"Let me guess," she startled at his words and vainly hoped he didn't catch the movement (he did, of course). "Zach taught you how to skin a squirrel."
Her wide blue eyes met his twinkling pair as she turned her head from where she sat on an overturned tree, hunched over the animal. "How'd you know?" She was doubly surprised to see his mischievous demeanor, considering he'd snuck up on her well enough that she jumped. Then again, it was Daryl. A walker would've made noise.
He lifted one side of his mouth in what counted as a grin."'Cause you hold your knife the same dumbass way he did."
Beth's cheek ticked. "Don't speak ill of the dead, Daryl."
"Then I can't talk about anybody we know." He said it so offhandedly, he clearly didn't think about it before the words fell from his lips. She frowned and gave him a disapproving look before turning back to the squirrel and knife in her hands. "Sorry," he mumbled. He watched her work in silence for a while as she struggled to make clean cuts. "If ya–"
"I got it," she grit out. They both paused again while he waited for her to sort through her thoughts. He posted himself against a nearby tree and brought his thumb up to his mouth to chew on the nail. His hair fell partway into his eyes, but he still kept them on her as she struggled. "I know you didn't mean nothing by it," she started. "But we still…"
She trailed off but he pulled his hand away enough to answer for her. "Gotta have a little faith. I know." He waited until she looked back up at him. "I'm trying."
Beth blinked at him and gave him a small smile. "I know." She was upset with herself for letting melancholy leak into the good mood he'd had when he'd walked up, since it was so rare for him to act that way. "So when you see Rick again," she said trying to bring the playful mood back, "you going to give him a big 'ole bear hug, or are you going to scowl at him like how you normally greet people?"
"Pfft," he huffed while dropping his hand away completely and standing up from where he leaned. "Leaving all my scowling for you from now on." He gestured out at her as he spun around to check the forest behind them. "You and them squirrels."
Beth barked out a laugh before using her forearm to cover her mouth as mirth shone in both their eyes. "The day you quit scowling at squirrels is the day the hell freezes over."
He shook his head at her and tried his best to keep his lips down in a frown. He failed. "Keep talking Greene, and I'll start bringing snakes back again." She wrinkled her nose at the thought, but didn't say anything else as she finished up with the animal and handed it to him to put over the fire. He pierced the carcass with a stick and held it out over the flames before looking over at the blonde. She was using his old rag to wipe at her hands, getting most of the blood and grime off before using a small amount of water to finish the job. "After we eat, ya wanna try my bow?"
Surprised blue eyes lifted to meet his own pair. "Really?" she asked, half hopefully, half hesitant. "I can't even draw that thing."
He shrugged nonchalantly. "Won't ever be able to if you don't work at it. Gotta, in case I can't."
Beth didn't like his sudden pessimism (ok, not sudden. Sudden recurrence) and tried to bring back the former playful mood they'd both been in. She didn't want to ever think about not having him around. He was all she had left. "What, are the squirrels going to get revenge and chew your arms off or something?"
He grunted out a laugh and turned back to cooking their lunch. "Yeah, something like that."
NowThe silence in the car wasn't uncomfortable just…uneasy. There had been so much said between them already over the last few days, and so many other conversations still to be had. She snuck a few glances at him out of the corner of her eye and hoped he didn't notice, but of course he did. "What?" he asked.
Beth turned her head towards him and took a few moments to think it over. She didn't know what. Such a simple word but such a loaded question. Such an open ended question but maybe that was his point. Maybe now was it. The time to hash out the rest of it while they were alone and stuck in the car until who knows when, with all the time in the world.
Maybe she was overthinking four letters strung together. But maybe she could risk it, be brave. Give him an open ended answer to his open ended question. "What do you wanna know?" she asked, trying to keep the shakiness out of her voice. He could ask her anything and she'd give him her truth, and that terrified her.
He shrugged, keeping his eyes on the road. "I dunno. Anything."
Beth loudly exhaled the breath she'd been holding and visibly relaxed, relieved. So she did overthink it.
She took just a few seconds to consider easing herself back into lighter conversation before suggesting, "We could play 'I Never'," with a small lift to her lips.
"Fuck no," was his instant reply. "This whole country's a historical landmark, we can't burn shit down cause we're drunk. I already got enough enemies."
