Consciousness blew away the remnants of sleep, bringing forth a headache. Beth scowled, recognising the heavy pain within her head before she had even opened her eyes. She blinked them open, groggily, feeling as if all the moisture had been sucked dry from them, her eyelids feeling like sandpaper. Gently, she reached her hand out of the confines of the blankets to prod at the tender skin beneath them, feeling how swollen they were. Memories of her sobbing into her sisters lap swam to the forefront of her mind as explanation, and she sighed, feeling the aches in her body as she moved. She moved her arm in front of her face, turning it slowly to assess the damage. Deep purple lacerations ran their way over her soft pale skin, an ugly reminder of her fight with Daryl.

Daryl. He had come to her last night. Beth sat up, pushing her loose hair out of her face as he remembered; the feeling of being watched had roused her from her sleep, opening her eyes to a figure in her doorway. At first she had panicked, but after the initial scare she had recognised the shape. How long had he been standing there?

He had sought her out, in the middle of the night, to apologise. She stroked the tender skin of her arm as she remembered. He had been cut up about hurting her, sorry for it. She had forgiven him. Was that the right thing to do?

She couldn't ask anyone, she thought, not without arousing some sort of suspicion. Her sister would be gunning for him if she knew he had hurt her, and whoever she spoke to would want to know why she had followed him out there – to learn how to hunt, she reasoned to herself, but she knew it was more than that, really.

She liked him. She liked being around him. She didn't know how well she could hide that fact from prying eyes.

Beth pulled herself from her bed, yawning. It was all too much to think about, her head was sore from crying and not too much sleep, and her body ached. She needed to shower and clear her mind.

. . .

Beth was sitting outside, her legs stretched out in front of her, with Judith laying on them, her tiny feet kicking up to Beth's stomach. It was early morning, the sun had not long broken through the clouds, and the prison grounds were bathed in a soft, orangey glow. It was a cool morning, a gentle breeze drifted down over Beth and the baby, the cool air lingering over Beth's still damp hair as it caressed her face, softly blowing away the remains of the stress she had woken up to. Judith's feet were bare, kicking gently into the air as Beth tickled her toes, cooing softly to her. She was tired, but Judith's little face made her heart swell enough that it didn't matter and it was nice to be outside, out of her bedroom, the stuffy confines of the prison. Being out in the open helped to clear her mind somewhat, too, and Judith was a happy distraction to that. They had lost a fair amount of their ground, but there was still enough that Beth could sit out in the open. She was sitting towards the back of the prison, away from the walkers, so Judith wouldn't have to see them. She was only tiny, but Beth didn't want her open to and aware of such horror just yet.

'Do you like being outside?' Beth cooed to Judith, ticking her belly.

Judith smiled up at her, her eyes wide and sparkling.

Softly, Beth began to sing to her, playing with her feet as she did. She was enjoying herself, singing to the smiling baby in her lap, she didn't hear the soft crunching footsteps approaching her until suddenly Daryl had dropped down beside her, making her jump.

'Mornin',' he said gruffly, dropping his crossbow on the ground between his knees.

'Daryl!' Beth gasped, clutching her chest.

'I'm goin' ou' wi' Rick,' he said, ignoring Beth's shock, 'reckons on makin' a truce, with the governor.'

Beth was staring at him, her hand to her beating heart. She had been sitting out here alone attempting to distract herself from thoughts of him, and here he suddenly was, sat beside her as if all was well.

'Okay,' Beth said, calming her breathing, 'right. A truce... you think that will work?'

Daryl sighed, running his hands through his hair.

'Nah,' he said honestly, 'it's all jus' a game.'

'Mm,' Beth sighed, looking back down to Judith, who was starting to squirm. Slowly, she hoisted the baby up, bringing her up to her chest, patting her back.

'You okay, little lady?' she asked her, looking down at her face.

'She's a quiet lil' one,' Daryl said, leaning across to see her. Beth turned Judith to face him. Daryl leant down to stroke her little cheek.

'Here,' Beth said, holding her out to him, 'you take her.'

Daryl glanced up at her, then took the baby from her arms.

He cradled her softly, lowering her towards his chest.

'Hey, swee'heart,' he said, looking down to her little face, 'you doin' okay?'

Beth smiled at them both, watching them. Any last bitter feeling she had towards him were evaporating as she watched him cradle the child.

'She likes you,' Beth chuckled, the dark cloud that had been over her lifting.

'She likes you more,' Daryl said, 'you're good wi'her.'

'I'm just trying to do my bit,' Beth shrugged, 'she's lost her mother, it's going to be hard for her.'

Daryl turned to look at Beth.

'She's got you,' he said.

'I'm not her mother,' Beth sighed, 'nothing can replace a mother's love.'

'Nah, I guess not,' Daryl said, 'I guess you know that feelin'.'

Beth looked up at Daryl; his eyes were soft as they gazed in to hers.

'Yeah,' Beth said, her own eyes suddenly full of sorrow, 'yeah it's hard.'

'You miss 'er?' Daryl asked.

'Every day,' Beth admitted, 'but I have m'daddy, and Maggie. And all of you guys, you're all my family now.'

'Mm,' Daryl nodded, stroking Judith's cheek.

'You must've been pleased to find Merle alive.' Beth said.

Daryl sighed.

'Yeah,' he said, 'he's a stupid son of a bitch, but he's m'brother.'

'You love him,' Beth said.

'Course I do,' he nodded.

'What were your parents like?' Beth asked tentatively, worried her question might bother him.

He shrugged.

'Redneck trash,' he said, 'M'old lady died when I was a kid,' he said, 'house fire from 'er own damn cigarette.'

'Oh, wow,' Beth breathed, 'I'm sorry,'

'Don't be,' Daryl shrugged, 's'in the past.'

