A/N - Thanks everyone for reading, reviewing, following and favourting. I love writing this story. I'd also like to say sorry for any confusion, the first part of the story is a flashback. The second part is set in present day where the story is set in the future after a cure has been found for the virus.

Hearing the zipper slowly being pulled down on the tent, Beth tensed, just for a second before she relaxed sensing a familiar presence climbing in through the flimsy entrance.

She blinked as a dazzling light flooded the small one man tent she had been lying alone in, her eyes adjusting to the sudden boost of brightness after being in the pitch black for so long.

Focusing a little more, she just about made out the silhouette of Daryl's long dark hair as he carefully moved in to the tent to join her. The light coming from a torch in his mouth, he set his backpack and crossbow down in the far corner before switching off the flashlight returning the tent to total darkness once again.

Beth shifted from where she had been lying, breathing in his familiar scent as he quietly moved some of her things out the way to lie down next to her.

"Daryl," she whispered, shuffling on to her side.

"Why aint you sleeping?" he responded gruffly.

"I was, you must have disturbed me," she said softy, which wasn't entirely the truth.

The truth actually being that Beth rarely managed to sleep properly or relax fully when Daryl was out tracking. Especially this time, given he had broken the groups new rule and gone out alone.

He hadn't spoken to anyone, just gathered his things and marched off in to the trees out of sight. Beth hadn't seen him that angry for a long time, not since the early days after the prison had fallen, when they had lost their home and all their friends.

He'd had a disagreement with the group, Rick mainly, but no-one had sided with Daryl, not even Beth. Rick had told everyone that he felt it was time to move on, to find somewhere more secure for the fast approaching winter. Daryl had disagreed.

Beth had wanted to take Daryl's side, but like the others she had to be realistic, they had been searching for weeks, there had been no visible trace of where their missing friends had gone, who it was that had mysteriously taken them. The rain had washed away all the tyre tracks. No other clues had materialised, they were going around in circles. Food was running out and everyone was feeling desperate. She knew Daryl didn't want to give up, to lose anyone else, but he simply couldn't see that no-one was giving up, that they would be no use to their missing friends, unless they found somewhere more suitable to re-gain their strength.

Beth also knew that the rest of the group had been a little concerned about Daryl earlier too, given his black mood when he had stormed off. Everyone feeling slightly uneasy now when people went missing for any time on their own. But she had known he would calm down and come back. He would never abandon them. Not now.

A tense silence fell between them, as they lay in the cold and dark. Beth closed her eyes, but sleep wouldn't come.

She fidgeted a little more as the tent shook slightly with a bitter wind gathering momentum outside.

"You want the sleeping bag?" she questioned hesitantly in the darkness, unzipping it to fling the top half off and over towards where he lay. She was freezing, but she thought he was probably more in need of it to warm up.

"Nah," he said bluntly.

"Daryl," Beth said, persisting. She didn't like to think he was going without because of her.

"Said I was fine, didn't I?" he snapped back at her, keeping his voice low.

Another silence fell, the wind whistling through the trees outside, rattling the warning cans and wind chimes they had put up around the perimeter to the camp to alert them to any danger.

Daryl lay back with his hands behind his head, he could tell by Beth's breathing that she was awake still, and also from her shivering that the colder air in the nights now was most likely stopping her from sleeping.

He sighed.

He wished there was something he could do to make it all better, but there wasn't. Every time they found somewhere with four walls it was taken from them. He knew his shitty tent was no substitute for the warmth of an actual home.

He was cold too, but he was more used to being outdoors in these conditions, he knew Beth was finding it harder.

They had been camping for weeks now. Somehow it had just become unspoken within their group that he and Beth shared a tent. No-one seemed particularly bothered, not even Maggie surprisingly. He guessed they had all just thought that logically it made sense. They didn't have many tents. Maggie and Beth were the only two females left now, so to start with Beth had shared with Maggie and Glenn, but Daryl had presumed that had gotten a little cramped. Then seeing as apart from Maggie he was the one person she was closest to, she had just naturally gravitated to him.

However, besides sleeping next to each other, nothing had really happened between them. They had kissed a couple of times, but now the rest of the group were so close to them, it made Daryl feel uncomfortable so he had put a stop to it. He tried to make sure as much as possible that they slept at different times.

