REPOST TO MOVE TO NEW ACCOUNT
What if Daryl had a reason to hang back in the woods when Joe's gang found Rick, Michonne, and Carl? Slightly AU version of A. Spoilers abound. The Walking Dead and all recognizable characters, dialog, and sequences belong to AMC, the creators, writers, and actors. I own nothing and mean no disrespect by this, it's just what I wish happened. Also have not rewritten the whole thing, you watched it, I assume you know what happened, all I am writing are the changes.
Damaged Goods – 1 – Broken Arrow
Rick cursed himself as he realized they were outnumbered and out gunned. He should have investigated the snapping in the woods when they heard it. He recognized the leader from the house and realized that they knew who he was and what he'd done.
Then Daryl walked out of the darkness. Rick had time to realize he wasn't dressed for the cold night, wearing only a shirt, before Daryl threw his knife into the ground and offered his own blood for theirs. He told the man holding a gun to Rick's head that they were good people. The man called Daryl a liar and set his men on Daryl, punching and kicking.
Rick's captor told him that he and his men were going to beat Daryl to death, rape Carl and Michonne, then kill Rick.
One of the men pounding on Daryl grinned. "Once you're dead, I'm gonna claim your girl. Show her what a real man is like. Break her in real good before I share her."
Rick slammed his head back into his captor's face, breaking his grip for a moment, but he discharged his gun right next to Rick's ear, stunning him long enough for the man to grab him in a vise like grip.
Daryl got one foot up and landed a kick dead center on his grinning attacker's chest. The man stumbled back, then started forward again.
A bolt zipped through the air, slicing into and lodging inside of the man's throat. Blood poured down and bubbled out his mouth as he scratched at the bolt futilely. Daryl grabbed the bolt with both hands and ripped it forward, snapping it in half, and hastening the man's death. Then he broke free of the other man and whirled to slam the broken arrow into the other man's eye.
*x*x*x*x*x*
Daryl loaded the crossbow and handed it over. "You won't be strong enough to draw it. You only get one shot. Make it count. Then you run. And you hide."
*x*x*x*x*x*
Rick leaned forward and ripped his attacker's throat open with his teeth. Distracted by the brutality and blood flow, Michonne was able to get the gun from the man and shoot him. Daryl slammed the other man to the ground and stomped until he stopped fighting.
Then Rick stalked towards the man who was attempting to rape his son. The disgusting pile of shit had Carl on his feet, his pants slipping down, and a knife to his boy's throat. Suddenly the man shrieked, released Carl and tried to reach around to his back. The tip of an arrow emerged from his chest. Rick shoved Carl around to Michonne and went at his son's attacker, stabbing and stabbing and stabbing.
As Rick crouched over the mutilated body, someone walked closer, coming out of the shadows. He looked up, truly expecting Carol. Or Maggie or Sasha.
Instead he was looking at Beth.
She was carrying Daryl's crossbow in her hands. She was wearing a jacket that was massive on her small frame. She stared at Rick expressionlessly, eyes huge. There was a vivid bruise across one cheek and parallel angry red lines running around her throat.
Daryl walked by Rick to go the Beth. He took the crossbow from her hands. "You managed to reload it." She nodded silently. "Good girl." He pulled her to rest against him. "Good girl." He rubbed her back, hands stroking the winged vest that she wore over the jacket.
Rick stood up. Carl was staring at him in shock from the safety of Michonne's arms. Beth was watching him from the security of Daryl's embrace. He couldn't look at their eyes anymore so he walked away, rounding the truck to sink to the ground.
Daryl walked over to Joe and rammed his knife through his skull and grabbed the man's pack. He walked from man to man, repeating the procedure. Michonne climbed into the back seat, taking Carl with her. Daryl came back and handed her a bottle of water from one of the packs. He opened the front door and lifted Beth to sit in the passenger seat. He took her hands in his and examined them. There were narrow cuts across both sets of fingers from drawing the bowstring. He poured a little water onto his bandana and wiped the blood from her hands. She took the bandana from him and gently wiped his face, cleaning the blood from his chin and cheek. When she was done, he took the bandana back. Then he reached down to the seat lever and pressed it to lean back slightly, but not far enough to disturb Carl. He urged her to lean over, then tucked her legs in and shut the door. Michonne stared at the back of Beth head as a shudder ran through the younger girl. Then she looked down to Carl and stroked his hair gently.
Daryl took the bottle of water and bandana to Rick.
"We should save that for drinkin'," Rick said.
"You can't see yourself. They can," Daryl replied.
Rick accepted the bandana and wiped his face clean of the blood. He accepted the bottle, took a swig of water, swished it in his mouth and spit on the ground. He took a small drink then capped the bottle and sat it down.
"I didn't know," Daryl said. "I thought it was just going to be a beat down. I didn't know what they were going to do. I'd'a come sooner, but I had to hide her first. I had to be sure she was safe."
"It's OK, Daryl," Rick replied. "You came. That's all that matters. We're OK. Carl. Michonne. Beth. They're OK."
"How long were you with them?" Rick asked.
"Few days," Daryl said. "Beth and I. We got out of the prison together. We kept movin'. Kept each other goin'. She kept me goin'. We found a place, thought we could stay there awhile. But… she was just gone. I tried to find her… but she was just gone. Ran into them the next day after I lost her trail."
"You found her," Rick corrected.
Daryl shook his head. "Joe did."
"Joe?"
Daryl pointed.
Rick sighed, "You were alone. You did what you had to. That's what we do. You're here now. You could have left. Could have taken her and run while they were distracted with us. Thank you for coming back." Daryl shrugged. "You are my brother Daryl. We're together. All five of us."
"What you did… anyone woulda done the same."
"I did what I had to," Rick sighed. "It's the reason I'm here. The reason Carl is. He's all that matters." Daryl nodded. "Carl is mine. My reason. Beth is yours." Daryl met his eyes nervously. "It's fine. It's good. I'm proud of you."
Carl's eyes were open, staring at nothing. Michonne stroked his back gently.
The truck door opened. Daryl turned. Rick wiped at his face to be sure the blood was gone. The door shut quietly. Soft footsteps rounded the truck. Daryl reached up as Beth approached. She sank down next to him and curled up against his side. He urged her to lay down and rest her head on his thigh. He leaned back against the truck, his arm draped over her side, his hand resting on the top of her head. Rick looked her over. She was wearing jeans that were cinched at the waist by a length of rope, hiking boots that he seriously doubted fit her well, and several layered shirts. Now that she was closer and the darkness was fading, he could see that the marks around her throat were spotted with small pinpricks. He could see bandages on her wrists under the edge of what was obviously Daryl's jacket. Daryl saw him watching and swallowed hard.
"He tried to sacrifice her."