First off, I want to apologize for taking so long to get this chapter out, but college has been kicking my ass recently. To make up for it, I have a really long chapter for you. I'm not 100% happy with the ending of it, but I needed to end it, or I never would have. Also, gonna go ahead and warn you there is a tad bit of gross stuff in this chapter. There is also some fluff.
I own nothing, but sadness that we must wait until October for new episodes.
Chapter Thirteen
Daryl wasn't worried, no he was far passed that point, he was going insane with fear. Everything had gone to shit when that herd of walkers had shown up. Daryl had told Beth to run, and she took off. Him and Carl had successfully taken out half the walkers, when he sent Carl running, and he began to try and take out as many as he could to by Carl some time.
Daryl had just run out of bolts when Rick and Abraham came charging in out of nowhere, and Daryl had never been more happy to see them. Together, the three of them quickly took out the rest of the walkers.
Daryl was huffing,
"How'd you know where I was?"
"Beth came screaming up to the gate, and told us to head this way. Then I saw Carl, and he sent us here," Rick heaved out.
"She was okay when you saw her?"
"Yeah, just seemed out of breath," Abraham replied.
Daryl nodded, and quickly gathered his bolts. The three headed up the road to where Daryl and Carl had left the deer earlier, and Daryl was a little surprised to find Carl standing next to the deer.
"Why are you still here? I thought I told you to run?" Rick asked Carl.
Carl looked down at his feet before replying,
"I wanted to make sure y'all were okay."
Rick simply sighed and grabbed Carl in a quick hug. Carl looked at Daryl and grinned,
"Kept both of em safe," he said referring to the deer.
Daryl chuckled slightly at that, and grabbed hold of his deer and began to drag it back towards home.
When the front gates came into view, Daryl was immediately alerted when he saw Glenn pacing in front of the gates, and Beth was nowhere to be seen.
Abraham and Rick noticed the fact that Beth and the others were missing as well,
"Where's everyone else?" Abraham questioned him.
Glenn looked very panicked when he spoke,
"Umm…after y'all took off…Beth kind of fainted…"
Daryl's heart began to beat out of his chest at that,
"What?" he gasped out.
"She passed out. Collapsed. They think she got over heated, and over exerted running here. They took her back to our house…"
Everything Glenn said after where Beth was, Daryl didn't here, he ran like hell to find her.
He came barreling through the front door, to find Michonne standing in Maggie and Glenn's front hall,
"She's okay. Just over exerted herself is all. They got her laying in the back, trying to cool her off."
Daryl only grunted in response, nothing Michonne had said calmed him, he wouldn't be calm until he saw Beth.
When he walked in the room, she was laying on top of the bed, face flushed, with a wash cloth on her forehead and neck.
Carol looked up at Daryl when he walked in,
"She's breathing fine, and her heart rate is normal. She should wake up soon."
That still didn't make Daryl any less frantic, he moved to sit on the side of the bed next to Beth. Maggie was on the other side, looking almost as worried as Daryl, but more calm.
"How long has she been out for?"
"Close to forty minutes," Maggie replied.
Daryl wasn't just worried about Beth, he was freaking out about the baby. They had no way of knowing if the baby was alright, and that only increased his fear. The longer Beth stayed out, the more anxious Daryl was getting. After about ten more minutes, Beth began to shift on the bed,
"Bethy, Beth, you awake?" Maggie asked her.
Beth groaned slightly before trying to speak,
"Dar…Daryl…"
"Right here," he said, squeezing her hand slightly.
Her eyes opened up as soon as she heard his voice, she tried to sit up, but Maggie wouldn't let her "Uh huh. Stay down," Maggie told her while pushing her shoulders down.
Beth seemed confused for a moment, and then her hand flew to her stomach,
"Wha…What happened?"
"Ya passed out, ya ran like hell back here, and collapsed when we came runnin' out," Maggie told her.
Beth looked terrified,
"Is the baby okay?"
"As far as we know," Carol spoke up.
