The Last of Us

Rick's prison stood at the very end of the woods and when Beth got a good look at it, it pretty much took her breath away. It was pretty much a small community with growing crops and livestock, small cabins built around the huge prison yard. The sun shone brightly on the large spot of land and Beth beamed. There were children playing in the yard, women hanging clothes and chatting with each other. It was better than the city, these people seemed- happy. As they walked up to the gate, she heard a woman curse and quickly opened the gate. "Daryl!" The woman exclaimed with a smile on her face. She looked pretty strong from what Beth could tell. Her face was proud but looked as if it held many horrors of the past ten years, she even had a sword type thing strapped on her back. "Daryl Dixon, never thought we'd see you again."

"Why, you didn't think I could survive this long? I might not have mighty ninja skills like you, Michonne, but my arrows never miss." The woman, who Beth knew now was Michonne smiled at Daryl and shook her head, laughing. She then looked over at Beth and raised her eyebrows before giving Daryl a different kind of smirk. "Oh," He looked behind him to see that Beth, nervously looking at Michonne. "This is Beth," His eyes narrowed at Michonne when she realized what she was thinking. "She's a friend who I'm helpin' out."

Michonne nodded her head in a sarcastic way before looking over at Beth. "Uh-huh, sure." She unlocked the gate and let them in. "You got old, Daryl." She observed and then took a deep breath. "So where's Carol." Both he and Beth stiffened up at her question and Michonne looked down at the ground, fully understanding that she was no longer with them. "I'm sorry."

An awkward silence fell between them before Daryl spoke up. "I'm here to see Rick, got some questions for him, ya know where he is?"

"Of course," She looked at the pair again and noticed that other people were now taking notice to Daryl and Beth's mud and blood covered clothes and bodies. "How about we get you both a shower and some new clothes, then you can talk to Rick."

As Michonne escorted them to the bath house, Beth saw how everyone looked at them. It was as if the people were scared of them. "Don't mind them." She explained. "They forget what it's like to be out there."

XxX

Beth let out a moan when she felt warm water against her aching body. She practically jumped into the bath house when Michonne told them about warm running water. She didn't even hear the whole mechanics and how they got it to work. Beth gladly took the towels and the bar of soap before running off into the woman's side without any other explanation.

"Well she looked happy." Michonne observed

"Yeah well, we you get the option of stankin' or bathin' in a river full of leeches, you choose to be stankin." Daryl explained, taking his towels and soap from Michonne and leaving her with a disgusted look on her face. About five minutes passed and Daryl was already done his shower. He walked out of the bath house in a flannel shirt and jeans that had been provided by Michonne. He threw on his leather vest, grabbed his crossbow and walked out into the afternoon sun where Rick was waiting for him.

"Long time no see." Rick greeted him. Carl was at his side and Judith was in his arms. "Michonne said you needed something?"

Daryl smiled at Judith and looked over at Carl. "Damn, the kid and lil asskicker grew like weeds." Carl looked to be about seventeen and Judy to be about 4. He didn't realize how long it was since he'd seen them. "But I do need a favor, I know I left on shitty terms, but I really need this."

Rick nooded his head and looked over at Michonne. "Fine, let's go talk then."

XxX

Beth felt like a new woman when she stepped out of that shower. She pulled the pink and white stripped hoodie over a new bra that had been provided and a pair of jeans. Not only did it feel good being in new clothes, but new underwear had been a god send. She walked out of the bathhouse and saw that Michonne was waiting for her with a teenage boy and a little girl. Beth finished braiding her hair and smiled at Michonne before kneeling down in front of the little girl and smiling. "I haven't seen a kid in a long time."

The little girl blinked at her and put a small chubby hand on her face. "Are you a princess?" She asked in a small voice. "You look like one of 'em from my book."

"I'm no princess, sweetheart- I am Beth though."

The little girl beamed at her. "I'm Judy and that's Carl, he's my big brother." Carl gave Beth a squeaky hello before blushing a bright red. "He hasn't seen a pretty girl in a long time."

Michonne cleared her throat and Beth looked up at the older woman. "Daryl's talking to Rick, so I figured I'd show you where you'd be staying."

Beth smiled back at the older woman. "That would be great."

XxX

"Shit, you actually got electricity runnin' up in this place?" Daryl chuckled as they walked through the prision. "Back when we cleared this place out, we were livin' offa spam and usin' candles to see." He blew out a whistle and shook his head. "You did good, Rick."

Rick walked along side Daryl, nodding his head. "I had help, Michonne, Carl, Glenn- some of the people that came along. We built this place up and nothing has gotten in it since you left-" He paused as they went into the warden's office. "So, what's with you and that girl? You finally settlin' down?"

