Chapter 12

Beth cringed as Daryl cursed again. He had been bent over the sofa for over an hour now and he couldn't get the spring that Beth broke in destroying the sofa to cooperate. He had been trying to stretch it out a bit, but it wasn't budging. He threw the spring down into the bowels of the sofa and got up to leave the camper. He knew Beth had been sending him furtive glances for the past ten minutes and he glanced at her before he walked out the door of the camper. He knew she had apologized at least ten times for destroying the sofa bed so it really wasn't fair to get mad at her now. He was just generally pissed off. Beth met his gaze across the camper and tentatively smiled at him. And god help him, instead of scowling at her, he winked at her and he felt the corners of his mouth turn up in a smile before he descended the steps of the camper.

Daryl knew what was eating him. If he was really going to admit it, he was on edge because he felt everybody up in his space now. Glenn and Maggie had only been there for a couple hours and it was already too cramped in the tiny space. And if there was one thing Daryl was used to was his space. That was one of the things that had been hardest to accept after leaving the prison. When he and Beth had gotten out together, it hadn't taken long for him to realize that he was going to be saddled with someone 24/7. Add to that the crushing guilt he felt over losing the prison and letting Hershel be killed and you had one incredibly loose canon.

He stepped out into the cool country air and pulled his pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He pulled one out and fumbled in the inside pocket of his jacket for his matches. His beloved leather vest was still drying out from the downpour earlier. Finally finding the match, he lit the cigarette and pulled off of it deeply, the smoke curling into the back of his throat and then he inhaled deeply, feeling the calm of the nicotine as soon as he exhaled. He walked away from the camper a bit. Beth didn't have any idea of the cigarettes he had found; he planned on keeping it that way. He wasn't sure she would like it or not and he knew if it was something she decided to get a bee in her bonnet about, he would never hear the fucking end of it. She had sass, his Beth. It was one of the things that drew him to her in the first place. She wasn't afraid of him; she understood him. Sometimes he thought Beth understood him better than he understood himself.

He thought of the look they had exchanged in the camper. It had been that way all afternoon with them. They still had a lot to talk about, but hadn't had a second alone so far. Every time he thought about what Maggie and Glenn interrupted, he was equal parts relieved and annoyed. Annoyed for the most obvious of reasons; he had been enjoying every single second of touching Beth, kissing Beth, exploring Beth. He felt himself get hard at the thought and tried to tamp down the thoughts that were making him that way. It was not exactly appropriate to walk around with an erection all day. Suddenly Daryl realized that he had been aroused more in the past couple of months than all the time since the world had gone to shit. He attributed it solely to the blonde vixen who was currently inside, probably head to head with Maggie, their furious whispers and spurts of giggles punctuating the silence of the camper. Glenn had gone out a little while ago to get some game which really peeved Daryl a little. He had always considered hunting his domain but instead here he was playing handi-man because his girlfriend had a temper tantrum and went postal on a sofa bed.

Girlfriend? Daryl drew deeply off his cigarette while that term bounced its way around his brain. He wondered when his subconscious had bestowed that title upon Beth. He wasn't even really sure that was a term that made sense anymore, not that it ever had to Daryl. He had never really had a girlfriend before. With Merle there had always been a steady stream of girls but those girls had only been good for one thing and for the most part they had been skanks. He was pretty sure a girl he drunkenly serial-fucked every now and again for a few weeks and then forgot about counted as being a girlfriend. He barely remembered any of those encounters. Just lots of alcohol, sweaty bodies, a lot of grunting and then it was over. He had never stayed with any of them and he made sure to never bring them back to his place. Thinking back over that part of his life seemed to Daryl like it had happened to a different person. He guessed in most ways, it was. He certainly wasn't the same person he was before the turn. He didn't think anybody was. You couldn't go through something like that and not have it profoundly change you. He probably wasn't even the same person that left the prison a couple of months ago. He knew that Beth was responsible for the change in him. And he wasn't even sorry really.


