So… that was the 'momentous, amazing, cannot be contained within 60 minutes, going to need tissues (according to N. Reedus) over multiple surprises and deaths' – season finale. OK. Maybe I'm too cynical or maybe I missed something. I liked it, loved that Morgan finally made it, (though I thought he was further behind them time wise), vote for walker kill of the week award is tied between Daryl's use of the chain and Aaron's use of the Alaska license plate. I wasn't surprised or saddened by the deaths, though worried about a few people along the way (I think my heart stopped when Daryl said "I'll go.") I didn't need a single tissue for this one.
Breaking Free 8
All recognized characters, situations, and dialog belong to AMC, the writers, creators, and actors of The Walking Dead and episode "Conquer". The final chapter to include Beth in season 5b. I may do this again next season, but for now, this is the end of this one. Song is cited at the end.
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x* X *x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
You feel like a candle in a hurricane
Just like a picture with a broken frame
Alone and helpless, like you've lost your fight
But you'll be alright, you'll be alright
'Cause when push comes to shove
You taste what you're made of
You might bend 'til you break
'Cause it's all you can take
On your knees you look up
Decide you've had enough
You get mad, you get strong
Wipe your hands, shake it off
Then you stand, yeah, then you stand
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
Rick stood at the back door and watched Beth in the yard. She was hanging clothes on the line, singing softly. Judith was on a blanket at her feet, singing back to Beth as she bounced her ragdoll on her lap. Rick carefully sank down to sit on the steps. Beth glanced over but didn't react to his arrival. After a few peaceful minutes of the serenity and perfection of the moment, Judith saw him and squealed.
"Dadadadadada," Judith lifted her hands smiling.
Rick groaned as he pushed to his feet. Beth scooped Judy up to carry her to him. "Thanks," he said as he took his daughter. "Hey." Judith babbled a series of sounds. He just smiled at her even as she patted one of the bruises on his face. She turned to Beth and chattered on.
"Really? Is that so?" Beth replied. Judith laughed and reached for her.
Rick handed her over, "I almost think you know what she said."
Beth tucked Judith onto her hip, "Nah. All that matters is you respond to her. Someday she'll say real words."
Rick stroked Judith's hair. "I'm sorry, Beth. Sorry I yelled at you. Sorry… for everything."
Beth leveled her gaze at him, an intense stare that reminded him of the strength of will hidden inside of her. She walked by him to go inside the house. He followed silently as she sat the baby into the high chair and scattered a handful of slightly stale crackers on the tray. Judith banged her hands down then pinched one between her fingers to guide it to her mouth. Beth turned to Rick, her chin coming up firmly, that stare locking him into place, "If you lose it again. If you go into the place you were after Lori… If you get that way again, I will take her away. I was afraid when she was born. I was afraid you would hurt her because Lori died and she lived. Yesterday… I was afraid of you again. I know there is too much ridin' on you but you gotta keep it together. Or I will take her away from you. My job is to take care of her, to protect her. Even if that's from you. I don't want to, but I will."
Rick nodded, "I know you will," he gave her a weak smile, "Momma bear." He took a deep breath, "I'm not… losing it. Yesterday was me… forgetting who I am. Who I need to be. Just long enough to do something really, really stupid. I hope you're never afraid of me again, but if you are, then yes, you take her, take Carl, and get away. I know that she's never safer than when she's with you." He opened his arms, after a second she approached and he gently pulled her to his chest to wrap his arms around her. "It's going to be OK. I'm going to be OK. I'm going to fix this."
Beth took a deep shuddering breath, "I don't know if you can, Rick. These people… they're so blind to the reality of what's happenin'. How many are we gonna have to let die before they wake up?"
He kissed her forehead as she pulled away, "I don't know. But this place is ours. This is how we survive." He glanced back as Carl walked into the kitchen. "You two aren't going to the meeting tonight. If things… start to go bad, my signal to the others is a whistle. If you hear it, you grab what you can and go. Carl you take Beth and Judy to the place where you and I met, near that house…"
"I have a place to go," Beth broke in. "Daryl set it up with supplies, food, water. And I've got more of what I need hidden outside."
