"I can't believe you found her," Carol gushed for probably the 8th time. It never got old though. Daryl had tracked Cherokee through the woods and they were bringing her safely home. Carol was absolutely glowing and he couldn't stop looking at her.
The others came running out to meet them when they got close. It wasn't until Daryl saw that Merle wasn't with them that he started to worry. "Merle?" he said to Jeff the second he was in ear shot.
Laura was the one who answered. "Oh he's fine. He's hit on every nurse in the building I think," she said with a laugh. "Doctors wanted to keep him overnight for observation." Relief swept over him. Daryl felt guilty for being more focused on finding the horse than concerned for his brother, but in the end everything had seemingly worked out and that's all that mattered.
"He said to tell you he's had enough of Green Acres," Jeff added, smiling. "He wants you to bring his bike and things when he's released tomorrow. Said he's leaving for the Carolina's. But he will miss Theresa's cooking and looking at Carol's ass." Daryl blushed but everyone else, Carol included, laughed. "He's kinda growing on me," Jeff said, playfully pushing Daryl's shoulder. They had climbed off their horses and were leading them back to the barn.
Once people started to disperse he caught Carol alone. "How am I going to get back from town? And is it okay for me to take a couple hours off to go?"
Carol smiled it him, "how about we take the whole day?"
"We?" Daryl replied, a feeling of excitement rippling through his body.
"You will need someone to show you where the hospital is and a ride home." Carol stretched and yawned. It had already been a long day. "Might as well make a day of it. I'll show you around town, maybe drive out to the west side and see the lake." Daryl had a feeling Carol hadn't taken a day off in a long, long time. She looked as excited as he felt. "You good with that?"
"Uh, yeah," he replied, studying her beautiful face. If she only knew how much he would give to spend an hour alone with her. An entire day was like winning the lottery or something.
"Great," Carol smiled, her eyes sparkling. "Let's go have supper. We should get to bed early too, we'll still have to do chores before we leave in the morning."
After supper Daryl was lying in bed, thinking about everything that had happened so far. He had no idea when he decided to take the job that he was going to have the most amazing summer of his life. And it was all because of her. But it would end. It would end and he would have to go back to the shit hole life he'd lived for 18 years. Stop thinking about that, he chastised himself. It seemed like every time things got quiet and he had a chance to think his mind always went to the same place. His heart hurt even thinking about the summer ending, and it had far more to do with leaving her, than going back to his normal life.
Carol had suggested that they go to bed early, so Daryl decided he would try to just sleep, instead of creeping to her room down the hall. If she came and woke him again, he would be more than happy to do whatever she wanted to do. But if she didn't, it was okay because Daryl had a sneaky suspicion they would more than make up for it the next day.
Morning came quick and after breakfast and chores he and Carol both showered and changed to leave for the hospital. Daryl gathered up Merle's things while Carol puttered around loading a bunch of stuff into the back of the truck. "Have a nice day Sweetie," Theresa said, with a wink. Daryl blushed. She had recently started calling him Sweetie and Daryl actually loved it. It made him feel like he had a Nana or something; someone who gave a shit about him. It wasn't just Theresa and Carol though. Everyone he had met on the farm made him feel like he mattered.
"Ready?" Carol asked as Daryl emerged from the house with Merle's backpack.
"Think so," he replied, feeling excitement wash over him yet again. Not only did he get to ride several miles into town on Merle's bike, but after he sent his brother on his way (and made sure he really was okay) he got to spend the rest of the day alone with Carol. What could possibly be better?
"Okay, just follow me then," Carol said, with a smile as she hopped into her pick-up truck. Daryl fired up the bike, slipped on Merle's helmet and took off after her. It was a gorgeous sunny day. Not too hot, with a slight breeze. The wind buzzing by him on the bike, blowing in his face and over his body felt amazing. It was actually a bit disappointing when they pulled up to the hospital in a little under an hour.
Daryl parked the bike beside where Carol had parked her truck and they headed inside to the information desk. "Can you tell us what room Merle Dixon is in?" Carol asked politely.
"Merle Dixon," the older woman replied with a grin. "Gonna be sad to see him go. Real charmer, he is."
"Charmer," Daryl scoffed. "You don't know the half of it," he added under his breath. Carol poked him with an elbow.
"Merle's in room 35A, if he's actually in his room. He's been on the prowl all morning since the nurses had shift change," the volunteer replied, her smile getting bigger. "He was here earlier, brought me this," she held a flower to her nose.
