Beth insists on getting a turn at watch duty. Compared to the others she's the best fed and rested. She doesn't mention the fact sleep wouldn't come to her if she tried. There was a nagging feeling eating at her, keeping her looking over her shoulder even when there's a wall to her back. She's restless, feigning sleep sprawled across the couch with her feet in Daryl's lap until Maggie wakes her.

She and Daryl took the midnight shift together. Either way Daryl was forced to wake up to let go of his grip on Beth's ankle. Throwing him a smile in the dark Beth maneuvered through the maze of bodies paying attention to who was sleeping grouped together. The two hunters were silent, moving swiftly and efficiently through their rounds.

The fence was well made and the group's careful silence had kept any walkers from coming their way. Still, the wood slats only came up to Beth's shoulder, an awkward height at best. It would hold back a couple of walkers but it also left a lot of attention to be gained if too many spotted them patrolling at once. They sat on the steps for awhile, well shadowed by the fence.

"Can I see that?"

Daryl jerked in surprise, looking to Beth. "What?" She pointed to his crossbow. "Yeah… Go 'head."

Beth lifted it off his lap, placing it into her own. She fiddled with the parts in the moonlight, running her fingers along the arrows and the bow string. "Guns are nice and all, but I really liked learning how to use this."

He hummed a gruff sound, shuffling his feet for a moment. "Gotta keep teaching you how to use it, that last shot a'yours wouldn't kill a thing."

Scoffing she handed the crossbow back, a small smile crossing her face. "I'll get better." Beth took a breath, about to say something more when an uneven thud of footsteps sounded behind them. They both turned, catching sight of Noah coming up behind them. "Hey…"

"Hey… I was hoping to talk to you," Noah's gaze darted to Daryl and back to Beth.

The archer got the idea, standing and slinging the crossbow over one shoulder. "Gonna check the back."

Noah waited, watching as Daryl went around the side of the house out of view before sitting beside Beth. The two were silent for a minute, absorbing the silence in peace. Shivers ran over Beth's skin each time a walker's growl drifted towards them through the darkness.

"I'm sorry."

She looked to Noah, quirking a brow at him. "For what? It's not your fault Dawn is insane," Beth whispered back to him.

Shaking his head he replied, "No, not for that. For asking that stuff in front of your group. I shouldn't have brought it up."

"They would have asked anyways."

"But they wouldn't have known the meaning."

Beth chewed on the inside of her cheek thoughtfully. "They still don't, and they won't ask. My sister will, maybe Rick or Michonne… Carol, but them only if they need to know or think I need to talk about it. I… I know they don't care that I've killed anyone. Technically I've killed one more than I even told them, but that was completely by accident, giving him the wrong medicine."

"And the lollipop thing?"

She shrugged, "My sister was sexually assaulted by the man who attacked our home and killed our Dad. She's fine."

"But she wasn't-,"

"No," Beth cut him off. "No, she wasn't, and I was. But that doesn't matter. I have to be strong. I need to be strong."

"You are strong. It doesn't matter what Dawn thinks."

They stared at each other for a moment before Beth replied. "In the end she said I was strong. She said she misjudged me."

"Then you know-,"

"It's not about what other people think," Beth stopped herself, mindful that her voice was rising as she got angry. Taking a deep breath she sighed, trying to relax. "It's not about what other people think… It's about what I think… of myself. I have to think of myself as… I have to know that I'm strong, for myself. With this group it doesn't matter who you are or how strong you are. We've got each other's backs."

"Then why," Noah questioned. He was running a hand down his bad leg in a way that made Beth think he wasn't aware of the action. "Why worry so much about it? It's a trauma. It's okay to be affected by it."

She stood, walking to the fence to peer out. There were a few shadows moving in the distance. They were far down the moonlit street. It was almost impossible to view them in the darkness. "Because this whole world is one big trauma now," Beth replied letting the words carry in the silence. "You learn to handle them, or you let them break you. You can't go back."

Noah didn't reply. A minute passed, then two. Finally Beth heard the creek of the steps as he stood. She half expected him to come up to her. Instead the door clicked shut after a few seconds. That left Beth alone and Daryl somewhere on the other side of the house.

