Beth placed a soft kiss on Judith's forehead and watched Daryl approach Rick from where she stood in one of the office doorways.
It had only been two days. The rest of the group had explored the warehouse out of boredom at first, but then seemed to give in to their newfound sense of security and just spent their time relaxing.
Not Daryl, though. Beth had noticed the tension in his posture building the longer he was cooped up inside. He literally spent hours pacing and looking out the windows while he chewed on the pad of his thumb.
Beth smoothed out Judy's hair as the little girl snored softly against her shoulder, and watched the first light of sunrise spread across the sky, thinking it was a miracle Daryl had lasted this long. For lack of any better options, he knew they needed to make this work, so his conversation with Rick had been delayed as long as possible.
"You sure that's wise?" Their leader's hands rested on his hips, and he looked at his friend with some concern.
Daryl shouldered his crossbow and nodded quickly. "It'll be fine. We'll slip out the fire exit at the back. Ain't no walkers on that side right now, and it's a short walk to the tree line."
Rick sighed and turned to Beth, seeing she was listening in. "I take it that means you're going, too?"
She nodded. "Some fresh air'll do us both some good. We'll only be gone a few hours. We just need someone to keep watch at the door to let us back in."
Beth suspected Rick understood Daryl well enough to know that if they were going to make this place their new home, this would have to be one of the concessions made. Daryl wasn't the indoor type, so there would still need to be room left for at least some worry in their lives.
After promising to be careful several times, and agreeing that if they weren't back by noon then a search party would come looking for them, Daryl took another look through the peephole of the door before swinging it open quietly and stepping outside. Beth followed, letting the door close softly behind her, and followed him across the short expanse of the parking lot.
There was only one walker in sight, but they slipped by it unnoticed, and as soon as they entered the woods Beth could see Daryl visibly relaxing. Even she had to admit it felt good to be outside again.
They walked for a couple minutes before talking.
"Thought you woulda said good bye to Maggie 'fore we left." Daryl held his crossbow in front of him, scanning the trees as they went, with Beth behind him.
Beth laughed a little. "She and Glenn had locked themselves in one of the offices. Probably wouldn't have been a good idea to interrupt them."
Daryl snorted softly. Beth came up beside him, smiling, and said, "Can't say I blame them. There isn't much for privacy in that place."
She put her hand in the crook of his arm and brought him to a stop. "Matter of fact, the only thing I've been able to think about for the last few hours is bein' able to do this without anyone watchin'."
Daryl let his crossbow fall to his side, held by one hand so it wasn't in the way as Beth stepped closer. She slid her hands inside his vest along his waist, breath catching as her thumbs traced over the hard plane of muscle that cut in just above where his pants hung low on his hips.
Their bodies were flush against each other, and Beth looked up into Daryl's eyes. They were fixed on her, unwavering and almost hungry as he raised his left hand and slid it behind the nape of her neck. Beth could feel her heart skip a beat at the feel of his skin on hers, and just when she began to worry he would decide against kissing her, she saw his nostrils flare with some kind of determination and he lowered his head, covering her lips with his own.
It was their first uninterrupted kiss and their mouths moved eagerly together, starting slow at first, exploring what each other liked, but when Daryl slid his tongue over Beth's the small moan she made each time just about drove him crazy, and his kisses became less controlled, finally backing her up against a tree until she grabbed his bottom lip between her teeth and tugged on it gently.
They were both breathing hard when they pulled apart, and Daryl leaned his head down against hers, his hand tangled in her hair now, slowly shaking his head. "Keep waitin' for you to realize you deserve better than me."
Beth huffed softly in amusement and licked her lips. "Not gonna happen, . My Daddy always said I was a good judge of character. And once a Greene decides, you're stuck with them."
While they'd kissed, her hands had slid down to his ass and she squeezed it lightly with a giggle to emphasize her point. Beth glanced upward, seeing his eyes were still closed but the corner of his mouth twitched into a hint of a smirk.
"Come on," Beth planted another soft kiss on Daryl's mouth and pushed away from the tree, "let's cover some more ground and get back before the cavalry comes for us."
