Chapter 3 – On Your Own

Beth loaded her wet clothes into the dryer and shoved the quarters inside to start the washers. She could have murdered Scud for failing to mention that the laundry room was in the basement and the only way down was the creepy set of stairs, but luckily she managed to find a rather sizable pocket knife inside his kitchen drawers and after pocketing it, she felt immediately better. Like she could handle just about anything as long as that blade was with in reach.

Grabbing the laundry basket, she made her way back up stairs. Only half paying attention to her surroundings before she noticed the door to her apartment standing wide open. Silently cursing as she realized she'd only been in the place a little over two days before being robbed. Letting out a heavy groan, she dropped her basket and pulled the knife out, having it ready in case who ever was inside charged her before she headed into the door.

Reaching the edge of the door, she took in a deep breath, preparing herself for the flight or fight response she'd grown so accustomed to in her other life and leaned quietly around the door frame. Inside an all to familiar mop of brown hairb with his usual bright T-shirt on, stood in the middle of the room and Beth let out a sigh of relief as she went inside.

"You could have warned a person you were coming over," she said, making Scud jump at her voice. Beth smiled at that as she dashed back into the hallway to retrieve her laundry basket.

"I did knock, but you didn't answer," he replied, nodding toward the door.

"Sorry, I was doing laundry." She held up the basket as evidence, and Scud roamed his eyes over to the sheets on the bed before locking his eyes back on her. It was then he froze, looking her up and down, making Beth's stomach twist from the look that was forming in his eyes.
"Why are you wearing my clothes?" he asked, motioning toward the band t-shirt and rolled up boxers that Beth donned after her shower when she realized just how filthy her own clothes were.

"Because I didn't have anything else," she muttered, pulling at the shirt. It was extra long on her, hanging far below her thighs and half covering the shorts that she had on underneath that. The way she had to fold up the shorts until they didn't fall off unnerved her, and gave her a slight idea on just how skinny she really was after the hospital incident but she didn't have another choice.

"Thought I told you not to go through my things," Scud said, his eyes going hard as he pointed toward the closet.

"I didn't. I found the clothes in your dresser." She pointed toward the item in question and Scud glanced at it. His breathing going back to normal when he pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit one up.

"Geez, chill out," Beth muttered, moving to sit on one of the stools. One of the few pieces of furniture he had in the place. Scud smirked, shaking his head as he looked around the place. Taking in the opened up windows, and smell of lemony bleach that permitted the place. Beth literally spent the day scrubbing every surface she could and then some before she called herself satisfied and was able to get a few hours of shut eye.

"I'll have another friend of mine come over with some clothes. I'm sure she'll have enough to lend to you until you can get your own," Scud said, dropping down on the couch.
Beth rolled her eyes. "Another friend?" she asked, sounding a bit on the jealous side and immediately regretted her tone. Scud smiled at her as he held up a package that she hadn't noticed him holding before.

"Speaking of, got those papers that you needed." He dropped the folder on the coffee table and Beth jumped up to reach for it. Curious to what Scud managed to come up with. She pulled the papers out, noting the birth certificate, social security card, and ID.

"Zelda May?" she asked, looking at Scud like he done lost his mind. "I sound like a hipster's daughter."

"That's because you are a hipster's daughter," he replied, pointing toward the birth certificate. Beth looked it over and read, "who's Jesse Forger?"

"My uncle I was telling you about. His dead, so he can't argue about the existence of an unknown daughter, and the rest of my family don't care enough to question it."

Beth gaped at him. "Great, so you've made us cousins?"

Scud shrugged as he said., "had to find a legitimate explanation for having an unknown female in my apartment."

"Oh, okay," Beth replied. "Well this name gives me a legitimate reason to do this" She rounded the table and slapped him on the back of the head with the folder. Scud held up his hands to block her slap as he said, "Now who's the one that needs to chill out. Besides Zelda May has a job."

This caught Beth's attention, and she stopped her attempt at beating the man to stare at him wide eyed. "What?"

