A/N thank you for everyone getting this far, so final chapter before we move onto the... (drumrole) long awaited relationship, or at least the beginning of it, takes off.
In this chapter Beth does refer to OneEye by the name she gave him Daryl. So human Daryl will be written normal, while canine Daryl will be in italics, sorry to make it confusing, but it's important that we know that Jakob knows the dogs real name, because as it comes out later, he's good at keeping those sorts of secrets...I dunno it feels important to me.
Also ATTENTION: I would like to say thank you to NoSecretsHere who made the Forum The Walking Dead challenges and Competitions
forum/The-Walking-Dead-Fanfiction-Challenges-and-Competitions/158211/i
ts really sweet and well set up, and has some great challenges and discussion pages and review games and stuff, so any of you who write your own walking dead fic's or those of you who just want to chat about it, ideas or make story requests, or whatever gets done on forums should defiantly take a look. :D
Beth was scrubbing furiously at the pot, the char was baked on thick. She quickly glanced around the woods, the winter had slowed the walkers, but she knew all too well how, feeling safe was a mistake, so she kept a constant lookout, seeing nothing she dipped the pan in the stream again before looking back to Jakob who was fiddling with some sticks.
'Damn man, can survive anything, can catch anything, can do anything, give him a pan of stew and ask him to stir it and he's suddenly useless' Beth remarked, she looked to Jakob and saw a small grin. Her mind switched thoughts 'Ya didn't go with him today?' she only asked because it was the first day in the past seven hunting trips that he didn't insist on following Daryl.
Jakob shrugged.
'Just as well, I was getting lonely' Beth smiled 'And I'm thinking about making rice pudding, that's your fave yeah, you can help?'
Jakob nodded enthusiastically.
Beth smiled again and went back to her pot. Jakob didn't talk allot, but his presence was loud, he wasn't unlike Daryl, silent but undeniably there. She glanced up and saw he'd moved to run his fingers through daryls fur.
'He's your best friend huh?' Beth questioned, but it was more of a statement of what she saw.
Jakob didn't answer her, just looked up and shrugged a little before standing up and crossing to Beth and wrapping his arms around her back while she continued scrubbing.
The small action made her happy, and she understood 'Yeah I know Jake, I love you too... but it's ok if he's your best friend...my horse was mine, her name was Nelly' Beth's heart sank a little as she remembered Nelly's likely demise.
Jakob sat back down closer to her this time. And she glanced to him again the sadness falling away and filling her heart with utter affection, she was surprised how quickly she had fallen in love with little Jake, she blinked those emotions away, because still they were a little too deep for her to comprehend 'What do you want to do today? After we get the evidence of Daryl's mad cooking skills of this pan huh?'
Jakob pointed into the woods.
'Ya want to go for a walk huh?' sure we'll have to pop back and leave a note but we can, maybe we can go east, there's a pretty cool little damn, you want to go fishing?'
Jakob shook his head and pointed west.
Beth sighed slightly 'We don't go west' she received a questioning look so she explained 'That's where Daryl's house is... was before the turn... He never wanted to go that way, I went up there on my own a few weeks ago, and found it, it's not all that much to look at... I had to put down his father... ' She didn't know why she admitted that to Jakob, it was probably his silence, she seemed to do it allot, tell him more than she probably should, she swallowed and finished. 'So let's not ok'
Jakob was staring at her for a while before she looked back up; he shrugged before motioning to himself, then his eyes and then west again.
'You want to see it huh?' Beth sighed, guess it's no point telling you not to say anything?'
Jakob nodded and motioned zipping his lip.
'Maybe' Beth answered as she rinsed the pot again. 'You know if he catches us hell go off' she warned, but it seemed to do nothing to Jakob he sill looked just as determined to go..
Jakob stood at the same time that she did, and Beth grinned at him. 'Gutsy ain't ya?'
He nodded proudly before snapping his head in the same direction that OneEyedid.
'What is it?' Beth questioned her hand immediately going to her knife.
Jakob took a step closer and pressed his finger to his lips as they both watched Daryl stalk of, Beth's eyes followed the dog. He disappeared behind a tree a moment before a walker appeared, she took a step forward, but it fell forward onto its face and Daryl was standing on its back, his jaws reaching around its head and crushing it in a messy crunch, the dog looked up cautiously and sniffed the air, deadly still nothing but his ears moving, his eyes darted from side to side, for a few minutes, and then he seemingly shook it off and began wagging his tail as he headed back to the stream and lapped lazily at it.
