Daryl watched silently from his position leaned against the entrance to the barn. He watched as the blonde girl pushed and moved the mounds of molded hay from one section to the next. He was awestruck by how strong she was. Those piles weren't small, and she was masterfully moving them around with little to no struggle. He could tell by the set of her shoulders as she worked that she was also pissed, not to mention she was muttering to herself in a way that he just knew spoke of anger. Suddenly she stopped what she was doing, rounded on him and pinned him with an angry glare. "Did they send you to check up on me? Scared I might get a splinter and die?"

"And if they did?" Daryl knew damn well no one had sent him to check up on her and make sure she was ok, but she didn't need to know that. Maybe all this anger would help her in learning how to train.

"I don't need your help." She moved the big push broom to the side and grabbed a pitchfork to start spreading new hay in the empty stable. "I don't want your help." She growled.

"Do you see me pickin' up a broom?" She stopped and glared at him. "I was wonderin' 'bout somethin'. How well do you know how to hunt?" He watched as he glare morphed to pure interest. "How 'bout takin' down walkers? You know much 'bout that?" She gave a small shake of her head. "You wanna learn?" He saw the gleam in her eye and knew she was hooked.

Beth felt her heart thump in her chest. This stranger was offering to teach her what no one else was going to. She didn't need to think about her answer. She wanted to jump right in, head first, and scream yes.

"Beth, daddy needs you in the house." Both sets of eyes flicked to Maggie coming up on the barn. Beth was rooted to the spot. "He needs some help settin' up some rooms for the rest of the group, and gettin' dinner started." Maggie pinned her with a hard look. "Go on. I'll finish down here." When Beth still refused to move. "Now, Beth. Don't make daddy do it all by himself." With a sigh Beth set the pitchfork down and moved to leave the barn. She bit the inside of her cheek, wanting to tell him that she most definitely wanted to learn, but knew Maggie would have none of it. She stomped her way out of the barn and up to the house, glowering all the way. She'd just have to find a way to tell him she wanted to learn when they were alone.

Daryl watched as pink and yellow walked away (dammit he needed to get better about their names) and Maggie filled his field of vision. She was taller than Beth, and her dark hair painted her a little more fierce than her younger counterpart. The look on her face made him want to laugh. She looked like she was trying to be intimidating, but it was failing miserably. "I need you to leave her alone." When he quirked his eyebrow at her she placed her hands on her hips and continued. "She ain't tough enough to play whatever game you're after." Daryl let out a snort. Maggie thought he was poaching Beth because he was interested in a quick lay. That was laughable. "What?"

"I ain't after your sister." He rumbled out the ludicrous idea, and felt his cheeks darken at the intimacy of the conversation.

"Good. I wont let anything happen to her. She's too precious to get hurt like that. Especially in a world like this." Daryl nodded. He didn't give two shits about her being precious or delicate. The girl needed to learn how to protect herself, but Daryl had a feeling there was going to be no way to ever get her alone to teach her. He'd have to change tactics. Maybe start with the older sister, that way when he was done with her and moved on to help the poor hapless brother she could work with the girl. "So what are you after then?" Her eyes narrowed at him.

"Nothin'. She seemed pissed when she came down here, I just wanted to make sure she didn't do anythin' stupid and get herself hurt." Maggie didn't seem like she was apt to believe him, but what other choice did she have. They stared at each other for a few heartbeats, sizing each other up. He needed to see if she'd be on board for learning how to hunt and better defend herself. "Where'd you learn to take down walkers?" She crossed her arms in front of her.

"Just sort of came natural." Daryl resisted the urge to snort at her. She acted like she was amazing at taking down a walker, and not that he was an expert, but he could definitely see some areas where she needed some help.

"You think you could help clear the area around the farm while they're out on that run?" He scratched the side of his neck quickly. "We don't have to go out far, just enough to keep the herd in the forest away from this place." She thought briefly.

"We can't go tonight." She mumbled quickly. "Daddy will be keepin' an eye on everyone tonight." She looked back up to the farm house. "Tomorrow would be better." He gave her a silent nod. She nodded before jerking her head back to the house. "I need to get back." She gave him a quick smile. "Thanks, for checkin' on her." He gave her a shrug and watched as she turned and made her way back to the house.

