Watching him leave the cabin in a rush, Beth didn't know what to do with herself once he quietly closed the door. Her stomach hurt something awful and she guessed it was because of what was happening to her body. Daryl didn't explain anything further than what he absolutely had to but she bet her life that she was correct.
Sitting on the couch clutching her knife in one hand and the other wrapped around her middle, she felt like the biggest idiot on earth. She didn't know anything about what was going on with her until he had told her, how to read and she had foolishly offered herself to him, only to be rejected. She had thought that since he was taking care of her; feeding her and teaching her things, that he would probably like 'something' in return. And in a sick, twisted way she had hoped that he would accept. She knew on a certain level that it was a wrong reason to sleep with a man but it was all that she knew. Being with Shane all of those years, she had become accustomed to doing what he wanted. He had drilled it into her head that a mans' needs were all that mattered. Her feelings, thoughts and body weren't hers; they were his. And didn't that same concept apply to Daryl? She thought it did. She really wished he would be more vocal about what he expected from her. He did tell her that if he decided he wanted it, he'd let her know so really, he did say.
But still, she was so confused about everything. Just when she thought she knew how the world worked, it would always turn on its' axis once again to shake her to her core. Would she ever know any semblance of normalcy or how people worked? Functioned? The roles in which a person, man or woman, took?
After her stomach eased up from the cramping, she stood up on shaky legs and went into where the stove was. Seeing some meat leftover from their earlier meal, she picked up a piece and tore into it, hoping that he wouldn't be angry with her for taking some. She had been a lot more hungry recently since he fed her so often and didn't restrict what she ate. She was so, so thankful for that.
It was almost dark when he returned with a few skinned rabbits tied to the rope that wound around his shoulders. He barely acknowledged her as he stepped into the make-shift kitchen and deposited them onto the table, catching her eye and gesturing to them.
"Go ahead and clean those, gonna go get more firewood." He promptly walked out again, leaving her to it.
Thankful once again that he had provided them a meal and for the distraction, she got to work quickly. Finding a salt and pepper shaker in a cabinet, she lightly sprinkled some on and set the meat on a plate, not sure how he wanted it to be cooked.
So she only had to wait 15 minutes or so for him to come back, a bundle of firewood in his arms. After putting a few logs into the fire, he regarded her with curiosity, scowling at her halfheartedly.
"What ya waitin' fer? Thought you was gonna cook?"
Beth looked down to her feet and after remembering that he told her to look at him, she looked back up shyly. Why was she so nervous?
"I didn't know how you wanted it cooked... So I wanted to wait til you got back to tell me.." She replied, trying to keep her voice steady and not too low.
Disbelief took over his face and for a minute, she didn't think he'd say anything to her. But when he shook his head and picked up the plate, handing it to her, he spoke in a firm but gentle tone.
"I ain't the one cookin' it. Yer the one cookin, it's your say in how you do it. I'm not picky. I'll eat almost anythin' and ya need to find out what ya like, anyway."
Nodding her head along with what he was saying, Beth took the plate and watched as he sat at the table, pulling the crossbow off his shoulders.
Deciding on just boiling the meat and some rice she had found in the cabinet, she started on the meal. Not being able to handle the quietness she decided to start a conversation, hoping not to scare him off.
"So umm... can I ask you a question?" He mmhmm'd in reply as he set his arrows on the table and started to examine them for wear and tear.
"When a girl starts her... y'know... is it normal for her stomach to hurt?"
As soon as the sentence was spoken, she noticed a fearful and almost panicked look grace his features immediately. He looked like he wanted to bolt from the cabin again and she reprimanded herself for even asking.
But he surprised her when he spoke clearly, staring at the arrows once again. "Yea... just gotta grin and bear it. Nothin' can help it. Don't have no painkillers round here that I know of. I'll look but it's a long shot, considering my brother probably cleaned the place out when he was here last."
My ears perked at the new found information of a sibling. "You have a brother? Where's he at?"
