Torn Apart (A Daryl Dixon/ The Walking Dead Fanfiction)

Chapter 29

Cat's P.O.V

I watch Daryl walk out the door and an overwhelming sadness consumes me. I turn to walk but collapse onto the ground. I begin coughing wildly, clutching my throat as blood spurts onto the floor. I can hear running footsteps approaching me and am met with a worried and exhausted Glenn.

"Cat!" He yells.

He bends over and pounds on my back. I cough and throw up my food. I lean back into his arms and try to catch my breath. I look at the partition and see a horrified Maggie staring at me.

"You can't tell Daryl. He has to go and help Hershel. If you tell him, he won't go and everyone will die. You can't tell him Maggie, promise me." I say.

She stares at me and the tears are pouring silently down her face and she takes in the sight of the blood.

"Maggie, promise me." I say sternly.

She looks at me in the eyes and nods. I nod at her and let out another cough. I wipe my mouth on the back of my sleeve. I try to stand up but fall back down. Glenn picks me up and turns to Maggie.

"I gotta go..." He begins.

"I know. Please help her." She says, her hands on the glass.

He nods, "Take care of our baby."

Glenn carries me out the door, Maggie's smiling face is the last thing I see from the room. I look up and Glenn and see his sweat covered face. He walks into the cell block towards my new cell. Caleb looks over from one of the patients and sighs.

"I'll be there in a second." He says, turning back to his patient.

Glenn walks up the stairs, with much difficulty. Eventually he makes it my room and lays me on the bed. He collapses next to me, coughing and convulsing. I hold him down and try to comfort him. He stops and takes a deep breath.

"Maggie doesn't know how bad it is does she?" I ask.

"You're not the only one trying to protect the one you love." He says.

Sasha stumbles into the room, looking as bad as we feel. She comes onto the bed next us and lays down. We all lay on our backs and stare at the ceiling, our laboured breaths and occasional coughs filling the air.

"Do you think we'll die?" Sasha asks quietly.

"I don't know." Glenn says.

We hear the sound of crying downstairs. I get up with difficulty and look out the door. Downstairs a woman is kneeling over a dead body. Caleb grabs a sheet and places it over the body. He stands up and runs his hands through his hair, he looks up and sees me. He shakes his head. I nod and head back into the cell, taking back my place on the bed.

"What's your favourite memory?" Sasha asks.

Glenn and I weakly laugh at her question, she always tries to make the best of a bad situation.

"When I was a kid, at Christmas, Dad and I used to always play together with whatever toys I got. My dad and I didn't really spend a lot of time together because he was always working. But every Christmas he would always make sure that we spent time together." Glenn says.

"Mine was when Tyresse and I used try and beat each other at everything. Who would finish dinner first, brush their teeth the quickest, fall asleep the fastest. We would turn everything into a competition. One day, our mother had enough and she yelled at us like she never had before. She grounded us and sent us to our room. During our grounding, we became closer than ever." She smiles at the memory.

"What about you Cat?" Glenn asks.

I sigh at my bittersweet memory.

"My favourite moment was when my husband and I first saw our daughter on the ultrasound."

They remain silent and I can almost picture their jaws dropping and eyes bugging wide. But instead of looking I continue looking at the ceiling.

"It was the twelve week scan and he was so excited to see her for the first time, we both were. Though I had already seen her from the first ultrasound. I had printed a picture for him, but it wasn't the same as seeing her live. When she appeared on the screen I looked at him and saw the tears streaming down his face. My heart was overwhelmed with happiness. That's my favourite moment."

I sigh and look at them. Sasha is sitting up and Glenn has turned his head.

"Go on." I say.

"You have a baby?" Sasha asks.

"I did. Her name was Annie." I smile sadly.

"You had a husband?" Glenn asks.

"Yes I did. James."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Sasha asks.

I give her a look, "Why would I want to bring up my dead husband and child to people I didn't know? After that, the opportunity never arised. The only people I ever told were Daryl, Maggie and Carl."

"Carl?" Glenn asks.

"Yeah, he sort of found out from my reactions of being near Judith. I told him because he was really honest with me, so I owed it to him. He took it really well and supported me, in exchange I supported him about Lori." I explain.

Sasha nods her head and lays back down.

"You're the one that helped Maggie didn't you?" Glenn asks.

I turn my head and look at him, "Yes."

"I understand now. Thank you." He smiles.

I nod, "You're welcome."

Glenn nods and begins to cough hard. He sits up and I begin to rub his back. Sasha begins to cough, me joining her. Caleb appears at the door with his equipment.

"Alrighty, let's take a look at you." He says, pulling out tools.