A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank you so much to all of you for reading and sticking with this series. I can't tell you how much that means!
They run.
They run until dawn is breaking on the horizon and the gunshots have stopped. They cross over the highway at one point and keep running until they reach another country road. Then they cut across a field and head towards a large rundown farmhouse with a sagging roof. They run and take shelter behind the house, Daryl and Rick checking behind them.
Beth stops running and rubs at a stitch in her side. She doesn't get to breathe easy for long because Maggie is there, hugging her tight.
Beth hugs her back, squeezes her sister so tightly until they both groan and laugh. Maggie pulls back and shakes her head.
"I didn't… Oh, Lord, Beth, you're alive!"
The disbelief in her voice stings Beth a bit, deep inside; but she pushes it down and just nods. "Daryl and I got out. We met up with Rick and Michonne just a few days back."
Maggie looks over at Daryl, who's looking at the two of them.
"Thank you," she says to him, holding Beth's hand.
Daryl shakes his head. "She held her own. Took care of me more'n I took care of her."
Beth grins at him and he just smirks back. "So much for sticking to the plan," she says to him.
"Yeah," he says, shrugging. "Couldn't leave 'em there, though, could I?"
"No," she says gripping Maggie's hand. "No, you couldn't."
Maggie looks between them and frowns a little.
"You cut your hair?" she says, running a hand over Beth's shorter ponytail.
"Just a little," Beth says, uncomfortably, feeling self-conscious. "It was getting long." She shakes off the odd feeling that's come over her and says, "But, what happened? Were you all at Terminus?"
There's a sharp wail from Judith and Beth looks over to see Carol handing Rick a bottle.
"They let us keep some formula for her," she's telling Rick who's rocking Judith and now feeding her. "Don't know what they were thinking they'd do with her when they were done with us."
"What were they going to do with you?" Carl asks, running his finger alongside the bottom of Judith's foot.
"Eat us," Glenn says flatly.
Beth jerks and looks at him. "They what?"
"They were cannibals," Sasha says quietly, Tyreese's arm around her shoulders as she hugs his mid-section.
Beth glances at Daryl and he nods. "They ain't lying," he says. "They had all sorts of bones, looked like an abattoir up in there."
"Start from the beginning," Rick says glancing at Daryl and Michonne. He eyes the three people standing off to the side that Beth doesn't know. "Including your new friends."
Beth listens to everyone's story while holding on to her sister. Her head spins at all of the different tales that have somehow merged together.
Carol met up with Tyreese and the girls and Beth's heart breaks a little to hear of poor Lizzie and Mika dying. She notices a look shared between Carol and Tyreese and wonders how much they're not telling, but knows she's not going to ask.
Internally, she's not sure how she feels about what Carol did back at the prison, but the image of shoving her own arrow into the head of a living man flashes and well…she understands. It's the lesson everyone's learning, isn't it? You do what you have to when you think that you have to.
Maggie, Bob, and Sasha travelled together until they merged with Glenn and Tara, the dark-haired girl whose knee looks all banged up. Beth recognizes her from the group that was with the Governor, but Glenn vouches for her when Rick arches an eyebrow.
"We met up with Eugene, Abraham, and Rosita, over there," Glenn says gesturing at the three new people.
"Sergeant Abraham Ford," the large red-headed man says to Rick. "I'd shake your hand, but you look a little busy there."
Rick nods to him and shifts Judith in his arms. "Rick Grimes." He nods at Beth. "That's Beth, and I think you met Daryl and Michonne last night."
He nods at Daryl and Michonne. "Sure did. Brief, but it sure made an impression." He glances at Beth and smiles. "Ma'am."
Beth nods back and notices Daryl shift on his feet and glare a little at the other man.
"They're on their way to Washington," Glenn says, leaning against the wall of the farmhouse. "Eugene there has the cure to the virus."
The group goes silent as they all stare at the man with the mullet; the only sound is Judith sucking furiously on her bottle.
"Is that right?" Daryl eventually says, disbelief heavy in his voice.
"It is," Eugene says nodding. "I know how to fix it."
Beth blinks and looks over at Daryl who look back at her and shrugs his shoulders.
"All right, then," he says. He looks over at Rick, who is staring at Eugene with a carefully controlled look on his face.
