Chapter 9

For the next six days, following Beth's birthday gathering, Enid continued to visit Hershel every day. Some days he told her more memories of Daryl and Beth, whilst others they simply enjoyed one another's company.

Both Beth and Enid had noticed Hershel's strength waning the last few days and knew it would only be a matter of time, but instead of dwelling on his impending death, they simply laughed and talked; something that seemed to keep him hanging on each and every day that Enid returned.

Stepping through the door Enid was greeted by a smiling Hershel as he sat half reclined in his bed. Quickly hurrying to place her bag away she headed in his direction to check the medical driver that the doctor had attached two days before. Noting that everything seemed to be working as it should, she looked up to his expectant face where he sat with his eyebrows raised in her direction.

"All good, Doc?" he joked.

Flushing slightly, Enid shook her head with a chuckle as she dropped his blanket back down over his legs, "All good" she replied sassily as she stepped away to retrieve a chair.

"I take it my Annette is cooking up a storm in that kitchen" he stated as he sniffed the air with a smile on his face.

Enid turned, chair in hand, with a frown on her face and felt the need to sniff the air as well.

"She's always cooking" he continued with a smile.

It suddenly occurred to Enid, as she placed the chair next to Hershel's bed, that he truly believed he could smell his late wife's cooking and she knew that such occurrences could happen before someone passed.

Not wanting to upset the man, she simply smiled and explained, "it sure smells good" to which he nodded in agreement.

For a short while, he filled her in on several of Annette's favourite recipes before his face scrunched in confusion.

"Enid?" he croaked.

Worried, Enid sat forward and took his hand, "I'm here" she confirmed as she felt him relax and sink back into his pillows. The only noise in the room was his breath and the odd whir of the driver delivering his pain medication.

She felt him pull his hand gently from her own before lifting it to point shakily towards the shelf near the door.

"The photograph's" he stated as he pointed again.

Looking over her shoulder, Enid followed his hand until her eyes rested on the worn photo album. Taking his hand, she gently lowered it to his side and tapped it before rising from her chair to retrieve it.

She flicked it open and scanned the pages he'd already shown her before laying it out on his lap at the final page.

His hand automatically stroked over the only picture that rested on the page. There was nothing in particular that made it any different from the others, but for some reason Enid knew it was different.

Re-taking her seat, she shuffled around to get comfortable before looking at Hershel, signalling for him to begin.

"This is the last picture I have of Daryl" he explained as his thumb stroked it affectionately.

"In the weeks after prom" he started, "Merle was released from prison"

Enid gasped, "He came back for Daryl, didn't he?"

Hershel nodded and grimaced, "Beth and Daryl were out at the farm when Merle came by"

"You tighten this up and she should be good to go" Hershel told Daryl as he pointed to the part he was talking about.

Daryl bent to do as Hershel suggested when a familiar voice boomed from the open barn doors, "Ya call that a bike, lil' brother?"

"Merle!" Daryl cried as he jumped up from his seat and ran to embrace his brother.

Hershel stood from his small wooden stool and thumbed his grease covered handkerchief into his back pocket before stepping forwards to where the brothers stood hugging.

"What're y' doin' here?" Daryl questioned in surprise.

Merle kept a hand on Daryl's shoulder and chucked his chin in Hershel's direction. He knew it was likely the only recognition he would get for looking after Daryl since his arrest.

"Got out yesterday" Merle admitted as he slapped Daryl on the shoulder, "ya lookin' good, man. Real good"

Daryl turned and looked over his shoulder to where Hershel stood. The only reason he wasn't black and blue or living with child protective services was due to the man that stood behind him.

Wanting to give the brother's some time to catch up, Hershel stepped out into the hot Georgia sun, "I'm gonna head on inside and fix us all somethin' to eat. Why don't you both come on up to the house when you're ready" he told them.

Merle waited for Hershel to close the front door of the large farmhouse before turning back to his brother. For some reason, a feeling that Merle couldn't explain slammed into his body and for a moment he simply stared at the man Daryl had become.

"Ya been okay?" Merle asked.

Daryl nodded, his longer hair falling slightly into his eyes at the jerky movement as he chewed on his thumb nail.

