"I'm not so sure about this place," Beth said as they pulled up at the fences.

"Weren't you the one who said we needed to have hope?" Maggie asked, looking at her sister.

"We do," she agreed. She took a deep breath and pulled the car door open. Daryl fell in step with her as the group gathered in front of the gate. Daryl's presence was protecting over Beth. She could feel it. He was ready to fire his crossbow at will. When they opened the gate, he shot a possum.

"We brought dinner," he said, holding it up.

Once inside, their leader wanted to take a moment to get to know each of them, in an interview type fashion. Rick went first, of course and everyone else sat in a living room type area, waiting to go. When it was Beth's turn, she walked into the room and Deanna, the leader, asked if she could film their interview.

"I don't see why not," Beth took a seat in the chair, crossing her legs.

"What's your name?"

"Beth...Beth Greene."

"I'm Deanna. It's nice to meet you," she gave a genuine smile.

"You too."

"What did you do before this, Beth?"

"Oh, I was just in High School. I would help my daddy on the farm―take care of cows, chickens...all that kind of stuff."

"How old are you Beth?"

"Nineteen―barely."

"How it works around here is we give everyone a job...Where do you think you would fit in?"

"I'm good with children," she said, not wanting to mention anything to do with her experience with medicine. She may understand a little bit of how that stuff worked; however, she didn't want any reminders of Grady. She wanted to live for today. That place was gone and she would ignore the things she had learned.

"We have a school. We teach the young kids in the morning, the older ones in the after noon. I think you would make a great teacher. Probably for the little kids."

"I'd like that, Deanna," she smiled kindly.

XxX

The shower was exhilarating. It made Beth feel like a new person. She even got to shave her legs. It felt great. She felt like herself once again. Finally. She stepped out of the bathroom and nearly ran right into Daryl.

"Hey," she smiled.

"Hey," his gruff voice said.

"You should shower, you stink," she said, wringing out her wet hair.

"I will," he said. "Later."

"I won't kiss you until you do," she said quietly.

"Somehow I don't believe you," he brought his face close to hers, lips almost touching.

"Well you should," her voice was barely a whisper.

"Mm hmm," he said, brushing his lips against hers. She kissed him back―it wasn't even a question. She enjoyed kissing him.

"Daryl," they pulled away right away―like two teenagers being caught red handed. Rick stood a few meters away, small smile gracing his lips. "I was just going to tell you I'm going to stay up for watch, for a while," he said, before heading back to what he was doing.

"People are bound to find out sooner or later."

"There's something to find out?" he asked, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Isn't there?" she replied, curious as to what he actually thought.

He shrugged. "I don' do whatever this is," he said.

"Every time I do, they end up dead," Beth said sadly. "i don't want you to end up like another one of them. Not like Jimmy...or Zack..."

"I ain't plannin' on it, anytime soon, anyway."

"But you can't promise it," she bit her lip. "Daryl...I like being around you and I'm scared."

"So am I," he was almost too quiet for her to even hear and it made her frown. She wrapped her arms around his neck and they stood quietly for a few minutes.

"But maybe it's worth the risk...I'd rather be happy for a little while than not at all."

"Me too," he agreed.

Beth's heart rate quickened and she kissed Daryl. He deepened the kiss, by wrapping his arms around her middle. But he regained his senses. He pulled away completely.

"We need ta get some sleep," he told her.

"We do," she agreed. "But you also need a shower."

"Tomorrow," he said.

XxX

The next morning, Beth dressed in nicer clothes that she had been given so that she could go help teach the little kids. She walked out onto the porch and found Daryl.

"Not ya too," he stated.

"Not me too?" she asked.

"Dressin' like that," he motioned to her attire.

"I'm going to go teach a class, Daryl."

"Carol already walked out 'ere dressed like that," he said. He didn't get it. They move to this once fancy ass town and now they were just acting like they were all proper and shit.

"You still need to shower," she told him before walking over to press a kiss to his cheek.

"I'll get there," he smiled at her a little.

"I'll see you in a few hours," with that, she headed off to her job.

"You and Beth, huh?" Rick asked, walking out onto the porch. Daryl just shrugged. "I'm happy for you Daryl. You should be happy."

"We spent 'lot a time together, out there..."

"You don't have to justify it to me. I get it. I'm happy for both of you," Rick smiled genuinely.

XxX

That evening, they were splitting up into the two different houses. Beth looked at her bag for a minute, unsure of where she should go. If she should stay in this house, or go to the other one.

"Where ya sleepin'?" Daryl asked. They weren't the only ones in the room, but, most of the rest of the group was working on getting their own things together.

"Trying to figure that out," she smiled.

"There's still a bedroom upstairs," he said. "I'm takin' the couch in here."

"Okay," she agreed. That was his way of asking her to stay in the same house as him. It was something, at least. That was very much a commitment from Daryl. "It'll be good because Judith is staying over here too, and I can help out," she smiled.

"Mm hmm."

"You still haven't showered," she said, just realising this.

"I will," he shrugged. If he showered, that was a commitment to stay. He didn't know if he was ready for that.

AN: Well, there you have it. The first new chapter in nearly a year. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. I'm honestly surprised to have 5 reviews in less than a day to continue this, so here it is! Please continue to leave your reviews, it motivates me!