Good Morning all, a small chapter for you all. Hope everyone in this world is happy and healthy, keep the reviews coming please, thank you to everyone for keeping me going. xx
Three days later Daryl sat beside the bed, Beth whispering to him her throat still sore from the pipe, they had chatted lightly about anything the could think of just not his father, his mother and the fires she wasn't strong enough not yet.
The door swung open "Sugar Tit's!" came a voice loud enough to wake the dead, they both looked up, Daryl shocked when he saw a genuine smile cover Beth's face, she threw her arms out to Merle and he came over and gave her a small hug. Daryl looked from his older brother to his best friend and back again, confusion fizzing in his stomach. "Knew you would pull through Sugar, knew you couldn't leave that pup to himself." he smiled at her, what the fuck is going on? He watched as Beth cupped her hand to his face.
"Thank you Merle, I owe you" Daryl couldn't help himself he had been the one sat here since she came in, what the hell.
"What the hell?" he asked them both and they looked at him, his brother looking embarrassed and Beth looking happy.
"You didn't tell him Merle, you didn't did you? It was ya brother Daryl, your bother pulled me out of the fire in my apartment, he came in and grabbed me and ran." she smiled "I told ya Daryl not all people are completely bad" Daryl feel stunned he owed his older brother so much now he had saved Beth from certain death, he looked up and meet Merle's eyes they stared at each other for awhile before he nodded, Merle nodded back to him and then they looked at Beth. He wanted to say thank you, he wanted to hug his brother but Merle would give him shit for it so he left it as they always did.
"Need to speak to you about what ya said to the old man at some point lil brother." he said as he looked back at Beth "Weren't no need for all that was there, know you were upset and all but come on kid, how the fuck was he supposed to get up there and set fire to that apartment, he can't move much further than from his bedroom to that stupid chair." he looked at Daryl expectantly, but Daryl knew it just didn't add up unless it add up his way, his father must have known each of those ladies forty years of deaths and no one had noticed they were all connected to the Dixon's Daryl felt sick, he had nearly lost Beth because of his damned family, but then he had gotten her back because of them to, he was confused and he shook his head.
"Daryl" came the horse voice beside him "I told ya it wasn't your father, he wasn't the man, I would of recognised him as he walked out of the door, he was tall and big but it wasn't your dad, he is shorter and he bends slightly when he walks, I am telling you Daryl your father didn't set fire to my apartment." he went to open his mouth "Daryl I am not saying that your mother and all those other ladies weren't killed what I am saying is it wasn't your father."
"Then why did he say not to go there, why did he say I wouldn't like what I found out and and..." his emotions were boiling to the surface again, he wanted to hit things, he wanted to run from the pair of them.
"I don't have those answers for you Daryl but I have told you we will find them, oh my the papers Daryl all our work." she dropped her eyes from his genuinely upset "It's alright Beth their at mine, you fell asleep in the car remember, I took ya upstairs and put ya to bed, didn't have my car...hold on I made sure everything was locked how the hell they get in? Merle?" he turned to his older brother who was studying him hard "When you got there the door open or closed?" He watched as Merle thought about it for a minute.
"Well damn lil brother I don't know, closed, it was closed had to ram it took everything I had" he was looking at Daryl confused.
"Then how did you see them Beth? If the door was locked how did he get in? How did he get out?" he looked at her and she shrugged.
"I came out of the bedroom on my hands and knees I saw them stood there, their back to me, I called to them asked them to help me, then...Daryl there was something familiar about the person something I just can't picture, I can't put the pieces together." a tear ran silently down her face, he stretched his hand out and wiped it away from her cheek.
"Its ok Beth, don' worry. Things will come back to ya, things will be ok." He turned to Merle "Need ya around when she gets out, need ya around to help protect her." he said, Merle nodded.
"What have you two got yourselves into? Everyone told ya to stop investigating Daryl, now what ya put this little sweet thing in danger because you have an obssession trying to prove that the old man is a damned killer. Daryl he is a hard arse, his is a drunk, angry, child beating jackass, but the man didn't kill our Ma."
"For once tell me how you are so sure?" he asked quietly.
"Because I was there along time before ya, because you were just baby when she died, I saw them and when they were having a good day they still loved each other they still looked at each other they way you and sugar tit's here look at each other, that whole, I love you but I am to scared to love you look, did my head in then, does my head in now" he smiled at them both, Daryl felt himself begin to blush.