"Seriously Bethie, you gotta tell me what's going on with you and Daryl." Maggie pried. Her sister was being very tight-lipped about whatever was happening with her and the rough and tough Daryl Dixon. Sure she knew Daryl had a soft side, everybody knew that. Of course, you didn't tell him that. Maggie kind of that might be akin to prodding a wounded animal. You would probably get bit. Not hard; just enough to tell you to back off. If she hadn't witnessed their interactions with one another, she would have never even had the thought that the two of them could be together. They were a very unlikely couple but now that she had seen them interact, it made perfect sense. Beth, with all her softness and her lost innocence and the pain from losing their parents and Daryl with his rocky past, it just fit. Maggie had seen the glances when they thought no one else was looking. Then there was the easy way Beth just kind of "handled him". He could be so surly at something and one look from Beth and it was like all the fiery anger melted away. She had seen the touches too. The way she would lean into him when they were sitting together or the way he would reach out and brush her hair back from her face.

Maggie looked expectantly at her sister who was blushing furiously under Maggie's gaze.

"Maggie, it's really hard to explain." Beth began. Her sister had been pestering her all day for details about her and Daryl's relationship. They kept getting interrupted. But now that Glenn was off hunting and Daryl had stormed off while trying to fix the sofa, she knew she was going to have to start spilling. She grinned at her sister. "I know it might seem weird to everyone else, but we just," Beth paused, holding her hands out in front of her, trying to put into words what she and Daryl were. She began again, "we just really care about each other." She groaned. None of this was coming out right.

Maggie laughed at her sister's discomfort. She knew the look well. She had done the same thing when she and Glenn had met. "Oh you got it bad!," she said with undisguised glee. "But that's okay; he's got it bad too." Maggie said smugly.

Beth's eyes snapped up to her sisters. "Really, you think so?" Beth respected Maggie's opinion for sure, but she was dying to get someone else's perspective on the whole thing. Beth had only been inside her own head about the whole thing since the funeral home and now that she had this opportunity to gush and analyze the situation, she was not going to pass it up. She knew Daryl loved her; he had all but said it but trying to get into his head was like trying to pull teeth.

Maggie rolled her eyes. "You don't know?," she asked her sister. She was the smartest girl she knew but about stuff like this, she could be really dense.

Beth just shook her head and sighed deeply. "I mean we've talked about it some, but we get interrupted a lot." Beth stated.

"Interrupted by what? The birds? You said yourself that you guys hadn't come across anyone since we left." Even Maggie could not bring herself to say the words. The loss of the prison and their family was something none of them would ever get over.

Beth shook her head. "No smarty pants. We get interrupted by walkers all the time. Circumstances." Beth said and then she thought of all the times Daryl had put the brakes on things. "Even Daryl himself!" She blurted a little too loudly and clamped her hand over her mouth, remembering that he had just walked outside a few minutes ago. She didn't know if he was in earshot or not but she definitely didn't want him to overhear what she and Maggie were talking about now. She really needed someone else's opinion.

Maggie's eyebrows shot up at that one. "He interrupts?" Now she was confused.

Beth shook her head. "Never mind. Even you and Glenn interrupted us." Beth said with the annoying flush creeping up on her skin again.

"We did?" Maggie squeaked then her eyes went wide at the implications. "Elizabeth Anne Greene!" She knew her sister was no longer a baby. She had grown up a lot over the past few years, faster than Maggie had to. She thought probably in a lot of ways, Beth was way more mature than Maggie had been at her age.

"Wait!" Beth breathed. She thought she heard Daryl outside the door. He came sauntering back in the camper just then.

Maggie wanted to scream when she saw Daryl in the doorway. She liked him just fine but she was dying to know what was going on. It was nearly killing her not knowing. Maggie looked to Beth. "This conversation is not over, little sister." Maggie was grinning from ear to ear.

Beth nodded at her, the crimson in her face heating up further.

"Ya'll hens finished gossipin' in here yet?" Daryl said, but there was no bite in his words.

Beth walked over from where she and Maggie had been preparing a simple stew over the kerosene stove. If Glenn ever got back with some squirrels, it was promising to be a pretty good supper as far as meals went.

"Honey I'm home!" Glenn called from the door. He held up a string with three squirrels, the pride obvious in his features.

Maggie walked over to the door and planted a kiss on her husband's lips. "Great work honey. You gonna clean 'em? Me and Beth can add them to the stew if you hurry."

