Don't You Remember?
Chapter 11 - Together
Author's Note: Hi guys! Sorry this isn't much of an action-packed chapter (it's kind of a transition chapter), but it's important to the overall story and the transition of Daryl coming to the farm and Bethyl evolution. Hope you all enjoy! Please review and THANK YOU for reading/favoriting/following!
Beth's blood ran cold as she stared up at the man who murdered her father. He was tall and stern looking, clean-shaven with thin limbs and wrinkles in his forehead. He gave her a small smile.
"Hello Beth."
Her name. How did he know her name? She could barely see straight.
"Hi," Beth managed to mumble, wanting to spit at him. The hate she felt was fierce, rising from her abdomen and into her throat. She knew how noticeable it must be so she looked away from him, turning sharply towards the coffee pots behind her. Her focus darted around and finally she grabbed a cup, clumsily, trying to steady her arm enough to pour the hot liquid into it.
Succeeding, she secured the cup with a lid and hurried to the counter. She shoved the paper cup towards him and tried to shrink herself behind the counter, but he caught her in conversation instead.
"You're one of Hershel's girls?" he asked, handing her a few bills for the coffee.
She whipped her head up towards him so quickly that her neck strained. Her father's name on his tongue - it was obscene. It wasn't right.
"Yes," she managed to say through her teeth as she grabbed the money from his hands.
He nodded at her, rubbing his neck at the same time. She could practically see fire as she punched numbers into the cash register, angrily, causing it to spring open. She shoved the dollars into the drawer and slammed it shut.
"Good man," he said. "Good to see you around town. Heard about your accident. Doing okay?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah," she choked, looking away from him.
"Here?" he pressed on. "You doing okay, here?" She looked up at him curiously. Here? As in work? As in this world? Her eyes were wide and she couldn't find words to form to respond, but he seemed unbothered by this. He gave her a very distinct wink and said, "Take care, Beth Greene."
She was dumbfounded by the entire experience, as she watched him walk casually out of the shop, carrying his coffee, giving a small wave to Andrea. She had this strange feeling in her core that there was something off. Did he remember? Was he messing with her?
Andrea came to the counter, resting her elbows on it, her head in her hands. "Isn't he dreamy?" she swooned.
"What?" Beth said, her trance breaking.
"Philip," Andrea said, staring towards the door. "He's so handsome."
"Oh," Beth said, her breath catching in her throat, her stomach feeling queasy. "Sure."
"He just moved here a few weeks ago," she continued on. "Been stopping in a lot since you've been out."
"How's he know my dad?" Beth asked curiously, trailing her fingertips across the counter.
"Think he has a dog," Andrea commented nonchalantly. "Probably's gone to see your dad to take a look at the mutt."
Beth had no doubt in her mind that The Governor would have done damage to an animal just to get in to see Hershel, to get to see Beth or Maggie, if he thought, even for a moment, that they remembered him and who he was in the old world. She shuddered at the thought, hating that this man who had done these terrible things to her family, would have walked right up to the Greene farm and Hershel, she knew, would have welcomed him with open arms.
Unwanted tears formed in the corners of her eyes and she saw Andrea look at her with a concerned frown.
"Beth, you okay?" she asked, reaching across the counter for her hand.
Beth nodded quickly, letting her grasp it. "Oh, I'm sorry," she apologized, feeling embarrassed.
"Is it Jimmy?" Andrea asked kindly, looking at her.
"What!" Beth exclaimed, ripping her arm away from Andrea. "No. Not at all. Just, still, recovering." It was a lame excuse, but Andrea seemed to buy it, nodding with understanding.
"Listen, if you're not ready to be back here, it's okay," she said, giving her an out.
Beth jumped at the opportunity. "I'm so sorry," she apologized, moving to take her apron off slowly. "I'll come back tomorrow, I just need to…adjust." She crumpled the garment up in a ball and placed it on the counter.
"Don't worry. I'll see you tomorrow," Andrea called after her as Beth came around the counter.
She ran out of the cafe as fast as she could, her heart racing, her mind spinning and she wanted to scream, track down the Governor and tackle him, take fists to his face and damage him. The emotion she felt was so real and raw that there was a sudden newness to the reminder that she'd come from somewhere else. That the feelings she'd had, the memories she'd experienced - all of that was agonizingly real.
Her truck was in front of her before she'd realized she had reached it, so she pulled open the door and collapsed in the seat, sobbing. Bringing her hands to her face, she realized she couldn't wipe the tears fast enough, so she let them come until they slowed, finally smearing them away from her face, feeling like a mess, unable to totally grasp what she was feeling.
