Chapter 10
AN: Woot! We made it to chapter 10. I woke up this morning to a LOT of love in my inbox. I had to work all weekend so I didn't get a chance to check emails. But imagine my surprise when I opened my inbox to all the reviews, follows and favorites this and my other story got. Thank you guys so much; you are the BEST! I haven' t gotten around to individual replies yet so this is a blanket THANK YOU until I get around to replying. I figured you guys would probably like an update more at this point. So without further adieu; chapter 10!
They had been driving all night and as the soft light of dawn crept across the horizon of the highway they were on, Daryl started looking for a place to pull off for a little while. Lack of sleep was burning behind his eyes and he had a dull throb of a headache starting in his temples. Beth was still sleeping and he hoped they could pull off for a while to get some rest and eat a little something. She stirred beside him in her chair and he reached across the space between them and ruffled her hair. "Good mornin' sleepyhead." He smiled at her softly.
Lucky peered up at them from his resting spot between their two captains chairs. He looked back and forth between them and as he pulled his hand away from Beth's hair he paused for a moment to pat the dog on the head, which he seemed to appreciate and then went back to resting and enjoying the ride.
Beth opened her eyes sleepily and pushed her hair back from her face and stretched lazily as she smiled in his direction. "G'mornin." She said softly and looked around at their surroundings. She didn't know what had happened to her. She supposed after not sleeping every night for the past few weeks, the feeling of the camper rocking gently on the road as they drove through the night had lulled her to sleep. In waking up this morning, she felt better than she had in a long time. "Where are we?" she asked as she surveyed the landscape. They were on a country road, passing not much else besides trees and fields of overgrown wheat, beaten down by the winter weather and going so long untended. It reminded her of the farm and she often wondered if it was still standing or if the walkers had trampled it to the ground that fateful night. Sometimes to Beth, it seemed like something that had happened to someone else. It was as if each new event in their life, they evolved and changed and sometimes it made Beth dizzy trying to keep up with it all.
Daryl loved watching her wake up in the morning. There were few things as beautiful as Beth opened her eyes in the morning, her face fresh from a good night's sleep, hair mussed, and those slow lazy smiles she kept shooting his way. Every time she smiled at him like that, like he was the only thing she wanted to look at, it pulled on the strings of his heart, a pleasant ache settling there. "We've been heading North for a while now. Passed a sign for North Carolina a little while ago."
Beth looked at him thoughtfully. She wondered if he remembered when it had been revealed that he had never been out of Georgia at their first "I Never". She figured he probably did. "So now you've been out of Georgia" She said softly.
Daryl glanced over at her, surprised that she had remembered that. They had both been pretty drunk that night. As much as he had to drink every moment of their time in that shack would be forever etched into his memory. He slowed the camper as they came to a railroad crossing and a sign for campground 3 miles ahead. The sign was weather worn and rusted but it looked like it said Stonybrook as they passed it. It was a little ironic coming up on a campground considering they had the Airstream. With any luck they might have water hookup and be able to put that shower to good use in the bathroom. So far, they had been making do with quick wash-ups using their bottled water very sparingly and then using the melted snow. Having a full shower was considered a luxury these days. It didn't bother Daryl, never had since the turn, but ever since he and Beth had gotten closer, he found himself inexplicably wanting to shower more often. He guessed it was some inane instinct that took over.
Beth sat up straighter and fixed her hair back into her usual hairstyle, messy ponytail with her regular braid. They had pulled up to the sign advertising Stonybrook Campground. It was a cartoon picture of a family with a tent and a camper in the background. There was a mom and a dad and two kids and they all had goofy looks on their faces. The ad was peppered with other camping items like sticks with marshmallows on the end, a campfire, and a fishing pole. The area was surrounded with forest and the path to the campground was paved, otherwise it might be impassible with all the recent snow.