Glenn kissed Maggie back briefly and nodded at her. "Yeah, I'll go get them skinned and bring them back in a few minutes. Hey Daryl, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Daryl glanced at the Asian, wondering what he needed to say that he didn't want the ladies to hear. He shrugged his shoulders. "Sure I'll be right there." He tossed down the wrench he had retrieved from the toolbox after he finished his smoke. Glenn turned and left and Daryl walked over to where Beth was standing. He eyed Maggie warily but she just kept grinning at him that goofy grin of hers.

Beth turned from the pot of stew where she had just added a healthy sized can of potatoes and smiled up at him. She turned to face him, the stew momentarily forgotten.

Daryl looked a little uncertain standing there in front of her but he reached his hands out and lightly grasped the soft fabric of the flannel, where the buttons were fastened, in his hands. "You look good in my shirt." Was all he said and it was whispered so low Beth didn't think anyone had heard but her.

Beth's breath caught in her throat at the way he was looking at her, like he wanted to unbutton the very item he was speaking of. She bit her lower lip unconsciously as the perpetual blush crept up on her cheeks again. "I like wearing it." She admitted shyly, acutely aware of her sister's presence. She was pretending to be busy shuffling the deck of cards that was lying on the table. Beth knew better. She knew she was listening to every word, even if she couldn't hear it.

"I'll be back in a bit. Gonna go see what Glenn is up to." He said in his gravelly voice. Beth was getting used to all the tones that Daryl's voice had to it. Even though his words were completely benign, his tone reminded her of earlier today when he had been telling her he thought she was beautiful. She sighed and smiled up at him, not really trusting herself to speak. Her heart was fluttering in her chest, all the emotions rushing through her at once; desire, love, and nervousness over what was coming next. She stepped a little closer to him, bringing her hands up to his chest, resisting the urge to run her hands over the planes of his muscles that showed in his still unbuttoned shirt, their shoes now touching as she leaned against the counter behind her.

Daryl was acutely aware of Maggie's presence but so far she seemed pretty okay with everything even though he didn't think she knew the whole story yet. He had heard them giggling while he was finishing his cigarette and he was pretty sure he was the topic of conversation. Normally that would be something that would anger him, but this was Beth and her sister. He just didn't see red as much as he used to anymore. He took a sharp breath inward as Beth brought her hands up to fan out her fingers over his chest. He reached his hand up and brushed Beth's hair back from her face, winding his hand gently in her long blonde tresses, loving the way it fell over her shoulders now that he had freed it from her perpetual ponytail. As he held his hand against her head, she leaned into his touch slightly and he dipped his head down to brush his lips against hers in a chaste but sweet kiss. He dropped his hand from her hair, not really wanting to let her go but business needed to be tended to. He felt a little thrill at the look she sent him as he broke away from her.

Beth could not believe that Daryl had just kissed her in front of her sister. She watched him leave and brought her fingers up to her lips, unable to hid the smile behind her hand. As far as kisses went, it wasn't the hottest one they had ever shared, not by a long shot, but the tenderness in it and the way he had fingered the fabric of his flannel; her heart was beating in her chest and she felt the butterflies start their dance in her tummy. As Daryl closed the door to the camper, Beth collapsed against the counter and glanced to her sister who was looking at her with her mouth hanging open.

"God Bethie. How do you keep your hands off him?" Maggie breathed. Don't get her wrong, she loved her husband. But damn, that was a fine specimen of a man and there wasn't anything wrong with looking. She and Glenn weren't the jealous types.

Now it was Beth's turn for her mouth to drop open. "Maggie!" Beth tried to be shocked but who was she kidding. She took a deep breath to steady her quivering nerves. "God it's hard Mags." She said instantly realizing her mistake.

"I bet it is hard." Maggie collapsed in a fit of giggles.

Beth playfully smacked her sister on the arm. "Not that! God Maggie, you are so freakin' perverted!" Not that Beth was surprised. Maggie had always been this way. And when she and Zach had started dating, she had gone to Maggie asking about birth control and Maggie had been a little shocked then but once she realized that she had no right to be upset over such a natural progression of things, especially in their world. Of course, still all she and Zach had done was share a few kisses and a couple of attempted gropes on his part. But Beth had never really been able to feel passionate about Zach. She squelched the bit of sadness that had crept up in her mind. They had never been meant to be, but she still was sad about the way he died. No one should have to die like that.

Beth sighed. "I've missed you so much Maggie." She looked at her sister, serious now.

