Last Light
As soon as he walked through those double doors and had seen his two girls, his heart had stopped in his chest and his breath was held tight in his lungs. He couldn't breathe. When he'd lost Beth, he had known she was alive, but he had honestly believed he wouldn't see her again. Now, here she was. And god help the son of a bitch who'd cut up her face and broken her arm. The head bitch in charge ordered the release of one of hers for one of theirs. Daryl pushed the officer he was holding halfway down the hall as another officer took Carol from Beth's hands and pushed her down the hall.
He had one of them back. He took Carol and pushed her past the barricade of their bodies, letting Sasha and Tyreese look after her. Daryl turned and looked at Beth. It was her turn now. Rick led his officer down the hall and Beth stepped forward. Each one of her footsteps echoed the beating of his heart. His breath was short, shallow. He didn't want to risk anything. He didn't want this to be a dream. He needed some light back in his life. Rick kissed Beth's head as she reached them. She smiled when her eyes met Daryl's and his breath caught. He reached for her, put his arm around her and started to guide her out.
That's when the shit storm happened. Dawn demanded Noah too. Said it was only fair since they were taking her ward. Daryl's blood was boiling. Every second they stayed in the hospital was another second something could go wrong. But Noah agreed. Beth didn't like that. Daryl didn't want to let her go, didn't want to let her get anywhere near Dawn again. If Beth had been her ward that meant that Dawn was the one that had cut up her face. Daryl already wanted to kill her for that.
He watched. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion for him. Beth hugged Noah before turning to Dawn. "I get it now." A blood curdling chill set over his body as he watched Beth swing her arm, stabbing a pair of medical scissors into Dawn's shoulder.
And on reflex…Dawn's finger pulled the trigger.
Daryl watched as her head snapped back, blonde hair flying. Blood covered Rick's face as Beth dropped to the ground. Daryl's world came crashing down. His heart shattered into a million pieces. Rage strong enough to rival a tsunami ripped through him with massive tidal waves and before he could think, he put a bullet in Dawn's head, ready to kill every last one of them. He could hear someone approaching from behind him. He didn't care. He looked down, saw the crimson river flowing from her pale head. Tears stung his eyes. His vision went blurry. The last bit of light in his world went out, leaving him trapped in darkness.
Carol put her arms around him as he cried. Merle would call him a pussy, but fuck him. Beth had been the one good thing in his life, the one thing that had pulled him back from the edge when he'd been ready to fall over it. Now she was gone. He dropped to his knees, his joints protesting the abuse as he reached out with shaking hands and scooped the broken pieces of his world into his arms, cradling her body against his. He stayed close to Carol, his eyes still leaking rivers as they made their way back out of the hospital.
His whole body was numb. He didn't register Maggie's screams. He didn't register anything. Except the lifeless body of the woman he loved cradled in his arms. He hit his knees on the pavement, pulling her closer against him. His shoulders shook with each sob that wracked his body. The sun might have been shining on them, but he was trapped in an endless dark.