Beth's Old Sweet Shoppe

Chapter 49:

Chapter 49:

So all day was pretty much doing nothing to upset the pregnant woman in the shop. Daryl for warned everyone and they surely listened to his request of keeping Beth happy. After this morning's freak out session, Beth has been calm and pleasant...for now.

"Daryl when are you working tonight?"

"Midnight to 8:00, Honey." He comes over and kisses her temple.

"Don't touch. It's so hot in here." She grumbles and he backs up four feet and looks away. "We need to go buy baby things."

"Okay, babe."

"Eww no, don call me that. It sounds gross." She walks away and Daryl growls at himself. This was gonna be harder than he thought. He can't truly tell if it's from hormones or her just being mad at him. Going out of the kitchen he finds Merle and Carol conversing as she buys a jar of jelly beans.

"Well...I think it would be cool... oh hey Daryl." Merle smiles and Carol does too before kissing Merle on the cheek and leaving the store.

"What's that about?"

"Oh, we was just talkin' bout gettin' a house together....ya know after probation's up." Merle says confidently and Daryl shakes his hea at the idea.

"You have no money Merle...how ya gonna buy a house?"

"Where you's been brudder? Beth's been paying me and Carol has a shit load of money she got from Ed's will."

"And you really think living with her and Sophia will work out the way you want it too?"

"Ah, yer just gonna miss me. That's what this is, isn't it Dural. You got so used ta me being cross the hall that you's gonna miss me if I leave." swallowing hard, Daryl doesn't want to admit it, but yes, that's one of the many reasons he's against it. He wants to make up for lost time with Merle and if he leaves, him and Merle will most likely never become friends. Blood just isn't enough some times.

"Screw you, Merle. I just wanna keep an eye on ya and make sure yer not doing anything bad."

"Sure...you just wanna start having tea parties too? Beth can make the crumpets and we can wear old fashioned dresses. Come on Dural, we knew this was gonna happen whether it be you and Beth or me and Carol." Merle walks away and Daryl just thinks about it. He's right. He's right and Daryl can't refute the truth that one day soon, one of them won't be around.

"Fuck!!!"

"Beth?" Running into the kitchen and looking around, Daryl finds Beth on the floor holding her hand, with blood gushing from it. "Beth, what happened?"

"I slipped on this fucking dish water and cut my hand with the chef's knife. Oww!!" She screams in pain and Daryl runs to her office, grabbing the first aid kit and a towel.

"Let me see, Bethy." He gently pulls her hand away from her other and the blood knocks him out cold.

"Really!!!! Fuck!" Taking her hand she smacks his face and leaves a bloody hand print on his pale cheek. Waking up, she grabs his shirt with force. "Fucking suck it up an wrap it you prick! I have no time for this!"

Shaking his head back to focus, e grabs the gauze from the kit and starts to wrap her hand tightly after getting the bleeding to stop.

"Jackass! It needed sewed!" Her temper pushes him over the edge. flipping the kit over he stands up.

"Do it yer fucking self then! I'm just trying to fucking help!" He walks out leaving her there. Walking outside, Jake is sitting on the sidewalk and Daryl grumbles. He can't take the orders, the emotions, the mood swings, the crying. Not any of it to this extent. Yeah, he probably boulder leave her there on the floor bleeding, but he needed to get fresh air and walk away before he said something terrible that he couldn't take back.

After letting the cool breeze blow through his hair, Daryl heads back inside and finds Beth sitting on the floor still, crying her eyes out, hand still in the gauze and the kit everywhere. Going to her he picks up the needle and medical thread and starts unwrapping her hand, showing him the exposed cut that is across her whole palm. She looks up at him with glassy wet eyes and snot running down her face as she gasps for controlling breaths.

"I'm sorry I flipped out. I get yer hormonal, but you had no right yelling at me when I was trying to help. Now, I need to stitch you, but I don't know how, so yer gonna have to help me." He says monotonely and she nods understanding. "Good."

He gets the thread through the sterile needle and she guides him in stitching her hand up. When it's down, he wraps a new sheet of gauze around her hand after cleaning off the blood. Looking down at her, blood on her shirt and face where she wiped her eyes, Daryl grabs the wash cloth and gently dabs her cheeks, chin, and hands clean.

"There." He says with a small smile an he takes the rag from him. Cleaning off the hand print from his cheek, she leaves the rag on the floor and leans into his grasp. "It's okay, Baby. I know."