A/N: Hey guys, button here. It seems I always want to apologize for taking so long to update but the reality is, I update and write when I can. I love you guys for sticking with me, I know it's rough when I update maybe 4 times a year. So instead of saying I'm sorry, This time I'm just going to say thanks. Thank you for putting up with my busy ass and grammar and plot holes and crappy analogies that I think are revelations in the wee hours of the morning. I've thought about just giving up on this story but it's you guys that keep me coming back. You all deserve to see Daryl and Beth after what atrocity TWD just did to her character.
Disclaimer: I own nothing other than the fucked up love triangle and the scenarios I put these people in. Please don't sue as I literally have maybe 5 bucks to my name right now.
~*~TWD~*~TWD~*~TWD~*~TWD~*~TWD~*~TWD~*~TWD~*~TWD~*~TWD~*~TWD~*~TWD~*~TWD
Loading up the SUV took maybe an hour, possibly two, Beth really wasn't keeping track. She had made sure to pack blankets, canisters of gas, canned food, camping gear, and she made sure to pack two back packs in case for any reason they have to abandon the SUV and have to try to trek back on foot.
"My bike is much cozier." Daryl emerged from the cell block. He was carrying his crossbow and a few extra bolts. He had on his vest over long sleeves flannel and denim shirts.
"Yeah but this way we can take shifts driving and you know, turn on the heater if it gets too cold." Beth smiled at him as she grabbed the back packs to put them in the front.
People were filtering out into the yard. Even if Beth wasn't a fan of saying goodbyes, that didn't mean she would deny everyone else their need to do it for her.
She'd hugged the kids and her sister, even joked with Glen and Carl a little before a baby Judy was placed in her arms. Beth took the chance to walk away from the rest of the group to say her goodbye to Judith.
"Listen here chubby cheeks, if I don't make it back, or if I decide against your daddy you've got to do me a favor. You have to keep living, and keep being the light in everyone's life okay? You have to remind people that there's still good in this world. I know it's a lot to place on your tiny shoulders but, it's kind of been your burden since the day you were born. I love you Judy." Beth turned to walk back towards the group after placing a kiss on top of her head.
"I'm gonna miss the hell out of you Greene." Rick grabbed his little girl from the blonde's arms.
"Yeah yeah, I'll be back before you know it Officer. We both know I've got the best damn hunter and guardian in the world by my side, no matter how you feel about him. "Beth gave him a stern look before placing a chaste kiss on his cheek.
Daryl nodded towards Rick and Michonne before getting into the driver side of the vehicle. Beth climbed into the passenger side and they waited for them to open up the gate.
Beth took a deep breath as Daryl turned the ignition. The gate opened and Daryl slowly rolled down the hill to the main gate, which was pulled open in plenty of time for them to cruise through without having to stop.
Daryl looked over at Beth as her face blanched. He figured she realized that she was no longer safe behind two sets of fences, and this threw her off kilter. Without even so much as looking at her he dropped his hand on the console and put it palm up for her to take if she wanted. Beth took another deep breath and took his hand.
"It's not that I've never been out here before, you know that. It's just that we'll be gone for so long that scares me." Beth squeezed his hand a bit tighter.
"Nah we'll be alright. I would never let anything happen to ya." Daryl looked at her and winked before staring back at the road.
Hours passed while they were on the road. They'd only come across one herd. They'd had the luck to be coming down off a hill and see them before they necessarily saw the car. Daryl calmly stopped the car quietly and maneuvered back to the nearest road.
They'd come across a dirt road off the side of a main one. Daryl had taken this road into the deep woods as far as he felt necessary, and parked the SUV in a small clearing to the side of the dirt road. They were safe from passerby's and if they stayed quiet, walkers would pass by them unaware of them sleeping inside.
Daryl had reclined his seat all the way back and placed his hand over his eyes while Beth shuffled around the supplies in the back. They'd only drank a bottle of water between them and a can of food each for the day. In the morning they would have to fill the gas tank and try to gather supplies in the nearest small town.
"Daryl." Beth whispered after she settled back in her seat with two blankets.
"hmm." Daryl grunted, not even so much as looking in her direction.
"I gotta pee." Beth had asked him to stop once before in the middle of the day, but he had to go too so she wasn't quite as embarrassed that time.
"Alright. You're lucky it's still a bit daylight out and I hadn't fallen asleep yet." Daryl adjusted his seat, pocketed the keys from the ignition and grabbed his crossbow from the side. He knew she was asking him to keep watch while she would be vulnerable. They exited the vehicle quietly, keeping their eyes open for any signs of trouble and luckily, not even a walker was stirring nearby. Beth squatted down at the nearest tree with a piece of tissue she'd gotten while grabbing the blankets. Daryl kept his eyes on anything else while he listened to her doing her business. It wasn't until he heard the kicking of dirt that he turned around to face her.
"What?" Beth asked as she zipped up her pants and covered the spot with leaves with her foot.
"The hell are you doing girl?" Daryl asked raising an eyebrow at her.
