𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

          "𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐎𝐍, Baby. Stay up for me." He whispered as he sprinted with his daughter in his arms. She was whimpering as she lay in his arms. He was panting. His sheriff's button-down was wrapped around her stomach as her frail body lay there.

She had gone pale, her breathing was shallow, and her stomach now had a hole in it. Her body was full of blood, most of which was now hers.

"Hey! You move, shithead! Come on, you get us there!" The man by the name of Otis was taking them to a home where a doctor was. They were running through fields with an injured eight-year-old, an angry godfather, a fat man who shot her, and an even angrier father.

"How far? How far!" He screamed at the man, his tone laced with anger as he came to a stop.

"Another half mile that way! Hershel! Talk to Hershel! He'll help your girl!" He shouted to him. Shane dragged him along as Rick went sprinting again.

He kept whispering as he ran with her. "Stay with me, Casey. Come on, stay with me!" He cried.

A big white house came into view and he slowed up a bit. There were a few people, five to be exact. They had all run down the steps.

"Was she bit?" Asked the eldest man there. He was old, and his hair was thin and gray.

"Shot! By your man! He said find Hershel. Is that you?" Rick was livid. Not only at Otis but at himself. He should've just taken her back to the highway. Why would he just let her watch the deer? Why?

He was angry at the world. Angry at everything. 

"Help me. Help my baby girl." He begged, picking her up in his arms again.

Her eyes had fully closed, bringing a worry to the father. He patted her cheek, one of his tears falling into her. "Casey, stay with me. Come on." He whispered yelled at her.

"Get her inside," Hershel commanded, pulling his sleeves up. They followed him inside as he started commanding everyone. "Patricia, I need my full kit. Maggie, painkillers, coagulates— grab everything! Clean towels, sheets, alcohol. In here." Rick was quick behind the man with Casey still in his arms. Hershel put the sheets up, and Rick placed his bloody daughter onto the bed.

"Pillowcase," Hershel said, needing Rick to get one.

"Is she alive?" He backed away, not getting an answer.

"Pillowcase, quick." Hershel quickly took off Rick's sheriff's button-down, then pushed her shirt up to where the wound was.

He wrapped his belt around where her shirt was as Rick once again asked "Is she alive?" No answer.

"Fold it. Make a pad. Put pressure on the wound." He did as told, and Hershel put his stethoscope on, listening for a heartbeat. "I've got a heartbeat. It's faint." He stated. A slight relief went through Rick, and he let out a breath of air.

"I got it, step back," Patricia commanded, pushing Rick away.

"Maggie, I.V."

"We need some space," Maggie told Rick as he stared down at her.

He thought the worst he'd ever have to see her this way was when she had a broken wrist. When she was on the surgical table with a worried look on her face. Rick was on the other side of her, holding her not broken hand.

Now he stood above her as she had a bullet wound in her stomach. "Your name?"

"R-Rick. Rick. I'm-I'm Rick." He repeated as they put an I.V. in her arm.

"Rick, we gonna do everything we can, okay? You need to give us some room. Now." Rick stepped back from his daughter and then looked out the window. He saw Shane and Otis running.

Then, he stepped out of the room.

He couldn't watch anymore...

He walked out of the house, tears running down his cheeks.

"She's alive? She's still alive?" Otis asked him, not wanting that little girl's blood on his hands.

Rick wiped his hand in his face. It was unbeknownst to him that his daughter's blood smeared across his forehead. "Hey..." Shane whispered, walking up the steps. He took off his backpack, speaking in a soft tone to his best friend. "It's okay. You got blood, man." He took out a pink rag and wiped his face for him. He put the rag in the man's hands and wiped them. "Okay, I'll take it from you."

Rick walked back inside the house, Shane on his tail. "Where is she? Where is she? Is she okay?" She wasn't okay. It was stupid to ask. He meant if she was alive.

He just followed behind the man and walked into a room where she lay. The blood was off of her stomach and face. Her eyes were closed and her skin was so pale.

He was asked an immediate question from Hershel when he walked in. "You know her blood type?" Rick knew exactly what it was. Probably because his whole family was A-positive.

"A-Positive. Same as mine." He answered, Hershel turned his head to him.

