The Unknown

A/N: Sorry for the delay in chapter update. Been busy at work and days out with friends. Hope to be more regular again! Enjoy.

"I don't need to go to the hospital." Shiv insisted, "It's just a cut lip."

"You could have a concussion." Daryl folded his arms.

"I feel fine." Shiv said, sitting at the back of an ambulance just off the street to her house with her friends gathered around her.

"You look a little woozy." Becca observed, "How many fingers am I holding up?" She asked, holding four fingers up in front of Shiv.

"Four. I'm not blind." Shiv rolled her eyes, holding an icepack to her cheek whilst one of the EMT's had stitched her cut lip.

"Have you spoke to the sheriff yet?" Punk asked her.

"Yeah, he was here earlier. I just told him what I saw. Some guy with his hood up was driving up beside me on the sidewalk. He was in a grey car. Then he got out and just… attacked me." Shiv shook her head as AJ swallowed the lump in her throat.

The thought of anything worse happening to Shiv was making her stomach turn inside out. She knew what it was like to be surprised with violence. She knew what kind of fear it created inside. She couldn't bare for Shiv to have felt so scared and alone.

"And then he just left?" Lyla asked.

"Yeah, it was like he got spooked when he saw my face." Shiv said, "Maybe I wasn't his type." She rolled her eyes.

"Wasn't the guy who threw paint over the shop driving a grey car?" Daryl turned to Punk, "And he had his hood up, right?"

"Yeah." Punk nodded slowly, "You think it's the same person?" He asked.

"It might be." Daryl shrugged, "It all seems pretty similar. Just… a little more violent." He said, turning to Shiv who he watched wincing a little as she moved her icepack down her cheek a little.

"Have you called your parents?" AJ asked Shiv, rubbing her shoulder comfortingly.

"Yeah, my mom is on her way. Dad is out of town." Shiv nodded, "Sorry I pulled you guys away from the Fair. I told Becca not to tell anyone else." She glared at Becca.

"Obviously I was going to tell them." Becca scoffed, "We're just glad you're ok."

"Did you see his face? What he looked like?" Lyla asked.

"It was a bit of a blur. I was trying to focus on getting away from him. He only punched me a couple times before he cleared off." Shiv said, "He had dark hair. Was kinda short. That's all I remember really." She said just as she noticed her mother pulling up in her car and stepping out.

"Oh, Siobhan." Lisette, her mother said as she rushed towards her, "Oh, my baby. What happened?" She sighed, pushing by Lyla and Becca to get to her daughter, cupping her cheeks.

"I'm alright, mom." Shiv insisted, "Some dude just attacked me and then drove off." She said, "I'm fine."

"You're going to the hospital." Lisette said.

"No, I'm fine. I don't need to go to the hospital." Shiv said with frustration whilst her friends wandered away to give her and her mother some space.

"What did I tell you about him?" Lisette shook her head.

"What?" Shiv said with confusion.

"Were you with him? Trouble always seems to follow him." Lisette turned around to Daryl who stood beside Punk with his arms folded.

"What? No, mom. Daryl wasn't even there." Shiv shook her head, embarrassed by her mother's harshness.

"Hey, Lisette." Daryl nodded, saluting Shiv's mother as Lisette just shook her head and turned back around to her daughter.

"You're going to the hospital. Right now. Come on I'll take you." Lisette said as Shiv rolled her eyes, figuring it would be easy to give in right now than to put up a fight.

"Fine." Shiv shook her head, sitting her icepack on the floor of the ambulance and hopping off onto the ground, turning to her friends and nodding to them, grateful for their comfort, "I'll be alright." She assured them before following her mom into the car.

"You got beef with her mom?" Lyla asked Daryl, "I thought your parents were friends with each other." She said.

"They stopped seeing each other once my dad died. And then Lisette caught me in her house a couple times when I shouldn't have been there. She's not my biggest fan." Daryl shrugged, not entirely bothered.

"Yeah, that's pretty obvious." Punk said.

"Why would someone do something like this?" Becca shook her head, "It's so evil."

"She was so happy to be back here this weekend." AJ sighed.

"I'm going to borrow my mom's car and go see her at the hospital." Daryl said, feeling agitated, like he had to see Shiv again to make sure she was truly ok.

"Yeah, I think I want to call it a night. This has really depressed me." AJ admitted as Punk wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close.

"We'll walk you both home." Punk told Becca and Lyla who nodded, more than happy to accept the gesture.

