Beth stepped out of the RV that had been offered to them when they chose to stay at the camp. It was old and the motor had been stripped for parts, but the inside was alright. It held a table with a bench seat that could double as two single beds and a cupboard for clothes, a small sink, a double bed and a small bathroom in the back corner.

Daryl was crouched on the step cleaning blood off his crossbow, a sight that had become so normal to Beth now she stepped past him and sat on the chair, leaning back and then flinching forward as the chair pressed on her new tattoo. She re-adjusted herself and leaned back again, watching Daryl.

It made her flinch inwardly that it wasn't disgusting to her anymore. She remembered watching him do this a few years ago and her stomach had turned at the smell. Daryl seemed so unfazed by it, she couldn't understand then, but she did now, she didn't even really smell the rotten flesh anymore. He flicked a piece of brain matter from the corner of the string with a stick and even that didn't have her reeling with disgust. Beth wondered when it had become so painfully normal.

When had it become normal to Daryl? He'd always been an animal, the turn hadn't hardened him, if anything it had softened him and the thought of how bad his life must have been before this sent a chill down her spine and an ache to her heart. She looked at him instead of the bow, there was blood all over his shoulder and it had run down his arm and dried in a thick paste, and the grossest thing about that was it didn't even look disgusting to her. He still looked great.

He felt her eyes on him and glanced up. She smiled, noticing the blood on his face; it had been wiped away, but there were small traces that sat in the lines of his face. It wasn't gruesome at all. She remembered the first time she had really seen him like that, when Rick and Shane had dragged him across that field, T-Dog and Glenn in tow, T-Dog holding Sophia's doll. Daryl had been a sight alright, he was so bloodied up and the disturbing thing was that most of it wasn't the bright fresh type that came from him, most of it was the rotten stuff, except for the bright color that spewed out of his mouth, vibrant against the rest of him, like the red poppy of a war zone.

Beth wondered now if that was his own or if he had bitten into something, she knew he could do that after that day at the pharmacy, watching him rip out that man's jugular. She found it oddly satisfying knowing he could be like that when he had to. It was almost arousing, which she knew was really disturbing, somewhere in the back of her mind she knew she was supposed to be mildly afraid of that, but she wasn't.

"Is it true you had a necklace of ears?" she had wanted to ask him ever since Maggie had told her in hushed tones as they roamed the C-block fields, but until now she had always somewhere been a little afraid to ask.

Daryl didn't react like he normally did, his eyes didn't snap to hers, his hands didn't falter in their movements, he had nothing to hide, he finally understood that she accepted him, well most of him. "Who told ya that?"

"Maggie...Glenn told her. He was really concerned about it. Why'd you keep their ears? Was it to mask your smell?'

Daryl looked to Beth, he could be honest, he could share this stuff with her now and she wouldn't think he was a sissy for it. "Ya know that artist, the one that chopped his ear off an' painted sunflowers in vases, all that swirly shit, looks like a two-year-old got let loose with tha paints?"

"Van Gogh?"

Daryl nodded once before continuing "He 'ad this paintin', like red flowers in a field, real bright... after my mom died, right 'fore I left primary school my art teacher brought me a print of it, said sometimes we just have ta look for the small things. It was real nice ya know. I was a shit kid, always disruptin' the class, but she was nice anyway."

Beth smiled, if ever she met that teacher and by some miracle she was still alive, she'd be sure to give her a hug, but it still didn't answer her question."What's that got to do with the ear jewelry?"

Daryl shrugged. "People think he was crazy, 'cause he was mentally screwed... but his art, even though it looked like kids' paintin's, it was flawless, in a messy way, he was in control, despite his inner monsters."

Beth's mind wandered back to a review she was reading before the turn, she had a project on Van Gogh. "Longing for concision and grace." She added.

Daryl looked at her for a moment, "Yeah, some shit like that...anyway that's what I was thinkin' about, about bein' crazy, only in this world...I dun know I'm..." His voice trailed out, words failing him again.

