A/N - Thanks for your reviews and encouragement. DarylDixon'sLover, brady66, Nikiree, mellymoo13, tanglingshadows, Maykits, heatherrk, Ela, Scully578

For people asking if I will be updating my other two stories, yes, yes, yes! As soon as I have the inspiration I write, but I have two babies, so as you can imagine it's hard to always find the free time, (but they are definitely work in progress.) This is on my mind right now as I am still mourning the loss of Beth!..Anyway...hope you like this next instalment. I have a story planned out, but any ideas would also be appreciated in the feedback.

Daryl found Beth with her back against a tree, arms folded, staring methodically out in to the long stretch of road ahead of her, her light blonde messy ponytail blowing gently in the breeze. Maggie had said to giver her time, but Daryl didn't think time was the issue.

"What you doing?" he said tentatively, approaching her, his dark blue eyes full of concern, staring at her despondent face intently.

Beth turned to look at the face of her ruggedly handsome friend, despite his near permanent scowl he had such kind eyes. She opened her mouth to reply, but she honestly had no idea what the answer to his question was. She had been out here for hours thinking, trying to make sense of it all. It had been the same pretty much every day since they had rescued her. Some days she wondered whether she should have just jumped down that damn elevator shaft back when she'd had the chance.

"I – I- dunno," she eventually replied in a quiet voice, catching his eye. He didn't respond, but the look in his eye told her he had all the time in the world to listen.

"It's been weeks and we haven't done anything, Daryl, Noah's still there and we haven't gone back for him, we- we have to go back for him," Beth stammered.

"You know we can't do that," was all Daryl could say, slowly shaking his head.

He knew Beth was desperate to go back for Noah, but Rick had said no. They had suffered too many losses to risk it all again. And as much as Daryl had come to like the kid in the end, he had to agree with their leader. There was too much at stake, he had seen the look on that crazy bitch Dawn's face, if she ever saw Beth again she'd likely kill her. He couldn't let that happen.

Beth took a deep breath, snapping a twig in half as she looked away, "It all just feels so….so hopeless," she said softly.

"No it aint," he replied awkwardly, watching her carefully.

Daryl felt as though his heart was breaking slightly as a sadness spread through him. This wasn't the girl he remembered. The bright shining light that had set his world on fire not so long ago. The world could be cruel now he knew that, it took little pieces of you bit by bit until you were left with nothing, but not while he was still living and breathing would he let it take Beth.

"You were right, there aint no good people left in the world anymore, juts the bad ones," Beth said miserably, looking directly at the good looking redneck, opening up slightly. She had been out here on her own for hours and she couldn't deny his presence wasn't comforting. He'd never been one to fully express his feelings, but she could tell he was worried about her and for that she was grateful.

"That aint true, y'know that," he answered hesitantly, moving a little closer to her.

He desperately wanted to help her. She'd been like this on and off since they had gotten her back, quiet and distant, he never quite knew what was going on in her head. The only time he had seen her shed a single tear was when she had been saying her goodbyes to Noah, he wished she would cry again.

There was another long period of silence between them.

"What are we doing?" Beth eventually said dismissively, biting down on her lower lip, her voice shaking slightly, adding, "Just surviving for the sake of surviving. What's the point? What are we even surviving for?" her eyes pleading with him to say something, anything.

Daryl shifted uncomfortably, he opened his mouth to speak but the words dried on his tongue, he had asked himself that same question many times. But there was a point to all of this, there was something worth surviving for he felt certain of that now.

"Whatever happened, happened. You just got to start over, right?" he replied with emotion, his face hovering dangerously close to hers, his dark hair falling over his eye as he waited for her to respond.

Beth blinked, her big blue eyes widening, scanning his scarred handsome face for what seemed like eternity.

Daryl thought back to what Carol had told him not so long ago, back when they had been looking for Beth. 'He was a man now'. And right now he knew he needed to do the manly thing. Slowly he moved his hand away from his side and reached out for Beth's small delicate fingers, wrapping them in his, feeling a sudden rush of warmth at the contact. His eyes still focused on her face, he detected a soft smile, causing her eyes to glow with a subtle sparkle as the warmth spread. The brightness she had created in him when they had been alone together, was slowly lighting up again.

Four years later

Daryl was lying in bed with his wife wrapped up lovingly in his arms. He hadn't had a great deal of experience with women before Beth, certainly never shared his bed with one on a regular basis. With her these intimate moments after they had made love were almost what Daryl enjoyed the most, his fingertips lightly tracing a pattern on her skin. They didn't have to say anything, they were just them.

Beth smiled to herself as she felt her husbands light touch on the curve of her hip as he continued to caress her affectionately.

"Did you ever think back at the prison, we'd end up like this?" She said dreamily.

"Nah," Daryl replied honestly after a pause.

Back in those days, Beth had just been a young girl under her father's watchful gaze. He'd been fond of her, just like he had been all their group. Perhaps looking back even he'd always had a particular soft spot for the pretty blonde Greene girl. She'd been through so much and she'd been so tough, especially after she'd lost her father. But he had never imagined in his wildest dreams, he would one day be her husband. That she would grow into a beautiful and strong young woman that would steal his heart in every way.

Daryl had despised romance and all the drama it brought, presuming he'd always be alone. Until Beth.

His hand travelled from her hip to rest on her stomach.

"Do you think I'm putting on weight?" she said quietly. She'd always been petite, but recently her clothes were starting to feel a little tight, she'd put it down to being able to access more calories now, but she didn't want to let herself go. She still wanted Daryl to desire her just as much as he had in the beginning.

