Hi! so basically English is not my first language so I translated it from Italian. I think it turned out fine but anyway, be gentle if it's not 100% correct.
When Beth opens her eyes it's because the voices coming insistently from downstairs have disturbed her sleep. She twists and turns but there's no use, she's wide awake now. The voices belong to more than one person, she can recognize Rick's resolute but composed tone followed by another lower male voice that she can barely perceive. A woman joins the conversation. Beth sits straight and tries to hear better, focusing only on the voices and cutting out the chirp of birds and the whistle of the wind blowing outside the window.
She gets out of bed and slowly reaches the door of her room. She opens it quietly, so she doesn't wake anybody else. She exits keeping close to the wall right in front of the stairs. Now she can tell who the other two are, it's Daryl and Carol. They try their best not to make too much noise, oblivious that they've already caught her attention. Beth wonders what they might be discussing about that early in the morning.
"I don't get it, Daryl" says Rick frustrated. "You are part of the family, you've always been with us. Where are you going to go on your own?"
Beth frowns. She must have heard wrong, that's for sure. What does it mean 'go on your own'? It doesn't sound like a discussion about going hunting or searching for food.
"Rick's right. Don't be an idiot" this is Carol, the only person that can get away with calling Daryl an idiot without risking a punch in the face. There always had been a special bond between them, she's like a mom and a best friend at the same time. She's special. But maybe not enough to convince Daryl that he's wrong. "This place is not for me. You can't force me to stay" is Daryl's response, dry and definite. His steps move further, a door slams. Beth is definitely dumbstruck. She can hear Rick huff in the now silent kitchen and even without seeing him, she would bet that he's got his hands on his hips, exasperated, trying to come up with a way to fix things. "He's stubborn" comments Carol any less worried. "But it's true, we can't chain him down here if he doesn't want to stay."
She's giving up, that's what Beth thinks listening to Carol, 'cause if she understood it right then Daryl got out to never come back again. He's leaving Alexandria.
"It won't be the same without him" Rick says down-spirited. Of course it won't be! thinks Beth nervously. What makes her mad is the fact that they let him go so easily but it's not all, it's mostly how he left without saying a word to anybody but the two of them, like they're the only ones who care for him. No, Beth can't accept that she won't see Daryl Dixon ever again.
.
She managed to follow him to the woods border without being noticed. In a corner of her mind she's pretty proud of herself, especially with someone like Daryl. Even though no one is forced to remain in Alexandria, he chose to leave avoiding the main gate. It is an escape.
When he's about to disappear forever Beth reveals her presence. "You're leaving without even saying goodbye to me?" she didn't mean to sound so hurt but she couldn't help her voice from coming out like that. She is now standing with her fists closed tight by her sides, a few steps from where he is, waiting for his reaction. He stops and turns slowly toward her. Beth isn't sure how to interpret his expression. Is he annoyed? Pissed off? He only methodically fiddles with his crossbow lying over his shoulder, without meeting Beth's eyes. "Thought you hated goodbyes" he says.
Beth would smile if the situation were different. He remembers, that she hated goodbyes. She actually still does, but this is Daryl they're talking about.
"Many things have changed. And honestly I was hoping I'd get one from you, given that I won't be seeing you again" she answers, head held high.
Daryl looks a bit uncomfortable, it's clear that by bailing like that he counted on not having that confrontation with her.
Beth attempts a few steps closer to him. Her fists remain closed, maybe this way she'll contain the tension that she feels knowing that whatever happens next depends on her, on what she can say to him to change his mind.
"I can't stay" Daryl says glancing down.
"Why?"
"This place is not for me"
"Fine, give me a reason"
Daryl exhales. "The perfect houses, the nice people, a job and a place for everyone...it's weird, it's fucking weird. I don't see myself in this".
Beth sighs, even closer to him now. "No one is 100% sure of Alexandria. But it's a chance. And it could work if we stick together and you know why? Because we are a family, all of us" while she says the words Beth knows that they're true, she isn't just trying to convince him. "And it won't be the same without you. Rick believes that, everybody believes that. I do." she adds with as much emphasis as she can, reaching out for his hand now free from the crossbow. The gesture also serves to catch his eye. Daryl is listening now, he really is. The small but strong hand of Beth squeezes his firmly. "Please, stay" she pleads. Daryl is silent for the longest time, or at least that's how it feels to Beth, and none of them moves, their fingers intertwined."All right" he agrees, finally.
Beth lets out a sigh of relief and allows herself to smile. Daryl's face is less tense too, the corners of his mouth pull up a little. She can't help it, she throws her arms around him like she hadn't done in a long time. He keeps her pressed against his chest while he places his other hand on her hair. Beth glances up, he returns the look and then, like it's the most natural thing in the world, she rises on the tip of her toes and kisses him on the lips. It's a long, sweet kiss that both of them had been waiting for since they'd learned to know each other for real. Lots of things had gone wrong since then, but nothing was getting in their way now.
Daryl never crosses the border between the city and the woods. They go back together, side by side.
