Curative

Hello! Don't worry!

If you're following this story you probably noticed you got an alert for Chapter 61 twice. It's not an error, this chapter has been rewritten.
Honestly, after so long away I wasn't sure of myself or my writing so the chapter that was originally published felt a bit lackluster. But the worst part was it wasn't entirely right continuity wise.

Thank you to: MoonLunacy!
You were entirely right. This chapter originally just wasn't up to par and it didn't make sense. So hopefully this one is better. I'm not 100% certain, but I hope it's more accurate.

This chapter does have a large portion of the original chapter. I tried to reread and vet it through multiple times to create a better final product. I hope you guys enjoy the revised chapter!

Review replies are posted at the end of the chapter.

Laura approached the gate, gesturing to Carol behind the fence. She got up from the bench, crossing her arms and looking out over the field. As she approached the gate, Laura's right hand came up to rest on the metal links.

"Everything alright?" Carol's eyes squinted in the bright Georgia sun. They had waited all night and a good portion of the morning keeping an eye out for the rest of their group. Laura had been out there since she cleared the walkers, this was the first time she had returned. Though Carol would not say it she was worried in the beginning that Laura would leave the moment she was out the gate. Merle being at the prison definitely helped calm those nerves.

Merle had shown them Laura was unable to speak with the muzzle on. She communicates with her hands so Carol had to be observant to understand what she wanted. Carol was ready to try her hand at interpretation, so to speak.

Laura raised her hand, made it look like she was holding something in that hand, and raised it up and tilted her head back with it. It was a very obvious miming of drinking. Carol pursed her lips, "You want something to drink?"

Pointing her other hand at Carol, Laura nodded and raised a brow. She was asking quite effectively.

"Sure, we have some water. I'll go grab you a mug." Carol left Laura waiting at the gate.

It was resoundingly quiet out. Aside from a few birds and the occasional wandering walker just grunting its way through the trees. In so many words standing out in the field waiting for the others to return was boring. She had nothing to do and she didn't want to go inside with the others. Choosing between being inside those cell block walls with a group of nervous people with guns as a walker and staying outside with at least a dozen ways out... it's an easy decision.

There were stretches of time she had utterly lost. The flashes she saw in her mind were too vague to tell her what these people were talking about. People claimed to know her, expressed how happy they were to welcome her back, but back to what? She had no idea what they were talking about... but it didn't seem bad.

Something the Voice that had been yelling in her head for so long would've chastised her for. These people spoke softly to her, Carol... she had such a gentle hand.

"Here." Carol interrupted her thoughts. Laura's head snapped up to see Carol holding a mug of clean water waiting for her. She went around and unlocked the gate, slipping through before locking it back.

Cautiously, Laura took the mug from Carol. She was acutely aware how her gauntlets could slice through flesh and did her best to maneuver around Carol's thin hands. As usual, drinking with the muzzle on always made a mess and Laura was no longer bothered by it. She tilted the mug back, the water pouring through the leather muzzle and down her mouth. She drank what she could and let the rest splash onto the concrete below.

Carol frowned, "Are you sure you don't want that taken off?" The muzzle, the gauntlets, the everything about Laura was just not normal. It looked downright disturbing. Carol still held hope that Laura would remove it at some point.

Tapping her metal clawed fingers on the mug, Laura shrugged. Her eyes glanced away, she nodded, but then turned her attention back to Carol and tilted her head. Laura's free hand pointed to Carol once more, back to Laura's muzzle, then hovered just over her stomach.

That was perhaps more ominous than Laura meant it. Still, Carol didn't even consider the negative possibility of those gestures. "Merle mentioned you can't talk to us with it on..." Carol stepped closer to Laura, a small hopeful smile on her face. "Don't you want to talk to us again? At least so you can be understood."

Laura really did not have much to say. If the muzzle was removed what would she talk about? All she really wanted in Woodbury was to be left alone. Talking to the people of Woodbury keeping her captive never helped her. All she ended up doing is biting people.

Not that she kept trying to eat everyone she could reach. She would defend herself and biting just happened to be one thing they were scared of. Since Woodbury considered her a walker, or biter as they called them, her biting them was a death sentence.

Most of them failed to listen when the Governor addressed them and explained she could not infect anyone.

"I'd like to be able to talk to you again. I miss us just... well, you know, chatting." Carol looked out to the field, as if imaging their days on the road just ahead of them. "I guess even then you didn't... talk a lot..."

Hearing Carol's voice grow somber, Laura stared at her not sure what to do. She couldn't tell her it would be okay, they didn't have to speak for Laura to value what Carol discussed with her. She would always listen, she was only unable to respond.

Laura sighed, talking with and talking at someone were two completely different things. Right now, to Carol she was talking at Laura.

