Hotel Key

Chapter 17

Daryl slid into the restaurant booth across from RickyJo. Both of them were still smiling, elated from the ultrasound that confirmed what the little plastic stick already told them. She was pregnant. The pictures on the screen didn't look like much yet, more like a tiny grain of rice than a baby. But the ultrasound technician was able to provide them with more information than Daryl expected from the grainy black and white image. She shifted the wand around and clicked her keyboard keys. Then she told them the baby was due on April 18th, Jessica's birthday. RickyJo's eyes lit up with excitement, knowing that her cousin was going to be over the moon with happiness just because they were having a baby. But she would be even more excited that the baby might share her birthday.

"Aren't ya gonna call Jess?," Daryl asked. He was surprised RickyJo didn't call her cousin from the exam table with the weird ultrasound wand thing still inside her. RickyJo smiled, reaching across the table for his hand.

"I'll call her this week," she said, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. "I thought maybe we could take a few days to just enjoy this before everyone else butts in." Daryl nodded. "...and I think we ought to decide what we're gonna do about the wedding 'cause ya know my Nana is gonna ask." Daryl raised his eyebrow at her, unsure of exactly what she meant. He knew they were getting married. But he hadn't given much thought to the wedding itself.

"Whatcha mean?," he asked. RickyJo's expression turned from playful to serious.

"I don't want to look like a big blimp in my dress," she informed him, making Daryl snort in laughter. "So we can hurry up and get married now. Or we can wait until after the baby comes." Daryl just chuckled and shook his head. He thought they were about to discuss some sort of serious issue. But RickyJo was just worried about looking fat in her dress.

"Yer not gonna look like a blimp," Daryl assured her. "But we can get married whenever ya want." Since all that was required of him as far as wedding planning went was to put on whatever stupid suit she picked out for him and show up, he didn't care much when they did it.

The waitress stopped by the table to take their order and their wedding conversation came to a brief halt. Daryl forced himself not to comment when RickyJo only ordered a salad. Even though he really thought she ought to be eating more than that. Not only was she pregnant, she lost weight while she was camping and hadn't gained any of it back yet. He felt a little guilty about that, like some of it was his fault. But instead of arguing with her over her lunch order, he decided he would stop by the store on his way home from the shop and make her something more substantial for dinner. He took the morning off work for her ultrasound appointment, but after lunch he needed to go in for at least the afternoon.

RickyJo pulled her wallet out of her purse, retrieving the little black and white printed photo they received from the ultrasound tech. Daryl smiled as he watched her run her thumb back and first across the picture. The expression on her face was soft and loving. It was the look she usually reserved for her nieces and baby animals. It crossed his mind that she was going to be a good mother. Their baby would never have to worry about getting beaten with a belt until his back was scarred, or having someone use him as a human ashtray. Just the thought of someone even thinking about hurting the tiny life growing inside her was enough to nearly make Daryl's blood boil. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. When he looked back up at RickyJo, he could see that something was wrong. Her rosy cheeks had gone completely pale. The little paper picture in her hand was shaking.

"What's wrong?," Daryl asked. "RickyJo, what in hell is the matter?" Her voice was shaky and she lifted her hand, wiping at her eyes.

"The dates on the ultrasound," she said, her lip quivering. "Oh god, I think I ruined our fuckin' lives." She put her hand over her mouth, choking back a sob. Daryl snatched the picture from her hands, turning it around and looking at it as he tried to figure out what she was talking about. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary. There was today's date. The due date, which they already knew. And something called the conception date. Since he couldn't see anything else there, he assumed that was the date she was getting so upset over.

"It says conception date July 29th," he read, glancing up at her. RickyJo nodded, pulling her hand away from her mouth.

"It's August 22nd. We went away to the cabin last weekend," she explained. Daryl shrugged.

