AN: Thanks everyone for the positive reviews! Here is part II, there are big time jumps, mostly because I didn't want to bore you all by re-writing scenes without changes. My theory on Beth's kidnapping is based in part of a theory I read and then I took the character and tweaked him, I've never read the comics but I don't think he was a bad guy, but for my purposes, now he is. Read on to figure out what I'm talking about!

Warnings: Crazy religious fanatic, some more sex, overuse of commas?

Aftermath

Beth stared at the jar of moonshine sitting in front of her. She was the biggest fool on the planet, she was sure of it. What was she thinking all those weeks ago? Why did she think that the prison would last, that she could raise a family there? Nothing lasted, not anymore. Not only had the safety of the prison community failed but she personally had failed. She wanted to be a mother but who was she kidding? She was a failure. With Rick facing off with the Governor and Carol missing, Judith should have been her only priority. Instead she had gotten swept up in the panic and confusion of her father's cruel death and by the time she went looking for the baby someone else had taken her. Judith should have been Beth's responsibility and she lost her.

"What? You suddenly not thirsty?" Daryl growled. He stood a few paces away from her watching her with a frown. Something about this crappy, redneck den of a house had Daryl on edge more than usual.

Beth glanced between him and the glass a few times before speaking, "I think I might be pregnant." It was no use keeping it a secret, Daryl deserved to know what a liability she had become.

"What?" Daryl snatched the mason jar out of her hands before she could blink.

"I haven't taken a test or nothin', but I'm pretty sure." Beth responded quietly.

"What the hell? Rick said you guys were bein' safe," Daryl started pacing beside the table she still sat at.

Beth looked up at Daryl in confusion, "you knew about me and Rick?"

"'Course I knew about you and Rick. He tells-told me everythin'." Daryl snarled. He looked like a cornered cat that wanted to lash out at something. Beth's eyes prick at the past tense correction. If anyone was a survivor, it was Rick. But he had been right at the fence when the tank rolled through and there had been so many walkers... "And if you think you're knocked up, why did we traipse around all day lookin' for alcohol?" Daryl ended his question with smashing the jar of moonshine against the wall.

Beth cringed, the destruction loosened something in her. "'Cause it's all my fault," Beth cried as she finally broke down, "I was selfish. I got too comfy, I thought the prison was safe, I didn't think about the Governor still out there, and all I wanted was to start the family I've always wanted. I didn't just lie to Rick, I deceived him, I showed him the pills I was taking but really I just threw one away every day because I wanted my own baby so bad and then the attack... and daddy... and Rick... and I lost Judith!" By the end of Beth's rant tears were streaming down her cheeks and she slid off the chair to sink to the floor. "Someone else grabbed her and who knows what's happenin' to her. She was my responsibility."

"Shit," Daryl sighed. Beth couldn't see him but she could tell he stopped pacing. "I thought you didn' cry no more," Daryl's tone was gruff and awkward. The poor guy was awful with big emotional displays.

Beth wiped at her face and nose and tried in vain to calm her choked sobs. "I'm a fool," she whispered.

Daryl then sank to his knees beside her. Beth could feel the uncomfortableness of Daryl rolling off him. "I'm not gonna disagree with ya," Beth let out a sharp, painful laugh as Daryl continued, "We need to find some supplies, I'm almost out of bolts and we need some food. We'll try to find a car. And then... we'll head back, we'll try to finds some signs... we'll try to trace the bus. We'll figure something out. Maybe... maybe somebody's out there." Beth looked up at Daryl with a small smile, a bit of hope bloomed in her chest.

Rick felt like he was pushing molasses around on his face. He had tried to get the blood out of his beard but it was congealed and he could still feel the stickiness. He quickly gave up, there was a stream nearby he would have to wait until then to finish cleaning his face.

"So what's the plan?" Michonne's quiet voice asked, "We headin' to Terminus?"

