This is the last chapter of this particular fic! But I would read the end notes if I were you. Might be something worth reading there.

I want to thank everyone who read and commented here so much! I wouldn't have made it anywhere close to the end of this fic if I didn't have y'all supporting me. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Beth's hand fell away as the man in front of her reeled back, almost like her words were a physical blow. His eyes grew hard as steel as his tense body moved further away from her own. She felt a rush of regret and mortification for touching him without even knowing his name, her cheeks growing warm as she stepped back from him as well.

"I'm sorry," she said quickly, darting her eyes away from him. "I shouldn't have touched you like that. I just-"

He turned away from her before she could even finish the thought as if he couldn't stand to hear another word. Beth felt a sudden wave of rejection that made absolutely no sense as he stalked towards Dr. Edwards. With wide eyes, she watched as the stranger bent his head towards the doctor and muttered something that she couldn't quite hear before steering him away. Silence fell in their wake as no one quite knew what to say.

Beth felt her gaze still riveted towards the crossbow-wielding man as he seemed to tower over a nervous-looking Dr. Edwards even though their heights weren't too different. She barely even noticed when the others began talking around her, their voices a faint hum in the background as she watched the scene play out several feet away. It didn't take long for the man to distance himself from the doctor, almost shrinking in on himself right before her eyes. Edwards looked at him with quiet sympathy as he spoke. She wished that she knew what they were saying and somehow knew that they were talking about her.

"B?" Hollie's voice tore her attention away from the two men.

"Hmm?" she said, blinking with confusion as she felt their eyes on her, all waiting for something.

"Aaron told us that they have a community," Leela said, a small frown on her face. "Didn't you hear?"

Beth shook her head slowly, looking towards the curly-haired man who must have been Aaron. He gave her a kind smile and held out a bottle of water that she felt hesitant to take.

"Beth, right?" he asked as if his companion hadn't choked out her name mere minutes ago.

She nodded, weighing the bottle of water in her hands without opening it. As much as she wanted to believe these people, to trust that they were good, it felt like it was almost too good to be true. One of them clearly knew her, even if she didn't remember him. Maybe it should have made her happy, knowing that she meant something to someone. But all that Beth could wonder was why she woke up in a hospital all alone if there were people out there who cared. Her eyes flitted back to Edwards just in time to see the other man turning away with a devastatingly hopeless look on his face.

Beth knew without asking that it was because of her. Her heart sank as a sick feeling stirred in her stomach, knowing that she was putting someone through pain like that merely by being alive. She tried to tear her eyes away from him but she just couldn't quite manage it until he scrubbed his hands down his face and turned to walk back over to them with long, impatient strides.

"Gotta go," he said brusquely, adjusting the strap of the crossbow on his shoulder. "Whoever set up that trap is gonna come back soon and we ain't gonna be here when they do."

"We haven't made a decision yet," Stanley pointed out.

Beth watched as the dark-haired man fixed Stanley with a piercing gaze.

"The hell else you gonna do?"

No one had any answer for him. Beth glanced around at the others and saw no hesitation in their eyes. She knew that they wouldn't split up. Not after months of taking every step with the people around her. He was right. They didn't have any choice. Beth stepped away from the rest of them, retrieving her fallen backpack and hoisting it onto her shoulders. As if convinced by her silent decision, the others began readying themselves as well. Before any of them could even ask where they were going, she found herself staring at a pair of faded wings stitched onto the retreating back of a man that she couldn't stop wishing she remembered.

"Your friend isn't exactly the social type, huh?" Stanley asked Aaron, though his eyes flitted to Beth as if he expected her to have something to say about it.

"Daryl is… Daryl," Aaron said after a moment, giving a shrug with a small smile. "I wouldn't want anyone else watching my back, though."

He left it at that, though he gave Beth a curious look before jogging to catch up. She surged forward before anyone could ask her questions about all that had happened in the last several minutes. The last thing she wanted to do was search her mind for answers that she didn't have. All that she could think as she followed his lead, is that she finally knew his name. It didn't do her much good. The sound of it stirred up nothing in the depths of her mind. But she was determined to remember him. Determined to understand why he looked at her like she was all that he had left in this broken world.

They kept up a steady pace, not too quick so that they wouldn't tire quickly but determined enough that they were able to leave the town behind within a few minutes. They all breathed a little bit easier when they passed the town limit sign and began trudging through the woods. Before, when it was just her and the others, she would have taken the lead and kept her eyes out for any tracks. Animal, walker, human. It was her job to know what surrounded them at all times. Now, she trailed towards the back of the group, her eyes still fixed on him.

Daryl.

