Stay With Me

Daryl's POV

Gunfire roared around me, but all I could think about was keepin' her safe. I fired off a shot, takin' down a Savior who'd been stupid enough to come at Rick. Blood sprayed, and he dropped.

Then I turned back to Ath.

She was holdin' her own, gun up, eyes fierce. But then - shit - I caught movement to her right. Another Savior. Bastard was already raisin' his weapon. My heart damn near stopped.

"Ath!" I hollered, throwin' my rifle up and squeezin' the trigger.

The shot echoed. The Savior crumpled. But I wasn't fast enough, and the crack of a gunshot split the air.

Ath stumbled back like the ground'd been yanked from under her. Her face twisted in shock, her mouth partin' like she couldn't catch her breath. Blood bloomed from her side, so dark it damn near made me sick. Her gun slipped from her fingers, clatterin' against the pavement. Then she fell.

"NO!"

My voice ripped from my throat, but I couldn't hear nothin' over the poundin' in my chest. My legs burned as I ran, the rifle still tight in my hands. She was on the ground, one hand pressed against her side, blood spillin' through her fingers. Her eyes met mine, wide and terrified.

Then a shadow loomed.

A Savior stood over her, his gun raised for the finishin' blow. My body moved before my mind could catch up. I aimed.

Bang.

The bastard's head snapped back, blood splatterin' the pavement. He dropped like a sack of rocks.

"Ath!"

I was on my knees beside her, throwin' my rifle aside. My hands shook as I cupped her face, her skin so damn pale.

"Hey," I rasped, my voice crackin'. "Hey, Ath, look at me. Stay with me, alright?"

She tried. I saw it in her eyes - the fight. But her breath was comin' in short, ragged gasps. Blood seeped out faster than I could stop it. I pressed my hands against the wound, but it didn't feel like enough. Nothin' felt like enough.

"Shit," I choked. "Yur alright, ya hear me? Yur gonna be alright."

Her lips parted, but nothin' came.

I couldn't lose her. Not her.

"Stay awake," I pleaded, my tears droppin' onto her skin. "Stay awake, Ath. Please."

Her body trembled, then went still. Her head lolled against my chest, and her eyes started to close. No. No, no, no.

"Fuck," I gasped, pressin' harder. Her blood was everywhere. On my hands. Soakin' through my shirt. "Stay with me, baby. Please, jus' - jus' stay with me."

Her breaths slowed. The world blurred. The fight still raged on around us, but I couldn't hear it.

"Don't ya leave me," I begged, my voice barely a whisper. "I need ya, Ath. I need ya."

But her eyes fluttered shut. Her body went limp.

"Ath!" I sobbed, clutchin' her tighter. "Ath!"

The moment her body went slack against me, I thought I was gonna break.

She wasn't movin'. More blood soaked through her shirt, runnin' over my hands, and I couldn't stop it.

"Goddammit," I choked, my tears fallin' as I rocked her. "Don't do this, Ath. Don't you fuckin' do this."

Gunfire still echoed. The fight wasn't over. People were screamin', bullets tearin' through the air. I barely noticed. All I could see was her.

A voice came, gruff and familiar. "Shit, man!"

I looked up, and there he was - Merle. His face twisted in shock, eyes wide as he took in her limp body. He wasn't wearin' his usual mess of leather and denim. No, he had on that damn Kingdom armor, all shiny and patched together like somethin' outta a storybook.

"Help me," I growled, my throat tight. "We gotta move her."

Merle didn't hesitate. He tossed his rifle over his shoulder, stompin' through the dirt toward us. His hand gripped my shoulder, firm but shakin'.

"Jesus Christ," he muttered, his eyes locked on the blood that was still seepin' through my fingers. "How bad?"

"Bad," I spat, my voice barely holdin'. "Real bad."

He didn't waste no time. "C'mon, little brother."

I slipped my arms under her, one beneath her legs, the other cradlin' her back. Her head rested against my chest, her blood fuckin' everywhere. Every step I took, I could feel the heat of it soakin' deeper. I grit my teeth and pushed forward.

Merle kept pace, his hand steadyin' me when my legs threatened to buckle. He was mutterin' under his breath, cursin' at the world, at the Saviors, at everything. But I couldn't focus on it. My ears were ringin'. My vision blurred. All I could think about was keepin' her here.

