— 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗥𝗧𝗬-𝗙𝗜𝗩𝗘
( 𝘐𝘔𝘗𝘜𝘓𝘚𝘐𝘝𝘐𝘛𝘠. )
AFTER THE MEETING HAD COME TO A CLOSE, the air surrounding those who lived in Alexandria had changed. There was an existential threat heading their way, seemingly unstoppable and inevitable. And this was no trivial matter. This was a herd. One walker alone was enough to terrify the Alexandrians. But tens, hundreds, or thousands? That was something beyond the reach of their imaginations. That was something inconceivable to their inexperienced minds. The tendrils of their knowledge reached out to grasp the notion, but only brushed the surface. However, the surface was all that was needed to act.
As the others began preparing for the building of barriers and the strategic advancements that would be needed for the plan, Murphy knew she was likely needed in the infirmary. Someone was bound to have a fever or a cough, and however insignificant a sickness seemed, Murphy knew that it was her duty to take it into account. Especially in a world where life was not taken for granted- it was placed on a pedestal and held in high regard. If you were alive, that meant you had survived. It was her job to ensure that no one else passed because of something that could have been avoided.
So she said her goodbyes to Daryl, Rick, Michonne, and the others, and made her way down the streets of Alexandria to the place of medicine and health where she felt most at home. Of course, memories of Pete and Tara and the times of unsavory nature had not slipped her mind. In the short time that the group had been there, they had already experienced more terrible things than necessary. But the infirmary brought her back to the days before the end of the world. Although there were problems back then- more personal than anything- she knew that her work was one of the most rewarding jobs... bringing a person back from the brink of death.
But nature seemed to be thinking along the same lines, for those who should have passed into the world beyond now walked the Earth beside those who lived. Murphy shook her head as the jumbled thoughts bounced around the barriers of her mind. She was alive in a safe place, with nothing to worry about... well, nothing more serious than usual. There always seemed to be an impending threat of doom wherever she resided. Maybe she attracted it, or it followed her around.
She scoffed as she stepped up the porch and reached the door to her work. When she entered, she did not expect to be greeted by someone who had been waiting for her return. A young woman sat on the ground before her, nervously flipping through a book that rested in her lap. When Murphy made her way into the room, she looked up from beneath the strands of frazzled hair that fell before her eyes and pushed up the glasses that had slipped to the tip of her nose.
"Hey!" Murphy greeted, shutting the door behind her with a wide grin. "Can I help you?"
"Yes! At least... I hope so," the woman chuckled nervously before pushing herself up from the ground and holding out her hand. "I'm Denise."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Murphy," Murphy replied, giving her hand a strong shake.
Denise nodded and let out a shaky breath of air, "I know that. Well, everyone knows you around here. You saved that girl... Tara? You tried to save Reg. It seems like being a doctor is in your blood."
"Well..." Murphy trailed, feeling her face warm. "Thanks for the compliment, but it's only my job."
"That's what I'm here to talk to you about!" Denise exclaimed eagerly, but a tinge of anxiety still laced her voice. "I'm here to help. I went to med school, even trained to be a surgeon. But after the panic attacks, I got more interested in psychology. Pete didn't want me here, but now that he's gone... I thought you could, maybe, use the extra help?"
Murphy smiled and reached over to set a hand on the new doctor's shoulder, "I would love that. We get to be coworkers!"
Denise chuckled, this time in a more comfortable manner, "I'm excited! Thank you for everything. You're a lot more welcoming than Pete."
"Yeah... I'd hope so," Murphy grimaced lightly, but her face turned questioning. "By the way, have you seen Jessie or the kids lately? I wanted to check up on them, see how they're doing after everything."
Denise leaned against a stack of crates and shook her head, "No, I haven't. Seems like they're sticking to themselves in their house."
"Okay, I might swing by later," Murphy mumbled to herself, losing her train of thought momentarily. "Listen, I can tell you're nervous. Don't worry about anything, okay? I'll be here with you, and we can do this together."
