Bethyl Song Rec: Light -Sleeping at Last

"It was just a dream Bethy. You're okay," Her sister cooed, but Beth struggled to breathe normally. Her mind was whirling with the remnants of what she thought was truly real.

"I died," She choked out, "I died." Her head throbbed, right where the bullet had struck. She knew this feeling had a name. PTSD is what the book in the library across town had told her. These nightmares were becoming too much to bare; she wanted them to stop. "I need to get up," Beth felt Maggie's arms tighten around her shoulders, but stiffly shrugged them off. She wasn't used to this woman still. She was frustrated she couldn't remember her own sister, but it wasn't her fault. She needed to be away from her family.

"It's three in the morning, you can't go walking around by yourself. I'll get a jacket."

"No," She spoke too sternly, startling Maggie to the point of silence. She nodded her head, making Beth instantly feel guilty for the way she spoke. Her sister was only trying to help, but sometimes the constant attention was too much. Beth sighed, pulling on her boots and jacket-she still refused to sleep in anything but her jeans and day clothes. You never know when you'll have to run she had explained to Maggie. "Someone will be on watch. I'll be back soon."

But she had lied, and a part of her felt glad that she was distant enough from her sister to do so. Though she didn't remember the life she lead before, something in the back of her mind reminded her that she couldn't lie to those that were close to her.

Walking out of the house and into the cool air instantly made her head clear just enough to forget what her dream was even about, other than the bullet had fatally killed her. Every dream was a different scenario; either a stranger would come up behind her in the woods, demand something and she'd refuse, or simply she'd wake up in a strange bed and a face of Alexandria would attack. There was never a good ending to her dreams. She'd always end up dead, and that was her worst fear. How many more times would she escape death on a lucky whim?

Houses passed slowly until she reached iron bars that blocked wilderness with civilization.

"Isn't safe walking out here alone and unarmed," A voice from above called down to her. She didn't flinch at the broken silence; she knew Nicholas was on watch tonight, though she was hoping he'd be on the other side of town. Beth kept her silence while he went on about the dangerous possibilities of a woman walking around by herself.

"Don't you think it's a little funny that your guys' speil of a 'Safe Zone' contradicts what you're saying to me right now?" She looked up to see his eyes already on her. He smiled, but in an uneasy way that makes shivers run down a person's spine when something is off.

"You never know what's out there," He took his eyes off her, aiming his rifle towards an oncoming walker and taking it out without a bead of sweat, "Or in here."

"Is that a threat?" Beth hadn't remembered the last time someone spoke to her like this. She knew that she was small and of course she couldn't handle herself because she was a woman. But she had gone through hell and back with Morgan out in the wilderness, hell, even by herself. Threats did nothing more than make her want to fight-to survive.

"Take it how you want, Princess. I'm only telling you to be aware of the people around you. Especially that dirty redneck you hang out with. He's got eyes for you and you don't even know him." Nicholas chuckled, clutching the gun in his hands while another walker appeared on the road.

"I know a bad guy when I see one," And that brought his attention back to her, but before he could answer she pulled the hood of her sweatshirt on and turned the other way. This walk was supposed to help her calm down, not rile her back up again.

He's got eyes for you. Daryl wouldn't even look her in the eye half the time they were around each other. Yeah, he was one of the few that she'd mingle with during the day and evenings, but he would never push his boundaries. When she needed someone, he would be there to listen, to understand when he didn't, and she appreciated that, but anything more than that? There wasn't a possibility. He even admitted they were more like close friends before she lost her memory than anything else. He looked at her the way that she looked at him.

But without knowing much about him, how did she look at him? She felt the small flip her stomach did when his head would shift in acknowledgement of her presence-Beth was the only one that seemed to catch his attention-but he had explained numerous times to her that they had escaped together from a fallen prison and he had taken on the responsibility of keeping them both safe. Habits die hard, and she couldn't help but wish it was more than just habit for him.

Whatever she felt towards this mysterious man, she wanted to remember. Did she feel like this towards him before? Was it something she had kept hidden or did he know something she didn't? It was something she wanted to ask him, but it seemed to personal, too much for a man like him. He listened more than he did talk, and asking him questions was harder than it looked.

"What're you doin' out here?" Daryl's voice made her jump out of her thoughts-and skin.

"You catch me off guard too much," She laughed, watching him appear from the shadows.

