Beth noticed Glenn watching her closely on the drive back to Alexandria. She hadn't offered any explanations about anything. She knew he must have a million questions. She had just walked out of the woods, bleeding and bruised, but alive and the last time Glenn saw her he thought she was dead. They all had thought she was dead. That would be an easier story to tell than the one she carried now.
Daryl steered around a couple of broken down cars and some fallen tree branches. They hadn't cleared the roads completely. They didn't want to make it obvious they were driving through here frequently.
"Beth can you tell us what happened?" Glenn asked gently. There it was, the million dollar question.
Beth stiffened. She continued to stare out the window. "I told Daryl. Dr. Edwards found me. In the trunk." she said.
Daryl gripped the steering wheel so tight his knuckles were white. Out of the corner of his eye he saw her body tucked up against the car door as if she could disappear.
"How come it wasn't obvious to us you weren't.. What did we miss?" Glenn asked.
"We? You mean me!" Daryl said bitterly. "I carried her out. I should have known." Daryl slammed on the brakes and jerked the car into park. He grabbed his crossbow off the seat and got out of the car.
"Daryl where are you going?" Carol opened the passenger door and stood beside the car.
Without even thinking about it Beth opened her door and walked to the middle of the road. She watched Daryl head off into the trees.
"I ain't doing this! I'll meet y'all back at Alexandria." Walking backwards, he answered Carol's question, but his eyes were on Beth the entire time. The words were right there in her head. The ones she could say to bring him back. But like an explanation for her mysterious appearance she couldn't get the words in her brain to find their way to her mouth. So she just stood there watching him walk away.
"Come on Beth. He'll be okay. He knows his way around these woods better than all of us." Carol called to her and she forced herself to walk back to the car and she took one last look over her shoulder before sliding into the backseat.
"He's wearing my knife." she said softly. She had seen it, hanging there on his hip next to his own knife.
Carol froze. She turned slowly and faced Beth. "It was in the stuff from the hospital. I gave it to him, after everything. I thought he should have it." Carol paused and then said, "He hasn't taken it off." Beth swallowed hard and pushed her elbow against her injury. The sudden, sharp pain gave her something easier to focus on. She didn't want to deal with the emotional pain anymore. She'd learned to push that out during her time on her own.
Daryl walked quietly through the trees. He felt calmer already. This was what he knew. He could find his way out of this. He couldn't handle all the emotions he had been feeling since Beth had walked into that meadow. This was not the way a reunion would have gone if he had tried to imagine one. His heart had soared when he had touched her face and realized she was real and not just a figment of his imagination.
Three walkers up ahead in the trees caught his attention. He raised his bow and easily took out two. He looked closely at the last one. It was a small blonde female. Her once blonde hair was matted with leaves and twigs. She stumbled as she made her way towards him. Daryl shook his head and pulled out his knife. He held her back with one hand on her forehead and plunged the knife into her temple with the other. She fell motionless onto the ground. Her hand landed on his boot and he kicked it away. Retrieving his bolts he headed off into the woods.
When their car pulled up to the gates of Alexandria, Beth was asleep in the backseat. Until the car stopped, this woke her and she sat up. A man was at the gate and he opened it to let them in.
"That's Eugene. He joined us awhile back." Glenn said to Beth. The man waved them in.
"We're early. They won't be expecting us yet." Carol said. And right then Beth noticed Maggie coming down the street.
"Well here we go." Carol said. She looked back and Beth and smiled. "You ready?" Beth nodded and took a deep breath. Pain shot through her side as she maneuvered herself carefully on the seat so that she could get out of the car. She stood up and for a minute she was blinded by the sunlight. Slowly her eye adjusted and she focused them on her sister.
Beth watched as Maggie came down the street. She knew the exact moment her sister realized who she was. Maggie stopped and just stood in the middle of the road. Then she tentatively walked towards her. Beth was suddenly nervous and there was a gnawing in the pit of her stomach.
"Beth?" Maggie whispered.
"Hi Maggie." she said. Maggie was smiling and she reached out to hug her sister. Beth could see the tears already forming in her eyes.
