Author's Notes: Sorry for the delay in this chapter! I've known what I was going to write for a while but have been super busy. I graduate next Saturday so I've had a lot to do. The next two chapters, at least, will be spit; one from Beth's POV and one from Daryl's. Hopefully I can get what's in my head onto the screen for y'all to read soon! Here we go!

**This story is purely fan based; all credit goes to the writers of TWD.

Chapter 5:

"Where…where is everyone else?" Beth was looking around the trees. She saw no movement, just forest around them. Next to her stood only half of her family; Rick, Carl, Sasha, Tara, and Michonne. The others; Glenn, Maggie, Carol, Tyreese, and Judith were nowhere to be seen. Neither was Daryl. Beth had thought everyone had been running along side her, but it became apparent that somehow they had gotten split up.

Beth's throat tightened. "We must have gotten separated." Rick's face mirrored what Beth felt in her heart. Dread. He said the words no one else dared say. They were once again separated. What were the odds that their family would find their way back to one another for a second time? Beth knew the math wasn't in their favor.

"What do we do?" She asked, barely above a whisper. Her mind was stuck on Daryl and if he had made it out alive.

"First, we need to find someplace safe and warm for the night." Michonne chimed in. Rick was staring back in the direction they had come. Hoping to see the others. Hoping to see Judith in someone's arms. "Once we find someplace we can see what we have and go from there."

Rick nodded. No one wanted to, but they needed to move. If they were caught out in the woods after the sun went down, they might not make it to the sun rise tomorrow. Reluctantly, Rick turned away from the trees and back towards his group.

"Do…do you know if anyone went back in for Judith?" Carl asked Beth as they started walking. Beth looked at the dark hair boy walking beside her. Beth knew Rick was listening but he didn't say a word. A lump formed in her throat. "Yeah, I was going for her when Daryl…..when Daryl told me to go. He was going to go for her." Carl just nodded. They knew Judith's best chance to get out was with Daryl, but Beth still chewed on her lip full of worry.

They walked and walked and walked and walked. It had been a little before noon when they left the cabin. The sun had reached it's peek and had started it's decent as they trudged on. Doing her best to look through the trees and at the setting sun Beth guessed they had an hour or two before it started to get dark. Already the temperature was dropping, they needed to find something and quick.

They broke through a line of trees and came to a stop on road. There was a busted up car a few yards to the right. The group walked over and collected what they could. It had been picked over fairly well. Beth grabbed a piece of glass from the window and broke off the driver's side mirror. Thinking back to the days after the prison fell she knew these could start a fire, something they would need soon.

"Hey, look at this." Carl said. Moving some fallen tree limbs away he read the green sign aloud. "Loganville- 5 miles, Bethlehem- 16 miles, and Athens- 42 miles." The group stood around the sign. 'Athens. Why does that sound so familiar…' Beth was struggling with a thought. It was on the tip of her tongue. With her mind full of worry she was having trouble focusing her thoughts.

"Let's head that way" Rick said pointing up the road past the sign. "With any luck the others made it to a road and will think to head to a town as well." Rick's face was still caked in worry. But the group moved on. Knowing this was the best chance they had at finding shelter and the others.

They walked for almost an hour, not seeing much of anything. Trees, fields, more trees. Then as the sun was beginning to set, they came across a small town tucked away off the main road. With a few walkers roaming around, they realized it would be their best bet for the night.

Walking into the town they could tell it was small and old. Probably only one main road. "There." Rick pointed to what looked like a bar with a second story floor above it, probably a loft or apartment. "Let's make our way there and try to clear it."

Pulling her knife out to be safe, Beth still couldn't focus. 'Athens' why was that name bugging her so much? She knew it meant something.

They killed as many walkers as they could on the street on the way to the bar. Once they reached the storefront Rick banged on the door loudly. They waited. They heard movement inside, defiantly at least two walkers. Carl took the handle and on Rick's signal pulled open the door. The group took out the three walkers that had taken up residence at the bar.

Moving behind the counter to the back of the bar, they saw the door to the stairs. They repeated the process but found the loft to be empty. They found a few useful things in the bar, but it had been picked over fairly well before they arrived. They hoped they could find something upstairs.

