Chapter 11

Daryl brushed the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand before heaving a piece of lumber from the pile in front of him up onto his shoulder. Raising his head, he looked at the large looming structure that stood in front of him.

After returning to Woodbury a few months after he'd left, and finding both Beth and Hershel had moved on, he'd driven the long road back to his brother where they'd both thrown themselves into work. The job Merle had gotten them after his stint in prison lasted several months and gave them both the skills they needed but when it ended they'd simply packed up before moving on to the next town and the next job. Eventually, it was something that became a never ending cycle for them both.

They'd arrived in Alexandria several months before with no job and no place to stay and it just so happened that after a chance visit to a gas station on the edge of town that he'd happened upon Aaron Daniel's.

Aaron was a nice enough guy and after helping him with some issues with his truck, he'd questioned if the brothers knew their way around construction machinery, the same way they knew their way around cars and bikes.

At first Merle had been hesitant, thinking it sounded too good to be true, but Daryl saw something in Aaron and realised that everything Hershel had taught him over the years growing up had also taught him to trust his gut instinct. Since he'd done just that, he'd landed both himself and Merle with job security and a place to live.

"Hey" Aaron called in Daryl's direction as Daryl moved to lower the wood from his shoulder into place.

Reaching Daryl's side, Aaron looked at the wooden frame in front of them, "House coming on okay?" he questioned.

Merle came around the side of the structure before Daryl could open his mouth, "Is the Pope a catholic?" Merle hollered in reply.

Aaron smiled as Daryl shook his head before confirming, "S' comin' along ahead of schedule"

Nodding, Aaron stepped forward and up the few small concrete steps so he could see the footings and ground floor frame. He couldn't believe how quickly the brothers were coming on and he had to admit that when he first offered them a job he didn't think they'd be able to keep up with the pace or where the type of people to stick around but so far they'd proved him wrong; well at least Daryl had anyway.

"It's looking good" he praised as he turned back around to face them.

Daryl simply nodded one curt nod, accepting Aaron's praise, whereas Merle stood smiling a wide toothy grin, like the cat that got the canary.

"I'll be honest" Aaron explained, "When I first offered you the job, I didn't think you'd last longer than a few days, but you've proved me wrong. You put more time in than any of the other workers and your craftmanship is excellent"

"You're a good man, Daryl" Aaron offered as he held out a hand for Daryl to shake.

Daryl looked at it as if it was a snake that would bite him before gripping it in his own, "I ain't nothin' special" he replied with a grumble, uncomfortable with the way Aaron was regarding him.

"This mean we're gettin' a raise?" Merle interrupted with raised eyebrows.

Aaron chuckled, "I was talking about Daryl, Merle"

Merle's mouth dropped open in mock shock. "You on the other hand" Aaron continued, "Well, let's just say that there's room for some improvement".

This time it was Daryl's turn to chuckle before Merle turned on him with a scowl.

"Which is why" Aaron started as he moved back down the steps towards Daryl, "I was wondering if you wanted to come by for dinner tonight?"

Merle raised his eyebrows at them both, "Ya askin' my brother on a date?" he quizzed, "Cos' I hate ta burst y' bubble, but baby brother, here" he motioned to Daryl who stood to his side, "Don't bat for the same team, if ya know what I mean".

Aaron chuckled at Daryl's obvious embarrassment and Merle's quizzical gaze. His sexuality was not something he hid, but he also wasn't as flamboyant as some that he knew.

"Dammit, Merle" Daryl chastised as the tips of his ears turned brilliant red.

Merle scoffed and scowled at his brother, "What?" he asked as if unsure, "Yer been holdin' out on me or sumthin, Darylina?"

Daryl shook his head and looked down to the ground wishing a hole would open up and swallow him.

"Actually" Aaron offered, "My partner, Eric, suggested it." He looked pointedly in Merle's direction as he spoke before turning back to look at Daryl, "He asked me to invite you to our Tuesday spaghetti night".

"But, its Wednesday" Merle stated with his brows pulled together.

Aaron again looked to Merle and nodded, "Yeah" he confirmed, "It's just something we do. Well, us and our neighbour."

"Hoo eee, He ain't tryin' ta get in ya pants! He's tryin' t' set yer up with his neighbour!" Merle bent and slapped his leg as he laughed.

"No, I'm not!" Aaron interjected slightly flustered, "It's not like that! I wouldn't!"

