaney with a stern look when she didn't move from her spot in the hall. Her eyes were scanning Delaney's expression, taking in the small miniscule movements and logging them away. Delaney was obviously friends with Beth, this - this had been clear to the Hospital staff from the moment that they had met one another. Often Beth was found in Delaney's room, the two sitting together, conversing - and Dawn had seen no harm in it at first.
Delaney was pretty beaten up and whilst there had been an obvious fire in her eyes, she was too weak to truly be a problem to them. With her injured ribs and her fractured wrist - Dawn had figured she was no problem at all.
But Gorman was dead now.
Gorman had been found in his office by Dawn, scissors sticking out of his throat and she had immediately known the culprit. Delaney was his ward after all - Dawn had sent her to that room herself, and knew that she had been the last person to see Gorman alive. Her stare was hard and firm, but for now she mentioned nothing. It was wrong of her, maybe, but Gorman had been a pain in her ass for the longest of times, and whilst she abhorred cop killing - Delaney had done her a favor.
A favor, but that didn't mean that Dawn was going to let it entirely slide.
So she was making Delaney help the people she knew, leave without her.
It had come through on the radio, that there was people outside who had two of Dawn's officers, Shepherd and Licari - that they were asking for a trade. It was uneven, to ask for three people and Dawn knew it - after all with Beth gone she had no ward. Noah was with them, that she knew. Delaney would only be leaving if Noah stayed and something told Dawn that Delaney would not accept that deal.
"I know you're not deaf." Dawn stated, her eyes scanning Delaney up and down swiftly. "Beth and Carol are leaving Grady Memorial, you, are to help them." Her hand shifted to where her firearm was, resting on the clip as the previous expression of dark surprise shifted into something more schooled. Masterfully done to an untrained eye, but Dawn spotted it. She half expected Delaney to do something, perhaps look to the gun so visible on Dawn's belt, or question why, but she didn't. She stayed cool, and nodded her head once in acceptance.
"Gotch'a," Delaney's boots squeaked against the linoleum floor as she turned on her heel to walk the direction she knew Carol's room was in. Whilst she definitely was glad to hear that the two of them were getting out, there was some part of her that mourned for the fact that she had not been included in it. Ironic really, that again, she had to be the one saving herself. Trying not to let the bitterness show on her face, Delaney made her way though the halls of Grady Memorial, wondering how long she was going to be staying in there. How long was she going to be doing this shit - till her ribs healed, till Beth found herself a gun?
She had no idea if the girl could even shoot, but something told her that she was still full of so many surprises.
Delaney was going to stay there - perhaps even because Dawn knew she'd killed Gorman. She must know, someone must know that he was dead by this point, and this, maybe this was her punishment.
Wiping her sweaty hands against the pants of her scrubs, Delaney stopped in on Carol. The older woman was awake now, and Dr. Edwards was checking her over one last time, making sure there was no life threatening thing he'd missed whilst she'd been unconscious. As soon as Carol's eyes spotted Delaney standing in the door way, she gasped, her eyes seeking as they looked her up and down, "You get hit by a car too?"
Delaney snorted, her hand creeping around her ribs at the blooming ache. Dr. Edwards looked between the two of them curious, "You know one another?"
"Barely - "
" - yes."
Delaney and Carol met gazes at their differing answers, though the older of the two broke into a gentle smile. "Daryl was going out of his mind...you were here?" Carol winced as the IV was taken out of her inner arm, Dr. Edwards busying himself so that he didn't look too interested in the conversation, "What happened?"
Delaney walked into the room, doing a brief sweep of it, before locating Carol's clothes folded in a pile on the nearby counter. She stepped over to them, "Tha' usual." Was her poor response, "Fightin' the dead, gettin' fucked over by the livin'." She lifted the clothes into her arm and turned to where Carol was agreeing with her words with a nod of her head, her blue eyes darting to the stranger a few paces away from them.
"We did help you - " He sighed, looking over to where Delaney was glaring his direction following his comment.
"Ya people hit me with a car." She blandly stated in response, "I dint need savin' till you came along." Rolling her eyes, irritated but trying not to dwell on the fact that she wasn't going to be leaving any time soon, she turned to Carol. "Mind gettin' out so she can get dressed?" He fumbled for a second before apologizing, leaving them both behind the closed door. Once they were alone, Delaney did a sweep of Carol and sighed, "Ya okay?"
"Been better." Was the answer, "You?"
