A/N: Thanks for all the review so far. And to my Russian reviewer: Спасибо. It really really means a lot and gives me motivation to write more! Last time was a bit of a cliffhanger. Sorry it's been a whole week, I've been writing my other story "Our Sanctuary" and thinking of a couple of new ones too, so it was hard to do so many things at once. But I hope to do two chapters this week so I hope you enjoy!
Chapter Seven - Square One
Beth opened her eyes. She was lying on a bed, draped in white sheets with a band-aid on her forehead. What had happened? Beth tried to think back, past the smoky fog that blurred her mind and then she remembered. The clear image of Dawn was still etched in her memory. She shot at Daryl. It had missed but caught him on the side of the head. He was bleeding badly. Beth tried to cover the wound with her hand.
Then she looked back at Dawn and lunged at her trying to wrestle the gun out of her hands. Dawn easily overpowered her though and delivered one punch to the side of her face which knocked Beth out cold.
Beth didn't remember anything after that. She sat up and looked around the room. There were no doctors. She thought she was alone but when she looked across she saw Daryl Dixon lying in the bed beside her.
He was lying, eyes closed with a bandage wrapped around his head. He was unmoving except for his chest which moved up and down with each small breath. He was alive. The two beds were so close, almost touching. Beth rolled over and leaned out to stroke his arm. His skin was so cold like ice. Tears started to well up. She knew she should have done more to protect him. As she began to cry a single droplet trickled down her cheek landing on the back of Daryl's hand. Daryl twitched and Beth's eyes lit up.
Then nothing and he remained still. But Beth knew there was still life in his body and she wasn't going to give up hope. They had been through too much already to just throw in the towel and Daryl had taught her so much - how to survive and how to keep going, even when you thought it was pointless. Beth mustered enough strength to pull herself out of the bed and stand up. When her feet hit the ground, she stumbled backwards - still shaky and her muscles weak. When she regained her composure, she crouched down next to Daryl. This seemed like deja vu for Beth after Daryl was brought into the hospital just a few days before. She knelt down and prayed once more and then clasped his huge hand in both of hers and held it to her face.
"Oh Daryl," she cried breathlessly. "Looks like we're back to square one. Please make it. I know you can. You're strong, much stronger than I ever could be."
"Where am I?" A soft but deep voice sang to the depths of her heart. Daryl's eyelids fluttered open as they caught the light reflected from above. He stared blankly at her as she laughed and cried as she clutched him and shook him and kissed him.
"Daryl, you're alive!"
"What is this place?"
"It's Grady Memorial Hospital. You were brought here after they hit you with a car."
Daryl continued to stare blankly at her.
"Don't you remember?" Beth continued. "I was brought her too after being abducted from the funeral home. Remember the night we spent together there?"
Daryl shook his head and Beth started to get worried. She looked into his blue eyes but she it was like staring into a black hollow with no soul.
"My name is Beth Greene, Daryl. You saved me. Come on, you must remember."
But Daryl simply shook his head again.
Beth's heart sank.
Beth inspected the bandage wrapped around his head. She realised he must have taken quite a blow but she didn't think it would be this bad. She lay the tips of her fingers upon the rough thick surface of the bandage. She couldn't imagine how much he was suffering.
"No matter what, I still love you." she said kissing him lightly on the forehead.
He mumbled and almost smiled but his face remained sullen and unchanged.
Then Beth heard footsteps behind her. She turned around and saw Dawn. A lump formed in her throat. It was always bad news whenever Dawn was around. She was more dangerous than Beth had ever imagined.
"Please don't disturb our patient, Beth."
Beth stood in front of Daryl and outstretched her arms protectively.
"You need to stop, Dawn. You've gone too far."
"No, you need to stop. You are property of this hospital, Beth. Just like Mr Dixon. You cannot leave and you cannot die, not until you've paid off your debt in full."
"You tried to kill him."
Dawn smiled in that smarmy condescending way she always did when she knew she was right.
"Come on, please, if I wanted him dead, believe me, he'd be dead. That was just warning shot, one to show that I mean business. He gets the message. Isn't that right, Daryl?"
Daryl was still dazed and out of it, staring blankly at the glaring yellow lights hanging from the ceiling.
Dawn walked towards him. Beth tried to stop her but she merely leant her shoulder in and barged her aside. "We looked after you last night, Mr Dixon. But don't worry, you're going to be just fine."