"Blondie not around?" Merle questioned as his head swivelled around the barn and land, "What?" he continued without waiting for an answer, "She get tired of your dumb ass already?"

Daryl moved back to his bike and picked up the wrench and moved it to the place Hershel had pointed out, "Her name's Beth" he grumbled knowing Merle knew what her name was "And, she's in the house"

Merle spun to look once more at the house before turning back to his brother with a frown on his face, "You two keepin' house together now or sumthin?"

Instead of answering, Daryl continued to work on the structure in front of him when the wrench slipped causing him to catch his fingers. Standing quickly, he dropped the tool to the floor with a clang before standing up and facing his brother with somewhat of a scowl on his face.

"What are ya doin' here, Merle?" he questioned with a sigh and a shake of his head.

It wasn't that he didn't love his brother, but he'd made a life here and it was better than he'd ever expected it to be. The last thing he wanted was his brother coming by and screwing up everything he'd worked hard to achieve.

Merle picked up something from one of the boxes that lined one wall before chucking it back in offhandedly, "Is that anyway to welcome ya big brother home?" he drawled but Daryl simply shook his head in annoyance.

"Fine" Merle snapped as he strode in Daryl's direction, "y' want t' know? I got us a job"

"You? A job?" Daryl smirked.

Merle scowled at the comment, "Correction, Darylina" he punctuated each word, "I got us a job"

"The hell y' talkin' about?" Daryl almost yelled, "I ain't even finished high school yet!"

"Pfft" Merle muttered before spinning on his heel, "Ya been livin' too long out here in the magical land of Oz. What are ya, like Dorothy now?" Merle cackled to himself as he poked fun at his younger brother, "Nah, y' ain't Dorothy" he mused, "more like her lil' dog, Toto!"

Noticing that Daryl wasn't laughing along at his joke, Merle stopped and straightened, "What'd ya need some high school degree fer anyhow? Never did me no harm, did it now?"

Walking past his brother, Daryl wiped his hands on a cloth before taking a seat on an old barrel outside in the sun.

"What kind of job?" he grumbled.

"Is that it? Is that how he left?" Enid quizzed when Hershel stopped.

Hershel looked to the window as the memory flittered through his mind, "Merle had arranged some kind of construction job for them both, out of state. Beth and I tried to talk Daryl out of going, but he wouldn't hear of it." He shook his head at the thought, "I don't know what that brother of his did to make him agree, but he took the job".

"No, Daryl!" Beth yelled as she stood quickly from the dining room table, "You promised you wouldn't leave me"

"I ain't leavin' ya" Daryl shouted back as he too rose from his seat.

Hershel's head pivoted to the pair of them at opposite ends of the table following Daryl's announcement that he would be leaving with Merle.

"Oh, you're not?" Beth asked sarcastically "then what the hell would y' call movin' to another state?"

"Dammit, Beth" Daryl yelled as he slammed a palm on to the table causing the crockery to clink as they shook, "I'm doin' this for us, for you" he tried, "You're always talkin' about our future. How we gonna do all those things without money, huh?"

Beth was already shaking her head, "Uh uh, Daryl Dixon! Don't ya dare turn this round on me" she shouted as she thumped a hand at herself, "Ya ain't doin' this for me! Ya doin' it for him!"

None of them needed to voice Merle's name, since he'd come by earlier Daryl had been different and when he'd explained he was leaving school and joining Merle at some job out of state, not only had Beth's heart broke, but so had Hershel's.

"Beth.." Daryl tried.

"No!" Beth yelled again as she held up a hand to tell him to stop, "This is bullshit!"

"Language!" Hershel reprimanded as he too rose from his seat.

Placing both hands on the table he leant over for support as he looked between them. Daryl's hands were clenched by his sides and Beth's chest rose and fell as if she'd ran a marathon, whilst tears swam in her eyes.

"Beth" Hershel started and held up his own hand to signal her to hold her words, "Merle is Daryl's brother and if Daryl, here, has decided he wants to go with him then there's nothing we can do to change his mind".

