I have to apologise for taking so long. I have been working 12 hour shifts, but this is no excuse! I have also re-written this chapter three times to get it how I see it in my head.

Enjoy and any feedback is much appreciated.

PS thank you everyone for your reviews and follows, they mean so much to me.

Chapter 12

Beth could feel her heart pounding in her chest with concern as she looked at the thermometer in her hands. She'd laid with Annie all night, calming her when her stomach began to hurt and giving her more medicine when her temperature rose yet again, but seeing her daughter curled in a ball with sweat beading on her head and her curly blonde hair plastered to her head had Beth more worried than she'd ever been.

"Beth?" Eric called from downstairs, pulling her from the thin piece of glass in her hands.

"Up here" she replied as she bent to stroke Annie's hair.

Eric entered the room at the same time that Annie began to whimper in pain, his brows pulling together in concern as he approached the small bed.

"She's still not feeling better?" he questioned as he sat on the edge.

Beth shook her head and moved to change the warm, damp cloth that laid on Annie's head with a fresh cool one, but as she removed it, Annie cried out before bending to one side where she proceeded to throw up in the small bucket Beth had placed next to the bed; just in case.

Dropping the cloth, Beth immediately began to pull her daughter close to her when Eric's hands stopped her. Halting her movements, she allowed Eric to lay Annie back on the bed gently; his frown deepening as he held the back of his hand to her forehead.

Annie continued to whimper and groan under his touch causing Beth to reach out once again to stroke her hair gently to soothe her, "It's okay, baby. Uncle Eric jus' wants to see how your feelin"

Eric nodded and smiled gently when Annie opened her eyes and looked at him. He could see how much pain the small girl was in the second her eyes scrunched shut once again. When his hands reached her stomach, he couldn't help but recoil at the cry of pain Annie let out before she once again proceeded to be sick.

"You think it's stomach flu or somethin?" Beth asked as she moved to try and clean Annie up.

Eric was already shaking his head as he stood up before scooping Annie's small body into his arms.

"Eric?" Beth asked "What are y' doin?"

Realising he had just taken Annie from her bed with no explanation to Beth, he looked at her and couldn't help but grimace, "Annie's sick, Beth" he started. Beth nodded with a "duh" expression on her face, "We need to get her to the hospital".

"What? No?" Beth stuttered as she tried to take her daughter from his arms, "It's jus' a bug. You said that kids are always pickin' stuff up at school".

Eric moved towards the door, "This isn't a bug, Beth and if we don't get her to the hospital soon…" he trailed off.

Tears filled Beth's eyes as she nodded once in his direction. It was all the confirmation Eric needed and he turned on his heel quickly rushing through the house to his car next door, Beth hot on his heels.

…

Aaron was busy at the construction site where they were putting together the newest addition to their town. It was a small housing estate that would comprise of eight large properties and they were currently working on the final property.

Looking around he smiled as he watched each of his men working together as a team. It was the one thing he requested when interviewing each and everyone of his crew and so far he knew he'd made the right choice in who he'd hired.

"Ya want a coffee, boss?" Merle hollered as he moved towards the small on-site cabin.

Realising his hands were full with the lumber beam he was currently fitting with Daryl, he simply nodded and smiled in Merle's direction as Daryl continued to hammer the necessary parts.

Within a few moments, the beam was in place and both men stepped back to admire their work.

"Looks good" Aaron stated as he looked over the part they'd just been working on before bending and grabbing his jacket and heading towards the cabin where Merle was sorting them out some much-needed refreshments.

"The kid any better?" Daryl suddenly asked surprising Aaron as he fell in step beside him.

"You mean Annie?" Aaron asked for clarification. It was the first time he'd known Daryl to openly start a conversation without it being work related.

Daryl simply nodded and started chewing his thumb nail as if unsure that he should have of asked.

"I'm not sure" Aaron admitted, "Eric was going to pop in on them before his shift at the hospital" Shaking his head, he sighed, "I'm sure she's fine" he tried but he knew he failed to convince himself, let alone Daryl.

Aaron's phone started ringing no sooner had he finished talking. Fishing it out of his pocket, he frowned when he saw Eric's name flash on the screen. Stopping in his tracks he swiped a finger across the screen.

"Aaron?" Eric's voice asked urgently through the speaker.

"Eric? Is everything okay?"

"It's Annie!" he stated, "We're at the hospital"

Feeling his heart drop into the pit of his stomach Aaron turned erratically towards the row of vehicles lined up on one side of the street, "I'm on my way!" was all he replied as the call cut off and he started jogging towards his car.

"Everythin' alright?" Daryl asked as he too jogged behind Aaron.

Shoving his hands into his pockets, Aaron started searching for his keys, "It's Annie" he explained before twisting the jacket in his hands round and round as he tried to search the pockets, "They're on their way to the hospital".

