2,000 reads and 100 likes. I can't believe it! To celebrate I'm putting out another update. Thank you so much, you guys are the absolute best! I am so amazed so many people have been enjoying Jo's story. Please continue to like/comment! I love hearing from you guys and it keeps the chapters rolling : )

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Daryl

Once Bob had finished with Glenn he stood up and met my gaze across the cell. He flinched and averted his eyes but he followed me into Jo's cell. He sucked in a breath at the sight off her.

"It's Walker blood," I said in a quiet voice. "Not hers." Blood coated her hands and went halfway up her forearms. It was also splattered across her face and chest.

Bob only nodded but he wouldn't look at me. He knelt next to her bed and set up the IV quickly. He shook out a handful of pills onto his palm. He looked down at Jo thoughtfully then glanced at me. He looked like he wanted to ask me something but my scowl made him flinch.

"What?" I snapped impatiently.

"H-how much you think she weighs?" he asked quietly. "One-forty?"

I looked down at Jo and shook my head. "One twenty-five maybe." I replied. She was still too damn skinny. Damn stubborn woman never ate enough. 

Bob nodded and put a few pills back into the bottle before he crushed up the rest and dumped the powder into the IV bag. He shook it up until the powder had dissolved. Then he slid the needle into her arm and hung the IV bag.

When he was done he looked over at me. He met my gaze for a second, then his eyes darted away and he shifted his weight uncomfortably. "She should be fine, once the meds get in her it will bring her fever down. I will be back in the morning to give her another round." Then he all but ran out of her cell away from me.

I turned back to Jo and for the first time felt the pressure lift off my chest. I found a damp rag sitting in a small bowl of water near the sink. I dipped the rag in the bowl and rung it out. I moved slowly so I wouldn't wake her. I gently cleaned the blood first from her hands and wrists. She had nearly gotten herself killed trying to save everyone else.

I hesitated at the bloody spray that covered her neck and chest. She was wearing her usual low cut black tank top. I wiped at the blood on her neck, and taking a deep breath to steady myself I  wiped the blood from her chest. I tried not to think of her warm skin beneath my hands. She was sick, and I was taking care of her. Not to mention she was still mad at me.

My mind flickered back to that morning down in the tombs before I screwed everything up. She had been so happy and alive in my arms. I tossed the rag back in to bowl and wiped a hand across my eyes. I needed to fix this. I sank down to the ground across from her bed and watched the IV drip all night.

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Daryl

Tyreese came and found me at dawn. He told me Rick asked us to fix the fence the walkers took down the night before. It surprised me Rick would pass off the work like that, but I didn't argue. I was too tired.  I climbed to my feet, my body protesting sitting on the floor all night and followed Tyreese outside. 

It was late morning when Hershel was crossing the yard as Tyreese and I pulled the truck back into the yard after fixing the fence. The night before the Walkers had broken through a small section near tower two and Rick and Carl had been forced to take out the whole herd. We repaired the spot and shored it up. Hopefully it would hold. I was exhausted, I hadn't slept the whole night.

"How's Glenn doing?" Tyreese asked hopping out of the truck.

Hershel nodded. "He made it through the night. He's breathing on his own now. Maggie and Bob are with him. He seems stable enough for me to get some air."

Tyreese nodded and headed back towards the cell block I was assuming to check on Sasha.

I squinted from the sun looking at Hershel. "He's a tough son of a bitch."

Hershel nodded smiling affectionately. "He is."

I pointed at him smiling. "You're a tough son of a bitch." No one would have survived without Hershel risking his own life for them.

"I am," Hershel agreed chuckling.

"How's Jo?" I couldn't help but ask. Hershel gave me a knowing smile and I knew I wasn't fooling him trying to seem casual.

"She woke this morning, already asking when she could go back to her tower so she can get some real sleep. Bethy was gonna look in on her for me."

I smirked and nodded. It sounded like Jo. "How about Carol?" I asked. I hadn't seen Carol since I had been back. "She up in A block with Lizzie?"

"No. Talk to Rick about her." When he saw the look on my face he continued. "She's okay, just talk to him." And Hershel limped away to where Michonne was filling a trailer with the dead.