Reaching up to Carol, Laura touched her upper arm with her gloved hand. She was being very careful not to poke or cut her. Carol's eyes focused on the gauntlet, finding the sight of this amalgamation of metal and leather to be discomforting. But knowing this was a kind gesture from Laura helped... only a bit though. The fine features of her good friend were hidden behind the contraption on her face.

Her eyes though, those unnaturally colored eyes still had a soft familiarity to them. They always looked so sad to Carol, as if Laura had just finished crying her heart out. Carol rested her hand over Laura's gloved one with a sympathetic smile.

"I missed you so much. We all did. You should've heard the arguments they had when we got here. Rick, Daryl, Glenn; everyone really. When Red told them what happened they wouldn't let it go." She smiled softly. It was only a few days ago. "What you did for us, for me, at the farmhouse... you sacrificed yourself so we could escape. Everyone missed you so much."

Laura didn't know how to respond. Her gazed dropped to the ground, trying desperately to recall anything Carol mentioned. There were memories, there had to be. She could see Carol's face in her memories and quite a few times together with her...

But what about everyone else? She mentioned Red, that man who was staying beside Daisy. He was angry with her and Merle about what the Woodbury men did. They had memories of Laura doing something, this self sacrifice act from months and months ago.

She did believe these people despite her blank memory. Even Merle remembered her with them in Atlanta which meant at least some of it was guaranteed true. Carol was there too and... oh there were some feelings Laura had long since pushed away regarding a few people at the prison.

She thought of Rick, the man she had lunged at because he tried to help dry her off when she broke the water bottle. It wasn't his fault, he didn't deserve to be attacked. He wanted to help her and ended up overcrowding her instead.

"Are you okay?" Carol's worried expression made it more difficult to look at her straight. Laura didn't want to make her worry, she did not feel deserving. At the same time she found she could not answer.

Laura give a non-committal shrug. The least satisfying response Carol could've gotten. She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. "Do you want to talk about it." Her eyes once more turned down to the muzzle on Laura's face.

Once again, Laura shrugged. She couldn't remove the muzzle so any answer was useless.

"Merle said you can't remember anything from before they took you. Well, you can't remember everything, but you remember me." Carol recalled the earlier discussion between herself and Merle. "I know you can't talk... but can I ask what you do remember?"

Laura raised a brow, unsure how that would work without being able to talk. Tentatively, Laura nodded with a curious look on Carol.

It made Carol smile. Laura's posture... her behavior started to reflect Daryl's back in Atlanta. Shy, unsure, but still wanting to be part of the group despite appearances. If that is true, Carol wondered if she had also adopted how he avoided tense or personal conversations.

She would be careful, try not to scare Laura off.

"So you remember me. Do you remember us being on the road together? Just you and me." Carol started, watching for any small ticks Laura displayed.

The undead woman paused to think of what Carol asked. It was a simple question and an easy answer. Laura nodded; yes. She could recall them traveling together, alone. Some feelings of caution and helplessness came back. But then she saw Carol's face in her memory. A few smudges of dirt, wild hair, but a bright hopeful smile.

Laura had no way to express that the memories of Carol on the road with her were comforting and depressing.

It was some relief that all that time on the road wasn't lost. "What about... the farmhouse? Red, Braddock, Markus, Micheal, Daisy, and Melanie. We found them, stayed with them, and then we were attacked. Do you remember the farmhouse at all?"

That was a strange place. She remembered being taken by Woodbury somewhat. It was blurry, a mess of actions with some faces. In that dark place covered in dust just before the grenade went off... she could see Red's face.

The clearest memory of Red was his hand holding her up, her arm on hard brick, and his eyes glassy with building tears. There were some sounds but nothing was really clear. Then she let go of Red and the brick edge, dropping to the ground and hearing the crunch of grass. Then it faded into blurry scenes she couldn't make out.

All the people she mentioned... she couldn't recall them all. Red, yes certainly, he was there at the end. Faces of a blonde woman, and a few men, and Carol sitting on a couch beside her. She felt unsure and... angry. Such anger under the surface only to be soothed by feeling a hand on her arm, then looking to see Carol offering her a reassuring smile.

It was enough, so Laura nodded again. That seemed to make Carol happy if the smile that broke out on her face was any sign.

It helped Red and his group if Laura could remember the farmhouse. Daryl would stop trying to bite Red's head off at least. That would help smooth out the two groups relations and forward a beneficial future. Something Carol wanted for them all badly.

Just like before, Carol placed a comforting hand on Laura's upper arm which caused Laura to flinch, her arm twitching when Carol's hand brushed over it. Still, Carol rubbed her upper arm gently. She didn't mind her touch, it was just different.

"What about Daryl?"

Hearing his name hooked Laura's attention quickly. She eyed Carol, trying to pick out a specific memory of the man in question.