There were huge gates at the entrance but they were standing wide open. The sign on the right side of the gates said "Closed for Winter." He guessed no one had ever gotten around to closing the gates the last season it had been open. It was telling. Daryl cut the wheel to the right and pulled the camper onto the road leading to the camp, which was covered with a thick canopy of Carolina pines for as far as the eye could see. Daryl could imagine that come spring and summer this place was completely filled in with lush green foliage. Perfect hunting grounds. They didn't see any walkers on the drive in and he tried not to get his hopes up that it would be a safe place. The sun was rising bright and there were slanted rays coming through in pinpoints through the trees. They came into a clearing with a rickety shack that must have been the check-in point for families and families of campers every year. It was little more than a lean-to and was about to fall down but the whole place kind of looked that way. Everything was overgrown and then trampled down, the overgrowth covering over the old walkways. The road branched out from there to the camping areas. There were clear labeled areas for finding the lot numbers.
"Want to flip a coin?" He asked Beth with a hint of a smile as he looked at her. He didn't know which direction to go.
Beth giggled a little. "I think I'm broke right now. Not a cent to my name." She joked looking at him.
Daryl patted his pockets of his pants. "Yeah me too. It's weird not using money anymore." He remarked.
Beth sighed. "Yeah, it used to be such a big part of everything. Now it doesn't mean anything at all." She was remembering when they had set fire to their moonshine shack with the thick stack of bills he had found at the golf resort. She perked up in her seat. "I got an idea. How about we do "I Never" but we don't drink. If you would have to drink, I get to choose where we go. If I would have to, then you choose. Fair?" She didn't know if he would like this idea but their game kept replaying in her head over and over again. She realized that it was only the recent game that she was remembering. Daryl had been right; it was good to replace the memory with something good.
Daryl looked at her thoughtfully while he chewed on his thumbnail. He guessed she liked his idea the other night. He was flattered and his heart gave a little jump in his chest. It hit him odd sometimes the depth of what he felt for her. Something simple like that connection between them just sparked something in him all over again. "Sounds good. You get to go first. I went first last time" He said.
Beth grinned at him then even as a blush crept up on her face, remembering their kissing that had been born of that session of 'I Never'. "Let me think a minute." She looked at the crossroads and tried to pick out where they were going to go, because she thought she had thought of something that he would definitely have to drink to if there were alcohol involved. Her face felt like it was on fire as she tried to get up the nerve to say what she was saying. Alcohol might actually help right now. In the light of day, all her inhibitions were latched firmly back in place. She already knew the answer. It really wasn't the point. Beth loved winning; it was almost necessary. They had already had this conversation but right now, this was for fun. Except it was still hard to voice this to Daryl, the raw sexual tension between them. The only thing that helped her in the right direction was that it was daylight and they were running from a new danger from walkers. There was no way it would lead anywhere, but it was still fun to play with fire. "I've never had sex before." She looked over at him shyly waiting for his reaction.
Daryl felt like somebody had punched him in the gut. Leave it to Beth to get right to the damn point. Every single time. He looked at her in surprise, not because of what she asked him. They had already talked about all that. He was just surprised that she was bringing it up now. She never ceased to amaze him. He liked the blush that had crept into her cheeks; it looked good on her. It was endearing and sexy all at the same time. Daryl resisted the urge to lean over and kiss her, but he knew in the context of the situation, it might lead somewhere they were nowhere near ready for. "Two out of three?" He asked her instead, unable to resist the temptation of the pleasant sexy banter they had going between them. It charged the air between them.
She nodded eagerly, looking out the windshield. "Your turn." She said, rubbing her palms down over her pants nervously. She bit her lower lip a little waiting for his question.
Daryl rubbed his thumb over his bottom lip. He had bitten on it so often here lately he had worn a sore spot into it. This woman was going to be the death of him yet, he thought. "Okay. I've never cheated at a game before." He looked at her pointedly and was secretly pleased with himself for thinking of it.
Her mouth dropped open in protest, but she knew he had her. It was a no-brainer. "Fine. You get that one." She said, crossing her arms over her chest, her mind already going to work on her next question. Lucky let out a little bark from beside them. They both looked down at him. It was odd for him to make any sort of noise, but he was sleeping.
Beth laughed. "He must be dreaming." She whispered although she didn't know why. The dog slept sounder than either her or Daryl.
