Ok so here you go, thank you for the lovely reviews, new follows and favourites. I hope you like this one, it's a small bit longer than the last couple. Please review xxx

Weeks went by Daryl had to go through physio before they would allow him to leave the hospital but eventually the day of his release arrived, he had sat on his bed waiting for his brother to come and fetch him but nothing happened, he wasn't all together surprised, he flipped open his phone, scrolling through the numbers in there and spotted Beth's, she hadn't been to see him since that first day, but he took the chance and dialled her number.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Ummm Beth it's Daryl, Merle was supposed to come and get me from the hospital, but ..." he paused.

"Want me to come?" she asked.

"You don't mind, if your busy I can wait for him" he said.

"No it's fine was only doing some reading be there in a little while, glad your coming out." she hung up and Daryl settled in for the wait.

An hour later Beth was stood in his room waiting for the nurse to give him some pain medication

"Ready for going home?" she asked.

"I am ever this place is driving me insane" he said to her.

"Daryl I am sorry I haven't been to see you, but my dad well he said I couldn't" she looked down at the floor, Daryl shook his head.

"Don't matter" he said "You can take me to get a burger on the way home, make it up to me." he smiled.

"Ok" she smiled back "You going to be at school after the Christmas holidays?" he had forgotten it was coming up for the Christmas break.

"I don't know, they said it might happen but I got to keep practising walking." he shrugged.

"What you doing for Christmas?" she asked him.

"Same as usual I should imagine. Nothing" he looked down at his hands picking at his nails, they pulled up at the fast food window and Beth ordered two burger meals and two cokes, she passed them over to Daryl, then pulled away from the window, she parked near the exit and turned to look at Daryl.

"Ummm where exactly do you live?" she asked him, Daryl gave her instructions on how to get to his house, then started picking at his chips, Beth lent her chips between her legs and tucked into them too, she noticed he kept looking at her out of the corner of his eye.

"What?" she asked.

"Ya ashamed to be seen with me?" he asked her looking out the windscreen.

"No" she whispered.

"Then why didn't we go in?" he questioned.

"Coz I thought you would like to rest your leg, it's been a long day" she shrugged, she fidgeted a bit in her seat.

"Oh right" he acknowledged, she had known everyone would be in there, they always were on a Saturday night, if she was honest with herself, she liked Daryl cared for him, it had nearly killed her when she saw Daryl's bike on the road, his crumpled body on the floor, but she still had a reputation to keep up, a front that people saw everyday, if she faltered in any way her father would go spare. She pulled up out side of Daryl's house, noticing that Merle's truck was parked outside. Beth turned in her seat to face Daryl, then dug through the bag to find her burger, he matched her they both sat quietly eating, when they finished he pulled the handle on the door, opening it up as he went to step out his brother appeared beside the truck.

"Lil brother" he said as he helped him from Beth's truck, then threw his holdall over his shoulder before offering him his arm.

"Where the hell were you?" he asked Merle.

"Getting shit ready here for you" he stated "Thanks for bringing him home" he nodded to Beth, she nodded back then looked at Daryl.

"See ya at school if your there" she smiled at him, Daryl paused for a minute.

"Yeah, thanks for coming to get me" he smirked at her.

"No problem, if you need me then just send me a text and I will come." he pushed the door up and lent against Merle.

"Bye Daryl." she whispered then started to pull away, she looked up into the mirror at the end of the driveway and she saw him standing there watching her leave, her heart sank a little when she saw Merle start to pull him towards the house.

Daryl lent against Merle, his leg felt tired, his brain throwing thoughts around, he needed his pain medication, he needed to sleep, he needed her.

"Done your bedroom, should be easier for ya to get in and out of ya bed." Merle grumbled as they went through to his room, Daryl stood stock still in the doorway, his bedroom was spotless, a handle put up beside the bed for Daryl to be able to pull himself up out of his bed by himself, Merle was watching his eyes.

"Incase I ain' around, ya know, don't go all sissy on me" he sighed "got ya one of those little fridges and there's a tv too." he shrugged sitting Daryl on the bed, Daryl sighed with relief as he had the weight taken off of his leg, then pulled the holdall over shoving things around in it to find his medication, he swallowed two down, then lent back on his bed.

"I will leave ya to it" Merle mumbled leaving the room, Daryl let his eyes slip shut, thoughts about Beth running around his head, eventually sleep took him, the medication kicking in.

Awhile later he was woken by shouting, Merle and his father arguing, Daryl rolled his eyes and tried to close them again to drift back off.

"I told ya, your going to fucking well leave him alone" he shouted.

"Cost me money that did" his father shouted.