There were faded memories of fear, uncertainty, and a relaxing silence. A man being hit with bats, a plastic truck bed on a dark night, water soaked clothes with a man offering her his hand, a warm body under her head, a crossbow on her lap, arms wrapped around her that made her feel... protected.

That feeling was back. She felt like her mouth had gone dry and her chest tightened. Swallowing, Laura nodded. She remembered him... at least somewhat. There were some words exchanged, some quiet nights in the company of another.

But what did that mean? Did she remember him or just general memories that he happened to be around for?

No. There were memories there.

The first was a faded memory of water and mud. She was sitting in the water, exhausted; not something she felt regularly. Then there was a hand on her, a face directly in front of her but the face wasn't entirely clear. Not until the person was only a few inches from her face.

It was him certainly. His hand held her chin up, he was looking all over her to find something wrong. "Hey, you alright?" He was worried about her, making sure she was safe. It made her stomach do all sorts of flips just having him so close... There was an argument, questions, yelling, but it faded into nonsense from that point on.

Another memory started surrounded by water, floating under the surface. Then a pair of hands grabbed her and dragged her out, onto the smooth wet rocks.

This memory was a bit obscured, but still quite sharp. She saw a face with messy hair blocking his eyes, a bloody shirt... but it was him. Daryl was looking a bit banged up, something had happened and he got hurt.

He let go as she gathered herself up. She fought to stand against the pain in her leg and side, something was causing pain to tear through her... But she didn't want him to worry, there was already too much going on.

He was hurt, that took priority. The water was draining off her as she wrung her hair out, her shirt out, some awkwardness, she felt insecure and suddenly very fragile. The memory began to fade and she couldn't recall what happened clearly after that. Something about a muddy slope and some more yelling.

Laura nodded, but intentionally turned her eyes away from Carol. It didn't feel good to remember these things. The more she could remember, the more she felt lost from the group.

"He misses you an awful lot. From what I hear he took it really hard, y'know." Carol tried to catch Laura's gaze and failed. "They said Daryl talked even less than he did before for a while. If you can believe it." A faint smile graced Carol's features as she tried to soothe Laura.

People breathed automatically. It wasn't even noticed unless thought about directly. They didn't even notice each other breathing unless they wanted to.

So seeing Laura, who does not breathe, take a single shallow breath was significant. It meant something. She did not inhale, exhale because she needed oxygen. She did so to try and relieve herself of tension. Carol didn't know this, but she was good at observing people enough to know when something was out of the ordinary.

That short puff of air from Laura broke her concentration on those difficult feelings about old memories. She looked at Carol again and offered another small shrug. It wasn't much, but it was enough for Carol.

"And Rick?" She prodded. "Do you remember him? He's the one that gave you the pen and paper and water back in the cell block."

Laura could see something quite old. Rick looked well shaven and in uniform. It was when she first met him while she wandered with the horde in Atlanta. All she could recall was seeing him making a mess of things and getting in trouble.

He was also beside her a few more times. She heard his name said a lot and many cases where he was the one reassuring her things would be alright. His face wasn't entirely clear, his voice neither, but she knew it was him. She trusted him first, she relied on him.

The cell block incident definitely provided force to recall how she knew his face. They knew her, she knew them, but her head... No, the Voice told her they were a threat. She was held by the visions and stories the Voice put in her mind all the time.

She didn't know exactly how to respond to it, but she knew Carol was waiting on an answer. Laura remembered enough, that's all she needed. So she gave Carol another nod. Like the other questions though Laura was unable to explain exactly what she did and did not recall.

Carol's hand now came to hold Laura's arm as she turned to face the undead woman straight on. "I know Woodbury hurt you, they did this to you." She glanced down to the muzzle on Laura's face and the scars scattered across her. "But we won't ever hurt you. Do you believe me?"

Alarmed, Laura's brow furrowed as she stared at Carol. She was taken completely off guard by the woman's sudden severity.

Her intention was to assure Laura she was safe here. At least safe in the way that no one living at the prison would harm her. They were on her side as long as she was on theirs. This prison was safe for her, the people here were good.

Still, it made Laura nervous to think about being locked in with the living. She wasn't alive like they were, she was one of the walking dead outside the gates. Even if they insisted she was welcome, would they be so inviting when it came time to sit down for dinner?

An unfortunate fact of her existence was the need to eat. The walkers outside would eat anything they could reach, but their preference was human meat. Laura was no different. Her survival was the same as any other walker. The only difference between her and the walkers outside is her awareness of herself.

Despite any attempts to prove to her she was safe here, Laura could not rely on chance. When it came time for her to eat, would they accept her needs?

It definitely wasn't as though she'd go off the deep end and start killing like any other walker. She had sense and control. Eating the living would be the same as going out hunting for animals. She would hunt like she did for Woodbury and reap the rewards of her hard work.

