Rick and Carl went after Daryl. Beth ran for the door, but Michonne stepped in front of her and grabbed her arm holding her back.
"You can't Beth! You're hurt. Rick will stop him." she said. Beth jerked her arm out of Michonne's grasp. Her blue eyes were flashing.
"How did he know I was here.." Beth asked.
"You didn't think he'd find you? He's been following us since we walked out of Denise's." Michonne said.
"He heard everything?" Beth said softly. But she knew the answer to that already. She'd seen his face. Michonne slowly nodded her head.
"He came in right after we sat down." she didn't look Beth in the eyes.
"Why didn't you tell me? He shouldn't have heard.." Beth cried.
"Why not? He needed to know what happened to you Beth!" Michonne told her.
"And you saw how he reacted!" Beth said furiously. She stood up and faced Michonne her hands balled into fists by her side.
"He's not allowed to be horrified by what he heard? That's exactly how I felt! It's how Rick felt too! I don't know what happened between the two of you while you were out there, but Daryl was not the same man when we all found each other. He was broken." Michonne said.
Beth choked back a sob. "And I'm not the same girl." she said softly.
Michonne's face softened. "Of course you aren't Beth." From upstairs they heard Judith's cry. "I'll be right back." When Michonne disappeared up the stairs Beth went out the door and took off running.
Rick and Carl were chasing after Daryl. Rick knew what he wanted to do and it was reckless.
"Daryl!, Daryl stop!" Rick yelled.
Daryl went out the main gate and into the woods. He honestly had no idea where he was going. He just had to get out. He was so angry and couldn't process what he had just heard, didn't want to process it.
"Go back Rick." Daryl called over his shoulder. He didn't even try to hide the tears that were on his face. He pulled out his knife and stabbed a lone walker that had been ambling towards him. He wiped the knife on his jeans and when he went to put it back his eyes were drawn to Beth's knife hanging there on his belt. He ran his fingers down the leather sheath. Rick and Carl caught up to him. They stood back sensing Daryl's need for privacy.
"What are you doing Daryl?" Rick asked gently. "You can't go after him alone. You know that we have to do this the right way, together. We'll get him. We will, but not like this. Not without a plan."
"Did ya hear the things that they… They hurt her! She was alive and I left her there to, to get taken and.." Daryl's voice broke. He kicked at the walker body on the ground. He stomped on it's head and pulled out his knife and knelt on the ground and started stabbing blindly at it. Rick heard footfalls and looked over his shoulder. Beth was running towards them. She slowed down when she saw Daryl kneeling on the ground. She didn't look at Rick or Carl. Her eyes were fixed on Daryl. The blade of Daryl's knife hit a rock where he was stabbing and jerked back up and cut into his palm just below his thumb. He sucked in a breath at the initial sting and watched the blood pool in his hand. Beth knelt down beside him.
"You need to clean that. Probably gonna need stitches." she said quietly. She wanted so badly to reach up and brush the hair out of his eyes. She had built walls, but it seemed like she was climbing over the rubble of the parts he kept knocking down. He glanced over at her and his jaw tensed. He had failed Beth. He hadn't protected her. The purple bruise under her eye and all the other bruises he couldn't see, were proof of that.
"Mmmm fine." he mumbled. He wasn't really fine, but he didn't know what to do. If he made any sudden movement she might disappear and right now she was close enough that he could feel her leg against his.
"Might get infected." she reached across the space between them to touch his hand and Daryl held his breath in anticipation.
"Dad." Carl spoke quietly, but the alarm was there in his tone and they all heard it. Rick saw what had frightened Carl, there were walkers coming out of the woods. A pretty sizable group of them. Daryl and Beth stood up slowly. Beth looked over her shoulder. The gate was too far for them to reach before the first of the walkers reached them. They'd have to take them out. Beth was oddly relieved for the distraction and the release a fight would bring. She glanced at Daryl and took her knife out of its sheath at her side. She held it in her hand and stepped forward, ready. Daryl watched her as he raised his crossbow to his shoulder then followed. Rick and Carl moved to each side of the outer margins of the horde and they all moved slowly back towards the gate taking walkers down as they went. This was second nature for Rick, Daryl and Carl. At one time it also been second nature for Daryl to keep Beth in his line of vision. Old habits die hard. But what he was seeing now wasn't something he had seen back when they were running together. Beth was more adept at walker kills now. The look of fear on her face was replaced by one of determination and strangely enough a sense of calm. Daryl wasn't sure if her apparent resignation to the way the world was now was unsettling or reassuring. Eugene saw them coming and was ready with the gate. Once they were all inside he closed it. The few stragglers that were left were quickly taken out through the bars.
