AN: Sorry this update took so long. I was sick for most of the past three days and did not feel like getting out of bed let alone the computer. In addition, my cat (jerk that she is) knocked over a drink on my laptop and it fried. (rest in peace Toshiba Satellite). So I have had to resort to a very old and very slow desktop but it is better than nothing. So without further adieu:

Chapter 36

Beth was running as fast as she could through the mossy swamp. It was dark and humid, the noon Georgia sun beating down onto the trees overhead and creating a thick blanket of fog over the swamp. She could hear splashing in the water and shuddered because she knew these waters were prone to gators. But instead of turning and finding dark yellow eyes peering at her from just above the water of the swamp, she came face to face with a walker. She stood there confused for a moment as her mind readjusted to the switch in predators. The walker began to tear at the flesh at her stomach and Beth's first thought was of the baby. The pain was excruciating. Then the walker pulled on her arm and was shaking it back and forth and saying her name. Which was weird, because she knew walkers couldn't talk. She opened her eyes to find Daryl hovering over her in their bed, his hair mussed from sleep. They had fallen asleep entwined in each others arms after the horrible day they had. Everything came rushing back at her and that's when she realized that her stomach was cramping something awful. She placed her hand over her belly with a feeling of dread spreading throughout her and the bitter acrid taste of fear rose up into the back of her throat. She felt a spreading wetness between her legs and prayed she was wrong about what she suspected, but when she pulled back her hand and peered at it in the moonlight it was difficult to mistake the bright red blood for anything other than what it was. "Go get Maggie" Beth looked at Daryl and tried very hard not to panic. He looked like he had seen a ghost, but got up and dressed quickly, heading down the hall being careful not to wake anyone that wasn't necessary.

As Beth watched Daryl walk away, she let her tears fall unbidden. The baby. She was losing their baby. Beth felt another stab of pain in her belly but it was nothing compared to the dagger of sadness that had just pierced her heart. Maggie came padding in, her eyes fully of worry and Glenn was right behind her.

Maggie took one look at Beth and the blood on her hand and knew instantly what was happening. Her father had been very thorough in telling Maggie all about a woman's body and pregnancy and childbirth and all the stages in between, even miscarriage. To be honest, Maggie already knew something about miscarriage. It happened once in a while on the farm growing up. She remembered one time one of the barn cats had a litter and the baby had come out not formed all the way. Daddy had said then that the mama cat had probably carried it with her the whole time and that was just the way nature was. Maggie wasn't so sure about nature and all that right now. She could see the heartbroken expression on Beth's face and that's when Maggie started crying too. It's a good thing she had decided not to be a nurse. She would be terrible at this, she thought.

Maggie gave curt directions to Glenn and Daryl about what items they needed and Maggie set about the task of cleaning Beth up and verifying that it was indeed what it appeared to be. It was just too much blood for it to be anything other than a miscarriage. Once Beth was settled in the bed in a new pair of sweats and one of Daryl's flannel shirts, Maggie had Glenn to fetch her bag. When they had last raided a house, Maggie had found a bottle of Vicodin. She shook one out in her hand and handed it to Beth. "Here take this Bethie. You'll sleep better and it will help with the cramping". Maggie reasoned.

But Beth just shook her head. "No, I don't want to sleep. It just-" But Beth's voice broke and she couldn't finish her sentence. She sobbed, her chest heaving up and down. She felt like she might suffocate on her grief.

Maggie bent down and kissed her sister on the head, handing Daryl the pill hoping he could coax it into Beth. She and Glenn took their leave and Daryl shut the door behind them. Fate seemed an awfully cruel force at this moment. Yesterday Lizzie and now tonight their baby, thought Daryl. He didn't know how to feel actually. He had just started to warm to the idea of a little Dixon running around and now that dream was gone. His chest hitched a bit at that and Daryl sat down on the bed beside Beth and handed her the pill. She took it wordlessly and swallowed it dry, then folded herself into Daryl's arms, her chin head pressing up against his chin, fitting in that perfect space made just for her. She cried then. She wept for everything that she had wanted for their child. She didn't know how to put everything she felt into words. She didn't know how to tell them that she wanted to take her child to the park when things got back to normal. She didn't know how to say that she already had seven different names picked out for a boy and a girl and none of them were quite right. She had no idea how to tell even Daryl that she hadn't wanted the pain medicine because she wanted to feel it; all of it. She wanted to feel the pain of the tiny little life that had not stayed in this world long enough.

