SweetKiwi and DarylDixonsLover, thank you so much for reading and reviewing! I really hope you like this new chapter

Took me a long time to update, as it usually does. Please read and review, tell me what you think, especially if you like it! Thanks readers!

Chapter Seven

Daryl…

The divide couldn't have been more obvious than in the moments after Daryl lay Eli in the cot to let Herschel and Carol do what they did best… fix all that's broken. How was he supposed to tell them that she'd been damaged beyond fixing for a long time now? That no one could really know, because she had kept all those shattered pieces from the public eye? Eli wasn't an open book, a raw wound… on the contrary, Eli was what you see after the ugliness on top is healed. The slight pink to the skin after a deep cut has scabbed over and fallen off. No one could tell what was happening underneath the freshness of a scar, except for the ones that were there when you were sliced open in the first place. He stepped outside of those slate gray walls, the color of tombstones, of death, and let it all hit him. Let it all in as the Georgia sun turned the sky the brightest orange he'd ever seen. It could have been beautiful if he'd opened himself to it. But that was impossible, because she was here… after all this time, she was here. The trail of blood leading into the cell block was just one piece of evidence. He was sticky with the red substance, and felt suddenly ill. When he rounded the corner to wash his shaking hands under the spigot, that's when he saw the divide, like a crack in the center of his earth.

Merle's hands had always been larger than Daryl's, he could tell mostly when he buried his own face in them. He remembered the last time he'd seen his dad, when his brother's large hands broke the rope that kept Daryl tied to that still in the middle of hell. He owed Merle his life, he owed him everything. And right now… he was hurting. Daryl couldn't necessarily understand what had him so shook up to the point of hiding his face with his remaining hand. Was he afraid for Eli? Was he nervous they'd cast him out? Was he scared to talk to Daryl, after all that had happened, all that hadn't happened?

"Hey." Daryl's angel wings pressed up against the same wall that Merle was leaned against. He slid down so he was only a few short feet away from him. Merle didn't move his fingers from covering his face. "Ya alright?"

He didn't speak, just sat, for a good five minutes. Daryl couldn't be sure, but his neck was convulsing, his pulse moving at a strange pace… like he might be crying… but he knew better than to push. When Merle was ready his hand dropped. He didn't look at Daryl, just spoke to the empty air.

"I tried helpin' her little brother."

Daryl didn't know what to say. Watching this, Merle experiencing real regret over someone that wasn't supposed to mean anything to him, it made Daryl feel even smaller than usual. "Well, ya know her… bet she fought ya til she realized she was screwed. It's just her… style, ya know?"

Merle nodded. "I just, I thought what they all thought, even though I had a better idea of what it really was… Woodbury… him… I'm a fool." He turned his head slightly, not looking Daryl in the eye. "When I saw her, saw what he'd done…" His head fell, eyes on the ground. "I remember what happened to ya the last time she was in trouble like this. It nearly killed ya."

"Things were different back then Merle." Daryl hadn't even made the connection. The thought that his brother might remember pain that wasn't even his own was too much for Daryl to understand. "She's just another one of us, always has been, one of our kind, we're all… fractured somehow. She's just another one of us… she always will be."

"Still, I tried." Merle leaned his head back, his short gray hair scratching against the cement. "I wanted ya to know that."

They sat in silence for a long while. All the things that went through his mind were so bizarre during the hour or so it took the sun to finally set. The glow of the lanterns inside did nothing to comfort the Dixon brothers. Daryl was always good at taking other people's anguish and making it his own… he just wished he could do it for Merle, but he'd never been able to accomplish that feat. Merle was like a stove burner that had just been shut off, deceitful in its presentation. You thought you'd be safe touching it, but he'd burn you the moment your finger touched the metal, it was his nature. So they sat, silent in the night air, neither of them planning on going in to check. Daryl didn't want to know. Because if she was dead, if she was gone, he didn't want to know yet. The idea that Eli was safe somewhere had been such a comfort to him in the past years that her death would blow a hole in him too large to fill. He wasn't ready. He'd never be.

"AHH, GOD STOP!"

Daryl and Merle stood quickly, Daryl almost losing his footing. Eli's voice reverberated out the prison windows and spread across the courtyard. "STOP, PLEASE STOP!"

