fic rec from @courtneyshortney82 & @im-immortal //
Two for the Road by devils_might_heed_us ( @lemortehomme )
Circumstances after the prison's fall force Beth and Daryl far from home in search for a sanctuary that may not even exist.
Or, the worst roadtrip ever.
Part 1 of The Humbling River
The shoe on the tracks cut part of her soul away.
They didn't go near the tracks again.
Another harsh reality needled the corners of her conscious thought and Beth found it harder and harder to shove away. She could no longer blame squirrel meat or spoiled food for her bouts of sickness; they weren't eating enough for that. While she wanted to blame her missing period on the lack of proper nutrition, her mind reminded her she missed two periods at the prison, which she'd attributed to Zach's death and the horrific flu with the stress it placed on them all, despite the fact she could only blame those events for the loss of one period. But as they wandered too many other signs appeared pointing at the uncomfortable truth: she was pregnant.
Though she knew it was wrong, in the deepest corner of her heart, Beth found herself wishing she'd lose it. Practically alone, with no shelter, no place to lay her head, inadequate meals, and no medical care whatsoever did not bode well for the future. She knew what happened to Lori. She and Daryl encountered walkers daily and Beth knew she'd be nothing more than a mess on the ground, another dead girl eaten by walkers, if they were still wandering months later when she'd be slower than molasses and big as a house. So every night as she sat up, ears open for the tell-tale shambling crackle through the leaves, Beth told the baby not now. She told the baby she couldn't give them a long life, or even a life at all. She told the baby that she loved it, but it should listen to its mother and go to heaven before it had a chance to suffer this world.
