All we do is drive
All we do is think about the feelings that we hide

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"Mama...Mama." Addie beckoned to her mother, shuttering at the damaged being that was her arm. Tackling the seatbelt did she use her other arm to fall flat to the ground to her side. Grunting in response did she see her mother, strangled into her mother's side.

A loud cough echoed as Addie soon realized that the smoke coming from the car managed to fill up her lungs even more. "Mom...Mommy." She attempted again, but nothing came of her mother. Instead, as loud and as piercing as it sounded into the little girl's ears.

Only then did she spot a few sets of feet rushing to the car. "Jeep Wrangler...License number...Count of two bodies in the car." The police officer stated, and to all else. It did not sound like Shane or Rickey. 

"H-help." She couched out, and with that, did a flashing beam of light beacon from the opposite side.

"Driver seems to inactive...Passenger two is active." As Addie began to rise up to her feet, holding her arm in a delicate manner in hopes to make it stable enough for the pain to cease. Allowing time for one of the given police officers and paramedics to rip the hinges off the door and escape with the little girl.

Almost as quickly as Addie could even begin, she was set to the ground and a blanket rushed onto her shoulders as she was carried away. "MOM!" She shouted, struggling against the female cop's hold. But as soon as she was placed onto the metal rim of the ambulance, was she given the rundown.

That her mother has a pulse and that they are going to go to the emergency room.

Now as young as Addie is, she understood what the emergency room is. 

To her, Grandma works somewhere in that area, although that isn't technically right. Nobody questioned what floor of a nurse her grandmother or Blake's mother works in.

Although the daughter was being tested for any head trauma, and anything else other than a few cuts, scrapes and the broken arm. The tears were falling so loudly as she watched the paramedics strap her mother to the gurney and rush her past into a different ambulance. 

"Mama..." She whispered, and the general static of the radios began to rush through and through all around her. But the biggest concern that the female cop had...

Was to keep the mother and daughter together. "Honey...Your mom is heading to the hospital, come on. I'll ride with you." She offered, and although the girl was in no position to make a decision herself. She was aided to her feet as she rose to the ambulance, as she too was offered to lay down to continue the tests.

Addie has never been inside and ambulance before, much less an active one. Hearing the siren coming from both hers and her mothers did she look across to see the police officer as kind as she could be. Smiling over towards her.

"Can you give me your name?" The paramedic offered. And the girl nodded. 

"Addie." She whispered, and continued it as though it was a conversation. "Henry...Does anything hurt?" 

"My arm..." Her tone was only at a whisper, and the only thing she truly paid any attention to was the things and glowing lights around.

The man made her take a deep breath as something cold, the stethoscope, pressed against her chest to see that there wasn't any trauma from the seatbelt.

Soon, they arrived in the ambulance where Addie was forced to remain on the gurney and pushed through. Although she was strapped down, her head was allowed up as she turned all around to see her mother being crowded by a dozen people rushing her to the end of the hall. 

"M-mom." She cried again, and the office from earlier returned back to remain by her side.

"She's in good hands, they're just going to make sure she's okay...And Henry is going to make sure you're okay too." She allowed a slight nod to escape her actions and continued down the hall. Another doctor. Dr.Handler, came through to diagnose a few tests that deemed Addie close to perfection. Minus the arm and given cuts that all have been treated.

The police officer was mandating the front, waiting for Henry to return back with the girl. But while that was going on, a child services worker was at the ready to see what she can get out of the little girl.

Family. Father. Mother. Last name. Anything.

Soon, the flopping doors that divided up the ER allowed Addie to come through. She halted when she saw a strange woman with the officer once again, but continued to walk after a couple of failed attempts.

"Addie. This is Ms.Michelle. She is here to ask you a few questions to see if we can reach anyone in your family." The girl, picking at her arm brace as she nodded downward soon looks up to the women who bent down.

