⌜ chapter eight ⌟

"Hey, baby?" MJ's voice is soft, she's carrying her daughter through the woods because Ellie's lost a lot of blood and her leg is hurting her. "When exactly did your uncle give you that gun?"

"Before you both went away." Ellie says, fighting to stay awake.

"Two years ago?"

"Mhm."

"Hey, Daryl, remind me to kill my brother if we ever find him." MJ stumbles, and he reaches out and grabs her waist to keep her standing.

"You gotta make it to the house first." He says, and her grip on Ellie tightens.

Her left arm is wrapped around her daughter's back and the twelve-year-old's arms are around her neck. Carrying her isn't easy, especially since her right shoulder still hurts, but she'll be damned if she makes her daughter take another pain-filled step.

"Sophia?" MJ looks behind her.

"I got her." Daryl says as he places his hand on the back of Sophia's shoulder and makes her start walking in front of him.

"Mama, who taught you to shoot?"

"Daddy." Ellie says, her voice barely a whisper.

MJ bounces her and pats her back. "You gotta stay awake, my love. Just till we talk to Hershel, and he checks on you." She says.

"I can't."

"I know it's hard, baby, but you have to. Just a little longer." She says. "We're almost there."

They break the tree line, and MJ tries to walk faster, but she's weak and tired. MJ's leading the way with Ellie, then it's Sophia, and Daryl's right behind her. They're all exhausted.

"Rick!" Andrea calls from the top of the RV.

"What is it?" He asks as he walks over. "We got walkers?"

"No. I think—" The blonde's looking through the binoculars. "I think it's MJ and Daryl. They have the kids!" She yells, and he immediately takes off running with Glenn, T, and Shane right behind him.

Rick makes it to them just as MJ's about to collapse. He gets ahold of her, and Shane's on her other side in an instant.

"Take her." MJ says. "She needs Hershel...and Matt."

"Mommy?" Ellie lifts her head.

"A snake bit her, but I don't know what kind it was. I don't know if it was venomous or not." She says as Rick starts to take the girl.

"No, Mommy." She tries to hold onto her.

"Hey, baby, it's okay. Baby, Rick is Mommy's friend. He's just gonna take you inside. He's gonna take care of you." MJ tells her. "It's okay. You can trust him. Go ahead."

"I got her." Rick says as he gets her away from MJ.

"If Matt's not there, have Jack stay with her." She calls after him. "She knows him, they're friends."

"I've got her. Don't worry." He says and then starts running for the house.

"What about Sophia?" Glenn asks. "Was she hurt?" He kneels down to her height.

"She's dehydrated." Daryl tells him. "They both are. Get her somethin' to drink."

"I'll take care of her." He says as he steers her toward the house.

"What the hell happened to you two?" T questions as he helps Daryl.

"Come on." Shane bends down and picks up MJ; he starts carrying her back to the house.

"This doesn't mean I have to like you, does it?" MJ asks, her voice weak.

"Not at all."

"Good." She pats his cheek and then she just goes limp in his arms.

"MJ?" He looks down at her. "Shit." He curses and then starts moving faster, which isn't easy because he still has a hurt ankle.

—

MJ opens her eyes and the first thing she sees is a white ceiling. She looks around the room and sees Daryl next to her. They're both on a bed, and he's not wearing his shirt anymore, but there's a bandage wrapped around his torso and the sheet's pulled up across him.

"Hey, hey." Matt sits down next to her, and she looks at him.

"Ellie." She tries to push herself up, but just ends up groaning in pain. "Ellie..."

"She's fine." He tells her as he makes her lay back down on the mattress. "She's in her room and she's just fine. The snake that bit her wasn't venomous, but she did lose a lot of blood."

"Is she..."

"She's fine." He repeats. "She's sleeping."

"She said that something bit her, and I... I was so scared." She tells him. "Even after I saw it wasn't a walker bite, I just... I was terrified that we were gonna lose her too."

"We're not." He takes her hand in his, and she flinches, causing him to be more gentle. Her knuckles are bruised from hitting Meg. "Sorry." He sighs as he glances at Daryl. He's not asleep, but they don't know that. "What the hell happened to you two out there?"

"Meg." She sighs as he pushes a bit of her blonde hair off of her forehead. "The bitch scared the horse, made it fling us. Daryl fell down a hill, into the creek."

"And you got into a fist fight with a demon."

"You taught our daughter how to shoot a gun." She tries to hit his arm, but she's too weak. "She shot Meg in the leg. She wasn't​ supposed to ever be in that position. I was trying to protect them from growing up like me. And Dean... He- He gave her that gun."

