The car gasps and shudders before finally rolling to a stop. They've been driving on fumes for an hour so neither Daryl nor Beth is surprised when the car finally gives up and stops moving.
Beth feels a little sigh of disappointment force its way out of her lungs. They've been on the run for a week now and the car has been a real life saver getting them from place to place.
Beth's ankle feels a little stronger every day, especially after a full nights rest but it's still slowing her down some. It'll be a few more weeks before she will be able to run again and her joint starts to burn after any real amount of walking.
Daryl doesn't look worried though as her eyes swing up to his and if Daryl isn't worried then she has no reason to be. He's chewing the inside of his bottom lip so he might look worried but Beth knows he's just thinking about what to do next.
He jerks his head to the side and her lips quirk as her hand finds the door handle and pushes it open. In no time at all they have moved past needing words to communicate. She follows his line of sight to the treeline and knows that's where they're headed.
Beth has always thought that Daryl has a certain wildness about him that seems almost feral and imposing when surrounded by people and walls. But in the woods it's a different story. In the woods Daryl comes into his own. He exudes confidence and calmness that Beth won't even bother trying to deny she finds attractive. Society may have gone to shit but the woods haven't changed, there are just a few more predators.
Daryl swings his crossbow onto his chest and crouches in front of her while keeping his eyes on the trees ahead. Beth grabs the small rucksack containing their meagre supplies and shoves her handgun down the back of her jeans before climbing up onto his back. She curls her fingers around his shoulders as he tucks his hands loosely behind her knees, and steps off the road.
It's not long before Beth finds herself stuck to Daryl's leather vest with sweat as the Georgia sun beats down on them with a relentless dry heat. The rucksack full of bottled water and candy soon feels heavy on her shoulders and she can't imagine how Daryl's back must ache lugging her dead weight around.
If it bothers him he gives no indication. He doesn't even seem irritated by the bugs that are everywhere; the thicker into the woods they go the worse they get. Beth grew up in Georgia, she thought she knew bugs but this is some fresh hell. They're constantly buzzing past her ears or crawling across her neck, sending violent shivers down her spine. She tries not to flinch so hard because she knows it breaks Daryl's concentration but her body objects to the presence of six tiny legs as though they were on fire.
Beth glances upwards at the trees. She hasn't seen a squirrel or a bird this whole time they've been walking. Maybe because of the heat. The ground sounds hard beneath Daryl's boots. She doesn't think they'll catch anything today, but they still have water. Daryl's constantly checking what they have and rationing it through the day. She wonders if he learnt that lesson the hard way or if someone taught it to him.
On the bright side she hasn't seen any walkers either. Maybe they've gone wherever the animals have. The trees start to thin out and they enter a clearing. Daryl stops and Beth cranes her neck to see why.
There's a barn up ahead. Beth wiggles down off his back and Daryl immediately shoulders his bow. As she watches his arm muscles tense under a sheen of sweat she wonders if they ache. Pulling the handgun from her jeans she follows behind him, arms raised, keeping close and quiet.
When they reach the front of the barn they find the door halfway open. Daryl glances back at Beth and she halts. Waits. Casts her eyes around the area as Daryl rolls the barn door fully open. It makes a loud creak and they both watch the entrance to see if anything comes out. It doesn't. Daryl steps inside and then he's back in the doorway before Beth has finished scanning the clearing.
He nods and she closes the distance between them. It's so much cooler inside the barn and she takes a greedy lungful of the refreshing bug free air. Daryl slings his crossbow onto his back and then peels the rucksack from hers.
"Thanks," Beth smiles, rolling her aching shoulders.
Daryl drops the rucksack onto the straw-littered floor and practically falls down next to it with a grunt. Beth carefully lowers herself down beside him, stretching her bad ankle out and resting it across Daryl's so that it's slightly raised. She pulls a bottle of water out of the bag and takes a modest sip before passing it to Daryl. He tips his head back and takes a hearty gulp before passing it back to her. They carry on like that until it no longer hurts to swallow and their cheeks are only pink from the sun.
Daryl's leaning back on his elbows, his eyelids drooping like they want to close. The usual layer of dirt on his face is streaked with sweat.
"You should have a siesta. I'll keep watch," Beth says, pulling the gun out from the back of her jeans.
Daryl's eyes swing over to her and his face twists into a frown.
"The hell you talkin' bout, girl?" He asks, rolling onto his side to face her. Her leg nearly rolls off but he reaches out and places a hand on her calf to keep it where it is on top of his. He's looking at her like she just grew a second head.
"You should have a nap," Beth grins.
"I ain't Lil Asskicker, you don't gotta sing me a lullaby and put me down for a nap," Daryl grouses.
Beth snorts. She lifts her eyes to meet his and she can tell he doesn't really mind it. There's a beat and then it hits them both, wiping the smile from Beth's face and the light from Daryl's eyes.