Maggie sighed and knew what was coming next. She knew they needed to talk about their dad. Maggie felt her eyes welling up with tears. "Daddy would approve ya know." Maggie spoke softly, sending a pointed gaze at her baby sister. They both knew they were talking about her and Daryl. They were sitting on the floor of the camper, letting the stew simmer.

Beth gasped a little when Maggie said that and Beth couldn't keep it in any more. She had grieved for her father sure, but this was her sister, the only person in the whole world who knew exactly how she felt. "I know." Beth breathed. "I think the same thing," Beth said. She knew without a doubt that her father would be happy that she had someone to love and someone to take care of her. He would be even happier knowing that man was Daryl. He had held him in high regard. It made her feel better knowing that her sister felt the same way she did. In thinking about her dad and missing his wisdom, Beth let the tears flow down her face. "I miss him so much Maggie." Beth's voice broke on a little sob then.

That's all it took for Maggie to lose control over the sadness that she had been pushing down for the past couple of months. Hearing the pain in her sister's voice echo so perfectly the enormous ache that threatened to crush her chest propelled her forward as she and Beth just clung to each other, much like the day that Beth had tried to end her own life. They sobbed in each other's arms for several aching minutes, finally pulling themselves back and wiping at their tears, the only sound in the whole camper their breathing as their cries subsided into soft hiccups.

"God we're a mess." Maggie said, laughing a little.

Beth laughed too. "Yeah, sa notty mess. I hate crying." Beth swiped at her tears and got up to get a box of Kleenex from the counter, handing it to Maggie as she sat down. Beth blew her nose softly.

"I miss him too Beth. But I don't think he would have made it out even if that bastard hadn't done what he did." Maggie looked at Beth, her expression pained.

"I thought the same thing, Mags. It was so crazy when we left. We barely got out alive." Beth breathed, remembering the terror of that day. Both Greene girls knew that their father, while strong, would never have likely made it out alive with his leg and all. "We saw Molly's shoe." Beth shuddered at the memory of the little girl, originally one of the Woodbury people. She and Daryl had come across that group of felled walkers and the shoe popped up in Beth's memory every now and again, a stark reminder of everything that they had lost. Neither one ever mentioned Judith; like it was sacred territory.

"We found the bus. Me and Sasha and Bob." Maggie's voice was barely above a whisper as she remembered that day. She had torn through the entire bus, needing to make certain that Glenn wasn't on it. She shivered at the thought she had of finding him turned or dead. She wasn't sure which would have been worse, knowing that he had turned into a monster or being devoured by one. "It didn't look like anyone made it." Maggie said. She and Glenn had talked about it many a night at camp trying to piece together events that occurred when they were separated but everyone had gone so scattered after the prison that it was hard to make sense of them. It was like opening a brand new puzzle and discovering that half of the pieces were missing. She couldn't make a clear picture of any of it.

"It must have been hard being away from Glenn all that time." Beth looked to her sister, the pain etched on her features.

"You have no idea. I thought I was going to lose my mind, Beth." There was silence between them for a few minutes as they both contemplated all the things that had happened to them, together and separately.

"Look at us. We're pathetic." Beth said, running a shaky hand through her hair.

Maggie laughed and reached over to smooth down Beth's hair. "When did you start wearing it down? It looks good on you." Her sister had sure grown up a lot since they had last seen one another.

"This morning?" Beth's faced wrinkled up cutely.

Maggie saw that familiar blush creeping up on Beth again. "Okay now sister, the men folk are outside. It's time to spill." Maggie's tone barred no arguments.

Beth took a deep breath and started. "Well when we first left the prison, he was the same Daryl as always." She rolled her eyes for effect, knowing her sister would know what she was talking about.

"Surly? Grouchy? " Maggie asked knowingly.

"The worst!" Beth said exasperated, thinking back to those days after they fled the shattered safety of the prison's walls. "Most days, I really wanted to kill him! We had been trekking through the woods for days and I had wanted a drink." She glanced at her sister, hoping she wasn't going to give her hell over the alcohol.

Maggie didn't even blink. Not much fazed her since the Governor and his men had waged war against them. "Go on" She encouraged.

