Looking around as the fire crackled, tears began to roll down his face as he sat there. He let them flow as he looked over, seeing Carl asleep with Judith in his arms. He let the tears continue to flood down his cheeks as he looked around at everyone, most asleep and others speaking quietly. Wiping his eyes, he got up and headed through the campsite as hurriedly as he could. People exchanged glances as Daryl held his hand up.
"Let him go, he needs this."
Making his way to the edge of the tree line, he leaned his shoulder against a near sapling and let the tears return. His legs began to cave as he slid down the sapling. He let the pain wash over him as he sat there. Their faces cut through his mind in shots: Shane, Lori, Dale, Andrea, Morgan, Hershel, Tyreese … Beth. He sat on the ground, letting the tears pull the sadness out of him. He knew sadness was now a part of life but this was too much too soon.
He didn't hear the soft footfalls on the dried leaves, but he soon felt her arms around his shoulders. He felt her kneel and hold onto him for dear life. He turned, burying his face in her neck as he let the tears continue to flood. She wrapped her arms around him, holding him close to her chest as he sobbed uncontrollably. She ran her hands through his hair, cradling him to her as she rocked him gently.
Lifting his face from her neck, he placed both hands on either side of her face and pulled her into a bone crushing kiss. The amount of hunger and furor in his kiss scared and thrilled her at the same time. She let herself melt into his arms as she let him take control. Their mouths remained fused together for long heart pounding moments till he pulled back.
"I'd give all this up for you … all you have to do is ask." She nodded and smiled at him. "Just say the word and I will do it."
"Do you believe in this?" she asked simply.
"I don't know," he replied truthfully.
"Then when you know for certain is when we'll stop. Deal?"
"Deal." He rose with her in his arms. "Can you forgive me for waiting so long to tell you how I really feel."
"There's nothing to forgive, we're together now is all that matters," she smiled and began pulling him with her. "Come on, let's get some sleep before morning gets here." He nodded as they walked back to camp together. He made his way over to the unfurled sleeping mat and stretched out on his back. She hugged Maggie and walked over, laying down beside him. He pulled her to him, kissing her forehead as his eyes began to drift shut.
"Is he okay?" Carl asked softly.
Reaching her hand back to him, Beth gripped his and smiled. "He's going to be now, go back to sleep. We have a long journey still ahead of us." Bringing her hand back around, she wrapped it around his chest as he rolled to snuggle into her.
This piece's inspiration comes from the song "Give It All" by Train, which they recently re-released as part of May being about Mental Health Help in some way. We all in some way know the loss that the characters on the show go through, and we've all experienced loss in some way ourselves. PLEASE I BEG YOU … DON'T HOLD IT IN. Talk to someone: your best friend, your parents, loved ones, a pastor. Call a hotline or something, please don't just think you can handle it on your own. Don't let depression get the best of you … I know what it can do to a person, I suffer from it and so does my husband. We have each other to help get through the bad times, so I say again DON'T LET DEPRESSION GET THE BEST OF YOU. We are all worth something and we all deserve the right to be happy.