A/N: Thanks for tuning in again! As usual, shout outs to my editors: Alex, Pat, Ben and Jenn - xoxo ..love you guys. Very special thanks to Ben for the head canon that inspired this whole darn story, which transformed into the theme of this chapter. Also, a special thanks to Pat for her inspiring scientic rhetoric regarding the human anatomy! ;) Enjoy this installment loves ...please drop your comments in the review box ...they help keep me going ...seriously!
Three days non-stop on the road brought them to the Georgia border, a big road sign declaring "You are now entering Hayesville, North Carolina. Population: 320" stood like a beacon on the side of the highway. A welcome sight for sore eyes, indeed. Abe had reluctantly agreed to hunker down for the winter, but only when they crossed out of Georgia. Perfect timing, as far as Daryl was concerned, the sun was already beginning to dip low in the afternoon sky and he was sick to death of walking.
A cluster of abandoned vehicles littered the highway ahead of them. Daryl, Rick and Abe approached them cautiously, waving the others back, Glenn, Maggie and Sasha guarding the rear, Michonne and Tyrese on either side. The vehicles were all empty but for one smashed up tan Toyota Corolla with a decaying female Walker pinned against the steering wheel. Rick silenced it with a quick knife thrust through the temple.
"Everyone, stay close. See what you can find," Rick addressed the group, then turned to Daryl and Abe. "Think maybe we can salvage a vehicle or two?"
Daryl shrugged. "Worth a shot," he said, laying his crossbow on the roof of a black Ford pickup. He opened the cab door, surprised to find the keys dangling from the ignition. He turned the key and the engine roared to life, sputtered and then stalled. "It's outta gas," he said, tapping on the gas gauge.
"Let's see what we can syphon," Abe suggested, shouldering his rifle. "Don't take your eyes off of him," he ordered Rosita, thumbing in Eugene's direction.
Daryl rolled his eyes, moving to the blue Chevy Cavalier behind the truck. The way Abe was constantly babying Eugene, you'd think they were in love. Eugene was alright, Daryl supposed, but if he was the key to saving the world, they were all in deep shit. Daryl still had his doubt's and figured he wasn't alone in them. Honestly, Daryl just wished the guy would shut the hell up with his endless babbling. It didn't help his cause that he'd been paying an awful lot of attention to Beth lately, either.
Rosita pulled a black rubber hose from her pack and handed it to Abe while Rick checked the gas gauges of the other vehicles, the others scavenging for anything useful. Carl produced a pair of jumper cables and an empty gas can from the trunk of the tan Corolla and handed them off to his dad.
Ducking down under the steering wheel, Daryl began ripping at the wires under the dash, giving a satisfied grunt as the car turned over. He climbed out and tapped on the hood. "This ones got plenty of gas. Let 'er run fer a few an charge up the battery."
Rick smiled as he and Abe finished pouring what gas they had syphoned from the Corolla into the pickup. "That's two. A good day, indeed."
Daryl kept one eye on Beth, who handed Judith off to Tara and began rifling through a silver Jeep Wrangler. She pulled something out from under the passenger seat and quickly shoved it in her bag. What was that girl being so secretive about, Daryl wondered. "Beth," he called out to her. "That jeep have keys in it?"
"Not in the ignition," she replied, reaching for the glovebox. It was locked. Cautiously, she pulled out her knife and moved to the drivers side, stepping on a ring of keys by the driver's side door. "Wait! I found 'em," she called back, scooping them up and climbing excitedly into the drivers seat. She turned the key. Nothing. "I think its dead," she frowned, her disappointment evident.
Daryl joined her, propping his crossbow on the passenger side door, he leaned on the door frame, an amused grin on his face.
"What's so funny?" Beth asked, not sharing his amusement.
"Ya gotta push in the clutch," he instructed her. "Or put it neutral. It won't start if its in gear."
"Oh," Beth replied with a nonchalant flip of her ponytail. "I knew that," she said, glancing down at the pedals apprehensively.
Daryl chuckled. "The one all the way to the left," he said, throwing up his hands in mock defense as Beth fixed him with a stern look. "How'd ya grow up on a farm an not learn how ta drive stick?"
"I wasn't plowin' fields, Daryl," Beth rolled her eyes at him. She pushed the clutch in and turned the key, cringing when a loud clacking sound rang from the jeep.
"Batteries dead," Daryl explained, leaning over to check the gas gauge. It was half full. Perfect. "We'll jump it. Use the keys, check the glovebox." He turned to Rick, "This one needs a jump."
Daryl moved to the front of the jeep and tapped the hood, signaling Beth to pull the hood release. She pulled the lever, then leaned over the passenger seat to key into the glove compartment and rifled through its contents, finding a small handgun. She put the safety on and climbed out of the drivers seat, moving to the front of the jeep to stand beside Daryl who was checking the oil.
