Hello everyone. I know a lot of you are very upset and I am not doing much better, trust me. This decision was not an easy one and it wasn't a spur of the moment thing either. I've been thinking about it for about 8 weeks, I mulled it over a thousand times, but it had to be done to get the ending I want and open the door to the sequel. I needed a catalyst for Teddy to change her life completely and this is what my mind came up with. I know there will be readers who will say that this could have been achieved differently and I guess that's true, but this is what my crazy mind believed to be the right course of action.
That being said, I wanted to let you know that after this chapter, there will probably be only one or two more before Jasper is finished and we head into the sequel. For those who don't have an account and aren't following this story, I will reveal the title of the sequel in the last chapter, so you can find it better in the search section.
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Chapter 35
She was taking too long to get home. Daryl knew that it only took her five minutes to get home from work whenever she went by car. They had hung up ten minutes ago, she should have been home by now. He tried calling her, but there was no answer. He waited two more minutes and tried again, but still, no answer. The images of her last accident popped back up inside his head and he didn't waste any more time. He slammed his feet into his boots, grabbed his keys and his wallet and left the apartment to head to his truck. Other people might think he was overreacting, but he wasn't taking any chances, he had too much to lose.
He turned into the street where the practice was located in no time at all, and as soon as he had, he knew that something very bad had happened. All the way down the street there were ambulances, police cars and a big crowd surrounding the whole scene. It all had the blood in his veins ice over as his heart slammed against his ribcage at a maddeningly fast pace. He got as close as possible and got out of the car, just in time to see the coroner's van pull up.
"No, no, no, no, no..." he whispered while he experienced a weird sensation inside his head. It felt his brain had been on overload and had caused a short circuit. He stopped for a split-second to shake himself out of the daze the sight of the van had caused, before he frantically began to look for his wife.
"Teddy?" he shouted as he pushed his way through the crowd. He didn't even notice how people were looking at him and how they willingly moved out of the way. He reached the police tape, his eyes widening in horror when he saw a body laying in the middle of the street, covered by a white, blood-stained sheet. "Teddy?" he gasped as his breath got caught in his throat, his world already starting to fall apart around him.
"She's over there. By the ambulance." A woman had mercy on him and pointed him in the direction of his wife. In this case it was helpful for once that everybody knew who he was and who he was married to. It was why he also wasn't met by any resistance from the police officers, when he ducked underneath the tape and set off running towards the ambulance to find his wife. He was beyond relief when he found her sitting in the back of the ambulance with a paramedic by her side, who was checking her blood pressure.
"Teddy!" he shouted towards her, noticing her tear-stained face when she lifted her head to look in his direction. She started crying even harder when she saw him, not making his worries ease up at all. He reached her, barely getting a chance to look her over before she clung to him, sobbing hard into his neck. Daryl hugged her close, letting his hands roam her body real quick to make sure that she was in one piece. She seemed okay. Why was she crying like this? "Darlin'? Are ya hurt? What's going on?"
Teddy couldn't speak, she just burrowed herself deeper into her husband's embrace while she cried her eyes out. Daryl felt utterly confused and helpless, and he looked up at the paramedic, hoping to get some answers from him, since his wife wasn't about to give him any.
"You the husband?" the young man asked Daryl, who nodded in reply. "I'm sorry for your loss."
Daryl almost keeled over with Teddy in his arms. Even though he had seen the body in the streets, he wasn't able to make the connection. In his mind there was only one explanation for Teddy's tears and distraught state. "Our baby? She lose it?"
"No. I don't think she did, but she should get checked out at the hospital." the paramedic replied, before he pointed back behind Daryl towards the dead body. "That's her father under there."
Daryl had heard the paramedic, but he had a hard time understanding the meaning of those words. They kept echoing inside his head for a while, as his brain slowly caught up.
That's her father under there... Her father... Gerald... Under that bloody sheet... Dead body... Gerald is under there... Gerald is dead... Teddy is crying, because Gerald is dead. His surrogate father was dead. NO! This can't be happening. Please no. It's too soon for him. He hasn't even met his granddaughter. He barely had any time with his grandson, when he was so fucking excited to finally be a grandpa. He was going to retire, mainly because he wanted to be a full-time grandpa and watch after Little Turtle with Bernie while Teddy and Daryl were at work. He had that room planned. He was getting everything ready for the babies. God, the baby... please let Teddy get through this okay and let their daughter survive.
