Over 50 reviews! I'm so thankful for such wonderful readers. I apologize for the lateness of this chapter. Last week we had a death in the family and I needed the time to process before I could get back into writing. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

I also wanted to let you know that in the next couple of chapters there will be discussions of childhood rape (used as an opportunity for character growth). It won't be graphic or in much detail. I know that you all have seen the final episode of Season 4 (and if you haven't then this story has been the biggest spoiler in the world. Sorry), and that I've written about sexual assault, but two characters need the opportunity to heal, which is why I'm writing this into the story. I just wanted to warn you all before reading.

Thank you again for all of your support and reading! I really appreciate it. As always, feedback is appreciated.

Till then I'll make my bed from a disused car
With a mattress of leaves and a blanket of stars
And I'll stitch the words into my heart with a needle and thread
Don't you cry for the lost
Smile for the living
Get what you need and give what you're given
You know life's for the living so live it
Or you're better off dead

-Passenger, Life's For the Living

The night air was cool against their skin, but the fire they had built was warm enough that the felt comfortable as they sat around it. It wasn't a large fire, but it was bright enough to shed light around them, and to warn them of encroaching danger.

Daryl hunted up enough food for them to eat that night, and Michonne, Carl, and Beth had collected some berries for them to eat for desert. While the nights were getting colder, the wild fruits were ripe for picking. Rick was quiet for most of the day, but Beth could see the cogs in his brain working. She knew that he would approach her about heading towards Terminus before long. She knew that with the winter coming on that Rick would want to find someplace to settle, and they currently had nothing to fortify themselves, and nowhere to go.

She was hesitant, however, about large enclaves of people. In fact, she was hesitant in that moment of any person she didn't know, and hadn't known for some time. It was a major change in Beth's disposition, but after she and Daryl met two groups of people who wanted nothing more than to kidnap her or claim her, it was a change that she felt she needed to make to stay alive for more than just another day. She needed safety, and she needed security. The only security she currently had was Daryl Dixon, Rick and Carl Grimes, and Michonne. The security she wanted was that of her father, who was dead, and her sister, who was missing. She would take the security she had if it meant never belong to a marauding group again.

She looked over at Daryl in the fading light of the campfire. His cheekbones cast shadows to the hollows of his cheeks, making him appear gaunter than he was. Stubble was starting to grow back on his sunken cheeks, with flecks of gray beginning to appear closer together. He looked up and caught her eye, and the corners of his mouth twisted into a small smirk only she saw.

Carl's head was on Rick's lap, and the older man carded his fingers through his son's long hair. Michonne was sitting next to him, twisting the roots of her dreads, making them tighter and appear well kept. Daryl walked over and offered Beth a bottle of water and a wash cloth.

"How's the shoulder?" It had been their routine for a few days now. Daryl would let her clean the wound and he'd bandage it for her with a clean wash cloth.

"It's starting to look a little infected." Beth said, biting her lip.

"What happened?" Michonne asked.

"Got shot." Daryl answered leaning into Beth for a closer look. He frowned when he saw that not only was the wound pink, but it was also starting to look a little puffy.

"If it's infected, birch sap can help." Rick offered, looking up at the two.

"How'd you get shot?" Michonne asked in shock.

"Birch sap?" Beth asked, pulling her sleeve back over her shoulder, deciding to wait a few minutes to change the dressing. "Before we met up with Joe's gang, I was almost kidnapped, but got shot instead. Daryl saved me."

Rick and Michonne looked at each other and turned to look at Beth. "Neither of you thought to mention this? What if they're looking for you?"

"Daryl took care of them." Beth said quietly. "Why will birch sap help?"

Rick respected her right to leave the story there, but he would follow up with Daryl later. He needed to make sure the people that attempted to kidnap Beth weren't a threat. "It's an antiseptic. It'll stop infections."

"I'll go find a birch tree." Daryl said, picking up his crossbow and hoisting it onto his shoulder.

"I'll go with you. Carry the flashlight." Daryl wanted to protest, but nodded in agreement when he saw that Beth wasn't going to back down.

"These woods should be full of 'em." Rick said. "Saw plenty throughout the hike."

They walked silently through the woods, each step slow and deliberate. They wanted to be sure that they could hear any creature, living or dead, move around them. Beth had become better adept at moving silently through the forest. Each step was cautiously placed behind Daryl's; noting each twig that was dry enough to crack, and the leaves that were likely to crunch.

He hadn't heard anything move. Not a whisper was out of place, and he was thankful for the churr of the cicadas that only went silent as they passed. They would alert him of other movement in the forest. He had noticed that when there were walkers about, sometimes the forest would warn him by going silent, as if it understood the unnaturalness of the dead rising up and walking.

