~+~Author's Note~+~

Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead.

Hey, guys! So I know the last chapter was posted late, so I wanted to get this one out earlier in the day. Thank you for another review, SaraiVe! I appreciate your keeping up with me and the story! And thank you to everyone who is reading this, whether you've been keeping up with me or just now came across Accidents Happen. If you have the time to post even a small review, it really makes my day! I'm not giving anything away for this chapter in my note except that it's about 3k words, and I hope you enjoy it!

"Beth!" a voice whispered, seemingly for the second time due to the raised volume, and it pulled her from her sleep.

"Mm..." she moaned. "Hm?"

"Beth," this time, she could tell it was her sister. "I'm sorry to wake you, but..."

Beth turned to face her, alarmed when she heard her sniff—it sounded like she was crying.

"What's wrong?" she asked frantically.

"My test... it was positive," she replied, and her body shook with a sob. "Glenn doesn't want me to keep it."

Beth instinctively shot up and looked at her, but where her gaze fell, no one was occupying the space. Looking around with creased brows, she pushed her blanket off her. Clearly, it had been a dream, but it seemed like it was reality. She held her hand out in front of her and then pinched her cheek (she never knew if that really worked or not, but she definitely felt the pinch). Now, she supposed she was actually awake.

She shook her head as she left her room and walked out to find Maggie. Her sister's unmistakable laugh fell on her ears, and she felt somewhat at ease; her dream really had to have been a dream.

"Oh, Beth!" Maggie exclaimed and rushed to meet her before pulling her out into an empty hallway and whispering, "It was negative."

Sighing audibly in relief, Beth hugged her sister tightly.

"Well, you don't have to seem too excited about it," Maggie teased and pulled on her ponytail.

"Sorry," Beth laughed as she collected herself. "I just had a bad dream, so I guess I needed a hug."

She was getting better at the whole lie-of-omission thing. Really, though, she couldn't tell if that was a bad thing or a good thing. She did feel guilty about it, but there was no sense in panicking her sister when she had finally calmed down. Even the smallest thing such as that might set her off.

"I kinda wish it wasn't, but I know you and Glenn would be so worried... I dunno when we'll have another chance like this, though," she sighed.

"Well," Beth paused, "maybe when this whole thing is over."

Looking up at her, her sister asked expectantly, "You think this'll eventually end?"

She nodded and gave her another hug with the intense wish that her own words were true.

Her sister left to join the rest of the crew to finish her meal while Beth lagged behind. In the corner of her eye, she saw a brief glimpse of the definitive crossbow and vest of Daryl Dixon, and she slowly meandered toward his direction. When she turned the corner, she thought she lost him, but she heard a slight scratching noise, as though something brushed the wall. That struck her as odd since Daryl was a very light stepper and was, unlike her, not the least bit clumsy.

Something didn't feel right about just walking up to him straight away, especially when she heard whispering, so she went around from the other way to look in first. She felt like she was being snoopy, but she didn't want to alarm him, either; however, what she witnessed caused her instead to become alarmed, and her eyes widened as she beheld the scene before her in the darkness of the prison.

"—not a single one, or I swear, you'll wish you were dead," Daryl snarled.

The other man smirked and murmured something she couldn't quite understand, and that seemed to enrage Daryl as he pulled him away from and slammed him back into the wall.

"Don't forget I know how to hunt animals," he hissed angrily, "n' I won't put you outta yer misery before skinnin' yer hide."

Although she had no idea why Daryl was threatening him, she felt a cold shiver as goosebumps formed on her skin at his cruel words. As her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, her curiosity had shifted her focus to the man at the receiving end, and she recognized him as the same one who was flirting with her just the day before. Daryl shoved the man aside and began taking off in her direction, and she inhaled sharply in panic. Immediately, she backed away behind another corner, hoping beyond hope that he would pass the way she came originally. She knew he would hear her running away even if she tried, so this was her best chance at remaining unseen.

She closed her eyes and steadied her heartbeat and breathing as he passed, and, to her evident relief, he turned the other corner. Holding her hands over her heart, she tried to digest what she had just seen. If only she had heard what the other man said...maybe she would have known what they were talking about. Was he that upset over his flirting with her?

Later that morning, the sun beat down as she pushed herself away from the grass only to breath in the smell of the earth the next second. Push-ups weren't the easiest thing, but she was able to achieve a higher number of them than she had in a long time (maybe ever). She was also able to run for longer periods of time and faster already, and she took off on a second set of laps after her final round of push-ups was completed. It would only be a matter of time before she could go out with the others, but part of her was still stuck on something stirring within the prison.

