Hi all! I appreciate the reviews that I've gotten and I'm glad to know that you all are enjoying are story so far. I know this one isn't much longer, but I was pleased with the response, so I decided to crank out another small chapter tonight to thank you all. Again, I thank you, and I hope that you enjoy this one as well.


Beth Greene was no doctor.

She had assisted her daddy several times over the years with anything from animals to humans. This was different though; now she was alone. Well technically she was, considering Judith wasn't exactly old enough to be of any help. She braced her hands against the steering wheel of the car for several moments as Judith whimpered from the back and Daryl lay passed out in the passenger seat. She took several deep breaths, trying to calm her shaky nerves. She tried not to dwell on the fact that Daryl had come back alone.

She turned to him and tugged gently on his shirt so that she could assess his injuries. He had several cuts on his chest that were oozing some blood but she was relieved to see that none appeared to be life threatening or need stitches. She worked her way around the inside of the vehicle and pushed him forward. Her face fell as she saw that the seat was soaked with blood and she knew that his back must be bad. Slowly, she worked the shirt up and looked at his back. She had to look away a few seconds as she inhaled a shaky breath. She had to keep it together.

His back was a maze of scars, some new and some fresh. One particular gash in his back was raw and bleeding profusely. She figured the loss of all of that blood was why he had passed out. It would need stitches to stop the bleeding. She left him slumped forward on the dash and rummaged around in the back of the suv for some clean cloths and bottled water. In their first aid kit she found the needle and thread that she would need to stitch him back up and she put it up front with her. Judith had thankfully grown quiet, her eyes following Beth's movements. She knew the little girl was probably hungry by now but she hoped she would be distracted long enough for her to stitch Daryl up.

She used the bottled water to wet her cloth and proceeded to wash his back off as best as she could. She was surprised at all of the scars that marred his skin. She had never been close to Daryl and they had only ever exchanged a handful of words since he had first come with the group to their farm. His intensity honestly scared her a little. He always seemed to prefer being a loner, Carol being the only one who had ever been able to hold any kind of conversation with him. As she wiped his back clean, she wondered about his scars. She had just the one scar on her wrist from when she had tried to commit suicide back at the farm. Her little scar seemed minor and insignificant next to all of his. They looked cruelly done and she shivered a little at the agony he must have suffered through in getting them. She had never known that about Daryl and her heart ached for him.

She finished cleaning off his back and took out the tiny needle and thread. This would be the first time she had ever stitched anyone up and she prayed that he would remain passed out while she did it. The last thing she needed was for him to wake up and cause her to jerk the needle further into his skin than necessary. Judith babbled softly from her seat and Beth gave the baby a small smile before turning back to her task. She poured a little peroxide into the cut and hoped that it would be enough to clean it. Holding her breath she pushed the needle through one side of his skin and then hesitated, expecting him to wake up. He remained still and she quickly threaded it through the other side and pulled it as tight as she could get it. She kept having to grab her towel and wipe at the fresh blood that kept oozing from the cut.

She counted fifteen stitches before she finished. It wasn't the best in the world, but it had stopped the bleeding so she hoped it would be enough. She took the peroxide from the kit and cleaned the rest of his wounds carefully, taking her time with each one. She managed to get his shirt off and she rummaged around in the back until she located a simple black shirt. She knew it wasn't Daryl's because it had sleeves but it looked as if it would fit so she maneuvered it onto him and laid him back gently against the seat again.

She dug into Judith's bag and dug around a minute before locating her formula. She mixed up her bottle and handed it to the girl, who grabbed it greedily and began quietly drinking it down. Judith was now big enough to hold her own bottle and Beth had never been more grateful for that.

She glanced out of the window of the suv. It was growing dark and she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do now. Should she leave or was there the possibility that some of the others might come? She didn't really want to leave without knowing what had happened. If she left and one of the others came to this spot looking for her, they wouldn't know where to find her. She decided it was best to stay put for now. She didn't see any walkers milling about and she really wouldn't know where to go anyway. She glanced in the rearview mirror and saw that Judith had fallen asleep in her seat, her bottle having fallen onto the seat beside her. Looking at Daryl she saw that he was still really pale and she pressed her fingers to his neck, letting out a relieved breath as she felt his slow pulse. She crawled partially over him and reached between the seat and door to recline the seat back slightly so that he would at least not wake with a crick in his neck. Then she settled back in her seat with a sigh and tried to get some rest while she could.

She had a feeling she might not get the chance later. She was now essentially the leader until Daryl came back. She refused to think that he wouldn't.


Beth had just drifted off good when Daryl's hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. Startled, she sat straight up, her chest heaving from the scare. Daryl's eyes were wide and his face clenched in pain before he fell back against the seat. She reached over and tentatively felt his forehead. He was hot to the touch and she grimaced. Turning on the overhead light in the car, she rummaged through the box, hoping for something that might help fight the fever. She felt stupid that she hadn't thought of it before. She might have prevented this altogether if she had. Finally her hands located a bottle of ibuprofen and she shook out the remaining four pills, deciding to give him two now and two again later.

She turned his head towards her a little and gently pushed the pills into his mouth.

"Daryl, if you can hear me, I need you to swallow these pills. I'm going to give you some water. Please don't fight me," She whispered.

He moaned softly but didn't respond. She grabbed her bottle of water and lifted it to his lips, coaxing little bits of water down his throat at a time. He swallowed some so she was pretty sure he got the pills down and she let out a sigh of relief. Taking a napkin, she wet it and wiped his face down with the water, trying to cool him off a little. Finally, having done all that she knew to do, she settled back into her seat to try to sleep again.

"Please don't leave me," She whispered before her eyes closed.


The next time Beth woke, it was because Judith was beginning to fuss in her seat. She jerked awake, blinking rapidly as her mind tried to remember what was going on. She turned to Daryl and saw that his color was looking a little better. Touching his forehead, she was relieved to discover that he wasn't as hot either. Judith fussed at her again, waving her little arms around and Beth made her way into the back with the little girl.

"It's okay Judith; I'm here. I'm going to get you some food right now, okay?" Her own stomach grumbled in response and she realized that it had been quite a while since she had last eaten.

She fixed Judith's bottle and gave it to the little girl to suck while she changed her diaper. Not having anywhere else to put her with limited space, she placed her back into her seat and began looking for some food for herself. She found a couple of packs of peanut butter crackers and took them back up front with some more water. Her stomach rumbled in appreciation as she ate the crackers. She sipped at the water, trying to decide what to do. Obviously no one else had come back and she knew deep down that they wouldn't. Daryl wasn't the type to leave a fight if there was the chance that any of his own were still alive. Just as she had feared, it had ended badly. Even Daryl had said that he hadn't felt good about it. She wished that they had just packed up and tried to get as far away from there as possible but it was too late now. She wanted to grieve, to cry until she had nothing left, but she knew she couldn't. She couldn't afford to break down, not now. She had to be strong for Judith. Judith was the future, whatever the future might hold.

Daryl groaned from his seat and he tried to move, wincing from obvious pain. She touched his arm softly and felt him jerk in response. She leaned over him and his eyes fluttered open, blue and intense, focusing on her face.

"Daryl?" She whispered.

"They're all dead. Every last one," He muttered.