Beth couldn't sleep. She was finally in a bed, had a pillow and blankets to keep her warm, but she still couldn't get her eyes to stay closed. It had all been so much, so unexpected, and so completely overwhelming. She lay there, straining to keep her eyes shut, and replay the days events in her mind.

Daryl had stood in front of her, strangely dressed in what appeared to be an officers garb, staring at her as if he was seeing a ghost. She was sure she had a similar expression on her own face. When they had gotten to Washington, she never expected this. Beth never thought she would see any of her family again. But there he was, and so was she, and it was amazing and startling all at the same time.

She reached out to him without even thinking about it, and couldn't help the immense hurt she felt when he rejected her.

Beth wasn't sure why she tried to touch him. Maybe she just wanted to be sure that he was really there, and not just the product of another nightmare. She'd been having those a lot lately, and Daryl always seemed to be there. He would search for her, she'd hear him calling out to her, and as soon as he found her, she was swept away without ever being able to reach him. She had other nightmares, too, but those were the worst.

"I'm gonna go find Rick," he said briskly before turning around, leaving her standing there with her mouth half open, unsure as to what was happening. Her group came up behind her slowly.

"Who was that?," her closest friend, Teddy, asked as he came up to her side. Beth turned to him, trying to smile.

"That's just an old friend of mine. I think we're gonna be just fine here," she said to him, hoping it was the truth. The rest of the group gathered around her. "It's gonna be okay," she said addressing all of them now.

Abraham hopped down from his post and crossed over to them. He could've sent another soldier, and probably would've if seeing Daryl so mussed up didn't spark his curiosity. He walked toward Beth and extended his hand to her.

"Mornin' Miss," he said as they shook hands. "Welcome to Home Unit 15. I'm Abraham Ford," he said, waiting for a name in response.

"Beth Greene," she responded, which immediately eased his inquisitiveness. Abraham smiled at her.

"Well hot damn, little one. You're going to make a lot of people real happy." In all the mixed thoughts she was having, she was ashamed of the fact that she hadn't thought of it sooner.

"Maggie?," she asked, suddenly more hopeful then she'd been in months. Abraham nodded his head.

"Maggie. Glenn. Carol. Rick. Carl. Judith. Michonne. And you've seen Daryl already. I actually arrived here with them, and I'm sure a lot has happened since you last seen em'…" Abraham continued talking to her, like he'd known Beth for years. She couldn't listen anymore. Her head was spinning, and her ears were ringing and the next thing she knew, Abrahams face disappeared and all Beth could see was black.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

She could hear the voices above her, but she couldn't see them. Her eyes were open, right? No. Wait. They weren't. Beth fought with the back of her eyes until she could vaguely see the light.

"She's waking up," she could hear Maggie say excitedly.

"Everyone give her some space," Another voice said, one she didn't recognize. Manuela Vasquez stood next to her and took her wrist in her hand, checking her pulse to the beat of her watch. Beths eyes flitted open, making out only the shapes of the people in the room before the whole scene became clear. She was in some sort of doctors office? And she was surrounded by familiar faces, and one friendly new one.

"Beth, I'm right here," Maggie said again, coming up to her side and taking her hand.

"Maggie?," she replied.

"Yeah, honey. It's me," she said, crying happy tears. "I never thought I'd see you again. When Daryl told us what happened, how he tried to find you and couldn't, I thought…" Maggie shook her head. "Doesn't matter. You're here. And we're together again."

Beth looked around the room, seeing Rick, Carol, Michonne, Glenn, and of course, Maggie. But Daryl wasn't there. Why wasn't he there? Beth sat up, her head spinning a little.

"Lay back down, you're not well," Maggie said as she held on to her shoulders. Beth smiled at her reassuringly and took a deep breath and she threw her legs over the side of the gurney.

"I'm fine," she insisted. "I have to get to my people. They're probably freaking out right now."

"We're you're people, Beth," Maggie said in a hurt tone.

"No," Beth said, taking Maggies hand. "You're my family. They're my people."

"I'll let them know you're okay. Give you guys a few to get reacquainted," the new face said with a smile.

"They've been taken up to Conference room A." Rick said to Manuela, who nodded her understanding and headed upstairs toward the meeting room.

When Manuela left the room, the five of them took turns hugging Beth, each of them happy to see her.

"What is this place?," Beth asked looking between them all.

"I'll tell you all about it," Rick said. "But first, I need you to tell me about the group you came with."

"They're good people, Rick," Beth said firmly. Rick was slightly taken aback at the force in which she spoke those words. Beth could see it.