"You and me both." She said offhandedly. "I meant sober, though." Beth turned to look at him with a sly grin. "You are driving, Daryl." He rarely rolled his eyes but he did then and her grin turned into a full smile at the motion. "Where are we headed anyway?"
"Paris."
The answer shouldn't have surprised her. Who goes to France without visiting the capitol? Still, the thought of going there made her smile softly. She had always wanted to visit. Someday. "What's in Paris?"
Daryl cleared his throat. "Genet's base," he told her. "Know some people there we can stay with while we come up with a plan. What's that goofy look for?"
She blinked, not realizing what he was talking about before she shook her head. "Nothing, just…" Well she had already decided with herself to be honest with him. "Some old movie I watched all the time as a kid. This princess forgot who she was and all she had from her old life was this necklace that said 'Together in Paris'." Her voice quieted as she mentioned her sister. "Me and Maggie used to watch that movie over and over."
He mimicked her soft tone. "You talking about Anastasia ?"
She was gobsmacked that he knew and could feel it showing on her face. "Yeah, how'd you know?"
Daryl chewed on his cheek for a moment before responding, fingers rubbing at the leather of the steering wheel a few times. "Was the only cartoon movie we had for a while. My mom loved it. Got obsessed with that lady claiming to be the real one." He huffed out a small, sad laugh. "Old man got pissed at her once, threw it in the firepit. Merle went down to the library and stole their copy so she could have a new one." The next laugh her puffed out was much more amused. "Just walked straight into the movie section and walked out with it in front of everybody. I don't think they knew what to do."
"How old was he?" Beth could tell he was wrapped up in the memory and gave him a small smile.
"Uh," he had to think it over. "Was right before he went back to juvie for stealing cars so, 15 maybe 16? I was almost 8." He scratched at his beard with the hand not on the wheel before dropping it back to his leg. "Was a few months before she died. Burnt herself up with the house and that tape."
Beth didn't say sorry. He knew she was, and she knew he knew. Saying it outloud would've made it less sincere, somehow.
She'd just been ready to ask him about her when the truck suddenly jerked to the right and she had to throw both arms in order to not be completely flung out of her seat. Daryl's spare hand joined his other on the steering wheel as he hit the brakes and brought them to a stop in the middle of the road. "Tire?" she asked him once she'd remembered how to breathe.
He nodded as he put the truck in park and took a quick look around at their surroundings. "Keep an eye out, I'm going to take a look." He opened his door and exited before she could say anything in response so she turned focused on the view outside the windows. They were in the middle of nowhere with grassy hills on either side of the pavement. It was a bad spot for an ambush, so she had to guess this was just a mishap and not something more sinister. Daryl stuck his head back in the open door and she faced him once again. "Can't fix it. Tread's nonexistent and the damn thing popped. No spare."
Beth exhaled before straightening in her seat in preparation to exit. She opened the door to step out before clicking open the glovebox. There didn't end up being anything of use but at this point it was a habit to check. When she stepped out she lifted her arms to finally tie her hair back into a messy bun. She moved towards the rear passenger door to grab her backpack as Daryl opened the trunk to pull out whatever supplies were there. She pulled on the straps and double checked the zippers as she asked, "How far away are we?"
He popped his head around the corner of the truck and squinted at her in the sunlight. "Day and a half, maybe two on foot. You got any room in your pack?"
"Uh," she looked down at the half empty bag. "Yeah." Beth turned to walk towards the rear of the vehicle when something clicked in her brain. "Hold on," she said as she halted in her steps. "You let me talk you into burning down a house that reminded you of the one you grew up in, after your mom died in a fire at your house?"
He'd stopped his movements when she'd addressed him, but then he shrugged like it was no big deal. When she didn't say anything more he glanced over at her to see one eyebrow raised at him. "It was…cathartic, whatever. It's not a big deal." She continued to look at him, not quite believing him but when he didn't say anything else she took a breath and moved forward to hand him her bag.
Beth flicked her eyes around from the man in front of her to the scenery around them. There were very few walkers here but the moment they got comfortable would be the moment they'd regret it.
"You got anything more than that?" She looked back at him to see him pointing at her attire, and she shook her head. "We'll have to find something. Gets cold out here at night." With that, he slung his pack over his shoulders and jerked his head towards the road.