Beth yanked another blanket and sheet set out of their linen closet upstairs. Her blood was boiling through her veins. She'd come in from the barn a little spring in her step at the prospect of being taught how to defend herself, and it had immediately been squashed when her dad had dragged her into the kitchen, set her in front of all the fixings for their meal and informed her that she needed to 'stay away from the strangers' until he could figure out if they were safe. She knew Hershel Greene was protective, but she'd never really realized how protective he was until this moment. She knew she was never going to get close enough to anyone to let Daryl know her answer, much less get out anywhere where she could learn anything. It just wasn't fair.

She stomped down the stairs, carrying the bedding with her so she could set up some sleeping areas for their guests before she served the food. She noticed her sister was mysteriously absent and wanted to stomp her foot. Her sister was never under lock and key like she was. Beth sighed as she made her way into the living room and stopped when she saw Rick's wife sitting on their sofa, lost in thought. Beth took a moment to study her. She was strikingly beautiful, with her dark hair and slim features. She was sitting on the couch, a hand fidgeting with her hair and another on the delicate swell of her belly. Beth smiled. "I brought you some more blankets and sheets from upstairs so help make it a bit more comfortable down here." She gently laid the stack of linens on the sofa next to a startled Lori.

"Thank you. That's very kind of you. We've been sleeping in tents on the dirt, so just to be inside is a blessing in itself." Beth nodded.

"I bet that can't be comfortable. I'll go get some more pillows too. My Mama slept with a pillow between her legs the entire time she was pregnant with me, or so I'm told. I guess it helped with her back." She giggled nervously. She watched as Lori paled and turned wide eyes on her.

"Excuse me?"

"I just figured...because you're…" She stared blankly at the woman in front of her. "You are pregnant, aren't you?"

"How did you know?" Lori seemed panicked.

"I don't know. Just a lucky guess?" Beth started. "They don't know, do they?" Beth asked, jerking her head to signal the others in her group. She watched as Lori stood and started pacing, asking her head absently as an answer. "Oh, I didn't know. I won't say anythin'. Promise." Lori stopped and studied her.

"Thank you. I need to tell Rick, but, it just hasn't felt like the right time." Beth nodded.

"I understand. When it's right, you'll know." Beth smiled, "I bet Rick is gonna be so excited to find out he's gonna be a father again." When Lori visibly flinched Beth could have swallowed her tongue. She had no idea what had happened in their group before they'd wound up here, but every time she opened her mouth, she only seemed to make it worse. She needed to just stop talking and keep her head down. "I-I better go finish gettin' dinner ready." She started to back out of the room only to bump blindly into Rick. She blanched as she noticed he pinned her with a hard look when he saw how upset Lori was.

"Everythin' alright in here?"

"Yes, Rick. Everything is fine." Lori's voice floated through the air to soothe his ire. "Thanks for the blankets, Beth was it?"

"Yeah. No problem. If you need anything else, just ask. I'm gonna go finish dinner." And Beth made a hasty exit to escape into the kitchen. She let out a pent up sigh as she stirred the big pot of noodles and sauce. Dinner was ready, she just didn't want to have to walk back out there and face the awkwardness she'd just left. With slow hands she reached up to pull out all the plates they had and readied herself to call in the troupes for dinner. She heard someone make their way into the kitchen behind her and turned to spot Maggie.

"Hey, dinner ready?"

"Yeah." She snipped out, unable to hide the ire she was feeling.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothin'." She let out a breath. It was going to do no good to fight with her sister right now, even if she just wanted to yell at her and remind Maggie that she wasn't a child. Right now, she needed to play hostess, and make sure everyone got fed. She needed to make sure Carl was alright. She needed to play her part, no matter how much she didn't want to. "I'm just tired. It's been a long day." She answered. She saw Maggie nod. "Wanna go gather everyone while I get the plates all dished up?"

"Sure." Maggie leaned over and wrapped Beth in a quick hug. "Thank you, for doin' all this. Mama would have been proud to see you takin' care of everyone." Beth smiled and watched as Maggie left the room. Yeah, Mama would have been proud to see her taking care of everyone, but Beth couldn't help this deep yearning in her gut for something more. She didn't want to just take care of others, she wanted to be able to protect them and herself. She wasn't a child and she wasn't helpless, and she was damn sure going to prove it.

