Sick and full of pride
All we do is drive

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The car accident was on purpose.

Intel was hacked, and they tried to take out the agent. Simple as that, now the discloser wasn't to be kept classified. But the second they left the room, Daryl hurried on back in. Not even waiting for Annett as he felt the sudden pull.

"H-hey—hun? Oh hun...Hey, it ain't gotta be that bad. Ya can find 'nother job if—" He stopped cold-heartedly as Blake just shook her head and swatted his hand away.

"I still have a job. T-the accident wasn't—It was on purpose." She managed out, someone had targeted her because of her position as an upcoming agent. And now in the brink of it all, did Daryl frown.

"Did they know ya had a kid in the car?" The women nodded, and that made Dixon almost as hostile as before. His hand felt up and around his beard. "I'm fine..." She breathed, wiping away her tears in the sudden moment as her eyes darted back to Daryl.

The one in question wasn't as bloodshot anymore, but all in all. She looked worse for wear.

"...You should go."
"And leave ya so ya can get targeted 'gain. Hell nah." Blake huffed as she crossed her arms. Licking her lips and leaning further into the pillow. "Guess that means you know about Addie then?"
"Ya plan on ever tellin' me? Told my brother aight." 

"I was scared...Scared like I am now." Her admitting a feeling wasn't rare, but to Dixon. The man she hated right beside her biological father is something worth writing down in Daryl's book. Because that meant there was some kind of trust coming through.

Or the drugs, could definitely just be the things pumping into her veins. "Ya a mama bear, got a right to be." 

"And you're a papa bear, doubt I have any say now that's I'm injured huh?" She giggled, and the slight change in emotion once again took him off guard. But he nodded downright. 

"Now ya startin' to get the idea...Ya gonna tell me 'bout that rin' there?" Her eyes danced around a bit before landing on the ring, pouting. 

"It was one of my mom's. Stole it when I was five months pregnant, just—just made it easier to say that her father died." And that hit the bell on the head as Daryl's heart sank.

He was so far out in no man's land that his own daughter doesn't even think he's alive.

"Where'd ya get that brilliant idea from?" Blake began to giggle at the broad husky tone that Daryl had given off, and if this conversation was lacking the pain high and the meds. Then perhaps she'd have been in a much less chipper mood.

Instead, she tilted her head. "From one of your fuck buddies." She blinked, keeping the smile so vividly on top. Making Daryl's breath escape with such a clear line of cautious. 

"Hmm, not so tough now asshole...Hey! I can get it." She cheered, trying to reach over for the cup of water only to have him get it halfway.

"Ya can, but ya don't gotta." 

"Oh, so you're going to babysit me? Babysit Addie with your coke defiant and friend fucking hands?" Hostility added onto the list.

Daryl's smirk rose, she had gone from happy, to clueless, to chipper, to hostile and now to downright aggravated all in one sitting and two minutes.
"I've been clean...And ya can't be talkin' neither, ya've been datin'—" The sudden pause in conversation was due to the fact that her silent tear continued to fall down, and stinging her semi-opened stitch as she smeared it away. 

"I dated two people. The last time I had sex was you...So take that before you even mentioned another god damn thing." Daryl lost his strength in his knees, making him tumble to the seat Annett had claimed.

"Ya kiddin'." 

"You're going to sit there and ask if the single mother with a full-time job only dated two people?" She snipped, and that made he shake his head. Guess he was in the wrong.

"Only one of them met Addie...So calm down papa bear..." She began to couch, only to groan in pain as she held her stomach. 

"Ya want me to get ya ma?" She shook her head in retaliation, it was calmness. Seeing Daryl because part of her is in denial that she was actually awake.

"What 'bout Jarod? Addie is gonna wanna see ya too." The dreadful eyes soon drifted towards him, and it wasn't like the tears ever left her. 

"I can't let her see me like this." She choked, swallow down another large chug. "Why?" 