"You found your equal... you didn't fit, but when the world turned upside down and back to front, suddenly, you were the one that understood, while everyone else couldn't... you being you made sense of a senseless world, like art made sense for Van Gogh... they were a symbol of recognition, that you were good at something, that it wasn't a choice, you had to be good at this or go insane." Beth wondered.

Daryl squinted at her, wondering how she got it, how she explained it so well, how she seemed to put words to his thought in a way he never could. "Yeah, sumfin' like that."

"You're smarter than you look Daryl Dixon." Beth grinned as she stretched her arm out and poked his ribs, earning her an annoyed shrug. "...What?"

He looked up and scanned the camp. "Don' do that…people got eyes."

"So what if they do." She eyed him carefully as he slumped a little. "Are you embarrassed of me?"

"Ain't that Beth." But the barely audible mumble did nothing to ease her conscience.

She let her eyes scan the camp before they settled back on him. "Who did you tell them I was?"

"Din' say nothin'... just said I had two more with me, a kid n' you."

Beth frowned. "What did you call me, when you mentioned me?"

He didn't look up just cleaned his bow, "Just said you were a young girl."

"Is that what I am to you?" She challenged, a little annoyed that he had tried to hide it.

"Ain't like that Beth, just don' want 'em thinkin'..."

"What about when they hear Jake call us mommy and daddy...didn't think that through did ya?"

Daryl looked at her. "Don' be like that, Beth."

She crossed her arms. "I'm not 'being like that,' you're the one apparently ashamed, you don't be like that."

Daryl huffed and looked back to his bow, "Just don' want 'em thinkin' I'm takin' advantage of ya s'all. They're good people, Beth…don't think they'd take too kindly to that."

Beth eyed him again gauging his reaction before answering. "Is that what you think is happening?"

Daryl shrugged. "Peach schnapps and all that."Beth frowned. "Jus you n me out there, just thinkin' maybe ya just wanted sumfin'... maybe that's changed now there's more people." He mumbled.

Beth sighed. "What on earth makes you think that?" She'd thought she had made it clear there was no going back and she was a little tired at the thought that she might have to tell him every day for the rest of her life.

Daryl looked to the ground. "Ya slept with Jake last night."

Beth smiled slightly to herself, she didn't miss the uncertainty that his voice held or the worry that flashed on his face. "Daryl, do you think I'd get Peach Schnapps tattooed on me? Don't really care how much you want out of this it's not gonna happen, not from my end." She took a deep breath before redirecting her thoughts. "He wanted me to sing to him, then I fell asleep, then when I went to come over OneEye was in my place so I just went back. Ain't changing my mind, Daryl...'n you better get over being embarrassed, because you're mine and don't think I didn't see them ladies looking at you yesterday. I gotta make it damn clear, otherwise they're gonna be trying to steal you away and I'll be boltin' them down before I let that happen, so whether they think you're some old perverted guy or not ain't none of my concern and it shouldn't be yours either, Daryl. I know you're shit at the feeling thing, I get that and I don't mind if you're real shy about, you know, doing stuff in front of people, but you try and get out of this." Beth motioned to the two of them. "And I will hunt you down like a dog, Daryl. You're not going anywhere, I'm not going anywhere and Jake is not going anywhere and the sooner you realize that the better, because I do not want to have to explain that to you every other day."

Daryl couldn't help but stare at the woman that sat before him, telling him exactly how it was. She sure had her mind made up and there was a peace he found in that. He couldn't help the strange gooey filling in the pit of his stomach when she told him that he belonged to her, or when she forcefully stated that she'd not let him go. "Mhm." He agreed and that seemed to be enough for a moment.

It took another minute for Beth to screw her face up. "What are you anyway, like 50? The way you go on its ridiculous."

Daryl shrugged.

"Don't you shrug at me. I wanna know how old you are, it's not a state secret."

"Old enough."

Beth rolled her eyes; clearly he was never going to tell her. "Well okay, Pops..."

