Beth stood at the kitchen counter the next morning finishing the dishes, lost in thought. Her mind kept going back to sitting on the porch with Daryl the night before. How he tried in his own way to make her feel better, and how the simple act of putting his arms around her made her feel safe.

A small smile formed on her lips as she vaguely remembered being carried up the stairs the night before, and without being asked taken directly to his room and placed on the bed. She felt him take her shoes off and pull the covers up over her body and then the feel of his hand grasping hers. Her smile grew when she thought how he just assumed that she would want to sleep in his bed and how maybe, she made him feel safe too.

She had heard him thank her for being "our angel" as he held her. She was sure he thought she was asleep, but she hadn't been. She wondered for a split second who the other people were that made up "our" but didn't dwell on it since the bigger part was that he thought she was an angel. She felt honored, touched beyond words that somebody like Daryl thought she was special. But it scared her a little that she would not be able to live up to it and would let him down. She never wanted to let him down, ever!

"Bethy, what are you thinking about so hard over there?" Maggie asked, as she came back into the kitchen, causing Beth to jump as she was pulled out of her thoughts.

"Wha? Oh, nothing Maggie" she stammered as she turned back around to the sink, hoping her sister didn't see the blush starting to form on her cheeks. 'No such luck, see's everything' she thought as she heard Maggie take a seat at the table and start to chuckle.

"Bet you were thinking about a certain guy, about 6 foot, pretty blue eyes, arms like a god, carries a crossbow? I think his name might start with a D?" She said, then started giggling.

"HAHA, very funny Maggie" Beth said as she finished putting the last of the dishes away and turned to face her older sister.

"Oh I'm just teasing, Bethy. Were you really thinking about Daryl?" She asked as she looked her sister in the eye. Beth really didn't want to talk about what she was feeling, but if there was anybody that could possibly help her make sense of everything, it was Maggie.

"Yes, I was" Beth said as she sat down and placed her head on the table and mumbled something else.

"What was that?" Maggie asked, a smile on her face.

"Nothing. I've just got a lot on my mind and I'm trying to sort it out." Beth replied as she picked her head back up and looked at her sister.

"Ok, spill. Big Sister Maggie is in and seeing patient number 1. Miss Greene, if you could please explain what your issue is?" Maggie asked in her best professional voice, causing Beth to start laughing.

"Well Big Sister Maggie, I am happy but worried at the same time?" Beth started, her laughter dying away.

"Happy and worried about Daryl?" Maggie asked

"I am starting to care about him Maggie" Beth stated softly, causing Maggie to raise her eyebrow

"I thought you already did care about him. Your close friend's right?" Maggie asked, understanding what her sister was saying but wanting her to admit it herself.

"Maggie, I care about him as more than a friend" Beth whispered as she looked back up to the smiling face of her sister.

"Bout time you admitted it" Maggie said with a chuckle, causing Beth to smack her on the arm.

"It's not funny Maggie. What if he really doesn't see me like that. What if I tell him and scare him off? He is new to even having a friendship, so I'm sure something more than that will send him running the other way and I can't lose him, even if we just stay friends." She said softly as she turned her eyes away from Maggie and looked at the table. "He called me his angel last night" she continued just as softly, still looking at the table and missing the soft smile that formed back on Maggie's lips. "What if I let him down? I could never forgive myself if I hurt him in anyway"

"Bethy, look at me" Maggie started, gripping her sisters hand across the table and waiting till her sisters blue eyes met hers. "All of those 'what if's' will get you nowhere. You will drive yourself crazy. Now, I'm going to tell you what I have seen in the past few days that you and Daryl have been here. That man cares about you, I think more than he even knows. I do think you are right in the fact that you need to take it slow, because he is as skittish as a new colt. But neither of you are fooling anybody in saying that whatever is going on between you two is just friendship. What you two have is special! "

Beth smiled at her sisters words and squeezed her hand. "I know. We do have something special. I knew there was something about him the first time I saw him, and then when he came to me after Shane and I had it out, I just knew he was special. He has a sweet heart, under all of that gruff and tough attitude. I just don't want to hurt it"

"Bethy, you could never hurt him. You have fallen hard haven't you?"

"I really have" Beth breathed out.

Daryl had been in the woods all morning, thinking about the same things that Beth had been. He wasn't stupid enough to believe that what they had was just a friendship, but he didn't know exactly what it was. He knew he liked her, thought she was beautiful, strong, and smart, and that he would kill anybody that even looked at her wrong. But what all did that mean?

"It means you do got it bad lil brother" Merle's voice told him with a cackle as he kept walking. He knew Merle's voice was right, that he did have it bad for the little blond. That somehow she was crawled her way into his heart. He just didn't know how to proceed now that she was there. Before he could dwell on that thought he heard a twig snap and a cry that sounded human, like a small child. Daryl narrowed his eyes, raised his crossbow and listened hard. He heard the wind thru the trees, the squirrel on the next tree and then another soft sob, coming from the bush across from him. He slowly crept over, and moved the branches of the bush out of the way. He was on high alert for anything to jump out at him, but he was not prepared for the sight that he saw.

"Sophia?"