Beth didn't miss a beat though, looking around and describing what she saw and putting the pieces together. "It's a walker," she said, her voice going just a little bit higher as she smiled through the words.
"Maybe it's a drunk."
She paid him no mind, getting her confidence put right back into place. "I'm getting good at this," she told him, lifting the bow back up. "Pretty soon I won't need you at all," she said and started to continue on her way.
Beth was a fast learner and a lot stronger and smarter than anyone gave her credit for-including herself. He wasn't convinced she wasn't telling the truth with her quip, but he didn't like the idea. He liked having her around, more than he was ever willing to admit to anyone. She made the world seem a little bit brighter somehow. She made his world brighter.
"Go track," he told her, following behind her as they sought out the walker in question. He didn't need those thoughts clouding up his head about weird ass feelings for the youngest Greene daughter, just wanting to focus on helping her learn how to survive out here.
It wasn't long at all before they found the walker. He hung back while she started creeping up behind the undead guy, waiting to see how well she did. He sure hadn't expected her to fall over, crying out in pain as her foot met a trap hidden there in the dirty ground. He started toward her, unsure of how bad she was hurt. Daryl was proud of the girl when she kept focus on the walker and tried to shoot at it, but he didn't want her to push it so he took the weapon from her and took care of their issue.
He did a half circle after cracking the walker's skull, sliding down to the ground to her and hurrying to get her out of the trap and see how bad her injury might be. Her face was scrunched up in pain but she'd been otherwise pretty silent so that gave him hope it wouldn't be too awful. "Can you move it?" he asked.
She was relieved when she replied. "Yeah," and turned it over a few good times to make sure. She would wince every time but pushed through it.
Daryl gave her a few minutes, slipping the boot off and examining the marks a bit more closely. "Come on, girl," he finally said and tried helping her up. She was having no luck with walking on her own so he hesitated for a moment but then let her lean on him and helped her through the woods. He would hear her hiss in pain and look at her to see if she needed to rest but she seemed determined to push through. He knew if he asked she'd only tell him she was fine. She'd go until she felt she couldn't, he was sure of that.
And that was what happened. "Can we... can we hold up a sec?" her sweet voice asked. She was bending down to mess with her leg.
"You alright?" he finally asked.
"I just need to sit down," she told him.
He looked at her, then ahead of them at the small graveyard, the house up ahead. They were close now, carrying her really wouldn't be any big deal he figured. Plus it'd give her a bit of a better chance to rest. He swung his crossbow across his front then dipped down in front of her. "Hop on," he said.
"Are you serious?" she asked. She sounded amused.
"Yeah, it's a serious piggyback. Jump on."
He was glad she didn't make this into a "thing" or want to ask him a whole bunch of questions or something and just did as she was told. Her small hands went to his shoulders and he waited to feel her bounce so he could get into a good position to "catch" her. Her little arms snaked down some from his shoulders and her head tilted over to the right side of him. Somehow she still smelled sweet was the first thought that flooded to his mind.
He puffed out a breath. "You're heavier than you look," he told her then felt his ears burn a little as he wondered if she knew he was joking or not. His embarrassment didn't last long though as her hand swatted at him as he bounced her up higher onto his back. Truth was the young girl was as light as a feather, it had just been a rough couple of nights and he was feeling it.
"Maybe there are people there."
That thought had crossed his mind. "Yeah, if there are... I'll handle them," he told her.
"There's still good people, Daryl," she told him, her voice a little lower than normal.
"I don't think the good ones survive," he responded. He knew he sure wasn't one of the good ones. Beth was though, he couldn't deny that. But he'd seen what happened to all the others who carried that kind of light the girl did.
Daryl tried to push that thought right back out of his mind as quickly as it came. He was thankful she didn't seem too have anything to say either so he didn't have to try thinking up an answer.
She was looking at the gravestones as they passed while he would glance from side to side but mostly keep his eyes ahead of them. He heard her breathing change and felt her loosen his grip near the front end of the small cemetery and quickly looked around to see what had her changing on him.
Daryl felt a quick pain run through his chest as he saw the stone. "Beloved Father" it read. 'Hershel,' he thought. He hated what happened to the old man, it was one of the harder deaths he'd had to witness and grieve. He stared at the stone for a few seconds before glancing over at Beth. She looked so sad in that moment, so heartbroken... like it had all finally caught up to her. So much had happened in such a short span of time... she really hadn't had time to deal with any of it.
He didn't know why he did it, other than it seemed like the right thing to do, but he stepped back and pulled some yellow flowers up out of the ground and put them on top of the stone. They both knew it was a symbol for Hershel. He knew he didn't have any real words to comfort her with, but he hoped this would in some way help her.
He walked back to her, making it a point to stand close to her. Her hand reached out to his, lacing their fingers together so that they were then holding hands. If it was anyone other than Beth Greene, Daryl knew he'd been uncomfortable but this just felt right.
