This so-called Aaron appeared unarmed besides a large hunting knife, but Abraham moved in anyway to frisk him completely. "Where in the name of Jesus's left nut did you come from?"
"I've been watching you guys for a few days now. Finally, decided to say a friendly hello and have a little chat." Abraham raised his gun at the stranger again and moved back to the others quickly.
"You've been following us?" Rick's eyes had gone cold.
"Well, yes. I know that sounds bad, but I don't mean any harm. The opposite actually. My group has a community a few miles north in Alexandria that's surrounded by a reinforced wall. But we need more people to feel truly safe and so I scout the surrounding area for stragglers and larger groups. I find people show their truest colors when they don't know they're being watched." Aaron kept a goofy grin on his face the whole time which was almost more unnerving than a one-eyed man with a tank.
"You do this scouting all alone?" Daryl spoke up, sounding completely unconvinced.
"Mostly, yes. People don't respond well to large numbers. So, I'd like to take you there, if you want to meet our people. If not, I understand, but you people seem to have a lot of survival knowledge that we could really use. Plus, you'd nearly double our numbers." Aaron lowered his arms.
"What makes you think we're the good guys?" Rick kept the python raised and walked closer to the man. Michonne fell in line closely behind him.
"From what I've seen, you seem to care about one another. And you have women and children with you which we've learned is important. I get a sense of family from you. Family is the most viable thing left in this world now. We just want to grow ours, that's all. And I wouldn't say no to a drink of water if you have some to offer?"
Rick approached and took the knife from Aaron. "Yeah, we got water, but we've also got rules. The first being, you're going to spend a night or two with us so we can learn just how alone you actually are. And just to up the ante a bit, you'll do so tied up. Glenn, grab our remaining wire. Aaron, walk towards that oak tree." Rick pointed the way with is gun.
"You've got my knife. What's tying me up going to prove?" The group watched as Aaron warily walked to the tree at gunpoint.
"I'm calling your bluff. If you've got someone watching, I'm hoping they'll be alerted by the sight of you taken captive and come forward. We don't intend to hurt you. We're not that kind of people until you give us a reason. But if that happens, we won't hesitate. Not even for a second." Rick's words were uttered low and sharpened with ice. Glenn arrived with the wire and firmly attached their guest to the tree.
"You've been hurt before, huh? That's what this is about? There are a whole bunch of nasty people left out there. Seen a few myself. The kind that were sick long before the outbreak." Aaron's eyes grew distant with some past hurt. "What's your name, if you don't mind my asking?"
"Rick Grimes. We just escaped a place that locked us in a cattle car where they intended to feed us and fatten us until they could slaughter us and serve us up for supper. They promised sanctuary and community for all. Sound familiar?" Silence dominoed through the group, followed quickly by the thickness of their memories. They'd never not be haunted by those few horrific days.
"That's not us, Rick. I swear to you. Douglas, that's our leader, he's a peaceful man. But we've been behind those walls for so damn long he fears we've gone soft. We need others who've been out there - on the road - who've had to survive the terror and the atrocity to keep us safe. We need you." He leaned his head back against the giant oak and looked at Rick as openly as he could.
"Yeah, well, we'll see about that. Glenn, you take first watch. Two hour shifts. Come get me next." Rick stalked off to debate the situation with whomever wanted a say, while the others dropped their weapons and started to make camp since it looked like no one was going anywhere for the time being. The weather had warmed a bit, allowing for an outdoor camp as long as a fire stayed lit.
Abraham approached Rick first. "I'm going Rick. I think we all should. That guy seems honest when you look him in the eye unlike those punk-ass sons of toothless whores back at Terminus. He's unarmed, for Christ's sake."
"That doesn't mean he's not leading us straight into an army," Carol stated.
"We'll do it right this time, stake the place out good and proper first. Keep him hostage in the meantime. It could work if we keep our guards up." Rosita came forward wanting to back up Abraham.
"I don't trust this guy any farther than I can throw him." Daryl side-eyed Aaron as he sat chatting with Glenn.
Beth came forward and placed her hand on his shoulder, but spoke to everyone. "I think Abraham and Rosita are right. I know we've all been through so much - so much that's hurt us, so much that's made us not trust. But isn't this why we're here on this journey now? To find a safe place to be again? If we deny all our chances out of fear, then we'll never find that. Ever. We're stronger now that we're back together. Stronger that we've made new friends. Stronger than we've ever been. We need a place where Judith can run and laugh and play. We need a place where we can rest our heads at night and sleep in peace. We need a place where we can live and be human again. And this could be that place."
Everyone turned their gaze to her as her works sank in. A new sense of hope settled in-between the sadness and the mistrust. "If Beth goes, I go." Maggie stood beside her sister and took her hand. And before long nearly everyone had chimed in with agreement.
Rick nodded at her and smiled. "Okay then. Tomorrow, we do things Beth's way."
As the day wore on, a plan was put into place concerning the safe zone and Aaron was questioned for hours on end. He seemed happy enough to answer as long as they provided him with water and food. Darkness set in before too long and a lightness wavered over the camp they hadn't felt since the days of the prison.
