In a world ruled by fear, survival comes with a price.
When her brother's attempt to overthrow the Saviors fails, Tessa finds herself under Negan's watchful eye-protected, controlled, and dangerously close to the man she should hate. As violence, po...
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Rick carried Tessa, inside, Carl pushing the door open before him. Tara helped clean the wound as best as she could, saline, gauze, a shaky apology for the sting. Tessa didn't make a sound, she was too exhausted, too hollow.
By the time the bandage was wrapped under her jaw, her eyes were already drifting shut. Rick brushed a strand of hair off her forehead carefully, his touch light.
"Get some sleep Tessa," was the last thing she heard before dozing off from the exhaustion.
Tessa didn't wake up the next morning, or the one after.
She slept straight through the sunrise, through the whispered chaos of Alexandria trying to recover, through Rick pacing the small clinic room with worry sharpening every line of his face. Her body had crashed hard, dropping into a deep, dreamless sleep that looked nothing like rest. More like a system shutting down after too long in survival mode.
On the first night, she stirred once. By the second, she didn't move at all. Rick barely left the chair beside her bed.
He stayed with elbows on his knees, hands clasped, eyes locked on the slow rise and fall of her breathing, Carl brought him food he never touched. Michonne tried to get him to rest, he wouldn't. Judith fell asleep once in his lap, her small head rising and falling against Rick's chest, but he never looked away from Tessa.
He brushed her hair back every few hours, careful not to disturb her bandage.
"You're fine," he whispered on the second night. "You're right here. I got you."
By the third day, Rick looked like he'd lost years off his life. Dark circles, hollow eyes, a jaw clenched so tight it trembled sometimes. And still, he stayed. He couldn't leave her. Not again. Not after watching Negan take her away that night, screaming his name, reaching for him while he couldn't move.
And then, early in the gray quiet of the third morning, Tessa's breath hitched.
Just once. But Rick heard it. He was on his feet instantly.
"Tessa?" Her fingers twitched. Her eyelids fluttered, slow and heavy, like waking hurt. Then her eyes finally opened, disoriented and glossy. Rick leaned in, voice shaking. "Hey...hey, Im right here."
She blinked, trying to focus on his face. "Rick...?" Tessa reached for her brother's embrace. She missed the feeling of being held by her older brother.
She stayed against Ricks shoulder for a long moment, breathing unevenly. When she finally pulled back, her eyes were red and glossy, but something else flickered underneath the expansion.
"Tessa...I need to know what he did to you."
Her throat worked, but no sound came out at first. Her eyes drifted away, unfocused, like she was trying to piece her own mind back together. She decided she didn't want to relive those moments, she couldn't bare seeing Ricks reaction.
"Rick..." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "Daryl's still there." Ricks expression tightening instantly. "I know."
"No," she said, shaking her head weakly. "You don't. You don't know what it's like for him in there. I saw it. Everyday. I heard it. The way they talk about him, the way they treat him. He's alone, Rick. Completely alone."
Her hands knotted together in her lap, trembling.
"They keep him in this dark little room. He doesn't even get a blanket. They bang on the door all night, they feed him dog food, they-" Her voice cracked again. "They try to break him the same way they tried to break him."
Rick swallowed hard, jaw flexing. Tessa looked down, breath shaking. "But he's still fighting. I could see it. Even when he wouldn't talk, even when he wouldn't eat...he still fights. He didn't let them win." A tear slide down her cheek.
"He saved me, Rick. You need to know that. When I...when I was too scared to move, too scared to breathe, Daryl was always in sight. Just seeing him kept me sane. Kept me alive." Ricks eyes softened, even though the storm brewing behind him.
"And I-I memorized everything," she whispered.
Rick blinked. "What do you mean?"
Her gaze lifted, fragile but burning with purpose. "Every hallway. Every guard rotation. Every door. Every person who watches him. Every time they changed shift. Every time someone brings him food." She swallowed. "I memorized all of it. Because I knew...one day...I'd get out. And when I did, id come back for him."
Rick stared at him, struck silent by the determination buried inside her brokenness.
"Tessa..."
"Im not leaving him there," she said softly. "Not after what he did for me. Not after what they're doing to him. I don't care if Negan kills me. I'm going to get Daryl out."
Rick leaned forward, grabbing her trembling hands in him.
"You're not going anything alone," he said firmly. "Well get him back. Together. I promise you."
Her eyes filled again, but this time the tears didn't fall out of fear. they fell out of relief.
"Okay," she whispered
Tessa closed her eyes, breathing a little steadier now.
For the first time since the sanctuary...she didn't feel alone.