Scud nodded his head, staring at her with triumph in his eyes. "Yep, when I got the papers my friend said there was an old man a couple of blocks over needing some help at his music shop."

"Music Shop?" Beth's eyes went wider as she sat down on the couch next to him. Scud smirked at her response.

"Don't get too excited. He just sales some dusty old records and a few instruments but when I told him my 'cousin' was looking for work, he said just send her over tomorrow morning and he'll give her the job."

"Oh my god, Scud, you're amazing." Beth practically squealed as she wrapped her arms around Scud's neck.

Scud pulled away from her mumbling, "Yeah yeah, don't rub it in."

Beth giggled, catching the attention of Scud though she didn't notice it as she was staring down at her new identity. She looked at the card again, and shook her head at the picture. Her hair was a mess, and there was only a half smile on her face. She held it up to show Scud with an annoyed look in her eye.

"So, most ID photos don't look all that great anyways." He took another puff of his smoke and stood up heading toward the phone. Beth sat in silence looking over the other documents as Scud dialed in a phone number.

"Christina, babe," he said when whoever he called answered and Beth's face scrunched up at the nick name. "Yeah I was wondering if you could do me a favor."

There was a pause, and Beth glowered at the phone wishing she could hear what the girl on the other end was saying. "I know I've asked for plenty favors in the past, but this is for a friend of mine. She's new here in town and is kinda in need of some clothes."

There was argument on the other end, and Beth smirked when Scud threw his head back."I happen to know you and your girlfriend have more clothes than you know what to do with."

Scud turned to the notepad that Beth had found the day before and quickly jotted something down on it.

"Thanks babe," he said, smiling at something she said. "Yeah, I know I could never repay you."

He hung up the phone, ripped a piece of the notepad paper off and handed it to Beth. Beth looked at the quickly scrawled numbers and her mouth went dry as she thought about meeting new people.

"She's off this afternoon, so head over there as soon as you can," he said, heading toward the door.

Beth looked up gaping at him for a moment before she asked, "you're not going with me?"

"What for? You need a babysitter?" Scud replied, staring down at her as he moved toward the door.

"No, but..." her words trailed off as she realized she didn't have a legitimate argument. Taking in a deep breath she looked back at the piece of paper. "Don't have much luck with strangers, is all."

"You had luck with us," Scud said, his eyes softening as he looked at her. Beth smiled back up at him, nodding in agreement. She noted that he don't look all that much like a stranger, but she remained quiet about that part as she flipped the paper over in her hands.

"Besides, B's been keeping me busy and I gotta be heading back soon," Scud explained, heading toward the front door. Beth grimaced as she realized she'd be left alone again. Being alone wasn't all that great for her. Just gave her time to think up too many memories. Looking down at the paper, she realized her own clothes would be done soon and she might just make a trip over to this Christina's place sooner rather than later. Looking up, she noticed Scud studying her at the door way and she stood as well.

"Thank you, for everything." she placed the note on the table and walked around to give Scud another hug.

"Don't mention it, Cuz," Scud replied, hugging her back. Beth laughed at the nickname, but still slapped him on the chest. He rubbed at the spot as he released her and muttered a quick good-bye. Beth responded in kind, and soon she was left in the quiet apartment once again. Looking around, she decided to head down the laundry room and see how much longer her clothes had.


Beth marched down the tidy little hallway. Her head moving left and right as she looked from one brown door to the next trying to find the apartment number that Scud wrote down for her. When the number appeared halfway down she stuffed the piece of paper into her back pocket and knocked on the door. Taking in a deep breath she had to remind herself that she'd fought off walkers, helped with an amputation or two and killed a couple of cops to save herself. There was no reason for her to be fearful of some unknown girl. To ease the ball of nerves in her chest, she slipped her hand into her front pocket so that her fingers could brush across the pocket knife that she shoved in there just before leaving.

The door abruptly swung open and Beth was met with a pair of cool, collected brown eyes as the girl leaned against the doorway giving her a cursory once over as she said, "So your Zelda May."