"I'm her mama, seeing me hurt is—" 

"Better than hearin' that she ain't gonna see ya 'gain. There's a scared lil girl that couldn't sleep last night cause ya weren't there in the house." He pointed out towards the door in protest, and it was the stand up that she couldn't say anything against him.

"How would you—" 

"Was at ya house last night, didn't know ya cop friends and ya brother stayed here with ya at the hospital." She nodded, but then smirked. "You saw the house..." She smiled, rubbing her eyes so deeply. "Must've been a mess." 

"Hell ya talkin' 'bout, it was spotlessly clean." She rolled her eyes behind her lids as well rolled her shoulders.

"Feel any pain?" 

"Think they pumped me with enough drugs for my entire life time." She said, poking him in the arm. Back to the chipper defect. "Was Addie born here?" 

"No...She was born at Fort Benning. March 27, 1999." It was the gentle look of the man beside her to do that math.

"Camping...It's when we went camping. Found out a few weeks after, I was already in New Haven by the time I figured it out." She whispered, almost like it was a secret. And it was, in her mind.
And Addie's precious soul.

"So ya were nineteen when ya had her? That makes ya 'bout—" 

"I'm twenty-six asshole." She laughed, smiling off towards him.

"I should be mad at you..." She fumbled, closing her eyes and frowning at the Freudian slip. "Should be mad at ya too, but we'll wait 'till ya healed." 

"Thanks." He snorted backwards, bringing her hand to kiss it for a moment. "Don't say thanks, get through this first. Then ya can thank me." 

"I'll kick you in the fucking balls, don't you god damn dare—"

Daryl wasn't threatened, but instead Blake was smirking devishly as she could easily knock him on his ass. Perhaps with a healed ankle and unstitched head.

"Addie's seven...Fuck it's been seven years?" Aurora nodded in the instant, the drowsiness of the conversation was bringing forward and sighed down to take away her hand. Almost tending to the sore muscles.

"I dunno where to begin to ask..." Blake smiled, looking off towards the door almost to envision her daughter. "She's very good at math...She's learning very big second grader words. And her favorite animal is a—" 

"Wolf...Saw her room." Nodding at the actual reasoning did she assume that Merle gave him the tour.

"You sleep at all?" Daryl was quick to shake his head, but then explained how he's stayed up longer for stupider reasons so he didn't really care if he was tired, he'd sleep when she slept. "Probably going to let me go home later today." 

"Aight doc, but it's best we get an actual opinion on that."

The laughter that was soon hidden behind Blake's wrist made Daryl frown in confusion. "Mom didn't tell you?" The confused gloss on the clear blue crystals automatically told her that her mother didn't. "She likes to brag about it." 

"Brag 'bout what?"

A quick few breaths were dismissed before she looked up. "It's not ms...It's Dr." Almost like she was scared at Daryl's reaction and worried for a negative opinion. But that only made him crack an even wider smile.

Shinney teeth and all.

"Huh, thought they'd fall out by now." 

"Well darlin', ya'd be wrong..." He couldn't take offense to anything she says, mostly because it wasn't real or honest feelings. Bipolar reactions to both the conversation and him was making it difficult for him to even understand what is what and how to prepare for the actual final decision.

If he gets to stay.

"How bad do I look?" 

"Ya lookin' alive." She glared, and he finally gave her an answer. Only to make her feel further to her face. "That's not an answer...A kid shouldn't see their mother like this." Although she picked at the brace around her wrist, her eyes still batted off towards him.

"Seen hell of a lot worse." He whispered, because honestly. He hasn't seen this bad, even with all the fights. But instead of a sigh, she started laughing. Only to feel the stabbing poke in her ribs.

"Could've told me I broke a rib." 

"Shit thought ya knew." She shook her head and almost placed it back to place. "Yeah now I do...Anything else wrong?" 

"Concussion, lil one." This time she shrugged her shoulders at the idea and lazily looked up to him.

