Merle had skulked off, he didn't offer any kind of apology for his actions, but then Carol knew not to expect one; she couldn't recall once in all of their time together that he had admitted responsibility or said sorry for anything.
Carol rushed over to Maggie, her fingers resting gently against her shoulder "Where did he go!?" Maggie turned to face her and offered a reassuring smile, She rubbed Carol's arm softly "it's ok, he's not gone far"
Carol scanned the room, that naive part of her thought that maybe he hadn't gone anywhere at all; Maggie obviously aware of Carol's confusion offered more of an explanation "I gave him my keys" "your keys? Your keys to where?" Carol questioned, her eyes knitting together with confusion.
Maggie busied herself wiping the bar and Carol suddenly noticed a certain spring in her movements. "The Key to my house of course! Daddy's workin' till late at the Blakes Ranch; I told Daryl to wait on me coming home"
Carol felt a rush of relief, almost immediately followed by a deep sickening feeling; He was at Maggie's, why would he go there? Why would he choose to leave Carol and go there?
She took herself in hand, she knew that she owed Maggie, if it wasn't for her quick thinking Daryl would be miles away by now and they would never see him again.
Daryl sat outside the Green's house, his fingers curling around the keys, the sun was viciously beating down on him, the warmth of its rays penetrating his leather jacket; he licked desperately over his lips and thought of the conditioned house that lay ahead, he swallowed back the dryness in his mouth and imagined cool water trickling down his throat. He wanted so desperately to go inside, his body urged him to but it didn't feel right; He had been invited of course but that didn't mean a thing, Maggie had ulterior motives, despite Daryl's limited knowledge of women he was certain of that.
"Can I help ya, son?"
The voice had taken Daryl by surprise and he turned on his seat to find Hershel stood behind him, leaning dependently on his stick ' jus' when I dint' think I could feel more uncomfortable!' he muttered to himself.
Hershel moved closer, sheen of sweat visible at his forehead, it looked like every step was a struggle, that didn't seem to stop him though, and in fact it seemed to make him even more determined. 'Stubborn ol' man' he muttered under his breath.
"Nice bike' Hershel examined Daryl's bike with appreciation "it an 865cc?" Daryl nodded; his eyebrows knitted together "you inta bikes?" Hershel smiled and tapped the stick against his leg "used to be, in fact... if you wanna stick around I've got something in the barn that might just interest you"
Daryl felt the interest spark inside him, He cut his gaze across to the large barn "guess I could take a look"
Hershel's smile widened, it irritated Daryl, he didn't appreciate the smugness on the old man's face; he felt the need to remind him of his reluctance to develop any kind of bond, seemed like Hershel wanted Daryl to take the place of the son he never had.
"Let's jus make it quick! I got things ta' do!"
Hershel shot him a sideways glance "something tells me you don't have any place to go"
Daryl instantly wondered how he knew that, had he seen Maggie. Had she told him about what happened at the Tavern?
He decided that his response should be silence; he didn't want to be drawn into conversation.
Hershel pushed the heavy doors to the barn open, their eyes adjusted to its darkness as they left the sun behind them; Hershel pulled the dust sheet from the strange object; Daryl couldn't disguise his genuine appreciation for the bike, He rushed forward, all inhibitions forgotten as he ran his hands over it's broken but still beautiful body.
He looked over to Hershel "1960's?" Hershel chuckled at Daryl's excitement and shook his head "try 1950's"
He joined Daryl at the bike's side "had this baby since I was a teenager, I used to ride it on regular occasion; until I couldn't no more"
Daryl pushed the curtain of wispy hair from his face "Can't believe it's still holdin' up! Seems like you gone and hid it away for some while?"
Hershel sighed and flicked his eyes over the bike wishfully "Wish I could say you were wrong, son; I made a promise to myself that I'd fix her up some day, give her a ride" Daryl gave Hershel a glance out the corner of his eye, his attention seemingly focused on the bike "when I messed my leg up, Doc said I shouldn't even attempt it, said if I came off I'd only do myself more injury... possibly lose the ability to get around at all, I couldn't risk that, especially when it's just Maggie and me to tend to the horses"
The mention of Maggie's name caused a stirring deep in the pit of Daryl's stomach, the bike had distracted him from the current situation he'd wound up in, and his reason for even being at the Green's ranch in the first place.