He shrugged almost carelessly as he spoke, "Don't know. Last I heard, he was servin' time at some prison outside of Atlanta for cookin' meth. Ain't gonna go get myself killed lookin' fer him. If he got out, he knows where the cabin is. Knows it's the first place I'd go if somethin' went bad. Weren't never there for me anyway, so I reckon' he's thinkin' the same of me."
"My brother and I weren't close either.. Too far in age and plus, I don't remember much about him besides him telling me I annoyed him.. I was always the annoying one.." She laughed lightly to herself, thankful for the little bit of memories she had of her real family.
"So... ya want to check the windows while it cooks? Could use a distraction." And with that, conversations of family were put to an end and she followed him around the cabin, checking windows and making sure they were still boarded up tightly.
It was in the middle of the night when a storm started brewing and thunder struck loudly, causing Beth to sit upright fearfully. She had always hated thunderstorms since she was little and whether it was crawling in the bed with Carol or being forced to lay with Shane, she always had some sort of comfort throughout them. Someone to keep her warm. Looking over towards the cot that Daryl lay in, she saw he was still fast asleep and snoring lightly.
Shuddering a little bit from the chill in the air and the loud sounds of thunder, she stood up and approached his cot.
"Daryl...?" she whispered, causing him to shift in his sleep slightly. Getting no reaction, she almost went back to her bed in fear that she'd make him angry. But when another loud boom sounded, she jumped up fearfully with a squeak and got closer to his bed.
"Daryl!..." she whispered louder this time and slowly, his eyes opened. He wore a sleepy expression until he noticed what had woken him and shot up, anxiety showing.
"What's wrong, girl?" he asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "It's still the middle o' the night."
She debated internally with herself until a loud clap of thunder sounded and she jumped. "Can I lay down with you?"
His eyes opened wide at that and he started to shake his head no so fast, she feared he would break his neck from the force of it. "Ya crazy girl? Ya don't need'ta be sleepin' with me!"
Tears started to gather in her eyes, threatening to fall over. "Please? I promise, I'll be good. I don't like the thunder..."
He sighed and looked at the small, frightened girl. She obviously didn't have any ulterior motives by the look on her face and the fear in her eyes. She was genuinely scared of the storm and he knew that he'd leave her a fearful mess if he were to send her back to bed alone. Nodding his head and pulling back the covers, he motioned her to get against the wall. She did and he got under them too, scooting as close to the edge of the bed as possible.
When they both were comfortable, Beth cautiously reached for his hand and intertwined her fingers with his. He didn't pull away and she was thankful for that, gripping his hand even tighter.
"Thank you..." she whispered quietly and he nodded.
"Ain't nothin'..."
The next morning, Daryl was sore and grumpy. After avoiding any contact throughout the night besides holding hands, he had fallen off of the cot a total of 5 times. Beth didn't stir either time though and slept peacefully through the night, none the wiser. He resented her a little for that and try as he might, he still snapped at her a couple of times that morning.
He knew it was the wrong thing to do considerin' what she had been through but he couldn't find it in him to care that morning. People got grumpy and snappish sometimes; she'd hafta get used to it.
Opening the pot full of rabbit and rice, sniffing it to make sure it hadn't gone bad yet, he spooned a generous helping onto a plate to eat. She did the same and they sat across from each other, eating in silence until he spoke up.
"Supplies are runnin' low... Gonna hafta go on an extended run tomorrow. Probably take a week or so considerin' the closest town is probably a day or so walk... Might stop by my place and Shanes' to raid those too. Gonna need ya to come with me to watch my back. Ya in?"
Nodding enthusiastically, she stood up and took her plate to the counter to wash with the little bit of water they were allowed. They had been using it carefully in case the pump went bad outside or became frozen over. Jugs of it sat in the other room but Daryl was hesitant to use it unless absolutely necessary.
"Reckon' we'll hafta get ya some more clothes and stuff.. Probably get ya a smaller crossbow to practice with. Need somethin' else besides a knife and guns would be too loud." He said absently to himself and her, grabbing his pack and throwing it over his shoulder. "Wanna go for a hunt? Check the traps?"
"Yeah.. that'd be great."