Beth ignored the steady, painful throb in her head as she repeated his name in her mind over and over again. Trying to stir up some kind of memory. She knew that she had looked into that intense gaze of his before. That she had been near that crossbow before. If she thought about it long enough, she might even feel its weight in her hands as if she'd held it. Even the red rag sticking out of his back pocket made her feel something. But that wasn't enough. She wanted something tangible. Something real. A memory to grasp onto, to show her what kind of man he was.

She had no idea how long they walked, letting her one-track focus get the best of her as she sipped at the water in her hand at regular intervals. The sun had begun its descent from the height of its cycle, the position telling them that it was mid-afternoon. Daryl and Aaron led the group, the latter talking in quiet tones that were answered with little more than a jerk of the head or a grunt if he was lucky. The others were used to Beth being quiet, not just while they walked but all of the time.

Sometimes, it felt like too much effort to speak. Words came slowly to her and on occasion, it felt like her tongue was weighed down in her mouth when she tried to speak. So they all let her be and Beth was grateful for it, even if she felt the weight of their worried looks cast her way every once in a while. She kept her eyes forward, fixed on the winged vest that guided them without faltering. He knew exactly where he was going, his head dipping for his eyes to search the ground every so often.

Beth knew that he was tracking, possibly his own tracks back to wherever they were going. Was it him who taught her all that she knew? Was that all she was allowed to keep of him? She strained within her mind to remember, feeling as if she was pushing against a brick wall. Beth breathed in a quiet, shuddering breath as a sharp pain suddenly cut through her head, nearly sending her staggering to the side. She managed to keep herself upright, coming to a stop and swaying on the spot as she closed her eyes, trying to push away the dizziness that suddenly enveloped her.

The blood-crusted machete slipped from her hand, making a quiet impact on the ground as her stomach lurched and she suddenly felt a steady stream of snot run from her nose. Beth lifted her hand to wipe it away just as she heard a muffled cry reach her ears. Her eyes fluttered open and she blinked with confusion as she saw Leela dart towards her with a panicked look on her face. Lowering her eyes, she saw that her hand was stained with scarlet blood. Not thick and rotting like walker blood. Human blood. Her blood.

"Oh," she breathed, realizing where it came from before lifting her other hand to her nose.

Something clasped her wrist tightly before she could and she looked up just in time to see that intense blue gaze staring into her own. His other hand took hold of her elbow, guiding her back until she found herself sitting among the roots of a thick tree. Beth stared at him confusedly, wondering how he got to her first when he was the furthest away from her. Had the others stepped aside to let him get to her or did he simply move quicker than any of them? Beth felt as if her head was underwater as voices rose up around her that she couldn't quite hear.

A flash of red in her vision and then she felt the gentle swipe of a cloth beneath her nose to clean away the blood as two rough-padded fingers pinched the bridge of it painfully. Beth jerked away, smacking the back of her head against the tree behind her. Letting out a pained groan, she lifted her hand to rub at the spot and glared at the man in front of her as if he had everything to do with it. His answering scowl was impatient, his hand moving to the back of her neck to hold her steady before he pinched the bridge of her nose again, shooting her a warning look.

"S'gonna make it stop," he said quietly, and Beth realized that she could hear them all again.

"This hasn't happened before," Leela said, twisting her hands nervously in the corner of Beth's eye.

But she didn't dare look away from Daryl, finding herself matching her breaths with each rise and fall of his chest without quite meaning to. Beth didn't know the last time she'd had someone close. Much less without feeling a rise of panic. But with him, she felt nothing but safe. His eyes flitted down to her nose before moving back up to hers.

"Is it over?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Almost done," he said, his voice rumbling in a way that she could almost feel reverberating through her.

Beth felt something tug deep in her mind and braced herself for pain that never came.

"How do you know?" she asked, staring down the line of the crossbow with focus.

"The signs are all there. Just gotta know how to read 'em."

Beth let out a shaking gasp and he frowned, a line forming between his eyes. She didn't know what to say, unable to even push past the overwhelming burst of warmth in her chest as she lifted her hand to wrap her fingers around his wrist. He stiffened just slightly, his eyes dropping down to her hand as if he didn't quite believe that she was really touching him. The confusion, fear, and worry that stirred in his eyes pulled something else to the forefront of her mind. Not just words, but more. So much more.

Her ankle throbbed with pain as she struggled to keep hold of the crossbow, facing down the walker and pulling the trigger. The bolt buried in its jaw. Not enough to kill it. Beth let out a soft sob as she looked down at her trapped foot, tugging in vain at the contraption that caught it. Before she knew it, the weight disappeared from her arms and she looked up in time to see him clock the walker over the head with his crossbow. The momentum of his swing carried him right back around to her and he dropped his weapon to the ground carelessly. She couldn't help but notice his shaking hands as he freed her from the trap, gently taking hold of her foot with one hand and her calf through the other.

