I own nothing…
So I have a lot of fics I never publish, but I asked if you wonderful people wanted me to and here it is.
Go easy on me, this is a new genre, and sometimes they might be a little OOC, but I believe they bring out different sides of each other.
Enough of that, I hope you like it!
Beth didn't think of him like that, not at first. At first he was a just a mysterious man who tracked the little girl, and she had a boyfriend. He kept mostly to himself and didn't say much. There was something sad about him, but Maggie had told her that he had lost his brother a while back. She could symphonize with that. There was something intriguing about his face. He probably looked older than he was, life hadn't been easy on him. And that was probably before the world went to hell. Daryl is name was.
"What you lookin' at?" Daryl barked at her one day. He was sitting and making arrows. Beth had been feeding the chickens and walked past him trying to sneak a look. Apparently Beth wasn't being as careful as she thought she was.
"Nothin," Beth said with a blush. "I…I like your crossbow."
I like your crossbow? Could you been anymore lame?
"Know how to use one?" Daryl asked and Beth shook her head.
"Good luck today," Beth mumbled, "With the search I mean."
"Thanks," He said and walked past her and got on Nelly. She was about to tell him that Nelly wasn't a good horse to take out, but he made her so nervous that she could barely talk around him. So when he came back after being thrown from the horse she felt guilty, but she thought it best not to say anything. She didn't want Daryl mad at her. Her Dad was cross with him though for taking the horse. He didn't like the strangers making themselves comfortable here. Beth didn't mind. It had been so long since they had met anyone new.
"Brought you this," Beth said coming into his room. She had volunteered to bring up his dinner even though Carol had offered. Beth had reasoned since Carol had made it she should relax. Daryl pulled the sheet higher up covering his bare chest. Beth managed not to blush. "It's good." Beth put the tray down. "I'd ask how you feel, but I already think I know the answer." He didn't say anything. "You are brave you know. Risking your life to bring back the evidence. You were shot with an arrow and a bullet and yet you kept going. You will be the last one standing, out of all of us, you will survive." He just looked at her and Beth couldn't help but blush at his gaze. She had never talked so much in front of him before and if she didn't go now she would keep blabbering. Thankfully Carol showed up to check in on him and Beth left.
"Why are you talkin' to me?" Daryl asked when Beth sought him out and told him about how she went shooting.
"Thought you could use some company seeing as you are bed ridden and all," Beth said with a shrug. "I can go though, and you can keep playing with your arrows." Beth made to get up but Daryl's voice stopped her.
"So how did you do?" He asked.
"I did alright," Beth said, "Nothin' like Andrea, but I think if the time came I would be able to defend myself."
"Why are you hangin around me?" He said again.
"Haven't met many new people, and I don't know…seemed like you could use a friend," Beth said as evenly as she could.
"I don't got friends," Daryl informed her.
"What are you talking about?" Beth questioned, "Rick, Shane, Carol and the rest of them are your friends."
"We look out for each other, but I wouldn't call 'em friends," Daryl said, "Sometimes I think I should go back out on my own."
"Don't," Beth said, "You'll go crazy out there alone, and they are your people. No matter what you say. I better go, chores. I'll come back later with some food." Daryl let out a grunt, so Beth left quickly.
"What's going on there?" Dale asked Daryl later. Daryl was up and walking around now, and Beth had just greeted him with a big smile and a hello. Daryl nodded in her direction, which was more than Daryl ever did for anyone else who greeted him. "She got a crush on you or something?"
"Just isn't used to new people is all," Daryl told him.
Jimmy also questioned her about spending time with Daryl. She gave him the same answer. Just trying to make a new friend in a world where friends are scarce. Really the only thing she did was bring him food and tend to his wounds. Daryl wasn't much of a talker, and when Beth did get him to talk his replies were short.
"Got a surprise," Beth said to him as they walked around the grounds. Or more like Daryl gave in after Beth pouted for five minutes to take a walk with her. She wasn't allowed to go out alone and she was sick of being in the house. Beth pulled something out of her pocket. It was a small bar of chocolate. "A little stale, but it still tastes good. Maggie picked it up on her last run. Thought you deserved it, after
all you've done."
