Four Walls And A Roof

"Help! Somebody help me! Oh, Lord please help me!"

They all froze, Beth whirling round, her hand automatically reaching for a weapon she no longer had. Her gun had been taken at Terminus, along with the knife in her boot, and now she had nothing. Nobody had seen fit to arm her in the aftermath of their escape, and she hadn't wanted to push the point, especially with Abraham and Eugene observing her every move, ready to criticise and critique. She sensed they just saw her as a stupid kid, slowing them down, being a typical blonde.

"Dad, come on!" Carl said, breaking the impasse as he passed Judith to Michonne, snatching up his rifle instead.

Rick just looked at his son, his face hardening.

"You can't just leave a man to die!" Beth protested, limping forwards.

Silence.

"Michonne and Eugene, you both stay here," Rick then ordered, pulling out his Python, "Carl and Beth, your first priority is Judith, do you get me?" The pair nodded, Beth going over and taking the now crying Judith from Michonne's arms, the baby reacting to the change of atmosphere, picking up on the tension. "The rest with me!" Rick bellowed, taking one last look at his baby daughter before leading the way, tracking the sound to its source.

Michonne watched them disappear amongst the trees, her face inscrutable as she raised Rick's machete, body coiled for action. Carl raised his rifle, head twitching at the slightest sound. Eugene remained rooted to the spot, his usually dull eyes now alive with fear beneath his mullet. Beth held Judith close to her, humming under her breath, trying to soothe the infant with song.

Then suddenly a Walker loomed out of nowhere, coming up Beth's blind side. She whirled, too stunned to scream, wildly lashing out with her foot as it lunged at her, knocking it to the ground, only to fall onto her backside as she did so, her ankle giving way beneath her. Before she could react, Carl was there, ramming the butt of his rifle into the Walker's head, crushing it to a bloody pulp. When it had fallen still, Carl turned to Beth, helping her to her feet, the pair of them checking Judith over as Michonne did a swift circuit of the clearing, checking there were no more Walkers in their midst, leaving Eugene cringing against a tree.

"She's alright," Beth breathed, dropping a kiss on Judith's brow.

Carl just nodded, his face pale beneath the dirt, before turning away from her and wiping his rifle butt clean on the grass, his hands shaking slightly. Michonne came over to Beth, standing beside her, machete still raised, her gaze taking Beth and the baby in from top to toe.

"You alright?" Michonne asked in an undertone.

"It's my ankle," Beth said in a low voice, wincing slightly as she unwillingly put weight on it, "it's pretty messed up."

Before Michonne could reply, Rick and the others emerged from the trees, leading a stranger in clerical garb at gunpoint. He had his hands raised above his head, his face terrified.

"This is Father Gabriel," Rick said, malice dancing in his grey eyes, "and he's going to lead us to the Promised Land."

Beth entered the church with some trepidation, the crossbow slung over her shoulder, nostalgia and nerves battling for dominion in her heart. She had placed her hesitant trust in Terminus, only to nearly lose her life, and for what? For daring to hope for a better world, that there was something still out there in the heartless wilderness? And here she was again, somebody promising her another sanctuary, with her hoping against hope that it wasn't another lie, another attempt on their lives.

But at the same time, as soon as she stepped foot over the threshold, she felt safe; she felt at home. Being here made her feel closer to her father, that he wasn't lost to her after all. She'd been brought up to believe in the word of God, and that Jesus loved the lost the best. As she stood at the altar, she closed her eyes and offered up a prayer for forgiveness, for the blood she'd shed, for what she may still have to do. She prayed for God to keep her on the right path, to guide her through the darkness that surely lay ahead; for Him to return Daryl to his family.

A hand closed over hers, making her open her eyes, only to see Maggie beside her, staring up at the stained glass windows, her face pale. Beth turned away, both girls closing their eyes now, praying for the father so cruelly taken from them, hoping he was at peace, that there was peace to be found here, that this wasn't just four walls and a roof, but holy ground.

Lead me on Lord
From temptation
Purify me
From within
Fill my heart with
Your holy spirit
Take away all my sin...

Beth sat in one of the pews, the crossbow stashed underneath, holding Judith in her arms, trying not to wince as the baby tugged on her braid. Michonne stood by the door, Rick's machete raised, her face as inscrutable as ever. Eugene sat in the pew across the aisle from Beth, his gaze never settling on the one spot for long, Abraham sitting straightbacked beside him, flicking through a worn Bible, his face bored. Carl came out of Father Gabriel's office, clutching a box which would serve as a crib for Judith. He made his way over to Beth, sitting down beside her, setting the box down on the ground.

"There's some bedding in Carol's backpack," Carl said in an undertone, as though loath to spoil the silence.

Beth nodded, smiling at him. Carl smiled back, secretly glad he and Beth were back on common ground, with him no longer resenting her return. Before, he would have walked a hundred miles for her smile, but not now. He had been a stupid kid then, with a stupid crush. But he'd outgrown that, even if he hadn't outgrown Beth. Yet at the same time, he felt like he was the adult and she was the child; he saw the world for what it was, whilst she still saw the world as it had been.

"Dad and the others will be back soon," Carl said, glancing at the church doors.

Beth just nodded again, before resting her cheek against Judith's downy head. Rick had gone out with the others to a food bank up the ways, after Father Gabriel had told them of it, probably hoping to curry favour. But Rick had forced the man to take them there, his reluctance to go reinforcing Rick's suspicions of a trap. Even though Rick had finally declared the church to be secure enough for them set up camp in, Beth knew he believed the opposite, that he viewed the church as another Terminus waiting to happen. But the same time, they had nowhere else to go, so they were staying put for the time being.

As she glanced over at Abraham and Eugene, the former caught her eye, trying to stare her down. She vaguely knew that Maggie and the others had met his group whilst out on the road, but other than that, she didn't know much about them. But Beth hadn't forgotten the bombshell he'd dropped about his group going to Washington for a cure, but with everything that had happened, the bombshell had taken a back seat. Yet as they looked at each other, Beth wondered why Abraham was hanging around, instead of continuing his journey. If the cure was so important to him as it seemed to be, why was he still here?

"You should sing," Carl said, startling her out of her thoughts.

"It's been so long since I've sung in a church," Beth said uneasily, raising her head.

"You did choir?"

Beth nodded.

"Just pretend you're back in choir, then," Carl said, hugging his knees to his chest.

Beth bit her lip before shifting Judith to her other arm, her voice sweet and clear as she began to sing, cleansing the church of its sins.

Away, away
Come away with me
Where the grass grows wild, where the winds blow free
Away, away
Come away with me
And I'll build you a home in the meadow

Come, come
There's a wondrous land
For the hopeful heart, for the willing hand
Come, come
There's a wondrous land
Where I'll build you a home in the meadow

The stars, the stars
Oh how bright they'll shine
On a world that the Lord must have helped design
The stars, the stars
Oh how bright they'll shine
On that home we will build in the meadow

Come, come
There's a wondrous land
For the hopeful heart, for the willing hand
Come. Come
There's a wondrous land
Where I'll build you a home in the meadow...