Survival in Numbers (Daryl Dixon/The Walking Dead)

Chapter Fifty Two - The Missing Members

Emma and Herschel decided it was time to use the infirmary as their hospital base. Lori had complained about the blood that had stained the floor from all of the operations, and how difficult it was to clean.

As much as they had been getting on since the pregnancy, Emma had finally had enough of the older woman's complaints.

"Because any of those could have been helped!" Emma had snapped at the brunette, "We have had to make do with what we've had at the time, Lori. Oh, sorry Herschel, but I can't help you with your leg right now, we don't want to get blood on the floor! Sorry Lori, can't give you a caesarean at the moment we don't have any bleach to mop up with-"

"-You've made your point!" The Queen snapped back, "Just in case of any future accidents, can we just not have any surgeries in here!"

Emma grumbled to herself, childishly mimicking Saint Grimes as she got on her hands and knees to scrub at the infirmary tiles. "Any future accidents." Meh meh meh.

The older gentleman, who was balanced on one leg, was packing newly cleaned cupboards with their supplies. Emma realised, shortly after having a moan about the older woman, that he was not listening to a word she said.

The red head knew Rick had spoken to Daryl and Dale about Shane, so the two men were in watch in the tower while Rick cleared the fence line of walkers. The sheriff had already warned Glenn and Maggie just before they had gone on a run that morning.

It had been over a week since they had realised Officer Meathead was still alive, and they were out of formula now - which was why Gleggie were out on a run. Emma didn't like the fact that the two were going on their own, but Glenn has eased her worries by reminding her that both he and the oldest Greene girl were fast.

"Thank you." Emma wiped her forehead with the back of her hand as Carol gave her a new soapy water bucket, and took the old and dirty one away. She then moved back onto all fours to continue scrubbing, casually glancing over her shoulder to see how far her floor scrubbing companion had gotten on his side of the infirmary.

To her dismay, she caught Axel's eyes staring straight at her ass again.

She threw her scrubbing brush at him, missing by a mile but still causing him to duck.

"Hey!" He yelled.

"You pervert!" She snapped, getting to her feet and wiping her hands on her knees. "Herschel, I'm going to see if Gleggie are back."

The red head flipped the other red head the middle finger as she left the infirmary, following the painted signs until she reached the door to the yard.

Emma frowned then. Seeing Rick with both Daryl and Dale in the middle off the field with a dark skinned woman, making their way towards the yard.

She approached the gate separating them and opened it, once they were close enough.

"Emma, you got a minute?" Rick asked, gesturing to the woman who's leg was bleeding. 

The red head knelt in front of the newcomer, and gently moved the bandages to the side.

"How long ago was this?"

"Couple hours." Her voice was smooth and deep.

"You're lucky it's a graze, a little to the left and it would've gone straight through your Achilles. Rick, can you take her down to the infirmary? Herschel's there at the moment, he should be able to clean this up and redress it." Rick nodded his head, as Emma rose to her feet to speak to the woman face to face, "If you're in any pain at all, let him know. We have pain relief or something you can take."

"Thank you."

They moved off towards the main entrance to the prison, and Emma placed her hand on Daryl's chest before he could follow. "Hold on a second, I need to talk to you."

"Everythin' alright?"

"Axel's being a pervert."

His Georgian blues narrowed, "He touch ya?"

"No. But he's staring at my ass. I caught him three times in just the last hour! And Carol said he made a comment to Beth the other day when he found out she was seventeen. Arrested for a water pistol robbery, my ass. I threw my brush at him and missed, wish it had hit him right in the face-"

"-Glenn and Maggie got taken."

Her heart skipped a beat, "Taken where?"

"Some town called Woodbury." He replied, "The samurai chick said it's run by some man callin' himself the Governor. He sent some of his men out t'kill her for runnin' off. They shot at her, she ran. Came upon some shops to hide an' she heard Glenn and Maggie mention the prison. They got taken." He lifted the basket in his hands that held formula and some other baby things inside, "She got it to us to warn us."

"Do you think we can trust her?"

"Seems alright t'me." He replied with a shrug. "When she gets sorted out, she's gunna show us on a map where Woodbury is."

Emma hoped Glenn and Maggie were okay. "Do you think it's Shane's new group?"

"She ain't mentioned no one but this Governor. He coulda been one'a these men that got sent after her but..." He shrugged. "Jus' gotta see what she says."

Emma nodded, her eyes looking over Daryl's shoulder and towards the gate.

"Ya ain't comin' when we go."

"Glenn's my best friend. Maggie's like my sister."

"Ya ain't comin'."

She took a step closer to him to wrap her hands around his waist and inside the warmth of his jacket. "You can hold my hand, make sure I don't run off."

"I ain't ya keeper." He turned away from her to carry the basket inside, Emma pouted as he moved away from her. "Ya just gonna go ask Rick anyway. I'm just wastin' my damn breath." He paused at the door, "I'll talk to the perv for ya."