'Whoever is up there... please don't let me lose them, too.' Daryl sent a quick prayer as the realization of what was going on had finally sunken in. He suddenly felt cold and like he was shaking on the inside. He didn't know what to say to help her calm down. What do you say to someone who just lost their father? A father that wasn't a complete jackass most of the time? A father that she had loved with all her heart? There were no words to make this better. He felt like his own heart was crumbling painfully, he couldn't imagine what she felt like right now. Tears stung his eyes, but he forced them away for the moment, knowing he had to keep as much of a clear head as possible, but still, his voice was cracking when he spoke.
"Darlin'? We have to go. We have to go to the hospital to check on you and our baby girl."
"No. He'll be all alone. We can't leave him with all these people. I don't want him to be alone." Teddy sobbed brokenly against his shoulder. Daryl looked up at the sky, taking deep breaths and blinking a new batch of tears away at her words.
"They are taking him away just now. We can't do nothin' for him anymore, darlin'. We have to make sure our daughter's okay. Please?" he had cradled her face in his hands and had made her look up at him while he gazed into her eyes imploringly. "Please, Teddy. Let's not lose our Little Turtle, too."
She nodded, but instead of walking, she clung to him again. Daryl didn't miss a beat as he lifted her into his arms and carried her back to his truck.
"The fuck y'all lookin' at? Go home, ain't nothin' for y'all ta see 'round here." he yelled at the staring crowd, making at least some of the people look down in shame. He couldn't believe that some people had the nerve to take pictures and videos of the scene in front of them. One person was at least helpful enough to open the passenger side door to his truck for him, so he could carefully deposit Teddy inside. He gave the young man a grateful nod, before he jogged over to the driver's side to get into the car himself. He took one last look at the black body bag they were lifting onto a stretcher, silently saying goodbye, before he turned his truck around and headed for the hospital.
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"What's taking them so damn long?" Daryl was pacing the floor in front of the hospital bed Teddy was resting on.
"They are trying to find an available ultrasound machine." Teddy murmured quietly, her voice hoarse and scratchy from crying too much.
"You fuckin' tellin' me a hospital can't afford ta have one in every room? Fuck that." he spat and stomped to the door of the room they were in and yanked it open. "Hey! Hey you!"
"Daryl? Can you please just come over here and be with me?" Teddy's sad voice kept him from yelling at the hospital personnel any more. His broad shoulders slumped, a deep sigh escaping him while he rubbed his tired eyes. He walked back to the bed, grabbing a chair on his way, and sat down right next to her head, facing her.
"I'm sorry." he mumbled as he tenderly brushed some hair behind her ear. "What happened? Thought ya were almost to yer car..."
"I was. I was looking for my keys when I heard people shouting near the bar. I went back to check if somebody was injured... People were grabbing me and pulling at me. I fell and that's when I saw him." Teddy's voice broke as fresh tears spilled out of her eyes. "It was bad, Daryl. It was really really bad. His injuries... God,... he got torn apart. His head... it was barely hanging on by a thread... part of his skull was gone..."
All color drained from Daryl's face as very vivid images played out inside his head. He could barely stand it. To think that Teddy had actually seen it... Shit. He'd be surprised if she'd ever be able to sleep right again. He quickly interrupted her before she was able to tell him more. "Ya fell?"
"Just on my knees. Not hard." she took a shaky breath and wiped the tears from her face. "They said it was a drunk driver. Police took statements. They knew who it was, but I can't remember the name right now."
"Ain't important right now." Daryl pressed a soft kiss against her lips and was surprised when she clutched his hair between her fingers and pressed him to her a little harder, deepening the kiss.
"I love you so much, Daryl. My mom will just die. She lost the love of her life tonight. I can't imagine ever losing you like that. Just the thought is damn near killing me." she pressed out between urgent kisses as she started crying again.