They fell into a steady pace and a comfortable silence as they made their way towards the capital. They made good time, covering a large distance before stopping for a midday break. The pair settled under a copse of trees off the side of the road and wordlessly passed a water bottle back and forth as she pulled out a loaf of bread to split between the two of them.
She waited until they'd both had a few bites before asking. "Tell me about my nephew."
Daryl paused mid-bite, surprised at the topic, but played it off as he finished the motion and swallowed. "He's uh…he's a good kid. Smart. Looks so much like Glenn it hurts sometimes." Her cheek twitched at the mention of the man's name and waited for her to process before continuing. "But he's got Maggie's fire. Ain't afraid to question, does what he thinks is best even if it ain't. Maybe that's just a Greene thing," he said finally with a small smirk.
Beth whipped her head around to face him. "I don't know what you're talking about."
He huffed out. "Sure you don't." She rolled her eyes at him as she stood up from her place under the tree and dusted off her pants and jerked her head towards a tree a ways away. He nodded and scanned to keep watch as she took a bathroom break. She then did the same for him as he took a turn, before they packed up their lunch and wordlessly continued their trek.
Even though it was only a few hours past noon, the temperature dropped with the blowing wind and Beth shivered in the cotton long sleeve she wore. Daryl was right; they were going to have to find something warmer before nightfall.
About an hour down the road they came across a decrepit farmhouse that appeared abandoned. The pair exchanged a look before deciding to divert from the road to check out the overgrown structure. At the edge of shoulder was a small brick wall used as a guardrail, only about knee-high, but directly behind it was a slope down into a ditch. Daryl stepped over the boundary first, then surprised her by holding out his hand to assist her. She tried not to appear puzzled at the action.
It was normal for him. She was the one used to the 'help-yourself' mentality of High Command.
Beth took his hand and let him help her over the boundary, secretly loving the amount of warmth pouring into her from the touch. He wasn't wearing gloves so she had no idea how he was staying so warm, but she wasn't going to complain. With both feet back on the ground she
Prepared to scale down the ditch but was held back by his hand still holding onto hers. She looked back at him with a confused look.
Daryl squeezed her hand and her brows furrowed even more at him until he motioned with his head towards the house. She whipped her head around to see a few of the undead lumbering on the wrap-around porch. Even from a field's length away she could see that they were an older couple with white and greying brown hair, the farmer and his wife most likely, dressed in their everyday work clothes. If she squinted they could be her parents.
Beth sucked in a breath and Daryl squeezed harder. "I can get them," he offered, just a quiet mumble for her ears only.
She shook her head. "No, let's just…let's check it out." One final, quick squeeze and he released her hand with a nod, letting her lead their way across the ditch and field to the house. The pair of walkers became more active the closer they got, tripping down the porch steps as Daryl and Beth made it to the edge of the overgrown front yard. She glued her eyes to the creatures, refusing to look his way in case her face was giving something away about the way she was feeling. Or rather, the lack of feeling.
As much as she loved them, Herschel and Annette had been gone for a long time. Even if the end of the world had never come along her daddy would've been pushing 80, and her mama would've been well into retirement age too. She'd never known any of her grandparents, taking that to mean that neither side of her family had a good history with old age. There was a good chance they'd both be gone by now anyway, and she'd come to peace with that a long time ago.
Still, the walkers in front of her did send a pang through her heart. Despite the house being so worn down, they hadn't been dead for more than a year. She didn't see any obvious wounds on either of them, like maybe they'd just gone to sleep one night and instead of waking, rose undead. The woman was closer to her on the right, and with a few more steps made Beth could see the glint of a gold necklace mixed into the rotting flesh. A cross, if she had to guess. Just like the one her mama was buried with.
Daryl stepped forward first to bring the male down with a quick blade to the skull while Beth waited until the woman was right in front of her to pull her knife from its sheath and shove it under the walker's chin. She held tight to her knife and let gravity remove it from the creature as it collapsed to the ground. She could feel Daryl's eyes on her but she still refused to look his way.
The walker had looked more like her mother than she'd first realized.
Beth sucked in a breath and closed her eyes for a moment to refocus herself and mentally shake it off. She had a job to do and now was not the time for memories. She reopened her eyes and glanced around, quickly skipping over her companion to make sure there were no other threats in the area. When nothing else moved, she looked back at the house. "Come on," she said, nodding her head towards it. "Let's see how bad it is."
