A/N Thank you for your continuing support of this story, I appreciate you all so much. We pick up right where we left off. xo

She nodded to Merle, she would be tough, and she would be strong. Not just for Daryl but for herself. He had to get through this and she had to too.

Merle had his hand around her waist, holding her steady. But the truth was, she was holding him up too. He knew he and this young woman had something very important in common. They both loved Daryl Dixon.

They each had a hand on Daryl's hand when the doctor came in the room. He explained what was known about Daryl's injuries. "We have a lot to be grateful for starting with the fact that your brother was wearing a helmet. That undoubtedly saved his life, at the very least I'm certain it saved him from traumatic brain injury. He does have a lot injuries, all of which are common in motorcycle accidents.

The first is his right arm. It's natural instinct to draw one's arms around or in front of oneself to lessen impact, and that's just what it appears he did. The right arm is the one that bore his weight as he slid across the highway and down the embankment. Although he protected his head and neck, that impact means there's damage to the nerves of his arm. Sometimes the nerve damage is permanent, and he may not regain use of the arm, or may only regain partial use. But for now, let's hold a good thought that physical therapy can help.

The lower body typically takes the brunt of the punishment in this particular crash scenario, and your brother is no exception. Even though he was wearing heavy jeans and boots, his lower body took a beating, and he's broken some bones in his right foot. He was probably trying to stabilize the bike when he was first struck, and landed hard on that foot. We've got it iced now, we wanted to let him rest a while before doing surgery. We'll be taking him to the O.R. soon now.

There are not only the lacerations, abrasions and contusions you can see, there are abrasions to the bone as well. These skin lacerations and bone abrasions can be extremely painful.

When the motorcycle hit the ground there was the force of both speed and friction, and his level of road rash is significant, especially when combined with all the other injuries. It's not just a collection of simple scrapes and bruises. These injuries can lead to more permanent damage such as skin irritations, infections, and even surface nerve damage. We've cleaned away all debris, applied topical antibiotics, and we're also giving him antibiotics in his IV to reduce the chance of infection.

There's bound to be quite a bit of scarring, and I did notice the significant amount of scar tissue your brother already has. Again, the helmet and the leather jacket did protect him from even more severe damage. I know it's frightening to look at now, but I'm not expecting any permanent disfigurement to the face.

As bad as all of this may sound to you I have to say, he survived. That's the best news. He doesn't appear to have any brain injury or internal damage. We really lucked out there.

Do either of you have questions for me?"

Merle's face was stone, "Thanks Doc and yeah, I do. My brother, he's just now been gettin' right, ya know, in his own head. He was captured over in Iraq, saw some real bad shit and come home to us with a bad case a PTSD. He just come home to us again after eight weeks in treatment for that. That's on top a the year he spent at the VA hospital in Atlanta. So now all this, is he gonna get setback?"

The Doctor didn't hold back on the truth. "It very well could be a setback. This accident could cause PTSD on it's own, and with his past trauma, well it's hard to say. I'd appreciate you giving me his Doctor's name. We'll see if we can't work together to make certain your brother is okay physically and mentally, as best we can."

Merle reached in his wallet, pulled out the VA Doctor's business card, and handed it to this doctor.

Beth finally spoke, "Is there anything we can do to help? I feel like I should be doing something to help him get well."

Merle put a hand on her shoulder and the Doctor spoke, "Just being here, encouraging him. You're obviously a very close family. That will give him more help than you know. If there's nothing further right now, I'm going to prep for the surgery."

"Well Sis it ain't good, but it ain't near as bad as I's scared it was gonna be. As the physical part goes, I'm most worried 'bout the nerve damage. I seen it a lot in my business, and I've seen guys that didn't recover from that. But Daryl he's tough, he's a fighter, I think he'll get through all the physical stuff, it's the mental stuff I worry about more. I don't want him back where he was."

She nodded and asked to see Daryl's phone, she found Tom's number and Rob's number, and sent both numbers to her own phone. They'd be hearing from her as soon as it was a fairly decent hour to call. He was going to need a strong support system.

At 7:00 am an orderly took him to surgery where they'd try to repair the damage to his foot.

She and Merle went downstairs and outside. Merle called Carol, told her everything they knew and told her he'd be home as soon as Daryl woke up and he could talk to him, hear his voice himself. And he talked to Sophia and James. They were used to seeing their Daddy every morning at breakfast and they'd been worried when he wasn't there.

Then he called his office manager and told her he wouldn't be in today and why. He told her to text if they needed him for anything.