"Stay with me, Ath," I whispered again, holdin' her closer. "Stay with me. Please."

We stumbled behind a half-busted truck, the gunfire dullin' for a moment. Merle pulled his pistol, peekin' around the edge to cover us.

"Clear enough," he growled. "We gotta move. Now."

I nodded, my arms screamin' from the weight, but I didn't stop. Couldn't stop.

"Hold on, Ath," I rasped, the words breakin' in my throat. "We're almost there, baby."

The infirmary wasn't far, but now the streets felt like they stretched on forever. Every stumble, every second, I felt her slippin' further.

Merle kept glancin' at her, fear in his eyes. "She's tough," he muttered. "Ain't goin' out like this."

We both knew he wasn't sure. But neither of us said it.

When we finally reached the infirmary, I damn near collapsed. The door banged open at Merle's kick and Tara came rushin' over. Blood already on her shirt. Rosita's.

"She's hit." I forced out, my voice crackin'. "She-" I lost the words.

Tara led us to a cot and I laid her down, then I staggered back for a second, chest heavin', my hands still stained with her blood. Merle caught my arm, his grip firm. I could feel him shakin', too.

My legs felt like they might give out any second, but I stayed right there next to her, my hands pressin' down on the rag Tara had shoved against her side. Blood soaked through it in seconds, warm and slick, and I pushed harder. My insides felt like they were twistin'.

Tara's hands worked fast, tryin' to swap out the bloodied rags while I kept pushin' down. Ath's face was pale, sweat gatherin' at her temples.

"I- I can't stop it," Tara stammered, panickin'. "It's too much blood. I don't know what to do!"

I clenched my jaw, feelin' my throat burn.

She wasn't dyin'. She wasn't.

"We need a doctor." Tara's voice cracked, her hands shakin'. She tore through the busted-up med kit at her side. "She - she needs stitches, blood, something to stop the bleeding'. I can't-" She broke off, her voice caught somewhere between panic and guilt.

I shook my head, refusin' to hear it. I could give her blood. I had before. But not until we'd stopped the bleedin'. We had to do that first.

"Gotta be a way." Merle insisted.

Tara's breaths came quick, like she was tryin' to keep it together. "We need Beth," she finally whispered. "She's the only one who might know what to do."

Beth.

She'd learned from Hershel, patched people up plenty of times. She'd saved lives before. But she wasn't here. She was out there, fightin', hopefully not gunned down already.

My stomach twisted. The thought of leavin' Ath, even for a second, I couldn't deal with it. But watchin' her slippin' away? That was worse. My hands shook, still pressin' against the rag. She still wasn't breathin' right.

"Shit," I rasped, my voice breakin'. "I'll find her."

"I'll go." Merle's voice cut through the panic. "Yur stayin'. She needs ya here."

I opened my mouth to argue, but he wasn't wrong. I couldn't leave Ath like this. Not now.

"Ain't no damn argument, little brother," he hollered, already half way out the door.

Tara's eyes widened. "Daryl. You're hit too..."

I frowned, followin' her eyeline to the crimson stain spreadin' through my sleeve. I hadn't even noticed. My whole body was numb, the ache in my chest drownin' out everything else. "Damnit," Tara cursed, grabbin' at the tattered med kit again. "Sit down before you pass out!"

"I ain't sittin'," I barked, shakin' her off. "Not until we stop her bleedin' out!"

The door busted open again, slammin' hard against the wall, and Merle stormed back in with Beth already. Must'a got lucky, found her easy.

She was right behind him, breathless and wide-eyed, wearin' patched-up Kingdom armor. Her eyes locked straight onto Ath sprawled out on the cot, blood still seepin' through the rags I'd been pressin' to her side.

"Oh my God," Beth gasped, shovin' past Merle, nearly trippin' in her rush.

"She's alive," I rasped, though the words felt damn near hollow. My arms ached from keepin' pressure on the wound, but I didn't dare let up. "But she ain't gonna be for long if you don't do somethin'."

Beth's eyes met mine, wide and scared. That same knot twisted up in my gut - the fear of losin' her, of losin' Ath. But then Beth blinked hard, and that fear? Gone. Just like that.

