Chapter 6.1

They only stayed in the house for a few more days. Enough time to gather more supplies and adjust their plans. Beth stayed busy while Daryl mostly stayed outside. He and Rick began to hunt again and they had eaten well in preparation for leaving.

Beth and Daryl had not spoken at all since their short encounter at the gazebo. Their eye contact was rare and very brief. He hardly spoke around her and resembled the Daryl Beth knew from the farm more than the prison. He kept to himself and worked hard at what needed to get done. They all did. Maggie stopped asking Beth about her time at the hospital to Beth's relief. Beth also never spoke about her time with Daryl. She felt that even if Daryl didn't give it much thought that she didn't want to make more of it than it was and didn't want to call attention to him. She knew he didn't like extra attention and felt that to talk about the past was unproductive and quite simply, a waste of time.

Beth had decided after that first night that she would not take up a bed for herself. She slept in the large living room with the others. She noticed that Daryl had done the same. She took some comfort in this knowing that it likely had nothing to do with her. She rested better knowing where he was and figured she wasn't alone in thinking that. The group needed him just as much as she did.

They walked down the path, mostly in pairs. They had been walking for hours just as they had done for the past several days. They were lucky in that they hardly ran into any walkers. At night they slept in a circle with Beth and Judith in the center. Beth didn't want to be protected more than the rest but knew that her job was to take care of Judith and this is how things were going to be for many years to come – that is if they had that kind of time ahead of them.

Beth was always aware of where Daryl was. He was never too far from the group. They still did not speak but they were beginning to communicate without words again. Beth didn't want to think too much into it but Daryl was always near her when she had Judith in her arms. When they sat for meals Daryl would sit near them and when Rick would take Judith from Beth's arms Daryl would remain with her. Beth told herself that he was simply paying attention to Judith and not her but then he was always nearby to hand her a rag, or a bottle. Once she almost dropped her backpack and he was close enough to help it back onto her. He began to linger a little longer when looking at her. Beth try not to notice these things, telling herself that he is just being a good person and that is has nothing to do with her.

On one particular day they were walking along the trail as usual when all of a sudden several men and one woman appeared out of nowhere and drew guns on the group. Rick and the others all drew their weapons too except for Beth who was holding Judith.

"You don't want to do this" Rick told the group. "We outnumber you".

The large bald man near Rick replied "We can lessen those numbers for you".

Everyone stood still as Rick and the man sized each other up.

Judith began to cry just as Beth noticed the woman staring at them. Her face softened as she stared at Judith. Beth held her tight and glanced at Daryl who was keeping one eye on Beth and one eye on the men.

"Did you lose a child?" Beth asked the woman.

Everyone but Rick and the bald man looked at Beth.

"Her name is Judith. She's about 18 months old. She lost her momma when she was born."

The woman took her eyes off of Judith and smiled at Beth.

"Mine was just a little over 6 months when we lost her" the woman said.

"I'm sorry for your loss" Beth replied.

Judith turned her head to look at the woman and Beth held out her arm towards the woman, inviting her to touch Judith's arms.

The woman approached Judith and with tears in her eyes she kissed her forehead and whispered "thank you" to Beth.

"Sam, we need to leave these people alone", the woman said to the bald man.

"Laura, they have supplies and we need them" the man replied.

"Sam, we aren't taking from these people. We can find our own supplies".

The woman starred at the man until he nodded at the rest of his group and they lowered their guns. As they walked away the woman told Beth to take good care of that precious cargo as she glanced at Judith one last time. Slowly the group retreated back into the forest as Rick's group put away their weapons.

Beth gave Judith a quick hug not realizing that the rest of the group was staring at her. Most of them smiled in amazement or just looked shocked. Daryl only stared at her with a look that confused Beth – like he wanted to grab her and shake some sense into her or at least yell at her. He looked frustrated while the others looked grateful. They stared at one another until Rick placed his hand on her shoulder and said that he thinks they are close to their destination.

They had noticed a sign earlier about new home construction in a gated community. It looked small enough to be secure and manageable from the picture – that is of course if it was still standing. They arrived at the housing development just before nightfall. Beth knew right away that it was perfect. It was small but behind a wrought iron fence that could still be closed. There were a few dozen homes but they were in sets of row homes set apart from one another. One set contained four separate homes attached by common walls.

Part of the group explored the inside of the row homes as the others secured the fence and explored the immediate area for vehicles and supplies. Maggie already picked out one home for her and Glenn and told Beth that they would take the 3rd floor bedroom and she could take the 2nd. Rick, Michonne, Carl, and Judith would be next door. The remainder of the group divided into the two other adjoining homes.

Since it was late most of the group turned in early. Beth made her way to the bedroom that her sister designated for her. As she closed the door behind her she realized that she had not been alone like that for quite some time, not since she escaped the hospital. She also realized that this was the first time that she did not know exactly where Daryl was. She did not like not knowing where he was.

Beth tried to sleep but simply could not. She lay in the strange bed staring at the ceiling. The moon was bright and lit up the room which didn't help. She wanted to know where Daryl was and told herself if she just knew which house he was in she would be alright. She finally decided she wasn't going to take it anymore. She was going to at least get some fresh air and if he was out there then she could ask him where he was staying. If he wasn't then maybe whoever was keeping watch would likely know. She hoped it would be Rick or Michonne on watch. She felt less embarrassed asking them about Daryl than anyone else in the group.

Beth opened the door of her room to walk into the hall. She was shocked to find Daryl standing there.

"Hi" she said softly.

"Hi" he replied.

Beth stepped aside to let him in the room and then shut the door behind her.