The girl she assumed to be Christina was naturally tanned with blonde highlights that framed perfectly painted eyes. She wore a simple strapless top that looked to be molded to her skin as did her jeans. With her arms crossed and an eyebrow raised, Beth got the impression that she was imposing. Immediately, her instincts were to turn and walk away. She even took a step back as she nodded her head in response.

The girl gave her a cursory glance, her mouth piercing into a tight line as she took in the faded yellow polo shirt and ripped jeans. Beth inwardly shrunk as she dared a look at her own clothing. It wasn't the best, and not something she would have chosen if she had more options at the time. But she didn't. Being in that abandoned country home with a horde of the undead and a dejected man, it's not like she could have put a lot of thought into her outfit. She just wanted something clean that wasn't covered in days old dirt and blood.

Feeling an immediate resentment towards the woman's judgment, Beth straightened her shoulders and met the woman's gaze. Her head tilting up a bit in challenge. Silently, the two stared each other down until both her eyebrows went up and a smirk spread across her face.

"Come on in. Scud was right when he said I have more clothes than I know what to do with." She motioned Beth inside and turned to leave, expecting her to follow without complaint. Beth stepped into the white washed entrance way. To her left was a simple living room with an orange futon for a couch and a swing that was supposed to serve as a chair off to the side. Her eyes wondered around until she noticed the rather large mirror standing just to the right over a long table. Beth glanced at the small blonde girl in its reflection, taking in her blue eyes and frizzed hair. Her lips were turned into an automatic frown, cheeks hollowed and her eyes almost looked dull. She barely recognized the girl staring back at her, and Beth quickly looked away. She didn't want to think about what her time away from her family had done to her. She managed to shove those memories into a very small box in the back of her mind, and she didn't want to reopen it to search for that lost little girl inside.

Christina managed to make her way down the hall and was standing just in front of a doorway, waiting for Beth to follow along. Beth hastened after her, remembering that she was being rude by just standing in doorway. When she stood next to her, Christina opened the door to what was supposed to be a second bedroom, but had been converted to a secondary closet. Clothes lined three of the walls and in the far corner shelves had been placed to hold shoes, and drawers that looked to be over flowing with belts, purses and, of course, more clothes.

"Me and Misha have a shopping problem. Half the time we buy outfits and they get thrown in here to be forgotten about." She waved her arm to show the room. Beth looked at the girl questionably, but she merely shrugged in response. She gave Beth another cursory glance before walking over to the farthest wall to pick through the clothing. Beth followed her in, a bit unsure of where to begin. Her eyes were still darting over the walls, trying to find that excitement that would have come when she saw a closet full of clothes. It wasn't there. It seemed material items didn't matter to her anymore. It was just an essential part of living along with food and shelter.

Sighing, she glanced back at Christina to find she already had a pile of shirts lying on top of a chair and was now digging through a drawer filled with jeans. Beth hesitated in the door way and as Christina threw another pair of jeans onto the chair she muttered, "try these on."

It was the nicest invitation she was going to get, so Beth began going through the shirts. There was some tank tops that she wouldn't mind trying on along with a few t-shirts that looked like they would fit her. Christina threw some jeans on top of the pile as Beth began stripping her shirt off to try on some of the clothes. There was a gasp as the other girl turned to look at her, and Beth covered her exposed skin immediately to see Christina staring at her. With wide eyes, she held up her hand, mumbling a quick apology.

"I just..." shaking her head she turned back to the task of digging through the clothes. Beth took the moment to look in the mirror to see what Christina had seen. Aside from her too thin frame, and some bruising that had yet to heal, Beth didn't see anything wrong. Biting the inside of her lip, she took another cautionary glance at Christina and shrugged it off. Grabbing for the shirt she meant to try on, she threw it over her shoulders and looked into the mirror. It was a simple cotton sleeveless blouse with a small floral design at the top. Something she would have chosen at the farm. Frowning at the shirt, she peeled if off to look for something else. Her eyes landed on a plain tank top with straps that criss-crossed in the back. Placing it on, she was happy to note that it wasn't as baggy as it first looked, but she could tell that it was still missing something. Looking around the room, she spotted a small section devoted to jackets and she looked toward Christina with a questioning stare.