"Ya won't. Never. Ain't never gon' get rid of me, darlin'." he promised fiercely. And even though they both knew that he could never ever promise her that for real, it was just what she needed to hear in that moment.
"Shit, my mom. We have to call Billy. She's all alone with Rosario. The police has probably notified her already. She'll need him there." Teddy looked around for her purse, but didn't see it anywhere. She must have left it at the scene of the accident.
"I'll call him." Daryl volunteered, but Teddy shook her head no.
"It has to be me. I'm his sister." she insisted and held her hand out for his phone. Daryl handed it over reluctantly, wishing she wouldn't have to do that. He had no idea how Billy would react. He and Gerald had never been on the best of terms, not since he'd known the family. They'd been civil for the most part, but barely talked to each other and it had been obvious that there had been a lot of tension there.
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It was never a good thing to get an unexpected call late at night or very early in the morning. Billy knew that better than anyone. The call to inform him that Teddy had gotten beaten up by one of her ex-boyfriends had come late at night. The one that had informed him about Milo's passing had been very early in the morning, and ever since then a flash of fear went through him, whenever the phone rang at ungodly hours. Today was no different. He was just about to get into bed after checking on his son, when he saw the display of his phone blink to life on the nightstand. A shudder went through him when he saw Daryl's name on the display and he mentally tried to prepare himself, because he knew Daryl would never call close to midnight just for kicks.
"Please don't tell me she lost the baby." Billy sighed and steeled himself for the worst.
"It's me." Teddy tried to hold it together, but hearing her brother's voice made her emotional yet again.
"Teddy? You don't sound good. Please don't tell me she's gone." Tears were already starting to well up in his eyes, knowing that nothing good was about to come out of her mouth.
"No she's not gone. We're at the hospital to have a doctor check on her, though."
"So something is wrong?"
"Billy,... What I'm about to say...I'm not joking around, okay?" she cried while she gripped the edge of the bed hard, like it would help her keep a grip on herself.
"Teddy, you're scaring me. What the hell is it?"
"Daddy got hit by a car outside the practice. He's gone, Billy. He died." Teddy's voice cracked again, saying the words hurt like getting stabbed in the heart. Daryl wasn't faring much better as he looked down at the floor and blinked the tears away once again, refusing to break down in tears in this goddamn hospital.
Billy dropped down on the bed like a sack of potatoes as his mind started to comprehend what she had said. Teddy let him process the news in silence, but her heart started hurting even more, when she heard him sobbing quietly on the other end of the line. She knew that the relationship between Billy and their father hadn't been great, but she also knew that Billy still loved him, despite the grudge he'd been holding against him for years.
"He's dead?"
"Yes." Teddy replied regretfully and wiped at her eyes again. It started to hurt as the skin was getting sore, but she couldn't care less about that right now. She just couldn't stop crying.
"Did he suffer?"
"No. I think it was very quick."
"You think?"
"He was already gone when I got there, Billy. We said bye, I went to the parking lot, talking to Daryl on the phone for two minutes. I heard people screaming when we hung up, that's when I went to check. He was already gone by then. It was quick." She left out the description of their father's injuries this time. She wouldn't tell anyone else. She hadn't wanted to tell Daryl, but once she had started talking, it had just slipped out, but this time she was more careful. Neither Billy nor Bernadette needed that visual that Teddy had had.
"Billy..." Teddy tried to get through to him while he kept crying. "I need you to come to Jasper and be with Mom. Daryl and I are still at the hospital and she'll need you."
"Oh God, Mom... How is she?"
"I don't know. Daryl took me straight to the hospital. I'm not sure if she knows already. Please hurry and go see her? We need to get our baby checked out. I fell and-"
"I'm on my way. I'll ask Merle or Shawn to drive me. I-I can't..."
"We'll join you once we're done here." Teddy promised and looked up at the door that had opened. "I have to go, Billy. The doctor is here."
"Okay." he hiccuped. "I'll see you in a few. I hope everything's alright with her. I love you."
"I love you, too. See you in a few." Teddy hung up and was surprised to see Dr. Hainesworth entering the room. The nurse had told Teddy that it was her day off.