"Who would want to hurt Shiv? I mean… it's not like she has many enemies." AJ said, sitting on the sofa in the apartment later that night as Punk had prepared her a cup of peppermint tea at her request.

"Some good for nothing scum." Punk said, sitting the mug down on the coffee table, sitting back on the sofa as she curled into him.

"I thought the worse when Becca said she'd been attacked." AJ admitted, still feeling the nerves and fear in the pit of her stomach.

"It's hard not to think of the worst in those situations." Punk nodded, "But she'll be ok. At least her mom took her to the hospital. She'll be well looked after."

"Yeah, her ever caring and gentle mom." AJ rolled her eyes.

"It does sound pretty similar to the person who threw paint at my shop." Punk admitted, "Hood up. Kinda short. Sped away in a grey car." He thought to himself.

"So there's some freak going around town terrorising us?" AJ questioned, "It has to be someone we know, right?"

"My only guess is Luke. I haven't seen him in a while. Not even on the streets." Punk said, "Seems like something he would do. Lay low and then hit back."

"It feels like whoever it is, is trying to make some kind of statement." AJ sighed stressfully, "It can't be Luke. Shiv would have recognised him."

"Could be one of his stupid friends he hangs around with." Punk said.

"It's making me nervous." AJ sighed into him, "My heart literally sank when Becca and Lyla told us Shiv was attacked. I was picturing all kinds of awful stuff. And she would have been so frightened. Not knowing what this person was going to do to her." She shook her head as Punk listened to her whilst stroking the back of her hair. He could feel how tense her body was when she spoke. How shaken she was after tonight.

"I know it must have brought back horrible memories for you." Punk said, kissing her head.

"The only thing I can imagine being worse than what happened to me, would be to watch someone I love go through it too." She admitted, "These girls are my family. They've had my back all this time. If anything happened to any of them…" She shook her head.

"I know." Punk nodded, "But I promise you… I won't let anything happen to you, or your friends. Shiv saw the beginning of the number plate for the car. So there's a little something to go on with, at least. Hopefully the sheriff can look into it."

"Nothing like this ever happens here." AJ shook her head, "It's always felt so safe. The odd house break in or robbery but nothing so violent."

"You don't feel safe?" Punk asked her with dread.

"Here with you. Right now. I feel safe." AJ nodded, looking up at him, "But after what's just happened with Shiv… I don't know." She shook her head.

"The sheriff might be old but… I'm sure he'll do his job and look at every angle." Punk nodded.

He was trying to stay calm so AJ would keep calm, but the truth was, he was furious. The thought of Shiv, a defenceless eighteen-year-old girl, perhaps only 100 pounds, being attacked as she simply walked home from the Fair. It burned his blood. Perhaps because he also considered Shiv and the rest of the girls to be his friends. To be his family. He wanted whoever was responsible to be found and brought to justice.

"I was actually starting to relax and enjoy the night." AJ admitted, "I was actually starting to come to terms with the fact I'm going to be a mother. The nerves were finally starting to lessen a little." She said, "And now they've shot straight back up."

"I promise you. I will never let anything happen to you." Punk said fiercely as she looked up at him, "Or our baby." He made clear, "Or the family we have here. Your girls. My boys." He said.

"That's a big promise." AJ whispered, "There's some things we can't control." She placed her hand on his chest comfortingly. Although his promises and protectiveness were always a comfort, it wasn't lost on her that anything could happen at any moment, out of his control.

"Hey." Daryl whispered, making his way into the hospital room Shiv was being kept in, looking around to make sure her mother wasn't there.

"What are you doing here?" Shiv rolled her eyes, lying up on the hospital bed.

"Just wanted to make sure you were ok." Daryl said, "And that you didn't strangle your mom on the way here."

"She's on the phone to my dad outside." Shiv said, "Apparently, I might have a slight concussion. They want to keep me here for a few hours."

"Better to be safe." Daryl nodded to her, walking over and taking a seat by the bed.

"It all just feels like a nightmare." Shiv said.

"You're probably still in shock." Daryl assumed.

"Probably." Shiv nodded, "He just came out of nowhere. I noticed the car was driving along the road beside me but… I didn't think anything of it. Before I knew it, he'd tackled me to the ground." She shook her head. Most of it was a blur, but she could still remember the weight of the man on top of her and the fear she felt, not knowing what he wanted from her.

