Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead or any of the Walking Dead characters.
A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter, R&R :)
Sophia waited for the bus to arrive under the big tree in front of her school. The same tree she had been standing by when she punched Penny.
Sophia couldn't help but smirk. Probably everyone in her class had wanted to punch Penny at one point. She was a liar and a control freak. If something didn't go like she wanted it too, she would get angry and take it out on others. Merle hadn't been mad when he found out and Sophia was shocked, but glad.
A few days ago, the day after the whole Penny incident, Merle had gotten a new job at a construction site. And now Sophia had to take the bus home every day. But today she was going to make an exception. She hadn't visited her dad in almost two days, and a little detour wasn't going to hurt. As long as Merle wouldn't find out, of course.
She noticed Carl standing by the bus stop. They still hadn't talked, and she was glad. She really just wanted to be left alone.
Finally, the bus arrived. Sophia picked up her book bag and walked towards the bus, waiting patiently in line while the other kids walked into the vehicle, until it was finally her turn to enter it.
She sat down next to a chubby boy with glasses. She had it all figured out. She would get off the bus in front of the police station, and walk for a few minutes until she would finally reach the hospital. But getting home was a little trickier, she hadn't really thought about that. But that was a future problem.
Sophia found herself getting annoyed by the other kids. They were so loud, and they didn't seem to be able to sit still. At least the chubby boy wasn't talking to her.
Finally, fifteen minutes later, the bus stopped in front of the police station. Sophia stood up and grabbed her backpack before hurrying out of the bus. When she watched the bus drive away she felt a chill run down her spine. She felt so alone.
She knew which way the hospital was, so she started walking in that direction. It looked like it was going to rain. The clouds in the sky were gray and it was a little windy. It had been getting a lot colder the last few days.
But she knew that it would be, it was always cold on her birthday. Sophia frowned, her birthday was only in three days. She really hoped her dad would wake up before that. He had already missed nine of her birthdays, she didn't want him to miss another one.
She smiled a small smile when she noticed the hospital, it would only be a few minutes before she reached it. Taking the bus and finding the hospital by herself was a small victory in her book. She had never done anything like this before.
She saw doctors and nurses standing in front of the hospital. Most of them were talking, probably on a break.
The hospital smelled a little bit like her school. If her school was cleaned every day with strong soaps and sick people walked around in it all the time.
She knew exactly where Daryl's room was, and a few minutes after entering the hospital, she sat down on the chair next to her father's bed. She felt so much better when she could finally put down her book bag, it was so heavy.
Sophia took a good look at her father. He hadn't changed much, although his beard was a little thicker. But not much.
He still had that stupid ventilator and that stupid heart monitor attached to him.
Sophia sighed. This was the only place where she could really relax. When she was somewhere else she was constantly worrying about him. But as long as she was here, she didn't have to worry.
Merle would be pretty mad though. He had told her to always go straight home after school, lock the doors and windows and make sure Chaos was always near her. She didn't understand why he was being so paranoid. When she lived with her mom she had been home alone all the time.
Was it because of Ed? He hadn't really talked to her since the day he hit her and grabbed her arm. Daryl said he would take care of it, and she guessed he kept his promise. Although she did see Ed on the day of the accident, but she didn't know if he had anything to do with it. She had asked Merle about it once, he just told her that she didn't have to worry about it.
But she still had plenty of time until she would have to get back home. It was only 3:45 and Merle would be at work till 6. If everything went well, she would be home by then and he would never find out she went to the hospital in the first place.
Xxx
A half an hour had passed and Sophia had already done all of her homework. Now she was just sitting on the chair, swinging her legs while staring at all of the strange machines in the room.
She was lonely and exhausted. Sophia had barely slept since the accident. Either pain would wake her up or nightmares.
She would sometimes dream about Ed. How it would have been if she never found out Daryl was her real father and she would have to live with him. All alone. The thought alone made her shutter.
But mostly she would dream about Daryl dying in the accident. Then she would wake up drenched in cold sweat, tears streaming down her face.
Because of lack of sleep lately, Sophia sometimes started nodding off in class, but always stopped herself from falling asleep before anyone noticed.
Sophia stood up and walked towards her father's bed. This was the only time in over week when she had felt relaxed enough to actually sleep without waking up every two hours.
The bed was huge. She just made sure not to hurt him as she crawled onto the bed. She lied down on his left side, his right shoulder was still wrapped in bandages. Resting her head on his left arm, she fell into a peaceful sleep in only minutes.
Xxx
Merle parked his old truck in front of his brother's house. He didn't know how much longer he was going to be able to take care of his kid, he was exhausted after only a week.
Merle frowned when he noticed all the lights in the house were turned off. Sophia was supposed to be home by now. He quickly jogged towards the front door, using his spare key to open the front door.
"Sophia?" He called out. The only one to respond to him was Chaos, who came running from the kitchen, his tail wagging in excitement that someone was finally home.
Merle's heart started pounding faster. He quickly checked every room in the house, but Sophia wasn't there. Had that fucker taken her?
He remembered that Sophia sometimes hanged out at that cops house, maybe she was there. He grabbed his keys and cell phone, locking the door behind him before jogging back towards his truck.
While he started the car, he tried to find the cops number. He had called him the other day so Merle was quick to find it in the call history.
Rick answered on the third ring. "Hello?"
"Is Sophia at your house?" Merle asked, cutting straight to the case.
"What? No, she hasn't been there for a few days actually, why?" Rick asked, a hint of concern in his voice.
Merle's grip on the steering wheel tightened. "She's not at home. I have no idea where she is."