"They called me in." Dr. Hainesworth answered Teddy's unspoken question.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for them t-"
"It's okay, Dr. Dixon. I know you didn't ask them to do it, but I'm glad they did call me in." The older doctor cleared her throat and looked at a loss for words and Teddy realized that the news had already spread. "I am shocked, I don't know what to say. I'm very sorry for your loss. I've known your father for years. Ever since your family moved here. He will be missed."
"Yeah,... he will be missed for sure." Teddy mumbled. Dr. Hainesworth then took them up to the maternity ward to do a thorough exam and ultrasound. She asked Teddy about the fall and if she had been experiencing any pain or cramping since then. Thankfully she felt fine, except for the fact that her father was no longer among them. The doctor soon finished up the manual exam and took her place in front of the ultrasound machine to check what was going on inside Teddy's baby belly. Teddy and Daryl both hold their breath in anticipation and both prayed for good news.
"Placenta is intact. Bloodflow is good. Your daughter's heartbeat is strong. A little fast, but good and strong." the doctor's words made them breathe again, relieved that the little one was okay. Dr. Hainesworth smiled at the screen, before she turned her attention to Teddy and Daryl. "She is sleeping peacefully. I switched to 3D, would you like to take a look?"
"Please." Teddy nodded eagerly. Seeing their daughter was exactly what they both could use right now.
Dr. Hainesworth turned the screen towards them and let them watch their sleeping daughter for a moment. Daryl squinted at the screen, having to get used to the unusual image first, before he was able to make something out clearly. After a moment he smiled and pointed at Little Turtle's head. The little girl was resting her cheek on her little hands.
"That her hands? She usin' her hands as a pillow?"
"She is." Teddy smiled as she looked at her daughter's face, which was still a little blurry.
"Jus' like you do when you're on the sofa, darlin'. Already takin' after her momma." Daryl smiled and squeezed Teddy's hand tightly.
"But it looks like she got your nose, baby. See that?" Teddy outlined the nose on the screen with her index finger, eliciting a proud smile from her husband.
"Poor girl. Let's hope the rest looks like you."
"Might just happen. Looks like she's got my huge eyes." Teddy laughed a little. "But it's still a little too early to tell. She's got quite some more growing to do until we can recognize her features more clearly."
"Yeah. She's so damn tiny. Let's hope she'll catch up soon." Daryl sighed. That she was so small still made him worry a little.
"She will. Don't worry." Teddy reassured him and pulled his hand up to her mouth to kiss it gently.
Dr. Hainesworth watched the couple with a little smile. She was glad that their daughter was able to make them a bit happier on this horrible night. After a couple of minutes she cleared her throat and re-joined the conversation.
"I know you will be going through tough times in the next couple of weeks, but this..." she pointed at the screen and their daughter. "... this is what you have to focus on. I know it sounds harsh, but life goes on and that little life inside of you needs you to take care of it. I wish I could put you on bedrest for the next two weeks to make sure that you take it easy and rest a lot, but I know it's impossible for you to do that. You have a lot to take care of. Please promise me that you'll still try to take it easy and relax as much as you can. You have to stay as happy and as healthy as possible under these difficult circumstances."
"I'll watch out for her. Make sure she listens." Daryl promised the doctor, who nodded in satisfaction.
"Good. Well, everything looks good. You can go home and be with your family now. Once again, I'm very sorry for your loss."
"Thanks." Teddy accepted the paper tissues the doctor was handing her, before she left the room. She wiped the gel off of her belly and tossed the used tissues into the trash can, before she and Daryl left as well and headed to her parents' home.
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Teddy and Daryl were greeted by a crying Rosario. The woman didn't speak, probably wasn't able to get out a word of English in her grief, and Teddy dreaded facing her mother, thinking the woman had to be a mess. They entered the living room and were taken aback by all the people that were there. Billy hadn't come alone, he'd brought Maggie, Hershel and Merle. Billy and Maggie were crying their eyes out, while Hershel and Merle both wore grief-stricken expressions.
"Everythin' okay with ma niece?" Merle asked right away when he saw his brother and Teddy enter the room.
