Recognition

Summary: Beth has grown a lot since leaving her family farm. Now she is alone and has to decide for herself who she wants to be in this dark world. Will she hold on to hope for the future? Will Beth finally be reunited with the people she loves?

A/N: So, obviously, I'm very upset about the final events of the midseason finale. Fortunately, there exists fanfiction and infinitely many alternate universes where anything can happen! This is a story where Beth Greene does not get shot in the head.

….

Chapter 1 – Stay Who You Are

"Beth!"

Before he could react, Beth stepped forward and, her arms locked, pushed him hard in the chest, squeezing her eyes shut at the last second. He stumbled back and fell, disappearing into the black of the empty elevator shaft.

Beth lowered her arms to her sides. She took a deep breath, blinked to make sure he was gone, that it really happened, and let it out slowly.

Turning, she saw Dawn slumped on the ground near the fallen sign. The other woman's eyes were wide with adrenaline from the fight and desperation to live at any costs. She opened her mouth to say something but in that moment Beth could not stand to hear another word.

Beth spun and walked towards the door.

"Beth!" Dawn called again.

"I know. I won't say anything," Beth said without looking back.

I only wanted to be alone. The hospital itself was fairly large, but whole wings of it had been damaged in a fire in the early days, then burst pipes and occasionally an errant walker or two had made much of the building uninhabitable. The survivors occupied one main floor with patient rooms, a few doctor's offices, and then some supply rooms in the pediatrics wing, and the roof.

She couldn't go back to work, she didn't want to take the chance of seeing any of the other officers, or Dr (….) on the roof, and she wasn't hungry.

Fortunately, the halls were empty. Beth made her way to the patient room at the end of the hall and closed the door behind her.

She checked the patient's pulse. Steady. She looked at the clock but it wasn't yet time for another dose of medicine. There was nothing else she could do.

"Carol, please wake up," Beth said quietly, looking down at the grey-haired woman on the bed.

No response. The injured woman showed no signs of gaining consciousness, but her heartbeat was stronger than it had been a day ago and her face was a little less pale.

Beth looked down at her shoes. When she'd first seen Carol being wheeled in on a stretcher, her heart had skipped a beat. She'd been filled with a sense of urgency. She'd been anxious to make sure Carol was alright, to ask her so many questions.

"I'm sorry that you're here," Beth said now.

Beth sat against the wall beside the door, propping her arms on her knees and leaning her head back against the wall.

Nobody else would be coming to bother her, for a while anyway. Dr. Edwards didn't care if this patient lived or died and Dawn was probably busy making up another lie about why another officer had been killed.

This is who you are until the end. Beth kept thinking about what she'd said to Dawn. It was endlessly frustrating how Dawn just couldn't see it. She doesn't see who I am. I would never give up and jump down an elevator shaft. I wouldn't just kill someone, not like Dr. Edwards, but I won't let someone attack me either. I know who I am and she can't change that!

There were moments when she could see a flicker of something in Dawn, a small part of her that still wanted to do actual good, but the problem with Dawn was that she always changed her mind. There was too much cruelty, uncertainty, arrogance. Why do I even try to argue with her?

An hour later Beth was still sitting in the same position. When the door opened, she knew without looking who it was.

"It's okay to cry," Dawn said, as if she knew what was wrong.

I'm not upset that I pushed that cop. That wasn't my fault. He hurt people. What would he have done to me after, if he killed you? It was your fault, Beth thought bitterly.

"I don't cry anymore," Beth said, her voice firm.

I said that once before, to Daryl, she remembered with a pang in her heart. Usually, she tried not to think about him too much, or Maggie, or her dad, or Judith, or any of the others. If she let it, it would eat her alive, the worry and the sadness, the not knowing if Daryl had even made it out of that house after he led the walkers away from her, not knowing if Maggie or anyone else had made it out of the prison.

It wasn't true, of course. She had cried after that, but now she was different. She'd changed. I'm not going to feel sorry for myself anymore. I'm just not.

Now Dawn was offering her a drink, holding out a little cup like she was doing Beth a favor, like she was offering her a branch of friendship. Beth ignored her. The last thing on earth that she wanted to do was to get drunk with Dawn.

The first and only time she'd gotten drunk was with Daryl. Some parts were a little fuzzy, but for the most part, she remembered everything. She remembered the strong taste of her first sip of moonshine, convincing Daryl to play a drinking game, knowing it was naïve but not caring, and of course the game turned into a huge fight. She remembered seeing how hurt Daryl was, how crushed he felt by what happened at the prison, then sitting on the porch at night, talking about life, deciding to burn away their old lives.

We have to be who we are now, not who we were…but who am I now, stuck here without you, Daryl? What am I supposed to do now?

Dawn sat on the edge of the hospital bed. She was rambling again about respect and control.

My job is to be here for Carol when she wakes up, that's why I'm here. Beth tried to focus on the present.

"I'm not stupid, Beth," Dawn said, nodding towards the woman in the bed, "I know you know her. You might think that means something; that you both ended up her. It doesn't."

For the first time, Beth looked her in the eye.

"Noah will come back. They always do. There's nowhere else to go but even if there was, they always come back," Dawn said.

No! How can you be so wrong?! You are living in a delusion! Beth wanted to shout, You don't know anything about Noah!

"No, he's not coming back! He's going home!" Beth said defiantly, but Dawn wasn't listening.

