The Place That Remains

Delaney was sitting alone on the steps at the back door of the house when Daryl strolled up to approach her. He didn't say anything at first, attempting to figure out if she was still angry from before or if she was angry now that he'd been forced to kill the walkers that were formerly people she knew and loved.

"What?" she finally sighed, feeling his stare.

He definitely couldn't tell from that. He shook his head and glanced back to his group. "They're buryin' some of the bodies. Sophia, your aunt, your cousin. Gonna have a funeral. Thought ya might wanna help."

She looked up at him for a moment, squinting at the bright sun behind him. "Yeah. Thanks," she finally replied. She stood up from the steps and walked with him up to the yard, but as she went to where the rest of the group had started digging graves, Daryl went in the direction of the RV where they knew Carol was.

She helped Andrea, Shane, T-Dog, and Jimmy dig the three holes under the shade tree and they waited as Lori went to get Carol before they buried the bodies. She came back to them alone a few minutes later, shaking her head. "Carol doesn't want to be a part of it. She said that's not her daughter."

As soon as Lori had said the words, Delaney noticed Daryl storm out of the RV with a sour look on his face, kicking weeds as he stalked through the field. She knew that what Carol said must have upset him. He had devoted the past couple of days solely to finding that little girl and he had almost died in the process. He must have felt like that was all for nothing now, and not even the little girl's mother was grateful for it.

She helped Jimmy lower her aunt's body into the freshly dug hole as Shawn and Sophia were placed in the holes next to it. Once they were buried, Delaney went into the house to tell her uncle that they had been buried. Hershel and Patricia followed her and Beth outside and they walked down to the edge of the tree where Maggie and Glenn were standing with the rest of Glenn's group, minus Carol.

Delaney wrapped her arm around her oldest cousin as the brunette shed silent tears and she reached out her right arm to lace through her uncle's as he solemnly stared at his wife's makeshift grave. Despite the original idea to have a service, no one could bring themselves to actually say anything. They all just stood there together, silently looking at the three graves.

Daryl was standing at the end of his group, his arms crossed over his chest and the look on his face a mixture of disappointment and anger. Delaney caught his eye but he only looked at her for a brief moment before he tore his eyes away and put them back on the grave that now held the little girl's body.

Shane walked away first and Delaney had to resist the urge to roll her eyes at the man. She did agree that they were in danger as long as the walkers were locked inside the barn, but she completely disagreed with the way he went about it. And on top of that, he didn't seem sorry at all.

Pretty soon, the rest of the group had gone back to moving the bodies and her family had gone back into the house, leaving Delaney standing there alone. She wasn't sure why this was affecting her in such a way. She had already lost so many people that she loved, and she hadn't even been that close to Annette or her son. It must've been the way Hershel, Maggie, and Beth had reacted. They had never fully realized the extent of what the world had come to and they'd been forced to watch firsthand as some strangers shot down their loved ones like dogs. She finally sighed and turned to head back to the house after one last glance at the three graves.

When she went back into the house, she found Glenn and Maggie talking quietly in the dining room. She quickly left them alone and went into the kitchen where Beth was washing dishes. She didn't look up when Delaney came into the room and she didn't acknowledge her when she spoke. "Bethy? You okay?"

Beth continued to was the plate in her hands, not answering her cousin. It was like she was in a daze, blocking the entire world out. She reached over to put the clean plate in the dish drain, but then she fell backwards onto the kitchen floor, bringing the entire drain full of dishes down with her.

"Maggie!" she shouted as she jumped over the broken plates and glasses to reach her youngest cousin. Maggie came running into the kitchen, shouting her sister's name and Glenn was right behind her. Delaney lifted her head into her lap and her eyes opened, but she wasn't responsive. She just stared straight up at the ceiling, her eyes unfocused and showing no signs of emotion. "Bethy? Can you hear me?"

The girl didn't respond to Delaney's voice and the worry began to set in. Delaney gently laid her head back on the floor, then stood up, looking at Glenn. "Here, help me get her up."