'You had your dad, though? And Merle?' Beth offered.

'Mm,' Daryl nodded slowly, 'dad was a drunken asshole, never paid no attention to neither o' us 'less he was beating our ass.'

'He hit you?' Beth asked softly, shocked.

'Mhm,' Daryl nodded. He was looking down at Judith, his eyes hidden behind his hair.

'Badly?' she asked.

'Depended,' he shrugged, 'but yeah, often.'

'Oh Daryl,' Beth sighed.

Her heart fluttered at the sight of him. He had been through so much in his life, so much that she could only guess at. She understood the darkness in him, the anger, the resentment, but as he sat beside her, the soft morning sun illuminating him, his smile as he spoke to Judith, the tiny baby nestled in his large arms, she also saw the beauty in him. He had changed so much in her opinion, emerging from the surly loner that had frightened her, into one of her closest friends. Life would be a little less bearable without him.

She leaned across, daring to rest her head on his shoulder. The touch of his leather vest was cool against her cheek, the smell of it musty and some how comforting. Her mind wandered back to last night, to him sitting beside her on her bed, the close proximity of his body, the strained way he had spoken of hurting her, the way she had pulled him close to her, the way he had allowed her to, the touch of his hand against her skin...

He looked down at her, rocking Judith lightly in his arms, the top of Beth's head resting just below his nose. He could smell the scent of her shampoo, light and fruity, and it took him by surprise.

She was soft and small, leaning against him, but it felt like a good fit. She was melting him, he realised in surprise, thawing him. Here he was, sitting out on the grass, not long after sunrise, holding a baby, with Beth leaning against him.

'Hey there,' Rick's voice broke his thoughts before he had any time to really think, to over analyse. The two of them looked over their shoulders as the sheriff made his way towards them.

'You 'bout ready t' go, Daryl?' he said, squatting down beside the two of them.

'Yup,' Daryl said, handing the baby back to Beth.

He stood up, wiping down his pants and picking up his crossbow. He held out a hand to Beth, pulling her up.

'How is she?' Rick asked, stroking the face of his own daughter.

'She's good,' Beth smiled, 'you want to take her?'

'No, no, we gotta go,' Rick said, 'but Carl's here, and I'll come for her as soon as we're back.'

'No worries,' Beth smiled, 'when will you be back?'

'Soon,' Rick nodded. He glanced at Daryl. Daryl nodded. Time to go.

'Hey,' Beth said, reaching out to touch Daryl's arm before he turned away, 'you better come back to me this time, Mr Dixon.' She offered him a smile.

Daryl looked at her for a while, then nodded.

'I'll be back.' he said.

. . .

'What are you doing?' Beth stopped walking to stand a little back from Glen, who was struggling through the fence with a walker. She had been walking through the grounds, taking in the cool day, trying to take her mind off of the fact Rick had taken her father along with him to see the governor.

'This,' Glen grunted, finally breaking free from the zombie. Beth watched in disgust as he pulled a ring off of one of two fingers he now held in his hand.

He looked at it, holding it up so the sun glinted off of it, then wiped it on his top to clean it.

'What do you think?' he asked, holding it out to Beth.

She took it from him, holding it up between her thumb and forefinger.

'It's lovely,' she said, handing it back to him, 'but uh... what's it for?'

Glen rotated the ring in his fingers, then pocketed it, smiling.

'I'm going to ask Maggie to marry me,' he said.

'You are?!' Beth cried, throwing her hands to her mouth in surprise.

'Yeah,' Glen said, 'so, you approve?'

'Yes of course!' Beth cried, throwing her arms around his neck, 'you're perfect for her!'

Glen hugged her back, laughing.

'Thanks,' he said.

Beth beamed at him, looking him up and down. She was overcome with happiness for them both, and for a moment she forgot about the dead that were trying to get in through the fence at them, forgot about the imminent threat of the governor, of her father being away from the prison.

There was some happiness here in the world, some love, and it was beautiful.

'When're you going to ask her?' Beth beamed.

'Soon,' Glen nodded, frowning, 'when everyone is back.'

'You're going to do it in front of everyone?' Beth asked, excitedly bouncing on the balls of her feet.

'No,' Glen shook his head, 'just me and her. But I want to know everyone is safe first though.'

Beth nodded. She understood.

The world was so dark and frightening around them these days, but Maggie had found some light in it; that was wonderful.

. . .

Rick, Hershel and Daryl drove back to the prison in silence. The gates opened to let them in, their car slowing within the safety of their perimeters. As they pulled in, Daryl jumped out, shouldering his crossbow. Rick and Hershel were a little slower, their brains clearly foggier from the days events.

In silence, the three of them walked to the common room.

Beth looked up as they entered, spotting her father first. She got up from where she had been sitting with Carl and Judith and hurried over to him, linking her arm to his.

'Are you okay?' she asked him, walking back over to the tables where he could sit.

'I'm fine,' he told her, smiling.

Beth nodded. She felt a little less nervous now her daddy was home safe.

'So,' Rick said, his voice loud and clear, echoing through the spacious corridor in which they all stood, 'I met this Governor. Sat with him for quite a while.' He looked around the room, pausing on certain people, his friends, his family.

'He wants the prison' he said grimly, 'He wants us gone. Dead. He wants us dead for what we did to Woodbury.'

A few murmurs rose up from the people standing around. Beth looked across to Daryl, who was lurking in the doorway of the room, leaning against the door-frame. He saw her looking, and he looked back.

'We're going to war.' Rick said.

Beth's face fell as she watched Daryl, her stomach looping into sickening knots. Daryl's eyes stayed trained on hers, cold and serious. He blinked, and she saw him swallow. She understood then, in his body language, that he was going to give this fight everything he had. And that scared her.

We're going to war.