𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐈𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍
𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄 𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐀𝐂𝐊
︶꒦꒷★꒷꒦︶

Claire winced as the car came to a stop, the blonde gripping her brothers hand tightly as the pain from her leg grew, spreading around her thigh and down to her knee. Rick jumped from the car, telling Maggie to drive the car up to the prison while he got out to talk to Carl. "You should go, Eli. Say hi to Carl." Claire muttered as Maggie climbed over the center console into the drivers seat. "Are you sure? Claire, I can stay with you-"

"Go." Claire smiled weakly at her brother, who nodded meekly and slid the van door open. Claire clamped her eyes closed at the shooting pain, listening as she heard Carls surprised gasp before Eli closed the van door behind him. She peeked an eye open to watch as the two boys embraced each other before Maggie took off towards the prison.

"Fuck." Claire gasped in pain, finally releasing the true extent of the agony she was in. "God," Claire muttered, slamming her head back into the seat as Roman reached over to grasp her wrist. "We're almost there."

When they finally parked the car, Roman was quick to jump from the van and rush to the other side, scooping Claire into his arms to carry her inside while Maggie helped Glenn out. Claire gripped Romans shoulder tightly as he sped inside, "Hershel!" Roman called for the man, who emerged from a cell block. "She was shot in the leg."

Claire felt her eyelids growing heavy once more now that she was in the comfortable confines of their new home. Glenn and Maggie were close behind, Beth embracing her sister tenderly. Claire closed her eyes tightly to wash away the fatigue, but felt it difficult to reopen them as sleep fell over her.

★

When Claire awoke, her vision locked on the bunk above her. The first thing she noticed was the subdued pain in her leg, as well as the pressure around her thigh. Blinking the sleep away from her eyes, she dropped her head to the right, where Marcus sat in a chair, book in his lap. "Hey." She croaked out through a dry throat, breaking the silence of the cell. She watched as the boys head shot up, a small smile taking over as he stood and placed the book on the metal chair. "Hey," He muttered, walking over to the cell door and nodding his head at someone before coming back over to her.

He leaned down next to the bed, "How ya' feeling?" He questioned, to which Claire groaned, "My leg hurts. How long was I out?"

"About 8 hours. Hershel got the bullet out, wrapped you up real good. You're probably gonna be bed bound a bit for a day or two. But he says you'll be fine." Claire shook her head as Eli and Hershel rounded the corner into the room, "No, no being bed bound for me." She sucked in a hiss as she sat up, bringing her legs over the edge of the bed.

"Hey, bud." She smiled at Eli as he sat beside her, Marcus grabbing the chair and bringing it over to Hershel so the man could sit. Hershel released a huff as he sat down, handing Marcus his crutches as he looked at the wrapped wound. "I don't recommend you standing, Claire. I stitched you up but those stitches could break." Claire swallowed thickly and peered up at the man, "How long?"

Hershel pulled his lips to the side, "A few days, maybe a week." Claire huffed, dropping her hand from Eli's head, "Shit."

"Hey."

Claire's head whipped over to the door, along with the others', Roman staring back at the four with his hands stuck in his back pockets. Claire smiled weakly at him, "Hey." Eli stood up from the bed and smiled back at his sister, "I'm gonna go find Carl."

Hershel sucked in a deep breath as he nodded in agreement, Claire smiling in admiration as Eli helped Hershel stand, handing the older man his crutches, "Stay off your leg, Claire. You're not gonna like being restitched." He nodded at her before following Eli out of the cell. Marcus bit his lip, looking between Claire and Roman before sighing deeply. He smiled warmly over at Claire and grabbed his book, "I'll be back later."

"See ya'." Claire nodded at the boy, watching his back as he disappeared from view. "Thank you." Claire mumbled, looking over at Roman, who pushed himself off the wall and sat in the chair in front of her that Hershel once occupied. "What for?" He questioned, reaching out and tucking away the spare piece of gauze sticking out from her wrappings. Claire glanced down at her wrapped thigh where his fingers were, watching with shallow breaths as he retracted his hands into his lap. "Helping me find my brother. And always telling me to never stop looking for him."

Roman nodded, watching as Claire nervously picked at the dirt and grime under her fingernails. "While we were gone, a group wandered in through the back of the prison where it's blown up. Four of them, a brother and a sister and a son and father. Mother didn't make it. Rick wants them gone." Claire blinked quickly at the information dump, shaking her head in confusion, "Hold up. The back end of the prison is exposed? I thought we cleared that."

"Apparently. But it's blocked off, no way into our half unless walkers wake up one day and can open doors." Roman shrugged, pushing the sleeves of his gray long sleeve up to his elbows. Claire nodded, "Help me stand?"