Rick had been pondering this subject since Daryl had told him about Beth being 'gone.' He had made Daryl tell him everything about the incident and the whole situation made his cop instincts scream 'trap!' He didn't blame Daryl for Beth being taken, he could see that the man was blaming himself though. "If any of our people made it to Terminus, they're most likely safe for the time bein', so there's no rush. With all the railroad tracks converging there's got to be a couple a towns around here, let's swing by a convenience store first. Get some supplies... and a map." Michonne and Carl looked slightly confused, they had plenty of supplies now from Joe's group, but they trusted his lead.

About an hour later found them outside of a gas station. They efficiently took out the few walkers around the store and two inside before Rick tasked Carl to see if there was any supplies worth taking and Michonne to see if either of the two cars out front were capable of running. Rick quickly grabbed a regional map and a phone book for the surrounding counties and spread the map out on the dirty counter. He handed the phonebook to Daryl while asking, "You remember the name of that funeral home?"

"Nah, but I know the streets it was near." Daryl responded already flipping through the phonebook trying to track it down. Daryl seemed to sense what Rick's plan was and it only took him a few moments to track down the funeral home. Rick meanwhile had found a pencil and marked on the map Terminus' location as well as their current location. Daryl pointed out the funeral home on the map and Rick asked for the phonebook back and flipped to the 'churches' section in the yellow pages. "You said that Caddy had a big cross on the back window, right?"

Daryl nodded, "And it took off this a way." He traced the road he had run down for miles. Rick was going on only his gut instinct as he began marking down churches on the map. All the churches in the area would have been an astronomical number so he tried to focus on small, community churches. They would be easier to defend and fortify. He had no reals facts to base his theory on, but his gut said that the funeral home was a trap, a lure of sorts, and the man driving the blue Cadillac was probably a religious fanatic living in a nearby church, one that was close by car but far on foot. Rick dimly noted Daryl moving into the aisle behind him to grab something and put it in his pack, but Rick didn't bother to ask what he found.

Michonne's voice interrupted Rick's task, "The Subaru runs, but it's out of gas. I'm guessin' it was abandoned here not too long ago when someone realized there was no gas. Keys were even in the glove box."

"There's a couple of houses around, we can see if we can siphon some gas or somethin'." Daryl suggested.

Carl joined them at the counter. The place was pretty picked over already but he did find a small length of hose and an empty five gallon gas can. Daryl nodded and was about to grab the items when Carl asked, "Dad, what're you doin'?" He nodded at the map and the stars Rick was drawing.

"We don't know who all escaped the prison. The only one we know for sure is Beth, and I think she was kidnapped. We're going to find her." Rick answered firmly and not looking up from his task. He had to put what was left of his family back together.

"Do you really think she's still alive? If this guy is anything like those other guys..." Carl trailed off with a frown.

Rick glanced up to look his son in the eye while he replied honestly, "if we find this guy, and he is like those other guys and he did something to Beth... I'll kill him." Rick's tone was resolute. His new acceptance of his monster within was showing clearly, and while he should be ashamed of his actions he just wasn't. Men like that deserved to die. The thought of Beth being with a man like Joe, a man who raped and killed for pleasure, sent Rick into a cool rage. "I made a promise to Hershel to keep Beth safe. Now I won't stop until I find her," Rick vowed.

Michonne nodded and Daryl clapped him on the back. "This'll go a lot faster with gas. C'mon Michonne, let's see if we can find any." He grabbed the gas can from Carl and he and Michonne slinked out of the store. Rick turned back to the map and phonebook.

"Dad... do you like Beth?" Carl asked hesitantly.

"'Course I like her." Rick answered the vague question.

"I mean, do you like, like her? When you had that fever and couldn't wake up, you called out my name, Judith's name and … Beth's."

Rick paused again to look at his son. Carl didn't look angry or hurt just curious. Carl was one of the reasons Rick hadn't wanted to make their relationship known to the group. Not only did Carl have a crush on Beth at one point, but Rick didn't want Carl to think that he was trying to replace Lori with Beth. The only person who knew of their relationship besides Hershel was Daryl, and that was because he had told Daryl everything. Daryl didn't judge him, he told Rick what was on his mind, and he didn't bottle resentment in. Daryl was a refreshing change after dealing with Shane for years. Daryl had also thought the relationship with Beth would be good for Rick's mental state, would help keep his burdens from building up until he cracked again.