She called Tom first, although they'd never met, in a strange way they knew each other. He told her to text him as soon as Daryl woke and he'd be there in 10 minutes. "And Beth, I'm not going to betray Daryl's trust telling you what we talked about, but we did talk yesterday. I can tell you he wasn't mad at you. He was confused, not mad. I'll see you soon." And that lifted a weight from her.

Then she called Rob. He said he had appointments all day, but text him when Daryl woke up and he'd be there as soon as he could.

It was when she called Maggie that she got a little emotional. Maggie comforted her as best she could, "Do you want me to come? You know I will, just say the word."

"No Maggie, wait and let's see what happens today when he wakes up. I don't want to overwhelm him."

When they were done with their calls they went to the cafeteria for coffee and breakfast. She didn't want to eat but Merle insisted, "Ya gotta take care a yourself Sis. Don't make me have ta get after ya ta eat, like I do with Sophia." He smiled but there was a seriousness to him and she knew he was right, she had to take care of herself, and she ate the eggs and toast.

"What I can't figure out is why Daryl was on that highway, what he was doing out there. That's the way back from the lake y'all were at, did ya leave sumthin' there?" He gave her a puzzled look.

And her face turned bright pink, she was embarrassed but she told him what had happened at Maggie and Glenn's.

He nodded, was quiet for a few minutes. "That's Daryl, even before all this PTSD shit happened. When he gets confused or upset, it's like he's gotta make a break for it, get by hisself. Mull things over in his mind, then decide how he's gonna deal with it." And he smiled, "Seems strange ya gotta apologize cuz ya come into some money, don't it? And I know Sis, I know you'd rather have yer people back than have the money. That's the shits a the whole deal right there, ain't it?"

They were sitting in those hard chairs next to his bed, both exhausted, just watching him and wishing he'd wake up so they could hear his voice, hear from him that he was okay.

She felt her heart rate increase the second he started to stir, and his nightmare was her nightmare. He was yelling and cussing and he managed to pull out his IVs, he pulled the small sensors from his chest, pillows were flying and alarms on machines were going off. Merle had protectively stepped in front of her as hospital staff came rushing in. Then just as quickly as it started, it stopped.

He was trying to adjust his sight through black swollen eyes, his left hand went to his hair, and he started to glance around.

"What the fuck happened?"

Merle put a hand to his Brother's head, "You tell us Little Brother."

"Damn, everything hurts. Last I remember I was goin' home, there was a little car come outta nowhere and I could hear a semi horn blastin', then I was slidin' across asphalt." He looked to her then, like he saw her for the first time, it seemed that his eyes were just focusing in, "Beth. I remember I was on my way home."

Nurses were trying to reconnect everything when the doctor came quickly through the door. "What happened here?" And the nurses explained.

Daryl looked at him and said, "Sorry man, I just ain't got any control of that."

The Doctor reassured him, "It happens." And then he checked the foot and the other injuries. "Well it looks like a no further harm was done, and we're all wide awake now. So tell me, what hurts the most?"

"My legs, hips, foot, shit there ain't no part of me that doesn't hurt. I feel like I's run through a crusher."

"I'd like to tell you I'd take care of that for you right away, but I'm afraid it's mostly going to take time and physical therapy. It's obvious you do some working out so physical therapy, and lots of it, is just going to be another aspect of your workout routine.

She hated to think of him in pain, and she felt those tears in her eyes, but she was so happy to hear him, to know he'd been coming home to her. She took his hand and he gave hers a little squeeze. That was when she felt it, they'd beat this, all of it.

Merle said he needed to get himself a cup of coffee, but what he really wanted was to give them some time alone.

He was looking at her through those eyes that were nearly swollen shut, "I remember that I bolted on ya Beth. I shouldn't a done that, I should a asked you about it, we should a talked about it. But my head gets swimmin' and it's like I feel a pressure, I just gotta go off alone and think. I'm workin' on fixin' that about myself, but shit, it ain't happenin' fast, is it? Anyway, I'm sorry."

"But damn Baby, that ain't the only thing ya held back on. You made me feel guilty up there by that lake, when I found out you, well you know, you were inexperienced. Shit like that, it ain't fair to me. Please don't be just thinkin' you know how I'm gonna feel about stuff, tell me the stuff, then we can talk about it. Shit we can fight about it, or cry about it, I just don't like feelin' like you don't trust me enough to tell me them things. I ain't mad, wasn't mad before. I went for so long not tellin' anybody anythin', you're the one made me change that, told me I needed to. Now I'm tellin' you the same thing. You gotta trust me Beth. Still, I shouldn't a run off and I'm real sorry. I caused this myself."

