Complicated ✔

Ch. 24 - Worried

DARYL'S POV

I stood there, glaring Rick down for having that gun of his in my face again before I turned my eyes to Kathryn as she struggled in the Chinaman's arms with her eyes locked on me. This was all basically in a split second as he continued to try and drag her away while she kept screaming, and a closer look before I turned back to her dad revealed that she was crying, thinking I was dead in a sense and it baffled me that she would cry when we haven't said more than a couple words here and there since this whole damn thing started. I turned my attention back to her dad, glaring at him as I swayed slightly from the blood loss before I opened my mouth to speak. "That's the third time you pointed that thing at my head," I said as I watched everyone look around at each other confused, "you gonna pull the trigger or what?"

KATHRYN'S POV

I think I felt myself decompress in Glenn's arms the second I heard Daryl's voice. I watched as Dad lowered his gun before he turned to look at me. I was basically using Glenn for support, relief just flooding me now that I knew Daryl wasn't dead. But that moment of relief was shattered by the sound of a single gunshot going off just before I watched Daryl fall to the ground. "No," I heard my dad shout out as my legs gave out on me and I basically hung limply in Glenn's arms, tears flowing fully now as my dad and the other ran towards Daryl. "No," I whispered shaking my head, "no, no, no, no, no." "Glenn get Kathryn out of here now," I heard my dad shout, but my attention was solely on Daryl as he laid on the ground at everyone's feet while I felt Glenn begin to tug me backwards.

I didn't fight Glenn as he dragged me away from the scene, I just let him take me as I kept replaying the moment when Daryl hit the ground from the gunshot. I didn't even realize where Glenn took me until he sat me down on the swing we had been occupying before Andrea shouted out about a walker. "Hey," he whispered as he knelt down in front of me trying to get me to look at him but I just looked off into space before he placed his hands on my cheeks, "look at me Kathryn. Everything's going to be okay." I looked away and past him as Dad and Shane, along with the rest, walked up with Daryl in their arms unconscious as they dragged him towards the Greene's house. I watched as they disappeared inside before Glenn tried to grab my attention again.

"Kathryn," he said causing my eyes to look back to him, "Daryl's going to be okay. Hershel will have a look at him and he'll be alright." My eyes darted back towards the Greene's front door before I jumped up from the swing, startling Glenn from my sudden movement, and running for the door to the house. I bolted up the front steps and jerked the front screen open before moving inside, looking around and listening for any sign of movement that would signal to me where they took Daryl. I heard movement down the hall, on the other side of the stairs leading up. Moving quickly, I walked towards the sound of the noise and finding Shane, Dad, and Hershel in a room surrounding a bed. I stopped just in the hallway before my Dad looked up and spotted me. Hershel turned his attention behind him as he had his back to me, and closed the door upon seeing me standing there.

Letting out a sigh, I looked around the small hallway before sitting on the floor beside the door that led into the room that I was now shut out of. I sat there, my knees up to my chest and my arms wrapped around them with my chin just resting on my kneecaps, waiting for them to come out and say he'd be okay. I looked up at the sound of footsteps, only to be greeted with the sight of my step-mother. Looking away from her, I focused back on the wall in front of me as she sat down on the floor on the other side of the door, near the opening to the small hallway. It was quiet between us out there, both of us just in our own little worlds as we waited, before we heard the sound of the room door opening with Dad walking out first.

RICK'S POV

I walked out of the room after having a word with Daryl, Lori jumping up to greet me first before her attention turned down to the floor just to my left. Following her eyesight as I moved out of the way for Hershel and Shane to follow out of the room, I spotted Kathryn sitting there on the floor looking up at me. "You can go in if you want," I said nodding towards Daryl's room before I looked back to Lori. I watched as Hershel passed me before I looked one last time at Kathryn as she stood to her feet, nervously looking towards the room Daryl was in. Seeing Shane walk up behind me, I moved on, heading into the rest of the house to find the others who knew about Daryl finding Sophia's doll so I could tell them what he told us.

KATHRYN'S POV

I watched from where I stood by the door as Dad and Hershel walked off. Moments later Shane and Lori began walking off but stopped a short ways away. As I went to enter the room, standing just in the threshold of the room, I could hear whispered voices. Shane's and Lori's voices to be exact. Turning my head slightly, I waited and listened to hear what they had to say that they didn't want others to hear. "Rick needs to put his foot down with Kathryn," I heard Shane say and causing me to furrow my brow in confusion as he continued, "she was out there on that field when we all thought Daryl was a walker." "You tell him then," Lori replied to him, "he's your best friend and you've known Kathryn longer than I have." "But it's your job to play the dutiful wife to Rick," Shane whispered harshly, "you have to tell him that kid has a school girl's crush on a man old enough to be her own damn father."

I felt my cheeks reddening as I continued to listen to the two who were unaware that the person they were discussing was listening in. "What are you talking about Shane," I heard Lori ask and I could almost guarantee that if I had been looking at her then her face would've held the same confusion as did her voice. "That girl has disappeared twice with Daryl," Shane said, "and let's not forget where she slept at the CDC. You did not see her face out there on that field, you did not see her reaction to thinking Daryl was a walker." Deciding I had gotten enough of an earful, I walked into Daryl's room and stopped right on the inside of the doorway as I looked at where he was laying on his back, eyes closed as he held on hand up to his head where Andrea had shot him thinking he was a walker.

My tears from earlier had dried up back while I was being dragged away by Glenn when Daryl got shot, but now as I stood there in his doorway and was looking at him, I could feel them coming back but not spilling over exactly. I guess I looked down to my feet, not knowing if I should even say anything or be in there, before I heard a voice. "Never seen nobody cry over me before," the gruff voice said, causing my head to shoot up to look over at Daryl to see he turned his head slightly and was peering at me with his blue eyes. "Yeah well you're my friend," I said looking down and over at where he lay, "and I was worried about you when you came stumbling out of those woods acting almost like a walker."

I had managed to look down again as I was speaking, but I quickly looked back up again at the sound of a scoff coming from the direction of the bed at my words. "Ya makin' it sound like I was dead on that field," he said, closing his eyes as he continued to put pressure on his head wound. "That's because I thought you were," I whispered out, not finding strength in my voice after the comments I heard from Lori and Shane in the hallway to fully voice what I meant. I guess he didn't hear me, or just didn't want to acknowledge what I said because the conversation seemed to die down. "How are you feeling anyway," I asked looking to my feet before peering up at him. I didn't think he was going to answer me before I finally heard him speak up. "I hurt like hell," he grumbled out quietly, "hurts worse when I move around." "I heard Hershel say you needed to get cleaned up," I said as I slowly peered up at him with just my eyes, "maybe I could try and help you some? Like you've helped me."

Big thank you to gamodei97 for the help with this chapter! I owe it to her for what Daryl said at the end. Thanks again!
- Kenz