Chapter 21
Author's Note: I apologize in advance if my writing of Beth isn't exactly up to par. I've made it a point to avoid writing her every chance I get in my fics, so I'm treading into different territory here. I'm not a Beth fan, so that also may come across in my writing, but I will try not to let it cloud the characterization too much.
Also, please note that my inclusion of Beth in this story does not mean she will be an obstacle for Caryl. She will not be a love interest for Daryl. She is 18. He's mid-40s. They have nothing in common except for being the prey of the undead. Besides, if you've been reading this story, you'll know that Daryl and Carol are all about each other. So please don't think that just because Beth is being introduced into the story that that means that she automatically will be a threat to Caryl. Will she have a crush on Daryl? Maybe? But does that mean he will feel the same? Absolutely not! So there is no need for any Daryl/other warnings, because this story is strictly Daryl/Carol, all the way.
Given the fact that Daryl and Carol were still strangers to the group, Rick decided, for Hershel's peace of mind, to tag along, and they would postpone moving on for another day. As Daryl's pickup bounced down a bumpy dirt trail, Carol and Sophia sat in the cab with him, while Beth, Rick and Carl sat in the bed. From what Rick had explained to Daryl, Carl was already quite the skilled shooter, but they had plenty of ammo, and there was a gun store they'd spotted a few miles off from the camp site that seemed relatively unbothered. They could spare the ammo for the sake of practice.
Daryl pulled the truck out in the center of a weed-infested old corn field. Carol was the first one out of the truck, taking a sack full of empty food cans over to line them up along the fence. Rick checked Carol's pistol over before handing it to him, and Daryl grabbed one for Sophia, making certain it was loaded and ready for use. Beth followed Daryl around next to the truck, her eyes wide with wonder as he dug through a bag and produced a pistol almost identical to Sophia's.
"You can use this one." He grabbed a box of bullets and proceeded to open the chamber. "Watch." Beth watched as he slowly went over how to load it and snapped the chamber back into place. He moved behind her, reaching around and placing it in her hands. She was shaking.
"I can't do this," she protested. "I ain't never shot a gun in my life."
"You're gonna have to learn," he pointed out.
"Done alright so far," she said with a shrug.
"Hidin' behind somebody else is only gonna get you so far. What happens when those people you stand behind ain't there to shoot for ya anymore?" Beth gave a little nod, and Daryl placed her finger over the trigger.
Carol made her way back over to stand next to the two of them, taking her own gun out. Daryl lined up Beth's arms, and Carol held her own gun poised.
"Little higher," Carol encouraged. "Keep a good hold on the grip." Daryl raised Beth's arms a little higher, and the girl chewed her lip before blowing a stray strand of blonde hair out of her face. "Right. Even."
"Watch Carol," Daryl instructed, holding Beth's arms where they were. Beth turned her head to watch as Carol planted her feet firmly in a casual stance, lined up her shot, took a breath and squeezed the trigger, easily sending one can careening off the fence and into the tall grass.
"That was amazing," Beth murmured, in awe of Carol's abilities.
"Takes practice to get that good," he pointed out. Carol gave Beth an encouraging smile.
"Don't think about it. Don't stress it. Just breathe and squeeze."
"Breathe and squeeze," Beth noted with a little nod. "Can I try?" She looked up at Daryl eagerly, and he nodded, firming his grip on her arms as he steadied her.
"What you aimin' for?"
"The big can. Easy target."
"Good," Daryl said with a nod. "Take a deep breath."
"Don't close your eyes," Carol said with an amused grin. "You need to see what you're shooting at."
"Right. Sorry." Beth gave her an apologetic smile before firming her stance on the ground and eyeing her target. She took a deep, slow breath and leaned back slightly, squeezing the trigger and releasing the shot. It disappeared somewhere past the fence, and she frowned. "I suck."
A walker came stumbling out of the trees, and Rick went to grab for his gun.
"I've got it," Carol assured him, grabbing the rifle out of the back of the truck. In one swift movement, she strapped the rifle across her chest, took aim and fired, unloading the shot into the walker's skull from several yards away.
"She's good," Beth murmured. "Can you teach me to be that good?"
"If you're willin' to learn," Daryl said quietly, unable to take his eyes off of Carol, as she grabbed a pair of binoculars and climbed up into the bed of the truck to keep a look out.
"Daryl?" Beth's voice broke his concentration.