He wasn't quite sure if anyone had given much thought to what was going on between them though, whether the group just presumed he had taken it upon himself to look out for the younger girl, or whether they thought there was more to it. Because if he was completely honest, Daryl himself wasn't entirely sure what he and Beth were to each other exactly. Rick had made a few vague comments he wasn't stupid, but Daryl knew they were all far more concerned about finding out who had taken the rest of the female members of their group, to care too much about what was happening between him and Beth.

He sighed again more forcefully this time, wondering how on earth he was supposed to sleep when he had so much going on in his head.

Somewhere outside their tent he could make out faint voices, probably coming from one of the other tents he thought, one sounded female so would have to be Maggie, the walls of the tents were thin so sound travelled fast. Or it could possibly be someone talking to Tyreese who was on nominated watch that night Daryl thought to himself as the voices died down.

"You speak to Rick?" Beth suddenly spoke up softly, her heart pounding awaiting his response.

Daryl flinched but he didn't say anything, her voice so quiet he almost wondered if he'd imagined it at first.

He hadn't spoken to anyone since his outburst earlier that day.

He'd spent the past few hours alone in the woods. Thinking things through and shooting whatever he could see, trying to work through the fury in his mind. He wasn't mad at Rick, or any of the rest of their smaller group even. He was a little mad at himself for firstly losing it with them the way he had, and secondly more importantly for letting people get taken on his watch again. Carol having been a simple stones throws away from him when she had been snatched with Judith right in front of his eyes by the strange men with guns. But all that aside Daryl was mainly mad at the shit world they now lived in, where no-one was ever really safe and just when you allowed yourself to breath for a moment, to finally think it was going to be ok, something smacked you hard in the teeth as a harsh reminder that that could never be the case.

He kicked off his boots, remaining silent. Guessing Beth probably wanted to press him some more, to have some big conversation about Rick's speech, but Daryl just wasn't in the mood to talk about it. He knew deep down that Rick was right they needed to move on from their current spot, he just wasn't ready to face it yet.

He could sense Beth's breathing quickening next to him in the silent tent, he could almost feel the vibration of her heartbeat too. The tent wasn't big; there wasn't much room between them as he shuffled around trying to get more comfortable, brushing her arm with his, so close to her he could feel the heat coming off her body.

Still on his back he put his index finger up to his lips, his thoughts now shifting away from their group's current predicament and on to something else. He moved his hand down the length of his upper body resting it just above his belt. Feeling blood rushing around him, electricity shooting across his body, hitting him with a strong urge he always tried so hard to shut out, sexual awareness.

There was something different about this particular occasion though, as he slowly came to realize he no longer had the desire to fight it.

Sinking back on to the rolled up jacket he was using as a pillow, he moved his head in the darkness to look across to where Beth lay still in the dark. He couldn't see her but he knew she was looking at him too. Right now he simply didn't have the strength or will to deny it to himself any more, he wanted her so badly. He wasn't sure when it had started. From the first time they had kissed? Or maybe before that when he had first laid eyes on her again after the rescue mission, hitting him with how much she meant to him. Possibly even before that?

However, he had never actually allowed himself to let go and act on it fully. Even when they had kissed he had always held himself back immediately after. But earlier in the woods, he had felt so desperate as though all hope was slipping away, that they would forever be surrounded in darkness, an endless battle just to survive. For what? But he realised now that hope was very much alive, hope was here, lying right next to him.

He slid his body closer to hers, his heart thundering in his chest, pressing himself up against her soft warm body. Inhaling her scent, he still hadn't worked out how she still managed to smell so sweet. Mixed in with the sweat and dirt he could always make out the faint smell of something fresh on her, almost like honey or vanilla.

She didn't say anything, responding by pushing herself further in to him. Letting him know it was ok. She didn't want him to stop.

He put his hands up to cup her face affectionately, drawing her even closer to him.

Beth trembled, breathing in deeply, she couldn't see him but she could sense the desire in his eyes as she felt his lips move against hers. The kiss full of passion as he moved his hands down and underneath her top, exploring the smooth skin on her back before slowly and carefully, gliding them around to caress her breasts, causing a shiver to run down her spine at the sensation of his touch.

