Hi, everyone!

This will be a shorter story, maybe 10 chapters. Thank you all for your support as always. Please read and review!

-Mandy


Life has a funny way of mucking up all the best laid plans and all the best intentions.

Over the course of her life, Beth Greene had made many plans. When she was six, she decided she wanted to be a singer. When she was ten, she wanted to be a championship barrel racer. When she was twelve, she wanted to sing with Dolly Parton at the Grand Ole Opry.

When she was fifteen, all she wanted to do was get out of Pine Mountain, Georgia. She wanted to get away from the farm, away from the small town, and live an exciting, adventure filled life. When she was sixteen, and her parents gave her an old pickup truck, she felt like she had the world at her feet. She felt happy. She felt alive.

When she was eighteen, she wanted Jimmy McIntyre. She wanted to be his forever, but that wasn't in the cards, either. He loved someone else; someone who was prettier, and smarter, and more womanly, it seemed. Beth wanted Jimmy, but Jimmy didn't want her. That hurt, but Beth got through it.

Beth Greene had wanted a lot of things in life. Life, it seemed, had a funny way of changing things—sometimes for the better, sometimes not. Either way, Beth was no stranger to change. She was no stranger to things changing and moving and being beyond her control. And for the most part, she didn't mind it. Change was inevitable; it just hurt sometimes.

When she was nineteen, she fell in love, head over heels for an older sheriff's deputy named Shane Walsh. They met when she'd been watching her friend's children, Carl and Judith. He'd shown up, not knowing Rick and his wife, Lori, were out on a date. He'd come to fix the water heater, and then upon discovering Rick wasn't home, he'd said, "well, I guess that's why Rick wasn't answerin' his phone. Mind if I come in?" When Rick and Lori returned later that evening, Beth and Shane were sitting at the kitchen table, eating pizza with Carl, laughing and joking and talking.

The next three weeks, Beth and Shane saw a lot of each other. He'd stop by the farm after work, bringing her flowers and candy. She told him it didn't matter to her—that she liked him for him. Soon, they were spending all their time together. He went to church with her every Sunday, and had dinners with her family. She had tea parties with his nieces, and baked cookies with his Grandma Jean. Things went quickly, and Beth was head over heels for Shane Walsh and the two seemed like a couple of star crossed lovers, and it terrified and excited and thrilled Beth all at the same time.

Five months after they started dating, Shane asked Beth to marry him. They'd gone to Savannah for Beth's birthday with Maggie and Glenn, and it was there on the River Walk in front of everyone that Shane pulled out a small red velvet box with a pretty antique diamond ring and Shane asked Elizabeth Nora Greene to be his wife for the rest of his life. And Beth screamed and cried and said yes a dozen times as Shane slipped the ring on her finger and Maggie and Glenn clapped and cheered. Beth was terrified and thrilled and happy. So, infinitely happy. Shane was her whole world, and she was his.

They married three months later, in a small wedding in the church she grew up in. They only had sixty people in attendance. Maggie was her maid of honor, Rick was the best man. Beth had never felt more beautiful in her simple lace gown and her bouquet of bright, happy flowers.

They settled into married life well. They'd moved into Shane's small house in town in Pine Mountain, close to Rick and Lori. Beth continued going to college, studying nursing. They had dinner together every evening. Beth had been told that the first year of marriage was the hardest, but coming home to Shane was the best part of her day. They did nearly everything together; from walking their two dogs, to cooking, to laundry. Beth never told anyone that her favorite thing about Shane was the way he kissed her goodbye every morning before he went to work. She never told anyone about how he braided her hair better than she did. He, however, gushed to everyone he knew about how Beth knitted him scarves, and played the piano, and baked the best cookies in town. The two didn't fight.

On Beth's twentieth birthday, Shane bought her an upright piano. He'd paid extra to have it tuned, and Beth cried tears of joy when she came home to find it in the living room with a big red bow on top. Shane was loud and boisterous, and sometimes he was cocky, but he was gentle and kind, and he was the kind of husband Beth had only dreamed of.

Three days after Beth turned twenty-one, Beth told Shane she was twelve weeks pregnant. He cried—actually cried—and asked a million questions. Beth had been nervous, afraid he wouldn't be as thrilled, but it was the opposite. Throughout her pregnancy, he was reading and educating himself and learning all he could about the new life growing inside of his wife. They took pictures of Beth every week, documenting her progress. When they'd found out she was having a boy, Shane cheered and clapped. He carried sonogram pictures around in his wallet. Beth graduated nursing school when she was seven months pregnant, and it seemed that life was falling into place. Beth passed her nursing boards but wanted to wait until their son was born to look for jobs.

At 38 weeks pregnant, Beth gave birth to a seven pound, six ounce, dark haired boy that she and Shane named Caleb Atticus. They couldn't decide on a name; Shane wanted to name him after his father, Caleb, and Beth had wanted to name him Atticus because of her favorite book. They'd decided to combine the two, and their beautiful darling baby boy soon made their little family more complete than they'd ever thought possible.

