Life seemed to go back to normal over the next two weeks. She returned to taking care of Gwen during the day. At night they'd go to Carol's for dinner. Tyreese had started going on runs with Daryl, slowly getting over Mika's death. Lizzie followed Carol to whatever duties she had. Beth loved having her own place with Daryl. Carol was no longer there to hang over them and it felt a lot less crowded. Her favorite time of the day was the morning. She'd wake up next to Daryl and feel his arms around her.

"What should we do about Tyreese and Carol?" Beth had her back to him. He was pressed against her, his face buried in her hair.

"I don't think it's a good idea to tell him. Not yet anyway." Beth didn't want to risk breaking up the group when they'd just gotten back together. She didn't agree with what Carol had done but the situation had to be approached delicately.

"He should know the truth."

"I agree, but not yet." She sat up on her pillow and looked down at him. "Maybe Carol will admit it herself, guilt can eat away at a person." Daryl got up out of bed and headed over to the dresser. He was completely naked and she couldn't help but check out his ass he dug through the top drawer. After moving in Beth had asked Daryl to get some more clothes for them on a run. Now that they had their own place to settle into Beth wanted to make it feel like home. She had been hesitant before but now she felt she could let her guard down. When he came back with both clothes for her and himself she had folded it all and put it in the closet and drawers. As he dressed she felt a shiver move through her body. It was getting cold now and fall was upon them. She rolled over onto his side of the bed and pressed her face into his pillow, trying to absorb some of the warmth left over from his body. He came over to the bed and said

"Whatdya want for breakfast?" She quickly sat up and said

"Oh no, don't even think about cooking again. Ever since we've been here you've made breakfast every morning, I wanna make something for you." She looked up to see he had an amused look on his face. She quickly got out of bed, the cold air biting at her bare skin. She grabbed her panties off the floor and saw the T-shirt he'd tossed off last night on the floor and quickly pulled that on as well. She went into the kitchen and opened up the old refrigerator. It wasn't working but they still kept meat in there. To keep it fresh Daryl had salted it. She took a few raw strips of bacon and started a fire in the fireplace to cook it over. He sat down on the couch and watched her move around the room.

"You know I think Carol's pickin' up on us." She turned to look at him.

"Why?"

"Well she doesn't like that we live together, I can see it in 'er face." Beth went back to what she was doing and said

"I'm sure she's just disappointed she didn't get to room with you."


Beth made her way over to Brenna's after breakfast. As usual, she found them in the living room. Gwen was on the floor playing with her blocks while Brenna was dusting off the windowsills. When she saw Beth walk through the door she dropped the duster, came over and pulled her into a hug.

"I heard about what happened to that little girl when your friends got here, I'm so sorry." Beth hadn't of needed the comfort but she hugged Brenna back and said

"Thanks, she's in a better place now." Brenna backed away and said

"I'll be helping in the kitchen today till around four o'clock is that alright?" Beth nodded and said

"I always love spending time with Gwen." Brenna got her things and left soon after. She thought of something they could go out and do. Lily wasn't around to go to the garden so she'd just take Gwen for a walk and then a picnic. She got her ready to go and left the house, pushing the carriage down the street. She kept her eyes out for Steve but was relieved to see he wasn't around.

She headed down to pond where the women usually did laundry. Today there weren't any people around except for a few little kids playing ball on the lawn so she took Gwen out of her carriage and set her up on a thin blanket she'd brought from the house. She put a bib on her and then took out the cup of baby food and began to feed her. good amount of it dribbled down onto her bib and Beth laughed at the funny faces she made. She'd just recently started eating baby food so she hadn't gotten quite used to it yet. She heard someone approaching and looked up to see Lizzie coming over. She smiled and said

"Hey Lizzie, what are you up too?"

"Nothing," she said, "Carol's working in the kitchen so I thought I'd take a walk around."

"This place is amazing."

"It is," said Lizzie, "Who's that?" Beth smiled and set down Gwen's little spoon. She took a napkin and cleaned up her mouth before pulling the little girl in her lap.

"This is Gwen. I've been watching her for her mom." Lizzie smiled and sat down next to Beth.

"She's cute." Beth brushed back Gwen's soft strawberry blonde hair as the wind blew it into her little face. "She kinda looks like Judy." Beth frowned and said

"Ya, during the prison attack did you see what happened to her?" Lizzie shoke her head and said

"Me and the other kids were bringing her outside. We put her down when we went to go back in and get guns. When we came out her carrier was gone." Did someone pick Judith up and run? Or did a walker grab her? A scream brought her out of her thoughts. She looked up to see one of the little boys that had been playing on the lawn in the pond. He was drowning. She quickly put Gwen back onto the blanket and ran across the lawn towards the pond. She didn't hesitate to jump in and go for the boy. He quickly disappeared under the water and Beth dove for him.

