Note: I'm sorry for not updating this story for, like, a month. I'm actually kind of ashamed of myself. I've been so wrapped up in Endurance that I lost my way on this one... I hope you're still hanging in there and I'm going to do my best to update more frequently here!


A Sharp Intake Of Breath (And A Memory Forgotten)

Chapter 7

Beth sighed, looking at the empty road ahead of them. They were looking for cars to try and siphon gas from, but so far, they hadn't been able to see a single one. She had been driving for a couple of hours, stopping at every gas stop, just to try their luck, only to come up empty.

"We passed into Virginia a coupl'a days ago," Daryl pointed out, looking over the maps. "Maybe we should take one of the highways instead?"

"We can't risk getting stuck on a road," Beth stated. "People who tried to run during the Outbreak probably took the highway and sure, there's bound to be a lot of cars there, but we can't risk it like that."

"Hm…" Daryl hummed.

"What?" Beth sighed, knowing that there was something on his mind.

"Maybe we should just turn around an' go back," he said.

"To the farm, you mean?" Beth asked.

"Yeah," Daryl said, putting away the maps. "The radios no longer work, we're startin' to run out of gas… Could be a sign. We know how to read 'em, Beth."

Beth could feel his eyes on her, but she knew that she wanted to keep going for just a little longer. They had two more tanks of gas and she knew that he was afraid that it wouldn't be enough for them to get back home. Well, to be honest, it probably wouldn't be, though she had to believe that they would find more. A feeling in her gut made her not want to give up yet.

She didn't reply to his statement. She only kept her eyes on the road and continued to drive.

-§-

Daryl chewed on the pad of his thumb, not looking towards Beth as she kept driving them forward. He refrained from sighing to himself because he knew that she was going to be stubborn about all of this.

A couple of days had passed since the incident at the restaurant, although, Daryl still couldn't get the thing out of his head. Having such a close call with Beth again had been frightening and he knew that they hadn't really talked about what had happened. Instead, they had done probably one of the most stupid things they had ever done and just let out all of their emotions through sex.

He hadn't minded it at the time, especially considering how long it had been since he and Beth had been together in that way, but he knew that they should have at least had a conversation afterward about everything that had happened. Admitting that he had been scared of losing her was one thing that he had done that he was actually proud of, tough, it wasn't as if Beth didn't already know that.

One of his main problems with their emotionally fueled coupling was that neither of them had thought to stop for a moment to use protection and he hadn't even pulled out. When they had been cleaning up and getting dressed again, Beth had simply told him that it was okay because she hadn't had her period in a good while and that she was assuming that they were safe. Instead of dwelling on it, Daryl had decided to accept what she was saying, but a part of him remained unsure.

That same part of him wanted them to turn around and start heading back to the farm. They were running out of gas and there were no cars in sight to siphon from. Back at the restaurant, Beth had lost her throwing knives and he had lost a couple of bolts, which meant that they didn't have as many weapons as they had had when they had set out on their journey. That made the whole trip even more dangerous and from what Daryl could tell from the maps, they were coming closer and closer to Washington DC, which he wanted to avoid more than anything.

Big cities meant a lot of walkers, which naturally meant more danger. He wanted to keep Beth and himself as far away from that as possible. He glanced toward his girl, observing her face as she focused on the road. He loved her so much and he wished that she would just see where he was coming from. There was no way that he could handle another close call with her; it would break him, no doubt.

Beth began breaking and Daryl looked ahead, seeing a couple of cars on the side of the road, which was surrounded by a small forest on one side and a lake one the other. He figured that it was her silent way of telling him that they were stopping to try and siphon, but Daryl doubted they would find anything in the cars.

Half an hour later, Daryl threw the tube back into the pickup, slamming the cover that Eugene had made them down loudly. He let his hands rest flat on the car, bowing his head as he took a couple of calming breaths.

"We're gonna run out of gas, Beth," he said, his voice low. "Ain't nothin' for miles but Washington an' we can't risk goin' there."

"Daryl, we talked about this–"

"No, Beth," Daryl pushed away from the truck, turning to look at her. "You talked an' I listened. Ya didn't even wanna hear me out, girl. That ain't us."

"Maybe we'll find something along the way, Daryl," Beth said. "Should we really risk that?"