"You didn't see his face?" Daryl asked.

"I saw it briefly." Shiv nodded, "He had dark hair, I think. But I was trying to fight him off so… it was blurry. I didn't get a good enough look." She shook her head.

"The sheriff is looking into it." Daryl nodded, trying his best to assure her, "You got the first part of the number plate on the car. That's going to be really useful." He assured her.

"I doubt it." Shiv shook her head, "I ain't ever heard of people getting attacked on the street in this town." She looked at him.

"The Fair was on. You know we get people from all over coming here. It might have been some lunatic from another state." Daryl said.

"I should have just stayed in the city." Shiv said, rolling her head back on the pillow as Daryl watched her.

"Do you want to see Maple?" Daryl asked her as she lifted her head and looked at him.

"Yeah." She nodded as Daryl pulled his phone out and got up some recent pictures of Maple and the kittens.

"They're doing really good." Daryl said, turning his phone around to show her the pictures as she smiled.

"The kittens are getting big." Shiv smiled, "Is Mister Eckles going to keep them?"

"I think so." Daryl nodded, "I don't want to see them get split up." He frowned.

"They're sweet little things." Shiv smiled, flicking through the pictures, "I uh… I saw you talking to Christina at the Fair." She said, handing his phone back to him.

"And?" Daryl waited.

"Looked cosy." Shiv shrugged, not being able to help herself from bringing it up.

"It was just a conversation." Daryl said, "Am I… not allowed to get cosy with other girls?" He asked her as she looked across at him.

"I never said that." Shiv said.

"It's kinda implied." Daryl said, "You've not been getting cosy with college boys?" He asked as Shiv looked at him, smiling a little as he nodded.

"No comment." Shiv shrugged.

"That's what I thought." Daryl nodded.

"It's not really as exciting as I thought it would be." She admitted.

"College?" He asked.

"Yeah." Shiv said, "I mean… I've met some great people and I've been having fun but… I still think about this place." She nodded, "I still think about…" She looked over at him, "I still think about you." She nodded, realising she couldn't take the words back now.

"I think about you too, Shiv." Daryl said quietly, "I think about what you're doing, who you're doing it with… pretty much every day." He admitted, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

"You never text." She said.

"I don't want to bother you." He shrugged.

"I wouldn't mind if you bothered me." She said, "I'd like to hear from you."

"Ok. Noted." He smiled, "I uh… I just wish you got someone to walk you home tonight." He shook his head, staring at her cheek just below her eye which was swollen and red, no doubt about to turn purple and blue soon.

"It was early." Shiv shrugged, "I wonder if we'll ever live in a world where girls don't need to be walked home if it's dark out." She shook her head with frustration.

"Maybe one day." Daryl nodded, unconvinced by his own optimism.

"You don't think it has anything to do with the person who threw paint at Phil's shop? Do you?" She asked him.

"I have no clue. From the description you gave it sounds pretty similar. Same colour of car, too." Daryl nodded, "But I don't know."

"Can I say something that will just stay between us?" She asked.

"Yeah." Daryl nodded.

"I love Phil. He's great. And I love how happy he's made AJ. He's so sweet and kind." Shiv nodded, "But ever since he got here, I feel like things have gotten more chaotic. First the shit with Luke and now this?"

"You think your attack had something to do with Phil?" Daryl questioned.

"No, I'm not saying that. This town has always been so quiet and… boring." She said, "And ever since he's came here it's…" She shook her head, "Ignore me. I'm just… I'm just a little shaken up I think." She shook her head, not wanting to say any more.

"I've already asked Phil about his past life." Daryl assured her, "I thought maybe he had a disgruntled client in the past when he was a lawyer. Maybe this was them wanting some kind of revenge or something. But he told me that he never had any run ins with clients. And I believe him. I think if he knew there was a possibility that this was connected to his past then he would do anything he could to stop it. He seems just as spooked as the rest of us." Daryl nodded.

"Yeah, I guess." Shiv nodded, "Sorry, I'm just talking in riddles, I guess. Trying to make sense of it."

"You don't have to apologise. What you went through must have been terrifying." Daryl nodded, "And I hope they find the fucker that's responsible."

"Yeah, me too." Shiv nodded, grazing her fingers along her eyebrow where she had a few stitches.

"Hey if you're feeling up to it, maybe I could take you to see Maple and the kittens tomorrow. Before you go back to college." He said as she smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, I'd like that." She nodded.