So this idea came to me through a lot of fanfiction and the end of the season and I wanted to write it now bc at least we know what happens lol. I miss Beth like crazy so I hope you guys like it. :)

He didn't remember much from back then now.

When Daryl first saw the Whisperers and everything they had, his mind wasn't focused on much besides staying alive. He had been a loner for a while, going in and out of communities and then not even bothering coming back at all. But he knew that once they started to attack, once everything started to go to shit, he needed to help. Despite what happened, circumstances be damned, they were still his family.

Then Lydia stepped into the picture. For a long time, he never considered himself 'dad' material and he still didn't. After the shit he went through as a kid, he didn't think he could ever go through with something like that again. But then he had to protect Lydia. Not just from the rest of the Whisperers but from some people in his own group as well.

Not Carol. Not Michonne. Really, none of them. It was the quiet ones you always had to look out for. It was always them.

Now, his life mainly consisted of trying to survive the rest of the winter at the snow and make sure Lydia at least had something to eat. He knew a part of him felt in debt to Henry for everything the stupid kid had done to keep the girl safe, but a part of him knew Lydia was a good kid who just grew up in the shittiest of circumstances. Much like him.

Maybe it was for that reason he felt bad for her, but he tended not to think about it.

As he carried some stew to her one day, he noticed how she was reading alongside one of the fireplaces. She gave him her quiet smile like she usually does and dips in. It wasn't like she didn't talk – she did when asked about it. But it was more out of respect and fear she had for the others. She was always afraid she would say the wrong thing.

But to him, it didn't really matter. As long as she got some food in her, that's all that he really cared about. He took a place outside and glances back at her. Seeing the girl reading reminded him of someone else that he hadn't thought of in a long time.

He already had a life now, one he was at least trying to protect. But that had been so long ago. He rarely thought about Rick because that had been forever ago…but it had been ages since she had crossed his path. The one person who convinced him that maybe there were still good people left in this world. And then she disappeared from it too.

He felt a slight pang in his heart and glances at the ground, the pit of his stomach dropping. He still felt awful for what had happened to her. He still felt responsible and knew that maybe there was more than he could have done to keep her safe, to stop her from getting taken, to tell her to not go up to Noah and end her life right there. But she did. And there was no way he could take that back.

A part of him still dreamed about it sometimes. A nightmare that went on over and over a few times until he would wake up drenched in sweat. Her and Rick. The two losses that constantly plagued him. And he wished there was a way that he could get rid of it. God, he did.

But instead, he knew it was just something he had to live with. Her loss. Her leaving this world.

"Daryl?" He blinks himself out of the memory and sees Lydia hand him the bowl. Her brow was furrowed. "Are you alright? You looked…spaced out."

Usually, Lydia never questioned him. She was quiet and did what he said, probably because she was thankful he took care of her instead of sending her back once Henry died. But he grunted and looked away, taking the bowl.

"Ain't nothin'," he states to her. "Just head back inside. 'S cold."

Lydia leaves him with a quiet glance, before heading back into the house, closing the door behind her. Daryl lets out a deep sigh and takes himself off the porch where he had been sitting, holding the empty bowl in his hands and bringing it back to where they had their little kitchen.

When he walks in, he sees Michonne talking to Siddiq about a run to a pharmacy, but he was still healing from his wounds. "We need these pain meds, Siddiq," she whispers to him.

"I don't know who is going to be willing to go out in this storm that's coming. We just got through this one."

Daryl walks forward, placing his bowl down. "What's going on?"

Michonne sighs and turns to him. "Jerry has let us know that there's another storm coming towards this area. A big one. But…Judith is sick." Daryl's brow raises in shock, but Michonne waves a hand of dismissal. "Don't worry. We have the medication right now to get her through the offset symptoms. We think it might be the flu. Nothing crazy. But we only have enough to last a couple of days. And with this storm, it's going to be hard to keep her comfortable without risking more lives out there."

Daryl nods. "I'll do it."

Michonne sighs. "Daryl…"

"'m serious," he says to her quietly. "I don't give a shit 'bout the snow if I can help her." Michonne offers him a kind smile as he turns to Siddiq. "What I need to get her and where?"

"There's a pharmacy about forty miles away from here that's pretty secluded. Not a lot of people go there. We can get the medication there. Pretty sure it's called Theraflu. We had a little here but we ran out a little while ago. Cold is making everyone sick." Daryl nods. Michonne grabs his arm.

"Thank you."

"Don't gotta thank me. But while I'm gone keep an eye on Lydia. Make sure she gets somethin' to eat." Michonne nods and lets him go.

"Be safe!" she yells to him. He nods back and heads back to the house, going to collect some stuff for the trip.

After letting Lydia know he'd be gone and telling Carol as well, he set out with Dog in front of him, running along. Usually, he didn't bring Dog out on missions now with how often they might run into the Whisperers – didn't want the chance of him getting hurt. But with him being the only person going, he might as well have the backup.

He didn't blame most of them for not wanting to go out in the cold, even Michonne. This winter had been especially cruel, even to Daryl who spent a good majority of his time outside. But he knew that if anyone was going to go out and get the medicine, it would be him. He wouldn't let anything happen to that little girl as long as he was alive.