Slowly he reached down to undo the drawstrings to the sweat pants she liked to sleep in, lingering for a moment as Beth felt every nerve in her body tingle with anticipation.

This hadn't been what she had been expecting as she had waited patiently for him to return from his lone trip, and she wasn't sure what exactly was fuelling this change of heart, seeing as he seemed to have been holding back from allowing anything further from happening between them, but she didn't care. After weeks of him barely touching her this had been a long time coming.

She let out a small moan, feeling for the first time his fingers slipping inside her. Clumsily she reached up feeling around in the dark to undo the buckle to his belt.

Stifling back the urge to cry out, quietly on top of the sleeping bag in the small cold tent, after months of anticipation, they made love. Their bodies entwined together creating a heat all of their own, pleasure spreading through them at their closeness, releasing the unbearable physical tension and carnal urges that had been building between them for so long now. In that moment it was just two of them, fully connected, lost in each other. The rest of the world had stopped.

Finally Beth felt her heart swell with happiness.

Four years later

"Damn it," Daryl cursed muttering under his breath.

He was stood leaning in to the engine of their car, a cigarette dangling out of his mouth as he fiddled around, trying to work out why they had broken down in the middle of no-where.

Remaining silent, Beth looked up at him with her big blue eyes from where she was sat perched on the pavement next to the car, her chin in her hands waiting patiently. It wasn't the first time they had broken down. Cars just weren't that reliable anymore. Things went wrong with them all the time.

Daryl had been trying to figure out what was wrong this time for over thirty minutes. Beth had moved from being stood helplessly by his side to seating herself down on the ground, she knew there was nothing she could do and she'd also felt a little shaky needing to steady herself.

She continued to watch him intently as he concentrated. He always seemed to figure it out in the end. He was smart and he more than knew his way around an engine she thought with a small smile, remembering how many wrecked cars he had managed to get going during the outbreak. She didn't tell him as often as she should but she was still so proud of her gruff redneck husband. She thought to how far they'd come together as she looked at his muscular arms twisting and turning various different parts as he continued to curse under his breath. She wouldn't be here now if it wasn't for him. She'd never forget that.

"What?" he said moodily, glancing back in her direction suddenly to meet her wide dreamy eyes with his dark blue ones straight on.

"Nothing," Beth said, still smiling, she knew he wasn't in the best of moods and it was best to keep quiet.

"Fine," he remarked scowling, taking a drag out of his cigarette moving his head back in to the engine.

"Damn piece of shit," he said loudly slamming his tools down, moving around to give the passenger side door a hefty kick.

Beth rolled her eyes, by now she was more than used to his moods. She knew on the whole he was happy with their life, but he hated the mundane sense of routine they were forced to live by. Mostly he felt trapped and hated the work he was forced to do reconstructing buildings, in order to bring in the money they needed to live. She hoped once she started working too he wouldn't have to do that anymore, he could do something he found more fulfilling.

"Needs a new battery," he explained his voice slightly calmer, wiping his hands on a rag. "You'll need to call Maggie, because we won't be making it up there tonight now."

Beth nodded.

"There's a garage further on up by the next rest stop. It's quite a way, we'll have to walk it," Daryl said putting his jacket on and stubbing out his cigarette.

"Well, I could wait here by the car," Beth suggested, not particularly feeling in the mood for a long walk.

"Nah, aint safe," Daryl said firmly, they only had one gun between them which he'd need and he wasn't about to leave her here unarmed. He still didn't trust anyone.

…..

"Can we stop a sec?" Beth said a little out of breath, leaning up against a wall, suddenly feeling a little dizzy.

She wiped her brow with the back of her hand where a bead of sweat had formed. The road wasn't the best and she didn't exactly feel dressed for walking, the heels on her boots not being particularly forgiving for going over bumpy ground and the material in her white cotton top sticking to her as she became more flustered, a strand of her blonde hair sticking to her face with more sweat as she started to think what a state she must look.

Daryl stopped and looked back at her from where he had gone on ahead.

"You ok?" he questioned a look of slight concern crossing his face as he took a few steps back to place his hand on her shoulder.

