Connie closed her eyes and allowed the water to fall over her.

Her strands of dark hair clung to her newly cleaned skin as she slowly moved in a circular motion underneath the shower head.

For the first five minutes of her shower, the water had run off her body in a murky brown colour. Apparently the lake in the quarry wasn't as clean as she'd thought it was.

After letting out a small sigh, Connie shut the water — the hot water — off and grabbed a fluffy blue towel from the rack she'd hung it on. She dried herself off then slid on the old black jeans and tank-top she'd previously been wearing. Connie wrapped her hair up in her towel, then nodded to Shane as he wandered in with a bottle of whiskey in his hand.

Connie wandered down the hall to the room she'd left Holly in, rolling her shoulders as she went. As she walked into the room, she covered her mouth to keep herself from letting out a yelp.

Glenn had previously helped her get a cot out of storage for Holly, and when Connie had left, she was fast asleep curled into a blanket, Peanut, and her thin sweater.

But now, it had changed.

Holly was still fast asleep, but she was curled up on top of Daryl — who had an arm behind his head while the other hand was gently laid on her back — the two of them sleeping quite peacefully. The top of her head was tucked carefully under his chin, strands of her frizzy hair getting caught in his stubble. Holly had one hand holding onto Peanut, while the other was clinging quite tightly to the collar of Daryl's shirt.

It was quite cute.

She stared at them for a moment, smiling softly to herself before she grabbed a thin blanket and draped it over them. Then she pulled the towel from her hair and dried the ends of it before dropping it next to the door. Just as she was about to lay down on the couch, she heard someone clear their throat.

"She woke up just after you went in," Daryl murmured, his eyes squinting as they adjusted to the somewhat dim lighting. "Came out and said she was cold — don't know how she could be — but I figured I'd give you a break and come in to help her. I'll leave if you want."

"No, no, Daryl it's fine," Connie murmured, sinking into the old, worn out couch cushions. "I think she'd kill me if I made you leave." She stared at them for another short moment and smiled. "Just come and wake me up if you need anything."

Daryl studied her carefully for a moment before he nodded and shifted slightly on the bed to make himself more comfortable. "Will do," he muttered.

Connie smiled faintly again and laid down, making herself comfortable on the worn out cushions. Moments after her head hit her makeshift pillow — a wadded up dry towel she'd found in the closet at the other end of the room — she was out like a light.

🧠🏹🦠

The next morning, Connie woke up and immediately bolted for the bathroom.

She'd barely gotten in front of the toilet before all the wine she'd drank the previous night — at least three full bottles — was coming right back up. She braced herself against the floor as her stomach lurched. She felt a pair of hands hesitantly pull her hair away from her face, and she silently thanked whoever it was.

When she had finally stopped wrenching, Connie slouched against the cupboard door of the bathroom sink, attempting to catch her breath. She glanced up, and tried to hide the surprise she felt when she saw Daryl Dixon standing there, looking incredibly uncomfortable. He was looking down at his mud covered boots while silently holding a hand out to her.

After hesitating for a brief moment, Connie took it and allowed him to help her up. She was a little unsteady at first, but she was quickly able to find her groundings. Connie offered him a weak smile as she wiped her chin, then ran a hand through her hair. "Thanks," she managed to rasp, letting out a breath.

"Sure," Daryl mumbled. He slowly stepped back towards the door. "I'll make sure Holly ends up with the other kids."

Connie just nodded, rubbing her temples in hopes of loosing her growing migraine. It had been a long time since she'd drank that much, since before she'd had Holly, and had clearly lost her tolerance for it. That and the amount of food she'd eaten that night wasn't what her body was used to, so it was all a confused mess.

After taking a few minutes to allow the queasy feeling in her stomach pass, she stood up and washed her face with cold water in the sink. Then she threw her hair up in a ponytail with the elastic she always kept around her wrist, and sighed.

If she were being honest, she looked sick. Her skin was pale, cheeks hollow and her steel blue eyes sunken with dark bags below them. Her lips were incredibly chapped, but she was just happy she'd been able to wash most of the blood off her skin.

Then she made her way down to the kitchen where they'd eaten the previous night.

Connie rolled her shoulders and let out a small sigh as she walking into the room, almost bursting into laughter at the sight of Glenn doubled over the table.

"Are you hung over like Dad is?" Carl asked curiously from where he sat between his parents. "Cause you look like he does."

"Momma doesn't get hung over," Holly shook her head proudly, giggling wildly as she stole a slice of bacon from Carl's plate. "She had lots of practice in high school. Told me so herself."

Connie let out a small sigh and shot Rick and Lori a sheepish smile as she ran a hand through her tangled hair. "I was a cheerleader back in high school, one of the popular kids, I guess you could say," she explained quietly. "Stopped drinking the moment I found out I was pregnant, but I was considered the life of the party in my day."

"Quit saying my day like you're fifty years old, Connie," Glenn groaned, still rubbing his temples. "You're barely thirty."

