In the dictionary it states that the definition of fear is an emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat. When in reality it isn't just unpleasant. Fear is not being able to breathe. Fear is wanting to shrink away from the situation. Fear is being so afraid of something that you think it's gonna kill you. In that moment, where Ivy stared at brother on the ground, blood pouring from his chest. She wanted to shrink away.

"No no no no no no no no." Her dad repeated as he ran forward and scooped the boy up. Ivy snapped out of the trance she was in when a man walked out of the woods, his jaw wide open at the sight of the boy. In his hand he held a hunting rifle, Ivy looked between the man and her brother as anger surged her body, fueling her every muscle, her every action.

"There's a man, up that hill his name is Hershel, he can help you." The man told the three as a look of terror filled his eyes. Immediately Rick turned in the direction the man was pointing and took off with Carl in his hands. Ivy wanted nothing more than to hurt that man so she took off after her dad. She knew if she stayed it wouldn't be good. She pumped her legs as hard as she could, running as fast as she could, adrenaline and rage fueling her entire being.

"Oh god." She huffed out as she sprinted.

"Come on, shit head. You move and you get us there." Ivy and Rick stopped and Ivy made eye contact with the man.

"How far!? How far!?" Rick screamed. It was full of agony and it rattled Ivy to her core. She didn't know what to do, Carl was bleeding out right in front of her and she was helpless. She stood there in her own crimson red clothes that were covered in her own dry blood and looked at her brother's fresh blood, still pouring out.

"Answer the damn question!" Ivy yelled at the man.

"Another half mile, that way! Hershel, talk to Hershel- He'll help your boy. I'm sorry." The man pleaded as he bent over and pointed to the direction. For a moment Ivy took pity on the man, it seemed as if he was truly sorry, like he didn't mean to do it. Ivy felt bad but still she was angry.

"Let's go- Come on!"

Ivy continued running until she finally seen the house. She jumped over the fence and took her brother from her dad so he could jump the fence. Before he could get over she kept running, closer and closer to that large white house. She gripped Carl's body tight in an attempt to keep him up, he was heavy and Ivy was already getting tired. She continued to run anyways until she seen a woman standing on the front porch. "Help!" She screamed, her voice cracking with her words.

She got closer to the house and her dad ran up behind her.

"Was he bit?" The old man asked.

"Shot."

"By your man." Rick yelled.

Rick took Carl from Ivy's arms and she looked down at her hands. Once covered in her own dry blood were now soaked in her brother's fresh, bright red blood. She stood there while they rushed him inside, her heart felt shattered. Carl was too pure, he didn't deserve it.

"He said find Hershel. Is that you? Help me- Help my boy." Rick pleaded, pain in his voice. It felt like the world was spinning. She didn't realize it but holding Carl caused a great deal of pain on her arm. The adrenaline was numbing it a little but she could barely pick it up. She looked down at the fresh wound that was once again seeping with pus and swollen around the area. Somehow the safety pins haven't ripped from her arm which amazed her since it was so swollen that they were forced against her fair skin. She winced, the moment she laid eyes on it all of the pain came rushing through her body. She groaned a bit before letting out a breath and slowly walking inside.

"Get him inside- Inside! Patricia, I need my full kit. Maggie-"

"Yeah?" The brunette woman responded. By now she could tell that the woman with brown hair was Maggie, the older man was Hershel, the older woman was Patricia, and the man that shot her brother was Otis.

"Painkillers, coagulates- Grab everything. Clean towels, sheets, alcohol. In here. Pillowcase." Hershel demanded. Ivy stood there and backed up as the chaos around her took place, she admired the way Hershel took charge in this sort of situation, she felt pathetic standing there.

"Is-is he alive?" Rick stuttered.

"Pillowcase, quick." Herschel ignored him.

"Is he alive?!" Ivy spoke up louder.

"Fold it- Make a pad. Put pressure on the wound. I've got a heartbeat- It's faint." Herschel said as they laid Carl on the bed and stuck a stethoscope to his chest. She looked at her brother for the first time, really looked at him. He was pale and looked deathly ill. It made her sick.

"I got it- Step back." Patricia demanded in a thick country accent.

"Maggie, I.V." Herschel demanded.

"We need some space." Maggie said. She touched Ivy's arm gently and looked in her eyes.

"Your name?" Hershel asked the two.

"R-Rick."

"Ivy."

"Rick?"

"I'm-I'm-I'm Rick."

"Rick, Ivy, we're gonna do everything we can, okay? You need to give us some room. Now."

"Move!" Shane yelled as he grabbed Ivy and Rick and pushed them towards the door.

