Chapter 5: First Night

It was night time the same day that Daryl had fought with Merle. People that were going planned their route in the city and everyone else just sat around the fire.

"Thanks for hunting for us Daryl." Carl yawned. When Carl was born Rick immediately made Shane and Brooke the aunt and uncle. Brooke would usually watch Carl when she had a day off. Carl would always want to meet up with Daryl with her so that maybe he could play with Daryl's black lab, Babe. He never really liked kids all too much but Carl was an okay kid.

"No problem kid." He grumbled. Those were the first words anyone had spoken to him besides Merle. Daryl simply stood up and retired to his tent. He never thought that one person gone from his life would ever cause him this much loneliness. Whenever Daryl and Brooke were teenagers, at least once a week she could expect him to sneak into her house so he could run away from home for a night.

It was in the middle of July and it was pouring down rain. It was eleven o'clock at night and Daryl walked to the Walsh household. It wasn't unusual to get beat of course but this time was different. Somehow his father had managed to beat him to the point that he was holding his side and limping. He desperately needed some patching up and he only knew one person who would keep quiet. He jumped the fence and snuck past the dog but the mutt was no problem since he was almost completely deaf. He saw the little white vine gate against the house and used it as a ladder to her room.

Brooke was the only one still awake in the house and was, to her better judgment, was watching Dawn of the Dead. She clutched her sheets to her chest and tried not to get too scared. A loud thunder boom shook the whole house and she jumped. She heard a knock on her window and pulled open her pink curtains. A flash of lightening went off and all she saw was the silhouette of a man's head. She screamed bloody murder and fell back on her bed. The person knocked on the window again and she quickly opened it and pulled Daryl inside.

"Daryl what the hell were you doing?" She asked as he winced in pain and grabbed on to his side as she pulled him out of the window. "What did he do this time?" she asked sadly.

"A couple of beer bottles found their way on my body." He said. "What are you watchin'?"

"Dawn of the Dead." She answered but quickly covered his mouth.

"Hey Brooke, you okay?" Shane asked knocking on the door. Good thing she locked it before she started to watch the movie. She needed her alone time with her scary movie. She paused it with her hand still on his mouth.

"Yeah I'm fine! Just the storm and a scary movie that's all!" she replied. "Nothing to worry about!"

"Alright kiddo I'm goin' back to bed! Night, Love you!" he said.

"Love you too!" she said and as soon as she heard his door shut she removed her hand. "He hit your head too?" she asked Daryl and he nodded. "Okay I'm going to go downstairs to get an ice pack and a pair of PJ's for you really quick. Do not leave this room!" she snuck out into the hallway and tiptoes her way to the kitchen. She was wearing a simple hot pink cami with a pair of leopard print shorts. She walked into the laundry room, got him a white t-shirt, a pair of dry boxers, and a pair of blue flannel PJ pants. She walked back upstairs to her room and tossed him the clothes. Hand me your wet ones when you're done and I'll leave them to dry." She went into her bathroom; got her bandages, Neosporin, pain killers, a wet wash cloth, and a pair of tweezers. "You presentable yet?"

"Think so." He said and she walked out with all her materials. He sat down on the bed and he started to pick shards of glass out of his hair. "Thanks for the clothes and the surgery." He said.

"Don't worry about it. Where did he hit you?" he lifted his shirt and she saw glass sticking out of his left side. She grabbed her tweezers and began to pull them out.

"How deep are they? Do I need stitches?" he asked worriedly.

"Thankfully no I just need to put some bandages over them." She sighed. "Daryl, have you ever thought about running away?"

"Yeah I've thought about it many times. I just don't have anywhere to go." He said grimacing from the removal of the glass.

"You could stay here." She said. He chuckled a little bit.

"Darlin' I don't think your folks would like that very much." He said. She shrugged and smiled.

"It could work you know. You could stay in my old tree house and I could sneak food to you. For when it's raining you could hide under my bed or in my closet." She joked.