"You're not even thirty?" Lori gaped, her brows raising.

"No, I'm well over thirty," Connie grimaced, stretching out her sore arms and back as she spoke. "I turn thirty three in a few months."

"I wouldn't have put you over twenty five," Rick smiled softly.

Connie rolled her eyes and waved him off, though she couldn't help but smile at the compliment. "He's a keeper, Lori," she chuckled quietly, earning many smiles back.

"Hey," Shane nodded as he wandered into the room.

"Hey," Rick nodded. "You feel as bad as the rest of us?"

"Worse," Shane grumbled.

Connie silently raised a brow, though she didn't comment.

"The hell happened to you?" T-Dog frowned as Shane grabbed himself a plate of scrambled eggs and sat down at the small, round table. "Your neck?"

"Must've done it in my sleep," Shane shrugged lightly.

"Never seen you do that before," Rick chimed in.

"Me neither," Shane grunted, his eyes set on Lori. "Not like me at all."

"Momma," Holly whispered quietly, stabbing at her eggs.

"Yeah baby?"

"I don't like them. The eggs, they taste funny."

Connie chuckled quietly to herself as she waited for T-Dog to turn around before scooping them onto her own plate. "Don't tell T," she whispered dramatically.

Holly burst into a fit of giggles when T-Dog turned around, clearly hearing the nickname he'd been given. "Evrything alright?"

"Totally fine," Connie answered, struggling to keep a straight face when Holly was laughing so happily. "Nothing to worry about T, I promise."

"Mornin'."

"Hey Doc," Shane nodded gruffly as Doctor Jenner walked in, barefoot and clearly still tired.

"Hi Doctor Jenner," Holly smiled sweetly.

Jenner pauses mid step and looked at her, a soft smile pulling at the corners of his lips. "Hey, kiddo. How did you sleep?"

"Daryl was there, so I slept really really really good," Holly grinned, her fork still moving eggs back and forth across the white plates.

"Well I'm glad," Jenner grinned.

"Eat your eggs, baby," Connie murmured, her lips pursing as she rubbed Holly's back.

"Doctor," Dale spike up hesitantly. "I don't mean to spam you with questions first thing in the morning—"

"But you will anyway," Jenner sighed.

"We didn't come here for the eggs," Andrea frowned.

"No we didn't," Holly grumbled. Carl snorted quietly to himself from across the table, and Connie rolled her eyes, pretending to scratch her mouth to hide her own smile.

After sighing quietly at Andrea's comment, Jenner cleared his throat. "Alright, then. Come with me, all of you." He lead them into the main lab, where they had all been the night before, and pressed a button on the keyboard of his computer. "Give am a playback of TS-19."

"Playback of TS-19," VI repeated.

Connie tucked her left hand into her back pocket, the other set firmly on Holly's shoulder. She stared up at the video being brought up on the large screen on the opposite wall, her lips pursed.

"Very few people ever got to see this," Jenner commented, his voice sad. "Very few."

"Is that a brain?" Carl asked excitedly, staring at the transparent image of a human being's head on the screen, organs and bones visible.

"An extraordinary one," Jenner nodded quietly. "Not that it matters in the end." He cleared his throat. "Take us in for E.I.V."

"Enhanced Internal View," VI repeated robotically.

"You feelin' any better?"

Connie turned around and offered Daryl a small smile as he stood between them. "Yeah, just a bit of a headache but other than that I'm good," she murmured. He nodded, and they focused on the screen.

The image on the screen turned, making it seem as though the figure was lying down, it's brain still the main focus of the video. The image zoomed in on the figure's brain close enough to see tiny little lights flashing across the screen.

"What are those lights," Shane frowned.

"A persons life," Jenner answered with a small grin. "Experiences, memories; it's everything. Somewhere, in all that organic wiring, al those ripples of light, is you. The thing that makes you unique, and human."

"They look like little fairy lights, momma," Holly mumbled, tugging on her mother's pant leg excitedly.

Connie smiled down at her, and gently moved strands of sweaty hair away from her face. "Yeah, baby, they're just like fairy lights."

"Do I have them?" Holly asked excitedly, her tone still quiet.

"Yeah," Connie whispered. "You do. We all do."

"You don't make sense ever?" Daryl spoke up from behind them, and Connie smiled faintly.

"Those are synapses," Jenner explained patiently. "Those are electric impulses in the brain that carry all the messages. They determine everything a person says, does, or thinks. From the moment of birth to the moment of death."

"Death?" Rick frowned, stepping forwards. "That's what this is? A vigil?"

"Yes," Jenner nodded bluntly. "Or rather the playback of a vigil."

"This person died," Andrea stated, her voice weak. "Who were they?"

Connie inhaled sharply and closed her eyes, trying to force the image of Dustin being eaten alive out of her mind. Even though it had nearly been a month since the dead started walking, she could still picture his death clear as day in her mind. Her fingertips absentmindedly reached for her engagement ring that was still faithfully tied to her beltloop, and she let out a tired sigh.