Beth bent down and scratched the dog's ear 'Thanks Daryl...you're getting better every time' she said approvingly. Beth looked back to Jakob before nodding for him to follow her 'Why do you want to go up there anyway?' she questioned.
Jakob shrugged again.
'Ya gotta know'
He quirked one side of his mouth before covering his eyes and peering through at her.
'Hiding?' she asked.
He shook his head and then did it again before putting his hand on his heart and looking west again.
Beth thought about what he meant, the whole having a conversation with Jake without him talking was getting old, but she loved him enough to continue trying 'You want to see who Daryl is?'
Jakob looked minimally confused before pointing to Beth and shaking his head, she wasn't getting it at all.
Beth shook her head as she flicked the last remaining droplets of water from the pan 'You think allot don't you' she commented, which earned her another smile. 'Guess ya got to, still you're probably a little genius' she ruffled his hair, not missing his head moving to look behind her.
His hearing was always ten times better than Beth could hope for, or maybe it was just that he was so in tune with OneEye.
She turned expecting another walker in the distance, but instead saw Daryl coming, wielding in his hand five squirrels; he nodded, holding them up as some sort of trophy. Beth nodded back before looking down to Jakob 'look, now he can ruin this all over again' she teased as she bumped his arm gently with the pan.
Jakob looked up to her with a slight giggle before bounding over to Daryl and throwing his tiny body in the mans arms.
Beth waved Jakob out from the corner of the kitchen where she had told him to wait. Regardless of being here before, it was always safest to clear it again. There weren't any walkers anyway, but she felt better checking.
Jakob stepped out and made his way almost knowingly to Daryl's old room. Beth frowned a little as the boy navigated the house without a second thought. As she followed him up the corridor and noticed minimal changes, Merles door was open, where she had shut it, the clothes were gone from the bed where she had messily dumped them, she poked her head in the room, the poster that she had noticed last time had been torn down.
Suddenly a sickening feeling settled in the pit of her stomach, someone had been here, they could come back any moment and who knew who they were? Daryl would not expect to look here, she ducked back into Daryl's room. 'Jakob, we have to go' she told him as she saw his head poking up from the other side of the bed. 'Jakob, hurry' she urged him as he seemed unwilling to budge.
She frowned before crossing to the other side of the bed, planning to pull him along when she noticed a rug laid out that he was sitting on. 'What are you doing?'
Jakob shrugged slightly before pulling out a can of rice pudding and passing it to her. Beth frowned she looked back around the room, not much was different, but there were some subtle hints, and then she saw a broken bolt discarded in the old box that was a makeshift bin and she recognized it. 'You've been here before?' she questioned. 'He brought you here?' Beth looked back to Jakob.
He nodded.
'Why?' she knew Jakob wouldn't really be able to tell her, it was more of a question for Daryl, not that she could ever ask him, otherwise he would know she was here, but she had asked it without thought.
Jakob shrugged and pulled out a bag from beneath the bed showing Beth a pack of supplies and a book. She sat down on the rug cautiously, unsure about what he wanted.
'We can pretend' Jakob said, and the sound of his voice shocked her slightly.
She looked around at the room again before back to him 'Pretend what?'
'That people like us get to have each other, you know boy...Jake, like that ain't my daddy, like yours din' run out on ya, like ya my son, like the worlds ok, coz were here together' Jakob said and Beth's eyes widened in realization of what was happening.
Jake continued mimicking, his little voice sounding just like Daryl 'I'da read ya bedtime stories, took ya huntin' on the weekend... ya momma, made ya that rice pudding, or blue berry pie, just like her grandma made...'Jake stopped mimicking as he passed the book to Beth nudging her hand. The implications of the words he said sinking in, knowing they were exactly the words Daryl said, she smiled lightly before Jakob spoke again, encouraging her 'Read it?'
She took it with a faint smile and flipped it open, she wondered why Jake chose to speak those words, why he chose to tell her that? Maybe that was a special moment, maybe he wanted what Daryl obviously did also, she would think about it later, for now she had to read Robinson Crusoe as Jakob requested. The page was turned in at chapter four and she smiled. 'I dint know he brought you here to do this...I didn't know he wanted this' Beth remarked with a little sadness.
Jakob shrugged and pointed to the book and Beth smiled slightly again before taking a breath and beginning chapter four. Jake sat in silence as he enjoyed the book, until Beth finished the chapter, and then he simply stood, throwing the items back in the bag before standing.
Beth wondered how many times they had done this, why Daryl had chosen to do this, share this with Jakob... for a moment she felt hurt that he hadn't shared it with her, but somewhere in her she understood, that some thing's they could just have with Jakob. Some things would be just for him.
