Thanks to all those who reviewed during the last chapter: DarylDixon'sLover, brady66, nightdrive23, TWDFan05, Reignashii, jeanf, jamielynn25, Ela1980, Jasper'sCowgirl, malzateb, G13, Tania Ibarbia, Trixieviv, asianballofdoom, kevkye, nikole salvatore, Shy40, Lettuce.
TRIGGER WARNING - PHYSICAL ABUSE SCENE
They all stayed quiet throughout the night, keeping to their respective areas. Daryl took first watch, while Merle slept on the couch. Shane eventually came down but Merle merely kept his eyes closed, feigning sleep, while Shane kept watch. He didn't trust the man enough to keep his family safe after all the whispers he and blondie were exchanging.
Daryl made it into the bedroom to see Beth fast asleep. He got into bed beside her, laying on his back, his arms stretched behind his head as he thought about their next steps. Would it be the best idea for them to head back to the farm, so Beth could see for herself? Shane didn't seem to be on board with that, in fact, he was quite defensive about the whole thing.
Daryl knew something was wrong and he needed to figure out what it was. As he was thinking, he felt a small hand come up on his chest. A warm body soon followed. He looked down slightly to notice Beth had curled up to his side. It made him happy to know, that subconsciously, she was still there with him, and still cared. He was never one for needing affection, having gone through his whole life without it, but having Beth with him for the past several months, made him accustomed to her touch. Without it, he found himself craving it. She was always wanting to give into their attraction for one another and he was always pulling away. Now, he would give anything to have her back to the way she was.
He eventually fell asleep and woke up to find Beth in his arms, facing him. She was playing with the buttons of his shirt, not paying attention to him. She was deep in thought, as she occasionally would bite her lip in contemplation. He watched her for several minutes, just enjoying the peacefulness between them.
She did eventually look up to see his bright blue eyes staring back at her. Although her face didn't show it, her eyes spoke volumes and there was more than enough love floating around in there to make up for her stoic face. She didn't seem as depressed as she had been the past few days, but it was still there.
"Do you think we could go out today, just me and you," she spoke so quietly. "I just need some space from everyone."
"Yeah. We can." he replied. She kissed him softly but quickly rose from the bed to get into a change of clothes. He got out of bed, more slowly, his body aching from all the running he had been doing lately. He was so used to being cooped up in a truck for hours at a time, that when he finally was able to stretch his legs, he was walking for almost twelve hours a day.
He got off the bed and watched her as she changed her shirt into the semi-clean one from her pack. Although it had been merely days since she had given herself to him, it felt like months and he suddenly wished they could be in a safe place again so they could take their time and enjoy each other. It was so unlike him to be wanting someone so badly, but that's what Beth had done to him. She changed him.
"We still have some food in the packs?" she asked, turning around to face him.
"Yeah, probably got some jerky left and a few canned soups." he replied, grabbing the bag from the floor to rummage around for some for breakfast.
"Yummy," she responded sarcastically. He smirked and grabbed the jerky and some water for them to snack on. He wasn't sure how long she wanted to stay out so he made sure they had some food on them for their walk. They left the comfort of the bedroom and made their way downstairs.
Merle was up and sitting on the couch, eating his own breakfast. Andrea was leaning by the window, while Shane was pacing in the other room. Daryl and Beth looked over at Merle and then Andrea, wondering what was going on. There was serious tension in the room and it was hard to tell who it was between.
"We're goin' out for a bit," Daryl spoke directly to Merle.
"No need to go outside to get your rocks off. None of us mind hearin' the floors shake," Merle chuckled and Beth rolled her eyes. She grabbed Daryl's arm and left out the front door. The minute the door slammed shut, Merle got up off the couch.
"Gonna use the bed if they aren't," Merle climbed the stairs and closed the bedroom door behind him.
Andrea was still by the window as she watched Daryl and Beth walk down the gravel path. She had her pack, while he just carried his crossbow. She figured they weren't leaving, cause they wouldn't leave Merle behind but she was getting curious to where they could be heading. Maybe they were even planning something behind their backs.
Andrea couldn't help but feel panic well up inside her. She felt guilt more than anything. She still didn't understand why they had to lie to them. She sighed and remembered exactly why. Shane.
