AN: It has been pointed out that I made an error (besides the buckets of typos that I regularly make) in saying that Daryl didn't tell Carol the picnic was at the lake. The intention on my part was for him not to tell her, but since I had the other chapters already planned out, I slipped on that one. My apologies. He did tell her, but he wasn't supposed to. Bad Daryl.

Also, to address the worry that Daryl has a head wound, he does not. His inability to get his thoughts clear/process everything pristinely is driven by severe panic and overstimulation. It's a state that, if you've not been in it before, can make you feel like you have a head wound. I've been there, and it can almost be described as an out of body experience.

I'd also like to brag a little since I have found out that SAO loving mom had a Caryl contest and I won best OC in a Caryl fic for Alice from my fic Phantom Hearts! I know a lot of you hear read that fic too, so you'll see this more than once, but hey I might as well brag, I don't typically win things!

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Daryl remembered the moment that he walked into the hospital why it was that he hated hospitals. They smelled like antiseptic. They smelled like bad news and they smelled like death. As soon as he walked through the large automatic doors behind Rick Grimes and the smell hit his nostrils he was sent mentally rolling back through time when he'd walked through similar doors behind another officer.

Merle had been beside him that day too, just behind him, and they'd been there to check on their mother. Their mother who their father had attacked in a drunken rage. Daryl suddenly felt the same fear that he'd felt then, his body almost quaking with it. Merle had been sober that day, but it had been one of the last days that his brother had spent without ingesting any kind of mind altering substance.

They walked up toward an admission desk where Rick Grimes leaned over the desk and talked to a woman with too much red lipstick on. Everyone around them talked in hushed tones. Those hushed tones that somehow masked all the words that no one wanted to hear.

Rick turned to both of them, his hand going out and touching Daryl's elbow. The memory that hung just around the edge of Daryl's brain at the moment was when the officer, standing beside a doctor that Daryl had never seen before and would never see again, quietly informed Daryl and Merle that their mother was gone. The asshole had finally succeeded in doing what the hell he'd been trying to do for years. He'd finally taken everything from her that he could.

Daryl's stomach churned and he felt like he was going to vomit. Apparently Merle knew what was happening, even in his somewhat drunken state, because Daryl felt his brother's hand close around the upper part of his arm.

"S'alright brothah," Merle said. Daryl knew that Merle was likely remembering the very same day that he was remembering. It was the last day they'd seen their mother alive, and it was the very last day they'd seen their father. Whether or not the man was alive or dead was irrelevant. For both the Dixon boys he had died right along with their mother that day.

Rick Grimes tried to figure out what was wrong, but Daryl got control of himself before Merle had to explain the situation. He didn't want to hear Merle say it any more than he wanted to remember it. He didn't want to explain to anyone why it was that for both of them beating a woman was the unforgiveable sin.

"Are you alright?" Rick asked, his face clouded in concern. Daryl straightened himself up and pushed back his feelings. He nodded.

"Carol?" He asked.

Rick nodded at him.

"You need to let them have a look at you both. They'll get you cleaned up and you'll know something as soon as we do. Her lawyer is on the way here. Just let them have a look at you," Rick urged.

Daryl's head was swimming, but he knew this drill. They weren't going to tell them anything. They'd give them no more information than their stupid little textbooks told them they could. It was masked behind all this legal mumbo jumbo, but what it boiled down to was they weren't going to find a single damn thing out.

Daryl watched as Merle submitted himself to going with some nurse in a white uniform, and he decided that he would follow suit. Eventually someone would tell them something, so in the meantime the least that they could do was placate them.

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When Daryl was finally "released" and able to stumble out into one of the waiting areas that they directed him too, he found Merle quickly. Around them were a few people sitting in the uncomfortable chairs, waiting for news, no doubt, on their loved ones.

Merle stood out like a sore thumb, and Daryl was sure that he did too. Merle looked fine, other than the fact that his hands were bandaged and he looked a little like a pirate with a patch over one eye.

"Ya OK?" Daryl asked, standing awkwardly in front of his brother. He looked around for familiar faces, but found none. He knew he should sit, but he felt too antsy to sit for the moment.

