Beth

Less than a year! Might be I got a groove back, who knows, but let's see what I can do. Keep in mind, I really want Beth and Willa to interact so Willa is gonna take Carol's role for Grady hospital. I can't for the life of me seem to actually find anything for the episode and my regular viewing platform doesn't have what I need to be able to sit back and watch the entirety of one or two episodes just for the clips within the hospital (other than that dreaded moment that still wounds my poor heart to this day). So a great deal of this chapter will most likely be thought up on my own, which works for the situation and what these two girls are and mean to the same man.

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Willa kept her breathing as slow as possible even though her ribs felt like they were burning with each intake of air. She refused to open her eyes, feeling unnervingly watched as whoever was with her analysed her state of being. There was what seemed to be a thin mattress beneath her, lord knew where she was but the mattress was a dead giveaway that she wasn't with the others. Her body felt heavy in various places and she wondered just what she had gotten herself into this time.

In the middle of mentally chastising herself, everything flooded back to her. The church, the priest Gabriel, the searching, the man Noah with the rough limp. She remembered now, remembered his panic, remembered his words and his exchange with Daryl.

Earlier

"I have to go, they probably heard that shot, they're going to find me." Noah whispered near frantically as he looked out the window. Daryl, Carol and Willa all looked at him, Willa looking the most sympathetic of the three as she wondered just what this man was worried about.

"Who?" Daryl asked, an interest peeking in his eyes. Carol moved forward to look out the window as Noah started to head out of their current hiding place.

"Them. The people at the hospital." Noah stated absently as he brushed beyond Willa. Daryl seemed to have other ideas and reached out, holding Noah in place.

"Wait wait wait, just tell us, is there a blonde girl there?" He asked, his face changing beneath his unruly hair. Willa looked at him and raised an eyebrow before looking at Noah who looked both scared at being stopped and confused by the question he was being asked. "You see a blonde girl?"

"Beth?" The young man questioned incredulously. "You know her?" Willa's eyes widened as realisation dawned on her and she shot her head to the side to look at Carol whose interest was piqued as well suddenly.

Beth, the girl that Daryl carried endless guilt over, the girl that was taken, the girl who had been seemingly forever lost...could now be found. It seemed almost too good to be true but then, how many blonde girls named Beth could there be in this part of the country?

"She helped me get out, but she's still there." Noah informed them, looking between all the people around him.

"They're coming." Carol spoke up, looking out the window. Willa felt a hand on her arm as Noah reached to her, pushing her and Daryl toward the door.

"We gotta go, we gotta go now." His frantic panic was evidence and they didn't argue, knowing what was behind it. He spoke about a basement in the building across the street as he tried to lead them, limping along the way at a quick pace.

His leg gave out from the pressure he was putting on it and he ended up falling to the floor.

"Hey.." Willa stepped around him and turned to look down at him.

"I got him, go." Daryl urged. He and Carol stooped enough to grab at the young man's back, both shooting looks at Willa to keep going. The girl knew better at this point then to argue either of them and she hurried across the floor, pushing open the glass doors and running outside.

Her eyes swept one direction then the other as her feet carried her onto the road, completely missing the big white car that came up beside her.

Present

There was an itch on her neck and Willa did her best to keep a straight, calm face at the irritant that rose up. She still wasn't alone, she still couldn't give herself away. What the hell could she do though? How long would she have to fake unconscious? Would it be possible to just manage to fall back asleep? Probably not, under the circumstances. Everything felt on edge and she absolutely hated it.

"I know you're not asleep." The soft, feminine southern voice finally spoke up and Willa felt herself pause her slow breathing. "Please."

Slowly, blue eyes opened to catch blue eyes. Willa couldn't help but be positively certain this was Beth, just from everything she had learned from the entire group over the last few weeks. The blonde had her hands gently holding the vest that Daryl had taken off his back to put over Willa after the van fall and caused her shirt to tear. The brunette could remember the touch of his hands, brushing down her arms after the leather fit up her shoulders. There was a hopeful gleam in the blonde's eyes as she gazed at the newcomer to the hospital.

"You're Beth." Willa decided to bluntly state. Her companion was mildly shocked then a look of understanding replaced it and she gave a nod of agreement. "I'm Willa."

"Is Daryl okay?" Beth asked, holding out the vest. Willa carefully sat up, noting the pain in her chest and lifted her arm to grasp onto the leather. The blonde released it easily and both girls let it fall onto the brunette's lap.

"He's fine. Been looking for you." Willa informed softly, glancing at the slightly ajar door with some level of suspicion. "I met him not too long after you were taken. Got to the rest of your group, your sister and brother in law."

