Daryl hung back a bit watching Beth from where he was leaning back against a tree in the small clearing they had found off the beaten track by a stream, giving her space, whilst still making sure to keep half an eye on her.

She was leaning down in to the small stream, splashing some of the gushing cold water on to her face, her fingers a little shaky as she closed her eyes for a second.

Daryl was pretending to be looking down focused on adjusting his crossbow, but he couldn't help but keep glancing across in her direction every now and again through the edges of his long shaggy dark hair, checking she was okay.

They had broken off from the group briefly. Having all been on the road again for a while now looking for more clues and tracks to finding their missing friends. Beth had needed to take a moment. Daryl as always had insisted on going with her, not wanting to take any chances of her being taken from him again, especially now that apart from her and Maggie all the females in the group were gone.

It had now been fully accepted within their smaller group, without ever having been mentioned properly, that Beth and Daryl were together, that they were closer than just friends. That wherever Beth was Daryl would be now too. Rick and the others having witnessed from afar, Beth and Daryl's gradual progression from closely bonded friends that always looked out for each other, in to something much deeper, in to lovers.

It hadn't bothered Beth, but Daryl had felt slightly uncomfortable about it at first. Being a little out of his comfort zone, he had always mocked romances, never seeing the need or want for it. Until Beth. He also didn't want to appear to be taking advantage of the younger Greene girl. But no-one seemed to have the slightest problem with it, only possibly a little curiosity at first, until it had just become completely accepted.

Beth didn't have to worry anymore about letting her hand linger a little too long on his thigh, or about sitting a little too close to him around the fire. Daryl could comfortably allow his hand to rest protectively on her lower back as they walked, and it was just expected that he would follow her to bed each night in to his cramped and battered one men tent.

All having far more pressing issues on their mind, their newly formed family didn't appear to bat an eyelid at Beth and Daryl's closeness. Not even Maggie. Who far from disapproving of her sister's relationship with the older man, seemed to be almost pleased about it. Fixing Daryl with a warm smile on more than one occasion when Beth's blonde head had been rested peacefully against his muscular shoulder.

Daryl drew in a breath, looking to the dark sky, the grey clouds above threatening imminent rain. He strode over to where Beth was stood gazing out to the water still.

He placed his hand gently on her arm.

He couldn't deny he hadn't been a little worried about her recently, she hadn't been herself. Distant, forgetful, like she was somewhere else a lot of the time. He knew she hadn't been eating much either, she'd become pale and weak. Her stamina for walking was dropping too and she'd nearly fainted on a couple of occasions. He was no doctor, but he knew a thing or too, and he didn't want to hazard a guess what could be up with her. He couldn't think that. He just couldn't.

Instead he knew they had to simply carry on.

"You done?" he said in a low voice, his dark blue eye full of concern fixed on her face.

She didn't say anything, just nodded slowly, her hand resting on her chest steadying herself.

He handed her his canteen, "Drink," he ordered.

She shook her head, avoiding his gaze, "I'm not thirsty," she replied.

"You need to drink," he repeated more forcefully, thrusting it in to her palm.

"I said I wasn't thirsty," she snapped back.

Daryl sighed, he was trying, but his patience was wearing thin. "Damn it girl, what's wrong with you at the moment?" he said gruffly.

This time she turned to look at him properly, pulling her arm away from his touch, to wrap it around herself, "Nothings wrong," she muttered, forcing a smile, knowing she wasn't being fair to him. Her eyes telling him a different story.

He shook his head, looking away towards the water.

"You've not been eating, barely drinking, you're quiet, I aint a mind reader, you got to talk to me, Beth," he pleaded, his tone calmer.

Her big blue eyes slid over his troubled face, resting on his eyes. Before she had the chance to speak, they were interrupted by a male voice.

"Daryl," it was Glenn and he sounded urgent.

"Come on," Daryl said to Beth gesturing towards the trees in the direction of Glenn's voice.

"Just give me a sec," Beth responded.

He hesitated.

"Please," she said.

"Be quick," he said, shaking his head, "And this conversation aint over."

…

Back on the main road by their vehicle Glenn waved Daryl over to where the rest of the group were crouched down examining something on the ground.

"Tyre Tracks, they look fresh, like a truck of some sorts, possibly the same one that took the women." Rick explained as Daryl shoved his way past the other members of the group, bending down, frowning as he looked down at the road.

"Yep," he said, "They're the same, how far they go?"

"Not sure, we need to follow them, this is the closet we have got in months," Rick said excitedly. Looking to where Abraham had already leapt in to the driver's seat of the old truck they had managed to find and get going recently.

Daryl stood up, wiping his hands on his trousers. He felt a hand on his shoulder, looking up to see Rick.