She felt the pressure on the bridge of her nose go away but he didn't stop touching her, his thumb gently rubbing where he'd pinched her tightly to soothe the spot. Her eyes opened slowly. She hadn't even realized that they were closed. Daryl was watching her closely, giving her that same look. That same disbelief, as if he didn't even know if she was really there. As if he never wanted to see her gone.

"Think you're good," he said after a moment, his hands slowly dropping away.

Beth released his wrist and nodded, watching as he picked up the red cloth from his back pocket where it had dropped on the ground. She almost felt guilty for dirtying it but somehow knew her blood wasn't the worst thing that had ever been on it.

"I'll be fine," she said, breathing in and out of her nose carefully just to make sure. "Think I just pushed myself too hard, is all."

He didn't look all that pleased to hear it, glancing over his shoulder at Aaron.

"We're not too far," Aaron said with a nod. "We can rest for a bit."

"I'm not tired," Beth said with a shake of her head, earning herself several doubtful looks. "I meant up here."

She tapped her fingers to the side of her head and Dr. Edwards took a predictable step forward.

"I was tryin' to remember somethin'," she admitted.

Before she could look at Daryl again, Dr. Edwards spoke up.

"Another seizure?" he asked.

She barely managed to shake her head before Daryl was on his feet with anger contorting his face.

"The hell you mean, a seizure?" he demanded, stalking towards a quickly retreating Dr. Edwards. "You been holdin' somethin' back, Doc?"

Beth scrambled to her feet, ignoring the dizzy spell that she felt once she was upright as she pushed past the others.

"Daryl, it's alright," she called, wrapping her hand around his arm.

It nearly sent her reeling, how quickly he stopped at her touch. His head snapped towards her, his eyes still half-wild with fury. Beth wasn't afraid of him one bit, giving his arm a gentle squeeze and feeling nothing but hard muscle beneath her touch.

"He saved my life," Beth said quietly, looking into his eyes without faltering.

Daryl's eyes grew hard at her words.

"Yeah? He tell you what he did before all that?"

Beth nodded slowly, refusing to let his biting tone scare her away.

"He's makin' up for it," she said simply.

Daryl didn't look too convinced but she saw some of the fight drain away and knew he wouldn't go attacking the only doctor they had with them. When he fixed Edwards with a look, making it clear what he wanted, the other man cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses before speaking.

"She's had several non-convulsive seizures with no noticeable debilitating effects after."

"Means I don't collapse and shake when I get 'em," Beth explained when she saw Daryl's brow furrow. "I just kind of… go blank and I don't really remember much when they're over. Think we've counted ten of 'em so far."

Something about her words made Daryl flinch as he looked at her again, something telling in his eyes that she couldn't quite understand. As if that number might have meant something to him. But she had no chance to ask before he was stepping away, freeing his arm from her grasp as he looked at Dr. Edwards with a warning in his stare.

"Anythin' else you're keepin' to yourself?" he demanded gruffly.

Edwards shook his head, looking almost as if he was searching his mind just to make sure. Daryl muttered something under his breath as he strode away from them, moving back to the front of the group to start leading them again. But he drew up short instead of just expecting them to follow, tipping his head over his shoulder to glance her way. Beth didn't quite know what he wanted until he tilted his head ever so slightly in a silent question. She felt her heart skip a beat as she hurried towards him after retrieving her machete. There was every chance that he just wanted her beside him to keep an eye on her after the nosebleed and hearing about the seizures but Beth didn't even care.

Because falling into step beside Daryl felt like the most natural thing in the world.

Instead of the walled community that they expected, the one that Aaron spent quite a bit of time describing to them, they emerged from the trees to the sight of a car and motorcycle parked right next to each other on a dirt road.

"We're still fifty miles out," Aaron said when she shot him a puzzled look. "Beats walking, right?"

She couldn't help but agree, her eyes flitting back to the two very different modes of transportation. She just knew that the motorcycle belonged to Daryl before he even crossed over to it, lifting his crossbow strap over his head as he went. Beth could easily envision him astride the thing, sunglasses in place and cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth, smoke curling into the air. She didn't quite know where that visual came from as she took a few steps closer, eyeing it curiously.

"Goin' off to save this broken world, Daryl Dixon?"

Beth frowned at the sudden intrusion into her mind, wondering where it came from. It didn't feel the same as before. There was something distant about it. As if it was a hazy dream instead of a memory.