"Damn, forgot how good this stuff is," Daryl said taking a bite.
"You look better," Beth commented.
"Gonna go out lookin for Sophia in a little bit," Daryl said and Beth didn't say anything, "What? Not gonna talk me out of it? Say she is dead like Shane and the others do?"
"No," Beth said, "You have hope, and hope is something we are in desperate need of now. I feel better knowing that if I was lost, you wouldn't give up on me." Beth smiled, but he didn't smile back. Not surprising. Daryl wasn't much a smiler either. He did give her a nudge with his shoulder and they walked in silence for a while.
Beth pulled out her father's checkers set and started playing Carl while Patricia watched. Beth kept looking for Daryl, she wanted to at least get see him before they all left. Soon T-Dog, Andrea, Carol, and Daryl showed up wondering what was going on. Beth had wondered that herself. She thought maybe her dad had changed his mind after he left with Rick and would let them stay. Daryl wanted to know why they were all sitting there when they had a trail that could lead them to Sophia.
When Shane turned up everything went to hell.
Again.
It all happened so fast, but it felt like a lifetime. All Beth knew was that Jimmy was holding her as everyone started shooting the people in the barn. Beth saw her mama come out and wanted to yell for them to stop but all she could do was sob. She saw her Daddy on his knees watching the ciaos unfold. After everyone was shot another walker came out. A little girl. From Carol's reaction Beth guessed it was Sophia. Beth held onto Jimmy tighter. Rick was the one to step forward and shoot Sophia while Daryl held Carol.
Once everything was over Beth felt herself walking over to the bodies. Rick tried to stop her, but Beth ignored him. She had to get to her mother. She moved the body that was covering her mother so she could see her. Half her mother's face was missing. Suddenly her mother started growling and grabbed her hair. Beth started to scream and she felt someone pulling her away. She knew it was Daryl without having to look. T-Dog started bushing her mother's face in while Andrea finally dealt the killing blow with an axe.
Beth's head was spinning as her father and sister led her inside the house. She heard Shane yelling but couldn't make out the words. Once she was inside Beth started to do dishes to distract herself. She felt light headed and soon the world was black.
"What's going on?" Daryl asked as he walked back to the house. He thought he'd check in to make sure Beth's okay before going out again, this time looking for food and not Sophia. But he was trying not to think about that. He also didn't want to think about the fact that he was the one that shot her mother, only he missed the head and Beth almost got bit.
"It's Beth," Lori told him. "She's in shock." Daryl ran into the house and into Beth's room. How he knew which one was hers he'd never know. Patricia was tending to her while Maggie was holding Beth's hand. Jimmy was sitting in a chair next to the bed. Andrea and Glenn were just standing by.
"What the hell happened?" Daryl demanded. He looked at Beth whose eyes were open, but she wasn't looking at anything. "What's wrong with her?"
"She fainted," Andrea told him, "Now she's burning up."
"Can't ya all do somethin?" Daryl said looking back and forth from Maggie to Glenn, but they said nothing. "What about your Dad? Where is he?"
"Gone, Rick and Glenn went after him," Andrea said. Daryl nodded and sat down on the last remaining chair close to the window. He set his crossbow across his lap.
"What are you doing?" Maggie asked.
"Lookin out for her, nothing is gonna get her," Daryl replied, "Not while I'm here."
"Why?" Maggie said and Daryl wasn't that sure himself.
"Beth got it into her head that we were gonna be friends," Daryl told her, "Wanted to tell her to just leave me be, but then she looked at her with those big eyes and…ah hell." Maggie smiled.
"I know that look," Maggie said. "Could never really be mad at her. Even when she pissed me off, Bethy always meant well." Lori came in a moment later and Andrea filled her in. Lori asked to talk to Daryl who reluctantly followed her. Can't they just leave him be? She led him outside where they were alone.
"I need you to run into town and bring Hershel and Rick back," Lori said and Daryl blinked.
"I ain't your bitch to order around," Daryl said, "You already got enough of those. Ain't my fault he decided to go window shopping."
