First Impressions
Here's another chapter for all you lovely people!
I don't own the Walking Dead, if I did there would be so much more Bethyl.
Beth was surprised that once they had both finished eating, she didn't want to leave Daryl. Though it had been almost two hours since he had come into the tattoo shop bleeding and in need of a bandage. During some point of their lunch Daryl had remembered her newly done tattoo and gave her instructions on how to take the gauze off. Beth hadn't really been bothered by it until she took off the gauze, which was painful. It settled into a dull ache and Beth was grateful for the fact she wore a tank top.
"So, uh you wanna walk around a bit?" Daryl asked, he had already exchanged numbers with her but still didn't want to part ways just yet.
"That sounds great." Beth smiled.
After a small debate of who would pay, they ended up agreeing to split the check, Beth and Daryl ended up walking down the streets of Atlanta. It was a beautiful day out, Beth loved the feeling of the sun hitting her face and how warm it was. The two didn't talk, Beth felt like there was no need to while Daryl wasn't really sure what it was he wanted to say. He just enjoyed being with the girl who reminded him of the sun. Half way through their walk Beth's phone rang, Beth looked at the screen then at Daryl. He waved her off, hoping she would understand he didn't mind. Beth walked a little bit farther down then answered while Daryl looked into the shop they stood in front of.
"That was Maggie, she asked me if I could come over to her apartment." Beth said after getting off the phone. She had a slight frown and her brow was furrowed, Daryl felt the need to smooth it out and get rid of her frown. "She said that everything was okay and she just needed to talk to me but something sounded off."
"You want me to give you a ride?" Daryl offered. Beth smiled, some of the tension from her shoulders easing away.
"Yes, that would be great." Beth was grateful that Daryl was being so kind. She was glad that she had been wrong about the closed off man. The two turned around and walked back to Daryl's truck. Once in Beth gave directions to her sister's apartment.
"I really liked spending time with you." Daryl said quietly. They were close to Maggie's apartment and Daryl knew he wanted to see Beth again soon.
"I did too, it was really nice." Beth smiled, Daryl wondered if she knew how bright and kind her smile was.
"Do you think maybe we could hang out again sometime?" Daryl wasn't sure if he was ready to call it a date, he knew that he liked Beth and wanted to see her again but wasn't sure if those feelings were purely platonic or something that would evolve into something deeper.
"That would be great. I should be getting my schedule soon of when I'm on duty so as soon as I know when I work I can call you, does that sound good?" Beth asked as they pulled into the parking lot of Maggie's building.
"Yeah, it does. I'm usually pretty free in the afternoons, and it depends on if Dale thinks we'll busy during the weekends." Daryl explained.
After saying their goodbyes, Beth got out of Daryl's truck and made her way to Maggie's apartment. It was there Beth found her sister pacing around the living room, the place looking spotless. That was one thing about the Greene girls, when there was anything going on whether good or bad they needed to be kept busy. With Beth, she turned to baking. Beth could remember one week when Maggie's drinking was particularly bad and Beth had baked several different types of cupcakes, bread, and pies. She gave most of it to neighbors who were more than happy to take it off her hands. Maggie though, Maggie cleaned and rearranged the furniture. Beth couldn't count how many times she had come home to her bed on the opposite side of the room or her bookcases moved.
"Okay, what's wrong?" Beth asked worried for her sister.
"I haven't been able to keep anything down, I've been moody lately." Maggie started to explain, Beth had a feeling right away what was going on but would let her sister finish. "I took at least five different tests and they all said the same thing. I'm pregnant."
Beth tried to gauge how her sister felt, she could tell that Maggie seemed nervous which Beth could understand but it seemed that the older girl was also worried.
"Isn't that a good thing?" Beth asked, slightly confused. Maggie sighed and sat down on the couch while Beth walked over to join her.
"Well I guess in a way it is." Maggie answered. "It's just whenever Glenn and I discussed having kids we talked about having them maybe a year or two after we're married. That way we have the time to settle in to life as a married couple."