She was looking at this man that had such a rough exterior, and the most tender center, "No I'm sorry Daryl, you're right. I should have just told you everything about me, and about the money, a long time ago. You've been so honest with me and I've held back. I don't know why. That's my problem and I'm working on it. It's not because I don't trust you, because I trust you completely. I think it's my avoidance technique. If I never mention it, we don't have to talk about it, and I don't have to deal with it. So again, I'm the one who's sorry. I promise Daryl I've learned my lesson. I'm not going to make the same mistake again."

He tried to smile but his bruised face wouldn't quite get there. "All along I thought my rent money was helpin' to support you. I thought you needed it to get by. What the hell do ya do with it, throw it away?"

"Don't be a goof of course I don't throw it away, I give it to the Wounded Warrior Project, along with a little extra." And he squeezed her hand a little harder.

She gently kissed him, afraid she'd hurt him, and he put that one good hand up to her face, told her he loved her and then a little laugh managed to come, "Pretty damn romantic, ain't it?"

When Merle came back she excused herself and went to the hall. She knew how those nightmares, the loss of control, affected him. She sent Tom a brief text about what had happened. Seconds later her phone beeped, "Be there in 10."

Tom and Merle shook hands, chatted for a minute and Merle said, "Thanks Tom, you been a real good friend to Daryl, to our family. "He nodded and looked to Daryl, "Okay Little Brother I'ma get home ta my family, the Chaos are thinkin' their Daddy's run off. I'll be back first thing in the mornin', unless you or Beth need sumthin', if that's the case y'all just call me."

Beth visited with Tom and Daryl for just a minute, and then she told him, "I'm going to go grab a nap and a shower, I'll be back in a couple of hours. You stay out of trouble." She smiled, but she kind of meant it.

Tom sat down in one of those hard chairs, "So my friend things went south in a hurry, didn't they? Let's talk about that nightmare that woke you up today. What was all that about?"

"The best news I can tell you about that was, it wasn't about the Sandbox, this one was all about me slidin' across the highway, half a me pinned under that bike, white car speeding in front of me, big rig behind me, and Beth on the side a the road yellin' at me to hurry and come to her. I's tryin' my damnedest to get to her but I couldn't get out from under the bike, couldn't get to her. That's what I know."

"That sounds pretty straightforward, shit I think even I can figure that one out." Tom patted him gently on the shoulder.

They talked for quite a while, until Tom saw how tired he was getting. "You know this is just another hiccup, you're going to get through this because you want to, because you're so ready to have that life you never thought you could have. I'll be here everyday Ranger, doing everything I can to help you see that. If you need me and I'm not here, you call me, I'll be on my way. We came way too fuckin' far to go backwards now, agreed?" Tom was all steel-eyed support system.

Merle

I got home and all I could think about was hangin' onto my family. Huggin' my wife an my children. I was tired, shit I'd been runnin' on adrenaline after the hospital called, and I was so relieved when the Doc told Sis and me Little Brother was gonna live. The rest of the stuff, oh it's bad, no doubt about it, but he's alive, we can get through whatever we gotta get through. Daryl will get through, he's tough as fuckin' nails, I got nuthin' but faith in him.

The nightmare freaked me out some, but I seen him have much worse and it was like once he'd seen Beth he was okay. I gotta think the dream had sumthin' ta do with her.

I was real sorry ta hear they'd had a little problem between 'em, but that seems ta be over now. They're good together, they belong together.

I was real proud of her, she held up real good today. She was smart ta call Tom and Rob.

Damn, all this just wore me out. I laid down with James for his nap, we was both tuckered. I just held my boy close to me and we had us a nice long rest.

I gotta stay strong for all of 'em, it's my responsibility, I'm head a the family and I gotta care for my family, that includes Sis.

xxxx

Five days later he was released. They'd had a little disagreement about where he'd go. "It's best I just go to Merle's, I ain't gonna be able to take care of all these cuts and road rash that need cleanin' and stuff every day, and I don't want you havin' to do that for me. Merle won't mind a bit. And I can't risk you Beth, if I start havin' nightmares again. I can't put you in danger."