"What's wrong with you?" Lori asked, "You seem to like her, don't you want to help Beth by getting her father back safely?"
"I am helping her," Daryl said, "Girl needs someone watchin' out for her until your husband gets back. Go fetch 'em yourself, until then I am going to sit right up there and make sure nothing hurts her." With that Daryl stomped back up the stairs and sat back down next to Beth's bed.
…
Daryl didn't think he had ever been this angry in his life. Even more than when his brother went missing. How are she? How dare she! How dare Beth try to, what did the CDC doc call it? Opt out? Stupid girl. Andrea had fed him some bullshit about how Beth didn't cut deep enough because she "wanted to live." Didn' change the fact that Beth did it in the first place. Does she understand what her death would cause? What it would do to people like her Dad and her sister? From what Beth told him Beth and Jimmy might not be that serious, but the boy still cared about her.
Now at least he had the new kid to take his anger out on. Beating the shit out of…Randall his name was, sure felt good. Daryl threw another punch that sent the kid to the ground.
"I told you…" He started to say, but Daryl cut him off.
"You told me shit," Daryl said and banged Randall against the wall.
"I barely knew those guys," Randall cried, "I met 'em on the road!"
"How many in your group?" Daryl said and when he didn't answer Daryl got his knife out. The kid started to protest.
"How many!" Daryl shouted coming close to him.
"30, 30 guys!" Randall finally said.
"Where?" Daryl said and the kid said he didn't know. They were never in the same place for over a night. It was only after Daryl dig a knife into one of Randall's former cuts that he really started to talk. It was when Randall told him about what the group he was in did with those teenager girls that Daryl really snapped. All Daryl could think of was that what if Beth had been one of those girls? What if somethin' like that had happened to her? Daryl started punching and kicking the kid even harder. It might not have been Randall who did it, but the bastard just stood by and let 'em rape those girls. Which was worse in some ways.
Daryl walked back to the group with his crossbow strapped to his back. He didn't bother to whip the blood of his hands. His knuckles were raw from punching the kid, but he didn't care. Daryl was used to blood and bruises.
"Boy there's got a gang," Daryl began, "30 men. They have heavy artillery and they ain't looking to make friends. They roll through here, our boys are dead. And our women, they're gonna…they're gonna wish they were."
"What did you do?" Carol asked.
"Had a little chat," Daryl said and started to walk away.
"Maybe you could go see Beth?" Maggie suggested before he was out of sight, "She's been asking about you."
"Yeah, should have thought about that before trying to take the cowards way out," Daryl said and didn't give Maggie a chance to say anything else.
It was only after Dale died that he went to see Beth. She was sitting and reading. Beth twirled a piece of hair with her finger and he could see the bandage on her arm.
"Bracelet with cover the scar," Daryl said or more mumbled and Beth put the book down.
"What?" Beth said with a smile, "I'm sorry I didn't hear you."
"Wear a bracelet," Daryl said, "That way no one can see the scar."
"Oh," Beth said looking at her wrist, "Good idea."
"Know a thing or two about covering scars," Daryl said and thankfully Beth didn't ask why.
Daryl told her what happened while she was out. How Dale got bit and Daryl had been the one to put him down. Took the gun from Rick cause the cop couldn't bring himself to do it. Daryl always did the dirty work. Beth rolled her eyes at that and told him he was more valuable than any of them, and that Rick was lucky he had someone to watch his back like that.
"Funeral is in a little bit," Daryl said, "I haven't been to one of those in a while."
"Your mom?" Beth said and Daryl nodded. He hadn't said much about his past. Only that his Mom died when he was little and he grew up with his shithead Dad and brother.
"Yeah, well, I gotta take a piss," Daryl said and Beth nodded. He always said to get out of uncomfortable conversations. Beth smiled and got out of bed. For the first time in a long time Beth thought it might be an okay day. Well, after the funeral of a sweet and kind man.
Maybe there were no good days left.
Only good people.
…..
What do you think?
Please let me know if you want me to continue to publish this. Just a simple "This doesn't suck keep going" will do! 7 reviews and I will keep goings.
Thanks for reading! Again thank god for fanfictions after that episode! I am still not over it.