"You could at least pretend not to hate all Deanna's ideas."

"You don't think this is stupid? And a waste of resources?"

"Of course I think it's dumb. But it'll be good for morale."

Daryl wasn't sure how he found himself being the voice of reason again but Rick seemed to find himself obstinately opposed to any suggestions Deanna might make. Her latest, a Halloween party, had drawn his scorn. Everyone else had thought it was a good idea. Even Daryl.

Rick had been ranting about how they should be focused on training at dinner while Daryl, Carl and Michonne had swapped concerned glances across the table.

Their trials in Terminus followed by the events of Grady had rattled his friend and the cracks were beginning to show. Daryl definitely didn't think they should become complacent but at the same time he didn't want to be jumping at shadows the way Rick seemed to be.

Michonne had pointed out the townsfolk were spending plenty of hours in increasing numbers training with Rosita and Tara, who had both shown the most patience and teaching ability. Michonne had led a couple of classes and Daryl himself had agreed to pitch in when they discovered enough crossbows to run a lesson.

This logic had fallen on Rick's deaf ears. Even Carl's attempts to remind his father that there were plenty of kids in Alexandria that would enjoy some sense of normality were brushed aside. Though Daryl secretly suspected that it was Deanna's promise of the town party which would inevitably offer a young teenager a number of opportunities to sneak off into the dark with a cute girl if they so desired.

Daryl was more interested in the beer. He'd been doing plenty of sneaking around with a pretty girl and it tended to leave him more frustrated than before.

At his wits end, Daryl had suggested a run to get Rick out of the walls that seemed to be driving him so crazy. "Supposedly there's a hunting store nearby."

"It'll have been scavenged clean by now," Rick muttered.

"Doesn't hurt to ty," Daryl retorted optimistically, knowing Rick would absolutely be right.

"Fine. Someone has to be doing something productive."

Michonne winced at Rick's sour mood. If even she couldn't get through to Rick, it was bad. While Rick always tended to be more serious in nature, one word from Michonne could have him grinning from ear to ear and Daryl didn't think for a second that it was a coincidence they had ended up in the same home.

And as if he were college student that needed his independence but never quite learned to survive solo, Daryl had been told he could have the attic. He had rolled his eyes but you didn't argue with Michonne needlessly. He had considered sharing a house with Carol but honestly her Stepford wife routine was creeping him out no end. And even though he knew it was an act, it also meant cheery, well-meaning townsfolk were always around swapping recipes with Carol while she smiled brightly. She also had a tendency to ask him how he was doing whenever they were alone with those eyes that told him she'd know if he tried to lie.

After Rick, Carol was the least trusting of their new neighbours. But at least she had the brain cells to do so discreetly.

Dinner thankfully came to an end and Daryl made a quick exit to his room in the attic. He pulled up short when he noticed an unexpected figure. He was surprised to find Beth there, sitting cross-legged on his bed. She had a tendency to wander at night, checking in with Maggie and Glenn.

"Yikes," Beth said without preamble.

"You heard that?" He gestured downstairs.

"Oh yeah. He's not adjusting is he?"

Daryl sighed and slumped against the wall. "Not by the looks of it."

"He's so used to fighting everything and everyone," Beth assessed, plucking ineffectually at the blanket on his cot. Daryl's eyes were drawn to her moving fingers, breath stalling when he thought she might actually pinch the fabric and exhaling in disappointment when her fingers ghosted through the material.

"Be that as it may, he's making them think he's insane. These are good people."

Beth smiled lightly at his choice of words.

"Don't look so pleased with yourself," Daryl chided her with a pointed finger.

Beth threw her hands up in the air, the smile transforming into a smirk. "If you say so."

Daryl waved Beth further up on the bed and took a seat at the foot of it when she pulled her legs clear. He had to clean his crossbow if he was going to go on a run with Rick. Beth wrapped her arms around her knees, as if attempting to take up as little space as possible. She looked so solid and so real sitting there it was easy to forget everything else. Her chest rose and fell with her breath and if you looked closely you could actually see the pulse flutter in her neck.

