"Go back," She whispered to Noah, pulling out of the hug slowly. Her eyes were brimming with tears but filled with fiery determination.
Noah paused, his feet shuffling in a stumbling half step. "Beth-,"
"Now," Beth ordered. Her tone was harsh and final, no room for arguments or song.
"Beth, he is-,"
"Coming with us," Beth cut Dawn off. She spun towards the cop looking a foot taller with authority lifting her up. "So that he can go home, and you will let him."
A scowl crossed Dawn's face, one Beth well recognized as one that was usually followed by pain on her part. "You don't give orders."
"You're right," Beth conceded with a nod. "I don't give orders. You do, and you will let him go."
She turned to look at Noah, giving him a harsh glare for still being frozen. He began edging back slowly, her eyes following him for a moment before flickering over the group behind her. Beth locked eyes with Rick for a moment and then, for a fleeting second, with Daryl. A twitch of a smile tugged at her mouth before she turned back to Dawn.
The cop and the survivor stared each other down, Dawn's hand twitching towards the gun on her hip instinctively. "Beth, you and I both know that you don't want to start something that will get people hurt."
Beth smiled sweetly, threat outlined in the tone of every word. "No one is getting hurt today." One hand reached towards the other, pulling out something from beneath her cast. "Not unless someone comes at you, right?"
Dawn's hand locked around her gun but froze when she saw what Beth was holding. Both sides of the standoff leaned for a better look, trying to see what was clutched in Beth's hand. The blonde extended her hand slowly, holding out the object towards Dawn. Dawn took her hand off her gun, extending her hand palm up to receive the object.
"The price for Noah has already been paid." Beth said, opening her hand to drop the wrapped candy into Dawn's palm. "I told myself I'd never speak of it, but I'm saying it now."
Staring at the lollipop for a long moment, Dawn said nothing. The green candy's color seemed to reflect on the woman's face for a second, and then her palm closed. The symbol was gone from view save for the bit of white stem sticking out of Dawn's tightly closed fist.
"You think that sets us even?"
"I think if the price I paid to them," Beth pointed an accusing finger towards the group of cops behind Dawn. Her hand dropped after Dawn's gaze flickered back to her subordinates. "Isn't enough, then the price I paid you should be."
With that Beth reached into her back pocket, pulling out another object that Rick recognized immediately. The badge came into clear view, a bit of material still clinging to it from where it had torn off O'Donnell's uniform. Dawn went pale, snatching the badge from Beth's hands before anyone behind her got a good enough look at it. She glared at Beth, a gleam in her eye that screamed her breaking point was coming.
Beth however, wasn't planning on being around when that breaking point was reached. She began to back away, not turning her back for a moment to Dawn until she stood beside Rick once more. Dawn finally nodded, half turning away as she tucked the badge into her pocket along with the lollipop. Beth turned, walking straight past the group towards the doors.
Her heart was racing, pressure rising in her chest and throat. "Keep walking and don't stop until we're far away from here," She commanded when she heard their footsteps following.
"Beth," Someone called out to her. She couldn't recognize the voice over the pounding in her ears. "Beth!"
The light was nearly blinding outside. The appearance of people, living people, coming her way was nearly enough to stop her. No, she doesn't want there to be a second lost in putting distance between her family and that hospital. There can be no time for Dawn to break and her officers to take over. Dawn will let them go, Beth knows that, but her officers won't if Dawn breaks before they're far enough gone.
The gate is open.
Arms, Beth feels arms wrapping around her, but not from the front. They're coming from behind. She's stopped walking, just standing there staring at the open gate surrounded by dead walkers. The hug is achingly familiar, but reversed from what she remembers. It's almost enough to make her smile, the switch of roles the two of them are now playing. Her hands reach up slowly, grasp his arms where they're so tight around her that they should hurt but she wishes they were tighter still.
Her knees give out, and he bends to lift her up. It's another familiar position, her arms lifting to wrap around his neck while he carries her bridal style through the gate. Maggie's crying, hovering and circling but Rick has given orders to move out and Maggie responds to that.
It takes several drops on her face for Beth to realize that Daryl is crying. It takes several drops because Beth, despite all her claims to not cry anymore, is crying too. "I was going to track you down you know," She says.
