Author's Notes: I guess it's not really much of a cliffhanger if I posted the next chapter a couple of hours later. OH WELL. Just consider it as my sincerest thank you for sticking around! We've made it to CHAPTER TEN guys! Thank you so much!

Safe and Sound

I remember tears streaming down your face
When you said, "I'll never let you go"
When all those shadows almost killed your light
I remember you said, "Don't leave me here alone"
But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight

Don't you dare look out your window darling
Everything's on fire
The war outside our door keeps raging on
Hold onto this lullaby
Even when the music's gone

Just close your eyes
The sun is going down
You'll be alright
No one can hurt you now
Come morning light
You and I'll be safe and sound

The crash of thunder rolled as the warm afternoon air dissipated, making way for the colder mist of bitter evening winds. The sky is glowing with the angry purple overcast of rain clouds, threatening to loom closer and begin a heavy torrent of rain. From beneath his feet stumbled an ocean of walkers, growling and struggling to reach his flesh. He was shivering, no doubt about that, but not from the cold. No, Daryl was trembling as he watched the petrified figure, delicately hanging before him.

They had been stuck in hiding above the trees for about four hours now. The adrenaline, however, had not disappeared from their systems, coming and going in waves as they feared for each other's lives. The terrifying realization that at any time, their muscles would seize, or their branches would make way, or the tree would simply topple over from the weight of walkers kept them shaking and alert. The last thing that any of them wanted to see was their companion's body falling to their doom while they helplessly watched in horror. Beth whimpered at the thought of it.

Daryl moved a finger across his lips and signaled Beth to stay silent. Beth nodded in understanding as she tried to blink away the terror taking over her body. Carefully, she lifted a bundle of rope from her pack and wrapped it around her seizing legs, effectively tying herself to the branch as security. Daryl decided to do the same for himself, only with his belt.

Just when they felt that they were both secure, the heavy downpour of rain began, quickly soaking each other to the bone. This did nothing to the walkers below them however, as they continued on their pursuit for blood at their heels. Twenty to thirty undead circled their trees, clearly focused on their preys while hundreds of them shuffled through the forest, completely unaware of their presence above.

To say that they were miserable was an understatement, as the cold of water penetrated their muscles and paralyzed them, besides from their violent shivering.

Thunder and lightning roared all around them as the hours passed. The storm a mighty tempest; relentless and merciless as it raged and howled. And in the middle of it all- of death, of terror, of pain, of bitter gusts of wind and rain- laid the both of them, yearning and struggling to reach one another. Amidst everything, they trembled, their eyes the only way they can silently communicate their mortal fear and longing.

Daryl looked around in misery, trying to find a way to close the distance between him and Beth. Beth on the other hand, just kept her head straight, concentrating on his water-blurred figure to tether herself from fading away. How could they let themselves be in this situation, so close to each other and yet so far.

They didn't dare sleep, they couldn't even they wanted to; instead they drowned on the feeling of helplessness and dread while they watched each other shiver in misery and pain, slowly waiting for the sun to return, and the dead to roam away. It was the stuff of nightmares, as the minutes dragged into hours, with no one but the dead as companion.

Beth didn't think she could make it, her body now viciously vibrating in torturous pain. Her entire body felt like lead, as pins and needles mercilessly pierced every fiber of her muscle, until her bones themselves quaked with hypothermic agony. She wasn't sure anymore whether it was her tears or the rain that blinded her, as she pressed her hands tight against her mouth to stop her cries of anguish. All she knew was that the pain was blinding, as her body ached to move before her joints completely petrify.

But just when Beth considered succumbing to unconsciousness, she felt his eyes on her from an ocean of zombies away. She narrowed her eyes, trying to see past the darkness, the rainstorm, the mist and the fog to find his storming ice-blue irises gazing back at her unwaveringly.

'Hold on'. His eyes silently pleaded as cerulean met azure. 'Please. Hold on.'

And who was Beth to refuse his heartfelt plea?

So she nodded back at him, her eyes earnest and unwavering as she tried to let him know

'Yes. I'll hold on.'