The woman noticed where was looking at and nodded her head; silently giving Beth permission to dig around. Beth flipped through the jackets, careful not to mess them up too much. After spotting a price tag on one of them with a rather large number, she decided that she wasn't going to do anything to have to owe the woman more than she already did. Until her eyes spotted a jean jacket with a pair of white angel wings with a dagger nestled between them printed on the back. Beth took it down to run her hands across the design. Her eyes instantly misting over as she thought about another man with angel wings on his back. Her heart broke at the thought of never seeing him again. Never hearing his voice, or anybodies from her old life. Blinking back a few tears she jumped when Christina said, "you can have it."

The girl had come to stand next to the Beth so quiet like that Beth hadn't even realized she moved.

When her heart settled from the fright, she processed Christian's words and her eyes grew wide. "Yeah?"

She shrugged "Misha went through a biker phase, but she don't wear any of the stuff anymore." Beth broke out into a wide grin. Christina seemed genuinely pleased at Beth's reaction and her gaze looked over the closet of clothes. "In fact, I don't think she would mind if someone took the rest of it off her hands."

Beth pulled the jacket on, her fingers going over the small design on the sleeves as she took in the way the jacket felt. It was still loose on her, but she was capable of wrapping it around her and it didn't hang off her arms. Christina nodded her head in approval as she pulled her over to some more clothing, and started looking through it with new determination. Now that she had an idea of what Beth liked, she was more peculiar about what she pulled down, and Beth found several more shirts that she liked. When she got to the jeans, she realized that Christina had several sizes but she took one look at Beth and handed over only the smallest pairs.

Beth helped, smiling as she went through the clothes. Feeling a bit more relaxed now as time drew on and Christina continued talking to her. She found out that she met Scud a couple years back through mutual friends and while she found the man attractive "I couldn't betray Misha like that."

"Oh," Beth said, understanding lighting up in her eyes as she looked around the room suddenly feeling even more naked than she ever did in front of someone.
Christina giggled at her reaction as Beth quickly pulled on the shirt that she'd been ready to try on.

"Relax," Christian said, holding a hand up to calm the girl. "Misha's the love of my life. I wouldn't risk that for anything."

Beth smiled, happy to see the love for an unknown woman shining through Christina eyes. She felt more relaxed after that. Finding it way easier to talk to the girl. She still skirted around the edges of her and Scud's history. Knowing full well that she was supposed to be playing as his cousin while here didn't mean she had a full history worked out. Christina and him been friends for years, and Beth didn't really know how much she knew about Scud.

It was while Beth was frowning down at the particularly loose jean skirt with pink lace at the bottom that Christina brought up her little gasp from earlier by reaching out and pulling on the fabric that hung loose on Beth's waist while she said, "you know when I first met Misha she was going through some of the same struggles. Maybe you could talk to her, hook up with her therapists, or even go see the support group that she's part of. Anything just to get some help." Her gaze went over Beth's protruding hip bones and further up to her ribs that were starting to show and Beth suddenly understood what the shock on her face was about earlier.

For a moment her mouth gaped open as she struggled to find the words as she steadily shook her head in denial. Christina held up a hand with a firm look on her face. "Part of the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem."

"That's just it, there is no problem," Beth said, her shoulders tensing as she backed away from the girl. "My family fell on some hard times. Food became scarce, that's all." She held up her hands, palms out in surrender, hoping that the woman would back off. Christina narrowed her gaze, her eyes searching Beth's pleading look. "Look, we can go out and eat right now. I would scarf down a hamburger, pancakes, anything and keep it down. I swear."

Christina's eyes narrowed to slits for a moment before she sighed and backed away mumbling, "fine, but you know the government could have helped out with all that."

