Chapter 10

"Beth, listen to me." Daryl's voice was insistent and compelled her to open her eyes and his own eyes had gone dark, angry but even in her bleak haze, she recognized that he was not angry at her. The men. The men. It all came rushing back at her and she saw red. Blood. So much blood and she looked down at her hands hanging limply at her sides. He was gripping her shoulders and she clenched her eyes shut again.

"Dammit Beth, look at me!" He shouted at her and she realized that she was breathing very rapidly and she opened her eyes at his command and his gaze drew her in, locked her there. She couldn't look away if she tried.

"That's right." His voice softened several degrees and Beth felt warmer somehow. "I just want you to nod for yes. That's all. Nod if you understand me." She did as he asked and the suffocating tightness in her chest seemed to ease just a bit. She took a deep breath and nodded more assuredly at him, her eyes never leaving his.

"Are you hurt?" Beth tried to process his words and her heart ached. She was hurt. Not physically but inside her head. In her heart where things tore at her and ripped. Hands groping. Heated breath. Dark whispered promises, of torture, of things she could not bear to think let alone utter aloud.

But she found her voice finally and though it was hoarse she managed one word. "No."

She saw Daryl release a breath and his eyes flashed with something that looked like gratitude. "Good. One more question and then we're getting out of here. Think ya can manage ridin' horseback back to town?" He gestured back to the direction he had tied off his horse. He didn't know where the other horse had gotten to but he imagined not too far and if he guessed right, it would probably beat them back to the town and its owner.

Beth nodded and Daryl was itching to ask her one more question but it weren't proper for him to be asking her such things, no matter if he had kissed her before or not. He burned with ire thinking about someone hurting Beth in that way and he didn't think he could bear it if they had. He'd find a way to ask her, but now was not the time. He stood and helped Beth to her feet and barely resisted the urge to pull her back into his arms. Safety first. They needed to get back to town and away from the area where the bandits lurked. He figured there could have been more than two of them since men like that seemed to travel in packs, like wolves seeking to devour and corner their prey, depending on its weakness. There was only one problem. Beth was not something to be preyed upon. As he cast a final look on the bloody bodies lying on the ground, he thought Beth was a wolf in her own right. She had defended herself with the skill and accuracy and he couldn't be more proud of her in that moment and it was that moment when he was glancing back and reaching for her to help her up on the horse that he was overcome by it suddenly and drew her into his arms for a brief moment, just so glad she was okay. Still with him.

"You did good, Beth." He whispered before pressing his lips to the side of her head. "My brave girl."

My brave girl, echoed in her head. No one had ever called her that before. And the implication that she was his did nothing to slow her heart rate but she realized that it was all in a different way. He thought she was brave. Her family had never thought her brave or strong or any other words that suggested she could make it. That she could survive. But Daryl had. He believed in her. The pride shone in his eyes and she could hear it in his voice. Beth realized in a whir of emotion, fear, relief, pride that she loved him. She was impossibly, undeniably and irrevocably in love with Daryl Dixon and there was not a damn thing she could do to change it.

He took a rag out of his back pocket and wiped the blood from her face before assisting her onto the back of the horse. She arranged her skirts as modestly as she could and he hoisted himself behind her as they made the quick trip into town Daryl intending to go back the same way he had come. He didn't mind at all the way Beth's small form fit against him as he reached around her on either side for the reins and the horse took off at a slow canter. At first, Beth was tense and he could feel her holding herself rigid in front of him. She was still trembling slightly.

"It won't take long to get there." His voice was low in her ear and for some reason that warmth spread over her again and she fully exhaled and it didn't hurt so much to breathe anymore and eased her back against Daryl and it felt, well, nice.

She was quiet the rest of the way to town, eerily so. He didn't realize how used to her constant chatter he had gotten until he'd been on his way to town. He'd been looking forward to coming back and telling her all about the town and what their plan was going to have to be, them staying in Pine Lake for a while. All that had gone out the window when he had come back to find her kneeling in a pool of two men's blood. Men she had killed. Though he was proud of her, his heart ached that she had to witness the harsh reality of their world and that she'd had to do it alone. She wasn't alone now, he resolved. And she wouldn't be again, not if he had anything to say about it. He didn't know what they were just yet but he was beginning to get an inkling that the day he'd found the pretty little miss in his arms lying all bedraggled on the river bank was the day his life would be forever changed. Daryl Dixon was a creature of habit and he was used to things being a certain way. But he figured Beth Greene was the kind of woman a man changed his life for and never looked back. Beth Greene was the kind of woman that made a man want to change and he knew without a doubt that he was forever changed by her.