"You didn't radio anyone did you?" Rick asked the other man.
"No. I didn't feel it was necessary." Eugene said. He held up a hatchet in his hand. "I was ready to come and assist if you needed me. But you all seemed to have it handled."
"Thanks Eugene." Rick clapped him on the shoulder.
Eugene stepped forward and held out a hand to Beth. "I'm Eugene. We haven't met officially. I was out of commission on the fire truck when.." Daryl stepped forward and glared at the man. He knew that Eugene was sometimes extremely blunt. Daryl was protecting himself just as much as he was Beth from this lack of empathy.
"Well I was kind of out of commission at that time too. I'm Beth. It's nice to meet you." Beth stepped in front of Daryl and shook Eugene's hand.
"Beth I do believe you might have an injury. Walker blood is never bright red." Eugene pointed to Beth's legs. Bright red blood glistened in the moonlight. Beth pulled open her jacket and found the source of the blood.
"Damn! I must have pulled out some stitches." she took off the jacket and stared at the spreading stain . It dripped on the ground at her feet.
"Why you out there fightin them things with stitches?" Daryl said trying to rein in his anger. "Ya shouldn't a been out there." he glanced at her, afraid to look at her fully.
"You shouldn't have been either." Beth said. She rubbed the blood into the dirt with the toe of her boot.
"You both need to go see Denise." Rick told them. He looked up and saw Michonne coming down the street with Judith on her hip. She didn't look very happy.
"Took off when I wasn't looking?" Michonne just looked at Beth. "What happened to you all?" she eyed the blood on their clothing and glared at Rick.
"There was a small horde outside the gate. We handled it, but Beth and Daryl need to go see Denise." Rick said. Michonne turned her glare on Beth shaking her head slightly. Beth felt a slight bit of irritation at Michonne. She took a deep breath and realized needed to remember that these people were her family and although she had changed they only saw the girl from before. And they did love her. She tried to fake an apologetic smile, but she just didn't have it in her.
"Come on." Daryl said and he started towards the infirmary. Beth watched him go. She slowly followed him. He stood on the porch. Once she was next to him he knocked on the door and they waited. Beth peeked over at him as they stood there in silence. She felt so much, looking at him. She didn't know if she wanted to laugh or cry. Her eyes were drawn to the knife he wore at his side. Next to his own knife. Her knife. Daryl noticed her looking at it and their eyes met briefly before the door opened and Daryl swore he saw a flash of something familiar in her big blue eyes, something like hope.
"What happened Beth?" Denise stood next to Tara and they both moved aside to let Beth and Daryl walk in. She motioned them towards the exam room. Once inside she patted the exam table.
"We just stitched you up earlier. Don't tell me you already pulled those out." Denise shook her head.
"I may have." Beth mumbled laying down on the exam table.
Daryl sat on a stool across the room and watched Beth. It felt like a dream. He'd had plenty of them since he'd lost her. They were always the same, one minute she was there going on about a dog and the next she was lying in a pool of blood. Now she was here in the same room with him.
"Daryl? Hello?" Denise said. He noticed her looking at him.
"What?" he said hoarsely.
"I asked you what happened to you?" Denise said turning back to Beth.
"Knife slipped. Cut my hand. It's nothin'." Daryl said.
"Tara can you clean him up and prep him for stitches?" Denise asked. Tara yawned. She pushed herself off the wall she had been leaning half asleep.
"Yeah sure." she said walking over to Daryl.
"Do you work together?" Beth asked Denise.
"Something like that. Tara lives here too." the doctor said.
"Hi, I'm Tara. I've heard a lot about you." Tara called over to Beth.
