Here We Are, Come Join Us (The Walking Dead FanFiction)

Chapter 8

Their arrival at the Greene property was a whirlwind of activity and confusion. Hershel, the obvious family patriarch and owner of the land, was conflicted and uneasy about this huge group of new arrivals suddenly camping out on his property. The first group activity was a memorial service for someone named Otis, who'd apparently taken Shane out to find medical supplies for Carl. It would take a couple of days before Allison was able to figure out that the woman named Patricia, who'd been a nurse in her "previous life", was the wife of Otis, a hired hand who'd worked the Greene farm more years than Patricia could remember. That Otis had accidentally shot Carl while hunting a deer, and had experience as a volunteer EMT which is why he'd taken Shane to some nearby FEMA place to collect surgical supplies for Carl. And that Shane had returned from the mission alone.

"Otis was such a good man," Patricia said to Allison during a conversation they'd had when Allison approached Patricia shortly after arriving at the farm to thank her for stitching up T-Dog's arm and had casually asked her about her nursing experience. "I met Otis almost 15 years ago at the hospital...I was working as ER nurse and he'd occasionally arrive in the ambulance with a patient...he'd always wait and see what happened, what the prognosis was..." She paused and sighed. "He and I would sit and have a cup of coffee during my break and we'd talk...I finally asked him once why he bothered to find out what happened to the patients he brought in. He just sorta shrugged and said that he was concerned. And then he said that he knew a lot of the families in the area and saw them at church every Sunday and he liked to be able to tell someone's mama that Charlie Jr. was doing just fine after he'd dropped him off at the emergency room and that the doctors were takin' real good care of him." Patricia paused and tried to stifle a sob. "He cared so much...about everybody..."

Allison impulsively hugged the woman. "It sounds like you lost a very fine man. I'm so sorry."

Lori sought Allison out after the memorial service and gripped Allison's arm urgently. "Have you seen Carl yet? Why not? Why didn't you come yesterday with Glenn and T-Dog?" She steered Allison toward the house as she spoke. The two climbed the porch stairs and when Allison reached the top step she turned around to face Lori one step below her.

"Please calm down." She grasped Lori's forearm for emphasis. "I have some, but not a whole lot of, surgical experience, so I didn't think I could be very helpful here. I thought I could be of more use searching for Sophia. I'm sorry if you feel that I let you down."

"Hershel's a damned animal doctor," Lori hissed at her. "I've got a veterinarian operating on my son."

Allison didn't see that Hershel Greene was now standing just inside of the screen door behind her, looking out onto the porch. "Lori," she explained, trying to calm the woman, "a person has to go through just as many years of medical school to become a veterinarian as well as an MD. Sometimes more, depending upon the state licensing requirements. Without X-ray equipment handy, an old-school vet is probably the best person you can have taking care of Carl. The basic internal workings of humans aren't all that different than animals, and an old guy used to caring for big, expensive farm animals like horses and cows knows what he's doing."

The screen door swung open and Hershel stepped onto the porch. Allison pivoted around and greeted him. "How do you do, Dr. Greene, I'm Allison Harper." She extended her hand.

He shook it and replied succinctly, "Name's 'Hershel.'"

Allison suddenly wondered how long he'd been within earshot and apologized "Um, sorry about that 'old guy' remark. It was just a figure of speech...." She could feel her cheeks coloring.

Hershel smiled and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "No worries, Doctor. When you get to be my age, being called 'old' is a point of pride."

"Name's 'Allison'," Allison responded with a grateful smile.