"He's alive- He's still alive?" Otis asked. Ivy looked over at the man, she could see the sorrow in his eyes, the pain. He was genuinely sorry. He didn't mean it. She knew he felt bad but it didn't make up for anything.

"Okay. It's okay. You got blood, man. Okay. I'll take it from you. Where is he- Is he okay?" Shane asked.

"You know his blood type?" Hershel asked. Rick and Carl all had the same blood type which was fortunate.

"A-positive-- s-same as mine."

"That's fortunate. Don't wander far- I'm gonna need you. What happened?"

"I was tracking a buck. bullet went through it. Went clean through." Otis stated.

"The deer slowed the bullet down, which certainly saved his life, but it did not go through clean. It broke up into pieces. If I can get the bullet fragments out.. And I'm countin' six."

Ivy let out a hitched breath. They were gonna have to dig inside of him. Ivy thought about the pair of large tweezers inside of her brothers body and cringed.

"I never saw him. Not until he was on the ground." Otis claimed.

"Lori doesn't know?" Rick asked.

"Oh my god, Mom!" Ivy gasped.

"No, she-"

"My wife doesn't know-- My wife doesn't know." Rick repeated. Ivy sat down in the living room and looked at the pictures on the wall. The family, the happiness. Immediately Ivy jumped up when she remembered her clothes were covered in blood, she didn't want to get blood on the couch. She cringed at the though that she even had to say that.

Shane and Rick sat on a different couch, talking. Ivy didn't want to listen to any of it. She just wanted to cry.

"Rick." Maggie called. Ivy jumped up and walked with him. She went to walk into the door when Shane grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Listen, it's best if you stay out-"

Ivy reached her hand up and slapped Shane in the face. Not too hard but hard enough to let him know not to to touch her. "Keep your fucking hands off of me. You don't get to tell me what to do, you don't get to have any control over me. You're dirty, and disgusting, and pathetic." Ivy whispered. "I don't want your hands anywhere near me." She walked away into the room and looked at her brother lying on the bed. Crying and groaning in pain. It hurt Ivy to listen to it, it hurt her to watch him cry out in pain. "Dad?" He cried.

"He needs blood." Maggie stated. Shane walked into the room and Hershel looked up. "You, hold him down."

"Dad!" Carl screamed out as Shane put his weight on his squirming body. Ivy felt tears fall down her cheeks as the sound of his screams filled the air. She watched Hershel put the tweezers into Carl's stomach, digging around.

"Let me help." Ivy begged as she held her non injured arm out, not wanting anyone to see it. "Please let me help him." Ivy cried.

Maggie walked to Rick and started wiping his arm down. Ivy put her own arm down by her side and Carl let out a scream, louder this time.

"Stop! You're killing him!" Rick screamed. Ivy flinched as the scream pierced the air. She pressed herself against the wall and felt the tears pour from her cheeks as whines came from her throat.

"Rick, do you want him to live?" Hershel asked adamantly.

"He needs blood." Patricia demanded.

"Do it now!" Shane screamed. Ivy would usually scream at Shane back but in this case he was right. Patricia stuck the needle into Rick's arm and the blood started flowing through the small I.V. Ivy looked over at Carl, his head turned to the side and all the screaming stopped.

"No!" She screamed. "Noo, noo, please do something! Please!" Ivy screamed.

"He just passed out." Herschel pulled a small piece of metal from Carl chest and looked at it. "One down...five more to go." Ivy felt sick as the words fell from his mouth.

"Lori needs to be here. She doesn't even know what's goin' on. I got-I gotta go find her, bring her back." Rick stated.

"You can't do that." Hershel announced.

"Why the hell not?" Ivy asked.

"She's his mother! She needs to know what's happened. Her son's lying here, shot." Rick yelled

"And he's going to need more blood. He can't go more than 50 feet from this bed."

Ivy wanted to step in and volunteer but Ivy's blood type was her mother's and not her father's, which in this moment wasn't convenient.

Shane pulled Rick aside and the two began talking. The pain in Ivy's arm was beginning to get overwhelming. She wanted to fall over but she knew if she mentioned anything they would try to help her. She wanted everything to be put into her brother.

"He's out of danger for the moment, but I need to remove those remaining fragments." Hershel proclaimed.

"How? You saw how he was." Ivy asked.

"I know, and that was the shallowest one. I need to go deeper to get the others. Oh, man. - There's more."

"Tell me."

"His belly's distended, his pressure's dropping, which means there's internal bleeding. A fragment must have nicked one of the blood vessels. I have to open him up, find the bleeder and stitch it. And he can't move while I'm in there. I mean, at all. If he reacts the same as before, I'll sever an artery and he'll be d*ad in minutes. To even try this, I have to put him under. But if I do, he won't be able to breathe on his own. Same bad results."