"Thank you, Murphy," Denise genuinely spoke.
Murphy smiled in response, but before any more could be said between the two, light knocks sounded from the front door. Murphy sent a look to Denise before turning and opening the door in anticipation. Maggie stood before her, an unreadable expression upon her face. It looked as though it was a mix of... excitement, contentment, and fear all in one. Murphy let her hand slide up to rest upon the wood of the door, putting her weight on one leg.
"Hey, stranger. How can I help?" she asked, holding the door wide open for Maggie's entrance.
Maggie opened her mouth to respond as she made her way inside the infirmary, but came to a halt as she saw that Denise was there as well. She gave an apologetic look to the new doctor, but smiled nonetheless, "Hey, Denise. Mind if I just talk to Murph?"
"Not at all," Denise raised her hands to signify there was no problem. "I'll see you two later!"
Just as she made her way to the door, she let out a sound of exclamation, turned where she stood, and rushed over to grab the textbook she had been studying not ten minutes before, "Can't forget this."
Murphy laughed, "No you can't. It was nice meeting you, Denise."
"You too!" the jittery psychologist called as she exited the makeshift hospital and shut the door behind her.
The two women who remained faced each other and Murphy pulled up a chair for Maggie, "She's so sweet. Is there something wrong, Maggie?"
"No," Maggie responded quickly as she took a seat in the chair. Murphy sat before her with concern in her eyes, but Maggie continued with a soft smile. "There's nothin' wrong. Actually, it's the opposite. I'm... well, I'm pregnant."
Murphy's eyes widened with pure joy radiating from them, a grin spreading across her face as she reached forward to take Maggie's hands in hers, "Maggie, that's great news! I'm so happy for you and Glenn!"
Maggie squeezed her hands tightly, "It's always somethin' we've talked about, you know? And, I think it's the perfect time to start a family when we have this place. We're startin' to build somethin' here. I have faith that the herd won't change that."
"And I think you're right. God, I'm so proud of you. This little baby's going to be so lucky to have you as a mother," Murphy smiled, feeling tears prick in her eyes. "And I'm sure Beth would have loved to be an aunt."
Maggie looked deep into Murphy's eyes and nodded, "She would have. She'd never shut up about how she wanted Glenn and I to have a baby. And my daddy just couldn't wait to be a grandpa. But things change, right? Ain't much you can do about 'em."
"All you have to do is remember them, and take care of yourself, okay? It's what they would want. Your body is built to withstand a substantial amount of stress, but pregnancy is a tricky thing," Murphy slipped her hands away from Maggie's with a sniff and stood from her chair. "You have to avoid anxious thoughts, intense physical activity, things like that. Baby needs rest and relaxation to be healthy."
Murphy opened an overhead cabinet and reached with a shaky hand to take hold of a pill bottle. But as she did so, the plastic container slipped from her fingers and fell to the ground. The lid stayed on, but she still muttered a curse as she crouched to pick it up. She was happy for Maggie, truly happy. Everything she had said up to that point was said out of genuine joy. But it was difficult not to think of her own experiences... what she'd lost.
"Murph, you okay?" Maggie asked, standing up from her seat to approach her.
Murphy held out the pill bottle for her to take with tired eyes. There were no bags beneath her eyes, or red veins in the pale white of them either... they were tired in another sense. As Maggie looked deep into the windows of her soul, she saw a well hidden pain. It was as if Murphy held up a curtain to all who studied her, desperately trying to keep in what she needed to let out. Daryl had been the only one who had seen that side of her, but Maggie was starting to figure it out. Her heart hurt when realizing that the most warm and sympathetic of them all was the one who was the most broken.
But Murphy still answered with, "I'm fine. Don't worry."
"No, you're not. What's wrong?"
"Maggie, please. Just take the vitamins-"
"Murph, I can see it. There's somethin' botherin' you. Let me help you like you helped me."
