Beauty and Her Beast (Daryl Dixon Fanfic)

19

When the shoot out at the barn was over, Luke had a lot of questions. Who was that girl and why did she make Carol so sad? Why did Shane do that? Is Hershel gonna make us leave? I could only answer some of them. I'm Shane blamed Hershel. He claimed that he knew Sophia was in the barn, but we all knew he didn't. I think Lori could see how shaken I was and offered to take Luke for a bit so I could calm down. After that I went to mine and Daryl's tent, hiding under a sleeping bag and fiddling with the bracelet around my wrist, letting tears fall from my eyes.

I held my breath when the tent was unzipped and Daryl stepped in. It couldn't be anyone else. The sleeping bag was lifted slightly and I felt him lay beside me, wrapping his arms around my waist, pulling me closer and burying his face in my hair. "You okay, Charlie?" He whispered against the back of my neck.

I turned in his arms, threading my fingers through his hair, letting them rest at the nape of his neck. "You already know the answer to that." I whispered. "Luke has all these questions I can't answer. This is all so..."

He sighed. "Charlie, it'll be okay."

I pulled away and stood up. "I'm tired of people saying that. I-I need to get my mind off everything. Just...leave me be for a while." I stood up and strapped on my shoulder holster and thigh holster, leaving the tent and Daryl, walking to the house where Rick and Glenn were getting in a car. "Hey," I jogged up and leaned in the window. "Where you going?"

Rick started the car. "To get Hershel. He went off to a bar in town."

I nodded and got in the back. "I'm coming, I need a distraction." Rick nodded at me and drove off.

~*~

The ride was silent most of the way, but when we got into town, Glenn started to seem uncomfortable. He looked towards Rick. "Maggie said she loves me." Rick simply nodded. I smiled. Glenn breathed a laugh. "She doesn't mean it. I mean, she can't. I mean-well...she-she's upset, or confused. She's probably feeling, like-"

Rick cut him off. "I think she's smart enough to know what she's feeling."

Glenn shook his head. "No, no." Rick laughed, but said nothing. "No, you know what? She wants to be in love, so she's- she needs something to-to, like-hold onto."

I put a hand on his shoulder. "Glenn, it's pretty obvious to everyone Maggie loves you, and not just because you're one of the last men standing. So, what's the problem?"

Glenn looked out the window. "I didn't say it back." I raised my brow at him. "I've never had a woman say that to me before, except my mom, of course, and my sisters. But with Maggie, it's different. We barely know each other. What-what does she really know about me? Nothing. We're practically strangers. But I-I didn't know what to do with it. I just stood there like a jerk."

Rick looked over at him. "Hey. Hey, this is a good thing, something we don't get enough of these days. Enjoy it. And when we get back, return the favor. It's not like she's going anywhere."

Glenn nodded. We drove a little more before stopping in front of the bar. I got out, watching Rick and Glenn exchange a few words before getting out as well. "Let's roll."

We stood by the door and Rick counted to three before grabbing the doorknob and pushing the door open roughly. I had my gun raised, but lowered it when I saw Hershel sitting at the bar. "Hershel." Rick said.

"Who's with you?" Hershel asked.

"Glenn and Lottie."

He nodded, still not facing us. "Maggie sent him?"

We started walking closer. "He volunteered, so did Lottie. They're good like that." Rick walked up to Hershel, facing him and putting a hand on the bar. "How many have you had?"

"Not enough."

Rick briefly glanced back at Glenn and I, then back at Hershel. "Let's finish this up back at home. Beth collapsed, is in some sort of state. Must be in shock. I think you are too."

Hershel was silent for a moment. "Maggie's with her?"

"Yeah, but Beth needs you."

He looked back at the glass in his hands. "What could I do? She needs her mother. Or rather to mourn. Like she should've done weeks ago. I robbed her of that. I see that now."

Rick sighed. "You thought there was a cure. Can't blame yourself for holding out for hope."

Hershel kept his eyes forward. "Hope? When I first saw you running across my field with your boy in your arms, I had little hope he would survive."

"But he did."

Hershel nodded. "He did. Even though we lost Otis. Your man Shane made it back and we saved your boy. That was the miracle that proved to me miracles do exist. Only it was a sham, a bait and switch. I was a fool, Rick, and your people saw that. My daughters deserve better than that." He finished off his drink, pouring some more into his glass.

With a sigh, Rick walked over to Glenn and I. Glenn raise his brow. "What do we do? Just wait for him to pass out?" He asked.

"Just go." Hershel called from the other side of the bar. "Just go!"

"I promised Maggie I'd bring you home safe." He started walking back over.

Hershel chuckled. "Like you promised that little girl?"

We exchanged looks and Rick walked closer. "So what's your plan? Finish that bottle? Drink yourself to death and leave your girls alone?"

Hershel dropped his glass on the table, standing up to face Rick angrily. "Stop telling me how to care for my family, my farm. You people are like a plague! I do the Christian thing, give you shelter, and you destroy it all!"

"The world was already in bad shape when we met."

"And you take no responsibility! You're supposed to be their leader!" Hershel spat.

Rick was getting more angry by the second. "Well, I'm here now, aren't I?"

Hershel seemed to calm down slightly, starting to back away. "Yes...yes. Yes you are." He turned around and sat back down, going back to his drink.

Rick went to stand next to him again. "Now come on. Your girls need you now more than ever."

He tried to grab his arm, but Hershel pulled it away. "I didn't want to believe you. You told me there was no cure, that these people were dead, not sick. I chose not to believe that. But when Shane shot Lou in the chest, and she just kept coming, that's when I knew what an ass I'd been. That Annette had been dead long ago and I was feeding a rotten corpse! That's when I knew there was no hope."

His voice began to break as tears filled his eyes. "And when that little girl came out of the barn, the look on your face-I knew you knew it too. Right? There is no hope. And you know it now, like I do. Don't you?" Rick didn't respond. "There is no hope for any of us." Hershel turned away, staring back at his drink.

Rick shook his head. "Look, I'm done. I'm not doing this anymore, cleaning up after you. You know what the truth is? Nothing has changed. Death is death. It's always been there, whether it's from a heart attack, cancer, or a walker. What's the difference? You didn't think it was hopeless before, did you? Now there are people back at home trying to hang on. They need us, even if it's just to give them a reason to go on, even if we don't believe in ourselves. You know what? This isn't about what we believe anymore. It's about them."

Hershel didn't say anything, he just finished his drink and set the glass upside down on the bar. We were about to leave, when the doors opened and in walked two men, both smiling. "Son of a bitch. They're alive."