"Don't even start that with me Daryl Dixon. First of all, Merle works full time running a business, he's got a wife, two kids, and a house. Sheesh, and excuse me, but I thought we were in some kind of relationship and doesn't that kind of imply that we're there for each other, that we take care of each other? What? You think I'm some kind of fair weather girlfriend? If it was me would you just send me to Maggie's house because I was too big a burden?!" Her hand was on her hip and he was trying not to smile, he didn't want to piss her off any more than she was. But shit, he liked it when she got all fired up and sassy.

And Tom had walked in on that, arriving for his daily visit. "I don't like to give relationship advice Ranger, but I'd be inclined to do what she says, I think she can kick your ass."

Daryl nodded to Tom, a little grin on his face, "No shit, she's been kickin' my ass as long as I've known her."

Beth was red faced when she said, "You both better just knock it off."

xxxx

He had a big "boot" on his broken foot and lower leg, crutches, and his arm wasn't working, but the worst was the pain. He wasn't going to take drugs. For as long as he could stand it, he was going to white knuckle the pain. So far the worst times were in Physical Therapy and when he tried to sleep at night.

Daryl

I'm so happy to be goin' home from that hospital. They took good care a me an all, but damn, it seems like I've spent a lotta my damn life in hospitals. I never wanna have to go again.

I'ma do everythin' the doc told me, and I'm gonna bust my ass with the PT. Shit, that stuff is brutal. It sounds kinda nice, Physical Therapy, but damn, ain't nuthin' nice about that. But it'll all be worth it if I can get everythin' workin' right again. I appreciate the fact I survived, and if I could never use my right arm again it still wouldn't be right for me to complain, I've seen too many guys at the VA that have lost so much more. But I do hope I can make it work. I wanna ride my bike again, shoot my crossbow, work on motorcycles. Wrap both my arms around Beth.

And shit, I know how fuckin' lucky I am. I got a brother that would do anythin' for me, who also happens to be my boss. I know they're shorthanded at the shop an I feel bad I can't get there and get my work done. I appreciate Merle waitin' on me, livin' on the hope I'll be back. It's a burden on all of 'em covering my ass like they are. Yeah I'm lucky.

And Beth, how the fuck did I ever get that lucky? She's the best and the sweetest. As soon as I told Tom about the dream I realized what I was doin' in it, tryin' to get home to Beth, tryin' to just get to her, make up, hold her in my arms. I thank God I got the chance to see her again, that I didn't die out on that asphalt.

And I ain't had another nightmare since. I'm hopin' that holds.

I'm nervous about her takin' care a me, I hate to be a worry and a burden. But she's right, we're supposed to be there for each other, and I damn sure wouldn't send her to Maggie's just cuz she needed care.

Maybe it'll be good for us to kinda be livin' together, learn how we get on 24/7. See if she can still stand to be around my ass a month from now.

Beth

I'd be lying if I didn't say I'm a little nervous about taking care of Daryl. I've never had to take care of another person, and there are going to be tough issues. For now, and I hope it's just for now, he only has use of one arm, and his foot is going to take a while to heel, so he's on crutches and all. I hope I'm enough help for him in getting around. And I worry I won't properly care for his wounds. But the doctor and the nurse both showed me what I need to do, and they assured me I had it covered.

And I'm also looking forward to caring for him, showing him not just with words, but with actions how much I love him, care about him.

We're so fortunate, if anything comes up he and I can't handle we have Merle, and a lot of other people who will be there for us.

I'm also pretty excited Daryl and I will be living together. It's going to be very interesting to see how we get along when we're with each other 24 hours a day, every day.

I just know I love Daryl and I would do anything for him. I'll never keep anything important from him again.

xxxx

He couldn't believe it when she and Merle helped him get up the stairs and into his place. An arched doorway was there between the two small houses, opening them up to one another. He smiled, "Who took care a that."

Merle deadpanned, "James." After they'd all had a good laugh, he smiled, "Nah, Tom done it, turns out he used to be in construction."

Merle stayed for a while, helped get him settled in. He'd bought him a recliner thinking he'd be more comfortable in that that on the couch. Daryl was a little overcome with all the kindnesses everyone had shown him. He was determined not to let them down.

It had been a long day, another day of making big adjustments and they were exhausted. "Maybe I should sleep in the other bedroom, I don't want to be hurting you."

"You ain't gonna hurt me and I want you to sleep with me. I never wanna lay my head down at night that your head ain't laying there next to me."

She helped him in the bed, and she crawled in next to him. He was so hurt, so bruised up, scraped up, cut up, she was afraid to do anything but take his hand and hold it tight. And they slept.

A/N Thank you so much for reading, I'd appreciate you leaving comments/reviews xo