"If you keep your head in the clouds too long somethin' bad might happen." He shoved his hands in his pocket, leaning on the nearest house. His tone wasn't rude or condescending-he obviously did care about her safety-but it still made her think back to Nicholas' words.

"I can take of myself," She bit her tongue at the way she barked back at him. He didn't yell at her, though he looked up from the ground, somehow finding her eyes in the darkness.

"Never said you couldn't," Beth heard the cigarette between his teeth. She watched his hand bring the lighter towards his mouth, igniting a small flame that now burned the end of his butt, "Just makin' sure you remember you can."

"All this remembering stuff is getting old," She stood in the road, still a few feet away from where he puffed out smoke, "And the fact that everyone seems to be babying me. I know I can't remember much, but I do know how to handle myself when I'm alone."

"Good thing you walked away from that asshole then."

Beth's brows furrowed, "You were watching us?"

"More like passed by. Just got off watch down a couple blocks away from y'all and saw you give him a piece of your mind." He breathed in the smoke, still watching her stand awkwardly now. Her shoulders tensed at his words. Had he heard what Nick said about Daryl?

"Yeah, well. People like him have no business telling me what's dangerous or not. I've been through dangerous times and this is the least of what's happened."

"Y'have no idea girl," Daryl grunted. She figured he was talking about before and what the group had encountered. Maggie had told her mostly everything, especially about her father and the fall of the farmhouse and prison. Beth shivered, pulling her sleeves around her in an attempt to keep warm. "Why you walkin' out here anyways?"

"I needed to be alone." Beth teased, "So much for that, huh?"

"I can disappear-"

"No." Beth interrupted him and he dropped it. She knew that she wanted to be alone, but if Daryl was the one that was in her presence, it was bearable.

"You're cold."

"Thanks captain obvious," Beth joked again. Her chest tightened and she swore she small a hint of a smile cross his face. Her smiled faded when he put out the cigarette that was once between his teeth with his shoe and made his way towards her. She stilled, watching as he slowly worked his jacket off. The cloth hung awkwardly in his outstretched arm, but Beth took it quicker than she would've liked.

"Thank you," She smiled softly. Shyness flooded over the two of them and Beth's shoulders felt heavy now with the oversized jacket clinging onto her body. It smelled of woods and smoke, but it was nice and it made her realize just how tired she really was.

"I better get goin' home," Beth clung onto the opening of his jacket, pulling it dangerously tight around her torso, "It's getting windy."

"You can come in," Daryl quickly suggested, making her wonder if he was internally kicking himself for bluntly asking her to stay at the Grimes' residence, "If you want. It's a closer walk than going all the way back to yours. Y'don't have to."

"I'd rather do that. A little time away from home won't hurt," She smiled more widely than before, and he stared at her like he had when she first arrived at Alexandria. It made her self conscious, and bite her lip at the way his eyes portrayed so many mixed emotions at the same time. He nodded after a few stolen moments, walking in front of her without another word. Beth did nothing more than follow now; her eyes fluttering, fighting off the sleep that she needed.

They arrived in front of his shared house, walking up the porch steps and quietly into the living room.

"I sleep down here. We don't have any room upstairs. I dunno why I thought it would be a good idea for you to sleep here when we ain't have much room," His words were a whisper in her ear and she couldn't help but look back at him while he closed the door, "You take the couch. I'll lay on the floor."

"You don't have to do that for me."

"I do." He wouldn't hear another word of it and soon she was on the couch, still bundled up in her own sweatshirt and Daryl's jacket. It was enough to warm her up again, and though she should've taken it off and given it back, he never mentioned it. So while he settled onto the floor a few feet away, Beth found herself pulling the leather near her nose. She breathed in his scent and that was enough to make her heart slow down a few beats and her body relax.

"Thank you," She broke the silence in the room. If he hadn't spoken so soon she would've thought he fell asleep already.

"For what?"

"For being here. Thank you for being here for me."

Beth didn't hear anything from him for the rest of the night, but she knew he hadn't ignored her. He didn't need to say anything else, just being there, being close enough for her to reach other and grab him if another nightmare invaded her sleep, that was enough for her to doze off into a undisturbed sleep.

A/N: ...I'm back and sorry and I know this is short, but WOW writer's block is a cruel, cruel thing. I'm still invested in this story, no worries. I just need to figure out the outline and I promise more chapters will follow :) If you have any ideas, let me know! Don't mind the grammar errors, I'll go through and change them tomorrow since I have exams first thing in the morning !