It seemed like such a great idea at the time to leave with him. The group was divided and she thought that Shane was making better decisions than Rick ever did. He had a better head on his shoulders and was thinking of the safety of the whole group. But then, he went and did some dumb shit, like opening up that barn of dead walkers to everyone, causing a scene. And she was so lonely after Amy died that when he threw a little attention her way, she was a goner.
If the Dixons were planning on leaving them, Shane was gonna blame her. That's all he ever did now. When they left the safety of the farm, it was her fault for making a bigger deal out of things, for making people choose sides. Everyone sided with Rick after the blowup, so it seemed necessary for her and Shane to leave at that point. They stayed in the area for a week, in case Rick or Lori had changed their minds but it seemed like they were easily forgotten.
They'd been on their own for weeks and apart from some angry sex, they barely spoke. Finding Beth was almost a sign, like this was an opportunity to go back and have a group of people again, but Shane deflected that pretty quickly. He was still focused on getting the hell outta there and she was no longer seeing the point.
Shane was muttering to himself in the other room, pacing like a caged, rabid animal. Andrea knew he wouldn't like it, but she needed to tell him to come clean. They could go back and bring her back to her family and maybe all would be forgiven in the end.
"Where do you think they went?" Shane asked, coming into the room. He spoke in a hushed tone, knowing one of them was upstairs.
"Probably out for a walk. She's been cooped up too much. Probably needs to clear her head."
"They're planning on leaving. They keep talking bout the farm and you making those guilty faces."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me. It's your fault for them asking questions. Should have just kept your mouth shut, said it was too much to talk about or some womanly shit like that." Andrea was beyond pissed at this point and crossed her arms over her chest.
"There was no need to lie to her. We could have reunited her with her family and gotten back on our way."
"You think Daryl was gonna let her go? Those two think they're married, and even if her daddy had a problem with it, I don't think he was gonna turn them away. And Merle, he'll stick by his brother no matter what."
"So what? We can still get to Fort Benning without them." Andrea practically shouted.
"We need those redneck assholes and, as long as she's in the picture, they aren't going to play nice."
"So what? You gonna kill her? You think they'll follow you with her being gone?" Shane remained quiet as he eyed Andrea. Her eyes grew wide as she realised he wasn't playing around. "You're actually thinking about killing her?"
"I'd be doin her a favor. She's weak. She wouldn't last a day without those two."
"I can't go along with this. We're talking about a human being's life!" Andrea shrieked. Shane glared at her, his fists clenching tightly.
"Keep your mouth shut. You know the other one is still here."
"I don't think I care if he hears me. What you're suggesting… it's murder. I can't-"
"Then don't." He growled back at her. She stopped and looked at him, her face displaying the utter shock she felt at the moment.
"Lori was right," she whispered. In hindsight, she hadn't meant to say it out loud. And she only realized she did when his hand came down across the side of her face.
Andrea held her face for a moment before glaring back up at the man before her. His face was red and his eyes looked almost black. She's never seen him look so feral before and it terrified her. She slowly began to back away from him but he followed her step for step.
"You think I'm crazy, too?" his voice was menacing.
"Shane! Stop this!" she cried again, no doubt this time she would have grabbed the attention of Merle.
"I know what we gotta do to survive! If you can't handle what that means then you are as good as dead too! Just like her!" Shane drew his arm back again, ready to strike. But before he could connect to her face, something stopped him. Rather someone.
"Now I know you ain't thinkin' about hittin' a lady while I'm around, officer," Merle sneered.
"Let go of me," Shane spat back through gritted teeth.
"If I do, you best walk out that door and cool your shit." Shane didn't respond. Merle took his silence as his agreance and released his hold on his wrist. Shane began to walk away and Merle's attention turned to Andrea's face. He didn't notice Shane turn back around and swing for his head.
"Shane! Stop!" Andrea screamed as Merle fell to the ground with Shane jumping quickly on top of him, throwing punch after punch into the grounded man's body. Shane was deaf to Andrea's screams. All he saw was the blood on his fist and the red in his sight. He didn't hear the front door open again. He only knew Daryl had returned when the younger brother ripped him from his intended target and began kicking and punching at him mercilessly.
Beth watched in horror as the scene unfolded through the open door. Everything seemed to go in slow motion as she watched Andrea crying in the corner and screaming for everyone to stop, Merle rolling over on the ground to regain composure, and Shane and Daryl tossing punches at each other. Every time Shane's fist or knee connected with Daryl, Beth felt a part of her break inside. Anger she had never experienced before welled up and threaten to explode.