Daryl had developed a bad habit of trying to examine her without her catching him. So far he'd been decently successful.

"Not with your sister then?" he asked innocuously. Since they'd revealed her existence to Aaron and Eric, all three of them had been trying to persuade Beth that it was the right time to tell Maggie. But just as Rick stubbornly refused to budge on his position so too did Beth.

Against all logic, she'd argued she didn't want to tell Maggie until there was something to tell. Daryl couldn't believe that he'd once thought she was meek and soft. Beth was stubborn as mule and unyielding when she got an idea in her head.

Despite her obstinacy frustrating him no end, Daryl was always quicker to stop pushing the issue than Aaron or Eric. It just made her upset and agitated. Daryl hated distressing her but more than that, the more emotional she got, the more likely it was that Beth would be dragged back to limbo. In the end, she had agreed to a compromise. When Beth could touch something, make it move, then she'd let them talk to Maggie.

Daryl thought this was her clever way of trying to get out of ever telling Maggie, because she deep down didn't think it was an achievable goal. She'd been dead for months and made very little progress. What she hadn't banked on was Daryl, Aaron and Eric taking this deal and running with it.

Eric had the most free time as Aaron had all but forbade him from leaving the safety of Alexandria while his ankle was giving him trouble. So he spent chunks of his day with Beth working towards this aim. And when they weren't doing that, he would show Beth around the town properly, explaining who everyone was and how everything operated.

It meant Daryl got to spend less time with her but he knew it was worth it if she felt connected once more to the living. He selfishly wanted her all to himself but he couldn't be her only link. The stronger her connection was to this world, the stronger she'd be – it made sense.

"I was," Beth began and then shuddered. "But it was date night."

"Yikes," Daryl said wryly echoing Beth's choice of words from early.

"Yeah!" She lifted her eyebrows significantly. "So I got out of there quick."

"What did you do instead?" He focused on making sure the cables of his bow were waxed, rather than look at the slight girl or think over much about how this simple conversation was easily the best part of his day. Instead he channelled his attention on the routine task at hand. He noted his supplies were running low and hoped there actually would be some maintenance provisions at that hunting shop.

"I went and sat with Sasha for a while. She's on guard duty."

"Huh," Daryl grunted, letting that one sound express his concern for Sasha. Unlike Maggie and himself, she'd still been struggling with her grief, letting it overwhelm her.

"I think she's doing better," Beth speculated slowly. "At least I don't catch her crying so much anymore."

"She cries?"

"Only when she thinks no one is looking."

Daryl grimaced and came to the conclusion that they needed to make more of an effort with her. Not that he could offer much in the way of help. He would likely just say something stupid and make matters worse. Though he supposed he could just make sure Beth was there to feed him the right thing to say. Maybe Maggie could reach her?

"So do you want to come on the run tomorrow?" Daryl offered tentatively, hoping she'd say no. He was still spooked after what had happened last time and even though she couldn't get hurt, Daryl knew there were worse things than injury.

To his relief she shook her head. "I can't. I said I would help Eric with the Halloween thing."

"You gonna help with the heavy lifting?" Daryl teased. On Aaron's advice he'd stopped freaking out any time Beth made a quip about being dead. As he'd explained, denial would help neither Daryl nor Beth. Still the jokes usually sat heavily on his tongue right before he vocalised them and he always watched her to see if it caused her any pain but as time passed she seemed less susceptible to the agonising headaches.

Beth lifted one of her arms and flexed. "I can lift anything. Do you see these guns?"

"No," Daryl replied with a deadpan expression.

She wrinkled her nose in his direction and dropped her arm. "I can supervise!"

"You certainly tell me what to do more than anybody else."

"If I could throw something at you I would."

"Back at ya, Greene."

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, Beth seemingly content to watch him clean his crossbow. Daryl was never much for long conversation but he found he didn't loathe small talk as much as usual when it was Beth. He would have let the moment go on forever but unfortunately he was unable to repress a yawn that welled up inside him and spilled out.