They walked in tandem for another half hour or so, only coming across two walkers that Daryl took down with his crossbow. There was a small amount of wildlife in the area, and they spotted several squirrels and one raccoon that Daryl itched to shoot simply out of force of habit, but with a warehouse full of food to return to, it didn't make any sense to bring game back with them.
The temperature was rising, and the humidity was making their clothes stick to them as they walked, so Daryl came to a stop beneath the shade of a large maple for them to take a break.
He leaned against the trunk and pulled a crumpled cigarette pack out of his pocket, shaking the tip of one out of the hole and grabbing it between his lips. Beth had chosen to sit next to him with her back against the tree, and he lit his smoke, looking down at her, and asked, "Ain't really said much about it, but you think you got a handle on all the ins and outs of this thing of yours?"
Beth spun the stem of an aster between her fingers and sighed. "Yeah. I mean, yes and no. I can move things with pretty well minimal effort now. And the healing thing isn't anythin' to complain about." Some of the petals of the flower fell on her leg, and she frowned. "The one thing I still can't make sense of is the whole heat thing with my hands when I get angry."
Daryl took another drag from his cigarette and nodded, remembering how hot they were after she'd had to kill one of those assholes back at that little farmhouse. The morning Noah had been killed.
"I don't know what it is." Beth folded her arms on her knees and stared out into the woods. "It happens whenever I'm pissed about something, and it feels like it could…I don't know…consume me if I let it. I've been able to rein it back in so far, but I'm a little worried about what might happen if sometime I can't."
He kicked at the grass beneath his boots and looked around. There was nothing but forest surrounding them for as far as the eye could see, so he shrugged and offered, "Why don't you try it out here? If you knew what it was, might be a load off your mind."
Beth looked up at him and chuckled, her brow furrowed. "What? Daryl, first of all, I'm not pissed right now. And second, I don't wanna burst into flames like that little baby in The Incredibles."
Daryl snorted. "That was a damn cartoon, Greene. I'm pretty sure you won't catch fire. Ain't nothin' around here you could hurt, anyway. And don't tell me you got nothin' to think about that'd piss you off, 'cause I can think of plenty."
She pushed herself off the ground and brushed grass off her backside, cocking her head at him. "You're serious?"
He dropped his cigarette butt and ground it into the dirt with his boot, shrugging. "Look, I don't wanna push you into doin' anythin', but the way the world is now, a time's gonna come when you get really fuckin' angry about somethin' and you should know if you need to be worried about this."
Beth rolled her eyes, inhaling deeply through her nose and nodding, looking around to see which direction she'd head. She chose a path straight ahead and started walking away, but turned when she heard Daryl following her and pointed back at the tree. "No way, you stay there. I don't want you anywhere near me when I'm doin' this."
Daryl pursed his lips together and looked like he wanted to object, but when she pointed to where she wanted him again he returned to the spot begrudgingly.
Beth continued on for another twenty paces, looking behind her to make sure Daryl was still where she wanted him, and as an afterthought tugged her new gloves off, shoving them into the rear pocket of her jeans. Whatever happened, if anything, she didn't want to ruin them.
Beth came to a stop and scanned the forest ahead of her, noticing a blue jay sitting on a branch above her and clapped her hands so it would fly away, not wanting it to get hurt. She let out a long breath and flexed her fingers, feeling utterly ridiculous for trying to bring this on intentionally. "Make yourself angry, he says," she muttered quietly to herself, and closed her eyes to try and find some memory to draw from.
She thought of something briefly, something so horrifying that would more than fit the bill, but pushed it to the back of her mind because the mere idea of it would destroy her. She wouldn't relive that. She couldn't.
Instead, her mind went back to Grady. Back to thoughts of Gorman and Dawn. How Joan and her baby, and others, had suffered and died at the hands of the officers at the hospital. She remembered Joan screaming during the birth, and how Gorman had just laughed. Beth felt the familiar rage start to coil in her belly, and the warmth spread from her core down through her arms and legs. She looked down at her hands, seeing the air beginning to distort in waves from the heat coming off her skin, and held them out by her sides, palms facing forward on instinct.