"You said Merle's with Addie?... Could you call him?" She mumbled, so weakly. And whether it was the downfall of emotion, it finally drawed him closer.

"Ya want 'nother minute?" Blake had already started shaking her head at the offer before he even finished.

"Aight..." He secretly wished he had another moment or two alone with her instead of having everyone come on in. And yet, Merle was quick to pick up. "Man I'm shocked as all hell that she's lettin' ya stay in the room with her...What's up?" 

"Ya with 'verybody? She wants to see Addie."

Merle claimed to be on up, as well as everyone else to follow through.

"Everythin's gonna get better." Blake not making eye contact to him was dreadful, he wanted to see her eyes. Bloodshot or not, ripped up or in pain was better than being ignored. 

"I'm going to drive everyone crazy, because apparently, I can't even get water...Let alone get up on my feet." She pointed down to her casted ankle, and that made him sit down. Demanding the attention.

But him sitting on the bed beside her, sudden sparked uncomfortablility in the air. As she choked on her spit trying to breath normally. "Don't—stop. I need to focus on—" 

"Ya need focus on Addie and gettin' better. But I wanna be there and help." Licking her lips and smacking them together did she try to stay positive.

"Daryl it's...I don't know if that's possible." 

"Ya stayed 'way for close to seven years..." He reminded, but almost hissed out. "You made me stay away, I wasn't going to come back. You didn't care." It was both points of views crossing over, and the heart-wrenching cliche of them both turning teary eyed made Daryl just his head.

He wasn't going to admit to that.

"I did care, didn't want ya leavin'. Ya left." 

"You pushed me away...And forgot to put a condom on." Tilting her head in exile made him down his head even further. "My fault ya got pregnant..." 

"Yeah, but it takes two to make one. Past that, not past you hurting me or being a fucking asshole about everything else." She rested her head back, plundering the words into an already apologising Dixon.

"I'm sorry hun, really I am...Come on ya gotta—" She couldn't hold back, she interrupted the second she was fed up enough to speak. 

"I don't 'gotta' do anything, you're only here become I'm vulnerable. If I wasn't, it'd be a fight."

"Then what ya want me to do?" Daryl watched as her eyes danced back and forth, almost reading something in between the invisible lines that he couldn't dare to make out. Seconds, minutes even. Until finally she admitted: "I don't know."

"Then 'till ya know, I'm stayin'. Ain't much of a cook tho." The joke passed well through her drugged mind as she smiled, allowing her bruised jaw to take it into offense. But the knock on the door startled them both.

The accepting nod had Daryl go to the door and allow them all in. Jarod was first in line as he plowed past the ex and straight to his sister who he brought into a hug.

And then her eyes landed to Addie. "Thank god you're okay." Jarod whispered into her ear, laying a kiss onto her cheek without hesitation.

Daryl's growl was imminently followed by Merle grunting to him. The brotherly exchange to their sibling exchange wasn't inviting, it was just that Daryl couldn't help himself.

"Mama? What's wrong with your face?" Addie questioned, holding onto Annett's hand so roughly. And all eyes went from the young girl to her mother, until finally Blake just started to laugh. 

"At least someones honest...You feeling okay baby?" That allowed Annett to let go of Addie and for her to get into Jarod's hold to sit with her mother on the bed.

"Careful girlie, ya ma's got some healin' to do." Merle dictated, allowing Blake to finally look up to the Dixon brother she trusted with the secret. Although she was a bit irritated with the fact that he now knows.

There's no going back to change it, and she is dead set against it all by now. "Does it hurt mama?" The mother shook her head at her scared little girl, and the only response that Blake could come up with is to wrap her arms. "Not right now, no." She whispered, and with that, she kissed the top of Addie's head and pulled her in tighter.

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Date Posted: 09-21-19

Time: 10:10

Word-Count: 2330

I honestly thought I hit post on this one, my bad!