Daryl chuckled at her pouting. "Not so fast, Princess. You gotta tell me when you cheated." She looked at him like he was dense. "Besides just now I mean". He couldn't help but grin at her. She was cute when she was pouting. Hell she was cute no matter what she was doing. He took a deep breath and waited for her response.
"Okay, yeah, I like to win. I am very competitive." He rolled his eyes as if to say 'no shit' and she sighed and continued. "But it's not my fault"
Daryl raised his eyebrows at her. "Sure it's not." He scoffed. He was rather enjoying this side of Beth and he was happy to have the upper hand for once. She always seemed to know what to say while he had to mull things over for a while.
"No seriously. Maggie and Daddy and even Mama used to let me win at Candyland all the time. They would rig the game and let me get the Queen Frostine card. If you got that card, then you almost always won pretty quickly. I made them play nearly every day the moment I knew what my colors were." She smiled softly at the memory.
Daryl could easily imagine her as a little girl of four or five, surrounded by her family playing a board game that Daryl had heard of as a child but had never gotten to play. He was glad she had the childhood she had. And he loved the look on her face when she talked about it.
"Shawn never let me win. He always beat me. Always. And I hated it." She laughed. "I would scream at him and say "Daddy always lets me win". And he would just laugh at me saying "You gotta learn Bethie that it ain't always about winnin'" She smiled wistfully at the memory, bringing her hand up to finger the locket her daddy had given her when she turned 14. She was so happy she had been able to hold onto it for as long as she did. She shook her head out of her reverie. "Okay my turn. We can't sit at this crossroads all day." She remarked.
Beth thought for a minute and looked up at Daryl from beneath the wayward hairs that had fallen over her eyes. "I've never…..been kissed in the rain." She said and smiled at him shyly. It had always been something she wanted to do. It always sounded romantic.
Daryl just stared at her. He wanted to say "I'll kiss you in the rain." But instead he thought of all the places he wanted to kiss her. In the rain. On the beach at sunset. On a crowded street. In the house that they'd just bought together. The last thought made his breath hitch a bit. Buying a house was something from another life, another time, but he'd like to think if things were different or if this shitty world was ever righted back onto its axis, he'd do it with Beth. "I ain't never done it either." He admitted, his voice gruff. He wanted to tell her that they would try it together but it wasn't like you could plan for something like that.
Beth looked over at him and sighed. She reached her hand over and placed it on his leg. He brought his hand down from the steering wheel and covered her hand with his own. "Well now it's still a tie, she said. I guess I get to go again?" He nodded at her, not trusting himself to speak right now.
"I've never had a job before." She looked at him pointedly, knowing she definitely had him now.
"Yeah, yeah, cheater. You win." He mumbled. But there was no malice in his words. The corners of his mouth turned up in that half smile. She knew he had a job before the turn. Had lots of jobs; all of them odd, but he had worked in his old man's car repair shop for years. They had already talked about it, how he loved working on cars, it calmed his mind while it gave something for his hands to do. "Pick yer place."
She giggled. "Yay. Okay I think we should take the one on the left. It looks interesting."
"'S as good as any." He remarked as he put the camper back in drive and pulled it to the left, heading down the trail marked lots seven through twelve.
The road was full of potholes and Daryl avoided them the best he could, the camper rocking along on the rutted road. The lots were in descending order, starting with twelve. They continued on, seeing a few tents here and there and remnants of camp set-up. So far, they hadn't seen any walkers. There were no cars so it appeared that they had left in a hurry, leaving all their belongings there. Evidently there had been people on vacation here during the height of the turn.
They pulled through, surveying the area and came to rest at lot number 7. Daryl pulled the Airstream into the empty lot, positioning it where he could hook up the water if by some miracle there was a working line. They area was surrounded on three sides by trees and the fourth side had a small field that led out to the lake. This was probably a prime spot back in its day, he thought.
"This looks like a good spot" Daryl said as he put the camper into park and shut it off. He pointed off to the lake where there was a dock with a small boat. "If we get overrun, we can always get away in that." Beth looked at him, puzzled. You ain't never seen a walker swim have ya?" He asked her.