But with Rick's new outlook, his acceptance of what lengths he would go to keep his family safe, he didn't have the desire to lie to his son. Especially when Beth meant so much to him. "Beth and I... we had started a relationship." Rick told his son honestly.

Carl nodded for a moment. "Okay."

"You aren't mad?" Risk asked curiously. Ever since Michonne had found them Carl had become much less the petulant and angry kid he had been. It was definitely refreshing for Rick.

Carl shrugged. "Beth's really nice, and she loves Judith. She's made you smile a couple of times. Besides, when Mom thought you were dead she was with Shane until you came back."

"You knew about that?" Rick asked in surprise.

"Not at the time... I've only heard gossip. I heard Carol once say that Judith looked like you and not Shane." Carl shrugged again. "Dad I hope we find Beth."

Rick nodded resolutely, "we will." Finding Sophia had been a duty to Rick, he felt responsible for the girl's disappearance. This was different, he needed to find Beth, he had been teetering on the edge of an abyss full of guilt and self-destruction before Beth and she had made him feel again. Not just the need to live, to protect his own, but to laugh, to feel pleasure in life. He was going to find Beth, and if she was hurt in any way he would wreak vengeance.

"And the LORD will send a plague on all the nations that fought against Jerusalem. Their people will become like walking corpses, their flesh rotting away. Their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. On that day they will be terrified, stricken by the LORD with great panic. They will fight their neighbors hand to hand..."

Beth's hand shook as she took another bite of lukewarm beans. Gabriel was deep into his rant again. He was standing on the altar, scrubbing at the dried blood there. He liked the altar to be "pure" and Beth prayed that the blood would never lift.

When she woke up five days ago, woozy, confused and tied up, there had been another girl with her. She had mousy brown hair and her name was Maria. Beth had been so confused, the last thing she remembered was being at a funeral home with Daryl and running away from walkers, and then the next thing she knew she woke up beside a crying girl who switched from English to Spanish unknowingly while she sobbed and prayed.

Gabriel had loomed over her then, told her he was cleansing the world. He believed that the Rapture had occurred and he was left on Earth to kill until only the innocent were left. His ramblings were half mad, and Beth had gotten the impression that since the dead were coming back to life Gabriel was going to 'sacrifice' people until they stopped coming back.

Beth had been so steadfast in her belief that there was still good people left in the world, that the Governor was the anomaly, not them. That she and Daryl would find Judith, alive and well, and she could raise her baby without Rick. And just as Daryl was starting to see her way, perhaps believe her, she gets kidnapped by a fanatical psychopath. It seemed the universe was trying pretty hard to convince her she was wrong. Beth tries to start a family of her own, she loses everyone she loves. Beth tries to have hope and believe that good people still do exist, she gets unwillingly sacrificed by a madman.

Maria had been 'sacrificed' two days ago. Three days before that a young man had been sacrificed, Maria had told her. They had been travelling together and had stopped at the same funeral home Beth and Daryl had stopped in. Beth's throat constricted as she thought of Daryl. The last thing she could remember was jumping out of a window while Daryl distracted a small herd of walkers. She had no idea if he survived and was looking for her or if he had perished.

Beth was fairly certain she could shimmy out of the rope around her wrists. It had some leeway so she could move to eat, but her ankles were bound tightly together. The spoon she was using to eat with was plastic, so she had no hope of sawing through the rope. At night Gabriel locked her in a small room off the altar, it had no windows or furniture, just grungy carpet and a pot to relieve herself in. The one bright side was that her ankle was not hurting any more. Currently she was on the floor between the altar and the first pew eating the only food she would get that day. The church was small, with only ten pews, and the windows were all high on the wall. There was the main door at the end of the aisle and then a hallway off the side of the pews that she had never seen down, but assumed that's where Gabriel lived.