Merle didn't care about this. He, like anyone else, found the idea of eating people... not appealing. But when it came to Laura he didn't see her as one of the living. He thought of her as a biter with a conscience. Which is exactly what she is and thus their companionship worked out smoothly.

If the rest of these two groups could view Laura the same way, she could see herself staying with them... If they could not then it was clear she could never stay.

Carol was waiting on Laura's agreeing nod which never came. The undead woman just let out another puff of air before handing Carol the mug back. She took it, her hands just hovering above Laura's own. Her eyes raised back to Laura and she gave a sad smile.

"I understand." Carol didn't know Laura's fear was being attacked for being one of the dead and eating like them. She understood that Laura didn't feel safe and didn't believe she would be at the prison. Seeing Laura's scarred body and tortured mind, Carol knew making Laura feel secure here would be hard and she was willing to put the effort in.

On the road Laura had taken care of Carol for months. She protected her, guided her, and saved her life more than once. Carol's experience traveling with Laura had helped strengthen her and her time since then only reinforced this.

Just like on the road where Laura struggled with control herself. Carol had been there to hold her steady as best she could. Now she stood a chance to really help bring Laura back and she would not give up.

Laura turned away and headed back to the gate. The keys jingled in her fingers as she wiggled the lock open. The gate was loud when it opened, shaking the chain link as Laura slipped back out, and locking it behind her.

She had enough to think about, enough to fret over without adding more from old memories. They knew her then, they wanted who she was, but she had changed. Her fear ate at the pit of her stomach and made her feel like she needed to run, to escape before she can no longer leave.

She spared Carol another nervous look. Immediately Carol smiled and gave the blue skinned woman a small wave. Laura returned the gesture just slightly which made Carol's smile even wider. Knowing the kind hearted woman smiled because of her made the corner of Laura's mouth twitch upwards. It felt a bit good to make someone like Carol smile.

That connection made her even more anxious to get away from the prison. So Laura turned to hurry back down the gravel road to the broken gate. She was so scared of them and she could not put into words why, she couldn't escape how she felt even though Carol had been nothing but kind.

Carol watched her go, her smile fading. She was so worried for Laura, so worried about her partnership with Merle too. They had been working in Woodbury together, they had survived their own life threatening situations and ended up at the same place. A place that Laura and Merle decided to leave together. Carol couldn't tell if it was a good or a bad sign that Laura and Merle were on the same page. It seems like one of those things that could go either way.

Daryl would certainly see no problem with his brother and his... Carol frowned. What was Laura and Daryl's relationship? Boyfriend and girlfriend? That felt so... juvenile. Lovers? It sounded far too sensual. How could she describe their relationship without sounding so childish and without it sounding so adult.

Whatever it was, that was up to Daryl and Laura to figure out. Carol just wanted to know how the others would react to Merle's return and his dealings with Laura.

It wouldn't be simple. Merle caused problems, he was one of those people that made trouble wherever he went. Carol knew Merle was an abuser, someone who was raised hurt and hurt others likely because he was scared himself. No matter how he dealt with everyone, his connection to his brother was always painfully clear.

The Dixon brothers were a force and not usually in the best way. It would be hard to explain Merle's position as he did attack the prison only to then turn on the other men from Woodbury and side with Laura.

That is what he did. He didn't side with the people in the prison, the group he used to be a part of. Merle actively chose to stick with Laura after she attacked those men because they 'wanted to escape Woodbury and the Governor.'

He claimed so anyways, but Carol had her suspicions that Merle sided with Laura because the two were attached, for better or worse. He wasn't going to turn on Laura and she wouldn't hurt him.

Whatever happened out there to bring these two opposite people together, Carol will never understand. Still, the had to deal with it once the rest of the group returned.

Fortunately, the wait would be short as Laura heard the car tossing up gravel as it raced back to the prison. It took a minute before it came into view and finally, their people had arrived. Laura recognized the car from the day before, the silver SUV had been parked in view when she was brought into the prison.

She hoped they had been successful and that Merle was wrong. Woodbury outnumbered them, but they had a chance. A surprise attack in the night while Woodbury thought they had gotten the upper hand by sending some of their best men to attack the prison.

Once the SUV got close to the gates it slowed almost to a stop. The people inside alarmed to see the remnants of last night's attack. Though Laura just made it back down to the gates she would have to go back up with them to unlock the gate and open it for them. No use driving up without the keys.

Inside the windows she could see Rick driving and quickly approached the driver side. They had not immediately noticed her presence as she had taken to hanging out just behind the guard station at the gate. While Rick turned the SUV to get around the broken edge of one of the gates jutting out, Laura approached them. As they started to pass the guard tower, Laura hopped onto the SUV with a loud clang.

She stood on the drivers door side step, her right hand gripping onto the roof rack so she could ride the SUV up the road without falling off. The sound of her metal gauntlets scratching the car's metal panels didn't sound great. Alarmed, the group inside turned to see Laura hanging off the side of the SUV.

