Oh y'all, I could really use the love for this chapter. You have no idea of the day I've had here. It started out pretty decent and then went all to hell in a handbag. I started not to write anything but this story just called to me and the words just started flowing out of me. I'm quite tired tonight so I'm ending it where it ends and hoping that you all will forgive me if any errors. (I tried to proofread it) I hope it's good. Sometimes the worst moods for me can make the best of chapters. Anyway, I hope everyone else is having a better night than me. I'm going to get some sleep now. Tomorrow is another day, right? Goodnight and enjoy!

The house had been empty, no sign of Judith or the people anywhere. They hadn't been expecting much, considering the house looked as if a strong wind might blow it over, but it had still been disappointing. Beth knew that the longer it took to find Judith, the greater the chances were that they wouldn't find her.

She knew that this whole thing was weighing heavy on Daryl and she wished she knew where to find Judith. She wished she had fought more, done more. She kept thinking that if Daryl had been there, Judith would have never been taken. He crouched next to her and she looked down at his face that was creased in concentration. His muscles gleamed with a fine sheen of sweat that they had both collected from being inside of that house that had absolutely no air flow. His hair was slightly curled at the nape of his neck from the dampness. Her own shirt was sticking to her and she grabbed the top of it, pulling it away from her skin to lightly fan herself with it.

Daryl stood then, his expression grim. This wasn't good. Any time Daryl Dixon got a grim expression on his face was bad. She sucked in a breath and his eyes flicked to hers. She was momentarily struck by his expression. His face was a mixture of confusion, frustration, and helplessness. Those weren't things you normally associated with Daryl Dixon.

He looked out towards the woods and she reached out a hand to lightly touch him on his arm, "What's going through your mind right now?"

He sighed, "I don't know," He growled in frustration and chewed on his thumb. "I don't know which way ta go," He laughed bitterly. "I'm s'posed ta be tha one who's got all tha answers an' can track anyone, right? I can't track her."

"We just started. You can't give up yet. We'll just keep looking until we come across something," She walked in front of him, forcing him to look at her. "You can't track what isn't there," She said softly.

He swallowed and then leaned over for a moment, resting his hands on his knees. She started to get worried and then he spit out another laugh, "Shit like this jus' don't happen ta me. Why me? Why is everyone else gettin' taken an' I'm gettin' left behind? Answer me that. At tha rate I'm goin', yer gon' be next an' won't be a damn thing I can do 'bout it."

She was stunned. He was obviously having some sort of mental breakdown and she had absolutely no idea how to help him through it. Her first instinct whenever someone was upset or hurt was to comfort them and you just didn't do that to Daryl. He didn't respond to comfort. So she just watched and after a few minutes he sucked in a deep breath and let it out, his expression returning to what was considered his normal.

He started walking, "Daryl?" She asked, worried that he hadn't said anything. She didn't exactly think it was a good idea to go traipsing in the woods if he wasn't in the right mindframe.

He paused, his shoulders tensing in the afternoon light, "I'm good. Jus' needed a moment is all. Let's go. Lots o' ground ta cover before dark."

She let out a breath and fell into step behind him.

Daryl felt like he was on the edge of a cliff, waiting on a push. It would come sooner or later and he would fall, just like he always did. There was always a push. Things went okay for a while as he moved closer and closer to the edge of the cliff and then he would just teeter precariously on the edge, trying to keep from losing his balance. He had almost lost his balance earlier with Beth. He had felt himself on the brink of some sort of mental breakdown. He liked to think that he could take a lot of shit and he really could, but this was pushing the envelope.

He had gotten attached to the kid whether anyone knew it or not. She was the last link he had to his best friend, the one person he had sworn to Rick that he would take care of and he hadn't. He accepted full responsibility for her being gone and the whole thing was throwing his focus off.

He was angry and he didn't know where to channel all of that anger. His brother wasn't around to pick a fight with anymore and there wasn't a damn walker in sight when you needed some stress relief. That figured. Things never went the way that he wanted them to. Just once in his life, he would like a break. Some sign that even though things seemed shitty as hell, that there was a light at the end of the tunnel somewhere.

They walked for a long time, the woods around them thickening as they made their way further in. He stopped at a small creek and they took a minute to rinse themselves off a bit. He pushed onward, desperation fueling him on. They were nearing the bar where they would be staying again and the light was fading. The dusk would soon turn to night and the dark was no place that you wanted to be when there were walkers roaming the earth.

It was over. They must have walked eight miles or more. He wasn't really sure. He knew that Beth was dragging and they hadn't eaten. She hadn't complained not one time though and he admired her for that. He hadn't even thought to bring food for them. He was used to going long periods without sustenance but Beth wasn't. Wearily, he declared the first day of search over as he opened the door to the building and she passed inside.

