"This is stupid," Carl stated.

"What is?" Beth asked, sitting beside the younger boy on one of the couches as she held baby Judith.

"Staying here," he replied. "We're going to get ourselves killed. It's either keep moving or die," he said. "It happens everywhere," Beth continued to hold the baby as she pondered his words.

"So we stay here until we've worn out our stay," she concluded. "What's the point of living if we're constantly running?" she asked him and he shrugged. "We've all done enough running for a while. We need to...take a breather," she offered.

"I just don't want anyone else to die. We've seen enough of it," in that moment, Beth thought of him as a child. She hadn't in a long time. It was no secret that Carl could take care of himself, that he was capable of keeping the group safe just as much as the next person. It had become the common opinion that he was much more of an asset than a burden.

"It won't end, all you can do is find something worth getting up for," she held out the baby to him and he took it.

"What is it for you?"

"I've got my sister...but her reason to get up is Glenn. So, I don't know yet. Back at the hospital, it was the hopes that I could find a way to escape. I've gotta find something new now. Find whatever works for you."

The front door opened, grabbing their attention they both looked over the couch as they both rested their hands on their guns―Beth's gun was technically Daryl's but he had told her to keep it, for now at least. They didn't have very many extras around the group and he didn't really need it. He wanted her safe.

"Find anything?" Carl asked, seeing Daryl walk through the door and hold it open. He and Rick had left earlier in the day on a scouting trip to see if they could find supplies to last them the winter ahead of them.

"Someone," Daryl stated plainly.

Rick walked in with a girl about Carl's age in tow. She had dark brown hair, which was in a pony tail. Carl didn't see much else before Rick led her out of sight. Curious, Carl started to get up.

"Who is she?" Beth asked, walking over to Daryl.

"Some girl. We found 'er in one of the stores. She's hurt bad. Cut 'er arm open while we were there," Daryl explained. Carl paused, listening to the two talk, watching they way they looked at each other. He wasn't sure what it was, but something was different between the two of them, he couldn't put his finger on exactly what it was, but he would, eventually.

"Is she going to be okay?" Carl asked.

"If they can fix 'er up, maybe," Daryl didn't want to make any promises. You couldn't make promises nowadays. You could only guess what would happen. Nothing was guaranteed any more. Nothing except that one day you would die.

"How do we know she's not bit?" Beth asked, looking at Daryl seriously.

"Saw 'er slice 'er arm open," he shrugged. "'Sides, she ain't old 'nough to be on 'er own anyway."

"I'm going to go see if I can help," Carl said, leaving the two alone.

"Can we go practice hunting a little more?" Beth asked timidly. Daryl wanted to say no, but what else was there to do? He was bored, so he nodded.

"Gonna need somethin' warmer than that." He motioned to her long sleeved shirt, knowing it was getting chillier and chillier by the hour out there. It was November and though Georgia was typically warm, if the weather kept up, it would be a bitter cold winter.

"I'll see if Maggie has a jacket I can barrow."

"Don' need to," Daryl had found something while they were out. They had stopped by to get clothes for everyone and they had found quite a bit. He pulled out a brown leather jacket from one of the stacks. "Ain't really yer style but―"

"I love it," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. His hand rested in the middle of her back for a second.

"Figured ya'd be the only one it'd fit anyway," he shrugged, like it was nothing. The jacket would have fit Maggie just fine, Beth was sure of it once she put it on. It was a comfortable loose though. She really liked the way it felt.

"It's perfect," she grinned, slipping it on. She was already dressed―given that they had to be ready to go at any point, she had her boots on and the two headed outside, letting Eugene, who was in the kitchen area, know that they were leaving. He just nodded and said that he would pass on the message.

"It'll help protect ya from walkers, too," Daryl pointed out. "Can't bite through the leather too well."

"The can't," she realised. "Maybe I should get leather pants too," she laughed, nudging Daryl's shoulder. He just rolled his eyes, followed by a stern "Stop." She grinned as they made their way deep into the woods once more. It had become almost a new routine, the two of them hunted for the group, well Beth tried. She wasn't too bad, but if they needed to come back with a bigger haul, Daryl did the majority of the hunting and let Beth help when she could.

But today, they had the freedom to just practice. They spent two hours out there, not getting much more than a couple squirrels, but they were pretty set up for now back at the hotel. They had tons of canned food, plus they were still working on a deer that had been caught just a few days earlier.

"I like that I get to do this," Beth stated. They had taken a short break to sit on some rocks over looking a small cliff―they had never been out that far before.

"Mm," he agreed. He did like that he could take her out there with him. It was nice that she appreciated what he taught her, and she didn't wear down his patience too much. She did make mistakes, but he had to accept that, plus, once she made one, she didn't tend to make it again. She leaned her head on his shoulder, rather tired from the long walk out there. "Should head back...check on that girl an' get these skinned," he held up the squirrels. She removed her head from his shoulder and together, they headed back.

"It's strange, we've seen maybe five walkers the whole time we've been out here. Why?"

"The cold maybe," he shrugged, not knowing for sure. He just wanted to enjoy it while it lasted. Like Carl, he realised that sooner or later they would have to leave the hotel. He just hoped it wasn't walkers or humans to chase them out when it happened. "Maybe their ain't been many people up 'ere."

"Maybe," she agreed.

XxX

Back at the hotel, Carl was sitting with the sleeping girl they had found earlier. He still didn't know her name, he hadn't seen someone his age in a long time...it was kind of weird, but deep down, he wanted friends. He longed to have a real childhood, one with a school and friends. Though he had adapted to this world, it wasn't really what he wanted.

Slowly, the girl's eyes opened and she looked at Carl in shock. "Who are you?" she demanded. She reached for the lamp beside the bed and Carl held his hands up in defense.

"Carl," he stated.

"You're a creep, watching someone sleep? How weird is that?" she calmed down a little, remembering Rick mention he had a son named Carl.

"I was just―" He was at a loss for words. What do you say when something like this happens? He had no idea.

"You were just being a creep, that's what," she said. Looking down at her arm. "I suppose I can forgive you, sense one of your people healed up my arm," she bit her lip, looking at it. "Violet," she said.

"What?" he looked at her confused.

"Violet, it's my name."

AN: Because this is a rewrite for the second half of season 5, I have to include other characters other than just Daryl and Beth, so each chapter you will get a taste of them, but I would like to explore other character relationships as well. I hope you enjoyed this longer chapter. Your reviews are much appreciated.

Updated 1 December 2015