Daryl and Beth had been on the run for a week since the incident at the funeral home. Beth was almost kidnapped, but had somehow managed to fight enough to distract them as Daryl shattered the windshield with an arrow. Luck had been with them, as Daryl had run out in front of the car and saw Beth struggling.
He pulled the bastards out of the vehicle and had been all too happy to feed them to the walkers after they had tried to take Beth.
They drove all night in that awful car, until it ran out of gas. After ditching the car, they stuck to the woods, afraid of running into anyone who might be looking for those kidnapping assholes. They had been wearing cop type uniforms, and Daryl worried they were part of a bigger group.
Their car had been marked with white crosses and they looked well fed and organized. He shuddered, thinking back to the prison. Walkers could be handled; people were becoming the real problem.
Beth's ankle was still bothering her, so they were ambling along in the woods, foraging and eating what Daryl could hunt. They hadn't spoken in complete sentences in nearly a week- it was all survival mode.
They came into a clearing, bathed in golden afternoon light. With tall grass and wildflowers, it was almost possible to forget their dire situation. Beth sighed and tugged at a sprig of Queen Anne's lace. She tucked it behind her ear and almost felt like herself. They would need to make camp soon, she thought.
Beth was about ten feet in front of Daryl when she suddenly started hopping and twisting about.
"Yeeeeeeeooouch!" Beth exclaimed.
"What's wrong with you?" Daryl asked.
"I got stung by a bee!" Beth turned around and there was an angry red welt on her collarbone.
"Are you allergic?!" Daryl looked worried.
"No. It just hurts like a Motherfu-ouch! I just got stung again!"
Daryl tried to hide his smirk at her profanity laced outburst. Beth cursing had to be the cutest damn thing he had heard in his life. The second bee sting was just above her elbow.
"Looks like the stinger is still in there." Daryl grabbed her shoulders, leaned down and sucked on the welt on her collarbone. Beth's eyes widened in surprise as Daryl spit the stinger out and winked at her.
Beth blushed and stammered as Daryl repeated the process on her arm, complete with wink.
Beth narrowed her gaze and smirked. "Real smooth Dixon. I guess that's one way to get the venom out."
"Hush a minute." Daryl said. "Hear that?"
They both listened, and heard the steady humming of a very active beehive. There were two large bee boxes located fifteen feet in front of them in the meadow. It was so easy to tune out everything that wasn't the moan of walkers; they might have not noticed it had Beth not been stung.
On the opposite end of the meadow was row upon row of peach trees. They had found a farm of some sort. They exchanged glances and wordlessly walked to the other end of the meadow, giving the bees a healthy amount of clearance.
"I don't get why I got stung twice and you didn't get stung at all." Beth said as they walked through the grove of peach trees.
Daryl gave her his infamous sideways glance through his increasingly shaggy hair. "Obviously it's because you're so sweet darlin'. They know I'm a salty son of a bitch." Beth giggled for the first time since the funeral home.
Beth started to tense up as the house came into view. It looked very similar to the Greene family farm, before the herd had destroyed everything.
Daryl put his arm around her to help take weight off her ankle. With his other hand he tilted her head so she was looking up into his clear blue eyes.
"Don't worry sweetheart. I won't ever open the door for anyone but you. We can come up with a secret knock if ya want." Beth gave Daryl a small smile.
"Let's make sure we're alone, and hopefully we can finally rest for a spell."
Beth nodded and cautiously followed Daryl up to the house. They hadn't seen any walkers since yesterday. The farmhouse and surrounding orchards looked like they had been tended to for a while, but they were starting to show signs of neglect and overgrowth. Most of house had been secured by someone at some point, the first floor windows had been boarded up, but otherwise it looked normal. Daryl circled the house while Beth hid behind a peach tree with an eye on the front door.
Daryl did his usual sweep, with an extra abundance of caution. The front door was unlocked, but the inside looked undisturbed. A light layer of dust hung in the air. Daryl still felt uneasy, even as he realized that the house was empty of both humans and walkers. They needed to feel safe after the funeral home. He exited the house out of the mudroom on the opposite side of the house from Beth. As he rounded the corner, he found the previous occupants. They had dug their own graves and shot themselves in the head. There was a wooden sign in the ground behind them. "Mr. and Mrs. Barnes. Together in Eternal love. Please take care of our home." Daryl sighed and loosely covered them with dirt. He would finish taking care of them later. He owed Beth a few nights rest. He tried not to dwell on what else he owed her after their conversation that ended in "oh." He knew she would want to talk once she rested.
He found her leaning against a peach tree, eyes glued to the door.
"Come on. Let's go inside." He said.
Beth looked around the inside of the farmhouse and felt a flood of emotion hit her. She was confused at how familiar and comfortable it felt to be in a stranger's home.
"Beth. Couch. Now!" Daryl looked at her and pointed.
"Your ankle needs to be elevated. I'm gonna look for some first aid stuff and food. Keep your knife close and try to rest." Beth looked panicked at the idea of being alone.
"I promise I'm not leaving the house. I locked the door and we're in for the night. We can make plans after we catch our breath for a few hours. You sleep, and I'll wake you up when dinner is ready. I saw some canned food in the basement. Keep your foot up." Daryl leaned down and kissed her forehead.
Beth closed her eyes and fell into a dreamless sleep.