Beth slid from Daryl's back and limped towards a gravestone that read Beloved Father. A frown appeared as she stared at it, her mind suddenly in a fog. She hadn't really had the time to process her Father's death, and she wasn't sure she even wanted to. But reality was hitting her harder than she expected.

Daryl felt a pang of hurt as he thought of the way Hershel went. It didn't help the guilt he was already feeling, knowing that he helped murder her Father. He may not of given him Michonne's katana, but he didn't try and stop The Governor either. He didn't think he'd do it.

He found a patch of wild flowers near a broken gravestone behind him, pulling at least a dozen from the ground. He quietly walked back and laid them on top of the gravestone. It was the least he could do, for everything that he didn't do.

As he moved back next to her, her hand found its way into his and squeezed tightly. He was shocked by the touch, but he found himself liking the way it felt. The way she felt. He turned his head away from her and stared at the house, taking in the scenery while she had her moment. He grew a little worried with them out in the open, sitting ducks for walkers or people to see. He'd give her a few minutes more before saying something.

When her hand suddenly slipped from his hand, he almost protested, when he saw her lay her hand on top of the stone, and lowering her head. He wasn't sure what to do so he lowered his head, and to be honest, he wasn't even sure why he was doing it, it just felt right.

"Ready to go?" She asked, sniffing.

"Are you?"

She nodded and turned to him, her eyes a bit glossy."Yeah...I think so."

He knelt down in front of her and she hopped on, a little less enthused than before. He trudged up the small incline and finally made it to the fence surrounding the house. That's when they both realized how big the house was.

There was a two car garage off to the side of the house, and a propane tank just outside. He hoped there was a car so Beth wouldn't have to walk anymore, if not, they'd stay a few more days until she was healed, then continue.

They walked up to the front door and Beth slid from Daryl's back again, gripping the railing for support. Daryl walked up to the front door and twisted the knob, it startled them both when it opened with ease. Daryl let the door swing open and bang into the wall, waiting for anything to come into the foyer. But after a few minutes of nothing but silence, only the wind, they stepped into the house. Daryl shut the door behind them, but left it unlocked in case they needed to get back out in a hurry.

They swept the whole first floor, before moving down to the basement. There wasn't anything in the other rooms for Beth's ankle, so Daryl hoped there was something in the basement. If not, he could put together a makeshift ace bandage, but he wasn't sure how good it'd be.

When they entered the basement, there laying on a table was a walker being prepared for a burial. It was a little bizarre to Daryl that someone spent their days burying walkers. He ran his index finger along his face, scooping up at least a pound of makeup. He grimaced and wiped his hand clean on the jumpsuit the man was dressed in.

"Looks like somebody ran outta dolls to play with."

"I think it's beautiful." Beth commented, her eyes meeting his."Don't you think it's beautiful?"

Daryl felt suddenly small under her gaze. He swallowed thickly and looked down at the floor, trying hard to find his words, which seemed so distant at the moment. Maybe what he found creepy was really beautiful to others, he wouldn't know anyway, nobody cared to talk to him about death as a kid. Death was just another part of life to him.

He pushed off the wall and moved over to the cabinet behind her, he needed a distraction from the turn of events. And as luck would have it, there were a few ace bandages next to rubbing alcohol, and a bag of medical supplies. He ripped the package with his teeth and pulled out the bandage.

"C'mon." He patted the counter.

Beth hoisted herself up on the counter and carefully pulled off her boot, next peeling off her sock. Her ankle was extremely bruised, and she frowned at the sight.

"That's awful looking."

Daryl gently took her heel and began to wrap the bandage around her foot. She was surprised at how gentle he was, considering he was so rough with everything else. But she guessed everyone had a side they didn't show people too often.

"Should be good to go. Stay off it though."

She nodded and quickly pulled her sock back on, a little embarrassed by the hair on her legs. She'd been deprived of a proper shower and shaving, it shouldn't be an embarrassment to her, because everyone was deprived of those things. However she always took great care in personal hygiene, something she had to get used to not doing as of the late. She'd look to see if there was a razor somewhere that she could use, it did look like the house was recently lived in.

"You think the owner will come back?"

Daryl shrugged."Dunno. I'll deal with it if they do."

"Maybe we could ask them if we could stay for a while? We have a lot to offer."

"We'll see. I'unno if were gonna stay long."

"It's getting colder.." She tried.

"We'll see."

Beth carefully jumped down off the counter, taking one last glance at the man laying on the table, then limped towards the stairs where Daryl waited for her. He seemed to understand her more and she realized it when they were on the hunt for alcohol. There was a dead woman hanging in the country club, Daryl didn't seem to care but she did, and after she told him it mattered, he decided to help cover her.

After they made it back up to the first floor, Daryl swept the upstairs and another quick check of the downstairs again, before locking the front door. He had to make sure all the avenues were covered first, then they could relax and eat some food and maybe get a decent amount of sleep.


During dinner they were quiet, but this whole thing was new to them. It seemed almost too good to be true. A big house filled with food and water, a proper bathroom and bedroom. Stuff like this didn't happen to them, so naturally they were uneasy in their temporary home.

Beth looked up and watched as Daryl devoured some pigs feet and jelly, the combination was disgusting to her, but Daryl seemed to like it. Apparently it's what he ate a lot as a child, or so she assumed. It wasn't ever what he said, it was always what he didn't say, and that was a lot.