"How?"
"Enid," Beth replied.
"Where is it? The place?" Rick asked. Beth took a breath, then shook her head. Rick closed his eyes, sorrow at the loss of trust his actions had caused. "OK. You two get the baby out. Go to Beth's safe haven. If we get out, we'll meet at the house at noon tomorrow. If not… Daryl should be back in a few days."
"Dad, please," Carl said, "Please talk to them, make them understand."
"I'll try."
Carl sighed, "Beth told me why you fought Pete." Rick looked at Beth who just looked back. "I don't understand… Ron is older, he's big. Why didn't he stop his dad?"
Rick sighed, realizing Beth had just told Carl about the abuse, "I don't know Carl. But Pete is his dad."
"So? You're my dad. I love you, I'd do anything for you, but if you ever tried to hurt Judith, I'd stop you."
Rick smiled, "I never, ever will. But it's good that you would do that. I don't know… When that's all you know, you think that's just the way life is. You know my dad wasn't nice, but I was alone growing up. I hope if I'd had a younger brother or sister that I would've stood up and made it stop."
"You would've," Carl replied. "You did. You made Pete stop. He's moved to another house now."
"Yeah," Rick said.
"But he's still here," Beth said. "And the house he's in is close. He can still see Jessie and the boys, they can still see him. It's… paused. It's not stopped, Carl. Men like that don't stop."
"He will," Rick insisted. "He has no choice."
"What about Jessie's choice?" Carl asked. "What if she wants him to come home?"
Rick just shrugged and shook his head.
"It's a strange thing…" Beth broke off as Judith squealed. She walked over and freed the baby from the highchair, settling her on her hip. "Jessie's a stylist. Seems like she worked to support the family while Pete was in medical school. Then he gets out and becomes this fancy surgeon, high society, but she's still just a stylist. There's nothin' wrong with it, but it makes a very unbalanced power in the relationship. I guess he liked it that way."
"Yeah," Carl nodded, "Especially here, now. He's the great and powerful doctor. He's… I don't know what word I want… but looked up to, like he's real high above everyone."
"Revered," Rick supplied. "Yeah. It makes it harder, but not impossible. Just because he's saved lives doesn't give him the right to hurt anyone, especially not the people he's supposed to protect above all else."
Carl sighed, "How did they hide it so long? This place… everyone knows everything about everyone. How did they not know?"
"They did."
Carl's face tightened in anger, "Oh."
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
Beth and Carl watched as Rick walked away from the house. As he turned the corner out of sight, Beth looked at Carl, "I think you should go invite Enid over. She's probably not going to the meeting. You two can play a game or somethin' to pass the time. I'll make some popcorn."
Carl leaned against her for a second, "You don't think this is going to go well do you?"
"No. And I promised Enid in exchange for takin' my bag over the wall."
"Promised what?"
"To take her with us. Go get her." Beth crossed to where Judith played contentedly in the playpen.
"I… I like her, Beth," Carl admitted softly.
"I know," Beth smiled. "It's good. She's nice. More important, she's strong. She's a survivor."
"Like us."
"Like us. Go on."
Carl nodded and walked out.
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
Daryl's hand shook slightly as he lit the cigarette, "I'll go, draw 'em away. You run for the fence." He blinked rapidly as his heart clenched, thoughts going as they always did, to Beth. He pulled a photograph from his pocket, one Aaron had taken at their house. Beth sat on the front porch with Judith on her lap. They were looking at each other and laughing. He traced the curve of Beth's smile. "Tell Beth…"
"No," Aaron interrupted. He waited until Daryl looked at him, "How many promises to Beth have you broken?"
Daryl shrugged, "Promised to protect her, instead let her get stolen from me. Let her get hurt."
"And spent every possible moment searching for her," Aaron replied. "I was listening remember, watching? It was rare when I was following that you weren't within reach of each other. You protected her. More it seems you taught her to protect herself." He paused for a moment, "I saw you two in the woods by the barn."
