A/N To the guest, that asked about Daryl's sister, no there is never one mentioned in the series, only Merle, and his parents, I've added the fact that he has a sister as part of this fic, (in this fic, merle never mentioned her because she died before the turn, and as the fic goes on we will find out why Daryl never mentioned her before) but no according to cannon, its presumed merle is his only sibling. :D sorry if that was confusing.

Beth carried her bag of laundry back, shaking her head internally, that stupid Judy had been talking about Daryl again, who the hell did she think she was trying to give Beth advice on how to handle her argument with Daryl? Beth had told her as much, but Anna in her classic honest way had pointed out that Beth had yelled it loud enough that the camp couldn't help but hear, and henceforth making it everyone's business, still it was a few days ago, and it was just annoying that Judy thought she had any right at all to interfere.

At least Elizabeth had shot the woman down, but still... the woman was just infuriating. Beth took a deep breath before opening the van door, determined not to be bothered by the woman. She was surprised to see her boys laying lazily on the bed, what they were doing was mildly stranger. Not shocking if they were normal people, but these weren't people, it was Daryl.

'Hey' came Daryl's quiet greeting, and Beth sent him a brief smile before grabbing the pegs and stepping back out to hang the wet clothes.

She smiled brighter when she returned and crossed to the bed. 'Thought you guys were meant to be training the kids?'

Daryl shrugged which sent one of the toy cars that was resting on his back sliding off. Jakob looked up and grabbed it as it landed by Daryl's ribs, he shifted on his seat, which was the groove between Daryl's back and bum and caused Daryl to wince.

Beth frowned, her eyes grazing over Daryl's bare back, to Jakob's hands which were pushing the cars around. 'What are you doing?'

Jakob answered first with a bright smile. 'Playing cars.'

Daryl huffed slightly and looked up at Beth .'My back was sore.' He explained.

He had mentioned it more and more lately, obviously it was starting to bother him, and Beth knew he viewed it as a weakness; not the scars but the pain, still he was willing to not only bare it but offer it to both her and Jakob.

Beth looked back to Jakob who ran two cars along to scars and then collided them as the scars met, with a messy bang and made a little noise that she supposed was one blowing up. She smiled at the makeshift roads that the scars made before looking back to Daryl.

She saw that he had tensed slightly, and she almost felt jealous that he was happy to be so open with Jakob, and although he hadn't moved she saw the slight shift in him when she had sat down. Sure he had opened up to her and let her see them, but he always looked uncomfortable, it hadn't bothered her until now, when she saw what he was like with Jakob. But then she realized it didn't matter because she knew there was something different, something... more in the way she loved Jakob too.

She glanced up at Jakob's face, and smiled, her heart flipping a little as she thought about how much she had come to love the boy. She felt the mattress shift and Daryl's hand reach out to rest on her thigh, and the tight lipped smile he gave her seemed to say so much, she couldn't help but return a smile of her own. She reached out and scratched her fingers across his shoulders gently. 'Feel good huh?'

Daryl didn't answer, his head was still buried in his arms, but he let out a small groan ad squeezed her leg a little. She traced his four and a half digits with her own fingertips and she fought the smile as he abandoned his grip on her leg for her hand instead.

'Been sore a bit latley?' She questioned, and she wondered whether there was something she could do to help that.

'Just getting old is all.' He answered simply, and she rolled her eyes in response before ruffling his hair and standing again, glancing back and noticing how Slayers ears pricked at the sound of her reaching for a packet of biscuits. She stuffed a few into her mouth before Daryl's voice sounded again. 'Thinkin' 'bout doin' one more run tomorrow and leavin'... Dale reckons they'll come.'

Beth nodded, but didn't answer.

Daryl scrunched his brow, Beth didn't seem all too keen to go, she had until the last day or so, but now she seemed reserved about it. 'Ya still wanna go?'

Beth shrugged slightly, and Daryl realized he had never really asked if she wanted to, it was just a presumption. Sure she wanted to see her sister, of course she wanted to go... but through all the winter she hadn't asked once. 'What about leading this group Daryl?' She caught the confusion on his face and decided just to be honest. 'I don't know.'

'They're not our family... And what do you mean you don't know?' Daryl sat up a little and waved Jakob off his back before standing. 'You dun' wanna?'

