Chapter 3

As soon as Daryl opened the door to the old rickety house, door creaking as it goes; they heard the death growls. Beth braced herself for imminent battle. Upon entering it was just the one walker, hanging from the high rafters, his head lolling at an unnatural angle, crippled by the weight of itself and sheer gravity. Beth watched Daryl looking up at the walker, a strange look coming upon his face. She hoped it was not anyone he knew. What if it...

Daryl flew into a rage and started cutting the walker down from the rafters, tied to the beam in the middle of the room. He was upon the walker in a millisecond.

Daryl did not believe it was his pa hangin up there. "Stupid, mother fucking, mean asshole. Bastard..." He was stabbing the walker over and over again in the gut with his knife. Then he cut off the arms, and started chopping at the legs. It was growling and moving its head, trying to get at him. "Prick, coward, shitface, good for nothin piece of shit!" At that Daryl plunged the knife into his father's head, ending the death growls...forever. Daryl collapsed on the ground, tossing his knife to the side. Huge sobs wracked his body. Tears came that he had been holding back for years.

Beth was speechless. This big hulking man sitting on the ground, sadder than anything she had ever seen. She knelt down beside him and grabbed him in a hug, holding him tight. She was heartbroken; watching a strong man like Daryl cry was absolutely gut-wrenching. Tears were streaming down her face. "Daryl, it's okay. It's gonna be okay". Daryl laid his head in her lap. She sat there stroking his hair and his face as he clung to her as if his life depended on it. She didn't know if she could take it. She didn't even know what she was feeling right now. It just all felt hopeless sometimes. She knew Daryl had a rough past but seeing it play out in his features, watching the memories wash over him as he ravaged with his knife the thing his father had become. She sobbed along with him. She cried for Daryl and Merle, for her Mom and Dad, for Shawn, for everyone they had lost. She cried for all the times she couldn't cry . Daryl had wrapped his arms around her waist. Beth cradled his head and just rocked back and forth.

Daryl thought his guts had been ripped out. He did not even know how to feel. Raw, broken, exhausted, burning, unquenching need. He could not breathe. He felt Beth stroking his head. Comfort in the arms of a beautiful woman was not something he was used to. He had never had that, not even from his Ma. Part of him thought he should pull away, but the other part could not move. There was absolutely nowhere on earth he would rather be, a walker ridden world or no. And he thought it strange that he felt this way. Beth cleared her throat and started to sing softly "For all the money, ere I had, I spent in good company". The Parting Glass. He remembered it from the night they took the prison. He thought it was so stupid at the time, but now he thought he had never heard a more beautiful sound than Beth singing to him. There was something about her voice, smooth as honey and sultry and smoky, that was an absolute balm to his soul. He found his breathing even out as she continued to sing..."I gently rise and I'll softly call, good night and joy be with you all. Good night and joy be with you all"...and her voice faded out.

Beth stopped singing; it was the only thing she had known to do. And it worked. He had stopped crying. She continued to stroke his hair.

Daryl started speaking "My Pa was abusive. Just a mean son-of-a-bitch. A drunk" And he told her. All of it. The beatings, the starving days and nights, when there was nobody but him and Merle. He told her how he would hide from his Pa. Just hoping and praying that he would not find him. Fervently praying that his father would pass out before he could find either him or Merle. Cause they always bore the brunt of his father's frustrations. His ma leaving and his sorry lot in life. He told her of how all he had ever wanted was to grow up, leave his father's house and get as far away from Juniper, Georgia as his legs could carry him. And he had never left Georgia, not in the physical way and not in the mental way. Somehow he thought he had been running in circles, since he left here at 16, just to come to this one moment in time.

Daryl had stopped talking. Beth had just listened. He needed to get it all out, that was obvious. Daryl sat up and looked at her. "Im sorry..." He trailed off, suddenly embarassed. He wiped his face with the back of his sleeve.

Beth smiled softly at him "It's okay. If you don't let it all out, it just eats you up inside. Just starts as a small cell inside and eats away at you like a...a cancer. And then you just die from all the decay and disease in your heart". She sighed.

He was just watching everything she said. She had such conviction in her words. Daryl wished he could be that sure of anything. This girl just never ceased to amaze him. She was an old soul, his Beth, he thought. His Beth? Just when did she become his, but he guessed in a way she was. She was his to protect.

Beth looked up at him, searching his eyes, trying to figure out what he was thinking. She didn't overthink it, didn't hesitate. She leaned in and softly brushed her lips against his. He placed his hand behind her head pulling her to him. He kissed her greedily. He could not get enough. God help him, he could get enough of this girl. This beautiful, complex, wonderful girl. He slowed down his movements and turned the kiss into a soft, tender, slow, sensual dance, savoring each second. Beth could not believe she was kissing him. She had not even had time to process the last kiss.

He pulled away from her and pressed his forehead against hers. "Come'on, let's go see what we can find". He got to his feet and helped her stand as well. They walked around what was left of his walker father and headed down the hall. Beth watched him as he walked away. She pressed her fingers to her now swollen lips. She smiled just a bit as they reached the last room on the left, remembering how good it felt to kiss Daryl Dixon.

Ok guys here it is as promised and almost two hours early! I got this as perfect as I could. Hope you like the new chapter. I'm building up to the next scene. Now in chapter four, things might not be so great between them for a bit. So don't get mad. lol As always, I welcome the feedback. At any rate, I am very much enjoying writing this. Til next time!

Song "The Parting Glass", as sung by Emily Kinney and Lauren Cohan, season 2, The Walking Dead.