Hey guys, I'm so sorry that I've been away. I honestly have been having the worst time with my computer. It had been acting up but I got it fixed so I'm back now and that's all that matters, so now on with the chapter!
Beth walked into the hospital the day after her date with Daryl happier than she'd ever been. Patricia commented that she had a spring in her step which made the young blonde blush. Looking at what she had on her schedule, it was nice to see she wouldn't be having such a heavy load of work so that she could enjoy the day. Grabbing the files, she needed Beth set out to start the day. Her first couple of patients went smoothly, Beth only had two walk-ins before lunch. It was twenty minutes before her lunch break that she spotted Harley in the waiting room.
"Hey, I wasn't expecting to see you." Beth smiled brightly, Harley returned the smile but the hers was more of a smirk.
"Oh I know; you didn't tell me anything about your date with my brother." Harley pulled a face. "It's still weird to think about my hermit of a brother actually going out with you."
"He's not that bad." Beth rolled her eyes.
"Well blondie, to us Dixon's we just like making fun of each other." The voice behind her said. She turned around just as Harley bolted towards Merle, jumping into his waiting arms.
"Merle, I thought you wouldn't be out for another week!" Harley exclaimed. Merle chuckled and hugged his sister tightly.
"I got out on good behavior. The counselors were impressed with how well I was doing." Merle beamed.
Before anyone could say another word Michonne rushed over to Beth, it was clear that something was wrong as the usually calm and collected woman looked panicked.
"Beth we're about to get three women who were just in a major car crash, they're all pregnant and had been heading back from a la mas class." Michonne started pulling the blonde towards the exit. "I know you don't handle emergencies too often but most nurses are going to be helping with the others who have been injured. I was told there were at least three cars involved."
Immediately Beth went into nurse mode, ready to assist any injuries and help out where needed. Soon people started arriving, Michonne and the head of the emergency room were barking orders telling people where to go. Beth was so distracted that she almost didn't notice a familiar face. Chase lay on a gurney, almost unrecognizable, it seemed that he was in the accident as well. Not even two seconds after Chase was brought in so was Daryl, though not in as bad shape as Chase. Beth looked up at Merle and Harley, the elder Dixon had already noticed and started leading Harley towards the opposite way of the entrance but it was too late. Harley turned and looked down at the gurneys, her eyes went wide. Tears filled her eyes and she screamed, Merle grabbed his sister by the waist to keep from collapsing.
"No, no, please!" Harley screamed out. "Merle let me go! Daryl! Chase! Answer me please!"
"Merle get her out of here!" Beth snapped. She understood how Harley felt, if it hadn't been for Michonne needing her then Beth would be in the same state as her best friend. Thankfully Merle understood and picked his sister up, she seemed defeated and curled into her older brother.
Beth quickly got to work, doing whatever she was told. Her mind was running in many different ways but she was fortunate that someone always needed help. One woman was in worse condition than the others so Beth was on hand trying her best to save the woman and baby. After what seemed like forever, Beth was able to step away though most of her uniform was covered in blood and her hair was a mess. Finding Harley and Merle was easy since Merle took Harley to the cafeteria. Both were out of their seats as soon as they saw the young blonde.
"Beth! Have you heard anything!?" Harley ran up to Beth.
"I'm sorry, I haven't." Beth sighed. "I just got finished in the emergency room but we can go find them."
The three walked out of the cafeteria and Beth led the way to the front desk, Patricia was there minding things. Beth sent her a small smile, adrenaline was wearing down on the blonde and she was starting to feel worn down.
"Hey Patricia, can you tell me what room Daryl Dixon is in?" Beth asked. Patricia was glad to help and gave the tired young woman the room number.
Merle had to place a hand on Harley's shoulder to keep her from dashing up to Daryl's room. Beth was right behind them as they made their way. She had only gotten enough of a glimpse to recognize that it was her boyfriend but hadn't seen his condition. It was only until she wasn't needed had she allowed herself to even think about what might have happened. When they entered Daryl's room Harley and Beth both gasped at how banged up he was. Daryl's head was wrapped in bandages and he had cuts on his face, his left arm was in a cast which Beth knew would annoy him, and he lay there grimaced in pain. She wondered if there were any internal injuries as well. Harley cautiously made her way over to her brother, Merle and Beth followed a few steps behind.
