Okay I'm so so so sorry it took me so long to update. I've had one hell of a two months. My grandmother had a stroke, she's okay though. I got into a car accident two days ago on my birthday of all days. I've been on bed rest so I've been working like a maniac trying to get this chapter written up. Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed so far and anyone who has taken the time to read it. I appreciate you all so much. Bethyl love forever. No matter what happens in the show this is my cannon version and there will be some things from the show added in but I'm kind of going with my own thing. I hope you enjoy this new chapter and please review and let me know how it is. I'm sorry if there are any major grammar mistakes, I have a concussion and I'm taking pain killers so it's been a bit hard to focus.

Stay

Not About Angels

"I'm sorry."

"Why do you keep apologizing?" Daryl was sitting in the chair beside Beth's bed. He had to leave for a moment after she admitted to not knowing who he was. He couldn't take the look of pity on her face.

Dr. Edwards had been waiting outside and explained everything. He told him that it was entirely possible she may even regain her memories slowly; but that was a big maybe.

"I just feel so awful…" Beth sighed leaning back on her pillow. "You look familiar…I feel like I should know who you are."

"Well you did get a pretty nasty head wound."

"I know, and everything you've told me checks out about my father and my farm, I just wish I could remember everything after my momma got sick."

"Doesn't matter," Daryl said dismissively, he was starting to slowly build a little wall back up. The one she had come barreling through months ago.

"Were…Were we…?"

He looked at her for a moment and turned bright red when he realized what she was asking.

"No."

She was giving him a curious look and his face was still bright red. He wasn't lying; they hadn't been anything, not really.

Maybe if he hadn't lost her that night. He remembers the conversation they had before everything went to hell, how intense it was. It felt like the room would catch fire any moment.

"I'm just so confused…" She mumbled staring out the window.

"Listen Beth I wanted to tell you something," He changed the subject; leaning forward and resting his arms on her bed. "Your sister Maggie is alive and I know where she is."

Beth's eyes widened and immediately began to flood with tears. "She's alive?"

"Yeah, I stayed behind after you were shot and promised to take you to her after you woke up and could travel."

It was quiet for a moment; only the sound of the machines in the room clicking and beeping filled his ears.

"When can I go?"

Her question surprised him.

"I have to talk to the doctor here to make sure it's okay for you to travel…" He said warily, he didn't want to take her from here too soon.

"I feel okay…I mean my head hurts a little and aside from the fact that I don't remember anythin' I feel fine…"

Daryl smirked at her; still a little badass.

"You trust me to take you?"

She did pause at this, looking at him with those big beautiful eyes. She was studying him so intently he became uncomfortable, as if she was willing herself to know exactly who he was.

"I feel like I should…so yes."

Daryl didn't say anything to this; he sat back in the chair and crossed his arms.

"So tell me something interesting we did before…"

"What do you mean?" Daryl asked her warily.

"I'm just curious, what happened with the sick people and what all happened and how we met…" She started talking fast and Daryl felt his heart contract. He didn't want to tell her all of the horrible things that had happened.

He almost felt like this was a blessing. Sweet innocent Beth was no long haunted by all the gruesome details of their lives.

She stared at him patiently and he inhaled and exhaled slowly.

"Well the sick people are actually dead…" Daryl explained, wondering why the doctor hadn't told her all of this. "They die either by being bitten or die from being killed or even a natural death and they come back but they're still dead."

"So they aren't who they were before?"

"No they're gone, they're just walkers; that's what we call them anyway," Daryl responded. He was picking at a loose strand of thread on his scrub pants; he couldn't wait to get rid of them. "They eat people."

"Like cannibals?"

"Dead cannibals…" Daryl mumbled, he would not tell her about terminus. That could be something everyone could leave out. She didn't need to know.

"Daryl?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you get the doctor for me?" Beth was twisting the sheets between her fingers. "I want to ask him some more questions."

"Sure," Daryl stood up from his chair and before he could stop himself he reached down and took her hand. She stared at the connection, her cheeks slightly pink, but she did not pull away.

She turned her sky eyes toward him and gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

"I'd like you to stay in the room while I talk to the doctor…" She mumbled. He nodded and gentle released her hand before walking towards the door.

As he stepped out of the room he let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding.

Dr. Edwards was standing down the hall, scribbling in a chart, and looking concerned. Daryl made his way toward him and the doctor looked up with an apprehensive look on his face.

"I need to know when I can take her." Daryl spoke plainly and to the point.

"Well she did just have a severe head wound Mr. Dixon, its going to take quite a bit of resources to get her safely to her sister…

"I'm sure we could work something out." Daryl's voice was calm but a threat lingered between them. Dr. Edwards swallowed before taking a deep breath.

"I can't just let her go Daryl."

"She's sitting up, she's talking, she just has memory loss…" Daryl argued back, "I can take care of her."

Dr. Edwards looked at him over the top of his glasses. "I have no doubt in my mind that the young lady is worth more to you than your own life and you'd do anything to protect her…but…"

Daryl shook his head and turned around before making his way to the rest room.

