I am so so so so so so sorry it has been at least two months since I updated. If you saw the last scene of GoT Season 5 you know why I have not been in a good state. Many a nights were spent in silent teary rage. (Must every TV show kill the ones I love, except Beth because she is very much alive) But I am all good now because I re-watched Avatar: the Last Airbender and I am filled with love and hope once again. Don't own the Walking Dead and all mistakes are mine.
"Why not?" she said, propping her arm up on her elbow opening her palm to hold her face, "this is the comfiest porch I've had in years" she looked at him knowingly. She was playing off his words at the funeral home. He scoffed "plus it's kinda overwhelming in there, I mean I love them all it's just I'm not used to being around so many people anymore" Daryl nodded settling back again in a silent acceptance of her decision to sleep outside. "You gonna sleep or what" he said after she still hadn't put her head back down studying him. She smiled and went back to resting her head on her hands against the porch floor. "Yes Mr. Dixon" she said in a mocking tone.
Beth opened her eyes on the porch to find a pillow beneath her head and a small blanket over her with Daryl nowhere in sight. She hadn't expected him to still be there, but she was a bit disappointed regardless. The sun had just risen with a gentle breeze flowing through the trees. She stretched out her limbs and rose, picking up the blanket and pillow and walking back inside just as the smell of breakfast wafted through the living room. Placing both items on the couch neatly she entered the kitchen slowly to meet the faces of almost everyone including Morgan who was standing next to Rick as he entertained Judith. Maggie was immediately at her side, "I was so worried when I woke up and you weren't there, Beth. Why would you go sleep outside?" "It was nice outside" she said nonchalantly as Michonne handed her a plate, smiling gently at her.
There was one person missing in the room and as the minutes crept forward, light conversations rolling by Beth as she struggled to remain completely focused on what everyone was saying. She picked at her food with a fork, occasionally taking a few bites, smiling when it seemed like someone had made a joke, catching a few words here and there, feeling the casual touch of a family member and trying to get used to it all at once but finally interrupting them as her curiosity got the best of her. "Where's Daryl?" she tried to pull it off as a casual question. Some seemed to have just noticed his absence, though they didn't make much of an effort in wondering where he might be. "Might be out working on his bike" Rick suggested, bouncing Judith in his arms. "I think I heard him say something about takin a shower earlier actually" Carol replied with a small knowing smirk as she popped a forkful of scrambled eggs into her mouth. Rick let out a short breathy laugh, "well, that's new"
Beth was confused by the seemingly common knowledge among the group of Daryl's hygiene routine, or lack thereof. "Does Daryl not take showers or something?"
"Daryl's been a little..." Rick paused trying to find a way to describe it delicately, "Resistant to getting real comfortable here" he finally settled on. Before Beth could reply, Carol said quietly, "Speak of the devil"
Daryl walked into the kitchen, though it was difficult to imagine this was the same man. His hair was still slightly damp, brushed out of his clean face. The hairs on his chin had been trimmed down and his new clothes were completely untouched from the world beyond the wall. He still wore his vest which now looked even more worn in contrast with the brand new grey shirt beneath it. Everyone turned their attention to Daryl, racking their brains to remember the last time he had looked like this. "What're you all looking at?"
"Damn, thought I was gonna get to hose you down in the front yard but it looks like you beat me to it" Carol replied jokingly. Everyone laughed quietly.
Daryl just grunted and reached for a plate looking over to his left at Beth through the corner of his eye, trying to pick up on her reaction. She smiled at him softly and quietly said, "You look nice" The corner of his mouth quirked up a fraction in her direction as he filled up his plate, taking the open seat next to Beth.
"I talked to Deanna and she said she'll be waiting to interview you soon as you finish your breakfast" Rick gave Beth a smile in an attempt to calm her nerves though it did very little. She slowed her chewing and swallowed thickly, "I'd like some more eggs, please." Daryl gave her a nudge from his place next to her, "Ain't so bad, couple questions, thas all" Beth nodded her head and after a few minutes of extra worrying she decided it was better to get it done sooner than later, "Let's just get it over with" Rick handed Judith to Morgan who gladly took on the task of keeping her happy, and gently brushed Beth's shoulder signaling her to follow him and she looked to Daryl for an extra dose of confidence as she was led out of the group's home to Deanna's house.