"Are you sure we're talking about the same Merle Dixon?" Daryl muttered in disbelief. Merle could charm the pants off pretty much anyone, but he usually reserved his charm for ladies he actually wanted their pants off, not sweet, old, senior citizens.
"Probably," she replied. "Looks a bit like you. Very handsome too," she said, eliciting yet another blush on Daryl's cheeks.
"Thanks for your help," Carol replied, taking Daryl's hand briefly and leading him away. "Let's go to his room and hope he's there." They wandered through a maze of hallways until they found A-wing and stopped at the nurse's desk. "Can you tell me if Merle Dixon is in his…"
"I would recognize that sweet ass anywhere," came a voice from behind them. "Yours too Carol," Merle joked, nudging Daryl. "There's some fine looking nurses here, but I'm so ready to get the f…, uh, to get out of here," he said, looking at the head nurse who was giving him a stern eye. "That one there has the hots for me I think," Merle added, lowering his voice, but still loud enough she could hear. Daryl noticed the woman's face soften. It really annoyed him how Merle could so easily melt even the coldest of female hearts. They started to walk towards his room, to wait for a nurse to come and discharge him. "Hey, Pamela, you sure you don't want to skip town, hop on the back of my bike and check out South Carolina with me?" Merle asked a pretty blonde in scrubs. "This is the last time I'm offering," he jokingly warned her.
"Thanks for the offer, but remember that boyfriend I was telling you about?" she replied, passing them and throwing Merle a grin over her shoulder.
"Disgusting," Daryl mumbled.
"So did you find that damn horse that tried to kill me?" Merle asked, plunking down on his bed.
"We did," Carol said, smiling brightly. "Your brother is quite a gifted tracker."
"Taught him everything he knows," Merle said, with both conceit and pride. "Good job Darlene. Found your woman's horse, that should keep you in her pants for the rest of the summer."
"If you didn't already have a fucking concussion I would give you one right now," Daryl seethed.
"Relax Bro, and watch your mouth. You don't want to deal with Martha, trust me," Merle grinned. "I mean, she loves me, but I'm pretty sure she considered washing my mouth out with soap before I turned on the charm and schmoozed her."
Daryl looked at Carol, who was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, with a smile on her face, watching them. "I might actually miss you Merle," she said.
"Hmm, then what you say we kick Daryl out and make a little whoopee," Merle offered. " I'll give you something to remember me."
"Oh trust me, I have enough to remember you already," Carol shot back, moving closer to Daryl. The nurse walked in with discharge papers and a long list of instructions for Merle. Daryl knew his brother wasn't listening to a word she said, especially since his eyes were trained on her tits.
Finally it was time to go. It was like walking with a celebrity leaving the hospital. Every person they passed said goodbye to Merle. "You were here one night…" Daryl said when they got outside.
"I can't help it if people adore me. When you're this handsome sometimes it feels like a curse," Merle said, flashing his pearly whites.
"Okay, well, bye," Daryl said, handing Merle his helmet and backpack. "Don't die. Don't get arrested. Maybe I'll see you at home at the end of the summer." Daryl felt a pang in his heart even mentioning home and summer ending.
"C'mere," Merle said, pulling Daryl into a hug. He let Merle hug him, but didn't make a move to hug back. "Carol?" he asked opening his arms. She stepped into his embrace and gave Merle a hug goodbye. Daryl felt the need to punch him arise once again. He didn't like Merle touching Carol, even if it was an innocent goodbye hug. Merle released her. "Don't break his heart okay? I don't feel like putting it all back together." Merle looked from Daryl to Carol. "But teach him a thing or two… he still acts like a man whose never been laid. Doesn't quite fit the Dixon mold, if you know what I'm sayin'?" he nudged Carol. Merle climbed on to his bike. "Good start the other night though," he said, winking at her before firing up the motorcycle and peeling away with a wave.
"Does he mean… he heard? He was awake?" Carol asked, cheeks turning slightly pink.
"You don't even want to know," Daryl replied, heading for the truck. "Let's go enjoy our day off, okay? I don't want to talk about or think about my brother for a long, long time."
Carol climbed in the driver's seat. "You have to admit he's cute and funny." Daryl shot her a look and she got serious. "There's more to him than the rest of us see, isn't there?" He nodded. "If you ever want to talk about it…"
"Not today," Daryl said quickly. "I don't want to ruin this day."
"Not today," Carol agreed, reaching for his hand and squeezing it. They pulled out of the parking lot and Carol headed out of town. With the city behind them, Merle gone and the entire day alone to look forward to Daryl finally felt at peace.