Hold on to the tree, hold on to her will, hold on to faith that they both will make it through hell and back so that they may reunite once again.

"You're gonna catch a cold if you don't quit doin' tha." He gruffed at her as she ran back and forth the rain-soaked field.

"I can't stop now, Daryl. I feel too bad for them. They're shakin' and scared." She replied as she pointed towards the frightened pigs still stuck in their pen,. "I just need t'get them in and I'm done." She continued, stubbornly pouting with her big, round cerulean eyes as she herded the livestock into the doors of their concrete prison.

He shook his head in frustration, and then gave up as he began to help the compassionate, cheerful, stubborn blonde in front of him. He grunted as he herded one of the pigs forward, refusing to look the grinning woman straight in the eyes.

" 'f Rick, finds out.. It's on you, girl." He grunted with his gravelly voice, trying to sound miserable in their absurd quest to protect the livestock in the middle of a heavy torrent during an apocalypse.

She only replied with a kiss on his cheeks, as they walked hand in hand in the middle of the pouring rain.

Beth gasped as more vivid recollections suddenly flashed back in her mind. The intensity of its return was less than the first, but she trembled all the same from the shock of it all. Once again, more images flitted hastily in the recesses of her brain, softly clicking in the crevasses of her thoughts.

Beth would have fallen down if it weren't for the rope she had used to keep her in place. As she looked around her surroundings, she realized that most of the walkers had shuffled away as the remnants of the storm dissipated with the winds. It was dawn already, and their bodies were quickly reaching their limit before they succumbed to exhaustion or illness.

Daryl signaled her that it was their chance to leave. Beth made one last sweep of the area and nodded, her shaky fingers untying her rope as Daryl unbuckled his body away from the tree. Both of their bodies violently fell to the ground, effectively knocking the wind out of their lungs and making every bone in their body twinge with pain.

They groaned, slowly trying to upright themselves and recover their weapons as they unsteadily dispatched the remaining stragglers. Their knees were trembling, their legs barely holding each other their weight as they shook from disuse and cramps. Only instinct propelled them, their minds too far gone to hold on any longer. As soon as they got a hold of each other's hands, they ran, back to the direction of their cabin where safety lay, hoping and praying to God that they do not run into any more trouble, their entwining arms serving as the only tether between light and dark.

Beth and Daryl both crashed to the floor as soon as they reached the confines of the cabin. They laid there for a few minutes, allowing their tremors to take over their pale, ghostly bodies as they fought to catch their breaths.

Finally, Beth slowly crawled to the wooden hearth and started a fire. She then slowly took off all of her soaked clothing until all that she wore was her unmatched white underwear and bra. Finally feeling the warmth of the flames caress her frozen skin, she collapsed to the floor and succumbed to the dark curtains of unconsciousness.

Daryl on the other hand remained still as he attempted to fight off exhaustion just a few minutes more. Agonizingly, Daryl lifted himself up, bolted the cabin door and then staggered to where Beth laid unconscious by the fire. With the last of his remaining strength, he hoisted her delicate figure across his arms and carried her up the stairs to the bedroom. Only when he saw that she was finally safe and securely bundled up in the warmth of the blankets did he let himself relax, and his body collapsed alongside hers as he surrendered to oblivion.

He let out a growl of frustration as he violently swung a chair against the concrete walls. It shattered and broke into pieces, catching everyone else's attention. He stood there standing, his eyes burning a hole through the wall as he contemplated breaking it with his bare fists.

"Daryl.. you have to calm down. Everyone else is worried too but getting angry isn't going to help anybody." Their fearless leader spoke, trying to console him. "You already got all the medicine we needed. It's going to work. But in the meantime, we have to keep them quarantined. We can't risk any more of us getting' sick. 'specially you."

He considered it for a second, but then he realized he didn't care.

"No, fuck this."

He swiftly shrugged off his shoulder and walked out of the room, slamming the door hard behind him. His footsteps hurried until he found himself inside Cell Block A, face-to-face with a bedridden angel fighting for her life.