"Is she hot?" Merle questioned cutting him off, "Cos, if baby brother here doesn't want t' get some of that action, ya know ol' Merle, here, will be happy to oblige".

"I er…er…" Aaron stuttered unsure how to respond.

Daryl stood chewing on his thumb nail, "I'll come for dinner" he admitted surprising both men in front of him, "But, I ain't lookin' to be fixed up with no one".

Merle threw his hands up in the air at frustration, "Oh c'mon" he yelled to the sky, "How long are ya gonna keep waitin?" without giving Daryl time to speak, Merle continued, "She's gone lil' brother and she ain't comin' back!"

Aaron's head flitted between the two men as Daryl stepped up to his brother, their chests colliding slightly, "Don't!" Daryl spat, "Ya don't know a damn thing!"

Merle stepped forward, pushing his own chest out as if they were wrestling, "I know ya ain't looked at another woman since that day and all ya do is throw yerself in to ya work!" Merle snapped.

Daryl's shoulders slumped at his brothers words. Placing his hands on Daryl's shoulders, Merle squeezed gently, "She's gone, lil' brother" he added gently.

Pulling away from his brothers hands, Daryl scooped up his discarded biker vest from the lumber pile before turning and heading for his bike that was parked to one side.

"So, dinner?" Aaron called after him innocently, as if the event hadn't just happened.

Without stopping, Daryl looked back over his shoulder in Aaron's direction and nodded.

Aaron smiled kindly in response, "Come by around seven, I'll text you the address".

Daryl waved him off and jumped on his bike, the revving of the engine cutting over the conversation his brother was now having with their boss before he peeled out of the driveway.

…

"This yer kid?" Daryl questioned as he looked at a picture of Aaron, Eric and a small toddler as they all smiled at the camera.

To say that he felt out of place was an understatement. He was never really the type that was invited to dinner nights or parties, well, unless the party was being held in some run down bar or derelict house located in the down-towns of the places they frequented.

Aaron came up to his side and held out a cold bottle of beer, "No" Aaron explained, "that's Annie, she lives next door".

Accepting the answer, Daryl straightened from where he'd bent to look at the photo before following Aaron into the dining room. He glanced around and noticed how homely the place felt compared to his and Merle's small apartment and he found himself wondering about Beth and whether their home would have looked and felt the same as Aaron and Eric's, had the plans that Beth made worked out.

Realising that Aaron was looking at his expectantly, he quickly sat down in the chair in front of him. No sooner had he sunk onto the seat, that they heard the door open.

"Did she forget?" Aaron asked with a chuckle when Eric rounded the corner.

Eric smiled kindly in Daryl's direction before turning his gaze on Aaron as he shook his head, "Annie's sick" he admitted.

Concern immediately swept over Aaron's face as he moved to stand. "She's fine" Eric soothed, "She probably just picked up something from school".

Nodding in placation, Aaron lowered himself back into his chair and looked at Daryl with an apologetic smile on his face.

"Sorry" he offered, "Our neighbours, well, they're like family".

Daryl nodded and shrugged at the same time. He knew just how much neighbours could become that way and he'd experienced it first hand, not just with Beth, but with Hershel as well.

"I can go" he offered as he moved to stand, in case they wanted to go next door and help out.

Eric walked in with a large pot between two oven gloved hands, "You don't need to go" he explained as he gestured with his head for Daryl to retake his seat, "He's just a worrier. Kids at that age are always picking stuff up, especially from school".

Aaron smiled and shook his head at Eric's statement as Daryl retook his seat.

"Is this enough for you?" Eric questioned gently as he loaded spaghetti and sauce onto what Daryl now knew was his plate. Nodding once, he raised his hands and accepted his food.

After Eric had dished up for each of them and took his own seat, they all dug in and Daryl had to admit that the last time he'd tasted anything similar is when Beth had cooked one of Annette's recipes. Shaking his head, he wondered why he was thinking of Beth so much lately and wondered if he should start taking his brothers advice.

"Where'd you go to?" Aaron asked as Daryl focussed on the men in front of him.

Instead of answering, Daryl simply shook his head and shrugged. It was nothing new to Aaron, he knew Daryl wasn't much of a talker so he took no offense when his question went unanswered.

After they'd cleaned their plates of food, Eric brought out some chocolate pie that he'd brought on his way home from the hospital, where he was a nurse, before excusing himself.

"I'm just going to take some food next door and then I'll be back" he told Aaron before slipping out with a container of food in his hands.

