First of all, thanks for taking the time to read this!

IMO, Bethyl deserves a slow buildup. I want to write them as close to their true characters as I can so in usual Daryl fashion, this may take a bit of (awkward) time. That being said, this story will definitely live up to its M rating when the timing's right.

I hope you enjoy :) Please Follow/Favorite and Comment!

Music is what inspires me to write these stories so I'll be mentioning a complementary song for each chapter. If you get a chance to listen to them, please let me know what you think!

SONG: "Call Me on Your Way Back Home" ~ Ryan Adams

Chapter 1

Together Again

Now…

..

.

The smell of cigarettes and leather filled Beth's nose, as the darkness was slowly replaced by the comforting glow of something familiar. With her eyes still closed, she followed the scent and tried to get closer to it. She rolled onto her side as she willed her eyes to open. A blurry dark shape began to appear in front of her, surrounded by a halo made of sunset.

"Daryl?" She managed to say. Her throat was so dry that it only came out as a whisper. Why was that the first name to come to mind? She couldn't tell who it was exactly but something inside told her to say his name.

Slowly, Beth started to make out the figure in front of her. It was sitting, slightly slouched; were they asleep? She blinked a couple times and saw a crossbow leaning against the chair. She saw brown shoes and black jeans with fabric tied around the ankles. The figure wore a worn black button up with the sleeves ripped off, revealing long muscular arms that saw its fair share of the sun. She then noticed the leather jacket. Her eyes were now wide open and she felt the pulse of recognition ripple through her.

Beth looked up at his face.

"Daryl?" She said a little louder.

He flinched and his eyes flew open. She saw realization creep into his steel blue eyes and she felt herself smile.

Daryl quickly sat up and leaned forward, a little clumsier than usual. Surprise, relief, and something unexpectedly similar to elation, flashed over his features before attempting to compose himself.

"Beth"

They stared at each other in silence for a few moments.

"I knew you'd find me."

"Ya did?"

"You're Daryl Dixon." she replied confidently. He smirked, shaking his head as he looked down at his feet.

Beth stretched her arm out towards him and he was close enough that she grabbed hold of his forearm. His head shot back up as he felt her touch. She carefully slid her hand down towards his.

For a fraction of a moment, Daryl froze before responding by closing his hand around hers. A sense of relief washed over him.

Beth's hand was so small and soft compared to his rough and calloused one. He was never one to display his emotions with anyone, even though it was obvious that he cared deeply for the group. But ever since he and Beth were out in the woods, he found himself becoming more comfortable doing that. Like when he hugged Carol with all he had after Terminus. At Grady, he allowed himself to cry for the first time in front of the others. When Beth collapsed, he thought she was dead. But she's not…she's not gone. She's right here, with us again.

Who would've thought, this bright eyed blonde girl would be the person to get through to Daryl? She might be young in years, but there was no doubt she was one of the wisest people he'd ever met. He was like a child compared to her. The group was lucky to have her back. Hell, Noah, who she'd only just met, risked his own life to go back to Grady and get her, even though he'd made it out already. She was something special, that girl.

Daryl finally looked up at Beth. Her eyes were closed again. He squeezed her hand and moved to stand up.

Beth opened her eyes as he gently loosened his grip on her hand and pulled away so he could walk towards the bedroom door.

"Where you goin'?" Beth questioned.

Daryl paused for a moment to look back, "Ya' sister told me ta get her when ya' woke up. Figured you wanna see her too".

Beth slowly sat up, "Maggie's here?" She said excitedly. But before Daryl had a chance to make his exit, Beth continued,

"Of course I want to see Maggie...But..…I want you here with me a little while longer..."

"...please?" She added softly.

At this point, Daryl's hand was loosely gripping the door knob. He was so caught up in his own mind replaying what Beth had just said that he was unaware of how apparent the surprise was on his face. The sudden urge to swallow reminded him to close his mouth and he blinked back into the moment. Maybe she just wasn't ready to face her sister yet? Maybe she wanted to buy some time first...

"Uh, sure" He let go of the door and awkwardly shifted his weight onto the other foot "'Sides, once I tell 'er, you'll never get ta have time ta rest" Daryl joked with a small smirk. He made his way back to Beth and sat in the chair.

Beth kept her eyes on Daryl as he sat back down. Soon after waking, she began to feel the painful sting of a new wound on her face and her body was aching all over, reminding her of what occurred before she blacked out. But right now, it didn't seem to matter. Seeing a familiar face, his face, took her back to before it all went to shit, again. It was like she was back at the funeral home, with Daryl...back when it was just the two of them. When they shared their first moments of intimacy.

