A/N: Hello everyone! I'm sorry it has taken so long for an update. I want to thank you all for your support, and know I'm actually super excited about my next chapter. Now if it tickles your fancy, please leave a review or even just like the story. Thanks again :)
PS. Thanks, ShanaO for the fyi about the spelling mistake. I'm usually pretty good about catching that stuff, but sometimes things slip past me. Thank you again.
"Hey Rick!" Daryl waved one hand over his head to get the attention of the de facto leader of the group. He had been hunting for Rick for the past half hour and had finally caught sight of him. Daryl didn't know why he was bothering. It wasn't as if Beth had actually complained. Hell, the girl seemed to be actively trying not to complain. Lord knew she had reason too. Shit though, it wasn't his responsibility to be no damn family psychologist.
Bringing his arm up to block out the son, he shot a nod toward Rick who was making his way toward Daryl. He couldn't help but note the trowel and weeding gloves sticking out of Rick's back pockets. Daryl wondered when he planned on releasing himself and Carl from the ridiculousness of farming. Both would have been useful outside the prison, considering the population of the prison was quadruple what they began with two months ago.
"What's up?" Rick asked, coming up to Daryl and wiping the sweat from his brow. It wasn't yet noon and already hotter than anyone was comfortable with. Daryl could only assume that was why most of the prison's population had found sanctuary inside.
"I wanted to talk to you," Daryl stated with a sigh. He kicked a clump of dirt at his feel, not at all looking forward to the conversation. "About Judith…" Immediately Rick was at attention.
"What's wrong? She all right?" Daryl was quick to nod.
"Yeah, yeah; she's all fine." They stood in silence for a few moments before Daryl sighed again.
"Look, it's just – it's Beth –"
"Beth okay?" Rick asked, once more sounding concerned.
"Yeah, she's good too, would you let me talk, dammit?" Daryl grumbled. "She hasn't said nothin' but she's tired…exhausted even, watchin' over a kid ain't even hers –"
Rick held up a hand, "Wait a minute, she's just helping out for a bit."
"Nah, Man. She's been raising your kid; you just happen pop in every now and then." Daryl sighed and took note of the confused look on Rick's face. "Look man, I'm not looking to cause problems…it's not my business. I'm just worried about her, I guess."
Rick raised an eyebrow. "You're worried about Beth?" Daryl felt himself turn red.
"Hell nah! I just mean –"
"No, you're right," Rick admitted, cutting Daryl off with a sigh. Daryl took a breath, grateful Rick wasn't going to make him try and recover from being a little bitch about a girl he rarely bothered to talk to. "I just, Carl…"
Daryl nodded. "Man, I get it. Carl needs you and that's fine…just – you've got another kid. Another kid that's starting to see Beth as more of a mom, than you a daddy. Beth doesn't need that…I think you know that." The two men stood in silence for a few moments before Rick nodded again and turned toward the prison.
"Where you goin'?" Daryl called, full well knowing the answer.
"Finding Beth," Ricked replied without looking back. Daryl released a small grin, glad he had said something. Now he only hoped Rick had enough sense not to spill to Beth he had been the one to say something.
"Beth?" She looked up in surprise as Rick approached her from across the block. She wondered if the heat was proving too much for him just like it was for everyone else. Being out in the fields in this humidity would be too much even for Beth, and she been used to working outside in weather like this.
"What's up?" she asked, making a soft cooing noise at the baby in her arms. Rick was eyeing both her and Judith thoughtfully.
Finally wiping the sweat and dirt from his hands onto his pants, he gave a small smile. "I thought I might take Judith for a while…if that's all right." Beth blinked a few times before nodding happily.
"Of course, she's yours!" She didn't know what had brought on this little announcement, but Beth was pleased all the same. She couldn't help but wonder though how long he would have her for. Would Beth actually get real time to lay in the sun or even take a nap?
AS soon as Beth began handing the baby over, however, she felt her heart break as Judith burst into hysterics. Rick froze, unsure if he should continue forward.