"So…what's up with the cannibals?" Carl asks.
The very, early morning sun is pale in the sky when they decide to leave the farmhouse. Everyone splits a couple of cans of food from Beth and the others' packs, but they want to get some distance between themselves and Terminus.
"Let's check that map of yours," Rick says to Daryl. Rick still has Judith in his arms as she dozes and Carl's right beside him.
Beth offers her back to Daryl and he digs into her backpack that she's still wearing, for the map. As she turns, she notices an odd look on Maggie's face, but then everyone's crowding around the map to see where they are.
"I'm thinking we're about here," Daryl says pointing to a spot near a county road. "A decent-sized town's about a day and a bit walk away." He looks up at Rick. "It's northeast and won't take them too far out of their way."
"Appreciate the consideration," Abraham says amiably. "Be nice to get some weapons and some transport."
"Northeast, it is, then," Rick says nodding.
Daryl folds up the map and puts it back into Beth's pack.
Then they start to walk. As they go, Glenn tells them about Terminus.
"We walk in and they just handed us a plate of food," he says grimly, walking beside Maggie and Beth. "And we ate it. God knows what it was."
"Or who," Bob says grimacing.
"Christ," Daryl says from where he's walking towards the rear of the group, Carol and Tyreese walking next to him.
"Then they locked us up into these train cars," Sasha continues. She glances at her brother and smiles. "Can't believe that's how we met up. In some freakin' train car."
"Strange world we're living in, little sister," Tyreese says, smiling.
"Anyway, there we are," Glenn says. "Wondering who they're going to take when the time comes. Eyeing each other up to see who looks the tastiest."
"Oh, my God, Glenn," Beth says looking at Glenn while Maggie punches his arm.
"What?" he says chuckling. "We're out, I can laugh about it now. I mean, Soylent Green was going to be us!"
Daryl snickers and even Michonne cracks a small grin.
"So, we're stuck in these train cars and then door opens and this familiar redneck voice says, 'What the hell are y'all dumbasses waitin' on? Get the hell outta there!'" Glenn says, imitating Daryl.
"This is after someone set the some of the place on fire," Michonne says looking back at Beth. "I think he may have been inspired."
Beth looks back at Daryl and he smirks at her, saying, "What? I'm setting all sorts of unsuspecting structures on fire these days. You're a bad influence on me, Greene."
"Oh, cry me a river, Dixon," she says grinning. "I'm an exceptional influence on you." She turns to Glenn. "Then what happened?"
"We got the hell outta there," Glenn says. He furrows his brow. "Think they may come after us?"
The idea of another group of people chasing after her people makes Beth frown.
"Doubt it," Daryl says. "They looked well set-up, they ain't just going to abandon their place 'cause their dinner ran off on them."
"Jesus, man," Tyreese says shaking his head. "Go easy on us."
Rick's finished feeding Judith and Carol steps forward to help him with her. There's a moment when the two look at each other. Beth watches Carol give Rick a small nod and Rick gives one back.
"Beth can take Judith," Carl says, smiling a little at Beth. "You know, like you used to."
Beth blinks and then nods. "Of course I can. If you want?"
Rick glances at her and then asks, "You sure?"
"She's sure," Carl says firmly taking Judith from Rick and walking back to Beth. "Judith likes being with Beth."
There's a second, a sharp, harsh second, right before Beth takes Judith where something rebels inside of her. A desperate voice shouts 'This isn't all I am now! I'm not just a baby-sitter! I'm more than I was!'
But then Judith is in her arms, heavier than she used to be, but she's smiling up at Beth and Beth's smiling back and the thought fades away.
"Hey, there, sweetpea," Beth whispers. Judith gives a little cry and a wiggle and waves her arms. Beth laughs. "Oh, I missed you, baby girl."
Carl's smiling at them both and turns to look at Rick, who looks relieved and as though a huge weight has lifted off his chest.
Beth adjusts her hold on Judith and feels Daryl come up behind her. He reaches around and tugs on Judith's foot.
"Hey, there, li'l ass-kicker," he says, his hand resting on Beth's shoulder as he talks to Judith. "Glad to see you're still being a badass and taking names."
Judith gives happy cry and tangles a little hand in a lock of Beth's hair.
