"Merle! Are you ready yet?"
"Woman don't yell at me. I'll be ready when i'm ready."
"You're worse then a woman when it comes to being on time! We are going to miss our plane. It's already 7."
Daryl shook his head and listened to the banter between his older brother, Merle Dixon, and his wife, Cheyenne Dixon. They where headed out on a vacation before the arrival of Daryl's first niece or nephew. He couldn't wait to be an uncle and knew that his brother would be a great dad. Unlike their piece of crap father. He knew that Merle would never get drunk and abuse Cheyenne, causing her to take her own life, or beat and neglect their kid.
Cheyenne came out of the bedroom rolling a giant suit case behind her.
"You got anything else?" Daryl asked.
"Yes, I have a duffle bag on the bedroom floor and that should about do it."
"I'll go get it for you." Daryl offered as he walked past Cheyenne.
"Thanks Daryl. You know, i'm 30 weeks now, so I am still able to carry my own bags, but I truly appreciate it."
"I know." He said with a chuckle. "Don't think I forgive you for not letting me find out if I will have a niece or nephew though."
Cheyenne sighed and turned to look at him. "We want to be surprised!" She said with a smile.
"What about names?"
"We also want to wait and name the baby when he or she is born. We figured, why not wait and look at the baby first and that way we don't end up giving him or her the wrong name."
"I told her that names would be the last thing on her mind. She's stubborn though and won't listen." Merle said as he drug his own suitcase and duffle bag into the living room.
"It's about time." Cheyenne said, slightly annoyed. "We only have 1 hour to get to the airport."
"Oh hush woman. We'll make it." Merle said as he slapped her on the butt, causing a girlish squeal to escape.
"Y'all two have fun and be safe. I'll take care of the mail and watering the plants."
"Thanks Daryl!" Cheyenne said as she moved to the door. "Well see you in 2 weeks!"
"Don't come back burned!" he yelled out as they walked towards the car. "I hear Hawaii is awfully hot this time of the year."
Cheyenne waved as she climbed into the car while Merle loaded the luggage. When he was done, he went to the drivers side door and waved at Daryl.
"Take care of my house baby brother. Im countin' on ya." He said before he got in the car and put it in reverse.
With one final wave, the two disappeared down the road and towards their destination.
Daryl slept over at Merle and Cheyenne's house that night. He had been working on a surprise for the two and by the time he had gotten done, it was already nearing midnight. He couldn't wait for them to come home and see the new flower beds he had made for Cheyenne with some bright colored flowers to go in them.
It was a little after 1 a.m when his cell phone started ringing. He looked at the caller idea and didn't recognize the number. He almost just ignored it but at the last minute, decided to go ahead and answer it.
"Hello?" He said, trying to hide his annoyance at the late call.
"Is this Mr. Daryl Dixon?" Asked the man on the other end of the phone. It must of been a telemarketer.
"Yes?"
"Mr. Dixon, this is Officer Rick Grimes with the Sheriffs department."
Daryl cursed under his breath. Merle must of done something to get himself in trouble. He thought he had grown out of this but apparently not."
"How can I help you officer?"
"Mr. Dixon, i'm afraid I have some bad news about your brother."
"Officer, i'm sure whatever Merle did, it was just him being stupid. He really is a good guy and with a baby on the way, would not want..."
"Mr. Dixon, no, I think you misunderstood me." Officer Rick said, cutting Daryl off in the middle of his sentence. "There's been an accident."
Daryl's breath caught in his throat. "How bad?"
"I hate to have to tell you this over the phone Mr. Dixon, we didn't know where to find you to do it in person, but your brother is dead."
Daryl felt like he was going to vomit. Surly what he heard was a mistake. Merle couldn't be dead. It was Merle Dixon he was talking about.
"Mr. Dixon, did you hear me?"
"Yes." He said not recognizing his own voice. "What about Cheyenne and the baby?" He asked, his voice barley above a whisper.
"She is in critical condition. They have her at Atlanta Hospital."
Daryl hung up the phone without saying a word and raced out of the door and to the car. He would cry over Merle later. Right now, Cheyenne needed him.
Daryl raced down the highway with the flashers on. Everything was numb. He felt like he was in a nightmare and he couldn't wake up. Merle, Cheyenne and the baby where the only family Daryl had left and they where being ripped from his fingers.
He made it to the hospital in record time and jumped out of the car, running for the front door. A receptionist was typing on her computer as he came through the door.