The small loft wasn't much bigger than a hotel room, there was a small kitchen in one corner, a bed against a wall, a dirty looking couch, and a shut door they assumed lead to a non-functioning bathroom. Beth pulled open the cabinets in the kitchen area and her heart sank. They weren't totally empty but they were not stocked like the cabin had been. She found a few cans of soup and veggies and that was about it.

The group gathered around the table. Between the pack Carl had, the pack Tara managed to grab before leaving, and the food they found, they barely had enough to feed them for a day or two. Maybe three or four days if they rationed hard. They also only had 4 blankets and a handful of other items. It was not a happy sight.

Beth sighed. 'Back to running.'

Beth had looked through the bathroom and closet of the small loft. Not a whole lot to offer. They found an extra set of sheets and a thick comforter in the closet, along with a few warmer pieces of clothing. They shed their old layers for new ones and ate a very small, cold super in silence. The weight of losing the others hung heavy in the room.

They had pushed the couch up next to the bed and all six members of their small group huddled together to share the blankets and the warmth. It wasn't much but it would keep them alive tonight. They knew tomorrow they would need to pack up and find something better.

Without really meaning to Beth asked the quiet group, "What's in Athens, Georgia?" It had still been driving her crazy, she knew it meant something to her but could not figure it out. No one said anything at first, not sure why the small blonde would care to ask. Finally Tara spoke up. "Athens? It's a college town. University of Georgia, I went to college there back before everything. Why do you ask?"

Beth's mouth fell open, and a spark of hope ignited in her. That was it, college. Maybe, just maybe….She thought back to a conversation she had had not three days before, a ghost of a smile hitting her lips.

Beth and Daryl lay in the old shed together, sunlight streaming in through the dirty windows. They were out "hunting" and would need to return to the cabin soon. Lately they had been sneaking off whenever they could to have some….alone time. They weren't ready to tell anyone just yet. They still had a few things to figure out for themselves first. So these quiet moments alone meant the world to Beth.

Beth was lying on Daryl's chest, listening to him breath and feeling perfectly content, when he asked the strangest question she'd ever heard him ask. "D'you plan on goin' to college back before the world went to shit?"

Beth sat up to look at him, her face a mask of questions. "Where did that come from?" She asked with a small smile. "Are you trying to get to know me Mr. Dixon?" She teased.

Daryl's ears went red. "Jus' wonderin' is all." He mumbled, looking away. Beth giggled. "When I was still in high school I told everyone I wanted to go to college to become a vet, just like my daddy was. I loved working with him; helping the animals, learning about the different medicines and sicknesses. It was really interesting to me." She paused; it had been a long time since she had thought about anything like this. Something so…normal. "So yes, I was planning on going someday, I just hadn't gotten around to planning too much yet."

He smiled at her as she sat quietly, reminiscing. "I though' about it once." He said. This got Beth's attention. "Really?" She asked. "Uhuh, once. When Meryl was on one of his lock up stays. When he was outta the picture I was pretty normal. But I never was no good at school stuff, so…" He drifted off, embarrassed.

Beth was smiling at him, she was always interested to learn more about who Daryl was and had been before. "I think you would have been able to do it!" She said excitedly, leaning in to kiss him. He gave a grunt of a laugh.

"Maggie went. To college I mean. I visited her once to take a look around and see if I liked it there. She went to the University of Georgia. It was a few hours drive from home, in some town called Athens I think. She really liked it." Beth said, truth be told she had really wanted to go as well. She had thought about it back on the farm after everything happened, and at the prison a few times.

"Well maybe one day we can make it to Athens an take a look around." Daryl said, standing to get dressed.

"Yeah" Beth said smiling, "Maybe one day."

They left their quiet old shack and made there way back to the cabin and to the others.

"Beth? Beth? Beth can you hear me?" Rick was shaking the small girls shoulder. "Yeah" was all she managed to say, she was still zoned out, staring at the wall. 'Maybe, just maybe.' She thought again.

"What are you thinking? Are you ok?" Carl asked, looking concerned. She felt the group's eyes on her, but her mind was too busy racing to help her form words.

He was alive. He was alive and she would see him again. She felt this in her bones. He had gotten out and found the others. He was leading them now and if he saw a similar sign, that's where he'd be taking them. She just knew it.

"Rick" Beth said. "I….I think I might know where Daryl will go."

And that's all she wrote folks! I hope you enjoyed the chapter and are ready for the next one! Leave a comment or review if you want, thanks again for sticking with me!