"He's going home!" Beth repeated with force, all her anger simmering up once more.

Dawn is about to respond but then something unexpected happens.

The injured woman on the hospital bed shifted her arm, moved her head a little, and started to blink her eyes.

Beth got to her feet and so did Dawn.

"Carol!" Beth blurted out before she could think better of it, rushing to her friend's side.

"So her name is Carol, huh?" Dawn said.

"Carol, I'm here," Beth found Carol's hand and gripped it tightly, "How do you feel?"

"Beth…" her voice was rough, "Where…"

"You're in Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta," Dawn started in her authoritative voice.

Beth glared at Dawn, knowing what she was going to say next. This is hardly the time. You didn't even care if she lived or died.

Before she could start in on her usual 'we saved you' and 'you owe us' spiel, Dawn's radio crackled. One of the officers sent to hunt down Noah was finally radioing in. Without another word, Dawn turned and left the room, finally leaving Beth and Carol alone.

Beth got Carol some water and gave her a small dose of painkillers.

"Don't push yourself too much," Beth cautioned, "Do you feel like you can talk a little?"

Carol nodded and took a ragged breath.

"I found you," Carol said tenderly, a sad smile on her face, and she squeezed Beth's hand.

"I missed you!" Beth found herself tearing up. She wanted to hug Carol, but she was worried about hurting her. She knew Carol had internal injuries but she had no idea how bad it was or what to do about it.

"Do you remember what happened?" Beth asked.

"I was with Daryl and this boy," Carol said slowly, trying to put her memories in order.

"Daryl's okay?!" Beth asked, a forgotten hope soaring in her heart again.

"Yeah," Carol smiled at her reaction, then, "I think so."

"We were looking for you. We found the boy…" Carol trailed off.

"Noah?" Beth asked. It had to be him!

"Yeah, Noah. He said he knew you. We were going to find you…" Carol recalled, more certain now, "I ran out of the building first. I heard a car and…and now I'm here."

"They said you were in a car accident," Beth said, her jaw tightening. Those liars, they probably hit her themselves!

"Are you okay?" Carol asked, looking at Beth's face.

"It's okay, it's not as bad as it looks," Beth reassured her, knowing she meant the large cuts on her cheek and forehead.

"It's not safe here. The people here, they aren't what they say they are," Beth said, still reeling from the news that Daryl was alive and he was with Noah, "What do we do now?"

Carol looked at the ceiling, thinking for a long moment, and Beth almost thought she was going to fall asleep again.

"If Noah was here before, he knows what this place is. They won't try anything stupid," Carol said, looking at Beth again, "Daryl will go get Rick and the others."

"Rick's alive?" Beth asked, stunned again.

Carol nodded, smiling. It wasn't often she got to share good news like this and she was going to enjoy it.

"Rick, Carl, and Michonne were together after the prison. Glenn, Maggie, Sasha, and Bob found some new people, good people. I was with Tyreese and Judith…" Carol recounted a much abbreviated version of recent events, "Daryl found Rick after you and he were separated. We all met up again at a place called Terminus."

"Terminus? Is that where they are now?" Beth asked, trying to take it all in.

"No, no. Terminus was a lie. We got out," Carol said, clearly simplifying the story, "Found a church, that's where the others were….How long have I been out?"

"You've been here about two days now," Beth said, thinking about what all this meant.

We'd better wait…wait to see if Daryl and Rick come back, wait for Carol to heal some more… Beth decided.

"You saved Judith!" Beth grinned at Carol, but Carol seemed to be thinking about a memory that was more sad than happy.

Beth stopped herself from asking what was wrong. A lot must have happened since I've seen Carol last.

The two women hadn't really become close until they were settled in to life at the prison, where they spent hours together, Carol teaching Beth how to take care of Judith. Beth used to babysit sometimes in the summers, but she had learned the most from Carol.

They formed an easy friendship. There were moments when Carol said something and Beth knew that she was talking about Sophia, though she never said the girl's name, and Beth knew better than to ask about it. She couldn't exactly put her finger on why, but Beth had that same feeling now.

She hugged Carol gently.

"How do you feel?" Beth asked.

"Hungry," Carol said honestly, and Beth smiled. Hungry is a good sign.

"Don't move," Beth instructed unnecessarily, jumping up and heading for the door, "I'll get you something from the kitchen."

On her way back with a tray of food, Beth was so excited that she wanted to run, but she kept her pace to a hurried walk. She was, after all, still in enemy territory and she had to keep her guard up.

Daryl's okay! He made it out and found Carol and the others! I'm going to see Maggie again! Carol's going to be okay and we're going to get out of here. I don't know how, but we will. We have to. I'm going to see Daryl again…

Her elation dissipated at the sight of Dawn, Dr. Edwards, and two other cops standing outside Carol's room.

"Looks like you're getting your wish after all," Dawn said, unable to hide the bitterness in her voice, "You're leaving, Beth."

Preview: Will Rick's deal go according to plan and let everyone walk away? (Spoilers: Beth survives. Dawn does not.) Will Beth get the reunion she wants? Will Carol enjoy her dinner of roast guinea pig?

A/N: Don't worry, we'll get to the action next chapter! I'm planning to include a lot of characters and romance too (I seriously jumped on the Beth/Daryl bandwagon just in time to have my heart crushed. Perfect timing.) but this will be mainly a Beth Greene story!