Gabriel stopped his chanting and put down his sponge and Beth's heart started to race as he turned his attention to her. His brown eyes had a fanatical gleam to them and he wore a black preacher outfit with the sleeves rolled up while he scrubbed. He began walking towards her and Beth tried her best not to flinch as he crouched in front of her to stroke her cheek. "So beautiful, like a doll. You will be the innocent. Once your blood spills you will not wake again. You will be the last, my beautiful doll."

"If-if I'm innocent, you don't need to kill me, right?" Beth asked hesitantly.

"But it is your blood, your innocent blood, that will end this sufferin'. Your sacrifice will save us all."

Beth nodded like she understood. It was better to humor him then send him into a destructive rage. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself as Gabriel stood again. She wouldn't beg for her life like Maria did, she would spend her last night remembering all the good times from her life. Her daddy teaching her to ride a horse, her mother singing to her as a child, Maggie and Glenn's wedding, Judith crawling to her, and Rick. Rick kissing her until she tingled in anticipation, Rick's smile while watching Judith, Rick's smoothed face as he rested and relaxed in her arms. She didn't regret anything with Rick. Even though she wasn't going to live and raise their baby she was glad she spent her life living, not just surviving.

"Hello? Is anybody in here?" Beth's eyes flew open as she heard a knock and women's voice muffled through the thick, locked doors behind her. Gabriel faced the door slowly with a contemplative look on his face. "Please, I saw the car outside. If somebody is in here, please help!" Beth frowned as she listened to the voice. It sounded familiar, but the pleading tone was making it difficult to tell.

Beth watched Gabriel un-holster his gun as he walked down the aisle. "How many people are with ya?" He asked through the door. Beth was on the floor and couldn't see above the pews so she tried to scoot into a better position to peer down the aisle. Beth took a deep breath. She wouldn't let this crazy man kill anyone else if she could. When he opened the door she would yell and tell this poor woman to run.

"It's just me. I'm all alone. I was with a group but-but- please help!"

Gabriel began to undo the heavy duty locks, the loud noises of the locks echoed through the small church but Beth thought she heard something, perhaps a thump from the hallway off to the side. Her attention was drawn back to Gabriel as she heard the door opening and she scooted a bit more to peer around. Just as she was about to start yelling she caught sight of the woman pleading. "Michonne!" Her voice cracked, came out as a half whisper that no one heard. Panic began to fill her, this man couldn't hurt Michonne! She threw herself into the aisle, drawing both Gabriel's and Michonne's attention. "Michonne! No, run! Get out of here!" But Michonne's shock at seeing her slowed her reflexes and Gabriel had his gun trained on her before she could move. Beth noticed she didn't have her sword or a gun. Was she really weaponless?

"Michonne, eh?" Michonne held up her hands in compliance and Gabriel gestured for her to start walking, slowly. "You know my lovely little doll, eh?"

Gabriel didn't shut the door, he was concentrating on Michonne too intently, a fact Beth didn't realize until she saw a figure dart through the open crack. Gabriel froze as a gun cocked behind him.

"How 'bout you lower that gun?" a very familiar voice drawled.

Gabriel burst into action then, he lunged at Michonne and fired his gun, but Michonne was anticipating his actions and had dodged into a roll down the aisle towards Beth and then Rick, Rick, pulled the trigger of his python. The bullet tore through Gabriel's shoulder, would have been his head if he hadn't been moving after Michonne, and he howled in pain and turned on Rick. Beth shrieked in fear but Rick sidestepped him and used his momentum against him, Rick grabbed Gabriel's head and twisted in the opposite direction and Beth could hear the crack of his neck and Gabriel dropped like a heavy sack.

