"You're getting sloppy," Daryl informed her and Beth scowled at the man.

It was early and they were the only two awake. Neither of them slept well anymore. Beth had been having nightmares with growing intensity but Daryl had been there to shake her awake before her screams woke the others.

Dawn had crept up on them and when Daryl had seen Beth's eyes were open too, he jerked his head towards the door. Beth had followed silently, wondering if he was sneaking out so they could touch. Beth had part of it right. He wanted to go over some training with her. They hadn't practiced any basic hand to hand fighting since before the others had joined them.

Beth didn't think Daryl should be exerting himself, he had another long day of searching planned. Her mistake had been sharing her concerns.

He'd just gotten defensive. "You think I can't handle myself?" he demanded.

Of course Beth knew Daryl could look after himself but he still misunderstood her concern as a sign that she thought he was weak. So speaking a language Daryl understood, Beth had hit him.

She'd struck him quickly and neatly below the ribs, not hard enough to hurt but definitely enough to irritate him.

Beth had only narrowly missed the punch he slugged at her face in response. Both of them paused with surprise when they realised how close she had come to taking it on the chin. That had sparked the sloppy comment and judging the evidence, Beth couldn't disagree.

So they had launched into a set of repetitive drills where Daryl would aim light taps on her cheeks and she would manoeuvre out of the way. He'd increase the power and speed behind these strikes slowly and Beth would have to adapt. Daryl had a longer reach than her but Beth was quicker.

On a whim, Beth ducked further around on one of the punches so it sailed harmlessly by her face. She then retaliated with a side kick that drove her small foot into his stomach. Daryl grunted on impact and made a grab for the foot but it was already gone.

Beth grinned victoriously until she saw Daryl's darkened gaze. He wasn't going to let that go she could tell. Moving swiftly, he grabbed the front of her shirt and jerked her forward. This had nothing to do with seduction and it forced her to become unsteady on her feet and step into the danger zone.

Just like he taught her, Beth brought her hands together to make a fist and thrust upwards. It was supposed to break his grip but Daryl had expected that and leaned his weight into the hold. Beth brought her hands down, heading fast towards his nose. She didn't plan on actually hitting him. She'd discovered that most people flinched when things were aimed at their eyes or nose. Daryl recoiled away from her and gave her more movement. Using his distraction against him, Beth broke free.

She tried to scramble backwards and almost got away when Daryl's hand darted out and closed around her wrist. This time when Beth swung her free arm, she was aiming for his ear. Daryl blocked it deftly and directed a few punches at Beth. She ducked around the first two and then had to block the third, using her forearms. The impact was jarring because, even when play fighting, Daryl was strong. She would bruise there later.

Beth kicked him just above the knee. She'd been aiming higher but hadn't had the balance to pull it off. Daryl knew what her intent had been and glowered at the girl. Her apologetic shrug was cut short when he wrapped his arms around her middle, lifting her easily off her feet. Beth had shrieked a little but then Daryl had driven her into the ground so that the breath was forced from her body.

The speed and pain shocked her so that she couldn't think of a new move. Daryl weight bore into her and her hands were suddenly pinned above her head.

Thought returned to Beth slowly. There were a few options still open to her but she didn't do any of them. Neither of them were willing to actually hurt each other and so that meant sometimes they had to surrender even if it was galling to do so.

"I give up," Beth conceded a little breathlessly. Daryl's expression shifted from aggressive to concerned like a switch had been flicked.

"You ok? You got your breath back?"

Beth nodded quickly to reassure him. Daryl released her hands and she got the sense he was going to caress her cheek or something equally familiar when she heard a voice.

"Damn Beth! When'd you get so good at that?" T-dog was standing there with a lit cigarette between his fingers. Carol was just behind him, yawning sleepily. Daryl hastily got off her like she'd been set on fire and Beth blushed.

"Daryl taught me," Beth explained shyly. She hadn't wanted so many witnesses to her practice brawl with Daryl.

Daryl ran a hand through his hair uncomfortably, clearly worried how it had looked from the outside. T-dog tossed Daryl a full packet of smokes and Daryl gratefully slid a new one out.

