Author's Notes: I had a hard time beginning but I finally finished it! I hope you like this one. I couldn't help myself so… note the M rating once more.

Once again, thank you so much to all you, my new subscribers, and thank you to everyone who has been reading since the start. I am so overwhelmed with all the love you leave! I love our Fandom so much! BETHYL forever. :D

Second Chances

all of my heroes sit up straight

they stare at the ground

they radiate

me, I'm mumbling in the kitchen for the sun to pay up
lonely is a ring on a cold coffee cup
I'm some sick hound
digging for bones
if it weren't for second chances, we'd all be alone

my hands they were strangers lost in the night
they're waving around in the dusty light
I'm waiting in the wings while the trees undress
cupping my ear to hear the wind confess
I'm a ghost in the garden
scaring the crows
if it weren't for second chances, we'd all be alone

I'm running from nothing, no thoughts in my mind
oh my heart was all black
but I saw something shine
thought that part was yours, but it might just be mine
I could share it with you, if you gave me the time
I'm all bloody knuckles, longing for home
if it weren't for second chances, we'd all be alone

I'm a shot through the dark
I'm a black sinkhole
if it weren't for second chances, we'd all be alone

-Gregory Alan Isakov

He was listening to the muted sounds of her even breathing as he held her in his arms while he waited for dawn to break. He couldn't sleep; still reeling from the fateful events not too long ago.

Daryl could still feel Beth's every fevered touch ghosting over his skin, could still see the look of exaltation on her angelic face as the both of them came apart in utter ecstasy. It all seemed like a wonderful, wonderful dream… something that his mind would vividly come up with, only to trick him into a false sense of reality once more.

Yet there she was.

Soundly asleep as she entangled herself within his warm embrace, her luminescent skin glowing with the filtered light of daybreak. She was so beautiful.

He traced all the curves of her bare body, barely covered by the white cotton blanket that they both shared. He could have looked at her forever and never find a single imperfection that she would bear, until his eyes dropped to the angry, scarlet gashes in her forearms and wrists. The man did a number on her… scratching and clawing to fend of his death… but to no avail. He realized the amount of force that she would have needed to successfully put him in a chokehold, let alone to snap his neck with the handcuffs, and he found himself actually, very impressed with the strength she secretly bore.

This woman would never cease to amaze him.

Beth released a tiny snort, mumbling softly in his ears and distracting the archer from his thoughts. He chuckled at the familiar sound, finding nothing more endearing than the music she made when his angel was sound asleep. Daryl couldn't remember the last time he genuinely felt this happy… this complete in his heart.

Well… actually… he did.

There was a point in time, somewhere in the middle of the woods in Georgia, when he actually felt even happier than now... if that were a possibility. He could still remember it like it was just yesterday- like everything hadn't gone to shit shortly after the best night of his life.

Beth stirred from her sleep, causing the archer to raise his gaze from her leather necklace to her fluttering eyes. The blonde rewarded him with a sleepy smile.

"Hi.." she murmured sweetly, sending flickers of happiness in his heart. He responded to her with a wordless peck on the lips.

"Glad to know you're not freaking out." She breathed softly with humor in her eyes. The archer returned with a light-hearted response of his own.

"As far as you know."

The blonde giggled, sliding herself so that her body was completely pressed against his while she wrapped both of her arms around his neck.

"Oh no… there's no turning back for you now, Dixon!" she laughed mirthfully, trapping the amused man between her embrace. "Either you're in, or you're out!"

For a second, the hunter didn't respond, and Beth thought that she had said something to upset her sensitive lover once more. His eyes darkened as he contemplated the sentiment between her words, wondering if now would be the time.

He grazed his knuckles softly along the faint scar on her cheek, his hooded eyes smoldering with an emotion that could only be undying love. The angel's breath hitched as he once again managed to take her by surprise with his profound honesty.

"I'm all in, Beth.."

Daryl whispered roughly… harshly… fervently. He wondered if he should continue, wondered if he should confess and unburden himself with actual extent of just how much he had been devoted to her all along.

But he couldn't find the courage.

"Me too… " she whispered, softly and sincerely. They were beyond the point of no return and they both knew it. There was no turning back anymore.

The archer however, couldn't help the sharp pang of shame and guilt that always clouded over him, leaving him with a question that always lingered on his mind.