"Huh?"
"Can I try again?"
"Yeah," he murmured. "Sure." He let go of her arms and stepped away. "Try it on your own. You gotta get a feel of it." She nodded and focused her concentration on her line of sign. She squeezed the trigger again, and the bullet put a hole in one of the fence rails but didn't hit the can. "Better. Keep tryin'."
"You did good today," Carol said with a smile, as she and Beth packed the guns up in the duffel bag in the back of Daryl's truck.
"I was awful," Beth said with a grin. "Daryl's a good teacher, but I kind of suck."
"You don't," Carol laughed. "You did fine for a beginner, and you'll get better with time and practice."
"It felt good," Beth mused. "I'm not saying it's something I wanna have to learn, because I wish things would just go back the way they were before. But if this is the world we gotta live in now, it feels good, not havin' to rely on my daddy for everything." She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not like Maggie. Don't think I'll ever be like Maggie."
"That's ok," Carol said gently. She put her hand on the girl's shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. "It's ok."
"Hey, Beth!" Carl called from nearby. Beth gave him a little waved and looked a bit mortified.
"What's wrong?"
"Carl's got a crush on me," she groaned. Carol smiled at that. "He's twelve, Carol."
"That's sweet."
"It's not. Not when it's literally…the end of the world, and the only guy close to your age isn't even old enough to…to get into a PG-13 movie. If there were movies anymore." She rolled her eyes.
"Honey, you know that saying? There are plenty of fish in the sea?"
"Yeah," Beth groaned.
"Well, the sea might be more…more of a pond now, but I'm sure there are more people left."
"Yeah. A pond in the middle of a sea of walking dead people. Well, the bright side is, I'll probably die before I have to worry about being an old maid." Carol squeezed her shoulder.
"Don't say that. Don't let your daddy hear you say that, either. Alright? The most important thing is surviving, alright?" Beth nodded. "You survive, you help your family survive, and you fight like hell to make sure you're still breathing come morning."
"How did you do it?"
"Hmm?"
"How did you keep breathing? All this time since the turn? Just you and Sophia and Daryl?"
"We pulled together. We became a family," she said softly, a little smile playing over her lips. "We made it work." Beth looked over her shoulder at Daryl and then back at Carol. "You just stick together and fight like hell to live." Beth's gaze faltered, and she looked over toward Rick and Carl, who were deep in conversation about something.
"My mom…she said we should stick together," Beth said quietly. "When it happened. When the world changed. I didn't listen. I went outside to feed my horse, and those…those things came at us. My mom ran out of the house, and she…" She looked away.
"It wasn't your fault."
"I just keep thinking that if I'd just listened to her…she'd still be here." She glanced over at Sophia, who was laughing at something Daryl was telling her. "Your daughter's lucky. She got her mom back."
"Honey, if you ever need to talk, I know we don't really know each other, but…" Beth took a deep breath and nodded quickly, apparently ready to avoid the rest of this conversation.
"We best be getting back. My dad worries." She gave Carol a little half shrug.
"Sure. Hop in, and I'll get the others." Beth pulled herself into the truck bed, and Carol made her way over to Daryl, who was re-stringing his crossbow. She stepped up beside him, and he glanced at her for a moment. "We should be getting back."
"Yeah. S'gettin' late."
"Beth's going to be ok, I think," Carol murmured.
"She's an alright shot, but she's got a ways to go 'fore she can hold her own." Carol nodded in agreement. "We'll take her out again in a few days."
"We?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. He flashed a little grin at her, slinging his bow back over his shoulder before brushing her cheek with his thumb and leaning in to whisper into her ear.
"You got no idea how fuckin' hot you look when you're shootin' that gun," he murmured, raising a blush in her cheeks. She chuckled as he dipped down for a quick kiss before being interrupted by Rick.
"Uh, sorry," he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "Just wanted to thank the both of you for doing this. We have to be stronger as a group, and I think we just took a big step in that direction today."
"Somebody's gotta do it," Daryl murmured, awkwardly accepting Rick's handshake when the man extended his hand. "We're headin' back."
"Sure. Looks like the clouds are comin' in," Rick muttered, looking up at the sky. Daryl looked up and then shrugged his shoulder.
"Nah. It'll pass." He tossed Carol the keys.
"I'm driving?"
"Why not?"