She supposed he wouldn't be used to her the way she was now. None of them would. Scared, innocent Beth was long gone, and this new Beth was older, stronger and more confident in herself and in who she was then any of them could've imagined. She'd seen and done a lot in the year or so they were separated.

"Who's their leader?," he asked. Beth smiled at them all.

"Me."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Listen," Beth said to her group as they waited in the conference for Rick. She had gone up to them as quickly as she could, Maggie promising that she'd be waiting for her on her next stop in the Unit. "These people here…They're good people. They're my family, and I expect you all to treat them with the respect they deserve. This is a safe place, and this is our new home."

"Don't know why we're listening to ya," came a gruff reply. Jasper had been a pain in Beth's neck since the moment they found him trapped on the top of a building that had been over come with walkers. "Ya ain't no boss a mine. Gotta git respect to earn it."

"Shut it, Jasper," came Teddy's protective voice. "Swear we should've used you for walker bait."

"I should kick yer ass jus' for sayin' it," Jasper said angrily pounding the table.

"If it weren't for Beth none of us would be sitting here. If anyone's deserved your respect, it's her," Ian's voice rang out.

"That's enough, ya'll," Beth said sternly. "When Rick walks in here, I expect ya'll to be on your best behavior. Especially you Jasper," she said narrowing her eyes at him. He angrily crossed his arms across his chest, mumbling.

Rick walked in the room, followed by a trail of people who carried different trays of food. They set them in the center of the long table and filed out of the room quickly.

"Welcome to Home Unit 15," Rick began. "I'm Unit President Rick Grimes, and I'm happy that you're here. I bet ya'll are hungry. Help yourselves."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

She had spent the remainder of the day making sure her people were settled, and then Maggie had given her a tour of the Unit.

She sat with Maggie while Supreme President Malone spoke about the loss of a man Beth had never heard of, and she could feel Daryls eyes burning a hole in the back of her head. She turned slightly to the side, briefly seeing him standing back there, and tried to calm the quick patter of her heart.

Beth had went to talk to him after. She'd thought about him every day since they were separated, and she needed to hear him say that he thought about her, too. Maggie said he had looked for her after she was taken. That had to mean something, right? But when he dismissed her so easily, almost acting as if she was a nuisance instead of a friend, she thought maybe it wasn't the case. But then the way he looked at her…

Beth hadn't been able to stop thinking about it since. Could be the reason her eyes refused to shut for the night. Once again, Daryl Dixon had her tossing and turning, and this time it wasn't even just because of the dreams. She sighed a frustrated sigh as she threw the blankets off her bed and slipped on her boots, deciding some fresh air would do her good.

The Unit was quiet as she made her way down the elevator and out the front door. She could see some soldiers patrolling the gates, but they seemed to pay her no attention, so she wandered down to where Maggie showed her the horses were kept. Beth walked into the stable and up to her mare, who was restlessly pacing in her enclosure.

"Hey, Dixie," she said as she walked up to the mare and ran her hands down her neck. The horse nuzzled into her touch. "I missed ya, too, girl." She said softly. "Mind if I sleep in here with you tonight?," she asked as she planted a small kiss on the horses cheek.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Daryl had followed her quietly. He'd been staring at her bedroom door from around the corner, still not quite believing that she was in there. Beth surprised him by coming from the room and heading toward the elevator. Daryl took the stairs, three at a time, so that he could meet her on the bottom floor without being noticed by her.

He was surprised when he saw her head toward the stable, but then he remembered the horse she'd ridden up on and it all make sense. He watched from around the corner of the wooden door, and felt himself smirk at the name she'd given the mare. Dixie. Maybe it was just a coincidence. But maybe it meant something.

It took awhile, but Daryl finally worked up the nerve, and headed toward the stall she was in. Peaking over the wooden gate, he saw he'd missed his chance for the night. Because snuggled in the collection of hay in the corner, lay Beth sleeping soundly.

A/N: So lets see.. Here's what we learned today. Beth is different. But the same. She's the leader of the group she arrived with. Eventually, we will discover how that happened. Beth and Daryl are also having the same dreams about each other. Or at least similar ones. Gotta mean something, right? This chapter was mostly just Beths memories of the day. We got to see her reunite with her family, or at least most of them, sans Carl and Judith. I will put them somewhere in the next Beth chapter for sure.

Coming up: The next chapter will probably be Stephanie based, and will be a little bit shorter. Hopefully tomorrow? I work the next four days in a row so I'm gonna squeeze it some writing where I can. Don't forget to follow and review! Have a great day, ya'll!