Beth's Old Sweet Shoppe

Chapter 63

TWO MONTHS GONE

At first she thought it would only be a few days that Daryl needed, but days turned into weeks and weeks into a month and now another passes along with it. When he first left, he only took a suitcase of close, but as the days passed, he'd apparently been sneaking in and taking more and more of his stuff, excluding Jake- who apparently got angry when he was trying to be removed from Bailey's side. The more time that had passed, the more Beth fell into a deeper and darker depressed state. The only word of him being alive was the checks he'd send for Kylie and dog food. Everything else had been wiped clean as if Daryl never truly existed. And maybe he didn't. Maybe he was simply a mirage that let Beth believe that her life with Gareth wasn't actually all that terrible. Or maybe she had always been hallucinating. Yet how could that be when she has the most beautiful blue eyed, brown eyed baby girl anyone could ask for?

Business had also declined for Beth. Before her shop seemed to attract business- whether it was Daryl's presence, Merle's, or her own- her shop now resembles a barren wasteland. Her whole ambition had seemed to go down hill the longer Daryl is away. Her own heart seems to have shifted away from her chest and has either shrunk altogether or had been casted downward into her stomach. Laying in her bed this morning, Kylie in a pillow fort beside her, Beth gently strokes her finger against the child's face and coos to her. Nothing else seems to matter as much. Looking down at her perfect little girl, she can't stop loving her.

"Yer so beautiful. Yes. Yes you are...Baby. Kylie? Kylie?" Looking down at her child, she starts seizing and jerking irratically. Scooping her up, she has no choice but to drive her to the hospital. She has no time to wait for the ambulance to get here. Driving with her child seizing in the the carseat next to her, Beth speeds toward the hospital. Passing a dead corner, suddenly a police siren comes on and Beth has no choice but to ignore it. When she pulls into the parking lot, she leaves her truck running and races into the ER. "Help my baby! My baby is seizing and she needs help now!! Please!"

A nurse frantically runs around the desk and takes hold of the child- Beth just tries to keep up with the nurse as they bob and weave around a throng of people to get to an open room, where nurses and doctors alike are just sitting around. Dr. Edwards is startled by the abruption, but quickly tends to the child.

"Miss, yer going to need to wait outside please." She ushers her out a door and Beth just stands crying and shaking while she stares at the door. From behind her she can feel the stare of a pair of eyes on her. The cop no doubt. Slowly turning to face her maker, she cries and crumples to the floor as she finds him standing there in his uniform looking a little less distraught than her.

"Beth...what's going on? What's wrong?" He jogs over and kneels in front of her- taking her into his arms, a puzzle complete once more. She cries harder into his shoulder and her arms wrap tightly around his neck.

"Kylie..." That's all she has to say for him to know this isn't good.

"I saw you speeding, but I never thought it was over this. Why didn't you call 911?" He frantically asks.

"She needed help right away...Daryl..."

"I know baby. I know. I'm here. I'm sorry honey. I'm sorry for everything."

"Miss Greene?" Dr. Edwards comes out. Once more he removes his glasses and wipes them clean before putting them back on his face and looking at Beth. "Kylie had an inner ear infection that caused her to have erratic seizers. But we got them under control and have put her on an antibiotic to help."

"Why was it so bad?" Daryl asks because Beth is unable to compose herself.

"Could be the build up of fluid in her ear or germs. It's really common, but this degree not so much. That's what scares me. She could possibly be epileptic, but we won't know unless it happens again and we follow up with a few tests."

"So we'd have to make her go through that again to test her? That's stupid." Daryl stands and helps Beth to her feet also. His anger is filling him up like a hot air balloon.

"Young children usually aren't diagnosed as epileptics. Epilepsy isn't common in children- especially babies. So that's why I believe this is a one time episode." Giving them a shitty smile, Edwards walks away and Beth just looks up at Daryl.

"If I could shoot him in the foot for better answers... I would." Daryl grumbles and then looks down at the woman in his arms. He hasn't held her in a long time, but he remembers it. Etched into his body she is- permently. The corners of his mouth curl slightly and then straighten. "Beth, I'm..."

Cutting his sentence off, she presses her lips to his and pulls him down to her so she doesn't need to be on her tip toes any more. Like snakes restricting, Daryl wraps his arms around Beth and pulls her even closer to his body- as if trying to conjoin them. When they let go, her smile fills her face and Daryl too has a hugely ridiculous smile crossing his face.

"I love you." Daryl mumbles against her lips as he kisses her one last time.

"And I you...I think I left my car running.." Taking her keys out of his pocket, he holds the key ring on his finger and Beth just smirks. "Thank you."

"I'm going to have to take you in for speeding. You know that right?"

"Daryl..."

"No exceptions. I could lose my job, Missy." Tugging on his uniform, Beth beams up at him with watery eyes, giggles and then flattens her hands to his chest.

"You could always work at the Shoppe... food for thought."

Once more happiness creeps back into their lives and with the turning of a page comes a new future.