Had some time to kill so I decided to keep going. It's keeping my mind off some personal crap I'm going through right now so I'm not complaining. Hope you aren't either. Enjoy.
On a side note, I want to thank everyone who favorited and followed. No comments which is a bit of a bummer but that's ok. The 5th Season trailer was released yesterday and I'm beyond pumped about it! I plan to write 8 this weekend and post it at some point early next week if not sooner. The excitement has me really motivated!
A month had passed since they left the cabin. They spoke only briefly about his concerns for her and hers for him. They both agreed that what they both needed is what they left at the funeral home. He had begun opening up and she had hope. They needed that back and they vowed to work on that together.
To the outside world nothing had changed. They looked like three survivors looking out for one another. They didn't need to touch, hold, or stay right by each other during the day. When one would leave the other with Gabriel they would simply whisper "See you soon." It was their way of saying the unspoken words that hung in the air between them.
At night, however, they needed each other and that's when it was obvious. When Gabriel would take watch they would fall asleep holding each other. When one of them was to watch, the other would sleep with his or her head in his or her lap. He had not dared to kiss her again and she had not questioned him. They respected the space the other needed as well as the needs of the other. Neither of them, at this point, needed physical intimacy more than they needed the emotional intimacy. Daryl knew that there would come a time when things would change, needs would change, and they would turn to one another. But for now this was all he needed.
They had traveled north, stopping each night to set up camp and hunt. They were seeing less and less walkers around but never questioned their luck. They crossed a highway labeled Route 11/129 with signs indicating that they were just outside of Cleveland, Georgia. Daryl kept them out of the cities and led them through more rural areas. Beth knew it was for two reasons. One, he was much more comfortable there and two, cities meant walkers. They would only come close enough to one to loot a few houses for a few hours only and then dart back into the woods.
After a satisfying supply run on the northern side of Cleveland where they were able to locate several bottles of water, a water filtration system hikers used, and a pantry full of canned food, they decided to set up camp near Clear Lake, or so the sign indicated. There wasn't anything on the west side of the lake but they could see the burned remains of several houses on the east and south side of the late. Daryl and Beth set up camp and tasked Gabriel with making a make shift fishing pole to try to catch something other than squirrel, rabbit, or deer for meat. He was more than happy to leave the two alone and set off on his chore. He found their silence uncomfortable.
"Where should we go from here?" Beth asked as she unfolded a blanket and set it next to a tree where she would keep watch later that night.
"Keep headin' north. That's all I got." He muttered as he began to build a fire. She sighed and walked over to him and sat down next to him. She rested her head on his shoulder and his movements stopped. He turned and pressed his face into the top of her head, not kissing her, just feeling her.
"Do you think this will ever end?" Her voice was small and weary.
"Wish I knew." He said against her hair. "But, maybe we can find a place an' settle down for a while."
"We avoid cities. And we haven't come across another living person since Gabriel. I don't know that the three of us can settle down anywhere." She wasn't arguing, she was just pointing out what Daryl already knew. They needed to find more survivors in order to survive.
"Whatcha thinkin'?" He pulled his head back and raised her face to meet his, his thumb rubbing across her cheek as he watched her think.
"Look in the smaller towns. See if anyone is holed up in them. If they are too overrun we head back to the woods. We could keep doing that until we get to Tennessee and go from there." He smirked at her plan. It was simple and he could find no reason to shoot it down so he nodded his approval, dropped his hand, and returned to the fire. She sighed and put her head back on his shoulder regardless of his movements. It didn't bother either of them.
"Yer exhausted. Get some sleep tonight an' I'll take watch." He didn't offer it as a suggestion and hoped she would agree without argument.
"No." Of course she wouldn't, he thought to himself. "You took watch last night. Just let me rest a bit before nightfall and I'll be ready." He grunted his response as the first sign of flames danced into the air. "I wonder what month it is." She mused, mostly to herself.
"Days are getting' shorter, nights are colder. I'd guess October." He muttered as he bent down to blow on the flames. She raised her head and looked over his shoulder at nothing. "What?" he asked when he noticed the far off gaze in her eyes.
"I am or will be twenty." She turned her gaze back to him and looked slightly sad. "I wish I had kept track of the days." He didn't realize that was important to her.
"Why can't today be yer birthday?" Her expression brightened but she tried to hide it by muttering that she didn't need a birthday. "Happy birthday." He kept playing along. Her face turned red and she nudged at his shoulder.
"Stop. It's not-" He stopped her with a finger to her lips.
"Ain't got nothing for ya but this." He said and dipped his head to hers. The kiss was just as chaste as the first and only other kiss they had shared but she felt heat filling her body in ways she had never experienced before. Her heart pounded in her ears and she longed for more. She refused to push him but she didn't mind to nudge. She parted her lips slightly and that was all the hint he needed to deepen the kiss. His tongue licked her lip and she moaned slightly into his mouth.
"Ahem." They pulled apart at the sound of Gabriel returning. Beth was furious but didn't let it show. "Will these work for you two?" He asked as he held up two small mouth bass and three nice sized bluegill. Daryl couldn't hide his frustration but nodded to the priest anyway. He turned back to Beth and looked her over with a silent promise to pick up where they left off later. She saw it and smiled.
"What'd ya do, Father? Bless the beer can and paper clip you fished with?" Daryl asked jokingly as he took the fish from him.