"I'm covering my scent. You're a hunter, you know that all sorts of predators can track prey by their scent. I'm trying to cover mine." Beth spoke quietly as they walked back to car.
"You're smarter than people give you credit for you know?" Daryl said after they were securely back in the car. Beth scoffed.
"Same could be said of you." She glared at him, giving him a look as if he'd offended her.
"True. I keep learning new things about you today." Daryl grabbed one of the blankets she'd gathered up from the back.
"Oh? Dare I ask what else you've figured out about me?" Beth grabbed the other blanket and began to recline her seat backwards.
"Rick informed me of a few things." Daryl reclined his seat back and turned his head to look her in the eyes.
"I don't think Rick is the kind of guy that would go around spreading lies about me but, just out of curiosity what did he tell you about me? That I've got the prettiest blue eyes he's ever seen or something?" Beth stifled a yawn after the sentence but it ended up pouring over which made Daryl all the more enchanted with her.
"Nope, in case you haven't noticed Greene I'm a gentleman. I'll never tell." Daryl had shifted to his side as much as he could to face her.
"It's that bad huh?" Beth's face widened with surprise. What could he have told him?
"I don't think he meant to say anything, it just fell out in conversation, but I have to tell ya blondie, I'm shocked. It takes a hell of a lot to shock a Dixon." He winked at her.
"Well it can't be too surprising considering I'm sleeping with ya on the first date now." Beth giggled and playfully hit him in the shoulder.
"That hurt! Remind me to trip you up tomorrow as pay back, I'm so tired I don't think I'll remember." Daryl yawned and his eyelids started to get heavy. Beth couldn't help it, he looked so sweet and innocent in the fading light that she had to lean over and kiss his cheek.
Daryl's eyes flew open at the contact of her lips. He looked into her eyes as she started to back away. He was at odds on whether or not to kiss her again, like he'd been dreaming of ever since that day out by the barn, but he didn't have to do anything. She leaned in and kissed him, timidly and innocent at first. Daryl thought that everything with her would begin in naivite and innocence, but he felt her lips get greedy and before he could register what was happening, their tongues were tasting each other and fighting for dominance.
It took all of Beth's self-control to pull away. She'd wanted to take things a bit slow, or as slow as two weeks would allow and here she was about 10 seconds from straddling this man and dry humping him until either one of them got off, or were rubbed raw.
Daryl could plainly see the lust in her eyes and if he wasn't so tired from the drive, he may have just let her hop on and have her way as much as he may regret it later. He smiled at her, watching her struggle with her hormones for a minute.
"Greene, I think we should get some sleep. Tomorrow's going to be a long one and as much as I like getting distracted by your pretty face, it will end up getting us killed out there. " Daryl caressed her cheek with his thumb before turning over to face the window of the SUV.
"Good night Daryl." Beth turned around to her side's window and slowly let herself drift off to sleep.
The next morning Beth was awoken to a thumping on the window behind her side and a growling. She looked over to the driver's side but found that Daryl was already gone, and had taken the keys with him. The walker had noticed her for sure this time; the growls become more persistent and the thumps getting harder on the glass. Beth grabbed her knife and was about to open the door when she saw the walker stop mid growl and slide down the glass. Daryl opened the door for her and grinned.
"You gonna make me save your ass the entire time we're out here?" Daryl held his hand out for her to use to balance herself as she walked over the corpse.
"You bet your ass I am. It's about time you learn how to treat a lady." Beth smiled up at him, he was glad she'd caught the joking in his voice. With everyone else he had to make his sarcasm over the top, for them to get it, but with her, he could mumble under his breath and she'd get it.
"Like a god damn romance novel I tell you…" Daryl let go of her hand and shook his head as she giggled at him. Daryl knew she'd have to do her business and then it's her turn to drive.
"We're heading to a small town that Michonne and I came across a while back. It seemed pretty untouched but we didn't explore it cause we were running low on ammo and didn't want to chance it." Daryl had already faced the opposite direction as he knew she'd picked a tree and would squat at any moment.
"Well, I've gotten pretty handy with a knife, and I'm decent with a gun but I don't want to use my pistol unless I have to, especially if anyone we find is alive." Beth spoke, trying to cover up the uncomfortable sound of going to the bathroom. Even though she'd done this a thousand times while they were on the road before the prison, she still couldn't get used to it.
"You keep quiet and you listen to me if we come across anyone, you understand? People are more dangerous than walkers now. You wait for my signals." Daryl used his teacher voice this time which generally annoyed her to no end but he was doing it to protect her.
"Yes Mr. Dixon." Beth said behind him, covering up her business with her boot in the dirt.
"You know where we're going?" Daryl handed her the map after she rinsed her hands off as best she could.
"Yup. Just sit back and relax." Beth said, getting close enough to the driver's side to almost open the door. Just when her hand made contact she heard a few telltale snarls from the trees behind them.
"Time to go!" Daryl said as he got in the passenger side and Beth got in the opposite. He'd already placed the keys in the ignition and started to turn it by the time Beth got fully seated. She immediately put the car in gear and peeled out onto the dirt road.