Rose was dreaming again.
The cloudless sky was the color of sea foam. Below was an ocean, placid and balmy blue. Roses bobbed and dipped tranquilly on the surface of the water. Roses of all colors-brilliant reds and pinks, the most vivid purples and greens. Albatross flew in groups across the sky. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.
Almost too majestic to be real, she thought.
That was all it took. The sky was the first thing to change, clouding up and dulling to a deep gray. Black clouds. The sea became violent, seemed to drown all the flowers at once. Water turned red and was congested with bodies of the dead. Some floating, limp and lifeless. Some reaching, hungry, pushing each other's heads under water to get to unseen flesh.
A gentle voice in her ear. Female. "Rose. Rose, wake up." Small hands on her shoulders. A careful shake.
Her eyes opened slowly, her breathing heavy. Tears ran down her cheeks but she was silent. She followed the girl's arm up to her face and was surprised to see Beth. The sight of her relieved Rose at first, but then made her tense.
"Where's Daryl? Are we okay?"
Beth's quiet voice answered. "Everything is fine. He stepped out to get some air, he'll be right back. I was sitting up, unable to sleep. He asked me to watch you in case you…well, for a few reasons."
Rose understood. Her nightmares, freak outs. Hell, her-for lack of a better word-enemies.
She sat up and hugged Beth, then sat back and admired her features.
The only thing the two girls had in common physically was their alabaster skin. Beth's hair was sunshine blonde to her raven black. Her eyes sky blue to Rose's deep amber.
Rose thought of Beth as a stable, more capable version of herself. She was quiet and kind and emotionally sound…as much as one could be. Rose was told she had a breakdown some months ago and attempted suicide, but the Beth she knew wouldn't allow her to picture that.
"I've heard you sing a couple of times. Your voice is so soothing." Rose said.
"Oh…thank you." Her voice was slightly bashful.
"I love to sing, too. I…haven't really done it in a long time."
"Well, you should jump in sometime." Beth smiled genuinely.
"Maybe I will, if I'm feeling brave someday."
Daryl entered the tent and smiled when he found the two girls smiling at each other.
"Hey there, kid". And then to Beth "Thank you for sitting with her."
She nodded and stood up. "She's good people."
"That she is." He paused for a moment. "You know, if you can't sleep you can hang out with us for a while."
Rose nodded. "Absolutely."
"Oh, thank you. But I feel like maybe I can actually fall asleep now."
When she left, Rose moved close to Daryl. "Thank you for having someone here in case…yeah. I had another nightmare."
He hugged her tight. "Dammit, I'm sorry. I figured you might, especially after today."
Her eyes were sincere. "I'm not sorry I did it. I had to. I had to know I'm capable, even if it throws my stability off for a while or gives me awful nightmares. I mean, this isn't easy for anyone, you know? I'm part of this group. I'll protect this group like everyone else."
Daryl didn't know what to say. He was overwhelmed with emotion for the girl. He pulled her to him, cradling her head and holding her to his chest. He kissed the top of her head a couple of times. Then her cheeks, then her lips.
Nuzzling her playfully, he said "You know, you have absolutely amazin' lips. Full and soft and you got that natural pout thing goin' on or somethin'…"
She laughed and kissed him, letting all of her thoughts and fears fall away.
Rose was still sleeping when Daryl woke up and he was glad, wanted her to get more sleep. He sat up and repositioned the blankets so she was completely covered up. One thing about the concrete floors-they were cold and they were much harder than sleeping on the ground outside. There was a dull ache over his entire back and he knew she'd be hurting too-and probably everyone else. He figured they should go on a run for things that would help them adapt to this.
He got up and opened the door, letting as little light in as possible. Seemed like most of the group was up except for Sophia and Carl.
Shane and Carol were cleaning fish. Maggie and Beth were doing laundry. He took a seat next to Carol and grabbed a fish.
"She should be out here helping. She doesn't get a free pass to sleep all day because she had a bad day yesterday." Andrea said.
"I know it gets…irritating, but you have to consider some things-" Lori was cut off.
Some people didn't notice Daryl's appearance.
He stood up. "I'm sure as hell sick to death of hearing you people badmouth her. You have no idea how much she wants to be part of this group. She's even gracious when you assholes treat her like shit-and you know who I'm talkin' to. Next time any of you have a problem with her for any reason, you'd better come tell it to me. No more giving her grief or fucking talkin' behind her back. Any questions?"