"You were so fast," Carol said to Beth, looking impressed. "Maybe I should get Daryl to teach me too."

"I ain't that good," Daryl protested. "Mostly just taught her things I picked up in bars."

"You must not be too bad," Carol pointed out, squeezing his shoulder. "Beth's a warrior now."

Daryl shrugged. "I can teach ya if you really want."

Beth's stomach felt tight and she didn't know why. She didn't want Daryl training anyone but her, even though that was absurd.

"C'mon," Carol said gesturing to Beth. "We've got some oatmeal and I bet you worked up an appetite."

Carol was smiling easily at Beth, unaware of the sudden and unkind thoughts Beth was having. Beth shook her head and followed Carol into the cabin. Then the other woman shot a smile over her shoulder at Daryl and Beth stared. That was the kind of smile Beth would give him when he'd been kind or tender. Beth realised then that Carol might actually like Daryl. She had no reason to suspect that he was spoken for. Beth stopped in her tracks. Was he spoken for?

They'd certainly never discussed it. Jimmy's name had never been mentioned since the first night they had made love and Beth had given her body and soul to Daryl. But now that she thought about it, she'd never told him that and he'd never said anything similar. Boyfriend seemed like too mundane a word but she wanted to call him that. Lay some claim to the man who was both her lover and her friend. Exclusivity was implied because they were the only people. Now that wasn't the case. Carol was more experienced and she was kind and now she was strong.

Carol was looking at her puzzled and Beth realised she had just frozen. She forced a smile that was nowhere near believable. Beth wondered if maybe she should talk to her about what her and Daryl had been doing but the idea made her cringe. Maybe she could tell Maggie but she didn't really know Carol that well. And Carol had no reason to suspect anything, they'd been so careful. She would have to think of a solution before anyone ended up getting hurt. And a small terrified part of Beth thought that it might be her.

...

Daryl thought they had made good progress. There were lots of signs people had come through here. Alive people. And Daryl was choosing to be an optimist and think that the people were his people. Beth must be rubbing off on him if his first instinct was to hope.

They weren't even that far from Beth's farm now that he thought about it, just maybe a little deeper into the woods. The walking tracks were faint and the underbrush was a little wilder.

T-dog was behind him again but this time they were joined by Beth, leaving Glenn and Carol to watch over Lori. Beth had announced over breakfast that she wanted to go with him. When he asked if she was sure, she'd snapped, "I'm not a child. Of course I'm sure."

She had stalked off into the trees leaving Daryl and T-dog in her wake.

"Women are a queer breed," he mumbled.

"That's the truth," T-dog agreed, startling Daryl because he hadn't meant to speak out loud. The two men exchanged a look and then both of them chuckled.

Beth was in a mood, Daryl could tell. She wasn't sulking or stomping around like he might have done but she was very quiet and there were lines on her forehead, like she was always thinking too hard about something. If it was just them he would have asked her what was wrong but he had a feeling he was involved and he didn't want their private affairs aired in front of T-dog.

A single walker loomed into their way and Beth brushed past Daryl to kill it, a little more brutally than necessary. T-dog went on to see if the coast was clear and Daryl grabbed Beth's arm the second the other man was out of sight.

"You wanna tell me what's going on?" He asked pointedly.

She sighed. "I'm just having a bad day."

"Are you..." What was the word? "pmsing?"

Beth tilted her head and fixed him with an incredulous stare.

He took an immediate step backwards. Her glare was terrifying and he knew that he had made a serious error in asking that question. That didn't mean it wasn't true but he kept that new speculation to himself.

He scratched his neck and began to panic. "You look real pretty today," he offered pathetically.

Beth's lips twitched and he knew his fumbling had very nearly gotten him a smile. Emboldened by her response he stepped in a little closer, looking around quickly to make sure T-dog was still nowhere to be seen.

His hands travelled up her arms and she sighed, eyes fluttering closed.

"I just hoped we'd find 'em by now," she said in a small voice and Daryl didn't need to ask who she meant.

"We will," Daryl promised. He wanted to kiss her but didn't dare just now. It occurred to him that T-dog had been gone for a while. His eyes creased with apprehension. He heard a shout and started running in that direction, feet crashing through leaves and shrubs, probably destroying tracks but he didn't care.

