Junebug • TWD

16. Do You Love Her?

Daryl's heart drops down into his stomach after hearing, first, the crack of a gun being fired, and second, the thud of Juniper's body dropping to the ground behind him.

He spins around faster than he could ever imagine is possible, despite the pain in his leg. Because, God, no, no, no, is his daughter dead? Was his baby just shot through the skull?

"No! No," he shouts, rushing to her dead body. He drops to his knees beside her, and fuck it hurts so bad, but he doesn't care. Not at all. "June. June," he breathes out, grabbing onto the sides of her face.

"Dad," Junes breathes out, her eyes shut and her body limp.

But alive. She's alive.

"You're ok. You're ok, baby girl," Daryl says quickly, tilting her head to the side in order to get a good look at the large gash that now cut through the side of her head. He gently lets her head drop back to the ground, now completely unconscious. He wraps his arms around her small body, attempting to lift her up. But the pain in his leg won't let him stand. "I can't- Hey!" Daryl shouts, turning back to the four other men, who all stand frozen a few feet away. "Help me!"

"She's alive?" Rick asks, rushing forward to help him.

"Oh, my God. Is she ok?" Glenn asks, his voice higher than usual and his eyes wide.

"Grazed her. She's bleedin' bad," Daryl says in a rush, passing Juniper off into Glenn's arms. Rick and Shane help Daryl stand and they all start following Glenn to the farmhouse, as fast as they possibly can.

Dale and Andrea come running out into the field towards them. Andrea is crying- sobbing, even. "Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Is she dead?!" she's crying, her voice high and shaky.

"Unconscious. You just grazed her," Rick replies, calm and collected as he always tends to be.

"You're lucky ya got shit aim, or you'd be a dead woman!" Daryl growls at Andrea, keeping his eyes glued to June's unconscious body in Glenn's arms. "Fuck!" he shouts as he takes a bad step.

"Daryl, isn't that doll Sophia's?" T-Dog asks, gesturing to the doll that was tucked into Daryl's waistband. Daryl pulls it off his waist and tosses it against T-Dog's chest.

"Yeah, but that ain't exactly my fuckin' concern right now. Where's that damn doctor?!" Daryl shouts, overwhelmed with pain, anger, guilt, and fear.

"She's gonna be fine. It's just a graze," Rick reminds him.

"She was an inch away from dyin'!" Daryl argues, his heart throbbing in his chest.

"But she's alive," Rick insists.

They all approach the rest of the group, who are standing at the fence, watching with wide eyes. "What the hell happened?" Hershel asked them all.

"Blondie over there shot my fuckin' kid," Daryl grumbles, gesturing over to Andrea. Andrea wipes her eyes, guilt filling her entire body. She had almost just shot a little girl through the head, and all for what? To prove that she has good aim?

"And your leg?" Hershel asks, his eyebrows pinched together.

"My leg's fine!" Daryl insists, jerking himself away from Shane and Rick. He starts limping on his own to get to the farmhouse. "Fix her head. She's bleedin' bad. Just fuckin'-"

"I assure you, I'll do all I can, but there's not much I can do with a graze like that. I can bandage it, ice it, and give her some pain medication, but the body will heal on its own over time. For now, we need to focus on that leg of yours, or else you may be looking at permanent damage. You could lose your leg," Hershel explains. All in a line, Glenn, Hershel, Daryl, Rick, Shane, Andrea, Dale, Maggie- everyone- make their way up the front porch steps and into the house.