Daryl didn't want to wait another day for the whole group to decide which way are they going to search and who's going with who, so he took his crossbow and headed to the woods by himself. The thing is, he didn't know where to start looking. It's not like Beth's gonna just magically appear somewhere in front of him, right?

The only thing he could think of was the hope, that whoever took her, didn't take her to Terminus. Daryl was walking somewhere into the woods, when he heard footsteps approaching him from behind. He lifted the bow and point it in case it was a Walker, but instead of it, Carol showed up. He immediately dropped the bow down. „You don't have to come with me." He grunted at her. Carol rolled her eyes. „Well I still remember the last time you went looking for someone into the woods by yourself." There was pain in her voice, but she manage to hide it very well, so Daryl wasn't really sure if someone who doesn't know her the way he does, would even hear it. „You were shot with a bullet and an arrow."

„Yeah, alright. I remember." He turned, slowly walking ahead, he gave Carol time to catch him up.

They walked in a silence for a while, before she spoke up again. „You can ask me, you know."

„Ask you what?"

„What happend, with me, Tyreese and the girls on our way to Terminus."

„Don't need to ask you that. I know what happen."

Carol sighed a bit. „No. You really don't."

„Well wanna talk about that?"

„No."

„Ain't gonna ask you then. It doesn't matter anyway."

Another long pause. „What happend. With you and Beth?" Daryl stopped and look at Carol. What did she mean by that question? Carol obviously saw the confusion in his eyes, because she tried to clarify the answer. „How did you get separated?"

Daryl shrugged and started moving away. „Doesn't matter."

Carol jogged a bit to catch up to him again. He was really hoping she would drop the issue. Daryl seriously didn't want to talk about it. „Daryl, we need to prepare for it. We may not find her."

„Yeah, we are."

„How can you be sure?"

„Dunno." He murmured. Quietly adding. „I still have faith."

Daryl was a bit ahead of Beth, his crossbow in position, ready to shoot. Beth was trying her best to keep up with him. She never complained, which was something Daryl appreciated. He was trying to go slowly to let her catch up. Always stoping to show her even the smallest sign how to improve her tracking. She had this determined look in her face. Everytime he said something to her, she bitted her lips and slowly nodded.

„How can you have faith?" Daryl asked suddenly. He was waiting for her to catch up and the words that she said to him a few nights earlier, just appeared on his mind. 'Faith. I still have faith.'

Beth looked up to him, she stopped few inches in front of Daryl and smiled a bit. „I mean how can you live if you don't have faith?"

„Life ain't givin' me much signs that we should have faith."

Beth shrugged and almost immediately answered. „Well, you have to look even on the smallest things."

„Like what?"

„Like right now. Right now is good. So I have faith that life can be good again."

Daryl just stared at the small blond girl with this big eyes, not knowing what to answer. They lost everything, and everyone they knew, he had already given up, but Beth Greene was something else. He didn't understand how can she still have faith that life can be good again, but somehow, he felt the urge to help her. To make her life better, because this girl deserves much more than this.

„Daryl? Are we going, or what?" He snapped back from his thoughts.

„Mh-hmm." He turned back, continuing tracking the rabbit. He felt Beth's present behind his back, she didn't speak, but he felt her breath on his neck, which distracted him a bit, but he didn't want to say anything.

He saw the Walker approaching few seconds after Beth. She was already pulling out her knife, when Daryl reached for her and tucked her behind his back. He was holding her with one arm, so she couldn't wrest her way out of his protection and go fight the Walker by herself. He knew she was capable of doing that just fine, but as long as he was by her side, she didn't have to. He didn't have any problem taking the Walker down.

He turned to look at Beth, realizing he was still holding her with one of his arms. He slowly drop the arm, but he didn't move an inch further from her. Beth didn't speak either, both of them were just blankly staring at each other. Daryl couldn't really tell what it was he was feeling back then. The weird twisting feeling in his stomach. But he knew that if anyone would give him hope again, it would be this girl.

Daryl let his mind wandered as they were walking side by side through the woods with Carol. She didn't attempt to talk to him anymore and neither did he. It wasn't until they reached the train rails, when he realized how far they had gone.

„We should get back." Carol said, slowly turning. But Daryl haven't moved. He was staring at something beside the rails. „What is it?"

„Somebody went through here." He pointed at the trail of footsteps he was just now looking at.

Carol walked over to him, looking over his shoulder. „That could have been anyone from us, on our way to Terminus."

Daryl slowly shaked his head. „Nah. Terminus's the other way. Somebody went through here just recently. This mornin', maybe." He looked at Carol, she was looking down at the footsteps, frowning.

„Could be anyone." She said finally.

„Yeah. Well whoever it was. They were alone. Maybe they need our help." Without any further hesitation he started walking in the direction of the footsteps. He heard Carol following him.

Of course Daryl didn't want to get his hopes up. Carol was right, it could be anyone. But small part of him wanted to believe, this trail will lead him back to Beth.