Beth closed her eyes and allowed the hate she felt for the officers to fill her up, even though it was a struggle. Except for that one low point back on the farm, after the barn had been opened and the shock of it all made her briefly considered ending it, she wasn't one to focus on the darker things in life anymore; choosing instead to see the positive in even the worst of times.
So, standing here in these woods, it was disorienting to feel the anger growing exponentially inside her now that she wasn't fighting it. The sensation of it pulsing through her was horribly unsettling, like an actual monster was coursing in her veins, begging to be unleashed, and her heart started beating a staccato rhythm.
She began to feel physically ill from all the negative energy, and opened her eyes when she felt something move around her face. The few wisps of hair that were loose around her cheeks were standing straight up, charged by the static that Beth could feel was heavy in the air around her.
The hostility still building within her brought on a fresh wave of nausea, and combined with the crackling and hissing she could hear in the breeze around her, panic started to set in. She wanted to get rid of this thing that she could feel ebbing through her, just barely contained by her own skin, it felt, so she did something purely out of reflex. She pictured it inside her as a physical entity and pushed it out of her body with as much force as she could.
Immediately after it left her, Beth heard what she could only describe as a loud crack of thunder, and then everything went black.
Beth came to with Daryl patting her cheek, his own face frozen in disbelief.
She was laying on the forest floor, dead tired and staring up at him groggily, but oddly she felt good, and she wondered vaguely why he looked like he'd seen a ghost. After all, nothing had really happened. She fainted. Big deal. At least she hadn't puked.
Beth caught Daryl's hand in hers and smiled up at him, feeling almost giddy after wallowing in all that hate just minutes ago, and said, "Hey. I'm okay. I guess it wasn't really anythin' worth worryin' about. Passin' out isn't exactly scary."
Daryl didn't say anything at first, he just rubbed his other hand over his mouth, and nodded at her. "You feel good enough to stand?"
Beth nodded weakly, and Daryl grabbed both her hands and pulled her up. She held on to his forearms to steady herself and he leaned down to look her in the eye, his face etched with concern and guilt. "Don't know how to say this, but you didn't just pass out, Greene."
Confused, Beth looked up at him, and Daryl sighed, motioning to the right with his head and she followed his gaze.
The forest that Beth had been facing moments ago was levelled. It looked like a tornado had swept through an area roughly a couple hundred feet across and almost a quarter mile deep, pulverizing the trees. They all lay bent over at the roots, crushed nearly beyond recognition. If any other living human should ever come across it, they might be forgiven for thinking the finger of God had touched down briefly to smite the earth.
Beth's eyes went wide as she surveyed the destruction, and a wave of fear flooded through her system, making her knees go weak. Daryl's arm snaked around her waist when he felt her sag against him, and she blinked back the tears forming in her eyes, shaking her head, not wanting to believe she was responsible for this.
She clutched at Daryl's hand and gasped, "What happened?"
"Dunno. The air around you got right hazy and weird, then your head snapped back…"
Beth looked up at him, waiting. "And?"
"Not sure how to describe it. It was like this wave of energy or whatever left you and mowed all the fucking trees down, and you dropped like a rock." Seeing how upset Beth was, Daryl pulled her around to face him again, "M'sorry. Never shoulda pushed you to do that. You sure you're okay?"
She drew in a shaky breath, nodding, and Daryl pulled her close to him in a tight hug. Beth shuddered in his arms and her words were slightly muffled against his vest. "It's okay, at least now I know, right? I don't think I ever wanna do that again, though."
He looked over her shoulder and nodded, pulling back and steering Beth away from the carnage so she wouldn't have to look at it anymore. "Might be a good idea."
The shade from the trees was doing little to shelter them from the sweltering heat as they headed back to the warehouse. Beth insisted she felt better, but her slower pace convinced Daryl otherwise, and he shouldered his crossbow to keep one arm around her waist.
They had only walked a few minutes when a stranger stepped out from behind a tree a short distance ahead with his hands in the air. It took a split second for Daryl to step in front of Beth and aim his crossbow at the man.
"If you know what's good for you, stay back." Daryl growled the words, staring down the sites of his Stryker.
