'Cause I'm on top of the world, 'ey
I'm on top of the world, 'ey
Waiting on this for a while now
Paying my dues to the dirt
I've been waiting to smile, 'ey
Been holding it in for a while, 'ey
Take it with me if I can
Been dreaming of this since a child
I'm on top of the world.
I'm On Top of the World by Imagine Dragons
It was the last day of his treatment, and Daryl felt on top of the world, he almost ditched Merle and drove himself, but Andrea talked him out of that. It was a good thing too, he'd been anxious to get on with things, but rushing was not a good idea.
He was in a hurry to get there and looked forward to seeing Allie since he hadn't seen her the week before, but they were in contact with each other often.
She insisted she was better, and he wanted to believe her, but he suspected she was minimizing it for his sake.
Allie hooked the PICC and last IV up, and he noticed right away she looked pale. He had been telling her to go to the doctors for the last week, but she kept saying she didn't have the time or felt better.
"I feel fine, stop," Allie said starting the infusion, the last one and giving him a sweet smile, but it didn't convince him.
Clearly, she was not better; he'd have to be an idiot not to notice. "No you ain't, I can tell."
"I'll be back in a minute with some juice for you," She said, and he nodded that he would drop it, for now. But just one more comment first.
"Why don't you get some for yourself too, looks like you need it," Daryl replied as she grinned and waved him away.
All week Daryl had felt edgy about her health, she wouldn't let him come over, and he just knew there was something wrong with her. Allie insisted it was the flu, and she would know he supposed, but he worried still.
He loved her so much; it was all he could do not to take her in his arms right there.
She had been afraid to get him sick, and he understood that, but it was a chance he would have taken, except she wouldn't let him.
"You look a little pale Al," Merle said walking up to Allie as she leaned against the nurse's station later that morning, "Ya want me to go get you a coffee?"
"I'm feeling ok Merle," She replied.
"How about some food, you losing weight?" Merle asked because he noticed it too, it wasn't just Daryl being over protective, she was sick.
"I'm all right," She mumbled, "It's just…"
She never finished her sentence; Merle acted fast when he saw her eyes roll back and that she was about to pass out and he caught her. Maggie practically leaped over the desk, and that's when Daryl turned his head and saw what was happening.
"Oh my god she's bleeding," Merle said as he looked down at her scrubs and the droplets of blood on her white shoes. Merle picked her up in his arms, and she was limp, and Maggie's face said it all. Daryl was trying to get up on the other side of the room, and Maggie shot him a look.
"Don't you move," Maggie cried and pointed her finger at him for emphasis.
Daryl knew he couldn't get up because of the running IV; the PICC wasn't just an IV; it went straight into the main vein of his body. If it got disconnected or pulled out, the consequences could be deadly for him.
He was helpless to do a thing for her.
"I got her Daryl, taking her over to the ER," Merle yelled, "You stay the hell put."
!33333333333333333333333333333
Hey girl, I'm just a small town run around
I get my kicks out on the outskirts of town
I could never do it like a pretty city boy
I'm more a fishin' in the dark nitty gritty boy
So lay back and let me paint you a picture
The way I wanna kiss you is
Slow as the Mississippi
Strong as a fifth of whiskey
Steady as a Tom Petty track
I wanna love, wanna love you like that
Deeper than a sunset sky
Sweeter than muscadine wine
All night 'til the sun comes back
I wanna love, wanna love, wanna love you like that
When I'm with you I can see down the road girl
Not just the gravel one we're travelin' on girl
And I'm bettin' that it's gonna be a wild ride
But I promise that I'm gonna be there by your side
I think we got another memory in the makin'
So baby let's take it, take it.
Love You Like That- by Canaan Smith
"Your baby is just fine," The tech said as he ran the transducer over Allie's belly. The doctor, Denise beside her nodded her head.
"Baby?" Allison replied and unable to hide her shock, "But." She had been about to explain how irregular her periods always were and how hard she and Zack had tried to get pregnant that last year before he died. She'd started to think she was infertile, but she knew, it was possible, more than possible.
"Next week we'll be able to hear the heartbeat, it's just a little too early yet," Denise said, "You're just about five weeks."
"Baby?" Allie repeated in shock staring at the wall and just at that second Merle and Daryl appeared in the doorway of her hospital room.
"You'll need to be off your feet for a few days, the bleeding sometimes happens early on, you know, but everything is fine," Denise said with a smile, "Congratulations Allie."
From the doorway, Merle cleared his throat, and she just looked over at them with a funny expression on her face. She gave them a wry smile and called them in as Denise, and the tech exited the room.
"Did she say, baby?" Merle asked because he would always ask the questions no one wanted too. He was not the type to ignore the elephant in the room even if it got him stomped on.
Allie nodded her head, Daryl tried to read her expression, it was one of utter shock, much like his own.
"You're pregnant?" Daryl said, "I thought that wasn't supposed to happen with the chemo?"
"Surprise," Was all she could say.
"Shit brother, you knocked her up the first time," Merle expressed in a tone that showed his pride in Daryl that was always there, with everything he did. As always he put his own spin on it.
Daryl pulled a chair up and sat next to her, taking her hand, "You ok?"
She nodded.
"You sure?" He said, his voice full of concern.
"I'm alright," She said holding his hand tight.
"Alright, "Merle said, "I'll be in the cafeteria so you two can talk, but, you gonna make an honest man outta my brother there, Sis." He said with a wink, "Plenty of room for you and that cat of yours with us," and then he was gone.
Daryl looked back at Allie and then at her stomach and then back at her. He just couldn't believe it. They had never discussed children, birth control, STD's and in hindsight, it was a little reckless he supposed. Briefly, the weekend he spent with her they had talked about sexual history after they had already slept together.
Allie just didn't think she could get pregnant and they had trusted each other's word on their pasts.
"I thought the chemo killed all that, the brochures said temporary sterility," He said, "I never even thought about it."
"Me either, I didn't even think I could…" She said with a shrug, and then they were quiet for a few minutes lost in their individual thoughts.
"Listen, I just wanna say that this is your choice, whatever you feel is best for you. I ain't gonna fight with you or try and make you do anything you don't want to do," Daryl ran his fingers over her hand, "I'm behind you, I got you no matter what. I know this is horrible timing and if you don't wanna I understand…"
"Daryl," She murmured, "I want this baby."
Then he laid his head down on her stomach and kissed it.
When Merle came back an hour later, that was how he found them, and Allison's hand was in Daryl's hair now. The way she stroked his head so lovingly almost brought Merle to his knees; this was all he'd ever wanted for his brother.
"Hey," Merle said, and they both turned, and Daryl sat up, "Doc says you can go home if you promise to stay off your feet, you come home with us."
Allie was about to object, but she knew it would be useless, Daryl wanted to take care of her, and this time she would let him.