Dawn stroked the bandages on his head.
"You see this, Daryl." she continued. "Our doctors fixed you up."
Daryl looked in Dawn's eyes and a flicker of a smile brushed the side of his mouth.
"Thank you." he replied.
"You're welcome." Dawn said. "Once you're back on your feet, you will be able to perform mild duties."
"What?" Beth interjected as she put her hands on Dawn's shoulders tried to pull her back. "There's no way he will do that. Daryl is going to kick your ass."
Dawn pushed Beth away from her.
"Not everyone is as ungrateful as you, Beth." said Dawn. "He realises now, that he needs our care and is willing to work to pay off the debt. Don't forget that you have responsibilities too, Beth."
Beth was about to confront Dawn again when Officer Tanaka entered the room.
"Officer Tanaka, please explain to Beth her duties for today."
"Yes, ma'am." he replied.
Tanaka gently took Beth by the arm and led her out of the room. She resisted a little trying to lean her weight on one side, but a simple tug from Tanaka was enough to get her moving again. Beth was just glad it was him though and not O'Donnell. Tanaka was one of the better officers. He had never tried to rape her or do anything inappropriate. He was one of the good people, one of the few good people left at the hospital. He was just following Dawn's orders blindly to stay alive.
Beth looked back and took one last look at Daryl with Dawn standing over him before being yanked out of the room.
"You need to be careful of her, Mr Dixon." Dawn said holding Daryl's hand. "She's trouble."
"How can I help?"
"Tomorrow, you will become the new ward janitor. Just come to my office, Tanaka will show you which one and there will be a bucket and mop waiting for you. Do you understand?"
At first Daryl didn't reply so Dawn squeezed his hand tighter and repeated herself.
"Do you understand?" she asked again, in a more serious tone.
"Yes, I understand." Daryl replied.
"Good. I will see you tomorrow.."
Dawn turned around and switched off the lights and left the room locking the door behind her.
As soon as Daryl heard the key click, he fell into an instant dreamless sleep.
Beth was sent to a different ward. She was moping the corridors and not doing a very good job. She couldn't concentrate. She couldn't stop thinking about Daryl and what must have happened to him. She was worried that his memory might never return and he would spend the rest of his life inside Grady. Tanaka had ordered her to mop the entirety of Ward 5 which covered over half over the 5th floor. At the rate she was moping, it would take another four hours to complete and Beth was already bored and tired by the work. Beth's mind kept wandering to different places all stretched out and far in the distance. Her father, Hershel; her sister, Maggie; Carl and Judith and of course, Daryl. She looked down at the mop for a moment and thought about how she might use it as a weapon to attack Dawn.
Perhaps she could break the end off and thrust it into her throat. Perhaps she could slam it into her kneecaps and break her legs and then crack her skull in while she was lying on the ground. The evil thoughts raced through her mind and gave her chills down her spine. She couldn't go through with that. She wasn't a cold blooded killer and besides, Dawn scared her. Beth kept thinking about all the things that could go wrong in that situation. Perhaps Dawn saw her before she attacked and grabbed the mop out of her hand. Beth knew that in a one-on-one fight with no weapons, she stood no chance against Dawn. Then the devil appeared before her eyes.
She saw Dawn talking to two officers, Licari and Shephard - the same two officers she had seen while she had been hiding in the vent. They were talking in exactly the same way and Dawn looked equally as distressed.
"How could this happen?" Dawn said putting her head in her hands.
"We went to check on the situation just like you asked us to, ma'am." said Licari.
"So how many are there now?" Dawn asked.
"The herd seems to have doubled in size, close to one thousand now." said Shephard. "All our routes are now blocked. I'm not sure it's safe to go out there again and check."
Beth kept her distance behind Dawn not wanting to catch her attention, but when she heard this news she couldn't help herself. She dropped the mop to the ground with a clatter and walked up to the three of them.
"You have a problem with walkers?" Beth asked.
Beth was pretty confident around walkers. She knew she could handle herself against them and she thought it would be a good way to perhaps sneak out of the hospital.
Dawn smiled the way a teacher a would smile to a student if they had tried hard but ultimately failed a test.
"Please, Beth. Your job is to clean the hospital floors. Our job is to protect this place and keep it secure. And please do a better job, this ward still looks filthy."
