I am thrilled beyond words for the turn out that this fic has gotten. This is the first time I have actually gone all the way back to season 1. Just a little FYI, I have made Beth a little bit older than what she was on the show. For my fic, she is already going to be 18. I hope you all continue to like this. Sorry there is not too much Bethyl in this chapter, but after this one, there will be TONS more!
The group had been gone for a few hours when the ladies, minus Lori, were washing clothes down by the water. Beth took her mind off of Daryl being gone by listening to them talk, smiling along and even joining in a few times. She smiled brightly when they asked her what she missed most about the old world.
"Pizza. A nice, hot pizza with the cheese melting all down the sides" she said with a sigh, causing the other ladies to giggle. Amy, the one closest to her age, nodded in agreement as she added that she missed her phone, and texting.
Beth felt her cheeks get a little red when Andrea said she missed her vibrator, and when Carol added that she did too, they all started laughing. Beth watched as the older woman smiled, something she never really saw her do. Beth wasn't stupid, she knew that Carol's husband Ed was not a good person. She had seen the bruises on Carol, and the look of fear in their daughter Sophia's eyes.
"What's so funny?" Ed's voice called over to them all, Carol instantly freezing up, the joy in her eyes vanishing as she focused back on her wash. Beth silently prayed that he would just leave them alone, but of course that was not the kind of man Ed was. He saw a bunch of woman sitting around and he wanted to try to push his weight around. Before Beth knew what was happening, Andrea was in his face, telling him that Carol could do what she wanted and that he couldn't hurt her anymore. Ed started calling Andrea names and grabbed Carol by the arm, causing all the other women to stand up. As they did, Ed backhanded Carol, and in an instant all of them were lunging for him. Next thing she knows, she feels hands on her arms and she is being pushed roughly to the ground, as she hears Ed growl out to her, calling her a "stupid slut"
Before anybody else can do anything, Shane is there and he has pulled Ed away and is pummeling his face in. Hit after hit, the sound of bones breaking under his fists and Beth can hear him growl at him, telling him that if he ever touches any member of the group again, he would not hesitate to kill him. Beth watches as Carol cries helplessly for the asshole that is her husband as Shane finally stops beating him and storms off. She shakes her head at Carol, watching her rush to Ed, crying over the guy that had just hurt them. She rubs her back, already starting to feel the bruise that is forming from where she hit the ground and decides she will go and try to take a nap. Hopefully by the time she wakes up, Daryl will be back with the group and he would have found Merle.
Beth woke up a little later and slowly climbed out of the RV. She saw everybody sitting around, fawning over Amy and Andrea and the huge stack of fish they had caught. She looked around, instantly noticing that the group was not back yet and a frown formed on her lips. Hopefully they had not run into trouble. She saw Carl was looking a little worried as he sat beside of Lori, who had her eyes narrowed at Shane.
"How are you feeling Beth?" Andrea asked her, concern written all over her face. Beth smiled up at her, there were times that she reminded her a lot of her sister Maggie.
"I'm fine, a little sore but I will be ok" she replied as she sat down beside of Carl, throwing him a small smile. The boy smiled back and then leaned into his mom.
"I'm gunna go clean these up, so we can fry them. You two want to help?" Shane asked as he took the fish from Andrea and Amy and looked at Carl and Sophia. They both nodded eagerly and raced off after him. They all chuckled as they watched them happily talk about skinning fish.
"Um Beth, can I ask you something?" Lori asked, clearing her throat and shifting just a little.
"Sure, what's up?" she asked, curious as to what she wanted to ask her.
"Is there something going on between you and Daryl Dixon?" Lori questioned, her eyes finally focusing on Beth's.
"What do you mean something going on?" she asked her, her eyes narrowing just a little bit.
"Has he tried offering you something? You know that him and his brother are not good people and you defended them today. I am just worried that you might be being manipulated by him" the brunette explained, but her explanation just infuriated Beth.
"First, Daryl didn't offer me anything. He has just been a nice guy to me. And his brother might not been a great person, but none of you have ever even bothered to get to know Daryl. Just from the few conversations I have had with him, he has been nothing but nice to me. He has not manipulated me at all, and everything nice he has done for me he has not asked for anything in return. NOTHING at all!" She wanted to emphases the last part because she knew what Lori was implying and it pissed her off that she thought Daryl was like that and that she was that easily manipulated.
"I'm gunna go and lay back down, my back still hurts" Beth grumbled out, suddenly not wanting to be around the other ladies.
"We will wake you when the food is ready, Beth" Amy called, throwing her a sympathetic smile as she walked by. Beth smiled back and nodded her thanks as she made her way back into the RV.
That night, the earlier discussion was forgotten and everybody was sitting around, enjoying their fish when suddenly they heard Amy scream. All of them jumped up in time to see a walker taking a bite out of Amy's arm. Andrea went running toward her as a few more walkers scrambled toward their group. Shane pulled all of them behind him. Beth decided to take up the rear and pulled out the gun that Daryl had given her. She thought back to all of the gun training her Dad and brother Shawn had given her and remembered that it was a head shot that would take the walkers down. She fired as she saw a walker get close to Carol and Sophia, the older woman looking panicked for a moment, relief washing over her face when she saw the walker fall to Beth's gun. Shane threw her a look quickly, one that she took to read 'were the hell did you get that'
But there was no time to discuss that right now as the walkers kept coming out of everywhere. She saw a few of the members of her group fall to them, as they struggled to get closer and closer to the RV. As she fired her last shot, she slid the gun back into her pants and went to grab her knife, just that little bit of time led to a walker being able to walk up on her. As she felt slimy hands grab her arms, she started trying to shake it off as it overpowered her and caused her to trip over a tree root and stumble to the ground. She pushed and pushed, but closed her eyes as the decaying face started to come down on her. As she said a silent prayer to say her goodbyes, she felt the weight of the walker instantly gone from on top of her and she felt an arm pulling her up. As she opened her eyes, she was met with the striking blue eyes of the archer, eyeing her all over as he gasped for breath.
"Are ya bit?" He growled out, his eyes still traveling over her, searching for anything wrong. Beth just shook her head and before she could stop herself, or second guess what she was doing, she flung herself at him. Wrapping her arms around his waist, clutching him for dear life. She felt him tense for a moment and then sigh into her hair as his hand came up to rest on her elbow. All around them, the walkers were quickly being put down.
"Thank you for saving me Daryl" she breathed out as she looked up at him. He nodded to her, his eyes still locked onto hers. She could see the sadness in them, instantly knowing that the trip didn't go well. But before she could ask, she heard the sound of sobbing. She turned her head to see Andrea, leaning over Amy's body. She saw the girl's bloody hand reach up and gently stroke Andrea's face and then fall down. Beth gasped at the sight as her heart broke for Amy and Andrea. The tears started falling, the only thing comforting her at the moment was the feel of the strong arms that gripped her a little tighter.