It wasn't until later in the afternoon that Beth realized that she had forgotten to kiss Tara goodbye when the run-team left Alexandria that morning. It gave her a moment of pause, and she frowned over her work long enough that Rosita noticed and asked her about what was wrong.

"It's silly, but I always kiss her for good luck, you know. Like a little tradition before she leaves the walls." Beth shrugged and tried to focus on her work. She wasn't doing anything very important but it did require her attention.

Rosita had nodded in understanding though, "I get it. Abraham leaves the walls to work on expanding the safe zone, and I worried about him at first. Especially when they had that small group of walkers attack and everyone else just stood around helplessly. He told me about it later and it was scary because I could see how worried he was about what had happened. It's better now, not that I don't worry about him still, but I totally understand the good luck traditions."

Beth had gone back to studying the medical text she was trying to understand, her work of the day, and they had dropped the subject. She thought about it again later when the run team failed to return to Alexandria before dark though. It wasn't completely unheard of that the run team would stay out overnight, but that was usually planned in advance, and this time Glenn had sworn they wouldn't be out for more than a few hours.

Maggie was fidgeting at dinner, staring at the door and then becoming bright and animated for shorts bursts before fidgeting with her fork again. Beth wasn't the only one to notice, and Rick laid a hand on her sister's arm, leaning close to say something to her in a low voice. Maggie gave him a side-eyed look and went back to picking at her food, but didn't say anything in response, and Beth knew she'd have to find out what he said later.

Carol seemed to notice Beth's own unease, and tried to down-play it, "It was a long run today, wasn't it? They must have found something good." They seemed to think that Beth's youth made her blind to the looks they shared though.

"They know how to take care of themselves out there. They'll probably be back tonight still." Michonne passed a bowl of mashed potatoes down the table to Abraham and accepted the salt in return, "I'll check with the gate crew to see if there was any contact, as soon as we finish dinner."

"Thanks, Michonne. I know they are good at these runs, but I still worry." Beth stabbed a carrot and mushed it with the side of her fork. She ate the rest of her meal in silence, but looked toward Maggie often. Tara had already been hurt more than once while on supposedly safe runs. She had been injured before she had ever come into contact with their group at the Prison too. Beth had the feeling that her girlfriend was a magnet for trouble sometimes, and that was a little scary when they were overdue from their run.

Maggie had noticed the looks and she grabbed Beth and volunteered them to do the dishes after the meal. "Okay, you know what I'm thinking and I know that you are worried too. Tell me everything is going to be alright?"

"Everything is going to be alright." Beth took the dish towel and started drying the dishes as Maggie washed them. "It probably is, you know. Even if they don't return tonight you know that Glenn would find a safe spot for them to ride out the night and then they'd be back in the morning. He's good at this kind of stuff, right?"

Maggie nodded, "True, and it isn't as though they haven't been gone over night before. I'm just worried. I have a bad feeling about this run. They went in a direction they haven't explored very much before and they said they were coming back before dark."

"But we both know that anything can happen out there. Lots of things that are perfectly innocent. They might have found more supplies than they had expected, or there could have been problems with the roads after all that rain we had last month." Beth watched her sister for a moment, "I have to admit that I have a bad feeling too, but I hope I'm just overreacting. I forgot to kiss Tara goodbye and it makes everything feel like it didn't start properly." She shrugged and started putting plates in the cupboard.

"I know." Maggie snorted, "You remember how Daddy always said cell phones were awful and that we shouldn't have one until we were paying for it ourselves? Well, I think in our current situation working cell phones would be a godsend. I just wish I could pick up a phone and ask Glenn if they were okay and if they were on their way home."

Beth nodded, "Let's finish this and find something to really distract ourselves with. Tara and Eugene found some games and I bet we could get some of the others to play with us. Carl loves that one Star Wars monopoly game. It would keep us occupied for a few hours and then maybe the run team would be back."

Hours later, after playing three games, it was dark outside and there was still no sign of the run team. Abraham and Rosita had gone for a walk and reported that the gate teams hadn't gotten any word from Glenn or the others, and that the town was being locked up for the night. Someone would be on guard, but no one seemed to think that anyone would be returning to Alexandria before morning.

"Stay with me tonight?" Maggie stopped Beth before she left the house, about to head for the room she shared with Tara in the other house. "I don't want to be alone."

Beth nodded, "Alright, I don't really want to be by myself either." She was still intent on trying to find something to have hope for, so she managed a weak smile, "It'll be like when I was little and tried to hang out in your room all the time."