Familiarity

Chapter Ten

Maggie shuffled through the first floor bathroom's cabinet, examining the new tube of toothpaste along with a couple toothbrushes, noticing a few other small essentials such as bandaids and meds. While pondering wether or not Advil would kill her headache, she heard footsteps coming down the hall, looking in the reflection of the mirror to find a familiar face. "Did you find anything?" she asked the retreating figure, a hand gripping the door's frame as Mabel used it to pull herself back, giving Maggie a shrug once she met her gaze. "Just some extra blankets and pillows in one of the closets. Oh, also...here," Mabel scrounged through her large pockets, pulling out a small container of ibuprofen before holding it out to the young woman. "This usually helped my headaches more than Advil ever did." she stated softly as Maggie took it from her, and she smiled at Mabel. "Thanks Beth," she started to say, and she paused as the small bathroom filled with silence, Mabel's happy smile turning to a slight frown.
"Mabel...I mean Mabel." Maggie corrected quickly, shaking her head as her heart fell to the pit of her stomach. Mabel nodded slowly, feeling uncomfortable and suddenly unwelcome as she cleared her throat. "I'm just going to head into the other room...you're welcome, by the way." Maggie watched her leave before letting out a pain filled sigh, closing her eyes, and after a few seconds passed she straightened up. "Come on, Maggie," she mumbled to herself before opening up the pill bottle.
"You okay there, Grease?" Abraham asked as Mabel entered the living room, forgetting about the sleeping bag in his hands momentarily as she looked over at him, her expression solemn. She smiled fondly at the new nickname he'd given her before nodding. "Yeah just," she trailed off with a small frown as he awaited her response, Daryl watching her from the corner of the room. "It's nothing." she quickly shrugged it off, and after a seconds pause Abraham nodded, unrolling the sleeping bag before laying it on the floor. Mabel looked over at Daryl, who's eyes were already glued on her, and she chewed at the inside of her cheek as she thought about what Maggie had said.
She made her way over to her mysterious, crossbow wielding comrade, and he repositioned himself so he could see her better as she stood above him. "Who's Beth?" Mabel asked softly, skipping the small talk, and Daryl felt like he'd been hit in the gut by a bowling ball. "Maggie called me Beth so...." she explained when he gave her a confused look, and he finally understood her sudden knowledge of the name. "She was Maggie's sister. She died not t'long ago-- right before we met you." he told her softly, and she frowned before quickly nodding. "I'm so insensitive." Mabel stated, feeling ashamed of the way she handled things with Maggie just moments before. But, was there really a better way to have handled that?
Daryl watched as she talked down about herself, hating that she felt the need to as he set the arrow he'd been working on down. "Nah, you didn't know." Mabel looked around the crowded room as everyone was starting to finally get settled, smiling at Daryl. "Were you close? You and Beth I mean," she asked him, and he thought it over. "Yeah, she and I stuck together after the Governor attacked; she made me realize some things." Daryl replied after a brief pause, and Mabel gulped at his words. He and Beth had been close, very close near the end, as they slowly opened up to one another. He hadn't seen her in a romantic way though, she was only seventeen after all, and he was old enough to be her father. No, their bond held nothing but friendship, and Daryl saw her as a little sister that needed his protection. She was the innocence he didn't believe existed in the world.
"I'm sorry for your loss. I understand what you went through, it's never easy to lose someone." Mabel sympathized with him softly, giving him a warm, reassuring smile. And Daryl, much to his surprise, found himself returning the gesture.

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Author's Note: hey guys! Sooo I'm one of the few who actually finds it gross to pair Daryl and Beth together. She's a fucking kid, and anything between them would be statutory rape. Daryl feels nothing romantic towards her, just a need to protect and brotherly love. Maybe if she were in her twenties it would be different. But that's not the case soooooo let me know what you think of this chapter! :) p.s. don't forget to vote