He looked at Daryl whose gaze quickly dropped to the floor. Hershel didn't believe for a minute that Daryl wanted to go but he'd noted something in the way that Daryl had told Beth that they needed money if they were to live out the plans and dreams he often heard them talking about.

Beth stepped around the table and stood in front of Daryl, her head tilted back as she looked over his face as if committing it to memory, "You promised we were forever" she whispered.

Daryl's eyes closed at the pain he felt at her words, "I'm gonna come back" he offered as he brought his hand up to cup her cheek.

"Can't y' jus' stay?" she nuzzled his hand, enjoying his rough pads as they skimmed her soft skin.

Doing the only thing he could think of to appease the woman he loved, Daryl pulled her forward into his body and wrapped his arms around her, his head nodding in agreement at her words.

"I don't get it." Enid's eyebrows pulled in confusion "If he said he'd stay, then where is he now?"

"Daryl" Merle whispered into the darkened house, "C'mon, we gotta go".

Creeping through the house, Daryl stepped outside to meet his brother who waited under the moonlit sky. Walking over to the porch swing, he laid down two letters from his pocket and hoped that Beth would forgive him when he came back in a few months with the money they needed to finally start their life together when she finished school.

Stepping next to his brother, Daryl handed him his small bag of possessions before walking down the steps and towards the barn, "I jus' gotta get my bike" he explained "I'll push it to the road so it don't wake 'em up".

As Daryl's back disappeared into the shadows of the barn, Merle walked quietly to the swing and plucked the letters from where Daryl had placed them. Tilting them slightly in the moonlight, he noticed in somewhat neat writing two names; Hershel and Beth, written on them. Without fully thinking it through, he stuffed them both into his pocket and jogged down the steps before heading towards the track that led to the road.

"I stood at my window and watched him walk away that night" Hershel explained, "He didn't know that Merle took his letters, but I did!"

"Did you ever tell Beth?" Enid questioned.

"I tried once, but she didn't want to believe me" Hershel admitted as his eyes filled with tears, "He broke her heart that night, and I don't think she's ever really been the same since"

"Course" Hershel explained as he shifted slightly in his bed, "She tried to hide it, but it was always there, you know, the loneliness she felt"

Taking the photo album from Hershel's lap, Enid brought it closer to her face so she could envision the image in her mind.

"When she found out she was pregnant with Annie, it helped her somewhat, to know that she had a piece of him with her even if it wasn't him, himself" Hershel continued.

"It was around six weeks after Daryl left that Beth started getting sick" Hershel explained.

"Seriously Beth, you're sick again?" Simon spat as Beth stumbled into the living room looking and feeling worse than the night before.

"You've been sick every day this week!" he continued oblivious to Beth's churning stomach, "Well, you ain't taking any more damn time off school. We'll have CPS snooping round if you have any more off"

Feeling her stomach lurch, Beth clamped a hand over her mouth and ran for the bathroom at the other end of the trailer she called home, Simon hot on her heels.

As she emptied her stomach and stood up on shaking legs, Simon looked at her and realised that she wasn't just suffering from some kind of stomach flu.

"You stupid bitch!" he snapped as he lunged for her.

Having no time and nowhere to move in the small bathroom, Beth was caught in his grasp before falling to the floor. His fists began to pour down on her as if she was trapped in the rain.

Enid's hand covered her mouth at Hershel's memory and she could picture in her mind, a small, scared Beth being beaten by her father.

"He beat that girl black and blue" Hershel confirmed.

"I'd waited out on the porch for Beth all day but when she didn't show, I headed inside and just assumed she was still sick. When she'd started feeling unwell, I just put it down to the fact that she was suffering from a broken heart"

"Then what happened?" Enid urged.

"I was sat in the kitchen when I heard a strange noise from the porch. When I saw Beth laying on the floor covered in broken and bruised, I didn't know what to think, so I simply scooped her up and drove her straight to the hospital".

Enid gripped his hand as the memories of Beth's broken body filled his vision, "The doctors took her off and left me in some kind of waiting room. It felt like hours before they came to find me".