"Cheyenne Dixon?" He half yelled to the woman who looked almost annoyed to be interrupted.
"She did some more typing and finally said "3rd floor. ICU." without taking her eyes off the screen again.
He didn't even wait for the elevator. He ran to the stairs and took them two at a time until he was on the third floor. By the time he got to the top, his legs where burning and his breath was coming in deep gulps, but he didn't care. He ran to the door that read 'ICU' and burst through it at a sprint.
There was another desk in front of him and he ran to it. He felt like he had been running for hours, though it had only been a few seconds.
"Cheynne Dixon." He said again as he tried to catch his breath.
The woman looked at Daryl and smiled. "Give me just a minute." She said in a peppy voice. She did some typing on her computer and after a few long seconds said "She is in surgery. Have a seat in the waiting room and a Doctor will be with you shortly."
"Can you tell me something? I got a call saying she was in a wreck and now she is in surgery? Whats going on!" He demanded in a not so friendly voice. It would be a cold day in hell before he let someone keep him from the only family he had remaining.
"Sir, I honestly don't know any details. I know you are upset, but if you could please have a seat in the waiting room, a doctor will be right with you."
Daryl turned and stalked off to a waiting room. The longer he stood there, the angrier he became.
After an hour of waiting, and two more useless conversations with the nurses later, a doctor finally walked into the waiting room. Daryl was the only one in there, so he knew that he was finally going to get some answers.
"Are you a relative of Cheyenne Dixon?" He asked.
Daryl gulped and nodded his head. "How is she?"
The Doctor shook his head and looked at the floor. "I am so sorry. We did everything that we could, but we couldn't get the bleeding to stop."
Daryl fell to his knees and yelled. He was alone. He had no family. He was it. "What happened?"
"A drunk driver swerved into their lane at about 7:45 causing them to swerve into a ditch and into a tree. Neither was wearing a seat belt. Her husband flew through the dash. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Mrs. Dixon was not thrown from the car, but hit the dash and then broke the glass on the passenger side door from a hard hit. Her brain was hemorrhaging and had some sever cuts and broken bones from the glass."
Daryl couldn't hear anymore of this. It was just to much to take in. He had lost everything in a matter of hours. How was he going to live without his big brother by his side?
"...the baby." The doctor said.
Daryl shook his head and realized that the doctor had been speaking to him.
"What?"
"I said, fortunately we where able to save the baby."
"How is that possible? She was only 30 weeks."
"Well, when we started loosing Mrs. Dixon, we went in and delivered the baby via c-section. He is tiny, but healthy."
Daryl could hardly believe what he was hearing. The baby survived. The baby was alive.
"Did you say he?" Daryl asked.
"Yes, a boy. He is 2.9 lbs and 15.2 inches long."
"I want to see him." Daryl said as he stood up off the ground. "I need to see him. Please. He is all I have left."
The Doctor looked at Daryl. "I don't know if that will be such a good idea. Until I talk to more of the family, I really can't let you see him."
Daryl was getting angry again. "There is no more family. I'm it. My father is in prison, My mother died when Merle and I where young. We have no remaining grandparents, aunts, uncles or cousins. It was just us. As for Cheyenne, she was left on an orphanage door step as a newborn."
The doctor still just stared at Daryl as if he was contemplating weather he was telling the truth or not. "Please, don't keep him from me. I just lost my brother and sister in law, I can't loose my nephew too."
The doctor nodded and headed towards the door of the waiting room. "Well, lets go see him then."
"Untitled (How Could This Happen To Me)"
By: Simple Plan
I open my eyes
I try to see but I'm blinded by the white light
I can't remember how
I can't remember why
I'm lying here tonight
And I can't stand the pain
And I can't make it go away
No, I can't stand the pain
How could this happen to me?
I made my mistakes
Got nowhere to run
The night goes on
As I'm fading away
I'm sick of this life
I just wanna scream
How could this happen to me?
Everybody's screaming
I try to make a sound but noone hears me
I'm slipping off the edge
I'm hanging by a thread
I wanna start this over again
So I try to hold onto a time when nothing mattered
And I can't explain what happened
And I can't erase the things that I've done
No, I can't
How could this happen to me?
I made my mistakes
Got nowhere to run
The night goes on
As I'm fading away
I'm sick of this life
I just wanna scream
How could this happen to me?
I made my mistakes
Got nowhere to run
The night goes on
As I'm fading away
I'm sick of this life
I just wanna scream
How could this happen to me?