"I'm gonna go find my Dad," Maggie said, rushing out of the kitchen.

Glenn and Delaney pulled her up gently and Glenn picked her up in his arms, carrying her to the nearest bedroom and putting her gently onto the bed. He immediately backed away as Delaney sat down on the edge of the bed next to her, grabbing her hand.

"Bethy, I need you to talk to me. Can you hear me?"

The girl remained unresponsive and Delaney reached up to brush a strand of hair out of her face, when her fingertips grazed her forehead. She gasped and laid her palm fully against her head, feeling how warm she really was. "She's burning up," she said, glancing back at Glenn. "Shit. I hope Maggie finds Uncle Hershel soon."

That hope was tossed out the window when Maggie returned alone, shaking her head. "I don't know where he is. I looked all over the house and outside." Delaney got up from the bed and went to stand beside Glenn to give Maggie some room with her sister. "Sweetie, can you hear me?"

Lori peeked her head into the room, looking around questioningly.

"What's wrong with her?" Maggie asked immediately. She had never seen his sister like this and it was beginning to scare her.

"She might be in shock. Where's Hershel?"

"We can't find him anywhere," Glenn replied quietly. He and Lori exchanged looks before she quickly left the room to tell Rick.

Glenn went over behind Maggie and gently rubbed her back. "Come on. Let's talk to Rick."

Maggie looked up at Delaney first and she nodded. "I'll stay with her. You go on. Your dad has to be found." Maggie nodded at her cousin and followed Glenn down the hall while Delaney just sank back against the headboard, looking over at Beth, who remained motionless and unresponsive.

Maggie returned a few minutes later and took her place by her sister's side. "Found a flask in Dad's stuff," she whispered to Delaney. "They think he might be at the bar in town. Glenn and Rick are goin' after him."

"I'm sure they'll be fine," she assured her.

"I hope so," she muttered. She couldn't bear the thought of losing both her father and her boyfriend all at once, especially after the events that had already transpired earlier in the day.

Patricia and Jimmy rushed into the room after hearing what had happened to Beth outside and shortly after, Andrea stepped in to see if everything was okay. The room was a little crowded with the five of them huddling around Beth's bed.

"I'll give y'all some space," Delaney said, sliding off the bed. "But I'll be right outside if you need me, Mags."

"Thanks, De."

Delaney nodded and gave her a small smile before she left the room and went out into the front porch, letting out a heavy sigh. The day had already been ridiculously stressful and it wasn't even over yet. This kind of drama wasn't helping her get used to being around people again. She almost missed the month alone in the woods where she was only worried about herself.

She stayed outside on the porch for awhile, hoping to spot Daryl so that she could apologize for blowing up on him earlier, but he was nowhere to be seen. It was already dark and Glenn and Rick still hadn't returned from going to get her uncle in town. She was beginning to get worried.

The screen door opened and Shane came running out, Carl and the rest of the group following right behind him. "What's wrong?" she asked Carol, who was the last one out.

"Lori's missing. We're going to look for her."

"I'll help," she said, jumping to her feet to follow Carol off the porch.

Delaney went with Carol in one direction while T-Dog, Shane, and Andrea went other ways. Delaney pointed out a fire away from the rest of the camp and they looked at each other, both saying Daryl's name at the same time. They jogged across the field to him where he was sitting, poking at his fire with a stick.

"We can't find Lori," Carol said as soon as they reached him. "And the others aren't back yet either."

"Yeah. Dumb bitch must've gone off lookin' for 'em."

"What?"

"Yeah, she asked me to go. Told her I was done bein' an errand boy."

"And you didn't say anything?"

Delaney just stared at him disappointed as he remained silent, not answering Carol's question. She shook her head and began to walk away, but then she looked over and saw that Daryl had moved his tent away from the rest of the group, over to this area all by himself. She turned back to him with a sad look. "Don't do this," she pleaded. "Please. I've already lost my girl."