I turned back towards where Rick was out in the field. I wanted to check on Jo but it worried me that I hadn't seen Carol. Chances were good Jo was sleeping again. It was all she had been doing since I came back. I still hadn't had a chance to apologize and I wasn't sure I was ready for that fight just yet.

Feeling a little like a coward I walked down towards the fields. "Rick!" I called. "Where's Carol?"

He looked uncomfortable. He shifted his weight and cleared his throat. "Can we talk in private?"

I didn't like where this was headed. He led me into C block. He glanced into all the cells before leading me up to the cat walk outside my cell. When he was satisfied there was no one else in here but us he turned back to me.

He took a deep breath and began to explain.

I listened, calmly at first, but as his story progressed I felt my temper rising.

"Man, you couldn't have waited til we got back!" I roared, cutting him off mid sentence.

"Until Tyreese got back?" Rick asked, arching his brows like we couldn't take care of Tyreese.

I shook my head and started pacing. "Man I could have handled that," I muttered shaking my head angrily. I could handle Tyreese, it was a weak excuse.

"Hey, hey," Rick said, trying to catch my attention. "She killed two of our own. She couldn't be here," he hissed.

I didn't say anything, just stared him down as I tried to get a grip on my temper.

"She's gonna be all right," he continued in a soothing voice. "She has a car, supplies, weapons. She's a survivor."

I snapped. "Man stop saying that like you don't believe it!" I yelled, swinging my arm around.

Rick stepped back, as though he were worried I was gonna hit him. I turned away from him in disgust. Disgust with him, and with myself. Here I had all but accused Jo of doing the very thing and it was Carol the whole time. Carol had been adamant in her defense of Jo. How had I not seen it?

"She did it. She said it was for us. That's how it was in her head. She wasn't sorry," Rick continued to explain matter a fact.

I shook my head a whirled on him. "Man, that's her, but that ain't her."

I turned away as I listened to how my words sounded. I knew, knew Carol was struggling. I had seen the changes, but she seemed to be doing better now that we had some stability and a routine. She cooked and she read to the kids. She was fine, she just...I didn't honestly know what. I had no idea what could have been going on in her mind. I felt betrayed and like maybe I didn't know her at all. Maybe I never had.

I let out a deep sigh and the anger leeched out of me. We had to do what was best for the group. "What are we supposed to do about those two girls?" I asked pacing away from him again. Carol really cared about Mica and Lizzie.

"I told her we'd look after them."

I pinched my lips together and shook my head. Two little girls all alone...I had tried looking out for another little girl for Carol a long time ago and I had failed them both. I leaned my arms against the railing and pressed my forehead against my hands as emotions rolled through me. I felt like I had failed them all. Carol, Sophia, Jo...all I did was fail. 

Rick cleared his throat uncomfortably. "I haven't told Tyreese yet," he continued. "I don't know how he's gonna take it."

I stood up, taking a deep breath. There was shit that needed to get done, and sitting around whining about it and feeling sorry for myself wasn't going to help anyone.

"Let's go find out," I said resolutely. Rick watched me carefully as I walked around him. I was halfway down the stairs before I heard him follow. 

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Jo

I woke later that morning to find Beth in my cell instead of Hershel. "Beth?" My voice croaked.

She turned to face me and flashed me a happy smile. "I'm so glad you're awake!" she said coming over to the bed and  taking my hand in hers. "Daddy said you were up earlier but it was only for a short time."

I nodded and sat up. My head was pounding but I was feeling better. I frowned up at Beth. "You shouldn't be in here."

Beth waved me off. "Bob said since everyone is on antibiotics it's okay. He lifted the quarantine."

I perked up at that. "Really?" I asked.

Beth nodded.

"So I really could go back to my tower?"

Beth snorted. "Yes Rapunzel," she giggled. "Have to find a handsome prince to drag you out of there." She said with a gleam in her eye.

I slowly stood, testing my legs. I was weak still but I felt better. I arched a brow at her but didn't say anything so I wouldn't have to get into it with her. I understood her not so subtle hint about Daryl. It seemed everyone was aware of my feelings for him now. I used to be so much better at hiding my emotions. I couldn't stop thinking of the last fight we had. I couldn't be with someone who thought I could do something like that, not even if he was interested.

I reached out and gathered the two knives of mine that I could see beside my bed. I was still wearing my shoulder rig and I tucked them into their places. I turned back to face Beth but she was frowning at me.