Her coughing ringed across the walls. Her hazy eyes lifted to find his hands helping her to a glass of water. "Here," he mumbled, concern and fear dripping in his voice. She gratefully accepted his help as he lifted her up.

"You know you're not supposed t' be here." She croaked through dry, chapped grey lips. "Everyone's gonna see you."

" You think I give a fuck about tha' right now?" he replied, handing her more medication as he smoothed down her hair. "Ain't no way I'm lettin' you stay here alone."

"You're gonna get sick." She insisted between breathless coughs.

"Tell you what, girl, I'll make ya a deal." He murmured, waiting for her reply back. She responded with a soft nod. 'Go on.' Her eyes said.

"'If y'fight this thing off and I get it, then I'll fight it off too." He whispered, his lips touching her brows.

Needing no further explanation, she nodded once more, understanding completely what his words are truly trying to say as she felt the glide of his lips on her brow.

Beth's eyes opened when she felt the ground beneath her shake. 'Wait, this isn't the ground..' she realized, as she felt tight embrace of a blanket warmly bundled around her half-naked body. Upon further inspection, she realized that she was in the bedroom with her stoic protector shivering violently next to her. A small gasp escaped her lips when she put the pieces together and realized what Daryl had done for her.

Slowly she unbundled herself and left the confines of the bed. That was when she noticed just how pale Daryl was, as he furrowed his brows, glistening with rivulets of cold sweat. She carefully placed her fingers to his forehead, only to find that he was burning up like a furnace.

Beth hurriedly went to his unconscious body and began to strip him of his soaking clothes. One by one she slowly unbuttoned his flannel shirt until she turned him on his side so she could remove the shirt off his back.

She gasped upon the sight of his scarred skin. A flash of recognition flitted in Beth's mind as she saw more visions of her farmhouse, of fingers carefully stitching the battered back of an unconscious friend, of muted conversations about childhoods, abusive and alcoholic fathers alike, tragic deaths of mothers long lost..

'Now's not the time for that!' Beth scolded herself as she continued on his undressing, yet for some unknown reason, every part of her yearned to trace his sorrowful scars with her lips. 'Focus.' she reprimanded herself once more.

After she had set aside his shirt, she moved her fingers down the bottom of his pants. 'Don't hesitate. He needs this.' She thought to herself. Ultimately, she pushed aside any other passing thoughts or emotions as she successfully freed the ailing man of all his clothing, with the exception of his boxers. She then wrapped the rustic quilt around him, making sure that it covered him from the cold entirely.

Beth then stalked down the stairs to the living room, as she placed a bucket of water over the hearth's fire while she found the crimson handkerchief he had given her. While she waited for the water to heat,

she gingerly unclasped her bra and replaced her soaking white underwear with her grey boxer shorts. After she had finished putting on her oversized white shirt, she returned to the hearth, convinced that the water was warm enough and carefully lifted the warm bucket back towards the bedroom where Daryl remained shivering.

"Shhhh…" she murmured, trying to soothe him from whatever is haunting him within his unsconsciousness. She then dipped his-her- no, their – handkerchief into the water. As she squeezed off the excess liquid, she carefully wiped his face, arms, torso and legs, taking great pains to ensure that the water warmed his body. Finally, Beth placed the folded rectangular cloth upon his forehead and placed the blanket over him.

As the hours passed, the color in Daryl's skin returned, and his shivering alleviated; all the while Beth constantly wiped away his feverish sweat. Tenderly, she cared for him, until his delirious hands gripped her wrists and stopped her.

"Did we get away?" he murmured through his coarse breath.

"Uhuh.." she breathed, softly smiling down on his half-opened eyes.

"We only made it out alive because of you." She whispered as she continued to wipe his forehead.

He replied with a half-chuckle as he mumbled in reply.

"Uhuh.. But tha's where you got it all wrong."

Beth's hands paused once more.

"Oh yea?" she whispered, resuming on her tender ministrations as she used her other hand to rub through his half-soaked hair.

"Mmmmhmmmmmm." Daryl grumbled.

"How come?" she asked softly.

More silence passed between them.

" 'Cause I only made it out alive because of you."