"We were at this golf resort and I finally found a bottle of Peach Schnapps. Only I couldn't do it. I was still a mess then. But then Daryl got mad and walked over and slammed the bottle against the floor." Maggie raised her eyebrows at this. "It's not as bad as it sounds. It's actually kind of cute. He told me that my first drink shouldn't be Peach Schnapps." She smiled a little at the memory.

"I always knew Daryl was a smart guy. Peach Schapps is gross." Maggie said knowingly.

"Well then we found this old shack. It was full of moonshine." Beth grimaced then, remembering the awful taste and the burn as it slid down the back of her throat.

"That's a big jump; Peach Schnapps to moonshine." Maggie observed. "But yeah, moonshine is a real drink. So did you guys get drunk together?" Maggie asked.

"If you'd quit interruptin' I'd be able to tell ya everything." Beth looked at her sister and grinned when she stuck out her tongue. But at least it shut her up.

"Yeah we got drunk. We played I Never like Mary Ann and Katie used to do at parties all the time." She said, knowing Maggie would remember what she was talking about. She continued, "It was awful. I kept asking him the wrong thing and he got all pissed off and dragged me outside to kill walkers, manhandling me in the process"

Maggie's jaw dropped open, but she didn't utter a word at Beth's glance. "Yeah, I know, I was angry. He was really drunk! But I was too, to be honest. And we just started arguing, really arguing. I called him out on his grumpy surly-ass attitude." Beth skipped over the part where she had told him she remembered about the barn. She didn't want to bring that up to Maggie as that involved her too and the last thing she wanted to do was to bring something so painful to that her sister may have worked past.

"He broke down then Maggie." Her voice was barely above a whisper. It had nearly killed her that day, watching big strong, gruff Daryl Dixon break down in front of her and cry. It had never been more evident the pressure he put on himself to protect the group. It nearly destroyed him as much as it did her with everything they lost. "Something broke then. We talked afterwards about…everything. " Beth didn't know it but her eyes took on a dreamy quality. "We stayed up half the night drinking moonshine and spilling our secrets." She didn't say anything to Maggie about them burning the house down that night. That seemed something that was sacred between her and Daryl, something just for them. "After that, everything was completely different. He's different." She said wistfully, fingering her locket around her neck.

"So that doesn't tell me anythin' about what me and Glenn interrupted this morning." Maggie said, her tone teasing but accusatory. Her eyes were narrowed.

"We haven't done it yet, Maggie." Beth admitted shyly. "We were kissing….and stuff. Then you and Glenn showed up."

Maggie groaned loudly. "Aw, damn! I'm sorry Bethie." Her tone was truly apologetic. "So wait, what have you done then." Maggie was in awe of her sister and her story, but more so she was in awe of Daryl and the fact that he had not taken advantage of her sister. He certainly had ample opportunity; that was evident. It gave her a whole new respect for him. She realized now that all the looks she had seen pass over Daryl's face as he looked at her sister were ones of love. "You love him, don't you?" Maggie asked and was so happy to see the happiness that washed over her sister's face as she nodded slowly.

"I do Maggie. I love him so much. I think he loves me too. We haven't said it yet." Beth said. She and Daryl had a hard enough time navigating their relationship. Explaining all this to her sister was somewhat daunting. But the expression on Maggie's face told her that she got it.

Maggie looked at her sister softly. "Of course he loves you. How could he not? 'Sides, it's written all over his face every time he looks at you" Maggie could not help the tenderness that she felt for her baby sister. She would always protect her, always. Now that she knew that her sister was safe, she knew she needed to thank Daryl. She owed him everything and she was fiercely glad he was the one Beth got out with. Who knew what would have happened if she had stayed on that bus like Maggie had thought?

Beth sighed. "It is isn't it." She said wistfully. She was still getting used to the way Daryl looked at her.

Beth stood up and reached a hand down to help her sister up. Maggie let out a little huff as Beth pulled her to her feet, seemingly with no effort. "You been working out baby sister?" She glanced at Beth's biceps which though her arms were gangly, the muscle definition was clear.

"Just killing walkers is all." Beth admitted. "I'm not as weak as I used to be." Beth said to her sister, proud of the fact that she could take care of herself now.

"You never were weak, Bethie." Maggie said affectionately. "Somehow I knew you made it out okay. We're Greene girls remember?" They both laughed. It was true. Hershel had raised his girls well; everyone knew that.