"Found a gun," she handed it to Daryl. "I put the safety on," she said, as he wiped his greasy hands on his handkerchief and then took the gun, inspecting it. "I'm gonna go see what else we can find."
"Clips full," Daryl said, reaching around and sticking it in her back pocket. "Hold onto it. Keep yer eyes an ears open, got it Greene?"
Beth nodded, moving back towards Tara and Judith, stopping to chuck the baby under her chin and adjusting her sun bonnet before heading to the next abandoned vehicle that wasn't currently being searched through or fixed.
Climbing into the Cavalier, Rick gave it a little gas, then turned the car around and pulled it up in front of the Jeep so Daryl could attach the jumper cables. "Think we should set up camp here fer the night, get back on the road in the morning?'", Rick asked, moving closer so they could hear each other over the loud hum of the Cavalier's engine.
Daryl glanced around briefly, taking in their surroundings. "Guess it'll do fer tonight. We should line the vehicles up in the front there," he said, pointing beyond the traffic jam, his eyes squinting against the low sun. "Camp between them, load up anythin' we ain't usin', so we can jus' go if we need to take off in a hurry."
Rick nodded, leaving Daryl to finish jumping the Jeep, while he turned to bark orders to the group to set up camp and load anything they didn't need for the night into the trunk of the Cavalier and the pickup truck.
Daryl climbed into the drivers side of the Jeep, pushed in the clutch and turned the key, the Jeep's quiet engine humming to life as he smirked. He'd be driving this, he thought to himself, shifting the Jeep into neutral and pulling up the emergency brake so it could run and charge the battery. As soon as they found a safe place, he was planning to teach Beth how to drive stick, intrigued that she was never far from his thoughts, no matter what he was doing.
"Hey Archer," Michonne surprised Daryl, jumping into the passenger seat. "You about done getting my new ride ready?" She flashed him her dazzling grin.
"Find yer own, Samurai," Daryl scoffed, teasing her back. "This ones mine. Need somethin'?" He asked her, his tone turning serious.
"Other than to annoy my favorite sweaty redneck friend? No." She flashed her million dollar smile once more before exiting the Jeep. "Better keep your eye on ol' Mullet," Michonne jerked her head in Eugene's direction.
"The hell do I care what he does?" Daryl asked, reaching up and unclasping the clips holding on the soft top of the Jeep, then climbing out. "Guys a moron. If any ya'll think he's the key ta savin' humanity, we're in deep shit," he said, lending voice to his earlier thoughts.
"I'm no fool," Michonne answered, helping him roll off and remove the soft top from the Jeep. "Just observing he's been quite focused on Lil' blonde Greene," her expression was serious, but her eyes were teasing.
"And?" Daryl asked, not bothering to masquerade his annoyance with the topic of their discussion.
They finished removing the top, rolling it as best they could and tucking into the tiny compartment in the back of the Jeep.
"Just sayin'," Michonne said with a wink, and was gone as quickly as she had appeared, leaving Daryl to shake his head at yet another puzzling exchange with another damn woman.
Daryl sighed, moving to the front of the Jeep and disconnecting the jumper cables, he closed the hoods of both vehicles. Why was he surprised that Michonne had picked up on whatever it was brewing between him and Beth? The woman was nothing if not highly observant. But if she had noticed, had anyone else, Daryl wondered? He cast a nervous look around the group. Everyone was busy still rummaging through cars and setting up camp, Sasha and Carl had already started scraping something together for dinner, Bob never to far from Sasha's side.
Rick was busy loading the back of the truck, so Daryl moved both the Cavalier and the Jeep, lining them up beside the pickup truck. He shouldered his bow, moving towards the group, his eyes immediately scanning for Beth, finding and settling on her, rummaging through the back of a station wagon with Maggie. They were digging through a suitcase full of women things, Glenn standing guard, trying to feign disinterest in the lacy things they were tossing about the back seat. Rosita joined them, Eugene in tow like a dutiful puppy.
Finding nothing of interest, Beth moved to the back, lifting the hatch to dig through the duffle bags and suitcases strewn about, finding several articles of clothing for Judith, she dumped one of the duffle bags and began stuffing the useful items into it. Toiletries, some men's flannel shirts, a pair of boots that looked to be Carl's size, Daryl noting that Beth was always thinking of others before herself. He leaned against one of the nearby cars, bending to scratch the scroungy one eyed mutt behind its ears, mumbling "stupid dog" under his breath while doing so.
Daryl shut his eyes, trying to ignore Eugene's inane rambling, wondering how a none to patient Abe constantly put up with it.