"They broke my wrist and ribs..." Delaney announced breathing shallowly. She set the clothes down beside Carol, "This place is a fuckin' nightmare." With a frown, Carol looked her up and down once more, her fingers barely brushing the bloody cast on Delaney's wrist, "Lets get ya dressed."
For a moment the mundane task of helping someone dress was enough to keep Carol quiet. Delaney helped her out of the gown and back into her clothes she'd arrived in, softy apologizing when Carol winced at pain in her shoulder. The door to the room was knocked on and seconds later, Beth's head popped into the room with a bright smile. Even with her cuts and her bruises, Beth radiated sunshine energy. She closed the door behind her and smiled at them both, "You both okay?" She came over, her hand sliding into Delaney's, Carol noted. Delaney wordlessly squeezed the hand in response,
"Getting out of here." Carol flashed a smile at the two of them, "You planning on going in your scrubs?" She gestured with a wince to Delaney who was still decked out in her blue uniform, unlike them both.
"Haven't had tha' chance ta change." She lied, scoffing. "Shut up and get in the chair - " Reaching out, both she and Beth helped Carol sit herself down into the wheel chair, the younger of them all worrying over Carol's wincing pain.
Those gorgeous big blue eyes turned to Delaney secondly, "I told you." Beth smiled, "We're all gonna get out together. You're gonna see Daryl again and I'll see Maggie." Delaney leveled her with a look, brow arching and Beth swung her attention to Carol, "She was gettin' a bit pessimistic."
"I can see that." Carol hummed, eyes still lingering on Delaney. "Why's there blood - " She motioned to the small spatter of blood that had become visible from beneath Delaney's hair, Gorman's blood. Delaney tipped her chin down and tried to see the smatter, brows creasing together.
Ignoring the question, Delaney turned to Beth and offered her a half-smile. "Ya get goin' with Carol here." The smile on Beth's face dropped a little, "I'll be there soon, 'kay? I gotta get outta these fuckin' scrubs." Nodding her head Beth wrapped her arms around Delaney and gave her a squeeze before, darting to the back of the wheelchair to grab onto the handles.
"Hurry up so we don't leave without you," Carol shot as Beth wheeled her along out of the door. Delaney snorted in response, her hand cradling her ribs. Something dull aching in her chest as she watched Beth wheel Carol down the hall with Dr. Edwards following at a slow pace. He shot her a backward look, his brows creasing together in question. She shrugged a shoulder, before leaning her back against the doorframe and releasing a shuddering sigh.
At least they're gettin' out.
At least they're gettin' out.
She wasn't sure how long she stood there, quiet, thoughtful, without her sights on Beth and Carol anymore. Five minutes at the most, but Dr. Edwards returned into her field of vision and gestured for her to come with him, "Delaney." She winced, still cradling her ribs as she began to walk,
"What'cha want now?" She inquired, close to grunting. She was no mood for chatter. No mood for anything but some goddamn space. The Doctor walked beside her quietly for a moment, shying slightly beneath her glaring look, "Dr. Edwards."
"Dawn wants you there."
Of fucking course she did - that made it very obvious that Dawn knew exactly who had murdered Gorman. Her cruelty didn't know any bounds apparently, but little did she know how fiercely Daryl was going to fight for her as soon as he spotted her - she knew he would. They had fought, and she had run off like a tantrum having child, but they were still blood. He still loved her and she still loved him. There wasn't nothing on that planet that was going to make that stop. So, Dawn was in a sense shooting herself right in the foot with this cruel request.
"Where is she!" Daryl's voice was harsh and grating, mirrored perfectly by the higher yell of Beth Greene, who demanded the exact same thing.
Delaney grit her teeth at the ache in her bones, marching on toward the shouting. There was someone trying to calm the situation, someone trying to get people to lower weapons - Shepherd. She recognized the female voice and the easy calmness of the tone, and figured that she probably wasn't the problem here. It was likely Dawn, who did not make a move to ask for the weapons to be lowered - not once. As if she was relishing in the fucking chaos that she had caused by not releasing Delaney too.
Her boots squeaked against the linoleum floor as she approached the back of the officers formation, each of them with their firearm pointed at Daryl's people.
Carefully, Delaney moved toward the situation, side stepping one of the officers, who shot her a side glance but did not stop her. Then once she was past him she was in complete view of the others, and she quickly named all that were standing there.