"Yeah." Daryl simply nodded and stood next to his older brother, who grasped his shoulder and squeezed it tightly.
"I'm real sorry, princess. He was a good man."
"Yeah, he was." Teddy nodded in agreement and watched her own brother approach her. They hugged and cried together quietly for a moment and when she looked over his shoulder, she saw her mother enter the living room. The whole scene suddenly seemed completely surreal. Everyone was sad and/or crying, but her mother was smiling and seemed to be completely composed, just as usual. "Mom..."
"Oh Teddy, Daryl. There you are. Took you long enough. We've been waiting. Why on earth would you get an ultrasound at this ungodly hour? I thought your father did one this morning? How many a day do you need?" she was talking in her everyday lofty manner, like nothing had happened.
"She's in complete denial." Billy whispered into his sister's ear.
"Obviously." Teddy sighed deeply.
"She knows that it happened, she acknowledged it, but she acts like it's nothing."
"That will change soon, and I'm sure it won't be pretty at all. Why did Hershel come?"
"For support. He heard to commotion going on inside the house and he wanted to be here for all of us." Billy explained while he wiped his cheeks with the sleeve of his flannel.
"That's sweet of him. He's so nice." Teddy knew she sounded stupid, but she just didn't know what to say. What a fucked up situation.
"Oh Maggie, stop crying. You'll get that pretty face all messed up." Bernadette admonished Maggie with a smile, making the younger woman shake her head.
"Aren't you sad at all? He was your husband." Maggie tried to take Bernie's hand, but her mother-in-law just swatted it away.
"I know that, Margaret. Don't treat me like a child. It is going to be okay. This is just life."
"Nobody is treating you like a child, Bernadette." Hershel stepped in, trying to calm both women down with his soothing voice and calm manner of speaking. "We are just here to stand by you in this difficult time. We just want to offer comfort and support."
"You are all acting like it is the end of the world. Tsk." she rolled her eyes, unknowingly testing the patience of her children. Or maybe she did know exactly what she was doing, she lived for this dramatic stuff.
"Great." Teddy sighed and turned back to her brother. "What do we do? With her, I mean."
"We can't leave her alone." Billy said decisively. "She's gonna crack soon enough and I'm gonna be here when it happens. You should go home, Teddy. Try to get some sleep. We have so much to do come morning."
"You sure?"
"Yeah. Go. It'll be alright." he kissed her cheek and hugged her once more, before he lead her over to Daryl.
"You want us to take you to the farm or do you want to stay with us until morning?" Teddy asked Merle. She was pretty sure that he preferred to be with his brother instead of staying in this house with Bernadette and the rest.
"I'll crash on yer couch. Ain't gon' have ta fight yer big ass pony for it, do I?"
"No, don't worry. She's got her own bed." Teddy laughed a little and touched his arm for a second. " Let's go, boys."
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They had gone back to the apartment and even though all of them were incredibly tired, nobody was able to sleep yet. All three of them spread out on the big couch, Merle in one corner and Daryl in the other, with his arm wrapped tightly around Teddy's shoulders, pulling her flush against his side. They talked for a while, about everything and nothing, including baby names. They wanted Merle to think of stupid nicknames for the names they had picked so far, but Merle had just shrugged it off, saying:
"She's gonna be a Dixon. Ain't nobody gonna dare call Merle Dixon's niece any names, no matter how stupid her name is."
Neither Daryl nor Teddy had been able to argue with that statement.
As Daryl had predicted, Teddy barely slept at all. Every time she closed her eyes the image of her horribly injured father popped up, along with a fresh batch of tears. He hated that he had to go to work in the morning and wouldn't be able to support her through everything, but they were already one man short, because Billy would stay home, and Daryl really didn't want to risk getting fired, not with a baby on the way. He was relieved that Merle would be with her when she would go back to her parents' house. He trusted his brother to keep his eye on her and be there for her until he had to go back to the farm with Hershel.
