Hello! I know it has been a very long time since I have updated and I am very sorry about that. Life and writers block and the like, but I won't make anymore excuses. I just hope you enjoy the chapter and let me know what you think! By the way if anyone was wondering, none of the chapter titles have anything to do with the chapters, they're just the last song I happened to listen to. Just to clear up any confusion on that.
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Chapter 7: Here
Daryl runs his hands over his face, sighing deeply. He picks up Noah's map and runs his tired eyes over it briefly. He and Beth had been cruising along the winding road for the past five hours. After they buried the bodies Beth had lapsed into a depressed silence, speaking only when spoken to and insisting on taking care of her wounds.
This went on for several days while Daryl allowed Beth to rest and he packed and re-packed their supplies.
He knew she had been stung by his rejection and he wanted to kick himself too. He told himself repeatedly it was only because he didn't want to take advantage of her but he knew that was bullshit. She was a grown woman and she could make her own decisions. If he was honest with himself, it was because he was scared.
She seemed to slowly be getting her memory back, asking him questions here and there before lapsing back into silence after he confirmed them, with each passing day he feared she'd remember that night in the funeral home, the electricity in the air between them interrupted by walkers and his promise to meet her out front being the last thing he had been able to say to her.
He dreaded the conversation her memory would bring; the questions and accusations. What if he let her in now and her memories came flooding back? She would hate him for letting her get taken; for breaking his promise.
And then there was the uncertainty of his own feelings. He cared for Beth as he cared for the rest of the group but something about her got under his skin in a way he couldn't quite comprehend.
Now he glances sideways at her and she's looking out of the window, one foot propped on the dashboard, the wind blowing her wild curls around her face and shoulders.
She had removed the plaid flannel button up she had put on this morning and only wore a thin tank top and tight jeans. Her facial scars were healing nicely, turning a soft pink and would only be visible if you were looking for them thanks for a paste Alice had given her.
Her head wound was no longer inflamed and the skin began to heal over the metal. Her wild curls always hid the scar and sometimes Daryl forgot it was even there.
He glances at her again and she shifts in the seat, the tank top riding up slightly showing a sliver of her stomach.
Daryl mentally kicks himself and lets out a loud sigh, shaking his head.
Beth turns her attention to him, "What's wrong?"
Her soft voice startles him. It's the first time she has spoken since they let the cabin and before that all he had gotten was a quiet "yes" when he asked her if she had everything.
"Just tired is all…" He mumbles. He had checked the map a dozen times in the past few hours and there wouldn't be a guaranteed safe house for another two hundred miles according to Noah's map. By then they would be close to their destination. Had Daryl been alone he could have made the trip in a day but with all of the complications it had been almost a week since they left Georgia. He wonders if the group is worried; they should be there by now.
The sun is setting and covers every inch of the sky with an orange glow. Daryl thinks about risking veering off the course to see if he could find a cabin for them to stay one more night in. Tomorrow they would arrive at their destination.
He didn't want to pull up to the compound full of people in the middle of the night, especially since he hadn't heard from Rick.
Daryl glances at the gas meter and realizes it's almost empty. Alice had given him two full cans of gas and they only had half a can left. He glances over at Beth and she is biting her nails.
"We should camp out one more night," He says returning his eyes to the road. "I want to come up on the camp in the daylight."
"I thought there wasn't another safe house…"
"There's really no such thing as a safe house, you make one; we'll make one."
She turns her wary gaze toward him and he gives her a half smile.
"I won't let anything happen to you." Again, he adds to himself.
She stares at him for a long time. He continues to glance between her and the road before her eyes finally catch his.
"I know."
He fees a knot in his chest and relief when she releases him from her gaze, not realizing he had been held there in the first place.
He takes a deep breath and runs one hand down his face. Beth doesn't pay any attention to him now; her gaze has returned to the window, staring off into the trees.
He sees a dirt road coming up on the left and makes the decision to turn and follow it for a while. The wheels of the truck kick up dust and Beth's hair blows madly in the wind as she rests her had against the edge of the window.
