Chapter 5 –

"How's your ankle, Beth?" Daryl asked quietly as they walked side-by-side in the dark, trailing further and further behind Joe and his men. Beth had insisted on walking on her own the closer they got to the person Joe was hunting and Daryl had reluctantly agreed. He liked having her warmth against him, her hand on his chest or playing with his coat pockets but he understood why she wanted to walk now. If things went south, he would need his crossbow in hand. He would need to be able to make sure Beth got away or remained unharmed. Still, he was concerned about her. She was limping slightly but it wasn't as pronounced as it had been. Daryl's hand tightly grasped Beth's and he looked at her sternly. "Honestly."

"Stiff, but it doesn't hurt, not really." She replied, squeezing his hand reassuringly. He nodded, his eyes going back to the men in front of them.

"Beth, I know you're not gonna like this but if the people they're chasin' are strangers to us, we're leavin'. Ya understand me?" Beth nodded and Daryl breathed a sigh of relief. There was an obvious look of reluctance on the blonde's face but he was glad that she wouldn't argue with the decision. Joe's hand went up and everyone stopped. A blazer was parked on the road and firelight bounced shadows around the vehicle and the trees. Soft voices and chuckles could be heard. Daryl knocked his crossbow and loaded a bolt, just in case, and let go of Beth's hand to place his over her stomach, gently pushing her to walk backwards and to stay behind him as they left.

Joe and his men snuck around to the backside of the vehicle before attacking. Daryl gestured for Beth to stay back as he moved forward cautiously, the firelight brightening the faces of the people Joe held at gunpoint. Rick and Michonne. His eyes moved to the Blazer and he could see Carl inside.

"Shit," he cursed. He decided to try and talk Joe down and stepped into the circle of men, explaining that they were good people. He could hear Beth's light footsteps edging closer. He knew she had figured out who it was Joe had been hunting and that she wouldn't stand back or leave them to save herself. She had her gun but it only had a couple of bullets left in it. They had been looking for ammo for it, or for another gun with more ammunition, but hadn't had any luck.

"You want blood, I get it. Take mine," Daryl knew offering himself up instead would make Beth freak out, but he would rather them come after him then any of the others. Besides, he figured that if they would focus on him, Rick and the others could help take them out while they were distracted. Daryl should have known better.

"You say he's a good man? Now, you see…that's a lie right there. Teach him, boys, teach him all the way." The two men closest to Daryl, Billy and Harley, dove towards him, sick smiles on their faces as they began punching and beating on him. Daryl grunted and stumbled as a fist knocked him sideways into the side of the blazer. His eyes caught the sight of one of the men pulling the Blazer's door open and grabbing Carl.

"No!" Beth yelled, running forward as she pulled Daryl's knife out of its sheath on her hip. Billy turned and grabbed Beth's wrist as she slashed the knife at him, barely missing his neck. He head-butted the blonde and she stumbled from the impact. Daryl growled, moving to save Beth and seek revenge on the bastard for hitting her but was stopped when the butt of a gun slammed into his ribs and pain lit up his vision.

Another blow came but all Daryl could focus on was his family being attacked around him. A gasp of pain from Beth brought his attention back to her and his eyes widened when he saw Billy trip her and knock her into the vehicle. His eyes saw a flash of silver on the ground and he dove forward to grab the knife Beth had dropped. Harley's rifle made contact with the side of his head and Daryl saw stars. He fought to remain conscious as a kick to his stomach knocked the air out of his lungs. Daryl looked toward Beth, watching as she struggled to reach the knife as Billy closed off her air, his hand tight around her throat.

Her hand wrapped around the blade's handle and she stabbed the blade into Billy's neck, his grip loosening on her throat as he dropped dead beside her.

"You bitch!" Harley yelled as he moved toward the blonde, his fist connecting with her cheek. Daryl had been enraged before when Billy had been hitting her but now he saw a murderous red in his vision. He barely thought about what he was going to do to the bastard, hell he barely thought anything. The ring of gunshots and a scream pulled Daryl from the red haze and his eyes took in the bloody man underneath him. He stood up quickly, his eyes searching for Beth, fear gnawing at his stomach at the idea that she had been shot.

Beth stood a couple of feet away from him, leaning against the front of the Blazer; her gun in her hand, pointed down at the body of Dan. Carl was curled into Michonne's side, staring in fear at Dan's unmoving body. Michonne had gotten the gun from her attacker and had killed him. Daryl's eyes moved to Rick. Blood covered Rick's face and neck and Joe's body lay in front of him, a huge chunk of flesh bitten from the man's neck. Daryl glanced around and once he realized that all of the threats were gone, he stumbled to Beth and pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly.

Beth shook slightly in his arms and he heard her gun clatter to the ground beside them, her arms moving to wrap tightly around his middle. He held her for a moment before pulling away and tilting her face to look at her injuries. Her lip was split and her cheek was already swelling. There were red finger marks on her neck that he was sure would bruise too and she was covered in Billy's blood.

"Beth, you okay?" It was a dumb question, he knew it, but he had to ask.

"You're the one who got hit by the butt of a rifle, are you okay?" her voice was shaky, croaky, her eyes were wide and Daryl could see the panic in her eyes as they looked over his body.

"'m fine, Greene. You didn't answer me. Are you okay?" She looked down at her bloodied hands, watching as they shook viciously.

"I-I've never…." She swallowed heavily, "I mean, I have…at the prison, I shot at people…hit some but I've never…" Daryl nodded, wrapping her in his arms again. She'd never had to stab someone before or watch the life leave their eyes. He closed his eyes, guilt wracking through his body.

"I'm sorry, Beth. You did good, though…You saved me and Carl." Beth nodded against his chest before turning slightly to look at the other three. Silence filled the camp as everyone's adrenaline stopped pumping and they realized what had just occurred. Michonne eased Carl up and into the Blazer. Rick joined Daryl and Beth at the front of the vehicle before he shakily lowered himself to the ground by the tire. The three sat in silence, staring at the ground or the trees across the road from them, until the sun rose. Daryl's arm was draped behind Beth, holding her tightly to his side, her head laying on his shoulder and his resting on top of hers.

"Thank you," Rick said silently, "for saving Carl." Beth gently lifted herself off the ground and walked to their trash bag, pulling out their bottles of water before walking back and returning to her spot beside Daryl. The hunter watched her, taking in her silence and pale face. Her lips trembled slightly and she took a deep breath, swallowing heavily. Daryl jumped slightly when he felt her hand poke his butt and he stared at her in shock.

"Your bandana," she said with a small smile. He cleared his throat and nodded, tilting his body slightly to pull the red cloth from his back pocket. Beth handed a water bottle and the cloth to Rick, instructing him to clean up his face and then to go join Carl in the vehicle.

"He needs you and he can see you, you can't," she stated when the sheriff opened his mouth to argue. Rick nodded, using a little of the water to wipe his face clean before standing and climbing into the vehicle. Daryl picked up the water and his bandana and began gently cleaning the blood off of Beth's arms and hands.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, surprising the hunter.

"You got nothing to be sorry about, Beth."

"No, I do…I didn't stay back, and then I missed and I tripped…you should be yelling at me right now. I messed up…" Daryl sighed and shook his head.

"If you had stayed back, what do you think might have happened?" The blonde shrugged, her eyes filling with tears.

"I would have lost you…they were goin to beat you to death…and Carl, he was gonna…" Daryl leaned forward and placed his lips gently against her forehead, stopping her words. Beth sighed and leaned into his lips slightly, her hand moving up to lay over his heart, the thumping muscles under his warm skin reassuring her that they were both okay, they were both alive.