Checking the traps proved to be a bad idea. They had caught a rabbit and a small gopher but nothing else. Trying not to get too discouraged, Daryl thought it better if they didn't accumulate too much game. If they had too much and didn't eat it in time before it rotted, that would be good resources wasted that they could've caught later.
Beth didn't seem deterred at all from their less-than-stellar luck and romped through the woods with him, eager to move onto the next task. They went to a nearby stream to clean the meat and their bloody hands after dressing it, the water cold to the touch. Speaking of water...
"Daryl?"
"Hmm?"
"When can I get a bath?"
This caught him by surprise because he had honestly forgot about that one luxury with everything that had been going on. He hadn't fully abandoned his hygiene, washing off in the sink seemed quicker but he had figured that since she hadn't asked, she had something worked out like himself. Of course, he was wrong.
"Anytime ya want. We can put fill up a couple pots to heat for one. Might take a while but we can manage. Why didn't ya say anythin' sooner?"
Beth regarded him cautiously, "I didn't wanna be a bother. Plus, you said we needed to be responsible with what water we do have. Didn't think it was important.."
He nodded and stood up, his hands still wet from the stream. "If its' important to ya, then its' important. Been a while since either of us had one. I just wash off in the sink but I reckon' I was like you, didn't think bout it."
He shrugged and gathered what little meat they had caught, leading her back to the cabin.
As soon as they approached the place, they knew something was wrong. They could hear the shuffling of foot steps but not many. Holding his finger up to his lips, he motioned for Beth to stay quiet and whispered 'stay here' as he came out of the tree-line.
Glad that she listened and didn't make a fuss, he concentrated on the sounds coming from around the area, spying one lone freak. Its' jaw was hanging on by a thread, the teeth rotted and past decaying. It was missing an arm and half of its' guts dragged the ground behind it. Seeing nothing else disturbing their temporary home, he approached it from behind and quickly shoved the knife into its' head. It fell to the ground immediately and once he was sure it was safe, he whistled for Beth to come out.
"Think we should burn it or bury it?" he asked her as he dragged the dead corpse to a wood pile that hadn't been burnt in a while.
Beth gave him an amazed and grateful look, "Bury it. More humane, I guess? Plus, wouldn't the smoke attract others?"
He appraised her with a satisfied look and nodded, "Hoping you'd say that. Makes more sense now, don't it? Glad ya pay attention when I try t' teach ya somethin'." he smiled hesitantly at her and went to the nearby shed to grab a shovel.
Once they had buried the body a ways off from the cabin, both of them were tired out and ready for something to eat. Not knowing if it'd be their last meal, they were appreciative of whatever nutrition they could get. Daryl knew that one day they'd have to leave this place and rough it for a while but he hoped like hell that day wouldn't be any time soon.
Yeah, they were planning a run for supplies but would take enough to last them while they were gone. They had a plan. If something were to happen they'd be without neither unless they had an emergency exit planned.
Again, Daryl dreaded the day that it would happen. But as he looked at Beth and her hopeful face, he knew that he'd have to make an emergency plan soon. For her sake and his. She didn't need anymore surprises at this point and if he were able to soften the blow in any way, he'd die trying.
Author's Note: I know it's been a few days and really, I have no excuse whatsoever except that I've been lazy and have been fighting with myself over what comes next for our couple. One reviewer asked if Merle would enter the picture and honestly? I'm not sure. I know Daryl seemed a little heartless when discussing Merle but in reality, considering how absent Merle was throughout Daryls' life, I could picture them not being that close. And maybe Daryl holding some resentment towards his frequently absent brother. Beth on the other hand; I don't know if she could handle canon Merle with the way she is right now. And if I were to bring him in, I'd be afraid of him being OOC. Not saying that Daryl is in character by no means but... I don't picture Merle adapting to the situation like Daryl has. He has more heart and emotion than Merle, more potential for change, if that makes sense? Anyway, will have the next chapter posted as soon as I get it written. Tell me what you think, what you hated, would like to see happen, etc. K? Thanks so much for reading and please, review if you'd be so kind! They make me so happy :)