'He loves you an awful lot...so do I' Beth commented as Jake finished folding the little rug and stuffing it back from where it came. He looked up to Beth with a smile before reaching for her hand and dragging her back down the hallway and pointing to the top cupboard in the kitchen.
His actions were so purposeful now. She frowned before reaching up and opening it revealing half a dozen bottles of little pills. She picked one up and passed it down to Jakob who looked at it approvingly before stuffing it into Beth's pocket. 'Is that what we came here for?' Beth questioned confusingly.
Jakob nodded. Witch had her wondering what it was all about, she took the pills back out her pocket and read the label, she didn't recognize them, but something about Jake's certainness made her trust him, regardless of his age, he always seemed so smart, perhaps Daryl had told him about whatever they were when they were here last, so she stuffed them back in her pocket and followed his lead out of the house.
He returned to his old self, refusing to talk to her on the way home, going back to his little hand gestures and Beth idly wondered what it was all about, why he had shared that all too precious memory with her... and of all things why that? Why were the pills important? What did he know that she didn't? And why had Daryl taken him there, surely it was for more than to play happy families... why had Daryl shown him the pills? The room? None of it really made any sense. But when they walked in the door and she saw Daryl and OneEye sitting at the table, Daryl preparing the meal he had caught and he looked up with a soft smile, all her questions vanished, because although she didn't understand all of the questions, she understood the most pressing, why he had taken Jake there.
He had just wanted one good memory to hold onto, just one nice thing, one thing that was pure and honest and wouldn't haunt him, and he wanted to share that with the person he loved most in the world... it was the same reason that Beth found herself telling Jakob stupid little things. Because that's what being a parent is, loving and sharing happiness and not hiding a single part of you, it's honestly giving everything, that's what Daryl was trying to do, just as she was.
'Good walk?' he questioned, which brought her mind back to now. And by the way he asked Beth almost thought he knew where they had gone. She smiled determined not to give anything away. 'Been back a while, how far did you go?' he asked.
Beth shrugged, the trip that had taken her four hours the first time was now only a forty minute walk, but they had spent probably an hour at the house 'Nah not far, just around, Jake wanted to go'
Daryl stood and ruffled the boy's hair 'Yeah he likes walking huh?'
Jakob smiled up at him before Beth interjected 'He spoke today'
'Really?' Daryl slipped his hands under Jakes armpits and lifted him to sit on the table 'What did you say?'
Beth smiled at the tenderness in his voice. Jakes gaze dropped to his knees causing Daryl to sigh dissapointingly before kissing the boys head 'It's ok, guess you're not ready yet huh?' he looked back to Beth. 'Two rabbits...what's say ya get cookin' and ill find that book we got in jakes pack, maybe we can do some readin' tonight huh?'
Beth nodded and busied herself with the meal, although her mind kept wandering to Daryl, constant questions running through her brain. She couldn't help the fact that the knowledge of what he had been doing with Jakob was in her brain forever, and it held with it a certain sadness that she couldn't describe, the kind that made her just want to hug the man and promise that their little family was enough, but she couldn't do that. So she ignored it, and swept all those thoughts and emotions under the proverbial rug that everything else regarding him got swept under.
A/N So I kind of feel this chapter was a bit messy, but it's really just a filler, I went back and reread the last few chapters and realized I missed a few things.
I wanted to show that both Beth and Daryl had a special relationship with Jakob and they both share things with him that are more than they share with each other, I hope in this chapter I really showed their mutual love for him.
Also I wanted to show that Beth had made it known to Jakob that she had named the dog Daryl and had shared other little things like that with him that she wouldn't tell anyone else. Also wanted to show the understanding between Daryl and Jakob, because if it was too subtle, they are from similar families.
Also wanted to remind you how capable the dog is and how he and Jakob also have bonded. So yeah allot of bonding stuff in this.
Also wanted to express how smart and intuitive he is, hope I haven't taken it too far and made him sound unbelievable, but I do think when a child grows up in the kind of environment that expects more for your basic survival, they would be smarter.
Annnnd if it was too subtle, when Jakob was reinciting (because I couldn't think of another way for him to tell her with as much meaning, and I know my little sister always repeats word for word what conversations that are important to her (and this was important to Jake because he actually realized that Daryl was different to his own father)) his time with Daryl he mentioned that Jakob's mother would bake rice pudding (because that's jakes favourite) and her grandmas blueberry pie- This is referring to Beth, if that was too subtle. So yeah Daryl's still thinking about her. :D
