Chapter Text
Denise rushed him inside the first unlocked house they found and at that point Owen is in a daze, unaware of his surroundings, reconsidering his actions and principles as soon as he recognizes what he just did.
The realization that he turned back to save the Alexandria doctor from a walker, sacrificing his arm in the process, hit him unexpectedly hard and he was visibly having a difficult time processing it. Denise was unaware of this, making her first priority to save Owen’s life as she promised to do.
“The infirmary is right across the alley we need to get you there now!”
Using his belt to put together a makeshift tourniquet so he doesn’t lose any more blood, she finally looks up and his stunned expression.
“Hey!” he wastes no time vocalizing his thoughts with puzzlement and slight fear.
“The ladder was clear… I could’ve made it…”
“You turned back for me. Maybe it’s because you needed a doctor… or maybe you changed.” Denise smirks knowingly as she notices, by his confusion, that his situation is the latter.
“You ready?” Owen looks at Denise in the eyes silently confirming that he’s set on making it and help her get to the infirmary, still not quite sure about why part of him feels like he could still sacrifice her and let himself die like he thinks he should in the woods, out there.
Not because he wants to die, but because he understands his time has come, after all, that’s the way of the world.
Another part of him though, a much bigger part of him, is acting upon what Morgan preached to him during the days he was held captive. And what Denise said, in the short time he’s known her.
They spoke much louder now, he felt like he understood, yet the uncertainty in the back of his head makes him wonder about why his impulses brought him here, why he found himself saving a girl he barely knows, why he listened to, who he believed to be, a blindly hopeful and misguided man.
Nevertheless, he was set on getting where Denise needed to go, whether he was a dead man or not.
They dash towards the garage entrance, opening it and hoping they can make a run for it in the midst of all those walkers. «
Owen goes in front of Denise, shoving and ramming the walking dead bodies in sight to clear the way for them and Denise followed closely behind so that the chances of the abhorrent monsters getting to them from behind was minimal.
As Owen was focused on her and the straight line between them and the infirmary entrance, Denise tried to be as careful as possible, looking around at her surroundings, making sure no monster gets dangerously close behind them.
She notices a figure in the dark, too swift and agile to be a walker.
She doesn’t take long to notice, even in the dark, Carol’s white shirt and short grey hair, standing in the porch on their left, pointing a gun at either the walkers surrounding them or at Owen.
As she ponders about whether she should scream at her to not shoot Owen or stay silent to not draw attention to her hoping she doesn’t shoot him, she realizes she strayed a little too far from him.
Before she could react, one of the walkers firmly grabbed her by the arms and she immediately attempts to shove it off, trying not to scream.
Now hyper aware of her close surroundings she notices another two walkers getting impossibly close behind her.
Next thing Denise hears, besides the walkers moaning and grunting, is a loud gunshot.
Blood and guts are splattered around her and the walker in front of her gets aggressively pushed off with Owen’s help as he, once again, goes back to save her.
Quickly looking back and up at the porch she realizes Carol disposed of the other two behind her.
“Go!” she yells urgently and with all the noise, most of the walkers focus on Carol, prompting Owen to take the initiative and grab Denise’s hand as they make a run for it in the dark.
Shoving a few walkers still in the way with his infected arm, Owen tugs Denise to keep up with him as Heath and Aaron quickly open the door letting the two inside the infirmary.
“You okay?” Spencer hurriedly asks.
“I’m fine, how are my patients?”
“They’re doing well, we moved them upstairs just in case” Heath replies, still on edge about the critical situation they’re all in.
At first no one thinks twice about the person with Denise, not even entertaining the thought that he might be anyone from outside the community or even a threat but it doesn’t take long for them to notice the torn clothes, the dirt and, more evidently, the 'W' carved in his forehead.