Chapter Fifteen

Daryl sank into the chair in the waiting room after they wheeled Beth away to the surgical room who had already received a dose on anesthesia before they left her ER room. After they moved her to a proper hospital bed Hershel had asked for a prayer over Beth, the doctors, and the procedure. Daryl didn't close his eyes and pray like the others though. He kept his gaze focused on Beth, watched as she prayed along with her family, wincing through bouts of pain and fighting back fresh waves of tears.

"Here. Keep your strength up." Maggie said as she flopped into the seat next to Daryl, handing him a Pepsi out of the vending machine and a pack of crackers. She popped open her own bag of Doritos and popped open her own can of Dr. Pepper. Daryl popped his own can open and took a long sip, the cold, crisp drink refreshing in his dry throat.

"Thanks." he muttered, opening the pack of crackers and nibbling on one. He wasn't hungry, hardly thirsty, but he knew Maggie was right.

"You're welcome." she answered softly as she took a small bite from a cool ranch Dorito and chased it with a small sip of her drink, "Thank you, Daryl. For bringing Beth to the hospital."

"Welcome." he murmured and glanced over at her, seeing her give him a half-hearted smile, "She's gonna be okay." he reassured her and she nodded as she turned her attention back to her snack. Daryl sat the food down on the coffee table in front of them, excusing himself and heading to the restrooms. He shut and locked the door, walking over to the sink and looking at his reflection in the mirror. He was pretty sure he had aged ten years by now since he had heard her screaming for him. He turned on the tap and cupped his hands under the cold water, splashing it on his face to wake himself up. He watched the water droplets run down his tanned skin before placing his forehead against the mirror.

Daryl Dixon couldn't remember the last time he ever said a prayer. It had to have been when he was still a young boy during one of his parents' drunken rages. But he closed his eyes and gripped the sides of the sink, taking a deep breath.

"I don't know how to do this. I don't really know if I'm supposed to say somethin' special, but, if you're up there, and you're listenin', I know I ain't faithful like Beth, Hershel, Maggie and all the others. But if you can hear me, like she's told me you could, then please, let Beth be okay. I guess this is the part where I say amen or somethin' like that, so...Amen?" He sighed and stood straight, walking back out of the restroom and sat back down in his seat. Seconds ticked by and turned into minutes, and minutes passed until they turned into two hours, and finally Beth's surgeon walked into the waiting room. Hershel and Annette were the first to jump up from their seats, Annette clasping her husbands hand tightly in hers.

"Doctor, how's my baby?" she asked as Maggie stood and rushed over to her parents' side.

"She's doing fine, Mr. and Mrs. Greene, we just took her to recovery. If you'd like you can come in there and be there with her when she wakes up." he said and Annette nodded in response. Daryl watched as they started to follow the doctor and decided he was going to stay behind. Beth needed her family, and he was pretty sure Maggie didn't want to be around him anymore than she had to be. Hershel looked over his shoulder and stopped, urging Annette to follow and walked back over to the lone redneck.

"You comin' to see Beth?" he asked and Daryl shook his head, messing with his empty Pepsi can.

"I figured she just needs you guys right now." Daryl answered and looked up at Hershel who raised his eyebrow, "I'm fine, just come get me when they more her to a room, okay?"

"I will, I promise." Hershel said and laid his hand on Daryl's shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze, "I can't thank ya enough for bringin' my little girl here." With that Daryl watched Hershel walk through the doors after the doctor and his family, and couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of sadness, guilt, and regret, for what he wasn't sure of yet.

"She's starting to wake up." a hushed voice said, and Beth felt her brow furrow as light started to greet her eyes, "Momma, dad, look." She clenched her fist and relaxed it, feeling the iv needle shift around in the top of her hand. A hand rested on her calf, the touch gentle and she knew instantly it was her mother.

"Miss Greene?" She tried to open her eyes, but the light was bright and she shut them again, groaning and trying to roll over, "Beth, can you hear me?"

"Yes." she slurred, another hand resting on her cheek, "What's goin' on?"

"You're in recovery, Bethy, you did really good." Maggie said and Beth managed to open her eyes slowly, her sister's face slowly coming in to focus, "Are you okay?"

"I dunno...can I go back to sleep?" she asked and felt a rough hand rest on her small and delicate one. She looked over to see her dad and managed a small smile as he gave it a small squeeze, "Hey, daddy."

"Hello, Beth. I'm so glad to see you're okay." he said and rubbed her hand, "I was so worried when Daryl called us."

"D-Daryl? Where is he...?" she asked, her voice still heavy with fatigue as she tried to sit up. The doctor, Hershel and Maggie rushed to stop her and keep her from sitting up, her surgeon stressing how fragile her incisions were as he urged her to remain lying down.