"I fixed up a carrier for her," Tyreese says coming up to them, a backpack in his hands. "Let's see if we can get it on you."
A few hours later, they're still walking in small groups along a badly paved country road. Rick is walking with Glenn, Maggie, Sasha, and Abraham up front, followed by Eugene on his own, then Michonne and Carl, who keeps looking back at Beth and Judith, who is right behind them.
Beth is walking with Judith situated in the carrier that Tyreese rigged up so that Judith rests on Beth's front facing her.
Daryl is right behind Beth; Carol and Tyreese on either side of him, Bob and Tara taking up the back.
Beth can feel Daryl watching her as she hums Judith to sleep. The little girl is a familiar weight in her arms and she really did miss her, so very bad. More than she'd let herself admit, so to have her back feels like some kind of miracle that she doesn't dare test in any way. Carl looks better at any rate. More hopeful than he has in days and Beth can't and won't ignore that.
Rosita is walking next to her and she glances over at Judith.
"She's cute," she says.
"She is," Beth says smiling down at Judith. "She's bright, too."
"Can't imagine having one right now, though," Rosita says shaking her head. "How'd you manage it?"
"Oh, she's not mine," Beth says. "Her mama, well…"
Rosita nods. "Gotcha. That sucks. Poor little thing."
"She's still got her daddy and her big brother, though," Beth says and Carl turns around at that and grins at Beth, who smiles back. Carl turns back around. Michonne grins at him.
"So, are you her aunt or something?" Rosita asks.
"No, just a friend of the family," Beth says, jiggling Judith a little.
They walk along in silence for a bit longer. The day's turned out warmer than previously and the carrier's hot on Beth's shoulders, sweat slips down her spine and she wipes the back of her hand across her brow.
"God," Rosita says eventually, sounding angry. "Cannibals. I still can't get my head around that. I mean, what the hell is wrong with people?"
"Beats the heck outta me," Beth says shaking her head. She makes a face. "It's not like it's all that great of an idea anyway. From a biological standpoint. I mean, you wouldn't do that to farm animals."
"Really?" Rosita asks.
"Yeah, there was that disease that went around England a while back," Beth says. "Farmers fed ground up cows to other cows and it did something to their brains and they ended up having to kill big herds or something."
"Seriously?" Carl asks turning to look Beth.
"Mad cow disease," Eugene says loudly. "Creutzfeldt-Jakob's disease, also known as CJD. Odd proteins called prions infected the cow's brains and turned them into sponge. They went insane." He turns and looks at Beth while walking backwards. "I'm surprised you know about it."
Beth blinks at him and says, "Well, I grew up on a farm. My daddy kept an eye on news like that. Just in case."
Eugene nods. "Makes sense. You're very pretty, by the way."
"Thank you?" Beth says, raising her eyebrows in surprise.
He nods and turns back around.
"He does that," Rosita says under her breath. "You get used to it. Sort of."
"Okay?" Beth frowns, really not sure what to think of their new companions.
She hears a snort behind her and she glances back to see Daryl smirking at her.
"What?" she mouths at him.
"Pretty," he mouths back.
She narrows her eyes at him and then mouths, "Shut up."
As she turns around, she catches Carol looking between Beth and Daryl with a fond smile on her face. Beth smiles back at her and Carol speeds up a little to walk beside her.
"It's good to see you, Beth," she says, smoothing a finger on Judith's cheek.
"It's good to see you, too," Beth says quietly. "I'm glad you're all right."
Carol nods. "Mostly all right. You look good. Stronger."
"You do, too," Beth says and she means it. There's a deep sadness there, in Carol's eyes, but there's something else. Something like acceptance. Acceptance of what, Beth has no idea. She isn't sure she wants to know, because she wonders if that look will eventually seep into her own eyes.
She looks down at Judith, who blinks up at her sleepily, and thinks, The things we have to do now. Lord, I hope you don't have to do them, too, Judith-girl.
"Daryl looks good, too," Carol says glancing back, a small smile on her face.
Beth glances at her, surprised. The look Carol's giving her is one like they share some kind of secret and Beth has to smile back.
"Daryl always looks good," Beth says casually.
Carol laughs and Beth giggles along, as they both look back at Daryl, who just eyes them suspiciously.
"Don't think I approve," he says slowly, "of whatever it is y'all two are thinking."