As if sensing his thoughts Hershel cleared his throat "Anyhow, enough about me and my silly leg; what ya doing here, son? Maggie's working..."
Hershel was a smart man, he knew that Daryl would be aware of Maggie's shift, it was just his way of luring Daryl into a conversation he absolutely did not wanna have.
"I know, she told me ta come here" Daryl spoke towards the floor as he shifted from one foot to another.
"Uh huh, well why don't we go inside? Got some ice cold lemonade in the fridge, my Maggie makes the best lemonade"
The temptation was too much to resist and Daryl mumbled in response "I guess"
Maggie stared at the clock, her fingers drumming against the bar, the afternoon had dragged from the moment she watched Daryl ride off, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake; Carol busied herself in the kitchen, popping out every so often to join Maggie in the anxious clock staring.
Carol had suggested that Maggie leave early "go check on things at home!" she'd suggested, Maggie knew better to cut a shift short though, if Merle came back and realised she wasn't there He'd not pay her for the shift at all and she couldn't afford to turn the money away, especially when her father kept seeing to the neighbours cattle and horses without charge! He'd always been a soft touch; it had been the cause of many arguments between them.
Arguments that had once ended in Hershel staggering home in the early hours, cursing as he crashed into furniture; He'd had a volatile relationship with alcohol for as long as Maggie could remember.
Daryl stood uncomfortably by the kitchen door, he observed Hershel moving around the kitchen, he could just about manage a few steps without his walking aid and Daryl couldn't imagine relying on something so much; he'd rather be dead.
Hershel held out the glass of lemonade, Daryl felt his mouth water as he accepted it and swallowed the cool, refreshing liquid to the back of his throat.
Hershel grinned and stumbled past, groaning with relief as he sunk into the aged arm chair; He gestured towards the couch opposite "take a load off, son"
Daryl hesitated but edged towards the seat, perching on its edge, his hands toying with the half empty glass as he concentrated his eyes on the liquid that moved against the sides.
"So my Maggie tell ya to come here did she, son?" Daryl cleared his throat "Yeah, dunno why" despite the awkwardness of the situation He couldn't help feeling a strange sense of ease around the old man, and his home offered more sanctuary than Daryl had ever been used to.
"I knew ya daddy, y'know?" Daryl's eyes lifted automatically to Hershel, no one spoke of Shane Dixon, well no one but Merle and his drunken ramblings.
"Sorry" he mumbled, Hershel narrowed his eyes at the admission of apology "don't be, son; you do realise it's not your fault that your daddy turned out the way he did... don't ya?"
Daryl shifted, his fingers diverting from the glass to pick against the worn and frayed material of his jeans, he felt the roughness of his knee as it pushed through.
"Don't matter now" his words directed towards the ground as he responded. He didn't come here for this, he had no interest in talking to anyone about Shane, especially not some old man that thought he had some god given right to push the subject; just because he might have given Daryl a bed to sleep in a few years back, didn't mean he was owed anything.
Daryl made to leave, setting the glass down on the coffee table.
"Thanks for the drink an'all , but uh... I'd best be leavin'"
Hershel pushed against his stick, using it to support his body as he rose with obvious effort, his hand rested against Daryl's shoulder and his voice contained certain sincerity "wait! Daryl... I know what he put you through, I know what kind of a monster your daddy was and I know you only did what any man in that situation would do!"
Daryl squinted in confusion, his muscles tensing "you don't know nothin'" he barked, the vein in his neck throbbing with agitation.
Hershel sighed and slowly removed his hand "you protected yourself, Daryl and whether that good for nothing brother of yours realises it or not, you protected him too!"
His voice softened slightly
"Don't ya think it's time you started to forgive yourself, son?"