"Can you give me your mommy's name?" The honest blank slate continued as Addie couldn't generate the answer to that question, breathing so heavily that she clung to the back of Henry's pants. His arm soon cosseted around her in a form of comfort.

"How about daddy?" 

"I don't have a daddy." She peeped, and that narrowed down the search quite a bit as the officer. Officer Freeda took notes on how to search for an identity of the women.

"How about any relatives, friends." 

"Merley." She smiled, and that drew a close line. "Merley...Do you have a last name for him?" 

"D-Dixon." She whispered once again, although it couldn't have been Addie Dixon. Freeda still wrote that down as a possibility and nodded off to the nurse to look for any contact information they might have on Merle Dixon.

Over at the Dixon residence, Merle was leaning against the tree. Watching and teasing his brother as he was trying to stay sane and practice. He hasn't been coming home with any sort of game, and it made Merle think he lost his touch. But quite frankly, Daryl just did it because he wanted to stay sober.

"It's like everythin' I taught ya is just...Pff...In one ear, out the other with ya." He growled, his smoke gesturing all around as the small line of smoke just trials it like a sparkler.

"Don't gotta listen to nothin' ya say neither, fuck why don't ya go. Stop pesterin' me 'bout ever lil thin'." Daryl flung his hand up into the air before yanking back his bow's string and aiming it up. "Elbows." 

"Will ya stop, don't ya have somethin' better to doin'?!" The little brother was getting fed up with being watch all the damn time, back and forth. Each and every given thing.

One point or another, Daryl just goes out to the woods to stay away from his own brother, for the sole reason of peace, quiet, and the lack of drugs.

But now, when Merle surprised him by showing up to the campsite to see him doing nothing but relaxing. It's been straight to hell.

On one hand, the older brother was furious, considering the truth behind Blake and Addie is still stuck in the back of his mind. And Daryl isn't doing anything but sitting on his ass and waiting for whatever happens the next day.

"Is this really what ya gonna be doin'...What happened to that damn bike job?" 

"Told ya, that was just for the summer." Merle shined his teeth the given bit as he didn't like his brother's tone.

Much less that he didn't care about anything, the weed affecting their minds was the only setback on not becoming hostile to one another.

That's until the quick pings that Merle started to feel in his pants did he offer for his brother to take another shot as he offered. ""ello. Who's this?" He questioned, not knowing the number at all.

But perhaps it was a new buyer. Or so says in his mind.

"Is this Merle Dixon?" The voice, in his opinion, was very formal. The best way to go through this is be profession. "Yeah, who this?" 

"My name is Dr.Handler, I work at Storybrook Hospital, I have a girl named Addie. Do you know her?"

The quick stop of Merle's heart managed to loosen the grip of the smoke in between his fingers. "Y-yeah, w-why...D-did somethin' happen?" The quick breath on the other side of the phone created a panic to his chest. 

"Her and her mother were in an accident on route 32. We can't get a name for her mother and Addie is a little—" 

"I'll be there in ten minutes." He spoke, hanging up the phone and hurrying along out of the practicing woods.

"Hey! Where the hell are ya goin'?!" Daryl cheered, smirking as high as he could. But the fact that his brother wasn't responding make it practical to follow through. Merle was looking through his phone for anything that Blake might've given him.

There were countless numbers at her house, but there was no chance he could get to the house in time. Instead he ran inside to get his coat and disarm himself. Making Daryl even more antsy for a response.

"Ya gonna answer my question?" 

"Fuck off," Merle stated, grabbing his wallet all while trying to find anything he could on his phone. Jarod at the very least. But there was nothing.

"Fuck." He ushered, and then he looked to his brother. "Lemme see ya phone." As confused as the little brother was, he complied as he threw it to him from across the room. 

"Could help if ya slow the fuck down brother." He offered, taking a sip of the random bottle before him.

His eyebrows couldn't be more scrunched together as he watched his brother go through is contacts. And there was no Jarod listed. Not anymore.