"I can't speak for your brother, but I didn't teach Ellie to shoot until after you died." He tells her, trying to get her to calm down. "I just wanted her to know how to protect herself if anything ever happened to me."

"You should go."

"You're mad?" He questions.

"No." She shakes her head. "God, no. I don't have the energy...or right to be mad. One of us should be with her when she wakes up, and it obviously can't be me." She says, and he nods. He leans down and kisses her forehead before leaving the room.

MJ puts her left arm over her face and she starts to cry — this being the reason she asked Matt to go. Daryl looks at her and he sighs, causing her to look at him. She quickly wipes her cheeks and pushes herself into a sitting position, groaning in the process.

"Are you okay?" He asks, and she doesn't​ say anything. If she opens her mouth to speak, she'll just start crying again.

The door opens, and Carol walks in. She has a tray of food in her hands. "Honey, you're supposed to be resting." She says as she sets the tray down on the nightstand beside Daryl's side of the bed. "Hershel says he's sorry you can't be in your own beds, but they're running out of space. With Carl in one room, and the girls in another, there just isn't—" She stops when she walks around the bed and sees MJ barely holding it together.

She's hunched over and her head is hanging with her hair fallen forward. She's gripping the bed as tightly as she can in her weakened state. Her eyes are shut and her lower lip is trembling.

"Oh, sweetie." Carol sits on her left side and pulls her into a hug.

In that moment, MJ completely loses her composure and she starts sobbing. She leans into the older woman and stays in her arms.

Hours later, MJ and Daryl are left alone in the room. It's the middle of the night, but they're both awake. He's on his side because Hershel doesn't want him putting any pressure on the wound in his torso. MJ's laying on her back, staring up at the ceiling.

"I'm sorry." She says suddenly, and he looks at her.

"What for?"

"It's my fault that you were hurt."

"You push me off the horse?" He questions.

"The horse got spooked because of the thing that was after me." She tells him. "It was a demon — we call it Meg. It possessed a girl a few years ago, and that was her name." She explains. "I told you that my family made a lot of enemies. Sometimes they find us."

"What happened to me ain't your fault." He says, and she scoffs. "It ain't."

"Yeah, it is. The people who get close to us always end up hurt." She says. "My friend — one of my best friends... She was hurt trying to protect my brother. She was attacked by a hellhound and the injury killed her. Then her mom sacrificed herself to save the rest of us."

"You can't blame yourself."

"You wouldn't be saying that if you knew everything." She tells him. "These things like hurting us. And sometimes the best form of torture is leaving us untouched while the people we care about suffer."

"Well, I ain't gonna blame you." He tells her, and she sighs as she closes her eyes.

"Gabriel, I need to talk to you." She whispers, and Daryl's eyebrows furrow as he looks at her. "I know that you know where I am, and I know you can hear me. So, come over here you spineless, feathered jackass." She says and then she hears wings flutter.

"Spineless?" Gabriel questions, and she pushes herself up. "Let me help—"

"Touch me, and I'll kill you." She blocks him from touching her forehead.

"You don't have your angel blade, but whatever you say." He holds his hands up and backs away from her. "What do you want?"

"Meg said she wants to open the cage. Is it possible?" She asks as she stands up, but not without difficulty.

"Who?" He questions.

"She's a demon. One of your brother's loyal followers." She tells him. "Can the demons open the cage?"

"No."

"Are you sure? She seemed pretty convinced."

"Not possible." He shakes his head. "They don't have the key."

"She doesn't want the rings." She shakes her head. "She came for Jack." He visibly tenses when he hears that, and MJ raises her eyebrows. "He can't open it. Can he?"

"He doesn't​ have his grace. Kid's powerless." He sits in a chair in the corner of the room.

"No. What was that?" She asks as she leans against the wall for support. "You reacted when I said that she came for Jack. Why?"

"How much does your friend know?" He looks at Daryl.

"He knows about angels and demons. Now answer my question."

"Does he know about Jack?"

"That he's a Nephilim — yes."

"Who his father is?" He asks, and her jaw tightens. He nods. "Well, Nephilim are supposed to become more powerful than their angelic parent. So, theoretically, if he had his power... It's possible that there's a possibility that he could maybe open the cage."

"Possible that there's a possibility?" She questions. "Yes or no, you feathered douche-nozzle."

"You are too much like Dean." He makes tsk noises, and she lets out this half growl noise, much to his amusement. "I don't know."