Rick and Daryl were standing in front of everyone else, their weapons pointed threateningly at the group in front of them. Beth was behind them with Noah, Sasha, Tyreese and Carol. Her eyes searched them for a moment, a brief moment, sensing the relief that flashed through their eyes at seeing her alive at least. "Why are ya shoutin'?" She sighed, sounding so tired. She stepped past Shepherd, who had no gun drawn, and out into the middle of the stand off.
"Ya okay?" Daryl's voice was tense, rough, and his eyes did a sweep over her clean scrubs and her bruised up features. She didn't look okay. She really didn't. Not with her black eye, her bruised and scratched temple. She had her cast covering her right hand and a bandage on her bicep, left hand cradling her ribs. She didn't answer him - not needing to. Instead she turned her attention to where Dawn was standing, smug. The look wasn't hidden this time and those eyes darted across Delaney's face, almost as if she was satisfied to see the anger there.
"Hand her over." Rick roughed out, gun now lowered, gaze lifting from Del to Dawn. "She was a part of the deal."
She was - honestly, a part of her was relieved to hear that, and another part surprised. A stupid kind of surprise really considering her brother stood among them, keen eyes spotting every fucking injury that she had gotten since he'd last seen her.
"Two for three isn't a deal." Dawn briskly responded, talking as if Rick was an idiot - of which he most certainly was not. Rick was one of the smartest people Delaney had met so far, although she guessed he could be stupid, she hadn't yet gotten that vibe. He was annoying, definitely, and he couldn't take a silent step to literally save his life, but there he was, risking his balls to get her back.
That, that earnt her respect.
He could have taken Beth and Carol and left it at that. He owed her nothing. But there he was, standing by her brother, willing to kill these people to get her back with them, and it made something warm explode in her chest.
"I'd be giving her away, and that, I can not do." Dawn announced, her eyes sweeping Delaney to then look the direction of Beth. "Beth was my ward. I'm losing her, and Delaney will take her place - You asked to see her, here she is." A hand gestured to Delaney, who stood tensely among the pointed firearms.
"No, No!" Beth shoved her way past Rick's shoulder and barreled toward Delaney. Alarmed by the sudden yell, Delaney turned to face where the blonde was, barely catching herself when Beth collided with her. A wheezed noise of pain escaped her mouth and her features scrunched in pain but she wrapped her arms around the teenager, tight. "No we go together. You - We go together." Beth muffled into Delaney's arm, fingers tightly clutching onto the scrubs adorning Delaney's body.
Delaney's hand was trembling as she lifted it to hold the back of Beth's head, cradling her closely as tears stung against her eyes, "You gotta go, Darlin'." She told her, whispering against the side of her head, "I'll get out - "
Beth shook her head, "She can't do this - I need you to come with us."
Delaney swallowed the urge to sob and smiled instead, "please," She begged softly, "please, Beth." The teenager lent back and looked Delaney dead in the eyes, those big gorgeous blue's tearing up. Delaney paid little attention to the way that the guns were obviously lowering around her, "Ya gotta see Maggie - " She brushed Beth's hair back behind her ear, " - Take Noah home."
"Just let us have her, please." Noah strained from where he was stood, looking devastated. "please, Dawn."
There was something so sad about those two teenagers begging for Dawn to just let her go. With the tears in their voice, the worry, the concern. It made Delaney's heart pound in her chest.
The begging did nothing and Dawn stood resolute with her hand resting on her firearm, her eyes watching the scene in front of her with little emotion. "Okay, enough." Beth was shoved backwards away from Delaney and a palm was wrapping tightly around the burn on Delaney's upper arm, squeezing. She hissed through her teeth and shot her gaze to look at Dawn, "Delaney is staying - unless Noah wants to come back."
The boy looked frozen and before he could say anything Delaney spat, "Touch 'im and I'll fuckin' kill you." She was jerked in the woman's hold and Daryl's gun lifted a second time, "I'll stay and be ya bitch - but ya touch that boy, ya touch Beth - " Her eyes searched Dawn's, the two close enough to be nose to nose, " - I'll ram ya gun so far up ya ass you'll taste the lead." Dawn cracked a smile,
"It's Noah's choice."
"I'll go - I'll go." Noah quickly answered, limping forward, "Stop hurting her."
Delaney grit her teeth and pointed at him, "Don't ya move another step - " Rick, thankfully, twisted to set his hand on the boy's shoulder, to halt him.