The hopeful gleam turned into a shining beacon as Beth straightened up in her chair, one hand reaching out to gently grasp her sudden friend's own appendage. The relief flooded across her features and a new sense of determination overtook her. A resolve to escape with this girl and get back to her family took over. This time she knew it would happen, this time she knew they were looking for her, they were close, and they now would doubly be looking for Willa as well.

"And Noah." WIlla suddenly remembered. The smile that came to Beth's face could have lit up a pitch black cave. That was it, that made things one hundred percent likely, doable. If the girls couldn't get their own way out, the group would get in and they would take no alternatives to retrieving them. All they had to do was survive.

***WDWDWDWDWD***

"We trust them?" Carol muttered, standing with Rick and Daryl. Sasha and Tyreese stood further back, guarding the two police officers they held captive, hoping to exchange them for the girls held prisoner in the hospital. Nearby, Noah stood uneasily, his bad leg making it a challenge that they could clearly see paining him but he kept quiet.

"They're determined to live, determined to have a stance against this cop in charge." Rick mused, scratching at his chin beneath his beard. "They'll cooperate with the plan."

"They made their own story." Daryl agreed, his back towards the others as he gnawed on his cuticle, looking at the wall in front of him.

"People who are afraid will say anything to spare their lives." Carol pointed out.

"They'll cooperate." Rick reaffirmed. Carol didn't look convinced but she nodded her consent and moved away, leaving the two men to their own devices once more. Rick looked at the man he called brother and watched the range of emotions play across his face. Daryl was going through every feeling, every plan, forcing himself to believe that they would succeed and then Willa and Beth would be right back where they belonged.

With the group.

With him.

"Who are you more anxious for?" Rick asked quietly, bringing the other man out of his revere with a jolt, eyes turning to meet the other.

"I want em both back, Rick." Daryl replied, his voice scratchy from his dry throat. Rick gave a nod, slow and understanding, but the question still lingered and Daryl wasn't sure if he could honestly answer it.

Beth was...Beth. She made him believe in good people again, gave him back light and hope when everything crumbled away from them after the prison. When they were convinced that no one else had survived or at least, would ever be seen again, she reminded him that people did still care in the world. He had been blaming himself all this time for her capture and hadn't allowed himself the hope that she might still be alive somewhere. Now it was like she was at his fingertips and he was anxious about making sure she was alive.

But Willa…

The first kiss replayed itself in his mind, the quiet world, the soft fire, the chill in the air. Her soft lips touching his chapped ones and her hair under his fingers brought him to a sense of peace. Followed by that was the kiss after Gareth and the remainder of the Terminus cannibals were killed. The night, once again, peaceful and quiet after some time of hell and danger.

And everyone else, once more, distracted elsewise.

Few Days Ago

Daryl followed Willa out of the hatch under the church, stepping out to the clearing surrounding the building and taking a deep breath of the fresh air. His eyes found the girl in the darkness and he watched her stand with her arms spread behind her, head tilted back, almost as if she thought to drink in the moonlight.

"I might almost be put off meat entirely now." Willa muttered into the night air, receiving a chuckle in return. Her head tilted forward and she looked at him with a cheeky little smile, as if finding his mirth at her statement to be humorous as well. With almost lightning speed, she reached forward with a chilled hand and grasped onto his wrist, tugging him into the trees. He tensed, his mind bringing him back to when they were with the Claimers and their situation between the trees.

All of that faded as she used her smaller body to push his against a tree trunk. There was a moment hesitation, as if she questioned her own actions. With her returned determination, she leaned herself against him and pressed her lips to his. He felt tense for a moment before his hands grabbed hold of her hips, pulling her in closer. Her own hands found their way into his hair, fingers threading through the strands to push them back off his face. He could feel her lips against his, curving upwards slightly in a smile and he let one of his hands slide across to her back, pushing up her shirt to rest on the bare skin. Her fingertips scratched lightly at his scalp while her hips pressed lightly against his own. Their lips were slow, gentle, hardly opening against each other.

All of that changed when her teeth lightly caught his lower lip and tugged it as she leaned her head back away from his, eyes searching his own in the dark.

His grip tightened on her as he spun them around, pressing her back to the tree. His hand under her shirt moved back to her hip as the other swooped down her thigh, tugging her leg up around his waist so that he could get even closer, press into her body. Her fingers tightened on his hair and used that new leverage to pull him back to her, this time engaging his tongue with hers as their lips connected once more. She let out a moan into his mouth at the feel of his whole body moving against hers, the friction becoming intoxicating and downright sinful. She could feel the length of him pressing against her centre, their jeans barring them for any closer contact. He made a slight grunting sound as her hips rolled, creating more friction between their two bodies.