"Daryl, can you hear me?" Harley whispered, it broke Beth's heart to hear how scared her best friend sounded. Daryl's eyes fluttered open and he looked over at his sister, Harley couldn't help but let out a sob of relief.
"Hey sis, you look like hell." Daryl muttered. He was sore all over and it hurt to breathe, he couldn't remember much about why he was in the hospital.
Beth went out to the hall and found one of the nurses to let them know Daryl was awake. She wanted to go up to Daryl but thought it best to let his siblings have time with him. It wasn't long before the doctor came into the room. Beth recognized him as Patrick Davis, while he was a good doctor she had to admit he could be an ass.
"Hello, I'm Dr. Patrick Davis. Are you the family?" Patrick asked. Harley and Merle nodded, they shook hands and introduced themselves while Beth let him know she was staying as his girlfriend. "Won't Michonne miss her best nurse?"
"She has things under control." Beth leveled her gaze at the man.
"Good to know." Patrick looked at Daryl's chart. "Besides the broken arm, you've got a mild concussion as well as a skull fracture, bruised ribs on your left side, and some lacerations. Honestly you came out a lot luckier than your friend."
Harley turned sharply towards Patrick, knowing he meant Chase. "What do you mean a lot luckier?"
"You're Harley Dixon?" Patrick switched to another chart. "Chase Englewood named you next of kin."
Harley wasn't surprised by that; he had confided in her that his family disowned him when he turned eighteen.
"Just fucking tell me if he's okay." Harley screamed. Beth walked over and placed an arm around her shoulders.
"He's in surgery right now, he has a collapsed lung which required our attention. He has bruising on his face and a laceration under his right eye." Patrick paused, this was the hard part. "He also has a spinal injury that we need to watch. He may be partially paralyzed in his right leg and will require physical therapy. Honestly when he was first brought in we weren't sure he'd make it."
Harley was glad Beth had a grasp on her as she felt her knees gave out. Beth led her to the chair closest to them, the blonde started to check on her. Thankfully Harley seemed to be fine, just lost her color from almost passing out.
"Mr. Englewood should be out of surgery soon and will be moved into here, we'll also be keeping Mr. Dixon overnight for observation." Patrick explained. "If you need anything just let one of the nurses know."
Harley nodded, she stared at her brother just to make sure he was really awake. Daryl squirmed under his sister's long and unblinking gaze. Beth went over to his other side and grasped his hand, turning his attention away from Harley.
"I was worried about you." Beth said, her voice quiet as she tried to keep herself from crying. "When I noticed you were hurt in the crash but I couldn't do anything because I had to help Michonne with the women that were brought in. In the back of my mind I was so scared."
Daryl tugged at her hand before Beth could say anything else. "Hey, nothing can kill a Dixon except for maybe a Dixon. I'm fine sunshine, except everything hurts like hell. You ain't getting rid of me that easily."
"That's for sure brother." Merle spoke up, he had stayed quiet as he was unsure of how to deal with the fact that he could've lost his younger brother but seeing him made the feelings a lot easier to deal with. "I'm glad you're alright."
"Thanks brother." Daryl sighed, wincing at the slight pain it caused him.
Merle decided that it was time to head out since he knew that Daryl was in good hands and Harley had calmed down. He wanted to find a place to stay as well as a job so that he could keep his word about getting better. Merle knew that Daryl would let him stay at his place but with the shape his little bro was in he had a feeling that blondie would be taking care of him and didn't want to feel like he was intruding. Just as he was leaving a few nurses wheeled a bed into his baby brother's room, he had a feeling that was Chase and looked up at the sky asking the big man upstairs to make sure the guy would be okay. Merle knew that both his siblings were in love and for this to happen just wasn't right. It was causing them both pain, in a physical and emotional sense. Merle sighed and put his hands in his pockets. He decided that he may as well get something to eat before searching and Daryl had told him about a decent place to eat. With a destination in mind, Merle started walking.
*Hides behind Daryl* Okay so at least I didn't kill anyone! I wanted to move the plot along and figured something like this would strengthen all of their relationships. I hope you all like it and I can't wait to hear from all of you lovelies about what you think of the chapter!