Daryl shook his head no and made himself comfortable in a padded chair and looked up at Rick. "You might wanna sit for this, he said, motioning for the opposite chair. "Now, this is something that we gotta keep between me and her. Beth, she's special, she's immune to the walkers. Girl got bit over a year ago and she's still livin' and just two months ago, I saw it for myself. A walker attacked her and some of it's blood got into her mouth, she didn't turn. Dawn says she is the cure and- well, you need to take her to Washington."

Rick was silent for a few minutes, he sat back against the chair with an unreadable look on his face. After ten years of pure hell, ten freaking years the cure was in some girl and Daryl Dixon was giving the responsibly to escort her to Washington. "You saw it for yourself, and the bite mark?" Daryl nodded. "Shit." He dragged his hand across his face. "And here I thought you got over Andrea with some young look alike." Rick sighed when he noticed the look on Daryl's face and stood up from his chair, going into a desk and taking out a picture and handed it to Daryl. "Found this of you and Andrea, after you proposed to her. Figured if I ever saw you again, I'd give it to ya."

Daryl looked over the picture. He hardly recognized himself in the picture and Andrea- he quickly handed the picture back to Rick, shaking his head no as he took out his last cigarette out. "Look, you gonna take the girl to Dawn or what?" Daryl snapped. "I just need you to take her offa my hands, please!"

"Why, it's cause you feel somethin' ain't it?" Rick questioned. "I get it's hard and after Lori, I didn't even wanna think and then Michonne came along." Rick sighed at Daryl's pleading face. "Look, I'll talk to 'Chonne about it and if I can get an okay from her, I'll take her off your hands." Rick shook his head as he put the picture back onto the desk. "They ain't gonna be happy about this."

"Who?" Daryl barked and Rick nodded his head over to Beth and Michonne who were both standing in the doorway. While Michonne looked pissed, Beth looked like she could burn down a house. "Shit, Beth."

Tears were welling up in her eyes and she shook her head no. "This was your whole plan? To drop me just like that? I thought that we…you promised-" She furiously wiped her tears away. "You know what? Fuck you!" She hissed, flipping him off and storming out of the room.

The three old friends all stood there in shock before Daryl went off after her. "Beth, wait- lemme explain!" Rick and Michonne were right at his heels, but they just missed Beth as they walked out to the court yard. A man was kicking up dirt and cussing like a sailor, talking about how some blonde took one of the horses and road off. "Rick, I need to go after her." Rick gave a nod to the stable hand and they handed him the reins to a horse. The gates of the prison opened up again and the two men rushed off right on Beth's trail

XxX

"Tracks go down this trail right here." Daryl quickly studied as he got back onto his horse. "Can't believe she ran away! Some fuckin' adult she is, I'll tell ya what she is, she's a freakin' spoiled little brat!"

"She has feelings for you." Rick deadpanned. "Did you see the look on her face, she was heart broken. Now I don't understand why a girl like that would have feelings for someone as cranky as you, but she does. What did you promise her anyway?"

Daryl shrugged his shoulders. "Just stuff and thangs."

"Then you shouldn't promise stuff and thangs unless you plan to keep 'em." Rick chastised. "You can't promise somethin' to a woman and not keep it. They remember everything, trust me. Now I think you should stay with Beth, take her to Washington, let Dawn do what she needs to do and bring her and the cure back here, have a life with her if that's what you want."

There was just silence from Daryl, which made Rick wonder if he was now thinking about keeping Beth with him or just annoyed. "We'll talk about this when we find her."

XxX

A few miles down the trail, they found an abandoned farm house with a horse hitched up in front of it. "Area looks clear." Rick muttered as Daryl got off his horse. "Just be careful."

Daryl opened up the front door with his cross bow at the ready. The house looked like the apocalypse never happened. It hadn't been looted or vandalized, but a thick layer of dust covered everything. "Beth!" His voice echoed through the house. "Beth!"

"I'm up here!" Beth's voice rang out from a room upstairs.

Daryl growled to himself as he walked up the stairs. "Jesus Christ." He grumbled while walking down the hallway the room where Beth was sitting in. It was a teenage girl's room from what he could tell and Beth had made herself comfortable on the bed as she read a small book.

"Man is this all they had to worry about?" She asked, not looking up from the book. "Boys, movies, what shoes go with what shirt?" Beth paused and shook her head. "What I do if I coulda worried about that when I was sixteen."

"Get up, we're leavin' c'mon." Daryl commanded as he turned toward the door.

"And what if I say no?" Beth questioned, not moving from the bed.