"Fuckin' useless..." He threw the phone back and continued off towards his bike. "Whoa whoa. Ya didn't tell me where ya goin'." 

"Don't gotta, be back tomorrow." The scoff coming from behind Merle just made him glare back.

"Somethin's wrong...And ya ain't tellin' me?" Merle stopped, looking off into the air as he hands hooked against his hips. He swore as he turned around, this had to do with him. A lot. But he didn't want to make Blake into more of a predicament. "Can't man." 

"'corse ya can...Just tell me." He shook his head and continued off to his bike, but instead. Daryl just ran in front of him. "I'm gonna fuckin' tail ya, just—" 

"FINE. GET IN THE TRUCK." He roared, and instead Daryl just followed.

Although Merle wasn't driving, he took the moment to look through Daryl's phone once again, and smirked as he completely missed Jarod's name considering it listened under 'H' instead of 'J'. Texting himself the number did he hand back the phone.

"So where the hell we goin'?" 

"Storybrook hospital...Step on the gas will ya." Daryl straightened his back as he thought for a moment, his hands slouching on the wheel as he thought for a moment on why the hell they were going that direction.

"That girl ya been seein'...She havin' ya—" 

"Ya keep ya fuckin' mouth shut. No. Friend was in an accident." The widened eye that Daryl had allowed him to have some sort of fuel.

He could tell that whoever it was that was hurt meant something to Merle, allowing him to speed down the highway and down the given road to Storybrook.

"She okay?" 

"I don't know...Fuck god I hope so." He said, wiping his hands down his face as he couldn't even begin to allow the car to park before jumping out.

Only making Daryl a few steps behind as they entered into the ER. "Hey...Gotta call, lookin' for Addie." He demanded, and the women nodded and pointed to the girl off into the waiting room.

The sigh of relief that escaped from Merle as he saw Addie talking to a police officer and to a paramedic. Henry was off for the rest of the night, but he couldn't leave the girl as she basically clung to his well being.

"Addie..." The Dixon breathed, and the girl's eyes shot forward and began to run to her uncle as such a quick speed that Daryl off behind him couldn't even get the picture across just yet. 

"Easy hun..." Merle spoke, he had kneed down to the ground and picked up the little girl into his arms.

Her hair just draped his back, and yet Daryl has yet to see the girl's actual face as she stuffed herself into his neck. "Ya aight?...Looks like ya arm's a lil busted." 

"Doctor says it broken...I gotta wear this thing." Merle's rusty chuckle admitted out as he set the girl down back to the floor to see both of the adults before him.

"Mr.Dixon...Could you please help us—" 

"I'm gonna call her uncle, he'll get everythin' across. Meantime, her mama's name's Aurora Blake Holden, if ya can find anythin' else. Only got her brother's contact. And he's army." He whispered the given bit so his brother couldn't hear the key details, and the officer, as well as Henry, said their goodbye's to Addie as they continued off to their own doing.

Merle sat on down and pulled into his lap as she just hugged him again. "What the hell is all this?" 

"Really gonna swear in front of her brother?" He grumbled, but the girl giggled in response.

"Merley...What's gonna happen to mama?" 

"That's a good question, I'm gonna go ask. And I'm gonna call ya uncle so that grams knows ya okay." Addie nodded up to her uncle, but the second Merle looked up to his brother. Daryl's hands jazzed.

"Nah, I ain't babysittin'—" 

"Ya wanted to come, ya sit down and just watch her. She's a sweetheart, ain't nothing to be scared of." As Merle rose up, taking out his phone did he have to point to the chair beside Addie to get him to sit down.

Almost like a dog on command.

He sighed as he plopped into the seat, yet he refused to look at the poor girl. When Merle said it was a friend, he never mentioned a child. Much less this young. So when he peered over to the girl, she was already looking at him.

And yet...He darted his attention elsewhere. "What's your name?" 

