❖◆ &&. BETH GREENE.

" i know you ( look ) at me and you just see another dead girl. i'm not michonne. i'm not carol. i'm not maggie. i've s u r v i v e d and you don't get it 'cause i'm not like you or them. but i MADE it and you don't get to treat me like crap just because...

[anothcrdeadgirl]

svrvivalist:

as she touched her hair, something changed in her expression, something that screamed not quite right. she recovered quickly, even smiling at him, but as he followed her from the storage area he made a mental note to look into whatever was obviously weighing down on her mind. for now, however, they had his little girl to attend to. beth didn’t need to tell him to go twice. without delay, rick strode up the stairs and stepped into judith’s room. wide eyes turned to look his way, followed shortly by a coo. some of his tension immediately eased as he moved to lift her into his arms, grateful that she still looked as calm and content as ever. her chubby fingers curled into the fabric of his shirt, and he pressed a kiss against the side of her head in response. “they’re takin’ good care of you, right?” he murmured. after a pause, he called out, “have the saviors been leavin’ her alone?”

beth followed him up the stairs and towards judith’s room, but leaned against the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest. she smiled to herself as soon as rick and judith reunited, unable to help the tears that filled her eyes, and chuckled softly when he spoke to her. ‘good’ wouldn’t cover it; she’d been watching judith every hour of the day she could, since carl was so busy now, and rick had been gone. feeding her, playing with her, changing her diaper, bathing her. everything. she truly had missed her just as much as she’d missed rick and carl. however, when rick spoke to beth now, her smile darkened almost immediately, her eyes widening. shane. he was a savior. did he count in that category? rick would flip out even knowing shane was back to life; if she told him that beth was letting him see judith on top of that, things wouldn’t end well. so she just nodded her head. “negan sometimes comes by to play with her, but i keep my eyes on him. i don’t leave the room when he’s with her. he’s just tryin’ to mess with you and carl. but she’s okay, i promise.”

[anothcrdeadgirl]

svrvivalist:

too much on his shoulders? with everything this far out of his control, it was hard to believe that anything was left to stay on his shoulders. hell, all that remained now was guilt and regret over what had already happened. breathing out a relieved breath the moment beth agreed not to do anything, rick ran a hand through his hair and let her get back to ––– wait, what? he cast a puzzled glance at her before his eyes fell to the clipboard. “you’re takin’ inventory, huh?” she had been here long enough to start breaking her back for negan. christ. a flicker of anger attempted to stir within him, but he shoved it quickly aside as an image of his daughter’s face flashed through his mind. “how about we pretend i left it all at the house so we can go check on judith? i haven’t seen her yet, but i’m guessin’ she’s been in good hands.” for a split second, his mouth curved into the faintest of smiles; hard not to when he recalled how good beth had been with her.

beth nodded, a smile tugging momentarily at her lips before disappearing. “not exactly the most excitin’ job,” she teased, glancing over at him then turning back to the shelves. as she began counting down the items lined up, she stopped, hearing his proposition. then she turned to face him again, smiling gently once more. “that i can do,” she agreed, setting the clipboard down and pushing her hair out of her face. suddenly she was brought back to the time when carl did her ponytail for her when her arm was hurt. right before the savior came in, and everything changed for both of them forever. pushing that memory out of her mind, she smiled at rick, placing her hand on his arm. “let’s go. she’ll be dyin’ to see you,” she chuckled, leading him out of the storage area, but moving her hand off his arm. the last thing she knew both of them wanted were more taunts from the saviors. she led him over to his house, and inside, closing the door behind him. “she’s upstairs in her room. you go first.”

[anothcrdeadgirl]

itaintlikeitwasbefore:

“Because you believed me, you believed she was mine. I told you the truth and you forgave me” he quietly explained. “And now out of the goddamn blue I’m enemy number one. I don’t know what I did between the last time we talked til now but I’m sorry for it” he added, looking down before letting go of her arm.

unable to stand it anymore, beth looked up into his eyes, stumbling back slightly when he finally let go. “i’ll tell you what happened,” she choked out, shaking her head. “rick came back. and reunitin’ with him was the best thing that’s happened to me in a while. i can’t go against him anymore. i won’t.”

