A/N: Thank you all soooooooo much for the love on this fic! The reviews on the last chapter were wonderful and I'm so glad ya'll don't hate me :) Get ready for some hardcore feels ya'll MUCH LOVE!

I DO NOT OWN THE CHARACTERS JUST THE STORY THEY ARE STARRING IN :)

DARYLS POV

"What do you want?" I said gruffly as Beth walked up to me. After everything I had said and done, here she was standing in front of me, wanting to fix things.

"Daryl, please, stop blowing me off. Stop shutting out the world." She said as she walked over to me and crouched down to look me in the eye. "I miss you." she said softly as she locked eyes with me.

"I can't." I said blandly.

"Daryl, you are starting to worry everyone. We want our Daryl back. He didn't just take power from you, he took you from us." She said, and the words sounded frighteningly familiar.

"Easy for you to say Miss Know-It-All." I said as I stood up and walked past her. We were at a cabin in the middle of nowhere, the woods surrounding on every side. "I don't wanna argue. I just can't stand everyone's 'Let life in and it'll get better' attitudes." I yelled at her. I had put her, no, everyone in my life through the ringer and none of them deserved that.

"I told you to be careful with my heart and you are breakin' it Daryl." Beth said, her words cutting me deep. "I love you Daryl, and that's what scares me. After all the things you've done, I wanted to hate you, but I can't. I need you in my life, I need you with me. Please come back home." Beth said as a few tears ran down her face. "I'd do anything to make your pain go away, why don't you see, how much you mean to me."

"I love you too, Beth Greene." I whispered before kissing her gently. We laid down on the ground, looking at the sky above, her head on my chest, until the sky opened up and the rain started to pour.

I opened my eyes, my head pounding like thunder as the water poured over me. I looked up seeing that I was in my shower, sitting on the floor, fully clothed. How the fuck did I end up in here. I flexed my fist feeling the sting of my knuckles covered in cuts. My Paw, Zach, Beth. They had all been here. Well not really here but I had seen them. Fuck! My head hurt like hell, I rubbed at my eyes trying to get a grip on my brain and the throbbing that was driving me mad when I heard a shuffling noise from outside my shower, the shower door popping open and the bright lights from the bathroom offending my eyes.

"Spill it Dixon." I heard Rick's voice softly say. I tilted my head up buthiding my face from him, knowing he if was able to look at my face he'd see the distress there, the heartache and pain I was going through. "I've known you for a while now Daryl, and I have to say, I ain't ever seen you that messed up man. What the hell is going on where you wanna get wasted off your damn ass so early in the day?" he asked as he turned the shower off and squatted at the open door. I looked over at him without a second thought at what he would say. "Oh my God. Did he get to her?" he asked as fear passed over his face and he went to stand.

"No," I answered back before looking away. I could feel the pain in my chest taking hold yet again and the emptiness that I felt where my heart used to be was taking over my ability to function. "I couldn't let that happen."

"Daryl?" Rick asked, my lip started to tremble. "Daryl what did you do?" he asked as he knelt down on his knee and put his hand on my shoulder. My back tense and my eyes clamped shut as I started to break.

"I had to save her. I had to let her go." I squeezed out of my burning lungs. As the last word left my lips I let go of the dam and allowed myself to cry for the first time in front of my friend. Rick's hand squeezed my shoulder as it began to quake in the throws of my tears.

"We'll nail this son of a bitch and you'll get her back." Rick said as he reached his hand out to help me stand. I shook my head unable to stop the sobs wracking my body. I'd never get Beth back, she'd never want me again. Not after everything i'd done to her. I was no better than Zach, no better than my Paw, and no longer the man she had grown to love.

"Rick, I can't get her back. Not even after Martinez is out of the picture. I hurt her real bad." I said as I looked up at him with my broken eyes, her last words echoing in my brain.

"Love like that handles a few bumps and bruises along the way." Rick said as he took my hand and lifted me to my feet. "Come on, let's get you in some dry clothes and I'll make us some coffee. I have a feelin' we've got to talk. I need your head right. You understand me? Beth needs your head right too." he said as he led me into my bedroom and sat me on the bed as he gathered some clothes for me. "Daryl, don't take it this far." he said as he seen the last box of Beth's things sitting next to the bedroom door. "She'll be back."

After changing and composing myself I walked downstairs, seeing the shattered glass of my coffee table scattered through my living room, the mirror of my bar demolished, TV murdered, and patio window broken out completely was a wake up call.

