"Daddy, you heard Beth and Daryl" Maggie whispered to her father out on the porch later on that night. She had been thinking about what Beth and Daryl had both said about the infected people and it was starting to really worry her what they had been doing. "What if they were right and Momma and Shawn are…"

"Stop that talk right now Margaret! There is no truth in what they just said to us" Hershel whispered stubbornly.

"Are you serious? Are you calling them liars? You know Bethy knows what she saw on that screen" Maggie whispered angrily back.

"I don't think they are lying. I think they believe that is what they saw. You heard them Maggie, the man was going to blow them all up. He was mentally not stable and did not know what was real anymore. There will be cure, I just know it" Hershel said, turning from his daughter and looking out onto the back of the farm. Maggie watched her father for a few moments. She didn't want to believe that Annette and Shawn were dead but the way that Beth and Daryl both spoke, she knew it was not as simple as what her father was trying to make it out to be, but she also knew how stubborn he could be.

"We have to tell Bethy about the barn. We can't keep somethin' like this from her" Maggie stated as she walked back over to Hershel.

"No, we will not! You will not tell…."he started to whisper even more angrily when the screen door came open and Daryl walked out, crossbow over his shoulder. Hershel and Maggie both stopped talking and looked over at him. Daryl knew something was up, but it was not his business. If they wanted to keep their secrets that was fine, as long as they didn't affect him and Beth.

"Hey Daryl!" Maggie said with a smile as he walked farther out onto the porch. "Bethy inside still?"

"Yea, she is upstairs. Claims she is settin' up my room. Told her to not make a fuss but she won't listen" he said with a low growl.

"Well that's our Bethy, stubborn as a mule. Wonder where she gets that from?" she asked, her eyebrow raised toward Hershel. The older man threw her a glare and Maggie turned back to Daryl. "I'm gunna go see her. I still cannot believe she is back." She said as she gently kissed Hershel on the cheek and then walked toward the door, slowing down as she passed Daryl. Before he could do anything, she leaned up and kissed his cheek as well. "Thank you so much again Daryl" and she walked into the house. He stood there frozen for a few moments. He was not used to so many people being nice to him, people being welcoming of him. He was a Dixon, they were told to never come back, not that they were welcome.

"You want to walk with me Son? I was going to walk around the property a little" Hershel said as he stepped off of the steps. Daryl froze again at being called 'son' and then thought for a second, he was going to do the same thing anyway, so what would it hurt to walk with Beth's father. He seemed like a decent enough man, even if he was hiding something. But everybody had secrets, right?

"Sure, was gunna do that anyway" he replied as he followed Hershel down the steps and toward the driveway. He looked around at all of the trees and land in front of him. He wondered what it was like for Beth to grow up here. He could picture a little girl with blond pigtails running around and a smile started to form on his face that he immediately stopped when he realized what he was doing.

"So where are you from Daryl?" Hershel asked as they walked past a fence holding a few cows.

"A little town about a half hour from 'ere" he grumbled out, wondering immediately after why he felt comfortable enough to tell this man anything about his past.

"Your family still alive?" The older man asked. Daryl shook his head as he readjusted his crossbow.

"Naw. My brother might be but don't know" Daryl growled as he walked a little ahead of the older man. He could feel Hershel's eyes on him as he walked.

"I want to thank you again Daryl. What you did for my little girl, you brought her home" Hershel stated slowly, stopping their walk.

"No need to thank me. Beth saved my life and stuck up for me. I'm sure ya can figure that doesn't happen a bunch" Daryl stated as he looked at the ground. He heard Hershel laugh just a little and looked up at him.

"Maybe, but you didn't have to bring her here. You are a good man Daryl Dixon and I just want to make sure you know that you are welcome to stay here as long as you want" Hershel said as he stuck his hand out to Daryl. Daryl looked at it for a moment and placed his hand in Hershel's to shake.

"Thank you" was all he replied and then they kept on walking.

When they got back, they found Beth sitting on the front porch steps. Hershel walked by, leaning down to place a kiss on her head and then walked inside. Daryl waited for him to go in and then sat down beside Beth.

"Did you have a nice walk?" She asked after a few minutes.

"Yeah, it was nice. You got a lot of land" he replied

"Yeah, it's a beautiful place. I love it here" she said softly

"Ya Dad told me again that I can stay 'ere as long as I want. Is that still ok wit' you?" He asked, suddenly terrified that she would say no. 'Why the hell am I worried about that?' he thought to himself

"Of course it is. But I was thinking" she started and he turned to look at her.

"Bout what?" He asked

"Do you want to go try to find Merle? We could use this as a base and start doing searches for him" she said as she looked at her hands. She suddenly seemed shy and he didn't understand why, but she had said 'we' so did that mean she wanted to help him?

"We? Does that mean you want to help me?" He asked, a little smirk on his lips.

"Of course, if you want me too! Daryl, you saved my life more than I can count and you brought me home to my family. If I can help you find yours, I will do that happily" she said, her smile back on her face. He looked at her, speechless. Was this girl for real? He had never met anybody like her before, so kind and generous and beautiful. 'Beautiful? Where the hell did that come from?' he asked himself. 'Oh come off it baby brother, you know she is finer than wine" Merle's voice rang out in his head. He shook his head softly to clear the voices and looked back at her.

"I appreciate tha' offer Beth, but we lost his trail in Atlanta. He could be anywhere wit' his stubborn ass" he growled out. He saw Beth furrow her eyebrows and took her hand in his without thinking. "I do appreciate it. But let's worry bout gettin' settled 'ere first and rest up a few days. Let me think on it, ok?"

"Ok" she said as she squeezed his hand and laid her head on his shoulder as they watched the sunset. 'Yeah baby brother, yer screwed' he heard Merle's voice cackle at him.