"Have you checked the hospital?" Rick asked in a frantic voice.
"No," Merle answered, "I'm on my way over there right now." He added and turned the car around to the direction of the hospital.
"Alright, call me when you get there." Rick said.
"Alright." Merle mumbled before hanging up the phone. He couldn't believe he didn't think about the hospital. Of course she was there. But if she wasn't, there was really only one other option. Merle didn't want to think about that.
Typical. His brother is in a coma and he only had to do one thing. One thing! And that was to take care of his kid. And now she might have been kidnapped by some sick pervert. But if that was the case, Merle was going to make sure that that certain sick pervert would not live to see another sunrise.
Merle stopped the truck in front of the hospital, not caring if he parked in a handicap parking spot. He walked as fast as he could towards his brother's room. His palms were sweaty and his breathing frantic, he didn't know what he would do if she wasn't in there.
When he walked into the room he breathed a sigh of relief. There she was, curled up next to his brother. Fast asleep. She had wrapped her hand around Daryl's uninjured arm, like a teddy bear.
Merle rubbed his face with both hands and let out a small chuckle. He walked up to Sophia, debating if he should wake her up or not. She hadn't been sleeping well lately, but it was almost seven and they had to get back home.
He gently shook her shoulder, a few seconds later Sophia slowly opened her eyes, looking around as if she was wondering where she was. When her gaze landed on Merle, her eyes widened.
She turned her head so she could look at the clock above the bed. 6:45. she had overslept. She switched her gaze back to Merle, who was looking at her with his eyebrows raised.
"This ain't home." Merle said and put his hands on his hips.
Sophia swallowed hard. She propped herself up on her elbows, refusing to meet her uncle's gaze.
"I'm sorry." Was all she said.
Merle smiled. He was too relieved to be angry. She was safe, that was all that mattered.
"It's okay," He said, Sophia looked at him, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion and her lips slightly parted, "Just don't do it again." He added and pointed a finger at her.
Sophia was shocked. Again, she had done something she wasn't supposed to do and he wasn't mad at her. He was full of surprises.
Sophia grinned. He wasn't mad at her and she had a ride home. It was really a win – win situation.
Xxx
Maggie walked into Daryl Dixon's room. She had noticed his daughter sleeping next to him a few hours earlier, it had to be one of the cutest things she had seen her entire life.
She quickly changed the bandages on his head and shoulder.
"Your daughter is really sweet." She said when she finished wrapping the gauze around his head. She knew that he probably didn't hear her, but she read somewhere that talking to coma patients could help.
"I've talked to her a few times," She added and stopped to look at him for a few seconds. Sophia looked just like him.
She shook her head and started changing his IV bag. "She misses you a lot, I can te- Oh My God!"
Maggie was startled when she suddenly noticed that Daryl was looking at her. His eyes were barely open, but he was clearly awake. Maggie stood in shock for a few seconds with her hand on her chest before quickly changing into nurse mode.
Xxx
Merle and Sophia were both lying on the couch, only half awake. After they got home they had been too exhausted to cook anything, so they decided to order pizza.
Now, an hour later, Merle had his feet propped on the coffee table in front of him with the remote lying on his chest. Sophia had her feet in his lap, she had changed into pajamas and had made herself comfortable on the couch with her pillow and blanket. ¨
Merle cursed when the phone rang. He stood up and walked towards the kitchen counter where his phone lied. Sophia was half listening to him talking on the phone and half watching the TV. She could only hear half on the conversation.
"I see"
"How long ago?"
"Aha"
"Okay"
"We'll be right there." Merle said before he hung up. Merle tried to hide his grin as he walked back to Sophia. He sat down, resting his elbows on his knees and rubbing his palms together.
"Guess what?" He grinned.
"What?" Sophia said, her eyes never leaving the TV.
"Your dad woke up."
Sophia sat up, she was faster than a lightning. Merle was sure that her grin could rip her face in two.
"What? When? Is he still awake? Can we go see him? Can we?" Sophia asked as she bounced up and down on the couch. Merle couldn't help but to grin wider at her excitement.
"Of course, sweetheart. I ain't gonna keep you two separated any longer." Merle said and stood up.
Xxx
Sophia was practically dragging Merle when they finally walked into the hospital. She hadn't even bothered to change from her pj's. Over her grey sweatpants and her Justin Bieber t-shirt that was two sizes too big, she was wearing her black jacket and a pair of old, light uggs.
"Come on!" She said and tugged harder at Merle's hand. Merle chuckled and pressed the button to the elevator. Sophia waited impatiently for a few moments until the elevator door finally opened. They stepped in and pressed to button to the third floor.
It was almost like the elevator was moving in slow motion, at least that's how it felt like for Sophia.
Finally the door opened. Sophia couldn't wait any longer and she started running towards her dad's room.
Daryl was lying slightly propped up on the bed. He gave Sophia a weak smile when she appeared in the doorway.
"Daddy" Sophia sighed with a smile on her lips. She climbed into the bed, being careful not to move it too much. She wrapped her good arm around her father before pressing her face against his neck.
Daryl managed to wrap one arm around his daughter and buried his face in her soft hair. He felt the prick of tears behind his eyelids.
Daryl didn't know what he would have done if she wouldn't have made it. He had no idea that he could love someone as much as he loved her.
Merle watched the father/daughter moment with a smile on his face, glad they were both going to be just fine.
A/N: I know the ending was a little cheesy, but I had a real hard time writing this chapter. I should mention that I have no idea how things work for coma patients, lately my best friend has been google. So if someone is reading this and realizes that what I'm writing is not making any sense, try not to laugh too much ;)
Thanks for reading!