"Dixon," she whispered.

His head lifted at once and he looked straight at her, leaving Beth to wonder how good his hearing was if he managed to hear her.

"What'd you say?"

Beth looked up at him, taking another step closer.

"Daryl Dixon," she said, a small smile pulling at her lips. "That's your name, isn't it?"

He glanced around at the others before looking back at her.

"Aaron tell you?" he asked, turning back to his task.

Beth shook her head, her smile growing wider.

"I remembered."

He grew still once more but he didn't look at her this time. Beth watched him, hoping that he might at least show some relief that she could remember, that it would give him hope and not make him give up on her. But before either of them could say anything else, Aaron was walking over with a somewhat amused look on his face.

"We've got a bit of a situation," he said, pointing to his car. "She only holds four apart from me. So unless we wanna start drawing straws for the trunk…"

Aaron trailed off, his eyes cutting to Daryl's motorcycle before moving purposefully between him and Beth. She felt warmth rise to her cheeks as she looked down at the ground, suddenly finding the scuffed toes of her boots very interesting. It was one thing to walk beside him and let him take care of her nosebleed. Riding behind him on a very small seat for any stretch of time was a whole other ballgame. Beth felt their eyes on her and lifted her head slowly, risking a wary glance towards Daryl. He was staring back at her with hesitation as if he wasn't quite sure what she thought of it. Finally, he gave a shrug and she knew that it was as close to agreement as he would come.

"Are you sure?" she asked, not wanting to make him uncomfortable.

He gave a grunt and turned away, swinging his leg over the motorcycle to settle in the seat. Beth wasn't quite sure what that meant but she saw the tips of his ears turning red through his hair and almost smiled at the thought that he must have been embarrassed.

"That means…?" she said, raising her eyebrows in question.

"What? You want an engraved invitation?" he said roughly, his eyes flitting to her briefly. "C'mon, girl."

Beth moved quickly, her heart racing in her chest as she eyed the motorcycle with wide eyes before carefully climbing onto it. The slant of the seat gave her no choice but to slide in right behind him, her face growing even hotter when her hips pressed flush against him. Aaron took the machete from her hand to stow in his trunk when she held it out, looking like he was on the verge of laughter.

"Fuck off," Daryl said without even looking at him.

She could have sworn she heard a snicker when the other man turned to walk to the car, where the others were already situated inside. Leela was peering out of a backseat window with wide eyes fixed on Beth, as if she couldn't quite believe it. Hollie leaned around her to shoot Beth a thumbs up and a grin. She waved at them both before looking away, trying to figure out exactly what she was doing with her hands.

"Hold on," Daryl said over his shoulder.

Beth hesitated, taking a deep breath before deciding that she didn't have much to lose. He didn't even tense up as she slid her arms around him, clasping her hands just beneath his ribs and pressing her cheek right between the two wings on his vest. He was solid and warm beneath her, in spite of the chill in the air, and Beth knew beyond a doubt that he wouldn't let anything happen to her. Closing her eyes, she had the sudden feeling that this wasn't the first time she'd held onto him this way. It wasn't enough. Not by a long shot. Beth wouldn't be satisfied until she remembered everything about Daryl Dixon.

But for now, she was content to just hold on tight.

One more time, I'd love to hear what you think!

I am actually considering writing a sequel to this. I'm satisfied with how this particular fic ended but I feel like there's so much more than I can do. I won't start a sequel unless I can plan out the whole story, like I did with this one, but hopefully it'll pop up soon. I'll announce it on this fic when I publish it.

I've also got some other Bethyl fics in the works, if you want to keep an eye out. Here's a couple of the ideas I'm working on at the moment:

- The ZA happened a little bit later. Beth is in Atlanta studying to be a nurse when it all goes down. She makes her way to the CDC and winds up helping Dr. Jenner. She's there when the group shows up at the end of s1 and leads them to her family farm after the CDC is gone.

- Different ZA au where Beth was in Atlanta with a school group when the world ended. She doesn't catch up with Team Family until post-s3 when they're all living at the prison. A certain someone (a crossbow-wielding someone) going on a run comes across her group in a nearby town and takes them all back to the prison without knowing yet that Beth is related to Hershel and Maggie.

- S4 au where Beth gets away from the cops and believes that they killed Daryl after knocking her out. She comes across Rick, Michonne, and Carl and begins heading towards Terminus with them. So she's there when the Claimers come across them looking for revenge. I think you can tell where that's going.

- A non-ZA au where Beth and Daryl are pining exes. Haven't figured out the details quite yet.

Keep an eye out if you want to read any of these. Hopefully I'll start posting on one of them soon!