"So the doctor lady was wrong," he said, clearly thinking that was the only possible explanation. "You can't get pregnant if ya haven't had sex…" Daryl stopped, taking in the look of total horror on RickyJo's face. She looked ready to barf and pass out at the same time. "Who in the fuck did ya have sex with?," he asked, not really expecting an answer from her. Because by now, RickyJo had her face buried in her hands. Daryl thought back. They went away to the cabin a little over a week ago. Two weeks before that would be the date on the little black and white picture. The weekend RickyJo finally came back from her camping trip. Daryl suddenly had a flash of the fight he broke up between her and Merle in the apartment. They were fighting like two damn angry badgers, screaming and throwing shit. And RickyJo was only wearing a thin little bathrobe at the time. And she had been acting fucking weird about Merle ever since, actively avoiding him, which was unusual for her even if she was angry with him. She even made up some weird excuse as to why she couldn't go out to her Nana's for Sunday dinner to celebrate Merle and Jessica getting married. And the fact that Merle got married at all. It was all adding up in Daryl's mind as he stared down at the little blurry picture in his hand. His brother had been up to some serious bullshit.

"What the hell did he do to you?," Daryl barked. RickyJo let out a ragged breath, wrapping her arms around herself. "I'm gonna fuckin' kill him!" Daryl's voice was rising and when he spoke he slammed his hand down on the table. Hard.

"Is everything okay over here?," the waitress asked, nervously edging closer to their booth.

"I'm really sorry," RickyJo quickly explained, "...we just got some upsetting family news."

"Oh," the woman exclaimed, not sure on how to handle the situation. "Well you'll have to keep it down, there's other customers in here." RickyJo nodded, grateful when the woman just gave Daryl one more concerned glance before she walked away.

"What did he do to ya?," Daryl asked again, this time using every ounce of self control he had to keep from absolutely losing his mind with rage. Not only did he not want to make a scene in public, he also wanted RickyJo to tell him what happened. And that wouldn't happen if he went crazy on her.

"It wasn't like that," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Merle didn't hurt me. He just…" She sucked in another ragged breath, staring down at her hands while she spoke. "He was waitin' in my room for me to get out of the shower. He was drunk and cryin' about how I ditched him while we were campin'. He grabbed me and… I told him it was a bad idea. And to get out. But he was drunk and he wasn't tryin' to listen ta any of it." RickyJo glanced up at Daryl, her lip quivering. "He didn't hurt me. He was just just being Merle." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "It was my fault. He was drunk. …I never shoulda let something like that happen."

Daryl sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. He wasn't sure if he was more relieved that his brother didn't force himself on RickyJo, or more upset that she allowed what happened. Daryl supposed maybe he was feeling a mix of both emotions at the same time.

"I'll get rid of the baby if that's what you want," RickyJo whispered, her head hanging down as her hand moved to rest protectively against her stomach.

"What?," Daryl said, his head snapping up. "No!" He reached across the table, taking her hand in his again and holding it there. "Yer not doin' that," he told her firmly. He was surprised how strong his attachment already was to the tiny spark of life inside her. He thought over the situation in his mind. There was really only one thing for them to do.
"This is what we're gonna do," Daryl told her. RickyJo looked up, her hands clasping around his. "This conversation never happened," Daryl told her. "We're gonna get married. As soon as possible. And then we're gonna live our lives and be happy. We're gonna raise that baby. Me and you. And we're never gonna tell anyone about this. Not Merle. Not Jess. And not the little one. Not ever."

"Yer sure you can live with that?," RickyJo asked. It was a hell of a lie. One that would send everyone's world crashing apart if it ever got told. But what Daryl just said gave her hope. Maybe this didn't have to destroy their lives. And her baby's life.

"What the hell else are we gonna do?," Daryl asked. "Get married and then send the baby ta visit with Merle on the weekends. That motherfucker can't even show up for work half the time." Daryl shook his head. "We hafta think about what's best fer the baby. This is what's best." RickyJo nodded her head.

"Okay," she agreed. "I'm so sorry for what happened. Yer not mad about it at all?"

Daryl sighed. He supposed he was mad about it. Not really at RickyJo. He was more annoyed at her for it. But he was steaming mad at his brother. And Daryl knew he would have to hold that anger inside and stuff it down. He couldn't confront Merle about fucking her, not without admitting how he found out. Which was sort of inconvenient because Daryl was practically itching to throw a few punches in his direction. But Daryl figured it was a small price to pay for a life of happiness.

"I'm not mad at you," he clarified.

"You still wanna get married?," RickyJo asked, fingering the ring on her hand. Daryl didn't have to think hard about his answer to that question.

"More than anything."