Wow, I've been too busy to update lately, and I'm sorry about that! But the good thing is I have been planning things in my mind so the future chapters will come with time.
For now, here's another chappie!
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
"Ow! Fuck, that hurts!" Daryl jerked and turned his head around, glaring daggers at Hershel who was stitching his arrow wounds closed.
"I told it was going to," Hershel said calmly, but his voice sounded amused which only made Daryl MORE surly. "Now lay there and take it like a man."
Daryl sniffed angrily, but complied. He rolled back onto his right side and gripped the pillow under his head tightly as Hershel threaded another stitch through. He looked around his field of vision and saw that Lori, Andrea and Dale had all joined Rick where he was standing around the side of the bed. The way they were all looking at him made him uncomfortable and he wanted so badly to shove them all out the door. Well just because his body was out of commission didn't mean he couldn't use his voice!
"What the hell ya'll standin' around here for?" he said, annoyance very obvious in his tone. "Ain't ya got nothin' better to do than stand around gawkin' at me and watching me get sewn like a ripped pair o' jeans?"
Rick's mouth twitched with a smile and Andrea came forward to sit on the bed. She locked eyes with him and leaned forward.
"Daryl, I am SO sorry," she whispered, Daryl could hear the hitch in her voice as she fought back her emotions, "I saw you stumble out of those woods and…there was a glare on my scope and…I just wanted to…"
"Andrea…" Dale's voice interrupted the string of nonsense coming out of the blonde's mouth, "Let's you and I go outside until Daryl's had a little rest, huh?"
As the pair left, Daryl heard Dale say something along the lines of "wait for a better time" and then he lost interest and turned his attention to Rick.
"Sophia…?" he asked hesitantly. Had the little girl only been a dream? A hallucination from the pain and dehydration?
Lori stepped forward and grasped Daryl's hand firmly. He jumped slightly at her sudden approach and he inwardly lectured himself on the needlessness of his jumpiness.
"She's alive, Daryl," Lori said softly, "Thanks to you."
Thank God! She was real!
"Is she…? Is she alright?" Daryl said between hisses as Hershel tied the last stitch in his back.
"She's perfect," Rick replied, taking Lori's other hand and standing her up gently. "She's with Carol in the kitchen right now having some decent food."
Daryl felt the corners of his mouth twitch, but he fought back the smile. No one needed to know how much it meant to him to know Sophia was alive and well…and that Carol was happy again. He thought back to the day he had bought her the Cherokee Rose in the RV, when she had given him that small smile and wiped her tears away he swore then and there that he would do anything to see her smile again.
"Well there you go, young man," Hershel stated, packing up his supplies. "Rest easy and try not to lay on that side if you can avoid it."
"Thanks, doc," Daryl mumbled. It wasn't that he wasn't greatful, but the position of helplessness had him feeling cranky…plus, they had all seen the scars now and there was no hiding them anymore. Hershel had even asked about them when he originally removed his shirt but Daryl had told him it was non of his fucking business and Hershel hadn't asked again.
Slowly, the whole lot of them left the room after saying their goodbyes and thank yous and Daryl sighed when the room was finally empty. He was glad to be alone for a while and he laid there thinking about the world and how it had gone to Hell…as if his life wasn't Hell before.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
Carol put a bit of everything on the plate and sat down at the table next to Sophia, the laughter in the room was like music to her ears and she had never felt so happy. Her daughter was safe again and she owed it all to that wonderfully confusing man, Daryl Dixon. And that's when she realized he wasn't at the table. She almost jumped up right then and ran up the stairs to find him and throw herself at him with gratitude, but Maggie noticed her sudden tenseness and shook her head at Carol, motioning her into the kitchen.
Carol followed her into the kitchen and the sound of the net room's merriment faded slightly.
"Carol, I know how happy you are about this and how much you want to see that boy but…there's some things you should know first…" Maggie said hesitantly, pulling out some bread, peanut butter and jelly from the cupboard. She began making a sandwich.
"Like what?" Carol asked, unsure if she really wanted to hear this.
"My daddy told me…" Maggie seemed like she wasn't sure how to put together her words in the right way, "I think it would be best if you approached him a little less…peppy."
"Well…he IS pretty sullen but…"
"Do you know why?" Maggie looked genuinely curious.
"He…uh…I know he had some problems in his past but he's pretty tight lipped about it," Carol replied honestly.
"Well my daddy said he's covered in scars…" Maggie said quietly, watching for Carol's reaction.
"Scars?" Carol gasped, her hand raising to her heart in surprise and pity.
"Yeah, all over his chest and especially his back…and those are just the ones daddy saw when he stitched him up, it's hard telling where else he has them." Maggie sounded sad.
Carol felt sick to her stomach at the thought of what could have caused those scars…or who. She had a suspicion Merle had something to do with them.
"Here," Maggie held out a plate with the freshly made sandwich on it, "Take this to him, it'll give you a legitimate reason to be up there. Just remember not to push him too fast."
Carol nodded and went to the stairs. When she reached the door to his room, she listened for a moment but there was complete silence inside so she knocked softly and pushed the door open.
The first thing she saw was Daryl's back, crisscrossed with jagged, silvery-pink lines of scarred skin and then he turned over slightly to see who had come in and gave her a blank, unconcerned look. Then he pulled the sheets up over him, covering the scars. She felt her heart squeeze painfully at how vulnerable and alone he looked, like a kicked puppy.
"How're you feeling?" she asked quietly.
"About as good as I look," he mumbled, he kept his back to her and clutched the sheet tight to his chest.
"I…I brought you some dinner, you must be starving" she said, hoping it didn't sound lame when she said it. Daryl glanced back over his shoulder again and nodded his thanks, then rolled back onto his side.
She didn't know what possessed her then, but she felt like she would explode if she didn't show him how thankful she was and how much all this had meant to her. So she leaned over him and went to kiss him on the temple. But before she could, he flinched away and raised his arm slightly, like he was afraid she was going to hit him or something. She hesitated slightly before continuing and she pressed her lips to his temple, feeling the warmth of his skin under them, he relaxed a bit and she stood back up.
He was looking at her incredulously when she looked down at him, but he just heaved a little sigh and turned his back to her once more, muttering about watching out for the stitches. But Carol wasn't done yet, she thought for a moment before speaking again.
"You need to know something," she said softly, and she was thrilled when he rolled slightly to look at her, "You did more for my little girl today than her daddy ever did in his whole life."
She noticed the uncomfortable look her took on and how he nervously twisted the sheet in his hand when he rolled over yet again, back to her.
"I didn't do nothin' that Rick or Shane wouldn'ta done," she heard him mutter quietly.
"I know," she replied, feeling tears start to sting her eyes as she looked at him. "You're every bit as good as them. Every bit."
She didn't stick around to wait for a reply or see his reaction, she knew she had to leave before he saw her tears. Because they weren't tears of joy or the sad ones she had gotten used to shedding for herself…these were for him, and they were tears of sadness.
Why had it taken her so long to see that Daryl Dixon was just as good a man as any, and better than most? He had so much healing to do, physically and emotionally and he couldn't do it alone…she knew that something in her heart had just changed towards him and it scared her as well as excited her.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
So, I have this REALLY lovely idea for a future chapter and I can't wait to write it because I can see it in my mind and it makes me want to squeal! I'll update as soon as I can again, I promise.