Seeing his boss and friend shaken by the news, Daryl reached into his own pocket and pulled out the keys to his and Merle's old truck, "C'mon, I'll drive" he offered and watched as relief flooded the man's face.

"Where we goin?" Merle questioned as he approached them both as they made their way towards Daryl's truck.

"Hospital" Daryl stated quickly before jumping in the driver's side.

"Eric says they're in the ER" Aaron explained as they pulled into the parking lot.

"There!" Merle snapped from the backseat as his hand rose between the centre console to point out a vacant spot.

Quickly pulling in, each man stepped from the vehicle before Aaron and Daryl rushed to the entrance as Merle simply drifted along behind them at his usual pace.

"Eric?" Aaron called out as they started to move around the busy emergency room that was bustling with people.

Daryl followed close behind. He knew he didn't need to stay, but something was telling him he needed to be there, so he stayed on Aaron's heel as they looked for Eric. He was too busy looking around, that he didn't notice Aaron stop directly in front of him, until he collided into Aaron's back. Chancing a look over Aaron's shoulder, Daryl saw Eric a small ways down the corridor, his back to them both.

"Eric!" Aaron called as he started moving faster in his direction. Eric turned at his name being called and smiled in relief when he saw Aaron rushing towards him. Each of them colliding in one another's arms.

"Is she okay?" Aaron rushed, pulling back from Eric's arms as Daryl finally stepped up behind them.

The moment he did, Eric stepped to one side revealing a very upset Beth behind him where she sat on a small row of hospital seats, her head in her hands as her body shook with the tears that fell down her cheeks.

Daryl's eyes widened as he took in the one person, he was sure he would never see again. For a moment, he simply stood unmoving as he took in everything about her as if studying a piece of art. Her blonde hair still the same shade as the day he'd left and still falling from the band that tried to keep it in place. Her body, whilst still slim, now showed the curves of womanhood that she'd not had the last time he saw her.

He felt his mouth moving before he realised he was speaking and the word he'd longed to say out loud for so long tumbled from his lips, "Beth?"

Hearing her name, Beth glanced up in Aaron and Eric's direction. At first she was sure she was dreaming but when she closed her eyes tight and reopened them like so many times before she couldn't believe that Daryl was standing mere feet away from her.

She didn't miss the way her heart stuttered before beating wildly in her chest the same way it did whenever she laid eyes on him. Rising slowly from her seat she noticed he stood slightly taller and slightly wider than he'd done at the age of eighteen. His arms no longer thin, but rather sculpted with muscles from hours of labour and his hair, albeit slightly darker, now hung longer in tendrils that twitched each time he blinked.

"Daryl" she whispered under her breath as her feet began to move quickly in his direction, unaware of the bodies moving around the corridor between them. At first when her body collided with his, she felt him tense under her touch before relaxing around her and pulling her tighter into his body.

Daryl couldn't believe Beth was back in his arms. It had been so long since he'd seen her, but it felt like an eternity since he'd held her in his arms so long ago. He leant down automatically and laid a quick kiss into her hair and realised that it was as if they were the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that had been missing was now back and completed him.

Aaron began approaching the couple, his brows furrowed in confusion at the sight he was witnessing but as he stepped in front of them, a familiar face came into view.

"Enid" Eric offered as he stepped forward past Aaron to take a bag from her hand. It was the second call Eric had made since arriving at the hospital and he knew Beth would be grateful that Enid had popped by the house to collect some things for Annie, even though they still weren't sure what was wrong with the child.

"Beth, I…." Enid started, her eyes still on Eric before she turned in Beth's direction and looked up into Daryl's face. Her eyebrows pulled together in concentration before realisation set in.

"It's you!" she blurted, surprise evident on her face at the face that stared back at her.

"Do you know each other?" Aaron asked perplexed as he looked between Enid, Daryl and Beth, who was now twisting in Daryl's arms to face her friends.

"This is Daryl" Enid explained before Beth could speak.

"Yeah, so? He works with Eric at the site" Eric replied.

"No" Enid shook her head, " .Daryl" she emphasised.

Again Aaron and Eric looked at her perplexed as Daryl shifted uncomfortably under their stares. Realising that neither Aaron or Eric had ever been shown the photo album, Enid felt the need to explain. Looking at Beth who didn't look as if she knew if she was coming, or going, she turned back to the couple. "Prom night" she blurted, hoping they'd take the hint.

"You're him?" Eric asked with wide eyes, putting two and two together as he turned to look at Daryl.

"Who's who?" came a voice from behind them all causing them to turn on the spot to face the newcomer.