Alice was standing off to the side eyeballing him. He wasn't in the mood for her sass and went to twist the handle to the bathroom door.

She calmly placed her hand on top of his and leaned in and whispered, "I can help you get her out of here, with supplies and everything."

"Why should I trust you?" Daryl asked quietly.

"Because you need to get her away from here, none of these people know how to act as a family and anyone's life is threatened if you don't follow the rules."

Daryl eyed her suspiciously, but what other options did he have? Kill Dr. Edwards? Sure the guy was an asshole but he did save Beth to the best of his abilities.

He could threaten him but then Daryl would have a bunch of ex-cops on his back.

"Meet me at the supply closet on the fourth floor." Alice whispered, "It's the last door to your left once you get to the bottom of the stairs."

Then without a word Alice turned around and walked away swiftly. Daryl watched her go, feeling uneasy and unsure.

He'd just have to trust her, for Beth.

Once he returned to Beth's room he saw Dr. Edwards leaning over her. He touched certain parts of her abdomen and asked if she felt pain. Beth answered no to all the questions.

Dr. Edwards then produce a syringe full of clear liquid and explained to Beth it was for pain before pressing the needle into her arm.

Daryl watched as she winced and fought the urge to go to her and hold her hand. She was a tough girl and he didn't want her to feel like he thought differently.

Dr. Edwards turned and saw Daryl. He gave him a dark look before walking past him, making sure to give him a wide berth.

Beth was looking out of the window, the window caught her golden locks in just the right way that if Daryl hadn't known better he'd think she was an angel; if he believed in angels.

"Hey Beth," He approached her cautiously and she turned to him and smiled as if she'd known him for years.

Which she had…she just didn't remember.

"I talked to Dr. Edwards and he said I could get out of here soon," She grinned brightly and Daryl tried to keep a straight face. He knew damn well the doctor was lying to her but he wouldn't ruin that perfect smile.

He walked over and sat in the chair beside her bed and rested his elbows on the mattress.

"How are you feeling?"

"A little sleepy actually…" Beth let out a tiny yawn that melted Daryl's cold heart. Something about this girl ruined him that day in the funeral home. The way she had looked at him with those innocent blue eyes.

He felt something crumble inside him then; the wall he worked so hard to build while he was roaming the wilderness with Merle had finally cracked and she broke through.

Out of everyone in the group, she was the one who punched through.

"Why don't you get some rest then?" He asked pulling the blanket a little further up and tucking it in. She smiled gratefully.

"Will you stay?"

"Until you fall asleep"

"Okay, thank you Daryl…" She whispered his name and he felt a funny tingling in his stomach. She drifted away her face turned toward him still, a few stray curls resting against her cheek. He looked out the window and the sun was setting, making the sky a beautiful pink that reflected off of Beth's soft skin.

When her breathing became slow and even he stood up and paused briefly before leaning down and kissed her forehead, right below the bandages.

"I'll be back," He whispered even though he knew she wouldn't hear him. He tiptoed quietly to the door and slipped out down the hall toward the stairs; it was time to meet up with Alice.

"What took you so long?" Alice whirled around as he approached. He gave her a stern look and crossed his arms defensively.

"I had to make sure Beth was all right, the doc knocked her out with some drugs."

"Yeah he's going to try to knock you out too but I'm going to replace your medicine with saline water. He won't know the difference."

Daryl had to admit Alice was pretty clever. She put a finger to her lips and looked around before pulling out a set of keys. She opened the door as quietly as possible and motioned for him to follow.

"This is where we keep everything we scavenge…" She explained while Daryl took a look around the shelves.

Every shelf was packed with supplies; bandages, pain killers, antibiotics, blankets, clothing, even toys.

Daryl let out a low whistle when he saw the food shelf, stacked high with canned goods and boxes labeled "deer jerky".

Alice saw him eye balling the box and smile, "We got lucky with that one, found a delivery truck turned right over, that stuff lasts forever."

"You certainly have it made here…"

"It isn't honestly that bad, the others just fight a lot and don't take too kindly to outsiders…" Alice sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "You did us a favor with Dawn, she was the worst of the bunch aside from her cronies."

"Cronies?"

"What? Haven't you ever heard that term before?"

"Yeah, in cartoon movies," Daryl chuckled a little

Alice rolled her eyes before grabbing two rucksacks from a shelf near the back.

"What do you think you'll need?"

"Whatever you want to give me, I don't want to be taking your supplies and leave you with nothin'"

"Trust me, we have more than enough and we have runners who bring supplies daily, we don't want for anything here."

"Must be nice," Daryl remarked taking one of the bags from her.

"It is actually, I hope you and your family can find a good place like this one day." Alice walked over to the medical shelf and pulled bandages, antiseptic, two bottles of antibiotics and two bottles of pain killers. She placed them neatly into the sack and continued to the next shelf which consisted of mostly clothing.

"I'm just going to give you a few things from here, they don't keep an inventory but I'm sure they'll notice the clothing pile going down." She said turning to him.

"Fine with me, I've been wearing the same clothes for months."

