FIRST OF ALL. Let me first thank my editor, MassKennedyEffect, without whom, this would be a terrible wreck of a chapter. (:

Second, like it says in the description, this will be a Bereth fic at first, but worry not Bethylers, there will be Bethyl-y goodness in later chapters.

And with that, I bid you a brief farewell.


Beth wasn't sure how she ended up here.

One minute she was with Daryl, they had had a moment, and everything seemed perfect. The next minute, walkers had swarmed their makeshift home and she was being told to get out, while Daryl played walker bait. She heard him panting as he ran out the front door, and a wave of relief washed over her. She was on her toes, watching for him to come out of the brush when her world went black.

When she came to, she was sitting in the backseat of a car, wrists and ankles bound and a gag in her mouth. Her head was pounding as the men in the front seat talked about the score for the day, talking about how "the boss" would be pleased with todays haul. She struggled against her restraints as quietly as she could, but the bindings were zip-ties and she knew she wasn't going anywhere.

"Well, good morning, Blondie." The man in the passenger seat said, turning around to face her. The man driving glanced up into the rear-view mirror smirking. Beth gave him an ugly look and struggled against her bindings once more.

"You ain't goin' nowhere till we get where we're going." He told her seriously. "You might as well behave, there's nothing to be gained from your struggling." Beth sighed and the man gave her an ugly smile. "Atta girl."

Beth resigned to stare out of the window for the rest of her trip. Sun had just started coming through the trees as they pulled up to a big warehouse with the word TERMINUS spelled out on the windows. The driver drove them around the back and pulled into a small garage. As the door closed behind them, the two men climbed out of the car. Beth could feel her heart racing in her chest as she waited for their next move.

She watched them move around the car and disappear through a door. She waited, breathing hitched, waiting for what they'd try to pull next. The men appeared looking disgruntled, followed by a brown haired man, who looked incredibly irritated. The driver moved toward the door, pulling out his keys, ready to unlock the door. Beth prepared for attack, knowing this was probably going to be her only opportunity to make an escape. He unlocked the front passenger door and hit the lock. He pulled her door open and she made an attempt to kick at him and he just gave her a brief grin, before snipping the plastic that restrained her ankles. He stood back, and motioned for her to climb out of the car. She did so hesitantly, and the brown haired man smiled at her.

"Sorry about my men here..." he started. "I'm sorry, what was your name?"

"Beth..." she replied warily.

"Ah, yes, Beth. Sorry about my men here. Apparently 'keep and a eye out for people in need' translates to kidnap innocent people. My name is Gareth. Welcome to Terminus."

Beth smiled at the man hesitantly, not sure what to say to him.

"Now, if you'll follow me, I can give you a tour. If you'd rather not stay, you'll be more than welcome to leave, but I think you'll find you want to stay." Gareth said, taking the scissors from the driver and cutting her wrist ties. Gareth smelled like a campfire with a scent she couldn't quite place. It triggered memories that took her back to high school.

"I just want to get back to that mortuary." She told him softly. She thought she saw Gareth's gaze darken a moment, but he gave her a smile.

"Why? Were you with someone?" He asked her curiously.

"Yes, his name is Daryl. He and I were together for a while. We were attacked by walkers, and he played bait so I could get out. I just need to know he's okay." She told him hurriedly. "He's a good fighter; he could probably help you protect this place."

Gareth chuckled. "I don't think this place has anything to worry about. But worry not, we'll keep an eye out for him. What does he look like?"

"Brown hair, vest with angel wings... and he carries a crossbow."

"That sounds like the man that chased the car sir."

Beth's heart fluttered. He hadn't given up on her. Hope dared flood through her veins as the thought sunk in. Gareth seemed to notice the look on her face, and smiled at her warmly.

"We'll keep an eye out for him and bring him here if we come across him."

Beth felt a weight lift from her chest. Maybe Daryl could come here, maybe they could be happy here. Only time would tell.

Gareth showed her the small community of Terminus. She was introduced to the people who all seemed warm and welcoming. They gave her a helping of dinner and Gareth left her to eat. She ate quickly and when she was done eating her portion, she stood up eagerly, looking around for Gareth. Her eyes moved across the tables and searched the faces eating their portions slowly, savoring it down to the last bite. She couldn't find the brunet man amongst them, so she moved to the people serving and cleaning up. She found Gareth standing with another man who bore a striking resemblance to him. Gareth noticed almost immediately that Beth's eyes had found him, and Beth wondered if he'd been watching her the whole time.

"Beth, are you done eating?" a voice said softly beside her. Beth's eyes left Gareth and found Mary smiling warmly at her.

"Oh, um, yea. Sorry." Beth said shyly.

