Unexpected Love

Chapter 11

Four Years Later

Hey! Guys miss me? I know you have I've been gone for four years. I went to NYU which was great by the way. I loved the city. I'm going to guess you want to know what I majored in. Well, I majored in nursing. So now I'm a nurse and I'm back home in my small tiny town. I know I know "but Y/N You hated that town," well yes I did and still do. But I missed my dad and I want to be near him. New York is so far away and of course, I would come home every chance I got to see him. But I'm older know 21 to be exact going on 22. I got a job at the hospital outside of town. It's about an hour's drive there. I work in the emergency room mostly trama but I move around. I love being able to help people. It's crazy and the shifts are long but I love it. I'm good at it too.

I know you want to know about Daryl Dixon too. As far as I know, he quit his job or got fired not too sure. Now he just drifts around with Merle. My dad said he doesn't come around anymore and when he sees him he's always with Merle. He's picked him up after he ends up taking the fall for Merle's ungrateful ass. Dad said when he tries to talk to him about getting away from his brother he ignores it and talks about bullshit like how he needs his brother his only family. Dad tried to get him to leave move in with him. Said he'd help get his job back but Daryl won't have any of it.

I still feel bad for what I said to him. Now it looks that he's going down that path. I don't think she ever does drugs or anything but its not looking good. I want to talk to him but I'm scared. Yes, I have seen him around but I don't think he's noticed me, and if he has he acts like he hasn't. I had a shift tonight so I decided to go into town to the store so I could get something for my lunch break. I drove through town and found a spot to park. Getting our of my car, shutting the door and locking it. I walked in through the store door as the bell rang the cashier Arnold looked up.

Arnold was a sweet old man who owned the store. He's known me all my life. I had scrubs on of course for work. They were red and had the name of the hospital on the top left corner. Georgia Memorial Hospital. "Y/N! How are you dear?" Arnold asked. I smiled "I'm good! How have you been?" I asked as I walked up to the counter. "I'm good. Getting old," he said chuckling. "How's your health?" I asked him. "Oh, you know. Got arthritis all over. My heart isn't too good either got high blood pressure," he told me.

"Gotta be careful with that Arnold. Are you taking your blood pressure medication?" I asked him. "Yes, yes. I take Clonidine I'm on warfarin too," he said. "Blood thinners? Well, I guess that makes sense," I said. "Is your INR good?" I asked. "Yes, ma'am. It's in the normal range," he said. "Good. Well, I gotta find something for lunch to take with me I have a shift tonight," I told him. "Well, we just got those creamy chicken Raman middles you like so much in and that Arizona green tea," he told me. "Oh well, problem solved. I walked down the aisle and found the noodles grabbing a few packs then went and grabbed a few cans of tea. I paid and said goodbye to Arnold.

Walking back out to my car I unlocked it and put the bags in the back seat. As I closed the door I turned around and ran right into someone dropping my keys "Oh my god I'm so sorry," I said. I knelt down and grabbed my keys. When I stood up and looked up at who I ran into my breath caught in my throat. "Daryl," I breathed out. He just looked me up and down face unreadable. "How... how are you?" I asked. He didn't answer just looked at me. I stood there feeling nerves.

"When you get back?" He asked. I looked up at him "a few months ago," I said. He just nodded. "Ya a doctor now or something?" He asked. "What?" I said and looked down at myself realizing he must of be talking about the scrubs. "Oh no. I'm a nurse in the emergency department at Georgia Memorial Hospital," I said. "Hmm. Whatcha doing back here? Why not stay in the city?" He asked me. "I miss being at home. I wanted to be here with my dad," I told him. "What about you? How have you been?" I asked even though I already knew. "Fine," was all he said. "You still working at Wade's?" Of course, you're not I know dad told me I thought. "Nah," he said. "Oh, that's a shame I'm sorry. How's Merle?" I said.

He squinted at me his face hard. "Why do you care? You hate Merle. Why you even asking about me I know ya already know. Yer dad's the sheriff I know he's told ya everything," he growled out. "You were right bout me! Ya happy!" He said harshly. "Daryl no I wasn't I was mad and hurt by what you said that day. I'm sorry for everything. For what I said what I did. I shouldn't have I was so so wrong and I've regretted ever since," I said looking at him. "Whatever. I gotta shit to do," he said and walked away. I stood there for a few minutes and watched him. Once I couldn't see him I got in my car and head down the road to the hospital.