That didn't seem to ease Beth's worries at all, she looked over at Daryl, who had gotten up and moved to the corner of the room. He looked every bit as worried as she felt, he was chewing on the nail of his thumb. Beth felt her horrible, this was all her fault, if she had just stayed at home then none of this would have happened. If something happened to the baby she'd never forgive herself.
Carol and Maggie could sense the tension in the room between Beth and Daryl, knowing they needed to talk,
"We're gonna go get Beth some more water," Carol said, while motioning for Maggie to follow her.
Beth gave Maggie a slightly panicked look, not exactly wanting to be alone with Daryl at the moment, but knowing she needed to be.
They sat there in silence for a few minutes, before Beth decided to speak up,
"I…Daryl…I am so sorry. This is all my fault, if I had just stayed at home…what if I hurt the baby…" Beth was on the verge of hysterics.
Daryl crossed the room quickly, and gathered Beth in his arms,
"Shh…ya gotta calm down."
"It ain't your fault…I shouldn't have let ya come…I knew somethin' would happen…"
"No Daryl! It's my fault," Beth was crying now, and Daryl couldn't handle it.
He was trying to stay calm on the outside for her, but on the inside he was losing his shit.
"Look…it ain't nobody's fault…things just happen…can't always control it…" Daryl wasn't good at comforting people, but he'd try for her.
"But what if there's somethin' wrong with the baby?" she asked him.
Daryl bit on his thumb, deep in thought, trying to figure out what else to say to her, truth was he didn't know if the baby was okay.
"Does anything feel wrong, or different from this mornin'?" she nodded her head no, "then I guess nothin' is wrong…we ain't gonna be able to tell, unless you start to feel bad."
Beth nodded her head against his chest, feeling a little better, but still frightened. But they really had no way of knowing, and worrying wasn't gonna help anything.
Daryl knew he had to stay calm on the outside for Beth, he had to stay strong,
"You okay now?"
"Yeah…I'm ready go home…oh my gosh, I forgot, are the others all okay?"
"Yeah, everybody is fine. Rick and Abraham got there just in time. Managed to save both the deer too."
Beth smiled slightly at that,
"Carl will get to show everyone his first kill."
"mhmm," Daryl hummed in response.
Beth disentangled herself from Daryl's arms,
"Can we go home now?" she asked.
He nodded his head and got up, offering her his hand. She was a little wobbly when she first stood up, but Daryl helped her keep her balance. As they walked out of the room, Maggie and Carol were sitting in the den.
"Hey, ya feelin' better?" Maggie asked Beth.
Beth nodded,
"Yeah, I think I'm good. We're just gonna go home now."
Carol and Maggie both nodded,
"If ya need anything, or feel like somethin' is wrong, come get one of us," Carol told her.
Beth and Daryl both nodded, and Maggie got up and quickly hugged Beth. When Maggie released her, Beth reached for Daryl's hand, and they headed home.
They slowly walked home, Daryl was terrified if they moved to fast that Beth would collapse again. When they finally got back to the house, Carl and Rick were sitting on the front porch,
"You alright Beth?" Rick asked her, noticing she still looked pale.
"I'm getting there," she smiled meekly at him.
Daryl squeezed her hand lightly, and looked over at Carl, who practically bouncing on the balls of his feet.
"Hey Daryl, we…um…we strung the deer up back…I was wonderin' if you could show me how to cut em up and stuff…" Carl muttered out, trying hard not to seem so excited.
Daryl's lip twitched upwards a little at his excitement,
"Yeah, give me a few minutes and I'll show ya how."
Carl's excitement seemed to grow even more, Rick start chuckling at him,
"Why don't you go round back and wait for him Carl, let him get Beth settled."
Carl nodded, and took off for the backyard.
"Thank you for keepin' him safe Daryl, and for teachin' him."
Daryl nodded at him,
"Ain't a problem teachin' him…thank you…for ya know…" Daryl muttered out while scratching the back of his head.