Murphy locked eyes with her and stared longingly. She had already burdened Daryl with her story. She didn't want to burden anyone else. But as she thought more about it, she saw what Maggie had lost. She had lost all of her family save for Glenn. The two women looked at each other, as if testing to see whether either of them were ready to talk about what they wanted for the future to rid themselves of the past. So Maggie took the prenatal vitamins from Murphy's grasp and gently sat in the seat behind her. Murphy did the same and leaned forward upon her knees.
"I- um... I lost a baby a while back," Murphy whispered, bringing her gaze up from the floor to match Maggie's brokenhearted one. "It wasn't easy. I was alone. Daryl's the only one who knows about it."
"Murphy..."
"Don't worry about me, okay? I've made my peace with it. You've lost too much already, so I just need you to know that this baby is going to be the most important thing in your life. You're going to carry them for months and finally... they'll be yours. They'll be Glenn's. And you'll feel like every challenge you've faced is resolved because of that little thing. I felt all of that and she isn't even with me anymore," Murphy got out, tears beginning to stream down her freckled cheeks. She immediately reached up to wipe them away, pulling herself together.
Maggie watched the walls of the woman before her crumble, her brows turned upward in pure empathy, "We both deserve that feelin'. I hope you're right about it because... it's so hard to remember them as they were. You just- just get so wrapped up in what happened to 'em that you forget who they really were, and what they taught you. I hope this little fella teaches me what it's like to love unconditionally. Love the ones that are here and the ones that aren't anymore. And one day you'll get that too."
"God, you're so strong," Murphy chuckled tearfully. "With what you've been through, I hope you know that."
"We're both stronger than we should ever have to be," Maggie pressed her lips together in a soft smile, her eyes simply glossy with tears she couldn't make herself shed.
Suddenly, in the midst of the silence, a solid knock sounded, followed by the opening of the front door. The two women turned to find Glenn entering the infirmary, returning his hand gun to its holster on his side.
"Hey, sorry I'm late," he muttered, shutting the door behind him before making his way over to his wife. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah, I was just tellin' Murph about our situation," Maggie smiled.
Glenn set a hand on her shoulder and grinned at Murphy, "Isn't it great?"
"You're going to be an amazing father, Glenn. I gave Maggie some prenatal vitamins, and all she needs to get is plenty of rest. As her pregnancy progresses, I'll check up from time to time and make sure everything's as it should be," Murphy pushed herself up by the knees with a close-lipped smile.
"Thank you, Murph. For everything. We owe you more than you can imagine," Glenn said, his eyes conveying such a genuine thankfulness.
Murphy waved him away and shook her head, "I'm here to help. In any way I can. So is there anything else I can do for you two?"
"Uh, yeah. Rick's sending out a big group of us out to Marshall and Redding- to set up the RVs and the walls. He wanted you to come with, just in case anything happens. And we could use an extra hand," Glenn explained, setting his hands on his hips.
"Sounds great. I'll be out in a bit," Murphy replied.
The happy couple soon said goodbye and left the infirmary, also leaving the doctor to her thoughts. She was overwhelmed with a flood of emotions: happiness for Maggie and Glenn, sadness for her lost child, fear for the approaching herd, and love for the ones she called her family. That's when Murphy came to a profound realization. She had never considered herself to be an impulsive person. Even when she was a child, Murphy found herself strategically going through every possible scenario for every possible decision. But as she saw Maggie and Glenn living their life despite the looming threat of death at any point in time, something new crossed her mind... impulsivity. For what is life if it is not worth living?
___
Murphy was able to catch Denise before she left to ask if she was able to look after the infirmary while she was gone. Overwhelmed with nervousness and slight reluctance, Denise finally said yes. Murphy could already tell she had a big heart- one of the most important traits of a doctor. After packing her bag with some necessary items from the infirmary, and retrieving her trusty knife and gun, most of the group and some Alexandrians were off to fortify their area. Once the most anxiety-inducing thing, Murphy chose to ride with Daryl on his bike. It reminded her of their stargazing night not long ago... the night where everything changed between them. So she found it more thrilling than anything, her hands around his waist and her cheek against his shoulder. It was them.