"It's all right," Beth assured him, terrified he would change his mind. "She'll settle down, honest." Obviously still unsure, Rick hesitantly reached for Judith and quietly bounced her on one hip, hushing her lovingly all the while. Beth grinned at the sight of the father and daughter together – even with Judith screaming and Rick desperately trying to calm her.
Before he had the chance to change his mind, Beth slowly backed away and headed toward her cell. Hurrying to change into the swimsuit top and shorts Maggie had found her two weeks previous at a strip mall, she grabbed the copy of Stephen King's Christine she had discovered in the prison library.
Beth had been ecstatic to find the large cache of King novels. Few others knew about her crazed obsession with rather dark author, and she liked it that way. After all, when Maggie found out years previous, she always seemed to be using it as blackmail against Beth.
She slipped the book from i's dust jacket and exchanged it for the cover of a random Jane Austen novel. Grabbing a blanket, she rushed from the block toward the kitchen. Finally, Beth completed her scavenger hunt with a bottle of water and headed out to the prison yard. She couldn't help but release a small giggle at the warm sun tickling her skin and the moisture beading on her brow. While normally humidity like this would have made Beth run for the sanctity of air conditioning, the idea of being totally alone was far too tempting to ignore.
Before she realized it, Beth was half way through her book. Sitting up to stretch, she grimaced as her back cracked multiple times and made the sound she had always hated. Despite the sound, however, she had to admit the glorious feeling that went along with it. Lord, did it feel good…
"Whatcha' readin'?" Beth jumped at the voice and raised a hand to her chest.
"Could you stop that?" she cried, shooting a glare Daryl's way. "You know one of these days you're going to give me a heart attack, and won't you be just racked with guilt?" She rolled her eyes at the smirk on the hunter's face.
"I'd be more concerned about givin' your daddy a heart attack with that little bit of nothin' you've got going on…or whatever it is you're readin' and hidin' under that book cover." Beth felt herself flush, and she desperately tried not to obnoxiously cover herself. She was not going to act like a silly little girl…not today…not in front of Daryl.
She did, however, remove the dust jacket from her book and toss it aside. "How did you know?" she asked with a tilt of her head. She didn't even notice how Daryl's eyes moved from her own to the golden waves of her hair over her shoulder. She was much too preoccupied with her newly discovered secret.
He only shrugged. "Other than the fact that you're readin' upside down, I don't really need much else." Beth stared for a few moments and then glanced down to the book in her hands and the dust jacket to her right. Suddenly she was laughing, and Daryl couldn't have been more confused. Tossing the book down with the contradictory cover, she flung herself down onto her blanket and continued laughing. Unsure how to handle the seemingly insane girl in front of him, Daryl shifted his weight and hoped she would stop sometime soon.
Finally, out of breath and overheated, Beth settled down and sat back up, smiling at Daryl. "Here I was, thinking I was being so sneaky…oh well…."
Abruptly, the two entered an awkward silence. Daryl now wished Beth would resume laughing; at least then, he wouldn't be stuck standing there with nothing to do but stare. It was frustrating for him. Over the past several weeks he had found himself searching her out far more than necessary. Unsure what had changed or when the change occurred, Beth had become increasingly fascinating.
When he had met her on the farm, she could barely look anyone in the eye, she never spoke, and she was never more than a few yards from that annoying ass boyfriend of hers. And she certainly never sought Daryl out. Now she seemed to relish every moment she had to herself, and Daryl could have sworn she actively tried to be near Daryl. It was comforting to know the odd desire to be close wasn't one-sided. He didn't feel like such a creepy old bastard.
Shaking himself from his reverie, Daryl grunted out see you later and turned to leave. He wanted to make sure Beth enjoyed her time alone. He could already see two of the Woodbury women approaching with a couple loads of laundry. No fucking way were they roping Beth into that shit. Not today…
"Hey Daryl?" Beth called. Daryl froze and turned to face her. She was still sitting on her blanket, book forgotten beside her. He eyed her blonde waves and the few beads of sweat rolling down her neck. He felt himself redden and hoped she didn't notice his intense stares again. "Actually…never mind. I'll see you later?"
Daryl nodded, wishing she would ask him the question he knew she was asking everyone else. For some reason he desperately wanted to give her his answer, and he desperately wanted her approval.