"Wonder what Daryl and Glenn are out there talking about. Wish we could eavesdrop." Maggie said and wiggled her eyebrows at Beth.

"Stop. Let them have their guy moment." Beth said. "Daryl hasn't had anybody but me to talk to for months now." She reminded her sister.

"Yeah, Glenn hasn't either since we found each other." They both giggled at that thought. It was a wonder both men hadn't gone insane by now.


Glenn and Daryl worked side by side, dressing the squirrels, careful to leave as much of the meat as possible when trimming the skin away. They were silent at first as they set everything up to get it cleaned. Daryl glanced about every now and then scanning the treeline for any sign of walkers. He noticed Glenn doing the same. He knew Glenn had called him out here for something other than needing company or his help with cleaning a couple of squirrels. It was hardly labor that needed to be divided. He cleared his throat a bit. "So you tracked us up here huh?" Daryl didn't disguise the pride in his tone.

Glenn looked at Daryl, unsure of how to broach the subject he most wanted to discuss, but tabled it for now. "Yeah, it was harder than I remembered you talking about. Plus I had gotten pretty rusty. But when I found Maggie and she told me she wanted to go find Beth, some if it came back to me. We followed a couple of trails that went cold fast. I told Maggie at least a hundred times that I wished I had paid more attention or gone out hunting with you more."

Daryl looked at Glenn thoughtfully. They had all had regrets about the time they had spent at the prison. They had gotten a false sense of security living behind those walls, fooling themselves into thinking that they were untouchable.

"Looks like you did okay to me. How you'd find us though, gotta admit 'M curious." Daryl said as he finished slicing away the rest of the hide of the squirrel. It would be nice to have some fresh meat tonight. They had been eating canned for days now. It never tasted quite the same once it was packed up in the aluminum binding.

"Well I had found a couple of your bolts." Glenn said, looking to Daryl. "Sorry I lost them along the way, though."

"Don't matter. What else?" Daryl asked. He had long stopped caring about wasting bolts. He had gotten pretty good at making new ones.

"Maggie found Beth's diary back in South Carolina somewhere a few miles back. It was snowing that day so it stood out pretty good on the ground." Glenn remembered fondly the look on Maggie's face when she had found virtual confirmation of her sister being alive. Maggie said she never went anywhere without the thing.

Daryl nodded thoughtfully. He wondered if Beth even knew it was missing. He doubted it; she wrote in the thing nearly every day. "She'll be glad to have it back" Was all Daryl said.

Glenn knew he had left out a lot, but he was really itching to ask Daryl a huge favor. "I wanted to talk to you and see if you could maybe help me out." Glenn looked at Daryl sideways. Everyone knew how much he and Maggie loved each other. They got teased endlessly about their constant trysts back at the prison. The truth was since they had found each other, they hadn't found even one minute to be together. They had been with the others up until a few days ago and ever since then they had not been able to find any shelter. And out in the open they were so exposed and vulnerable, it had been too daunting to attempt.

Daryl looked at him, his eyebrows raised as if to say 'spit it out'.

Glenn took a deep breath. "Me and Maggie just found each other a couple of weeks ago and we've been with other people for the most part. And it's kind of private up here." He raised his eyebrows at Daryl hoping he was catching his meaning.

Daryl groaned loudly. "Seriously man?" Daryl couldn't believe it. "Ain't you two got enough of each other yet?"

Glenn normally would blush but he was about to die. He and Maggie had talked about it so much he was about to go insane. "Come on man, you gotta help me out." Glenn looked at Daryl pleadingly. "Think about how you would feel if you were separated from Beth for months." He knew it was hitting below the belt, but he was desperate.

Daryl had started fiddling with his bow. He mulled over Glenn's words; the thought of being without Beth for any length of time sent a ribbon of fear into his gut. It was too horrible to even contemplate being away from her, not being able to see her or touch her or see that beautiful smile that lit up every space she occupied. He looked over at Glenn. "When?"

Glenn looked up in surprise. He didn't think he'd get him to agree to it so easily. He nearly collapsed in relief. He reached out and clapped Daryl firmly on the shoulder. "You'll do it?"

Daryl looked at him crookedly. "What exactly is it you're asking me ta do?" He'd really like to hear it.