"We can't be riskin' our lives on the slim chance that there might be some place better than our farm out there," he returned. "Being close to big cities ain't safe."

"If you're worried about DC, I've actually been thinkin' about it," Beth told him. "I know that it's a risk but maybe the walkers in there have gone out of the city, looking for food? I mean, the cities are ruined and the people who survived the initial Outbreak are most likely out there somewhere in the wild, like us."

"Beth, are ya even hearing yourself?" Daryl snapped. "We're not goin' any further. We got two damn tanks of gas left an' that'll be enough for a couple of hundred miles. We need to find more fuel or we're gonna be walkin' back to the farm!"

"You don't have to yell!" Beth said loudly, her eyes narrowing at him.

"I ain't gonna let you keep makin' the shots like this, Beth!" Daryl growled at her, closing the distance between them as he stood with his chest pressed to hers because the blonde just wouldn't back down. "I should'a made the call to go back when ya got sick! There was no reason for us to keep goin' an' if we'd just gone back, the shit at the restaurant might never have happened!"

"Is that what all of this is about?" Beth glared at him. "Is this about what happened in the restaurant?"

"It's 'bout everythin' that lead up to it," Daryl answered, his voice once again dangerously low as he glared back at her.

"Why don't you think I can handle myself?" Beth frowned at him, taking a step back this time. "I did it in the restaurant well enough."

"Well enough might not cut it next time, Beth," Daryl said. "That's why I ain't riskin' it."

"I've survived everythin' that you've survived too, Daryl," Beth argued. "I've been shot in the head and I survived, gone through a Winter alone with Morgan. Everything that you've gone through, I have too, one way or another. We're equals here!" She yelled the last part at him and he flinched when her voice cracked. "You aren't supposed to be my chaperone, you're supposed to be my partner, Daryl!"

Daryl watched as Beth turned her back to him and walked off into the woods. He wanted to reach out to her and stop her but he knew that she needed a moment to cool down. Hell, he needed it too. He knew that what he was doing wasn't exactly right; they should be making the calls together. Daryl was wrong in treating Beth the way he was but at the same time, he was very well aware of the fact that she was making decisions that were too risky for them. There was no way that he was just going to shut up about it. At times, he could be fairly explosive when it came to his emotions for the woman and he knew that he wasn't the best at keeping his anger at bay. He should have approached her in a calmer manner and he shouldn't have lost it the way he had, but damn it, his fear of losing her had gotten in the way of rational thinking again.

He needed to talk to her and apologize for letting the fear take over again, that much he was sure of. Once he did, he hoped he would be able to talk to her calmly about the issue and maybe they would be able to resolve it. There was no way that Beth didn't see any sense in his words, but he couldn't understand why she was so adamant to keep going. She believed that there might be something out there that would help them, although no matter how optimistic Beth was, Daryl just couldn't see it at the moment. All he could think about was how much they were risking their lives and how stupid this entire road-trip idea had been. Why had he agreed to go alone with Beth? He knew that there was a safety in numbers and if they had been more than two people at that damned restaurant, they would have been able to handle the situation a lot better.

Daryl sighed to himself and once again rested his hands on the truck, taking a few deep breaths. He heard a rustle from behind him and he raised his head, expecting to see Beth come back out of the small forest. However, the sound quieted and he instantly reached for his crossbow when he began feeling as if he was being watched. Staying quiet for a moment, he listened intently, but he could hear no moans that indicated that there were any walkers close by. It was eerie quiet, which only bothered him more. He would give Beth half an hour and then he would go after her. There was no way in hell that they would be staying in the middle of the road like this for too long.

-§-

Beth was fuming. In fact, she was pretty certain that if she would have been in a cartoon movie, she would have steam coming out of her ears and her face would most likely be all comically red. She couldn't believe that Daryl was once again trying to make all the decisions on his own. He had been close to doing it back at the cabin, when Beth had gotten sick, but Beth had believed that they had passed that stage where he would make those kinds of calls just because he was afraid.

On some level, she understood his fear of losing her because she was just as scared to lose him. She loved him so much and most of the time she didn't even want to think about how he must have felt during those seven months when they had been apart. Back then, from what Daryl had told her, he had loved her on some level. Beth hadn't had any memories of him which meant that she had gotten away with not feeling the pain of losing someone she had loved, though Daryl had been forced with living with that pain.