She smiled and put down her peanut butter, and grabbed her pad and pencil from the bag. She figured she could write a little while they had the time. There was a lot to say, after all.

But as she begun writing about their misfortunes, she decided to save it for later and write a letter to the person living here. They may never read it, but someone will, and they'd know that this house was shelter for some people passing by. She would want to know if her house provided shelter for people, as she was sure it did after they left. That's if it didn't burn down along with the barn.

"Watcha writin'?"

"A letter...I want the people to know about us and to thank them for letting us stay." She smiled tiredly.

"Think they woulda come back by now." He informed, shoving some more pig feet into his mouth.

"Well if they do come back, they'll know the house gave us shelter and food."

Daryl glanced over briefly, then back to the jar of jelly he'd just picked up."Tell ya what..." He shrugged."If they come back, we'll make it work."

"Really?"

He shrugged."Yeah, suppose so."

"What changed your mind?" She questioned, giggling slightly.

Daryl looked down, his heart suddenly skipping a beat. What changed his mind? Shit, everything changed his mind. Beth mostly. Her constant positivity, cheerfulness - it was bound to happen, for it to eat away the walls that he spent so many years building up, to finally make him see the light. Life wasn't as bad as he made it out to be, yeah it was bad now, but with hope and faith it made things a little easier.

She made things a little easier.

But he couldn't find the words to tell her how much she changed him. For the first time in his life he was afraid, not of walkers or of dying, but of a girl and what she might say if he said what he really wanted to say. So he opted out like the many times before.

"I'unno." He shrugged.

"Don't 'I'unno', what changed your mind?" She rolled her eyes.

He sighed and glanced up at her, though he held eye contact longer than he would've liked. He must've been frozen. Beth was too, he assumed.

"Oh."

Her smile slipped into a thin line, what he thought was a frown or a scowl, like she was mocking him. But then he caught the faintest smile, the same one that left her face. She was just about to say something else when the cans outside started to rattle, he instantly stood up with his crossbow and held his finger up to Beth.

He rounded the corner into the foyer and peered out of the side window by the door. The sun was just now setting, casting a pinkish glow in the sky, he glanced down at the front steps and saw a scraggly dog looking up at the door. He carefully opened the door and knelt down, the dog, curious, inched his way to Daryl's outstretched hand.

"Hey." He cooed."You belong here?"

Beth rounded the corner and gasped, she limped her way over to Daryl, her hand out and ready for the dog to sniff. The dog instantly went to Beth as if he had known her all his life. Beth laughed and scratched his head.

Daryl stepped out on the porch and scanned the area, looking for anybody that might be lurking around. For all he knew this could all be a trap. When he was satisfied that nobody was around, he walked back in and shut the door behind him.

"His name is Lucky." Beth announced with a smile."His collar says so. His owners name was Michael."

Daryl bent down and scratched the dogs head."Got one eye too. Wonder what happened?"

Beth shrugged."Probably happened before all of this. See." She brushed the hair from his eye, showing Daryl the previous wound."It's too clean and it healed nice. If it happened now, without proper equipment, the wound would be messy and probably infected. He probably would've died, depending on what happened."

"You know a lot."

"My Dad used to let me and Maggie intern at his office, we learned a lot from him."

"S'good to know...that stuff."

"I think so." She nodded."Maybe he's hungry? Oh how about the pigsfeet?"

Daryl snorted."No, nu-uh."

"Daryl they're gross, plus you have two other jars." She argued.

He grunted and walked into the kitchen."I see how this is gonna be, two against one."

She snickered."Daryl stop, you know he needs to eat. He's probably starved, poor little guy."

Daryl walked back into the foyer with a red plastic bowl and the jar of pigsfeet. The dog's ears perked up and he licked his lips. Beth sat up on her knees and scratched his head, as Daryl poured out some pigsfeet into the bowl. When he was done the dog trotted over and sniffed the bowl, curiously. He picked up a pigsfeet then dropped it, growling at it like it was the enemy. Beth snorted a laugh, earning a glare from Daryl.

"What?"

"He doesn't like it." She bit her lip.

"Well it's all he's gettin'."

"We could always go out and find some dog food tomorrow?"

He grunted."We'll see 'bout that."

Beth rolled her eyes and stood to her feet, limping her way back into the kitchen. She made a grab for the peanut butter and a spoon. She still felt the need to write the letter, just in case something happened to them. But decided to finish it before bed, that way it would feel like old times.

When their makeshift dinner was over, they made their way upstairs, dog in tow. Daryl took the first bedroom on the right, and Beth took the bedroom at the end of the hall. Lucky followed after Beth and immediately jumped on the bed, she giggled and scratched his head.

Daryl stood outside his door like an idiot, debating on saying something to her, or just going to sleep. He mentally cursed himself and ducked into his room, deciding that it would be too much to ask.

"Goodnight Daryl."

He turned his head, surprised and a little relieved."Uh, night Beth."


Bet you thought Beth was gonna get kidnapped? Lol well not in this story!

I loved that little dog btw, so I had to add him into the story :D He's going to play a bigger role than what he was on the show.

Hope you enjoyed!

Xoxo