Daryl cried with Beth, silently, just tears streaming down his face. He had never felt so helpless in his entire life. Beth had never been this sad before. Well maybe one time before; that time that no one ever spoke of anymore. It was a lifetime ago. After Sophia had come out of the barn and Beth's mother. Daryl shivered a little at the thought. That hadn't been a good day in anybody's book, he reckoned.

Beth's sobs were starting to become small hiccups every now and then. It broke Daryl's heart to see her this way. She was always such a ray of sunshine in the room, always the one to look on the bright side, always the one to see the good in people and in every situation. She amazed him, his Beth. But to see her like this; it was like Daryl had been kicked in the gut. And he couldn't do a damn thing about it, except this he guessed. He was holding her now and she had at least stopped crying. That was something and he would take it.

The next morning the sun was streaming through the window and Daryl could tell by the slant of the rays against the wall that it was going on noon. He groaned as he tried to shift. Beth was still asleep in his arms and stirred as he moved. He stilled for a moment as she stiffened and he could almost hear the minute she remembered about the baby. His own heart gave a pang and he shoved it down. He kissed Beth on the forehead. "Mornin' Princess". She smiled weakly at him and laid back down, curling into a ball.

"Want some breakfast?" he asked, hoping to draw her out.

Beth only shook her head and pulled the covers over her.

Daryl looked at her worriedly and dressed hastily. He didn't know what to do with this Beth. He didn't know sad Beth. He was used to vibrant Beth, happy Beth, his Beth.

He pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I'll be back with breakfast in a second" he said before heading out the door.

Beth breathed out a sigh of relief when he left. She hadn't wanted to speak because she was afraid she would start crying again. Even as she had this thought, the tears welled up in her eyes, burning as they always did right before they spilled over her lids onto her cheeks. She just wanted to go back to sleep. She closed her eyes and let the drowsy feeling take her over again.

Daryl walked down the steps with dread. He didn't really want to face everyone. He didn't feel like answering everybody's questions and there were bound to be a lot. He just wanted for a moment, for everyone to disappear except for him and Beth and he instantly was sorry he wished for that because for a while all they had wished for was their prison family back. It was just that it was so hard to go through something this private on a public level. It was like he was on display and that was something that Daryl had never liked. He was a hang in the background kind of guy.

He took a deep breath and entered the kitchen area, where everyone was milling about going about their day. It was business as usual but it also appeared that everyone already knew what happened. Good, he thought, less for me to have to explain.

Maggie spoke first, "How is she?"

Daryl fixed a cup of coffee and stirred in some sugar absently. "Quiet. But she's not crying anymore".

Maggie only nodded. "Make sure you get something to drink in her today." She instructed.

"What about food?" Daryl was fixing some bread and peanut butter with jelly.

"Doubt she will want it. Main thing is to keep her hydrated." Maggie didn't elaborate further and Daryl wasn't sure he wanted to know. He was no prude but he was a man, dammit, and it was better if some things were left to mystery when it came to the workings of a woman, he thought. Maggie reached up and squeezed Daryl's shoulder in passing by.

Maggie was reminded of a time long ago when everyone had been discussing Beth in hushed tones. How things had changed and how some things stayed the same. But she knew her sister was stronger now. She would come out of this. She just needed time.

Daryl didn't know what to do except follow Maggie's advice. It meant a lot to him that Maggie trusted him to get Beth through this. Before everything had happened with the fall of the prison, Maggie might have stepped in and fixed everything and hovered over Beth, mothering her. By Maggie stepping aside and letting Daryl care for her now, emotionally and physically told Daryl that she really thought of him as family. He was proud and scared all at the same time. He hoped he could live up to their expectations. He wasn't entirely sure that he had what it took but he sure as hell was going to try.

He thought again of when Beth had tried to kill herself back on the farm. He had heard the story. No one thought that little Beth Greene was strong enough to overcome all that, but she had. And so much more. She had survived. She was so much stronger than she gave herself credit for. And he would be damned if he would let her think otherwise.

Okay the long awaited chapter 36. So sorry it took so long, please leave a review when you go. It helps me figure stuff out and decide if I need to continue. I know it's been rough the past couple of chapters but it is just kind of the way I planned it. Not back to back tragedy mind you but it was the right time I suppose. Sometimes it plays out on paper different than it does in my pre-planning mind. Anyways, hang in there with me. There is more Bethyl goodness coming, I promise. I have been playing with a couple of other ideas. But I think I might have the rest of Accepting Love worked out in my head. The next one I write is going to be a Bethyl AU. But first things first, review this chapter. Pretty please? Until next time. Xoxoxoxo