"Are you sure?" he breathed with earnest confusion, completely at a loss why a miracle as good and pure as her would ever chose to pick him… twice.

Beth giggled at him with slight exasperation, pulling her face away from him in bewilderment, "Of course."

She took in a deep breath and steadied herself before she whispered to him the words that would undo all the other questions that constantly plagued him and free his soul from its haunting grasp.

"Even without my memories of our time from before… I want you to know… I would still love you just as much right now…"

"I've fallen in love with you.. even as a stranger… right from the start. I just didn't want to admit it to you or to myself."

Her protector's breath hitched at her confession, never once considering all those moments that the moment unfolding right now would ever be a possibility again. He wished he had known sooner… there were so many things he could have done differently from the start.

"Why didn't you say so?" he murmured, his voice low and cracking from his state of breathlessness.

She caressed his cheeks tenderly, her eyes ablaze with a silent plea.

"I'm saying it now…"

The sun began to peek through the horizon, leaving the both of them in a state of luminescence that hazed all their senses but the thunderous beating of their synchronized pulse. They could both see the tender kiss-mark that they had seared on to each other's hearts from last night.

Daryl never thought that two bruises could look so beautiful. He raised his gaze to hers once more, trying to find the only words he could find to convey his love.

"You know how much ya mean t'me, right?" the archer gruffed, tenderly… benevolently.

Her expression grew soft and her eyes filled with compassion for the torment in his eyes. She laced her hands on the soft brown strands that obscured the smoldering azure eyes that told her all that she needed to know.

"You don't have to tell me." She whispered, gliding her lips so softly against his, making him moan with a sudden spark of desire. "But you can show me…"

Through half-lidded eyes, the angel breathed, needing reaffirmation from him, not through words but through touch.

"Make love with me again, Daryl."

That. Daryl could do. Were his words would fail him, his ardent actions would not.

Besides... who was he to deny his w— his miracle's— earnest request?

He placed a tender kiss on her fingers and moved his mouth upwards to kiss her hand. Slowly, he continued to make a path of kisses across her forearm, all the way to the crook of her arm until he was showering her skin in succulent kiss atop her shoulders. Beth mewled softly as he gave an affectionate suck and rolled his tongue along her skin, adding to the growing collection of marks that showed his possession of her. The sensation of his zealous breath drove a shiver though her body as she clung closer to him to keep herself from losing control.

Daryl paused in front of her, his hand running the length of her arm as he leaned down to kiss her. Reaching around her back, he flipped her until her chest was pressed against the mattress, exposing the full length of her creamy back to him. She tilted her head sideways, yearning to see his face once more, but was stopped by the feeling of his hands brushing all her hair to the right side of her nape.

He sank his mouth to the exposed side of her shoulders and a moan escaped her throat, overwhelmed by the heat of hiss kisses as he reached around and gently caressed her breasts. His hands drifted down to her hips as he traced his tongue downwards, from the apex of her neck to the sensual curves of her back. She scooted her hips upwards, making way for his fingers to begin their torturous assault on her tender mound of flesh, rubbing slow torturous circles that made her knees tremble beneath him.

She was dripping for him, the evidence of her arousal slick against his fingers. While one hand remained stroking her bundle of nerves, he lifted her waist slightly with the other, before slowly plunging to fingers in the heat of her core.

"Mmmm.."

Beth moaned, completely drowning on the sweet intoxication of his hands, and fingers, and mouth, and lips. She was his instrument, rewarding the hunter with sweet melodies of bliss as he adored her in the ways he knew how.

"I want to see you.." she pleaded, needing to see the look in his eyes as he worshipped her like this.

"Me too." He huffed as he slowly withdrew. She winced at his sudden absence but couldn't protest as he gripped both sides of her hips. She expected him to flip her over so that they could be face to face, but he only rotated the both of them until her chest was once against pinned against the mattress. A look of confusion spread on her eyes, until he pointed to the direction to which they both now faced.

That was when she realized that the archer was pointing towards a large floor length mirror against the wall, his storming eyes scorching through her simmering veins as he stared back at her through their reflections.

"Oh…" she breathed.

He would never get tired of that syllable that always escaped her lips. It was like a prayer to his soul.