[anothcrdeadgirl]

itaintlikeitwasbefore:

He didn’t say anything but grabbed her arm, holding it tight enough where she couldn’t escape it but it wouldn’t hurt her. “Look me in the eyes and tell me, god dammit, give me some sort of fuckin’ respect” he muttered. “After everythin’ I’ve done I deserve somethin’. Just one thing, Beth. Please”

beth gasped in surprise when he pulled her arm back, but kept her head ducked down, even with how close they were standing. she tried to tug her arm out of his grip, but he was holding it too firmly. “why does it matter?! you aren’t supposed to be seein’ her anyway!”

[anothcrdeadgirl]

itaintlikeitwasbefore:

“If you’re goin’ to say that, you damn well better open your eyes and tell it to me” he said, trying to keep his voice from breaking.

beth scoffed. “and i thought negan was against makin’ people do somethin’ they didn’t want to do,” she muttered, turning to walk back towards rick’s house.

[anothcrdeadgirl]

itaintlikeitwasbefore:

He was silent for a moment, looking down as he tried to comprehend everything. “You’re right” he quietly said as he looked at her, tears beginning to finally fall down his cheeks, “just let me say goodbye to my daughter, dammit. At least give me that”

beth finally had to close her eyes to refrain from looking at him. she knew her heart would only break if she did. “no. and don’t ask anymore,” she snarled under her breath. “you’re a savior. you all take the ones we love away from us. now you finally know how it feels.”

[anothcrdeadgirl]

itaintlikeitwasbefore:

“Beth” he whispered, unable to stop the tears that began to form, “Beth you are the only one who believes me. Don’t go sayin’ that”

“don’t do that,” beth snapped as she saw the tears forming in his eyes. she looked away before she could stop herself, not letting this change her mind in any way. “she’s rick’s. she will always be rick’s. you didn’t take care of her, because all you could think about was killin’ your best friend, right?!”

[anothcrdeadgirl]

itaintlikeitwasbefore:

He glared at her, obviously hurt my her words. “What… Wait, what’s goin’ on? You’ve never had a problem with this before”

“yeah, but i have a problem with it now,” beth replied, keeping her voice as firm as possible as she nodded her head, her jaw clenched. “she’s rick’s daughter.”

[anothcrdeadgirl]

svrvivalist:

the embrace startled him into tensing at first, instinct making his fingers twitch toward her arms to pry them off. instead, though, he lowered his hands and kept still, unaware that he finally felt calmer until beth’s lips met his cheek and she withdrew. and promptly began speaking nonsense. eyebrows furrowing, he at last turned to meet her eyes. “what? no. of course not.” no, he’d had more than enough of beth’s absence for one lifetime. just a few minutes with her and he already felt just a little bit lighter; how could he ever want to her to leave? stepping closer, rick cupped her face in his hands, forcing her gaze to remain glued to his own. “no matter how much time has passed, you are family. you belong with us. alright? all of that, that was just…” he hesitated. “i’m just tryin’ to protect you. this whole negan situation isn’t that simple.”

beth wanted to move back again, but as soon as his hands came up to delicately hold her face, she found herself unable to budge again. how did he always manage to do that? but her eyes saddened at his words, head tilting slightly to the side. “rick, you don’t have to protect me anymore...” she whispered, hand coming up to rest over one of his as she shook her head. “i’m not the same little girl i was on the farm, or in the prison. carl thinks that, and i know you do too. you already have too much on your shoulders.” it was obvious, even from just the few minutes they’d been able to reconnect. plus, she’d heard about it from countless members of their group. “one day... one day, i know you’ll see what i’m sayin’. but i won’t do anythin’ until that day comes. i promise,” she breathed out almost silently, squeezing his hand. “i gotta get back to work.” she paused then moved out of his embrace to go to the pantry, grabbing the clipboard and beginning to take the daily inventory. just another day of nonstop labor. “what did you find on your run?”

[anothcrdeadgirl]

itaintlikeitwasbefore:

He raised a brow at her, wondering what had gotten into her. “Alright, that’s fine, maybe I can just hold her a bit at least?” he asked, smiling softly

beth stepped back slowly then shook her head, averting her gaze. “i don’t think that’s a good idea,” she whispered. “not anymore, shane.” it broke her heart to have to do, but rick would die if he found out.

[anothcrdeadgirl]

itaintlikeitwasbefore:

@anothcrdeadgirl

He had found some more toys on one of his runs and decided to see his daughter. Noticing Beth, his smile grew as he ran forward. “Hey,” he greeted before stopping infront of her, “I was thinkin’ how about you take the day off and relax while I look after Judith?”

beth had only run to the pantry to grab some more baby food for judith, but she was planning to do it on the sly. there was one person she did not want to come across... and it was the exact person she happened to run into. she looked up at him nervously then swallowed and shook her head. “it’s okay, i have her.”