Ivy looked back and forth between Hershel and Carl when she felt a hand on her arm, She turned around and seen Maggie and the blonde girl. "I'm Beth."

Ivy nodded her head as Maggie and Beth looked her up and down. The two women pulled her aside and began walking upstairs. Ivy could barely walk, she was sad and it was beginning to sink in. She couldn't. "Let's get you cleaned up, alright?" Maggie asked.

Ivy looked at her for a moment before nodding her head, tears dripping from her eyes. "We'll get you in the shower and maybe you'll feel a bit better, if not then cleaner. You're about my size so I'll grab you some clothes. Beth, bring her to the bathroom please?"

"Of course." Beth slowly walked with Ivy to the bathroom and opened the door. It was small but Ivy didn't care. She didn't bother looking in the mirror. Beth put her hand on the shirt that was stuck to Ivy's skin. "Hang on."

Beth walked over to the drawer and grabbed a pair of scissors out of it. She walked over to Ivy who was looking at her confused. Maggie walked in and sat the clothes on the counter. Beth brought the scissors to the stale shirt and began cutting. Ivy peeled the shirt from her skin, wincing as the blood crackled.

"Oh my goodness." Maggie said as she picked Ivy's arm up.

"It's nothing, I'm alright." Ivy stated as she turned the shower water on.

"That is nasty." Maggie laughed. Ivy smiled a bit for the first time since the accident.

"Kinda, yeah."

"Once you get out of the shower, your mom and their group will be back. Liam and Oliver should be back as well, I'll have them fix up your arm okay?"

Ivy thought about the names Liam and Oliver and didn't recognize them, "Who is Liam and Oliver?"

"They're brothers. Liam's your age and Oliver's younger but they went out to see if they could find anything." Beth said with a big smile on her face. Ivy looked at the blonde, something about her was pure, and beautiful. She was kind.

"Oh." Ivy whispered.

"Alright, get cleaned up okay." Maggie smiled gently.

Ivy nodded as Beth and Maggie walked out of the bathroom. She stripped her pants and all of her clothes and stepped into the warm water. She winced as the water hit her arms. She placed one arm on the wall and watched as the clear water turned brown from the dirt and blood falling off of her. She sat down and let the water fall onto her head. Tears falling down her cheeks as well. She was thankful for Maggie and Beth. They took her clothes off of her when she couldn't. They were kind.

Once she finished, Ivy stepped out of the shower and looked at the clothes on the counter. There was a gray shirt that had blue sleeves and a blue neckline. A pair of skinny jeans, underwear and a clean bra. Ivy smiled once she put the bra on and it fit her. Maggie had laid out a toothbrush and a hair brush for her as well. She put toothpaste on the toothbrush and scrubbed her teeth. Her mouth felt clean, she hadn't brushed her teeth since the C.D.C. She brushed the knots out of her hair and finally looked in the mirror. Her green eyes were still green, her cheeks were still full, she looked the same yet so incredibly different. She couldn't pin it down, but then she looked deeper. Her eyes were still green, but they were tired, and a bit darker. Her cheeks were still full, but they were redder and her cheekbones were more prominent.

She walked out of the bathroom and down the stairs to see her mother. Lori turned her head and Ivy stood there for a minute before running to her mom. "Mom!" She gasped as she hugged her tight. She pulled away after what seemed like forever and walked slowly into the room where Carl was, too scared that he was gone. She slowly crawled into the bed and planted a kiss on Carl's forehead. "You will be okay. You are strong." She whispered. "And I need you, Carl." She stood up and planted one more kiss on his forehead before walking into the living room and standing between her mother and father. She looked at her arm, the pus was cleaned off from the shower but it was only a matter of time before it started coming back out.

"Okay, so I understand, when Shane gets back with this other man-" Lori was cut off.

"Otis." Hershel insisted. Ivy sat next to Carl, holding his limp hand.

"Otis. The idiot who shot my son." Lori mustered.

"Ma'am, it was an accident." Hershel stated.

"I''ll take that under advisement later. For now, he's the idiot who shot our son." Ivy grinned a small amount watching her mom show up the men. Shane had left with Otis to the high school to get the ventilator, Ivy was hoping that he was gonna make it in time.

"Lori, they're doing everything they can to make it right. Okay, as soon as they get back you can perform this surgery?" Rick asked.

"I'll certainly do my best." Hershel said.

"Okay.. I mean, you've done this procedure before?" Lori asked.

