Merle woke up that morning with the king of hang overs.
His last words to her, "Imma prove it to ya, Suga. I love ya." Played over and over and over in his head; one of the only things he could clearly remember from the night before. He remembered more than he usually did after a bender like that.
He rolled off the couch where Daryl left him the night before and started a pot of coffee and dry swallowed a few ibuprofen. With the coffee brewing he went into Daryl's room, banging the door on the wall. Daryl went from laying flat on his stomach and sound asleep to sitting up and wide awake in half a second with his hand reaching for his bow at the edge of his bed.
He started talking before Daryl finished registering who had so rudely entered his room and woke him up. "C'mon ya lazy ass. Get up. We got work to do. Gotta get rid o' the alcohol in the house."
Daryl grunted as his signature scowl took over his face. "Why the fuck are 'we' doin' this?"
"Cause I ain't drinkin' anymore. I gotta get Suga back." He explained quickly as if it made perfect sense and Daryl were an idiot.
They poured all the booze in the house down the kitchen drain (which was a considerable amount). Merle even willingly told Daryl of his booze and drug hiding spots. Merle and Daryl watched the drugs spin down the drain as they flushed them. Daryl broke the needles and stuck them in a bag and put them in the cab of his truck to take to the dump later.
The first week of his detox took its toll on him. His moods were like a roller coaster ride and he was sicker than a dog, barely able to move other than to vomit. He didn't leave the house for two weeks.
On one of his first few good days during the detox he overheard his little brother on the phone having a whispered conversation in the back yard. "He's been sober for near a week an' a half, Little Sister...The bastard woke me up ta get rid o' his booze an' drugs. He ain't complained even once." The conversation went on for a little while with pauses while Daryl listened to what was being said on the phone.
Merle backed up and went to the kitchen then made his way back to the back door, crashing and hollering as he went. "Darylina! 'm fuckin' hungry. Run inta town an' get me some Teriyaki!"
He laughed to himself as he heard, "Shut the fuck up Merle" and quieter a "He's comin' out, Bethy. I'll talk ta ya later."
Merle stepped outside and watched as Daryl stubbed his cigarette out. They went back inside and Daryl made sure to take Merle's cell phone with him. "Ya wanna stay clean? Ain't leavin' ya a direct line ta drugs."
Merle continued on his path to stay sober and within a month was still sober and begun working construction with Daryl.
After two months of steady work and saving his pennies he dialed the number his fingers had been itching to dial. He felt his heart start to beat wildly in his chest while waiting as the phone rang. He had the nagging thought that he had taken too long to clean up his act.
The line stopped ringing and he felt his heart plummet as he expected her voicemail to play.
"Are you callin' me when you're sober?" She asked, not bothering to say hello.
"I ain't touched anythang in 3 months, Suga." Before she had a chance to say anything he rushed on. "Ya got every right ta have moved on an' forgotten me. I jus' want a chance ta prove I've changed an' I ain't the same piece o' shit I was."
"I'll give you a chance to talk. I ain't promisin' anything." She said after a pause.
"Dinner on me, Friday night. I'll pick ya up."
"What time?"
"Seven."
"Okay."
"Love ya, Sug."
"See you Friday, Merle." He tried not to let it rip apart his heart that she didn't say it back.
As soon as he hung up he dialed the number to the most expansive restaurant in town and made a reservation.
Friday came slowly; he bit his nails and worried that she'd change her mind, reject this chance to show her he'd change, that she'd call him and tell him she had started dating someone new. He reassured himself with the reminder that she hadn't served him divorce papers. Yet.
He dressed in his nicest clothes; clean jeans, button down shirt and his leather vest over it, clean shaven even, and got the truck keys from Daryl, who offered him the sage advice of "Don't fuck this up an' don't be cheap."
Merle snorted and responded dryly. "Didn't do all o' this jus' to fuck it up again, little brotha."
He picked Beth up at seven on the dot, a bouquet of her favorite flowers-orange tiger lilies. Beth opened the door and Merle's mouth dropped open at the sight of her. Her hair was up in an elegant bun, and she wore a casual light blue dress that hugged her small frame, a dress that he'd always been fond of, and she wore a minimal amount of make-up. They drove to the restaurant, Beth visibly shocked at which one he took her to.
The dinner was filled with conversation and catching up on their lives since they split up. Laughter was abundant at their table; Beth could easily recall why she fell in love with him the first time around. If she wasn't careful she'd face the problem of falling for him all over again.
At the end of the evening Merle walked her to the door of her (their) cabin. He pressed a kiss to her cheek and started to walk away before turning back to look at her. "I...Uh...Maybe we can go out again?" He'd never felt this nervous with her, not even the first time they dated, or when he asked her to marry him. Then again, before he had nothing to lose. Now it was all or nothing.
She smiled brightly and nodded.
"Ya ain't gonna regret it, Suga."
Twelve dates went by and on the thirteenth date Beth made an announcement as they made their way to wherever he was taking her this time. "You've changed and this, the man you are now is the one I fell in love with seven years ago. I want you to come home."
Merle pulled over and unbuckled her seatbelt and his own, pulled her into his lap and wrapped his arms around her. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and whispered, "Ya mean that, Sug?"
She smiled and began pressing kisses to his cheeks, tip of his nose, forehead and eyelids. "We can have a life together now that you're sober."