I parked in the parking garage and head into the hospital. The first thing I noticed was how crowded the ER was. It was normally crowded but tonight it was more crowded than normal. People were standing shoulder to shoulder. There were no chairs left to sit. I walked into the employee locker room and put my stuff in my locker. Grabbing my stethoscope and badge putting them around my neck. I walked out to the floor and to the nurse's station.

Sarah was standing there on the computer so I asked her what was going on. "Hey Sarah, what's going on there's more people here than normal. It's packed in the waiting room," I said. "Yeah, there's some kind of virus going around. People are coming in with high fevers and sone with bite marks. What I've heard is it makes people violent and they end up attacking others," she told me. "Oh boy, so tonight's going to be busy," I said. Looking around I could see that people were being put in the hallways.

Beds were lines back to back along the walls. Some were strapped down and thrashing. I grabbed a file and headed to the room. Walking in I saw a woman with whom I was assuming to be her husband. "Hello Mrs. Harmon, I'm Y/N Ill be your nurse tonight. What brings you in?" I asked. "Well I was working out in the garden today and some man canes up and just attacked me. He bit my arm luckily my husband was there and stopped him," she said. I walked over and looked at her arm. She had teeth marks indented into her skin. The sound was bleeding and red. It wasn't too bad so I excused myself to get what I needed to clean and wrap it.

I got back to the room with the supplies and grabbed gloves pulling them over my hands. I walked over putting everything down on the bed beside the woman and opened everything so it was ready. I grabbed her arm gently and noticed she was hot. The heat coming off her skin was like a furnace. "Mrs. Harmon, do you feel alright?" I asked. "I feel a little hot," she told me. I walked over and grabbed the thermometer off the wall and checked her temperature. I looked at it as I heard the beeping 103.2 degrees. I cleaned and wrapped her arm. "I'm going to check your heart and lungs. I put my stethoscope in my ears and set the other end on her back.

"Take a deep breath," I said. She took a deep breath then I repeated that three more times. Then I move it to her chest to listen to her heart. "Just relax and breathe normally. I noted she was wheezing and her heart was beating fast. I then felt her pulse. Her pulse was 134 which was extremely high. "I'm going to check your blood pressure," I told her and put the cuff on her. I pushed to button and it pumped up. I looked over once it was done seeing the numbers on the screen. 215/ 167. "Mrs. Harmon do you have blood pressure problems?" I asked. "No," she said. "What wrong?" Her husband asked.

"Your blood pressure and pulse ate elevated. They're very high, and you are wheezing along with a fever of 103.4. I'm going to call the doctor to have him come in and get you something for the fever and blood pressure. I'm going to have to start an IV so I can give you fluids," I let them know. I walked out and back to the nurse's station paging the doctor. As I stood at the counter the PA system came on "CODE WHITE! CODE WHITE! EMERGENCY ROOM 30!" The voice said. I rushed to the room to see nurses trying to hold down a patient. The man was trying to break free chomping his teeth at the nurses. I ran over and helped strap him down.

One of his hands gets free which then grabbed the closest nurse by the hair and pulled her towards him. He bit into her neck as she screamed. Blood spraying all over me. He pulled back and flesh pulled away from her neck as he did so. Blood sprayed from her neck into him and everyone standing around. She grabbed her neck trying to stop the bleeding. I ran over to her wrapping my hands around her neck to help put pressure on it as she fell to the ground. My scrubs turning a darling shade of red as her blood seeped through them. They managed to strap the man down.

His face was covered in blood teeth snapping teeth coated in the same blood. His eyes for white and hazy. He kissed and growled at us as he thrashed around. I looked down to see the nurse In as my hands on her neck was Lauren. She had stopped moving. I checked for a pulse but couldn't find one. She had bled out which was expected she had a chunk ripped from her throat. I just sat there blood covering my hands and arms, soaking into my scrubs. "She's dead," I said looking up.