"Make yourself useful," Rosita barked at him from inside the station wagon. "Help Beth unload anything we need from the back and stack it there," she pointed to the open space by Daryl and the dog. "We'll load it in the cars when we're done."
Beth smiled at Eugene politely, as he moved to stand beside her, then continued with her task. She unzipped a book bag, finding some romance novels and tossed them into her bag with a sheepish look in Daryl's direction, her blush not going unnoticed by him, though he pretended otherwise.
"Uh, Daryl." Glenn called to him. "Wanna give me a hand, we got a few Walkers coming this way."
Daryl moved away from the mutt, moving with Glenn around the cars to take out the four decaying corpses advancing on them. One bolt, three head blows and they were taken care of. The bit of commotion commanding the attention of Rick and Abe, they came to the edge of the traffic jam, armed and ready.
"Taken care of," Daryl grunted, moving past them and repositioning himself closer to Beth. She had crawled completely into the hatch, her backside in the air as she stretched her upper body farther to reach the last suitcase and drag it closer. Daryl averted his gaze, trying his best not to stare, ignoring the little sparks of anger shooting through him that Eugene was openly admiring her assets. He was not jealous, he reasoned with himself. No, not jealous, just protective.
Oblivious to Daryl's annoyance with him, Eugene addressed him, "Ever notice how the physical properties of snug denim really lends itself to showcasing the physical attributes of a well toned gluteus maximus?"
"The hell you jus' say ta me?" Daryl shot away from the car, advancing on Eugene.
"You misunderstand, m'friend. I wasn't insulting you," Eugene continued, "In laymen's terms, I was just appreciating the young ladies nicely toned backside."
"Excuse me?" Beth called from inside the car.
Without further warning, Daryl dropped his bow and backhanded Eugene in the mouth, sending him sprawling back into the parked car behind him. Rick and Abe were there in an instant, Rick placing himself between Daryl and a red faced Abe who was advancing on Daryl, ready to strike.
"Have you lost yer damn mind, boy?" Abe barked at him.
"Put a leash on yer dog or teach em' some damn manners," Daryl shot back, shoving against Rick.
"Now let's just calm down," Rick yelled over them, placing his hand on Daryl's chest and pressing him back. "Back off, Daryl."
Daryl stepped back, retrieving his bow from the ground, everyone had gathered around now, their curious and shocked expressions wanting to know what the hell was going on. Regaining his footing, Eugene stood and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his face showing nothing but bewildered confusion. For some reason that pissed Daryl off even more. Angry and suddenly feeling self conscious, Daryl needed some distance to cool off. With an angry grunt, he heaved his bow up onto his shoulder and stalked off the side of the road, making a beeline for the cover of the trees.
Beth climbed out of the hatch, feeling almost as embarrassed as Daryl. Scooping up her backpack, she cast a nervous glance in Rick's direction, then took off towards the trees Daryl had disappeared through.
"Beth, wait!" Maggie called after her, climbing out of the station wagon intending to follow her sister, but Rick stopped her with a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"She'll be fine," he reassured her. "I'm sure the two of you will have plenty ta talk about when she returns." Rick turned back to the group. "C'mon, shows over. Let's get back ta work."
- PT 2 -
Daryl hadn't gone very far into the cover of the tree's when he heard the sound of small feet crunching on the underbrush behind him. Carefully covering his tracks, he left the trail, doubling back to put himself behind his pursuer, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw the top of her golden hair peeking above the brush. Beth. He studied her, watching how she was tracking him, picking up the tell tale signs that he'd walked there moments before. He couldn't shove down the proud smile that teased the corners of his mouth. She was humming that tune again, this time putting words to it, Daryl strained his ears, trying to hear.
"I know that you're much older, an you've had many lovers, but there's no place I'd rather be than underneath the covers ... Next to you," Beth paused, ducking under a low tree branch. "An' I'm telling myself to be patient, an' I'm telling myself to wait, 'cause when it comes to your love, I over anticipate."
Daryl silently leaned in closer, letting Beth's sweet voice wash over him.
"Could you fall in love with me? Ohhh. Will I solve this mystery? I'm bracing for a letdown, 'cause I know you like your space. But my head is full of love songs, that I just can't erase ... About you." Beth paused again, turning around as Daryl stepped out from the bushes that were concealing him. "About you," she sang again, her blue eyes holding him captive, pinning him in place.
"Ya should go back," Daryl said, suddenly feeling very shy.
"I should," Beth agreed, nodding her head. She took a deep breath and let her backpack slide to the forrest floor. "But I'm not goin' anywhere."
Disclaimer: I do not own the song Over Anticipate by Emily Kinney. The song was borrowed for fictional purposes. Any lyrics used and its copyrights are the rightful property of their respective owners.