Ch.14

Beth hadn't had a nightmare in years. The last time Maggie could remember her having a nightmare was when Beth was seven. Maggie had been watching Halloween and Beth had snuck down from her room, curling up next to Maggie on the couch. She knew that she should have told Beth to go back upstairs, but she hadn't, and that night Beth had woke the whole house up crying. Maggie had gotten a stern lecture from her daddy about letting Beth watch a scary movie, and Beth had slept with the lights on for a month straight.

But this nightmare was different, and Maggie couldn't figure out why. She had never seen anyone look so terrified. Once Daryl had left the room Maggie had stayed, waiting for Beth to go to sleep. It hadn't taken her long. She could tell by the dark circles under her eyes that Beth was exhausted and deprived of sleep.

When Maggie exited the room she left the door cracked. Glenn was waiting outside leaning against the wall.

"Is she alright?"

"She's sleeping now, but I don't know if she's alright. Where's Daryl?"

"He went back to his room. I don't remember her having nightmares back at the prison."

"That's because she didn't. Hasn't had them in ages, not since she was a little kid. Must be stress related, with everything that's happened lately."

Glenn started walking towards their room, but stopped and turned around when he noticed Maggie wasn't following him. "You coming?"

"You go ahead. I'm going to stay out here for a few minutes, make sure she doesn't wake back up."

Maggie couldn't remember how long she had stayed outside Beth's room, but she eventually fell asleep, waking up to find that it was morning. She peeked through the cracked door to see that Beth was still fast asleep. She seemed so much more peaceful than she had last night.

Her growling stomach made her go to the kitchen and start preparing breakfast. She knew that everyone would start getting up soon, and she figured making breakfast was the least she could do. They didn't have much. They had whatever was left in the house when they had abandoned it, the food Beth and Daryl had brought with them, and a few other things that everyone else had managed to gather on their way here.

Within minutes of starting breakfast she began to hear the shuffle of sleepy feet making their way down the hall upstairs. It was Beth. She still had dark circles under her eyes and the bruise on her cheek still had Maggie worried. Bob had looked at it last night and said it would be fine, but Maggie still worried about it; it looked like it hurt.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"Are you hungry?"

She didn't wait for Beth to answer. She set a bowl of oatmeal down and pulled the chair out for Beth to sit. She wanted to bring up last night, but she wasn't sure how to.

"So about last night," she stated calmly, testing the waters.

"It was nothing," Beth hurriedly interjected.

"Beth, that didn't seem like nothing; you about gave me a heart attack. I think you should talk abo-" Maggie was interrupted by Beth.

"There's nothing to talk about."

Beth was raising her voice, and Maggie was shocked by Beth's sudden outburst. Beth had always been calm and levelheaded in even the most stressful situations.

"It was just a dream. There's nothing to talk about. I'm fine."

Maggie was about to say something else, but stopped herself when Daryl walked in the room. His hair was a mess, but he didn't seem to care.

"Mornin'," his voice was rough, still groggy from sleep.

"Morning," Maggie said, getting up to get him breakfast.

Daryl took the seat directly across from Beth. He looked at her with a worried expression on his face, and it seemed as if he was studying her. Maggie brushed it off, assuming he was still thinking of the events of last night.

"Get any sleep?" He asked, obviously directing his question to Beth.

Beth avoided eye contact with him and only nodded her head.

"You should eat," he said, gesturing to the oatmeal.

Beth took a few bites before she got up from her seat. Walking over to the counter she set the bowl down and left the room without saying a single word. Maggie was puzzled by Beth's behavior, but figured it had to do with the nightmare she had had.

Beth had been avoiding him all day. Whenever he would enter the same room as her she would walk out. He wanted to talk to her, to ask her if she was alright, but she was making it nearly impossible. He needed to clear his head, to get some time away from everyone, so he decided to go hunting.

The woods always seemed to be an escape for him, someplace where he could let all of his worries go. But lately they seemed like a prison. Being alone with his thoughts made him sick to his stomach. The sounds of Beth screaming seemed to fill the silent air around him.

He wondered whether he'd done the right thing keeping his promise to her and not telling anyone what had happened. But how could he tell them the truth? How could he face Maggie and tell her what had happened to her little sister? He was supposed to protect her, keep her safe, after all, and he had let her down.