"Fine," Merle growled. Daryl could tell that his brother was much more sober now than he had been before.

"Ya eye gonna be OK?" Daryl asked.

Merle chuckled a little.

"Sit ya ass down, Derlina. Ain't nobody dyin' tonight princess," Merle said. "My fuckin' eye's gonna be just fine. The lil' bitch won't stop runnin', though, so they got it all covered up. By tomorrow fuckin' mornin' ain't gon' be me with problems."

Daryl scuffed his foot on the carpet. His ribs were bandaged and they'd cleaned up everything else, putting bandages over his knees which almost lacked skin altogether. Otherwise he would likely have a shiner, but no other lasting damage.

"Have ya heard anything?" Daryl asked.

Merle shook his head and leaned back in the chair that was almost too small for him. Daryl sighed and sat in the chair beside him, deciding that there was nothing for him to do besides just that.

"I give 'em my testimony," Daryl said.

"Me too," Merle said. Daryl wondered if it was the booze, coming down off the excitement, or meds, but something was making Merle too mellow for just such a situation.

"Andrea? Carol? Ya ain't seen nor heard nothin'?" Daryl asked. He looked around but at the moment he couldn't find Rick Grimes.

"All I know is they called Carol's lawyer an' the woman's comin' over. Ain't got no kin 'round here an' they ain't gon' tell us nothin' without a lawyer present. They done called Andrea's parents, but we ain't kin, so they ain't sayin' nothin' 'bout that an' they ain't released her yet," Merle said.

Daryl wasn't sure what surprised him more at this moment…the fact that Merle had paid enough attention to know all that, or the fact that Andrea had parents. He knew that she'd had parents once upon a time, obviously…she hadn't been spontaneously spawned from the Earth or anything, but he just assumed her parents were dead, like his own.

Daryl was distracted a few minutes later when he saw the woman, Michonne or whatever her name was, that was Carol's lawyer come through the door. She was obviously not prepared to have to come to the hospital at this hour because she didn't exactly look as well put together as she normally did. As soon as he saw her, though, he also saw Rick Grimes again and she immediately began talking to him.

Daryl wanted to go over, reintroduce himself, and demand that she give him whatever information she was capable of obtaining because of her title, but he doubted that was really OK. He sat and waited while she chatted with Rick, trying not to pay much attention to her facial expression in case he might see something there that just made his night that much worse.

The next familiar face they saw was Andrea. A nurse walked her out, and led her over to one of the desks where she was signing papers of some sort. Daryl had signed a few things himself, but they'd brought everything to him. Apparently Andrea hadn't received the same service. Andrea turned then, scanning the waiting areas and Daryl waved at her a little, noticing that Merle seemed to have gone to sleep. Andrea pointed at him and the nurse walked her over to where he was.

"Thank you," Andrea said to the nurse as she took a seat beside Daryl. "I'm with them."

"She's had some pain medicine," the nurse said, "so she may be a little groggy."

Daryl grunted his understanding and turned his attention to Andrea. She was holding an ice pack to her face, and it was obvious that her eyelids were droopier than normal. He could see that one of her legs was bandaged too, and he had no idea why. There was blood dried into her hair, but he didn't know if it was hers or if she'd picked it up somewhere.

"Ya OK?" He asked, for what felt the millionth time that night.

"Yeah," Andrea said, softly. "I think I'll pull through."

She giggled a little and Daryl realized she was loopy from whatever they'd given her.

"Did you see Carol?" He asked. "Was she OK?"

Andrea stared at him for a second, her mouth open, making her resemble some sort of fish for the moment. Then she turned, her attention caught by something.

"Holy fucking hell," she grunted. "You've got to be kidding me. Who called my fucking parents?"

Daryl followed her gaze to an older couple that were standing at the desk nearby. He glanced around, noticing that the lawyer and Rick Grimes had both vanished again. The older couple was looking around like they were lost, but Daryl noticed the exact second when they found Andrea sitting beside him. They started over and Andrea groaned. Daryl didn't know what else to do, so he put his arm around her shoulder.

"Andrea? Oh my God!" The woman said. "What happened to you? I knew something like this was going to happen. Do you see now why nothing good can come of you working at that bar like that?"