Michonne was at her side with a knife cutting at the rope that held her bound but Beth only had eyes for Rick, Rick who bent to stab Gabriel in the head with his knife and then he was striding towards her. Michonne was asking her a question, but Beth couldn't process anything in her shocked state of seeing Rick, Rick was alive. She felt Michonne slice through the ropes around her ankles and the second she was free she was standing and threw herself into Rick. Rick caught her and pulled her in close and told her everything was going to be okay, right in her ear and Beth realized then that she was sobbing. She tried to calm down, Rick pulled back just a few inches so he could look down at her, he pressed a quick, too quick, kiss against her lips and asked her if she was hurt, if there was anyone else. Beth took another deep breath, she had to calm down for Rick. "He-he didn't hurt me, he was going to-it's just him, was him. Oh God Rick, he was killing people, sacrificing them, I only saw Maria, and it was horrible."

"Hey, I've got you, it's all right now." And it was. Rick was alive and in her arms.

"Beth!" Beth turned, not letting go of Rick, to see Carl with a huge smile and Daryl, crossbow raised, enter the room from the hallway.

"It's clear," Daryl nodded, referring to the way they came.

"Beth said it was only him." Rick responded. Beth watched Carl hand Michonne her sword, it had been across his back, and Daryl didn't lower the crossbow as he scanned the room for himself. Beth wrapped her arms tighter around Rick and let the feeling of relief wash over her.

The Subaru stopped in front of a white and brick house off a dirt road, Beth could see a few other houses in the distance. The group was heading towards a place called Terminus that the others had seen signs for along the railroad tracks but Beth really didn't care where she was going as long as it was with Rick. They had quickly cleared Gabriel's church of supplies; he had a decent food supply but very few weapons. Rick didn't want to stay at the church longer than necessary, Beth assumed it was on her behalf that he hustled them out quickly and had them back on the road. Michonne was in the driver's seat while Daryl studied the map sitting beside her. Beth wasn't quite sitting in Rick's lap but leaning heavily against him and his arm was curled around her shoulders. Carl sat on her other side.

The house looked in decent condition; the others had apparently stayed at this house the night before while they were scouting various churches in the area. They had investigated seven different churches before Gabriel's church and Beth nearly cried at their dedication to find her, especially when they were operating only on Rick's hunch.

Michonne and Daryl were first out of the stopped car, they did a brief run of the perimeter while Rick and Carl approached the front door with Beth in between them. Rick made eye contact with both of them before opening the front door and sweeping into the house. Beth took a deep breath before following Rick in, she held the gun Rick had slipped to her earlier aimed at the floor. They quickly cleared the house, there were no walkers or people and Beth thankfully sank down in a chair at the kitchen table. She could hear the others moving about around her in the kitchen. Rick sat in the chair beside her and Beth gave him a small smile. She couldn't even begin to put her gratitude into words, she hadn't realized how terrified she was of Gabriel until he was dead. It was like her mind had shut out how terrible her situation had really been but now she was safe her mind couldn't stop processing her days in captivity.

Beth's mind stopped thinking about Gabriel when Daryl set a purple and white box down in front of her at the table. Beth's heart skipped a beat and her mind began to fill with new anxiety as the words 'E.P.T.' glared at her from the box. Beth felt her cheeks turning red and she could feel Michonne and Carl's curious gazes on her. She could feel Rick stiffen beside her, she saw his hand curl into a fist and Beth couldn't bear to look up at him.

"You two need ta have a discussion about some thangs," said Daryl as he stood with his arms crossed.

Beth finally looked up from the box to glance at Rick, his face was blank. She then snatched the box off the table as if it was out of sight the others would forget they saw it. "There's a bathroom upstairs, right?" Daryl nodded in response. Beth quickly left the kitchen and made her way up the stairs. She wanted to do this as far away from the others as possible.

Once she was in the bathroom upstairs she took a moment just to breathe. She knew that she would have to tell Rick the truth about her deceit. She wouldn't feel right keeping that from him, not after the prison falling, daddy dying, and her time with the unstable Gabriel. Beth fumbled with the packaging of the pregnancy test and went through the motions of the test.

