Chapter 4: Intentions

Beth knew her parents would not approve at first of her spontaneous trip but she finally convinced them that she needed to do this. After Beth tried to opt out she would not leave her room for days. She just knew that traveling was what she always wanted to do and she was ready to see the world. She explained to her parents who she was going with and they seemed to settle down.

She wondered if her parents knew him but she was not going to question it. They were trusting her and she was trusting Daryl. Her mom and dad had only one request before she left, invite Mr. Dixon to dinner, so she did.

The night before she left on her big trip, Daryl stopped by. He introduced himself to Mr. and Mrs. Greene and they all sit down and ate a big supper. Beth could not help but sneak small glances at the man sitting across from her. She just wanted to know everything about him and hopefully this trip will provide her the opportunity to do so. She is not one bit worried about this adventure because she trusts Daryl wholeheartedly, she knows that he is a good person.

As everyone finishes their dessert, Hershel asks to speak with Daryl outside. She can't help but wonder what her daddy is talking to him about. Will her refuse to let Daryl take her? Is he telling him about her past? Is he scolding him for asking her to go with him? As she bites down on her lip she hears the screen door open and the men walk back in. She looks to Daryl and his face is void from any emotion but her daddy is smiling that must be good, right?

"Bethy, I was just telling Daryl about the time when we thought you went missing.

"Oh daddy, you didn't have to tell him that," she acclaimed. She knew she was blushing. Beth looked to Daryl who seemed to find this whole interaction quite interesting because he had one eyebrow raised and a slight tug on his lips. Hershel filled the silence, "Beth why don't you tell Daryl goodnight and then go to bed and get some rest. Morning will be here before you know it."

Beth knew her daddy was right but she did not want to see Daryl leave, she was having a good night. She walked him out to his motorcycle.

"Hey Daryl."

"Yah Beth?"

"What were you and my daddy talking about?"

He looked to the ground and mumbled, " 's just telling me to look out for ya on our trip."

She had the feeling he was holding back but she was not going to nag him about it instead she gave him a small hug, which surprised them both, and told him she would see him in the morning. As she walked back to the house she found herself smiling. Tomorrow was the day that her life was going to change.

Daryl got a call from Beth telling him that her parents wanted to meet him. Well that should be expected, right? He was determined to make this trip the best for her, it's just something that he felt like he should do.

Daryl used to be a park ranger in the famous Yosemite National Park. He was going on his tenth year of being a park ranger when a child in the park went missing. Her name was Sophia and she had blonde hair and freckles according to the picture her mom showed him. Daryl guessed that she couldn't be over 10 years old. Daryl knew that he was capable of finding her. He had been an expert on tracking and hunting ever since he was a little boy. That's about the only good thing his no good father ever taught him to do. Carol, the little girl's mother, came to him as soon as she realized her daughter was missing. She was frantic but Daryl made a promise to her that he was going to find her girl. He quickly called 911 and requested for search teams. As soon as he hung up the phone he demanded for Carol to point him in the direction she last saw her daughter. Daryl began to track her trail as the sun started to set. He knew he couldn't track in the dark so he climbed a tree and rested for the night. As soon as daylight broke he was off again on the mission of finding Sophia. However, he was too late. Daryl came across the river when he saw a patch of blood on a rock. His stomach sunk and he knew that the situation couldn't be good. He quickly searched the river when he noticed her small unmoving body. As he got to her he checked for a pulse and realized that the young girl did not make it. It was all his fault. If he would have kept searching in the dark then she wouldn't be dead. Daryl was never good with talking about his emotions. He resigned from being a park ranger because the pressure was too much. He failed once and he would do it again. His mind never seemed to stop replaying the scene over and over again and thinking about the what ifs. He eventually moved back to Georgia and followed his brother around because he did not know what else to do with his life. Merle always seemed to be doing something and Daryl just needed to get his mind off of the terrible situation that occurred.

The reason he decided to help Beth was because he couldn't help Sophia. That little girl would never grow up and get to check things off her bucket list. She died and it was his fault. Maybe he was being given a second chance at making things right. He could do this, he knew he could. He needed to help Beth. When Hershel Greene asked his intentions of taking his baby girl all across the country he told him the truth. He asked politely for Hershel not to tell Beth, he would not accept her pity. Her father was a man of honor and he knew he could trust him to keep his secret safe.