Beth looked back down to the small bag of biscuits. 'Just...things will change, I know we both want to believe they wont...but I know you.'

Daryl leant against the cupboard a little as he considered what she said. 'We'll just have to tell 'em Beth.'

She looked at him and let her mouth twitch as she considered that. 'I know... but will you? You know what Maggies like, and she won't be all too shy about expressing her feelings.'

Daryl looked to the floor, because he already felt every reason that Maggie would throw at him for why this was wrong, and somehow he'd managed to push it all away. But then again, hearing her say it would probably be enough to make him believe it all over again. 'Then you'll just have to remind me huh?... 'bout your feelin's, that matters more.'

Beth nodded slightly, but that was only the smaller part that had her hesitant from seeing her family again. 'It's not just that... I'm mad at her.'

''Bout what?'

Beth stuffed another biscuit into her mouth before chewing it and swallowing it. 'When was the last time you saw Merle?'

Daryl flinched at that, before clearing his throat and shrugging. 'When I put him down, that was the last time...it was sick, just...' Daryl's face was a little darker, and it was more than the overcast weather, his fist knocked on the cupboard in some sick re-enactment of his knife thrashing into Merles face over and over.

Beth shook her head. 'I didn't know it was you.' She considered reaching out and stilling him, but sometimes with Daryl it was best to ignore it. She had just presumed it was Michonne who did it, neither of them said much about it at the time, and she hadn't meant that anyway, she meant when he was alive, but it seemed like a pointless question, because she could tell by the look on Daryl's face that was the last thing he would remember of his brother. 'Last time I saw Maggie, I was next to her... we just saw daddy...' She paused and turned to Daryl a little 'I understand she had to find Glen, and after we all ran, I got it, I knew why she went with him, if were honest about it, it was the same reason you and I didn't leave until we found each other...'

Daryl's eyes snapped up to hers because he knew how much he cared for her back then, but he was a little surprised that she did too.

'But when we got out, all I could think about was finding her and making sure she was ok, I mean we had to survive, we couldn't just go running around screaming her name, but it was what I thought of first... And then after I was kidnapped, I got it when I saw those signs saying Glen go to terminus, I know why she was looking for him and not me, because I could have followed them to terminus... but I didn't because I had to find you, I got that... but then I don't because if I could have done both I would have, why couldn't she write Glen, Beth... she could put Sasha and Bobs name on them too... But not mine... I had to know she was ok, but she didn't do that for me... like maybe it's not the same now.'

Daryl swallowed, because he understood completely, because when he saw those damn signs he thought it too, hell he even said it to Maggie, but when he had he saw the hurt in her face, she broke down and cried and regretted it so deeply, and he understood exactly what it was like to only be able to think of one person. 'Ain't like that Beth... you din' see her... I couldn't tell her, I told Rick...that I lost ya, I know she loves ya... when I said I was comin' back for ya, she wanted to come, but I said she'd slow me down, she did need ya Beth, she's just too scared ta think.'

Beth looked up with a tight lipped smile. 'What about Judith? I can't go back and see Rick without her... not now we've got Jake, I couldn't see that in him... why haven't we been looking for her? And I just go along with whatever you say, well I want to be out there looking for her, I can't go to Washington, not knowing she could be alive, I hate you for that, for not searching for her every day, like you did for Sofia...for the Governor, you haven't even looked for her! I can't go until I know we have.'

Daryl bit back the urge to scold her for her harsh words, to tell her that he had scoured the countryside for any sign of the little girl, and that the only chance he had was taken away when he saw Beth's own footprints leading in the opposite direction. He wanted to tell her that he was always looking for signs, on every run, every hunt, always hoping. He wanted to explain again how he couldn't track in winter, the rain washed everything away so quickly, but none of that mattered, because he understood, despite Beth's words, she didn't hate him for Judith any more than he hated her for Hope.

It was just one of those empty feelings that neither of them could shake. So he nodded because he had thought about that more than once too. He took a deep breath before deciding. 'So we stay...we find Judith and then we go.' he suggested.

Beth nodded slightly, happy at the decision, and yet somewhere knowing in the pit of her stomach that for all Daryl's talk of Washington, he never planned on leaving without Judith. Daryl didn't say anything else, he just threw a shirt on and stepped past her out the van. She vuagley looked to Jakob who smiled back before she followed Daryl out.