"I'm not doin' the closet thing because you'll make the comment of me coming out." He smirked. She laughed back but got serious very quickly.

"Daryl, I'm really worried about you." She said. "I just can't stand the fact that you can't run away or just be free."

"I'll be free when I'm dead."

"But you should be free now." She said and thought for a minute or two. "I want you to come here whenever you feel like you need to be free okay?"

"Are you sure?" he asked. "Hearing about your father's reputation I don't think he would like a boy in your bed." She gave him a sly smile.

"He doesn't have to know. It'll be our secret." She said.

"Alright, it's our secret." He said. She wiped his face clean of dirt, mud, and blood. He sat back against the pillows and she did the same. She handed him her water and gave him a pain killer. "Let's watch the movie!" he said excitedly. She smiled and resumed the movie. She sat back next to him and pulled herself under the sheets. The scene continued and of course the storm acted up again. Another crack of thunder roared and she jumped violently. "You afraid of a little thunder, Walsh?" he asked teasingly.

"Shut-up Dixon!" she smiled. "It just kinda sneaks up on you, you know?" he laughed.

"Whatever Brooke. Can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

"Your mom hasn't been at the café a lot lately. Is everything okay?" he asked.

"Oh yeah, she's fine." He knew she was lying and gave her a look. She sighed. "No. She's been worse than she's usually been. She's feeling better though."

"Wait, Brooke what's wrong with Mrs. Gina?" he asked. She bit her lip and ran her hands through her hair, a habit she had picked up form Shane.

"Mom was diagnosed with leukemia a year ago." She said. "She's been a fighter through it this entire time and it's just now hitting her hard. She's going through treatments but they're taking a toll on her. She's promising me that she will make it to see me graduate." She smiled and fought back her tears.

"Wow..." Daryl said amazed. "I can't believe it."

"So are you spending the night?" she asked sniffing a little bit.

"If it's alright with you." He said warily. She nodded and set the alarm for five so that he would be gone before her parents woke up. She led them in a quick prayer before going to bed and they fell asleep. A couple of hours later Daryl woke up and found himself holding Brooke while she rested her head and hand on his chest. "Just to let you know I don't usually cuddle." He said.

"Tryin' to sleep here Dixon." She said grumpily.

"You awake?" he asked.

"I may fall asleep fast but I'm a very light sleeper unlike Shane who snores like a banshee." She smirked obviously half asleep.

"Sorry." He said, held her a little tighter, and drifted back off to sleep. The alarm clock started to ring and Brooke removed her head, which had moved up in the middle of the night to nuzzle his neck, to face it. She groaned and hit it off. She looked over at Daryl who was still sound asleep.

"Daryl?" she whispered. He didn't respond so she took his shoulders and shook him lightly. "Daryl wake up!" he grabbed her waist and pulled her to the other side of him.

"It's too early." He whined rubbing his cheek against her head. "We have another hour." Before she could blink Daryl had drifted to sleep. She sighed in frustration and ran her hand through her hair.

"Eh, what's one more hour?" she fell back asleep in his arms. One more hour was critical though. Brooke popped up from her bed after hearing her dad trumping around the house. "Shit!" she exclaimed. "Daryl! You need to go!" he groggily opened his eyes and rubbed them.

"What the hell's goin' on?" he asked.

"They're awake!" she hushly exclaimed. Daryl got his boots and put them on and hopped out of the window.

"Remember, it's goin' to be our secret." He smirked before heading out.

"Our secret." She repeated. She decided to stay up and get ready early. After taking a shower and finishing her hair she realized that Daryl had left his clothes. She snuck them down into the laundry room and put them in the washing machine. She sat on the empty dryer and read To Kill a Mocking Bird. She switched places once she moved the clothes to the dryer.

"Hey baby girl!" Shane greeted. "Did you get some sleep last night?"