"But I have a lot of experience. I've lived on the outside. Daryl too. We can help."
"Beth, we've all got jobs to do. This is your job." said Dawn as she bent down and picked up the mop and handed it back to Beth.
Dawn's words reminded Beth of her sister, Maggie. That was exactly what she said to her the last time she ver saw her. Beth wondered if she would ever even find Maggie again or if she was even alive.
Dawn patted her on the head as Beth bowed her neck and lowered her eyes to the floor. She continued mopping the floor now consumed with sad thoughts about her sister.
The hospital was quiet.
Beth liked the quiet but she was also fearful of it.
The lights were much dimmer on the west wing side of the 5th floor and Beth was exhausted. She leant on her mop to keep her upright as she could feel herself tipping and keeling over at any minute.
There was another man mopping the floor at the far end of the corridor. He was a big guy but quiet and moving his mop from one side to another, he wore no expression and simply carried out his task like a mindless drone.
It took Beth a few seconds to realise that the man she was looking at was Daryl. He looked so different though, so dishevelled and so defeated with his bandaged head and his bruised body.
Beth suddenly found a burst of energy and ran over to him and called his name.
"Daryl!"
Daryl raised his head but looked a little confused when he saw the blonde girl running towards him.
"Daryl!" she called out again. "There are walkers headed for the hospital. We've got to get out of here."
"Walkers?" Daryl asked as if Beth had just said the strangest thing in the world. "What's a walker?"
"Have you gone crazy? The walkers have taken over the whole world and we're the ones struggling to survive now."
"Sounds like you're the crazy one, lady."
Daryl's remark was like a slap in the face but it just didn't sound like Daryl. His voice was shallow and soulless. Beth sobbed and buried her head in Daryl's oak-like chest.
"Please remember, Daryl." she said wiping the tears from her eyes. "Please."
Daryl looked down at the crying girl and suddenly a thought hit him like a bolt out of the blue. An image or a memory flashed up in the front of his mind. It was of the burning house.
The two of them were sticking their middle fingers up and cursing the building as it burnt to the ground. The image stuck in Daryl's mind for just a second and then as quickly as it came it was gone.
"Beth." he whispered.
Beth's smile grew a mile wide. "Daryl, you remember?"
"Beth, we were together. We burnt that house down and drank moonshine."
"That's right! Now what else do you remember?"
Daryl put his hand on his bandage as his head throbbed with pain. It was clear that remembering so much was exhausting him and Beth tried to hold him up to stop him from collapsing on top of her.
"It's ok, Daryl." she said. "Take it slow. Everything will come back in time."
Beth hugged Daryl again and pulled his head down to her level and kissed him lightly on the cheek.
"What do you think you're doing, Beth?" shouted a familiar voice from down the corridor.
Beth turned around. It was Dawn again. There was no getting away from this woman. It was like she wasn't human the way she could always track Beth and know exactly where she was at all times.
"I told you, not to disturb, Mr Dixon." Dawn said sternly. "He's at a very delicate stage. One slip up and it could ruin the whole treatment. This isn't part of your duty, Beth. You're supposed to be on Ward 5."
"I'm sorry, I got confused."
Dawn grabbed Beth around the back of the neck and prised her away from Daryl and then pushed her away.
"I'll deal with you later, Beth. Now go back to your ward at once."
Beth shuffled along slowly but all the time looking back to see Dawn confront Daryl.
He still seemed spaced out like he was on drugs. His whole body was swaying as if he were floating on an invisible wave. "Don't let that girl influence you, you got that?" Dawn shouted.
Daryl was silent and Dawn started to get angry.
"You got that?" Dawn repeated as she slapped Daryl so hard in the face that it left a red handprint on his cheek.
"Yes ma'am." Daryl replied meekly.
"That's better."
Beth couldn't believe what she had just seen. Daryl had never been meek his entire life. He had told her stories of his childhood growing up with Merle. He had been a badass from the very start. But looking at him there being dominated by a woman half his size made Beth despair.
Beth had to think of a plan. She knew she was the only one who could do something with Daryl in this condition. Just as Daryl had saved her so many times, now it was her turn. She had to do everything she could to save Daryl herself.
TO BE CONTINUED….
A/N: Thanks for reading! If you liked it, just drop me a review and let me know what you think! :) Chapter Eight should be up before Saturday. Will Beth be able to rescue Daryl? Find out next time.