No he wasn't sure what they were just yet but he was sure of one thing; he was ready to find out.

Beth waited for Daryl to tie off the horse, her arms wrapped around her middle and she hoped she would have access to some water and a cloth. She wanted nothing more than to scrub her body of any trace of blood and then she wanted to sleep for an interminable amount of time. She was tired in a way that she hadn't ever been, not even when she'd hit her head on the rocks in the river. Not even when she'd realized her family had left her behind without a second thought that she might have been able to survive.

Survival. That was what kept her going now as Daryl came to her side and placed his hand on her upper arm, gently, reassuringly and she marveled at the man before her. This Daryl was a far cry from the one she had gotten to know in the early days. Had it really only been a few weeks ago that they had met?

"You alright?" His brow was crinkled in concern and his eyes burned into hers.

She nodded her head, unable to speak. It just seemed like too much of an effort.

He turned her to face him. He needed to tell her what he had told Mr. Horvath about the two of them. That they were married. It was only proper anyhow but why did it make his neck feel like it was on fire and give him that itchy feeling that he just couldn't put a finger to. "I had to tell 'em we were married." That was the best way to do it, right? No fuss. Just come right out with it. He expected her eyes to go wide with his admission but she only nodded.

"It'll be okay, it's only overnight right?" She fully expected they would be on the road by tomorrow. She didn't know how Daryl had come to find a horse and why they'd gone ahead and retrieved their things from the cellar. She hadn't been able to go down there, the memory of groping hands and fetid breath too fresh. She'd stood above, praying with all her might that he'd be quick about it and he had.

She stared as he shook his head. "Afraid not. He tilted his head backwards to the west. Snow's comin' sooner than we thought and there ain't any wagons anyway. The man that owns this place said we could stay for the winter. Got us a room and I got a job at the lumber yard. Said I could keep the scraps to build us a wagon so we can leave come first sign of spring." He didn't tell her the rest of it. That they'd be sharing a room. Since they were lying about being married, that carried a whole lot of shit with it. Shit he was not willing to think about just yet. But he needed Beth to understand that he didn't expect anything from her. That just because they were lying about being married didn't mean he thought of them thus and all that went with it.

"It's just a story we gotta tell for now." It felt wrong somehow sliding off his tongue that way, like what they were didn't mean anything and it was nothing more than a bedtime story. His neck fired up in a blaze again and he struggled to find words. "Err. I mean. It don't gotta be a story. Fuck!" The expletive hung between them and then he felt even more of a bastard. "'M sorry." His hand went to the back of his neck and he looked to her. She always seemed to know what to say and he was praying she did this time too because he was shit at this kind of stuff. Feelings and how to tell a girl how he felt and how not to put his damn foot in his damn mouth. Hopeless was what he was.

Though she was tired and beaten down and things were a bit hazy, she'd have to be blind and stupid to see that Daryl was struggling with coming to terms with something in his mind and she'd also have to be stupid not to know it was about her. Beth reached up and put her hand to the side of his face for a moment. "It's okay Daryl. We'll figure it out. But tomorrow okay. I'm just really tired." She smiled softly at him as his face visibly relaxed and it was as if she could see the weight slip from his shoulders a bit.

He nodded at her, stunned for a moment that she was so gentle with him, so concerned about him after what she'd just been through. She was one hell of a strong woman and he just thanked god that she was here beside him and that he hadn't gone back to find a different scene. He shook his head to clear the image. The what if scenarios were not going to help him one bit right now.

He held his arm out in a crook and she looked up at him for a moment and he didn't meet her gaze this time, stared ahead with a slight twitch in his jaw and she couldn't' be sure but she thought he might be holding his breath, as if he expected her to reject his offer of chivalry. She only hesitated a moment for a moment before slipping her hand into position gripping his arm gently, hoping the gesture sent the message she desired: that she appreciated him being a gentleman. And not just for escorting her inside like a cherished wife. For wanting to defend and protect her honor and preserve the propriety between them. She didn't care one whit about what was proper and what wasn't anymore, even if society did, but she loved that Daryl cared about it and it meant the world to her that he was trying to defend what people would think of her being with him. If they professed to be married, they would have to accept it, wouldn't they?