She laughed. "No, they are too stupid for that thank god." She said. "Let's go explore." She said as she opened her door. Lucky perked his ears up and bounded out of the camper, not even giving them a backward glance. She suspected he probably had to take care of some bathroom business. They hadn't stopped all night.
Daryl had the briefest thought that she should wait where she was so he could open the door for her. He figured though she might have something to say about his chivalrous nature and it wasn't really practical anyway. He shelved the thought for later and got out on his own side, shutting the door back carefully. There were birds chirping in the cool morning air but the sun was shining bright. There were very little traces of the snow from Georgia here in North Carolina. It was actually warmer if that could be believed. If he had to guess, they were heading for a beautiful day. The sky was clear Carolina blue and the sun was making its way up in the sky.
Beth turned her face up into the sunlight, loving the feeling of warmth in the cool air. It would be so nice to sit in the sun for a couple of hours. Beth looked over her shoulder as she heard the unmistakable sound of a walker. The groan was coming from her right. She quickly spun around to see one lone walker ambling about, its jaw hanging nearly coming unhinged and it was wearing fisherman gear. She moved forward carefully and unsheathed her knife at her hip, pulling it out and holding it by the handle tightly. As she reached the walker, it hissed and growled at her through its mangled jaw and broken teeth. She wrinkled her nose at the rancid smell; it was something you never really got used to, the stench of walkers. She plunged the knife into its forehead and shoved it backward with her left hand as the force of its fall released her knife from the walkers head and the thick black blood oozing and dripping off the tip of the blade. She reached down and wiped the blade on the dead grass.
Daryl watched her every move. He had wanted to go forward and kill the walker for her but he knew she had it. Where before, at the prison, she had been fighting the walkers from behind the fences and she was good then. But out here in the open with all that he had taught her, she was a force to be reckoned with. She bent over and wiped the blood off her blade; she always did that. Beth, always the neat freak, he thought. He tried to get the images out of his head as he saw her bending over like that. "Stop thinking with your dick, Dixon." He told himself sternly as he walked over to where she had just felled the first walker they had seen since pulling into the campground.
"Guess he got bit while he was fishing. Kind of sad." Beth said as she looked down at the walker. She always saw them as the people they used to be, the lives they used to live. He loved that about her. She saw the beauty in the simplest of things. Because of her, he was starting to do the same.
They walked about their new surroundings and three walkers approached from their left, stumbling out from the trees that surrounded their private lot. He looked at Beth and she nodded at him as they got into fight formation. He hoisted his bow up to his shoulders and aimed carefully, sending a bolt into the head of the first walker.
Beth waited until Daryl fired the first bolt and closed the distance between herself and the other two walkers, sinking her knife into the side of its head, it having been distracted by its fallen comrade on the ground beside her. She pulled her knife back out with a grimace and shoved the walker off to her left and sidestepped it as Daryl reached the third walker and rapid-fired another bolt into its skull, it had hit its mark: right between the eyes. Daryl reached down to retrieve his bolts from the two he had killed and looked up at Beth. "Good job Greene." He said affectionately.
Beth smiled at the praise. It was kind of funny actually. Daryl always called her Beth or Princess when they were alone and at rest doing regular daily stuff. But when they were fighting walkers together, he almost always called her Greene. She kind of liked it.
"We should probably check the area for more of the fuckers" he said and led the way through the trees on the other side of the lot. Beth followed him and they spent the next hour killing each walker they came across, which really wasn't many considering it was a family vacation spot. Beth cringed as she wiped walker guts off her knife. It had been a kid of about the age of ten. She never relished the thoughts of killing someone who used to be human just like her; but putting down walker kids was something that she would never get used to.
She looked over at Daryl who was retrieving his bolt out of the head of another boy, slightly older than the walker she had just taken care of. He was wearing ragged swimming trunks and no shoes, his feet badly mangled in that way that just happened to walkers over time.
Daryl knew what she was thinking. She did what she had to do for them to survive, but he knew she hated killing walkers with a passion. He remembered their fight at the moonshine shack and how she had told him that killing them wasn't supposed to be fun. And it wasn't.