There was a buzzing in her purse, so she fumbled in her bag for it, trying to catch her breath and squinted through the blurriness in her eyes to see that it was Daryl calling. Her heart did a weird flutter thing and she took a deep breath and answered it.
"Beth?" He spoke first.
"Hey," she tried to say as calmly as possible, her voice still shuddering.
"I'm bein' discharged," he said quickly. "Can you come and pick me up?" he asked. "S'alright if you're at work, I can just wait-"
"I'll come now," she cut him off.
"You okay?" Daryl asked. She could see his face through the phone, eyes worried, narrowed, concerned.
"No." Her voice didn't sound like her own. It was hollow. Empty.
"What's wrong?" Daryl asked her hurriedly. "Not farm boy?"
"What? No," she groaned, her emotions curling up through the pores of her skin. "I saw…" She hesitated, saying his name. "I saw the Governor. He came right into the cafe. Right up to the counter." She sounded hysterical and pathetic, the tears coming again as she sucked snot up her nose and cried into the phone, hating that she was doing it and hating that Daryl was hearing it. "He knew my name and my dad and my dad's name and he knows too much for any of this to be a coincidence. I'm scared Daryl," she was uncontrollably convulsing with sobs as she wailed into the receiver. "I think he knows."
He was silent on the other end, and she knew it was because he hated dealing with this kind of shit and she hated putting him through her emotional outbursts, but then she heard him quietly, on the other end - his voice painfully steady. "C'mon here. We'll figure it out."
She did her best to calm her breathing as she whispered, "I'm on my way," before hanging up the phone, throwing it back in her bag and starting the truck again to drive back to Atlanta.
He was waiting outside already when she pulled up to the front of the hospital, in the same pajama pants she'd seen him in earlier, and a loose t-shirt. The clothes looked awkward on him and she wasn't sure if it was because she'd only seen him in his leather vest and mud smeared pants, or because they didn't fit him quite right.
The door swung open and he hurled himself inside, leaning back against the seat with a grunt and looking at her. She was sure she looked ridiculous - red, tear smeared face and a lousy, half-assed smile on her face at the sight of him.
He frowned at her, but didn't say anything. She didn't want to dwell on it, so she pulled the truck back into drive, moving it forward. "Told my Dad you'd be comin' to the farm today," Beth said. "Gotta have a talk with him before he'll hire you. It's a live in job just like how it was with Otis, so you'll have a room to stay, food to eat. Won't have to go back to that trailer."
"Not yet," Daryl grumbled, so she side-eyed him as she pulled from the parking lot of the hospital out into traffic.
"Whatta mean?" she yelled angrily. "You need to take this job. I need you Daryl. I need you to take this job and be at the farm with me." She couldn't help it - she was starting to cry again. "I can't do this alone anymore. I feel crazy. I'm tired." She sighed, trying to contain some of her hysteria. "I'm sorry." She whispered the last part.
"Hey," she heard him say and then she almost jumped out of her seat as she felt his fingers, ever so lightly, touch her arm. She whipped her head towards him and looked at him, his eyes gleaming, the color of the summer sky, studying her face, choosing his words carefully. "I'm gonna come. But i need to stop by the trailer first. I gotta see Merle and my Dad. Gotta tell them where I'm going."
Beth knew they didn't care, but she didn't dare say that to Daryl. He genuinely cared. He genuinely wanted to know how they were and what they were doing and Beth had to remind herself that they were the only family he'd known before the turn. She felt silly for getting so bent out of shape so quickly, so she nodded, trying not to react too much as he pulled his fingers away from her arm, the light touch of him feeling imprinted on her skin.
She turned her attention back out towards the windshield. "You wanna talk about what happened?" Daryl asked beside her, sounding unsure.
"No," Beth responded, her fingers toying with the radio dial. "You got music you like? Country? Rock?"
"Beth." He sounded so concerned and it comforted her in a way she couldn't explain.
"Remind me how to get to Dawsonville from the highway," she said, in an effort to change the subject. "Was comin' down the other way last time."
"Beth." he said her name more sternly this time.
"What?" she asked, sounding annoyed, but unable to help it.
He sighed. "Quit it." She could feel his eyes on her, but didn't want to face him. "Don't worry about the Governor. He was nothin' before the turn, and he's nothin' now. He's nothin' to worry about. He can't hurt you. Or your Dad. I'll make sure of it."
She took a deep breath, letting his words settle. Was he making promises he couldn't keep? Daryl might have been quiet and rough and sometimes awkward, but he knew Beth and he knew what to say to talk her down. She wondered if it was from all of the days of them being together. She wondered how long he'd known what she was thinking. She wondered if he could feel what she was feeling now and her face flushed instantly, hoping he didn't because those butterflies and feelings she'd tried so hard to suppress were coming back in all sorts of ways now.