"Test Subject 19," Jenner answered Andrea's question, his voice soft. "Someone who was bitten...and...infected...and volunteered to have us record the process." He cleared his throat. "VI, scan forward to the first event," he ordered.

"Scanning to first event."

Connie watched the screen, still holding onto her ring as a strange sparkle of something invaded the figure's brain.

"What was that," Glenn cringed, his brows pulled together in both confusion and disgust.

"It invades the brain line meningitis," Jenner explained hoarsely. "The, um, the adrenal glands hemmorage, the brain goes into shutdown, then the major organs." All the lights that had previously been flittering around the brain up on the screen suddenly disappeared, and it went dark, and Jenner looked down at his feet. "Then death...everything you ever were...ever will be...gone."

Connie covered her mouth with her left hand, fighting back tears, while the other came up to gently rest on top of Holly's curly hair. The very same hair Dustin had had back when they were in high school, before cutting it off when he claimed it was a pain while he was running track.

She closed her eyes and inhaled shakily. She couldn't mourn. This wasn't the time.

"Is that what happened to Jim?" Sophia asked her mother quietly.

"Yes," Carol murmured, tightening her grip on Sophia's shoulders.

Holly tilted her head up, causing Connie's hand to fall down to her shoulder. "Momma?" She murmured. "Did that happen to Daddy? Is that why we couldn't bring him with us?"

As Connie closed her eyes, she felt a hand gently settle on her shoulder. She glanced back at Daryl, who simply offered her a small shrug, but didn't move his hand.

"No, baby, that didn't happen to Daddy," Connie murmured, trying desperately to remove the image of Dustins entrails being dragged down the driveway and away from his bodies by those monsters while he laid in a pool of his own blood, screaming as another bit into the side of his neck. "Daddy died peacefully," she managed to say with only a small waver. "That didn't happen."

"Okay," Holly whispered. She wrapped her arms around her mothers middle as Jenner clear his throat to regain everyone's attention.

"Scan to the second event," he ordered. The computer did as it was told, and Jenner quickly continued on with his explaination. "The resurrection times vary wildly. We had reports of it happening in as little as three minutes. The longest we heard of was eight hours. In the case of this patient, it was two hours, one minute, and seven seconds." His voice grew more and more sullen with each word her said.

Connie blinked tears out of her eyes and smoothed Hollys hair away from her face as she tilted her head back up to look at the screen. In the image of the brain, a small flicker of dull light appeared right at the base. "That's the brain stem, correct?" She spoke up quietly.

Jenner spun on his heel to look at her, somewhat surprised. "Yeah," he nodded slowly. "That's the brainstem."

"So it basically just restarts the brainstem, then," Connie frowned.

Jenner nodded again. "It basically just gets them up and moving," he confirmed.

"But they're not alive?" Rick clarified, a frown pulling at his lips.

"You tell me," Jenner shrugged.

"It's nothing like before," Rick murmured. "Most of that brain is dark."

"Dark, lifeless, dead," Jenner confirmed. "The frontal lobe, the neocortex, the human part; that doesn't come back. The you part. Just a shell, driven by mindless instinct."

Connie couldn't help but nod. She knelt down and lifted Holly into her arms, feeling her nervously tugging on her engagement ring. "We're okay, hunny," she promised quietly. "You know that I will do everything I possibly can to keep you safe. And everything is okay here." She kissed the top of her head, and Holly buried her face into Connies shoulder.

She hummed the first song that came to her head, which happened to be Hey Jude by The Beatles, to tune out the rest of the conversation and gently swayed back and forth.

Connie turned around just in time to see a bright blue light cut through the image of the victims brain, and everything in the image went dark again.

"God," Carol cringed. "What was that?"

"He shot his patient in the head," Andrea whispered.

Connie closed her eyes and hummed a bit louder, drowning out whatever chatter they could come up with that would scare her eight year old daughter even more.

"Man, I'm going to get shitfaced drunk; again," Daryl groaned, holding his face in his hands while doubling over.

Closing her eyes, Connie kissed the top of Hollys head before moving her over to her left hip. Holly kept her head on her shoulder and had one arm reached behind her, holding onto Daryls flannel shirt.

"Doctor Jenner," Dale spoke up. "I know this has been taxing for you, and I hate to ask one more question, but, that clock." He pointed to a large rectangular digital clock that read 1:00:02 in red bolded numbers. "It's counting down," Dale continued. "What happens at zero?"

"The, uh, the basement generators, they run out of fuel," Jenner stammered. He refused to look anyone in the eye.

"And then?" Rick questioned. When Jenner walked away, he grumbled. "VI," he bellowed. "What happens when the power runs out?"

"When the power runs out, facility-wide decontamination will occur," Vi answered bluntly in her regular robotic voice.

Connie felt goosebumps rise on her arms and the back of her neck at the word decontamination, and held onto Holly even tighter.