Memories
She flinched away from him as he ran to her and he had to slow himself down before he pulled her against him and kissed her. Something wasn't right. She was looking at him like she had no clue who he was. He slowly walked towards her, treating her like a scared animal, using a calming voice, slow steps. "Beth?" he called out to her, keeping his hands up to show that he wasn't going to hurt her. Beth's eyes were flicking back and forth, looking for a way out. "Beth, it's me, Daryl."
She shook her head, backing away from him. "I don't know you." She fisted her hands in her hair and crouched down, tears falling from her eyes. "I don't know anything. What's wrong with me?"
A cold dread settled over him as he realized what happened. He could see the blood trail that started in her hair. Somehow, before he'd managed to find her she'd hit her head…she didn't remember anything. He slowly bent in front of her. "Your name is Beth Greene, you're nineteen years old." He got a little bit of hope when she looked at him, seeming to calm down. "We've known each other for close to three years now. I'm Daryl." She bit her lip, relaxing more as he talked. "Honey, c'mon, let me get you back to our family."
"Family?" she asked, slowly standing up. "A-are we related?"
He shook his head. "You have a sister and a brother-in-law, but the rest of the group, we're family all the same." He held his hand out to her, putting his crossbow on his back. "C'mon sweetheart." She timidly took his hand and let him lead her back towards camp. He had no idea what he was going to do. As they neared the camp he could tell she was getting nervous. He pushed a hand through his hair and stopped just outside of the perimeter he and Rick had created. "Wait here," he told her, slowly letting go of her hand. He walked into camp and found everyone sitting around the fire.
"Where have you been?" Rick asked.
Daryl put his crossbow down and looked at Maggie. "I found Beth."
Maggie jumped up. "Where is she?" she demanded.
Daryl shook his head. "Calm down, you need to know, she don't remember anything." He pushed a hand through his hair again. "Nothing she just…she doesn't remember." He let that set in for a moment before he continued. "I'm gonna take care of her. She's opened up a little, she trusts me…somewhat. I just…don't push her okay?" When they nodded he slowly walked back to where he'd left her. She was pacing, chewing her bottom lip raw. "Beth?" he called out softly. She jumped and looked at him. "C'mon." He held his hand out again and slowly she took it. He debated taking her to the group or not. He knew she was going to get overwhelmed, but he also knew Maggie would kill him if he didn't. He slowly led her over and stopped. She hid behind him like a scared child. "Beth, this is your sister Maggie and her husband Glenn. That's Rick and his son Carl and his daughter Judith. Beside him is Michonne, Carol, Tyreese, Sasha, and Bob. You know all of them."
She nodded her head a little and he could see her trying to remember. "Wh-what about the others?" she asked softly.
"That's Abraham, Rosita, Eugene, and Tara," he answered. "They're new, you've never met them before." That seemed to relax her a bit as she looked around. She slowly went around and repeated their names. He was impressed that she'd gotten them all right.
"Are you hungry?" Carol asked.
Beth shook her head. "I'm just…tired." She looked up at Daryl, pleading to him with those blue diamond eyes.
He nodded his head as she slipped her hand into his again. "C'mon." He gently led her away from the others and back to his tent. He probably shouldn't have brought her there, not in her condition, not with the things he'd been dreaming about doing to her, but he didn't have anywhere else to take her. "Hold up," he mumbled, going to his bag and digging out the cleanest shirt he had. "Here," he said handing it to her. "You need to get outta them clothes." She nodded slowly and started to strip in front of him. "Shit," he swore, quickly turning around. "You forget modesty too?" he asked.
"They made me all the time…" she whispered. Anger flooded through him as he looked back at her, making sure to keep his eyes on her face as she continued to undress.
"They who?" he demanded.
She shook her head. "I don't know who they were…I just know they made me do things." She pulled his shirt over her head and he had to admit, he liked that look on her. She settled down beside him and pushed her body up against him. He didn't know if he was supposed to push her away or pull her close. "Will you tell me more?" she asked.
Daryl sighed and nodded his head as she rested her head on his chest. "Well, what do you know about the walkers?" he asked.
"You mean the zombies?"
He chuckled a bit. "Yeah, we call 'em walkers though." He looked down at her. "Four years, give or take, the world went to shit, not sure how. People die, they come back, we kill them again." He found himself playing with her hair, but she wasn't freaking out so he didn't stop. "That's how we met you, we were on the road and Carl got shot by a friend of your daddy's. He told Rick to take him to your farm, we all showed up later."
She nodded her head a little. "He's dead, isn't he?" she asked quietly.
He didn't have to ask who she was talking about. "Yeah sweetheart, he is." He was actually happy she'd forgotten that. Hell, if he could go back and forget his mamma's death he would. That was her only saving grace in all of this. "He was a good man though, and a tough son of a bitch. He lost half of his leg." He smiled a little at his memory. "I respected the hell out of him."
They spent the whole night talking. That's all they did anymore. Weeks passed and her memories never came back to her. He spent every moment he could telling her things that he knew about her, about the people they were with. When he was around she was always on his side. She was still a little skittish around the others and he didn't blame her. He kept them away. When she'd had too much they would go back to his tent and he would fill her head with more memories. "You love ladybugs," he told her one night as she rested against his chest.
She looked up at him. "Ladybugs?" He nodded his head. She looked down a little, biting her lip. He knew she wanted to ask something. He kept quiet, watching her, wondering what had her so nervous. "Do I love you?" she asked quietly.
Out of all the things that could have come out of her mouth that wasn't what he'd been expecting. He just stared at her. "I don't know," he answered honestly. Before she'd been taken from him he had thought maybe she felt something towards him, but after everything that had happened, he hadn't thought about it much. She didn't need that kind of pressure.
"Do you love me?"
He looked at her. Those blue diamond eyes were staring up at him, wanting an answer and wanting the truth. He sighed as he laced their fingers on his chest. "Yeah, I do."
She smiled a little, resting her head on his chest. "Good, because I think I love you too." He watched her as she yawned and cuddled against him. He pulled the blanket around her as she fell asleep. Yeah, he loved her, and he would spend the rest of his life telling her anything she wanted to know about her past while helping her deal with her life now and create new memories for her.