Daryl made his way toward the door but was halted in mid stride by the young girl's body. She ran out with such force that she ran directly into his stomach and fell backward on to the ground. Eli's hollering was still too loud for his ears. He tried not to hear it as he bent down to help Sarah off the ground, but she slapped his hand away in between sobs. "Don't touch me!" She shouted, getting up in a stagger. Her young face was puffy with hours-worth of tears. He took in the raw spots on her wrist… that man back in Woodbury must have had her tied up… which meant that Merle had known she was restrained as well.

And that made what happened next much more logical than anyone might have guessed. "You…" Sarah's dark brown eyes turned red around the pupils, and she leapt… literally leapt… at Merle. "You did this with that man, she's here because of you! She's here because of you! I hate you, I hate you! I hate you!"

Merle tried to block the girl's fists, but Daryl had to hand it to her, she knew how to land a punch. His brother looked up to him, begging with his eyes, not knowing how to handle this much anger coming from such a small person. Daryl pried Sarah off of Merle, holding her arms so they were crossed behind her back… and that's when her panic really set it in.

"No, no please don't, don't!" Sarah sounded alarmed, frightened. Merle moved faster than Daryl had seen him move before, ripping Daryl's hands from off of Sarah's arms.

"What the fuck?" Daryl asked, feeling the sting of his brother's fists on his forearms so he'd let the girl go. Sarah darted away, leaving the two men in ruins, which ruins they weren't quite sure. Were they hers? Eli's? Their own? What misery even belonged to either of them anymore?

Daryl watched in confusion, Merle in sadness, as Sarah ran straight into the chain link fence. Her entire body was pressed against the barricade, her small fingers wrapped around the dirty metal. Daryl could see the side of her face as she sobbed, sliding down so her skin dragged against her prison… their prison.

"Sorry brother… that's how the man had her tied up…" Merle's breaths were staggered. He refused to look at Sarah as he continued. "Hands behind her back… her eyes just went wild when you did that."

"Tell me what happened in there Merle." His fury was sudden and intense, the thought of that little girl tied up like a prized hog, anything could have happened to her in that dingy underground suburbia. And Merle was a part of this? How the fuck could he do this? "You tell me what happened, tell me you bastard!" He slammed Merle against the wall, his arm pressing his throat against the concrete, choking him slowly.

Forced tears ran down Merle's face as he attempted to keep air in his lungs. Daryl's tears were real and full of rage. Merle began to choke words out, Daryl barely able to hear. "I'm sorry, little brother… I didn't hurt em', I didn't."

Daryl let him go, let him fall to the ground, let him puke out bile. "You did, cuz ya didn't do nothin'. Might as well have tied em' up yerself." Daryl took in a shaky breath. "If she makes it through this," He pointed his finger inside, and then pointed it to the sobbing girl against the fence, "And if she ever speaks to me with honesty… I'm gonna get the whole story. I don't believe a damn word out of yer mouth… you didn't do nothin' Merle." He shook his head in disgust. "Might as well have cut their legs out from underneath em' yer god damn self."

Daryl spoke one last word before walking back around the corner, not able to look anyone in the eyes, not able to know how bad it was inside those cell block walls… how close his once best friend was to dying. "Coward."

He knew Merle could hear him. Coward.

Eli…

She knew this wasn't right, knew what kind of trouble it could get her into. It's not like she hadn't noticed her Dad sneaking around more than usual, asking her more questions than she liked in general… but he'd been so careful with her over the summer. Gentle even. Like she imagined most fathers should be. Eli had never been foolish enough to dream that a Walsh man was capable of such emotions, let alone her own Dad. Connor Walsh, concerned father… like that existed.

But apparently it did. The day he came to her in the hospital she saw real tears. Those hadn't flowed from his eyes in all the years she'd known him, this man that was supposed to be her dad. But there he was, in the hospital waiting room, screaming… demanding to know where his daughter was. Demanding to see his little girl… because he was worried. Her own father, he worried… about her. The thought still boggled her mind.

Daryl was asleep in the chair leaned against her hospital bed, his right hand covering hers, snoring heavily. Daryl never got good sleep when she was around, she was always worrying him, but he stayed no matter what, indifferent to his own needs. His need to sleep, to eat, to report home to father Dixon before he broken out the belt with the oversized buckle, strong enough to leave visible scars for life. He'd stayed.