[anothcrdeadgirl]

honesty hour !!

ask beth anything !!

ask grace anything !!

ask sherry anything !!

[megan-fox]

[mvliatate-deactivated20161214]

beth.

beth closed her eyes and relaxed again as his hand ran across her back. however, the serenity didn’t last long. as soon as she heard the change in his tone, she tensed up again, looking sorrowfully up into his eyes as he pulled away from the embrace. oh no. just when everything started to feel okay again… there was something to stop that. as soon as he explained his hesitance, beth’s eyes fell shut, and she let out a deep, disappointed exhale. she only looked up again when he stepped away, her gaze desperate and saddened all at the same time. then she shook her head. she wouldn’t accept that. not after all they’ve been through. “we have to fight, rick,” she replied in frustration, stepping forward slightly so that he could look at her again. hopefully he would. she wasn’t mad at him, of course, but just at the situation. everyone seemed to be giving up. daryl. carl. and now rick. the very last person she expected to be sacrificing hope. “what’s the point of livin’, of survivin’ if we can’t control what we wanna do? glenn and abraham died so that we could live. not so that we could just be slaves for negan and wait around until he decides to kill one of us!” she hadn’t meant to snap at him, but she was just so frustrated with the entire situation. she paused, then softened her tone yet again, although she kept it firm enough to know she was serious about this. “if we kill negan, how many of them do you think will keep fightin’? they’re only under his control because they’re afraid. because they don’t have a choice. if we kill him… we end this.”

even when she stepped forward, he kept his gaze directed everywhere but at her. frustration pumped restlessness into his limbs, driving him to shift his weight and bring a hand up to rub at his forehead. it wasn’t exactly shocking that he was already getting a headache mere minutes after stepping foot in alexandria. “they didn’t choose to die,” he snapped, fingers curling into a fist as he lowered his hand. “you weren’t there. you didn’t see what happened. they were killed as punishment because we did fight. he broke our spirits the hard way, now don’t you dare give him a reason to wanna break yours, too.” rick paused and turned away from her, struggling to maintain some semblance of calm. “if i really thought for a second that we could beat this, that we would survive killin’ him, i’d have done it by now. you know that. but killin’ him just isn’t the answer; he already warned me about that.” pressing a hand against the wall, as if in need of the support to hold him up, he went on in a quieter tone, “he’s not goin’ to kill any more of us as long as we follow the rules and do what he wants. if we want to survive, that’s just how it’s gotta be. so don’t provoke him, beth. we’ve lost enough as it is, and i don’t wanna lose you a second time. we can’t lose anyone else. i can’t–––” for a split second, his voice broke, and he cut himself off with an irritated exhale. “just… don’t. please.”

[anothcrdeadgirl]

as soon as he turned away from her, beth felt all her frustration drain out of her instantaneously. knowing that he didn't even want to look at her made her heart shatter into pieces all over again. she just stared at him, or more like his back, as he spoke. she slowly stepped backwards, considering whether or not to leave him, and even turned away slightly... until she heard the break in his voice. she couldn't just leave him like this. of course she couldn't. instead, beth moved forward and slowly wound her arms around him from behind, head rest against the back of his shoulders. just like she had done to daryl. and carl. but this... this was different. it was rick, after all. after what felt like a full minute, she stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek, then closed her eyes as she stepped back again. "do you want me to leave...?" she whispered quietly. of course she didn't want to, but she just assumed he wanted her gone after that.

[anothcrdeadgirl]

svrvivalist:

the mention of the saviors sobered him up, effectively putting his hope in its proper place. he needed to calm down. beth was alive, yes, and it was a miracle she was there with him right then, but ultimately, was it really for the best? now she was yet another person at risk, someone else negan got to use against him to keep everyone in line. when beth took his hand, he followed her without question, curling his fingers around hers like he was grasping a lifeline. just her presence already made him feel closer to who he used to be ( strong, a leader ), but he couldn’t, he needed to keep himself in check ––– unless he wanted to lose any more people. by the time they were alone and she was in his arms again, dread had settled back into the pit of his stomach. “i’m glad you’re back,” he admitted, running a hand soothingly across her shoulder-blades. “but… you need to understand somethin’, beth. my bein’ here isn’t gonna help a damn thing.” gently, he stepped away from her, though his palms found her shoulders as he looked into her eyes. “this is the way things are now, alright? they ain’t what they used to be. negan’s runnin’ the show, not me. not anymore.” and if he had any pride left, it would surely be stung over having to inform beth of this. with a clench of his jaw, he released her, gaze falling away so he didn’t have to meet hers anymore. “we can’t fight, not this time. we just have to do what he wants.”