When she entered the room Deanna gave her the kindest smile she could muster and Beth responded with a fleeting one. She was a small woman but she looked very powerful in the way she carried herself. Beth looked around the room taking in the long wall of books, overflowing the bookshelves and piled in front of the many windows, she wondered if this woman had felt safe enough in this place to sit down and read all these books. Even when she thought she was safe, first in her home and later in the prison, she still found it hard at times to fully relax enough to finish a book or two let alone a room full.
"Please sit down, Beth." She carefully walked to the chair and sat down her hands clasped together in her lap. She stared at the camera on the tripod behind the couch even as Deanna sat down. "You don't mind if I record this conversation do you?" Beth finally turned her attention back to Deanna, "Why?" "In the interest of transparency, I record all of my conversations" Beth looked down, "I guess s'alright" "What did you do before all this?"
The conversation was over fairly quickly. Beth told her she had only been a teenager in high school when it all began and she was asked about her relationship with Maggie and then her father whose loss was still fresh in her mind, memories now bittersweet. She didn't tell her much, she was smarter than that. No matter how trustworthy she was or how safe everyone felt around this woman she wouldn't reveal her weaknesses to her. Deanna then asked her about her time apart from the group, the hospital she had spent her time in. She seemed to want to know how she had ended up with the scars on her face but was trying to find a delicate way to ask. "I was punished for not obeying, for telling the truth about what was out there, then I was shot. Doesn't matter, because I made it."
"Yes you did, you are much stronger than you seem Beth, I think you'll fit in just fine here. I'll let you know when I find the right job for you."
"So… that's it, I can stay?" "You can stay" She replied with sincerity.
Daryl was sitting out on the steps of Deanna's home when Beth stepped out, fiddling with something in his hand. He looked up at her and she smiled, "wasn't so bad" "told ya" he said standing up from the steps. "She seems nice" "she's alright" Beth stepped off the porch. "Did you wait out here for me?" "Well, yeah… someone's gotta take you back to the house" he replied looking back at Deanna's home "so you offered to chaperon?" "Thought you said ya didn't need one" "I don't" "c'mon then" he said as they started walking out of Deanna's view. Beth couldn't remember the last time she casually strolled through a suburban neighborhood without having to worry about her safety. It all still felt like a strange dream, like she would wake up any minute in the woods with a walker inches away from her face. White picket fences, people sitting on their porches, these things weren't supposed to last but here she was. Her father would have loved this place.
It was nice to have silence but halfway home Beth grew tired of Daryl's preoccupied demeanor. "Somethin' wrong?" she stopped walking and he followed. She looked at him for a few moments before he replied, "guess since yer here now…" Daryl stalled a bit before reaching down to his side and then reaching out to Beth, fingers loosely gripping her old blade. "It's yers" Beth slowly took the blade from him, staring at it for a moment before looking back up at him. "You kept it?" "Carol gave it to me, after… thought it might help..." he grew silent and looked down. She felt his discomfort heavy in the air. He really had missed her, more than she thought he would and certainly more than she wished. "Thank you, Daryl" She looked up at him for a moment thinking out her next move. He could feel that same thickness in the air as last night, millions of things still left unsaid, things he wasn't sure he'd ever be brave enough to let slip from his mouth, things he could feel building up that he had never known before. He wanted her to know how far the darkness had come over him when she was gone, how everything beautiful left in the world left a sour taste in his mouth but he couldn't get the words out of him, maybe she didn't want to hear it, so he gave her the blade back and hoped it would help her understand a bit more and then he just stood there not knowing what to do because she had that look on her face again, the same one she wore that night at the funeral home and on the porch last night.
She saw it in his face that there were things he wanted to say but he retracted from the thoughts, trying to distance himself from feeling those emotions. Every time they got closer to something he freaked out and pulled himself away from it, becoming awkward and uncalculated. She debated a little longer on her next move before placing her hand on his shoulder, swiftly leaning forward and stretching up on her toes to briefly kiss his cheek. Daryl stiffened the second he saw her closing in and remained rigid for a few seconds after the touch of her lips left his skin. She moved back to her previous position and looked at him with her signature close-lipped smile, gentle and sweet and he relaxed as she switched back to her casual self, "You know, you really need a haircut" he scoffed as they continued on. "It's almost as long as mine"
Not too sure about this chapter...Thanks for reading this far and for all the follows and favorites and especially the reviews. Hope you liked it! Whether you did or didn't, let me know. I promise I will try to update more often. much love :)