Okay, wow. That's all I got. Y'all response to that one chapter was just . . . amazing. Thank you to everyone who followed and favorite the story. Huge thank you to the ones who reviewed! To my guest reviewers, thank you for your words, I am so happy you enjoyed it! And as I told one reviewer in PM there are gunna be flash backs that will take us back to the beginning of season one-we will see Rick's arrival, how Beth was separated from her family, how Daryl and Merle tagged along, the walker attack on the quarry all of it. This is going to steer right into s2. And I already think that there will be a sequel that will take on s3. I hope you enjoy this next chapter. Oh and I haven't been on a motorcycle since I was thirteen when my dad sold his for good. So . . . going off childhood memories here. And sorry for the long ass wait!
They rode for what felt like hours. Daryl had taken the lead of the procession of vehicles, the thundering growl of the engine went through Beth as she held fast to Daryl while they sped down the deserted highway. The wind was a punishing force on Beth's skin, whipping her blond ponytail around her, the heat of the Georgia sun beating down on her. Beth was still in a slight state of shock, she kept replaying what had happened at the CDC over and over. Daryl's words kept coming back, hitting her squarely in the chest like a well-aimed blow.
She shifted uncomfortably on the seat of the bike, she had to pee and her butt was going numb from all the hours of sitting. Daryl glanced back at her as she squirmed, huffing an exasperated sigh. He signaled to Dale who was behind them as he pulled the bike over to the side of the road. He switched it off, bracing his feet on the concrete as he eased the kickstand down. Beth looked from Daryl back to the other vehicles that were following suit and pulling over.
"Why we stop?" She asked, her voice sounding foreign to her own ears after all that time on the bike, the quiet was strange now with the absence of the wind in her ears and the roar of the bike.
"You're tired ain't ya?" he huffed, as he shifted slightly on the bike to push the kickstand of the Triumph down. "Go on, get off."
Beth blushed slightly as she awkwardly planted one foot on the ground and swung the other over the bike and onto the ground. She stumbled slightly, her knees buckling slightly. She reached out, her hand clamping around Daryl's muscular upper arm as she attempted to steady herself. Daryl stiffened under her touch, but he didn't make a move to shove her hand away. Beth blushed harder when she saw where she grabbed.
"Sorry," she mumbled as she pulled her hand back, moving the offending limb behind her back.
Daryl said nothing as he dismounted the bike, looking anywhere that wasn't Beth. Which, really, didn't surprise Beth one bit.
So, that friendship is over, she thought as she began to head off towards the tree line.
"Where ya think you're goin'?" Daryl called after her, making Beth stop dead in her tracks.
Her face reddened further that Daryl had to wonder the girl didn't just keel over.
"I have to pee," she hissed at him, her blue doe eyes throwing daggers at him.
Daryl snorted as he grabbed his bow from where it was strapped on the back of the bike, tossing the strap over his shoulder, following after her. Beth gave him an incredulous look as he came to stand next to her.
"Well, come on," he said pushing her shoulder lightly, making her stumble forward. "Ya said you had ta go, so go."
Beth huffed, turning away from him and stalking into the woods making more noise than was necessary, muttering about how she didn't need a babysitter. Daryl snorted as he adjusted the bow on his shoulder.
"Girl, if I was babysitting at least I'd be gettin' paid."
Beth rolled her eyes at his comment but kept quiet for the rest of their trek. Daryl stopped her after a few more minutes, touching her lightly on her arm as his keen hunter eyes scanned the area for any sign of danger. Beth stood stalk still, following his gaze as it swept the surrounding woods, ready to bolt if Daryl said so.
"'Kay, good 'nough," Daryl grunted as he slipped the bow off his shoulder, gripping it in his hands. When he looked up and saw Beth still standing there he cursed. "Well? Ya said you had ta go, so go. Ain't like 'M gunna peep or somethin'."
That made Beth's face turn red all over again. Daryl just rolled his eyes and motioned her to get on with it.
"You could at least turn your back." She muttered as she walked behind a tree.