"Watch." He whispered as he began to enter her from behind once more, his eyes never leaving her cloudy lustful gaze while his lips circled the strained strings of her throat.

He couldn't hold on any longer, needing to feel himself buried within his angel and get lost inside once more. He lifted her hips ever so slightly as he angled himself towards her entrance. She murmured inaudible words, eager and desperate for his assault.

Only he didn't assault her. As Daryl lowered his chest to mold against his angel's arcing back, he entered ever so slowly, unrelenting on his slow kisses on her neck. His hands wrapped around her entire body, encircled tight against her chest and waist so that all that she could feel is his complete possession of her.

Beth was beside herself, her lips parting wantonly as she watched him make love to her from an entirely different point of view.

This must be what heaven feels like.' The angel thought, completely enraptured by his languid kisses and agonizingly slow penetration. She was helpless under him, his weight completely pinning her so that all she could do was feel.

Whatever had held them apart, whatever had restrained their bodies and hearts before, was now gone. If the earth was spinning, it faltered—if the wind was blowing, it waited— if time was passing, it halted.

She clung one arm around his neck, holding him tighter against her as he filled and emptied her at the slowest, excruciating pace. All she could do was take him, all of him, as she muffled her strained moans with the pillow on her teeth, and feel flesh gliding languishly against flesh. He tortured her for an eternity, unrelenting with heavy breaths until finally,

"I'm think I'm going to break…" she purred, her knuckles white against the sheets as he plunged deep within her again and again.

"Look at me when you do.."

He gruffed, brushing his tongue on her ears as he consumed her with the fervor of his passion. His thrusting quickened, plummeting to the very depths of her core until he hit a spot just right and his angel writhed violently against his sturdy chest. She matched his pace evenly, reveling on the fullness of his steady onslaught. With half-parted eyes she watched him in the mirror, savoring the heady way he was enveloping her as their souls fused and merged in a heated blaze.

She felt the flash of heat again, followed by another and another as he continued pressing the secret spot, and she could not stop the noise that rose in her throat from escaping as she dissolved in his arms. There were no crashing waves, no ripples of ecstasy. Instead, a violent pleasure tore through her, a blinding whiplash that bloomed, radiating from her belly to the very tips of her fingertips. She cried out his name as she succumbed to the overwhelming ecstasy that set her veins on fire. He tightened his grip on her hands and he leaned in closer to her, his forehead touching hers as his mouth absorbed the musical moans of pleasure that escaped her lips.

He tried to hold on long as he possibly could, dragging on the intensity of her orgasm until the very last second... until she had completely consumed him and he had completely consumed her and neither he nor her had any idea where his love ends and hers began.

"Daryl, I love you."

The sweet words tore a low groan from his chest and drove him to a shattering climax. Threads of pleasure sparked in his veins, into every fiber of his being… it suffused him, carried him and lifted him as he came inside her. The angel would never get tired of the heady sensation. He held her close as they succumbed to their bliss, crying out her name which tasted like honey on his lips... and amber… and wine… and Beth.

After an eternity, he opened his eyes once more, only to find Beth lovingly gaze upon the storm in his soul from the reflection of their intertwined bodies in the mirror. He didn't know why, or how a sullen and stained man like him had come to be so blessed as to possess the heart of a creature as beautiful as her. All he knew was that for this moment, as he held her body tightly against his chest while they both exalted on their love, every ounce of pain he had ever had to endure in his long journey to meeting her was worth it all and more.

It had been a long day of running around and securing the fences, his entire back aching from the long hours of chopping wood. Taking Rick's place was hard work, and at the end of it all, he was entirely spent, and all he looked forward to was retreating to his cell where his songbird awaited.

"What should we read tonight?" she whispered as he placed her head on her lap. Immediately he felt calmer as he breathed in the honeysuckle and amber of her hair and skin. She was the only balm to his wounds, far better than any medication or drugs combined.

"Anythin' y' want." He replied, not caring about what words she spoke as long as he could hear the sweetness of her voice lull him into sleep.

"Are you sure? Because there's this one I've been itchin' to read but it maybe too… girly." She whispered, hoping that he would still agree.

"What's it about?"

He murmured, his curiosity piqued by the excitement that she tried to hide in her voice.