Unsure where her anger came from at the sight of Merle Dixon, Beth stepped forward before she knew what she was doing. Her hand twitching next to her as Merle smiled a toothy grin in her direction before her palm connected with his cheek with a sickening slap.

"What the hell was that for?" Merle hollered as he held a hand to his throbbing cheek.

"Miss Greene?" the doctor called causing each of them to freeze and turn in his direction.

"I'm Beth Greene" she confirmed rushing to where he stood.

"Hi Beth" he offered shaking her hand, "I'm Doctor Bob and I'll be the attending overseeing your daughter's care" he explained.

"Is she…will she…" Beth started as emotion clogged her throat.

Doctor Bob smiled, "I'm afraid we're going to need to take her for surgery" he explained, "If I could just get you to sign these forms before we take her down".

Taking the clipboard, Beth signed her name on the relevant parts before handing them back to the doctors waiting hand. Her hands shook and he smiled gently before clasping a hand in his, "Annie's going to be fine" he told her before retreating the same way he'd come.

As the doctor walked off, Merle leant in towards Aaron, confusion evident on his face, "Who's Annie?" he asked innocently as he still held his cheek.

Watching Beth carefully, Aaron grimaced, "Beth's daughter" he whispered before looking in Daryl's direction who stood across from Merle.

"She's Beth and Daryl's daughter" he confirmed louder before moving with Eric and Enid to comfort the woman who had become the sister he'd never had.

Daryl and Merle stood idly in the corridor, each of them felt like spare parts after Aaron's revelation but neither made an attempt to leave. Instead, they watched as Beth's friends rallied around her in comfort whilst they waited to be shown to a visitors waiting room.

Whilst Daryl thought about Beth and everything that had happened between them, Merle stood thinking about Annie and for the first time in his life Merle Dixon was actually sorry. He also realised what a complete dick he'd been to his brother and how much Daryl had lost out on being part of his child's life.

"The nurse has said we can all wait in a visitor's room upstairs" Aaron offered as he approached them a look of disbelief and apprehension on his face.

Daryl offered one curt nod and moved to follow Aaron's retreating back, knowing that Merle would fall in step with him. The walk seemed to take forever, and he couldn't help but remember that day he'd tried to find Beth at Grady Memorial and he wondered what would life have been like if only he'd stayed and maybe things would have worked out differently for them all.

"How ya holdin' up?" Merle questioned from his seat next to Daryl's.

Daryl turned to him with a frown as he watched Beth stand at the door, her head constantly moving to watch for the doctor. Without answering his brother, Daryl simply shifted in his chair effectively turning his back on his brother.

Scowling at the response, Merle pushed on his knees as he rose from the hard plastic hospital chair that was making him fidgety. He felt the eyes of those sitting in the room burning into him as he strode across to where Beth stood.

"Ya wanna tell me why ya felt the need to slap me, back there?" Merle questioned as he rubbed his sore cheek.

Beth's back stiffened and her eyes fluttered as she turned in his direction, "Y' sold Hershel's car!" she stated simply before turning back to the corridor, not willing to waste a moment longer than she needed to on the man that stood next to her.

Merle simply stood with mouth agape. He'd made sure he was careful the night he'd stolen the old man's car from the barn. The only people that knew was him and Will Dixon and he doubted that Beth and his father had remained in contact. Frowning, he shook his head and headed back to his seat; Daryl's eyes following his every movement.

"Where is the ol' kook, anyhow?" He questioned offhandedly, "Figured he'd be here with his bible" he finished with a mutter.

It was Enid that sat forward in her chair to look down the row of seats to where Merle sat, "Are you talking about Hershel?" she snapped in a low whisper as her eyes sought Beth.

Merle nodded in confirmation as Enid started shaking her head, "He passed away three years ago" she admitted causing Daryl's head to snap to hers.

"I'm sorry" Enid offered before looking back to Beth's back.

Daryl followed her line of sight and couldn't help but wonder just what had occurred in his absence, but he knew one thing for sure and that was that life hadn't got easier for Beth, it had gotten harder, and it was all his fault.

Standing quickly Daryl strode to the door, ignoring the lingering looks he could feel, and briefly paused next to Beth who looked up to him the same way she had when they were kids. Shaking his head at himself for failing her, he pushed out of the room and started walking briskly down the hall towards the elevator.

"Daryl" Beth called as she followed behind him, "Wait!"

He acted like he hadn't heard her calling his name or the memories her voice conjured of their childhood. Instead, he kept his pace steady until he neared the silver doors that would become his exit.

The moment Enid had told him of Hershel's death, he'd felt something stir inside him and he found that he hated himself. He hated that he'd allowed Merle to take him away from the only family he'd ever truly fitted in with, from the man that had been more of a father to him than his own. He hated that he'd been so gullible to believe Hershel when the man had told him he'd sold his car, even when he knew Daryl's brother had stole it and he hated the fact that he never got to say goodbye, other than in his letters.

