—  ZOE WAS IN A LOT OF pain, that was something she knew for sure - the voices around her, though, she couldn't understand. She felt the pain as they entered her stomach and parts of her chest to pull the bullet shards out, and she had never felt a pain like that in her whole life. But she knew one thing; she took the place of her little brother - and that, she would do over and over again, to ensure that he was safe. She would always put him first, no matter what would happen to her. If she hadn't had been in front of Carl, that gun shot would have gone through him, and there was no way she would have been able to get through that. Her brother meant everything to her.
When she finally woke up, she was in a complete daze, not knowing where she was, or what was happening. And, when she finally opened her eyes, she saw her father perched over the bed she was currently laid in, with her mom in the corner of the room, both deep in thought. When Zoe groaned out in pain, after trying to move out of the bed and sit up, it alerted both of her parents, as Rick looked up at her with his red and puffy eyes, while Lori rushed over immediately to the other side of the bed and grabbed her hand to stop her from moving any more.

"Try not to move, sweetie." Lori reassured her, gently pushing her back down into the bed with her hands. Hershel had advised them not to let Zoe out of bed, in case her stitches were to rip open; so she was currently bed ridden, unable to even leave the room - one of her worst nightmares..

"What happened?" Zoe questioned her mom, moving her eyes around the room, not recognising where they all currently at in. "Where are we?" She asked.

"You were shot." Rick told her, as Lori glared at him for telling her. She didn't want to stress her daughter out, especially since she had just woken up from a surgery of taking all of the shattered bullet shells out of her stomach. The less she knew, the better, in her opinion. She didn't want Zoe to stress out more than she already was, as stress was not what she needed upon waking up for the first time since arriving at the farm.

"W-What?" She gasped, trying to sit up again, ignoring her mother's please to stay down.

Rick was quick to hold her back down, "You shouldn't be moving too much, you could rip your stitches." He informed her, before tucking some of her hair behind her ear and out of her face, smiling slightly at the fact she was awake. He was so happy that she was awake; as none of them knew if she would make it through; it was a pretty serious injury she had. "A nice man named Hershel fixed you up. This is his farm we're on." He told her.

The only thing that Zoe could think of right now, was if Carl was alright. "Is Carl okay?" She instantly asked.

Ricks face softened at those words, as did Lori's - they both loved how much their daughter cared for her little brother. "He's fine... In fact, he's doing great." Lori answered, a bright smile present on her face, "Do you want me to go and get him?" She asked.

Zoe instantly nodded, wanting nothing but to see him at the moment. Lori smiled again, nodding, before she pressed a gentle kiss to Zoe's forehead, before rushing off to get her only son from the other room, where he was. After Lori left, Zoe looked towards her father again, "You said we're on a farm?" She asked, causing Rick to nod at her question. "Hershel's farm?" She asked.

Rick nodded again, "Hershel and his family... The Greene's, they live here. They're all very nice and welcoming." He told Zoe.

Zoe slowly nodded, taking the information in, "How long have I been out?" She eventually asked. She felt as if she hadn't moved in months, she felt so stiff.

"Only a few days. No one was expecting you to wake up this early." Rick answered.

Zoe sunk back into the bed with a sour look on her face; how was she even alive if no one expected her to wake up? Especially if she had been under for a few days. She felt as if her chest had been ripped open and sown it back together again. Hell, that probably is what happened, she doesn't even know.
In the next few minutes of talking quietly amongst themselves, Lori had re-entered with Carl, who immediately sprung at the sight of his sister, taking her into a hug, causing her to grunt slightly at the grip he had on her. "Careful, baby, she's only just woken up." Lori spoke, stroking Carl's head softly. She knew that he was excited to see her, but he had to be gentle in case he hurt her, which n body wanted.

"Sorry." He mumbled, his voice muffled as he was still hugging Zoe, just a lot looser this time to ensure he didn't hurt her.

"It's alright, buddy." Zoe said, slightly horse from the pain, but she could take it if it meant that she could spend time with Carl. "How have you been?" She asked. She gave her mom a nod when she looked over at her daughter, indicating that she was okay with Carl hugging her. She didn't want to upset him by pushing him off, so she simply pushed through the pain.

"It's been so boring without you, Zo." Carl complained, as he finally took a seat next to his older sister to let her breathe. "Now you're awake, I can give you a tour of the farm and..." he continued.

"I think Zoe needs to rest right now, hun." Lori interrupted - it would be a while until Zoe can walk without assistance, or walk at all, she's going to need all of the help she can to help her get back on her feet. But it's too risky to have any vulnerabilities in the world that they currently live in. Lori had spoken to Rick, while Zoe was asleep, if keeping her children alive in this world was even worth it. Would she rather have them healthy, but living a life of pain and torment?

Zoe knew that when she woke up, she wanted to live, she was going to keep fighting, no matter what happened to her - for her family. Luckily, she hadn't heard what Lori was talking about to Rick - she wouldn't have been happy if she did; even if the world had gone to shit, they should still want to live and make a life for themselves. She knew that now. "I can't wait for you to give me a tour, Carl." Zoe told her brother, "You just gotta let me get back on my feet first." Being softer with her brother, knowing that he was sensitive.

