Hey guys! So I'm sick today so I decided to just dedicate this day to writing! So here you go, another chapter! Thanks for all the views, reviews, favorites, and follows. Please leave a review, pretty please? Thanks and as always, happy reading!

Chapter 23: Meteor Shower

Brooke had been in what seemed like a coma for two days. Daryl wouldn't leave her side and would take care of Dean when he could. Rick and Carol looked after Dean while Daryl waited with Brooke. Her arm looked like shit but it would heal up. That is, if she woke up.

Daryl watched her breathing slowly as he held her good hand. She looked peaceful but he wanted her to be here with him. He wanted her to be there to love him, to help raise Dean, maybe have another kid, he just wanted to go through life together with her. Was that too much to ask. He kissed her hand as he talked softly to her. He heard a knock and he told them to walk in. Becky walked in and sat down across from him.

"Any difference?" she asked.

"She's still sleepin'." Daryl grunted. Becky looked at him. He hadn't gotten any sleep, he hadn't shaved, his eyes were almost bloodshot.

"This isn't your fault Daryl." Becky said.

"I've always been able to save her." Daryl replied and Becky smiled.

"I remember very clearly." She quipped and Daryl smirked sadly.

Brooke had just turned sixteen and Daryl was still eighteen. Daryl made his way to her house even though he knew that she had been arguing with her parents about what college to pick. He hopped the fence and threw a small pebble at her window. It didn't take long for her to open her window but he frowned when Becky and Amber popped up behind her and started giggling.

"What?" Amber asked in a hush tone, surprised that Daryl Dixon was at Brooke's window. Brooke had yet to tell them that he would sleep over from time to time. Brooke Walsh wasn't the kind of girl to have a boy in her bed and if people found out the entire thing would blow out of proportion and people would come to the wrong conclusion.

"Sh!" Becky told her friend.

"Daryl, what're you doing here? Are you okay?" Brooke asked.

"I'm fine but I know you're stressed." He said. "My fair princess, wilst thou please accompany me on a secret mission?" he asked and bowed. Brooke looked to her two best friends who gave her sly smiles.

"We'll cover for you." Amber said. Brooke flashed them an excited smile and decided to go out even though she wasn't allowed to be out that late.

"I'll be down in a minute." Brooke told him and popped back into her room as she closed the window. Daryl had parked his truck not too far away from the house but just enough so her parents and Shane wouldn't hear him.

In Brooke's room:

"What should she wear?" Becky asked.

"Not a dress if she's climbing down her house that's for sure." Amber said. As they dug through her closet. Becky pulled out some jeans quickly and threw them at Brooke.

"Guys! Listen I'm just going to zip on a hoodie!" Brooke giggled.

"You need to wear something nice!" Becky reasoned.

"Daryl doesn't care and frankly neither do I." Brooke replied as she pulled on a blue tank top. She loved the fact that Daryl didn't care what she looked like. Granted, she still made sure she looked decent but Daryl had told her she didn't even have to try to look pretty which made her blush wildly and uncontrollably.

"You're so lucky he's not that judgmental." Amber sighed. "Why aren't all guys like that?"

"Brooke's just lucky I guess." Becky shrugged as Brook smacked her shoulder.

"I'm not lucky because he just happens to be my best friend." She said and the girls gave her an angry look. "Best guy friend." The girls nodded as she laughed. She zipped up a hoodie that was red on the outside and blue on the inside and tied on her converse.

"Go on, go to your prince charming." Amber smiled and Brooke hugged them.

"Thank y'all so much!" Brooke said as she climbed out the window. Daryl was biting on his thumb when she was climbing down the vine grate. She didn't want to make a lot of noise so she hesitated when she reached the end of the grate.

"Jump, I'll catch you." Daryl said and she pursed her lips. She jumped away from the grate and fell into Daryl's arms. Daryl slipped out his hand from underneath her legs as she stood upright, with her arms still around his neck. "You ready?" he asked. He loved it when she didn't put on too much make up or dress up too much. He loved it when she looked casual and comfortable. It made her look like a real girl and not look like a fake, plastic, Barbie doll. He did like it when she dressed up and did her hair but he loved her natural look.

