Beth lost herself as she watched Ella race up the slide's ladder, her iridescent copper curls bouncing with each step. Over and over, day after day, that little girl found authentic joy in rushing down a piece of recycled aluminum, even if it was the dead of summer and the Alexandria Safe Zone was currently smothered by a blanket of humidity.

"Mama!" She squealed, standing at the top of the slide, her thin arms stretched above her head. "Mama, watch! I'm gonna jump!"

Beth snapped out of her daze. "Ella Dixon Greene, don't you dare!" She warned, as sternly as she could. "Just sit down and slide normally please." Beth began to plead, rushing over to the only slide of the makeshift playground.

Before she could reach it, Ella at leapt into the air, her dress lifting above her head, and landed smoothly on the slope with a resonating clang. Nerves overwhelmed Beth for a moment before the repeating thought entered her mind: she is her father's daughter.

After escaping the hospital with Daryl and the rest of the group, Beth had been on an adrenaline high. She had faced death, multiple times, and come out victorious on the other side. She and Daryl didn't waste time in reacquainting themselves; using whatever alone time they could find to get to know each other even better, in every way possible.

It was just a matter of months before she found out she was expecting. She only intended to hold onto the news for a few days. Just long enough to wrap her head around the strange mix of fear and excitement growing inside her. But she had hope. They were all on their way to a safe zone outside DC. They had heard rumors and knew it was their best chance of finding somewhere safe, somewhere they could relax.

But they didn't have a few days. A herd attacked the group and their travel companions in the dead of the night while they made camp by a river. Everyone of the travel party scattered and many survived, meeting up just off the highway. They waited days for Daryl and the other missing members, sending out search parties at every opportunity, but so many of the herd's walkers had settled by the river. Beth held up at first, pretending to scoff at the notion that anything could bring her man down. But after that second night, the pit in her stomach infected the rest of her body. The group guessed about their affair when she couldn't stop crying. It wasn't long after that Maggie guessed about the baby. Rick eventually made the call to move on. More walkers kept showing up, scouts hadn't been able to locate any sign of Daryl, and he knew where they were going. If he was alive, he'd be there soon enough.

Now, it had been almost 6 years. Ella had celebrated five birthdays within the gates of the Alexandria Safe Zone, never having ventured outside its walls. She had grown up as idyllic a life as possible in this world: surrounded by family, friends, and even classmates at the small one room schoolhouse held for all children in the area.

At moments like this one, as her daghter laughed boldly at the base of the slide, Beth both praised and cursed the adrenaline loving blood running through her daughter's veins. She couldn't help but imagine how Daryl would have reacted as a father. She knew the skill wouldn't have come automatically to him. He didn't have much to emulate from his own childhood, but she was also positive he would be amazing. He wouldn't have hesitated to show Ella the love she needed. He would have protected her from the dangers of the world, but also helped to make her brave and able to stand on her own. Every day, Beth strove to raise a daughter he would be proud to call his own.

"Bethie!" Judith came running up to Beth from behind, grabbing her legs and burying her face into Beth's waist.

Beth cooed, looking down at Judith's crooked braid. "Dad try to fix your hair this mornin?" Beth asked, pulling the loosely tied ribbon from the chaos atop Judith's head and causing the girl's strawberry blonde hair to tumble in all directions.

Judith simply laughed, looking over to Ella once again climbing the slide. "Ella! School? Wanna come to school?!"

As Judith kept squirming, Beth gave up on a new braid and just pulled the girl's hair into a ponytail, tying it tightly with a cerulean ribbon.

"Mama? Can I?" Ella appeared instantaneously at Beth's feet, grabbing her best friend's hand tightly. Judith went to school four days a week, learning basic math and reading. Whereas Ella only went occasionally, mostly to spend time with some of the teenagers who helped out at the school, which often also doubled as a daycare for a few younger children.

Beth smiled, looking down at her daughter. She hated having the girl out of her sight, but knew she couldn't stay with her all the time, teaching Ella codependence wouldn't be healthy in this world. Plus, the children were as safe as possible. Everyone knew and loved Ella, and Judith (a troublesome yet strangely responsible seven year old) would keep her close. "Go ahead girls, I'll come grab you at lunch time and we can have a picnic."

Ella wasn't at school long before she decided it was lunch time. After all, she had skipped breakfast and running around all morning was hard work. When Judith didn't immediately reply to her request to leave, Ella took it upon herself to sneak out the back door as an irresponsible teenager turned their back to tend to a toddler's tantrum.

Rather than heading home, where she could have looked for her mother or aunt and uncle, Ella found herself drawn toward the forbidden gates, where a large crowd had gathered in an unusual formation.

Ella wandered slowly toward the assembly. confident her mother was just hidden among the noisy group somewhere and they could leave for lunch. She kept her eyes skyward as she wove between crowded legs, looking for the familiar flash of bright blonde hair.

"Mama?!" she called loudly, just as she broke onto the other side of the group.

Ella felt a hand grab her shoulder from behind, causing her to stop in her tracks and raise her eyes to meet a man with unwavering eyes, his shaggy hair unkempt, leather vest covered in blood, and a crossbow slung over his shoulder.