She hopped up to sit on the counter placing the stick just out of her sight so she wouldn't obsess for the next few minutes. Just as she resigned herself to the longest few minutes of her life a knock sounded on the door. Beth took a deep breath before telling the knocker to come in.

Rick slipped in and closed the door softly behind him and then leaned against the door. They stared at each other in silence for a moment and Beth tried in vain to decipher the expression on Rick's face. He looked distraught, but that couldn't be right. "Beth," Rick began, "I'm sorry. I should have insisted on condoms. I would never intentionally put you through this."

Beth could feel tears pricking at the corner of her eyes. Oh noble Rick. "This isn't your fault," Beth replied.

"I shoulda known better. I've put you in a whole new danger." Rick took a hesitant step towards her and Beth welcomed him to stand in between her knees. He placed a hand on either side on her thighs on the counter.

"No, Rick, I… I lied." Beth spoke in a whisper, "I wasn't taking the pills. I… wanted to get pregnant."

Rick couldn't seem to process her words as he studied her. "What?" he croaked.

Beth felt all her words rushing out at once in an effort to make Rick understand. "I've always wanted to have a family of my own, a baby of my own, and being with you and Judith was the happiest I had been since before the walkers. You made me feel happy and safe and that I could actually have the family I always wanted. And I figured you'd never agree, not after… after… And the prison seemed so safe, like it would last forever, and we had Dr. Subramanian and… I'm sorry." Beth closed her eyes when she was done. She couldn't face Rick's anger, or disappointment. "I know you must be angry."

There was a long period of silence. Beth could feel her tears start to roll down her cheeks but she didn't dare move or try to wipe them away. After Zach's death she told Daryl that she didn't cry anymore, but now that's all she seemed to do. All her emotions invoked by Rick were just so powerful she couldn't block them out like she could with Zach.

Then Rick began to speak, "Maybe before… back at the prison, I would have been angry. Furious even. But now… I get it. I make you feel safe, you wanted to do more than just survive, you felt like you could have something you always wanted. And I would have been angry about the lies, the deceit, the danger you're puttin' yourself in. But… I can't be angry. I thought I lost you, I just got you and I thought I'd lost you. I realized that with you I feel like I'm livin'. Before I was just survivin', doing my best to keep everyone safe, keep Carl straight, give Judith a chance at life. But you make me feel like there's still… enjoyment in this life. And there's no point in bein' angry about something I can't change. I swear to you I will do my absolute best to give you what you want. I'll keep you safe. And if this is what you want, we'll figure out how to make this work."

Beth couldn't even begin to describe how Rick's words made her feel, her sense of relief was strong, she was so happy that he wasn't angry at her, she was amazed to hear Rick's feelings about her, and she felt safe. Safe, in this house at the edge of a neighborhood probably full of roaming walkers, no fences between her and whatever psychopaths were wandering the streets. Here, with Rick's arms braced on the counter around her, his sure gaze staring into her. She felt as she did when she and Rick had first kissed, with Judith scooting around and their laughter filling the air. This felt right.

Beth yanked Rick into a kiss, their teeth clacked and Beth accidently bit Rick's tongue but then he growled into her mouth and his hands were pulling at her jeans and Beth wiggled out of both her jeans and panties while trying to undo Rick's belt. Their coupling was quick, hard and frenzied. Rick held her thighs open, his grip was hard and biting into her skin. Beth left several bite marks on Rick's shoulder to keep quiet and it was exactly what Beth needed. The pain and pleasure grounded her into the moment, reassured her Rick was real. Rick's pace became uneven and frantic as he got close and he reached a thumb to where they were joined and pressed into her clit and Beth shattered into her orgasm.

Afterwards they clung to each other, Rick's arms were a comforting weight around her. His arms tightened for a second before his right loosened and he grabbed something off the counter behind her. Rick's rough voice tickled Beth's ear as he spoke, "I will always give you what you want." Beth shifted to see the pregnancy test in his hand. The light was dim filtering through the window in the bathroom but Beth could see the little plus sign well enough.

Review? Part III will deal with a different take on Terminus.