Daryl scowled at her before kicking her leg with a scoff. "Dun' call me that, Beth."

Her gaze shifted to the field where Jakob and OneEye were playing with a group of children. "We really should name him you know."

Daryl looked up. "Who?"

"OneEye."

"Thought you said you did, jus'won't tell me...Jake reckons ya told him, won't tell me though." Daryl answered as he started waxing the string.

"I'll tell you his name if you tell me how old you are." Beth challenged.

Daryl grunted and stood to walk inside. "Ya hungry? Making a sam'wich."

Beth nodded. "Thanks, pops."

She heard utensils clutter around for a moment before his voice called out. "''Bout 32 by now."

She smiled, doing the math on her fingers. "That's thirteen years, Daryl. Ain't as bad as you make it sound. My dad was 11 years older than my mum."

He didn't reply, just came back dropping a sandwich in her lap and nodding to the dog, prompting her to reveal its name.

"Daryl."

"Hm?" He looked at her eyebrows raised.

"I named him Daryl." She admitted.

Daryl scoffed as he chewed around a mouthful. "Ain't got much of an 'magination."

She shrugged. "I missed talking to you when you weren't around; not that you talked back much, back then."

Daryl kicked her boot with a smile. "Idiot."

Beth sent him a sly smile before looking back to the dog and the group of children. "Wonder what he was before this...who he belonged to?"

"Hunter...he's too good at survivin', catchin' rabbits." Daryl decided.

Beth watched the dog, playing and shook her head. "He belonged to a family with kids. Look at him."

Daryl shrugged. "Maybe...Jakes taken to calling him Slayer, since he saw him take down that stray walker."

"Slayer." Beth smiled. "I like it, 'OneEye Slayer.'"

"Namin' a stupid dog." Daryl scoffed. It wasn't that it was a stupid thing to do, it was just so unusual, but then this whole thing was unusual, sitting around like they were on some holy camp trip watching his boy play, talking... his girl, it was all pretty unimaginable. "My girl." He smiled, not hiding the affection in his eyes.

Beth turned to look at him. It was the first real time he had laid claim to her and it felt so nice to hear. "Yah and don't you forget it."

He sniffed in the macho way that Beth knew was pointless and only done to cover up the tenderness that he had just spoken with. "Goin' on a run day after 'morra."

"By yourself?"

"Nah, told these numskulls they should have a proper alarm rigged. Them walkers warmin' up 'gen, might start herdin', reckon everyone should have a car and supplies... thought the jail might have some stuff. Might be worth checkin' out, u'parently not much left in town. I dun know if anyone took the cars, but there should be food and meds, worth goin' back for. Hopin' the heard we left woulda disappeared by now." Beth took a deep breath at the thought of that."Ya want anything special?"

Beth thought for a moment. "Daddy had a pen, Otis gave him...I think it would be in the infirmary… if you can and Maggie had a necklace that mom gave her. She wasn't wearing it that day...'n Glenn had Daddy's watch."

"Glenn got the watch...think he probably got that necklace too but I'll 'ave a look."

"I know Sasha had a photo album. It only had like four photos but...oh and Sophia's doll...for Judith... if we find her; our cookie stash from the watchtower, oh and Carl…."

"Why don't ya make a list, I'll get what I can." He suggested.

"Yeah... can ya get some paper? I forgot my diary-turned-shopping list." Beth grinned.

Daryl sighed and reached in the dirty old leather vest and pulled out Beth's old diary that he carried on him constantly and handed it to her with a shrug to answer her questioning look, "So you named ya dog after me, I read ya diary."

Beth would've been annoyed, but then with a small smile she answered. "I wanted to talk to you and you wanted to listen."

"Hm" Daryl didn't answer, but he did inwardly agree; they fit pretty well.

Beth smiled before standing and crossing to Jakob who was chasing after a Frisbee with a group of other kids and she decided, grown woman or not, she could still play like a kid.

Daryl watched her, he was pretty lucky to have something as special as all this and he wasn't at all taking it for granted.