"Yeah, let's go." Brooke said and he led her to his truck. She had her cell phone in her back pocket just in case something went wrong with Amber and Becky. "Where are we going anyways?"

"You'll see." Daryl told her and she gave him an eerie look.

"I'm watching you." She joked and he chuckled. They jumped into the truck and he started the car. It was actually pretty cold outside so she was shivering a little.

"Come here." He told her and lifted his arm up. She slid over and nestled herself into him with her teeth chattering. "I thought you said you loved the cold?"

"I do, this is just a consequence." She replied and he sniffed in laughter. "I've never snuck out of my house before."

"Never?" he asked.

"Never." She repeated and looked up at him. "You are a bad influence!" she said and he laughed.

"I'm corrupting you." He replied and she laughed. She leaned over and turned on the radio. She changed it so that her favorite station was on.

"Oops I did it again! I played with your heart! Got lost in the games, ooo baby baby!" she belted and he quickly turned the radio station.

"Turn that shit off!" he yelled and she laughed. Daryl had discovered within the first few months of them knowing each other that she was pretty silly. Of course she was serious when she needed to be but she always found a way to make him laugh. She may have been a little bit crazy but he needed a good kind of crazy.

"It's not shit! Britney Spears is amazing!" Brooke defended.

"You've gotta be kiddin' me Brooke! I've known you for a while now, I thought I fixed your taste in music!" he replied as he smiled and she giggled.

"My taste in music is amazing for your information!" she defended. "I'm sorry that I'm not into all that hillbilly crap!"

"Johnny Cash is not crap!" Daryl replied. "You know what, go back over there!"

"Don't be like that!" Brooke gave him puppy dog eyes and he looked over at her when they stopped at a stop sign. Daryl rolled his eyes and turned the station back to hers. "Ah-ha!" she cheered in victory. (As long as you love me by the backstreet boys)

"Although loneliness has always been a friend of mine I'm leavin' my life in your hands, People say I'm crazy and that I am blind, Risking it all in a glance And how you got me blind is still a mystery I can't get you out of my head, Don't care what is written in your history, As long as you're here with me, I don't care who you are, Where you're from, What you did, As long as you love me, Who you are Where you're from, Don't care what you did As long as you love me." She sang in a mocking way to Daryl, dramatically reaching her hands towards him when she pulled away from him but would quickly go back to holding him. They finally arrived at their destination, she was confused. "What are we doing?"

"Come on, I promise you'll like it." He said and she nodded. They got out of the truck and he grabbed a couple of blankets and pillows. They walked along the trail until they came to a huge willow tree. There was a clear spot that looked to be part of another tree but it was flat and stable. He laid down the blankets and pillows and laid down so that he could see the sky. "Come on, I wanna show you somethin'." She laid down next to him as he rested his hands behind his head. She looked up in the sky.

"Nothing's happening." She told him.

"Jus' watch, it'll come in a second." He said and they waited. She saw a beam of light flash through the sky quickly and sat up. There were more streaks of light and she smiled.

"I forgot about the meteor shower." She breathed. She laid back down and Daryl put an arm around her shoulders. She rested her head on his chest as they both watched the meteors. "It's gorgeous."

"I told you would like it." He replied. He could feel her shivering and pulled the quilt over them as she snuggled more into him. He never let anyone else be that close to him other than Brooke. He only put his arm around her and only held her. She hadn't had a boyfriend since the end of junior year and that was a pretty messy break up. Daryl may or may not have kicked his ass for cheating on Brooke. It bewildered him that someone would cheat on Brooke in the first place. Brooke knew that it took Daryl a long time for him to fully trust someone. It had taken him a full year for him to be able to trust Brooke whole-heartedly. She figured that was the reason he never had girlfriends in high school. Of course both of them would go on to have boyfriends and girlfriends as young adults. Daryl could hear her tapping the buttons on her cellphone, texting Becky and Amber.