"It's exit 1B," he mumbled, getting noticeably uncomfortable from her silence.
"Thanks," she muttered, not knowing if it was for the information or for his words.
It was Daryl's turn to reach for the radio. He chose a rock station playing Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man" and she found herself singing along as they drove down the highway together. His presence next to her was enough. Just enough, for right now.
The trailer looked even smaller than she remembered it as she cut the engine and looked at Daryl who was staring at the structure from the passenger seat. He was hesitating, his hand on the handle and she wanted to say something. Help ease his uncertainty or his fear or his pain, but she didn't have the words.
Hesitantly, she placed her hand on his shoulder instead and he glanced over at her small fingers that gripped him and the side of his lip curved upwards in the slightest smile. At that motion, she felt like her stomach was in her chest, like she was falling from a tall height, almost like she couldn't breathe. He turned away from her then, opening the car door and leaving her, her hand still hovering as she watched him march up towards the trailer.
Instead of knocking, he took a deep breath and stormed into the house, closing the door behind him and instantly, she heard yelling from all the way in the truck. She looked away, feeling like an intruder, not wanting to eavesdrop into whatever Daryl had just walked into, but she couldn't help herself.
Merle was yelling, she could distinctly make out his voice, then another, who she assumed was Will. A few moments of silence passed then and she tapped her fingers nervously against the steering wheel watching the clock in the truck pass the minutes slowly. She hoped everything was okay, and then there was yelling again as the door swung open and she watched, horrified, as Merle pushed Daryl out of the house.
The Dixon brothers were about the same height. She'd remembered that about them, but Daryl looked smaller now, with Merle yelling at him angrily, his hands flying all about as Daryl looked at his shoes with a bag in his hand.
"Go on then, go!" Merle spat at Daryl, waving his hand towards the truck. He met Beth's eyes and showed his teeth, giving a wide, angry grin before looking back at his brother. "That's why you're leavin' us? For some fuckin' pussy? You gotta be fuckin' kiddin' me! We're blood baby brother - ain't nobody gonna look out for you like we will." He pushed him then, hands firm on his shoulders as Daryl backed his way down the stairs, slinging the bag over his arm.
"Ain't like that Merle," Beth heard him say, looking back at the trailer.
"Yeah, yeah, go on and get your fancy job," Merle snarled at him. "I took care of you all those years and now you're gonna move to some fancy farm to get your rocks off with some baby blondie. Fine by me brother." Merle turned to go back into the trailer.
"Didn't take care of me one bit," Daryl yelled back at his brother, "Couldn't even come'n get me from the hospital. From an accident you caused. Fuck you Merle. Can't live like this with you and dad no more."
"Yeah, too good for us now, aren't ya?" Merle yelled, the veins in his neck protruding from his skin, giving him a crazed sort of look.
"You need me, you know how to find me. Sober the fuck up, man," Daryl said, shaking his head in disappointment. He turned back towards the truck, letting Merle take angry breaths on the deck, shouting obscenities at Beth and Daryl, before turning around and disappearing back into the house.
Daryl threw his bag into the cargo bed, where it landed with a solid thump. Then, instead of getting into the passenger's seat, he went back towards the trailer, disappearing around the side of it, emerging with what looked like a crossbow.
And as he came closer, she saw that was exactly what it was - his crossbow. Familiar, large and lethal. Her eyes widened at the sight of it, and he threw it casually in the back with his bag, throwing open the door and hopping back into the truck.
She could smell the sweat on him, from the heat of the day or the exertion of yelling at Merle, she didn't know, but he was on edge and angry, his eyes on fire.
"Sorry you had to see that," he said quietly. "Merle's a dick."
"Don't matter," Beth replied, staring forward, over the steering wheel. "I know how he can be."
"Still don't care for you to see that shit," Daryl said.
"I'll pretend I didn't then," she replied, trying to catch his eye. He kept his head turned away from her, so she asked, "The crossbow?"
"Old time's sake," he shrugged. "For huntin' and you know…just in case."
She nodded, pulling the truck into drive. "You wanna talk about it?" she asked as a peace offering, already knowing his answer before she'd finished asking the question.
"Nope," he said defiantly, so she drove onwards.
The farm was alive with activity when they reached it, Beth pulling up the long driveway. Annette and Maggie were on the porch, laughing over something and Shawn and Hershel were hard at work by the barn.
Beth hadn't thought about how it might look, her pulling up to the house with a strange man in her car, but she decided to use the excuse that she'd given Daryl her number so she could pick him up from the bus stop in town, if anyone asked.