They don't know if Lil Asskicker got out of the prison. They don't know if any of the people they care about made it out. Even if they did, it doesn't make any difference, they'll never see them again.
Daryl looks down and away, the guilt coming off him in waves. Beth watches him as he clenches his jaw and brings a nail to his mouth, worrying it. She knows he's torturing himself, wondering if he could have done something as he chews progressively harder.
"Don't," she whispers, reaching out and covering his hand with hers. Daryl freezes and looks at her. Barely, and behind his hair, but he looks.
"You saved me," Beth says, holding his gaze, "I'm only alive because of what you did."
Daryl blinks but doesn't tear his eyes away.
She smiles. "So you don't get to beat yourself up, not on my watch."
Daryl huffs a laugh and drops his gaze to where her fingers are curled around his palm. There's something about his face -open, awed, wanting- that makes Beth think there's something going on in this room. Something that suddenly has her cheeks flushed enough to make her look like she has a sunburn. Something they can't come back from.
Then Beth's heart is in her throat as she hears a litany of gunshots being fired.
...
Daryl reassures her that the gunshots came from back on the road and once her heart has stopped trying to beat it's way out of her chest Beth suggests they go check it out. Daryl isn't keen on the idea but can't argue that it'd be better to find the owners of the guns than to be found by them.
So they head back into the woods. As they near the tree line Beth can smell smoke, as though whoever fired those shots is making camp. Her gut twists and she steps closer to Daryl. She isn't afraid of the dead anymore but she is starting to become afraid of the living.
Daryl halts at the tree line and Beth comes to a stop beside him. She can see smoke from the fire and hear voices. Glancing past Daryl she can make out a stocky red headed man and a slim brunette woman. They don't look like the kind of people you want to mess with.
Then another figure comes into view and it takes a moment for Beth to recognise his face but when she does her hand reaches out to grip Daryl's arm.
Rick.
Another figure comes into view passing him and walking over to the strapping red head.
Glenn.
Daryl starts to walk cautiously towards the road and Beth follows him, their strides getting wider and wider as more of their family come into view.
Michonne. Carol. Sasha. Bob. Carl.
Beth lets out a sob as they near the road and Carl turns around, revealing a baby strapped to his front.
Judith.
"Beth!"
Her head turns just in time to see Maggie's face before her sister engulfs her in a hug.
"Maggie, oh my God!" Beth gasps, feeling hot tears roll down her cheeks and not knowing who they belong to.
She watches Rick's face collapse as he sees Daryl, stepping forward and swinging an arm around his neck.
Carl steps forward and Judith starts trying to wriggle her way out of her carrier when she sees Beth.
"Hey Judy," Beth says softly, stroking the baby's head. Judith cries and reaches her hands out towards Beth.
"She's thirsty," Carl says, his own voice sounding rough with dehydration as he gives his sister a comforting pat on the back.
"We've got water," Beth says, quickly dropping the rucksack and pulling out a bottle. When she tips the bottle to the baby's lips Judith sips the liquid eagerly.
A smile stretches across Beth's face when she hears Carol say "come here you", walking up to Daryl and grabbing him out of Rick's embrace.
Rick's glassy blue gaze looks past Daryl to Beth and his other arm reaches forward to pull her in, pressing his lips to her hairline.
"Havin' you back. It's everything," Rick says, his voice wrecked with emotion, looking at Beth and then back to Daryl.
"You're my brother." Rick says as he presses his forehead to Daryl's for a moment and she feels a pain in her chest for what they almost lost back there.
Daryl swallows hard, biting his lip, face raw with emotion and Beth smiles, knowing his heart is soaring along with hers.
...
After being reunited with the family they thought they'd lost and being introduced to new members of the group Beth starts to feel overwhelmed. It's just been her and Daryl for so long that being around all these people, people she loves none the less, starts to feel too much.
Beth struggles to concentrate on the words pouring out of Maggie's mouth as she fills them in on the events after the prison. She takes a step back, positioning herself closer to Daryl and the back of her hand brushes his. She feels a little calmer, just knowing he's there beside her.
Beth's vaguely aware that Maggie is talking about a community called Terminus when Rosita announces that the meat is ready.
Beth smiles as the smell of roasted meat fills her nostrils but her face freezes when she notices she's the only one smiling. As she looks around the group each person looks more nauseated than the last.
She frowns at Maggie. "What's wrong?"
Maggie grimaces and looks at Glenn.
"Sasha shot down a pack of dogs," Glenn fills in flatly.
Beth stares blankly as she feels her stomach roll over. She was raised on a farm; she knows that animals are food. The way the world is now they can't afford to turn down food, let alone get moral about what they eat. But dogs? It's just... grim. She thinks back to the funeral home and the stray they found there. How it probably got ripped apart by the walkers that overran the place and she actually feels sad. Its ridiculous. She just lost her daddy and she might cry thinking about a pack of stray dogs being shot and thrown in a pile.