Wiping the sweat from her brow, Beth paused from her rigorous workout to look at Daryl for a moment. He seemed a little preoccupied, but when he noticed she had stopped, he ordered her to move on to the next activity. She didn't comply readily, and his gaze wandered questioningly over her.

"Ya hear me?" he asked, squinting at her.

"Yeah... yeah, I heard ya," she answered and looked away. "Sorry."

Walking up slowly, he crossed his arms and observed her, questioning, "What's eatin' ya?"

"What, um..." she started, but suddenly, her focus shifted. "What's the end goal? Like... when will I be ready?"

His eyes flashed momentarily with a hint of disbelief, but instead, he went with what she was asking then, probably considering her original question as aiming for his conversation with her father.

"Ya just started, girl," he said with a small smile as he rubbed his thumb at the side of her nose.

Twitching it in agitation, she added, "I know, but I want to be ready and go as soon as I can."

He nodded as his gaze appeared far-off. When he mentally returned to her, he gave her a small smile.

"Y'know what works out the entire body at once?" he asked seriously.

"What?" she humored him.

As he leaned over, he whispered one little word into her ear, and she stood there, stunned, until color rushed through every corner of her face.

"Daryl!" she exclaimed and slapped his shoulder, forcing a laugh out of him at her expense. "It's not funny! I was being serious!"

"So was I," he said with a wink which obviously indicated he wasn't.

"Ugh!" she groaned and buried her face in her hands. "I'm done for today."

He laughed again, only evidenced by small breaths and shaking shoulders as his hand covered his mouth, and she fled the scene. It was hard to believe that was the same Daryl Dixon whom she saw earlier that morning; the first one caused fear to burn through her while this one made her want to slap him out of sheer embarrassment. She was going to help him read today, but she was no longer in the frame of mind to do so.

When she came back inside, she noticed the man she saw Daryl threaten talking with her father. Her heart fell at the thought of his saying something about the incident and creating a large commotion. Daryl had not always been held in the highest regard in the group as he was now, and she didn't want anything to jeopardize his position. Instead, though, it seemed like the guy was talking with a grin and laughing with Hershel, so she blew out a breath and felt somewhat more at ease. Still, looks could be deceiving, so she walked up to join in the conversation.

"Hey, Annie," he said with a wink, and she immediately turned her glance to her father.

"Whatcha talkin' about?" she asked him and gave him a hug in an attempt to show the other guy that he was not even on her radar.

"Ah, Ian here was just sayin' he worked as a hygienist—for a dentist," he clarified as he raised his eyebrows approvingly at the occupation choice at the man.

Her heart skipped a beat. Was her father implying something? She brushed off the idea when she remembered her father's disliking the idea of her romantic involvement with anyone at all.

Shaking her head, she smiled and said with no small amount of sarcasm, "I'm sure that was fascinating."

Although she had not once looked at him, Ian nodded his head.

"Actually, it was. Don't have the equipment here for it, but I wouldn't mind doing that to earn my keep. It's easier with electricity, of course, but I don't mind taking the extra time," he said as his eyes focused on her, and her glance caught his own.

His constant gaze was unnerving—it made her want to flee—and his implications repulsed her.

"Where did you come from?" she asked to change the subject, adding, "I can't place the accent."

"I'm from here, but I've been around," he said with a smile. "Well, not here, per se. Never been in a prison before this, actually."

Despite her obvious fascination, or lack thereof, with his life story, she indicated to them she had other things to do and shortly took her leave.

"Don't you worry! I will not rest until every mouth is cleansed of the apocalypse," he joked while she walked away.

"Dear diary, I had another eventful morning. Maggie says she's not pregnant, and that put me at ease after a nightmare in which she really was and Glenn didn't want her to have the baby. She told me before that he didn't seem okay with the idea, so that's probably why I had that dream (maybe even that I'm not okay with it, either), but I'm glad that she's not! So glad.

I saw Daryl almost attack one of the men here. He slammed him against the wall when he said something he didn't like, but I couldn't hear it—he was the guy who was flirting with me. I really hope that's not what set him off to do it, but if it isn't, I really have no idea what it's about. It doesn't seem like the guy, Ian, has told anyone, so I hope it stays that way... The last thing we need is strife within the prison walls.

…

I'm sorry, diary. It's been a couple days since I've touched you, but there really hasn't been anything really worth writing about going on. Mika and I have been playing together lately, of course with Carol and Judith present, and Carl seems to be floating around here and there with us and the other kids, too. I kinda hope he reaches a place where he feels like he belongs.