They drive in silence for about twenty minutes before coming up on a tiny trailer style home. He had lived in one just like it as a kid and it resembles the one he and Beth had spent the night in back before she lost her memories.
The yard is overgrown but had been previously clean and free of clutter. A small rusty bike with a busted tire leans up against the wooden porch leading up to the door. It is an off white with blue framed windows and lattice siding around the base to give it a permanent appearance.
It almost looks normal, if it hadn't been for the three walkers lurching around the yard.
He killed the engine and Beth is out of the truck before he can stop her. In a panic he forgets his cross bow and scrambles out of the truck after her, ripping his knife from his belt.
She holds her own knife, knuckles white, and lunges at the walker closest to them; a small female with a dirty tattered dress and a broken leg.
She misses and the walker topples over her, knocking her to the ground. She screams and kicks at the walker before bringing her knife hand up around and slamming the blade into the walker's skull.
It goes limp and she shoves it off, covered in guts and old blood.
Daryl stays frozen on the spot for half a beat before bolting to her side and skidding to a stop beside her.
She looks at him defiantly and he feels a sudden surge of anger.
"What the fuck was that for?!" He shouts, barely noticing the two walkers heading their way.
"I can take care of myself!" She snarls at him.
"Just because you're all pissed off at me and hurt doesn't mean you can go dong stupid shit," He growls gripping his knife and whirling around to bury it in the next walker's skull. "You're actin' like a fucking spoiled little girl!"
She scrambles to her feet and flies past him knocking the last walker over and slamming the butt of her knife into its skull over and over while it snaps at her from above.
The walker knocks the knife from her grip and reaches for her. This time she is trapped under its weight and her eyes widen in terrified realization.
He is quick and stabs the walker through the back of the skull.
"Goddammit Beth," He growls ripping the walker off of her. "You're a pain in my ass."
She sits up and glares at him, breathing heavily, and covered in gore. He slams his knife into the ground and falls back into the dirt.
Neither of them spoke and her heavy breathing turned into sobs as she swiped some of the blood from her face.
He decides to ignore her, standing up and retrieving his cross bow from the truck before heading to the house.
"Get our shit, I'm going to clear the house." He barks from the porch before kicking the front door open.
Twenty minutes later they had settled in and Daryl is attempting to fix the water pipes in the bathroom. The water would run cold but at least it would be something.
Beth still refuses to speak to him as she pulls clean clothes from her rucksack and then turns to remove two cans of food from a third bag they picked up at the last house.
"Shower's fixed," he grunts throwing down a tool back into the small box he found in the mud room.
"Thanks." She mumbles gathering her things. She walks slowly towards the shower room while Daryl bangs around the kitchen cupboards searching for extra supplies.
She stops in the doorway and turns, placing her hand against the frame.
"I'm sorry for what I did…earlier."
He isn't sure which incident she's apologizing for and just glares at her. She takes a shaky breath and opens her mouth to say something before deciding better and enters the shower room, closing the door behind her firmly.
Beth emerged from the shower room thirty minutes later, shivering but clean.
She grabs a tattered blanket from the sofa and wraps it around herself.
Daryl picks up his towel and a small ziplock bag of hygiene items and walks past her without a word.
In the shower room it is clammy and cold. The tiles feel like ice against his bare feet. The small candle he set on the counter earlier barely provides enough light to see two feet in front of his face but he manages to remove his clothes and step under the flowing icy water.
He hisses and tenses under the brutal cold and is suddenly remained of the night with Beth when he had a to strip her down and bathe her in freezing water only to climb into bed, half naked, to warm her up, the next morning, and her fiery kiss.
If he could get an erection under the freezing water, he would have and then burns with shame at the thought.
He quickly scrubs his body with soap and lathers his hair with a pea sized drop of shampoo. He shuts the water off with a slam of his fist and rubs his body down with the coarse towel, attempting to find some warmth.
He opens the shower room door to the find Beth perched on the floor next to the couch, two cups of steaming hot tea sit on the floor.
"Truce?" She asks gesturing to the floor next to her.