"We are friends Merle, fuck. Ok so if you say it weren't him and Beth tells me it weren't him at the apartment. Then who was it? How do we stop them? And why the fuck would they attack Beth? Unless..." he drifted away from them both thinking hard. "Merle, you stay here with Beth while I go back to my apartment?" Merle nodded Daryl stood up not caring if Merle was in the room he bent and kissed Beth on top of the head and walked out he had to get something, they had a deadline now, he had to find this person before he went for Beth again.
He got back to the apartment and took the stairs two at a time until he reached the front door, it stood slightly a jar, shit, he looked around for something but there was nothing he could protect himself with, he went to the door opening it slowly, someone could still be in here.
He edged his way in trying to keep his back to the wall not letting anyone sneak up behind him, he walked slowly and purposefully into the small living area taking in the mess in there, papers and cushions everywhere, someone had ripped this place apart. He went into the bedroom and after a few minutes he found Beth's car keys, picking them up he shoved them in his jeans pocket, then made his way to the wardrobe he moved the shirts that hung to one side, revealing a wall covered in hunting paraphernalia, he picked up a large tote bag then started pulling things off of the wall, crossbow, bolts, a couple of knives, he pulled more and more stuff till he was sure that Armageddon could happen and he would be able to fight his way out. He pulled his favourite off and attached it to his leg strapping to his thigh, he had to carry something, then he made his way back down to Beth's car, he jumped in and started the engine checking to make sure Beth's rucksack was still sat in the passenger foot well where she had left it, he drove back to the hospital.
Walking into the room he looked at them both, he handed Beth her rucksack and she smiled gratefully and thank him, while she pulled out her hair brush and started on her matted hair. He turned to Merle, opening the tote bag, Merle stuck his hand in, grabbed one of the hunting knives and tucked a small hand pistol into the back of his jeans, they both went back to the bed Daryl tucked a small hand gun under Beth's pillow, she looked at him with wide eyes.
"Ya know how to use it?" he asked Beth just looked at him. "They might come back try to finish the job they started. So can you shoot the gun Beth?"
"I have shot a rifle before never shot a hand gun but I am guessing one is the same as the other, he nodded at her, then looked down at all the paper work she had laid out on the bed, for the next hour Beth sat and explained everything they had discovered to Merle, he asked her intelligent questions ones Daryl kicked himself for not asking in the first place, then he watched as Merle sat back staring at the information before them.
"Damn and I thought you really were a crackpot lil brother, but you really are on to something." Merle sat back rubbing his hand over his face then stopped and looked at them both "What I don' understand is if this person has been doing this for 40 odd years, how and why has he never been caught I mean he has to be an old fart by now right?" Beth shook her head in the negative.
"Not necessarily, I mean it's not like he or she is going in and killing these women first, they don't need strength, they need cunning, work it out, how hard is it to put a flame to something that burns, then stand back and watch, for the sake of maths, if they started at 10 years old they would only be sort 50 now." Daryl absorbed what Beth was saying to them, it seemed easy when he had it in his head it was his father but now, now it could be anyone. "The part that annoys me the most" she went on, then tried to reach for her water Daryl picked up the small cup and handed it to her, she took it and took a deep swallow, he took it back and rested it on her bedside table. "I know he's in here" she pointed to all the work on the bed "I know the answer is here staring us right in the face and I have missed it."
Daryl sighed, he couldn't think of anything he picked up the pile of photographs and started to shift through them half heartedly listening to what Beth and Merle were talking about, he stared at each one over and over, then he got down on his knees on the floor lining up a group of photos, he stared at them, it was he thought. "Merle, come ere." He heard Merle get off of the side of the bed and come round, he got down on his knees next to Daryl and looked at the photographs.
"Tell me what I am looking for Daryl coz you got me confused, all I see is shit loads of outside photographs."
"The truck Merle, the damned truck it's in all of em. I seen that truck before, outside our house, out side the old man's workshop. If he didn't do it Merle then he damn well knows who did." he looked at his brother's face "What ya know Merle?" He watched as Merle turned to look at Beth, then down at him.
"I ain't got me a full idea yet but I may know something, got some of me own questions to be answered, I will be back soon. Keep Blondie safe lil bro." he stood up and went for the door.
"Merle?" he asked him.
"I will answer your questions when I find out, don't trust no one lil bro." Daryl watched him leave then picked up all the photographs, he showed Beth what he had found.
"You think Merle knows something?" she asked him as he sat next to her on her bed, he had his arm around her cuddling her into his chest.
"I think it's possible" he answered.
"I hope he keeps himself safe." she worried.
"Don't worry about that nothing can kill Merle but Merle." he kissed on top of the head and prayed his words were true.