"When she finally came round, they allowed me to be with her" he explained, "She admitted that Simon had attacked her and that was when the doctor explained that she was lucky she hadn't lost the baby"

Hershel looked at Enid and smiled, "I remember her face when she pieced everything together. She had no idea, but then again neither did I"

Enid shook her head in confusion, "but, I thought she was on birth control"

Hershel nodded, "She was, but she'd had a sickness bug in the lead up to prom and the doctor explained that when something like that happens you should take extra precautions. Obviously, we didn't realise that at the time" Hershel chuckled.

"Did she tell the cops?" Enid questioned before clarifying, "About Simon?"

Hershel nodded, "He was arrested and sentenced, but Beth, she was scared. That's when we moved out here together"

"And, what about Daryl? Did you ever try and find him?"

Hershel looked at his hands, old and frail, as they lay folded in his lap, "I tried several times, even hired a private detective but they couldn't find any trace of him" he admitted.

"Can I help ya?" Merle drawled as he opened the rickety door to his cabin.

The man in front of him was dressed in a suit and held a brown file in his hand. As soon as Merle laid eyes on him, his hackles rose in nervousness.

"I'm hoping so" the man explained, "I'm looking for a Daryl Dixon".

Merle whistled, "Wish I could help ya, my man, but he ain't lived here in months".

"Do you know where he went? Any forwarding addresses or employment information?"

Shaking his head, Merle tried to look at the file that the man held, "Nah, I took over this place six months ago and seen his name on some of the bills and such, but I don't know where he went. Hell, could be Timbuktu for all I know"

The man grimaced and turned to leave, "He in some sort of trouble or sumthin?" Merle questioned.

Looking back down at his file, the man shook his head, "Nothing like that, got some guy that's try to track down his son is all"

"His son?" Merle repeated wondering if Will Dixon was even still alive.

The man nodded, "Yeah, seems this guy practically raised him from a boy before he split town several months ago" he explained.

Merle raised his eyebrows at the information. It seemed that Old Hershel Greene was trying to reel in his baby brother yet again.

"I tell ya what" Merle offered, "He ever comes by for his mail, I'll let him know ya stopped by"

The man smiled and nodded before handing over a business card with his credentials before leaving to return to his car.

Shutting the door, Merle looked down at the card in hand and then towards the kitchen. Stumbling slightly in his haste, he ripped open one of the cupboards and took out an old coffee tin before pulling off the lid and retrieving the two letters that resided inside.

Hearing Daryl's bike rumble outside, Merle quickly left through the back door and laid both letters and the business card on the grill they used to barbeque their catch from the woods. Pulling his lighter from his pocket, he flicked it and watched as the paper turned to ash.

In the months that passed after they left, he often wondered if he'd made the right decision in forcing Daryl to come with him, but after Daryl had returned home a few months ago to find both Beth and Hershel gone, he'd changed; he was like the old Daryl and Merle believed dragged Daryl away with the best intentions.

Although Merle would never admit it out loud, he was jealous. Being ten years older than Daryl, he'd suffered at the hands of Will Dixon and not once had anyone tried to intervene or protect him the way that Hershel Greene had with Daryl. What irked him more was that not only did his baby brother have the old man offering him a life and safe place to stay, he also had Beth, who would have laid down her very life to save his.

Merle had had no one, except Daryl and that was fine by him. It was also the reason why he'd dabbled with drink and drugs over the years, until he'd been arrested and sentenced to prison time.

"What ya doin' out here?" Daryl questioned as he stepped out of the cabin.

"Was gonna light the grill" Merle confirmed, "Grab us some beers and I'll prep the meat".

"I need you to do something for me" Hershel said after he finished telling Enid about Beth's pregnancy and how they'd befriended Aaron and Eric from next door when they'd first moved in.

"Whatever you need" Enid replied.

"My drawer, over there" Hershel gestured towards his dresser, "that's it" he confirmed as Enid plucked out a flat parcel, "I need you to post this for me"

Enid scanned over the name and address, "I thought you didn't know where Daryl was" she stated.

"I don't" Hershel shook his head, "This is the last address the PI could find".

Enid smiled and headed towards her bag where she placed the letter for safe keeping.

"This is important, Enid" Hershel advised "I need you to post it this evening at exactly five forty three pm"

Enid frowned in confusion, "It has to be exactly that time and it has to be sent from the post office across town" he continued.