Leaning forward Beth put her arms up on the fence, resting her head on her crossed arms. Eyes roaming back and forth she kept a close eye out for walkers, keeping tabs on those in the distance. A flash caught her eye, reflecting what moonlight was available. She stiffened, straightening to attention. The flash didn't come again. Whatever it was had shifted.

"They caught Bob by surprise. Took him and ate him. We killed them all, but…" Sasha's voice broke and then hardened. "But no one should go out alone anymore. We're stronger together."

Beth nodded, shifting Judith to her other hip. "I couldn't agree more," She replied with her gaze focused on Daryl. He was only two steps ahead, never getting much farther than that.

Beth backed away from the fence quickly, drawing Daryl's knife from her side. She was glad to have it back on her hip. She was even gladder to feel its weight in her hands as she shifted her weight back and forth waiting for something to happen. Beth was well aware her hair was a good beacon to aim at, but there wasn't much she could do about that already standing out in the open.

It almost felt laughable, standing out in the open daring someone to come at her. The old Beth would have run for help. The present Beth was already scolding herself for not immediately alerting the others. But there were more threats than strange flashes in the night. Sounding the alarm meant alerting the increasing number of shifting bodies in the distance that dinner was close by. Beth started backing up slowly.

The flash came again, a glint in the distance as someone ran between houses. Whoever was there was getting away. Beth grit her teeth, making a split second decision to hop the fence and take off running. The thud of her sneakers on the ground echoed in her ears along with her heartbeat. She veered off to run parallel down the houses, gaining ground on the sidewalk rather than using backyards. Three houses down she turned hard left between two houses, barreling into the woman running. The two of them rolled, flinging apart as they skidded to a stop. The stranger yelped at the scrape of gravel on her skin.

"What the hell," She hissed, scrambling to her feet as Beth did the same.

Both girls faced each other with knives raised. "Who are you," Beth demanded. She listened to the moans of a walker nearby keeping it on her radar. They were going to have company soon.

"I was just looking, you didn't have to attack me."

They were both panting. Beth's hand twitched from the grip she had on her knife. There was too much danger around this far away from the house. If Daryl returned he wouldn't be able to see her and she had no clue what was around her.

"Are you with a group?"

The stranger huffed. "As if I'd tell you. Now, let's part ways and get out of here before we've got walkers trying to eat us."

Beth was reluctant to agree. The stranger didn't look like a threat. Beth could see the moonlight glint off the metal knife dully, the flash. The only visible weapon was the knife. Blue eyes glared Beth down from a face shadowed in the dark. Beth could make out the darker lines of scars on the woman's face but nothing else.

"Information for information," She said.

Beth paused, surprised by the statement. "What do you want to know?"

"What do you know of the white cross cars?"

Now that really had Beth pausing. "The ones that take people?" The woman nodded stiffly. "They go to Atlanta. I just got out-,"

"Is everyone from there dead?"

Beth shook her head, "No, my group negotiated by kidnapping some of their own for a trade for me and another."

A few seconds passed. The woman looked to be judging Beth's truthfulness. The stranger shifted, sheathing her knife as her posture relaxed considerably. "Damn."

"How'd you know about-,"

"Just asking around. Figure people in the area might know a little..." The woman sighed, shaking her head at the ground. "Thanks for the info. See you around."

"Wait a second- I can't-,"

"Let a threat walk away," She looked back over her shoulder at Beth as she walked away. "Get your instincts in line hon. You gotta know the good from the bad in your gut." Her eyes shifted to look past Beth. "Walker behind you."

Beth spun, bringing the knife up into the head of a man. He stiffened, his body jerking slightly as he slumped to his knees, supported only by the knife Beth had up through his chin. Blood spurted out of his mouth onto Beth's shirt.

"Oops, did I say walker?"

Yanking her knife from the dead man Beth spun to the woman ready for a fight. The stranger was gone. Beth's shoulders slumped in defeat. Her eyes drifted down to the knife, wondering what to do about the whole situation.

She blinked, holding the knife up to the light better. There was no blood. She looked down at her shirt, seeing no blood splatter. Beth turned, looking at the body lying on the ground. The uniform was near perfect except for the torn off patch of fabric where his badge should have been.

Slapping a hand up to cover her mouth was all Beth could do to keep from screaming. The air gasping into her lungs was choking her. Her heart was too loud with the sound of blood pumping roaring in her ears.

"You can't go back."

Beth closed her eyes and when she opened them again the body was gone.