I want to say thank you to everyone who has read my story and enjoyed it. I have not abandoned it but I needed time away from writing in order to focus more on my personal life and I also lost the drive I had when it came to writing. I'm slowly finding myself as a writer once more so I thank you for your patience. Writing means a lot to me and I want to be able to continue this story. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
I do not own TWD.
Daryl watched Beth walk out the door at the end of her lunch break, he tried to move so he could be more comfortable and felt a searing jolt go through his body. He groaned at the thought of not being able to move without hurting. Harley watched her brother while slowly her eyebrows scrunched together, her shoulders hunched over, and a frown grew on her face. She was hesitant to reach out and hold his hand for support, more for him or her she wasn't sure. It was clear to her that he was in pain, but Harley was uncertain if even that would even be helpful.
"I feel like I haven't had the best attitude these past few weeks." Harley spoke up, she wasn't sure why she blurted this out. She wanted to keep him from thinking of being in pain but Harley hadn't realized this had been weighing on her until now.
Daryl looked at Harley, wondering if at some point, she had hit her head and he hadn't been told. "Would you care to explain?"
"I reacted horribly to the fact that Dale gave the shop away, I yelled at everyone and acted like a damn teenager. I didn't stop to think about who he could've given it to, hell I never let you talk to me about it. I was immature and should've done things differently. Instead I should have waited and let you have your moment, I've seen what you've been doing with the shop and it's been amazing." Harley sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Then you and Chase managed to scare the shit out of me today and I thought I was going to lose you. God, Daryl I felt like I was a kid again. My chest felt so constricted, I felt sick to my stomach, and I never panicked so much in my life, but it just took me back to when we ran away, that feeling of not knowing what would happen. I didn't know what I would do if I lost my big brother."
Daryl reached out to Harley, ignoring the burning in his arms and the bulky weight of the cast, and put his hand on her arm. He remembered as a child before Donna and Charles found them how difficult it was surviving on their own. Somehow, he had managed to care for his little sister a full year without being found. It wasn't until he got sick and kept getting worse that he sent Harley to find help. Harley told him how she wandered into Charles's tattoo parlor crying and scared. Daryl was sure luck was on their side that day when Charles noticed the clearly distressed and malnourished little girl in the middle of his business.
"I understand, I appreciate you owning up for your behavior." Daryl tried to smile as he was pulled out of his memories though it was more of a painful grimace. "I'm grateful that you talked to me, though it could've been a little sooner. I know change can scare you but hell, change can scare everyone."
"Even Meryl? Harley joked, Daryl nodded and squeezed his sister's hand the best he could.
Things were quiet as their conversation came to an end, Harley eventually pulled out a marker and started drawing on one of Daryl's cast. It wasn't long until the two heard voices coming towards their room. Another bed was wheeled in and Harley gasped as she recognized Chase. The right side of his face was swollen from all the bruising as well as the cut which had been bandaged. Tears welled up, making it blurry for her to see as she examined the metal rods and cage around his torso. Seeing all the tubes connected to him and how he was still unconscious caused a pain in her chest.
"Miss. Dixon?" The doctor from earlier, Dr. Davis stood next to her. "The surgery went well; the anesthetic should wear off and once it does he'll be awake. Once discharged I'll give you more detailed instructions but what Mr. Englewood needs right now is a lot of rest, he should try not to rely too much on the prescription we'll be giving him, and physical therapy is going to be important for his injuries."
"Okay, do you think you could show me where the ward Beth works is?" Harley felt the walls closing in on her, she wanted to get out to catch her breath but instead she abandoned the drawing on Daryl's cast to go sit next to Chase.
"Of course, will you be okay Mr. Dixon?" Dr. Davis asked as the nurse checked on Daryl.
"Yeah, I'll be fine." Daryl could feel his eyes start to close.
He didn't know how long he'd been asleep but the next time he opened his eyes Beth was next to him in a new pair of scrubs. He looked over to see Harley sitting next to Chase, who was now awake and talking quietly. Daryl hoped he'd be able to at least move around soon but the pain he felt dashed any chance of those thoughts.
"It's good to see you awake." Beth smiled brightly at him, she placed her hand on his arm and he wanted nothing more than to take her hand in his. Damn cast. "I see Harley's already been to work making your cast look like a masterpiece."
