Sorry about the formatting issue this morning. I *hate* uploading to ff because EVERY time I upload something it does that. Anyway...I hope this helps and that you can read it now! Enjoy!
"You what?" Daryl hissed narrowing his eyes.
"I-I mean. I'm imagining what colors might look like." She faltered. "My daddy used to tell me all about them when my mama was alive." She took a tentative step back, away from him. The look on his face read like thunder and Beth was scared she'd just dug herself a hole she couldn't get out of.
Daryl's heart hammered back to life in his chest as the knot in his stomach loosened. The second this little slip of a girl had mentioned colors Daryl's heart had stopped and his stomach had dropped to the floor. It would be his luck to get stuck with a girl who was more than likely going to get him dead than anything else. Hearing that she was only imagining helped to ease the fear and tension in his gut. Daryl stared at her for a moment longer, just studying her. He'd never really allowed himself a moment to do that; shouldn't really be doing it now either if he was completely honest.
She was young. Really young. Blonde hair that shone like sunshine and blue eyes that were way too innocent and made his stomach tighten uncomfortably. She was way too sheltered, and it was going to get her killed. Daryl felt a moment of sadness touch him at that thought, but brushed it off. Lots of people die in this world, he'd do his best to see her trained properly, but after that it wasn't his problem. His eyes watched as she nervously fidgeted with the pocket of her pants and for a fleeting moment he recognized how she could be considered pretty; by younger guys. He corrected. Guys her own age. He clarified in his mind. Definitely not him. "Y'really shouldn't be out here." She gave a quick nod before taking a hesitant step forward while tucking her knife away. "Go'on." With that she scurried away. Daryl stood for a moment, trying to clear his mind.
His eyes scanned the area and he resisted the urge to smile. If she could see color, this definitely would be a good place to come. His eyes scanned over the greens and browns. Yeah, this definitely would have been the spot.
Beth wiped her brow as she scrubbed the dishes. Her eyes watched as people milled around the yard. She saw Daryl talking to Rick down by the barn and her heart thumped a little faster. Ever since her little slip up in the woods, three days ago, she'd been avoiding being around Daryl. It wasn't that she liked him...heavens no. He just made her feel so off kilter. He seemed to keep to himself, and study. That was something new.
No one ever studied to make their own conclusion. At least not when it came to her. Everyone always assumed that she was helpless, and in need of protecting. He didn't seem that way. He was keen on coming to his own conclusion. And that's what made her nervous. He could possibly be the only one on this whole farm that would see her; truly see her. And she didn't want to mess that up...if she hadn't already.
She watched as her daddy approached the duo, sharing a few words before Daryl gave a few short, curt nods and stooped to pick up his crossbow and headed out into the woods. No doubt they were discussing the food stores. While the farm was getting by on the crops that daddy had planted, all the extra mouths were making those food supplies dip mighty low. They were going to have to go out for a hunt; see if there wasn't some game they could flush out to help stretch the food a bit longer. Beth sighed. She could make something like spaghetti tonight. The pasta would feed a lot of mouths on a smaller supply. She could toss in a few of the tomatoes from the garden to help stretch the sauce. That might buy their little group some time until a proper hunt to help find more food.
"Afternoon, boys." Hershel said as he neared Rick and Daryl. Both men tipped their heads. "I got kind of an odd request. Our food stores are running a touch low," he hedged carefully, "I've been tryin' to stretch the crops we got so far, but I'm afraid it ain't much without some protein." Both men nodded. "We got some livestock animals, but if we sacrifice one, there's no tellin' how that will hurt us in the long run."
"Say no more, Hershel." Rick offered. "I'm sure we can find somethin' in the forest." Hershel brightened as Daryl stooped to scoop up his crossbow.
"That would be mighty fine of you sirs." Hershel nodded. "It'd be a nice surprise for Bethy what with her birthday comin' up." Daryl paused as he turned to leave the group.
"Beth's birthday is coming up?" Rick's voice rose in surprise.
"Yes sir. Day after next." Hershel shoved his hands in his pockets gently. "We don't do much for it, considering. But it'd be nice to have a full meal available. Kind of a celebration of sorts." Rick nodded and cast his eyes to Daryl who gave a low grunt before moving off towards the perimeter fence and the forest.
Daryl thought as he quietly moved through the green and brown underbrush. She may be a small, slip of a girl, who was woefully unprepared for the world she lived in, but that didn't mean she didn't deserve to have a decent meal on her birthday. Hell, it might help put some meat and muscle on her frame so she could get stronger. He gave a snort.