She didn't wait for him to follow as she took the steps of the porch and knocked on the open door frame to summon any other walkers that might be inside. Daryl followed behind, checking through the remaining glass of the windows for movement. "Look's clear."
They headed inside and made sure the place was clear, avoiding the back family room where a tree had fallen on the roof and caved in the space. The rest of the downstairs had been moderately destroyed by both its former occupants and nature. Somehow the second floor remained mostly untouched, though the air was harshly stale. Even so, the pair decided to go through each room to see what they could find, opening a few windows to air it out.
They started in what appeared to be the main suite, Daryl heading into the attached bathroom while she went through the drawers and closets for warmer clothing to wear. She could hear him banging around in the tiled room as she flipped past summer dresses and blouses to the sweaters at the back of the closet. Beth had pulled out a few items they could use and thrown them on the bed before switching to the dresser when he exited the bathroom the first time. "Goldmine. They got full cabinets, we're going to need another bag." She turned around to watch him dump an arm's load of toiletries onto the bed. "What?" he asked when she didn't respond.
Beth crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the furniture. "She ever remarry or anything? Maggie," she clarified when he gave her a blank look. When he replied in the negative she nodded to herself before she looked him up and down. "Daddy did, after her mom died. Married my mama when Maggie was six," she explained. "Did you?" Daryl narrowed his eyes at her but kept a relaxed posture. "Ever have someone?"
He blinked at her a few times but she didn't move. She was willing to wait. "Was with someone for awhile," he finally said. "Didn't work out."
She's not exactly surprised to hear it. There's a pretty solid chance that if Daryl was in love he wouldn't be wandering around Europe without them. Michonne coming for Rick wouldn't even come close to the lengths he would go to get back to them. Still, she was curious. "What happened?"
He breathed out heavily and shifted his feet, dropped his eyes from hers. "Nothing. She wanted something I couldn't give her." Beth thought he was going to leave it there but then he continued. "And then she joined up with this group. Tried killing your sister. Hershel. Took her out before she could."
Beth processed what he said and her eyes widened as they raked over him. He was still looking at the floor. "You killed her?"
She watched as he chewed on the inside of his cheek. "She wasn't the person I knew anymore." He shifted on his feet again and crossed his arms.
"I can relate to that."
His gaze finally flicked back to hers, a spark of heat behind it. "You're nothing like her."
Beth huffed out a laugh under her breath. "You don't know that."
"I do." Daryl uncrossed his arms and took a few steps around the bed, coming closer to her. "I do, Beth. You're not like her."
She inhaled and held it for longer than needed before letting it go as she looked at him with uncertainty. "I could be. I lived that way for so long it wouldn't take much to slip back into it."
He nodded his head at her, not doubting it. "Yeah but you've got a reason not to. She didn't." He stood within arms length of her now. He lifted his chin at her. "Don't you? Got reasons?" Beth swallowed as they stared into each other's eyes and she nodded. Yeah, she had some reasons. "Good." They stood still, barely breathing before his eyes fluttered and he took a step back. "Did you?"
Beth's face morphed to confusion before she remembered what they'd been talking about to begin with. She shook her head. "No. I had um, acquaintances. But…" She breathed deeply again. "Trust isn't something you have in excess in the Republic. I wasn't going to waste what I had on a relationship."
"Mhm," he nodded, understanding what she meant. "So no kids then?"
She frowned, briefly thinking back to the prison. Lori…Judith. "No, the CRM has implants for service members if you want one. I wasn't going to risk it." She flicked her eyes over his face. "None for you either I take it?"
Daryl frowned deeply and took another step back, looking down to the items on the bed. "Nah. Dixon ain't a line that needs to be passed on."
It wasn't an admission she was surprised to hear. No one beat up on Daryl Dixon better than he did himself, even after ten years. She closed the gap that his backwards movement has caused between them. "I only knew Merle for a while, but you're nothing like him Daryl." Beth placed her hand on his arm and he turned his head to look at her again. "You're a good man."
His eyes roamed over her face before they locked back in with hers. "Might have to remind me sometimes."
Beth smiled. "Deal."