Daryl's body swept in and out of consciousness, holding onto reality with slippery fingers. He was aware of the chilly morning air slipping through the cracked window close by, though his eyes remained trapped under heavy lids. Faint whispers filtered through the pillow covering his ear along with the steady sound of the heater kicking on. He realized time passed slowly and his head still ached like the first blow he received from the now deceased drug dealer.

With as much strength as he could muster, Daryl reached his hand towards his forehead, feeling the tightly wound bandage on his head and groaning at the protesting muscles that hadn't moved much lately. He couldn't bring himself to open his eyes; he didn't want to see the damage the two low lifes did to his body. All he wanted to do was sleep. Sleep was inevitable; opening his eyes wasn't.

Before sleep consumed his battered body a soft hand brushed against his sweating forehead. He flinched but still kept his eyes close, too tired to care or give a damn.

"It's just me," A familiar voice cooed close to his ear. The hand wiped away his stranded hair into the curve of his ear gently, making him remember everything with sharp clarity.

"How many days it been?" He was surprised by the throaty tone exiting his mouth. The need for sleep dominated his need for water, though he was now reminded just how much he truly missed out on when he was asleep. Hunger crept in, taking thirst and sleep down a notch.

"Just under a week. You and Merle left the hospital only yesterday," The voice laughed calmly, "I'm still getting used to taking care of you two. Maggie's been doing most of the work with Merle. He's quite a pain even with a broken eye socket."

Dayl mustered his energy and finally opened his eyes. Beth's body sat on the edge of the bed, turning slightly to mend to his wrapped chest. She hadn't noticed his stare and quite frankly he hadn't realized it either. He'd forgotten how long it'd been since he saw her face. Sinking in and out of consciousness, Daryl barely thought of who was tending to him. Instead he let himself fade in and out. Her face was the last he remembered seeing before blacking out in front of the house.

"It's nice to see you're finally here with me," Beth caught his gaze, smiling at him, "I've been waiting for you to actually come back to reality. The pain pills work wonders, I'm sure."

"Ain't gonna ask me what happened?" Daryl's voice cleared somewhat.

"I don't want to know..." She trailed off. Her hands worked at securing a new bandage, crumpling up the old one and tossing it into a nearby trashbin, "Unless you want to tell me."

Daryl looked up at the ceiling and closed his eyes again. She kept at her job, touching him with as much pressure as a feather. He hadn't realized she had finished until he felt her hand grab the top of his. She kept quiet. The past week she had done nothing but hold his hand for hours, waiting for any response-this was something she could wait for as well.

"All's I 'member is wakin' up to Merle in a house," He paused, trying to remember as much as he could. He laughed at himself, "The house smelled like piss n' stale beer. Can't member much but I do member kicking that Caleb kid's ass."

"Mhm," Beth smiled, listening intently.

"He got a few blows, but I nailed him in the nose again. Knocked tha bastard right off his feet," Daryl smirked, "That's when Merle woke up. Don't know how he got up. He looked real beat."

"Yeah, he looks surprisingly worse than you." Beth sighed.

"'nyways, Merle got up n' said somethin' but I don't member," Daryl's face became stone. His voice lowered and his tone darkened, "That's when Merle ended it. Least he ended it with Caleb." Beth dropped her head down shamefully, watching the way Daryl's fingers curled into a fist and lightly collapsed. She didn't want to know the dirty details and was glad he didn't go too much into detail.

"He passed out after it. I tried catchin' him, but he fell too fast. So I stuck him up against tha wall and grabbed the closest gun I could get."

"I know what happened next," Beth's face fell, her messy ponytail barely held the loose hair around her face that covered her sad eyes. He felt her sadness and stopped talking, looking onto his chest down to his legs hidden under the covers.

"Why'm I not in jail?" Beth looked up at Daryl, her lips pursed.

"Because you didn't do anything wrong. Same as Merle."

"I killed a man," Daryl kept his eyes on her. He looked for any type of fear lingering in her eyes but only found her sad pupils somewhat dilated. Her face didn't change one bit after the words left his mouth. It kept him on edge just a little bit. He couldn't help but think Beth was a little too accepting at times.

"What happened to those men...They deserved it. I know that, you know that, the police know that. Everything that happened between them and you and your brother, is taken care of. There's nothing to worry about anymore."

"Their people are gonna come after my brother and me," Daryl felt her hand connect to his cheek, "They'll kill me n' him. They'll kill you."

Beth dipped her head down towards his, meeting his worried eyes with a smile. She kissed his lips lightly before pulling back.

"The brothers you mean? They're locked up. Gone for good. Officer Grimes was proud to give me the news, though he wanted to tell you for himself," She chuckled to herself, "You were out of it. I told him I'd tell you when you finally woke up."

Daryl watched her face once again, taking in the news along with her milky skin contrasting her bright gray eyes. Her eyes flickered towards him, making his body feel less pain and more warmth than he'd felt in a while. Though only a week passed by, he felt bound to too many beds, hospital or not; either unconscious or half awake and in a lucid state. For the first time in what felt like forever he didn't feel his hurting body. He only felt the loving gaze engrossing his body and mind. She trapped his thoughts, tunneling only her soft face into his brain. He felt relieved of the news, but even more content with her being by his side.

"I'm sorry about all this," He began to apologize once again. He only received a short shake of her head and a smile.

"Daryl, quit saying you're sorry. What's there to be sorry for?"

"Brought you in ta all of this. You woulda been much better off without it all." Beth furrowed her brow and shook her head more quickly than the first time she had done it.

"You're joking right?"

"Suppose I'm not," Daryl looked anywhere but her eyes, taking in the sight of Beth's bedroom. He knew she wouldn't accept his apologies since they were useless anyways.

"I told you before," She got up off of the side of the bed. His chest tightened at the thought of her leaving the room. He couldn't help but think he could've kept his mouth shut. She walked towards the other side of the bed, climbing up slowly and to his side, propping her head up with her elbow. His chest loosened as she gently rubbed her hand on his chest, "Every bad thing that happened to us, to you, led us to where we are now. I mean, yeah, I wish things would've happened without all the blood and violence," She let her cheek connect to his forearm carefully, "But I'd never take back anything that had happened. I wouldn't take back meeting you. Ever."

"Me either," Daryl softly replied. She barely heard his voice come out; if she wouldn't have been so close she would've missed the simple, but yet strong words.

"Don't say you're sorry again, okay?" Beth looked up at him again. He had his head turned just enough so they could make eye contact. He nodded.

"M'kay."

They laid for hours together, taking in the noon sun through the wrinkled sheets, silently breathing in each other's company. For the first few hours of Daryl's aware state, Beth wrapped herself up by him. It was more than enough, through the growing pain once again in his head and chest, he didn't have the heart to break their mutual silence just yet. Though hunger and thirst fought a battle in his system, Daryl kept quiet, feeling Beth's soft cheek against his skin. If he wouldn't have been stuck in bed because of his injuries he wouldn't have minded admitting that he wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else in the world except in bed with Beth Greene.