When they arrived at the working spot, a large group had already congregated. The RVs were in position, so all that was left was to dig trenches to place the tall metal sheets in. The metal was leftover from Reg's building of the wall around Alexandria. But they were being put to good use- protecting what he thought was already protected. Rick summarized what their job was, and then everyone got to work. Murphy resided to helping Rick fill some sand bags, wordlessly. She had tied her flannel around her waist, leaving her in a light tank top. The air between the two of them was always comfortable. There seemed to be a mutual understanding from Murphy to Rick, and Rick to Murphy.
Murphy blew a strand of hair from before her eyes as she dug, but caught Rick sneaking a look at Jessie from across the area, "Woah..."
Rick's gaze flicked from the widowed woman to his best friend's lover, "What?"
Murphy sat back on her heels and watched as he distracted himself by continuing to dig, "That look... there's something going on between you two. But I assume it isn't going well since you killed her husband?"
Rick stopped his work and looked up at her in disbelief, but a sort of playfulness twinkled in his eyes, "Yeah... you were right to assume."
"I thought so," Murphy smirked and adjusted one of her gardening gloves. She was happy for Rick despite the quite... unhealthy relationship between the two. Also she was certain that he and Michonne had chemistry. "Well, she seems like a sweet woman. I wanted to check up on her and the kids after... everything."
"I don't think it's going well. They could use the help. Carl told me that Ron's been struggling. He says that Enid said so."
"Who's Enid?"
"This girl about Carl's age. He talks about her a lot. Might even be his first crush."
Murphy smiled sweetly, but before she could say any more, she noticed Daryl approaching them with a wheelbarrow filled to the brim with dirt. Murphy looked at him with love in her eyes, squinting in the sunlight to better see him. It was as if every time he was in her vision, she was overwhelmed with a sense of happiness... as if he was her other half, and it took this long to find him. He felt the same. When he walked towards the two, he sent her a soft smile that held to much thankfulness, for he never felt like he belonged anywhere until he met her.
After the couple's unspoken greeting, Daryl locked eyes with Rick as he dumped the dirt beside them for the bags, "Hey, what you said before about us needin' to take care of ourselves? Goin' out 'n findin' more people, that is takin' care of ourselves."
Rick squinted in the sunlight as Daryl shrugged nonchalantly, "Your call though."
As he walked away from the two, Murphy watched him go and turned to Rick, who was visibly conflicted, "Daryl trusts you, Rick. I hope you listen to him like he listens to you."
Rick stared at her for a moment before nodding in understanding. Carol approached the two of them from behind with cups of water in each hand, and Rick and Murphy took them with a word of thanks.
"You know, I can come with all of you," Carol began, looking around to feign unawareness. "You and Daryl have been teaching me how to shoot."
"Yeah... I think you've got the hang of it," Rick muttered, a soft smile breaking out upon his lips.
Murphy let out a scoff of amusement, noticing Carol's small smile as she took a sip of water, "You should stay back and get a feel for how people are doing."
Rick nodded, "We still got a long way to go with 'em."
"We'll get there. She's in charge, but you're in charge now," Carol spoke quietly, her eyes flickering between the two. And with that, she was gone.
Murphy thought to herself, but stood from her spot on the ground. She pulled off her gloves and stuck them in her back pocket, wiping the sweat that beaded along her brow with her forearm, "I'm gonna go check on Tara, make sure she's doing all right in this heat. You'll be okay?"
"Yeah, you go 'head," Rick nodded. "Might wanna check on Michonne, too. It looks like she's been workin' hard."
Murphy smiled knowingly to herself but backed away, "Will do."