"What are you doing?" she asked, all teasing gone. I looked down at the chair beside the door and smiled when I saw Daryl's hunting knife, my kukri and my handgun. I scooped them up put them back on, at last feeling like myself again. I was still missing one knife, but it was one of my smaller ones.

I rolled my eyes. "Going back to my tower so I can sleep. I'm exhausted and I want to get out of this horrible place as quickly as possible."

"Sasha asked me to drop those off for you," she said motioning to the weapons in my hands. I nodded and tried not to look annoyed that Sasha had taken it upon herself to disarm me. Had I had them the night before things wouldn't have gotten so far out of hand. I did up the last buckle on the spine sheath and breathed a sigh of relief.

Beth looked up at me from beneath her eyelashes. "Daddy said you saved everyone's lives."

I snorted and shook my head, which made my head ache even worse. But I didn't want Beth to see I was still feeling off.

"Beth?" Maggie's voice called from out on the cat walk.

Beth looked back at me, indecision clear on her face. For some reason I was pretty sure I wasn't fooling her.

"Go ahead," I motioned for the door, then scooped up my leather jacket. "I'm going to my own bed."

Beth smiled and nodded. "Okay," she agreed. "But I'm gonna come check on you up there. And daddy will want to as well. I'll let him know where to find you."

I nodded and smiled as the teenager headed out to see what her sister wanted.

When she was gone I let the smile fall from my face. She reminded me so much of Kate sometimes it hurt. I did one last spin, looking through the cell to make sure I had all my stuff. I didn't want to come back to this place. I would be visiting this cell every night in my nightmares I was certain. I had no intention of coming back here if I could help it. I heard Beth and Maggie talking and giggling as they left the cell block.

I walked out onto the cat walk. I had to steady myself on the railing but I really was feeling better than last night. Bob suddenly appeared, coming out of Glenn's cell.

"What you doing?" he asked, frowning at me.

"I'm going back to my own bed," I snapped. I wasn't sure why but there was something about Bob's high handed treatment that set my teeth on edge.

Bob shook his head and moved towards me to usher me back into my cell. "You need another dose of meds," he said. "And I ain't climbing my ass into that tower to treat you." He pointed to the bed in my cell.

I frowned at him, setting my jaw.

He arched his brows at me, as though that would convince me.

I frowned deeper and he just shook his head. "Only a couple more hours," he conceded when I refused to be moved.

I nodded triumphantly. He already held a large syringe and he pulled out a smaller one. He had me sit on the bed so he could give me the shots.

"So you got everything you needed?" I asked in a careful voice. I was trying not to pry but I was dying for details about the run.

He nodded, capping the first needle and pulling out the second one.

"And everything went alright?" I asked. Despite our fight it did worry me a little that I hadn't seen Daryl since waking up.

Bob frowned at me, the second needle poised over my arm. "Yeah," he replied suspiciously. "Everything went fine."

I nodded grimly, hardly reacting when he slid the second needle into my arm. Maybe Daryl was still upset with me as well. Which made no sense, if anyone had a right to be upset it was me.

Bob pulled back, capping the second needle.

I frowned as I felt a wave of drowsiness. I looked over at him and scowled.

"What did you do?" I asked accusingly, my voice not coming out as sharp as I would have liked. I blinked slowly as my brain struggled to function.

"You need to get your rest," he said in a quiet but firm voice. "Not go traipsing around the prison."

I narrowed my eyes at him and dropped my gaze to the second needle in his hand.

"It's-" I started to say, sagging back against the bed. I was just too tired to stay sitting up.

"A sedative," Bob confirmed nodding grimly. He took my jacket and laid it over me. He scooped up his stuff and headed towards the door.

"You son of a bitch," I muttered, but I was so tired. I lay back against the pillow knowing there was no point in fighting it. Whatever he gave me was strong.

Bob shook his head and walked out the door, muttering something about deserving each other as he disappeared down the cell block.

I finally gave up the fight and let sleep take me. It wouldn't kill me to spend a few more hours in the cell block  

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Or will it? Hahaha Things are getting intense. It took me a while to write this part as I couldn't decide where Jo should be during all of the events that follow. 

I hope you are enjoying the story. Please comment/ vote. And as always thank you so much for the continued support!