Just as Daryl went to take a bite of pie, Aaron smiled, "I was wondering if you'd mind taking a look at something for me whilst you're here?"

Lifting one shoulder, Daryl raised an eyebrow before nodding. As soon as he made the gesture, Aaron pushed back from the table and laid down his napkin next to his plate, "Shall we?"

Copying Aaron's movements, Daryl rose from the table and followed him towards the front of the house and out the front door. Daryl frowned wondering if Aaron wanted him to leave but was too shy to ask, but when he started to open the garage doors, Daryl moved to his side.

"What do you think?" Aaron quizzed with a beaming smile.

Daryl stepped past him and into the room where he noticed a half finished motorbike, similar to the one he'd worked on back on Hershel's farm several years ago. Bending at the knee, he examined the pieces already put together and the spare parts that rested around it.

"S' a good bike" he confirmed as he looked over his shoulder to Aaron, "Had one just like it when I was 'bout sixteen".

"Oh, good, You've offered him the bike!" Eric exclaimed as he entered the garage.

"What?" Daryl replied in surprise as he stood up and turned to face the couple who now stood with their arms wrapped around one another's backs with a smile on each of their faces. "You're givin' me a bike?" he quizzed as his brows pulled together in confusion.

"Only if you want it" Aaron offered.

Daryl looked back towards the bike, "What's the catch?"

Eric shook his head, leaving Aaron's side as he approached Daryl, "There's no catch" he explained, "I think we just bit off a bit more than we could chew".

Bending down, Daryl once again examined the parts that laid on the floor. Movement at the corner of his eye confirmed Eric had also crouched next to him, "The only thing we ask is that we get to ride on it, just one time, once you get it pieced back together" Eric told him.

Seeing Eric smile at the broken bike, Daryl nodded before holding his hand out, "Deal" he stated simply before Eric slipped his own hand into his grasp and they shook on it.

"You can either work on it here, or we could use the truck to move it out to your apartment" Aaron supplied as he too joined them.

Realising that he didn't want Merle anywhere near this bike, Daryl grimaced before replying, "Probably best if I jus' work on it here" he grumbled as he recalled Merle selling the bike he'd worked so hard on at Hershel's when he was just a teenager when he'd been working one day.

He knew it was just a bike, but it felt like he'd lost a part of himself that day and all so his brother could pay back some tweaker that he'd been in debt with. It wasn't so much the bike itself, it was more the memories associated with it that he missed, but with this bike in front of him it was as if all of those days spent in the barn twisting parts this way and that, that his life had come full circle.

…

Heading home later that evening, Daryl couldn't help but stop with a shunt at the crossroads that divided the town. He didn't know why he felt the need to stop, there was no traffic filling the streets, he just felt as if something was telling him to pause; so that's what he did. He sat listening to the crickets chirp in the long grass that grew alongside the road and the owls that hooted in the trees that littered the area. For a moment, he was sure that if he closed his eyes he could believe that he was back on Hershel's farm and that the man himself was listening to his fifties and sixties music as Beth laid her feet in Daryl's lap, his own foot moving them backwards and forwards on the porch swing under the darkening night.

He sighed as his thoughts once again returned to Beth and he wondered where she was and what she was doing. He often imagined that she'd finished school, and with Hershel's gentle push had attended some fancy college and got a degree in heaven knows what. He also wondered if she'd met anyone and if she was happy. It was a thought that returned often and one that he hated, no matter how much he knew he was to blame for their breakup.

Thoughts would swirl through his mind at whether she thought of him, but that would quickly vanish; he was a no one! Nothing better than the next hillbilly redneck that travelled the same path as he was.

Since leaving Woodbury so many years ago, he'd tried to focus on his work much to his brothers disgust. A part of him knew he was doing it for Beth, for what they'd originally planned; whether she was still in his life or not. From the day he'd left, he always made sure that he squirreled away some of his pay and although he'd never tell Merle, he'd accumulated a small nest egg.

When he'd first followed Merle, he wasn't able to save at all. Merle often spent all of their pay on drink, sometimes drugs, but more often than not, it was on women. That was until he'd finally put his foot down and started hiding some of his money in an old fishing tackle box he'd found. Over time, he'd watched that box fill up and with it he would tick off something that Beth had always planned to do. It was as if he was still saving for the life she envisioned for them and as much as he hated to admit it, he wasn't going to stop now.

Hearing a single horn sound from behind him, Daryl pulled back on the throttle and once again took off across the crossroads and headed back to the apartment he shared with Merle.

