Daryl's Angel (10th Anniversary Edition)

Chapter 17: Cherokee Roses & Red Ferns

Everything feels strange and I have no idea how much time has passed. I remember the deer, then pain, and then nothing. Later, Daryl...sitting by my side, holding my hand, and Carl talking to me, pain clouding my thoughts.

More nothing.

When my eyes open, it's the first time I've felt awake in a long time. There's early morning sun shining through lace curtains and, when I try to move, I'm struck by the soreness spreading over my entire abdomen. I wince and let myself rest again, sucking breaths, when I notice something I swore was a dream.

Daryl sleeps with his head on his arms, propped against the mattress, his mouth hanging open as he snores softly. His hand rests near mine and I see, in the crook of his elbow, a bit of bloody gauze held on with medical tape. A transfusion? Must be, but...

I lift the blankets and realize, for the first time, that I'm only wearing a bra and pants. There's a large pad taped to my side and a small spot of redness right in the middle. I...got hurt? And Daryl...did he see my list? Did Rick or Shane find it and realize that he was the only person with compatible blood? Or Carl?

I hear him grunt and I startle, tugging the blanket back over my chest, and he blinks a few times as he wakes. His eyes fall on me, he blinks again, and then he sits up abruptly, eyes wide.

"Hope," he says.

My brain still feels foggy. "Daryl?"

He lets out a long breath. "You scared the shit outta me, you know that?" he asks. He scoots his chair closer. "How're you feeling? I can get Hershel."

"Who?"

He frowns a bit, then his lips part. "Shit, right. You..." He shakes his head. "I'm a dumbass. Do you got any idea what happened?"

"No...the last thing I remember is this deer..." My eyes widen. "Oh, Daryl, we saw this deer, and—"

"I know. I would've shot it, right?" he says. I frown a bit. "You were pretty out of it."

"I...I told you already?" I press my hand to my forehead. "This...I'm so confused."

Daryl gives me a brief rundown of what happened, or at least what he understands from what he's been told. I learn that we're at a farmhouse belonging to a man named Hershel and his family. I was shot by a man named Otis, who died on a run with Shane to get supplies for the surgery that saved my life. There are a few other people at the farm: Otis's wife Patricia and Hershel's two daughters, Maggie (brunette) and Beth (blonde). Daryl admits there's a teenage boy somewhere, but he hasn't met him and hasn't cared to change that.

"God..." I whisper, staring up at the ceiling. "That's...that's a lot."

"You in pain at all? Should probably let Hershel know you're awake."

He gets up, but I reach out and grasp his hand. He looks back at me, eyebrow raised, and I beckon him closer. I don't expect him to do so, but he does, and my heart races. He's here and, from the sounds of it, he's been here almost the entire time, and I'm all warm inside.

"I want to give you something," I admit. Be brave, I tell myself. "Is...that okay?"

"Huh? I mean, sure, but..."

I kiss him on the cheek, short and sweet, and release his hand as he flinches a little. He touches his face, staring at me in mild disbelief.

"The hell was that for?" he asks.

I look at my lap. "I, just...thank you doesn't seem like enough," I say. "But, thank you."

He looks away, nodding once. "Yeah, no problem."