Daryl remembered the moment, his confession to her. Then he remembered why he'd taken her into the woods and he scowled fiercely at the other man. Aaron frowned in confusion, then rolled his eyes, "I didn't watch her pee, Daryl. My point is… you can't protect her if you're not there. You promised to come back to her. It's a promise you have to keep. Besides, I really do not want to be the one to go back and tell her that something happened to you."
Daryl sighed, "I don't wanna hafta tell Eric."
Aaron nodded, "So we go together. We fight. We fight hard because we've both got promises to keep."
Daryl nodded and crushed out the cigarette, "On three… One… Two…" the walker next to his window exploded in a shower of blood and bone.
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
Morgan swallowed hard and tightened the seatbelt over his chest, "Been a long time since I've been in a car," he said softly. The motorcycle drew slightly further ahead of them in the dimming light. "He's really in a hurry, we're goin' kinda fast."
Aaron chuckled, "Yeah. He's got a girl waiting for him at home."
"Ahh," Morgan nodded in understanding, "And you? Girlfriend? Wife? Kids?"
"Boyfriend, actually," Aaron replied. "Together since before."
"Oh," Morgan said. "That's lucky, real lucky."
"I know."
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
Enid and Carl sat in the kitchen with a board game between them and a bowl of popcorn. Beth was in the living room with Judith, reading to her from Winnie the Pooh. Carl repeatedly glanced out the open window, listening intently.
"It's going to be OK," Enid whispered as she gently rolled the dice onto a dishtowel so the sound was muffled. "No matter what, it'll be OK."
Carl nodded.
Suddenly from outside they heard the sounds of a struggle, and a muffled gunshot. Beth jumped up and grabbed the fireplace poker. Carl yanked open a drawer and pulled out a large knife.
Beth strode into the kitchen, "Enid take the baby and stay behind us."
Enid took a deep breath, "No," she reached out and took the poker from Beth, "You take the baby and stay behind us."
Carl burst out the door to find Rick struggling to his feet, covered in walker blood. "Dad?"
"The gate was open," Rick replied. "We've got walkers inside."
Two more walkers staggered out of the darkness. Rick and Carl met them head on, each stabbing one directly in the head. A third appeared and with a fierce scowl, Enid charged and slammed the poker directly through its eye and out the back of its skull. She lost her grip as it fell, but quickly grabbed the tool and yanked it free again. Rick nodded his approval. Another came around the corner and lunged at Beth still holding the baby. It grabbed her leg and yanked. Beth stumbled, but brought her hunting knife down into the top of the walker's head and twisted it, dropping the walker in its tracks.
"You OK?" Rick asked, going to check her calf but the walker hadn't gotten past the heavy denim jeans she wore.
"Fine," Beth nodded. Judith was whining in fear so Beth swayed gently to soothe her, singing softly into her ear until she quieted.
Rick, Carl, and Enid made a quick sweep around the house and the surrounding yards then returned. Rick looked down at the walkers' bodies. "You three, follow me." He grabbed the walker Beth had put down and yanked it into a fireman's carry.
"Should we bring one of the others?" Carl asked as he nudged one of the walkers with his foot.
"No," Rick replied. "One'll be enough. Come on."
Carl offered his hand as Beth came down the steps, then extended his other to Enid. She took it shyly but gripped it firmly as they walked behind Rick. Rick went straight to the gathering and dumped the walker onto the ground. Carl let go of the girls' hands as they entered the group. He went straight to Michonne with Enid following silently. Beth stepped to one side out of the way as Rick began to speak. When Maggie left the assembly, she reached out to Beth. Beth gave her a quick squeeze as she passed.
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
When Pete arrived, Michonne pulled Carl and Enid behind her. Carol started to push Eugene aside so she could go to Beth, but he was already moving through the crowd towards her. He subtly placed himself between her and the angry, sword carrying doctor.
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
"Rick," Deanna looked up and commanded, "Do it."