"I think that's my cue to leave," Beth joked, dragging herself up onto her feet.

Daryl wanted her to stay but didn't have the courage to ask. Besides, she didn't sleep that he knew of so how boring would it be to watch him doze? He didn't want to know if he snored.

"We didn't do it today," he pointed out, trying to keep his tone even to disguise the way his insides roiled.

Beth stopped in the middle of the floor, fingers flexing nervously. "No, we didn't."

It was another one of Aaron's ridiculous ideas. He had suggested that it would help Beth touch things if they occasionally gave her an object she was emotionally drawn to. Daryl was that object. He'd been glad Aaron had suggested this in private because Daryl had blushed and stuttered in flustered outrage. Aaron had calmly reminded him that he was the first person to see Beth and that meant something. After all, they wanted to do all they could to help Beth, right?

Daryl had been unable to argue at that point. Of course he wanted to help Beth and would be willing to do anything necessary. He just wasn't sure why they had to complicate things even further. But he had agreed as Aaron knew he would. Daryl had then unwisely asked Aaron's help with broaching the topic with Beth. He should have known by the shit-eating grin that Aaron was about to say something he wouldn't like.

"Just go ask your girlfriend to hold your hand."

Which had sent Daryl into another fit of discomfort.

Beth had taken it better than him but Daryl left out the part where Aaron called her his girlfriend. Which was absurd.

Telling himself not to be a chicken, Daryl extended his hand to Beth palm upwards. They had done this every day for over two weeks with no success. Every time her hand glided through his, he had to fight off a wave of disappointment and watch her face fall. It was hard to see.

Beth sucked in air and held her breath, letting her own hand hover over his. The unwanted hope sparked in her eyes as she lowered her fingers down. His skin tingled as she got closer and he inhaled himself as she closed the last bit of distance. There was a prickle, which he'd come to expect. But then a completely unexpected heat and for the briefest second he felt pressure against his hand. His eyes met hers excitedly just as her hand slipped through his.

She snatched it back, expression darkening.

"This is pointless," Beth snapped, bottom lip trembling very slightly. "It's never going to work."

He was taken back by the intensity of her reaction but he couldn't pretend he didn't understand it. He desired nothing more than to feel her fingers entwined with his. He could torture himself with the image in perfect detail. He had the reference point after all.

"It's not pointless," he fired back, voice heating but staying low. He didn't want anyone coming to investigate why he was shouting at walls.

"It's the same every time," Beth said, beginning to deflate.

"Bullshit."

"I didn't touch you did I?" Beth demanded.

"No but something different just happened! That heat and I could feel you there for a second."

"It's in your head, Daryl," Beth dismissed. But she didn't sound sure.

"Like you are?"

"That's not fair."

"Isn't it? If you convinced me that you're not a hallucination, then let me tell you that what I just felt wasn't imaginary."

Maybe he was overselling what had happened but after two weeks of nothing, even the slightest change was momentous.

Beth scuffed her foot against the floor as she processed what he had said. She wasn't angrily rebuffing him which was a good sign. Then again, she probably wanted him to be right as much as he did.

Finally she half-shrugged. "I'll guess we'll just see what happens tomorrow."

And then she just faded out of his room much to his annoyance. She'd gotten better at controlling where she went and the first time she'd done it, he'd mistakenly thought she'd disappeared to limbo and he'd worn himself ragged with worry.

Looking back there were plenty of signs that it was not the same thing. It was a gradual process until eventually she vanished. When she was taken to limbo it was abrupt, like she'd been torn out of existence.

Still, understanding what was happening and knowing she was in no danger didn't lessen his irritation. Beth had decided to run away in her confusion leaving him frustrated and alone in an empty room.

Daryl kicked off his shoes angrily and threw himself back on the bed. Unable to think of anything else but how close he'd come to touching her once again.