Teddy's prediction concerning her mother had also turned out to be spot on. Some time during the night when Bernadette went to sleep in the bedroom she had shared with her husband for so many years, she had finally realized that he wasn't ever going to sleep next to her again. What had followed hadn't been pretty at all; bone-chilling wails and screams had echoed throughout the house, so full of grief and sorrow, that Billy felt like he would have to throw up from the anxiety his mother's anguished sounds caused inside of him. He spent hours holding her and letting her cry. He was glad that Teddy had gone home, because he was sure the baby inside her belly would have heard the animal-like noises. He was even happier that they had left Johnny with Beth and that he didn't have to witness this either. It was even worse than he could have anticipated and surely would have traumatized the little boy.
Morning soon rolled around and it was time for Billy and Teddy to take the next necessary steps and help their mother to arrange a memorial service. There wouldn't be a funeral, because Gerald had chosen a long time ago, that he wanted to be cremated and that Bernie would keep his ashes in the house, if she survived him. Before she and Merle left the apartment to go see Bernadette, Teddy had already looked up the phone number for the Cremation Society of Georgia and had printed out helpful lists from their website, which detailed all the next steps that would have to be taken and all the documentation and other things they would need to have their father cremated.
Merle was being a perfect gentleman and open and closed the doors and car doors for her, which made her smile a little. He really had changed a lot and everybody was happy about it and hoped that he would never go back to the way he'd been before. As soon as they entered the Robertson residence the depressing atmosphere was very palpable and Teddy knew instantly, that their mother had finally come to terms with what had happened. A tired Billy, with blood-shot and red-rimmed eyes greeted her with a big hug.
"Be glad you weren't here last night. Good God, it was bad. Worse than bad. There are no words." he sighed and held on to her a little longer, seeking comfort from his slightly older sister.
"I can imagine. I've had to witness it a couple of times when I still worked at the hospital in Seattle." Teddy rubbed his back comfortingly. "Where is she?"
"Living room, come on."
They went inside the living room, where Bernadette sat crying silently. Teddy rounded the sofa and went to sit next to her, but was stopped short by her mother's voice.
"Get out. I don't want you here."
Everyone froze, looking at Bernadette in surprise, especially Teddy.
"Mom...?"
"This is on you. It's all on you." Bernadette's eyes were almost glowing with anger, while Teddy staggered back, completely shocked by her mother's reaction.
"What? No it isn't." Teddy muttered confused.
"Come on, Mom. You know that's not right." Billy tried to diffuse the situation, but Bernadette wouldn't have it.
"But it is. Because of her, he changed that computer system. Because of her they worked late. Because of her he was tired and probably wasn't paying attention. Because of her he got hit by that car and died. Did you even try to save him? Did you do anything? No, you didn't. What in the world are you a doctor for anyway? You can't help anyone. You couldn't save your own son, you couldn't help your own father, you can't even take proper care of your husband, so what the hell CAN you actually do?" Bernadette yelled hysterically, making everyone look on completely paralyzed in shock. Everyone except Merle.
"Hey, you don't know what yer sayin'. Yer grievin' we all get that, but it ain't her fault. She didn't drive that car, did she?" he got between the two women, trying to shield Teddy from her mother's anger.
"She might as well have. It's her fault. Everything is always her fault. All the bad things... it always comes back to her." Bernadette sobbed.
"Mom, stop it. You can't do this. It's neither true nor fair." Billy wrapped his arms around Bernadette in an effort to calm her down.
"No..." Teddy finally found her voice again. "No, Billy it's okay. Let her keep going. Everyone, meet the TRUE face of my mother. This is the real Bernadette Robertson, in the flesh. Selfish, arrogant and proud. Always belittling people she thinks are beneath her. Always stirring up shit and always putting blame on others."
"Teddy don't. Not now." Billy begged her, knowing that both women were just emotional and didn't really mean what they were saying. They would regret it once they felt better, he was sure of it and he wanted to try to keep it from happening altogether.