Things continued to get better. They settled into a comfortable routine; Beth working night shift two days a week at the local hospital, Shane working days. They spent all of their time with their precious Caleb, who looked more like Shane every day. Beth loved the changes in her life; she loved the happiness that her husband and her child brought her. She wanted to spend the rest of her life in the blissful haze of her family, with her husband and her child by her side for every aspect of her life.

Unfortunately, that haze would only last six more months.

It was Caleb's first birthday. They'd had his party, with surrounding family and friends, at their home, and decided they would make his first birthday weekend special. They spent that Saturday in Atlanta at the zoo, with Rick, Lori, the kids, Glenn, and Maggie tagging along. They returned late in the evening, and put Caleb to bed. Beth and Shane went to bed that night, content and happy.

That was the last night that they would spend together.

They'd gone with Rick and Lori to eat that Sunday evening. Everything was fine, they were all having a great time.

Until the fight broke out.

There were two men arguing—loudly—and then three more jumped in. Rick and Shane—both off duty deputies—jumped in, trying to mediate. It happened so quickly, no one realized just what had transpired.

One man pulled a knife. Beth saw the glint and ran close, only to be grabbed by Lori and another patron while she screamed. She saw the man plunge the blade into Shane's abdomen three times, and then into his back once. More police arrived, broke up the fight. By then, Beth was at Shane's side, trying in vain to keep him from bleeding to death.

"I love you, Bethy." He muttered, wincing in pain as she cradled his head.

"I love you, my sweet boy." Beth whispered, "You're gonna be fine."

"I'm not." Shane replied, "Tell Caleb I love him. Tell him I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Bethy. I'm so, so sorry."

"We'll get you to the hospital. We'll fix you. Shane, stay with me!" Beth screamed.

He held on for three hours, but he'd lost too much blood. They couldn't save him.

Beth sat in the waiting room, nearly comatose, covered in Shane's blood, as the doctor explained there was nothing they could do. Beth screamed, falling to her knees and breaking down, as Maggie and Lori and her mother, Annette, held her and tried in vain to console her. Rick was the only one who understood even in the slightest what she felt, since the two had been friends since childhood. Beth couldn't breathe; her entire world had come to a screeching halt. Her husband was dead. Her son had no father. She was alone.

The funeral and the weeks following were a blur. She'd gone through the motions. People were nice, helpful even, but nothing eased the pain of losing her soul mate. She was broken. She was alone. She was desperate. She didn't eat; sleeping was too painful. She'd left Caleb in the temporary care of her parents, trying to collect herself because she was in no condition to parent. And, because Caleb looked so much like Shane that she felt like she lost him every time she looked at her son.

Two months after Shane's death, Beth, in a haze, took a razor to her wrist. She then realized she couldn't go through with it. Shane wouldn't want her to do it. She called 911, and put a rag tightly around her wrist. She hadn't cut deep enough to kill herself, but she had cut deep enough to lose a significant amount of blood.

After that, she decided to try—try and heal. She sold the house, putting the money into a college fund for Caleb. She moved into an apartment close to the hospital. Maggie came by to keep Caleb when Beth worked the night shift, which she'd increased to three twelve hour shifts a week. She was getting better—slowly—but her heart still ached. She missed Shane every day.

Change, Beth Greene (Walsh) knew that change was inevitable, but lately, change was causing her a tremendous amount of pain. Change hurt. Change cost her everything she held dear.

Seven months after Shane's death, Beth was coming off her shift at the hospital, dragging herself up the stairs to her small two bedroom apartment. Her dogs greeted her first, and Maggie and Glenn were asleep in the guest room, with Caleb in hers. She had just gotten a cup of coffee, exhausted, when there was a knock at the door, and a frantic cry for help. Beth answered the door, and eyed the wild-eyed man standing in front of her.

"You're a nurse, right?" The man asked.

"Yeah. I am." Beth answered.

"You gotta help me—it's my brother." The man said.

"What's the matter?" Beth asked.

"I think he overdosed. He came to my place about thirty minutes ago—I dunno. He's breathin's shallow, he ain't movin'. I need your help." The man explained. The two walked across the hall to apartment 224, where the man's brother was on the couch responsive. Beth checked his vitals. He was alive—but just barely.

"Call 911. I'll do what I can." Beth said. The man began to panic, pacing, muttering, and cussing.

"What's your name?" Beth asked.

"Daryl." He replied.

"What's your brother's name, Daryl?" Beth asked.

"Merle." He replied.

"Alright, Daryl. I need you to stay calm. I'm going to help Merle, but panicking won't help him. Call an ambulance. Call the police, and stay calm. I'm going to do my best." Beth explained, with the confidence of a woman who seemed to have it all together.

"Okay." He whispered.

Beth turned Merle over on his side, checking his vitals and using her kit to treat him. By the time the ambulance arrived, Merle was breathing on his own, and he was stable—all thanks to Beth.

"Let me know how he's doing later, alright? I've gotta go check on my little boy." Beth asked before Daryl left to follow the ambulance.

"I will. Thank you, ma'am. What'd you say your name was?" Daryl asked.

"Beth. My name is Beth." Beth answered.