…

Beth stared at her hand in fascination. Daryl had sounded certain that they'd almost established contact. Beth wasn't so sure. She'd experienced the heat too, like a small burst of flame against her hand but it was so quick and then it was gone that she was almost certain she had fantasized it.

With a start she realised Eric was talking to her.

She blinked and focused back in on the man as he rifled through his closet, hoping he hadn't noticed.

"You're supposed to be helping Beth," he scolded.

So he had.

"I'm sorry," Beth hurried to say. "I got a bit distracted."

"Thinking of anyone in particular?" It was a pointed question.

Beth tilted her head. "Subtle."

Eric laughed out loud. "There is so little gossip in a small town in the apocalypse. I get it where I get it."

"We're not like that," Beth insisted. And they weren't - officially Daryl and her had been nothing but platonic. Officially. Eric quite clearly didn't believe her.

"And is that why you're obsessing about almost holding his hand?"

"I haven't touched anyone in months," Beth cried. "I'd be obsessing about holding your hand too. In fact, here," she extended her hand, "Let's try."

"Oh Beth, I couldn't possibly. I'm a taken man."

Beth groaned in exasperation while Eric turned back to the cupboard in amusement. Telling Eric and Aaron had been one of the best decisions they'd made but they took great joy in pushing her buttons and treating her as if she were just as alive as anyone else. Beth was relieved they weren't stepping on eggshells and acting like she was a freak of nature but she could have stood not having them grill her about her love life. Which was about as dead as she was.

Eric grinned when she told him just that. "That's clever. Nice play on words."

"So what's so important that you asked if we could postpone practicing touching things?"

"I told you but you weren't listening."

Beth batted her eyelashes at Eric, letting him feel the full effect of innocent, sky-blue eyes.

Eric pointed accusingly at her. "Unfair!"

"Just tell me again. I promise I'll pay attention this time."

"I need you to help me pick out a costume for me and Aaron," Eric said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Beth blinked for a second before shrugging. "Why not. My schedule is pretty empty today."

"I know Aaron doesn't like to draw attention but I'd like to do a couple costume."

"I think that's sweet," Beth informed him sincerely and leant forward on her knees. Daryl had told her that despite the end of the world happening, there were still people who felt it was alright to say snide things about Aaron and Eric being together. That just blew Beth's mind. She had always believed that in the face of the adversity they were dealing with, it would make people appreciate their fellow man and be kinder to them. She should have known better.

Eric's cheeks coloured slightly but he smiled brightly before glancing at the clothes again. "Our options are limited obviously but I figured between the two of us we could figure something out."

Beth took a step closer to Eric, examined the clothes and wracked her brain for an achievable costume. They'd been so good to her and Daryl that of course Beth wanted to assist.

"Show me what you have," Beth directed. Eric shifted through his cupboard and gave ideas but most of them depended on having far more resources than they had.

Beth was starting to worry this would be harder than she was able to surmount. But then she saw a glimpse of black in the far corner.

"That!" Beth gasped and pointed.

Eric pulled out the suit in confusion. "This is a funeral suit, Beth."

She ignored the way he said that and bounced on her toes excitedly. "Does Aaron have a similar one or can he get one?"

"I suppose so." He still sounded uncertain.

"You and Aaron can goes as the Blues brothers. From that old movie!"

"It's not that old," Eric griped as a reflex but then he began to consider it. "They are iconic characters."

"All you need are suits, hats and sunglasses to nail it," Beth added.

"Aaron does love that movie," Eric concluded.

"Then it's settled," Beth announced with a grin, enjoying Eric's obvious enthusiasm. It was enough to make her wish that she was going. However, there was a next best thing.

"Now that I've helped you, I have a favour to ask."

Eric caught sight of her face and lifted his eyebrows. "Uh oh."

"Nothing bad, I promise."

"You look like you're about to suggest something that won't go over well."

Beth rubbed her hands together. "I am."

Eric threw the suit onto the bed dramatically before giving Beth his entire attention. "Go on."

"I want you to help me find a costume for Daryl!"