Black and Bruised - Part 3
I do not own any of the TWD characters.
"He sleepin?" Daryl peeked at Beth from beneath the arm he had thrown over his eyes.
Beth nodded as she began to pull off her clothes. "Finally" she answered. "I think he's more nervous than he wants to admit." Beth smiled weakly at her husband.
Beth had gotten Jacob comfortable and tucked in on the sleeper sofa located in the living room portion of their hotel suite before joining Daryl in the bedroom.
"Ya okay?" Daryl asked Beth.
Beth nodded again. "Yeh, been a really long day. I'm just emotionally drained from everything. Ya know?"
Daryl was the one to nod this time. "Ya'll are good though. Right? I mean Brad doesn't seem to have any hard feelins. Dinner out with him and Jeff was good. What's wrong Beth?"
Beth shrugged because she didn't really want to answer her husband's question.
"Don't shrug ya shoulders" Daryl teased. "Ya actin like Micah when he wants to tell a lie but he can't lie for shit."
Beth couldn't help but giggle because that description was spot on. Of their three children, Micah, the middle child, was most definitely an open book. He'd for sure never be able to play poker successfully. "I can't believe Brad was using me the whole time just so his family would stay off his back about having a girlfriend. Good Lord Daryl, what if I had married him and then he decided to come out after we had a family! What on earth would I have done?"
"Guess you woulda finally come home to me where ya belonged" Daryl said dryly. Beth had a shocked expression on her face at Daryl's lack of concern. "Come on Beth" Daryl stated, "You used him, he used you - neither one of ya really wanted to marry the other. You've said it yourself - everything usually works out just the way it's supposed to."
"I know" Beth grumbled. "I hate it when you're the voice of reason."
"I'm always the voice of reason" Daryl deadpanned.
"Cept when Merle is the voice of reason" Beth added. "Ya know, he is very level headed - always has been."
"Don't tell Merle that" Daryl argued the point. "He'll never let me hear the end of it. Now get in this bed and give me some lovin. I'm a fuckin nervous wreck 'bout my boy goin under the knife tomorrow."
Daryl had just taken another lap around the waiting room. He hadn't smoked in years but he felt as if he could suck down an entire pack of Marlboro Reds about right now. Beth pretended to flip through the outdated magazine for the third time before she gave up and joined Daryl in staring out the window at the Atlanta skyline.
"Seems like it's takin a long time don't it?" Daryl whispered gruffly to his wife.
Beth leaned her head into Daryl's shoulder and he instinctively pulled her into a hug. "Yeh" Beth sighed. "I hope everything's okay." Beth's eyes were becoming a little glassy with moisture and Daryl had not missed the catch in her breath when she spoke. His Beth was on the brink of falling apart - she'd kept a brave face on for this entire fiasco and Daryl wasn't sure how much longer she could pull it off.
Brad had reassured the both of them repeatedly over dinner the night before that he'd done hundreds of these procedures - just like Jacob's exact case. At that very moment, a female cleared her throat behind the concerned couple.
"Excuse me" she began. "Mr. and Mrs. Dixon?"
They both turned to face the fresh faced young lady in the pale yellow scrubs. She had a surgical cap on that was covered in bright, bold sunflowers and her smile put both Daryl and Beth at ease.
"Yes" Beth finally responded. "Is everything okay? Is it over?"
The nurse nodded and was still smiling. "Yes Mam. It's over and Jacob was a trooper. Dr. Holt said to tell you he feels very good about the outcome and he'll be out to talk to ya'll in just a few minutes. Jacob has just gone into recovery and I'll be happy to take ya'll on back if you'd like."
"Oh yes. Please" Beth exclaimed with tears in her eyes.
This was it - the dam had broken. Beth had tears streaming down her cheeks and didn't even try to hide it. The nurse reached to the table behind the sofa and pulled some tissues from the box, handing them over to Beth silently.
Daryl pulled Beth closer to him and placed a kiss on top of her head before following their escort through a maze of hallways filled with mysterious curtains and beeping machines. After reaching Jacob's recovery area, the nurse pulled back the privacy curtain. Another nurse, a young Asian guy, was sitting beside their son and making notes on a clipboard. He looked up at Daryl and Beth and offered a brief glance and greeting. There was Jacob, arm immobilized in some kind of contraption that made him look like a robot and he looked as pale as he'd ever seen, but Daryl figured that was to be expected. Other than that, Jacob appeared to be having the most restful sleep ever.
Beth was immediately over at Jacob's side, brushing the boy's shaggy hair out of his eyes. Jacob was out for the count but Daryl could swear that it looked as if Jacob leaned into his mom's touch just a little. Daryl thought to himself "who could blame him for that".
They'd been home for a few days and Jacob was turning into the world's worst patient - and that title was currently held by his father, but the boy was for sure a contender at taking that title away from his dad. No one or nothing made him happy. Jacob was mad as hell that he was missing out on the rest of the baseball season and he was starting to take it out on everyone around him - especially Katie Raye. Jacob had made his baby sister cry more than once since he'd been home.
Daryl had tried to referee between the two and Beth had appealed to his "big brother" side about how he needed to be the bigger person and let it go. It wasn't until his Uncle Merle overheard Jacob sniping at Katie Raye one night that someone finally got through to him. Merle had always had a soft spot for his niece and Merle, of all people, knew that sometimes people made mistakes that got other people hurt. However, Merle Dixon was also living proof that when those people were given the chance to make things right, you'd never have a more loyal friend by your side.
So, before Jacob was getting ready to turn in for the night his Uncle Merle came for a one on one visit.
"Hey Jacob" Merle began. "How ya feelin tonight Buddy?"
"Alright I guess" Jacob grumbled.
"Listen, Jake, I wanna talk to ya 'bout something" Merle said. "I heard the way ya was talkin to your baby sister today."
"She's such a brat" Jacob snapped. "Walkin 'round here like she ain't done nothin - sick of her bullshit - always gettin away with everything."
"Katie Raye feels real bad 'bout what happened - been beatin herself up over it for two weeks now" Merle told the boy. "It was an accident Jake. Katie Raye didn't do anything on purpose to cause that accident and ya know it. Coulda been any of you kids to get hurt - just happened to be you."
"Yeh, well that don't save my season now does it?" Jacob huffed out.
"Naw, but it gives you some time to reflect on what a true asshole you're bein right now" Merle stared the boy right in the eye. "Baseball and football ain't forever - family is. I better not ever hear ya speak to your little sister again like ya did today."
Jacob had listened to all he wanted to from his Uncle Merle and had closed his eyes hoping the man would just go away.
"Ya can get glad in the same pants ya got mad in ya little dip shit" Merle groused back at the boy. "You sleep on it tonight, stew 'bout it for a couple days. You know ole Merle's right." Merle stood up and walked to the door, and before turning the light off he said, "I'm always right - just ask your Auntie Carol. She'll tell ya."Jacob growled at his uncle and rolled his eyes, but only because it was dark and knew that his Uncle Merle wouldn't see him do so.
Jacob was sick of everybody in this house and he was even sick of himself. It was then that Jacob began to cry, something he tried real, real hard to never do. Jacob didn't think he'd cried since his Grandpa Hershel passed away. Jacob recalled the hurt look on Katie Raye's face earlier in the day when he'd called her a waste of space. Uncle Merle was right. He was an asshole. Jacob decided he'd be an asshole for a few more days and then take it from there.