"Maybe we should just - "
"Shut up Shepherd." Dawn snarled, and the poor woman closed her mouth and stepped back among the other officers. "I am not losing a ward. It's either Delaney or Noah - so pick." She fired this at Rick, who's blue eyes were staring right at Delaney.
"I'll go." Noah firmly restated, adding, "It's okay." To Rick, who slowly released his arm, not wanting to let the boy go but also not entirely sure what to do to avoid a gunfight. Noah limped several times toward them and Delaney shook her head, "It's okay - You saved my life out there." He smiled at her and she jerked out of Dawn's hold to look the boy in the eyes,
"Fer a reason." She told him, standing in between him and Dawn.
"Wait!" Beth rushed over once more, her big eyes looking between Delaney and Noah. Her hand slipped down into Delaney's, squeezing tightly.
"Rick - " Delaney turned to him pleadingly, "Daryl please - " she pushed Beth and Noah both, but Beth pushed right back and stepped up to her side, much closer. "Just fuckin' take 'em." There was an audible panic in her voice, her eyes slightly wider as no one moved. No one was moving, and it was terrifying her. Why couldn't Beth just go, why couldn't they just leave.
She'd get out.
She'd get herself out - she always did.
But something in her heart was thumping violently, her chest aching, head pounding because she needed these kids out of the line of fire - out of harms way. She needed Rick and Daryl to grab them, to whisk them out of Dawn's slimy grasp, and leave her to deal with it. Fuck, she was sure she could get Shepherd to join her cause with only a little convincing - that woman looked troubled by the scene.
"Beth, please!" Delaney's voice came out strained as this stupid, gorgeous, brave as fuck kid, stepped in between her and Dawn, like she was going to do something. Her hand was warm and soft and holding Delaney's so tightly that it almost hurt. With her back in front of Delaney, the older of the two was about to reach forward and grab her, to shove her back forcefully into Rick's arms, but within the next second Dawn was screaming in agony, and then a gunshot sounded.
A gunshot.
Delaney's ears were ringing and something warm spattered her violently in the face. It took her a second for her brain to register what had just happened, her eyes opening to see the sight in front of her. Blonde hair stained with blood, with brain -
Beth's body began to fall and Delaney screamed - a guttural, agonizing and so horrendously painful sound as she tried to catch her. Weakly she only managed to fall to the ground with her, the two hitting the linoleum flooring - pain exploded behind Delaney's eyes, her ribs feeling like they'd shattered on impact.
Her panicked cries fell on her own ears deafly as she cradled Beth closer to her chest, the girls warm body lifelessly limp in her grip. Blood was streaming out of the gunshot wound, soaking the light blue scrubs that Delaney was wearing, but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore.
Beth was dead.
Beth.
Delaney wailed - deaf to the almost immediate gunshot that followed Beth's death. Another body fell to the floor inches away, and Delaney sobbed - she sobbed harder than she had over Scout, leaning her body over Beth's as if she could protect it, shield it. Tears were burning in her eyes and she heaved for a breath, her ribs begging for relief.
She had no idea how long she stayed over the teenager's body, but at some point someone's hands reached for her, warm and large, sliding over her shoulders to draw her backwards. Delaney had no energy to fight it, even if every part of her wanted to cling to the kid, to hold her closer. She ended up falling back weakly into someone's arms, hands clutching onto their arm, smearing the blood along their skin - and she sobbed.
Arms folded around her, over her chest, crossing over one another. A head pressed against hers, warm breath hitting her ears as the faint, I know, I know, was repeated in just as much distress and pain.
In front of her, she saw through her blurred vision, Daryl. He was reaching for Beth, reaching for the still warm body of the girl he had been so desperate to save, and it hurt. To see the agony on his face, the desperate suffering so visible to the naked eye. He was crying too, the tears wetting his cheeks, lifting her body so delicately off of the floor.
The arms around her moved, changing from their hold to something more supportive. Rick's rough Georgian accent was saying, please.
She numbly let Rick get her to her feet, her boots sliding in Beth's blood, but he held onto her. He held onto her so tightly that she felt like she was about to shatter against him, clinging to him in desperate, aching devastation. Her eyes were on Beth's long blonde hair as it swayed from side to side, blood dripping from the strands as Daryl carried her in front of them. Sasha, Tyreese, Carol and Noah all followed, leaving Rick and Delaney at the rear of the group. Her sobs had gone silent, and the walk through the hospital was mournfully quiet.