Beth just nodded meekly, feeing a little silly. There had been a time not so long ago when she had been able to walk for days under much worse circumstances with hardly any food or drink, without so much as moaning once. Her feet having been covered in blisters and bruises in her worn out boots, with her clothes filthy and tattered and her hair wild and messy and she hadn't given a damn about what she had looked like. It was strange how quickly she had adapted back to the normality of having every day luxuries again and the comfort of cars, buses and taxi's to get around in if she needed them now too.

If she was honest though, Beth hadn't quite felt herself for a few weeks now. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she hadn't been full strength. She had thought perhaps it was all the preparation to start med school, but she'd been a little more under the weather than usual and also a tad more emotional and nostalgic than normal

"You probably just need to eat or drink something," Daryl mumbled, walking on gesturing with his head for her to follow.

"Aint much further," he said as she caught up to him.

He didn't feel much like talking as she walked along by his side, he just wanted to get the new battery and back to the car before it turned dark, Beth had other plans though.

Opening her mouth to fill the silence as they walked along the long empty stretch of road, she said, "D'you…." she broke of blushing a little, a small mischievous twinkle appearing in her wide blue eyes at the thought that had just popped in to her head. Not quite sure exactly what had made her think back to it.

"What?" he replied, glancing sideways at her, his eyes narrowing through his long dark hair.

"Ah, nothin," she said, shaking her head, looking away from him.

They walked on a little longer in silence.

"Just spit it out," he eventually said, able to tell only too well that she still wanted to say something to him.

"Oh, I was just going to say, do you remember the first time we.." Beth said again, biting her lip and smiling.

"First time we what?" he snapped back.

"You know," Beth replied, blushing some more, her dimples appearing as she smiled at him, her brilliant blue eyes meeting his straight on.

"Oh," Daryl responded able to tell from her eyes exactly what she meant.

"What d'you want to go and be talking about that for now?" He said, fighting back the urge to smile too, not allowing himself to share in the nostalgia. He was conscious time was pressing on and they hadn't reached their destination yet, getting there and back to the car safely was the most important thing right now.

…

Daryl joined Beth on the old wooden picnic bench outside the garage, handing her some packaged sandwiches and a bottle of soda he had managed to purchase from the shop attached to it, having successfully managed to get a new battery for their car.

"Best be quick," he said, taking a big bite in to his sandwich studying her as she carefully opened hers, picking at the corners to nibble a small mouthful.

"Eat up," he said, noticing she'd hardly touched hers as he tossed his empty packet in to the trash can next to them, before heading back inside the shop to use the restroom before they set off again.

Beth forced a few more mouthfuls of the slightly stale buttered brown bread in to her mouth, normally she didn't mind cheese and ham sandwiches, but there was something about this one that tasted off to her she thought, she wasn't in the slightest bit hungry either but she knew she needed the energy to walk back, seeing as she'd skipped breakfast too.

She glanced down at the ground for a second to see that Daryl had dropped his wallet when he had walked off, it had fallen down by the side of her foot. Quickly leaning down to retrieve it her eyes rested on something carved in to the underside of the bench, the words, WE WILL NOT ROT. It looked like it had been there for a while, probably put there during the turn. She shivered slightly, re-reading it, wondering who had put it there and why, it serving as another stark reminder that it had all been real. She hadn't imagined what had happened to the world.

Sitting back up at the bench, something else sticking out suddenly caught her eye, hitting her with a huge surge of emotion.

"Y'ready," Daryl said impatiently, appearing next to her again.

Beth gulped.

There was something she knew she needed to bring up with him and she knew it wasn't going to be easy.

"What now?" he muttered, gathering up his things noticing she was giving him another strange look. Only this time she wasn't smiling, she didn't look happy at all.

He stopped what he was doing giving her his full attention guessing it must be something more serious.

"When were you planning to tell me?" she said, her voice a little wobbly.

He didn't respond, just screwed his face up. He had no idea what she was talking about

"Rick?" She said raising her eyebrows.

Daryl felt his heart sink for a moment.

"You've seen Rick?" She repeated, "And you didn't tell me."

"I aint seen him," he said, his dark blue eyes filling with emotion, "I ran in to Carl," he said slowly, "They're back in Atlanta."

Beth's face broke in to a wide grin, "That's great," she said, flinging her arms around Daryl. For a long time she had thought they would never find out what had happened to the Grimes family.

a/n - Thanks for reading. Please leave a review if you have time. They are most appreciated.