A/N: READ THE A/N AT BOTTOM! HAPPY READING!

Daryl looked across the room at Beth from where she lied. They had kept the bite from everyone else the whole day. The younger girl had almost immediately collapsed on the couch from exhaustion that night.

Daryl, on the other hand, had found it much harder to sleep. He had a growing worry that Beth would awaken, but with her eyes a yellow color and only growls emitting from her. He would completely break if that happened. And most likely get killed.

So, he stayed up. He tried to sleep, of course, but every time he closed his eyes, he saw his worst nightmare. His girl as a walker.

Daryl very quietly ventured into the kitchen, taking a washcloth and wetting it, bringing it back to the living room. He awkwardly ran it over a patch of dried blood that had stuck to her forehead and tried his best to clean it off without waking her, but he had never shown this much amount of care for anyone before. He's had no reason to do this.

Beth stirred anyway. She inhaled sharply before realizing that it was just Daryl in front of her. She gently grabbed his wrist in front of her face. "What are you doing?" she whispered, though for no reason. It's not like she would disturb anyone if she didn't.

Daryl's face flushed in the darkness. She grinned. "It's alright. You just frightened me a bit." She took the washcloth from his hand, reached over to turn the lamp on, and examined a scratch on his forehead. Not from a walker, obviously, but it was still fairly deep.

She lightly dabbed at the wound, trying her best not to hurt him. He kept a straight face the entire time.

"Couldn't sleep?" she questioned. He shrugged, his eyes drifting to the old and worn carpet. His head stayed straight. "It's okay. I wouldn't have been able to either. If it was you, I mean…"

Her words seized then, as she was reminded of the bite mark on her shoulder. She almost forgot about it. She assumed it was a good thing that it wasn't hurting. Just another reminder that she was the cure to this hell.

She placed the cloth on table next to the couch and grabbed Daryl's hand, squeezing it close to her chest. They sat there in silence as she thought about the man before her. His square jaw, his deep eyes… His loyalty and courage. It almost got him killed every day.

"I love you," she whispered under her breath. It was so quiet Daryl almost didn't hear it. He had hunter's ears, though. Of course he picked it up. He could almost hear the wind lightly whistling outside, his hearing was so good.

"I love you, too," he grunted back. She smiled at the ground. "You know, I can't really tell if this is a good thing or a bad thing. This whole I am the cure bullcrap. Pros: I won't die. At least not from a bite. Cons: If everyone else around me dies, I'll be all alone. What am I even going to do after I cure the world in DC? Absolutely nothing. I have nothing to go back to…" she trailed off.

Her head snapped up. "No. I do have something to go back to. You. Neither of us are going anywhere. You and me." Daryl slowly nodded before looking back at her. "You and me."

A/N: Next chap, they leave for Washington. I REALLY NEED YOU GUYS TO VOTE ON THE POLL! IT WILL DETERMINE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT! THANKS FOR READING! SORRY, NO REVIEW RESPONSES! REALLY TIRED! GONNA GO PASS OUT! GOODBYEEEEEEE! :D