Willa broke the kiss first, her head falling back against the tree as her lungs burned for air. Daryl's head followed hers forward, foreheads pressed together as their breathless pants mingled between them. Neither one opened their eyes as their motions slowed to a stop. It wouldn't do well to return to a church full of their comrades with any damnable evidence to their ministrations. It almost felt brutally unfair that they silently agreed that this was not the place for further actions. Slowly, her fingers loosened from his hair, the warm digits sliding out from between the strands to run along the sides of his neck and across his shoulders. Her eyes opened to catch his and her chin tilted forward for the slightly touch between their lips before he eased her leg back down to the forest floor.

"Give it a few more minutes, we'll go back to the others." Daryl's voice was rough, almost strained. WIlla could only nod as she still felt the effects of their entanglement against her stomach. He gradually moved himself from her, taking deep breaths to calm his raging circulations as a hand rubbed across his face. When he turned back to her only to see her watching him, her tongue brushing out across her lips, it took a monumental amount of control not to go straight back to where they were moments before. If it weren't for the fact that none of the others were told that they were sneaking out, the idea might have even been tempting, but he didn't want to risk that sort of panic in their group and the potentially compromising position they could be found in.

None of that, however, stopped him from putting his hand to her shoulder and sliding across her back to lead her back through the trees to the church, maintaining contact on her.

Present

"We're getting them both out of there." Daryl was firm in his belief system now as he looked to his claimed brother who only gave him a partial smile in response.

The same damn partial smile he had received upon return to the group in the church that night. Rick knew and Daryl knew full well that he knew. Whether or not any of the others knew was still a bit of a mystery to him but there was no denying that the other man was well aware of the way the redneck felt about the young woman.

"Let's make this trade." Rick stated firmly. With a nod in response, the former deputy headed off to where the police officers had said a patrol would pass through.

It was time to get their girls back.

***WDWDWDWDWD***

"She's gone." Beth whispered to Willa a minute or so after Dawn left the room. Willa carefully opened her eyes and looked at the blonde, almost surprised by the expression on her face. After everything the brunette had heard, it was a strange reaction to see. Beth's resolved seemed almost doubled at this point whereas Willa had wondered if she might have been reconsidering. Things almost seemed good for the blonde in this Hospital, albeit there was situations that got out of hand, but she clearly held a favour with the lieutenant.

"You really hate her that much?" Willa asked quietly, slowly sitting up even though the action was painful on her ribs. Once again, she mentally reminded herself to always look before running across the street. Even in the apocalypse, there was clearly always a chance to get run over.

"Not hate her." Beth answered, standing up. "But I can't like her. She lets things happen that should never happen. The people are mistreated by her officers because she's too afraid to stand up to them. They don't have respect for her anymore, they walk all over her."

Willa couldn't even say anything in response, she couldn't even recall ever seeing such a thing. Even before the dead started walking, people in authority positions were always respected as far as she knew. The Claimers respected Joe, the group respected Rick. How anyone could be a leader without respect fell beyond her comprehension.

"You know...I uh...I've never actually seen Daryl without this one." Beth muttered shyly as if she wasn't sure on the direction of her own attempted small talk. Her eyes were resting on the Angel Wing vest currently laid across the bed over the brunette.

"Well...you must have seen what my shirt was like." Willa tried to joke but it was obvious there was some sort of tension now between them. Beth wasn't dumb, she could understand the meaning of Daryl parting with his beloved vest for this girl before her. Willa, for her part, could see that Beth had feelings for Daryl, ones that seemed like they had been brewing for at least the time that the two were running together before her capture.

"He must really care about you." Beth stated lightly, lifting her eyes to Willa's face. The other woman could only nod, unsure of how else to deal with the turn of conversation. "You kept that good in him alive."

"I guess so." Willa mused softly, brushing her fingers across the vest. Beth's shadow touched the bed before the blonde sat down, her cast covered hand lightly resting over Willa's and both women turned their eyes upon each other.

"Do you love him?" Beth's question, in all it's simplicity, felt far too loaded. The implication was heavy and all the feeling behind it felt almost too stifling to comprehend. The brunette almost looked fearful as she gazed into the blonde's eyes, silently trying to understand and be understood. The tiniest of smiles came to Beth's face and she nodded just once before looking at the door. "I think I do too."

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Gave you another kiss, this time heavier, and left it at such a moment that I damn well hope I get the next chapter out before long.