By the time he had reached the pharmacy, the snow was already coming down hard. He knew that he was going to have to be quick in order to find somewhere to stay for the night. When he looked around, he saw that there were at least twenty walkers outside the pharmacy too. All of which turned to him from banging on the door. He curses and heads inside, slamming the doors behind him.

They bang on the glass as he looks around the shelves quickly, trying to spot the name Siddiq had mentioned. Instantly, on a blue box, it stood out in thick orange handwriting. He quickly grabs the two boxes there and heads through the back. Dog goes first and then starts to bark quickly. Daryl grabs his bow and aims at where he was barking.

Out in the back, looking like they had just escaped, was someone dressed in all white; camouflage with the snow that was coming. That was for sure. He hadn't been that smart. He could tell it was a woman by her frame, but she had a gun aimed right at him as soon as he came out. The snow was falling harder.

"Put it down!" he snaps at her. Instantly, he sees the girl freeze, as if the snow around them had made her a part of it. When she doesn't lower the gun and a walker shows up behind her from his shout, he curses and shoots it down. She wakes up and turns around, glancing at the dead corpse before looking at him. Instantly, she puts the gun away and grabs a knife.

The walkers all begin to pile to the back.

He watches as she slams her knife into the head of one while using her leg to push down another. Once she was done with that, she wrenches the knife out and places it in the head of the other. Daryl puts away his bow and does the same, killing two more. But there were too many, and he didn't know if they were regular or bad.

"Fuck," he growls before looking over at her. "Don't fuck this up! Get on the bike!" It was the least he could do for helping him with the walkers.

She glances at him and nods, running behind him back to the front. Dog runs ahead, and he climbs on. She does the same and wraps her arms around him as he takes off, leaving the growing heard from the forest behind them as the snow pelted down.

By the time they had reached a secure place, the snow was sticking heavily. Daryl pulls the bike into an old shack and the girl climbs off. He closes the bike and wipes the snow from his hair, watching as Dog went through the garage of the torn down building into the cabin that was connected to it.

He shakes his head and walks in. The girl stands there. He rolls his eyes. "Look, girly. I don't care who ya are. I did it to get ya away from the walkers without having that shit on my head. Ya can leave or do whatever the fuck ya want. I gotta get back to people. Try anythin' and I'll kill ya."

He walks in and glances around the house. It was dirty, rustic, but the door was intact and there was a fireplace he could use, at least for the time being while the storm went on. Once the snow stopped, he could head out with Dog, head back to Judith.

Daryl walked over to the fireplace and took out his lighter, using the wood that was previously in there to ignite it. Once a small fire was going he reached into his bag and pulled out a thermos. Be it as it may, he wasn't too prideful not to take some stew with him. He wasn't an idiot. He needed food too.

When he opens it he looks back up and finds the girl still standing in the garage, staring. "Jesus Christ, woman. What the hell do ya want?" he quips at her, standing up. "Yer free to go! I said I don't care."

Dog lays down at his feet. He watches as the girl slowly steps into the house. He puts the thermos down and grabs a knife.

"I warned ya, ya take another step and I ain't gonna be so friendly."

She doesn't move. She stops in the entranceway of the door and looks at him through the ski mask she was wearing to shield her face from the cold. Her hands quietly move to the bottom of it and he keeps a firm grip on his knife. Before he could say anything else, she removes the mask.

He felt his knife drop to the floor, waking up Dog who whined and walked back to the couch to sleep.

Daryl stared in shock. The woman he had saved was staring at him with big blue eyes. Eyes he knew from a long time ago. The small frame made sense. The way she froze made sense. Her blonde hair fell into her face. He thought that he was imagining it. Imagining her.

He took one step forward, his breath falling, in short exhales showing through the cold. There was no way. There was no way.

And then she opened her small mouth. "…Daryl?"

"No fucking way," he shakes his head and turns away. "I fucking saw ya die, I fucking carried yer corpse!" he snaps at her. Lone tears threaten to fall. This was like a nightmare coming true. It was his sick mind playing a joke. It was all a joke. It had to be. It just had to be.

But she comes forward. Quicker this time. He had turned himself to the fire. When he heard her footsteps he turns back around. This time, he saw tears had streaked down her cheeks. They were dirty like she had been out on the road for a while now. He could feel himself quivering. Shaking.

"Beth?" he whispers to her.

She slowly nods, her smile spreading from cheek to cheek. And then she wraps her arms around him tightly. A part of him told him to run. He instantly thought of Michonne. Of Jocelyn and everything, she had done to them. How she had fucked them over completely. But at that moment, he didn't care. He didn't give a shit.

Beth fucking Green was hugging him, the woman he thought was dead. And he would be a fucking asshole if he didn't hug her back.

"Holy shit," he mutters before hugging her tightly, keeping her secured in his arms. This wasn't a nightmare.

This was a dream come true.

Thank you for reading my story. much more to come :) Please leave a review to let me know what you think because I know I'm not the only one who misses the heck out of this pairing haha. I wanted to see what might happen if she showed up again after years and years, and after seeing the whole Jocelyn episode I knew I had to write this. So I hope you all follow along. I'll see you guys in the next chapter, love ya!

-Ali.