Chapter 10

Daryl looked around the room as he made his way to the bar. It was his first time here and he was happy that it wasn't a dive. It actually looked pretty decent. It wasn't that crowded, but it was also only a Tuesday night. He grabbed a bar stool that gave him plenty of room away from the next guy. The bartender was a blonde that looked to be in her sixties and probably had been tending bar her entire life.

She smiled at him and put a napkin down in front of him. "What can I get you Sugar?"

"Give me a shot of Jack and whatever you have on tap. I don't care what," he told her.

Sally had been working in bars for years. She could spot someone looking to drink away their troubles in an instant. The guy who just sat down was definitely one of those. She poured the shot and beer and placed it down in front of her new customer. "First time here?" she asked.

"Yep." Daryl took the shot and threw it back. He welcomed the burn from it. "Another."

Sally took the bottle and poured him another. "I'm Sally, sugar, what's your name?"

"Daryl." He wasn't in the mood to talk. He just wanted to drink and wallow in his misery.

"Well you need anything else, you just flag me down. We also have some awesome burgers in case you get hungry," Sally told him. She could tell he didn't want to chat, so she would just keep an eye on him. He was a good looking guy, a little rough around the edges, but there was an innate sadness about him. She had a soft spot for guys like him.

Daryl drank down the second shot and placed the glass upside down on the bar. He then took a sip of his beer and just stared blankly down in it. He replayed his life through a silent movie that only he saw and wondered if he hadn't stayed with Merle all these years if it would have turned out different…better. Maybe he should just collect his things and move on start a new life by himself, but that didn't even sound good to him. He hated his life, but he had no idea what to do about it.

"Daryl?"

He turned at the sound of his name and was surprised to see Emma. She stood him up to go to a bar?

"What are you doing here?" they both asked at the same time.

"I'm working"

"Drinkin'"

Since when did Emma work in a bar? She waitressed at the diner. Daryl was completely confused. "Emma, you work at the diner. Since when do you work here?" he asked.

"I've worked here for a two years, Daryl. I work both places. You didn't know that?" Emma thought that Daryl knew. What about her note?

"You never told me that you worked here, only at the diner. How would I know?"

"Daryl, the very first night I met you I was dressed to come here. Just like I am now and I told you I was late for work. I though you saw the bar's name on my…shirt." Emma realized that she almost said 'on my boobs'. "I left you a note on your door today."

He realized that she was wearing that same tight t-shirt that she was on the first night and the short skirt. He had just never put two and two together. She so did not belong in this bar. "You mentioned a note. I never got one."

"After you left the diner, I realized that it was Tuesday and I work here Tuesdays and Thursdays. I didn't want you to think I stood you up." When Daryl looked down Emma realized that he had indeed thought that. "Oh my God, you did. I am so sorry." Emma heard her name called and she needed to go check on a table. "Damn, I gotta go. I'll be back."

Daryl watched Emma head over to a table of four guys. Without even hearing what they were saying he knew they were flirting with her. He was instantly jealous even though all she did was smile back. She was his…sorta. He finished his beer while waiting for Emma to come back.

Sally caught his eye and he nodded that he wanted another beer. He would slow with this one down. He already felt the shots that he had done when he first came in. Sally refilled his beer, but didn't leave.

"So you know our Emma?" she asked while polishing a glass. She didn't miss that when Emma started talking to Daryl how his face softened and he no longer looked as angry.

"Yep," he answered her. Daryl could tell that Sally was simply being friendly and since he had talked to Emma, a lot of his anger had dissipated. He didn't need to keep up the hard ass attitude. He gave her a half smile that just lifted the corner of his mouth. "We're friends. Kept missing meeting up with her this weekend. I didn't know she worked here, so it was a surprise seeing her. Glad I stopped by."

"Emma's a good one. I saw her face light up when she saw you. She needs someone she can rely on, you going to be that guy Daryl?" Sally was a good judge of character. All her years behind a bar taught he to be able to pick out the ones that were trouble. Daryl wasn't one of those.

"I sure as hell hope so Sally," Daryl told her. It didn't bother him that she was essentially butting into his business with Emma. He saw it as Sally looking out for Emma and he appreciated that.

"In that case, next beer's on me," she said with a wink.

Emma was able to get back to Daryl finally after serving food to a couple of tables and replacing empty drinks. "What happened this weekend?" she asked Daryl.

"It was a fuckin' nightmare" he said rolling his eyes. "Too long a story to tell you here. Hey, when do you get off?"

"When we close. Somewhere between 12 and one."

"How do you handle working in the morning then?" he asked. "You must be exhausted."

Emma gave him a big smile. "I always have off on Wednesdays, so it's not a problem."

"I got off tomorrow too. Would it be okay, if I hung around here until you got off and we could go back and talk afterwards?" Daryl was anxious to spend time with Emma and this would also keep him away from his brother. "I got a lot to tell you."

"Sure. I'd love that." Emma could not believe that he was here. She had been thinking about him non-stop for days and out of the blue he shows up at The Brew. She could not wait for her shift to be over. At least when it slowed down later, she would be able to hang with him.

