What a beautiful face I have found in this place
That is circling all 'round the sun
What a beautiful dream that could flash on the screen
In a blink of an eye and be gone from me
Soft and sweet, let me hold it close and keep it here with me

And one day we will die and our ashes will fly
From the aeroplane over the sea
But for now we are young let us lay in the sun
And count every beautiful thing we can see
Love to be in the arms of all, I'm keepin' here with me

-In the Aeroplane over the Sea, Neutral Milk Hotel

A dusting of frost sat on the unshorn blades of grass, bowing them at the root, but didn't flatten them to the earth. The early part of winter had brought comfortably cool temperatures to Cockspur Island, but not a single person had seen a single flake of snow. Life was beginning to settle behind the walls of Fort Pulaski; antique beds left behind as examples of life at war were repurposed for Rick's group, and new mattresses were found for each bed. The beds were set up in the officer's quarters, formerly called the gorge, and most rooms had only one or two people in each. The beds that had been used by Civil War soldiers were large enough to fit a full-sized mattress in them without a problem, which helped create the feeling of being at home for those who had gone so long without a safe one.

The group also set up couches and tables in several of the casemates; large open rooms with arched ceilings and openings where the cannons would be aimed. They made the place feel as inviting and homelike as possible, even going as far as to install a wood-burning stove in the room. Puzzles from the gift shop were set up on tables, and at the end of the hall were shelves of library books on a pretty limited selection of topics, but they were books, and it was something to read.

A fire pit had been built near the old prison, and the prison itself had been transformed into a dining room; not that there was much in the way of food, other than the things that Rick, Carl, and Daryl hunted up, and some of the dry goods the scouts brought back. Last week they found a grocery store with a few ten-pound bags of rice that were still good. They thought they could ration it out to last for a couple of weeks, but they needed more; they needed more of everything.

The deer were plenty, but they were beginning to distrust the people who now inhabited the island. In the first two weeks, Daryl had shot a deer a day; they had stood near him as he crept closer. Now, in their third month together, the deer were more aware of Daryl's scent, and they proved a challenge for him to hunt. It wasn't an impossible challenge, but it was becoming harder and harder to rely solely on deer.

Carl and Rick had been the first to start fishing in the moat. Hector joined them, and began to develop a close friendship with the younger youth. They found decent sized fish that greedily ate the bait in the moat. They also found clams and mussels when they dragged the bottom of the moat with two kayaks and a net behind them. The night they found the muscles the group decided to host a clam bake, feasting and gorging themselves on the soft flesh inside the shells. They had talked and laughed into the early hours of the morning, and they had been in high spirits the rest of the week.

They were able to utilize water from the cisterns that had collected rain water. They positioned a wood stove just outside the cistern room, and rebuilt some floors to install some antique bathtubs without holes for faucets or knobs. The hours just after dusk were reserved specifically for baths, though since almost everyone was an adult, if they chose another time they ran the risk of being disturbed while bathing. Some days, some people needed a daytime bath, or a chance to wash up. For the most part, people knew when someone was going to be using the baths outside of the dusk time-frame. They knew that Daryl would wash up after he went hunting, and everyone had seen Glenn fall into the moat when the water was nearly freezing, so people tended to stay away from the cistern room during those times. The day they had spent most of the day mowing grass with a push mower and building a fire pit for food, almost everyone started bathing just after dinner. Some nights, the men would bathe at the same time, and the women would do the same. For the most part, they were all able to keep clean and hygienic.

Beth's shoulder healed. Partially from the access to clean water, and a stock-pile of anti-bacterial soap, but also because Hattie had the ability to help people heal. The first month, Hattie had used a combination of birch sap, and table sugar to help her wound heal after she had fixed the sutures Daryl had sewn into her skin. Hattie had complemented Daryl's work when she had found out that he had been the one to sew her up. The second month she started physical therapy with Bob, and by the third month, Beth was able to lift her arm above her head again. Bob had the medic skills the group needed, and Hattie had been a midwife and interested in alternative medicine before the world ended, so she was aware of the natural cures when they didn't have access to traditional medicine.

She was still a little stiff, but it didn't hurt to hold Judith any longer, and she started to think about asking Daryl to take her out on hunts soon. She wanted to keep learning how to hunt from him, even if it had been a long while since the last time she had been able to hunt. It had been a long time since she had a moment alone with him.

Beth walked the terreplein; the flat, grassy roof above the fort. The sun had set, the lighthouse light was lit, and she could hear a couple women bathing in the cistern room; it sounded like Tara and Rosita. Beth had bathed with Judith just a while before, and she put the little girl to bed in Rick's room before she went to enjoy the cool evening air in her favorite spot in the fort. She changed into a clean set of clothes and put a warm woolen coat on over her shoulders. While the daytime high was in the upper forties, the night air was cool, and breezy.