"I can understand that." Beth had seen it with her patients how it could put a strain on the relationship at times, with the mom putting so much focus onto herself or the baby. "Maggie, you and Glenn have an incredibly strong relationship already. You've been living together for three months and I fully believe that this will only make you guys stronger."
"You think so?" Maggie asked, looking at her younger sister.
"Absolutely." Beth smiled. "I see the way Glenn smiles at you and how he does pretty much everything for you. Mags, you're incredibly lucky to have him for a fiancé."
"Thanks Bethy." Maggie said as she wiped her eyes. The two sisters embraced for a moment and then as they let go Beth could tell Maggie was feeling much better. "Do you think you could stay the night? Glenn's over at his parents with his sisters and won't be home until tomorrow."
"Of course, I probably still have the spare clothes I left from last time." Beth often stayed the night and so she kept scrubs as well as a change of clothes in case of something like this. "We can also make an appointment to get you in to see the doctor. That way we can check to see how far along you are."
"You'll be with me through everything right?" Maggie asked, she knew that Beth would look after her and was one of the best nurses out there.
"I'll be there for everything I can be." Beth assured her.
The rest of the night the sisters spent watching their favorite movies and indulging on junk food. Beth tried not to stay up too late since she would have to get up a half hour earlier to get to work on time. When she did get up, Beth didn't bother with trying to tame her hair. She only threw it up in a decent looking ponytail then got dressed in her scrubs. Leaving Maggie a note, the blonde left to head to work. Smiling brightly at some of the familiar faces as Beth walked into work Beth was happy for the new work day.
"Hello Beth, how've you been?" Patricia asked as Beth looked over a few files for the day.
"I've been pretty good, thanks for asking." Beth smiled at her co-worker. "What about you?"
Before Patricia was able to answer, Michonne Thompson the head OB/GYN, rushed to the nurses' station. Usually the doctor was well put together and Beth felt that she was someone the young nurse looked up to but Michonne looked almost panicked.
"Beth, I need you to help me. Sharon Scotts is in labor, the baby's eleven weeks early." Michonne explained as she started walking towards the delivery room. "So far both baby and mama's blood pressure and heart rate are stable but things could go south quick. She hasn't had the easiest pregnancy."
The two scrubbed and put gowns on then entered the room. Beth worked together with Michonne to help deliver the baby, she kept encouraging the woman in labor while also keeping an eye on her vital signs. Everything seemed to be going fine, David Scotts was holding his wife's hand while she pushed out the baby. Soon cries filled the room and Beth was relieved that the baby seemed to be okay.
"Her blood pressure's dropping!" Michonne said just as Sharon started to seize. "Get the father out!"
Things started to get chaotic as Beth ushered David out of the room, it was difficult as he was protesting the whole time and clearly distressed but eventually Beth was able to get back to helping Michonne. Beth and Michonne as well as the rest of the team worked as hard as they could but things happened quickly. The blonde looked over at her boss and the older woman gave a nod, Michonne started to clean the body up then laid a white sheet over her. After checking on the baby Beth she went out to where David was pacing in the waiting room.
"Mr. Scotts, I need to talk to you. Can you come out to the hall with me?" Beth hated the idea of this, she had never had to tell someone such horrible news. David followed the young nurse away from the patients.
"What's wrong? Is my wife okay? What about the baby?" He asked, clearly stressed out. Beth sighed.
"Sir, your baby is fine, she's in the NICU at this moment but you're wife had what's called an amniotic fluid embolism." Beth began to explain. "The fluid that surrounds your baby somehow got into your wife's bloodstream during labor causing a sudden drop in her blood pressure followed by circulatory failure and multiple seizures."
"What does that mean?" David stepped closer to Beth.
"Your wife didn't make it. The embolism came on so suddenly and while we tried to do the best we could but there was a cardiovascular collapse." Beth was surprised when David reached out and grabbed her.
"Didn't make it? What do you mean by didn't make it?" David shouted as he shook Beth. She tried to remain calm as his grip tightened.