There was something off about the guy, but Daryl couldn't pinpoint it at first, until it struck him. He was clean. His clothes were sturdy and in good repair; curly brown hair cut short, and it looked like he'd shaved recently, all of which meant the stranger probably had a camp nearby, and Daryl nervously scanned his peripherals to make sure they weren't about to be ambushed.
The man took a couple more slow steps toward them, hands still held up in surrender and no weapons were visible on him. "Good morning." He glanced nervously at Daryl's crossbow and continued speaking. "My name is Aaron. I get why you're pointing that at me, but I'm not here to hurt you."
"Yeah, a lot of people say that these days. Not many've given us reason to believe it." Daryl held his ground, ready to fire a bolt into the man if he made any sudden moves.
Aaron advanced a couple feet further, arms held even higher in the air as the crossbow followed his every move. He nodded and said, "Unfortunately, I've had the same experience, which is why I need to be careful about who I approach out here. I'm from a community in Alexandria. We have walls, high ones. It's safe. I recruit people to live there." He dropped his hands slowly to the straps of his backpack and raised his eyebrows at Daryl to let him know he was going to slide it off his shoulders. "I have photos of the Safe Zone if you'd like to see what our community looks like."
Daryl noticed the shiny gold band on Aaron's finger as he pulled out several grainy black and white photographs and took two quick steps toward the kneeling man. "You recruit people, huh? What happens to the ones you don't like? You steal from them? Who'd you steal that from?"
Aaron paused and looked at his ring, confused, and then up at Daryl. "No one. It's mine. I'm married."
"Oh, yeah?" Daryl hoped to catch the guy in a lie. He was so on edge that his finger was starting to cramp against the trigger. "What's your wife's name?"
"Eric." Aaron held the photos out and answered, "My husband's name is Eric."
This seemed to catch Daryl off guard momentarily, and Beth stepped forward to put a hand on his shoulder. She'd been leaning against a tree wearily, watching the strange conversation unfold, and she spoke softly, "Daryl. There's still good people, remember?"
Aaron looked up at Beth and smiled hopefully, holding the photos out, "I believe that, too. If you don't mind my asking, what's your name?"
"Beth," she answered, leaning some of her weight lightly on Daryl's shoulder. She nodded at him and offered, "This is Daryl," and was greeted by a frustrated huff from him like she was giving too much away.
"Beth, Daryl, it's nice to meet you." He extended his arm with the pictures for them to take.
Daryl barked at him, still anxious of letting his guard down, "Toss them. And step back ten paces."
"Daryl," Beth sighed. She understood his need to protect her, but she was growing exasperated. He should know she was more than capable of handling this guy if he tried anything.
She raised an eyebrow at Daryl and stepped around him. "Don't worry, I've got this."
He nodded curtly, understanding what she was saying, but still watched the other man like a hawk. Beth walked forward and smiled, waving her hand at Aaron to stand up, and took the photos. Daryl came and looked over her shoulder as she flipped through them.
The pictures showed what looked like high steel walls with braces, people tending to crops, children playing with a dog in a clean suburban street, and finally, Aaron smiling at another slighter man, presumably his husband.
"Daryl," Beth spoke quietly, looking up at him with a smile, "It looks nice."
He hated to crush the hope in her voice, but the fact was it wasn't their decision to make. He looked over at Aaron, who was still standing awkwardly with his hands up. "Don't matter. Ain't up to us. You're comin' with us to show our group, and then we decide what to do with you."
Daryl pointed his crossbow at the man again and spun his finger in the air, telling him to turn around. He frisked the man for weapons thoroughly, finding a hunting knife and a small pistol, then motioned for him to start walking.
Aaron eyed the weapon and swallowed nervously, asking," You're not going to shoot me, are you?"
Daryl shrugged and made sure Beth was right behind him. "Not as long as you don't give me reason to. Besides, ain't me you gotta worry about." He turned and caught Beth's eye, warning the other man in a deadly serious voice. "She's the dangerous one."
Beth struggled to maintain a straight face when Aaron looked back at her with a worried expression and gulped, asking her," You know…martial arts, or something?"
She raised an eyebrow, feeling a little bad for making him worry for his safety. He did seem like a nice guy. "Or something."
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