"Oh, I bet you do," Carol says grinning at him. Beth giggles again and knows that if anyone in the group is going to say anything about whatever it is that she and Daryl have, it's not going to be Carol.
She turns back around in time to see Maggie glancing back at her with that same puzzled look on her face from before.
Oh, heck, Beth thinks, somewhat resigned. Going to have to talk to her some time. That's going to be fun.
The reluctance to talk to her sister takes her by surprise and she immediately pushes it from her mind.
They eventually come across a plant nursery on the edge of the highway and as dark is coming on, they go inside the greenhouse next to the small store. Beth can smell the sweet scent of Confederate jasmine that's growing wild along a fallen down fence. Rows of plants have spread and entwined with each other and Beth wonders if there are any vegetables still on the vines. Sasha and Carol must have the same thought because they head over to look the plants over, Bob close by.
A lone walker is stumbling about the entrance to the greenhouse, but a bolt from Daryl's crossbow has him collapsing on the ground.
As Daryl yanks the bolt out of the walker, Rick and Glenn edge up to the door to check the place out. Maggie's close behind them, Beth having loaned her crossbow to her sister, warning her about the pull up and to the right.
Tyreese stays close to Beth and Judith and Beth gives him a grateful look.
"Have you had a rough time of it?" he asks her, his voice low.
"Some parts were rough," Beth says quietly, thinking of those men and that night and what they all had to do.
"Yeah," he says nodding his head. "Same here. Some parts."
"It's clear," Rick calls out and everyone goes inside. Daryl and Abraham go into the store to see if anything's been left. Daryl catches Beth's eye after he lets Abraham go inside first. She raises her eyebrows at him and he rolls his eyes. She stifles a giggle and then goes into the greenhouse.
The air inside is humid and there's a barrel of rainwater situated in the back that everyone takes turns splashing onto their faces. A fountain with small mold-covered cherubs lies stagnant in the middle and everyone avoids it. Most of the plants have died due to lack of water, but some are overgrowing their pots.
Carol and Sasha manage to find some bell peppers and tomatoes that don't look too overripe while Carl and Michonne get all the cans from their packs out.
"Found a Coke machine," Abraham says as he and Daryl come into the greenhouse each carrying an armful of cans.
Beth sits Judith on the ground on a shirt that Carl's given her. She hears a short whistle and looks up. Daryl tosses her a can of Sprite and she catches it with a smile.
Everyone's exhausted from running most of the night and into the day, so dinner is quiet.
"We still aim to head towards DC," Abraham says after drinking an entire can of Dr. Pepper in one long series of gulps. "We'd sure be grateful for the company."
Beth glances at Daryl who's looking to Rick, who's looking down at his daughter and son as they play some kind of game involving Carl wiggling his fingers above Judith's waving hands.
Rick eventually looks up and nods. He looks at Daryl who shrugs.
"Northeast is all right," he says. "We'll hit the Nantahala forest though and I don't know that we want to do that when winter's on our asses."
Rick looks to Abraham. "I'm not saying 'no'. But, let me sleep on it. Let the others sleep on it before we decide."
"That's fair, man," Abraham says spreading his hands out. "Let me know if y'all want to help save the world."
Beth isn't sure what she thinks of that, but the look on Daryl's face is priceless and she has to look away so that she doesn't start laughing.
Carol helps Beth get Judith situated and soon the little girl's asleep beside Rick and Carl. Rick keeps looking at her as though he expects her to just disappear and Carl falls asleep with his hand beside Judith's foot. Michonne curls up nearby and Maggie and Glenn curl up together.
Maggie smiles at Beth and holds out her hand. "Stay close?" she asks her.
Beth nods. "I will. I'll be right there."
She gets up after tugging on Maggie's hair a little, which makes her sister smile. Glenn winks at her from where he's spooned up behind Maggie and Beth winks back.
Then she goes outside to where Daryl's walking the perimeter.
"You should get some sleep," she says to him as she leans against the greenhouse wall. "You were up all night being a hero."
He scoffs and leans against the wall beside her, his arm resting beside hers. She edges over so that their hands line up together, and he's the one that takes her hand.
"Sorry I didn't stick to the plan," he says, voice going low.
"I forgive you," she says smiling. "This time."
"Glad to see Maggie?"