"Well, yes, in a sense." Hershel mustered.

"In a sense?" Ivy asked in a confused tone.

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

"No, I understand that. But, I mean, you're a doctor, right?" Lori questioned.

"Yes, ma'am. Of course. A vet." Ivy didn't hear it at first but when she did, her stomach dropped.

"A veteran- A combat medic?" Lori asked. Ivy's eyes went wide.

"A veterinarian." Ivy scoffed and dropped her jaw.

"You're kidding?" She laughed and covered her mouth. "I'm sorry." She said between laughs. "Please, tell me you're joking." She couldn't stop laughing at the irony.

"And you've done this surgery before on what? Cows.. pigs? Completely in over your head, aren't you?"

"Ma'am, aren't we all?" Herschel asked.

Ivy walked away and Maggie stepped in front of her. "If you walk right in there, there's some privacy. Liam will be in a minute, I'm sure of it. But either way its best if you just calm down, relax okay?" Ivy walked upstairs and sat in a bedroom. It was obviously the master bedroom because it was the biggest but she sat on the bed and took a breath. She placed her head in her hands and let the tears fall. Nothing was going right, everything was failing. She didn't know if she was strong enough for it all. A knock at the door made Ivy jump. She quickly wiped the tear from her face when a boy walked in.

He wasn't looking at her but was sorting through some of the things in his hands at the dresser. He dropped a something in a plastic bag and mumbled. "Damn." He said as he picked it up. As he picked the little packet up he dropped it once more but instead he caught it, he then juggled it in the air a few times to prevent it from falling but in the end it fell to the floor.

He leaned over to pick it up and still had his back turned to Ivy. She sat her hands in her lap and didn't say anything. He was brunette, and he was wearing a blue shirt that fit him well. His hair was buzzed and he was wearing black and white Nike shoes that were coated in a layer of dirt so that the white was now brown. "I'm Liam, Hershel told me you need your arm stitched...so yeah. Here to do that because well-" Finally he turned around and when his eyes landed on Ivy, his jaw dropped.

Her eyes widened as she brought a hand up to her face, "Is there still blood on my face?" She asked, wiping at her cheeks.

Liam shook his head for a moment and stood there, dumbfounded. Ivy didn't say anything, she was starting to get worried that something was wrong. So she sat there with her hands in her lap and her legs crossed as he walked over to her. He grabbed a chair from the desk and sat it down in front of her.

"Can I see your arm...please?" He asked as he held his hand out. Ivy lifted her arm and Liam took it gently, examining the wound. "I'm Liam Blake."

"Ivy Grimes. You said that already." She smiled.

"I-well." He stuttered for a moment before he put his head down. "Oh my god."

Ivy let out a laugh as he hung his head low. "What?" She giggled.

"Look at you!" He said with a crooked smile as he wiped her arm with peroxide.

Ivy turned her head and looked in the mirror. She didn't see anything wrong with her image. "I don't see anything wrong." she smiled.

"Exactly." Liam looked up at her with a goofy smile and continued cleaning around the safety pins with a Q-tip.

Ivy took a deep breath in and leaned her head back slightly. "That was smooth. That was actually pretty good." Ivy chuckled.

"Oh, yeah?" He asked.

"Definitely."

"Well, it looks like all our problems are solved. You know you should just marry me now. Wanna marry me?" He asked with a beaming smile.

"Shut up." Ivy looked down at her hands and smiled a bit.

"One day." He announced.

Ivy raised an eyebrow at him and scoffed, "you're funny." She laughed.

"Way to put me out of my misery." The two sat there for a moment while Liam continued to clean around the safety pins. "How old are you?" He asked.

"Seventeen." Ivy whispered. She was watching him. He was gentle, careful not to hurt her.

"Me too." He replied. "That kid in there...he your brother?"

Ivy nodded and looked down. Trying to hold back tears. This whole time Liam had been distracting her and it was actually working. "I have a little brother too. He's fourteen and he's a pain in my ass." He said in a dramatic tone. He spoke with his hands a lot which Ivy was attentive too. He threw his arms around or twirled his hands when he spoke to go along with whatever he was saying. He was goofy and sarcastic and Ivy thought it was cute.

"What's his name?" Ivy asked.

"Oliver. We call him Ollie though." Liam pulled away from her arm to look at her. "What about your brother?"

"Carl, he's twelve. He's also a pain in my ass. I love him with everything in me though."

Liam smiled as she spoke and Ivy looked at him weirdly. "Why do you do that. Stop." She tried to stay with a straight face but ended up grinning.

"You're so pretty." He stated.

"Alright, enough of this." She laughed. "Stop flirting."