Beth stopped walking, coming to an abrupt stop before lowering herself down to sit on a log. She swallowed thickly as she felt tears stinging in her eyes because she knew that it wasn't all Daryl's fault that they had had an argument. She was being irrational, thinking that they would find something better somewhere out in the wilderness or closer to Washington DC and she was actually yelling at and fighting with Daryl over the matter. She couldn't blame him for trying to keep them safe – for trying to keep her safe.

Tears began sliding down her cheeks and guilt overcame her. How could she have acted like that toward the man that she loved? How could she yell at him and question everything that the man was about, deep into his very core? She knew Daryl and him wanting to protect her at every cost shouldn't surprise her; she would do anything to keep him safe too, after all.

She didn't understand what was happening with her. Losing her temper like this, being emotional and stressed out as well as her memories coming back more and more over the past few weeks. They were all taking a physical toll on her and she was beginning to think that it had been a mistake to agree to go on this trip. At the time, she had wanted to get away from the farm and be alone with Daryl and she knew that they had responsibilities, but she had expected them to have at least some time to just be with one another.

That quick, emotion-fueled union in the truck after getting out of the damned restaurant had been something that they both had needed but neither of them had thought very rationally at the time. They had been more relaxed afterward, but Beth knew that they hadn't actually talked about what they should do next. They should have talked about it and it was probably her fault that they hadn't.

Standing up, Beth wiped her tears away before beginning to walk back to the road again. She needed to talk to Daryl and tell him that she was sorry for everything and explain to him that she didn't understand why she was being like this. Maybe there was something wrong with her? Perhaps it was a side-affect from being shot in the head and things in her brain starting to right themselves? Or could it be something else?

Beth reached the road and spotted Daryl standing with his crossbow in his hands, looking around suspiciously. Her heart beat in her chest so wildly that she thought it might just jump right out of it and she hurried her steps a little. Daryl saw her approaching and instantly lowered his crossbow, walking towards her. Beth ran the final few meters between them and threw her arms around his neck, pressing her face against his chest as she embraced him tightly.

"Beth, 'm sorry," Daryl said quietly after a moment, as his fingers tangled in her hair and he pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"No, Daryl," Beth shook her head, looking up into his eyes. "I'm sorry for losing it like that. I have no idea why I acted like that. I'm sorry."

Daryl's grip on her hair tightened slightly as he lightly tugged her head back so that he could lower his lips to hers. Beth met him half-way, melting into the kiss he was offering her with enthusiasm. She loved him and he loved her and they were okay together. That was the most important thing right now.

Beth's tongue darted out to trace Daryl's lower lip and she heard him let out a low moan, opening his mouth up to her. She gripped his shirt, pressing her lips to his furiously, trying to show him how sorry she was for saying the things she had said and for acting the way she had acted. Daryl massaged her scalp gently, returning the kiss with equal fervor for a moment longer.

It came to an abrupt stop when Beth's mind registered the sound of a twig snapping somewhere behind her. They pulled apart at the exact same time, Daryl lifting his loaded crossbow in the direction of the woods as Beth swung around to stand by Daryl's side, her hunting knife already out of its sheath.

A man stepped out of the woods, his hands raised above his head. There were no weapons visible on him but Beth tightened her grip on her knife, even though nothing about the man screamed killer.

"Hello," he said, clearing his throat and looking quite awkward for having interrupted their kiss. Beth pressed her lips together, feeling nervousness rolling off of Daryl's body from where he stood. He was ready to attack at any moment, if needed.

When neither Beth nor Daryl said anything, the man approached them slowly, coming to a stop only about three meters away when Daryl raised his crossbow a little higher, indicating that he had come close enough.

"Eh," the man began, shifting awkwardly on his feet, "I mean you no harm. I get it, stranger danger and all that… My name is Aaron."

Beth only kept looking at him, barely breathing, tightening her grip on her knife.


Note: I know it was a short chapter and some of you guessed it a while ago, but yeah, Alexandria is coming up! Aren't you glad that they sort of made up? I felt awful for having them fight, but all couples have their ups and downs! :) Tell me what you thought of the chapter as a whole and what you're hoping to see in the future! :) Much love! xx

P.S. And those of you who haven't checked out my other Bethyl story Endurance, please do so! It's a lot darker than the Blink series but so far it's been getting mainly positive feedback! :)