"What's he doin' in here?" Her Dad's voice was loud and unwelcome. She was just starting to get some rest when he'd wandered in, less drunk than usual, she'd give him that. "Get him out… get him out now!"

"Stop." Her voice too light, too strained, to be heard by anyone but Daryl in his wakened state. "You'll get kicked out Dad, they do it all the time when people act like yer' actin' now."

Eli could tell that he wanted to yell some more, scream, kick, and holler… anything that was violent enough to make sense of the monsters in his head. But instead he just took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and sat in the chair across the hospital room. "Ya know, they keep askin' me questions… bout' stuff I dunno how to answer. Ya need to talk to the police, they'll make you."

"No they won't." Eli stared out the window, the morphine drip dulling her senses. "I'm a minor. They can make me stay here til' I'm better, they can make me do that… rape kit thing…" Her whole body shuddered at the blurry memory. "But they can't make me talk." Her eyes met her father's. "And if they try, there's a whole hell of a lot that I can say about you, Daddy Dearest." She didn't know where this was coming from. Normally she wouldn't ever speak to her father that way, out of fear of getting hit… but the narcotics and the situation gave her new found brevity. Daryl still had his eyes shut, but his thumb pressed into her palm, gently letting her know he was awake and could hear every word. "They can tell which bruises are new and which ones are old. Did ya think of that?"

Her father was quiet, silenced by the severity of what was happening. "Eli… honey…" Honey? Why was he calling her that? "I just want you to talk to someone, someone who can help you with… with what happened."

"Yeah, well fuck that, it's not happening. And if you try and make me, I'll tell them all about you Dad. Just leave me be. Please, make them leave me alone."

He sighed heavily, running his working man hands over his face in frustration. "Fine. I'll come back in a while with some soup or something." He glared at Daryl. "I want him gone when I come back."

"If he wants to leave he will, if not, then he'll be here. I'm not kicking him out Dad. Get used to it."

Like she said, she knew how much trouble it could get her into speaking to her father this way, but there wasn't a moment in recent memory she could think of where she could have possibly cared less.

Pounding… a constant pulsing inside her head… it's all she could hear or feel or think about. Eli was frightened to open her eyes, if she could even manage it. The voices around her were muffled and strange, foreign to her. Nothing she heard was familiar… and all she smelled was blood.

"Keep her still, ya hear? Beth, make sure she stays still." This voice was another she'd never heard, but it was comforting none-the-less.

"I won't move…" She managed, her throat was so dry. "Water…"

Metal falling against cement, shuffling around, and then a cool dry hand slipping under the base of her neck, trying to crane her head up a bit. Eli squinted into the bright overhead light, only one eye able to open slightly, and caught a glimpse of a young blonde girl, concern set in her blue eyes. The girl held a metal bowl to Eli's lips and she drank hungrily from it, feeling the cold water coat her insides like a breeze on a hot day.

"Yer name is Eli, right?" Her good eye moved to see a kind old man at her bedside. She nodded. "Well Eli, with all that you've managed to sleep through I don't imagine this will be tough, but we have to give you stitches. Another luxury we cannot manage is any sort of anesthetic, so ya gotta muscle through this for me. Can ya do that?"

She nodded again. "My shoulder… it hurts really bad."

"It was dislocated. My daughter Maggie and our friend Daryl took care of that for you. It will be sore for a while, probably a few weeks. You need to take it easy with it, but it will heal alright."

"Daryl?"

Memories came flooding back… she could feel his arms wrapped around her body, see his dirty boots as his legs were enveloped hers, protecting her from herself. He'd brought her here…

"Where is Sarah?" She didn't intend for her voice to raise an octave, but that's what it did. Panic settled in her chest as she thought of her niece. "Where is she?"

"Calm down, she's right outside." Herschel smiled warmly at her. "And she's just fine. Worried 'bout you is all. So let's do the girl a favor and fix you up. What do ya say?"

She sighed and laid her head back down on the pillow. The walls seemed to melt as she closed her eyes to the light. "I say okay… okay."

Daryl…

The sun felt hotter than usual, as though it would burn a million little holes right through his t-shirt. Daryl's eyes turned up toward the sky as he made his way down Walsh Road, kicking rocks along the way. The light peeked through the heavily cloaked trees and scorched every piece of land it could touch. This was the third week of the drought and it didn't look to be letting up any time soon. All he wanted to do was go down the waterfront with Eli, go swimming… but she hadn't been in the water all summer long. This was the last week before school started. Their last chance. He was going to push her in if that's what it took… he hoped he wouldn't have to take it that far.