Andrea groaned again. Daryl wasn't sure if he should say something or do something.

"Is this the kind of life you want for yourself?" The man said. "Ending up in bar brawls?"

"It wasn't a bar brawl and I wish you weren't here," Andrea moaned out. Daryl kept his arm around her shoulder, watching what was taking place, momentarily distracted from his worries.

"Andrea," the woman said, "what were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that there was a man attacking my friend," Andrea said.

"What kind of friends are these, Andrea, that they're going to land you in the hospital?" The woman asked.

"Jesus Christ!" Andrea said. She turned to Daryl. "I keep blinking but they won't go away. Can you make them go away?"

Daryl shook his head.

"Who is this? Who are you?" The man asked.

"Daryl Dixon," Daryl said.

"Who is this, Andrea?" The man asked.

"This is Daryl and that's Merle," Andrea said. "I live with them, not that you'd know that."

"These ya parents?" Daryl asked.

Andrea looked at him, one of her eyes covered by the melting ice pack.

"Depends," she slurred, "on your definition of parents. This man here…this handsome, robust gentleman, impregnated my mother…and then he left. He came back later…much later…and he brought this lovely woman who has less tie to me than you do, Daryl. Don't worry, though, I've got a half of a sister…and she's a real fuckin' trophy."

"Get up, Andrea," the man commanded. "You're not going to disrespect your mother that way! You're going home with us. You can't continue to live this way."

Andrea chuckled.

"She's not my mother," Andrea said. "Or did you forget, DAD? My mom drank herself to death…'member that? 'Cause I do. It was fun watching it happen…but you weren't there to see it, were you? Go home and play house with Amy. They shouldn't have called you."

The man reached out, grabbing Andrea's arm and Daryl clapped his hand around the man's wrist.

"Don't touch her," Daryl said, shaking his head at the man, his voice calm.

"This is my daughter," the man said, "and I don't know who you are, but I'll take her home if I want to."

"I don't reckon ya takin' her home," Daryl said, "'cause I know where the hell she lives an' I don't expect ta see ya there."

Andrea didn't say anything, but Daryl felt her rest her head against his shoulder and he didn't say anything to her.

The man stared at him for a moment, looking as though his blood was boiling. After a moment, though, he took the arm of the woman next to him.

"Just like your mother," the man said. He turned and without another word he led the woman away. Daryl didn't watch them go, but he assumed they left. He felt, with no certainty, that perhaps they'd left for good. Somehow he didn't think Andrea was going to mind too much.

"They gone," Daryl said after a minute. He elbowed Merle who was beginning to snore beside him. Andrea sat up.

"Thank you," she said. Daryl realized there were tears in her eyes, but he wasn't going to draw attention to them.

"Don't mention it," he said. He wanted to ask her again about Carol, but he decided that she probably wasn't in the best condition to have a conversation. She looked like she was fighting to stay awake at all, and on top of that he could see that seeing the man and woman hadn't made for the best of nights. "Just lay ya head back down," Daryl said with a sigh. "I'll wake ya up if anything happens."

Andrea did put her head back against his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around, making sure that when she fell asleep, she wouldn't roll off and hurt herself anymore.

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Michonne's head was throbbing from lack of sleep and from dealing with everyone in the hospital. She finally rounded the corner to the waiting room after what felt like hours of listening to people talk, and she saw what she could only consider the "welcome wagon" holding down three of the flimsy waiting room chairs.

Daryl sat in the middle, his head tilted back a little against the wall. Merle was beside him, on the verge of flopping to the side, and snoring softly. Andrea was on the other side, clearly dead to the world, and leaned against Daryl's chest, very obviously sliding little by little. It wouldn't be long, Michonne thought, before Merle flopped across a few extra chairs and Andrea ended up with her head in Daryl's lap.

Michonne rubbed her eyes and walked toward the three of them. She decided that if any of them were responsive in the slightest, or even had the foggiest idea where they were and why they were there, it would be Daryl.

"Daryl?" Michonne said, hoping not to startle him. "Are you awake?"

Daryl stirred a little, sitting up and blinking at her. He might not have been sleeping with the same abandon as the other two, but Daryl Dixon hadn't been awake.