"But" Enid protested, "There's a post office just down the street"

Hershel shook his head, "No" he told her, "Please, it has to be this exact one at that precise time"

Noticing that he was starting to get upset, she gripped his hand, "Okay, I'll leave early when Beth get's back from the park" she confirmed.

Hershel smiled and sank back against his pillows at her agreement to carry out his request.

"You think you could get me some water?" Hershel asked a few moments later.

Enid nodded and checked his fridge but found it empty. Looking back at Hershel she confirmed she'd need to pop to the kitchen to grab some.

"Why don't you tell Annette to come up and see me when she's done cooking" Hershel told her as she reached the door, "It'd be nice to have her sit with me a while".

Enid swallowed the lump in her throat, "I'll go see if she's free" she replied before slipping from the room.

…

Beth arrived home from the park with Annie a short while later and after dropping her at Aaron and Eric's, next door, she went straight to Hershel's room.

"How's he been?" she whispered as Enid moved to collect her things.

Enid looked over her shoulder to where Hershel laid in the bed, "He keeps asking for Annette" she replied sadly.

Beth simply nodded her head and hugged her friend close before leaving Enid to head off.

Walking over to Hershel's bedside, she slipped into the chair that Enid had not long vacated and smiled "Hey" when Hershel's eyes opened.

"Annette?" he questioned.

Beth stood from her seat and took his hand in hers, "It's me, Beth" she explained.

As if her touch and voice were a reminder, his eyes focused and he smiled as he repeated her name, "Beth" on a whisper.

"Did Annie enjoy the park?" he asked as his mind returned.

Beth giggled remembering the laughter her little girl had delivered all day at going up and down the slide.

Glancing down to Hershel's lap, Beth grinned as she picked up the photo album. It had been a long time since she'd looked through it but that didn't mean that she forgot the memories they'd made over the years.

"You remember this one?" Beth asked as she tilted the album round.

Hershel nodded, "That was our first Christmas".

For the next few hours they reminisced over their time together and the memories they shared.

When Beth noticed how dark the sky had become and that Hershel was growing tired, she closed the album and stood to return it to its resting place. She had just pushed it in to place when Hershel spoke, causing her to jump, "He'll come back soon, Bethy"

Her throat tightened and her eyes stung with tears. She didn't need him to voice who he was talking about because she already knew that he was referring to Daryl.

Nodding her head, she walked over and tucked the covers around him as she did every night and kissed his forehead. As she had done since the night Hershel had given her the adoption papers she whispered "G'night Daddy" before leaving his room.

That night when Hershel closed his eyes, he realised that his body no longer hurt and he felt like he was floating on a cloud.

Most people say that their life flashes before their eyes as they die, but for Hershel it wasn't a flash. He didn't see a bright light. He didn't see the faces of all of his loved ones that passed before him. Instead, it felt like he was simply waking up, but not in his bed. No, he was waking up back in the farmhouse with Annette stood over him as if waking from a nap.

His body that was once was old, was now young and his hands no longer held the frailness of his illness or the spots of age. His hair was no longer white, instead it was replaced with the colour of his youth and there looking over him was the love of his life, Annette Greene.

Her face looked the same as it did the day they'd married, and her smile grew when his eyes fully opened.

"I've been waiting for you" she laughed as he laid a soft kiss to his lips.

As she pulled away, he couldn't help the frown that marred his now youthful face, "Beth? Daryl?" he questioned.

Annette leant forward and helped Hershel from the bed, their arms circling around one another as if no time had passed, "They'll be fine" Annette soothed, "You did good with them, Hershel"

"But Beth's all alone" he whispered as they looked out across the lands of the home they'd shared.

"He'll find her soon" Annette stated before holding out her hand for Hershel to take.

Turning to face his wife, Hershel smiled before threading their fingers, palm to palm and following her out of the house, and across the fields that surrounded their farm.

The only sign of the life they once lived was the sun that shone on everything that was once theirs as their outlines faded like dust floating on a breeze, their footsteps disappearing from the ground beneath their feet as they moved on from this world and into the next.