"Daryl," Beth whispered, moving closer into step with him. He turned his head to look at her and then he checked their surroundings. Everything appeared fine. It must be the dark cloak of the night that caused her to speak softly, as if she were afraid to shatter the peace around them.

"y'alright?" He asked. He stopped walking and took Beth in. Her arms were wrapped around herself in a gentle hug, and her teeth caught her lip. After their time with Joe and his group, Beth realized how tactile she was, and how much she needed to be touched. When she was with her father and sister, she was hugged and touched frequently. Daryl was getting used to touching her. He wasn't typically tactile, but he was learning to be with Beth. She needed it, and he realized that he needed it as well.

She wanted to tell him that she was afraid of him pulling away now that they were back with Rick, Carl, and Michonne. She was also afraid that they would never get back the connection they had felt back at the funeral home before she was kidnapped.

Daryl could see that she was worried about something, and the only thing he could do was pull her close. "We're gonna be all right, Beth." He held her for a long while, and he rubbed her back soothingly.

"Can I ask you somethin'?" Beth asked from under his chin.

"Mm?"

"Back at the cabin… 'djoo mean ta kiss me?" Daryl chuckled.

"Guess we ain't had time to talk about it, huh?" Beth shook her head. "Yeah, I guess I did."

"You, uh, are you ever gonna do it again?"

"Mm, might do. If it's okay with you." Daryl didn't make a move to claim her mouth, but his hands gripped her arms tighter.

"It's okay with me." Daryl smiled and rested his chin on top of Beth's head. He was content holding her for right now.

"That what you were worried about?"

"Not really, but it was somethin' I was thinkin'." Daryl pulled back a little and looked at her face.

"What were you worryin' about?"

"That Rick's gonna make us go to Terminus. I know why. We aren't ready for winter, and it'll come fast. Without the prison stores, it's gonna be like that first winter again. We won't be able to survive. It's just that…" She took a deep breath and looked into Daryl's eyes, "I'm scared."

"Why are you scared?"

"The last two times we met anyone else… I nearly got raped. Carl nearly got raped. You and Rick and Michonne nearly got killed. What if this group isn't good? What if they're not like us?"

Daryl hugged her close again. "We wouldn't go into it blindly. They've got a set-up. Set-ups mean that we can see them before they see us. I wouldn't go into this without checkin' 'em out first. And if they ain't good, then we go with them none-the-wiser."

"We won't go in if they don't look good?"

"'course not." Beth nodded and sunk back into Daryl's arms with a huge weight off her shoulders.

"Let's look for that birch tree, hm?" Daryl said, giving her a little tighter squeeze before releasing her and pulling away.

They found a birch tree soon enough, and made their way back to the fire. Beth was content with Daryl's answers to her questions, and she was happy to know that the kiss they had shared was not a single moment that would be lost as time passed. The single question that remained was when he would kiss her again. Beth wondered if she would have to be the one to kiss him when the time came.

The birch sap had felt cool on her heated flesh, and Daryl noted that they both should keep an eye on her wound to fight off infection.

Carl had moved away from his father's lap, and he was finally eating something. Michonne encouraged Carl to eat the food the rest had put aside for the young man. As he picked at the skinny squirrel Daryl had killed and cooked, he sat deep in contemplation. His mind was working on something that Daryl had said back in the car right after the Claimers had attacked.

"What did you mean to trust you?" He asked, the first words out of his mouth since the night before. "Back at the car, you said I'd get through it and to trust you. Why should I trust you?"

"Carl." Rick warned. "Daryl is our friend, our family. We trust him because he's our family. Don't take that tone."

Carl ignored Rick and focused his eyes on Daryl. "What did you mean?" He demanded the hunter to tell him.

"Carl-"

"Rick, it's okay." Daryl put a hand on his brother's arm and sighed. "You're angry. Good. Get fuckin' angry. Get really fuckin' angry because what that fucker did to you wasn't somethin' that's okay."

Beth could see Daryl's hackles rising, and she could see the anger rising off of him like they rose off of Carl. Both of the men were angry. She understood Carl's anger, but was confused by Daryl's anger.

"Daryl, what—" She reached out toward him.

"Don't. Carl, that guy was fucked up. There are men is this world that are fucked up and they'll always be fucked up. It ain't on you."

"Daryl?" Rick questioned, recognizing something in the younger man that he had experienced a few times in his life before as he worked as a cop. Suddenly, Daryl's life made just a little bit more sense, and Rick could do nothing but admire the man that stood before them today.

"It happened to you too?" Carl asked.

Daryl nodded, his bluster deflated immediately. "Yeah."