"Cost you nothing old man" Merle retorted "I have fixed the thing, you didn't even get your drunk arse into the hospital to see him, so don't stand here giving him fucking shit." he heard something hit the wall and explode. "Now that, that cost your dumb ass money" he heard Merle start to laugh "Well this is going to shock the shit outta of ya, when the boy is better, I am fucking out of here, I've signed the paperwork, I have joined up." Daryl's eyes flew open his brother was leaving him? Just fucking great, he pulled himself out of bed walking into the living room staring at them both.

"Ya going?" he asked Merle.

"Yeah, got to get me out of here" he explained, Daryl shook his head at the pair of them, then walked back out of the room.

"Don't be turning your back on me boy!" he heard his father start shouting.

"Why not" he mumbled "Ya turned ya back on me years ago" he limped to his bedroom and sat back down, he flipped open his phone and text Beth.

Hey, you got any decent DVD's coz this is going to drive me nuts. He pressed send, a few minutes later he got a reply.

Sort ya some out, bring ya some homework over too, so you don't get to far behind. He read the reply.

Thanks Beth. He text back, he knew she would be over shortly so he shouted Merle.

"What?" he growled.

"Beth's bringing me homework and Dvd's round don't be letting him anywhere near her" he said, Merle just nodded not committing to anything.

"Thanks Merle, so when do you start?" he asked him.

"Got to go in a month, they gave me a months grace so you could get better told em I couldn't leave ya on ya own." he shrugged.

"I...Thanks" he said to him.

"So you and the blondie?" Merle raised his eyebrows.

"What?" Daryl frowned.

"You two doing riding the hobby horse?" he asked him.

"What sort of question is that?" Daryl tried to look offended.

"Don't be all coy with me, little brother, it's ok, hell it's better than ok, coz I was beginning to think you were fucking gay" Merle was laughing.

"Just coz I don't fuck everything that crosses my path don't mean I am gay, I just well ya know" he shrugged.

"She looks like a cheer leader" Merle commented.

"She is" Daryl admitted. "Nice though"

"She'll shit on ya little brother" he crossed his arms over his expanse of chest.

"Just leave it Merle" he said.

"Alright, alright just trying to warn you there sort don't mess with our sort don't happen. When these Christmas holidays start then?"

"Thursday I think" he shrugged.

"Ok well got me another surprise for ya then" Daryl raised an eyebrow in suspicion, at him.

"Get some sleep, I will get ya when she gets here" he left Daryl alone, Daryl felt unnerved his brother wasn't nice to him, ever! He clicked the button on the remote turning the television on and laying back down, he prayed his father would be asleep.

"Yeah he's through here, will pull the door up, so that he don't know ya here, don't leave the room on your own." Merle warned Beth as she walked into Daryl's room, she just nodded and sat down on the end of the bed, Daryl was out cold, so she pulled the Dvd's out and placed them beside the television, next she pulled out the note books she had collected placing them on his bedside table, then she settled back clicking through the channels, waiting for him to wake up.

A little bit later she heard him stir "How long you been here" he growled in a sleepy voice.

"Not long really" she shrugged at him.

"Why didn't ya wake me?" he asked sitting up.

"You need your sleep, so you can get better" she stated.

"Thanks" she smiled at him briefly then shuffled off the bed picking her bag up "Your not going?" he asked her.

"No, just getting something" she pulled bits and pieces out of her bag chucking them onto the bed behind her.

"What ya doing woman?" he asked her, looking confused.

"Well if we are watching movies then we need snacks, but if we are doing homework, we need snacks, so I brought snacks" she grinned widely at him.

"Beth, that ain't snacks that's the entire seven-eleven." he chuckled.

"Girls got to have choice" she walked over to the Dvd stack and threw them to him, one by one, both of them laughing while he caught one then missed another.

"Slow down" he chuckled.

"Get better reflex's" she retorted, they picked a film and Beth went to put it into the player, she returned to the bed squishing next to Daryl they opened a big bag of chips and some popcorn, it was about halfway through the film he felt her head on his shoulder, he let her curl into him, not wanting to move the girl away, trying hard to ignore his own discomfort, it was only after a while he realised she was fast asleep, then Daryl took a chance he ran his hand lightly down the side of her face, snatching it away quickly when his brother barged into the room.

"Got ya both some grub" he grumbled then stopped raised an eyebrow at his brother he dumped the plates down on his lap, shaking his head he left the room, Daryl woke Beth up carefully and handed her the plate, they both tucked into the food in silent companionship, then she looked at her watch.

"I gotta go Daryl" she explained, he didn't let the disappointment show on his face just nodded at her and shouted for his brother. Merle came in taking the plates and Beth followed him out of the room, he walked her to her truck dumping the plates on the old tattered coffee table.

"Thanks for taking him to the hospital" he said she just smiled getting in her old truck and starting the engine, she pulled off for the second time that day leaving the Dixon's house, if her father found out she had been here even once he would go mad at her.