Daryl woke up with a grunt. The transition from sleep to waking was abrupt and jarring. He blinked, disorientated in the half gloom. It was stifling in the room. Daryl guessed it was the late morning based on the amount of light filtering in around the curtains. He could see dust particles dancing lazily in the air, undisturbed by any type of breeze. Daryl grimaced and resolved to open a window.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and tugged on his boots, having slept in his jeans. It was the first time he had slept in the camp bed since arriving. He'd collapsed into it with little to no thought, just desperate to close his eyes and shut out his budding insanity.

As Daryl tightened his laces he cast a suspicious eye around the room. It was completely empty and he appeared to be alone. Beth was nowhere in sight.

Feeling worse than hungover, Daryl dragged his hands across his face. He felt haggard and old, and likely looked it. Whatever his mental state, it seemed the hallucinations were gone this morning. Despite his doubt he couldn't help but consider the possibility that Beth was a ghost and possibly in the room with him despite not being visible. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and he examined the empty room more cautiously. No evidence to suggest Beth was there.

He was relieved.

But also there was a twist in his stomach that was alarmingly close to disappointment. He shoved himself to his feet aggressively. Daryl felt better in motion and his mind was somewhat clearer as he thundered down the stairs.

Rick was in the kitchen, standing like he was waiting for something. His exasperated expression when his eyes locked onto Daryl immediately indicated that he was the source of Rick's consternation.

Rick's forehead pinched. "Were you still sleeping?"

"Didn't get to bed until late," Daryl fired back, anger his typical reaction when he was feeling defensive. He set about grabbing a glass of water, still marvelling that he had access to running water. In fact, he was living in a house far nicer than any he'd have dreamed of living in a decade ago. All it took was the world ending.

"Did you forget we had a meeting with Deanna?'

He had. "Shit." He took a few hurried gulps of the water and pretended not to notice that the corners of Rick's lips crept upwards. It wasn't a smile. Rick didn't smile these days.

"We're going to discuss the town's defences," Rick explained edging towards the door, clearly impatient.

"Discuss? Don't ya mean lecture?" Daryl asked pointedly. He hadn't settled into the town easily but he certainly hadn't experienced the difficulties that Rick had. He couldn't reconcile himself to the relatively lax way they viewed the threat outside the walls. They seemed almost ignorant of the dangers that this new world posed other than the walkers.

"They don't understand, Daryl. Not like we do. And worse, they don't want to understand!"

Without the beard, Daryl could see the muscle in Rick's jaw flex. Even though they were as close as two friends could be, Rick still didn't like to be questioned much these days. Daryl suspected that Terminus had destroyed something in Rick. While Daryl had learnt to trust in people again, Rick had spiralled downwards into suspicion.

In those long, dehydrated walks down the highway, the two men had recognised the other had changed. Maybe they both knew the other was slowly going insane? But Daryl had been too consumed with his grief to do much with the knowledge. And something in Rick had broken too irreparably for him to offer much in the way of comfort.

They were by themselves so it would have been a perfect time to raise any one of the myriad of issues. Daryl could have confessed to seeing Beth last night. But he remained silent, instead taking another large mouthful of water. He set the glass down with a clunk and gestured for Rick to lead on.

Rick looked relieved. Like he'd been experiencing a very similar train of thought to Daryl. A man like Rick had just as much to confess as Daryl.

Daryl followed the other man through the door to emerge into sharp sunshine. It wasn't over hot but there was a clinical clarity to the light today. It wasn't the type of day people saw ghosts on.

Daryl trailed behind Rick as he led the way to Deanna's house. He heard some kids playing off to one side and he was almost use to the laughter. The first time he heard the kids screeching in jest, he had flinched and just about fired his crossbow much to the dismay of onlooking parents.

Rick pushed open the door and announced their presence. "You get Daryl?" he heard Maggie sing out.

"I didn't know I was so in demand," Daryl grumbled, shifting his shoulders uncomfortably. He hated being the centre of attention in front of people he barely knew. Hell, he hated being the centre of attention even when he did know the people.

"He was catching up on his beauty sleep," Rick called back. His tone was flat but it was recognisable as a joke.

"Ha." Daryl's laugh was brief and sarcastic.

Deanna was there with her husband, whose name Daryl could never remember. Aaron was in the seat closest to the entrance and he offered him a wave. Maggie was obviously there as was Glenn, standing behind Maggie with his fingers braced on the back of her chair.