"Beth okay?" Rick said quietly.

Daryl nodded, he was aware that he hadn't been the only one to notice there had been something wrong with Beth recently.

"She's just tired," he said quickly.

"Well, hopefully we'll be able to stop and rest up real soon," Rick said calmly.

Daryl just nodded again, not wanting to discuss it more as Rick moved away.

"Come on people, lets move, we've got to get our girls back," Rick yelled.

"Where's Beth?" Maggie asked, looking around.

"Still by the stream, I'll go and get her," Daryl said.

"Daryl over here," it was Glenn again, waving Daryl over to the side of the road, holding up a head scarf that looked suspiciously like it had belonged to Carol.

Daryl looked to the headscarf and his heart sank, his eyes then moved back in the direction of the woods leading to the little stream a short distance away where he had left Beth.

"I'll go and get Beth," Maggie suddenly said, as if reading his mind.

"We gotta get going," Abraham said honking down on the horn impatiently. He was desperate to go after the tracks, to try and find out what had happened to the missing female members of their group, they all were.

"Okay," Daryl said trying to think on the spot. He would never normally have let Beth out of his sight for so long, but right now he was needed here.

...

"There has to be something more, some tracks or something, "Rick's face was grim as he Glenn and Daryl searched the area of woods by the discarded headscarf. There was no doubt in Daryl's mind it had belonged to Carol.

"There is no time for this," Abraham yelled from the truck.

"Wait," Daryl said crouching down, brushing away the dirt on what appeared to be some sort of print.

"Just give us a sec," Rick said holding up his hand. "Get everyone on the truck," he said to Glenn.

Glenn nodded glancing around, before his face became slightly panicked and he said, "Maggie, where did Maggie go?"

Daryl looked up flicking his long greasy hair out of his eye," She went after Beth, she was at the stream," he said, his eyes returning to the print on the ground..

Glenn didn't say anything further, as he set off in the direction of the stream.

…..

"Nah, it's nothing, the headscarf must have been dropped somehow, no-ones been near here on foot recently," Daryl said jumping back up in to standing to face Rick.

"We should go then," Rick said his lips pressed in to a firm line, looking towards the trees.

"I'll go and get them," Daryl said, throwing his crossbow over his shoulder. A little irritated Beth seemed to be taking so long.

Walking through the trees, his irritation was quickly replaced with a feeling of unease. Something wasn't right, he couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he sensed danger.

Picking up his pace, he started marching towards the stream before breaking in to a run. He knew he wouldn't be able to relax until Beth was safely back in his arms again.

Reaching the spot where they had been having their last tense conversation just moments before, he felt a deep surge of adrenaline and dread rocket through him as all he saw in front of him was a wide empty space.

"Beth," he yelled, "Beth," panic seeping through him at an alarming rate, a bead of sweat winding down his forehead. He couldn't lose her again, not now, not like this, after everything. She was his now, in everyway, and he swore he would never let anything happen to her again.

Suddenly out of the corner of his eye he spotted a figure walking towards him.

But it wasn't Beth it was Glenn!

"They're gone," Glenn said his face full of horror. "I've looked everywhere, but they're just gone….."

Four Years Later

Beth flopped her chin in to her hand and sighed, glancing at the clock in the old deserted library. She clicked the refresh button on the old laptop again, waiting impatiently.

Internet connections were painfully slow these days. Sometimes they ceased to work at all. But Beth was desperate. She double checked the connection cable. It was hard to believe now in the days before the outbreak how much she had taken such a simple thing as doing a quick google search for granted.

Slowly the page loaded and her wide curious blue eyes scanned the list of symptoms appearing intensely, tapping her pen on the side on the empty note pad beside her. Her mind wandering to the last time she had felt like this, to that eventful day back at the stream just before….She shut her mind to that thought, looking back at the screen in front of her.

Reading through the dated website, it wasn't anything she didn't know already, she just wanted confirmation she wasn't going mad or dying or something. That she wasn't imagining the nagging feeling at the back of her mind.

Swollen breasts, nausea, extreme fatigue, strange tastes and smells, mood swings, inability to concentrate, missed period….

Beth felt her heart sink.

A feeling of panic gathered in the pit of her stomach. Flustered, she swept a loose wisp of her blonde hair away from her face. Hearing the door creak, she sensed a presence behind her.

It was late the old library was pretty much deserted and she jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Beth."

She turned around to see the friendly face of Aaron her university professor.

"You scared the life out of me," she exclaimed breaking in to a weak smile.