…

"Is she feeling any better?" Aaron asked Beth as he slipped through the front door.

Beth shook her head, "She's slept almost all afternoon and she's still complaining her stomach hurts, but her temperature seems to have come down"

Aaron smiled gently and pulled a tired looking Beth in for a hug. She relaxed in his arms as she gently rested her cheek on his chest. To an outsider, anyone would presume they were a couple but to Beth he was like the older brother she'd never had and she was grateful to have both Aaron and Eric in her life.

"I'm sorry we missed spaghetti Tuesday" she mumbled as she pulled away.

Aaron shook his head, "You don't need to apologise, Beth".

Knowing she was fighting a losing battle with her apologies, Beth sighed and gestured to the kitchen. Aware that Aaron was following, she pulled out two bottles of water before turning to hand him one.

"Eric told me" She suddenly blurted as he sipped his drink.

"Told you?" he asked nonchalantly.

Beth nodded at the same time she offered a "mmhmm". Placing the bottle on the counter, she looked at Aaron before sighing, "Last week" she confirmed before continuing "And, I already told you both, I'm not ready to start dating".

"That isn't…"Aaron started as he placed his own bottle down before moving in front of her, "We weren't trying to set you up".

Beth raised an eyebrow and placed a hand on her hip, "Okay" Aaron chuckled holding up his hands in surrender, "Is it really so bad that we want to see you happy?"

As her shoulders slumped, Beth looked towards the room where her daughter still slept on the couch, "I am happy" she whispered. But as she spoke the words she realised that she didn't believe them quite as much as she used to.

…

Merle laid on the couch watching some dumb show about a large cartoon dog on the TV as Daryl entered their small home. Noticing his brother was home from 'dinner with the boss' had Merle shutting of the TV before rising from the sofa.

He immediately stalked towards Daryl, who was bent over pulling a couple of beer bottles from the fridge, and started patting Daryl's pants.

"What the hell ya doin?" Daryl yelled as he spun to face his brother.

Merle smiled his familiar toothy grin, "I was checkin' whether or not that condom that I put in your pocket earlier is still there".

Daryl shook his head at his brothers words and moved towards the adjoining lounge area. Merle quickly following in his wake as he held up the offending object between his fingers, "Even the ugly ones need a pushin' every now again, brother" he said as he fell back on the sofa that was still warm.

Holding the bottle to his lips, Daryl turned towards his brother with a confused look on his face, "What the hell y' on about?"

Merle huffed and lent forward, throwing the sealed condom on the coffee table in front of them before laying back and kicking up his feet, "The neighbour" he clarified as if it should all make sense.

Shrugging, Daryl finished the rest of his bottle, "She wasn't even there".

Chuckling, Merle took a swig from his own bottle before tilting it in Daryl's direction, "Ya think she saw yer ugly face and decided t' stay home?"

Placing his hands on his knees, Daryl pushed up from the seat next to Merle and carried his now empty bottle back to the kitchen where he chucked it in the trash with shattering crash, "Her kid was sick" he admitted, not really in the mood to talk.

"Sounds ta me like ya dodged a bullet wit' that one, baby brother".

Daryl didn't answer, he simply turned and headed towards the hall where their bedrooms and bathroom were located.

Merle watched his brother walk away and couldn't help the frown that marred his face. Over the last few years his mind always wondered to the girl that had captured Daryl's heart when he was just seven years old and whether he'd done right by taking Daryl away from the only chance at happiness he may have ever known. But instead of dwelling on the what ifs, Merle simply pushed himself up from the sofa and stalked to the fridge before removing another beer.

He didn't bother to take it back to the couch, instead he stood leaning against the counter and downed the bottle in a few large gulps before heading to his own room.

Laying in bed, he remembered the day he'd set fire to the last chance Daryl had at finding Beth and for the first time he felt something stirring within him that he didn't recognise. At first he wondered if it was the beer, but then for the first time in Merle Dixon's life, he realised what it was; he felt remorse. He felt it for his brother, for taking him away from happiness, for dragging him into a life he didn't want and for making him runaway from the one person that would have loved him forever.

It was then, at that moment when his eyes began to succumb to sleep, that Merle Dixon made a promise to fix some of the wrongs he'd committed, especially where his brother was concerned.

If there was one thing Merle Dixon knew at that moment, it was that he was going to do whatever he could to make sure his baby brother got the happily ever after that he deserved; that or he would die trying.