The screaming of Maggie was heard before Delaney and Rick stepped foot outside of the doors and she dug her heels in. She couldn't do that - she couldn't do that.
She was violently trembling and it was only because of Rick's firm grip that she did not collapse to the floor right then and there. She heard Maggie's wailing, her bone deep agony and it made Delaney break out into another sob, her eyes darting up to Rick when he stepped in front of her. He looked torn up. His blue eyes were red, his lashes dark with tears. There was streaks of cleaner skin running down his cheeks, left by the tears he had shed on the way there - she had no idea how he must have felt. He had known Beth a lot longer than she had, her death must have been like watching a family member die - but wasn't that how it felt to her?
Beth, she had been the one thing Delaney had, had in there. That one good - that one impossibly good thing.
She had wanted her to live so desperately.
But Beth was brave. Beth was insanely brave.
"Can you walk?" Rick's voice croaked, cracking in a way that fractured her heart. He was in so much pain, so much, but his hands remained on her, his eyes on her. "Delaney - " he was about to croak out a repeat of his question and she nodded yes. She could walk, she could, but she felt like she couldn't. She couldn't bare to see Maggie's state, to see everyone else, to see Beth limply in Daryl's arms, knowing, she had done it for her - for Noah.
Beth had died for them.
No, Beth had died for her.
Delaney's hazy thoughts returned to Rick as soon as she felt something dry wipe across her face. The material was warm, and it took her a second to realize he was using his t-shirt to wipe at her face. Blood was staining the dirty off-white red, as he cleaned off Beth's blood that had painted her face -
She exhaled another small sob and Rick, dropped his t-shirt back down, his hand cupping the side of her head, "We have to go." He told her, voice stronger, more collected and she nodded. He nodded too, and with his hand holding on to her still, the two of them walked out of the doors and into view. The sunlight burned her eyes as she stepped out into it, her lip quivering and her eyes sliding shut as Maggie wailed in agony again.
"Dad!" Carl's voice wobbled and Rick understandably dropped his hold on Delaney's arm in favor of taking his son into his arms. For a moment, if only that, Delaney remained standing, listening to the sounds of a sister mourning a sister, then she dropped down to her knee's on the hard concrete and sat there.
Numb.
Beth, Beth was meant to survive this. She was meant to keep on going, with Maggie and Glenn by her side. She was capable of it, smart enough, strong enough, possessing that gorgeous, beautiful goodness that suckered both the Dixons in like moths to a flame. She was the kind of good Delaney had meant when she told Carol they needed it. The kind of good that was going to help people, that was going to help this world.
Beth was going places.
She was still so young - eighteen. Eighteen and with her whole life ahead of her. Sure, she wasn't going to get to go to college or buy her first apartment or get a job she loved - things like that didn't work these days, redundant. However there had still been hope for moments that she'd get all the same. A boyfriend. A family. A life. It broke Delaney so irreversibly to know that Beth had sacrificed all of that to get back at Dawn, to hurt Dawn.
Why had she done that.
Why.
Delaney bent over her knees, laying her arms down flat on the burning hot concrete and set her forehead against them. Everything hurt. Her ribs. Her arm. Her wrist. Her heart. She felt like she'd been on the receiving end of a ricocheting bullet, or like someone had reached inside of her chest and pulled her heart right out in front of her. A hollow ache, a familiar sorrow clutched inside of her and she thought back to Scout.
She'd lost him too. Felt his blood on her too. She grit her teeth hard enough to break a few, barely withholding a sob, as she imagined that there was something so fundamentally wrong her, that she couldn't keep a fucking kid alive. Scout had died because she'd turned her back on him, because she had been focused on saving someone else. Beth had died and Delaney's eyes had been right on her - so what did she have to do, to stop it. To stop the endless stream of deaths, the endless, blow after blow.
A hand carefully reached over and grasped at her shoulder, warm, comforting - at least it would have been if Delaney could be comforted. It wasn't Rick, this she knew, the hand was slimmer, smaller, but no less persistent in it's presence. The body crouching down at her side belonged to a woman, the bottom of the sword sheath familiar when Delaney turned her head a little. Her glassy eyes recognizing Michonne's weapon, before they strayed further, past her and to where Maggie was on the ground with Glenn holding onto her.
We're gettin' out of here together, Delaney.
You're gonna see Daryl again and he'll apologize. And I'm gonna see Maggie again. And we'll all be together. It'll be right.