When Beth hugged him goodnight, he didn't know what to think. He cannot remember a single time in his life when someone hugged him. He really didn't know how it worked so he just put his arms on her elbows, holding her against him. Beth pulled away and he could tell she was slightly embarrassed. Oh well. They were going to have to get to know each better if this trip was going to work. He mumbled his goodnight and rode off in the moonlight.

Morning came faster than expected and Beth could barely contain her excitement. It was seven and she was sitting on her porch with a mug of coffee and her suitcases sitting next to her. She saw a blue truck coming down the road and assumed it was Daryl. She quickly got to her feet and raced to meet the driver of the truck. Daryl literally looked like he just rolled out of bed but that did not stop the butterflies from flying around in her stomach. She rambled about how excited she was as he remained silent. She made a mental note that Daryl was most certainly not a morning person. She invited him in for breakfast where her momma was making pancakes and her daddy was reading the newspaper. Hershel looked up and greeted Daryl and he mumbled a good morning back.

After everyone ate as much as their stomachs could hold, Beth and Daryl said their goodbyes. The two discussed that they would be gone for about a year and Beth promised her parents that she would stay in contact. As Daryl and Hershel packed her suitcases in his truck she hugged her Momma one more time. Annette took her by surprise and gave her a new Nikon camera and told her to take a lot of pictures while she was gone.

Beth did not go to college right after she graduated, it was something she never really considered. She was finally going to put college tuition to use and this trip was going to be remarkable. Daryl said that the first place she should see was Florida. He said it was beautiful, so the first stop on the trip was going to be the Sunshine state. Beth was in charge of the radio and she was humming along with her song choice.

"Sing." She looked to him and asked, "Are you serious?"

"Wouldn't say it, if I didn't mean it." Ok, he asked her to sing so that is what she did.

see under water and

The wind, the wind is the only sound

Take your hand and I go under

I'm wandering about

Take your hand and I go under

I'm wandering about

On the river

I'm floating in on the water

I'm diving into the ocean

A thousand black water lilies

As the song came to an end she asked what he thought. Beth was a little bit nervous to hear his reaction but she was surprised when he grunted, " 's nice."

Somewhere along the way Beth fell asleep and she was woken with a slight tap on her shoulder. She looked around and saw palm trees and she turned to Daryl and smiled.

"Thought you would want to stop and get ya some Florida orange juice. Never personally had any but I heard it's the best," he stated.

She batted her eye lashes at him, "Well Mr. Dixon, we must try this orange juice."

Beth hopped out of the car and started to follow Daryl but she stopped. "Wait Daryl, we have to get a picture in front of the sign!"

Daryl shook his head. Nope she was not going to have it. She grabbed his arm and dragged him to the Welcome to Florida sign.

He was being childish and mumbling under his breath. "Beth, do ya want ya camera to break?" She looked at him confused, not understanding what in the world he was talking about. He must have realized he needed to explain further because he continued, "that's what's gonna happen if I'm in the picture." Oh. So he had a since of humor, she laughed. As she politely asked someone to take a picture. Daryl stood on one side and she stood on the other smiling as Daryl frowned. Well he looked real happy. As they tried the orange juice she would have to agree that it was simply the best and she couldn't help but wonder what Daryl thought of it so she asked him. He replied with a, " 's good." My goodness this trip was going to be a long one especially if he only spoke two words the whole time.

"Where are we going?" The curiosity was killing her.

He would not answer her. The quietness consumed them once again but it was not awkward, it was comfortable. Beth watched as the palm trees passed by.

"Daryl, where are we going? She was impatient, she just wanted to know.

" 's a surprise." Okay so that's how this was going to go. She grinned at him and turned her head to look back out the window. She knew that agreeing to go on this trip was quite possibly the best decision she has ever made.

Author's Note: Finals are over and graduation is tomorrow! I am so happy to be back at writing this story and I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Stay tuned to see where Daryl is taking Beth. Thank you all for reading and please let me know what you think!

The song in this chapter is: Black Water Lilies by Aurora (check it out, you won't regret it)