Daryl stood up from in front of his fire and glared at her. "Yeah, that wasn't my problem neither," he spat, walking past her.

Carol shook her head and turned to head back to the others to let them know what Daryl had said, but Delaney stayed behind, watching as he began stringing up the dead squirrels he had killed at some point during the day. He glanced over and when he saw her still standing there, he rolled his eyes. "What do you want?"

"Nothing," she replied quietly.

"Then why you still here?" he asked, annoyed. "Don't fuckin' say it's to make sure I'm okay," he warned her.

She almost smiled, but he was glaring at her. That was exactly why she was still standing there after he blew up on Carol. She took a few steps closer until she was standing right in front of him. "Look, I know you're angry. And I understand why."

"Don't make this about feelings," he sneered at her.

"Alright. Then what should this be about?"

He scowled. "Nothin'."

"Nothing," she repeated, shaking her head. "Fine. Have it your way."

In a split second, her lips were on his and he was caught completely off guard. She didn't know what came over her at that moment. She felt badly for the way she'd acted earlier and, on top of that, despite the crowded house, she was feeling lonely. It only helped that he was unbelievably attractive when he was angry. He pushed her away after a few moments, glaring hard at her. "The fuck was that? You like me or somethin'?"

She rolled her eyes at the assumption and scoffed. "Please. Don't make this about feelings," she told him, repeating the very words he'd spoken a few minutes before.

She took a step toward him again and their faces were mere centimeters apart. He stared down at her with his icy blue eyes and she stared right back up at him with her green ones. "Alright, fine," he grumbled, shoving her against the nearest tree. She smirked at him as he pushed his lips onto hers, his hands grabbing her hips as he kept her back pushed against the tree. The bark scratched her back and neck, but she didn't care. It's been too long since she felt this good and she wasn't about to ruin it.

He reached up to push her long hair off her shoulder, before moving down to attach his lips to the skin of her neck. She leaned her head to the other side to give him more access as she bit down hard on her lip to keep from making noise.

The rustle of trees immediately caught her attention. "Wait, Daryl, stop," she whispered, pushing him away. His arms were on both sides of her, pinning her to the tree, and his face was less than an inch from hers as they both breathed more heavily than normal, listening as the movement got closer.

"I'll go see who it is," he muttered bitterly.

He dropped his arms and walked back toward the fire, the rustling coming closer to him, as Delaney stayed hidden behind the tree. "What're you doin'?" she heard him ask annoyed.

"Keepin' an eye on you." It was Carol. She had come back to check on him after the way she'd left things earlier.

"Ain't you a peach," he replied, sarcastically.

"I'm not gonna let you pull away. You've earned your place."

"If you spent half your time mindin' your daughter's business instead of stickin' your nose in everybody else's, she'd still be alive!"

Carol didn't even retort him. "Go ahead," she urged softly.

Immediately, Daryl was yelling at her, taking out all the frustration that he felt about Sophia and the whole situation with her. Delaney rolled her eyes and quietly sneaked away from the two to go back without hearing the rest. Thankfully, it was dark so she couldn't be seen crossing the field to get back to the house.

When she got back, she found Lori sitting in the living room talking to Dale, Andrea, and Carl, holding a towel to the bloody cut on her forehead. "Oh my God, Lori, what happened to you?"

"She went after Rick. Crashed the car," Dale answered for her.

"You okay?" she asked, her eyes flickering to the woman's stomach.

"Yes, and the baby's fine."

Delaney glanced up at the others before looking back at her. "We were just informed," Andrea told her. She nodded and cleared her throat awkwardly as she excused herself to go back into the bedroom to check on Beth. Maggie was sitting by her bedside, just watching her carefully as she slept.

"How's she doing?" she whispered.

"Still not responding," Maggie replied worriedly.

Delaney slid down the wall and sat down on the floor, sighing to herself. "She's gonna be okay, Mags. I know it."