Here is the next chapter! Hope you enjoy!

The following day the group was once again establishing the plan for finding Sophia. Daryl was in a much better mood, for him at least, because it seemed the rest of the survivors were finally taking the search seriously. Most others were going to pair off and search their own section of the grid, while Daryl decided that he would be going out on his own, knowing it was how he worked best.

He figured that since this was a farm, they should have a horse for him to take out. He didn't even bother asking the old man's permission, thinking he'd just say no. So Daryl made his way over to the part of the property where the stables were located. When he entered, he wasn't aware that Beth was tending to a horse. He walked to one of the stalls and choosing a random horse. He led it out and was going to start preparing to set out when out of the corner of his eye, he saw another stall door open. Beth stepped out and raised an eyebrow at him. He was at least somewhat grateful she didn't immediately start in on him. He shrugged at her and started looking around for a saddle.

It was obvious to Beth that Daryl had not asked permission to borrow one of their horses. If he had, then he certainly wouldn't be saddling up Nelly, the most skittish of the bunch. She figured she should at least warn him. "You know, you probably shouldn't-"

He cut her off, assuming she was going to say he shouldn't be taking out one of their horses. "You should probably mind your own business!"

Beth's eyes widened, starting to realize that Daryl was somewhat of an unpredictable spirit. One minute he would be fine, and then next, he had snapped. The good girl in her wanted to try once again to warn him, but the woman in her won out. "Fine."

She turned around and went back to the horse she had previously been taking care of, leaving Daryl to do whatever the heck he wanted, he'd find out soon enough why they called her Nelly.

A few moments later, Daryl was leading the horse out and passing by the stall that Beth occupied when he stopped. He pushed open the door, she stopped brushing the horse and looked towards him. "Surprised you're even in here. Your little boyfriend is planning on going out with the others today."

Beth's brow furrowed, giving him a look of confusion. "Wait...what?"

He just nodded, knowing she didn't really expect him to repeat what he had said. She dropped the brush and pushed past Daryl, her hands making contact in his chest to gently shove him to the side, running out of the stables to probably go find the dumbass kid. Neither of them paid attention to how Daryl didn't even flinch when her hands made with him.

As luck would have it, Daryl did quickly find out just how jumpy the horse could be. He had been searching the woods for a couple hours when something caught his eye. Down by a small body of water, there was a doll. He was sure it was the one that Sophia had been carrying around. He was able to retrieve the doll, but when he got back on the horse, ready to continue his search, a snake slithered through the brush making the horse freak out and rear back, throwing Daryl off. He tumbled over a ridge and landed hard. His head was spinning but he could swear he was wet. It took him a few seconds to realize he was in the shallow water.

Next, he felt an intense pain in his left side. He looked down and saw one of his own arrows protruding from his flesh. He groaned, wanting to kick his own ass. It was fucking embarrassing to realize you had fallen on one of your own weapons. "Son of a bitch!" He slowly made his way to his knees and began ripping the sleeves off of his shirt. The one time he decides to wear a real long sleeved shirt...

He wrapped the fabric around him, trying to stabilize the arrow and minimize the blood flow. When he moved, he winced. He finally made it on to his feet when he realized his crossbow was missing. He wanted to curse, but thought that maybe screaming 'shit' at the top of his lungs might injure him further. After locating it with a large stick, he slowly began to ascend the ridge. God must have been mighty pissed off at Daryl that day, probably for always bein' such an ass to the farmer princess. He lost his grip and once again slid down the side of the ridge, losing consciousness once he hit the bottom.

Daryl awoke later, no telling how much time had passed. When he opened his eyes, his whole body felt like it was on fire, but it was no match for the chaos going on inside his mind. Right in front of his face was his brother.

"Why don't you pull that arrow out, dummy? You could bind your wound better." Easier said than done. Of course the first words out of his mouth would be some smart ass advice.

"Merle." He was happy to see his brother, even if it meant he had finally gone insane.

"What's going on here? You takin' a siesta or something?"

Daryl fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Shitty day, bro."

"Like me to get you a pillow...maybe rub your feet?"

Daryl scoffed. "Screw you."

"You're the one who is screwed by the looks of it." Asshole had a point. "All them years I spent tryin' to make a man out of you, this is what I get? Look at you...lying in the dirt like a used brother. You're going to die out here, brother." Daryl wanted to thank him for the vote of confidence, but his mind zeroed in on the burning sensation in his abdomen. "And for what?"

He was able to speak, but his voice came out scratchy and weak. He sounded like a pussy. "A girl. They lost a little girl."

"So you gotta thing for little girls now? How about that jailbait back at the farm?"

"Shut up." The last thing he wanted to be doing right now was think about Beth.

"Yeah, I don't blame you baby brother. I don't know if I could pass up that opportunity either. Although, I have to say I don't think you're quite man enough." In this moment, Daryl wished that Merle wasn't just a defense mechanism his body had come up with. If only so he could punch him square in the face.

The rest of the conversation was fuzzy, but Daryl did finally realize that a walker was making a meal out of his boot. He snapped out of his imaginative haze and managed to kill the walker, and it's friend too. In the process, he had been forced to rip the arrow out of his side, leaving the hole now exposed. He retied his makeshift bandage and wanted to curse Merle for being right, but he was no longer here. Never really was.

Merle would emerge once again, whooping his mental ass, pushing him to get up the ridge. He finally made it up and rested at the top, trying to catch his breath. The trek back to the farm was long, and he felt like hell by the time he made it back. He must have looked pretty scary because Rick and some of the others ran up to him, his gun aimed at his face. Daryl made a smart mouthed comment, almost daring Rick to shoot him. He didn't expect a shot to come, but it did. His head burned and for a second it felt like it might explode. He tried telling Rick that he had just been kidding before he passed out.

Beth was on the porch when she saw some of the guys carrying Daryl back to the house. She put her hand over her mouth and suppressed the urge to vomit. He looked like a walker and she prayed to God he wasn't dead. She briefly heard them say something about the bullet grazing him and she let out a breath of relief. She really should have told him about that stupid horse.

Things will be starting to get more comfortable between Beth and Daryl in the next few chapters...a friendship born! Just wanted to remind you that this is a romantic Bethyl fic but it will be eventual. My characters will be OOC at times (for the good of the story), but I want it to be as believable as I can make it!