"That's fortunate. Don't wander far. I'm gonna need you. What happened?" Asked Hershel who was now looking at Otis for an answer.

"I was tracking a buck. Bullet went through it. Went clean through." He explained to him, his voice shaking as he looked down at the little girl.

"The Deer slowed the bullet down, which certainly saved her life. But it did not go through clean. It broke into pieces. If I can get the bullet fragments out...And I'm counting six." Rick stared in defeat. His youngest child was lying there with a hole in her stomach. Six bullet fragments there...

Otis walked up to Patricia, tears falling down his cheek for some reason. Probably guilt. "I never saw her, maybe once. She was following it. But I didn't see her again until she was on the ground." Patrica hugged him tightly, trying to be comforting.

"Lori doesn't know...My wife doesn't know. My wife doesn't know." Rick broke down, and Shane wrapped him in a hug whispering in his ear.

"She's gonna make it. You've got the toughest kid, man. She's gonna be okay. She's like you." Rick just stayed there, crying on his shoulder.

They walked outside of the room, closing the door. They were leaving Hershel to take the bullets out.

They sat outside the door, Rick crying. Shane was teary as well. Casey Quinn Grimes was too young. She couldn't die at the ripe age of eight. She didn't deserve it.

"I should've just picked her up and brought her back. Why'd I let her just look?" He questioned.

"You know, you start that, you'll never get that monkey off your back." Shane didn't want him to blame himself. None of this was anyone's fault.

"Little girls go missing, you look for them. Simple. You tried to get that deer, I didn't let you-"

"Doesn't matter what I tried to do."

"Casey got shot because I let her look at that damn deer. It should be me in there." Shane chuckled, his head in his hand.

"You've been there partner. Right? And you pulled through. So will she." He tried to reassure him as much as he could, but nothing seemed to work.

"Is that why I got out of that hospital? Found my family for it to end here like this?  This some kind of sick joke?" He hushed the father, not wanting him to keep falling down this path.

"You stop it. Just stop."

"Little girls go missing...you look for them. It's plain and simple." He repeated, crying in his hands.

Then the door opened. Maggie Greene walked out, quickly calling Rick's name. "Rick, she needs blood." Her tone was calm but quick. Rick needed to get in there, now.

The two men quickly followed behind her. Rick walked over to Patricia, who would get him set up. He walked into the room to hear his daughter screaming and crying. She was trying to get away from the pain, thrashing.

Her shirt was fully off of her body, and she was bleeding a lot more again. She was sweaty and even more pale than before.

"Daddy!" She whimpered as Hershel looked up, seeing Shane there.

He couldn't remove these fragments with her thrashing around like that. "You! Hold her down!" Shane walked over quickly, bending down next to her.

One arm held her down, and the other went to her forehead. Two tongs went into her wound, and an even louder scream came out of her. Shane brushed the curls from her forehead, trying to do anything to calm her.

"Almost there." Another tug came and she screamed again.

"Stop! You're killing her!" Rick screamed. Patricia held him back as Hershel did his best to stay focused.

"Shhh, you're okay. I've got you." Shane whispered in her ear as hot tears went down her face.

"Rick, do you want her to live?" Her scream slightly died down as she turned her head to look at her father.

"She needs blood!" Patricia exclaimed as Rick stood there, looking down at her.

He never wanted to see that again...

"Do it now!" Shane screamed at him.

Hearing her cries was a good thing. It showed she was alive. Her thrashing around showed that she was conscious. It was bad she was in pain, or even in the situation. But, now that she was in it, the more she thrashed and screamed was better. She was alive...

So as Shane wiped her tears from her face, and when she stopped crying and moving, he was worried. So was Rick. "Hey. Wait." He looked at Hershel, who was calm as could be.

"She just passed out."

He pulled out the fragment and placed it into a bowl.

"One down. Five to go."

When Rick was done giving blood, Hershel checked her blood pressure. Rick was exhausted, and it wasn't just from giving his daughter some of his blood. It was a tiring day...

Casey lay there with an IV stuck in her arm and a large bandage over her wound. They only managed to get one fragment out.

"Pressure's stable," Hershel told Rick, putting his stethoscope around his neck.