Beth knew instinctively what was coming and shifted so Judith was facing away. She covered the baby's ear with her hand, pressing her head against her chest. When the gun fired, she forced herself to remain still and calm, never taking her eyes off the execution. Judith flinched at the loud crack, but didn't cry. She simply nuzzled closer to Beth, resting her cheek and ear against Beth's heart.
"Rick?"
Beth looked up and took the first easy breath in days when she saw Daryl standing there with Aaron and the stranger who'd spoken Rick's name. Daryl took in the scene at a glance and started toward her. Eugene turned with his hands out and Beth handed the baby to him. Eugene obviously wasn't expecting it because he froze, eyes going wide in shock to find himself holding Judith. He kept his arms stiff and still, shuffling his feet until he turned around to face Carl.
"Please," Eugene whispered.
Carl rolled his eyes and took his sister, "She's not a bomb."
"No," Eugene wiped his forehead with a shaky hand, "But you have to admit she's been known to explode and… leak."
Daryl gathered Beth to his chest, holding her tight. She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her face into his neck. "You OK?" he asked as he kissed her hair and inhaled her scent, filling his lungs to replace the stench of the day.
"I am now," she replied.
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x* X *x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
The moon shone down on the silent houses… and on the wolves that were way too close.
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
Eugene smiled as Tara's eyes opened. Rosita leaned against Abraham and he rubbed her back. Tara stretched out her hand and Eugene bumped her fist with his.
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
Maggie gently bandaged Glenn's shoulder, wincing as he flinched in pain. She kissed his cheek. He stared up at her then wrapped his arms around her to rest his forehead against her shoulder.
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
Jessie sobbed on the couch, clutching one of Pete's shirts. Ron scowled at her and led Sam up to his room.
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
Deanna sat in the darkened living room staring at a family photograph. Her eyes were dry and distant. Spencer sat in his father's chair, tears streaming down his face.
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
Sasha helped Gabriel straighten up the mess in the church. She found the bible on the floor and placed it on the pulpit. When it fell open, she saw the places where the pages had been torn out. Gabriel's chin quivered as he looked at the damage. Sasha reached into the inside pocket of Bob's coat and pulled out Tyreese's bible. She gently laid it down next to the damaged one, gave it one last pat, then walked away.
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
Carol poured four glasses of whiskey and placed them in front of Morgan, Michonne, and Rick before taking a long swallow of her own. She walked over to glance into the living room where Enid was asleep on the sofa with Carl on the floor on a pallet of blankets.
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
Beth changed the baby into one of the regular diapers Daryl had retrieved on the run then snapped her into the warm sleeper. Daryl stood in the doorway between the rooms, just watching her. Beth moved to the rocker and sat down with Judith cuddled against her. Judith pressed her cheek to Beth's chest and smiled as Daryl stooped down next to them. Then she yawned and closed her eyes. Beth rocked for a moment, then Daryl helped her stand up and carry the dozing infant to her crib. Judith fussed a bit, then soothed herself to sleep. Beth leaned against Daryl and he held her close.
"It's going to be OK," he whispered. "I'm here. I ain't never gonna leave yah behind again."
*x*x*x*x*x*x*x* X *x*x*x*x*x*x*x*
Life's like a novel with the end ripped out
The edge of a canyon with only one way down
Take what you're given before it's gone
And start holdin' on, keep holdin' on
'Cause when push comes to shove
You taste what you're made of
You might bend 'til you break
'Cause it's all you can take
On your knees you look up
Decide you've had enough
You get mad, you get strong
Wipe your hands, shake it off
Then you stand, yeah, then you stand
Every time you get up
And get back in the race
One more small piece of you
Starts to fall into place, yeah
'Cause when push comes to shove
You taste what you're made of
You might bend 'til you break
'Cause it's all you can take
Yeah, then you stand
Yeah, baby
Woo hoo, woo hoo
Woo hoo, woo hoo
Then you stand, yeah yeah
Rascal Flatts – Stand – lyrics by Eric Blair Daly and Dan Earnest Orton