"Who does?" She asks, and he just quirks an eyebrow. "Well, I don't exactly have Him on speed dial. Do you?"

"I think you already know the answer to that question."

She sighs as she leans her head against​ the wall, still looking at him. "Crowley said that my mother's alive. Is that true?" She asks.

He shrugs. "Could be."

"Do you know who was brought back?"

"Jessica Moore."

"I'm gonna kick your ass."

"You can hardly stand on your own." He says, and she pushes herself off the wall. He smiles. "You always were my favorite."

"Who, Gabriel?"

"I haven't found every possibility, but I've found some." The archangel tells her. "It's not an easy task. They're all hidden, like you."

"What? Why?" She asks, confused.

"I don't know."

"Why are you looking for them?"

"This annoyingly little human accused me of sitting on my ass and hiding like a coward when my help would matter the most." He says, and a smile spreads across her face.

"Sounds like a smart girl." She says, and he shrugs.

"That remains to be seen." He says, and she rolls her eyes.

"Who..." She takes a deep breath. "Who have you found?"

"Jo and Ellen are with Addy and Dana." He tells her, and she lets out a shaky breath as she leans against a wall again. "Sam and Adam are together."

She nods. "Are they all you've found so far?"

"Yeah. And Jessica." He stands up. "Who else should I be looking for? Who else was killed by a creature?"

"Azazel killed my mom and her parents. Demons killed Ash. Bill Harvelle was killed on a hunt with my dad, but that wasn't really related to all this, so I don't know if he'd..." She sighs, and he nods. "Your dickhead brother killed Bobby and Cas."

"Anybody else?"

"Kelly." She says.

"Okay." He nods. "I'll check in when I have more to tell."

"Where are they?" She asks, and he sighs as he looks at her. "You can't not tell me."

"I think there's a reason they weren't dropped back with you." He says. "I think you've gotta find them yourself."

"Says who?"

"You know who."

"Who cares?" She questions. "This is my family."

"I think He knows what He's doing." He says, and her jaw tightens.

"Do you know where Dean is? And my dad?"

He shakes her head. "I haven't found them yet." He tells her. "But Addy, Dana, Ellen, and Jo are together and alive. Sam and Adam are alive and they're with someone."

She nods. "Thank you."

"Are you sure I can't heal you?" He asks, and she shakes her head.

"I'll be fine. You can ask him though." She motions to Daryl, who's been confused the entire time.

"Pass." Daryl says, and Gabriel looks back over at MJ.

"I'll be around. I'll track him if you're not here anymore." He motions to Daryl, and she nods. "Be careful, kid."

"What do I do if anyone comes for Jack?" She asks, and he pauses for a second.

"You call me." He tells her. "I'll come."

She nods, and he disappears. MJ leans against the wall, and Daryl looks at her. He can see that she's not just worried about her family, she's afraid.

"Jess died?" He asks, and she nods. "So how is she alive now?"

"She was brought back."

"By who?"

"Gabriel's father." She says, and he looks at her, confused.

"Who, God?" He questions.

"I call him Chuck, but yeah." She chuckles to herself. "Makes me feel less insane."

"Why Chuck?"

"That's the name of the prophet that he's...possessing, I guess." She tells him.

"God." He nods. "Alright."

"Yeah."

"Why are demons and angels after Jack?" He asks, and she looks at him. "Still ain't trust me?"

"It's not that simple." She tells him, shaking her head. "He's happy here, or close to it. I've jeopardized that so much already. You won't want him here if I tell you the rest. And it's not fair to him. He's a good kid."

"I like the kid. There's a strange sort'a innocence about him for how old he is."

"He's not as old as he looks." She says. "He was born, and it was too dangerous for him to be a baby. He had to grow up."

"What are you sayin'?"

"Jack was born in March." She tells him.

"Of when?" He questions.

"Last March. This year."

"He..." He gives her a questioning look, and she nods. "Seriously?"

"Could you imagine him only being a baby, and having heaven and hell looking for him?" She asks. "He had his grace and he grew up, but he wanted to be human. He doesn't have it anymore and it almost killed him. I don't know how he's alive, but I'm guessing it has something to do with... Well, with Chuck." She reluctantly tells him.

"Huh."

"Are you getting it now?" She asks. "Some things just have to stay between Jack and I, for his safety." He nods, and she sighs in relief. "Thank you."

"You should get some sleep." He says, and she nods, knowing that he's right, but instead she limps over to the window to look outside at the night sky. She doesn't want to deal with all of the nightmares that'll come with going back to sleep.