"Daryl." The girl took him responding as an invitation, holding out her hand to greet him but hesitated as it was casted and couldn't really give a proper handshake.

"Don't think ya wanna shake my hand girlie." The girl snickered, allowing her nose to prop up. "You're funny." She gleamed, and the man snorted. 

"Whatever floats ya boat hun...What happened?" 

"Mama was driving, someone hit us." Daryl flinched as he took the girl into his viewing now, there were a few cuts. Two of them stitched up as he didn't see anything traumatic to the girl's attitude.

"Ya gonna be aight." 

"And mama?" Daryl let a silent nod escape him as he felt the need to reassure her. Almost in the instant did the girl relax and he too, could breathe freely. But the conversation wasn't in the least bit over. 

"How do you know Merley?" Daryl chuckled once again, 'Merley' he thought, what the hell kind of game is this?

"I'm his brother." The girl soon fell flat into her seat as she scrunched her eyebrows together, thinking very hard for the moment. Trying to look through her given thoughts and memories for a Daryl.

The gulp in response did she look so familiar, yet Dixon couldn't grasp the fact just yet.
"I don't remember you." 

"Well I don't 'member ya neither sweetheart, seems like Merle's got some explain' to do." He offered, and the girl giggled yet again.

Daryl couldn't figure out what she found so funny, but it was better than her thinking about her hurt mother or hurt arm.

Outside, was Merle dialing the phone like a madman trying to get a hold of Jarod. "Ugh hello?" 

"The fuck aren't ya answerin' ya phone?!" He shouted, letting a quick inhale of his smoke draw through before blowing out.

"Been callin' ya for ten minutes." 

"Who's this?" He responded, and Merle just shook his head. "It's Dixon. Not the baby daddy. Look, Blake got into a car accident. Addie didn't know no names and I got called."

On the other side of the line Merle could hear the rush of orders and panic on the other side of the phone. "Shit...Mom's in CT. I'm an hour away, I'll get driving now. Call her too. If you find out—" 

"I'll call ya, just tell Annett and shit. Aight, just tellin' ya." He calmly digressed, and that allowed them both to get to the other side of their job.

He needed to finish his smoke, considering as he looked to the sliding glass doors in fear. Addie was sitting right next to her father, unknowingly. And Daryl was sitting not only next to his daughter, unknowingly. But the women in the accident was in fact Blake. 

Or Rory in this case.

"Fuck...Fuckfuckfuck." He grumbled, shaking off and continuing back into the waiting room as he saw something he wasn't prepared to see. Daryl smiling to the girl before him. "Mama got me a bow for my birthday." 

"Yeah?... Ya shoot aight?" The nod she gave out shook the entire chair as she was loving the conversation before her.

"Ya hearin' this, lil girl can shoot a bow?" Daryl looked up, asking his brother and leaning further into the chair. "Hmm, who ya think taught her. Ya get better hun?" 

"I got it in the red." She beamed, kicking her legs back and forth. But it was then that Daryl started to piece together a theory.

Was this...This Merle's kid?

"Merely...Why didn't you tell me about Daryl?" Merle's mouth parted for a moment, but nothing came out. It wasn't because of the question, or it is. But it's about Daryl's attention to the question that drew the suspicion a bit more. 

"Didn't think nothin' of it." He simply put, looking to his phone as he was getting in a list on contact numbers that he could call in case he couldn't watch out for Addie.

"I'm gonna check out what's goin' on with ya ma...Can ya watch her—" 

"I got it, ya want a snack kid?" Addie looked up to Daryl to see him raised to his feet, she nodded but it was an even bigger strike in Daryl's mind as Merle gave him a few singles to pay for it.

"Ya got some explain' to do brother." He pointed, the money clutched into his hand as he walked off to follow Addie to the corner machines.
Merle sighed as he looked up to the ceiling. "Ya best wake the hell up hun..." He prayed, going back towards the front of the desk to see the nurse from earlier. "Hi, can I help you?" 