"Daryl!" Beth tried again as she pushed through two nurses that were walking side by side.

Finally turning in her direction Daryl looked at her and she noticed all of the anger he had bubbling under the surface reflected in his face, "I.." he started before turning to step in the now open elevator doors, "I gotta go".

"I guess ya got good at runnin' away over the years!" Beth snapped as he punched the button for the ground floor.

Her words hit him like a tonne of bricks and his head snapped up in her direction. As the doors began to close, he watched a tear drop down Beth's cheek and without thinking he stuck out his arm to prevent the doors from closing.

"I dint runaway, Beth" he told her in a slightly huskier voice than she remembered, "I left ya a letter".

Beth scoffed as she folded her arms across her chest to stop herself from shaking, "Y' mean the letters that Merle took?" she questioned, "Cos' we never got those!". Her chest rose and fell with her own anger.

"You're lyin!" he replied, un-wanting and unwilling to believe that his brother would do such a thing, even though a part of him knew he would.

Beth shook her head in annoyance that Daryl didn't believe her, "Yeah, jus' like I lied about your brother sellin' Hershel's car!"

"I…I dint…he…" Daryl tried as he shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"I know ya came back" she admitted causing him to jolt.

His mouth opened and closed at her words, "How…I don't.."

"Your father" she replied simply. At Daryl's raised eyebrows, she carried on, "He came to the funeral, told me about Merle and the letters; Hershel's car".

Shaking his head, Daryl moved to step back as Beth's eyes closed, her unshed tears glistening in her eyes before she stepped forward to where Daryl stood.

"Listen" she explained, "We can't do this now, okay? This isn't the place…" she looked around at the people stood watching them as they waited to move into the open elevator. Grabbing Daryl's arm, she pulled him off to the side, "We need t' put a pin in this, not for you and not for me, but for that little girl down there that's gonna need her momma when she comes out of surgery".

Daryl nodded knowing Beth was right. If there was anyone that needed Beth more than he did, it was her daughter; their daughter.

Beth turned and started to walk back to the visitor room where her friends and Merle waited. Realising that Daryl hadn't moved, she looked back over her shoulder and smiled gently as she held out a hand timidly, "She's gonna need her daddy too, ya know".

Daryl felt his chin tremble as his own tears filled his eyes. He had a daughter and for some reason he was being given a second chance in her life. Stepping forward, he took Beth's outstretched hand in his own and marvelled at how easily they fit together as if no time had passed between them. He felt her fingers tighten as she pulled him next to her with a small tug, allowing them to return to the drab grey room where they would wait for news on their daughter.

"You love birds back together?" Merle quizzed as they entered the room holding hands.

Feeling his anger resurface, Daryl looked at his brother and felt the same hate for himself directed at Merle, "We're done!" he stated simply before squeezing Beth's hand.

"What…" Merle started as he approached the couple, "Ya really gonna do me like that, brother?"

"Don't" Daryl snapped, "Ya know what y' did"

"What I did?" Merle snapped as he pretended not to know what Daryl was talking about, "This your doin', blondie?" he snarled in Beth's direction.

Daryl let go of Beth's hand at the same time he stood in front of her, blocking her from his brother's view, "The letter's Merle!" he clarified, "I know ya took 'em".

"Ya don't understand" Merle rushed as he looked at the faces watching their conversation with disgust, "It ain't like that" he tried.

Daryl stepped forward into Merle's space, "Y' cost me my family. My lil' girl. Being there for Hershel when he was sick!." He listed before looking over his shoulder to the woman he loved, that he'd always loved, that stood behind him, "Ya cost me Beth" he stated. The ball tightening in his throat as he turned back to his brother.

Merle's head dropped as everything flooded him at once. Realising that everyone still stared, Merle slapped his tell-tale scowl on his face and straightened his spine before pushing out of the room and out into the corridor.

As he walked towards the exit, Merle realised that once again he felt alone. He hadn't been like Daryl, he'd never had a girl love him the way Beth loved Daryl and he certainly didn't have a man try to be his father the way Hershel had. Instead, he'd been surrounded by the same type of people as his father and had inadvertently turned into the same kind of redneck hillbilly that people perceived him to be.

He realised as he broke out into the warm sunshine that he'd only forced Daryl to leave with him because he was jealous of what he had and because he was scared of being alone. He'd certainly never once given thought to how Beth coped in the aftermath, instead his thoughts had only been on himself.

As a breeze blew around him, Merle found himself looking up into the vast blue sky that was dotted with white clouds, "I'm sorry, lil' brother" he whispered only loud enough for him, and maybe god, to hear him before he left the hospital parking lot and headed home, alone.