The first night they spent in the fort, they were alarmed when a beam of light shot across the sky into the deep blue sky above them. They grabbed their guns, and prepared for an attack until Daryl climbed onto the terreplein and saw that it wasn't someone coming for them, but a lighthouse illuminating the coast of Cockspur Island. It wasn't much as far as lighthouses go, but Beth loved it. It was a small, white cylinder shooting up out of the Savannah River with a door and a single window that she could see from her spot on the terreplein. There was a balcony around the light, so that the keeper would have access if something went wrong. She couldn't see how anyone could get into the lighthouse, though, because the door seemed to be several feet above the level of the river, even in high tide. She wanted to make it to the lighthouse to explore and investigate, and to have a place to call her own; a place that wasn't shared with everyone else who lived in the fort.

Beth's favorite spot was at the rear of the fort, on the terreplein; it had a perfect view of the lighthouse. At night, the solar-powered light lit up the shoal, casting light on the broken bits of shell, which glittered and sparkled for only a moment before they disappeared into the darkness again. She could hear the waves crash, and the salty, humid air wrapped around her shoulders like a comforting hug. It reminded her of her mother; her warm embrace used to bring her comfort whenever she needed it.

"I shoulda figured I'd find you here." Beth grinned and turned toward Daryl.

"Hey, Daryl." She drawled out slowly, her grin never wavered.

"Hey, Beth." His lips quirked into a fond smile, as he came to stand beside her.

They stood together quietly for a while, watching the light spin out into the clear distance, and then swing back to bring the stars to the shore. They hadn't had any time alone together for weeks. Daryl had been busy as he helped transform the fort into a sanctuary; he had gone on runs, and had been hunting for the group over the last three months. Beth had been making the fort their home; she had organized, cleaned, and prepared for everyone to have a place to live, and thrive, all on top of her duties to care for little Judith.

"Are you on watch tonight?" Beth asked. She spoke softly, not wanting to disturb the air around them.

"Mmhmm." Daryl grunted in confirmation.

"Has it been boring?" Beth asked. She was usually asleep fairly early, except for nights like tonight when she felt like she couldn't sleep.

"Mmm," Daryl shrugged his shoulders and tossed his long, brown hair with a flick of his head.

"Do you think it's still necessary?" Beth asked him, "That someone's always watching?"

"Iunno. I guess."

"But there aren't any walkers on the island, and we haven't seen any people. Not even at the Coast Guard station, you said."

"Mmm, but don't mean that't'll always be that way. We got here. The walkers Rick killed got here when they was people. Don't mean others won't give it a try some day, and we gotta be prepared."

Beth sat down on the brick wall and turned to face Daryl, while still being able to see the light. "I guess I'll join you for a bit then. Maggie and Glenn keep watch together, and I bet it's more interesting with someone else."

Daryl chuckled, "More interestin'… they aren't stric'ly keepin' watch." He turned his blue eyes towards her as the spotlight passed over the pair. Beth could see heat in his eyes. Passion. Lust. Her breath caught in her throat, and her heart felt like it would explode from her chest. It seemed like the light remained on Daryl's face for eons, stopping time for eternity just so she could see his face forever in her mind. She released her breath as the light beam pulled away from him.

Beth made a noncommittal noise in the back of her throat and looked back out at the lighthouse. She had explored the eastern part of the island in hopes of finding a way to get to the lighthouse that lit up their night sky, but the trail ended where the water met the coast. The current was too strong for her to swim, and she knew that she wasn't a strong enough swimmer to even make an attempt to cross.

Daryl hopped up onto the wall that lead straight down into the moat, and he looked at Beth intently. "Y' all right?" He asked, "I know I ain't been around much, but ya' just seem to be keepin' more to yourself. And that's sayin' somethin' 'cause when we was out there we didn't even talk till the 'shiner shack, and ya' were still pretty out there. Things still bad with Maggie?"

Beth looked up at Daryl in surprise, but her surprise gently faded away into a smile. She sat next to him on the wall, with her back towards her lighthouse, and she leaned into his side. "They're okay. She's trying to make up by spending a lot of time with me, and trying to play with my hair, and talk with me. Things sisters do, I guess."