"Sorry," he said smiling back her, his eyes were warm and kind, instantly putting her at ease. "Still trying to get that thing going? Oh, for the days of super technology like tablets and smart phones again," he joked, looking to where Beth was sat in front of the old fashioned laptop, one of the few that were still working from the time before the outbreak.

Aaron had been a doctor with the military before the turn. He'd been out of the country for most of the outbreak. In the short time she had been his student at med school, Beth had grown really fond of him. She could tell he was one of the rare few people left with most of their humanity intact still.

"I just came to check you were okay?" he said more seriously, his eyes glancing to the screen in front of her briefly, before looking away and back at her face fixing her with a concerned look. "You haven't been yourself in class recently and I…

"I know my grades have been slipping, I…." Beth interrupted breathlessly, a lump forming in her throat this wasn't how she had hoped things would be at all.

"It's not that," Aaron said reassuringly, "You're still my star student," he said with a playful wink. "I just want you to know, you can come to me if there ever is anything."

"Thanks," Beth said forcing another smile, wishing it could be that simple. "I'm okay, I've just had a lot on my mind."

"Well, maybe this will help," he said pulling a paper bag out of his jacket pocket handing it to her, before patting her arm again, smiling and turning to walk out.

Beth bit her lip, looking inside the bag to see a white box. Pulling it out her eyes grew wider. She had no idea where Aaron had got it from. She knew for a fact like a lot of things in the world these days, they weren't being manufactured again yet. She glanced at the expiration date to see it was okay, just. But it was definitely from before the turn.

…...

Daryl wasn't quite sure why he suddenly felt nervous as he walked in to the busy bar. Looking around for the old friend he knew no matter what he would never forget.

But it had been a long time. Daryl was aware his appearance had changed quite a bit these days. His hair was still long, but Beth insisted on him getting it tidied up every now and again. His face displayed the same scars, with a few more lines and a touch less stubble. His clothes were always clean and on the whole neatly presented. Gone was his old leather vest and shabby trousers, replaced with a more respectable pair of dark coloured jeans and dark blue shirt. He showered most days now too, and when he remembered made sure he put on the latest aftershave Beth had found for him. He was no longer a lonely miserable bachelor; he was a married man now, having a beautiful young bride to take up his time.

"Daryl," he eventually heard a familiar male voice say, taking him back to another time.

Before he knew it Rick's arms were around his neck, drawing him in to a brief but emotional hug.

"Good to see you man," Daryl said as they broke apart. Looking at Rick, Daryl noticed he hadn't changed at all. It seemed like a lifetime ago, since the days back at the prison and then later surviving on the road, but apart from his smarter more cleanly shaven appearance, he still looked the same.

"You too, nearly didn't recognise you for a while there. Life treating you well I see," Rick responded.

Daryl shrugged, reflecting for a second on how much his world had changed for the better since he had last seen Rick.

"Have a drink with me," Rick said, his pale blue eyes fixed on Daryl intensely. He indicated for Daryl to sit down at the bar next to him, gesturing with his arm for the barman, holding two fingers up.

"Thanks," Daryl said as the barman poured two shots of golden brown liquid on to the bar in front of him.

"Thought you'd never call," Rick said with a smile.

Daryl picked his glass up, meeting Rick's gaze slightly awkwardly. He wasn't quite sure why he had stalled so long after bumping in to Carl the night of the robbery at his local store. But he had. Something had held him back from taking the necessary steps towards this meeting.

"Listen man, before we go any further I just need to know something…Are we good?" Rick questioned seriously.

Daryl nodded slowly, "Yeah, we're good," he replied, as he put his glass to his lips taking a long swig, looking away. His face indicating he didn't want to go back over the events of their last few days together, years before.

"Good," Rick said with a quick nod of the head.

"So, how's Beth? You guys got any new additions to the family yet?" Rick went on to ask, arching an eyebrow with a smirk.

"Nah," Daryl replied, "It's just us…But she's good, we're good."

"That's great," Rick responded, with a genuine smile.

He paused, before saying, "We've been up in DC for a while. I got re-married up there, we were trying to make a life there for the kids. I was working for the police department. They're further ahead up there then we are here, things are moving faster."

"What brought you back to Atlanta then?" Daryl questioned.

Rick's eyes locked with his as he said firmly, "Its home."

Daryl nodded again.

"Got an offer to transfer down here, take charge of things," Rick went on to explain.

Daryl raised his eyebrows, "Must have made some pretty good friends back in DC?"

Rick looked away for a moment avoiding the question, before his eyes met Daryl's again, "I aint gonna bullshit you," he said changing the subject. "This city is falling apart; it's been run in to the ground, managed by greed and corruption. There are a lot of out of control cops out there and I'm looking to try and change things, restore some sort of order again."