Liam raised his eyebrows and smirked before speaking. "Alright so I'm about to have to take these safety pins out of your arm, which in all honesty is probably gonna hurt..like really bad. I mean like...reall-"

"You're not making me feel any better about this."

"Sorry."

He picked up Ivy's arm and touched one of the safety pins which made Ivy flinch. "How the hell did this happen?" He asked, squinting his eyes.

"Okay so." Ivy adjusted her position and sat up straight, preparing herself to tell the story.

"Oh my god, this is an entire story isn't it?" He asked with a smile.

"Oh you don't wanna hear me talk now?" Ivy raised her eyebrow and smirked.

"I guess." He said in a sarcastic tone as he threw his hands down.

"We were at the C.D.C. which is this really big building that has diseases all in it-"

"I know what the C.D.C. is."

"Shut up and let me tell the story." Liam leaned back in his chair and crossed is arms. In an attempt to get comfortable he lifted his hips slightly and slid down the chair a bit, giving Ivy his full attention. She could feel her cheeks growing red as he did this move so she looked down and took a second to compose herself. " Basically, we had to get out before it blew up so my dad threw a grenade at the window, the glass was shattered so we had to jump out of it and I cut my arm and it was bleeding. A lot. So my dad stitched it up with the only thing he could find." Ivy shrugged her shoulders and pursed her lips waiting for Liam's reaction.

He blinked a few times with his mouth open and looked at her like she was crazy. "I don't even...huh?"

"Yeah."

"Give me your arm." He said as he shook his head which caused Ivy to laugh.

He grabbed a pair of tweezers and started trying to push the safety pins together to unclip them which he failed at. Ivy winced it pain each time. "I'm sorry." He repeated each time. Finally he got the first one done. "One down, eight more to go." He said as he jumped up in the air and pumped his fist. "See that?"

Ivy really didn't feel like having to go through all of that eight more times. She looked down at her arm and squeezed the safety pins together one by one. It hurt, but not as bad when she did it compared to when he would keep pulling on it. Liam stood there with a tight lipped smile as Ivy took the pins out herself. Once she got the other eight out she looked up to Liam, "You can stitch it now."

"Sure you can't do it by yourself?" He asked.

"I could but it would look bad." She shrugged. "Leave a nasty scar."

Taking them out herself hurt, but when someone else does it, they're gentle in an attempt not to hurt her which only hurt her more so if she did it quickly, She could get them out fast and efficient.

He went to speak before he closed his mouth and sat back down. "You know Hershel has him." Ivy looked up at Liam and nodded. Ivy closed her eyes as he pierced the needle in and out of her skin. "I wish we had anesthesia or maybe a Tylenol. I'm so sorry." he insisted.

"It's fine. I'm fine." She said with her eyes still closed. It took about twenty minutes but Liam stitched up the gash in her arm, leaving her with fifteen stitches down her forearm.

"It'll leave a kickass scar." He smiled. Ivy smiled and started walking out of the room. Ivy closed the door behind her which left Liam alone. He stared at the door with his hands on his hips. "I'm in love with you." He said in a hushed tone as he turned to look at the mess on paper trash on the bed. Oliver walked in the room and looked at his brother. "She pretty?" The younger Blake sibling asked.

Liam shook his head and threw his arm in the air. "Pretty...obviously." Ollie laughed at his brother.

"You're fourteen...you know nothing." He smirked.

Oliver dropped his jaw and scoffed. "I know you're down bad for a girl you barely know." He said in a sarcastic tone.

"Go talk to her for two minutes. That's all it takes." Liam responded.

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"Go- Go where?" Ivy heard her mother whisper.

"He said five miles. They should be long back by now. Something's gone wrong." Rick whispered back.

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

"Rick, listen to your wife." Hershel demanded.

"f 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."

"Something happened, I have to go."

Ivy turned the corner and looked at her dad. "No." she stated calmly. Her dad exchanged a look with her and for a moment it was silent. "I'm tired of this, i'm tired of you leaving. Every time you leave something ad happens and I'm not..I can't do it again."

"I can't just sit here." Rick said calmly to his daughter.

"That's exactly what you do! If you need to pray or cry or tell God he's cruel, you go right ahead, but you're not leavin', Rick. Carl needs you- here. And I can't do this by myself. Not this one. I can't.. I can't." Lori said.

"Daddy, if I have to get on the floor and throw a tantrum, cling on to your leg, scream and kick or punch then I will. You can't- please you can't go." She pleaded. The two stared into each other's eyes. A look was shared and Rick nodded, dropping the conversation.

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4631 words

A/N
LIAM!!!