Daryl's eyebrows furrowed at her and a growl erupted in his throat. "Do you have any idea what your life means, huh? Runnin' off like that and puttin' yourself in danger? It's pretty god damn selfish!"

"Then I guess we're both pretty god damn selfish." Beth countered back as she put down the diary.

"What do you want from me? Huh?" Daryl grounded out as he walked over to her. "I took you here like I promised, I risked my life for you. I did my job, I got you to Rick and he knows this area better than me, he knows Dawn and those fuckin' fireflies better than me."

Beth whirled on him. "Stop with the bullshit, you are the best tracker I know."

"I can't trust myself with you!" He bellowed. "If somethin' happened to you or if I did somethin'…"

"What are you so afraid of? Beth interrupted. "That I'll end up like Andrea!" Daryl froze when she brought up her name. "I can't get infected, I can take care of myself! Or are you just afraid of admitting that you fell somthin' yeah, I get it- big tough guy all strung out because he lost the love of his life- but I'm not her! Michonne told me what happened. About the walker that bit her and about how you went on this rampage. I get it! I'm sorry about your fiancée, Daryl, but I lost people too."

Daryl's face turned a beat red as he stomped over toward Beth till he was nose to nose with her. "You have no idea what loss is!" He spat.

Beth held her own against him, keeping her eyes locked with his and not backing down at his anger. "Everyone I have ever cared for has either died or left me, everyone expect for you! I watched some delusional asshole decapitate my father in front of me and I have no clue where my Mama and my brother and sister are- or if they're even alive…and Zach-" She took a shaky breath. "So don't you dare tell me that I'd be safer with someone else, cause I'd just be more scared then I am right now."

There was a long pause between the two of them until Daryl finally spoke up. "You're right, you ain't Andrea and I sure as hell ain't yer boyfriend and we are goin' our separate ways."

"I hate to break this up, but we got company."

Daryl turned around and saw Rick standing at the doorway of the bedroom. "There are two men upstairs already and two more downstairs. Gonna be like old times, what do you say, Daryl?"

Daryl backed away from Beth and nodded his head. "Hang back." He muttered to Beth as he crouched down and snuck up on the first man and slit his throat. The second one had noticed him and started to yell but Daryl's knife stopped him quickly. Once he got the all clear sign from Rick, Daryl and Beth walked down the stairs and looked over the bodies. "You know these guys?" Rick asked them. "I heard one of them say your names."

Of course they knew them, it was the guys from the city and they had actually tracked them here. "Nope, got no idea who they are."

XxX

Beth remained silent on the way back to the prison, not speaking a word to either men. It was something she should have never done was think that Daryl could even care about her. She had thought that they shared a bond, but he had proved her wrong. She looked back over at Daryl to notice that he was staring at her. She quickly turned back around and looked forward, this was so stupid- why did she have to like the brooding type of men that looked like they carried the world on their shoulders.

But as Daryl looked at Beth, he came to the realization that everything she said to him back at the house had been true. Over the few months they had been together, he had started to develop feelings for the stubborn blonde and it wasn't because she reminded him of Andrea, but because of who Beth was. An asskicker with the looks, voice, and personality of an angel. Beth was everything that he wasn't and sure, he had himself convinced that she'd never feel the same way, but the proof was in that one word, care. She cared about him and he hadn't had that in a long time. As they reached the prison, Daryl already came to his decision. "Beth, why don't you get off your horse and hand it back to Rick, I think we'll keep this one." She looked back at him with a look of surprise and happiness on her face. "I think you and me should finish this together, if that's still what you want."

Beth didn't even let him finish before she jumped from her horse and handed it over to Rick. She carefully made her way over to Daryl who helped her onto the back of the one he was on. "Of course that's what I want you Jackass, s'what I've been sayin' this whole time."

Rick looked at the two in confusion. "Michonne still scares me." Daryl admitted as Beth wrapped her arms around his torso. "I don't want to be skewered but that katana anytime soon." Rick smiled at the two of them and nodded.

"Okay," He began, rifling through his saddle bag and handing him a map. "The lab is in right in the pentagon, trust me you won't miss it." Rick paused as he looked between the two of them. He hadn't seen his best friend this content in a long time. He even could say that Daryl looked happy with this tiny woman wrapped around him. "Now remember, there is a place for the both of you here. So when this is done, you both come back here."

Daryl nodded in agreement and reached out to shake Rick's hand. "See you soon, brother."

"Yup, see you soon- Beth?" The blonde haired woman looked up. "You keep him in line now, you hear?"

Beth laughed. "Of course I will, been doin' it the whole time."

Rick watched as they rode off in their direction with a smile on his face. Daryl had really gotten himself deep with this one, but he had a feeling that Beth was truly what his best friend needed.