Thank you for all the follows, likes and reviews, I feel overwhelmed, well for all those of you who requested a longer chapter I hope this does it for you (ItsNotEZ lol), please enjoy and if you feel the urge I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter, so thank you in advance xx
Daryl woke his eyes flying open, he took a deep breath to steady himself, memories coming flooding in, he closed his eyes again to fight against them, he fidgeted in his bed? Bed wait not my bed, he realised this wasn't his room, his house, where the hell was he? He sat up right and the pain wrenched up through him, he collapsed back down on to the soft pillows and released a sigh, only then did he realise that a small body was led next to him, blonde hair splayed out against the dark pillow case.
"Beth?" he whispered, her eyes fluttered open to look at him, she sat up slowly assessing him,
"Hey" she yawned "How you doing this morning?" then looking at the clock she corrected herself "I mean afternoon" she smiled a little embarrassed by the fact she had fallen asleep while holding him last night.
"Where? How?" he stammered.
"Your at mine, I came and got you" she explained "Maggie rode your bike over, it's ok, Daddy he cleaned your wounds and I..." a tear ran down her cheek, he slowly reached a hand up and wiped it away.
"You shouldn't have done it, did he hurt you?" he asked her.
"No, he was stupid and drunk and I told him if he didn't let us leave then I would call the sheriff's office and report him, so he just left us" she looked down at her hands, Daryl shifted in the bed feeling uncomfortable at his lack of clothes. "You need your pain meds? Daddy got some for you, you said not to call the police so we didn't but Daddy doesn't want you to go back." she explained.
"Pain killers would be good, my back burns" he was blushing red, he watched as she jumped up relieved she was fully clothed, his embarrassment would have been too over whelming for that. She left the room quietly and after a few minutes came back with some tablets and a glass of fresh juice "Ma is going to bring you something to eat up in a moment, she just wanted to wait for you to be comfortable." she explained, Daryl threw the tablets down his throat and took a big swallow of the juice.
"My shirt" he pointed Beth retrieved a clean shirt for him out of the bag, she didn't want to give him the one covered in little smears of blood, then she left the room Daryl heard her call down the stairs, seconds later her mother bustled into the room fussing over Daryl, asking him how he felt? Then going on to how he needed to eat up everything or the tablets wouldn't work properly, he flushed again, redder with every word her mother spoke but just nodded and agreed, tucking into his breakfast.
"Now Daryl, Hershel will be up in next to no time, he wants to check your bandages and make sure there is no sign of infection." he opened his mouth to protest but was quietened by Beth's mother "Now young man, I don't want to hear you making a fuss, I want you to say yes Mrs Greene and leave it like that" she placed her hand on his face, looking into his eyes and with two little words she melted his hard exterior "Your safe" she patted him and then left the room, Daryl's hands froze over his meal, then dropped the cutlery he was using, everything came rushing back to him the belt, the welts, the wardrobe, Beth, the truck, his head dropped in shame. Then he felt Beth's small hand on his shoulder.
"It's ok Daryl, there is nothing to be ashamed of" she spoke quietly as if to a small baby "Daryl please look at me" she begged eventually his eyes came up to meet hers, he knew the shame was showing on his face but he couldn't hide it. "I promise I will look after you." she said to him, he shook his head sadly.
"No one can, no one can make it stop, Merle's gone" he sighed, as if this was an explanation.
"Stay here, you don't need to go back" he saw the look of concern on her face.
"Can't will have to go back, can't leave him on his own, he's all I got left." he watched Beth's face change.
"No Daryl, he isn't, you have us, you have...me" he watched her eyes flash diamonds as the tears of sympathy built in them, his heart tore.
"Beth I...you don't understand" he picked his knife and fork up, continuing to eat, as he felt the pain killers begin to kick in. "I don't want your sympathy" he said to her trying not to look at her face, trying not to see what would be there, knowing the hurt and confusion he would see if he looked her in the face.
"I don't want to give you sympathy I want to give you help, I want to..." the door swung open and her father came in.
"How is my patient this morning?" he asked.
"Sore Doc" Daryl said, sleepily.
"Well I am going to check your back, Beth your mother would like to see you, you haven't eaten in hours" he flashed his eyes up to her as she went to protest. "Go on now Beth." he said she picked Daryl's blood stained shirt, then left. Daryl eyed the man before him wearily.
"Doc?" he asked him, he watched as Hershel took fresh bandages out of his case and laid them down on the bedside table then reached back in to get some antibacterial wash and cotton wool, he positioned himself on the bed unwrapping him carefully, Daryl hissed at the last part as it pulled at the wounds, he could feel the pulling and the cold liquid touch his back then the bandages were wrapped back into place.
"No sign of infection but I want to check them everyday for the next week, so no matter what your protests you will be here for that long. I have been to see your father and he has agreed to this, I will tell you I warned him that if he didn't no matter how much you begged I would phone my friend Rick Grimes and have him arrested and charged with assault" Daryl looked at the old man then nodded dumbly, the pain medication was beginning to take over his body, sleep threatening to engulf him, Hershel removed his plate from his lap "Get some sleep now, it will help you to recover." he left the room with out another word and Daryl let the wave of sleep he had been fighting over take him.
Beth sat with Daryl's phone in her hand, she flicked it from hand to hand considering what to do with it, then she flipped it open before she had any more arguments with herself dialling.
"What?" came a gruff voice on the other end.
"It's Daryl" she said the conversation continued for few minutes and then she hung up.