She was hoping he wouldn't ask that.

"It's about this man who had a really hard childhood…he falls in love with a lady but he thinks he doesn't deserve her so he keeps fighting all their feelings away."

Silence rang on his walls, making her cringe as she waited for his calculated response. Only, he didn't reply in the aggravated way she thought he would.

"Sounds about right…"

He mumbled, disdain lacing his heavy throat.

"Don't worry." She continued, hoping to cajole her companion into allowing her to read the story. "In the end… he realized that the only thing stopping him from being happy was himself."

"When he finally let himself just be with her… That's when the real magic begins."

He nodded on her lap, his eyes closing as he felt the wonderful sensation of her nails against his scalp. Maybe he stood to learn a thing or two from the novel she wanted to read. Maybe that's why she wanted to read it.

"If you already read it, why d'ya wanna do it again?" he murmured, burying his face lower on her lap as he found a comfortable position.

"It's worth it you know…" She replied, not missing a beat of his interrogation.

"When I read this book, it's like I remember everything, but I fall in love all over again..."

He scoffed at her, not out of irritation but out of humor. She playfully pushed his shoulder as a reply.

"It's true you know.."

"Everything gets a return… and it only gets better the second time around."

"Uhuh." He mumbled, paying no heed to her prophetic warning.

"You mark my words, Daryl Dixon!" she giggled, trying to prevent her companion from falling asleep. "One of these days, you're going to admit that I'm right! And you wanna know why?"

"Why?" he gruffed, his eyes slightly open with amusement for her declaration.

"Because I'm— ALWAYS— Right!"

The shower of scalding water on her skin felt glorious, washing away all the dirt and grime from yesterday as it soothed the swollen bruises on her body. She never thought that she would ever have this luxury in a post-apocalyptic world but small miracles do exist apparently.

Beth was humming to herself, the song unknown but familiar to the sinews of her memory. Her entire body ached, but ached in the right way as she felt the ghost of her lover's touches from last night and the morning after. She didn't think she would be so addicted to this so quickly, but now that the dam of her lust and longing had been broken, she didn't think she could ever have enough.

The blonde seraph wrapped a towel around the sensual curves of her body as she exited the shower, only to realize that her white shirt had long been ripped to shreds by the archer and is now laying on the bedroom floor. With a small annoyed click of her tongue she exited the room, wearing nothing but the fabric wrapped around her as she treaded towards the half-dressed hunter lying on their bed.

"Hey, can I borrow one more of your shirts?"

"Knock yerself out." He replied, pointing a finger towards the doorway to his bedroom where he kept all his clothes. Beth nodded and walked towards the hall only to be rapidly halted by Daryl midstep.

"Actually… I'll go get it myself." He spoke a little bit too roughly to be nonchalant. Beth lifted an eyebrow in confusion but allowed the man his privacy as he retreated to his room.

As the archer entered his room he realized it's state of dilapidation. Empty beer bottles were strewn around, along with half-eaten foods and unwashed clothing littering the floor. To his left stood a wall mirror, shattered into pieces during one of his depressive episodes.

How things have changed since then.

Daryl made a mental note to clean up the mess soon enough, so that maybe he could share the bigger room with his miracle of an angel, instead of the empty box that they have been using opposite the hall.

After he dressed his torso with a black sleeveless shirt, he reached for an oversized top for Beth to use and headed towards the door, only to turn back swiftly to his bed in realization of something. Slowly, he reached for his pillow and lifted it up the air, checking for the items he had kept hidden under it all along.

They were still there…

He breathed to his relief. He replaced the pillow back to its original position, as he treaded towards the doorway once more.

She was patiently waiting for him, her skin dripping wet and her hair plastered to her chest as she shivered from the draft of the hallway. All of a sudden, the front door of their house swung open, only to show her older sister entering their premises without warning.

Before Beth could run towards their room and take cover, Daryl opened up his bedroom and stalked towards her, leaving her paralyzed as Maggie's eyes widened in shock from the picture before her.

"Beth, I'm just here to check on your wounds and bring you some fo-!"

There stood her baby sister, naked as the day she was born, with her arms reaching out for her favorite companion with nothing but a small piece of fabric covering her. And the archer was unperturbed by it… like seeing her bare is a common occurrence in his daily life.