Daryl gripped his knife as he watched Maggie move through the trees, listening. So far she'd proved herself very capable. They'd snuck out just after dawn, like they'd done the past couple days, and worked quietly to continue clearing the surrounding forest area. He watched as she gripped the hilt of the hunting knife he'd given her for the morning and moved towards the distant groaning of a walker. When the walker ambled around a tree, and lunged toward her, he watched as she kicked out one of its legs and it tumbled to the ground.

"Don't forget, don't just slam your hand down. Use your shoulder and upper body to put some muscle behind it." He murmured and resisted the urge to smile as she sunk the borrowed blade down to the hilt in the rotten skull of the flesh eater. "Good."

"Didn't realize you were gradin' me." She said as she yanked the blade free and let the rotting body fall to the ground beneath.

"I'm not." He answered, "But it's always good to know you're doin' somethin' right." He shrugged. "You did that right." He noticed her arm was speckled with rotten brownish red blood. "You're gonna wanna wash that off b'fore we get back to the farm." He motioned to her arm and she grimaced, wiping them against the dark brown of her pants.

"I think we should turn back now. We've cleared quite a bit these past couple days, and I'm gonna be honest. Daddy's gettin' a bit suspicious." He gave her a silent nod.

"You lead the way." He motioned lazily with his hand in the general direction of the farm. She gave him a nod and turned on her heel, listening as he followed. "So, how has your family kept this place goin' for so long?"

"We work together. Shawn usually goes out and takes care of the walkers. I help when he needs me. Daddy takes care of the animals."

"And your sister?"

"Beth? She helps where she can. Mainly she just maintains the house." Daryl watched her closely, completely confused.

"Why?"

"What do you mean, why?" Maggie halted and narrowed her eyes at him. "She can't do much else. She helps with the animals where she can."

"Why doesn't she help with walkers like you and your brother?" They continued walking. "I mean, if anything ever happened to you guys she'd need to know how to take care of herself." Maggie let out a small laugh.

"Beth is very special. Mama always called her the family ray of sunshine. Daddy made sure that sunshine stayed very protected."

"And no one thought maybe in this world she should learn how to protect herself?"

"I took her out a couple times, but she just seemed so much more likely to hurt herself." Maggie shrugged. "As long as the farm is here, she's safe. That's what matters." Daryl felt his gut twist. It seemed no one thought Beth could take care of herself. He'd never seen someone who was so sheltered, and currently he wondered why. She was small in stature and that could be a hinderance, but he didn't think it could really cause that much of a hinderance. They broke the tree line and made their way over the fence into the field separating the forest from the farm. He took a moment to soak in the colors around him. "The others must be back. Daddy's truck is back." Maggie commented, tucking the knife in the back of her pants hem, concealing it under her shirt. They heard shouting and it made their steps quicken.

"No!" They watched as Beth (a blur of blonde and green) raced out the front screen door and bound down the stairs towards the truck. Both of them broke into a sprint. She flung open the passenger door and peered inside, yelling a loud, "No!" They reached the truck just in time to see her slam the door shut. The rest of the group followed out of the house, and Daryl noticed both Glenn and Shane were standing on the porch looking anxious. Hershel darted down the stairs and wrapped Beth in a tight hug as she crumbled to her knees. "No!" She yelled, batting his hands away. Daryl stood in stunned silence as the blonde broke before him. She cried. He'd never seen someone so distraught.

"Beth." Maggie soothed as she approached the crying girl. Her blue eyes darted up, angry, and she flung herself to her feet. Daryl caught himself reaching for her as she tried to pass him, anger making her steps purposeful.

"You did it on purpose!" She yelled, dodging hands as she made her way towards Shane. She was blinded by anger and fully intended to clock him a good one. "You did it on purpose. You were angry that he made a mistake and shot Carl, so you went and tried to get even. Didn't you?" She shrieked. Her arm came up and she let it fly but was surprised to feel a soft hand gripping her wrist. "Let me go Maggie." She cried as Maggie tugged her arm back to her side. "He deserves it! You did it on purpose." She lunged again. "You let him die!"

Daryl's eyes widened as her words started to click. "What happened?" His voice rumbled. She whipped around to stare at him frantic anger still clawing its way through her.

"He killed him!" She cried. "He did it on purpose, and he let him die!" Daryl looked to Shane who stood behind the whole scene, looking unaffected.

"What?"

"Shawn's gone!" She cried again. "And he killed him!"