Beth scoffed. "Yeah, great good they did." She caught Christian's doubtful stare at the last second before she raised one shoulder in doubt and turned away to raid the drawers on the other side of the room.

Silence encompassed them for several long minutes until she turned around and held up several belts for Beth's inspection. "If that's the case, then you are going to need something to hold your jeans up until you've gained some kind of weight."

Beth smiled, the gratitude showing in her eyes as she walked over and took the belt from Christina's out stretched hand. It was a heavy Pink color that contrasted well with the lace at the bottom of the skirt and Beth wound it around until it fit snugly. When she turned back around, she donned the white tank top and pink lace blouse that Christina dug out for her when she noticed Beth's interest in the skirt.

Christina tapped her finger a few times as she gave Beth a once over. "It's missing something." Beth looked down, trying to understand what could be wrong until she came upon her bare feet. When she looked back up, Christina must have gotten the same idea because she started digging through the closet, which only held more boxes of clothes.

After several minutes, she pulled out an old beat up pair of boots and handed them over to Beth. She was starting to find that she really liked Christina's girlfriend, not just for her taste, but also because she happened to be really close to Beth's size in just about everything.

When she was finished, Beth turned to stare into the mirror. To her surprise she could almost see that farmer's daughter peeking out at her, and then Christina came up behind her to drap the jean jacket with the printed wings on the back that she nearly cried over earlier. Now she could see the farmer's daughter turned fighter somewhere between now and then. She grinned at that image, happy to know that she made it. That she wasn't just another dead girl just as a weight settled into her stomach. Her family believed she was dead. They probably either burned her, or left her body somewhere isolated, thinking they would never see her again.

Guilt weighed heavy on her as she thought about her families grief. Maggie's in particular. Loosing their father and then her sister in less than a year wouldn't be easy on her and she could only hope that she had Glenn there to comfort her. That she was with the rest of the group and Daryl. Daryl wouldn't know exactly what to say to her, but he would try. She hoped. She could just imagine him sitting close to her somewhere, spouting off some nonsense about how she'd been strong too. How she'd been a fighter. If that were the case then why couldn't she save herself? Why couldn't she have been there with them instead of here playing dress up some college girl. Anger boiled up inside of her, and she ripped away from Christina's grasp as she turned to focus on packing up what clothes she managed to pick out.

"I gotta go," she said, her tone rougher then she intended as she quickened her pace. Christina's eyebrows drew together as she tried to gauge the sudden change in attitude from the younger liking the look on the woman's face, she rushed out of the room and came back in holding a rather large box that looked to be some sort of hair kit. "We haven't fixed your hair yet."

Beth shook her head, her insides turning as she took another look around the room. Already she was being forced to carry three bags, two for outfits and another for the accessories that Christina had thrown at her in the midst of the chaos. Her excitement at finding some clothes that she actually liked was curbed by the reminder that none of it mattered, and she didn't think she could even fake enough enthusiasm to sit and let someone idly mess with her hair.

"Come on, I'm a trained professional," Christina urged, crossing her fingers in that 'I promise' way.

"I can't. I really gotta go, but thank you all the same," Beth replied, doing her best to plaster a grateful smile on her face. All she really wanted to do was take what clothes she had and run away.

Christina seemed to deflate before her eyes as her arms dropped and she gave a lopsided smile in return. "Well maybe another time."

"Yeah, maybe," Beth whispered, shouldering one of the bags and moving pass Christina. She stopped when she was in front of the girl. "Thanks for the clothes."

"Not a problem, it was a favor for Scud." The woman shrugged her response and Beth nodded. Realizing that it wasn't even because Christina liked her. It was for Scud. The hint of loneliness was catching up to her again, and she nodded instead of responding with words. To scared to think about how her voice would sound as the grief caught up to her. She moved out the door, and made her way out of the house. Christina followed, mumbling another good-bye before closing the door. The audible click rung through Beth's ears and she tried to tell herself it was all in her head. That Christina was a genuinely nice person and it was only because they just met that Beth didn't trust her.