"Well, I'll let you get inside…oh, can you watch Judith for a little while tomorrow?"
Beth smiled at him,
"Sure, just bring her on by in the mornin'."
Rick smiled back at her before heading off to go check the wall.
"Let's get ya inside," Daryl urged Beth as he opened the front door.
They headed inside and Beth headed for the stairs,
"I'm gonna grab you some water and crackers and bring em up to you," Daryl told her.
"Okay redneck," she replied softly to him, slowly walking up the stairs.
She knew he was going to be even more protective now, he'd probably never let her out of his sight. Beth understood why he was so protective of her, but Beth wasn't gonna argue with him again, not after everything that had happened today. Right now, all she wants to do is lay in bed. She was still exhausted from everything that occurred, and knew she wouldn't be able to focus on anything else. Beth quickly changed into one of Daryl's t-shirts, and got in bed.
Daryl came in a few minutes after she laid down,
"Here ya go," she smiled at him, "Thank you."
He simply nodded,
"Need anythin' else, just holler, I'll be out back with Carl."
She smiled at him, and he quickly kissed her on the cheek, and then left.
Beth was asleep in a matter of minutes, ready to sleep for as long as she could.
When Daryl came back down the stairs, and out to the backyard Carl was staring happily at his buck.
"Ya think I can keep the antlers?" Carl asked Daryl, with a thousand watt grin on his face.
Daryl smirked slightly as his eagerness,
"Yeah, you can keep em."
"Sweet," he smiled at Daryl.
Daryl grabbed his knives and a few buckets,
"First, wanna cut the head off, cut around the neck," Daryl instructed while cutting into his buck.
Carl mimicked Daryl's movements, cutting into his own buck.
"Next you wanna make cuts on the insides of the hind legs, down to the belly," Daryl told him as he made the cuts on his own buck, "then cut from the front legs to the chest."
Daryl observed Carl making his cuts, a little rugged, but not bad for his first time around.
"Where the two rear leg cuts meet keep goin' down the belly all the way down across the sternum, then gut out his family jewels."
"We gotta take out their…ya know?" Carl asked cringing a little bit.
Daryl out right laughed at that,
"Well yeah," he got out between laughs.
Carl did as he was told, trying not to gag at the act, while Daryl continued to laugh softly.
"Alright, Starting at the hind legs cut and pull the skin down towards the ground. Some areas some areas you can pull off without cutting it. When you reach the tail don't pull the hide off of the tail. Skin on both sides of the tail and then cut through the base of the tail bone. Once you get the hide down just past the hips you can poke holes in the hide, and use the holes as a hand hold."
Carl stopped his movements and watched Daryl working on the deer, he was amazed at how easy Daryl made it look. Took him no effort or thought at all, all natural to him.
Daryl grabbed a butcher knife,
"Now we cut off the front legs," he instructed as he took off one leg, "then we wanna cut along the shoulder, and then put it in the cooler over there."
Carl struggled a little bit getting the legs off, it takes a lot of strength to cut through, so Daryl had to help get them off.
"Now, to remove the backstrap. Make a cut down each side of the spine. Then cut the muscle away by making a cut to sever it from the hips and work it off of the back, keep your knife blade against the bone at all times. Once you get it all off put it in the cooler."
Once again Carl was amazed at how easy Daryl was making this look, controlling the blade was hard, but he was determined to do as much by himself as he could.
"Time to cut out the best part, the tenderloin. Make a cut across the belly just below the family jewels, but don't cut so deep that you puncture the guts. Now, we're gonna be in the interior of the deers gut cavity. The tenderloin lies along the spine sandwiched between the spine and the guts. Cut away fat and cut through the intestine that holds the deer pellets. Gravity should pull the guts down, away from the tenderlion and little cutting is needed."
Daryl was enjoying this, it's natural for him. Been hunting and skinning deer his whole life, it settled him.
"Alright, now gotta slice off the neck, cut the esophagus out first, then toss the neck in the cooler," Daryl showed up as he slit the neck cleanly off his deer.