"I think we can toss you shirt and jacket. They're covered in blood, again." Denise emphasized the word again.
"Not the jacket. I can clean it up. I have to keep it. It was given to me by a friend." Beth said.
"Okay. Suit yourself. I'll cut the shirt off. I have another one you can wear back to.. where are you staying? With your sister?" Denise grabbed a pair of scissors.
"No, with Rick and Michonne." Beth said. She glanced over at Daryl. He was watching her from where he sat on the stool. Tara was cleaning his hand. He didn't even flinch when she poured alcohol directly into the wound. Denise started cutting Beth's shirt away and he averted his eyes. She flipped the cloth back and removed the bandage from earlier.
"That's right, Michonne was with you earlier. Ok.. wow! You popped more than a couple of stitches. You aren't feeling any pain from that?" Denise asked. Beth shook her head. She wasn't feeling anything right now in the way of physical pain. But her mind had been elsewhere so she hadn't really focused on her body.
"I was trying to minimize the scarring earlier. You're making that tough. You need to chill and let this heal." Denise told her.
"I'm not worried about scars. I got a lot of them now. Just means I survived, I guess." she said. She felt Daryl's eyes on her. She turned her head on the pillow, but he'd already looked away.
"Sorry if that hurt at all." Tara said looking at Daryl. "He's ready." she told Denise as she went over and watched the doctor work on Beth. Denise was just starting to stitch her up. The minute she pushed the needle in Beth yelped. Daryl was off the stool and next to the table, his eyes on Beth, his hands aching to touch her, smooth back her hair and wipe away the tear that was slowly rolling down her temple.
"I definitely felt that." Beth said. She let out the breath she'd been holding. Her blue eyes were clouded with pain.
"Ain't you gonna numb it up or give her painkillers?!" Daryl growled at Denise. She ignored his tone.
"I'm so sorry Beth. I assumed you were still good from the meds you had earlier. Tara get me the lidocaine and a syringe. We don't normally give pain meds with sutures, but since you'd been walking around for two days with an open wound I figured you'd need them. I don't like to over do it." Denise explained. "Don't worry Daryl, I'll fix her up. She might need to be carried home though." This shut Daryl up. He backed up to the stool his heart pounding. He was sweating, his hands felt clammy and cold.
"You gonna be okay with this Daryl? Do you need to leave the room?" Tara asked him.
"I'm fine." he said.
"Really? Cause you're as white as a ghost." Tara said walking over to where he sat.
"Just don't like hearing her being hurt." he mumbled. He thought he'd kept his voice down, but Beth had heard every word he said and it ripped through her heart. He was doing it. He was breaking down those walls she'd built up to protect herself from him. But it had been so much easier to build walls to keep someone out who wasn't there. It was going to be hard to direct her anger at him now. He was here and he could defend himself. He could quiet all the voices in her head. If she listened and believed him. Beth wanted to laugh at the irony. She'd told Rick that Daryl needed to believe her in order to let go of his guilt. Maybe they both needed to have a little faith in each other.
Their relationship had changed so much. She hadn't really know Daryl Dixon before the fall of the prison. Not personally anyway. She was aware of all he did for their group. He protected them and did his part to provide much needed food and supplies. It was obvious it was more than just an obligation as a part of the group. He had searched far and wide for formula for newborn baby Judith. Beth saw the relief on his face that night as he fed her her first bottle. After everything that happened with the governor, the devastation of watching her father's violent death, being separated from Maggie and the others left Beth feeling scared and alone, but she knew that Daryl would take care of her. He didn't say hardly anything to her in the beginning, but he always listened to her, even when she was being a spoiled brat. He made sure she had food and water. He always had one eye on her when they were out in the world surrounded by walkers. She'd woken on more than one occasion at night to him covering her up. When it was her turn to take watch he only pretended to sleep half the time because he knew she was nervous. She started to get comfortable with him and refused to let his gruff exterior intimidate her. Sometimes she'd see this look in his eyes when she'd stand up to him, it was like a dare or maybe a plea to get in his face because that meant you cared enough to fight back. And she did care. He didn't have to help her on her quest to have her first drink. He could have shut that down. He hadn't though. Things started to change between them then. She saw little pieces of the real Daryl and she pushed and fussed until he was forced to show her all of himself. Slowly he began to let her in. He didn't flinch when she touched him. Instead he reached for her hand. He talked to her, told her about his life before. He even asked her to sing. He thought he was nothing, a nobody. She told him he was wrong. When he opened up and let her in, she saw him and she fell in love. She never told him. Not even that night in the funeral home. He had said maybe they should stay there, try to make a life, together. The way he looked at her, the things he'd done and said, she knew then he loved her too. Daryl loved her and now she was hurting him.