There was a hill just over the ridge and Daryl found himself losing his footing as he slipped down it. Loud breathing let him know that Beth had stuck by his side.

The pair of them slid into a clearing, both fighting to get their feet back under them. Daryl blinked in shock. There were walkers everywhere and T-dog was somewhere in the middle of them all. Their friend was holding his own but there were too many.

Daryl didn't even hesitate to start firing arrows. He loaded and aimed and shot into the hoard, felling walker after walker. For some reason his fear never affected his accuracy. Beth dodged around him and engaged the nearest walker. It was a man almost twice her size but it was a shambling creature with a broken foot and a missing arm. That gave her the edge.

Daryl resisted the urge to tell Beth to run back to the cabin, they needed her help. Eventually Daryl had run out of arrows and there was still no real dent in the seething mass of corpses. If T-dog's life wasn't on the line, Daryl would have turned tail and bolted. He knew bad odds when he saw them. They just needed to get T-dog free and then they could lose the walkers. The creatures wouldn't be able to get up that hill easily and Daryl was confident he knew the area enough to shake them. If he could get to the river then they could follow that, destroying their scent.

When he turned to look for Beth, he saw they'd been separated too and he ignored the sense of panic that flooded his system. She was still on her feet and showed no signs of fatigue. If anything she was killing them better than T-dog or himself. She was a sight to see just then, lashing out with the deadly speed and efficiency that he had installed in her. Daryl would have been proud if the situation wasn't so bleak.

Daryl pulled his knife out and launched himself into the fray. The first walker he dragged in close by fisting a hand in its shirt and then stabbing the blade down hard. He spun without missing a beat, using his momentum to jam the knife up under the chin of an oncoming walker.

It didn't take long before his arms and torso were matted with blood and brain. The smell was wretched but he didn't stop to think. He was closer to T-dog now but he couldn't see Beth. Only small grunts let him know that she was still alive and fighting. His worst fear was finding her at the end with a gaping bite wound in her arm. The thought made him fight harder.

Against all the odds they were making their way towards the edge and they had managed to avoid being swarmed.

Daryl heard a scream and all the hair on his body stood on end.

"Beth," he hollered.

"Daryl!" a terrified yell reached him.

Daryl began shoving walkers out of the way with little regard for his own safety. Moving so fast was the only thing that saved him from one walker taking a bite out of his neck. Its jaws snapped in open air instead.

He finally got a glimpse of Beth and his blood ran cold in his veins. She was on her back on the ground. She was still moving, struggling and thrashing. She brutally kicked one walker in the face as it groped for her legs. Her knife caught another in the ear, shoving right through to the brain.

Hands grabbed his arms and Daryl was forced to fight again. Someone was calling Beth's name over and over again and he was sure it was him, until he realised it wasn't. A walker had crawled its way over to her body and Daryl could do nothing but watch.

A shape barrelled into the walker, rolling it off Beth in a blur. Daryl slumped in relief, oblivious to the walkers surrounding him personally.

"Look alive, Dixon," a sharp voice commanded him.

Daryl could only stare as Andrea brusquely shoved him out of the way so that she could shoot a walker that had snuck up behind him. Gun shots filled the air and walkers were falling faster than he could fathom.

He wanted to pinch himself when he was saw Maggie fighting back to back with a woman who looked strangely like the woman with the sword. That's when Daryl was pretty sure he was hallucinating. He must have died, he decided.

Dead or not, his eyes sought out Beth. They were still separated by walkers. All Daryl could see was the outline of a figure reaching out a hand to haul Beth to her feet. Arms went around her waist and then some other person was kissing her. Daryl's dazed state broke immediately as rage flooded his body and he saw red. This wasn't some twisted, imaginary death scene. He was alive and some jackass had hands all over his Beth.

Fucking Jimmy!

AN: Jimmy is back! Will he spell trouble for our heroes? He will. C'mon guys, you know how I do this by now. Side note, I've just eaten so much pasta I can't think so if there are mistakes, eh! I look at all the red lines after I upload it and realise just how different US & OZ spelling actually is.