More accurately they could really only see from her shoulders to her hips, but the visible blue skin told them exactly who this was. Leaning down so she could look inside the window, Laura picked the gate keys from her pocket to show them she had the way into the prison. Then she pointed to the gate and knocked her other hand on top of the car, telling them to move up.

Though the interaction was largely casual on Laura's behalf, the mere fact that Laura was standing there was startling. Even more, there were blood splatters across the tank top she wore. The last thing they saw of her is her attacking them in the prison and being locked in a cell. She had no other interactions with them beyond that. So her showing up out here with the keys to their gates... it was unexpected to say the least.

Rick only hesitated for a moment before he took off, the tires skipped on the loose gravel below before they moved. Laura brought herself back up to the car to hold on for the short ride up the hill.

The people in the car finally returning from a life risking night in the walls of Woodbury were not prepared for what they came back to. The first hit of the day was discovering Laura guarding their gates, which had been broken into. The next was being told of their arrival right now.

Once the car was within view, Carol had hurried inside to see the rest of the group. She was telling them Rick and the others were back. Instantly a few people got up to greet them and break the bad news. It wasn't going to be easy dropping another list of terrible happenings on Rick's head. So much was going wrong as it was and Rick was already cracking under the pressure.

He had been since Lori died. A point no one wanted to make, but it would have to be done.

The cell block door opened. Carol held the door for Hershel, Maggie, and Beth followed quickly by Braddock with Carl beside him. The door swung shut and the group all felt such a grand relief seeing the car pull up to the gate.

Laura hopped off the SUV door, rounding the front of the car to reach the gate lock. The moment it was off, Braddock and Laura pulled the gate open and the car rolled in slowly. Staying with the group, Laura locked the gate and joined everyone in the courtyard.

Carol came to her first, placing a hand on Laura's back and offered a soft smile. Laura flinched at the contact, but truly didn't mind interacting with Carol so much, it felt nice to have some kind of contact. Carol was not an individual capable of harming her so her anxiousness regarding her own safety was really nothing. It felt good to have someone nearby that not only wouldn't try to hurt her, but also simply couldn't. There was a sense of security there Laura had longed for. So she let Carol's hand rest on her back and approached the group together.

Though when they arrived at the crowd Laura kept a few steps away. It didn't matter how much she remembered of these people, she still felt she had to be cautious of them. Even though there was no intent to harm her here and she knew it.

Carol was completely fine with whatever Laura had to do to feel comfortable. Whatever she needed, whenever she needed it; Carol was ready to keep that distance Laura set with the rest of the group if she had to.

Carl was first to rush up, Rick kneeling down to hug his son. So much doubt ate at them all these days. There was no telling who was and who wasn't with them at the end of the day anymore. Looking at the broken gates and derelict car broken down in the field definitely told them something happened while they were gone. For just one moment Rick needed to be proven that Carl was still safe. With that done, it was time to find out exactly what was going on here.

Rick stood back up, his hand on Carl's shoulder patted him along. Approaching the group that came out to greet them he could see something was wrong. Before he could ask, Glenn had cut through the group entirely. His eyes had fallen straight onto Maggie and he could see the mark on her face and a sullen look in her eye. "Maggie-" A hand on her upper arm, the other just hovering over the bruised cheek. "What happened?"

Maggie sighed, "We were attacked last night." She looked passed Glenn to see Rick's reaction, "Woodbury came for us."

Rick searched everyone's faces. It isn't that he could not believe they attacked, but rather that he desperately wanted to know if anyone was missing. Of course, a few people were not here.

Oscar came out of the car with Micheal in tow. "Where should we go?" He didn't know what was happening, all this was so new to him. He just wanted to help Micheal out right now, he would pick up on what's going on later.

Seeing the wounded man being aided from the car, Hershel nodded to the two men. "Take him inside, have him sit at the cafeteria tables. I'll be there in a moment." It was easy to tell the wound wasn't urgent, no one was in risk of dying. Oscar made sure he had a good handle on Micheal before taking the injured man back into the prison. Braddock could see there might be an issue getting in the door, so he followed the two back to the cell block to help them. He also had a million questions for Oscar and Micheal.

"They sent people here." Rick stated, going off what Maggie had mentioned. "Is anyone...?"

Hershel shook his head, "No, we're all alive, thankfully." He looked behind Rick, peering through the people to spy Laura a few feet behind Carol. "You should be thanking Laura for that. Without her... a lot worse would've happened."

Rick turned around to see her, as did a number of the other folk standing together. Seeing so much attention on her, Laura lowered her head and averted her eyes. It was surprising to receive praise at all, she not accustomed to this and found it uncomfortable to have all eyes on her even for the briefest moment. Rick looked back to Hershel, confusion evident on his features.

