A/N: I decided to change-up how I'm doing the Beth and Daryl/Carol chapters. It was too hard trying to figure out how to rewrite it and have it feel natural (for me at least). I also feel like these chapters should be a bit more personal because it's going to involve Beth and Daryl talking about Riley, their feelings and thoughts so it deserves to be a little more separate. I hope you are all okay with that! This chapter takes place when Beth and Noah have their first conversation and a plan is starting to form on an escape. I will probably do only one or two more; one being when they try to make their escape and two being the end where Beth let's Joan kill Gorman and then has the discuss with Dawn and then Dr. Edwards and eventually sees Carol. When it comes to the Daryl chapters (if I do them) I'll pick out a few different scenes from that as well. Let me know your thoughts!

Chapter Thirty-Nine: A Partnership

Beth walked into the laundry room carrying in her hands her bloody and disheveled scrubs. Pushing the door open and raising her eyes she caught sight of the boy she had seen many times before, usually with Dawn and usually with a mop or an iron in his hand.

The boy looked up and then down at the clothes in her hands "I'll take that" he spoke reaching an arm out. Beth looked at his hand then that the clothes before quickly handing them over. She watched as the boy smiled before turning to place the dirty clothes into a bin. When he turned back he held out a pair of clean scrubs out to her "here these should fit"

Beth smiled and gently took the folded and pressed clothes from his hand

"I'm Noah by the way"

Beth looked up taking in the boys full appearance, after a moment she laughed softly "sorry….I'm Beth"

Noah smiled and looked back at the shirt he was pressing, smoothing out the creases with a small hissing iron

Beth watched him for a moment before biting her lip "you know what happened with Joan" she asked hoping that this boy was someone who could be trusted. She watched as Noah looked up and shook his head slightly before placing the iron off to the side

"if she stayed, worked for awhile…..couldn't she have just left"

Noah looked at Beth before a small chuckle fell from his lips "I haven't seen it work like that yet"

Beth looked down at the ironing board "how long have you been here"

Noah looked at Beth before gripping the iron back in his hand "I guess about a year" Noah stopped releasing the iron with a heavy sigh, he looked around the room before his eyes settled on Beth "dad and I were both pretty messed up when they found us…."

Beth's eyes softened as she listened to Noah talk about his father, his life before…..her life before…..

"they said they could only save one….for the longest time I actually believed that…"

Beth watched as Noah's eyes got sad before they got dark "now I get it…" Noah continued picking the iron back up and running it over the shirt "dad was bigger, stronger….would have fought back….would have been a threat"

Beth's eyes narrowed "they just left him…"

Noah shook his head "left him behind on purpose and Dawn….Dawn just looked the other way"

Beth bit her lip again "she's in charge"

Noah let go of the iron and lifted his head to look at Beth before laughing "in charge but just barely" he spoke as he swiped the iron off the shirt and started to fold it "and it's just getting worse"

Noah placed the shirt off to the side and then leaned closer to Beth using the ironing board as leverage "that's why I'm out of here when the time is right"

Beth looked at Noah a plan forming in her head "where's home"

Noah pushed away from the board and leaned against the shelves that held rows of clean and firmly pressed shirts and pants "in Virginia…I gotta look for my uncle….find my mom"

Beth subconsciously reached for the necklace that hung at her chest, when her fingers gripped only fabric her eyes jerked down before once again realizing that it was bare

Noah stared at Beth for a long moment "you have family"

Beth's eyes went to Noah and she felt them fill with tears, she looked away quickly before taking a deep breath and staring back at the boy "yeah…" she whispered

"where"

Beth once again went to reach for the necklace "not sure….somewhere close though I think….she's looking…" Beth mumbled before quickly adding "they're looking for me"

Noah's eyes glanced down to the floor before back up watching as Beth's eyes were lost in a far away thought….dream

"what's her name"

Beth's eyes flashed over to Noah and her hand dropped to her side "you love her…."

Noah watched as Beth's eyes filled with light "love ain't the right word"

It was quiet for a moment before Beth spoke again "Riley…her name….it's Riley"

Noah looked at Beth and smiled "they don't know…" Noah started softly "they don't…they think I'm scrawny…weak." Noah looked at Beth "but they don't know shit about me, about what I am, about what you are"

Beth looked at Noah her mind reeling with the many times Riley had told her she was stronger than she thought, stronger than others thought. She knew Riley believed in her, believed she was strong, capable and was always on her to believe it as well...this was her time, her time to show them all, her time to make Riley proud...

'Beth watched as Riley slide down the wall beside her. They had just returned from a hunt and once again Beth had let Riley down. Riley looked over at the girl the two hidden behind the stairs "it's okay ya know" Beth looked over at the girl and wiped her face "how can you say that you had to save me again…I should be able to handle this" Riley looked ahead eyes focused on the wall "you can and you will…when the time comes you'll figure it out; but until then I'll always be there to save you" Beth looked over at Riley studying her profile before the Dixon turned staring at back at her "I won't always be around Beth" Beth quickly placed her hands over her ears "don't say that" she hissed. Riley pulled Beth into her making the girl rest her head on Riley's shoulder "….but I know…I believe that when the time comes you'll be able to do what needs to be done; you're a strong girl Beth Greene start believing it" With that Riley leaned down and kissed Beth on the top of the head "you need to give yourself more credit" Beth didn't respond for tears were slowly rolling down her face, so she simply settled with squeezing the girl around the middle.'

Noah watched as Beth smiled and knew that together they would get out, get back to their families, back to where they belonged

A/N: Reviews Rock! Sorry if it's a little sloppy I wanted to get this out and might have rushed a bit! Hopefully you guys enjoyed it!