Chapter 19
Caleb looks at me from the other side of the room. We’ve absorbed what Tyreese just said and now we’re clickin’ into Medical Professional Autopilot: don’t feel, don’t think, just do what you’ve gotta do.
I give Tyreese Judith and tell him ta’ take her ta’ someone who can watch and take care of her ‘til at least tonight. Tyreese runs off and Caleb and I get ta’ preppin’ things. If Michonne is hurt bad enough fer Tyreese ta’ come runnin’ in like that, I suspect there’s gonna be copious amounts a brusin’, stitches, and possibly the removal of a bullet.
“Whaddaya’ think happened?” Caleb asks me as we clear off the treatment table and prep bandages and sutures. I shake my head and start tyin’ my hair back.
“Coulda’ been anything,” I say darkly. “People, walkers- there’s no tellin’ what we’re about ta’ see.”
There’s commotion in the hall and Caleb hands me a pair a’ blue rubber gloves that I quickly pull on. “We’re about to find out,” he mutters.
Glenn and Rick (the two a’ them look just fine, thank God) burst in the door with an injured Michonne supported between them. She looks sweaty and sick and bruised, and I can smell blood on her. Daryl isn’t far behind them, frantic and scared, and Sasha is there tryin’ ta’ calm him down. Four seconds ago, it was quiet and calm, and now it’s loud and chaotic. I feel adrenaline start thrummin’ in my veins.
“Get her on the table!” Caleb shouts above the noise. Rick and Glenn do as they’re told and lay Michonne out on the stainless steel surface as gently as they can. My breath catches as I see her face fully fer the first time- a bruised eye, a busted lip. She doesn’t look like herself. Her shirt is torn and she’s moanin’ in pain from bein’ jostled, but she’s conscious and talkin’.
Good God almighty.
“What the hell happened?” I ask as I get ta’ work cleanin’ cuts and tryin’ ta’ make sense a’ what needs fixin’ and mendin’.
“We let her clear a store by herself. It was some little supermarket, not a big deal. Glenn was gonna go meet her when he finished up his area. She was alone maybe forty-five, fifty minutes, but three guys attacked her. Started beaten her up. She says she wasn’t-” he stops and collects himself, runnin’ a hand through his hair. I resist the urge ta’ take his hand. “She says she wasn’t raped.” Rick rushes all that out quickly and I barely have time ta’ think about how much I wanna kiss him and hug him right now.
“What took ya’ll so long gettin’ back?” I counter as I start gettin’ Michonne’s sweaty, bloody clothes off of her. I got bruises to inspect and her ribs might be broken if her labored breathin’ is any indication.
“Travelin’ made her tired. We had ta’ watch her in shifts- make sure she didn’t sleep too long or nothin’ like that. We got back as fast as we could,” Rick explains. I nod and keep workin’.
Michonne insists that she’s fine, that a couple guys just knocked her around a little, but I know she’s just savin’ face. Her sides are dark purple and she’s got a nice set a bruised ribs goin’ on both sides of her body. That couple with her face and the defensive marks on her arms means she wasn’t just “knocked around a little.”
“She’s got a concussion,” Caleb states after a quick check a’ Michonne’s eyes with a flashlight. I sigh and keep dabbin’ at cuts on Michonne’s hands and face with an alcohol-soaked cotton ball.
“I figured,” I murmur. “Give her some aspirin or somethin’ fer her head.” Caleb goes ta’ the cabinet and I get Michonne ta’ sit up. She takes her aspirin without a lot a’ fighting.
“Scarlett, Caleb, I’m fine,” Michonne says roughly. “There’s no need fer all this fussin’.”
“Ya’ seen your face?” Daryl declares. He’s fidgetin’ and lookin’ all around. Michonne opens her mouth again but Daryl cuts her off without meanin’ to. “Goddamn, what I’m gonna do ta’ those guys when I find ‘em. I’m goin’ out once you’re in bed and I ain’t comin’ back ‘til they’re all dead,” he growls.
“We took care of them, Rick and I,” Glenn says from the corner. He looks down at his shoes and shuffles his feet. “There’s nothing to find anymore. We killed them and left the bodies in the store. Walkers probably have them by now.”
Daryl stares at Glenn, quiet and calmer now, and nods to him, turnin’ ta’ Rick and doin’ the same. Everybody’s quiet fer a second, and I dispatch Sasha ta’ go get Michonne some water and somethin’ ta’ eat in the moment of relative calm, addin’ that she should bring it ta’ Daryl’s room. Sasha doesn’t comment on the last part and just goes without a word. Caleb and I finish up with checkin’ Michonne over, get her fully dressed again, and pronounce her concussed and bruised, but otherwise fine. I ask Rick if he’s told Hershel yet and he says he’s got Bob (I recognize the name vaguely) on it.
“Good,” I say. “That covers everything. Now we just gotta move her-“ I gesture to Michonne, “and we’ll be good.” Daryl steps up right away plucks Michonne quite delicately off the table like she don’t weigh an ounce. She winces in a little bit a’ pain, but lets him. She’s gotta be exhausted.
“You have to sit with her for a few hours,” Caleb calls ta’ Daryl.
“Like I’m gonna leave her at all,” Daryl throws back with an attitude that makes us all kinda laugh. Michonne brings herself ta’ chucklin’ a little, but then her sides give her a stab a’ pain and she quits.
{~~~}
Sasha’s waitin’ with food when we get there. Rick, Glenn, and Caleb break off from the little group of us on the way ta’ Daryl and Michonne’s room, Rick sayin’ he and Glenn gotta have a talk with Hershel, but he that promises ta’ be in our room later.
We get Michonne changed into more comfortable clothes and in bed without much hassle. She sits up and eats the soup Sasha offers her readily, and she drinks a good bit a’ water too, which is a good sign. Daryl plops right into a chair beside her and starts fussin’ over Michonne, askin’ what she needs and all a’ that.
“She’s in good hands,” I say ta’ Sasha. “Let’s leave ‘em alone.”
***
Author's Note-
(I sure am proud of myself for updating before the end of time like I promised)
Anyway! Here it is! Chapter 19, yes sir-ee! And at a decent time too! I think I'll call this ya'll's little Halloween treat since it's coming up in like a day. Hope everyone has a fun, safe time!
But OOOOOoOOooooOooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Everybody be knowin' about Daryl and Michonne!!!! Aw snappppppp. Time for feely feels in the next chapter. There haven't been a lot of feely feels as of late, or at least by my standards. Time to fix that. Time to have ONE OF THE COUPLES do the frickle-frackle or something to keep things fresh. Yis. The frick-frack. That's what I'll make them do. Hehehehehehehahahahahaha.
XD It's late and I'm tired. I need to get off the internet before I do something really stupid.
Love, Madison XD
P.S: THANK YA'LL SO MUCH FOR 2,300+ READS. THAT IS SO INSANE OH MY GOD.
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Scarlett (Rick Grimes/OC)
FanfictionScarlett Bradford, a twenty-three-year-old ex-nurse, roams what's left of the world alone. After a narrow brush with death in the city of Atlanta, Georgia, Scarlett has taken on a "never say die" mentality and spends her days trying to survive on he...