Day one of the search and it was a big fat fail.

She was so tired. They had walked for what seemed like an endless period of time and they hadn't even had any food with them. Neither of them had thought to bring anything and she was so hungry now that she thought her stomach might eat itself soon with all the growling it was doing.

Luckily, they had made it back to the building just as dusk was settling in. There had been a total of five walkers they encountered during the whole day. They had taken turns killing them and she was feeling somewhat better about her ability to effectively take them down. It required more finesse than she had thought but the more she practiced, the more at ease she became.

She watched as Daryl dug through a bag and pulled out two cans of food. Daryl's definition of fixing dinner was randomly pulling out two cans of food and tossing one of them to her. At the moment though, she could care less as long as she got something to eat. She held her can up in the candlelight and smiled. Fruit. Her stomach rumbled in anticipation and she popped the top, not even bothering with utensils as she dug her fingers into the can. She hummed in appreciation as the first bite settled onto the bottom of her stomach. Without thinking, she stuck her fingers in her mouth and sucked off the sugary syrup that coated them. She barely paused for breath as she dug into the can again and again, releasing small moans of pleasure every few bites. It wasn't until she got to the bottom and turned the can up to drink the rest of the juice that she noticed Daryl's eyes on her.

She set down the can and felt her cheeks heat in embarrassment. She had pretty much just acted like a wild animal and attacked the fruit. She cleared her throat and leaned back against the wall. After a few minutes Daryl walked over and spread out the two sleeping bags right next to each other. That surprised her. She figured he would have placed them farther apart but he didn't.

"Best be gettin' some sleep," He said. "'Nother early day tomorrow."

She nodded, "I figured. You're going to get some rest too right?"

He shrugged, "Eventually."

He remained standing, leaning against the wall several feet from where she was. She pushed herself up with her hands and walked over until she was just in front of him. She wanted to feel something. She craved a human connection, something to make her feel as if she wasn't alone in this world. Beth needed something to make her feel alive, instead of just merely going through the motions.

"You need rest," She said softly.

He looked at her, the long strands of his hair falling over his eyes, "Don'tcha worry 'bout me," He said.

She scoffed and reached out with her hand to touch his cheek. He twitched and jerked away slightly. "Somebody needs to worry about you Daryl. You can't keep doing this to yourself. You were on the edge today and I was worried that you were going to slip away," She said.

He scoffed, "I'm invincible, remember? Ain't nothin' can kill a Dixon," He murmured.

"You do so much for everyone else. When are you going to let others do things for you?"

His eyes burned into hers, searing her skin, "Don't need nobody doin' nothin' for me."

"Everybody needs somebody from time to time," She remarked.

He shifted his stance, spreading his legs apart a little and cracking his neck, "And you?"

She frowned, "And me what?"

"Do you need somebody?"

She did. She needed somebody badly. She needed the comfort of another human being beyond just sharing the same breathing space. She nodded, "Yes," She whispered. She took a step towards him and saw the flash of nervousness in his eyes. He was almost like a skittish wild animal when he felt like he was about to be cornered. He didn't run though and he didn't change positions to back away either. She was paying attention for once. She took another step closer and then another, until she was barely an inch away from him.

He looked up at her but she didn't know what to do from there, "Your move," She challenged softly.

Something in his expression changed slightly as he regarded her. She almost turned tail and ran but she held her ground. It was too late to run now, the board had been set and the game was ready to be played. Just when she began to think that he wasn't going to do a thing, he lifted his hand and placed it lightly on her hip. The simple gesture shook her and she remained as still as possible, afraid of scaring him off. His hand felt heavy and good, his touch burning through her clothes to her skin. She imagined what it would feel like to have him touch her without her clothes and she blushed at her dirty thoughts.

"Your move now," He tossed back.

She lifted her fingers and moved them across his jaw, grazing over his rough beard. He closed his eyes and she thought she detected a faint tremble but she wasn't sure. Without his eyes burning into her, she found the courage to lean forward and she pressed her lips to his softly. He jerked at her touch but he didn't push her away. She held her lips there for several minutes, enjoying the feel of his skin on hers. She didn't move to deepen the kiss at all, knowing that it might push him too far. His lips were chapped but warm and pliant.

She pulled back and felt his thumb stroke her hip where his hand still rested. She gave him a small smile, "Goodnight Daryl. Get some rest," She whispered.

His hand fell away from her hip as she walked backwards and over to the sleeping bags. She didn't look at him, but she knew that he was watching her. Despite the fact that Judith was still out there, she felt better than she had felt in a long time. Daryl had actually let her get close to him, something he had never let anyone else do. For the first time in a long time, she felt hope and she smiled at his barely audible mumble.

"G'night."

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