"How'd you get hot tea?" He asks taking a seat.
"There' a wood burning stove in the kitchen," She mumbles, "I started a fire to warm the place up…"
He picks up his mug and inspects it.
"They were already pretty clean, just dusty." Beth wraps both of her hands around her mug and presses her cheek to it.
"I'm wondering if this place is occupied…" Daryl mumbles to himself looking around at the neat and tidy trailer and a shiver of worry radiates down his spine.
"I'm not sure, there's a layer of dust on everything in the kitchen," Beth says pulling her blanket tighter around herself. "Maybe it used to be and they haven't come back…"
"Hope so…" He takes a sip of his tea and it tastes good. He usually isn't a tea drinker but can't help but enjoy the warmth that spreads through him.
"Why do you say that?"
"Well last time we were-"He stops himself, unsure if he wants to trigger this memory.
"Last time we were what?" She presses sipping at her tea.
Goddammit
He takes a large swig of his tea and it burns going down his throat.
"We were in a funeral home…" He starts, rubbing his hand down his face. "It was clean and we knew it was occupied."
Beth stares at him with a strange look and he prepares himself.
One, two, three beats later she shakes her head.
"I don't remember."
He is disappointed and relieved at the same time.
"What happened?"
"We ate some of their food, you wanted to leave a thank you note." He tells her truthfully. "We got separated after that."
"How?"
"You know I think it's time we get some rest," Daryl says standing up. He takes his half full cup of tea and dumps it into the sink.
The wood burning stove is radiating heat and he feels a little warm now.
Beth stands in the doorway holding her empty cup, biting her lip, but she doesn't press the issue and he is grateful for that.
"Where should we sleep?" Beth asks looking around.
"There's a bedroom over here," He leads Beth back through the kitchen and into the living room to a door adjacent to the shower room.
Inside there is a queen sized bed on a wrought iron frame, a small dresser, and a night stand.
"I can sleep on the couch," He says reaching into one of the rucksacks and pulls a second medium sized candle from the bag.
He uses his lighter to ignite a flame and places it on the nightstand.
Beth stands in the middle of the bedroom and glances at him when he turns to leave.
"Can you stay?" She asks timidly looking at her feet. "Until I fall asleep, I mean."
Daryl swallows hard, his throat still burning from the tea or from emotions he isn't sure.
"Sure."
Beth walks over to the bed and lays atop the coverlet with her tattered blanket. She adjusts the pillows under her head until she is comfortable and then looks at him expectantly.
He stands awkwardly near the edge of the bed looking back at her. She stares a moment longer and then turns away snuggling into the covers.
"Just don't leave yet," She mumbles sleepily.
He sighs and crosses the room to crawl onto the bed facing her. She opens her eyes when he settles himself.
"I should be keeping watch," Daryl says quietly glancing toward the door.
"We didn't see any walkers except for the ones inside the house," Beth replies pulling her blanket tighter around herself.
"I'm worried about more than just walkers," Daryl glances at the door again. "Give me one second."
He rolls out of the bed and double checks the locks on all of the doors and windows and draws the curtains tight. The fire in the wood burning stove has settled to burning coals. He snuffs out the candle in the bathroom and the living room and picks up his crossbow before returning to the bedroom, leaving the door wide open.
He sets his crossbow against the night stand and snuffs out that candle too. Only a faint glow from the stove flickers in the living room but Daryl is sure no one will be able to see it from outside.
He crawls back into the bed and settles himself in, his eyelids feeling heavy.
"Are you sleeping in here?"
Beth's voice is quiet in the dark.
"Just making sure everything is safe," He whispers back. "I'll move to the couch in a bit, go to sleep."
She is quiet for a moment and he feels a small cold hand intertwine with his.
"Just to make sure you don't leave before I'm asleep," He hears her whisper quietly.
He can feel his heart beating loudly against his chest and hopes she can't hear the stuttering rhythm. He sighs and closes his fingers tightly around hers.
"Ok"
Please review! I'm finally sure of where I am going with this story and I have a ton of time on my hands so expect sooner updates! Thank you to all who read!