When they got separated, it was like he had died. Even if he was likely not, being without him made Beth have to continue living like he was.

Yet, here they were, together again. So many emotions started flooding her core and it began to be too much. Beth had to say something...

She gave Daryl a smile and took a deep breath, "I knew you'd find your way back to everyone. Just wasn't sure if I would… I missed you Daryl". She tried to continue smiling, even though at this point, she was so close at breaking down at any moment.

Silence filled the room. Daryl tried to hide his face behind his long, greasy hair. Guess she's not buying time... He tried to think of something else to say, but only one thing kept repeating itself in his head. This time he reached out to hold Beth's hand; now how the fuck did that happen?

"Missed ya too, Greene".

Daryl began to feel nervous and cleared his throat.

"Think ya might have hurt your head worse than I thought though. Ya sayin' funny things. Want Maggie ta worry even more than she is?"

Beth only laughed which seemed to bring the tension down a bit. Daryl smirked. They didn't continue on the subject, but nothing more needed to be said anyway. The group was together again, they were one again.

For now, Daryl knew things would be ok.

..

.

Yesterday…

.

..

Beth had finally reached her breaking point. No one, especially Dawn, was going to split her family apart again; Noah was now her family. She was going to do everything in her power to protect all she had left in this world.

Dawn seriously believed she could still have the last word. There was no way in hell Noah would be left behind. He made it out. He was free… and he risked it all by coming back to get her out too. Beth used everything left in her to take that first step towards Dawn; towards becoming the woman she wanted to be.

"It's not ok"

Nothing was going to stop her now.

No one expected Beth to make such a move, so when she suddenly made her way past Noah, Rick, and Daryl, it was already too late to stop her.

She pulled out the scissors hidden in her cast and with one quick movement, she pierced Dawn's neck and shoved it in until Beth's own hand connected with skin. It all happened so fast.

The echoing sound of a single gun shot filled the air. Beth felt something hot sting her left temple a moment later.

The next thing she saw was a wide-eyed Dawn falling to the ground, bright red blood began to seep out of the stab wound. Beth saw the life spill out of Dawn's mouth as her body made contact with the floor and looking directly at Beth. She stared into Dawn's eyes as they slowly began to fade.

Beth was so engrossed in what she'd just done that she failed to notice the guns being drawn on both sides.

Suddenly, small drops of her own blood hit the floor, mixing with the slain officer's. She finally looked up and saw the other female officer mouth "hold your fire!".

All Beth could hear was a ringing sound getting louder and louder until her head began to throb with pain. Her legs buckled under the weight of everything that just occurred and she began to feel herself falling, her vision blurring into a dark emptiness.

…

The group quickly made their way out of Atlanta, all silently grateful that they all made it out alive. Carol was back.

Beth was back.

The realization of all the tragic ways Grady could've gone travelled up Daryl's throat, making him feel like he'd just been punched in gut. He tried clearing his throat and forced his mind to focus on the road ahead.

No one said a word until the group found a place to spend the night, about an hour away from the city. Rick looked at both Daryl and Glenn, giving them the silent signal to start clearing the area in and around the house.

When that was finished, everyone made their way inside; only then did Maggie's trembling voice break the silence as she looked at her sister, who was still unconscious and now resting on the couch.

"She…she hasn't op-opened her eyes…. Is Beth gonna b-be alright?"

Carol was seated by Beth's head, placing a damp rag on her forehead after she cleaned away the blood staining her face and hair. She glanced over at Maggie who was holding her sister's hand. She nodded and gave her a reassuring smile. Carol then looked in Daryl's direction; he was staring blankly out the window.

"She'll make it." He said in his usual gruff tone.

And there it was again; that feeling in his throat. He closed his mouth and his jaw tensed up as he tried to swallow it down.

Rick walked into the living room after taking another look around the house. Everyone was wiped out. After losing the prison and getting split up for a while, they were finally back together again…well, almost all of them. There were even some new people in the group. He stood in the center of the room and everyone turned to look at him. Rick ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath.

"We should stay put for the night. I know how tired we all are, and we need to try and clear our minds before making our next effort to find a good place to stay put for a while…"

He took a look around the room, stopping at Beth's sleeping frame, a tiny smile forming on his lips.

"Our family is together again,"

He looked back up.

"Remember that. It's the only way we can continue…. and its as a family. We need each other to survive. Nobody will take that away from us again. No one."

Glenn spoke up,

"You're right Rick. We can make it together, but we can only make it together."

Rick nodded in agreement.

Here I go... This has been a story floating in my head for a while. Hope you all enjoy it. I'm no writer, but this pair inspires me so much and I'd like to share what I have :)

Thanks again and stay tuned!