She turned the truck off, letting the engine die and looked at Daryl. He was still lost in thought, though his anger seemed to have subsided a bit. She wondered how it felt for him, being back at the farm. He was taking in the surroundings - the house, the barn, the windmill - Maggie and her mom on the porch, then glancing over towards Hershel and Shawn at the barn.
"Strange to be back here, huh?" Beth asked kindly.
"It feels good to be back here," Daryl said honestly. He looked at her. "Just strange that Rick and the others aren't here."
She nodded, feeling sad. "We'll get to talk to him soon, once you get settled," Beth said, realizing that Daryl probably missed Rick in a way she didn't totally comprehend.
"Sure hope this goes well. Got nowhere else to go." He looked out the window.
"You'll stay here Daryl. It'll be fine."
He opened the car door then, jumping out onto the driveway carefully. Beth climbed out of the truck herself and came around to lead Daryl over to Hershel and Shawn by the barn. They walked in silence, but she could sense his tension behind her.
"Don't be nervous," she turned to whisper to him as they came upon her brother and father.
"I'm not," Daryl lied.
They came upon Hershel and Shawn, both of them turning to acknowledge their presence.
"Daddy," Beth said, stepping aside to reveal Daryl behind her. "This is Daryl Dixon. He's interested in the ranch hand position. He was the man I was tellin' you about the other day." She searched her father's face for any ounce of recognition he might have upon seeing Daryl, but there was none.
"Hi sir," Daryl said politely, stepping forward with an outstretched hand. Hershel grabbed Daryl's hand with his own, shaking it firmly.
"Daryl," Hershel said, looking him in the eye. "Nice to meet you."
"I'll leave you to it then," Beth said with a nod, giving Daryl one last glance before she walked away from them, confident that Daryl would have no problem getting her father to hire him.
As Beth had predicted, about an hour later, Hershel brought Daryl into the house and introduced him to Annette and Maggie as the new ranch hand. They all stood in the kitchen and Beth found the whole experience slightly disorienting as Annette asked Daryl if he would eat lasagna for dinner.
"Yes ma'am," Daryl answered.
"Daryl, why don't you grab your things? Beth can show you to where you can stay," Hershel said with a nod to his youngest daughter.
"Sure Daddy," Beth answered, following Daryl back out to the truck.
They were alone again, out front of the house. The wind had picked up, blowing dirt up from the driveway.
"Knew you'd have no trouble convincin' my dad," Beth said with a smile as she watched Daryl fish his bag and crossbow out from the cargo bed.
Daryl gave a grunt. "Told him I had nowhere else to go. I'm a hard worker. I'll earn my keep. Don't gotta pay me even, but he refused that of course." He turned to face Beth, slinging the crossbow over one shoulder and his bag over the other. "Your dad's a good man."
"He is," Beth echoed his sentiment, her heart feeling heavy as Daryl spoke about Hershel.
"I'll make him proud," he said. "Promise that."
"Yeah, I know you will," Beth said with confidence as she turned back towards the house. "C'mon bring your things. I'll get you to Otis and Patricia's old room."
"Beth," Daryl said, stopping her in her tracks, and she looked over her shoulder at him, brushing her hair away so she could see him clearly. He was staring at her again, in a way she hadn't been able to explain before, but she recognized it now. It was an affectionate sort of look. She had never seen him look at anything, or anyone else that way before and it made her feel warm, her skin tingling inexplicably. "Thank you," he said, so quietly she almost didn't hear him.
"Don't thank me," she said, turning towards him fully now, meeting his eyes. "You belong here."
The farmhouse was large - sometimes Beth forgot how large it was. Otis and Patricia had a space of their own at the back of the house where they lived and could shut themselves away if they wanted.
Down the hall from the kitchen, through a private door was where they'd stayed in a room with a loft. The bottom space had a small bathroom, a tiny area with a counter, a sink and a small mini-fridge, and a sitting area that held an old loveseat, coffee table and a television. Next to a small window there was a screen door that led to the backyard of the house. The loft was accessible by a black metal ladder and at the top, Beth knew, there was a bed.
"This is it," Beth said. "It's not much room-"
"It's amazin'," Daryl said, brushing past her and into the room, looking around. His eyes were wide, taking in his surroundings, like he couldn't believe he was here. Beth remembered the trailer and thought this might have been the nicest place Daryl had ever stayed.
"Do you want me to go?" Beth asked awkwardly, unsure if Daryl wanted to settle in without her.
"No," he said sharply, turning towards her. "Stay. I think I'm ready."
"Ready for what?" she asked, sticking her hands in the back pockets of her jeans.
"To tell you what happened. How I think I died."