Beth feels Daryl's thick fingers wrap around her palm.
"They're better off. Least walkers didn't get 'em," He murmurs, leaning in so that his words are just for her.
Beth nods. It's that or starve.
"Come on, let's sit down, I wanna hear how you an' Daryl ended up together," Maggie says, putting her hand on Beth's arm.
Beth turns and looks at Daryl who jerks his chin in the direction of the fire. He'll be along in a minute. When Beth turns back to Maggie she's looking at her with a confused expression on her face.
The family settle around the fire and begin to eat in silence. Beth stretches her leg out in front of her and winces as her ankle throbs. They've got half a dozen pain pills left and she doesn't want to use them unless they really need to.
Maggie asks what happened to her and Beth's mind starts to spin at how she might answer that question. There are so many parts that she doesn't want to share with Maggie because they feel like they belong to her and Daryl alone. The night in the trunk. The moonshine shack. The funeral home.
Beth's thoughts are interrupted when Daryl sits down beside her. He tears a big chunk from the piece of charred mean in his hand and passes it to her. She takes it and then looks back up at Daryl.
He takes a mouthful and chews fast, swallowing hard before taking another bite.
"Tastes like cow," He mumbles with his mouth full, saliva and meat juice dribbling down his chin.
"It does not," Beth rolls her eyes and fights a smile.
Daryl shrugs, taking another bite.
Beth chews on the meat, chomping it between her teeth and forcing it down her throat before she has a chance to taste it.
There's something in the mood of the group that makes Beth edge closer to Daryl until she's almost sitting in his lap. Desperate. Hungry. Broken. Barely hanging on.
Out of the corner of her eye she can feel Maggie watching her and there's something about her gaze that Beth doesn't like but can't place.
She scrubs a hand across her face and through her hair as she starts to feel overwhelmed again. They found their family, against all odds, but instead of happy you could cut the atmosphere with a knife. She knows Daryl feels it too when his eyes meet hers, that something is off. There's a hardness in Rick's face that she hasn't seen since they first found the prison.
As soon as everyone's had something to eat the new members of the group, Tara and Rosita, along with Sasha are on their feet and itching to push on.
"You had 'nough to eat?" Daryl asks, pushing himself to his feet.
"Enough dog? Yeah, I think so," She says, taking his hand and letting him pull her up.
Beth steps forward on her bad ankle and the joint buckles with an agonising twinge. She hisses and grabs Daryl's arm to keep herself from falling.
Without a word Daryl scoops her up in his strong arms, bearing her weight easily. Beth wraps her arms around his neck, enjoying the feel of his hot skin under her hands.
"At what point did you start thinkin' it was ok to put your hands on my sister, Daryl?"
Beth's head spins to find Maggie looking at them with narrowed eyes, brow furrowed and jaw set, ready for a fight.
Glenn is at her side with his head tilted to the side, his face lost somewhere between curiosity and concern.
Beth feels Daryl go stiff as a board. She glances up and he looks visibly stricken, hurt by Maggie's words as though they were the lash of a belt. His heart is pounding so fast she's worried it's about to burst out of his chest. Beth's hand closes around the back of his neck and she feels him lean into her touch.
"I sprained my ankle an' I can hardly walk on it," Beth says, turning back and fixing Maggie with a steely look, "If Daryl hadn't been lookin' out for me I'd have died back there."
Maggie's mouth closes with an audible click, a mixture of guilt and sadness washing over her face that Beth takes no pleasure in. She feels Daryl's arms tighten their hold around her, unsettled by the memory of almost losing her.
"Oh," Maggie says softly, eyes flicking between them.
"Sorry, Daryl," Beth fills in, her calm blue gaze never leaving her sister's.
"Sorry, Daryl," Maggie repeats, her cheeks flushing pink, "An' thank you. For keepin' my sister safe." She presses her lips together in a tight line, her eyes shining with emotion. Glenn's looks from Maggie to Beth, his eyes huge and almost awed.
Daryl jerks a small nod at Maggie and grunts before looking down and away like a kicked dog. Nevertheless, Beth feels the tension start to leave his body and his tight grip on her body relax into a loose hold.
Rick comes to stand beside Daryl and his expression is pained. He drags a hand across his jaw and Beth doesn't think she's ever seen him look so beat, as though his soul is tired. Yet at the same time his eyes are wired like a man possessed. It reminds her of when he broke down at the prison after Lori and it's so unsettling she looks away, resting her chin on Daryl's shoulder.
"Maybe if we keep followin' the road we can find some water, or at least some shelter," Rick says quietly to Daryl, his voice low and strained.
"We found a barn," Daryl says, sounding so sure and confident that it settles her and she doesn't miss the relief on Rick's face as it settles him too.
Daryl jerks his chin at the tree line. "C'mon, s'this way."
With their bellies full of dog, the group follow Daryl as he leads them into the woods.
