Didn't See That Coming | The Walking Dead(1)

Part 18 (Shoot Me Again, Best Pray Im Dead)

"Walker!" Andrea yelled out from the watch point atop the RV.

Everyone dropped what they were doing and rushed over. "Just the one?" Rick called up.

"I bet I can nail it from here," Andrea claimed, looking though the binoculars at the approaching figure.

"No! Andrea do not fire that gun!" CJ shouted up top her.

"You best let us handle this," Shane said loudly.

"Shane, stop. Hershel wants to deal with walkers," Rick protested.

"What for man? We got it covered," Shane replied, running away.

"Damn it," Rick muttered as he followed Shane, Glenn and T-Dog down the field to the walker.

Andrea got down to lie on her front to look through the scope of the rifle, despite everyone telling her to stop.

"Andrea, don't," Dale demanded.

"Andrea, what did I just say?!" CJ hissed angrily.

"Back off, I got this," Andrea retorted.

"Do NOT-"

Andrea shot the fucking rifle. Looking over to where the men stood, CJ could just about see the walker fall to the ground limply. That was when she heard Rick yelling "NO!" repeatedly.

CJ immediately sprinted to where the men stood and watched them pick up the body. Except it wasn't a walker. It was Daryl.

"Oh my god, is he dead?!" Andrea asked loudly as she ran up behind a both shocked and pissed off CJ.

"Unconscious, you just grazed him," Rick answered as he and Shane carried a bleeding Daryl towards the house.

"What the hell happened to him out there?" CJ asked no one in particular.

"He's wearing ears..." Glenn pointed out.

Rick ripped the string of walker ears off of Daryl's neck and tucked it away.

"Guys," T-Dog called out and everyone turned to look at him as he held up a toy doll. "Isn't this Sophia's?"

Somehow, in between all the injuries he had sustained that day, Daryl had found another lead on Sophia.

Shane and Rick got Daryl inside the house for Hershel to treat his injuries. CJ and the others waited outside for one of them to come out and confirm that he was okay. CJ was pacing up and down. She was angry and wound up at Andrea and herself. If she hadn't got hurt yesterday, she would have been with Daryl and he wouldn't have got hurt.

"CJ, stop pacing. Your making everyone nervous," Andrea spoke up quietly. CJ ignored her and kept walking. "CJ," she repeated, a little louder.

"Oh, I'm sorry Andrea," CJ responded sarcastically. "I thought this is how we did things now. You know, someone tells you very clearly to not do something but then you just go right ahead and do it anyway because fuck everyone else, right?" she ranted loudly, waving her hands around as she spoke.

Andrea sighed and looked to the ground. "I feel like shit. I was just trying to protect us. Protect the group."

"Well great job," CJ scoffed, clapping her hands together a few times. "In an attempt to protect us, you barely shot one of is in the head. You're our saviour," she added bluntly.

"Okay, CJ. That's enough," Dale spoke up and took a step forward to place a hand on her shoulder.

The redhead and the blonde glared at each other for a moment before the front door opened and Rick, Shane and Hershel all came out and walked down the steps of the porch to join the group.

"He alright?" CJ asked immediately.

"I've stitched up the wound from the arrow and cleaned up the graze from the bullet," Hershel explained. "He'll be fine. He just need to rest for a couple of days. He can't push himself, or he'll make things worse for himself."

"Oh thank god," Carol sighed out from next to CJ, who put a comforting hand on her shoulder and let out a breath she didn't realise she was holding in.

"Did he say where he found the doll?" Glenn asked, referring to the toy that Carol was clutching tightly.

"Says he found it on some creek bed," Shane replied.

"Cuts our search grid almost in half," Rick added.

"I shoulda' gone with him," CJ muttered. "Can I go see him?"

"He's resting for now. Best to wait until after dinner," Hershel said.

CJ nodded and turned to walk away but Andrea grabbed her wrist gently to stop her and she turned back. "I really am sorry. If I'd have known it was Daryl you know I would never have-"

"I know," CJ nodded, cutting her off. "I'm not the one you need to apologise too." Andrea let go of CJ's arm and left her go.

As she headed back to her tent, CJ spotted Carl running over to her with a big grin on his face, wearing Rick's hat. "Hey, CJ!"

"Hey, Sheriff!" CJ replied with a giggle, kneeling down to his height. "Should you really be running around? You don't wanna strain your wound."

"It's okay," Carl shrugged. "Hershel just said to be careful for a while. Is Daryl okay?"

"He's resting but he'll be fine."

"Okay. Are you okay?" Carl asked out of nowhere, confusing CJ a bit. "Since yesterday you seem sad. Is it because that man hurt you?"

CJ was take aback slightly by Carl's straight forwardness. But she sort of appreciated it too. No one had actually brought the whole incident up with her today, almost as if they were shying around the subject. She understood why, she didn't want to talk about it either. She thought she was hiding her concerns pretty well, but apparently Carl saw through her.

"I'm alright. Thanks kid," she answered with a small smile. "Just gonna go lie down for a while before dinner. I'm not feeling too good." She stood up and flicked the rim of Carl's hat up so she could see his face, which made him smile. "I'll see ya later, Officer Grimes," she said in a fake, low voice as she saluted with a serious face. She could hear Carl giggling as she walked away to her tent, which made her chuckle to herself.

The rest of the evening was uneventful. CJ checked in on Lori after their talk earlier and she seemed to be feeling a bit better. She also talked to Andrea about what had happened with Daryl. She was still annoyed when she left the conversation but she didn't see the point in arguing. Daryl was okay and that was what mattered.

The group had dinner in the house, cooked by Carol and Lori as a thank you to the Greene family for taking them in. CJ couldn't help but feel a little out of place at first. She had been with this group for months now, but sitting around a dinner table with this many people was new to her. Growing up, it was always just her, Tony and their father. She always wanted a big family as a kid so this was nice.

Carol took some food up to Daryl and said that he was still resting, so CJ decided to just talk to him in the morning. She volunteered to help clean up after everyone finished eating and shared small talk with Beth as they washed up.

Beth was only seventeen and clearly unfamiliar with the new world. She was lucky, in a way. But CJ was concerned for the girl. Hershel had clearly done a great job at downplaying how bad things had really gotten in the outside world since the news reports stopped.

CJ returned to her tent and changed for bed. She fished through her duffel bag and right at the bottom she found her picture. It was the last photo she had left of her family. It was taken the day she was born.

Her mother, Lily, was holding her, her father, Marshall, was sitting next to her with his arm around her shoulders. On the other side of her mother was a very smiley six year-old Tony.

CJ felt tears begin to form in her eyes as she stared at the polaroid. "Hey guys, it's Clara-Jane. But you know that. Um... you've all seen it. What I did, what I am..." she whispered. "I just hope that you can understand, that you can forgive me."

She paused and let out a quiet sob before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath before continuing. "I'm not gonna give up. I can't. I'm gonna stay alive. I'm gonna keep living for all of you, for these people. I swear. 'Till the end of the line."