"Hershel said—"

Claire rolled her eyes in annoyance; the inconvenience of her wound wasn't going to stop her from her daily tasks-or at least what she could contribute. "I don't give a damn what Hershel said. Help me up, Roman." He sighed, sticking his tongue into his cheek before scooting back in the chair, the shriek of metal on cement like nails on a chalkboard. He stood from the chair, bending down so she could latch onto his forearms. She winced as she stood, keeping the weight on her opposite leg. She exhaled a deep breath, pressing her forehead against Romans arm as she attempted to hold it together. The pain wasn't bad laying down, but all of the blood rushing fluidly now had her thigh pulsing.

"Good?"

"Good." She lied, Roman maneuvering around so he was on her left side, glancing down at the wrapped leg closest to him. "Whenever you're ready."

"Just get me out of this damn cell."

Roman chuckled, keeping his arm out so she could continue to grip it, wincing as she grumbled from the pain, walking out of the'concrete hell ' as Kira calls them. Claire quickly adjusted to the pain of walking—or limping—lifting her gaze from her shoes to watch as Maggie entered the cell block from the community room. "Mags—" She smiled weakly, face falling quickly as the woman walked straight past her and Roman. Claire frowned, looking back over at the cell door, where she could see Hershel's back as well as Glenn standing in front of him through the bars.

Roman got the memo, guiding Claire into the room—which they had turned into their own cafeteria and gathering room.

"Claire, honey. Why are you up?" Carol stood from the table to walk over to her. The blonde shrugged weakly, "Restless leg syndrome." She joked, allowing Carol to join Roman in guiding her to the table. The woman—whom Claire had learned on the way back was named Michonne—as well as Beth, Axel, Marcus, Kira, Carl and Eli were gathered in the room, a chalk map of the prison on the floor.

"How are you, Claire?" Glenn asked, the blonde nodding, "I'll live. What's going on?" She grunted as Roman sat her down, crossing his arms over his chest and staring down at Glenn. "We're gonna block off the section the group came in. Carl—you, Kira and I will go down to the tombs. We need to figure out where the breach is."

"You'll need some help." Michonne spoke, Roman nodding in agreement, "Yeah man, you just got the shit beaten outta you and—no offense Carl, but you're a kid. Kira would be your biggest asset. We can't risk it."

"No, in case anything happens I need you here. Roman, you'll come with us." The man nodded, Claire furrowing her brows as Glenn looked around at them all with fallen features, "Who's on watch?"

★

Claire huffed as she sat folding rags and clothes that had just been taken down from the makeshift drying rack they had set up outside. The tombs were overrun, Glenn was out on a rage-filled drive, Rick was losing his mind and Daryl was gone. She was angry. So angry. When will they ever catch a break?

"You look pissed." Claire looked up at Kira as she approached, the blonde shrugging. "I am pissed. Glenn is gonna get himself killed, Rick is the new Mayor of crazy town, Daryl left us, Maggie is traumatized and I'm sitting here folding fucking towels. Beth is the housewife, not me. I'm not—I'm not good at this kind of stuff. I want to be out there, getting us food, burning Woodbury to the ground. Not stuck in here with a limp leg."

"Claire, you just had a bullet taken out of your leg. Plus, if you hadn't gotten shot you would've have found Eli. Maybe give yourself a break." Kira smiled sympathetically, reaching out and giving Claire's shoulder a squeeze. Claire frowned, realizing Kira was right. If she hadn't been shot, if Roman hadn't ran over and pulled her into that house, she wouldn't have found her brother. "You're right, I'm being dumb."

"Not dumb, just not looking at the whole picture." Kira bent her neck down to catch Claire's eyes, the blonde unable to contain her smile at the goofy look on her best friends face. "Whatever. Don't you have stuff to do?" Claire rolled her eyes, bumping her shoulder into Kira's.

Her friend nodded, "Yeah." Kira groaned as she stood from the chair beside Claire, "Doesn't mean I wanna."

︶꒦꒷★꒷꒦︶

Claire grunted as Marcus helped her down the steps, the blonde soaking in the feeling of the sun on her skin for the first time in almost a day and a half. "Good?"

She nodded, squeezing Marcus' bicep as she limped onto the concrete, "Never better." She stared out at the fields with a squint, "Rick still out there?" Marcus nodded as he slowly helped her through the courtyard, "Yeah. Hershel's down there right now trying to reason with him." Her eyes finally found the distant figure of Hershel at the fence, raising a brow.

"Glenn?"

"Still gone."

"Awesome." She sucked in a heavy breath as she leaned against the prison wall, smiling out at Eli as he stood with Carl and Beth, Axel and Carol laughing with each other each other a few feet away from them. Her eyes casted back over to the field, where Michonne and Roman stood at the prison bus in the field, watching Hershel and Rick's interaction. They were all fine, aside from a couple mental breaks. They were reunited, unharmed, safe-

Claire gasped at the sound of a gunshot, eyes wide as Axel fell lifeless to the floor, Carol dropping next to him with wide eyes. "Eli!" Claire shouted, Marcus bringing her behind the corner as Beth grabbed the two boys and dragged them over to them. Claire winced as Eli crashed into her, her eyes wide as Carol dragged Axels lifeless body in front of her as a shield. The bullets were hitting Axel over and over again, Claires chest tightening as Carol cried out in fear.