They spent another hour or so gathering up the walkers they had killed and dragging them to the perimeter of the section where their lot was located. They were heading back down the road when Daryl felt the first drop. Over the last couple hours, the sun had beaten down on them and they both had gotten out of breath a couple of times from the warmth of the day and the workout of killing walkers.
Beth pulled a water bottle out of her pack on her back and handed it to Daryl after taking a big gulp. She looked up at the sky. The sun and blue sky had been replaced by thick dark clouds. It looked like the sky was getting ready to open up. "We better get back quick." She remarked as she swiped the back of her hand over her mouth, relishing the feel of the cool water as it slid down her throat.
Daryl drank deeply from the bottle and handed it back to her, but Beth shook her head quickly. "I'm good. You go ahead." He didn't argue and tipped the bottle back finishing it off. Right at that moment, the skies decided to open up and a deluge of rain pelted them. Daryl swung his bow on his back and followed after Beth.
Beth resisted the urge to run towards the camper which was in view now but still a ways off. It was a nice warm rain. A bit of a chill since the sun had gone to hide behind the clouds but it was one of those refreshing rains, even if they were getting soaked to the bone in the process. She knew Daryl was behind her. She glanced over her shoulder at him. He was watching her carefully. She turned to face him as he caught up.
As the rain came down around them, he was getting soaked, his shirt and vest sticking to his skin. And Beth was walking ahead of him, her hips swaying gently with her purposeful walk. He held his breath when she turned around to face him and wait on him to catch up with her. She looked impossibly, achingly beautiful with the rain washing down over her face, her creamy complexion still flushed from all the activity of the past couple of hours.
Daryl glanced around and when he was sure there were no walkers in the area, he took a deep breath and strode to where she stood, closing the distance between them in a matter of seconds.
Beth had been starting to turn away but she paused mid stride when she saw the look on his face. In the look they exchanged, in that moment, she knew to the center of her core what he was about to do. She saw the flash of recognition in his face and she unconsciously bit her lower lip, bracing herself.
Daryl reached for her hand and dropped his bow to the ground beside them in simultaneous movements. He pulled her to him and held her hand with one hand at their sides even as his other arm encircled her waist, pulling her to him and splaying his hand over her back, her shirt heavily damped from the downpour. Her body came flush against him and he brought his lips to hers, crushing her to him. He kissed Beth Greene standing there in the clearing before their camper, right in the middle of the pouring down rain.
Beth's heart felt like it was about to pound out of her chest as Daryl held her and his lips slanted across hers. She opened her mouth willingly as he slid his tongue into her mouth. He tasted like the rain that was falling over their heads and running in rivulets over the skin over their faces and down between their lips. She knew she had never tasted anything better than kissing Daryl in the rain. Her desire for him was warring with the tenderness she felt as he kissed her. He slowed the kiss down to languid soft brushing of his lips against hers. She was so touched that he had made her fantasy come true and it thrilled her that this was a first for both of them. It was sweet and achingly beautiful at the same time.
As she stood there kissing Daryl Dixon in the rain, she knew that all her dreams were coming true. She was head over heels in love with this man. It struck her as odd that she had found something so incredible at the end of the world. But maybe that's what it took sometimes. Maybe sometimes the world had to shift off its axis for its people to realize what was really important. Right now, the only thing important to Beth was this wonderful man. She sighed against him and she didn't know it but her body sighed too. Daryl was showing her how he felt with his lips and she knew that she never wanted this moment to end.
And…..cut! Okay, I hope you guys like this. Thank you, thank you rckyfrk for giving me this idea. You are my true muse, you know! Hahaha I really wanted to write this scene and I used the I Never to shamelessly get them to this point. It might be a common theme although they may never (excuse the pun) use alcohol to play it again. Thanks you guys so so much for the reviews and follows and favorites. There has been such a good response to this story. Without you guys as readers, this fic would not be nearly as fun to write. So ya'll do your stuff and thangs (sorry couldn't resist), and read, review and all that jazz. Until next time, xoxoxoxo
PS - okay I owe you guys and Lucky a big apology. I wrote that chapter last night and got so caught up in writing that kissing in the rain scene that I forgot all about the dog. Poor Lucky! Sorry everyone.