"Okay, we gotta get the ribs out, this part is little gross if you ain't ever done it. Grab your gut bucket and get ready. Whittle away at anything holding the guts, lungs, heart etc in the gut and chest cavity. Probably gonna have to reach in with your hand, and pull stuff out."
Carl began to do as he was told, feeling like he might throw up when he began to pull things out with his hands. Shooting or stabbing a walker in the head was one thing, but he didn't have to gut a walker.
"Once you get it all out, take your butcher knife and wack the chest down the sternum to seperate each side. Then, cut the ribs away from the spine and sternum, put em' in the cooler."
Carl managed to cut away the ribs fairly easily, smiling a little to himself. He looked at his hands and clothes, and realized he was gonna have to shower and wash his clothes.
"Now cut the spine from the hind legs, then we cut off the hind quarters. Cut one tendon on one leg, and allow the two quarters to hang by one leg. Cut between the two legs until you hit the pelvic bone. You gonna have to cut it wavy around the bone, gotta cut deep though. Pull the bottom leg downward, and it'll spread the legs apart. From the underside cut the ligaments that hold the femur to the hip. Just cut in to find the joint and put the blade in the socket and cut the ligaments. The leg will fall away so have a good grip on the lower leg and place it to the side. Now separate the other one in the same way."
It took Carl a while to finish this step, and a little help from Daryl, but he got it done.
"Okay, we gotta cut the hindquarter from the leg. Lay it on the ground, cut up towards the joint. Bend the leg back and forth to see where the joint is. Cut to and through the joint. Once you get it done, but it in the cooler and we're done."
Carl quickly finished the final step, proud that he'd done it,
"That wasn't too hard…a little more gross than what I thought."
Daryl laughed slightly at that,
"We gotta get rid of all the guts. Don't need Beth seein' em' and gettin' sick."
Carl chuckled a little,
"Ya think I can help you butcher it, once all the blood drains out of it?"
Daryl nodded,
"I don't see why not. Gotta help me clean up everything, then ya need to go shower and change. Don't wanna smell like deer guts, do ya?"
Carl shook his head no, but a grin quickly spread across his face,
"You gonna shower? Don't wanna smell like guts do ya?"
Daryl looked down at him, fixing him with a look,
"You're a little smart ass, ain't ya?"
Carl started to laugh so hard he almost fell over, Daryl gave him a small shove, but couldn't' help but laugh a little himself.
They quickly cleaned up the mess they'd made, and Daryl moved the cooler into the big freezer in the basement. He sent Carl home for the day, and headed upstairs to go check on Beth. When he got upstairs, Beth was just waking up. He stopped and stood in the doorway, watching her,
"Good lord I can smell you from here," Beth scrunched up her nose at him.
He scoffed at that,
"No you can't," he told her as he moved towards her.
"Oh no you don't. You will not come near me till you have shower."
"Are you serious?"
"Serious as all hell. Now get your butt in the shower Daryl Dixon."
He huffed a little annoyed at her, he wasn't that dirty, but he didn't wanna upset her,
"Fine," he grumbled.
He stalked off to the bathroom, shutting the door a little harder than necessary.
Beth sat on the bed, running her hands through her hair,
"Lord help me if this child is as stubborn, and free willed as Daryl," she sighed, gently placing her hand on the small swell of her stomach.
Everyone is okay for now...and now y'all have some idea of how to skin a deer. Being from the south, knowing how to hunt and skin a deer is a skill learned early on in life. Sorry if some of y'all got grossed out by it, I tried not to be too detailed.
Also, I have finalized the baby's name, which I'm happy about it. I only have a few weeks of school left, and then I will more than likely be updating every couple of days hopefully.
When I write I listen to a lot of music that helps to inspire me, most of it for this story is typically country, so if you ever wanna know what I'm listening to, you can find me on Spotify: ashgracem.
Please leave reviews and let me know how you like this chapter.