"Lori needs to be here. She doesn't even know what's goin' on. I've got to go find her. Bring her back." Rick thought Carl should be there too. But, it might've been too much to see her in the state she was in. But, if things didn't work out. He should be able to say goodbye...But that was if they didn't work out. And he needed things to work out today.

"You can't do that," Hershel told him.

"She's her mother. She needs to know what's happened, her daughter's lying here shot." He pointed at his youngest child trying to hold himself together in front of everyone in the room.

"And she's going to need more blood. He can't go more than fifty feet from this bed." Hershel told both Rick and Shane. Rick stood up from his chair, slightly dizzy. He'd gotten up too fast, and too much blood was taken.

Patricia helped him get balanced and Shane quickly walked over to him. "Hey. Hey. Come on."

"I'm alright." Rick lied, walking out of the room.

He opened the door and sat down in a chair. Maggie and Otis sat outside on the couch, and when they heard them come out, their eyes darted to the two men. They needed answers.

"She's stable for now." Rick looked at his best friend, needing a favor. If he couldn't go out and get his wife, Shane would have to.

"Lori had to be here, Shane. She has to know."

"Okay, I get that. I'm gonna handle it. But you've got to handle your end." Rick didn't understand what his end was. All he had to do was stay here with Casey and make sure she was okay. Give blood. What was his end?

"My-My end?"

"Your end is being here for your baby girl. Even if she didn't need your blood to survive, there is no way I'd ever let you walk out that door. Man, I'd break your legs if you tried. You know that, right?" Rick looked down, letting Shane keep speaking.

"If something happened to her and you weren't here... If she slipped away while you were gone, you would never forgive yourself for that. And neither would Lori, man. And Casey, when you were in the hospital, she wouldn't leave your goddamn side, so if you believe for a second that you're leaving hers...man you're an idiot." Rick placed his head in his hands, covering his eyes. He didn't want anyone to see him like this, vulnerable and crying.

He quickly sat up straight, nodding his head as he stared at Shane. "You're right." His voice shook.

Shane smiled, making a joke to maybe brighten his mood. "When was I ever wrong?" He laughed, and Rick nodded. It was silent again, but comfortable. They could sit like that all day. But, they didn't. "You know, when you were in that hospital, the one you were never s'posed to leave. Man, you should have seen Lori. The strength of those her-you can't imagine it. See-See that's what you've gotta have right now. I mean, Casey—she needs that from you. So you wire yourself right, my friend. You hear?" He put his hand on Rick's head and connected their foreheads.

"Mhm." Rick put his hand on Shane's, closing his eyes.

"You've got that hard part. You just leave the rest to me, okay?" Shane asked.

"Alright."

"Alright."

The door opened, and the two stepped away from each other. Hershel stepped out, looking at the father of the child in that room. "She's out of danger for the moment. But I need to remove those remaining fragments."

How could he remove those bullet fragments if Casey was thrashing the whole time? Nobody could blame her, it wasn't her fault. But if Casey isn't completely still, he can't get the fragments out. And if he does, he could risk slicing a vein or something.

"How? You saw how she was."

"I know, and that was the shallowest one. I need to go deeper to get the others." Shane sighed, running his hand through his hair. "There's more."

"Tell me."

"Her belly's distended, her pressure is dropping, which means there's internal bleedin'. A fragment must've nicked one of the blood vessels. I have to open her up, find the bleeder, and stitch it. And she can't move while I'm in there—I mean, at all. If she reacts the same as before, I'll sever an artery and she'll be dead in minutes." As a father, hearing your daughter was a ticking time bomb was the worst thing. Hearing that one small mistake can kill her made him want to scream. His baby was in that room, dying, and there was nothing he could do. If he could switch places now, he would. Because Casey didn't deserve this...Nobody did. "To even try this, I have to put her under. But if I do, she won't be able to breathe on her own. Same bad results."

"What'll it take?" He would do anything to keep her alive. He would do anything at all.

"You need a respirator. What else?" Otis asked, stepping toward them. Rick didn't even want to look at the man. He made him so mad inside. Mad that he did that to his daughter...

"The tube that goes with it, extra surgical supplies, drapes, sutures." Hershel listed

"If you had all that, you could save her?" Hershel didn't know if that was the right way to say it.

