She was found, but she didn't talk. She didn't talk, she didn't respond, she didn't do anything. She just stared blankly ahead, with dead eyes, trembling occasionally. When someone would get to close to her, she would flinch away physically, but her eyes and face showed no emotion. Eugene, with his annoying way of speaking explained what he though was going on with Beth Greene.
Daryl didn't like the way Eugene spoke. It confused him. It made him feel like a dumb piece of shit, because he sometimes couldn't follow what the strange man was saying. But Daryl did understand this.
Beth was in shock. She had been in a catatonic shock once before, so it makes sense she would fall back into one after recent events. Especially after recent events. The group didn't know the horrors Beth had to face to make it this far. After all, Aaron had found her huddled only 35 miles away from Alexandra. How she traveled so far in such a state was unbelievable, even before the world fell apart.
But now? Daryl wished he could say he wasn't surprised. He knew Beth was made of tougher stuff then the rest gave her credit for. Beth was a survivor. But he was surprised. More importantly though, he was impressed. She knew when to keep going, and she somehow knew when it was safe to check out.
He knew she was tough, but everyone had their limit. She was kidnapped, held prisoner, beaten and who knows what else, and then to top it all off, she was shot in the head.
"No, that's not right," Daryl thought "to top it all off, we left her behind. We didn't believe in her. I didn't believe in her."
And he hated himself for it.
Beth Goddamn Greene, though, survived all of that. She deserved a little break to rest. To regain strength. To process what happened to her, on her own time, in her own way.
So, while Maggie sat by her side and pleaded with her to come back to them, to not leave her again, Daryl merely sat by and kept watch.
When it was just him in the room, mostly late at night when everyone else went off to sleep, cozied up next to someone to share their lives with, Daryl had Beth all to himself again.
He would hold her hand in the privacy the night brought. He would push her hair out of her face. He would tell her stories, about what had happened since she was stolen from him. And when he ran out of events to tell, he started telling her about a few of his stories from his past.
Sometimes, she would squeeze his hand a little bit, or blink extra fast. He found those encouraging.
He also told her to take all the time she needed. He wasn't going anywhere, and they were finally safe for the time being.
This particular evening, though, he talked to her a little bit more desperately. He had a bad run, and had not been able to save a good man that Aaron and he were tracking down. They had been about to make contact with the man when the walkers started coming.
"I felt useless. I was too far away to get to him in time. All I could do was kill the walkers that killed him, and put him to peace. Aaron and me, we buried him. Seemed like the right thing to do."
All of this was accented with long pauses. Daryl wasn't one to give long, eloquent speeches. He was thoughtful. Everything he said, he thought over to make sure those were the words he wanted to say. Others may have got tired listening if he tried to tell the stories he told Beth. But even before she was catatonic, and had no chose but to listen, she still did.
"Like something you would do…" he finally finished. And with those words, another squeeze of Beth's little fingers around his let him know she had heard him.
"Girl, I know I said I wouldn't hurry you. But I just need to know you are alright. Failing someone else, it brought back failing you. I couldn't save either of you. What good am I if I can't save people no more?"
The weight of the guilt he carried was particularly heavy this evening. It grew heavier and heavier on his shoulders until his head rested on their clasped hands. His eyes started to sting with the pressure of it. His lungs couldn't provide enough oxygen, and his breathing came in short gasps.
"Come on, Beth. You gotta come back. You gotta…Beth." The pressure and weight increased. Moisture collected between Beth's fingers.
"I need you."
The words were raw, rawer then anything Daryl had every said. He felt like the scars on his back, along with the scars on his soul, were exposed. And everything that happened today was rubbing those wounds, like sandpaper.
As the moisture on Beth's fingers started to pool in her palm, her fingers started to squeeze. At first, they were a comfort to Daryl, if only a little. Then, slowly, almost as slow as Daryl's speech, the grip became stronger and stronger. It was so subtle at first that Daryl almost didn't notice.
But notice he did, and he gradually lifted his head.
For the first time in months, Beth's eyes stared back at him. More importantly, her eyes were clear. The tears that matched his own only made the blue seem even brighter.
Her voice was lost after not using it for so long. Or maybe the gunshot had effected it. Only time would tell. But in that moment, it didn't matter as she mouthed two words that changed Daryl's whole world.
"Me too."