Daryl didn't say anything at first, looking her in the eye a little taken aback. It wasn't like Beth to come out with something like that. She'd always been so self assured about her body, even when they had been roughing it for days at a time on the road. It was one of the many reasons he had become so attracted to her. If she thought for one moment he would be concerned about a small thing like that, she was wrong, he would never look elsewhere. He'd only ever have eyes for her and he only had to look at her to get turned on.

He cast his eyes down to study her figure briefly, noticing perhaps she had put on a little weight, not that he would have noticed otherwise, as he grunted awkwardly, "I dunno, maybe...aint a big deal."

Beth felt her heart melting a little as she looked up at Daryl, she loved there was a softer side to her moody introverted husband that was only ever for her. He wriggled slightly gently prizing her out of his arms as he reached for a half empty packet of cigarettes by the bed. Lighting one up and taking a long draw, he reached out for her hand again.

Beth lay back flat on the bed and smiled, her long blonde hair spread out across the pillow. Inhaling Daryl's cigarette smoke, she felt a small glow inside. Beth had detested smoking growing up, the idea of anyone smoking in bed would have been abhorrent to her. But now everything was different, the smell of cigarette smoke signified the end to a nightmare. People could readily buy cigarettes again and alcohol and a whole host of other everyday luxuries that were once unthinkable in a broken world.

"Oh, I almost forgot, I got some exciting news for ya," Beth suddenly said with a teasing smile pulling her hand away from him and hoisting herself up, her eyes sparkling.

She turned her back to him, leaning down over her side of the bed, the sheet covering her falling exposing her small perfectly rounded breasts. Reaching down she picked up a large white envelope, pulling out an official looking letter as she rolled back towards her husband.

Daryl looked over at her from where he lay next to her, his face full of anticipation and curiosity as he tried to figure out just what she was about to spring on him.

"I...got accepted in to med school," Beth said excitedly breaking in to an even wider grin, turning to show him the letter.

Daryl froze, his cigarette half hanging out of his mouth as he looked at the delighted look on his young wife's face. He knew she had talked about wanting to become a doctor now the outbreak was over, but he hadn't really given it that much thought, he certainly hadn't thought it would happen anytime soon.

"Well say something," Beth said, her excited smile fading a little.

She had been on such a high all day waiting to tell him before they had gotten carried away when he had first got home. She had thought he would have been a little more excited for her.

Beth had had her heart set all her life on becoming a veterinarian like her father. But after the outbreak and seeing all the people they had lost that could have been saved, along with the brief time she had spent in the hospital, Beth had come to realize, the only thing she wanted to do now was become a doctor and help people, help save their lives. She was aware that going to med school in the new world would be nothing like it would have been before. There were no flashy buildings or strict entry requirements, there probably weren't even any proper teaching materials. The struggling new government were only just starting to try and re-build educational institutions again out of the utter chaos and devastation that had erupted in the world before. But still there were people willing to teach and pass on their knowledge and experience to the likes of Beth, to try and start to build some kind of a better world.

"That's great," Daryl finally muttered, reaching across to kiss her quickly on the cheek, before climbing out of bed and throwing his pants on, hurriedly doing up the buckle on his belt, before stubbing out the cigarette dangling out of his mouth, turning to leave the room, his eyes cold.

"Where ya going?" Beth suddenly said, her face dropping, studying her husband with wide confused eyes, still clutching her acceptance letter firmly in her hand.

"Going to take a piss," he said as he walked out the room without looking at her.

Hearing him walking across the landing and down the stairs, Beth let out a small sigh, reaching under her pillow for the little pair of shorts and t-shirt she always slept in, shaking out her long blonde hair behind her as she pulled the t-shirt over her head, 'sometimes he could be such an ass' she thought to herself as she looked around for her cellphone, her heart sinking.

Dressed in just his jeans, Daryl stumbled around his and Beth's kitchen topless searching for something to eat, opening the fridge and pulling out a beer, allowing the lid to fall noisily to the floor as he opened it and took a long swig. Placing it down, he rummaged further to find some left over cold meats, pulling them out of the fridge and tearing at them with his fingers, feeling a strange mixture of dread, slight excitement and anxiety.

It wasn't that he wasn't happy for Beth, because even if he couldn't show it, he was, really happy and proud.

Beth was smart, smarter than he was, unlike him she had come from a good family, she had strong values and she had always been destined to do something great like study medicine and become a doctor of some sorts. The idea that he would have married a girl like that before would have been unthinkable. It wasn't just their difference in age, it was their complete difference in upbringings, they came from different worlds.

None of that had mattered before though when they had been struggling to survive together during the apocalypse. When it had just been the two of them counting on each other to stay alive, as well as the times with their larger close group of survivors. No one had given a shit about who anyone had been before, all that had mattered was who they were then, what they could contribute and Daryl's skills had been in high demand, he had been greatly needed and respected by everyone. The world might have been turned upside down, but in a strange way Daryl had never felt more at peace with himself than back in those times.

But right now, the insecure defensive side of Daryl was starting to creep back in. As he wondered whether those differences were starting to resurface. Beth was not only smart, she was beautiful too and the sweetest soul he had ever met. He wasn't stupid, he knew she was a rare jewel in the new world now. He knew there were plenty of men that would love to be in his shoes. So far they had managed to keep it as just the two of them, caught up in their own little bubble, not needing or wanting to be around many other people. But he wondered how things were going to change now she was moving on. Because he knew he couldn't lose her now. He wouldn't survive….

A/N - Sorry but couldn't have it all fluff, there are going to be some struggles for them ahead, (but nothing too bad), I am also hoping to bring in some other characters too. Possibly Maggie and Carol. Thanks for reading :)