"I know they reeked, I tossed them out." She said smirking at his look of fury. "Don't worry I saved the stupid vest, I had a feeling it was important.

Daryl allowed himself a moment to breath and calm his nerves.

He watched as she pulled down a tiny pair of jeans that he assumed were for Beth, along with a sweater, two tank top type shirts and a ratty old pair of shoes with two pairs of socks and a small package of underwear that made Daryl's cheeks flame up.

"Go ahead and pick out some for you, men's clothing are on the top shelf, give me that sack and I'll get started on the food."

He switched bags with her and walked over to the shelf. He had no idea why it even mattered to have more than one set of clothes but it wouldn't hurt to have something to change into just to feel human again.

He sighed and stuffed a blue sweater, two t-shirts, and a pair of worn looking jeans that looked like they might fit him. He didn't bother with shoes since he had some when he came here and planned on getting them back, but he did pack an extra two pairs of socks, just in case.

Alice had returned by this point and held up the other sack, it was slightly heavier than the one Daryl was holding and he peeked inside; canned fruit, chili, several packs of deer jerky, and to his surprise, a bottle of jack daniels whiskey.

"I thought you might need it eventually, after a hard day or something."

"You got any smokes?"

She smiled and held up a pack with a box of matches. "I pegged you for the smoking type but I didn't want to offend if you weren't."

He took them and placed them in the pack and slung it over his shoulder.

"Now what?"

"No we wait until everyone is asleep and I'll sneak you and Miss Greene down to the bottom floor, I know a way out that is safe." Alice replied checking the hall before having him follow her.

"Give these to me and I'll bring this with the rest of your things down and hide them somewhere safe, I'll be in to wake you when the time is right."

"Why are you doing all of this?"

"I don't know, I guess I just feel like doing the right thing for once." Alice took the bags from his hands and motioned toward the stairs, "Go on up, Dr. Edwards will be wanting to give you the shot soon; like I said, I switched it with saline water."

"Thanks Alice, I'd say I owe you one but I'll probably never see you again…"

"You never know, maybe someday the world will be right again."

He envied her optimism and gave her a halfhearted smile before ascending the stairs back to Beth's room.

Daryl entered Beth's room as quietly as possible and her eyes were still closed, breathing evenly and making mumbling noises under her breath.

He sat beside her on the bed and took her hand, rubbing tiny circles on her palm with the pad of his thumb.

Just then a knock came and Dr. Edwards entered the room carrying a needle.

"Ah still out I see," He remarked smiling, "I'm glad she was able to get some rest."

"Me too" Daryl kept his tone even while eyeing the needle in Dr. Edward's hand.

"So I thought since you haven't had much sleep I'd give you a little something to help you relax, you can of course stay in this room in the bed next to Beth's." He motioned to the empty hospital bed. Daryl took an even breath and let it out slowly before getting up and throwing himself down onto the uncomfortable mattress.

"There's a good man," Dr. Edwards grinned cheerfully and began to rub an alcohol pad on Daryl's arm. It took all the strength he had not to punch the man right in the face.

He felt the sting of the needle and silently hoped Alice had enough time to switch the syringes without Dr. Jackass finding out.

"All done, now Alice will be in to check on you two around midnight so get some rest Mr. Dixon."

"Will do, doc." Daryl growled under his breath before leaning back against the pillows. He waited and felt nothing, Beth's had been instant so he knew he was in the clear.

As he stared at the ceiling he began to feel the natural exhaustion of the past two days creeping up on him. He thought of anything and everything to keep himself awake and alert.

It felt like hours had gone by and the only sound in the room was Beth's soft breathing and the occasional rustle of sheets as she tossed and turned.

Just as Daryl was ready to give in to the exhaustion the door creaked open and a slant of light fell across him; in the doorway stood Alice smiling brightly and looking excited.

"Sorry I took so long, Dr. Edwards insisted on working late so I had to drug his tea, but the coast is clear." She stepped into the room towards Beth holding a blanket in her arms.

"Come on and help me," She commanded lifting Beth's arm gingerly. Daryl sprung up from the bed and helped Alice pull Beth into a sitting position.

"She's really knocked out, that asshole." Alice gently removed Beth's IV and placed a small bandage over it. "She'll be okay though; she's a tough little thing."

Daryl said nothing to this; he already knew it was true. Alice held open the blanket and Daryl gently scooped up Beth and Alice helped him wrap her up so she wouldn't get cold.

"All right," Alice said peeking out into the hall, "let's get you out of here."

Okay so tell me what you think! I've got tons of notes I've been working on while on bed rest so I'm really excited for this story to blossom. I have so many ideas I can't contain them all. Thanks to everyone on Tumblr who messaged me and wished me good health. It meant a lot. I love you all my fellow Bethylers. If you don't already follow me on Tumblr the link is in my profile. Much love and I'll try to update soon!

Oh and in case you are wondering, yes all of my titles are titles of songs. So as a disclaimer I do not own or claim any rights to the song titles. I will also add a play list of music I listen to while writing Bethyl fics. This chapter's song was "Not about Angels" by Birdy.