His thoughts were interrupted when a walker ambled in front of him. He aimed to shoot it and the arrow went straight through its skull. He went to get the arrow, and noticing the position of the sun, decided it was time to start heading back.

By the time he got back dinner was already cooked and had been served. Someone had set aside a plate for him, and Daryl didn't think twice before digging in. Scanning the room he didn't see Beth; he hadn't seen her since bumping into her outside just before leaving. She had quickly turned and walked the other way. He figured that she was somewhere with Maggie.

Taking a seat on the couch he began to clean his crossbow. It was dirty from the neglect he had been paying it over the last few days; he hadn't gotten around to cleaning it since the prison. He paid no attention when people started heading to their rooms.

He didn't know how long he had been sitting there. He had finished cleaning his crossbow a while ago, and the house was dark except for a few candles dimly lighting the room. His eyes were shut, his head leaning back on the couch, but he was still very much awake. His attention was grabbed by the creak of a floorboard and a soft voice.

"I can't sleep."

Beth was standing there, the poor lighting from the candles casting strange shadows on her slim figure. He could tell from her slumped posture that she was tired, and he assumed that the nightmares were keeping her awake. He motioned for her to join him on the couch, and she rested her head on his lap. Within minutes she was sleeping.

He knew that they couldn't stay there all night, so he carefully got up from underneath her. Putting an arm underneath her knees and the other around her back, he gently lifted her off of the couch. Beth nestled her head on his chest and wrapped her arms loosely around his neck. She didn't wake.

He knew that she was small, but holding her in his arms he realized how tiny she actually was. She barely weighed anything, and Daryl had no problem carrying her to her room. He gingerly laid her in her bed so as to not wake her, and pulled the covers over her. He went to leave but stopped when he heard her speak.

"Please don't leave. The nightmares will start again."

He had never heard someone sound so weak, so scared. He walked over to the bed and sat down on the floor. When her hand reached down over the bed he took it in his.

"Beth, we can't keep doing this." His voice was low and taut. He knew that she wouldn't like what he was going to say, but he had to say it. "I can't stay in your room with you every night. People will start to get suspicious; Maggie will get suspicious. We should tell them what happened."

"No." Her voice was small but powerful.

"Beth, Maggie will know what to do. She needs to know. She's your sister, she needs to know what happened."

"No."

"She'll be able to do more for you than I can. I-I don't know how to make you feel better. Heck, if it weren't for me none of this would have happened. We need to tell them, Beth."

"No, Daryl, you promised me. You promised me that you wouldn't tell." Her voice was wavering and Daryl could tell that she was crying. "I don't want Maggie to know, I don't want anyone to know. Please don't tell them."

Daryl took a deep breath. "Okay."

They sat there in silence for what seemed like forever. Daryl thought that Beth was asleep, but then she started to talk again.

"Every time I close my eyes it's like it's happening all over again. I just want it to stop. I want to forget what happened."

Daryl wasn't sure how to respond. Sure, he had been through the wringer plenty of times during his childhood, but the abuse became normal for him. Daryl knew that Beth had never been witness to something so violent before, and he knew that she had never been at the receiving end of such violence until recently.

"You know, when I first met you on the farm, I thought you were just some scared little girl. I didn't think you had a chance in this world. But you've grown; you've become strong. You're a survivor, Beth. You've become a fine young woman; Hershel would be proud of you." Daryl paused, squeezing Beth's hand a little tighter before continuing. "I can't even begin to imagine the pain you're going through, but you can't let it win. You have to stay strong; you have to fight. I'm not going to tell you that you'll forget what happened, because something like that stays with you forever, but you'll learn to move on, to grow from it. You just have to keep fighting until it gets better."

He continued to hold her hand, and had every intention to leave the room after she was asleep. But before he knew it his heavy eyes gave way and sleep won over.

Author's Note: Sorry for the longer than usual wait. Life has been keeping me very busy lately.

So last chapter there really weren't any Daryl/Beth moments, and the beginning of this chapter sort of lacked them, too. But I really liked the ending. Daryl is really struggling with the promise he made Beth. He thinks that they should tell the others, but Beth refuses to let him do so. He has absolutely no idea what to do with her, but I thought what he said at the end was really sweet.

And, today is finally the day...The Walking Dead is back in 7 1/2 hours! I'm too excited for the new episode.

And, I would love to hear what you thought of this chapter. Reviews are always greatly appreciated!