Without conscious thought, she grabbed the knife off of her belt and held it tight in her hand as she continued to watch the men wrestle around on the ground. As Shane seemed to gain the upper hand, his body over Daryl's punching wildly into his sides, Beth moved into action before her mind could keep up.
As the knife fell from her hand she realized what she had done. Shane rolled off of Daryl who was gasping for air- apparently Shane had started to strangle him- and blood squirted from the hole in his neck. She had severed his artery and he was bleeding to death right before her eyes. Andrea's cries ceased and Merle stood between them watching the life slip from Shane's eyes. Daryl stood up and towered over Shane.
"He wanted to kill her." Andrea whispered as Shane struggled to breathe.
"Clearly, he underestimated our little blondie." Merle chuckled. "She's a nightmare dressed as a daydream." Daryl couldn't take his eyes off of him. Learning the truth, something he had already feared himself as he began to gag on his blood, made him wish they could draw out his suffering. Beth, however, had other plans.
Silently she walked up to him and pulled the gun from Shane's waistband. Without hesitation, she pulled the trigger lodging a bullet in the center of his skull. She lowered the gun slowly and looked down at his dead body and said loud enough that Andrea could hear her clearly.
"Don't fuck with my family."
Andrea felt chills run down her spine and the sense of dread spread through her at the thought of having to tell her the truth.
Beth chucked the gun onto Shane's dead body and immediately went to check on Daryl. Shane had gotten a few good punches in that left his face slightly cut up and bruised. He was searching her eyes, looking for traces of guilt or regret but found nothing but concern over him. She kissed him softly, reassuring him that she was alright and kissed his forehead.
She looked over to Merle to see him holding his left side, most likely from Shane's kick to the ribs. She turned around to Andrea to see her cheek had reddened from the slap she received. Beth went to her pack to grab the first aid kit she kept in there.
"You're gonna start talking. No more bullshit" Daryl stated with firm eyes towards Andrea. She felt the weight of the glares on her as she slid down the wall, her eyes still glued to her dead lover.
"I don't know if I can." She mumbled.
"All ya gotta do is fill us in on why lover boy wanted me and my brother to get you to Fort Benning." Merle groaned as he took a seat at the dining room table.
"He thought you would be an asset. But he thought if… he needed a way to keep you from going to the Greene farm." Beth stopped wiping at the cut on Daryl's face and turned to Andrea. "The farm was never overrun. Shane left because he lost control. He killed Otis and threatened anyone else that got too close. Rick and the others, they didn't trust him. So we left."
"Wait, my family is still alive?"
"Your dad, Maggie and Patricia were still there when we left three weeks ago." Beth swallowed the lump in her throat and turned back to Daryl's wounds. She could feel his eyes bearing down onto her but she chose to stay focused. She was elated that they were still alive but she held onto that excitement for the moment.
"So guess we're heading back to the farm then," Merle groaned from his chair. Beth stepped away from Daryl to dig through the bag to find some bandages for Merle. She brought them to the table for him where he could wrap his ribs if they were indeed bruised.
"I don't think I'd be welcome there," Andrea said softly, suddenly feeling unwanted.
"We'll make sure they understand," Beth said as she passed Andrea, going back to tending Daryl.
"Do you mind if I go lay down for a bit?" Andrea asked, getting up from her spot. Beth nodded and watched her walk up the stairs slowly. Before she disappeared, she turned around. "Do you need help with…" she motioned to Shane's dead body on the floor.
"I got it," Daryl replied. Andrea turned back around and made her way to the bedroom. It was quiet for a few minutes, as Beth rubbed some ointment on Daryl's cheek and Merle was checking out the damage on his own skin. Beth finally made eye contact with Daryl who was still concerned.
"They're alive," she whispered.
"They're alive," he answered back.
So everyone wanted Shane dead and well, you got your wish. You don't threaten women and expect to live, especially in front of the Dixon men.
Thanks to all the reviews you lovelies leave, love reading each and every one of them. So now that we know the family is still alive and still back at the farm, what are you thoughts on what happens next?
Thanks to Carla. I don't even know if you read this chapter so if there are any grammar issues, I guess that's on me this time...whoops!