Daryl hadn't said much and kept mainly to himself in the aftermath of Aaron's arrival. Beth watched him off and on trying to get a read of where his head was. She'd openly disagreed with his mistrust of Aaron and worried that had pissed him off. But she'd said what she felt and would always do so. Fixing him a supper plate, she made her way over to him by the fire.
"You still think he's not trustworthy?" She handed him the plate which he took without complaint.
"Don't know. Doesn't much matter since we're all decided." He began eating the food she'd provided, not giving off the most welcoming of signals.
"Well, you're still allowed to have an opinion, Daryl. I'd like to know what you think. Especially if you disagree with me." She sat down beside him uninvited.
He chewed thoughtfully for a while. She waited patiently, hugging her knees to her chest. Her thoughts wandered to earlier in the day when she'd told him about what had happened to her. And then that moment when they'd been so close to something.
"It's not that I don't agree. I know we need a place which means trusting somebody at some point. It's just…," his voice trailed off when he couldn't find the words he needed to say.
"It's just what?" Beth didn't want to put words in his mouth. She wanted him to speak for himself.
"I just like our group the way it is. That's all. Bunch of new people, even if they're nice and good, changes things. I guess I just don't want things to change." He continued to eat, not looking at her.
She could have guessed a million things that were running through his mind and never gotten here. And as she thought about what he was saying, she found that she didn't disagree, that maybe she even felt the same way. They'd created such a strongly-bonded family unit that introducing new people was tricky. But then she remembered the prison and the people she'd gotten to know there - Michonne and Zach and Sasha and Tyreese. And then she remembered her home - the farm - and meeting Rick's group for the first time. She remembered the first time she'd laid eyes on Daryl. She'd been slightly frightened at the scowl on his face and disgusted by the dirt and blood and guts caked to his skin. And now all these people were her family. They were people she loved and who loved her.
"Once upon a time I was just some new girl, you know." She playfully nudged him with her shoulder, smiling.
"That feels like centuries ago." He'd finished eating and thrown the plate into the flames, watching it burn.
"Yeah and look at us now. We're like total besties." She did her best valley girl impersonation and flipper her ponytail, tossing it into his face. The look he threw her was priceless and she began to laugh uncontrollably. Before too long, he'd joined her. And they laughed together, long and hard and sweet.
Abraham interrupted their moment as Beth wiped the tears from her eyes. "All right there, lovebirds. Daryl's turn to keep watch of Mr. Good Deeds over there." He sauntered off presumably to find Rosita.
Daryl noticeably stiffened at the lighthearted jab. Beth blushed and searched her brain for the right words to lessen the tension. "I guess laughing is the new cuddling, huh?" She knew it was the wrong thing to say as soon she heard the words leave her mouth.
"What?" His eyes narrowed at her and the comfortable mask of anger slid into place in the lines of his face.
"Nothing, it was just a joke. A bad one, obviously. Abraham didn't mean anything by what he said." She tried keeping eye contact with him, but he shifted his gaze to Aaron and abruptly stood up.
She stood up, too, as he started towards Aaron. She reached out for his hand because she didn't want the night to end on this note. She didn't want something so tiny and throwaway to erase how far they'd come. She didn't want some other voice in his head telling him things that he had no business believing anymore. They'd burned that cabin down, dammit. And she wasn't going to let him rebuilt it. "Wait, Daryl."
Her fingers brushed his hand, but didn't grab hold because he was clearly in flight mode. Too much and he'd run away. "What do you want now, Greene?" His eyes caught hers and she searched them for the right words trying to find the things he needed to hear somewhere deep down in that blue.
"I just never got to thank you. For listening to me earlier. For listening and not judging. For listening and not feeling the need to coddle and treat me like a victim." She saw the tension in his shoulders ease so she took a chance. A very brave chance and approached him slowly, not breaking eye contact. She saw his eyes widen slightly, whether in fear or something else she didn't know. But she kept going, one foot in front of the other, until she was close enough to place her hands on his shoulders, stand on her tippy toes, and ever so lightly press her lips against his cheek.
And when she moved away, she could still feel the stubble on his face bristling against the skin of her lips. It was a sensation that would keep her warm on this night and many more to come. It was a sensation that led her to hope for more. Because he hadn't leaned away or flinched or acted in the least bit offended by her advances. And now, as she caught his gaze again, she saw something there that set her skin ablaze, that turned her red from head to toe, that dizzied her head with heat.
Beth wasn't sure how long they stood staring at each other in that way. But eventually, Daryl reached down to grab his crossbow and tossed it across his back. "Get some sleep, Greene. I'll wake you for next watch." And with that, he turned his back to her and was gone. As she turned to head to her tent, she was met with a dozen curious sets of eyes. Not knowing what to say or do, she just channeled Daryl as best she knew how, "Might as well charge admission around here." Embarrassed, she escaped to the confines of her tent, threw her blanket over her head, and imagined all the things could happen when Daryl crawled into her tent later to wake her. All the things she wanted him to do, almost desperately. All the things that he would not do, at least not yet. Sleep would most definitely not be her friend tonight.
