Disclaimer: I don't own 'The Walking Dead'.

Stronger

Chapter 1

She couldn't breath.

The air choked her throat as she ran as fast as she could force her legs to go. She kept telling herself to not look back, just keep going, don't look back. But she wanted too. It took everything in her to not turn around and look back at the destruction of her home, to see the chaos engulfing it. Her heart hurt more than just the lack of air, it bled on the inside from all the pain she was feeling. Tears welled in her eyes but she willed everything in her being to not cry, suck it up and keep going she repeated in her mind.

Just keep going.

She ached all over though, she ached in her joints, her skin, all over ached for various reasons that she wasn't even sure why only that they ached. It reminded her that she was still alive, still breathing albeit having difficulty at the moment but still part of the living. Though all the pain welling inside her chest could have fooled her, she felt dead on the inside.

Don't turn around.

Gravel was turning into grass, long grass. It brushed her jeans and wacked at her hips and arms as she ran. Time had no sense for her right now, she knew the sun was out and it was mid-day that was as far as she got in telling the time.

Don't stop.

Stopping was not an option not with all the walkers around heading towards the destruction and madness left behind her. Her lungs protested violently against her, she couldn't keep going like this but she knew she couldn't stop either. The tears still sitting in the corner of her eyes leaked over, her muscles quivered from the exertion of her running, her mouth watered and her heart just couldn't take anymore.

She couldn't take it anymore.

"Daryl stop!" Beth called out breathlessly almost collapsing as she suddenly halted. She bent over propping her hands on her knees trying to catch her breath. Daryl whipped around turning to see her just about to keel over. He was breathing deeply too, his eyes grazed over her then their surroundings. He understood she needed to catch her breath, hell he did too but they couldn't stay here too long. They had barely put a dent in their escape from the prison.

"Beth…we gotta go." Daryl commented his sharp eyes taking in everything. She nodded but when she went to move from her kneeled over position she dropped her to knees as a sob took over her. The pain she had been trying to hold back slammed into her and she wasn't sure she could stop herself now. Her father's face appeared in her mind's eye and the last few seconds of his life played on choking whatever air she had gotten into her body out.

Her fingers dug into the grass and dirt as she bent over crying out her anguish. Her chest hurt much worse now and she wasn't sure it would ever be better. "Beth." She looked up through the tears blurring her vision to see Daryl looking just as upset as she was though he wasn't crying. It was his eyes; they looked so sad, so full of pain staring down at her. She noticed that his grip on his crossbow was deathly tight turning his knuckles white.

"He's gone Daryl! He's gone!" Beth cried out her shoulders shaking. He turned his eyes to the sky clenching them shut tight for a moment before boring his stare into her. He didn't know what to say to her, what could he possibly say to make this situation better for her? Nothing. Not a damn thing and that hurt him far more than anything else. She wasn't fragile he knew that, but she also wasn't tough as nails either.

"I know…" He voiced out. Beth shook her head looking about them in her misery.

"What do we do?" She asked in a tiny voice barely above a whisper and almost hindered by the thickness in her throat. He shrugged his shoulders feeling so useless and that didn't sit well with him.

"Fer the time bein' Beth we just gotta keep goin', ain't much we can do right now." She stared up at him with this helpless, lost look. It almost undid him, Daryl sucked in air deeply through his mouth giving out a hissing noise. Beth then nodded slowly pushing off of the ground to her unsteady feet.

"Okay…" She said brokenly. Daryl nodded once then they were off again. He tried not to run to fast or hard so he wouldn't lose her, she was all he had right now. The emotions from the day gathered in his chest weighing him down but he ignored it. It's what he did best, push aside the emotions to deal with another day, deal with the now first then that later.

Right now Daryl couldn't afford to feel anything, he has to be strong for Beth. She needs him with his head on right and he was going to make sure she got that of him. It was the least he could do.

Beth wasn't so sure she could keep running but Daryl kept the pace slower for her and it helped, not a lot but it was definitely better than before. As they ran in whatever direction he thought best she tried to put things into prospective for the time being. Her family is separated, blood and bonded. She may have Daryl with her which was a plus because if anyone could survive out here in the wilderness it was him, she only hoped that she didn't hold him back.