So, he re-worded it. He wasn't making promises he couldn't keep. "If I had all that, I could try."

"Nearest hospital went up in flames a month ago...The high school."

"That's what I was thinkin'. They set up a FEMA shelter there. They would have everything we need."

"The leave was overrun last time I saw it. You couldn't get near it. Maybe it's better now." Otis said.

Shane nodded his head, looking at them. "I said, leave the rest to me. Is it too late to take that back?" Shane joked, looking at Rick. That meant he was leaving to get whatever that little girl needed to live.

"Man, I hate you goin' alone."

"Come on. Doc, why don't you do me a list and draw me a map?"

Otis spoke up, ready to also do what it took for Casey. He shot her, now it was his responsibility to help her. "You won't need a map. I'll take you there. Ain't but five miles."

"Otis, no," Patricia said, shaking her head.

"Honey, we don't have time for guesswork and I'm responsible. I ain't gonna sit here while this fella takes this on alone. I'll be alright." Otis nodded his head at the end.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Do you even know what any of the stuff he's talking about looks like?"

"Come to think, no," Shane answered, now realizing that he might need Otis with him.

"I've been a volunteer E.M.T. I do. Now, we can talk about this till next Sunday or we could just go do it real quick." Everyone knew what the answer would be.

"I'll take right quick."

Rick looked at Otis, still not really liking the guy, but, he was putting his life on the line for Casey. Even though he put her life on the line first, it was brave of him. "I should thank you."

"Wait till your girl is up and around, Then we'll talk. I'll gather some things." Otis walked off, going to make a list.

Maggie walked up to Rick. She would get Lori. "Where is she, your wife?" Maggie asked.

"She's uh, down near the highway. M-My son to-"

"Rick, I don't think it's a good idea to bring Carl here. Let me tell you, it wasn't good when he saw you like that. It ain't gonna be good if he sees Casey like that." Rick nodded, wiping his forehead free of sweat.

He gave more of an explanation of where Lori was, and Maggie went off to get her.

Then, Rick sat with his daughter for a while...

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

           "𝐌𝐎𝐌, I'm tired," Carl complained, dragging his legs behind him as they walked through the woods.

"How much farther?" Lori asked Daryl, who led the way.

"Not much. Maybe a hundred yards. As the crow flies." He answered.

"Too bad we're not crows," Andrea said, she walked through a tree and then got wrapped up in a spider web. It was gross.

She cut through it and kept walking. "As the crow flies my ass." She looked to her side, expecting to see one of her group members, but no...

A walker.

She let out a high-pitched scream, and everyone went running to her. She stabbed her knife into his stomach, still screeching. She fell back on the ground, and the walker went over her. Snarling and growling as he tried to get a taste of her.

But then, much to everyone's surprise, a lady on a horse came right in. She knocked the walker over with a bat and came to a stop. "Lori? Lori Grimes?" It was Maggie Green. Lori went running, hearing her name.

"I'm Lori."

"Rick sent me. You've got to come now." She said in a hurry, putting the bag in a pocket the horse had on.

"What?"

"There's been an accident. Casey's been shot. She's still alive but you've gotta come now! Rick needs you. Just come." Without question, Lori took off her backpack. She turned to her son, putting her hands on his cheek.

"Stay with Daryl, okay?" Carl had tears right in his eyes, hearing about her sister.

"I wanna go with you-"

"No, you can see her when she's better. I promise." Lori didn't want him to see his baby sister on a bed. She hoped maybe it wasn't too bad, maybe just a graze. But with how Maggie said it, it didn't sound good.

"You can't get on that horse," Daryl told her, Lori ignored him and kissed her son's head. She walked over to the horse and hopped right on.

"Rick said you had others on the highway, that big traffic snarl? Backtrack to Fair Burn Road. Two miles down is our farm. You'll see the mailbox. The name is Greene. Hyah!"

With that, they went off. Right to the Greene house...

When she arrived, she was met with Rick and Hershel on the front porch. Rick had walked down the steps and quickly ran over to her. Lori got off, and he pulled her in as she sobbed.

That's when she rushed inside of the house. The moment she saw Casey, she broke into tears. "I'm sorry," Rick whispered, kissing her temple. He felt horrible. As if he were responsible for this...