"Holy shit." I whispered under my breath as I surveyed the living room of my home.

"Yeah, same thing I said when I took a look inside. That was after you attacked me, kept telling me to leave you alone and that I wasn't a good dad." Rick piped up from the kitchen. He came around the breakfast bar holding out a cup of coffee. "Daryl, you gotta talk to me brother." I ran my hand over my face and through my hair.

"I had to let her go to keep her safe." I said looking over at him as I took a sip of coffee.

"From Martinez or from you?" Rick asked sitting down on one of the barstools at the breakfast bar and watching as I looked over the room.

"Both." I said simply. It was true. It had started with Martinez, but then the long tamed beast roared it's ugly head and here we were. Looking over the destroyed ruins of my home. The wrath of the man I once was had dug himself to the surface, feeding on my weakness to make monster once again strong. But I needed that beast deep inside to get the bastard that was slowly tearing my life to shreds. "It's gotta be this way." I said sitting my cup on the kitchen table and walking over to retrieve the knife sticking out from my TV.

"Tell me why it has to be this way. And not some bullshit excuse that you're afraid that you'll hurt her." Rick said walking over and grabbing the knife from me. "Lord knows you'd never lay a finger on that girl that meant harm. And the only reason this shit happened is because you made a dumbass decision and you're kickin' yourself." he said gesturing to the room.

"I can't let her get hurt. I'd rather have her alive than with me. And Martinez is determined to make sure I go without her. I'd rather it be on my terms than her life." I said walking out the broken window and out onto the patio. I lit a cigarette inhaling deeply trying to grasp myself, "But I done hurt her already." I whispered out, remembering the tears that were staining her face, the last image I had of her emblazoned in my mind.

"You aren't the only person in that relationship Daryl. You ever thought about what she wants?" Rick asked as he stepped out onto the patio behind me. I could feel my face heat as my blood pressure spiked.

"You ever been in my position before Rick? Don't sit there and judge me. I thought we were supposed to be friends." I spat out at him.

"First off, we are friends. Secondly, I have been in your position before. Thirdly, i'm trying to save you the world of heartache I know you are in right now." Rick said as he started walking back to the house. He stopped turning to me to add his last remark, "Oh, and regardless what you think, Beth's still attached to you, together or not, Martinez won't back down. I can guarantee you that."

"Rick?" I said without looking back.

"Yeah?" he said from just inside the house.

"Don't tell her what's going on. I want her to be able to enjoy the last bit of school she's got left." I stated as I stubbed out my cigarette.

"Pfft." Rick said rolling his eyes at me as I walked back into the house. "If you honestly think she's going to be able to enjoy her time at school when her heart is broken over you, you are just as crazy as Martinez is." He said before walking away and out the house. I could feel the rage building as I watched him slam the door behind himself and moments later I was slamming my fist into my wall.

I spent the next few weeks hunting, taking my aggression out on the deer and squirrels that crossed my path. I was so angry that I had to break her heart, and the selfish part of me was mad I was forced to go on without her in my life. I needed to find Martinez and the sooner that happened the better. Rick had a point though, knowing the hold that Beth had on me was something Martinez probably realized and I only confirmed it more by breaking up with her right after getting that dreaded note. I stopped by the Apple store getting myself a replacement on the way home and headed to the bar to help the Olivia with the business tonight since Michonne was still nursing a broken leg.

"Beth's been calling, looking for you." Michonne said as I walked into the back office. I shrugged my shoulders not really in the mood to share.

"You need to be at home restin'." I said as I grabbed the till for the register.

"Can't do that when the boss man isn't here to help." Michonne said as she scribbled in the auditing book in front of her.

"Yeah, what a piece of shit he is." I grumbled before walking out of the door. I had a feeling that being out of the house and around people wasn't going to help my mood at all but I had to so I could make Martinez come out from the rock he was under. If he wanted me, he'd get me and to do that I had to be out here, in the public, waiting for his sights to land on the target on my back.

BETH'S POV

"How are you doing today?" Sasha asked as she opened my bedroom door.

"How am I supposed to be Sasha?" I said looking up from my textbook at her with a blank face.

"Beth, it's exam week, we are almost in the clear. All you've got to do is get through this week and then you can go home and deal with all that drama face to face." She said as she sat down on my bed.

"He won't answer my calls or texts, Rick won't talk to me, Maggie said she hasn't seen him, I don't know what the hell is going on." I said as the tears started to well in my eyes and the hole in my chest began to ache again.