The front door opened and a bunch of people walked in. It was time to go back to work. Daryl knew she had to go, so he grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. They held hands for a brief moment before Emma headed off to great the newcomers.

With a smile, Daryl waved Sally over. "Think I'm gonna take you up on that cheeseburger. Guess I'm gonna be here a while."

"Good," Sally said as she went to put his order into the kitchen.

It wasn't until twelve thirty that Emma was finally done. The small crowd thinned out later on so Emma was able to spend some time sitting with Daryl. So while she counted out her tips and got that sorted out, Daryl got up off the bar stool and stretched. It was a long night, but he would do it again and he planned to.

"I'm ready," Emma told him with her purse in hand. "Let's get outta here."

Daryl was more than ready to go. He followed Emma out to the parking lot and walked her over to her car. Once she was safely settled, he then headed to his and they drove back to the trailer park. Daryl parked in his spot. He could see the lights were still on inside, but he headed straight to Emma's.

"Do you mind if I change clothes?" she asked.

"Go right ahead," he told her as he sat down on the couch.

Emma left the room and Daryl put his head back on the sofa. Finally! He was going to be able to spend time with Emma and see where this could go. He never would have thought that he wanted to have any type of relationship with a woman. A quickie in a parking lot or a couple of hours at their place was all he ever did. He didn't stay overnight or see them again. He had never had a positive relationship in his life…ever, so he had no reason to believe one could ever exist. Until now. He wanted one now with Emma.

She emerged from the bedroom wearing jeans and a casual shirt and no shoes. Daryl immediately felt his body react to her. He sat up quickly and put his hand in his lap to cover his growing erection. "Damn it," he told himself. Luckily Emma went into the kitchen to get them both something to drink, so he had time to get his body to calm down.

Daryl took the soda that Emma handed him and took a sip as she sat down next to him. "So, tell me what happened this weekend," she said, as she got comfortable on the sofa.

"What a fuckin' mess," Daryl told her and proceeded to tell her how everything kept going from bad to worse all weekend. Emma could not believe everything he went through to get his brother out of jail. It was a sad that Daryl had to go through that.

"I can't believe you had to sell your watch. Oh Daryl, I wish I knew. I could have helped you," Emma offered.

"Emma, I would never ask you for money. That wasn't an option, but I did want to talk to you… but I don't have your number. You gotta give it to me. What is it?" They exchanged phone numbers and automatically programed them into their cell phones. Daryl felt much better having it and so did Emma.

"What made you come into The Brew tonight? I haven't seen you in there before," Emma asked.

"What else… Merle. He's trying to cheat me on the rent and I won't stand for it. I've had it with him walking all over me all the time. Spending my money like it's his, and when I told him no, he got angry and I was sure he was going to hit me, so I left. He's turning into our old man who never had a nice thing to say to us and beat us more often than not." Daryl hadn't meant to say that to Emma. He never told anyone about his father or mentioned the abuse he received. It just came out.

"Don't parent's suck?" Emma sighed. "Some people should never be allowed to have kids."

Daryl looked at Emma and saw sadness in her eyes. "What you telling me?"

"I didn't have good parents either. I went into foster care when I was three because my parents were too busy getting high to care for me. I aged out at eighteen and looked for them or at least my Mom. I found out she OD'd not long after I was taken away. I've been on my own my whole life." Emma wasn't proud of her background, but she didn't let it shape her. She told Daryl what little she knew of her life with her parents and that came from social service documents. She was too little to remember. She had been living in filthy conditions, no food and drugs and needles just lying out in the open. It was a miracle that she lived through that.

Daryl felt a new understanding come between them. They both shared a horrible childhood and as much as he hated to admit it, at least he had Merle. He hadn't been completely alone. Since Emma had shared her deep dark secrets, Daryl felt more comfortable to tell her more of his life. He told her about hen his mother died in the fire she unfortunately caused, but she never was a loving woman. Daryl grew up not knowing what any type of affection was. He spoke of his father's verbal abuse that increased year after year and how it turned physical as he got older. He didn't tell her of the scars on his back. He wasn't ready for that yet.

Emma was shocked when Daryl told her that when he was around ten years old he had gotten lost in the woods for nine days. No one looked for him. No one cared that he was gone. He had to find his way home on his own. Her heart went out to that little forgotten boy. It seemed they both survived parents that should never have reproduced.

Daryl had his arm along the back of the sofa cushions. Emma scooted next to him and laid her head on his shoulder and Daryl wrapped his arm around her. They stayed that way for a while, just being together until Emma started yawning. Daryl looked around for a clock and saw that it was after three in the morning.

"I should go," Daryl said regretfully. He didn't want to leave her. "It's late." He knew he should go, it was the right thing to do, but she felt so good against him with her head resting on him. He had yet to kiss her again and he wanted to so badly.

Emma turned her face to look up at him. Her green eyes filled with fatigue and happiness. "No," she said softly. "Don't go. Stay the night…please."

Daryl pressed his lips to hers. He wasn't going anywhere….anytime soon.