Daryl laughs, low and without sound except a harsh huff from deep in his chest that almost sounds like he's choking. "I missed you."
Her arms wrap tighter around his neck, lifting up a bit to whisper in his ear. "You don't have to carry me."
A huff is his first response. "Not letting you go anywhere Greene."
The house they're in is small, but it has a sturdy looking fence around it to keep out the walkers for the night. They cover the windows as best they can and light candles to see. Water is currently being filtered and there is canned food found that's edible in the back of one of the cabinets.
The couch belongs to Beth, Daryl and Maggie. Glenn is perched on the arm of Maggie's side, half his gaze always on his wife as she stares at Beth curled into Daryl's side. The sisters had hugged and cried when Daryl finally set Beth down. The moment they'd separated though the archer was back at the younger Greene's side and she was just as glued to him. Maggie was as perplexed at the change as she was thrilled beyond belief to see her sister alive.
Carl sat on the floor with Judith in his lap leaning against the arm of Daryl's side. He kept throwing glances at them, Judith having caught sight of Beth was becoming a handful. The girl obviously recognized Beth, and the fact Beth had already held her for most of the walk to the house seemed unimportant. Judith wanted to be back in her foster mother's care, but Beth was a bit preoccupied being a blonde cat curled into the side of a gruff tabby cat twice her size.
The rest of the group was set in a circle around the room, branching off from the couch to take seats against the walls or on the rest of the furniture. All eyes however remained on the couch, or at least kept returning to it. The newest group members, Noah, Terra, Abraham, Rosita and Eugene, seemed the least curious, though they were quick to pick up on the strangeness of the sight from the others. Noah didn't seem to find it strange at all, secretive smiles crossing his face whenever he looked at the two like he'd been waiting for the sight after hospital sleepovers filled with admissions of devotion.
There'd been no such sleepovers, but Noah hadn't been an idiot. They'd talked about who was waiting for Beth on the outside, if only briefly. What surprised him most was what had gone down at the hospital. His smiles faded quickly each time they came as the image popped back into his mind. The two were battling each other. On one side was the happy image before him and on the other was the lollipop dropping into Dawn's hand. Beth had paid a price, and Noah had a very good idea at what that was. Only a few days had passed, but he knew the officers of the hospital were not slow with their actions when they wanted something.
"Beth." It was Maggie that spoke. Her tone was hesitant, but her face told the story. It was something she had to know. "Did you get those cuts from when they hit you with their car?"
The blonde tensed, her whole body going rigid. Daryl's arm around her shifted, holding her a bit tighter as he searched for some way to comfort her. "The one on my cheek is," Beth responded. "The other is from Dawn beating me as punishment for trying to escape and helping Noah get out."
Maggie turned pale in the darkness, having to look away from her sister. Glenn reached down a hand to grip Maggie's, squeezing gently. Maggie looked up at Glenn, his eyes telling her a gentle reminder that Beth was the one who had suffered. The elder Greene nodded twice, one to Glenn and once to herself. It was Beth she needed to help before she let her own guilt overcome her.
"It was the same as what happened to Joan right," Noah asked suddenly. He was staring at the floor intently, turned so only the profile of his body was facing the couch. "That's what the lollipop was about. That was the price you paid. But I don't understand the badge. What price came with the badge?"
This time Beth spoke without hesitation. "I killed O'Donnell. I pushed him down the elevator shaft. I smashed Gorman over the head with a jar of those stupid lollipops so he'd fall over and Joan's corpse could eat him alive. She wanted them both dead and so I got away with it."
The group was silent, absorbing the information. They didn't need to know why she'd killed the two. None of them were in the position to question killing another. Beth, at least, they knew wouldn't kill without good reason.
Judith squirmed in Carl's arms, her tiny limbs kicking and reaching towards Beth. She reached down, retrieving Judith from Carl to let the girl sit on her lap and grab at her hair and clothes. Michonne smiled at the two from her spot next to Rick across the room.
"She's probably hoping you'll sing to her."
A hard look crossed Beth's face, her head tilting to rest on Daryl's shoulder. "I don't sing anymore."