"Maybe he's on that guys trail and he's getting things figured out." Sasha said optimistically.

"Maybe, but what if he's dead, what if Martinez did something to him? What if he doesn't want me anymore?" I said as I began to sob.

"Beth, you know he loves you more than anything. There has got to be a good reason behind all of this. You've got to start eating and focusing on school. Once that's all out of the way, you can deal with Dixon and his crazyman ways." She said giving me a smile and hugging me.

"I can't eat though. I've been starving but every time I eat I end up throwing it all back up." I said standing up from my desk and walking to the window. "Sasha, when did you have your period?" I said as panic hit me.

"Two weeks ago, why?" she asked as she walked over to the window to stand next to me.

"Because we usually are raggin' together and I haven't had mine. So that means i'm two weeks late." I said, nausea hitting me again as the thought of pregnancy hit me.

"Beth, it's probably just all the stress you are going through ok? Come here." she said as she held out her arms to me. "We'll get through this ok. And once finals are done you'll have one less thing you have to worry about and your period will probably start, ok?" she whispered as she hugged me tight. She was right, it was more than likely stress but I would take a test just in case.

Sasha had a date with Gareth and had left about an hour ago after running to the store to get me a test. I had a date with my books, preparing for the final in one of my classes tomorrow when I heard a knock at the door.

"Look, I know i'm probably the last person you wanna hear from but, I'm scared and you are the only person I could think of that wouldn't judge me." Andrea said as she stood in front of me with a positive pregnancy test. "It's Phillip's." she said as I stood there with wide eyes.

"Come in." I said letting her in. She walked in, placing the pregnancy test on the counter as I got her a glass of water. "What are you planning on doing?"

"I don't know. I mean he's a married man Beth!" she said starting to cry.

"Don't cry Andrea, you need to be honest with him. He deserves to know. Wasn't he going through a divorce anyways?" I said as I made a sandwich for each of us.

"Well yeah but he said he didn't want anything serious for a while." Andrea said as I slid her sandwich in front of her.

"Yeah well, a kid is a serious thing, but wasn't he getting divorced because his wife didn't want kids?" I said before taking a bite of my sandwich.

"Yeah. So?" she said before taking another bite.

"So, you are going to give him something his ex wouldn't, it may not be planned between the both of you, but it's a child, and he wants children, it may be a blessing." I said giving her a small smile.

"This is why I knew I needed to see you, always the optimistic one. I am so sorry I never believed your side on the whole Zach thing. I'm sorry you had to go through that." She said as she stood up, walking over and giving me hug. "I think if it hadn't been for him, we could've been good friends. Thank you Beth." she said walking to the door. "Sasha told me about it in class yesterday after I asked how you were. I really hope everything works out for you and Daryl." she said before walking out the door, leaving me alone to study some more.

SASHA'S POV

Gareth walked me to the apartment, giving me a kiss goodnight before he left. I closed the door behind me, walking to Beth's room to check on her. She was fast asleep, all her school stuff sitting on her desk, prepared for class tomorrow. I walked back out to the kitchen to get something to drink before heading to bed myself when I seen it, the pregnancy test on the counter. I walked up to it slowly, seeing the plus sign causing my heart to drop a little in my chest. I couldn't believe it. After everything else in her life, she was pregnant too. Daryl owed her, he owed her an explanation as to why he did what he did and why he wasn't talking to her. He needed to talk to her. He had to know. He deserved to know the hell she was going through, the hell he was putting her through. I grabbed my phone as a course of adrenaline spiked in my alcohol laced bloodstream.

"Hello?" Daryl's gruff voice answered the phone.

"Hello, asshole." I answered back.

"Look I ain't got time for your shit ok? Is Beth ok?" he huffed out.

"I don't know, what do you think you fucking prick!" I said angrily.

"Sasha, It ain't easy on me either. I'm doing this for her. It's better this way." He said sighing into the phone.

"You are a sorry piece of shit, Daryl Dixon! Does it matter at all what she wants? Of course not, because it's all about you!" I yelled into the phone. "You make her fall in love with you, promise her everything and the moon, knock her up, and then leave her? What a piece of fucking work you are! Hope you are happy with yourself there Dixon!" I spit out at him before hanging up the phone. My phone pinged a single time after 20 minutes of silence.

Please take care of her. Make sure she's safe. I am doing this for her, for them. Tell them that, please. Thank you for being such a good friend to her Sasha. - D