"Dr. Thompson will be out soon sir, she'll explain everything that happened and will answer any questions you have." Beth tried to get out of his grasp but the man was stronger than her. "Please Mr. Scotts, let me go."
It was clear that he had no intention of doing that any time soon and Beth was starting to panic, she tried to remember the defense moves she was taught when suddenly a hand she saw a hand reach out and grab David's arm. Looking at the person who just happened to be her personal hero Beth couldn't help but be shocked to see Merle glaring at David.
"I think the young woman said to let her go and I'd much appreciate it if you'd listen to her." Merle said, continuing to glare at David.
David immediately let go of Beth while Merle released his hold on David. Beth let out a sigh of relief, her pulse slowly returning to normal. It was awkward for a few seconds, she didn't know what to say to Merle. Beth hadn't seen him in a long time but remembered clearly that he could be rude, crude, and many other things.
"Thank you Merle." She decided it was good to start with that at least.
"You're welcome sweet cheeks." Merle nodded, smiling slightly at Beth. It was clear that something was bothering him but Beth wouldn't ask unless Merle wanted to talk about it.
"If it's okay with me asking, what are you doing here?" Beth couldn't help but be curious.
"A buddy of mine got alcohol poisoning and needed his stomach pumped so I was with him for a while. I hadn't had anything to eat so I stopped by the cafeteria to get something to eat, came back and my buddy was asleep so I just was walking around. Looks like I came by at the right time." Merle eyed Beth but not in his usual creepy way. "That usually happen with your job?"
"No, this is the first time. I've been working here for a while now but I've read about how to help cope with grieving patients." Beth let out another sigh. "Reading about it and experiencing it are two different things though."
Merle nodded and was quiet for a while, it didn't bother the young nurse though. It gave her time to collect her thoughts.
"Daryl and I talked last night." Merle mentioned. Beth was surprised but hoped that her face stayed opened and impassive. "I don't think we've ever talked as much as we did. He told me that he's been doing some thinking and feels that if I want to keep living as a drifter then that's okay but I can't keep coming back into his life and Harley's like everything's okay when it really isn't. That I need to stay away from them."
"I understand where he's coming from." Beth held her gaze as Merle looked at her with a questioning stare. "I haven't known Daryl for very long but I've known Harley for almost six years and I consider her a sister. She struggles a lot with many things and it sometimes can get worse when you suddenly show up. Daryl and she both go months sometimes without hearing from you then you show up out of the blue, not in the best condition. It hurts them, especially since Daryl goes out of his way to put up with you so that you're still in their lives. You're the only family they have besides the man who adopted them."
"That's a hell of a lot similar to what Daryl said." Merle looked down and sighed. "I always just thought that they were better off without me, especially once they got adopted. Figured it'd be nicer if I popped by every now and then to see how they were doing."
"You're their brother, that's the worst thing you could do no matter how bad things are between you guys. The three of you are family, family can be all you have sometimes." Beth didn't really know what to say but she did her best. "There are times when I don't know if I would have made it through some of the tough times in my life without my family. I can bet you that if you straighten things out Merle and plant some roots, things may just turn out better than you think."
"I think you might be right. Daryl said that I should plant my ass somewhere but I like how you said it better sweet cheeks." Merle chuckled. "Maybe it's time ole Merle checked himself into rehab and got himself set on the straight and narrow. Hell, things have been going for my baby siblings so maybe I need to give this a shot."
The two parted ways and Beth spent the rest of her shift thinking about the Dixon siblings. Not only was it the freshest thing on her mind and that she wanted to figure out how else she could help but Beth knew that if she stopped and let herself that the guilt and grief of losing Sharon Scotts would weigh on her. That was something Beth wasn't for just yet.
Merle made an appearance! I know he may seem OOC but this is from Beth's POV so we don't get to see what happened between the two. I'm thinking about writing this story from Harley's POV, so that you guys get a chance to see things from her side and maybe even events that happened with Harley but haven't seen. Let me know what you think! Reviews are appreciated as always!