Daryl's eyes drifted open to find Beth sat on a small chair in the corner of the room reading, he studied her, she had on a pair of small tight blue jeans, a pink blouse that buttoned up at the front her hair was loose around her shoulders he presumed she had been released from farm duties today. He gazed at her face her pink lips slightly pouted as she read, he couldn't help but lick his lips as she sucked in her bottom lip, biting down on it lightly.
"What you reading?" he asked her, he watched as moved cat like to uncurl herself, arching her back as she placed her book on the side and turned to smile sleepily at him.
"Pride and Prejudice remember the book we are supposed to read for school." he raised his shoulders at her slightly.
"It's boring" he said.
"No it's not it's romantic and well..." she blushed, her cheeks flushed red and he chuckled amused.
"And well...?" he asked her.
"Well sexy, especially when he dives in the water, with a white shirt on and oh..." the colour in her face increased, to Daryl's amusement.
"Feel any better?" he nodded in confirmation to her.
"Yeah, I feel like getting up, need the air, that be alright with your Dad I don't wanna be a pain" he asked.
"Course" she threw him some pants then got up to leave the room "I will just be outside the door while you dress" she explained. He pulled the pants on she had thrown to him, then grabbed an under shirt pulling his sleeveless shirt over the top, he pushed his feet into his boots, then opened the bedroom door.
"Umm Beth can I use your bathroom?" he asked her she pointed to a door across the landing and he went in closing the door, he smoothed his hair down as best he could then, washed his face making him feel almost human again, there was a light tap on the door and Daryl opened it a small crack, she was stood there with a clean towel and a brand new toothbrush, he took the items from her and smiled.
"Thanks" he said clicking the door closed after another twenty minutes he left the room folding the towel up and leaving it on the toilet seat. They made their way down the stairs, Daryl moved slow and stiff but he made it in good time.
"Good evening" Beth's mother called from the kitchen "Beth honey, Daddy is out he had an emergency call out something to do with a horse in labour" they watched as she rolled her eyes and continued to pack the basket she was working on "I have to go on my visits I have ignored them for a while" she smiled at Daryl, who shifted uncomfortably.
"Yeah sorry about that" he frowned.
"Don't be silly, Daryl" she looked at Beth "Now I have left some bits and pieces for you to make a spaghetti meal for yourselves, do you like spaghetti Daryl?" she asked already looking around for something else just in case.
"I do" he answered.
"Oh good well I will see you two young ones later on then, Beth feed the chickens please before you put them away" she called over her shoulder then she was gone.
"Well suppose we best go feed them chickens of yours" Daryl said as the door closed behind Beth's mother.
"Yeah suppose so" Beth shrugged and they walked off out of the house towards the coop. Daryl took his time to breath in the fresh air, filling his lungs to the brim, it always made him feel better to be outside. He helped Beth round up the chickens then topped the feeder up for her as she poured water into the other feeder.
"What ya wanna do now?" he asked her.
"I don't know, go make food, catch a film they will be gone for hours now, they always are." she sighed.
"It's ok Beth, I am here" she looked at him confused "I understand, they are always out, they have busy lives and ya feel kinda lonely." she nodded to him. "Like I said I get it, sometimes you can be surrounded by people, have them running around after you, but you can be the loneliest person on the planet." he pulled her into a hug, they stood that way for a few minutes when she heard a truck pulling up before her house, they both turned and to Daryl's surprise his brother stepped out of the cab, they made their way over to him.
"Merle?" Daryl asked as they arrived.
"Beth here phoned me" he looked down at Beth who was desperately trying to look anywhere but at him "She said he did a proper number on ya this time."
"So you got some leave?" Daryl asked amazed as he looked between the pair of them.
"Well that depends on the way you look at it, but I will deal with all that, I been to speak with Uncle Jess, remember him, used to take ya hunting when ya was a lil one? Lives in the next town over?" Daryl nodded at his brother. "He's going to take ya on at his garage got you a small apartment over the top of it, it needs furniture and shit, cleaning that sort of the thing, apparently no ones lived there for years, should get ya out of that damned house" he looked down at the floor waiting for a response from Daryl, Daryl was stunned Merle did all this for him? No Merle, didn't do all this for him, he turned to look at Beth guilt running over her face.
"What did you do?" he asked her.
"I told Merle I would report the shit I walked into in that house if something didn't change, Merle I am guessing thought this was the best way to change it." Merle walked to the back of the truck "Picked up the last of your stuff, its all in the back of the truck guessing you got your bike here?" Daryl nodded again as Merle handed him the keys.
"But you will need these to get back" he looked confused, till he heard another car pulling in when he looked up he saw it was a sheriff's car, two men got out of the car and came towards the truck.
"Merle Dixon." Merle looked at his brother for a minute, Daryl stared back he wouldn't cry not in front of his brother.
"That will be me" the shorter man of the two came over and started to put handcuffs on his wrists "I have to take ya back Merle." he explained.
"Woow there officer friendly, them cuffs are tight" he looked at Beth as he was being pulled away by the taller of the too men "Look after my lil brother for me Beth, I'm going to be gone for a while this time." then he disappeared into the car, the shorter of the two policemen stood with them.
"He went Awol yesterday afternoon, after being told he couldn't have emergency leave, he has to go back for court martial" he explained he handed Beth a card "all details are on there if you need to contact them for anything" he nodded to them both and went back to the car, Daryl watched his brother's face in the back window till it was out of sight, then looked back at Beth, his life was about to change but he wasn't sure he wanted it.