Weeks passed uneventfully, at least as far as walker appearances went, and Beth was still unable to recall the lyrics she so sorely missed.
"You just gotta put it out of your mind," Daryl insisted. "Let it go and it'll come back to you, like a boomerang." He made a whistling sound and flipped a hand like he was throwing one. "Trust me." Beth did, but she found it impossible not to think about the song. She tried making up her own words, but that just felt wrong. It wasn't her song; it was Tom's. She wished she could find him and ask him what the words were – surely he remembered. Finally, she knocked on her sister's door. She and Glenn hadn't had any luck yet, as far as she knew, but Maggie seemed more cheerful than usual, probably because they'd finished clearing a three-mile radius around the community.
"Maggie, you remember when Daddy used to play us Tom Waits sometimes?" Beth asked as they sat down on the porch swing.
Maggie scrunched up her face. "I guess so."
"Do you remember any of the words? I'm havin' trouble with one of the songs, and I just wish – I wish I could remember," she finished lamely, her predicament sounding far less dire once she'd voiced it. Daryl seemed to intrinsically understand, but it sounded so trivial before a different audience.
"Uh…" Maggie tapped her fingers, thinking. "I guess I remember some. I mean, Daddy played him a lot, and you like 'im, so I've heard you sing his songs." She shrugged. "Why, did you forget some of the words?"
Beth was feeling more embarrassed by the minute. It sounded so dumb and unimportant coming out of Maggie's mouth. "Yeah, but it's not a big deal." She decided she would try Daryl's method of forgetting-to-remember. Maybe it really would come back to her. They swung back and forth in silence for a few moments, listening to birds chirp and the breeze brushing against leaves. There was a distinct chill in the air, hinting toward the approaching winter.
"I've forgotten things too, you know," Maggie said eventually, surprising Beth.
"Like what?"
"Like…I used to know Mama's special recipe for lasagna by heart." Maggie half-smiled at some unseen memory. Beth imagined a child-sized Maggie, running around the kitchen and helping her mother cook. "Not that it really matters now. But I can't remember hardly any of it." She glanced over at her sister. "I know that's not really the same, though."
Beth shrugged. "It is, kinda. Dad got me started on listening to Tom Waits. I guess it…it's like this connection we both have to our family and our past, and it's fading away…" Beth looked at the toes of her dirty sneakers. Maggie reached over and clasped her sister's hand in her own.
"We've still got each other," she said.
"Yeah. We do," Beth replied. They sat there for a while in companionable silence, just swinging.
And the great day of wrath has come
And here's mud in your big red eye
The poker's in the fire
And the locusts take the sky
Beth awoke with a start, the words still whispering in her ear. She glanced over at Daryl, who was fast asleep and facing the other direction.
"Those are right, I know they are," Beth said to herself, getting out of bed quietly so she wouldn't disturb Daryl. She grabbed a scrap piece of paper and a pencil and scribbled the words down as fast as she could, afraid they'd fade back out of her memory as quick as they'd come in. Gazing down at the missing lyrics, she breathed a sigh of relief. The knot of anxiety that had been gnawing at her stomach the past few weeks was dissipating. Heaven knew how a song could have this deep an effect on a person. All she knew was that it did.
She crawled back into the still-warm bed and stroked Daryl's bare shoulder. He started and flipped over, squinting at her blearily. "Wassit?" he mumbled. "Mm, walkers?"
"No, no."
"Rrn, 'kay."
Beth hid a smile as he closed his eyes again and wrapped an arm around her waist, trying to urge her back to sleep. "No, Daryl, wake up. I remembered."
"Th'words?" he slurred, slightly more alert now.
"Yeah."
"Well, give 'em up, girl." He arched an expectant eyebrow at her.
"Should I start from the beginning?"
"If you wan'."
Beth sang the whole song quietly, aware of the early hour and nearby houses, but with a level of confidence she hadn't felt in ages.
"Told you they'd come back," Daryl said. Beth couldn't help but kiss that crooked smile. Then a high-pitched scream broke the silence.
A/N: I will not be updating again until after the season finale on Sunday. I am so worried about Beth, you guys. :( No matter what happens, my story stays the way it is now, a Bethyl fic, so at least there's that. Read and review, please!