Carl nodded in understanding. Although, he wanted nothing more but for Zoe to get better so he could hang out with her once again. He had been quite bored on the farm without her, with no one to talk to. "Okay." He said, excitedly. Zoe smiled at Carl and the rest of her family, feeling like the luckiest person in the world.

____

Nate hung up another walker ear to add to his and Daryl's collection, it was now looking more filled up, and made their camp look more badass, he loved it, but knew if anyone else saw it, they would think the complete opposite. It's what made him and Daryl so different to the group - they wanted the brothers to change their ways.. It's why he liked Zoe so much, she never wanted him to change, she likes him just the way he was. Nate and Daryl had been spending everyday  at the farm, looking for Sophia in the woods - they weren't quitting, even after the troubles that they have been through during the time of the search. Nate had been using it as a tactic to become more busy, since Zoe still hadn't woken up, he hadn't been able to talk to anyone besides Daryl; just like how it had been back near Atlanta. It made him glad that Zoe had made him come out of his shell, he was feeling much better since they had started talking.

Everyone in the camp had noticed Nate's shift in behaviour since Zoe had been shot, but no one commented on it, afraid of what the man might say or do, as he was unpredictable. When he first found out about Zoe's situation, he practically turned a walkers head into a smoothie, like a pile of mush - nobody wanted to imagine what it would be like if Zoe actually did die.
The group had kept their distance away from Nate, as well as Daryl, as the Dixon brothers both seemed to be unapproachable since they arrived at the Greene farm. Daryl - because he was putting all of his energy into looking for Sophia, and Nate - because Zoe had been shot and she had been asleep since they first arrived at the farm.
It sucked.

As Nate hung the last ear up on the string, he heard someone approaching him, causing him to turn around and glare at whoever dared to approach him at this time. When he saw that it was Glenn, his face softened, only slightly, as he didn't have much of a problem with the Korean boy. "Uh, hi." Glenn greeted, scratching the back of his head slightly. Even if his best friend liked this guy, he was still a little scared of him, he couldn't help it - the guy was literally hanging up walker ears as a decoration..

"What do you want?" Nate asked, not bothering to start conversation as he honestly didn't care.

Glenn shifted on his feet, not liking to admit that he was slightly scared of the Dixon boy. "Umm, I thought you might want to know... That, uhh..." He stuttered.

"Spit it out, pizza boy." Nate huffed, getting fed up of the time it was taking the boy to say what he wanted to say.

"Zoe's awake." He spat out, causing Nate's eyes to widen in surprise. This was the last thing he expected to hear today.

"She is?" Nate asked, unsure if he heard it right.

Glenn nodded, "Well, technically she's gone back to sleep, but she woke up this morning, she's doing well. Hershel says she'll probably make a full recovery." He spoke, in a good mood that his friend had finally woken up. He had missed talking to her and joking about the world around them - it made him grateful that he had someone like Zoe in his life. She was a great girl.

Nate nodded, taking in the information, "Thanks." He said, surprising Glenn, as he didn't often thank people. Especially him.

"It's no problem." He told Nate, before taking off back to the camp.

Nate watched, before turning back to his and his brothers ear collection. He had a slight smile on his face at the information he had just received, when his older brother interrupted him, causing him to instantly drop his smile and replace it with a scowl once again, hiding his feelings. "Alright, let's go." Daryl announced, walking up to Nate with his crossbow in toe.

Nate furrowed his brows in confusion, turning around to face Daryl. "Go where?" He asked.

"Back out into the woods, we gotta keep searching or we're gonna loose the trail of the girl." Daryl spoke, as he started to walk towards the woods, expecting Nate to follow. He didn't want to stop looking for the girl - he knew that he could find her, whereas a lot of other people in the group had different reactions to the situation, annoyingly, including his own brother.

Nate sighed in response, he didn't think that the girl was out there anymore, there was just no way - it had been too long. "Daryl, I don't think we're gonna..." Nate began, only to get interrupted by Daryl.

"Don't you start saying that, Nathan." Daryl spat, using his full name, which made Nate cringe; only their father called him that. Daryl then pieced together the facts, figuring out why Nate didn't want to go with him. "I get it." He eventually spoke. He had heard the news that Zoe had woken up today, and he had no doubt that his brother was going to want to visit her.

"Get what?" Nate asked.

"Now your little girlfriend is awake, you're not bothered about the kid." Daryl spoke, causing Nate to growl slightly at his words.

"She's not my girlfriend." He spat back.

"Sure, man. You keep telling yourself that." Daryl snapped back, before he turned to walk away from his younger brother. "You best make a move on her soon, before it's too late." He told him, still walking away.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Nate shouted, as he watched Daryl walk away from him. He instantly threw his bow on the floor, fed up of everyone assuming things. They were just friends...

Or where they?