"No, you know what? This has been a long time coming, Billy. You do remember our childhood, don't you? She's always hated me." she turned her attention back on her mother. "But what exactly are you proud of, mother? All this? You didn't work for any of it. Daddy did. You just played pretty, social butterfly, spending your days at the country club, gossiping about others, spreading hate and drama. There is no good in you. Not even a little. Those times when you're nice and caring, that's actually an act, this, right here, is the real you. Daddy was good. He had his faults but he was good. One of his faults was that he loved you so much that he let himself be turned into your personal puppet. He did everything you wanted him to. Don't think I don't know that. You always sent him talk to us, but we knew it was you holding the strings in the background. Sending me away to New York, letting me go through my teenage years without parents? You! Not letting me come home for Christmas? You! Making him fire me for dating Daryl? You! Bad-mouthing me to the people around here? You! You didn't even stop to think that you weren't only hurting me, but you were hurting him and his reputation as well. And those friends you think you have? They aren't your friends. They talk about you behind your back. They can't stand you. They tolerated you for Dad's sake, because you were part of the package. Nobody likes you for you, because you're a horrible, petty, mean-spirited person. You're gonna be alone, because they will turn their back on you now that they no longer have to pretend. I was the same. I merely tolerated you for Daddy's sake, but now that he's not around anymore, I no longer have to. You are out of my life. My father might have died, but it's you who is truly dead to me."
And with that Teddy pushed the lists into Billy's hands, shot her mother a cold glare and then left and never returned to that house ever again. Merle wanted to go after her, but Billy stopped him.
"No, let me handle it." he passed a crying Bernie off to Maggie and jogged out of the house. He didn't have to go far, because Teddy hadn't made it too far down the street before she had broken down crying. Billy wrapped his arms around her as tightly as he could and kissed her cheek. "She's not really blaming you, Teddy Bear."
"Yes, she is. You know how she is. You've been there all those years, you know what she is like. You know every single word I said was true."
"I know. It is the truth, but today wasn't the time to say it. She lost her husband, Teddy."
"And we lost our father, Billy. She has no right to blame me. She wants to hurt me or she wouldn't have brought up Milo. I'm sorry that I'm not a better person and above that crap she always pulls. I'm sorry I'm not able to take the high road, but this I just couldn't let slide. It just needed out."
"And by letting it out, you gave her exactly what she wanted. Now she can tell everyone what a horrible daughter she has and that you yelled at her at the time you should have comforted her. She will use it against you, it's what she does."
"I don't care anymore, Billy. I wasn't kidding. I've never been able to stand her. The way she always provokes us into fighting with her and with each other... No more. I'm done. She's out of my life. For real this time. I couldn't ban her completely while I was in Seattle, because of Dad, but this time she took it too far. I don't ever want to talk to her again." When Billy looked into his sisters eyes, he knew that she meant it. Bernadette and Teddy had never truly gotten along, just like him and Gerald. It had been a little worse even, maybe because of that female competition thing, he wasn't sure. But he knew that right now there was nothing he could do to change her mind. "I'm sorry, Billy. Go through the lists, call me if you need help with anything, but I can't deal with her anymore. I'll be at the practice. I need to get the new doctor down here as soon as possible. I'm sorry. I am. But I can't..."
"Okay." he kissed her forehead and hugged her once more. "I get it, it's okay. Do what you have to." And with that, he let her go.
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The memorial service was a week later. The funeral home was packed, everyone wanted to pay their respects to the town doctor, but it was impossible to let everyone in. Daryl once again hid his crying behind his sunglasses while he had to say goodbye to the second person, who'd been a father to him, in less than a year. They kept their distance from Bernadette and left as soon as the ceremony was over.
For their inheritance, Billy and Teddy got access to a savings account Gerald had opened the week they had been born. He'd deposited 500 dollars into it every month of their lives, 250 dollars for each kid. He had wanted to give it to them as soon as he would have reached a total of 200,000 dollars. They were only allowed earlier access in case he died before achieving that goal, which unfortunately, he did. They each walked away with a little over 90,000 dollars. Billy got another chunk of money, while Teddy got the medical practice. Everything else went to Bernie.
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Thank you for reading and your support. Not a pretty chapter, I know, but things will start to look up again. I don't wanna spend a ton of chapters focusing on the grief, but instead I wanna focus on Little Turtle and how Daryl and Teddy prepare for her. I hope that is okay with you. Gerald's death, of course, will have repercussions.
Thank you for the lovely reviews, much love to all of you.
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