Rick rationalized that this explained the new blood stains on Laura's shirt. "And they sent how many?"

Carol knew exactly what Rick was asking. He wanted to know how she changed the tide of the fight last night alone. So she interjected. Taking a big step forward, Carol answered for Hershel. "It wasn't just Laura." Once more, the group turned to the duo. Laura and Carol both now becoming the center of attention. "The men from Woodbury let her out of the cell, but when things got... bad Laura stood up for us. She attacked them and we were locked up, we couldn't help. She killed them, she protected us."

Hershel knew this would not go over well. They just had to get through this. There was no easy way of reintroducing anyone to this group, especially not him. Hershel had never met the man before, but Carol was certain to explain exactly who they had on their hands.

Taking a shaky breath, Carol focused on Daryl now. He had been silent, waiting and listening as always. There was no time to overreact to this news, he just wanted to know what happened so they can all start getting shit done. Now, though, there was a new problem that would amplify any issue their people could have. Especially for Daryl. "It was Merle."

Rick froze on the spot hearing that name. He was certain either Merle was dead or never to be heard from again. The news was beyond surprising. Rick, Glenn, and Daryl were not sure exactly how to respond. There were so many questions that eventually it all blended into one blur of confusion.

Carol's hands fidgeted nervously. "He was with Woodbury. Apparently, he's been with them for some time." Daryl was locked in thought, glancing towards Laura as he recalled Carol saying Laura killed the men from Woodbury. There was a split second of fear and doubt before Carol squashed it. "When Laura attacked the men from Woodbury, Merle helped... They're with us." She gave a momentary pleading look to Laura.

Laura obliged, if only for the person she felt safe with. She stood closer, side by side with Carol to acknowledge her explanation. Laura gave a single nod to show her solidarity.

The whole revelation was beyond what anyone had believed to be in the realm of possibility. Merle returning, Laura's... appearance, and Woodbury. So many moving pieces it was all too much for a single person.

"That's not all." Hershel commented, bringing Rick back to him. "There were some people that found their way into the prison. They were tired and lost one of their own. Despite it not being their fight, they held their own with us. You might want to hear them out."

It was overwhelming already, now even more strangers in the prison hoping to stay. Rick was struggling to even find where to begin and all the risks they faced. Then they found Laura, discovered Woodbury, and now... Rick nodded, running a hand through his hair. He had too many moving pieces right now, they really didn't need more. He didn't have all day to decide, so he turned to start heading into the cell block.

As he took a few long strides towards the cell block, he slowed and hesitated when he stood just ahead of Carol and Laura. His approach made the already tense Laura tilt her head down, still keeping an eye on him. Once he paused, his hand ran across his mouth and jaw. He thought of something to say to them, but found nothing. Laura didn't look open to the idea of discussion.

Despite this news, she still didn't look ready. Rick wanted his friend back, the group wanted her back, but he couldn't force it. She would have to come back on her own time. A part of him wanted to talk like they used to, to vent their frustrations and fears. It helped him when he needed someone to listen... Laura couldn't be there for him right now.

Maybe later, when things have truly settled. Rick returned her previous nod, acknowledging her company, before continuing his walk to the prison.

Carol's eyes flicked to Laura, her lips pursed. It seemed like that had gone better than they anticipated. But it was still early, Carol withheld her sigh of relief. With luck, the rest of the day would go by as smoothly.

The remainder of the group began to follow Rick, Hershel close behind. He had to see to Micheal and try to maintain Rick's mental well being. Hershel knew this was far from over.

Laura's tense posture began to relax seeing everyone leaving. She didn't really want to be in a small room with these groups, but she knew she needed to be there. If she was going to rejoin this group, she had to be a part of them at times like this. Her fears and discomfort would have to be pushed aside for now. It wasn't easy of course. Nothing about Woodbury was easy either, but being with this group was already miles better than anything she had at Woodbury.

Footsteps beside her. Laura was lost in her thoughts as she realized there was someone else now standing just in front of her. Her head turned from Rick and the group heading into the prison to see Daryl standing in front of her.

Carol glanced between the two, her face one of cautious hope. She smiled to Laura and Daryl, "I'm going to head inside." Her hand brushed Laura's arm for the briefest of moments before she was gone, leaving the two together.

Nervous did not begin to describe Laura. If her heart was still beating it would be racing a thousands beats a second. She felt realization dawn upon her.

He was there in those faded memories always supporting her. There were so many missing pieces to this puzzle of her life before Woodbury. But she remembered the water, him holding her, checking on her, and laying down with her.

Conversations they had vanished into the fog of her memories. She wanted to remember him and who he was more than just his name, face, and how he made her feel. It was all she had left of him, how she felt when she was with him.

She was fresh faced, impressionable, and bright eyed. He couldn't figure out why in the world she wanted to stick with him, but he didn't want to question it and ruin a good thing. Everyone had so little these days. It felt good to have someone all his own and she had felt the same way back then. She respected him, she liked him as he is and never tried to change him.