"How? I don't understand." Maggie was crying now and Beth awkwardly patted her back. She was so confused. Shouldn't she feel safe here? In her sister's arms? She didn't feel safe at all. In fact she just wanted to push her sister away. Daryl's touch may have unnerved her, but Maggie's made her angry. And she wasn't completely sure why. Over Maggie's shoulder she saw Rick, with Carl carrying Judith right behind him. When he made eye contact with the sheriff he started running towards her.
"Rick.." Beth whispered and Maggie must have heard her because she moved aside and let Beth be pulled into Rick's arms. Beth buried her face in his chest and she finally cried. She didn't know what was different about Rick's arms, but that longing to feel safe was here.
"Beth it's okay. You're home. You're safe." Rick brushed the hair from her face and he smiled at her. "You've got some explaining to do young lady!" His taunts made her laugh, smile, something she hadn't done in a long time. And the anger she felt towards Maggie and the pain that came with being near Daryl just disappeared. Word must have got out quick because soon she was surrounded. There were familiar faces, Carl and Judith, Michonne and Sasha. There were so many that were missing and so many she didn't recognize. She was overwhelmed and felt her smile falter.
"Beth you really need to go and see Denise." Carol reminded her. She nodded slightly when Beth's eyes met hers. She was giving Beth a way out.
"What happened?" Rick asked. He put his hand on Beth's shoulder. She glanced at Maggie.
"Just some bumps and bruises. I looked her over, but I'd feel better if Denise did too." Carol smiled.
"Are you okay?" Maggie asked concerned.
"She's going to be fine. Let's let her get settled. Maggie why don't we go find her some clothes. You know her best, Michonne you were going by Denise's weren't you? Can you take Beth and introduce her?" Beth watched Carol closely. The woman was doing everything she could to help Beth get away from the crowd. And Beth appreciated it.
"Yeah sure. Come by after and we can figure out where you'll stay." Maggie smiled. Beth should have felt good seeing her sister smiling back at her after all this time. But she didn't. Carol and Maggie went one direction and Michonne pointed Beth in the other.
"Take Judith and go home Carl. I'll be right there." Rick said. He caught up to Michonne and Beth.
"Beth what's going on? Back there you seemed really uncomfortable. Carol noticed it too. She even gave you a way out. Are you hurt?" Rick asked.
"Can I stay with you? Is there room?" Beth disregarded Rick's questions. She watched as Michonne and Rick shared a look.
"We have an extra room, of course you can stay with us. But why not Maggie, she's your sister." Michonne asked.
Beth looked down at the ground. She took a deep breath. "Do I have to answer that now?" She asked. She was tired and her side hurt and she really wasn't sure how to answer that question. She looked over at Michonne and Rick and something in her face softened their expressions. She was fully aware of the fact that she had that effect on people. It was like she needed to be taken care of and she used that to her advantage. More often than not it proved to be a fatal mistake for most, but not these people. They were her family. They wouldn't have left her behind if they'd known she was still alive.
Michonne smiled and Rick stepped forward. "No, but you need to tell me if you're hurt." he said.
Beth sighed. She opened her jacket and pulled up her blood stained t-shirt. The bandage Carol had put on it earlier was soaked with blood. "Carol did what she could, but I think I need stitches." she said.
"You want to tell me what happened?" Rick asked.
"I will. After I see the Doctor. I'll tell you everything. But it's a long story." Beth said.
"Yeah? Well I think it's time to tell it." he said. Beth pulled her shirt down and looked at him.
"Okay." she said quietly. There no was no way around this much longer. She was going to have to tell them what she had been through and what she'd had done to get here.
"Hey, where's Daryl?" Rick asked.
Beth stiffened. "He, he wanted to walk." she said softly.
"Look I know Daryl. I know he blamed himself for the kidnapping and then your death. He takes it upon himself to be the personal savior for the people he loves. I think it's been the hardest on him and I don't think he had fully accepted it and now, well here you are. I just figured he'd be your shadow right now.." Rick said gently.
Beth took a deep breath. She clasped her hands in front of her. " I don't think I was what he expected, when I came back." she said quietly. Tears pricked her eyes. Rick looked perplexed. Michonne put her arms around Beth.
"We can talk about everything later. Let's get you looked at." She gave Rick a look that said this is over for now and she led Beth down the street to the infirmary.