"Okay, sweetheart." Mary picked up her plate and walked away. Beth looked back to where Gareth had been standing, only to see that he was gone. She frowned, and scanned the area again.

"Looking for someone?" A gruff voice came from beside her. Gareth had appeared next to her, smirking.

"Yeah," she laughed nervously, "I was looking for you."

"And here I am." He chuckled at her. "Did you want to see the rest of Terminus? I can show you my quarters. It'll be where you're staying as well. We're quite booked, as it seems." A horrified look crossed over Beth's face. "Not in the same bed, or room, for that matter. Just the same area." He told her standing up.

"No, that's not what I was worried about." She told him, suddenly embarrassed by her own reaction. "I just don't want to be a bother. I just want to find my friend and then I'll be on my way." she said hesitantly. Gareth smiled at her.

"You can bring him here, though. You could both be safe here. There's safety in numbers, Beth." He said reassuringly.

"But my sister… Rick, Judy…" She said sadly.

"They can come too. But you have to build up your strength before you go after them. We can help you. My brother is an experienced fighter, he can help you. Maybe even go out and help you if you wanted." Gareth told her.

Beth knew he was right, and there was no point in arguing further. Daryl had taught her the basics of tracking and how to handle his crossbow, but she wasn't much in hand to hand combat and certainly wasn't that great with a gun. Gareth seemed to notice her change in demeanor and gave her a smile.

"Come now, I'll show you to your room and let you get acquainted with life here in Terminus. Lets not worry with leaving when you've only just got here.

Her room was nothing special. There was a cot with a table beside of it and a small desk with a chair pushed up to it. A trunk sat at the end of the cot, and she opened it to find clothes that appeared to be in her size folded neatly.

"If you'd like to shower and change before we continue our tour, you're more than welcome to." Gareth told her, watching her investigate the clothing.

"S-shower?" She said disbelievingly. Gareth let out a chuckle at her incredulity.

"Did you think I just smelled this good naturally?" He asked her, still with a slight laugh in his voice. "We have showers here, the one you'll be using is right down the hall here. Grab a change of clothes. I'll show you to them."

Beth opted for a light pair of jeans, a black tank top and a gray sweater. Gareth led her down a hall, stopping in front of a small wooden door similar to hers, four doors down from hers.

"This is my room, if you ever find yourself in need of anything, do not hesitate to knock. I assure you, it would be doing me a disservice if you didn't feel like you could come to me with your troubles. I want you to feel safe here." He said, resting a hand on her shoulder. She wasn't sure if he meant more than he was implying, and Beth wasn't sure if she minded.

Gareth led her to another wooden door that had a small white woman illustration hanging on it.

"This is where, I'm afraid, I must leave you Beth. Whenever you're ready, if you'd like, I can continue to show you the grounds."

"Thank you Gareth, for everything." She told him putting her hand on his wrist. She felt the man twitch underneath of her fingers, and she could tell he wasn't exactly used to friendly touches.

"I'll see you again soon, right?" He said, hesitantly, staring at her fingers, refusing to look her in the eye.

"I'll come find you when I'm done this shower." Beth said, taken aback by his sudden personality switch.

He smiled broadly at her, and gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Happy shower." He told her smirking again. She thought she could feel him looking her over and she felt her stomach flutter. She was flattered. There was no denying she was attracted to Gareth, but she knew she couldn't trust him just yet. She still knew there was good people, but she couldn't help but get the feeling he was hiding something. She shook it off though, she had no reason not to trust him.

Her shower was more heavenly that she could have imagined. The water was actually heated and there was shampoo and conditioner provided for her in the stall. She was transported momentarily from the dingy tile and dirty, torn curtain back to her shower on the farm. She didn't want to leave her heaven, but she knew it would just be a waste of water to stand there much longer. She stood for another thirty seconds, letting the water wash away her sorrows. She turned the water off and stepped out of the shower on the grimy linoleum, wrapping her towel around her. She pulled on the clean white underwear, and then a small white sports bra. She began drying her hair off, tickled when the soft blonde strands fell against her skin. She cleaned the mirror of the steam and looked into it.

It really had been awhile since she had looked into a mirror.

Beth barely recognized the person staring back at her. Gone was the doe-eyed girl who couldn't fight her way out of a paper bag. Instead she found a woman, capable of anything. Scars marked her body, all symbols of her survival. The one on her wrist stood out more than the rest, as a blaring symbol that reminded her, that she wants to be here. She had survived the fall of the prison, the loss of her father, and had gotten Daryl Dixon, of all people, to open up to her.

She finished getting dressed and made her way back to her room, dirty clothes and towels in tow.

Maybe she could be alright without him.


Reviews light the fire in my fingers.