Daryl wrapped his arm around Beth. She leaned her head on his shoulder and inhaled the scent of him. He wasn't one to spend time bathing, though he almost always washed up when he came back to the fort, and she could smell the scent that was distinctly Daryl. It was part sweat from his long walk around the perimeter, part sweetness, and part earth. She could smell hints of grass, leather, motor oil, and burnt wood, but none of the other scents jumped out at her with a name. All she knew was that Daryl's scent was unique to Daryl, and she had never smelled anyone like him before. His scent reminded her of safety, and she felt secure around him whenever he was near to her like this.

"I guess I'm just," she paused, thinking of the word she wanted to use, "I guess I'm just bored. I'm grateful that we're safe, and I'm thankful that we have everything that we need to last us here for some time, but I'm bored, Daryl. I'm not 'Beth the Babysitter' anymore, and it's hard going back to only taking care of Judith. Don't get me wrong, I love her so much, and I want her to survive this, even longer than any of us do, but," she sighed, "I just want more."

She looked up into Daryl's eyes and sighed, "Right now, I just have too much time to think, and not enough of an outlet, and sometimes I think about Len, and sometimes I think about the other guys, and I feel like I'm going crazy, and I feel like maybe we won't be safe here, like I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop."

Daryl followed her rambling with a nod of his head. He knew the feeling she was describing intimately. He knew the feeling of waiting around and waiting for something bad to happen, and he knew that wasn't Beth. Beth before the fall of the prison was happy because she knew they were safe. Her foundation had been so horribly shaken that she was having a hard time going back to the way she used to be. A lot of them were, but Beth most notably. Daryl leaned his head against hers and let his arm slip around her waist.

"Maybe you get back to huntin' with me. Maybe that'll help give you somethin' else to do. You can leave the baby and take on some other providin' and get out of here for a bit."

Beth nodded and placed her hand on Daryl's knee. "I also wanna find a way to that lighthouse." She whispered. "Maybe I'll be happy once I can get there."

"If that's what you wanna do, I'll help ya." Daryl said. He gave a small smile at how close they were to each other. It had been a while since they had been able to be this close without eyes on them constantly. Carol was the worst. She watched Beth and Daryl like hawks, like she was trying to figure them out. Daniel was just as bad, and Daryl was sure that he was interested in Beth for more than just "Bible Study" conversations. Beth had no idea of his interest, but she wasn't looking for any signs from him that he wanted more.

Beth looked up into his eyes again, and smiled. "I missed you when you were busy setting this place up."

Daryl's ears began to burn, but he nodded that he felt the same. He could feel his stomach doing somersaults, and for the first time he felt nervous, but not scared. He began to close the distance between them, his nose an inch away from hers. Their eyes were still open, and Beth's hand was still on Daryl's knee. She nodded, and her eyes fluttered shut as he moved to kiss her on the mouth.

"Everyone's wonderin' who's up here with you."

Beth and Daryl sprung apart at the sound of Rick's voice. Daryl brought his hands to himself, as did Beth, and they instinctively scooted a couple inches away from each other.

"What?" Beth asked, "What do you mean?"

"Your shadow's are being cast on the gorge, and since everyone knows it's Daryl's watch, they were wonderin' who's up here with him. I'm kinda surprised it's you, Beth. I think everyone was thinkin' it was Carol."

"Oh. Urm. I just had some dirt in my eye. Daryl was helpin' me get it out. Right, Daryl?" Beth said. Daryl grunted and jumped back down onto the terreplein. He picked his crossbow up and walked away without looking back at Beth.

Beth frowned. She hadn't wanted him to leave, but he had, and she supposed she would need to leave as well. "He, uh, got it out. I'm gonna go to bed now. G'night, Rick."

"'Night, Beth." Rick watched as Beth walked in the opposite direction from Daryl, and saw her head towards the bedroom the young woman shared with Carol. He wasn't certain what was happening between Beth and Daryl, but he knew he'd need to keep an eye on them for the time being. Everyone was certain that Carol and Daryl had something of a connection, and Rick knew that Daryl wasn't the type to play women, but he'd just need to keep an eye out to make sure that everyone was happy and okay.

Rick had allowed Carol back into the group, partly in thanks that she had helped Tyreese care for his daughter, and partly because Daryl had asked for her to be allowed to come back with them. They were family, he had said to Rick, they started out together after everything fell and he didn't want to lose anyone else. Not anymore. Rick agreed with him, and he allowed Carol back in on the condition that she didn't make any more decisions for the group on her own, and that she take a step down from the council for the time being. He wasn't sure that would solve anything, but Rick was willing to give her another chance now, based on Daryl's recommendation.

Rick stood watching the lighthouse beam rotate around, out toward the mouth of the river, and back towards Fort Pulaski. He was grateful everyone was safe, now he just wanted to be sure that everyone was happy.