She didn't have time to ponder that thought when they walked into the general store and were greeted by a man that reminded her so much of her father, tears instantly sprang to her eyes. He was about the same age as Daddy and had grey hair and a beard and a gently rounded belly and he even wore suspenders and oh this was just not good. The tears flowed freely as she held out her hand to the man. If it was any other day and in any other universe, Beth might have been surprised by the stranger pulling her into his arms but today, she wasn't. She was just grateful. "Oh, there now. Don't you cry. It's gonna be okay." His voice was soothing and though it didn't sound anything like her father's, there was something comforting in his embrace and she felt safe as she let the tears flow freely.

Daryl met the older man's gaze over her the crown of her head and he knew he didn't have to tell him that the worst had happened. The marauders had found his girl. "Don't know how many of 'em there were, but there's two less now."

The man nodded and Beth slipped from his arms and back to Daryl's side. "I'm sorry. You just look so much like my dad and today hasn't been the greatest day." She smiled sheepishly. A woman came from the back of the store, hobbling in on a cane and though she didn't look anything like her mama, this woman's hair a deep mahogany and swept up into a bun, and her eyes a dark brown, wide and bright, she was instantly drawn to the woman's simple beauty. She was struck at how much younger she was than her spouse and then scolded herself. Look at her mama and daddy. There was at least twenty years difference between the two of them. Look at her and Daryl too, she reminded herself. She didn't know why she had not considered that before. She didn't know exactly how old he was but he was clearly much older than she and somehow it comforted her that it was so.

"Hello dear. I'm Irma." The woman didn't hesitate to pull her into her warm embrace and Beth found herself with tears in her eyes again. "Why don't you come with me and we'll get you cleaned up and settled?" She was overcome with the feeling that somehow as God had taken her parents from her on that fateful morning when the rapid had whisked her downstream to a different life, a different path, he had placed two people on her path that strongly resembled her parents, if not in appearance then in spirit.

She glanced to Daryl and he nodded his assent to the suggestion. "You go on, me and Mr. Horvath can go over the details of all of this." He kept his voice low. He was struck for a moment that he didn't know these people and yet he trusted them. They must be cut from the same crust of earth as Beth Greene as that was the only explanation for him letting down his guard, especially after today with such a stark reminder of how cruel the world could really be.

The elder woman released Beth from her embrace and Beth stepped in front of Daryl, a little hesitant and Daryl felt the older couple's eyes on them and the reality of the situation was that they were supposed to be married now. Whether or not they did anything else, they had to at least act like it in public. He hesitated for a moment before dipping his head to hers and brushing his lips over hers quickly. "I'll see you in a bit."

Beth sighed as she stepped away from Daryl and the older woman led her away through the back of the store and through a doorway that led to a narrow staircase. Beth was surprised to find the upper floor of the place was decorated beautifully, like a fine hotel instead of a simple structure in the middle of nowhere serving as the town's only boarding house. The walls were covered in a deep burgundy and trimmed in dark walnut baseboards. The floors were shiny wood and decorated with long rugs in rich tones of burgundy and navy and gold that ran the length of the hall, like the finest she had seen in many of the plantation homes across the south.

"I had Chester run a bath. He's the town preacher's son. He's a little weak minded but a sweet boy and since his mama died of consumption last year, he's been needing someone to mother him." She turned and smiled sweetly at Beth as she turned the knob to the room at the far left end of the hall. "Me and the mister never got to have any children of our own so we've just adopted a few here and there along the way."

Beth smiled back at her. She exuded a warmth that Beth desperately needed right now. While she loved Daryl, there was something about another woman being here for her right now, when she was so vulnerable. "Thank you for this. Daryl and I are so grateful to you for lettin' us stay."

"It's nothing dear. You'll be doing us a favor." The woman coughed harshly into her hand as she gestured for Beth to enter the room. "I haven't been well and Mr. Horvath could use the help around here. Besides it gets lonely out here. I haven't had the company of another woman in some time. Not since Pastor John's wife, Mary, died. God, rest her soul."

