Just something I've been toying with that formed from a gif set someone posted on Tumblr. It *could* be construed as an alternate ending to another one of my completed stories, but I like to think of it as a story all it's own. Don't know how long it will be, really depends on what the reviews say.

And yes, before anyone starts getting grumpy, I am still working on Respectfully, CMC Dixon. It's not the sole story in my archive at the moment, that's for sure.

I've been writing things as they come to me, as I am able to after what has happened. I don't want to lose great story ideas, so I'm working on them as they poke me.

I hope you all enjoy this, and please leave a review if you do! It will let me know if I should continue this or just retire it.

Beth was limp in the arms of Nathan Has No Horse, Natalie Crow Dog following close on his heels. Nathan laid Beth on one of the pallets on the floor of the sweat lodge. Beth's eyes shot open as the pain returned to her stomach, Natalie's warm hands felt the solid bump of her belly.

"Nathan, go get Mary now!" Natalie yelled, making the young man turn and run. Within minutes he returned, cradling the mother of the tribe to his chest. He set the elder woman down next to Beth, her gnarled hands running over Beth's face.

"I think she's going into labor Grandmother, we have to prepare for the birth." Natalie's voice carried through the lodge, as Beth bit back another scream.

"We shall see daughter. I do not think it is time. May has many moons to pass yet." Mary brought her hands to rest on Beth's swollen belly, feeling the baby kick.

Sweat formed on Beth's forehead as the sharp pains continued. She groaned through the pain, feeling Mary's fingers trailing up her leg beneath the cotton dress. Beth gasped in shock, feeling the old woman checking her as much she would a cow or horse.

"No it is not time for the baby. Bring her cool water and rags. Keep her calm and still. Cool her skin with the water. She can rest here for a time." Mary shook her head before turning to shuffle away.

Natalie took Beth's hand, wiping sweat from her brow. "I'll be back in a little bit. Just rest ok?"

Beth nodded, swallowing down the fear that her baby would be born premature and not live to see the daylight. She was worried for Daryl to be out hunting, especially with the night coming soon. Beth watched the sun paint the sky in pink and orange hues through the hole in the top of the lodge roof. Seeing that beautiful change in the day brought a sense of calm to her soul, the pain was slowly ebbing away.

Natalie had returned with the cool rags, wiping down any part of Beth's skin that was exposed. Beth shivered at the cool water on her collarbone, Natalie smiled.

"Feeling better?" Her voice was quiet in the silence of the medicine lodge.

"A little. Just worried about Daryl. It's getting on evening." Beth couldn't hide the concern in her voice, even if she tried.

"He'll be fine, he's with Joe. Joe won't let anything happen to him." Natalie assured Beth as she wiped down the young mother's hands and wrists.

A commotion rose outside the lodge, Natalie turned on her heels to see what was raising such a fuss outside the hide door.

Joe Red Cloud burst through the door, carrying Daryl in his arms. Dark red blood seeped between Joe's fingers, staining the ground underfoot.

"Lay him down over there, I'll go get Mary." Natalie directed as Beth's head turned to see what was going on. Natalie dashed out of the lodge, looking for Nathan to carry Mary back to tend to Daryl.

"Daryl!" Beth screeched, rolling off the pallet and crawling over to her husband. Beth saw Daryl's eyes open slowly, as Joe pressed his hands to the hunter's torn shirt.

"Hey sweetheart." Daryl croaked through bloodied lips as his hand came to rest on Beth's burgeoning belly.

"Daryl, don't die on me. Don't you leave me!" Beth cried through the tears streaking down her cheeks.

"Ain't planning to. Gotta see my son born." Daryl struggled to breathe as Mary pushed Beth aside.

Beth watched as Mary tore Daryl's shirt open, her old eyes flickering over the gashes across Daryl's abdomen. Beth tried not to gag, the sight of the wounds making her want to vomit. She held on to Daryl's hand, listening to him struggle to breathe.

Mary called out orders in Sioux, Beth having no idea what she was saying. Within minutes Nathan and Joe appeared with a bone needle, an odd colored thread and a bowl steaming with herbs.

"You will help me save his life. It is your duty as his wife girl." Mary took Beth's hands in hers, pressing them to Daryl's stomach. Beth took a deep breath, trying to not retch at the smell and feel of her man's blood coating her hands. Daryl's eyes caught Beth's, the corner of his lips turned up in a smirk.

Daryl laid his bloody hand against Beth's cheek, "Baby don't worry I'll be okay." Tears flowed down Beth's cheeks as she nodded.

"Be strong Beth. Be here now." Daryl whispered, watching Beth's face turn up in a tight smile.

"Here," Mary pressed herbs into Beth's hands, "Put these in the wounds as I sew."

Beth pulled back the flaps of serrated flesh, stuffing the boiling herbs into the wounds. Mary followed behind her, sewing the two halves of skin together with a thread that smelled like herbs and salts. Daryl cried out as the pain surged through his body, his eyes closing as his hand fell to his side.

Beth panicked, shaking Daryl's shoulder violently. "DARYL! Oh God! DARYL!"

Mary's aged hands finished sewing Daryl together, before the medicine woman looked up at Beth with sad eyes.

"He has crossed the river. There is nothing else that can be done for him. You must rest." The words sounded so final, and Beth wasn't taking that for an answer. The crowd of people skirted out of the lodge, to give Beth privacy with Daryl's body.