It was the same on both sides. He couldn't figure out why she wanted him and she couldn't figure out why he wanted her.

That pale skin with a blue tint, it looked so strange but not outlandish. Her eyes though were so incredibly unnatural she didn't want anyone to look at them. She hated everything about herself and knew her appearance made others nervous. So she always did her best to hide herself, but often it just was not really possible.

He hated that. Truly, he hated knowing she hid. Not because of her, but because he knew what it meant. She was scared, ashamed; that self hatred she held onto dug so deep he could see it clear as day. Now this strange appearance went to a more extreme.

Pale skin turned a strong shade of blue, her eyes more alarming than ever, and those old injuries were nothing compared the the decoration of scars and burns she survived. He never hated anything she did, he hated knowing she had to go through it.

So he stood in front of her, unsure how to approach. He wanted to see Merle... he just had to make sure she was alright. He had to know she was still there somewhere. She had been so terrified of them that she attacked them and ran. Blinded by pure terror that she couldn't recognize her friends, the people that would fight for her. That would never harm her.

Daryl wasn't sure what to say, but he knew she wouldn't say anything. So he took a cautious step towards her and gauged her reaction, a silent way of asking for her permission to approach her more directly.

Laura remembered Daryl, at least, mostly. So that pure fear of others was interrupted by a sharp, powerful pang of longing. She wanted him near her again, she wanted what they had back. It was hard letting go of her experiences at Woodbury, it would be with her forever. As Laura looked down, stuck between letting Daryl near her and those haunting memories of Woodbury... she gritted her teeth.

They did these things to her. It's their abuse that made her afraid of the people that never betrayed her trust. People that were there for her, that gave her shelter regardless of their own fear.

After the CDC, on the highway, at the Greene's farm, with Carol on the road, with Red's group at the farmhouse... They all stuck with her despite their concerns. They insisted there were none, but she had seen times where their doubts had been shown.

People were scared of her... and they let her into their home, their camp, with their families anyways. They could've killed her, torn her apart, but they didn't. Despite everything they saw in her, they welcomed her.

Laura looked back up to Daryl. If she let her fear get the best of her, they wouldn't have to kill her. She would do it herself. Her anger towards Woodbury and the pain they caused her had a new target, something she could control right now.

So she took a deep, shaky breath and exhaled. Laura could feel her eyes sting, the tears starting to drip trails down her face. Instantly, Daryl was on her. He was careful with her, but firm. His arms were around her the second she opened up. The sudden embrace made her jump and he felt it, but she did not withdraw. What little air was left in her lungs was squeezed out of her. The burn on her stomach throbbed at the pressure, making her grunt. But It wasn't too much, he wasn't too forceful with her. She loved this; being held by him again. So she ignored the pain to enjoy his closeness.

She fit against him so perfectly, her muzzled face in the crook of his neck. Her arms hanging to the side, she was unsure if she could return the hug with her gauntlets on. They definitely had some pointy edges, but she desperately wanted to hold him too. All she could manage was bringing her arms up and around his sides gently, not placing her hands on him to keep the sharp metal away from him.

Once she found her spot, she started to feel her body melt away. Tense muscles started to unwind and she was stunned at how much better it felt not to be alone anymore. She swallowed hard, trying to find some stability as her tears fell.

It couldn't last forever though and Daryl had to pull away. She wanted to complain, tell him just a few more minutes before they faced the rest of the day. The muzzle kept her pleas silent and she figured that was likely for the best. They had so much to do and now there would be time for each other later.

Seeing her so distraught, unable to dry her face with those contraptions on, Daryl reached up to do so for her. The second his hand come into view, Laura's body tensed and her eyes shut out of habit. Woodbury taught her not to recoil or avoid the torture they inflicted, she had to brace for it and nothing else. He hesitated, his other hand on her upper arm lightly rubbing up to her shoulder.

"Hey now," How much he hated seeing that flinch return. She used to do it all the time back after they left the quarry and it had finally gone away on the Greene's farm. To see how she prepared to be struck, that hurt to watch. "I'm not gonna do nothing, you know I wouldn't."

Laura nodded, still a bit tense. She pushed that jolt of fear she felt down, letting him brush away the tears that soaked her face. He could only do so much with the muzzle there though.

"Need to get this damn thing off you." He wanted it to come off, he wanted to see her face without seeing that monstrosity strapped to her anymore. When he reached behind her head to find the buckle that kept it in place, she pulled her head away. Curious, Daryl frowned. "Don't want it off?"

She shook her head, unable to clearly answer him. It wasn't about wanting it on or off, it was about what it would take to remove it. The muzzle had been nailed into her jaw. Without some pliers at the very least there would be no way to remove it. They would have to wait.