Meanwhile, back on the beach Lizzie had picked up Gwen and was looking down at her. Nobody saw what she did next. She picked up the little spoon out of the baby food and scooped a bit up. She put it in Gwen's mouth. The baby ate it all but Lizzie did not removed the spoon from her mouth. The baby whined, trying to push the spoon out of her mouth but Lizzie held it firmly there. Then she tightened her grip and stabbed it further down the baby's throat. Gwen began to cry and gurgle in protest.

Beth grabbed the little boy under his arms and swam to the surface. She quickly brought him ashore and laid him out on the grass. He was unconscious and she started to panic. All the other kids who had been playing gathered around and said

"He can't swim! He fell in by accident!" She didn't know how to do CPR but she knew she had to act fast. When the boy started coughing up water on his own she felt relieved, knowing he was going to be fine. By that time the boy's mother had been told of what had happened and rushed over to her son. After thanking her they quickly rushed the boy away to the hospital.

When the crowd disperse and her attention went back to her surroundings she heard Gwen crying back on the other side of the pond. She looked over to see Lizzie holding her, putting the spoon in her mouth. From where she was standing she couldn't see anything wrong with what was going on. Maybe Gwen was just being fussy and Lizzie was trying to feed her. By the time she had made it back over Lizzie had put the spoon back into the cup. She looked up at Beth innocently and said

"I was trying to feed her myself but she just doesn't seem to like me." Beth smiled and said

"I'm sure she's just full." She took Gwen back and gently rocked her, calming her down. She offered her some food. Oddly enough, she eagerly took it from the spoon and continued to eat.


Daryl focused on the buck standing several yards away. It had its head lowered to the ground, searching for food. When he had his target he pulled the trigger and the arrow hit the buck in the neck, sending it stumbling to the ground.

"Nice shot." Tyreese sat behind him.

"Thanks." He got up and headed over to the body. He put it on the sled he'd made so he wouldn't have to carry it all the way back and pulled it along behind him. As they headed back towards the town Tyreese said

"So you and Beth?" He stopped in his tracks and said

"What?"

"You and Beth escaped together."

"Ya thought we were the only ones left for awhile."

"I'd give anything to know where Sasha went." They were silent again for a few minutes. He heard Tyreese sigh and say "Guess I'll never know who killed Karen and Dave." Daryl didn't know what to say. What would happen if he told him the truth now? Would he leave? Try to hurt Carol? He didn't want to think about it and said

"She wouldn' want you worryin' about it."

"I can't stop thinking about her. Didn't you worry about Carol when you got seperated?"

"I was worryin' about everyone," he said, "Still am."

They approached the gates and were let in. Tyreese headed back to the apartment while he brought the deer into the kitchen.


Beth made her way back to the apartment with Lizzie. They'd spent the day out by the pond. Beth wanted to be there for Lizzie. She hadn't seemed interested in playing with the other kids and Beth wanted to be her friend. Her clothes had dried off in the warm sun and it was around dinner time, Brenna would be returning soon. Beth pushed the carriage along the sidewalk. Lizzie walked behind her.

"You know you'd make a good mom." Beth smiled and said

"Thanks."

"Do you think you'll ever have kids?"

"Probably not."

"Is it cause of what happened to Judith's mom? I heard she died and Maggie had to cut her open and get Judy out. That must of been a lot of blood everywhere. Then Carl had to shoot his own mom." Shocked by what Lizzie had said Beth turned to look at her.

"How do you know about all that?"

"Carol told me." Why would Carol tell Lizzie such a thing?

"Really?"

"Ya she was talking about how we have to be unafraid to kill and be strong." Beth couldn't help but feel slightly disturbed. Why would Carol tell her that? Wasn't it enough to just tell her just that Lori had died giving birth? All those details weren't necessary. They walked up to Brenna's house and she took Gwen out of her carriage. After Brenna thanked her and Beth told her about their day they headed back over to the apartment. She was starving and hoped dinner was ready. As they were walking across the street she spotted Steve hanging around the entrance again. He spotted her, smirked but didn't say anything. She kept her head down. when they reached the door she expected him to say something or try to block their way. But all he did was stand there and continue to stare at her. When she shut the door and they headed up the stairs Lizzie said

"What a creeper that guy was." Beth smiled and said

"Ya he is."

When they reached the hallway the smell of freshly cooked reached her nose and she felt her mouth water. She walked in to find Tyreese and Daryl sitting around the table. Carol was still cooking but she turned around to see them.

"Hey you two, how was your day?"

"Good," said Lizzie, taking a seat next to Tyreese. Beth smiled and said

"Had a picnic by the pond." She went over to see what Carol was cooking. "Is that mashed potatoes?!" Carol laughed and said

"Yes it is." Beth helped Carol get everything ready and then sat down to eat, scooping a huge amount of mashed potatoes onto her plate.

"So how's the new apartment." She looked up to realize Carol was talking to her.