Once he reached the widened driveway his eyes fell level, right to her waiting for him on the porch. Her hair was down, as it usually was, and she had her arms wrapped tightly around her knees. Lately Eli reminded him more of a turtle retreating into its shell than an actual person. She hardly spoke, angered easily, and never wanted anyone to touch her. He didn't feel right being fed up with it… considering the circumstances… but he just wanted his best friend back. The world was too lonely without her. Daryl had come to realize in the months since Mill Road Mansion exactly what his life would be like if she weren't in it. It wouldn't be worth it, all the pain and bullshit… it wouldn't be worth it if he didn't have her company. She made him feel like a whole person. He couldn't lose her to those men that tore her apart… he wouldn't.

"Hey." Daryl nodded at her and her eyes shot up. She nodded back but said nothing. "It's fuckin' hot… let's go swimming."

She watched him with narrowed eyes and slowly reached her hand out to take his. He gently held on to her fingertips and forearm, helping her off of the high porch. The swelling around her nose had finally disappeared a few weeks back, and her face was the same as before. Well… not exactly the same. To be honest, he couldn't even remember what her smile looked like.

"Where's yer' suit?" Daryl risked it and gave one of her tank top straps a little tug, noting the missing suit from underneath it. Eli angrily slapped his hand away, baring her teeth at him, and turned on her heel to walk toward the woods that took them to the river. "Hey, Eli!" He reached out and grabbed her arm, and again, she yanked it away violently.

"Don't… I've told ya not to do shit like that." She was heated, but her eyes were filled with tears. She swiped at her cheeks quickly as to not let them fall. "Let's just go, okay Daryl?"

He followed her reluctantly, watching the tentative steps she took. Taking in the way her head shot up at every noise, how she clenched and unclenched her fists, sometimes wrapping her arms completely around her middle unconsciously. If Daryl believed himself to have any sort of heart, well, Eli had been breaking it for months. It was broken the moment that methed-out mother fucker opened the door in the house. He'd seen her face down on the ground, surrounded by men who were cutting off her clothes, smashing her head against the floorboards. She didn't even make a noise… that was the scariest part… the whole time this asshole was beating him near to death he knew what those pieces of shit were doing to her. He could hear them… but he couldn't hear her. He thought that she was dead.

These days, she might as well be. Hell, at least her old man was leavin' her be. Maybe that would be the one good thing that would come out of this. Maybe her father would finally let her alone for good.

Something in his head told him that was a crock of shit too.

Daryl wished he could erase that day and turn her back to who she used to be. As damaged as that person was, she was still happy. There were moments she'd smile and the whole world would illuminate. Now the corners of her mouth were always turned down, frown lines making her look more like thirty than thirteen.

Fourteen… she was fourteen now. He was almost sixteen, just a couple more weeks. Her birthday, two months prior, blew past without much recognition. Daryl had shown up at her window with a small cake, plain frosting, and a few lit candles glowing in the dark. He'd set it on her sill and sang quietly, covering her hand with his. She was still broken then, walking with crutches. When he told her to make a wish Eli reached over in silence, turning each of the lit candles upside down and plunging them deep into the cake. He could still hear the sizzle as they went out, could see the blank expression on her face as she started to hum "for he's a jolly good fellow". She pushed the cake off her ledge, watched it smash against the ground, and glanced up at him. Her eyes darted away as she whispered "thanks for remembering." Eli shut the window on him then, a silent plea for him to stay away. He wouldn't.

Now they were walking together towards their last days of summer. Soon they'd be sitting in class together, but it would never feel the same. It wasn't "Daryl and Eli against the world" anymore. They were their own separate islands now, unreachable and lost.

Their voices were light, weightless, like dried leaves on the autumn breeze. Everyone was sleeping in their cells, but even from the top of the stairs he could see the lantern flood the "medical room" with light. They were all the way at the end of the cell block, as far away from Daryl as possible. He'd snuck by about an hour ago, finally willing himself to go inside. Anything was better than being outside with his brother. Come to think of it, he'd been on the outside with Merle his entire life. That's not who he wanted to be anymore.