"Shit. Shit, I don't have my gun!" Claire shouted, looking back at Marcus, who shook his head. The blonde bit her lip, looking down at Eli, who was clutching his pistol tightly beside Beth. The gunfire didn't cease for even a moment, bullets flying from their people and whoever was outside their gates. Claire could only assume it was the Governor, which enraged her even more.

"Gun." She looked down at her brother, the boy placing the weapon in Claire's palm. "Where the hell are they coming from." She grunted, peeking around the corner. Her eyes locked on a man in the watch tower, spinning back around the corner just as he shot in her direction. She sucked in a breath, ignoring the tightening in her chest before turning to fire a few shots off in the mans direction.

Suddenly, the gunfire ceased, leaving the area in dead silence. "Beth!" Claire looked over as Maggie and Kira emerged from the prison, carrying a handful of rifles. Claire swallowed thickly, handing Eli his gun back as Beth ran back over with the weapons. The teenager handed Claire and Marcus the guns, just as the gunfire resumed. "Shit." Claire hissed, cocking the rifle as Marcus ducked and ran over to where Maggie and Kira were hiding behind filing cabinets for a better shot.

"Carol, go!" Maggie shouted, Claire turning the corner to fire off shots at the man in the watchtower as Carol ran over to them. Claire doubled back as bullets hit the cement by her head, clutching the weapon tighter as she sucked in a deep breath, attempting to ignore the pain in her leg.

Then, the gunfire ceased once more.

Claire swallowed, looking around the corner where Michonne and Roman were. She sucked in a heavy, relived breath at the sight of them hiding behind the bus. She spun back over, eyes casting over Marcus and Maggie, both breathing, before they landed on Axel, shot to pieces. She tightly closed her eyes, releasing one hand from the gun to grip Eli's hand. The younger boy squeezed his older sisters hand in reassurance, before releasing it to grip his pistol better.

"Why'd they stop?" Claire questioned, looking back at a shaking Carol and scared Beth. Her ears perked up at the sound of a loud engine roaring, bouncing around the trees. Then, a loud crash, creaking of metal and a car coming to a stop. She furrowed her brows, peeking around the corner to watch as a van stood still in the field. Roman and Michonne were standing at the back of the bus now, watching with raised guns. The blonde gripped the gun tighter as the back of the van fell open, preparing for a group of men to come running from the van to take their home.

But what emerged was worse. Much worse. A dozen, maybe two dozen walkers began stumbling out of the back of the van. "Fuck." Claire hissed as a man in riot gear emerged from the drivers seat of the van, firing off shots in Michonne and Romans direction.

Rapid gunfire began once more, and Claire angrily peeked around the corner to shoot at the man in the watchtower. Claire watched as the man went down with a cry, looking back at Maggie as she knew the shot didn't come from her. Then, the gunfire was strictly coming from within the prison grounds, Claire watching with furrowed brows as the truck with the Governor drove away. Claire limped forward, followed by Carl, Beth and Carol as she joined Kira, Marcus and Maggie.

Maggie yanked the gate to the field open, each of them steadying their weapons as they attempted to take the walkers out. Her finger shook with anxiety, threats of yet another panic attack coming on as she aimed at the walkers. She knew she was missing and wasting bullets, and she needed to snap herself back together.

Quickly, she sucked in a deep, calming breath and resumed shooting, limping with a wince down the small hill into the field. Glenn came flying through the field in the truck, Claire's anxiety calming a bit as Glenn jumped from the truck, Michonne meeting him halfway to help Hershel into the vehicle. The three of them got back in the truck and drove towards the prison, Claire's eyes shooting over to Carl and Eli, who were practically back to back, shooting walkers.

She pulled the trigger, aimed towards the walker in front of her, throat going dry as it dropped to the floor, revealing three more walkers. The truck was making its way back towards the prison, and Claire quickly shot the three walkers in front of her. "Back! Back!" She shouted, watching anxiously as they all flooded back behind the gates. Roman was at her side quickly, the two of them shooting walkers as the truck drove past the gates, them being the last ones as Carl slammed the gate closed.

Claire heaved as she limped over to Eli, pulling him into her and pressing a kiss to the top of his blonde curls. She leaned against her brother as they all crowded around the fence, watching as the walkers roamed around the field, even more coming in from the trees and through the ran down front gate. "Fuck." Claire whispered in defeat, adrenaline fading away and anxiety taking its place once more.