"You'll see him once we can take you to your room. He's waiting for you, he wanted you to spend time with just us." Hershel answered and Beth saw Maggie force a small smile as she stood straight.

"He's a good guy, daddy." she murmured softly, then looked over at Maggie who kept her gaze away from her younger sister's, "When can I go to my room?"

"Not too much longer, Miss Greene." her doctor said with a warm smile.

"There is an incision here." Beth said as she placed the tip of her finger at the bottom of her belly button, "My doctor said that is where they pulled my appendix out. He said they put it in a jar in case I wanted to see it, but I think he was joking, at least I hope he was." Daryl laughed softly and scooted the chair closer to her bedside.

"Is that the only one?" he asked and she shook her head, pointing to her lower abdomen.

"There's two more here. One was a light and one was a really tiny camera so they could see. They also pumped a lot of air into my stomach so they could see, so they said I would feel a little bloated for a while, but that it was go away."

"They pumped air into you?" Daryl asked with a raised eyebrow and she giggled.

"It was either that or they would have to make on big incision on my side and open me up. I think they figured I'd be better with three tiny scars." she said with a smile as the door to her room opened and a smiling nurse walked in.

"Hello, Miss Greene, how are you feeling?" she asked, tucking her short raven hair behind her ear and walking to her bedside.

"I'm okay, I don't feel as sleepy. My stomach is sore though." she answered softly as the nurse checked her IV bag.

"Your pain medicine is starting to wear off. We can give you some more if you'd like. If you wait too long, you'll be in a lot of pain before the meds kick in." the nurse said and Beth nodded, "Where's you family?"

"They wandered off to the gift shop, they said they would be back in a little bit." Beth answered and the nurse looked over at Daryl with a grin.

"Are you her boyfriend?"

"A friend." he answered after a few seconds, "I work on her pop's farm." Beth looked over at him and gave him a half-hearted grin as the nurse smiled and nodded, saying she'd be back with her pain medicine. It didn't take her long, and pretty sure Beth was starting to feel the effects of the medicine. Her eyes were growing heavy, her body feeling heavy as well. With every yawn her eyes were watering and she couldn't hold her focus anymore.

"Go to sleep." Daryl said and Beth rolled her head to the side to lok at him, "I'll tell them you needed the pain medicine."

"Thanks for bringin' me here, Daryl. You're a good friend." she said before she turned her head the other way. In a few short moments her chest was rising and falling slowly, her breaths becoming deeper and her body relaxing.

"I'll stay right here with her, you guys don't have to worry." Hershel whispered as he sat one of the pillows and hospital blankets in the recliner in Beth's room. She was still sound asleep, and the nurse was popping in every hour to check on her.

"Are you sure you don't need me to stay?" Annette asked and Hershel placed his hands on her shoulders, kissing her forehead and giving her a big hug.

"You go home, go sleep in a comfy bed. I'll be right here, and if anything, anything at all changes I will call home, okay? Now you and Maggie and Daryl head on home, go get some sleep okay? Beth and I will be just fine." Hershel said and gave Maggie a firm hug. Daryl took one last look at Beth, her blonde hair cascading over her shoulders, her face showing complete peace, the steady rise and fall of her chest, and he knew she was going to be okay. He bid Hershel a goodbye, then walked Maggie and Annette to their car in the large parking garage.

The numbers on his watch read just shortly after nine thirty, and he was already feeling as if he was going to pass out at the wheel. He pulled out of the parking lot and rolled his window down, hoping the rushing air would keep him awake. As he drove he cranked up his music, drumming his thumbs against the steering wheel as he barreled down the highway towards the farm. It felt like an eternity until he finally pulled onto the gravel driveway, making his way up to the farmhouse.

By the time he managed to get through the door, clean Maisy's mess, feed her and strip out of his clothes, he felt as if he hadn't slept for days. He flopped back on his bed, closing his eyes and pulling the thin quilt Beth had laid on his bed over his nearly naked body. Sleep was creeping up fast, consuming his whole body and sending him into a peaceful slumber. As his mind started to drift and the faint sound of Maggie and Annette outside began to drift away he heard her voice, and felt a frown pull at the corners of his mouth.

"You're a good friend."

A/N: I apologize for this being so short, and for taking so long but I will inform you all of what's going on the same way that I informed my readers on Tumblr. I'm having a very hard time right now IRL, my mom may or may not have cancer. We are waiting on test results. My mom is my best friend, someone I would do absolutely anything for. Right now all my focus is on her, so my updates will be slower now on this fic, and on Small Town Girl. Some may be shorter than others, but I have not stopped working on them, I just need more time to focus on more important things. I love you guys, and I will continue updating for you all. Thank you for being such dedicated readers thus far, and for as short as it was, I hope it was okay.