Daryl just shook his head as he turned, his eyes scanning the woods once more for any sign of the undead. Beth quickly shucked off her jeans and went about her business, trying to think about anything other than Daryl waiting just a few feet away. When she was finished, Beth quickly zipped up her jeans and started to head back around the tree when a hand suddenly clapped around her mouth, drawing her back against a hard, very male body.
Beth went rigid as the smell of sweat and dirt filled her nostrils, she struggled against her captor only to be hushed with a biting curse.
"Geeks, stop," Daryl growled in her ear, but his hand made no move to uncover her mouth.
Beth relaxed a fraction after realizing it was Daryl who pinned her in place, his eyes wild with a predatory light, his crossbow clutched in his other hand, but the fear was still firmly planted in her belly at the familiar grunts of the undead. Beth's eyes swung back to Daryl who was on the edge of pouncing, ready to attack if the walkers stumbled upon them.
Not for the first time since the world had fallen apart, Beth wished she knew how to protect herself. The night they'd lost Amy and the others she had been completely useless. Beth knew without a doubt that if Rick, Daryl and the rest hadn't returned when they did with all those guns, Beth wouldn't be alive. Beth felt Daryl's hand shift away from her, instantly she knew he was going to attempt to take out the undead.
Beth reached up without thinking, clutching Daryl's wrist giving it a squeeze. He tore his eyes away from the geeks, looking down at her in surprise. Beth shook her head, her grip to him tightening, as though she could hold him in place. Daryl glared down at her, silently fuming at her for stopping him, but he made no move to shove her away.
When the grunts subsided, and the rustling of leaves became a distant hush, Daryl peaked out from behind the tree, scanning the area. Without a word to Beth he stomped away, not even bothering to tell her to come on. Beth rolled her eyes at his attitude and set off after him, struggling to keep up with his long legged quick pace. His careless stomping and muttered curses clued Beth into the fact that he was pissed. Really, really pissed. Beth sighed heavily before saying;
"There were too many of them, Daryl. It'd have been a waste of arrows."
"I don't remember askin' ya for your damn opinion!" Daryl growled at her.
"All you rushing in without thinking woulda done was have us swarmed by geeks," Beth exclaimed. "I might not be strong or good with a crossbow, but I am smart! At least I can think ahead!"
That made Daryl turn on her, his expression ferocious. He reminded Beth of a feral dog. She unconsciously backed up a step as he advanced back towards her.
"You're smart? You think ahead, do ya? How much did ya think ahead when you nearly got us both blown ta bits back there? Ya so damn smart you thought it'd be a good idea ta die and take me down with ya? Or do ya think 'M just some dumb redneck who can't do nothin' other than hunt and kill geeks?"
Beth glared up at the man, desperately trying not to lose her temper with him.
"That was about me. Nothing to do with you. Like you would've stayed if the clock got too close to zero for your liking. Yeah, I wasn't really thinking. I was scared. You know what that feels like? I was scared I was alone, that my family really was dead," Beth swallowed thickly. "I gave up, Daryl. But this and that are completely different! Don't try to mix me stopping you from making a bone headed mistake and what happened at the CDC as the same thing. It ain't."
She glared up at him pointedly as she moved past him. Beth didn't make it very far before he was grabbing hold of her arm, yanking her to a stop.
"Hang on," he muttered, he let go of her as quickly as he grabbed her, his expression easing, the anger fading from his eyes. "Sorry. I get why ya held me back. I can even get why you almost . . . but don't think for a damn minute that I woulda just saved my own skin and left ya there."
Beth stared up at Daryl Dixon once again completely surprised by the man. One minute he was mean and crass, the next he was soft spoken and kind. What Beth did next she knew wasn't the smartest thing-she'd noticed how he tensed when she touched him-but she didn't much care right then because it felt like the right thing to do. She moved towards him, wrapping her arms around his waist, laying her head on his broad chest and squeezed. A hiss from him made her rear back in alarm, her eyes falling to his side, which was stained with blood.
"Shit, I forgot about your side, sorry," she said as she started to reach out to pull the fabric up and check the wound but thought better than it.