"Oh, this is your way of seeing how I handle the off roads," she snorted. "Well, I'll show you, Daryl Dixon. I'm a very good driver."
"Oh, I believe it," he said suggestively. She knows how to handle a stick. He cringed inwardly at his thought, especially given the way it sounded so very much like his older brother Merle when it echoed through his brain.
"Can I drive?" Sophia asked with a big grin, getting an eyebrow raise from her mother.
"Oh, somebody's feeling better," Carol teased.
"You ain't drivin' 'til you're thirty," Daryl chuckled.
"Says who?" Sophia balked.
"Says the man whose truck you'd be wreckin' into the nearest tree." Daryl's comment got a laugh out of Carl, who ducked as his father whipped the sheriff's hat off his head and placed it on his own.
"Can I ride in the back?" Sophia asked hopefully, eyeing Carl as he hopped into the truck bed.
"Sure. Just stay seated," Carol said with a shrug.
"Yeah, and hold on for dear life," Daryl joked.
"Daryl Dixon, you're asking for it," Carol laughed, making a face at him as Sophia hurried off to join her friend. "What's gotten into you today?"
"What?"
"I don't know," she said with a shrug. "I don't see this side of you very much. I like it." She leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Come on. Let's head home." As they walked back to the truck, she was a little surprised when he reached out for her hand and linked her fingers with his. She hadn't been prepared for such public displays of affection. The last person on earth she'd expected that from was Daryl. She didn't mind at all, but she knew he was a little out of his comfort zone. She saw the tops of his ears turn red, and she brushed her thumb over his knuckles. "You ok today?"
"Fine," he said with a shrug. "Guess it's just nice to have a good day."
"Yeah," she grinned, "it is."
"Forty," Daryl said out of the blue, plopping down in a chair between Carol and Sophia at the campsite that night.
"What?" Sophia asked, popping a piece of nearly-burnt fish into her mouth.
"After seein' your mama handle the trail today, I'm sayin' forty. You drive anything like her, and we got a problem." He was met with a playful slap from Carol, who eyed him as she ate from her own plate.
"Thanks, Mom," Sophia laughed. Carol sobered for a moment, her heart welling with joy at the sound of her daughter's laughter, something she'd sorely been missing.
"Oh, no, I have a better idea," Carol said with a shrug. "Daryl, since you're the know-it-all when it comes to cars, you get to teach her."
"Me?" he choked out. "Hell no. I don't teach drivin'."
"You just teach shooting?" Carol asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I'll take her out shootin' anyday. Just don't put me in the passenger's seat." Carol snorted at that, and Sophia shook her head.
"You guys are crazy. Mama, I'm tired. I'm gonna go read before I go to sleep."
"Sure, sweetheart. You might put on a sweater. It's getting chilly." Sophia nodded and hurried off toward Dale's RV, while Daryl peered over toward Rick, who had his sights focused slightly to Daryl's left. Daryl poked the fire with a stick, eyeing Rick until Rick realized he was being watched. When he realized he was caught, he ducked his head and turned his attention back to his son. Daryl snorted and shook his head.
"What?"
"I think ya got an admirer."
"What are you talking about?" Carol asked, taking the last bite of food off of her plate. Daryl nodded toward Rick, who was now completely focused on not looking over in their direction. "What? Please tell me you're joking."
"I get it," he murmured. "You impressed him today. You shocked the hell outta Beth. Don't think these folks are used to seein' someone as strong and powerful as you are." Carol felt herself blushing at his compliment. "Ya handle a gun better'n some men, and you ain't had a whole hell of a lot of practice."
"Yeah, well, it's no reason to stare," she murmured.
"Sure it is," he murmured, his own gaze passing over her. She rolled her eyes at him.
"Stop it." She blushed and made a face at him, and he licked his lips. He put his plate down and stood, sucking the last bits of juice from the meat off of his fingers before holding his hand out to her.
"C'mon." She took his hand quickly and stood to follow him.
"Where are we going?" she asked, following him quickly toward their tent. He said nothing until they were inside, and he zipped them inside. When he turned to her, he pulled her into his arms, and she moaned softly when he kissed her. "What are you doing?"
"Showin' ya exactly what I been wantin' to do since the second you went all GI Jane in the field this mornin'."
"Men," she giggled as he snorted a laugh against her neck and pulled her down to the ground to show her exactly what it was he'd been wanting to do all day.