It Comes With The Name

Chapter 12: Well Well Well

Daryl Dixon was never one for emotions. He didn't let people get close, so he wouldn't be hurt when they eventually left. But as much as he hated to admit it, he was scared shitless as his bike roared up the driveway to a nice farmhouse. He had really grown to care for Carl over the past few weeks, and he was terrified at the possibility of losing him, especially with Sophia now missing.

He drove up to a quaint farmhouse, following the directions the young woman had given yesterday, and came face to face with Glenn and T-dog who stood on the porch. Dale was the first one out of the RV followed by Tank, who came bounding out of the RV and immediately began sniffing around. Andrea and Carol followed them out. Rick and Lori emerged from the house. Daryl's bike came to a halt and he switched off the engine, leaving them in silence. No one was quite sure what to say.

"How is he?" Dale finally asked.

"He'll pull through." Lori said, choking up a bit. "Thanks to Hershel and his people."

"And Shane." Rick said. "We'd have lost Carl if it weren't for him." The group let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Thank God." Carol said, walking up and hugging Lori. "We were so worried."

"How'd it happen?"

"Hunting accident." Rick explained. "That's all it was... a stupid accident."

Daryl looked around at the reunion in front of him. He saw a few new faces, an older man who he assumed was Hershel stood on the porch along with some young women Daryl assumed were his daughters. A weight seemed to have been lifted off of the group as they shared embraces. But one face was missing.

"Lauren?" Daryl asked.

"With Carl." Glenn said, seemingly being the only person who heard him. "She was up half the night helping with the procedure. She's inside if you wanna go see her."

"Nah, I uh-" Daryl mumbled. "Jus thought she might wanna know he's good." Daryl shrugged looking at Tank who was still sniffing around the property.

Glenn gave a small smile and nodded to the house. "First door on the left."

"Watch the dog." Daryl grunted, brushing past Glenn and ignoring the funny look he was giving him. Following Glenns directions, Daryl opened the first door on the left and sure enough he found both Lauren and Carl. Carl was in a large bed hooked up to an IV bag and looking unusually pale. Lauren was on a chair beside him, slumped forward against the bed and using her folded arms as a pillow.

Daryl stopped in the doorway, taking in the scene. Back at their first camp, Lauren refused to sleep when Merle was on watch so that just left Daryl's watch time for her to get some rest. Needless to say, he had seen her asleep quite a few times. But something about this seemed different. Back at camp, she was always on edge, even in her sleep. With furrowed brows and a clenched jaw, she would often wake from nightmares. But the woman in front of him now had none of that. She looked almost... peaceful.

Lauren began to stir and Daryl shifted nervously. He cleared his throat and "Daryl?" Lauren looked up, rubbing her eyes. "Hey."

Daryl grunted. "Dogs outside." He nodded towards the door before turning and walking out himself.

---

A makeshift funeral was held for a man they called Otis, who had shot Carl. Apparently he and Shane had gone to the old highschool a few miles out to get the supplies they needed to save Carl's life. Otis didn't make it out.

Hershel, the older man and owner of the farm, recited a bit of scripture before asking Shane to speak for Otis.

Shane shook his head. "I aint good at it. Sorry."