"Ya just cuss, kid? 'M shocked," Daryl asked as he winced again as he touched his side with a tentative hand. "'S okay. Jus' a scratch."
Beth shook her head at his excuse. "Scratches don't bleed like that. Not a kid either, it's the apocalypse, I'd say I'm at least twenty now in doomsday years."
Daryl snorted at her attempt at a joke. "Fine then 'M fifty."
"Look pretty good for fifty, then Mr. Dixon," she teased. "Come on, Mr. Dixon, let's get your old bag of bones back to the RV so I can patch you up."
"Shuddup," Daryl grunted as he moved ahead of her, but he had a slight smirk on his face as he did.
The expression made Beth's own smile widen as she followed after the hunter through the woods.
It was funny how she could still smile.
Returning to the group they were met by quizzical glances but no one voiced any questions. Beth knew it was strange to see her with Daryl of all people. When Merle and Daryl had first stumbled upon their group of survivors, Beth had made a point to avoid the brothers at all costs, rarely speaking two words to them. Back then Beth had been quiet, only speaking one or two words to the rest of the group, and only Lori, Carl and the other children could coax more than a word from the girl.
Beth recalled one particular day when the kids had pleaded with her to join them in a game of hide and seek. Beth had agreed only after getting the okay from Lori, instructing them all to stay within the camp. Beth had volunteered to count. She had pressed her face into the hood of one of the cars, clasping a hand across her eyes, counting evenly, and loud enough for the kids to hear her.
". . . eight . . . nine . . . ten! Ready or not here I-" Beth was turning and starting off, not really watching where she was going when she smacked right into the eldest Dixon.
"Whoa, simmer down there blondie," Merle Dixon said as he steadied her with a large hand on her shoulder.
Beth turned red, ducking out of his touch, keeping her head down as she muttered an apology and attempted to step around the big man.
"Hey now, hey now, no need ta be like that, squirt." Merle said with a smile that made Beth's skin crawl. "Where ya off ta in such a hurry?"
"Um, I was playing with, um, the kids?" Beth hated the frightened squeak in her voice. "Hide and seek?"
"Bit of a baby game, ain't it? How old ya say ya was again, blondie?"
"Ah, I-" Beth stammered.
"Merle," came a sharp call, drawing both of their attentions over to Daryl who was throwing his elder brother a deadly look of warning. "Leave 'er be. C'mon, we got work ta do."
Merle had smirked at his younger brother, his eyes sliding over Beth from head to toe in a slow, appraising manner that made Beth cringe. When he finally sighed and turned away from her, Beth was thankful.
"Too bad, maybe next time, lil bit," Merle threw a wink and ambled off after his brother.
After that point, Beth had taken extra care to steer clear of the Dixons. Now, as she dragged Daryl off towards the RV, Daryl muttering about how she was making a fuss over nothing all the way, Beth couldn't quite believe this was where she was.
"If we don't clean it up, you'll get an infection and maybe gangrene. Then you'll be wishing you let me douse it in alcohol and some gauze when Rick and Glenn are holding you down while Shane's taking a hot poker to your side."
Daryl threw her a wild eyed look that made her chuckle as she shoved him along towards the door of the RV.
"I was a sucker for movies about the wild frontier and all that. Before all this," she said with a flick of her wrist.
Daryl shook his head and stomped up the steps. Beth giggled as she moved to follow him, stopping when she caught Glenn's frown.
"Gangrene? I thought there was a vaccine for that?"
Beth burst into a fit of giggles shaking her head as she moved up the steps, leaving Glenn looking confused as the adults joined in on the laughter.
"What's so funny?" Daryl asked as he settled on the edge of the table.
Beth just smiled, shaking her head slightly. "Just Glenn being Glenn."
Daryl smirked. "He look in a mirror and die?"
Beth gave rolled her eyes at his bad attempt at a joke. "I think the zombie invasion took your sense of humor with it. Though, it could be your advanced age, Mr. Dixon."
Now it was Daryl's turn to roll his eyes at her. "These old jokes are getting real old, Greene."
