Just Keep Walking

Fifty three

"In. Get in!" Michonne shouted, practically pushing Rick through the door, while Mary sobbed into her hair.
"This is a gunshot?" Denise asked as soon as they got into the infirmary.
"Handgun. Close range." Michonne breathed as Rick laid Carl on the table.
"Carl!" Mary wailed, over and over, her heart broken.
"Please save him. Please." Rick whispered tearfully.
Denise looked over at Carl, at his missing eye, and turned on a light over him. "That's going to draw them here." Spencer panicked. Michonne pulled off her own bedsheet, then Rick's, passing him Mary. Rick stumbled to the door, shaking slightly, as he held Mary on his arms. Then he fell to the floor and let a few tears fall onto Mary's head.
"I need light! Michonne, towel. Hold it here. Okay, we need to keep pressure on the wound. I'll go in and sew up any lacerations. Just like that, right here. Now, Spencer, I need that pan. That one on the tray. Good. I'm going to clean and close this. Michonne, keep following me with the towel."
Suddenly, Rick put Mary down, and pulled out his machete.
"Daddy?" Mary whispered shakily, looking up at her father in worry. He ignored her, opening the door.
"What - what are you doing? Rick! Rick!"
"Daddy!" Mary screamed, sobbing, but it was as if Rick couldn't even hear her, and he shit the door behind himself.
"Baby, it's okay." Michonne soothed, but couldn't go to her; she was helping Denise.
"I got her. Come on. It's okay." Aaron soothed, picking up the sobbing child.
"I don't want you! I want daddy! I want daddy and Mishy and Glenny and Maggie and I want CARL!"
"I know. I know, it's horrible, but you've got to be strong," Aaron soothed, "you have to be strong, so that we can help Carl, then we can help your daddy. Okay?"
"Okay." Mary whimpered.
"Denise." Michonne hissed suddenly.
"Hold on. Not long now."
"Denise!"
"Michonne!" Denise hissed as she carried on trying to fix Carl's eye socket.
"Rick's out there!"
"Hold on."
"He needs my help!" Michonne begged.
"Just one more suture."
"But he's out there!" The woman whined, hardly able to hold back her tears.
"This is his son. Give me a second."
"He's taking them all on. We have to go get him." Aaron pointed out.
"What?" Spencer scoffed.
"We have to. This is it." Heath insisted, making Mary cry even more.
"Okay got it." Denise nodded, finishing stitching Carl up.
Michonne bent down and fiercely kissed Carl's forehead, filled with so much love, filled with fear that she'd lose one of the people she loved most in the world.
Then she went to Mary, one hand on each of her cheeks so the child was looking her in the eyes. "Okay. I'm going to go help daddy. You're gonna stay here and you're gonna help protect Carl. That's your job, and it's the most important one. So stay here and protect Carl. You have your knife and gun. Okay?"
"Okay. I love you, Mishy." Mary cried.
"I love you too." Michonne whispered, kissing Mary's forehead firmly, then grabbing her katana and running outside with Heath. Aaron put Mary down on the bed next to Carl, then he left, Spencer following them reluctantly.
"Is Carl going to die?" Mary asked Denise though her teary eyes.
"No. I won't let him." Denise assured the girl.
"Is daddy going to die?"
"Your daddy can take care of himself." Denise answered, not wanting to say a definite no.
"I want daddy. And I want Carl and Mishy and Glenny and Maggie!" Mary whimpered.
"I know. Come on, help me clear up." Denise ordered. Mary did as she said, not wanting to upset the woman, but she did so while crying, and every few seconds she ran back to Carl, checking he was still breathing.
It almost distracted her until she heard gunshots, making her rush to the window. "I think that's Sasha and Abraham!" Mary gasped, her face lighting up in hope. "If Sasha and Abraham are back, maybe Glenny and Uncle Daryl are!"
"Maybe. Maybe." Denise nodded. Mary pulled her bullets out of the gun, then slid them back in, repeating the action over and over, until she saw the lake set on fire, making her drop the gun and bullets all over the floor.
"The lake's on fire!" Mary breathed. "I bet that's daddy. He's the most badass after Uncle Daryl."
"Look, all the Walkers are going to it. So that means we'll be okay. Your dad will be okay."
"Daddy. Not dad." Mary mumbled, then before Denise could reply, Mary kissed Carl's cheek, and ran out of the door, straight to the lake, where she saw a man stood on the roof of a van. She could hear Denise shouting after her, but knew she wouldn't be followed, she knew Denise couldn't leave Carl.
Then she realised it was Daryl.
"Uncle Daryl! Uncle Daryl!" Mary screamed, stumbling as she ran towards her family and towards the Walkers.
"Mary! Get back in the infirmary!" Michonne shouted as she decapitated two Walkers at once.
"I'm helping!" Mary insisted, stabbing a Walker. Before she could do anything else, she saw a tall man with dark, wavy hair. "Glenny! Glenny! GLENNY! GLENN!" Mary screamed, running to Glenn, her second father.
"Mary?!" Glenn shouted, running over and scooping her up, holding her to his chest.
"I thought you was dead." Mary sobbed into his chest.
"Oh Moo." Glenn whispered, a few tears falling down his cheeks.
"Glenn, Carl got shot. And he only has one eye now. And it's really scary. And I'm scared. And I think he might die. I though you died."
"It's okay. It's okay." Glenn soothed, holding her tightly, kissing the top of her head. He looked around and saw that most of the Walkers were gone, that the sun was beginning to rise over the bloodbath of a lake.
"Carl might die. And I don't know where daddy and Mishy and Maggie are." Mary cried.
"Well, Maggie's just over there by the car, and she's very safe. And I saw Mishy and your daddy, and they're okay too."
"But Carl might die. And I'm cross at you! I thought you died."
"I know, sweetheart. I know. I know."
Glenn soothed, crying softly into her hair.
"And I left Carl Bunny at the infirmary." Mary wailed.
"That's okay, that means it's looking after Carl for you."
"That sounds like a good plan." Mary nodded shakily.
"Yeah? Yeah, it does. Okay. You're super super tired, and the Walkers are all dead, so I'm gonna go and tell daddy where you are, and then I'm going to take you to bed. Okay?"
"I wanna stay with Carl." Mary whined.
"Okay. Okay." Glenn soothed. Mary was asleep on Glenn's chest by the time he even reached Rick, but even though she wasn't awake to tell him so, Glenn still say by Carl's bed, Mary in his arms, Rick next to him, simply holding her close, worried about the fate of the Grimes children.