"It's good, feels almost like things are back to normal. Except I'm living with a redneck."

"Well you ain't easy to live with either princess." She looked up at him with a playful smirk. Carol cleared her throat and said to Tyreese

"Do you like it here?"

"It's great," said Tyreese, "Wish everyone was here too enjoy it."


Carl moved down the sidewalk, keeping his eyes open for walkers. He hadn't seen one for awhile now but he needed to keep his eyes open. He came to the end of the neighborhood and turned right, heading down to the next street over. They hadn't raided those houses yet. His dad was close to getting his full strength back and he needed all the food he could get. He walked up the the first house and kicked the door in. He loved doing it, her had to admit it made him feel pretty badass. He held his gun up, expecting to find walkers. He moved from room to room until he was sure there were none. Putting his gun down on the kitchen counter he tore open the cabinets. He came to the last one and found what he was looking for. Beef jerky and several boxes of spaghetti. They could boil the spaghetti over the fire and eat the jerky while they waited. He took it all and stuffed it in his bag. He zipped it up and left the house. As he walked back towards the house the sun beat down on his head. It was getting colder out but it was abnormally hot today and he wished he had his hat to shield his head from getting sunburnt. He lost it back on the road. They'd stopped alongside the road near two abandoned cars when they were low on gas. His dad had gotten out to try and siphon it out but a huge herd had driven them away. He had to jump out the car and forgot his hat on the seat. They had traveled through the woods for two days and then got to another road where they found a car. They'd drive a half hour and decided to take shelter in the neighborhood. His father had been extremely weak from the prison attack and traveling through the woods so they'd been lying low and recovering.

He walked up the front stairs and looked in the window. He saw his father and Michonne. They were talking about something. He couldn't hear them clearly but from how they looked it seemed like a deep conversation. He listened closely. Michonne had tears in her eyes and she sounded upset and he caught her saying the words 'son' and 'dead'. Was Michonne talking about her past? He watched his dad pull Michonne into a hug and then after a moment they separated, his father still holding his hand up to her cheek. Carl could see the loving looks they had for each other ever since she'd found them a few days ago. Michonne looked slightly embarrassed by the attention, looking down at her feet with a shy smile, but she also shared the same loving look. Carl had never seen her look like that. She always put up a wall of toughness. But the way she was acting now was the first time he'd seen her, dare he say it, look 'girlish.' Maybe it was just because they found each other and that was making them emotional. He had to admit he liked the way they were acting. He liked Michonne a lot and he wanted his father to be happy.

He decided to make his prescence known and went inside. His father dropped his hand and said

"Find anythin'?"

"Ya." He put his bag down and opened it up, pouring its contents onto the couch. Rick smiled and said

"Nice work."


Beth helped clean the dishes. Daryl had gone back to the apartment earlier so when she finally got back he was sitting on the couch drinking a beer.

"Where'd you get that?"

"Found some in the kitchen earlier today. Brought in that deer and they gave me a reward." He pulled a whole box up from the other side of the couch. She had never tried beer before. The only time she had ever drank was back at the house a month ago.

"Can I try?"

"If you want." She sat down next to him and reached over and pulled a can out of the box. She opened it up and took a drink. She instantly regretted it and spat it back out.

"That's disgusting." It was far too bitter for her and she couldn't tolerate it like she did with the vodka. Daryl shrugged and said

"More for me." She leaned back against the cushions and closed her eyes. She was pretty worn out. She had no reason to be considering she had a pretty mild day, except for saving that kid from the pond. She felt Daryl pull her closer to him so that she leaned against his shoulder. She slid down onto his lap and looked up at him. He slowly ran his fingers through her hair, twisting a blonde curl around his finger. It relaxed her and she shut her eyes again, enjoying the feeling. She heard his voice rumble in his chest

"You're gorgeous." She opened her eyes and said

"And you're handsome." She sat up now so that she was straddling him. She leaned in and softly kissed him, loving the feel of his body up against her. He wrapped his arms around her, running his hands gently down her back. He picked her up off of him and carried her into the bedroom. For now life was perfect. She'd always watched Glenn and Maggie together and wished she had someone to love. She savored the bliss knowing it probably wouldn't last long.

Thanks DarylDixon'sLover, VampireTrekkie1701, K. Lynn Perks, KelJamison, hearts-without-chains, Crowgrl13, ELLEGIRL840816, daywalker28, and all the guests for commenting and responding to my author's note :) Seeing that most people want me to keep this long and since it's my story I'm going to keep the slower pace as I originally intended. If I tried to speed it up it would just come out rushed and ruin everything I've done so far.

Also I am a Richonne shipper, not as hardcore as I ship Bethyl lol but I do think they go together well, especially after tonight's episode. I thought I'd give everyone a glimpse into where Carl, Michonne and Rick are. It's pretty similar to the show but I have an idea of where they'll end up.

Thanks for reading :)