He needed to find some game for the group anyway. Having Beth's birthday was just an extra excuse to get out here and hunt. It wasn't like he liked the girl. No...definitely not.
Beth groaned as she peeled her shirt up over her head. She'd had a hard day today. She'd woken bright and early intending to train before her chores, but Daryl was nowhere to be seen. She'd had to settle with doing some extra mucking in the barn, and plowing some of the fallow fields to get ready for their late summer crops that needed to go down. She'd worked clear through the day and felt about ready to drop, but she couldn't she still needed to get down there and make dinner for everyone. She sighed as she swiped the cool damp rag along her neck and dropped it back into the sink. She'd give herself a better clean up after dinner, once everyone had settled for the night.
Without a second thought she pulled another shirt over her head and turned to leave the bathroom. Quickly she made her way downstairs only to stop dead in her tracks when she saw everyone piled in the kitchen around a dinner that was already made and smiling up at her.
"Happy birthday Beth!" Lori called, followed by Maggie, Hershel, Rick and most of the rest of their group. A bright smile lit up her face as she stared at everyone. Rick came up and slung an arm around her giving her a gentle hug.
"We know it ain't much, but we put together a little something for dinner." Rick swept his hand over the table that was just covered with food. Beth let out a small gasp.
"Oh my goodness." She breathed staring over the meal. There were carrots, potatoes, green beans (canned of course), and rabbit.
"Snared us a couple a rabbits. Figured we could enjoy some today and then store the rest. Use them for different meals." Beth's eye shot up to Daryl and she smiled.
"That was very smart of you Daryl." She breathed. "We can make jerky and maybe make some soups from the bones." She offered. She had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from giggling at the adorable shade of red his cheeks started to turn at her praise. The fact that he - that anyone - had gone to so much trouble for her was astounding. "My word." She shook her head. "Thank you everyone. This is so amazing." She looked around at everyone one more time. "Let's eat. I can't wait any longer." She was met with a round of cheers as everyone milled around to start the festivities.
Daryl stood back, hunched against the wall, watching everyone. He hadn't seen their little group this happy in a long while. Who'd have guessed that all it took was a few measly rabbits to put everyone in high spirits. His eyes darted to Maggie who was laughing with Beth at one end of the table. He noticed Glenn hovering a touch too close to Maggie, but for some reason couldn't find it in him to be bothered. He didn't have a swell of emotion within him like he would have thought he should if another man was sitting a little too close to his soul mate. Not like the swell of pride he'd gotten when Beth had paid him that compliment about the rabbits. If he was that way with a nobody, shouldn't he have stronger feelings with his soul mate? Trust the Dixon gene to be so fucked up that even this soulmate shit didn't work correctly.
He let out a sigh. It would just figure.
Beth smiled and sighed as she splashed cool water on her skin. Tonight had been amazing. So much fun and so much food. They hadn't eaten that well on the farm in a long time, and it was nice to have one night where everyone was free to laugh and eat until they had to be rolled away from the table.
Gingerly she cleaned herself, scrubbing away the day's grime and smells. She felt like a whole new person. It was amazing what a good meal and a night of laughing could do for a person, mind, body, and soul.
Beth tugged on a tank top, ready to climb into bed and sleep like the dead. She froze as sounds ricocheted off the walls from the windows as from inside the house. Her blood ran cold. Those were walkers. Lots of walkers. And they were close. She jumped as someone pounded on the door to the bathroom before flinging it wide. Her frightened eyes landed on Daryl as he surveyed her. He reached out, grabbing her wrist before tugging her out of the bathroom.
"C'mon girl. We gotta move."
"Daryl, what's goin' on?" She cried as she heard gun fire from outside and the shouts of their group members.
"Walkers." He responded as he pulled her downstairs. "A lot of them." Her eyes widened. "We can't stay here."
"What?" He all but dragged her through the front door and the sounds seemed to become deafening. She froze on the spot at the bottom of the stairs to the porch. The sheer amount of walkers pouring in from the fences. Her eyes jumped from the walkers to the members of their group spraying them with bullets in a feeble attempt to hold them back.
"Move Greene!" Daryl yanked on her arm, spurring her into action. He flung her towards a motorcycle before climbing on himself and kicking it on. He felt Beth climb on behind him. Her arms circled around him and he spurred the bike onward into the night.