Lori let out a sob and walked to the bed. She sat in the bed, placing her hands on her daughter's face. She lay next to her, letting tears freely fall. "My baby," She sobbed, crying. "Oh, my baby." She kissed her face, moving the flyaways from her foreheads

"Momma's here. Momma's here. You're gonna be okay. We're gonna make you okay." She grabbed Rick's hand, holding it tightly.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

           "𝐒𝐋𝐎𝐖, slow." Rick had given more blood. Right now, he was just as pale as his daughter was. Pale and sweaty. She hadn't woken up at any point. Hershel was keeping a close eye on her.

Anyway, he had tried to get up, but he was just exhausted from the blood loss.

She had her husband sit back down in the chair, and he did. He could barely get on his feet. "How many transfusions?" She questioned, looking down at him.

"Two." He answers, looking over at Casey. Looking at her put nothing but an ache in his heart.

How could I let this happen?

"Only two." He stated blankly. Lori smiled a bit, patting her daughter's leg softly.

"You know, she wanted to do the same for you when you were in the hospital. She and Carl wanted to. She was too young, and I had to talk Carl out of it." Lori said softly. She had a small chuckle by the end of it, making Rick give a small smile.

She sniffled, looking at her baby. "She never left your side. We had to drag her out every single night." Rick held Lori's hand tightly, bringing it to his lips. He planted a kiss on their interlaced fingers. "She's always been a daddy's girl." Lori laughed, rubbing her thumb around his.

She quickly wiped a tear away. "Is Carl okay?" Rick whispered, Lori nodded her head.

"He's with the group. I didn't want him to see her like this. It was bad enough when you were in her position." Her voice shook as she squeezed his hand tightly.

She couldn't lose Casey. She couldn't lose Carl. She couldn't lose any of her kids. It was too heartbreaking. She couldn't imagine her life without those two in it, even if they were pains in the ass all the time. They were the light of her life, as well as Rick's.

"I get that." Rick nodded, in a bit of a disagreement there.

If things went south and Casey slipped away, Carl should be there. Carl should be able to have a final moment with her. But, she wouldn't. She can't.

Casey Grimes can't leave...

Too many people would miss her. Carl, Lori, Rick. They wouldn't be complete without her there. Who else would make fun of the entire family? Or make funny jokes, and be sarcastic. Who would be hyper and energetic?

Shane would miss her. He would have lost his goddaughter. The child he swore to protect. He would've lost her, and he hadn't protected her...Without Casey, who else would make him smile and laugh, even if she did have a horrible attitude?

And Glenn, who would hang around with him. Even if it was weird for an eight-year-old to be friends with a man in his twenties.

Who would Dale give candy to? Who would Andrea get bracelets from? Who would T-Dog joke around with?

Even Daryl would miss that little pipsqueak. She was annoying as hell, but man was she funny. She made him laugh from time to time, not that she should know. But even Daryl would miss that annoying little kid...

Lori walked Rick to the kitchen, taking small and slow steps. He needed something to eat and drink. He couldn't give all that blood and sit there on an empty stomach.

They were met with Hershel, who had a glass of orange juice in his hand. He gave it to Rick, who whispered a small "Thank you," and then took a sip of it.

"Okay, so I understand when Shane gets back with this other man—" Lori started, not knowing the name of the other man. What she did know him as was the son of a bitch who shot her daughter. In kinder terms, he was the idiot who shot her daughter.

"Otis."

"Otis, the idiot who shot my daughter." She stated, really not caring how relevant Otis was to the Greene family.

"Ma'am, it was an accident."

"I'll take that under advisement later. For now, he's the idiot who shot our daughter." Rick took her hand in his, trying to be as comforting as possible.

"Lori, they're doing everything they can to make it right." Rick wasn't impressed at all by Otis. Because he was just as pissed. He was just glad that he was trying to make it right. He was okay with him getting the medical supplies to save Casey.

"Okay, as soon as they get back you can perform this surgery?" She questioned, trying to make sure her daughter was in good hands. She couldn't just hand her off to some guy who pretends as if he knows stuff.

"I'll certainly do my best," Hershel promised her.