Beth kept her brave face on, but he could tell she was still sad, a lot weighing on her mind. He let them just stand there in silence for awhile before telling her they needed to keep going. She thanked him but he didn't say anything back to that, just got back down so she could jump back on him. Her arms hugged around him tighter this time, her head leaning down.
OoOoO
Just looking around the very front it was easy to tell someone had been here in recent times, it was well taken care of. He just hoped if they were still here or around they'd be alive and kicking as he didn't feel like any undead surprising popping up as they searched around.
Daryl didn't know what to think about the dead bodies being dressed up, make-up put on them. It felt weird as far as he was concerned. Not like he hadn't seen stranger things though. "Looks like someone ran out of dolls to dress up," he said, opening the supplies for Beth's foot he'd just found.
"It's beautiful," she said, a little edge in her voice.
He was surprised that was her reaction. He looked back down at the two dead bodies and tried to see what she saw, but he was coming up short.
Thankfully, she elaborated on what she meant and he couldn't help but stare at her. After all this girl had seen and been through, she was still damn near an angel. She still saw beauty in things like this, saw the good in everything she could. He knew she would probably think he saw it as childish or stupid but the truth was he envied that part of her. Her mind didn't jump right to the darkest thought it could find, it went to things like this. Being happy and proud that someone was giving these people a proper goodbye.
He knew she was thinking about Hershel too as she spoke. He knew he was after her little speech. He hated how the old man had been taken down, it just wasn't right. He didn't deserve that. He deserved something like this, something like Beth was describing now, something like whoever had been here before was trying to give these poor souls.
"Don't you think that's beautiful?" she'd asked him when she was finished.
His throat felt like there was a frog stuck in it. He knew she needed an answer but he couldn't seem to speak. He let his eyes answer her while he got his bearings together. He knew she could always see into the depths of his soul somehow, she would see his agreeance somewhere in there.
After he finished wrapping up her leg, he finally told her he was sorry she couldn't give her daddy something like this. It made her smile, which made the corner of his own lips twist up on one side.
OoOoO
He could hear her singing well before he got to the doorway. He had noticed the piano in that room earlier and had the passing thought of if she would take to it or not. Daryl stood behind her, just watching and listening. She seemed so at peace as she sang, like she didn't have a care in the world. He nearly felt like that listening to her.
He stood there for a long while before making his presence known, starting to feel like he was a creepy stalker or something just standing there.
He let her know they should be safe as he walked deeper into the room, laying his weapon down and heading over to the casket left open to the far side.
"What are you doing?" she asked when he hopped up into it. She looked sad with him laying up there, he wasn't sure why. It was nice as far as he was concerned. He hadn't been kidding, this damn coffin was the best thing he'd had to sleep on in forever.
"Why don't you go ahead and play some more?" he found himself saying before he knew it. "Keep singing." He wanted to hear her, see her back in a state of peace like she was before. He wanted to watch her face as she enjoyed the music.
"I thought my singin' annoyed you," she countered.
He quipped back at her, keeping things light. He didn't need to tell her the truth, that he loved the sound of her voice.
The two of them shared a look briefly before she turned back to the piano and began to play again.
"She's beautiful," he thought as he watched her. Beth was next to jailbait, young enough to be his daughter, but there was a connection there. The world had changed, and maybe this was just part of it. Maybe it wasn't so wrong for him to feel this way about her, not with everything going on, with everything they had been through. Maybe things like that just weren't important.
He let her sweet singing lure him to sleep, escaping the nightmare of reality for awhile.
OoOoO
When he picked her up, he was beginning to wonder if he was starting to get a little too comfortable with Beth. He was used to her being the one to hug him or touch him in one way or another but here he was once again grabbing her and lifting her into his arms without any hesitation. Her giggling he sure didn't mind either.
He was about to crack some joke when he sat down but the rattling from outside stopped them both right where they were. The smile fell from her face and she started to get up but he was already up and telling her to stay put. If trouble was at that door he didn't need her out there, she should be in a better position to run if need be given her current state.
His eyebrow raised up when he peaked out the window to the door, seeing a white dog out on the porch. It sure didn't look to be in any kind of good shape. Less, when he opened the door. "It's just a damn dog," he called out to Beth. He felt a tug on his heart though. He was always a dog person and hated seeing this poor thing out here like this. No telling they hell it had been through.
Daryl quickly bent down, holding out his hand to let the dog sniff him. He thought maybe it'd come inside and it would cheer him and Beth up a little. Maybe give them something to do. They could give the dog a bath, give it some food. He tried reaching out to get it but the dog got spooked and ran away. 'Damn,' he thought and got back up and closed the door.
"He won't come in?"
Daryl turned around to find Beth standing there. "I told you to stay back."
"Yeah, but... Daryl," she started, her face turning into a childlike wonderment as she smiled, "You said there was a dog."
It was like a kick in the gut that she was so happy and he wished the damn dog would have come in. "Maybe he'll come back around," he offered to her. And hoped to hell the damn thing would.