"Yes, of course!" Beth hesitates. "I don't know. I'm so happy to see everyone and God, Judith, I'd thought…"
She stops talking and looks up at the sky. It's a clear night and she can almost make out the Milky Way.
"I'm happy," she says again. She looks at him. "Are you?"
"Yeah, I'm happy," he says, surprised. "Just…I don't know."
"Yeah." She sighs. "It feels kinda…"
"Loud?"
"Crowded."
"Got used to being on our own," he says. He shuffles his feet and looks almost embarrassed to have admitted it.
"I almost miss that treehouse," Beth says. "Which is a terrible thing to say. Because none of our family was there and we didn't know if they were alive or not."
"Ain't terrible," he says shaking his head. "It was a good treehouse."
"Could've holed up there," she says.
"I offered."
"I know."
They stare up at the sky and slowly, where their hands are joined, he starts to rub his index finger across her knuckle. It's the smallest touch, but it makes Beth shiver and ache deep, deep inside.
"You okay?" he asks, his voice so quiet she can barely hear him.
"You're here," she says, just as quietly. "I'm okay."
She looks at him and he tilts his head, just slightly, towards her and a shuffling of feet behind Beth makes her jump.
Tyreese holds up his hands and says, "Sorry, just thought I'd take first watch. I probably got more sleep than you did last night, man."
Daryl squeezes Beth's hand and then let's go, saying "Thanks. I'm good to stay up for a little while longer."
"I'll join you, then," Tyreese says.
Beth curls her hand into her palm and smiles at them both. "Well, if you two gentlemen are going to be our guards for the evening, I'm going to get some sleep."
Tyreese grins at her and Daryl nods.
"Sleep well," he mutters as Beth heads inside.
When she rounds the door, she hears Tyreese ask softly, "I interrupt something?"
Beth pauses just inside the doorway to hear Daryl's answer and grins when she hears, "Kinda, yeah."
She curls up near Maggie with a smile on her face.
Judith is fussy the next morning and Carol says she's been teething lately. Beth walks her around the greenhouse and it seems to help. But the second she stops walking, Judith starts up again. Beth offers her thumb to Judith and she grabs hold and gums at it.
"Maybe we should stay the night," Carl says, walking beside Beth and Judith.
"Looks like there's a one-horse town a mile or two that way," Bob says from where some of them are consulting the map again. He eyes Judith. "Don't know that we want to walk with her all unhappy like that."
"No telling what it might attract," Sasha says quietly, coming over and rubbing her hand on Judith's back. She gives Beth a sympathetic look and Beth nods at her.
"I agree," Carol says. "She's been doing this off and on and if she has a day to just yell her way through it, she tends to be better the next day."
"Tara should probably rest her knee some more after all that running," Maggie says.
"I'm fine," Tara says looking embarrassed when everyone looks at her. "I can walk if I have to."
"No, no, all right," Rick says. "Some of us go over to that town, see what we can bring back. Carl, you go set some snares near the woods over that way, see if you can catch us some supper. We'll lay low tonight, then head out first thing."
Everyone nods and Beth's not all that bothered or surprised that Rick seems to have just fallen back into being a leader.
We all have jobs to do, she thinks, remembering her words from months ago. She looks down at Judith. This is mine. And that's okay. I think.
Most of the men head out in the direction of the town; Glenn, Bob, and Carl stay behind. Sasha heads out with them as she knows what Judith might need and because she and Tyreese don't seem to want to let each other out of their sight.
Daryl comes over to her before they go and says, "You okay?"
"I'm okay," she says nodding. "Stick to the plan this time, though, won't you?"
"No promises, Greene," he says, rubbing Judith's back and giving Beth a tiny smirk. "But, I'll come back."
Then they're out the door. Beth stands and watches them head down the road, her eyes on the angel wings on his vest until he's just a dark speck on the horizon. They crest a small hill and disappear from sight.
She takes a deep breath and jiggling Judith, Beth turns around. She comes almost face to face with her sister who has her jaw set and is staring at Beth with that odd look on her face that Beth's coming to really dislike.
"What?" Beth asks, adjusting her hold on Judith.
"What is going on with you and Daryl Dixon?" Maggie asks flatly.
Oh, crap, Beth thinks, her mood sinking. Here we go.