Beth smiled at her and walked into the room, taking in the simple but elegant four poster bed with a blue and yellow gingham print quilt stretched taut across the bed, pillows tossed here and there. The floors were hardwood just like the hallway and in this room, there was a fireplace centered in a small sitting area with two and she was overcome by an almost overwhelming feeling of nostalgia because it reminded her so much of her parent's room back on the plantation.

"This is very nice." Beth remarked.

Irma looked at her for a moment and stepped past her into an adjoining room that served as a bathing room for in the center of it was a very large clawfoot bathtub, big enough for two and though it was only half filled now she realized it must have taken many trips for the boy to get the water heated and upstairs and she felt guilty. "I hope this is not a terrible imposition." Beth felt inclined to use her manners even though the only thing she wanted right now was to strip herself naked and scrub her skin until it was raw.

The elder woman seemed to realize this and gestured back to the bedroom. There is a drawer full of things you and your husband can wear. Our last guests left all their things here as there was not room for all their belongings in their wagon. She patted her arm and Beth met her warm gaze. "I know you might not want to talk about things right now but I've got a good ear for listening I'm told. Rest well dear."

Beth listened to the tap-tap of her cane and the click of the door closing and she slumped against the door facing for a moment. She stepped into the bathroom and began stripping herself of her clothing, trying not to think about how much blood she had on her, now dried and how the crimson had dried to almost a dark brown. She could still smell it she slipped her body into the water and bit back a sob as she began scrubbing her body with the bar of soap and fought the urge to scrape her skin with her nails wanting to remove every single fiber of this horrible day from her skin. She wished for the same treatment for her mind where the images flitted back and forth on repeat until she thought she would go mad. She didn't know how long she scrubbed at her skin, but it had to be a long time as her skin was bright red. She wasn't going to wash her hair until she saw the telltale flash of red. She dipped her head below the water and lathered up some soap and began to work it into her hair, scrubbing every last strand just as she did her body.

She didn't think, she just acted, much as she had back in the forest, just doing what she had to do to survive. Finally she dried off and hunted down something to sleep in because that was the only thing she wanted to do. She selected a nightgown and had just tugged it over her head when she heard the knock. She let the garment drop into place and walked towards the bed. "Come in."

Daryl eased the door open and he was so glad to see that she was not broke down and crying in the bed. He hadn't really thought she would be. Something told him that side of Beth Greene had been buried with the ghost of what her family thought she was.

"Thought you'd be asleep by now." He said as he approached the bed, unsure of how to broach the subject of sleeping arrangements.

"Just finished a bath. I don't know if I could have slept without you here anyway." She admitted. It was true. She realized that she lingered in her bath for that as much as she did for wanting to scrub the day from her body and forget it ever happened.

Something about the way she said it stirred something in him and he knew pretty soon that stirred up feeling was going to demand that it be dealt with but he didn't think that day was today. But Beth needing him was about the best thing he had ever heard, though he could do without the reason why she felt that way. He hated those men and wished he could go back and kill them all over again but Beth had effectively taken care of that.

His eyes slid from hers to the bed. Beth spoke what was on both their minds. "We may as well share a bed. It would be hard to explain if someone walked in and we were sleeping apart. We are pretending to be married. Yet we need them to trust us."

He knew he loved her for a reason. Loved her? The thought popped into his head before he could stop it. Was that what this was? He shook his head and focused on what she had said. "Yes we do need their trust. And I hope you know you can trust me Beth." He meant it. He would never touch her, not without her asking.

"So that settles it." She nodded at him and pulled the covers back, feeling the tired all the way to her bones and she couldn't keep her eyes open as her head hit the pillow and he climbed in after her.

"Night Daryl. Love you." She knew something was vaguely unfamiliar yet familiar at the moment she let those words slip past her lips but she wouldn't be able to place it until tomorrow that they had never said those words out loud. Right now all she wanted was sleep and he thought she might have imagined Daryl leaning over and pressing his lips to her cheek. And she definitely imagined him saying "I love ya too." Because they'd never said it before and that was something she wanted to remember.

Despite the events of the day and the down to her marrow exhaustion, she felt her lips curve up in a smile as she whispered "I know" and slipped off into a dreamless sleep.

Hope you like this chapter. I was not entirely happy with it, but I rewrote it so many times already and I knew you guys want the update! lol Hope you like it. Thanks for all the follows, favorites and reviews. I love you guys! Until next time, xoxoxo