Taking a deep breath, Beth made her way out of the apartment building, and back into the crowded New York streets. She tried not to think about her hostile behavior towards Christina, or the way the girl so easily blew it off. It's not like she really knew the girl and vise versa. Beth needed clothes, and Christina was doing a favor for Scud. Simple. Beth readjusted the strap on her shoulder, not concerned with the weight that the pack held as she thought about that simple favor. Of course the jacket that she had on now was quite nice, as was the outfit that she was currently sporting. Beth grimaced, making a mental note to find away to repay Christina sometime in the future.

When she reached her run down apartment, her eyes took in the gray walls and barely lit hallway, and amended that note to repay the woman after she fixed her own situation. Racing up the stairs she quickly darted into her own apartment just as a surely looking man with a bald head came barreling down the hallway toward her.

"Who are you!" He gripped, shoving a finger into her face. Beth flinched from the movement. Dropping her bag, she leaned against the door way until she held up a key to the apartment. "Names Zelda. I'm Scuds...Josh's cousin." She amended when she noticed his frown at Scud's name.

"There's only room for one of you in that apartment," he growled out, his hand balling into a fists. Beth glanced at the door and then back to the man to reply, "I know. It's only temporary until I can get my own place."

'Besides, its not like he stays here anyways,' she thought biting on the inside of her lip.

The man narrowed his gaze at her and then waved a hand. "His never here anyways," he said, voicing her own thoughts. Beth almost laughed at his words but decided it was best to remain quiet as he continued staring her down.

"Don't cause any trouble and make sure that good fer nuthin cousin of yours pay the rent and we won't have any problems," he said, dismissing her almost as quickly as he stumbled upon her. Beth nodded her head, keeping her eyes averted as he disappeared down the staircase. Letting out a breath she didn't even know she'd been holding, she turned to unlock the door and noticed the man Scud called Mac peeking out at her. He gave a smirk and a slight wink before disappearing into his own place and Beth smiled at the motion.

'Maybe it won't be so bad here,' she thought, dumping her stuff onto the beaten couch. She looked over the small place as she sat down on the sofa. Her eyes roamed over the room. Noting the small kitchen and stinking furniture. It wasn't the best, but it had potential. She had a job interview in the morning, and thanks to the papers that Scud managed to scrounge up, a way to make an honest living in the city. Not to mention the pile of clothes that she would have to put away at some point. Smiling, Beth grabbed the keys off the coffee table and made her way back out the door.

This time the hall way was silent as she moved through it and it wasn't until she hit the street that she stopped to really think about what she was going to do.

Stopping the nearest person on the street to her she asked, "hey, where's the nearest Krispy Kreme?" The man gave her an odd look, but otherwise pointed up the street and answered with some simple directions. Beth smiled at him as she mumbled a quick thanks before heading off in that direction.

The lady behind the counter didn't look too pleased with having been disturbed from her novel, but Beth gave her another gracious smile as she took the box of donuts from her. When she rounded the corner of the warehouse, she stopped long enough to note the door was locked. Thinking back to when Scud took her out, Beth moved to punch the numbers in a sequence she remembered Scud using and was rewarded with a green light.

Pressing in, she stopped at the door way to see where Scud was. She couldn't see him because of the tall shelves and impossible amount of junk that was stored inside, but she could hear his voice carrying from somewhere in the depths of the place so Beth made her way through the aisles. Only half paying attention to what was inside the place now.

As she neared the back she could make out his words. He was talking to someone named Chris, rather that person was here or not was another matter. Beth didn't hear a reply to his words, but as she drew nearer leaving her to believe he was speaking on the phone. As she drew nearer to his position, her thought was confirmed when she rounded the corner. He stood in front of a set of computer screens. Lighting a cigarette, he listened to the other person with a hint of frustration growing across his face.

