Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Walking Dead'.

Author Notes:

I'm really really sorry for the delay! I was super busy and not having time to write, but now I'm back!
Enjoy :) I hope you're not disappointed!

Chapter 3: Hard Reality

They are both still asleep. Beth slept on the floor, Daryl stayed awake half of the night on guard, but it was so quiet he eventually fell asleep while sat against the wall. The sun is already up, and the forest animals are all awake.
Beth starts to wake up very slowly, yawning, stretching. She hadn't felt this relaxed in weeks.

'Why couldn't everyday be like this?' She thinks. Looking out of a tiny crack on this window covered with wooden boards.

Her stomach is growling, and the only eatable thing in the room now is a couple of berries left that Daryl had found a few days ago. She goes to his backpack, to find only two berries. And small ones. She picks one, and leaves the other for Daryl.

'Better than nothing, anyway.' She chews and chews, hoping to get most of its taste, then swallows it, slightly disappointed.

Beth sits next to Daryl, and watches him sleep for a while. She feels kinda creepy, but that feeling soon goes away, as she sees how peaceful he is. In a way she's never seen him before. His head is leaning against the wall, his hands placed on his legs, far from the crossbow, which is pretty unusual. He is always ready for anything, but not now. He allowed himself let the guard down. She looks at his clothes, all ripped and dirty. A bit of dry blood here and there. Then she looks at herself.

'Even some old rags would be better than this.' She thinks while letting out a sigh.

There are some birds singing outside, something Beth hadn't heard in a while. She leans against the wall too, with her head near his, closes her eyes and listens to the birds. And his breathing. Resting in peace never sounded as good as in this moment. It's all so still, that Beth falls asleep again. After a few minutes her head starts tilting in Daryl's direction, and right when her forehead touches his, he wakes up startled and stands up, waking her up as well.

"Beth?!" He says in a high-pitched tone.

"Sorry!" She says delicately.

"What… What are you doin'?!" He looks at her very confused.

"I… I came to check on you and… Fell asleep. Sorry."

"Could ya not do this everyday?"

"I swear I won't." She raises her right hand as in a vow.

Daryl passes his hands on his eyes and forehead, and just walks around in the room. Beth is still sat on the floor.

"I left you a berry. I was really hungry but… There were only two. I figured you'd want one."
He turns to her but doesn't say anything.

Beth looks down and takes a big breath. Those few seconds of awkward silence feel like an eternity. When she's just about to say something.
"Um, hey! How ab…"

"I'm gonna take a piss."

Daryl kicks away all the garbage that was in front of the door, and walks out. Beth is left with her mouth still open.

"O-okay..." Her words almost echo in this empty room. She rolls her eyes.

A minute later Daryl returns. Still with a grumpy look.

"So… How about we change these clothes?"
Daryl squints his eyes at her.

"I mean, look at us. We stink for God's sake. We're covered in blood, dirt, sweat."
He still doesn't say a word.

"And a hot shower would be really nice too…"

"Lemme call room service for ya." Daryl certainly isn't on the mood for talking. He looks mad.

"What is it with you?" Beth gets a bit angry at him.

"None o' your goddamn business."

Beth is speechless and wide eyed.

"Imma take a walk." He walks out the door again.

'What just happened?!' Beth is confused. 'Was it something I said?'

She stands up and runs right after him. By the time she takes two steps out, he yells at her.

"Stay inside."
She obviously doesn't follow his orders and goes after him anyway.

"Daryl, what is it?" He doesn't stop to listen to her, so she keeps following him.

"Is it something I said?! I… I'm sorry for waking you up like that… Again. I promise it won't happen anymore."
Still nothing from him.

"And I won't eat your berries without asking too."

"Shut up!" He stops and turns around.

"I… I'm sorry… I…"

"Stop saying ya sorry. Just stop."
Beth is desolated.

"It's nothing to do with ya." Daryl says, irritated.

They remain there, among the trees, silent and confused.

"Talk to me, please." Beth insists.

He doesn't say a word. She stares at him, waiting for him to say something, anything.

"It's cold. We'd better get back."

Daryl walks past by her, going back to the cabin. Beth is soundless, numb, even more confused. She turns around and goes after him.

Once they're in, Daryl goes to the back of the room and leans his hand on the wall.
Beth is still confused whether she should say something or not. Until Daryl finally speaks.

"I was having a dream."

Beth is by the door.

"I was having a dream when you woke me up."

Beth hesitates, she is very surprised, but she asks anyway.
"What was it about?"

"The prison."
Beth comes closer to him while he speaks.

"It all came down too fast. Everyone was dead. Rick, Michonne… you."
Beth is listening carefully to what he's saying.

"There was nothin' I could do." He takes his hand off the wall and goes to the other side of the room.

Beth turns around to look at him.

"You and your apologies… I don't care 'bout a goddamn berry. Or 'bout how I smell."
She understands now.

"I couldn't do anything. I just ran, like a fuckin' coward."
Beth comes to him, takes his hand and holds it tight.

"Daryl."

"I couldn't. I can't. People were... relyin' on me. And it ain't a dream. I just… ran."

Beth is holding his hand. She feels what he feels. She knows the pain it brought to his heart. Leaving the prison, leaving everyone behind. This is it, this is his hard shell finally breaking.

"It ain't… It's true. They must all be dead now. And it's on me." He's trying to hold his tears.

"Daryl. I am here. You ran with me. You saved me. This… This is true. Just like you told me before. We go on, right? We can't undo what is done. We just… Keep going." There's a smile in her face, hidden behind all that sadness. "I had a dream too. We were still together, in a calm place… Sitting on a porch, just… Enjoying sunrise."

Birds are still singing outside, this time even louder.

"I know it's crazy. But… It really helped. What you said to me, and… This dream, it helped me see things how they are now."

She takes his other hand.

"I am here. And you're here. We're in this together. And the days to come… Let them come."

Daryl is very thoughtful at this moment.

"I suffered enough. And you too. You shouldn't blame yourself like that. It wasn't your fault."

"You don't understand." He pulls his hands off of hers impatiently.

"Yea. I don't. But we only got each other now. We can do our best, for each other."

He goes comes really close to her.
"You don't know… You know nothing." He says almost glued to her face, in a mixed feeling of anger and sorrow.

Beth raises both her hands and touches his face. Their eyes are concentrated on each other.

"I know I'm here. For us. And I know, I'll do my best to not let you down. And I know, you can do even better. Now you stop being this jackass, and get your head straight. This isn't a dream anymore. We're gonna be fine."
Daryl answers nothing. But Beth knows he understood everything she said.
"I can't believe I need to tell you these things, you're the badass here." She smiles.

He moves away from her.

"Now… We really gotta do something."

"What?"

"Find new clothes, immediately. I can't stand your smell anymore."

"Oh shut up."