He stopped talking but his eyes were still on Daryl as he added with passion, "For our future, for our children's future."

Daryl looked in front of him twisting an old beer mat in his hand.

"I want you to work as one of my deputies. There aren't many people I can trust, I mean really trust. I know you, I know who you are. You see good and bad. You always did. You're loyal and you can handle yourself out there. Because right now it's tougher than ever, but Daryl you were made for this."

Daryl moved his head, flicking his hair out of his eye to look Rick fully in the eye, his dark blue eyes deep and expressive.

"So what do you say? You in?" Rick said slowly.

Daryl kept his gaze fixed on Rick as he said seriously, "Yeah man, I'm in."

"That's great, really great," Rick said breaking in to a wide grin. Holding his glass up to Daryl as the two men both downed the rest of their drinks.

"I should get back," Daryl said, sliding his phone out of his back pocket looking at the time and a missed call from Beth.

"Before you go, one more drink," Rick said, quickly holding his hand up to get the barman's attention. "There are some people that want to see you," he added looking past Daryl in the direction of the door.

Daryl's face filled with confusion and curiosity looking back at Rick, sensing someone coming up behind him.

"I'd like you to meet my new second in command," Rick said.

Daryl turned his head to see two familiar striking dark eyes looking back at him and he couldn't help but smile a little as he leapt off his stool to wrap his arms around another of his long lost family members for a while he thought he'd never see again.

"Look at you. I'd wouldn't recognise you there for a moment, what happened?" Michonne said breaking in to a big smile flashing her perfect white teeth.

"He grew up and got married," Rick answered grinning some more.

Daryl was about to sit back down when Rick jumped in and said, "Thought you'd also like to meet your new partner."

Daryl looked back at Michonne to see stood beside her was Carol, meeting his surprised eyes with a small smile, looking happier and more alive than he'd seen her do in years. They'd never lost touch but he'd sensed she'd been slowly drifting away for a while now

"Some more drinks I think," Rick said as Carol slid in to the bar stool next to Daryl, their eyes meeting properly as she squeezed his hand. Looking at her face some more, Daryl could see it really was like the old Carol was back, the woman he had survived with for all that time during the outbreak. He could see her confidence was returning, that she felt she had a purpose in the world again.

Picking up his drink, Daryl felt his phone vibrate against his back pocket, he knew he should get going home to Beth soon, but there was no harm in having one final drink to mark what was ahead, he thought, the next chapter.

…..

Beth held the white stick in her trembling fingers, her big eyes wide and alert, glancing down in front of her to see clearly displayed was another bright blue cross. There was certainly nothing wrong with the pregnancy test kit Aaron had discreetly handed her earlier that evening. This was the second one in the pack and just like the first it quite visibly showed, she was pregnant!

She gasped as a wave of nausea hit her and she ran to the toilet bowl to wretch.

Wiping her mouth she slid down to sit on the floor, resting her back up against the bathroom wall, tightening her loose blonde ponytail. Trying to contemplate how this had happened. She had managed to get hold of the contraceptive pill from time to time, but it was hard to find and she was ashamed to admit for the last few months she hadn't bothered trying to get hold of any more and they had been more than a little lazy about birth control. The possibility of pregnancy stupidly not really entering her mind, she had been so pre-occupied with other things.

Now she had no idea how she felt. She had always known she wanted kids. She'd dreamed of being a mother and for a long time she had thought that it would be impossible. During the outbreak the thought of surviving a pregnancy and bringing a healthy baby in to the world had been unthinkable to her, she'd thought it would never be possible. That it could only ever end in heartbreak. But things were different now she thought as she tried not to think back to the other time, now there were hospitals again, doctors, medicine. The world was a mess still, but people were trying, there was a government again, there were public services, people had a chance again, hope.

The timing for having a baby was terrible though Beth couldn't help but think as her eyes brimmed with tears. She had just started med school. She couldn't give all that up, her dreams, her chance to make a difference.

Then there was Daryl. She had no idea what he would think, how he would react. Things had been a little strained between them recently and she never knew what mood he would be in.

They hadn't talked much about starting a family. Beth had known she would have to approach the subject with him properly at some point, but it hadn't seemed like a particular priority. But she knew despite his indifference on the topic, that Daryl liked children and she felt sure that he would like to have a child of his own. But she also knew he was terrified of it and for that reason he would be closed to the idea.

Despite all that though and despite his faults and moodiness, there was one thing Beth was completely certain about, and that one thought alone provided her with an overwhelming sense of comfort as she sat all alone in the bathroom feeling so scared and confused, she knew Daryl would make a great father.

...

A/N - Thanks for reading, please leave a review if you can! :)