"I called in a favor to help the girl. I didn't ask you to play scout," he said, his voice raising slightly until he looked up at the balcony. Beth followed his gaze and noticed the door to Blade's room shut, but Scud still lowered his voice as he continued. "Besides, I already told them I got this. I don't need anyone's help."

Beth froze in her steps. She was still hidden behind a rather large shelf and she pushed herself up against it to keep from being seen as she took in his words. Fear driving through her for the first time as she started wondering just what Scud meant by all that.

"I already told you no. Besides I barely know the girl. She'd be more of a liability than actual help." Beth frowned at that. She didn't know exactly what Scud was into, but she would be all for helping him. Especially after everything that he'd done for her lately. Commotion caused both of them to pause from the upstairs, and Beth crouched further down on the floor, hoping to stay out of either one of their sights as Blades bedroom door open. Scud silenced the person on the phone as Blade walked across the catwalk. Pausing for a moment to sniff the air, his eyes roamed the bottom floor before continuing across the way to another room.

When he was gone, Beth used the shelves to pull herself back up, and was met face to face with Scud who had a cigarette hanging from his lips and a wide eyed stare on his face. Beth opened her mouth to say something. Make some kind of explanation why she was ease dropping when he held up his finger to her lips to let her know to be quiet while the person on the other end was still talking. Scud turned away from her rubbing at his temple as he said, "Look, if I ever get in the kind of position where I need help, I will pick the person that helps me. That's it. That's my final decision."

He hung up the phone, no quick good-bye, or warning and turned back to Beth. Her eyes traveled from the phone to him in a silent question. Looking to the phone, he stalked back to his computer station.

"What are you doing here?"

Beth swallowed the lump that formed in her throat the first time she tried to explain herself. She wasn't sure if she should be happy that he was ignoring the fact that she overheard his conversation, or pushing to ask him what they thought he needed help with. For the moment, Beth kept to Scud's plans and moved to stand next to him at the desk with the box of Krispy Kremes held up for his inspection.

"Wanted to say thank you, for everything." A smile spread across her face as Scud looked from the box to her, his frowning deepening before he took the box and opened it up. A wicked smile spread across his face for a moment before he dropped the food on the table and wrapped an arm around Beth's shoulders.

"No need to thank me," Scud replied, squeezing her shoulders for an instant before releasing her to sit down at the desk. "It's what any descent human being would do."

Beth rolled her eyes as she thought about all the 'descent humans' she'd met lately. "Yeah, haven't met a whole-lot of those lately," she said, pulling herself up on the desk next to the monitors. It was then she noticed that some of them were showing video feeds from various street cameras. One looked to be an all night club, the other was a street corner and the last one was just a website where a scroll of numbers was flashing across the screen like it was looking for the correct code to access it.

"What is all this?" she asked, pointing toward the screens as she looked at Scud. Already his smoke lay forgotten on the edge of the table as he sat back in his chair eating one of the donuts. He looked from the monitors back to his donut and shrugged. "Just some surveillance and research."

"For what?" Beth asked, leaning closer to the monitor to look at a guy that just walked up to the club. The man stopped in front of the door for a moment, looked from one side to the other before knocking on it and waiting. When the door opened a broad looking man with arms the size of Beth's head stood in the doorway bearing down on the man. They seemed to be talking for a moment before the broad man stepped aside and the man rushed past.

"Vampires," Scud replied, acting like the interaction on the camera wasn't all that interesting. "We're searching for a specific one but so far he doesn't seem to get out too much."

Beth looked from the video feed to the website with the numbers still scrolling across the screen. She read the top of the screen, surprised to find it was some medicine company here in New York. She looked at Scud with an eyebrow raised in question. His gaze passed over the screen to her, and he shrugged in response.

"Like I said, research."

Beth sat back, her legs dangling off the edge of the table as she continued looking at the screens. A few of the numbers locked on the medical website, but this didn't seem to phase Scud. He finished his snack and took up his smoke, taking his time to light it and inhale. When he released the smoke he held it out to her. Beth denied the offer, her interest still lingering on the screens.