I saw it shift. That steely look settlin' in, like she'd done made up her mind. I'd seen it before. Back when Hershel lost his leg, when every second tickin' by meant the difference between life and death. She wasn't that scared little girl from the farm no more.

"Tara, get the rest of the medical supplies. Anything we've got," Beth barked, already at the cot. Her hands hovered over Ath's side, takin' it all in - the blood, her pale face, the way her chest barely moved.

Tara didn't even blink. She bolted from the room, her boots poundin'. Merle stayed frozen by the door, still pantin' from the run, but his eyes stayed locked on Ath. For once, he didn't have no smartass remark.

"Daryl," Beth's voice pulled me back. "You've gotta let me see."

"I can't-" My throat tightened, still pressin' down on Ath's wound. "She's losin' too much."

"I know," Beth said, her hands wrappin' 'round mine. "But I can't help her if you don't let go."

My jaw clenched. Every muscle in me screamed to keep holdin' on. But I didn't have no choice.

Slowly, I pulled my hands away. Blood welled up straight away, dark and thick.

"Okay," Beth murmured, steady even though her hands were tremblin'.

I stayed right there, watchin' every move she made. Beth pressed clean rags against the wound, her fingers quick and sure. The girl knew what she was doin'. "She's still breathin'," she muttered under her breath. "That's good."

"She's strong," I choked out. "She ain't quittin'."

Beth nodded, but I caught the flicker of fear still hidin' in her eyes. "Merle," she barked, glancin' up. "Boil some water. We need clean towels, needle, thread - anything for stitches. Now."

He gave a stiff nod and got movin'.

"She's gonna be okay," Beth said again, though I weren't sure if she was talkin' to me or herself. Her hands never stopped movin', fightin' to stop the bleedin', her armor now smeared with Ath's blood. "She's gonna be okay."

She kept tryin' to slow it, but it wasn't workin'. I could see it in her eyes - the fear creepin' back.

"Come on," she muttered. Her fingers fumbled as she pulled the rag away, her face blanchin' at how much blood had pooled beneath it.

Then her eyes locked on the wound, her brow furrowin' deep. She didn't say nothin' at first, just leaned in closer, the color drainin' from her face.

"There's no exit wound," she whispered, her voice barely above a breath. "It - it didn't go through."

It sank in. "Fuck."

I felt like the ground had been yanked out from under me. In the panic, I hadn't even checked. No exit wound meant the bullet was still in there, doin' God knows what.

"She's still bleeding inside," Beth went on. "I've - I've gotta get the bullet out."

My stomach turned. I opened my mouth to argue, to tell her there had to be another way - but there wasn't. Beth knew it. I knew it.

"She's gonna die if we don't," she said firmly, like she was tryin' to convince herself as much as me. Her hands gripped the bloodstained rag tighter. "I have to do it."

I swallowed hard, noddin' even though every part of me wanted to scream. "Tell me what ya need."

Beth's eyes flicked up to mine, resolute. "I need somethin' to get it out. A knife, tweezers, anything. And she's gonna need water. Clean water."

"Merle's boilin' it," I said quickly.

"Oh yeah. Good... Okay... Somethin' for the pain. She's gonna feel every bit of this if we don't."

Tara stumbled back into the room then, her arms full of whatever she could find - towels, more rags, and a mostly empty bottle of liquor. She saw the look on Beth's face and froze.

"Oh God," Tara whispered, knowing things were headin' South. "What do we do?"

Beth grabbed the bottle from her hands, twistin' off the cap. "We do what we have to."

I moved to the other side of the cot, my hands hoverin' over Ath's face. She was still pale, her breaths too shallow, but she was alive. That was all that mattered right now.

"I'm right here," I choked out. "I ain't goin' nowhere. Beth's gonna fix ya up."

Beth's voice broke through, steady and firm. "Daryl, hold her still."

I nodded, my hands shakin' as I cradled Ath's face.

Beth poured the liquor over her hands, the sharp smell stingin' my nose. She locked eyes with me one last time.

"This is gonna be bad," she said softly.

"I know," I rasped. "Do it."

A/N: I hope you enjoyed a Daryl POV!