OoOoO
That damn childlike quality was back when the dog came back. He was trying to get it to come closer while she was back there, peeking her head in, damn near standing on her tip-toes waiting for their new friend. "Well, try to get it to come in."
He looked back at her. What did she think he was doing here he both wondered then asked out loud. "Come here, you no good mutt," he said to the dog, getting a little annoyed with it.
Beth grew a little annoyed with him. She obviously didn't like his dog catching tactics, so he let her have a try. He figured she could sweet talk it into coming inside but it just ran off from her, too. He shrugged when Beth looked at him. "It's just scared. Got a lot to be scared of," he offered.
"Yeah. I guess."
OoOoO
"What're you doin'?"
"I'm gonna leave a 'thank you' note," she told him.
He stared at her for a moment, speechless. Of course she'd think to do something like that. "Why?" he asked anyway.
"For when they come back," she said, then paused. "If... they come back." She paused once more. "Even if they're not coming back I still want to say thanks."
The girl never ceased to amaze him. Beth Greene was one of a kind, that was for sure.
Suddenly, Daryl had a thought. "Maybe you don't have to leave that," he told her. "Maybe we stick around here for awhile. They come back... we'll just make it work."
Beth started to smile a little once he finished, a bright spark lighting up those blue eyes of hers. "So... you do still think there are still good people around?" she asked him next.
He shrugged, hoping this wouldn't be a "thing" either.
It took a whole second to realize this would not be the case this time. "What changed your mind?"
He was silent, trying to think of what he could actually say to her. He looked at her once, then twice. "You know," he finally said.
"What?" she asked, still amused.
He looked at her again, his eyes a little softer. She had to know, didn't she? He was starting to feel uncomfortable so tried to brush it off again.
She still wasn't letting him off the hook though. She made fun of him and his answer before asking him again, "What changed your mind?"
From the look in those pretty blue eyes he knew she was genuinely curious. He stared at her, feeling the rest of the world go dark around them, his breathing getting heavier as he continued to look at her. She was saving him, more than he was doing anything for her. He knew that right now better than anything else.
Beth blinked a few times, her face softening as she started to understand what he was trying to tell her without the actual words.
"Oh," she breathed out when it struck her fully. She looked so perfect in that moment, he could feel his fingers itching to reach out and touch her, to let his fingers tangle up in her mess of blonde hair, to pull her to him, taste those pink lips of hers that reminded him of candy every time he looked at her. And with the way she was looking at him, Daryl was sure she wouldn't have minded him doing so once bit.
It was getting too damn hot in the room all of a sudden. He was inching closer to her... very slowly, when they got distracted by the rattling outside. Figuring it was just that damn white dog again, he grabbed for some food to take it to the door. Maybe that'd trick it into coming inside.
Daryl was so distracted by his thoughts of Beth that he didn't even have the sense to grab a weapon to bring along nor even look outside first before opening the door. The walkers made him jump back, trying to shut the door back. 'Shit!' his mind screamed at him. "Beth!" he called out. "Beth!"
She was there in a matter of seconds, his trusty crossbow in her hands. Now he really wanted to kiss her. He motioned for her to throw it and easily caught it when she did. He waved her away. "Run!" he yelled to her. "Run!" He braced himself against the door, steadied his grip on the bow, then pushed off from the door. The walkers started pouring in and he fired his first shot off. He ran, following behind Beth, telling her to to get her stuff and go.
"I'm not gonna leave you!" the stubborn girl yelled back.
"Go out! Go up the road, I'll meet you there," he told her. Her eyes met his briefly and he was basically pleading with her just to get out of here. He knew it wouldn't be ideal but he could handle this on his own, better without having to worry about her with her still being hurt and all at it.
He knew she'd listen when she started running and he continued to fight the undead, leading them away. He hoped he could make quick work of this and get out and back to her so they could come up with a plan.
Daryl fought his way back out of the house and ran outside. He scanned for any sign of Beth but didn't see any then went running toward the road.
His heart nearly fell out of his chest when he saw her bag lying on the ground, his mind going back to the walker he had just killed. It looked like it'd had a fresh kill. But he didn't see any other sign of the girl anywhere.
Then he heard the car screeching away. His heard turned, taking it in. "Beth!" he called out after it, knowing she was in there. He started to run after it. "Beth! Beth!" He couldn't lose her. Not now, not like this.
OoOoO
He had long since lost sight of the car but he ran anyway. He had to. Daryl ran, then walked, and when he got to the crossroads he wanted to cry. He had no idea which way to go next, what to do. Daryl dropped his bow and slowly crumbled down to the ground.
"You're going to be the last man standing, you are. And you're gonna miss me so bad when I'm gone Daryl Dixon." That's what Beth had told him the night they got drunk on moonshine and burned that shack down. He'd hated when she'd said that, and even more now. It was like she knew...
"And you're gonna miss me so bad when I'm gone Daryl Dixon."
Damn, did he ever. Daryl was pretty sure he would do anything right then and there just to get her back.