Beth just kept smiling as she reached into a drawer by the sink, pulling out the first aid kit and scrounging up a bottle of alcohol.
"Shirt, please," she instructed as she withdrew some cotton and dabbed it lightly with the liquid.
Huffing, Daryl drew his shirt up enough so Beth could clean the scrapes, but not enough that she'd be able to see the scars on his back. Beth crouched down, dabbing at the raw skin as gently as possible, her face scrunched up in sympathy as Daryl hissed in pain.
"Sorry. I'll hurry." Beth promised him as she dabbed the swab again and blotted at another area.
"Jus' stings like a bitch, s'all," he growled, but didn't make another peep.
Beth wetted a new swab and cleaned the rest of the skin, and then reached for the gauze. "Kay, here's the easy part."
"Don't need it," Daryl huffed and started to push off the table, but Beth stopped him dead with a cold look.
"If we don't wrap it up, then me cleaning it was for nothing."
Daryl grumbled petulantly but stayed in place, hiking his shirt up some more so she could have better access, and maneuver around him with more ease.
"Thank you," Beth said as she set to work to tapping the gauze in place. The scratches were long, taking up most of his side. Beth was done after four pieces of gauze. She was satisfied with her work and gave Daryl the okay with a nod of her head.
As Daryl readjusted his shirt he frowned after her as she returned the kit to its drawer and the soiled swabs to the trash.
"Where ya learn all this doctorin' stuff anyway? You some kind of Doogie Howser?"
Beth snorted. "No, no. My daddy . . . he was a vet," she explained as she turned back to him with a water bottle, pressing it into his hand. "And growing up on a farm I saw him work on more than enough animals. Also I wasn't exactly a graceful child, I got plenty of bumps and scraps with my brother and sister."
Daryl took a sip of the water, the cool liquid soothing the burning in his throat. Beth chuckled suddenly, drawing his attention back to her.
"What?" he asked.
"Nothing . . . just remembered the time Shawn told Maggie she couldn't climb the tree in the front yard-big thing, taller than the house-cuz she was a girl. Well, they got into this big fight and I, bored to death with their bickering, decided I'd just climb the stupid try myself."
Daryl smirked slightly. "How'd that go for ya?"
"Great. Till I got half way to the top and they noticed I was gone. Saw I was up there and they both lost it. I remember Shawn yelling 'Beth Jolene Greene, get outta that tree!'-"
"Jolene?" Daryl scoffed, choking on his water slightly.
"Momma loved Dolly," Beth threw him a less than heated glare before carrying on. "And next thing I knew I was on the ground, flat on my back. Shawn was white as a ghost, and Maggie was screaming for Daddy. Had a big gash on my leg, and Daddy and Momma came out, yelling and asking Shawn and Maggie what happened. I needed ten stitches."
"Yer daddy didn't give y'all an ear full?"
"Naw, he was too thankful I didn't have brain damage. And Shawn and Maggie were plenty scared that they killed me that they didn't need any kind of talk."
Daryl just shook his head. "My pa woulda skinned me for something like that. Cut or no cut. And Merle? He'da just told me to get up and stop being a baby."
Daryl stiffened as he realized he had shared too much. He coughed, shouldering past her towards the door of the RV.
"Thanks. For well, ya know," he muttered before exiting the RV as quickly as he could.
Beth stared after him silently, filled with a confusing churning of emotions.
In a matter of seconds, Daryl had gotten Beth to talk about life before, about her childhood and her family. Not even Lori could get Beth to talk about them. That he could get her to talk amazed Beth. Because for a long time talking hadn't felt right. But with Daryl . . . it was easy in a weird way.
Daryl wasn't a talker-well, when he wasn't angry, he wasn't. And he certainly didn't share anything about himself or his past.
Beth shook her head, pushing all those thoughts away. It was nothing.
It couldn't mean anything.
Updates are gunna be weekly here on out for all my fics. I hope you liked it. Semi skimmed this one for typos so hopefully none made it past me(though im sure they did). Please review, I love hearing your guys' thoughts on this. And this is the normal length for one of my chapters. CH1 was a fluke in its shortness. See ya soon :)