Ch.1

They had been traveling for days. Beth was exhausted, and she could tell that, even through his tough exterior, Daryl was too. He had done his best to get them food, but the animals were scarce, so they had resorted to eating berries. Beth knew they weren't poisonous; her father had taught her the difference between poisonous and nonpoisonous berries when she was just a little girl. But berries wouldn't be enough to sustain them for much longer, and they hadn't been able to find water. They knew they needed to keep walking.

She knew the woods were a dangerous place, but it made it even worse now that she didn't have a weapon. The only thing that kept a walker from eating her alive was Daryl and his crossbow. He had taken down a few, maybe three of four, but they had tried to steer clear of walkers when they saw them, quietly creeping away, afraid that where there was one there were more. It seemed that the walkers had started herding together rather than straying away from each other and attacking their prey.

"You still there, kid?"

"Yeah, right behind you."

"I think we're getting close. Do you need a break?"

Beth simply shook her head no. Daryl had been keeping a close eye on her since the attack on the prison. He knew how close she had been with Hershel, and he wasn't sure how his sudden and gruesome death would affect her. She had held herself together for the first couple miles after they'd left the prison, she had simply walked right beside him not saying a word, and then she had stopped walking. When Daryl had turned around he saw Beth, just standing there, her hand to her face and tears brimming at her eyes before they finally started to roll down her face. He hadn't been sure what to do; he had never been the comforting kind, and he couldn't even imagine the pain she was feeling in that moment. He finally decided to walk over to her and pull her close, letting her sob into his chest as he continuously reassured her that everything was going to be alright, even though he was quite uncertain about the words he spoke.

They had decided to set up camp there; they were far enough from the prison that it would take the walkers a while to reach them, and the sun had already begun setting. Daryl knew how to make a fire, so he made one and decided to let Beth sleep while he kept watch. Instead of watching their surroundings he had watched Beth; he knew that he would be able to hear a walker approaching. Beth was restless, she had a hard time falling asleep, and when she had finally drifted off she was haunted by the image of the Governor swinging Michonne's sword to her father's neck. She eventually awoke to Daryl putting a hand over her mouth and hushing her. She had been screaming from the terror of her dreams, and Daryl was afraid her screams would attract walkers. After that she couldn't go back to sleep. Her father's death haunted every minute of sleep she got, resulting in complete and utter exhaustion.

Now, as they were just miles from the farm, they were both bound and determined to finish this journey today. They weren't sure if the farm would still be overrun with walkers, or if they had simply moved on like their group had. Daryl kept Beth close, occasionally grabbing her wrist to drag her behind him as they walked. While he had never made an actual promise to Hershel, after his death Daryl had secretly promised to keep Beth safe and do whatever he had to keep her alive, at least until they were reunited with the group. He knew the girl was defenseless without him, and while she may have been slowing him down, he enjoyed the company; he knew that if no one else had made it out of the prison alive he would still have someone by his side as he tried to survive in this world.

They kept moving forward, and surprisingly had no interference with walkers. They walked a few more miles before the first signs of the farm appeared; the river where Daryl had found Sophia's doll, he would remember it for the rest of his life. He now knew they were heading the right way and would be there within an hour.

"We're almost there." Beth gave him a little smile that could barely pass as a smile, and Daryl could sense something was on her mind. "You okay?"

"No, I mean I don't know." Her voice was soft and quiet, barely audible. "What if Maggie isn't there? What if she didn't make it?"

He understood what she was saying. He remembered when he had found out that Merle was still alive and the relief he had felt, and then he remembered when he had died. While Daryl had never really been that close to him, Merle was the only family he had left. He couldn't even begin to imagine what she going through. Maggie and Beth's relationship was something special, something he had admired, and the thought of Beth losing Maggie and her father at the same time made his stomach churn and instantly angered him. "She's fine. Maggie made it."

"You don't know that." Her eyes were beginning to fill with tears and her voice cracked.

"You're right, I don't. But I do know that Maggie is one tough mother fu—" He stopped himself before he finished saying the word. He never really cursed in front of Beth, he knew Hershel disapproved of his cursing so he had always watched his language around Beth.

His almost slip made her smile a little, it lightened the mood, but she still couldn't take her mind off of the thought of being the only one left from her family. She had already seen her mother, brother, Patricia, Jimmy, and her father die, and she couldn't deal with the thought of her sister being gone too. "What happens if she's dead? What am I supposed to do?"

"Hey, like I said, she's tough. And, if for some reason she didn't make it, you have us. You won't be alone."

The edge of the woods began to emerge, and a white house began to form through the trees. From way back here it didn't look like there was any sign of life, and Daryl was beginning to think that Beth was right, that Maggie didn't make it, that nobody had made it. But then, just as they were stepping out from the trees, leaving the woods behind them, the first signs of life appeared with a blurred group of people coming from the house.