"Yes I finally got some sleep thank you very much." She said closing her book.

"I thought we just did laundry?" he asked.

"Yeah I forgot some clothes from last time." She shrugged and walked out of the room to use the bathroom. Shane had a look on his face.

"She never forgets any of her clothes on laundry day." He said. He looked behind him to make sure no one was watching and opened the dryer. He pulled out a pair of ripped jeans, a flannel shirt, a pair of socks, and a pair of boxers. His eyes widened and he heard the toilet flush. He slammed the clothes back in and started the dryer. His face got red with anger and confusion. "How did he get in the house?" he thought. "What did he do to my little sister?" he thought. Brooke squeezed past him and resumed her book.

"You okay Shane?" she asked. "You look like you're burning up?"

"Oh I'm fine." He said trying not to convey his anger. "So what did you do last night?"

"I just watched a movie and went to bed." She said. It was the truth other than the fact that Daryl was spending the night so technically she wasn't lying to him.

"Okay." He said and walked away running his hand through his hair like he always did when he was frustrated.

Later that day, the café had opened and only the girls were working. Mrs. Gina stayed at home again while Dr. Walsh looked after her. Shane and Rick were chatting with the girls and the bell rung that someone had came in.

"Hey Daryl!" Becky greeted. "What can we get you?"

"The usual." He said. Amber went over to Shane's table to refill his coffee and flirt while Becky and Brooke got the order ready. Once it was done Daryl came to the counter and got his peppermint tea and chocolate chip cookie.

"Wait just one second!" Brooke whispered to him. She made sure no one was looking and pulled out his clothes from under the counter. Shane looked over at the right time and saw her handing him his clothes. He clenched his fists under the table.

"Did you wash my clothes?" he asked.

"They were dirty!" She defended. "Now you have a pair of clean clothes and a new pair of PJ's." He rolled his eyes.

"Alright then. Bye girls!" he said.

"Bye Daryl!" Rick saw a look in Shane's eyes, a look of pure fury.

"Shane?" he asked. Shane stood up and walked out of the café. "What the hell just happened?"

Daryl was walking out side and he had just finished eating his cookie and had his clean clothes under is left arm. He was walking to his truck and he heard something in the background.

"Dixon!" Shane roared. Daryl stopped and looked at a very angry Shane.

"Uh, Walsh!" he sarcastically yelled back.

"Would you mind telling me what the hell you were doing in my little sister's bedroom last night?" he asked almost too close for comfort.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Daryl said. Shane face had the look of "I'm gonna kick your ass!" so Daryl decided to drop the act. "Nothing happened okay!"

"The hell nothing happened? Why were your clothes in her room last night? More importantly why was she washing the clothes you wore after you left? What did you do to Brooke?" he asked.

"She gave me a dry set of clothes! She never saw any part of me naked! I just needed a place to go and Brooke was the first thing that came to my mind. NOTHING happened! If you were in my situation you would understand. He hopped into his truck and drove away. Shane stood there in the middle of the road not knowing what to believe. He turned to go on the sidewalk and saw Brooke with her arms crossed.

"Nothing happened." She simply said. "We're just friends Shane."

"What does he mean by situation?" he asked calming down knowing that she was telling the truth.

"It's nothing Shane. Just come back to the café." She said and Shane followed.

"Brooke, I won't tell anyone else. I promise." He said. Brooke ran into his arms and hugged him. He had a pretty good idea what kind of situation Daryl was in. He saw some dried blood stains on the shirt earlier. That night was only the beginning. Brooke's bedroom had quickly become his sanctuary, as weird as it sounded. It was the one place he knew barely no one would look for him.

Merle threw himself onto his cot on the opposite side of the tent.

"Alright baby brother, we're leavin' early in the mornin' so make sure you wake up to say goodbye!" he slurred. "Maybe sugar-tits and me will hit it off?"

"Whatever Merle." Daryl said and went to sleep.