Cherokee Roses {Daryl Dixon's Daughter}

t h i r t y f i v e

When the next morning comes, I can hardly breathe over the smell of burning flesh that lingers in the courtyard. Apparently, someone killed Karen and David and drug their bodies outside and burned them. Dad tells me to wait inside and for once I listen and retreat to his cell. 

Overnight I've begun to feel worse. I woke up and my throat was swollen to the point I could hardly breathe and I've been coughing ever since. It worries me, considering Karen and David were sick and now they've been murdered because of it. Suddenly I can't stop coughing and I fall to my knees when my eyes become blurry and my breathing unstable.

A shadow finds me clutching my throat and sweating profusely. I can't tell who it is until I see the crutches. Hershel.

"Help I-" I manage to gasp out in between coughs. "I have it."

"Daryl!" He yells. "Someone! Go get Daryl!"

Dad was about to leave for a run wasn't he? Or had he already left? How long had I been like this? All these questions ran through my mind as I tried to keep my vision from going black.

"Alright Cherokee," Hershel says gripping my hand and finding my pulse. My heart is going a mile a minute as I try to catch my breath. "I need you to calm down okay?"

I squeeze my hand as a okay before attempting to stop coughing and take deep breaths. It works for the time being but my shaking hasn't stopped and sweat drips off of my nose and onto the floor. Footsteps come pounding down the hallway and stop abruptly in the cell. 

"No." Dad says falling to the floor next to me.

"We need to get her separated from everyone else." Hershel tells him and he nods sadly before throwing one of my arms over his shoulder and helping me up. 

"It's gonna be okay Cheri." He rasps in my ear and I nod tears falling down my face. 

Slowly but surely we make it to quarantine, where Glenn who also has it takes over for Hershel and my dad. The atmosphere is depressing and gloomy. 

"You're gonna fight this Cherokee," Dad says doing his best to keep his composure and stay away from the door where sickness awaits on the other side like an unfriendly neighbor. "You'll be alright." He then turns to Glenn, "take care of her for me will ya?"

"Of course Daryl." Glenn nods doing his best to hide his shaking.  

"I love you Cheri." Dad tells me brushing the hair out of my face. It clings to me from the sweat.

"I love you daddy." I say before I start coughing again while Glenn takes me inside where Dr. S leads us to a clean cell. We get there just in time before Carol brings more people and the space begins to become more cramped than already. 

Glenn is sitting on the floor on top of a blanket and I'm on the bunk pressing myself against the cement wall in an attempt to cool myself down. My fever is raging and apparently Dr. S is too sick to help at this point. 

Hershel comes by with some tea. 

"This should help with the symptoms." He says handing both Glenn and I a cup. I take it with shaky hands.  

Glenn attempts to get up despite barely being able to hold his cup. "I'm fine, I'm fine."

"Keep this on your forehead." Hershel tells him, placing a rag on his forehead. "Veterinarians orders."

"This sucks." Glenn sighs. "After everything, we just get taken out by a glorified cold."

"Don't say things like that." Hershel tells him sternly. "Don't even think things like that."

"All I can do is stop saying them." Glenn tells him.

"No you can do more." Hershel says looking his daughters husband in the eye. "We got this far somehow. You can believe somehow. We all have jobs here, that ones yours." 

"Has my dad gone yet?" I ask not really having any concept of time since being in here. It's dark and barely any light shines through the windows.

"Yeah, don't worry, he'll be back soon." He tells me and I nod. "Even when you're in this state you still worry about him."

"He's always been my favorite person and he's all I have left." I admit. "I ain't got no mom, no uncle, no grandparents, no siblings."

"You have this group, I know it's not by blood but we're family" He says wisely taking the now empty cup from me. 

"Thank you Hershel, for doing this." I say gesturing weakly to the area around us where coughs and panting are the only loud noises. "It means a lot to us all." 

--- 

Daryl

 Daryl was mad. In fact, he was fuming, he was livid, and any other word that meant mad. That's what he was feeling right now. 

"You got no meds in your bag?" He asked angrily holding a bottle of alcohol that Bob was so desperate to rescue from the walkers below. "Just this? You should've kept walking that day."

He went to throw it, to launch it as far as he possibly could when Bob spoke up. "Don't" 

His hand went to his gun and Tyresse eye'd the man cautiously. Daryl got up into the mans face as Michonne and Tyresse stayed silent. The hunter took Bob's gun out of it's holster before grabbing the man by his vest.

"You risked our lives for a damn bottle of whiskey?" He all but yelled. "You risked the life of my daughter, his sister, and everyone sick for a damn bottle of whiskey!"

"Just let it go Daryl." Tyresse yelled. "The man's made his choice. There's nothing you could do about it, just let it go."

"I didn't want to hurt nobody." Bob whimpered. "It was just for when it gets quiet."

"Take one sip when those meds get into our people I will beat your ass into the ground." Daryl threatened pushing the bottle into Bob's chest. "You hear me?" 

---

Word Count: 1005

kinda short, but I feel as if it was effective.

What do you think about Cherokee getting sick?

And what about what Daryl said to Bob? We love protective papa Dixon in this house.