Ian's been hanging around us, too, and it feels like I'm constantly being watched when he's around, even when I know he's not looking at me. It's really weird; I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it. I really don't know what it is, although it's probably the fact that Daryl went after him like that, but I feel very uneasy around him. I kind of wish he would just go away or keep to wherever he was before he made his presence known to me.

I haven't seen much of Daryl outside training, either. I'd chalk it up to his being busy, but I'm not really sure what it is. I really, really miss him, though. I've tried to catch up with him, but it's extremely hard to even catch a glimpse of him. He's got some excuse when I try to follow him after training, so we have had zero alone time. I feel lonely without our talks and, I won't even lie, without his affection.

We're having a meeting today about the next run, so I guess we'll see where that goes."

Some time after her most recent entry, Beth was sitting by herself in the library, reading one of the books she had already read before, when Maggie came up to her with a smile on her face. Lifting her gaze from the book to her sister's face, she waved at her and turned back to the page she was on.

"Hey," Maggie called, gently pushing her sister's shoulder a bit. "What's goin' on with you?"

Sighing, she slowly replied, "I'm just not feeling it today."

"Well, what's wrong?" her sister asked with concern and took a seat next to her. "You can tell me."

Giving her a doubting look, Beth remarked, "I don't think I can."

Maggie's faced turned downward as her lips pressed together. It seemed she was thinking of something to say when she suddenly hopped up.

"I know!" she exclaimed, startling Beth. "How about I promise not to tell, and you have to hold me to something so I absolutely cannot tell."

Snorting in laughter, Beth rolled her eyes and looked away, but she felt her sister's steady gaze on her and knew she was genuinely serious.

"Like what?" she asked as she threw her hand up.

"Well... I dunno... Like some dirt you have on me or somethin'," her sister's voice slowly grew weaker through the sentence, her idea having been seemingly shot down.

"So... If I said I would tell the entire prison that you're expecting or something like that, you wouldn't squeal on me?" Beth asked, unbelieving.

Maggie's face brightened a shade of red when she replied rather quickly, "But I'm not!"

"Like anyone else knows that?" Beth retorted with a wink.

Her sister looked down at the table and slowly started to shake her head.

"I don't think that's good enough. Try somethin' else," she encouraged.

She rolled her eyes before closing them in thought, bobbing her head slightly back and forth until a smile came to her face with an idea.

"How about I tell Glenn about that one time... You remember that red truck?" Beth asked. At her sister's hesitation, she added, "Freckles..."

"Why would you tell him that?" Maggie cried in panic.

"I wouldn't, unless you told him or anyone else about what I might tell you about if that works," Beth said with a smile.

It seemed like it was working. After taking in her words, Maggie found herself sitting down and leaning back as she breathed out slowly.

"That's a good one," she started, "but remind me never again to ask ya to think of dirt ya have on me."

Beth shared a laugh with her at her sister's expense, and it felt like some of the stress escaped her a little. Quietly, she began to relate to her what all had happened between Daryl and herself, trying to skip through the kissing portions, but her sister immediately perked up and demanded intimate details. Honestly, though, she seemed a little disappointed.

"What's that face for?" Beth asked in annoyance. There she was telling her story and explaining her secret life to her, but her sister had to find something at fault with it.

"That's all? I was expectin' somethin' a little more..." she flicked out her tongue for emphasis, and Beth buried her face in her hands against the table.

"Well, I'm sorry that we're not having pregnancy scares," she muttered sarcastically, horrified at the idea her sister implied, as she glared and pouted at her sister at the same time.

Despite herself, Maggie laughed at Beth because of the deep color she had turned.

"I'm sorry. Go on; tell me what's really the problem now," she prodded.

Before Beth could continue, Glenn walked in, announcing the commencement of the meeting. The girls immediately removed themselves from the room and followed after him to the designated meeting room.

"So," Rick started once everyone had found their seats, "of course we know that we need some more supplies. There's a special request for dental equipment for our resident, uh...hygienist? Yeah?" Hershel nodded at him to verify he was correct. "So, if you're gonna be on this run, try 'n keep a look-out for the list of items we have here as well."

He set down the piece of paper he had in hand next to another one with the supplies that were vital. Next, he made some suggestions about who should go on the run, and Michonne and Glenn were called and both agreed with his decision. He listed Daryl's name, and shock hit the room when he objected. Since he didn't bother to explain his reason for the objection, Rick pressed him slightly for an answer.

"I think this Ian guy needs to go get his own shit," he mumbled.

"There's still the everyday things we do need; it's just a recommendation—an accessory, if you will," Carol added in order to convince him.

"If he goes, then I will," Daryl stated with finality.