And next to Maggie was Beth fucking Greene. She arched an elegant eyebrow in his direction when his eyes locked on her.

"Jesus fucking Christ," Daryl spat out loudly. All eyes swivelled to him. His friends looked confused, the strangers were alarmed.

"Are you alright?" Deanna asked quickly, her kind face contorted with concern.

For a second, Daryl couldn't speak, completely fixated on the blond dead girl, casually sitting next to Maggie.

"Daryl, no one can see me. You have to talk. They think you're crazy." Beth observed this calmly, as if she were merely commenting on the weather.

He wanted to bellow back at her that he wasn't sure that he wasn't crazy any more. He was still being scrutinised closely by everyone in the room and he felt his neck burn hot.

"I stubbed my toe," he explained lamely and with far too long a delay. Even Beth winced at his shitty, awkward excuse.

"Do you… need something?" Deanna was obviously unsettled by the arrival and subsequent yelling from one of the new comers. Aaron's eyes were a little more calculating. Daryl had concluded that the man was good at reading people and he wondered now why he hadn't avoided him.

Rick started talking to ease the tension in the room but Daryl could barely listen. Beth was smirking faintly and he realised that she had enjoyed his humiliation to a certain degree. Well two could play at that game. With a dangerous glitter in his eyes, he stalked across the room. He was about to find out how Beth felt about being sat on. He knew that despite what he saw, her body hadn't manifested physically. Still, the indignation he inflicted would be satisfying enough revenge.

Unfortunately she guessed his intention and managed to scramble out of the way at the last minute. Her feet made no sound on the carpet as she hurried to stand and the fingers that grabbed out the couch made no dent in the fabric. It was disconcerting to witness as she appeared so solid but all his senses told him otherwise.

Daryl plonked himself down in her vacated seat smugly. His victory was short lived when she perched herself on the arm of the chair right next to him. With that move, he lost almost all ability to follow the discussion. Whether or not he could actually touch Beth Greene, he could sense her proximity like the heat of an open flame. She seemed to radiate energy.

Instead of paying attention, he found himself trying to remember the last time they had been this close. Was it when he carried her into the kitchen? That seemed like a hundred years ago now. He recalled sweeping her up, unnecessarily as she was obviously perfectly capable of walking. He had rationalised it in his head as teasing her but it had was also just nice to feel her against him.

He shook his head subtly and tried to return his mind to the present. Rick was negotiating with Deanna and managing to keep his calm. Daryl absently wondered why Michonne wasn't here as she was blatantly the most reasonable of the pair these days. She might have been on duty. As one of the designated law enforcers of the town, she took her job seriously. Maybe she was trusting Rick to handle it on his own. More likely she was counting on the calming presence of Glenn and Maggie. Maybe she even thought Daryl would provide the balance that Rick was lacking these days. She'd made an error there considering Daryl was bat shit insane.

Taking Beth's seat had also put him bizarrely close to Maggie. He normally wouldn't have sat this close to anyone but it was a small two seater couch designed to receive guests rather than for comfort and so his thigh was almost touching hers. If she or Glenn noticed his strange choice than they were gracefully biting their tongues and focusing on the more important issue at hand. Teaching the citizens self-defence.

Rick wanted it to be mandatory, Deanna wanted people to be able to choose. Aaron offered a workable balance. He suggested that they begin with volunteers with the view that it would become compulsory to learn some kind of weapon. Aaron's theory was that a gradual introduction to the idea and having others in the community to champion it would be useful. It was an efficient solution and it seemed to please everyone except Rick. His frustration revealed that he thought that was too little and too slow.

Daryl braced himself, waiting for Rick to blow up but his leader managed a curt nod and promised to think about it. That was all anyone had time for, everyone had jobs to get back to. Not Daryl yet. Aside from a few shifts on guard duty, he was still unassigned. Though there was Aaron's offer. He assumed Deanna had approved it otherwise he would never have heard it in the first place.

Not that he'd done much to endear himself to her today. He chanced a look at Beth but for once she wasn't staring at him like she had a secret she was unwilling to share. She appeared to be following the discussion closely and with interest. Her intensity made the corners of Daryl's mouth twitch into a barely perceptible smile. She was so easy to dismiss but Daryl knew better than most how much she learnt while she was just listening and watching.

As if she sensed his eyes on her, Beth glanced downwards and their gaze locked. Daryl felt his neck flush under her appraising stare and wondered not for the first time how this young, slip of a girl managed to throw him off balance with nothing more than a pointed look.

