A quiet night for Daryl and Elizabeth


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With the rest of the group sleeping, Rick, Lori and Daryl sat around the fire that night, no one willing to bring up what had happened. Rick stared at Elizabeth as she slept on the ground beside Daryl, her head on his lap. Daryl watched the flames dance in the make-shift fire pit. Elizabeth shifted beside him and he looked down at the pained expression on her face.

"She's having a nightmare." Lori said. "She had one while you were in the prison too. Kept asking for you." She whispered, trying not to wake up the others in the group.

Daryl nodded lightly and went back to watching the fire. Picking up a stick, he poked at the coals and let out a heavy sigh. He could feel Rick's eyes on him and knew it was only a matter of time before he started asking questions. Rick glanced at Lori, who met his gaze for just a second before looking back at the fire. Rick licked his lips and sighed, looking over at the walkers clawing at the fences around them.

"Alright, I guess I'll be the one to ask," he said, looking across the fire at Daryl. "Who is she?"

Daryl looked at him for a moment before staring into the coals. "I told you who she was."

"No, you gave me a name. Who is she Daryl?"

"Someone I knew a long time ago. Drop it."

Rick glared at him. "I will not fucking drop it." He said, nearly shouting. Elizabeth shifted and Lori shushed him. "Who is she?" He repeated, now whispering again.

"What does it matter?" Daryl glared back.

"What does it matter? You killed three men for her." Rick ground out through clenched teeth. "Who. Is. She?"

"A friend." He replied shortly with dark eyes.

Rick sighed and ran a hand over his face. "Look, Daryl, I know you're a private person. You like to keep your past to yourself and I get that, I do. But if she's going to stay, I need to know how you know each other."

"Man, can't we talk about this later?"

"No. You need to tell me now or she leaves tomorrow morning."

Daryl glared at Rick through his bangs and licked his lips. "She lived down the road when I was growing up. Her dads actually the one who taught me how to hunt and track. He even gave me my crossbow." He said, looking over at where his crossbow was laying. "When she was 17 she went out with Merle for a few weeks. She was just a kid then but Merle didn't let a 7 year difference in age stop him from trying to screw her." Daryl rubbed his face with his hands and let out a deep breath. "I was coming back from a hunt one night and I ran into her in the woods. She just…she acted as if something was chasing her but there was nothing around. Wouldn't let me get too close. Ran off before I could get her to talk to me more. When I got home Merle was all doped up on something. You know how he is with that shit." Daryl poked at the coals with his stick and took a deep breath before continuing. "He couldn't stop laughing. When I asked what happened he said that he was just trying to show her a good time and she got pissed and ran off."

Rick licked his lips and sighed. "He drugged her."

Daryl nodded, looking down at Elizabeth. "I tracked her down after he told me. He thought it was funny as hell." He said with disgust. "I found her a couple miles into the woods. She was too scared to move. Whatever he drugged her with had already set in. It was too dangerous to walk around the woods at night with a girl whose hallucinating, so I stayed with her. All night. Started a fire to keep her warm. She hallucinated the entire time. She didn't think I was real for the first couple of hours, but she got through it."

"Is she going to be a problem? Is she dangerous?"

Daryl's head shot up and he caught Rick's eyes across the fire. "No. Not at all." Rick held his gaze before nodding and staring into the fire.

Lori kept her eyes on Daryl throughout his entire story. Looking down at Elizabeth then back to Daryl, she felt her heart breaking for him. "You loved her." She whispered. Rick looked at Lori, having forgot she was still awake, then looked at Daryl for his reaction. "She's not just some girl you grew up with. You killed three people for her."

Daryl stopped poking the coals and stared at Lori a moment, before shoving the stick into the ground. He gently moved Elizabeth's head from his lap and stood up. "I'm done talking."

"You loved her and Merle was the one who got her…" Lori trailed off, still not taking her watery eyes off him.

"Where are you going?" Rick asked as he started to walk away from them.

"I have to take a piss. That okay with you?" He snapped back and disappeared into the dark.


Elizabeth opened her eyes slowly. It was still dark and embers burned low in the fire pit in front of her. Sitting up, she winced and held a hand to her ribs. A log was thrown onto the embers sending bits of flaming ash into the air before going out. She moved backwards, instinctively grabbing at the ax leaning against the wood pile.

"Really gonna use that on me?" Came a familiar southern accent. "Everyone else is sleeping." Daryl walked over to Elizabeth and took the ax from her, offering her his other hand. She stared at him a moment before he furrowed his brow and crouched down beside her. "You still remember who I am, right? You didn't forget or nothing?"

A small smile touched her lips and she nodded. He offered her his hand again and her smile faltered. Biting her lip, she nervously reached up and placed her hand in his. Standing up with her, he couldn't tear himself away from the pain he saw in her eyes. Finally realizing he was staring at her and still holding her hand, he cleared his throat and let go of her hand. He licked his lips and took a step back before holding his arm out towards the fire for her.

"Are you hungry?" He asked, walking back over to the fire. She followed him slowly, sitting down across from him. Daryl reached over and picked up a bowl off the ground. Standing up again, he moved to sit beside her, holding the bowl out for her to take. "Its rabbit, I hope you don't mind."

Elizabeth stared at him and licked her lips. "You…you f-find me t-tied t-to a b-bed, n-naked and b-beat and you…you a-ask me if I'm hu-hungry?" She stuttered.

Daryl looked down at the bowl in his hand, holding back all he wanted to say. She's afraid. He thought to himself. Picking at the cooked rabbit meat, he took a small piece between his index and thumb, holding it above the bowl and shaking away loose pieces of meat. "I thought it would be better than making you talk about it." He said and ate the small amount of food between his fingers. He held out the bowl again, looking her in the eye. "I'm not gonna push you."

She held his gaze, feeling like she was in a trance. Reaching out, she gently took the bowl from him and he turned to look at the fire, poking it with a stick, sending embers into the air again. They sat there in silence, listening to the cracking of the wood and the distant groans of walkers before he spoke again.

"You should eat." he said, not looking away from the fire.

Elizabeth watched him, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. He sat with his forearms resting on his knees, the light from the fire dancing with the shadows on his wry face. She could tell he was hiding his emotions; She could see the anger; The sorrow; the confusion. And something she couldn't quite put her finger on. She reached out slowly, rubbing his forearm with a small hand. He looked over at her with questioning eyes.

"Thank you."

Daryl stared at her before nodded slightly and turning back to the fire. She leaned over, resting her head on his shoulder. She felt him crane his neck to see her before his hand reached up, brushing some hair out of her face. He returned to the fire, poking it with his stick. Taking a few bites of the rabbit, she held the bowl out for him but he shook his head.

"You need to eat."

"And you d-don't?"

Sighing lightly, he took a small amount between his fingers again and they ate in silence until the bowl was empty. He felt her shiver beside him as the wind blew and the temperature continued to drop. She lifted her head as he pulled away a little. Pulling off his jacket, he draped it around her small form. Seeing the appreciation in her eyes, he gave her a quick smile and swallowed the lump in his throat.

"You should get some more sleep. We're moving into a cell block tomorrow."