beth closed her eyes and relaxed again as his hand ran across her back. however, the serenity didn’t last long. as soon as she heard the change in his tone, she tensed up again, looking sorrowfully up into his eyes as he pulled away from the embrace. oh no. just when everything started to feel okay again... there was something to stop that. as soon as he explained his hesitance, beth’s eyes fell shut, and she let out a deep, disappointed exhale. she only looked up again when he stepped away, her gaze desperate and saddened all at the same time. then she shook her head. she wouldn’t accept that. not after all they’ve been through. “we have to fight, rick,” she replied in frustration, stepping forward slightly so that he could look at her again. hopefully he would. she wasn’t mad at him, of course, but just at the situation. everyone seemed to be giving up. daryl. carl. and now rick. the very last person she expected to be sacrificing hope. “what’s the point of livin’, of survivin’ if we can’t control what we wanna do? glenn and abraham died so that we could live. not so that we could just be slaves for negan and wait around until he decides to kill one of us!” she hadn’t meant to snap at him, but she was just so frustrated with the entire situation. she paused, then softened her tone yet again, although she kept it firm enough to know she was serious about this. “if we kill negan, how many of them do you think will keep fightin’? they’re only under his control because they’re afraid. because they don’t have a choice. if we kill him... we end this.”

[anothcrdeadgirl]

bringingxhope:

     “I don’t see why you should be sorry. You played beauttifully, so anyone would have stopped by.” Crystal replied softly, standing in a tall posture as she leaned against the door frame of the room.

beth smiled bashfully and leaned back against the piano, folding her hands. “i should probably stop anyway. if any of the saviors here, i’m dead,” she chuckled.

[anothcrdeadgirl]

svrvivalist:

look at me, she said, as if he wasn’t already looking. as if he could possibly look anywhere else when she was standing right there in front of him again, in the flesh. she was upset, of course, but what was he supposed to do? admit that she might be alive, the only survivor of a bullet to the head? “beth,” he began to say, trying to remain at least somewhat rational ––– then her arms were around him. he inhaled sharply, his hands moving of their own accord to encircle her, fingers brushing over her back in what was almost a hug. she was going to disappear. any second now, she’d be gone. but the body against his felt real, the tears soaking through his shirt felt real, and the distant catcalling from a couple of negan’s boys made it all the more undeniably REAL. it wasn’t just him who could see her, hear her, feel her. she was there. she was real. “beth,” rick repeated, this time sounding strangled with all the more amazed emotion. “my god, beth, you’re alive.” his arms wound more completely around her, squeezing her tightly against him. he pressed his cheek against her head, shutting his eyes as a fresh wave of much-needed strength surged through him. it felt like every cell in his body was alight with something he thought he would never feel again: hope. without releasing her, he added, “how the hell did you get here?”

it didn’t surprise her that the saviors reacted in that way. but she could barely hear them through her sobs, as well as rick’s murmuring of her name. all she could focus on was him, and the fact that she was in his arms again. the safest place she could imagine. then he finally realized the truth, and she sighed in relief. “i-i am...” she laughed through her tears, nodding her head. now that he knew for sure, she could be the support he’d needed. that she knew he needed. she held onto him tighter now, not taking time to be hesitant anymore, and buried her face in his neck, crying gently into it. it felt like decades since she’d held him like this. and now that it was real again, she never wanted to let go. “i-i woke up a few miles away from the gates... a-a savior named axel found me and brought me back, but he let me join you guys when i realized you were here,” she explained breathlessly, gripping onto his shirt as tightly as possible. when she heard more taunts from the same savior men, she froze, realizing she was supposed to be working right then. like always. but after what happened last time she was caught slacking, she wouldn’t risk it again. “c-come with me,” she choked out, hesitantly pulling away and wiping at her eyes. then she took his hand and made her way towards the food storage room with him. at least then she could act like she was working, even when she knew she would just talk with rick more. immediately she closed and locked the door behind her, then made sure no one was coming before returning right back to his embrace. “i-i’m just so glad you’re back... things have been so crazy here.”