He lit up a cigarette, taking in a few deep drags on it before Beth stepped out, he was slumped in the camp chair and Beth perched herself on his knee. He smiled at her, the hand not holding the cigarette resting on her lower back, she looked to the cigarette with a smile.

'Can I?'

Daryl frowned. 'Gives ya cancer.' He admonished.

Beth rolled her eyes. 'Just once?'

He shrugged, and she took that as permission and pulled his hand up to her mouth, letting out a slight chuckle at the way his hand held onto the cigarette with the missing finger, she wrapped her lips around it and drew in a deep breath, which had her spluttering and coughing.

Daryl pat her back softly and laughed as he reached for the paper and pen in her pocket that was ever present. 'Here.' He passed her the cigarette as she took it, fumbling and holding it awkwardly, she coughed again.

He unfolded the paper and clicked the pen down using her arm as backing, before drawing a messy line across it and handing it back to her as she let out a tiny cough again. 'There seven smoke a cigarette.' He grinned. 'Ya badass.'

'Can I?' came the little voice, from inside the van.

It wasn't the first time he'd asked and it wouldn't be the last, Daryl had explained to the boy about his asthma but he always asked anyway. 'Get your ass inside Jake!' came the gruff answer, but Jakob knew that was Daryl just being concerned and he turned and went back to his cars.

Beth cleared her throat again, which made Daryl laugh as he took in another drag, he blew it away from her before leaning up and kissing her, normally he wouldn't do that out here in the public eye, not like this, maybe a peck because he knew how important it seemed to be to her that he let her lay her claim in front of the other woman, but this was different, only on such a gloomy day, no one was around to see anyway.

She pulled away slightly, but he pulled her cheek into his mouth, the cigarette in that hand sending a stream of smoke wafting through the air, he didn't care if she was squirming, he cared that he needed her, he needed to confirm despite her words that she didn't hate him. He forced her mouth open and smiled against her when her tongue reluctantly yielded to his. He growled slightly at the victory before pulling back.

Beth smiled, and he knew she didn't mind him being rough, maybe he would've been a little embarrassed, maybe he would have felt ashamed before, because Beth was too precious to be like that with. But apparently she could be dark enough to hate, regardless of how she meant it, so maybe she was just dark enough to accept this without being afraid, maybe she could appease the animal in him, that liked her squirming a little too much, maybe she even liked it, maybe that was even a fact he thought as she shot him a devilish grin. 'You taste Grose.' She admonished slapping his arm.

'S'at ok?' And he only asked because although he was sure, he just had to hear her confirm it, because really fooling around was one thing, but he'd never make her do something she didn't want to.

She nodded and watched as he shrugged before taking another drag, eyes glinting as he exhaled and pulled her down for another much deeper kiss, she did it again, pulled away from him, only she wasn't really because he felt the way her fingers gripped at his shirt, he scraped his tongue against hers and felt her gag a little at the taste, and she really was pulling back now, he only held her for a moment longer, just because he didn't want it to end with the same harshness that he had begun it with, Beth coughed slightly again and frowned at the smile he gave her.

'Tell me ya hate me...' He scolded her with a cocky smirk, and his fingers dug into her hip a fraction. Beth rolled her eyes and allowed him to pull her head to his shoulder where he obviously demanded she rest. She settled in happily. 'Gotta have a whinge bout everythin' huh?' He smirked.

Beth attempted to hit him but missed, before her eyes caught the heavy frown from the man who suddenly appeared walking past quickly, her smile dropped from her face and she looked to Daryl who sat up a little and pulled the arm that was snaked around her back away from her. 'What's that about?' She asked, as far as she knew neither of them had a problem with the man.

Daryl pressed his lips together, before standing, forcing Beth up along with him 'Nothin.' he answered as he took his final puff and squashed the cigarette into the ground. 'C'mon' he motioned her to step in the van and she obeyed without question, and she didn't miss the slight warning to his voice.

A/N So next chapter is pretty good, there is a good make out sesh and one of them at least manages to get a little relief :D lots and lots of reviews make me happy. If I get say 15 reviews by morning I'll upload again. :D just so you know. Hope you enjoyed this chappy.