So Daryl crept into the cell block, careful to slip by Eli's room unnoticed. He wasn't ready to see her yet, wasn't ready to talk to her, to hear her voice say his name. He was still in shock… wondering exactly what kind of karmic joke the world was playing on him. It was just another confusing piece of the puzzle that was his life. He didn't know where it fit yet, couldn't find its space among every other thing that had happened.

Now, as the orange glow held his attention above all else, it was like someone had wrapped a rope around his conscious and everything was screaming at him, telling him to go listen, to go check, to walk up and view her strawberry curls again. Look into her green eyes to check if she'd recognize him yet, if her mind would let her. He slinked down the metal stairs, everything around him stunned into silence by the moonless night.

He could hear it before he'd even made it half way there. When he walked by Carl's cell he saw the kid leaned up against the bars, listening to the girls as well. Que sera… sera… whatever will be will be… the future's not ours to see… que sera… sera… Eli's voice was rough and dry, but it remained beautiful as always.

Daryl peeked in, seeing Sarah nestled against Eli's side, head lying on her good shoulder. Eli ran her slender fingers over Sarah's hair softly, singing the French lullaby as quietly as she could, comforting her young niece. Eli had always loved Sarah in a way that was difficult to explain, but beautiful, honest. Daryl adored the way she loved Sarah. Maybe she'd be a good mother someday… if she could just get past it… if only.

"Auntie, tell me about the man that saved you. Tell me how you know him, who is he?" Daryl leaned up against the cell wall outside their door, slowed his breathing so they couldn't hear, and awaited her answer. Tell her about the man that saved you, Eli; tell her what you think, because I need to know too. I need to.

There was a long silence, a heavy sigh, and then her sweet voice filled the empty night air. "I suppose you aren't gonna let me be until I do huh?"

"Nope… man, you know me too well." They began to giggle, like they weren't lied up on a hospital gurney and all was right with the world. It was the greatest sound Daryl had ever heard.

"He was my best friend, sweetie. My very best friend."

"Yeah… but it seems different than that… you weren't ever more than friends?" Sarah prodded. Daryl's ears began to ring and he wondered if it was God's way of telling him these words were not for his ears.

"Jeez, Sarah… this kind of thing just ain't yer business!" Eli hissed. He smiled at the sound of irritation in her voice. Same short fuse. Same as it ever was.

"Like anyone cares anymore, auntie, I mean really."

More silence, and then she spoke, quieter than before. "We loved each other, little one, I don't know what kind of love you would call it… what category you'd put it in… but we loved each other. He was… well… he was the only person who ever really knew me."

"Better than Mommy?"

"Yeah… even better than your mommy did." Eli sighed. He could picture her lips pressed against Sarah's forehead, could see her green eyes water over in his mind. "He knew all my secrets. He was the kind of friend you could tell every single secret to and he'd never tell a soul. The kind of friend who would sleep in the dirt outside your window if you were having nightmares. He was… the kind of friend you'd make shadows with on the tent walls during late summer nights. Daryl was my best friend Sarah. I've never known any man better than Daryl Dixon."

He looked down at his hands, unaware he'd been shaking.

"What happened?" Sarah's voice was small and sad.

More silence… and this time he understood. He didn't even have a grasp on if he wanted to hear what came next… but he stayed. When it came to Eli, he'd always stay… except for that once. And it had cost him ten years of his life. It had broken both their hearts into a million fucking pieces and from the sounds of it; he wasn't the only one who hadn't recovered.

"Sarah, it's complicated and I'm tired. Can't you cut me a bit of a break on this one? Please?" She really did sound tired, exhausted as a matter of fact.

"I wanna know, auntie. Tell me."

"Adults do stupid things. Mean things. They hurt each other for no reason in particular. They say bad things… do bad things… because they are afraid." He could hear it in her voice. She was crying. Daryl wanted to go in there and hold her, tell her he was sorry too, fix everything… fix it all.

"Well I'm not sure if you could be vaguer than you just were… so I guess that's all I'm going to hear huh?" Sarah sounded tired now, far away. Daryl closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall, suddenly overcome with his own exhaustion.

"I'll tell you one thing," Eli continued as Daryl began to drift off into another restless night's sleep. "If I could go back and do it over, I'd change what happened, no matter how afraid I was, I'd take the risk and change everything I said to him that day. I'd fix all of it."

So would I Eli… so would I.