"Sorry, they're just trying to make sure that I'll be home before anyone notices." She said and he grunted in response. Her phone kept buzzing and it drove him crazy. She hadn't replied to the texts in a while, figuring they would call her if something went wrong. He threw another arm around her and pick pocketed her. "Daryl!" she gasped as he took her phone. He held it above her so she couldn't reach it. "Give it back!"
"No!" He chuckled as she struggled. He pretended to text the girls but she didn't know she was just pretending. He saw a previous text asking what they were doing and started to "Reply". "Just hangin' out with this sexy beast. Starin' at his huge-JESUS!" Brooke launched herself on top of him to grab her cell phone. They both fought to keep their ground and she giggled even though she was trying to stay mad at him.

"Got it!" she yelled as she pried the phone from his hand. She stared down at him as her hair fell down near his face. He was holding her by her ribcage and she was sitting on top of him. They both just stared at each other for a minute until Daryl pinched her sides and she squeaked. He knew she was ticklish so he kept on digging around her torso. She laughed into his neck but they got deadly quiet when they heard leaves and twigs snapping.

"Brooke!" She heard Shane call angrily. He hadn't seen them yet but they had to book it since he most likely heard he loud laughter.

"Shit!" Brooke whispered and they grabbed their things. Daryl led her though the woods and back to the truck. They threw the things in the bed and climbed into the truck. Daryl started it and sped away. They both started laughing when they were far enough away. "Oh my God I'm in so much trouble." She groaned with a smile.

"I'm sorry." He told her as the smile died away from his face. She leaned in and kissed his cheek.

"It was worth it." She told him and rested her head on his shoulder. He smirked and continued to drive to her house. She pulled out her phone and called the girls.

"Did you not get our texts?" Amber asked over the phone.

"I didn't check them every five seconds." Brooke replied. "Do my parents know?"

"No, Shane walked in and saw that you weren't there." Becky replied.

"Why did you let him in?" Brooke asked angrily.

"He used a key!" Amber defended.

"Shit!" Brooke sighed. "That nosy ass-hole." Brooke loved Shane for all it was worth but sometimes he just needed to be punched. She knew he was just trying to protect her but he just needed to let her be sometimes. This was her first form of rebellion ever and he knew he did so much worse when he was her age.

"Anyways, he wanted to catch you two before he told Mrs. Gina and Dr. Walsh." Amber continued.

"Did he catch y'all?" Becky asked.

"No." Brooke replied.

"We ran like chickens with their heads cut off." Daryl quipped and the girls laughed over speaker phone.

"I have an idea." Brooke told them. They stopped a little from her house. "Thanks Daryl. I needed to get out of the house."

"Anytime." He told her and she kissed his cheek again before she left the car. She climbed the vine grate and into her bedroom. He saw her zip off her jacket and run to the other side of her room. He shook his head and chuckled at her before he drove away.

Brooke:

"Hurry!" Amber told her as they got her PJ's again. She stripped quickly threw on her PJ's. She heard Shane park his car and they all looked at each other. They heard Shane telling their parents he heard Brooke laughing in the woods and heard them start to walk up the stairs. They all jumped onto Brooke's bed and Brooke got out the MASH game they were playing before Daryl came. Brooke and Amber pretended to come up with choices for Becky's husband when Shane busted through the door. His eyes went wide as he saw Brooke in her PJ's.

"Ooo, how about Merle?" Amber asked and Brooke congratulated her on her idea.

"Ew you guys! No way!" Becky grimaced.

"Oh, hey guys!" Brooke greeted and bit the inside of her cheek when she saw Shane's shocked face.

"Shane, she's right here!" Dr. Walsh told his son.

"Besides there's only two way's out of this house and that's the front door and the garage door. Both of which we can see." Mrs. Gina added but Shane was still staring at Brooke.

"What's going on?" Brooke asked innocently and Shane glared at her in annoyance.

"Nothing sweetie." Dr. Walsh said. "Shane just needs some sleep. Sorry to interrupt your night girls."

"That's okay Dr. Walsh." The other two replied.

"Night Dad." Brooke said and kissed her father's cheek. "Night Mom." She kissed her mother's cheek. "Goodnight Shane." She kissed her brothers cheek and all three left. The girls burst out laughing and started crying.

"Did you see his face?" Becky howled.

Daryl smiled at the story and stroked Brooke's hand. He needed her to be there with him. She needed him too. They needed each other for always. But always may not be possible anymore.