"Just maybe you and Beth take a walk after dinner. Maybe go play fetch with that deranged dog you have." They both were watching Lucky chase after the rabbits. "Give us like an hour?" He looked to Daryl waiting for his response.

The dog was not a hunter, that was for sure, thought Daryl. Lucky made to catch the rabbit he was chasing now and when he dove, he missed. Daryl shook his head, musing that it might have something to do with his missing eye. Daryl sighed deeply. "'Aight. Does Maggie know you're askin' me this?" He asked Glenn, glancing at him sideways. He wasn't about to get in the middle of some marital squabble between the two of them.

"Well not in so many words, but I kind of caught on to it earlier." Glenn said mysteriously.

"Guess I better get back in there and fix the sofa bed." Daryl said, turning to leave and then he spun back around suddenly. "That means you don't do anythin' in our bed." He warned him and that was something he meant. There was something disturbing in thinking about the alternative.

"So you've done the deed huh?" Glenn was grinning at him now.

Daryl rolled his eyes and rubbed a hand over the scruff on his face. He looked at Glenn and back at the door, weighing his options here. He wasn't one to talk about feelings and shit with anybody, not even with Rick back at the prison and sure as hell not with Merle. But he wondered since Glenn was married to Beth's sister, maybe he had a handle on the mystic minds of Greene women.

"Ain't none of your business if we have." He said gruffly then sighed. "We were going to this morning." Daryl couldn't believe the words had come out of his mouth.

Glenn laughed outright. "So we DID interrupt something this morning! I knew it! Maggie told me I was crazy. She knew something was going on but she didn't jump right to that. She's blind when it comes to seeing her sister for who she really is." He shook his head. He wasn't sure what Daryl was asking him but he figured he owed it to him to hear him out.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, funny man" Daryl muttered. "Just got me thinkin' is all. It's gonna be crowded at our camp from here on out." He sent Glenn a glance hoping he caught his meaning cause otherwise he was going to have to drag it out of him.

Recognition washed over Glenn's face as he caught the man's meaning. "I hear ya, man. Yeah, we'll have to come up with some kind of system. Maybe if you and Beth are doing the do, you can put a tie on the door or something." He suggested.

Daryl grimaced then. He was not in the least comfortable discussing his sex life, or the lack thereof in this case, with anyone, least of all Beth's brother-in-law. "'S not what I was sayin'" Daryl huffed. "I'm just sayin' me and Beth have only had each other for a long time now. We've gotten used to it. I don't want her feeling uncomfortable about any o' it." He said firmly. Daryl knew on some level that he didn't have a right to ask Glenn to keep his mouth shut about his and Beth's…well whatever the fuck they had going on, especially after all the shit he gave him and Maggie about all their screwing around back at the prison. But Beth was different than Maggie. Things like that were sensitive to her. They were sensitive to him too. It would be better if they just let him and Beth just. Be. What they had was so new and the last thing Daryl needed was some juvenile high school ribbing to get in the way of him and Beth navigating their relationship.

Glenn looked thoughtfully at Daryl. It always amazed him when he got to glimpse the deep soul that hid behind the growling bear that was sometimes Daryl Dixon. He got what he was saying. They were going to need a little space too, not so much for the physical. "I got your back man." Was all Glenn said.

Daryl looked at him and gave his head a nod. It wasn't much of a response but Glenn got it. They understood each other. In walking back into the camper, Glenn carrying the meat and Daryl carrying something that might work for the springs of the dumb-ass sofa bed, it felt like they had never been separated from the two of them at all. It was just like old times.

Whew! That was a long freaking chapter. Lots of talking but it was way way overdue. Hope you like this. I am trying so hard to keep everyone in character. It's hard when you are writing four characters instead of two. So let me know how I did. I have to say that weaving Maggie and Glenn into the story has been challenging but rewarding. Hopefully we got some funny moments, maybe a sad one too, with this chapter. So read, review and everything. I know you will, you all are the best! Until next time, xoxoxo

PS – If you happen to read Vanilla Fields, there was a little snafu with Chapter 23 update yesterday. I had to take it down and work some things out but it's back up now. Spread the word. I know a lot of people got confused when they got the story alert but then couldn't find the chapter later and I didn't get it up until like 2:00 a.m. Anyways, thought you all would like to know for those of you who follow my other Bethyl story.