The prison is a lost cause and gone. There was no going back to get anything, it was just gone. They had nothing on them aside from his crossbow and hunter's knife attached to his hip as per-usual. She had dropped her rifle back at the prison since it was out of bullets, in hind sight she probably should have kept it if only to hit walkers with if need be. Beth also had a little pocket knife on her but that wouldn't do much damage. Damn, she should have kept a handgun on her or something.

They also had no food or water. Right now she could really go for some water.

All in all they were up shits creek without a paddle, struggling to stay afloat.

Beth bit down on her bottom lip to hold back another slam of anguish and tears. She needed to hold back her sorrow, she could break down soon when they had proper shelter then and only then would she allow herself to completely and utterly come apart. Never in her wildest dreams had she thought she would lose her father so soon and definitely not in the way she had. She tasted blood in her mouth as another flash of her father being killed ran through her mind. Then her sister's face came to her mind.

She wanted Maggie so bad it doubled her pain. She really could use a nice, warm hug right about now…

Daryl stopped short seeing the open field in front of them. There were trees gathered around the edges of the field and some scattered in but the grass wasn't as long here, actually it looked maintained and short. His eyes then spotted a flag. Beth staggered to his side bent over like before and hopefully not ready to ball her eyes out more. He didn't hear any sniffles or sobs just harsh breathing. "Where are we?" She managed to say.

"Golf course…" Daryl mumbled taking in the empty space. It worried him that he didn't see any walkers littering the area; he supposed they went towards the prison with all the noise but that didn't take away the eeriness of it. He felt more alert when the dead corpses weren't in sight than when they were.

"How far did we run?" Beth stood up straight taking in the area as well. "It's empty."

"Probably three miles at best. It may be empty but keep yer guard up." He then started off onto the golf course moving quickly across the grass. Beth was right on his heels peering around as they moved. He glanced at her to see that her hands were empty and that it didn't look like she had anything on her. Daryl felt a frown stretch his lips, he would have to fix that. Reaching down to his belt he pulled out his knife flipping it in his hand so he held the handle out to her.

"'ere take it, ya need somethang ta defend yerself wit'." Beth gulped before grasping the handle tightly. She gave him a tight smile then they were off again.

They had still yet to encounter any walkers and Daryl wasn't sure if that was a blessing in disguise or a bad omen. He hated uncertainty, he didn't like second guessing himself, he rarely did it but that didn't stop the doubts from ringing off in his ears. They got to the opposite side of the golf course seeing the country club towards their left, it was a short distance. He wasn't so sure they should enter it but, glancing back at Beth, he knew they needed water especially her.

"Watch yer back, we're headin' in." Beth gave him a wide eyed look.

"Are ya sure that's a good idea?" He sighed feeling doubt lingering around his mind. Was it a good idea? It was a fifty-fifty win-lose scenario but they really had no other choice. It was here or by pass it and find another building or home to ransack for supplies. The bigger the building the more hazards but that also means the less chance of it already being ransacked. More risk but hopefully a bigger pay out.

There was also the chance that there was nothing of use in there.

"We ain't got food or water Beth. We could try further out but after all that runnin' I thank we both need at least water." Daryl scratched his cheek as he spoke. A blast of wind came through them tossing hair and clothes around. Beth looked out to the empty field then to the country club looming ahead. She figured he had a point, he would know best seeing as he led many runs while she stayed inside taking care of Judith. Daryl's the expert, not her.

"Alright, let's do it."

"Stay on my heels, keep yer eyes peeled. Got me?" Beth nodded feeling fear licking at her insides. There was just too many emotions whirling around inside her, she didn't know which one to cling too. Sensing her fear Daryl placed his hand on her shoulder giving it a reassuring squeeze. His warmth assured her more than the squeeze it left a lingering tingle through her shoulder to her gut.

"Gotcha."

A/N: Yes I've jumped on the band wagon! This was just something that popped into my head as I was working out and it just wouldn't leave me alone. I really need to learn self-control with my writing, seriously. I know I usually do like a minimal of 3,000 words but I don't exactly have a plotline for this or any idea what I am doing for it (a disaster in the making) plus I am working on the final chapter to 'Five Kisses' and working on another short five chapter story asked of me by someone on the site. Not to mention 'Iris' so I got lots on my workload including my anime stories. Why do I do this to myself? Ugh.

Anywho let me know whatcha think! I decided to do a general 3rd POV for this one since it'll be about the both of them, and this is like slow burn times twenty! So don't expect much in the way of romance for a bit. It'll be well worth it though (I hope). Review please!

ALCzysz17