Daryl nodded. He didn't get all that of course, he could only tell she said no. For now, he let it go. He wouldn't press the issue, now was not the time. He gestured to the cell block, "We should get in there."

Laura agreed entirely, but she wanted to do something. With the muzzle on, she was restricted but the meaning would be clear. She leaned up, placing her head beside his and pressing the side of her face to his, trying to be aware of the muzzle while telling him she wanted to give him a small kiss. Something sweet, a sign of her affection for him since she couldn't really hug him.

He picked up on it, one of his hands raising to the back of her neck. He pressed her to him again, giving her a kiss just above her brow. She sighed in relief, it felt better than she could put into words. "I gotcha, girl. It's alright." His hand scuffed up her hair for a moment before he pulled away entirely. "Let's get inside."

Daryl lead the way with Laura very close beside him. She had finally got that connection she wanted so badly back and she was going to keep it.

He spared her a look she couldn't read. "Is Merle really here?" His question was not unexpected. She was certain there would be a lot to discuss and even more to explain. So Laura nodded once, solid confirmation his brother was finally back.

After so long he wasn't sure how to really handle this news. They were all sure he was likely dead or never to be seen again. Him returning with Laura from Woodbury, a place that did... all that to her seemed surreal.

Once they got to the cell block door, before Daryl opened it he turned to Laura to get something out of the way. He had to do it now, before he saw his brother. There was a lot of baggage that came with Merle returning in his life. Daryl was not prepared to share with Laura and he was certain if Merle knows about them or he learns here and now, that a lot of that baggage would come right back to the surface.

He had to be prepared for that at least. Daryl placed a hand on her shoulder, his other hand on the door handle. "Woodbury hurt you, I know that. I won't ask what they did." Laura was a little surprised to hear him bring it up at this moment. Bad timing for certain. "But Merle... Did he ever hurt you?"

Oh. Laura had to be careful. She had to tell the truth which is Merle was initially part of the group that captured and interrogated her... But he was not part of it after the first day or so. The start was nothing more than what anyone could expect from that situation. They hit her, questioned her, threatened her. When that didn't work the most... criminal of torture began.

Merle was not there for that. He had not met her again until well after that. So in truth he did cause her pain, he had attacked her, shot at her, and was with the first group that questioned her. But the torture, the real torture... No, he was not.

She did not care about the early days when they simply asked her questions, starved her for a couple days, knocked her around a little. It was relatively tame at that point and Laura did not consider that part of the truly terrible crimes they committed against her.

She shook her head. Merle did what he was meant to do at Woodbury, but when it came to torture he was not there for it. By the time she saw Merle again she was leashed and trusted to be outside the walls of Woodbury.

Acknowledging her denial of Merle harming her, Daryl opened the door and Laura entered the cell block with him just behind.

Salice89:
I'm glad you enjoy it! It's nice to see people coming back after a LONG time on hiatus. I'm looking forward to writing more!

Gilyflower:
Aww, I'm glad I can make people happy. The best part about continuing this fic is how many people have been messaging saying how I made their day. You make me want to write a hundred more chapters! :)

MoonLunacy:
WOOOO I'M BACK! Haha, I'm glad my character interactions are doing well. My favorite thing to write is characters interacting in some way. It's the most fun and honestly, it's what I love reading the most too. That's pretty much what I'm going for. Laura had so much to deal with at first, but now there's a few facet to it I'll be able to touch on in the next few chapters. :)
And you are entirely correct. I really hope this is better, don't be afraid to tell me what you think! I rely on you guys so much to help guide the story and writing. It really means a lot to hear from you!

OnyxvanGem:
I don't recognize your name, but I'm floored to hear readers coming back after so long away. I'm sorry it's taken so long, things got out of hand, but I missed writing this story so much I could never stay away entirely. I must've had 20 little snippets for the future written out and lost.
I can't wait to give you more updates, I hope you enjoy them!

AtlasNerd:
I'm sorry it took so long. You've waited a long time! I hope you like the recent update, I'm working on getting back on track!

FireEatsSky:
Haha! This story is as dead as a walker like Laura, perhaps. I really want to continue, I'm desperate to write more!

jaclynencizo:
Here's some more to enjoy! Only about 8k words, but it's hopefully enough to kick off another 50k like old times!

LittleMeep:
I remember your name, I believe. You've reviewed a lot before! I hope this update finds you well, it's been a long time coming!

McShizzles:
I haven't listened to the musical, but you have me intrigued! After listening to Hamilton endlessly I need a new musical to obsess over!

Emeraldramanti:
I'm happy to hear you enjoy it! Poor Laura sure has been through a lot, I hope to help her experience some good things soon! :)

Jomobabe45:
Aww, that's so sweet! I'm happy you like it so much! I know I've gone through books upon books worth of Daryl fics and still don't have a fav lol