Daryl looked down at his cast to see the beginnings of a wolf mid howl, even on the uneven surface of the cast material he could tell the detail his sister had already put into it was great. Harley had always been a gifted artist and Daryl was forever encouraging her in any way he could, even if it was as small as keeping all the drawings she ever gave him. He had never wanted to discourage Harley after the shit they had been through and seeing the joy peek out through the walls she built up whenever Daryl accepted or praised her art was worth the world to him.
"I just hope she leaves room for you to sign it at least." Daryl smirked as he brought himself out of his musings. "If I don't give her at least some limitation she'll have my whole cast covered."
Beth let out a laugh before glancing over at Harley, she was carefully weaving her hand through Chase's hair as they talked softly. "I'd love to sign your cast and I'm sure Harley won't mind leaving some room."
After a moment of contended silence between the two, Beth spoke up once again. "What are you going to do about the shop? Are you planning on staying by yourself while you heal?"
"We don't open the shop for a couple weeks, which will give my ribs time to heal plus I didn't break the hand I use for tattooing though I doubt I could do a decent job with just one hand. So, I'll just let Harley take over my appointments or reschedule them." Daryl thought about the other question Beth had brought up. "I don't want to burden anyone, I'll be fine on my own."
Beth rolled her eyes at the man she had found herself caring for so deeply. "Nonsense, I know that Harley will want to help out Chase since he's in worse shape than you and I'm more than willing to help you in anyway needed. I doubt that Harley will want to leave either of you for very long. I wouldn't be surprised if she suggested the both of you move in temporarily or something of that nature."
Daryl had to agree with Beth, she had made a valid point but he still felt like he would just be added stress. He even tried to bring that up once more but Beth silenced him with a look that he was beginning to recognize as her having made up her mind and there would be no changing it. He swore that Beth was even more stubborn than Harley and he never thought it was possible. Sighing, Daryl rested his head against the pillow and instantly wishing he was in his own bed that felt more comfortable and wasn't surrounded with the distinct smell of hospital.
"I'll talk with the doctor to see how long you're going to be in here for." Beth spoke up, she knew he was probably uncomfortable and being in a place his body wasn't familiar with was likely not helping. "In fact, I'll go find him before taking off. Visiting hours will probably be over soon and I have to figure out how to drag Harley away from your room so you both can get some sleep."
Daryl chuckled, he knew if Harley had it her way, she'd set up camp right in between the two men. Beth leaned over and gave Daryl a hesitant peck on the lips, as if afraid she'd hurt him then turned to Harley who was still playing with Chase's hair. After a quiet conversation and much reluctance on Harley's part, the two girls left. Daryl wasn't sure if Chase was up to talking so for a little while it was silent except for the sounds of machines working.
"Hey Daryl, I know things turned out a bit crappy but I'm glad we had a chance to hang out." Chase spoke up. Daryl smiled a bit, Chase had wanted to spend some time with him so that they could get to know each other. He also figured the young man wanted to be able to prove how serious he was when it came to the relationship he was developing with Harley. Chase and him had hit it off well during lunch, the two having things in common that helped conversation flow easily.
"I'm just sorry I didn't see that car in time." Daryl cursed his luck thinking back on the hazy memories from earlier. He wished he had seen the car in time to prevent Chase from getting hurt as bad as he did but was grateful the kid had managed to make it out alive. Daryl half figured if he didn't Harley would resurrect him only to kill him then proceed to end Daryl as well.
"Not your fault. From what I heard while in and out of it, the driver that caused the crash was drunk. His car was totaled but he made it out with only a few scrapes." Chase sighed then groaned at the pain he could feel blooming in his chest.
"Figures the bastard wouldn't be injured like the rest of us." Daryl knew that's how unfortunately things went when it came to these events. "Hope they nail his ass and he gets what he deserves."
"I do too." Chase was quiet for a moment, Daryl looked over to see that the young man had drifted off to sleep. He was glad Chase was able to get some rest, to him that meant his body was doing what it needed in order to recover. Deciding it was best to follow Chase's example, Daryl closed his eyes and instantly felt exhaustion take over his body. Soon he drifted off into sleep, dreams thankfully filled with his sunshine girl instead of the nightmares he had been worried about.
So here we are. I admit I'm a little stuck as to where to go next with this story. Any ideas would be appreciated as I love hearing from you and can always use the advice on how to better as well as further this story. I once again thank you for your patience and do hope you enjoyed this chapter. Until next time lovelies.