Hey y'all! I have been SO SO busy today and to top it off I'm tired as dirt! I really did not want to post this being that I'm tired, but I wanted to get something out for y'all so I'm posting it anyway. I may not get to my other fic today and I'm sorry to those of you who read that one as well. I already had this one started, so this is the one that got updated. If for some reason I get a little perkier and less busy, then I'll try to update the other, but no promises there. Please forgive me any errors here and if this one is not up to par. I gave it my best effort! :)
Beth felt groggy and uncomfortable as she blinked her eyes open to the darkness of the cell. She remembered Merle carrying her in here and then her daddy cleaning her wound. She reached under the covers and felt the now familiar bandage that was there. She wrapped the blankets tighter around her and shivered a little in the darkness. The nights were starting to get a little cooler and the concrete walls did little to ward off the chill.
She was feeling much better than she had earlier in the day, but she didn't know if that was because of the medicine her daddy had given her was masking the pain, or if she was actually improving. Either way she didn't feel too bad. She struggled for a moment and pulled herself into a sitting position.
"Jus' where do ya think yer goin'?" Merle's thick voice spoke from the darkness.
She jumped slightly. She hadn't known anyone was in there with her, "I have to go to the bathroom," She replied.
She heard him moving around and then he switched on her small lantern allowing her to see him standing by the wall, "Let's go," He said.
"I think I can manage just fine on my own," She snapped. She was going to get whiplash from his moods. She didn't want his pity or his guilt.
He shrugged, "Suit yaself."
In two steps he was beside her and he scooped her up with surprising speed. She noticed he wasn't wearing his prosthetic and she could feel his bare arm against her skin instead of the usual plastic and metal. She glared at him in the dimly lit room, but he only ignored her and carried her out of the cell to the hallway that led to the bathrooms.
"I can walk you know. I do still have my legs," She said.
Just as soon as the words left her mouth though, she cringed. She hadn't meant to say something like that to imply that he couldn't do certain things without his hand. His eyes glittered in the moonlight that filtered through the high windows of the prison, but he remained silent. She kept her mouth shut until he set her down outside of the bathrooms.
"Ain't got all night," He said gruffly.
It didn't take her long once inside the bathroom. She hadn't realized how badly she had needed to pee and it was such a relief to her bladder. She exited the bathroom minutes later and sidestepped him as he made a move to pick her up again. He growled and this time instead of carrying her in front of him, he just slung her over his shoulder.
"Merle!" She beat her hands into his back, but he ignored her once again.
"Quit yer yappin'. Ain't gonna do ya no good no way," He muttered.
She hit him once more for good measure but he didn't even flinch. It was like hitting a solid brick wall and it hurt her hand so she stopped. She was so mad at him and her emotions were all over the place. She wanted to be so angry with him, but at the same time her body was betraying her by wanting him. That fact only made her even angrier and by the time he set her back on her feet she was a mess.
"Get yer ass in tha bed," He ordered.
"No." She crossed her arms and fumed.
He narrowed his eyes and scooped her up and into the bed. Except she landed on her burn and she whimpered as the sharp pain cut through her. She couldn't stop the tears that began pouring down her cheeks even if she had wanted to. They stared at each other for several moments and then they heard Carol's voice just outside the cell.
"Beth? I heard noises...Are you okay?" Carol asked softly.
"She's fine," Merle replied tersely before Beth could speak.
Carol hesitated, "Are you sure?"
Merle sighed, "I'll take care of it. Fuck!"
Carol paused and then they finally heard her footsteps as she walked away. Merle sat down next to her on the bed and began taking off his boots. She stared at him through teary eyes as he set them to the side and stood up. He removed his belt and then he reached over to switch off the lantern. She heard him remove his shirt and then he was sliding into her bed beside of her. She scooted over in the bed a little so that they were barely touching but it was impossible to not touch him at all because the bed was so tiny.
"Runnin' away from me now sugah?" His voice teased in the darkness.
She sniffed, "Go away Merle," She stated. She hoped that her voice had sounded more confident than she felt at that moment. She didn't really want him to go away, but her pride wouldn't ask him to stay.
He reached over and pulled her closer, being careful not to touch her bandage. She braced her hands against his chest in an attempt to stop him, but she was distracted by the feel of his warm bare chest. He was quiet as she curled her fingers into the sprinkling of hair that covered his chest. She forgot all about her pain as she lay there in such close proximity to him.