As she walked through the bustling clearing, filled with working Alexandrians, she found herself proud of their little community. She understood why Rick was so ready to notice the flaws, and she caught herself doing the same from time to time. But it was important to recognize the positives, and the good things about the Alexandrian people. Most, but not all, were ready to change. They wanted to learn and they wanted to grow. She admired that.
Just as she caught sight of Tara and Maggie in the distance, she heard her name gruffly called out behind her, "Murph."
She turned expectantly, and found Daryl walking towards her, his crossbow slung over his shoulder and his arms swinging at his sides. Her lips immediately morphed into a pleasant smile and she found herself walking towards him as well, "Hey."
"Everythin' okay?" Daryl asked, concern not in his voice, but care. "It's hotter than hell out here."
"I'm fine," Murphy assured, tracing his features with her eyes as she looked up at him.
The corners of Daryl's lips twitched upwards and he lifted his hand to rest upon her freckled cheek. He loved her freckles. They were such perfect imperfections. She had a smudge of dirt across her skin and he gently wiped it away with his thumb. Murphy grinned, but reached up to take his hand into her own, squeezing it lightly.
"I'm gonna go check on Tara, but I'll see you soon, okay?" she muttered.
"'kay," Daryl replied, letting his hand slip away from hers as she began to walk away. Murphy smiled over her shoulder and he gave her a small, goofy wave. He looked at her with adoration.
Just as Murphy reached Maggie and Tara, they were locked in a tight embrace. It looked as if they had been in the midst of a serious conversation, so Murphy slowed her steps. She didn't want to intrude, especially since they had both been through a lot in the recent days. Just as they pulled away from one another, a cacophony of noises sounded from the other side of the clearing, making Murphy's head immediately swivel in the direction it came from. Screams of Alexandrians echoed in her ears. A small group of walkers, maybe ten at most, had made their way into the workspace. Murphy instinctively pulled out her knife and rushed over to the action.
Rick held his hands out to stop his group from intervening, and they all looked at him in confusion. Michonne drew her sword, Daryl readied his crossbow, and Morgan raised his stick. Rick nodded to them in assurance and turned to the Alexandrians, "Use your shovels. The guns will draw more."
"Help us!" The man from the meeting, Carter, yelled. Fear was bright in his eyes.
Murphy's heart pounded in her chest. Rick continued sternly, "You can do this. You need to, all of you!"
The people were helpless, pushing and kicking the walkers away as they were too frightened to act. Their guns were drawn, but even if Rick had encouraged them to shoot, Murphy knew they wouldn't have known how. She shuffled in her spot as the walkers got dangerously close, but Morgan sprung into action first.
"Morgan, don't!" Rick yelled, but to no avail.
Murphy immediately followed, as did Michonne and the others. They ran toward the small group of walkers, taking them out with ease. Killing walkers never got easier, mentally, but it was second nature, physically. It took no effort, and no power. Your body learns these things when they have to. But that was just it- the Alexandrians never had to. Murphy grimaced at the sickening sound of a walker's skull cracking under her knife. She took hold of another one's shirt to hold it in place, stabbing it deep in the eye. She pulled out her weapon as the body fell to the ground, and immediately looked around, breathless.
The others had taken care of the rest. Walker carcasses littered the ground around them, and all was silent. The naive community members stared at them in utter shock, finally seeing evidence of their superior knowledge in the outside world. It was now indisputable- they were in the wrong. And bit by bit, their faith in Rick and the group grew. And their eagerness to learn grew. Maybe they could survive this herd after all...
AUTHOR'S NOTE — okay this chapter was nottt the best, lol. i only edited it once because i'm lazy 😅 not a lot of daryl x murph, but it was more focused on murph's relationship with the others. unfortunately since the herd is going to split them apart for a bit, i need to make sure she's close enough with other people in the group for certain subplots to make sense. hopefully you guys see it coming together :)) anyway! please vote and comment your thoughts. thanks for sticking with me this long. i'll keep chugging along, hopefully regularly, throughout the school year. thanks again, loves! <3