"No, son. I blessed the life of the man who died with a fishing pole in his hand and a bullet hole in his head." He said grimly and walked over to a tree and slid down it. Gabriel still hadn't adjusted to this world but Beth wasn't startled by this news. This was life now. She could only wonder what reason the man died for. Daryl sat back down behind Beth and began cleaning the fish. After about an hour of work and cooking they were eating fresh fish and canned fruit. They all agreed it felt like a banquet.
Night fell as they were eating and Gabriel took to his nightly routine, when he wasn't on watch, which was praying and crawling into a sleeping bag that was closed over his head. Beth stood, stretched, and began to head to her post for the night. Daryl watched her arms move up above her head and her shirt rise up. He noticed the small bumps that formed across her hip as the cold night air brushed passed the exposed skin. When she turned and walked away from him without a word he stood and followed her. She turned and slid down the tree and covered herself with the half of the blanket she wasn't sitting on.
He took his spot next to her, his body lying down and his head in her lap. He tossed an old, tattered sheet over his body and looked up at her.
"Happy birthday." He whispered with a smirk.
"I couldn't have asked for a better one." She smiled down to him. "Now get some sleep." He grunted again and closed his eyes. He wanted to do so much more than sleep but he was still conflicted. His body wanted more than he was emotionally ready to give. He was terrified that anything more with her, until they were safe, would be a distraction he didn't want to risk. He stopped arguing with himself that he wasn't good enough for her a few weeks ago. There seemed to be no one left and even if there was, he wouldn't trust anyone else to protect her. She never seemed to mind how they were. She gave no hints, offered no clues, or pushed for more. But at night he always knew that she was his when she would curl into him or sleep with her head on his lap. His mind wandered back to the events of the past month as he tried to shut down and sleep. "Go ahead, get it off your chest." She whispered. He opened his eyes and sighed.
"Never been in this kinda situation with a woman. I don't know what to do." He admitted.
"Everything you have been doing. I don't expect more than I can get. And I love everything I have." She responded as she absentmindedly ran a hand through his hair. She did this every time they sat like this and he did the same to her. The effect was more calming the any drug he had ever taken.
"Thought women liked romance an' flowers an' shit." He had stopped calling her girl after they left the porch of the cabin. She wasn't a girl. She was a woman and he could see that clearly now.
"Back before things went to shit, sure. Now, a fire and protector speaks more than flowers and fancy rings." Her eyes darted around as she spoke. She was always alert when on watch and he trusted her completely.
"Didn't stop…" His voice trailed off as he started to bring up Glenn and Maggie. They didn't talk about the group anymore. She knew, though, where he was going with it and she let his unfinished sentence hang in the air.
"Girls do like the affection. I don't expect you to, though. I know you, Daryl Dixon. You are not like most men. The last man standing doesn't have time for stolen moments in the heat of battle. I take what I can get and one day, when there is time, when we are safe, I hope for more." Before he could say anything else she added. "Rest while you can. I can't focus on watch while you talk about our relationship." She smirked at his annoyed grunt and dodged a twig he threw up at her.
"Fine. But ya not a girl." He whispered before he closed his eyes. "Yer also unlike any woman I ever knew."
Startin' to sound like a girl yerself, brother. Do you still own a pair of balls?
Merle's voice sneered in his head for the first time in days. Daryl sat up instantly as frustration overtook him. Beth had seen this before and kept quiet. It was like watching a child throw a temper tantrum, it's best to just let it play out. He paced a few steps at a time, keeping as quiet as he could while clenching and unclenching his fists. She was still alert to the sounds surrounding them. She didn't miss the sound of twigs snapping or multiple footsteps heading their way.
Beth was quick to act and jumped up and grabbed Daryl's arm, stopping his movements. He was shocked and pulled back violently as he was used to working through his demons alone. When he saw her hand on the 9mm handgun they found last week he stopped dead and listened.
The footsteps got closer. There were whispers drifting through the wind as they headed to the fire. Daryl muttered curses for not putting it out. But they usually never did now that it was colder.
"getting closer. I hope they are friendly." Someone said just outside the tree line. Beth looked at Gabriel who was clearly still asleep. Daryl pulled his knife, and looked for his crossbow that was resting a few feet away by the fire. He would make too much noise getting to it so he took Beth's gun and handed her his knife and held his aim. Instinctively, his body moved in front of hers to protect her. She put one hand on his shoulder out of fear and a need for connection.
When Daryl saw the outlines of the bodies, about seven of them, moved into the clearing his announced his presence.
"That's far enough." They all stopped instantly. "Who are ya' an' what'd ya want?"
A small, portly man walked forward with his hands high. Someone behind him pushed his name through their lips in warning. Eugene, however, spoke to the couple. "We're headed to Washington and saw your camp. We were hoping we could stay here with you tonight and head out in the morning. We were just ran out of our camp about a mile or so away." As Eugene spoke another man walked forward and put his hand on his shoulder. Beth gasped as the figure got closer and she could make out his features.
"Daryl?" The man asked. The smoke from the fire blinded Daryl of detail. He took a step forward there stood Rick. He dropped his gun and laughed.
Who else is with Rick? Obviously Eugene and Abraham… but Maggie, Glenn, Michonne? It's all been done before so I've gotta really think where I want to go with this…. Send me some feedback and let me know about the other 4 mystery members.