"That woman from the accident, Blake. She doin' aight?" The women took a few strides of the keyboard and began analyzing the report.

"She's in surgery right now...I can have a nurse come and get you when she's out and in recovery." 

"What's wrong?" 

"Internal bleeding, broken rib...Can I put you down for a relation, what is..." She trailed down as Merle sighed.

Fuck.

"Aight this is gonna sound fucked up, but maybe ya can help me out." He offered, and the girl, the young college student leaned in as well. He soon pointed off into the corner as his eyes saw Daryl and Addie.

"That's her father, but he don't know it. I'm her uncle, and only other family she got ain't in states cause of the army...Whatever the hell can get me back to see her is what ya gotta put down." Her eyes were lacking of any blinks as she was conflicted on what to do.

"Brother-in-law. Still immediate family. Can get him in too." 

"She hasn't seen him near forever." He sighed once again, and the girl nodded. 

"Then both brother's in-laws, just—Don't say anything." Merle smiled, patting down on the counter as he thanked her once again before straying back towards Addie.

He leaned to his brother and explained how 'his friend' was in surgery, and they were going to see her when she's in recovery. "What 'bout Addie? She shouldn't see her ma like that." He whispered, looking down at the girl. Who was infatuated by the fact she had gotten Oreos.

She offered one up to Daryl and he just declined, instead she turned to Merle. 

"Nah hun, it's yas. Eat up, plenty more where that came from." He motioned up to the machine and with that, he lead both his brother and Addie back to front.

"She ain't got no family, and ya ain't bailin' cause ya wanted to come," Daryl growled, but still managed to sit beside Addie as she took claim of the middle.

It must've been a good hour, and still nothing came from the nurse or even Jarod. The familiarity of the little girl beside Daryl was starting both him, especially when she fell asleep in the chair. Leaning against Merle's rested arm.

"Ya wake her up by starin' at her, gonna let her sleep on ya. Would ya stop." 

"She yours?" He whispered, low enough for the girl not to hear. But the anger that boiled through him in the instant as he huffed. "No." He seemingly declared.

"Then—" 

"I know her ma, aight. Just leave it at that...aight?" Merle refused to look at his brother, instead Daryl looked down to Addie. Seeing her so comfortable around either of them still sounded odd in his mind.

She shoots a bow.

"Who's her ma?" 

"Would ya stop?" Merle wasn't a begger, but Daryl was pushing a boundary that wasn't meant to be crossed. Not when Blake's health is on the line.

"Look, if her ma don't wake up, closest thin'. Anyone asks, we're her brothers-in-law." Merle prepared Daryl for any questions, and eyed anyone near as he choked on his own swallow.

"Where's the girl's father?" 

"Ain't 'round." He calmly whispered, and he looked to the girl once more. Sadness in his eyes as he saw the girl's mother so openly as well as a young Daryl.

Sleep just in his hold.

"Ya aight?" 

"I ain't the one with a broken rib and internal bleedin'...Cop said somethin' 'bout car bein' tipped on its side." The man sighed yet again, but he knows for a fact that the second that it's Blake coming to light. Daryl's either going to flip out or actually be helpful.

Either or, he couldn't put that on Blake.

"Pst." Daryl whispered, and that allowed Merle to see the police officer coming from the side once again. 

"Ma'am." The eldest Dixon greeted, seeing Addie's backpack and stuffed animal in the women's hand. "The woman's car was impounded, but some of her friends at King's Country claimed it already..." Merle nodded and took the offering of either things.

Blake would want Addie to try and do her homework, but the busted arm. That might not be possible. "You two need anything?" They both shook their heads and allowed the women cop to take the given leave as she didn't NEED to come back and give her something to do.

But it allowed for the girl to snuggle close to the stuffed animal.

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Date Posted: 11-28-18

Time: 11:16

Word-Count: 4002