All of this was going around and around in her muddled mind. Denise had finished her stitches, but she continued to lie on the exam table because she felt to heavy to move. She turned her head and the room tilted. Denise was working on Daryl's hand.
"Daryl? You're here?" Beth breathed.
Daryl looked across the room at the small, broken girl on the table, his brow furrowed.
"It's the pain meds. She's had a lot today." she finished wrapping his hand. "That should do it." He stood up and examined his bandaged hand, flexing his fingers.
"Thanks." he said. He looked at Beth again unsure of what he was supposed to do now. She obviously had to get back to Rick's.
"Daryl do you remember that serious piggyback ride you gave me?" Now she was trying to sit up. "I think you might need to do that again. I don't know if I can walk." And then she broke into peals of laughter and fell back onto the table. Daryl was nervous and Denise seemed to sense that.
"It's okay. It's just the meds. It's like being drunk for some people." Denise explained.
"She's been angry or somethin' at me since we found her." Daryl said unnerved.
"Well right now she's feeling pretty good. I say take advantage of that at least until the pain meds wear off." Denise told him. I'll help you get her home."
They managed to get Beth home. Daryl's heart had been on a roller-coaster the whole time. Beth had been happily going on about random things while they walked back to Rick's. Her joy at seeing Judith and Carl. How grateful she was to be with her family again.
"You know someone had to be lookin' out for me. I got outta that, that…" her face fell and she pushed Denise and Daryl away and leaned over and got sick in the bushes. "I don't want to remember. I don't want to remember." she mumbled. She walked in front of them then, brushing Denise's hand away when she she tried to take Beth's arm.
"The meds also cause mood swings." Denise said apologetically. When they arrived at Rick's Beth said something about a shower and Michonne followed her upstairs. Denise apologized again for the medication and left Rick and Daryl standing in the kitchen.
"What happened?" Rick asked.
"She was happy for a minute because of all the medication. Then she remembered what had happened. She got sick in the bushes, then she was angry again. She's gonna be the death of me." Daryl said. He leaned over on the counter with his head in his hands.
"Go home, get some rest. We need to talk about another scouting mission tomorrow. Push out a little further. Jesus is supposed to be coming." Rick said. Daryl nodded.
"Can I stay here? On the couch?" he asked.
"But you just said.." Rick saw the expression on his brother's face. He knew Daryl wasn't leaving her now. "Sure. Use the shower down here. I'll get you something to wear." He walked over and put a hand on Daryl's back. "What do you want from her Daryl? Is this about forgiveness?" Daryl shook his head.
"It's about second chances. Somethin' I shoulda said a long time ago and now I got a second chance to say it. Don't know if she wants to hear it anymore, but I'm gonna try." Daryl said. He looked at Rick. He didn't really know how to explain what was going on. Not to Rick, not even to himself. He just kept thinking of all that had gone unsaid in those few minutes before Beth had disappeared. People were going to die. They were going to lose the ones they loved. That had been happening all along if he really wanted to be honest with himself. But there were things worth fighting for. No matter the outcome. And there were words that needed to be spoken. It might change everything or nothing. The fact is you would never know unless you tried.
I am struggling with this story guys! I try to hard to stay true to the show and that stifles my creative flow! I hope you guys are enjoying it and for all who are concerned about Beth being such a bitch to Daryl.. give it time. She's been through hell and has to find her way back.. She will! And forgive me for my horrible attempts at the Southern dialect.. I slip in and out way too much! I want this story done before the finale.. just cause! Wish me luck! And thanks again for the follows, faves, and reviews. And for all the stories you all share!