"Carol?" He asked.

Michonne did her best to smile at him.

"She's going to be alright," Michonne said.

"Ya just sayin' that like everybody else, or she really gonna be OK?" Daryl asked. Michonne wondered, for a moment, how many times he'd heard that tonight. She forgot, from time to time, that as a lawyer she tended to get a lot more information much more quickly than other people.

"She's going to be alright," Michonne said. "I'm not going to lie, it's not pretty, but it's not fatal. She's resting now under sedation. They might let her go in a couple of days."

Michonne reached back and tugged at the muscles of her shoulders.

"What happened to her?" Daryl asked, his voice groggy.

"Ed happened to her," Michonne said with a sigh. There are more than a handful of minor injuries, but the worst is possible head trauma. They're not sure exactly what happened, but the best guess is that he tried to slam her into something…"

"I wanna see her," Daryl said.

Michonne shook her head.

"Not right now," she said. "She's out anyway, Daryl. I was just back there. They're putting her in a room for observation. She's too heavily sedated to even know if you were there or not. It's better for you all to go home. I'll keep a check on her and let you know if there's anything that she needs or anything that can be done."

Daryl shook his head.

"Ain't goin' nowhere," he said, "'til I see her."

"Daryl, you can't see her right now. They're putting her in a room and it's not visiting hours. You're not family," Michonne said with a sigh. "Tomorrow, maybe, when she's in a regular room then you can visit her."

"You ain't her family neither," Daryl said.

"No, but I'm her attorney," Michonne said, "and this is part of a domestic violence case."

"They get Ed?" Daryl asked.

Michonne realized her eyes were killing her. She rubbed at them, wishing that he'd go home and stop asking questions. She just needed a few hours of sleep and she could deal better with this.

"Not yet," Michonne said, "or not that I've heard. They're going to get him, though. Ed's going to prison for this, and he's going for a very long time."

"Prison's too damn good for him," Daryl said, his head lolling to one side a little as he focused on her. She noticed Andrea sliding a little more in her descent toward Daryl's lap.

"I'll give you that," Michonne said, "but it's what we have right now." She paused for a minute. "Now, Daryl, you really need to go home. Both Merle and Andrea are sedated, they need to rest. I can drive you home…help you as best I can to get them to bed. There's nothing that anyone can do here tonight."

"Can I see Carol tomorrow?" Daryl asked.

Michonne nodded.

"You can come up here tomorrow and see her," Michonne said. "They shouldn't give you any trouble, but I've got to come up here anyway so I'll come with you and make sure that they don't bother you."

"Fine," Daryl said finally. "I'll go home, then, but only 'cause ya ain't gon' let me see her if I don't."

"Thank you," Michonne said. "Everything's going to look a lot better to us all tomorrow."

She looked, then, at the other two.

"Daryl, how are we going to get them home?" She asked.

Daryl shoved Merle and Merle snorted and woke up.

"Fuck's ya problem?" He growled.

"Get up," Daryl said. "Ya gotta take ya drugged ass ta the car. We goin' home an' ya can sleep it off there."

Michonne expected Merle not to be able to go with them of his own free will, but he got to his feet and nodded his head at her, smiling a little.

"Well evenin' princess," he drawled.

"We're going home in my car," Michonne said, realizing she had to move the baby seats to the trunk to make room for her new passengers.

Merle nodded and stretched. Without waiting for further instruction, he started toward the door. Daryl was wrestling to his feet then, stretching one arm and holding Andrea up with the other.

"Is he going to be OK?" Michonne asked.

Daryl half smiled at her and she recognized, for the first time, that the brothers had the same smile.

"Merle's used ta bein' mobile when he's outta his skull," Daryl said. "He ain't gon' have no problems."

"What about Andrea?" Michonne asked.

Before she could fully get the question out, Daryl turned and heaved Andrea into his arms.

"Reckon she needs her sleep," Daryl said. "Just point the way ta the car an' she'll make it there."

Michonne sighed and started out the hospital. Merle had stopped by the door, waiting on them. He didn't become mobile again until Michonne passed by him. Then she stepped out into the night air, leading her odd little caravan behind her.