"No! You're a medicine woman, you can bring him back. You have that power, I've heard the stories about what medicine men and women can do. Please. Bring him back." Beth pleaded with Mary, knowing that the chance still stood she would say no.

Mary patted Beth's cheek, a grimace crossing her wrinkled features. "Child, even if the spirits granted him to return to you, he would not be the same as he was before. Do you wish that for yourself, for your child that you carry?"

Beth didn't hesitate, "Yes! I would have him with me; have him hold our son when he is born than live this life without him. Anything to have him back with me!" She knew that her answer was selfish, but she couldn't see herself without him in life. Daryl was her heart, Daryl was her soul. Without him she was only half of a person, Beth didn't want to be alone.

Mary nodded gravely, stooping to start a fire in the center of the lodge. "Be careful what you wish for girl." The fire slowly came to life as Mary began to chat, her hands moving with the words as the flames licked higher towards the sky.

Beth knelt by Daryl's side, holding his hand in hers. She noticed his blood covering the ring he had given her that morning. Beth wrenched it off her finger, cleaning it on the hem of her dress.

Mary's eyes turned to Beth as her voice carried through the lodge out into the cool night air. Beth swore that the old woman's eyes glowed in the firelight.

"His shirt. Throw it in the fire." Mary commanded as Beth's hands shook setting to purpose.

"I don't understand, why do you need his shirt?" Beth squeaked out as she struggled to free the shirt from Daryl's lifeless body. His skin was still warm, if it hadn't been for the absence of his chest rising and falling, Beth could have been duped that Daryl was still alive.

"There is nothing I could tell you that you would understand." Mary's glowing eyes bored through Beth, causing the young woman to shudder. The medicine woman's voice took on a deeper tone that rose to a fevered pitch as the words of the incantation came to a close.

"The shirt, now." Mary insisted, making Beth jump. She wrung the torn button up shirt in her hands before throwing it into the flames. The fire crackled and rose, as the shirt began to disintegrate. Beth shivered in the stifling heat of the lodge, a chill caressing her skin.

Mary began to chant, throwing herbs and salts into the fire, the flames blazed higher towards the hole in the lodge roof. Beth's gaze transfixed on the blued flames as familiar images took shape in the space between her and the flames. She could see images of her family on the farm, of her father tending to the livestock. Her brother Sean materialized; he was helping Daddy plant the fields, driving the tractor. Maggie came riding through the pasture on a horse as Annette cooked dinner in the kitchen. It was as if Beth was watching over her mother's shoulder through the kitchen window of the old farmhouse that was now a burned out ruin.

The images shifted to when Daryl came to the farm. Beth watched as Daryl hunted to feed the farm and he stole glances at her when he thought no one was looking. She blushed as the images morphed into their time at the house in Kentucky. Their desire for each other was evident in the touches and looks shared in the bedroom. Beth's hands fell to her belly, seeing with new eyes the exact moment the life taking shape within her was conceived. The last few weeks of the house on the Rez passed Beth's eyes in quick flashes, almost like cards being shuffled.

Nausea rolled through her stomach, Beth swallowed to keep from throwing up. The images dissipated into the flames as Mary's voice slowed to a stop. Beth glanced over to the old woman, hoping that the spell was complete, that Daryl was alive.

"You need to give up something of yours girl, it is part of the ritual." Mary's eyes fell to the ring on the blonde's finger; tears welled in Beth's eyes as she shook her head.

"I can't." The words came out a hoarse whisper. "Is there anything else I can give up?" Beth wracked her brain, thinking of the things she had with her that she could part with.

"Choose quickly." Mary prodded as Beth struggled to act quickly. She couldn't give up her locket; it was the only thing she had left of her family. She couldn't give up the ring Daryl had made her, it meant too much to her. Beth reached up and unclasped the diamond earrings Daryl had given her for her nineteenth birthday when they were still living at the prison. She had forgotten about them; it didn't dawn on her then the reason why he had given them to her. Now it all made sense. Beth handed the earrings to Mary, who tossed them into the fire as words began to fill the air.

Beth turned to look at Daryl; he still wasn't showing any signs of life, tears welled in her eyes looking at his body. She sent a prayer up to whoever was listening that they bring him back to her, hoping they would heed her prayer. Mary's bony hand clamped down on Beth's shoulder, making Beth startle.

"It is time for you to go home girl. If the spirits have answered your plea he will return home to you." Mary herded Beth out of the lodge, closing the hide flap behind her.

Beth stared at the door to the lodge, her emotions churning inside her. She didn't know if she believed in spirit medicine, or miracles for that matter. But if Daryl came back to her, she wouldn't second guess anything in life again.

Just to let you all know, I did see ortho today. The NP is calling it definitely whiplash at this point. She has scheduled me for another visit with the doctor, physical therapy, put me on a stronger dosage of medication and has written a letter to my school suggesting that I take a medical leave of absence. I can tell you all now that I'm tired of hurting, tired of the constant headaches and wish this was over so life could get back to normal. Please folks, don't text and drive. Whatever it is you have to say can wait until you are done driving. Nothing that phone can show you is important enough to risk yours or other people's lives for. This has been a PSA by Riain. Thank you and goodnight!