It wasn't… but it may as well have been.

"Oh…" Maggie stuttered mindlessly, in complete and utter shock. A second passed by and she blinked, now having some sort of mind-blowing epiphany about the actual extent of Beth's intimacy with Daryl.

"OHHHHHHHH…." She gasped, this time louder and higher-pitched.

Daryl's first instinct was to shove the shirt down his angel's body and somewhat cover her completely, while the blonde reached out for her sister.

"Well, I'll just come back la-"

"Maggie, wait!"

The two siblings caught each other's attention, with the younger of the two gripping her sister tightly in her wrists.

"Can we talk?" Beth spoke softly, her eyes shining with questions for the sibling she barely knew.

Maggie hesitated, given that her sister was only wearing one of Daryl's gigantic blue shirt to cover her, but did not want to refuse. "Surrrreee…" she replied, her eyes humorously shining with the absurdity of the situation.

Beth sagged in relief, before Maggie interjected.

"Why don't you go get dressed… and I'll come wait for you at my house?" the brunette suggested, her eyes warm and eager to get to know her sister once more. Her hazel eyes raised to the speechless tracker staring at the two of them from atop the stairs.

"You can come too." She smiled, hoping that her eyes proved no malice towards the man who is clearly besotted to the strongest of the Greene Family.

"Is Glenn gonna be there?" he gruffed, his voice rough but even.

"No." Maggie answered with a slight twinge of sadness in her voice. "He's on patrol for the next four hours."

Daryl nodded, finding the answer to his satisfaction. "Good. I'll be there."

The two of them smirked and rolled their eyes at the archer before they parted ways, the blonde reeling with the many questions she has yet to prepare, while the brunette dreaded the upcoming moment when she would have to come clean with just how much she had let her younger sister down.

"Maggie, it's us!"

Daryl bellowed as he swung the door open in the same fashion that the brunette had intruded upon their home. Beth rolled her eyes and giggled softly, making her way toward the kitchen where her sister stood preparing drinks.

"Hey, you're right on time!" Maggie called as she placed three glasses on the kitchen counter. "I made you you're favorite… strawberry lemonade!" she smiled, feeling proud of herself for scrounging up the materials she needed to complete the drink. Beth's eyes widened as she remembered the long summer days she spent at their farm, sipping the drink by the porch as she watched her siblings run around the fields. It seemed so long ago.

She eagerly took a gulp of the cold drink, rolling her tongue as she savored the sweet tanginess of citrus on her lips.

"Thank you." She smiled, finishing the drink in three enormous gulps with an innocent smile. Daryl and Maggie's eyes widened in surprise, watching the tiny blonde reach for the untouched drink in the archer's hand as she finished it in less than ten seconds. All of a sudden, Maggie understood why the hunter had warned her of her sister's enormous appetite.

"Ahhh.. So good!" she grinned, wiping the sugar from her lips with the back of her hands. "Just like when we were at the farm!"

Maggie's eyes constricted as she realized that her memories had come back. "You remember?" she gasped, reaching for her but pausing as she caught herself. She did not want to push Beth into the same reaction she had before.

The seraph nodded assertively with a warm smile. "Almost everything before the turn."

Her sister's eyes gleamed in delight, finding relief that they now shared some sort of common ground to build a new relationship upon. Her moment of bliss dissipated quickly however, when the blonde continued her sentence.

"That's actually why I wanted to talk to you…" she murmured, low and hesitant as she attempted to find the right question to begin.

"The thing is… I remember Daddy at the prison… And I remember bits and pieces of everyone else too…" The brunette dreadfully nodded, realizing where the question that would follow her statement. Beth continued,

"But for some reason… I barely have any memories of you. Do you… do you think you know why?" Beth's brows creased in a silent plea for any sort of answer that would make sense.

"Oh.. Bethy.. I'm so sorry.." Her older sister croaked, knowing fully knowing the reason why. "It's not your fault you can't remember anything…" she whimpered, her eyes watering with tears of guilt while held her hands in a tight fist.

"What do you mean?" Beth wondered.

Maggie took a deep inhale as she prepared herself to confess one of her greatest failures to her kin. "You can't remember me at the prison.. because… because… because I was never around."

Beth was speechless, but she allowed her sister the time to defend her absence in her life.