…

Beth trailed behind Daryl lazily as he walked the length of the walls of Alexandria. She was glad of the opportunity to see more of this town that had given her family shelter. She was content to give Daryl a bit of space too. She could tell by the tense shoulders that he knew she was still behind him.

He had stalked out of the town meeting with only a grunted explanation about guarding. Beth wished they could have lingered. She had noticed the way the leader of the group, Deanna interacted with Maggie. She obviously respected her big sister's opinion and Beth would have liked to have gleaned more about Maggie's new role in this town. But Maggie also looked healthy, well fed and well rested; almost the exact opposite of Daryl.

Daryl paused a few feet ahead of her and tugged at his shirt where the strap of his crossbow usually rested. It was a nervous habit. He turned to examine one part of the wall and its bracing.

"I suppose you thought that was funny?" he asked suddenly, eyes still searching for some kind of fault to fix.

Beth shrugged. "Got your attention, didn't it?" There was something in the quiet way he asked that made Beth instantly feel guilty. Maybe she shouldn't have done it that way, but she wanted to force him to notice her, to acknowledge her.

"And made me look crazy. Maybe I am but I prefer everyone didn't know it."

"I'm sorry," Beth offered, suitably chastened.

This got Daryl to turn his attention away from his fabricated work and look at her properly. For a second she thought he would say something but he just nodded curtly before continuing on.

Beth nervously played with the end of her ponytail before hastening to catch up with the hunter. Instead of remaining a few steps behind, she drew level with him.

"They seem like nice people," Beth observed.

The silence stretched on uncomfortably long. "They are," Daryl mumbled.

"Are you going to help Aaron look for people?" She asked.

Daryl side-eyed her. "How do you even know about that?"

Beth blushed, realising that she had just confessed to spying.

"I'm a ghost, Daryl, I hear a lot of things that I shouldn't."

"Couldn't have found something else to do other than listen to private conversations?" Daryl's tone was deadpan.

"What do you care? You're convinced I'm a hallucination. By that logic I know everything you know," Beth said primly.

Daryl raised both eyebrows at her pert response. "For the sake of this conversation, and my peace of mind, let's just say you're… real."

"That's progress," Beth shot back sarcastically. As much as she wanted to be calmly engaging with Daryl, there was something about him that constantly got under her skin.

"Where do you go when you're not with me?" Daryl ignored her acidic response.

"I check in with Maggie sometimes but you're the only one who can see me. Or at least so far."

"How long were you around before I saw you?"

"Weeks." Beth hated the way her voice caught when she answered. She sounded vulnerable.

"What have you seen?" There was an undercurrent of alarm in Daryl's question.

Beth fought off a grin. "Depends. If you accept I'm a ghost then not much. If you think I'm a hallucination, then technically I've seen everything you have."

Daryl blanched and Beth expected to feel a kind of victory at making Daryl squirm but she was suddenly struck with a strong memory of him from years earlier. She had seen the sprawl of tattoos and tangle of scars stretch down his back when he was injured on her farm. The memory no longer made her feel pity but rather fascination. The thought of tracing those lines with her fingers made her breathing quicken.

She shook her head. Not only were such thoughts of Daryl stupid, she couldn't even touch anything. Ignoring the surge of frustration in her veins, Beth tried to change the topic.

"Rick doesn't seem to like the people here?"

"It's not that," Daryl started. "Just don't think he wants to get attached to people who are likely to die."

"Maybe they won't," Beth countered. She couldn't help but err on the side of optimism. Which was ironic since she should know firsthand that anyone could die. Her optimism hadn't protected her from being shot in the head. Beth's vision blurred, first black and then with a flash of bright light. Searing pain erupted in her head and she hissed, almost doubling over.

"Are you ok?" Daryl asked with concern.

"I'm… fine," Beth tried to reassure him but the pain was getting worse.

"Beth?" His voice sounded frantic. "What's happening?"

Daryl was a blur in front of her, his hands outstretched as if to help her but unable to touch her.

Beth tried to focus on his anxious face but it was swimming in and out of her vision. With a final burst of pain that made Beth cry out and shut her eyes in agony, Beth felt the familiar prickle of electricity down her skin.

"Beth!"

Silence.

"Beth?" The voice had changed. The drawl was more pronounced and the concern had all but been replaced with mild surprise.

Beth's eyes flicked open and landed on Merle Dixon and behind him, endless white.

"Fuck!"