Lori nodded, leaning on the table. "Okay. I mean, you've done this procedure before?" she asked, really being sure he wouldn't just kill her.

"Well, yes, in a sense."

Oh God.

"In a sense?"

"Honey, we don't have the luxury of shopping for a surgeon."

When Casey broke her wrist they got nothing but the best. They had the best hospital with the best surgeon to fix it up nicely. It cost a fortune, but, she was too good of a kid to have a shitty wrist for the rest of her life!

They didn't have that now. They didn't have options. It was Hershel or nothing.

"No, I understand that. But I mean you're a doctor, right?" Hershel nodded, putting a flood of relief through Lori.

"Yes, ma'am. Of course. A vet."

Lori didn't know how she felt about that...Combat medics took care of scratches, they did stitches and stuff. She didn't know if they did open surgeries to take bullets out of little girls. Maybe they did! Maybe it was a good thing. Maybe combat medics could do things quickly and they had limited supplies as well.

Lori didn't know how to feel, though.

"A Veteran? A combat medic?" She asked, Hershel shook his head no.

"A Veterinarian."

Her mouth went agape and she suddenly had no words. A veterinarian was working on a human being. Not just any human being, but her daughter...

"And you've done this surgery before on what? Cows? Pigs?"

Rick felt dizzy again. He dropped to the chair beside him, placing the juice down. It ultimately fell over, but he couldn't help it. "I have- I have to sit." He stammered, collapsing into the chair. Lori was quick to his side, holding him straight as she put the cup on the table.

Lori looked at Hershel, holding Rick up in the chair. "You're completely in over your head, aren't you?"

"Ma'am, aren't we all?"

Rick was way in over his head later that night as well. He was pacing in the guest room as Hershel checked Casey's blood pressure.

Let's just say she was getting worse, much worse. As the air hissed from his stethoscope, he sighed, leaning into his chair.

Not good.

"Pressures dropping again," He stated, taking off the stethoscope and putting it around his neck. "We can't wait much longer."

Rick held out his arm to him, ready to give more blood. "Take some more. Whatever she needs then I'm gonna go." This was a prime example of fathers doing whatever it took for their daughters. So, if it meant giving a third blood transfusion, he'd do it. If it meant running out five miles to get a damn respirator so she could have surgery, then he'd do it.

He'd do anything for his little girl...

"Go? Go where?" Lori questioned him.

"He said five miles. They should be long back by now. Somethin's gone wrong." Lori disagreed with him completely. He couldn't leave! Casey needed him and so did she...

"Are you insane? You're not going after them."

"Rick, listen to your wife."

Hershel and Lori were on the same page. Rick was in no condition to leave. And Casey wasn't in the condition for him to leave.

"If they got into trouble-"

"You're in no condition to do anything about it. You've given too much blood. You're barely on your feet. You wouldn't make it across the yard." Hershel warned him.

"If something happened, I have to go-"

"No! Your place is here. If Shane said he'll be back, he'll be back. He's like you that way." Lori knew Shane would be back, even if a small part of her was worried he wouldn't be. She knew he would protect Casey like his own, especially since he told her he thought of her as his own...At the time, Shane said that creeped the woman out, but right now it brought her a sense of calmness knowing he was out doing everything he could for her.

"I can't just sit here-"

"That's exactly what you do!" Lori snapped at him. "If you need to pray, or cry, or tell God he's cruel, you go right ahead, but you're not leaving, Rick. Casey needs you—here." Her voice went to a softer tone as she finished what she had to say. At first, she was pissed at him for wanting to leave. Now she was calming down. "And I can't do this by myself. Not this one. I can't."

She shook her head once more, looking up at her husband.

"I can't..."

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

a/n:

okay, so lemme explain WHY Casey got shot. I swear there is a reason for this all.

So spoiler alert don't read this if ya wanna get spoiled.

basically this is a Carl Savior book, I'm not saying how or when he becomes one because i can't spoil it that much. But I have this little idea for when they "reunite" and it has to do with this.

and also casey will not be the same person as carl. i don't normally like having characters take other characters situation, but this was one of the few times i will do that. so when carl is gone, she's not taking his lines and experiences, she will be her OWN character. so don't worry guys.

-Abby