"After the turn… Glenn happened and I don't know… I guess I just forgot about the rest. I'm a horrible sister I know! I was never there for you! Not even after the prison fell! " Maggie clutched her chest tightly as tears flooded her eyes. These were the words that had been haunting her since her sister's apparent demise, boring a long known pain in the marrows of her bones from the heavy burden of her guilt. "The horrible part was… I promised Daddy that I would look out for you… but when you disappeared I didn't look for you… I looked for Glenn… I Just assumed you were dead.. even when Daryl told me you were still alive."

"He was always there for you.. right?" she breathed as she tearfully pointed to the archer that stood behind his angel vigilantly. "That's why you remember him the most. Because you had each other's backs."

"I didn't. I forgot you."

"That's why you don't remember me, Beth!" Maggie cried, finally exhaling the words she had so etched on her veins for so long. "Because I'm the crappiest big sister anyone could ever ask for even at the end of the world."

'At least she knew it.' Daryl silently scoffed, attempting to hide his less than cordial feelings for his miracle's older sister. How anyone could ever give up on Beth, ever forget Beth… he would never understand. It eased him to know that at least the brunette wasn't living blindly from the shortcomings she had for her sister who truly deserved so much better than what she had ever given her.

Beth on the other hand, couldn't speak. The air in her lungs left her as soon as her words flew out of her mouth. She had always had her suspicions, that the woman's presence wasn't as apparent in her life as the others. Why else would she partly recognize Rick, or Carol, or Michonne, who were not her own kin, but couldn't find a single recollection of her sister after the turn. She had traded the relationship they shared with the thickness of their blood, for a warm body to lie next to at night.

But it wasn't all that simple was it? Beth thought in her mind. Maggie had fallen in love, much like she has, and while she would not ever have given up hope that her sister would be alive during their departure, Beth could not find the fault in her for succumbing passionately to her love.

That was how the world worked now. Every emotion inflames you and swallows you whole, intensified by the fear of losing all the precious moments you could spend with the one you love. If Daryl had been missing, she probably would have searched for him first and not her as well.

" I forgive you."

She spoke, loudly, her voice ringing like crystal in between her sister's heaving sobs. Her two companions froze in shock and silence.

"Wh..What?" Maggie croaked, her eyes disbelieving as she was just sure she had imagined what she had heard.

Beth stood from the stool from where she sat and reached towards the trembling woman's hands. Her lips tightened in a determined smile as she released the burdened woman from the shackles of shame and guilt that bound her, purging her of the sins that stained her soul.

"I forgive you, Maggie."

She whispered, squeezing her grip softly on her palms. Maggie broke out in a gigantic sob as she wrapped her arms around her ever so compassionate sister. She truly was the best of them, the light in their family that they could not live happily without.

"I'm so sorry Beth! I'm so sorry!" She cried, her tears unstoppable with the torrent of her anguish and relief. Daryl's eyes widened as he watched the glimmering Angel of Mercy before his eyes spread her arms and return her sisters embrace with equal passion.

"Stop cryin' I said I forgive you!" she smiled, tears of sympathy also welling in the blue of her gaze. "I got a second chance at everything…" she stroked her sister's back, relishing the feeling of holding family for the very first time.

"You deserve one too."

"I wish you would just yell at me, Beth." The older woman stated as she pulled away from their embrace. "I would deserve it too, you know."

The angel laughed softly as she shook her head, finding no necessity for hate to ruin such an important moment of her homecoming.

"I just want my sister back… " she whispered. "I don't want to miss out in having you in my life again."

Maggie nodded, a bitter sweet anguish spread on the corners of her lips. "And I'm so happy to have you, back…" She cried, overwhelmed with the maelstrom of emotion that swirled within the walls of her home.

"How on earth did Daddy manage to raise such an angel like you?"

Daryl stood motionless as he marveled upon the kindness of her soul that refused to stop glowing from within her. She was a far better human than he was, he knew that more than ever now, as he watched his angel purify another tainted soul in the same way she has exorcised the demons in his. The world had never bore a more beautiful creature than this woman he so adored, and he found himself wondering the very same thing that the older woman had voiced…

From which corner of heaven did this angel, Beth Greene, fall from the sky to his side?