It’s been a long time since she saw her family, both biological and not so biological. She hasn’t seen them since the prison, a time that felt like so long ago now. She had seen them briefly at Grady, but barely five minutes passed before she’d taken a bullet to the head. They’d assumed she was dead, of course they did. No one survives head shots.
But it wasn’t a head shot. Not the typical one at least. Much like Daryl back in the days of the farm, Beth’s head shot barely scraped her head. It hit her enough to knock her out, for blood to pour. It wasn’t until after her family left that the doctor had felt a pulse. He helped her, and unlike the last time he helped her nothing was expected in return. As soon as she could they had let her leave. She tried to follow her family, drove for days in one of Grady’s cars until the gas was gone. She eventually found herself in the kingdom, and now that Carol had shown up she knew her family was okay. But they didn’t know she was.
And so she headed to Alexandria. A man named Morgan promised to take her there, and while she didn’t know him (or trust him) he did as he said he would. She found herself at the gates, nervous but excited. Beth was gonna see her family again. When she walks in the gates it’s more empty than she expected. She doesn’t see Rick or Maggie or Glenn or Michonne. She has no idea of what they’re in the process of, has no idea that they’re in a dangerous lineup surrounded by dangerous people. All she knows is that they should be there.
For a second she worries that they’re all dead, but then she sees an old man with only one leg walking around with crutches. She knows who it is instantly, she could notice him anywhere. ‘ Daddy! ’ Excitement is overwhelming, like a child on Christmas. Beth runs at him, arms wrapping around him as soon as she gets close. She stumbles slightly, forgetting for a moment that he doesn’t have the balance that he used to, but soon balances them both out.
life had been eerily quiet, people adjusted to the death that happened all around them but adjusting to the death of your daughter had been something rendered impossible for Hershel, he couldn’t do that. He could accept it as fact but adjusting had been very hard, near impossible. Someone so close being completely gone, erased from the earth, it wasn't something you just got used to. Especially if it was your own daughter.
Maggie had taken to it arguably better than he had, again it seemed younger people were always more fit, easier and quicker to change to the harsh world, to what the harsh world deemed fit. A bright smile was missing from their daily life, sometimes Hershel forgot how much had changed, how she had gone from reclusive to a fierce member of their group until Grady. So much time had passed, all of it felt so distant, like it had happened years ago but it hadn't, time passed rather slow during the apocolypse yet looking back it felt years ago. Time had changed into a strange thing with the new world.
For a second the words didn’t register, he heard them but the surprise had left him completely stunned. Daddy. He would’ve heard the vehicles arrive, the many people running towards the gate but this was singular and then he’s overwhelmed, stumbling back but within a second his balance is back. Any thought escaped from his mind because this was Beth. Beth was alive.
‘ Beth! ’ His entire mind was far too shocked to realise the full impact of what was happening, even then it wouldn’t matter because she was still alive. Breathing and well.Maggie isn't here, the thought crossed his mind and in part he felt horrible, even though it appeared she seemed to have adjusted better they were still sisters. At the fore front, though, stood one simple question. How did she survive? They missed a pulse, the doctor missed a pulse and he missed a pulse himself, they weren't so reckless.