"Yer playin' with fire there girl," His voice was rough when he spoke.
"Why are you here?" She whispered.
She felt the muscles in his chest tense at her question, "Quit yappin' an' get some sleep. Keepin' my eye on ya," He responded.
She sighed. She didn't know why she had expected him to answer her. He wouldn't ever tell her his real feelings. They were destined to continue this back and forth, but she still wanted more. She just wished he would give it to her.
Merle realized two things when he woke up. The first was that his arm was asleep and the second was that there was blonde hair splayed across his chest. Beth was curled into him, breathing softly as she slept. Her fingers were curled into his chest hair again and every time she shifted, he shifted.
He didn't know why he had climbed into bed with her. Seeing the tears slide down her cheeks had affected him a lot more than he had anticipated. He had felt like an ass for hurting her when he had laid her down on the bed. He supposed that sleeping with her was his way of apologizing. He didn't want to admit to himself that he might be doing it for his own selfish reasons as well.
He didn't do relationships. He had never spent more than one night with any woman ever. It had never bothered him either. He hadn't ever given more than two fucks about any of them. Half the time he had been so out of it that he couldn't even remember what had happened afterwards. He stared down at the golden locks of hair that tickled his chest and sighed. He was out of his element with this one and she was quickly working her way under his skin. He had to play his cards carefully here. He knew that he couldn't keep doing this back and forth with her. She wasn't built for that kind of thing.
"Merle!" Daryl's voice hissed from outside of Beth's cell. His brother must have already looked for him and he knew he had been found out. Surprisingly, he didn't give a shit.
Merle raised his head slightly, "What tha fuck ya want?" He called out softly.
"We need ta talk. Now," Daryl said.
"For cryin' out loud! Give me a fuckin' minute," He grumbled.
"Meet me outside in ten," Daryl responded.
"Fine," Merle said back.
He felt Beth stir next to him and she lifted her head to stare up at him sleepily. Her hand inadvertently drifted lower on his stomach as she stretched slightly and he wanted to groan. She stiffened as her cheeks flushed with color and she removed her hand from his chest and tried to scoot away from him. He tightened his arm around her, effectively pinning her in place.
"You stayed," She said. It wasn't a question, but more of a statement and he shrugged in response.
"Need ta change yer bandage," He said.
"I'll get daddy to do it," She said quickly.
He frowned. He suspected that she didn't want him to see it for some reason, "No. We ain't playin' that game no more. Tha shit gets changed now," He said.
She shook her head, "No. I promise I'll get daddy to change it."
He stared into her wide eyes and sucked his teeth, "Wanna explain ta me why I ain't allowed ta see it?" He asked. He sighed as he saw those damn tears flood her eyes again. Crying women were not his specialty.
"I just...," She sighed. "It's ugly."
"It's a burn. Ain't s'posed ta be pretty," He said. The tears began to flow a little more freely down her cheeks now and he shifted uncomfortably. "Hell I got plenty o' scars."
She wiped her eyes and looked at him, "I don't remember seeing any scars," She told him.
He shifted in the bed and turned so that his back was to her. He heard her sharp intake of breath seconds before he felt her fingers on his skin tracing his scars. He remembered the shock of finding out that his brother had similar scars except that Daryl's had been much worse. All those years Daryl had kept his scars hidden from Merle and it gutted him to know that his brother had suffered under the hands of their father. He hissed as she pressed her lips to his back gently. He rolled over and faced her again.
Her expression was full of sympathy, "I'm so sorry," She whispered.
"Don't be. They ain't who I am. They part o' my story jus' like this here is part o' yers now," He trailed his fingertips lightly over her bandage and she shivered.
She closed her eyes for several moments and then she bit her lip and nodded, "Do it."
He lifted her shirt with his hand and slowly peeled up the edge of her bandage until the wound was finally revealed to him. It was still red from the infection that had settled in, but he doubted it was as bad as she thought it was. It would scar her though and that thought didn't sit well with him.
"What does it look like?" She whispered softly.
"Looks like ya got burned an' lived ta see anotha day," He replied. "It ain't that bad."
A small smile teased at the corners of her lips, "Promise?"
Her voice was so soft and childlike in that moment that it nearly stole his breath, "Promises don't mean nothin' in this world. Wouldn't lie ta ya," He said.
She nodded slowly, her eyes trusting and focused on his, "Alright."
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