He thinks of her when the gun goes off. He can't help it. He wonders if there is a heaven after all. If there's some sort of reward for all this bullshit.
He remembers how much Hershel Greene had believed. He'd say God never promised an easy life, only that it would somehow be worth it. That in the end, the good Lord would reward us for our humanity. That we had to hold on to what was good and protect the ones we loved in the meantime. Maybe that's why the old man smiled in the face of death.
He doesn't want any reward though. Knows he doesn't deserve it. He just hopes if there is an afterlife, he can see her again one last time. That's the only thing he's ever really wanted.
The familiar ping of guilt - such an old and loyal friend - creeps into his heart when he peers up at his executioner. Leah's face is only hard and determined behind the pointed gun. Determined to punish him for his sins. Punish him for only having left a splintered soul. Punish him for already giving his heart away years ago.
And she's done with his shit. She is going to shoot him point blank and not blink an eye. He almost doesn't blame her. At least this way, he won't turn.
But the woman doesn't understand she's actually committing an act of kindness. That he's like an old arthritic hunting dog. Just a shell of who he used to be. Sure, he thinks of Judith and RJ and Lydia and Carol, and Michonne - wherever she might be. But Maggie's back. And those Greenes' always had a way of knowing how to take care of things. His family and friends are in good hands. Maybe it's just time for someone to put him down? To finally put him out of his misery.
He just prays that he ends up wherever she might be. He hopes that she waited for him.
But Leah isn't kind. Never was, he supposed. She wants to make him suffer first. She spews something as she slaps him. First with her hand. Then her fist. Then her gun. Something about betrayal. Something about loyalty. Something about love and he wonders what the fuck she knows about any of it.
Because Leah was wrong. They were not alike.
Because Daryl knows exactly what it feels like to be truly loved. She hadn't ever experienced that and probably never would. He was sure she didn't even know what it was.
And that made him feel bad for her. He wishes he could have given her that. They were different not because he deserved it more, but only because he happened upon better luck. He had somehow managed to meet Beth Greene. Or perhaps, it was a blessing bestowed upon him by God?
Regardless, it was also the reason he couldn't ever love Leah the way she had wanted him to. Because it was impossible for him to love her like that. His heart had died long before he ever met her. He had left it in a trunk somewhere back in Georgia.
She continues wailing on him but he doesn't care. He's used to this. Built for it in fact. Been hit on this way his entire life. And he refuses to try to strike her back. He'll just wait it out until she kills him. His people are safe now and all the fight in him is gone.
But suddenly Leah is no longer there. She's been ripped away. All he can make out through his swollen and blood streaked eyes is flashes of pale skin, black fabric, gray and blonde hair.
"Get off of him, you nasty whore!"
It's a familiar voice that he immediately recognizes. A voice he's heard years before and could never forget. A voice that he's sure has been conjured up in his imagination. A voice that is impossible. A voice that is incredibly angry and saying words he never thought he'd ever hear it say.
There's cursing, shuffling, and grunting. The sounds of a struggle. Someone...maybe both...hit the dirt.
"You...him? How do you know him?"
"Think about who you were sent to find? Dr. Dixon? Isn't that quite the coincidence? It's funny how Pope apparently made the connection but you never did!"
'The fuck?'
But before he can process, he hears Leah gasp in surprise but it's short-lived and is quickly followed by the sound of a smack. More shuffling occurs before the gunshot rings out and everything suddenly falls eerily quiet.
Stunned with shock and aided by his rapidly beating heart pumping adrenaline through his veins, he pushes himself up onto his shaky forearms, struggling to see - to confirm - who the voice belongs to.
And suddenly, Daryl Dixon realizes that he didn't make it after all. It's when he realizes that Hershel Greene was right and there was not just an afterlife but also a God who dished out rewards to the unworthy.
Because there in front of him, straddling Leah and plunging a knife into her skull like some mythical warrior goddess, was his own Beth Greene.
"Stupid bitch," she mutters dangerously, so quiet that it almost sounds like a whisper in the wind. But she doesn't dwell, instead quickly jumping up and turning towards him in urgency.
It is then that they lock eyes.
It causes him to lose his breath and her to seemingly pause with emotion. Extreme relief transitions into deep concern, before the briefest flash of joy shines from deep within her. But then as quickly as all that passes, her blue irises turn to pure ice and her pupils narrow.
She's now marching over towards him, angrily. His Beth is mad. Scratch that, by the way she just took off that walker's head, he'd say she is downright pissed. The daggers shooting from her makes it clear she is unhappy with him.
Daryl doesn't care though. He'll take Beth anyway he can get her. Maybe her anger is punishment for all that bad shit Merle and him got away with. But it's still an undeserving reward dished out from a merciful God. He's okay with Beth Greene stomping the shit out of him for eternity if that was the only way he can keep her.