"Where's the video feeds coming from?"

"Street Cameras." Again his voice showed no concern for the answer and Beth gave him another appreciative stare. He was definitely not one to follow the rules. Living his life however he wanted and unconcerned about the consequences. It only showed her more similarities to another man she knew not that long ago. For a moment she found herself frowning at him, not for the first time wondering why she was sent back here with him. Why not someone she actually knew instead of a complete stranger.

Scud leaned forward when the computer started beeping and smile spread across his face. "gotcha" he muttered.
Beth's jaw dropped as his fingers whizzed across the keyboard. One page opened after another, Scud didn't linger on any of them as they flashed before his eyes and it wasn't long before a spread sheet appeared on his screen with names and addresses listed on them. "oh yeah," he muttered as he printed the page out. It took a moment for the printer to work, Scud sat there tapping his foot waiting for the machine to finish up before he ripped the paper out and raced up the stairs to pound on Blade's door.

"Hey, B! I got an address."

Blade exited the room and taking the paper from Scud's hands as soon as the words were out Without a word, he went back into the room and came out a few minutes later armed to the teeth with various weapons. Scud was on his heels as they raced down the stairs together with Beth staring at them trying to understand what was going on. When Scud picked up a set of keys Beth jumped from the table.

"Where are you going?" she asked, coming to stand next to him as he grabbed a bag that looked to be full of more automatic guns, grenades and the like.

Scud motioned toward the monitor. "Gonna get our man," he said, smiling like it was the best news in the world. Beth looked from the monitor to Blade who was doing a double take on his weapons while they talked.

"And then what?"

"Then we talk to him," replied Blade before focusing on Scud. "Let's move."

Beth moved to follow, but Scud held up his hands. "Oh no. Stay here. Better yet. Go home."

Beth scowled at him, her head cocking to the side as she motioned toward the monitors. "I can help. I helped last time."

"You got lucky last time," Blade piped in, glaring at her. His harsh words sent her reeling and that bit of steel that she was learning to bite back with took over as she met his stare with a glare of her own.

"I can take care of myself. I swear. I may look weak and innocent but that's the best part. People underestimate me."

Scud's mouth turned to a tight straight line, refusal written all over his face just as Blade was looking her over. Beth sat there holding her breath. Ready for them to say no and attempt to send her packing. Not that she was going to let that happen this time. She was tired of sitting around, and judging by the look on Scud's face he was starting to figure that out.

Just as Scud opened his mouth with a plan to lock her up in the apartment, Blade broke the silence and said, "she looks like a country bumpkin."

Beth frowned, half cause of his description of her, and half because she didn't think the words 'country bumpkin' sounded right coming from Blades mouth. Looking down, she took in the jean skirt and pink blouse that she donned before running away from Christina's apartment and realized he was half right.

"Exactly, they'd eat you up in less than a minute," Scud replied as he climbed into the back of his van. Beth could see him rustling around in the back, and she assumed it was so that he could check on his equipment. Her eyes fell on Blade and noticed the quiet assessment he was giving her as he looked her up and down for a second time.

"She knows how to hit a target," Blade mused, still staring at her. Beth's smile widened as she realized she was winning Blade over with little to no argument coming from her. "And Price likes his young ladies."

Scud stuck his head out of the van, giving her a once over himself before turning to Blade with a frown on his face. "You're not thinking about sending her in there as bait are ya, B?"

Blade shook his head, that wicked smile spreading even wider as he placed his dark glasses on. "Not bait. A distraction."

Scud gave her one more glance before shaking his head and jumping from the back of his van. Beth couldn't hide the smile that spread across her face. The small victory was more than she hoped for.


I know this chapter is a bit slow. Just wanted to show Beth's adjustment back into normal society, and explore how people might take her. Christina is an original character obviously. There's a few of those in here. Also hope your liking how Scud/Daryl is coming along. I know it's seems to be taking Beth a while to put two and two together but there's a reason for that. I swear. Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter and stick around for Beth being used as a distraction.