"Daddy, I'm seein' colors." She watched as he went pale. "I'm seein' colors but I don't know who triggered it." Hershel sat quietly, but Beth could tell his mind was whirling. "What if...what if it's Shane?" She grimaced.

"Do you like him?" Hershel asked thoughtfully.

"No." She growled. "He makes me feel sick and cold inside." She looked down at her lap. "He makes me feel like I'm boiling alive and all I want to do is hit him and make him hurt."

"Then it ain't him." Hershel said and Beth breathed a sigh of relief.

"Really?"

"When I met your Mama and all my colors started up, all I could think about was spending time with her. I wanted to be in her presence." He smiled fondly at the memory. "It wouldn't do for you to want to fight your soul mate all the time." He gave a decisive nod and a small smile before looking at her sadly.

"Daddy, why're you lookin' at me like you're never gonna see me again?"

"'Cause you're just getting so big. I look at you and I see my little girl with the golden hair and skinned up knees that used to hide under the covers when the thunder and lightning came." He shook his head. "Somewhere along the lines you went and grew up on me when I wasn't watching. And look at you now. Nearly full grown with a soul mate. Makes my heart ache somethin' fierce." She smiled up at him and wrapped him in a big hug.

"I'll always be your little girl Daddy." She breathed as he hugged her tightly. "And I'm gonna need you now more'n ever. You gotta help me figure out who it is." Hershel pulled back and smiled at her.

"Of course I will Bethy, I'm gonna have to know this boy too since he's goin' to be part of the family. You got any ideas of who it ain't?" She shrugged, putting her hands in her lap.

"Well, I know it ain't the kid."

"Carl."

"Yeah. It ain't Carl. Or Glenn." Hershel looked confused. "The one about Maggie's age. He's the Asian one." She sighed. "Honestly, it happened when we all rushed to help Carl in the forest, so it could be his daddy, Rick, Shane, or that other guy, Daryl." She looked up at him.

"Well, we know it ain't Shane." She gave a nod. "So, it's between Rick or Shane." She nodded again and looked up at her dad, her face frozen in horror.

"Daddy, if it's Rick, I can't do nothin' about it. He's married to Lori, and -" she bit her lip before confiding in him, "she told me not to tell anyone, but she's pregnant." Her features sagged in sadness. "I wouldn't wanna do anything to mess that up." Hershel pursed his lips.

"That's a brave thing for you to do, Bethy. Not many would make that sacrifice." He patted her shoulder. "I'll be praying that it's not him, but it very well could be. You gotta watch him, and get to know him. See if he says anything." She nodded. She felt miserable. She prayed it wasn't Rick either. She couldn't watch her soul mate carry on and love someone else while she stood by silently, but she also couldn't break up a family because she wanted to be selfish. She'd have to just see.

Beth walked quietly down towards the barn. She heaved a relieved sigh as she entered, leaving the door open behind her, and made her way to her horse's stall. Gently she patted her horse before moving to start sweeping the musty hay from the bottom of the stall. While she loved taking care of Carl and making sure he was alright, playing a nurse or nanny to the kid was starting to become tiring. She wanted to go back to the way things were. Where she took care of the horses, and helped with chores. On the plus side she'd managed to spend a good amount of time talking and getting to know both Rick and Lori.

They were both great people, and Beth could see the love between them, even if there was some strain. It made her insides ache a little, to watch them interact, but she found herself wondering why it wasn't a more powerful feeling considering he was most likely her soulmate. She didn't find herself wanting to spend more time with him. She didn't find herself getting jealous when Lori and Rick were together. She found herself enjoying watching them together, watching them love and care for Carl. She found herself enjoying learning little things about them, and hurting for Lori at the unease she had about her, still unannounced, pregnancy.

It wasn't just Rick she was taking time to get to know, actually. She'd stayed up quite late in the evenings chatting with Lori. It seemed the older woman needed someone to talk to. She'd shared about Rick being shot, and being told he was dead, and trying to find safety with Shane. She shared about how she'd gotten lonely, and he had just simply been there, and how she hated herself for it every time. She shared about how her stomach had dropped down to her knees when she'd laid eyes on Rick again, and then how she'd fought the urge to vomit the second she realized she was, in fact, pregnant, but didn't know whose it was. Beth hadn't been able to provide much help, but had given her what she could, a shoulder to cry on and a friendly ear to listen.

Beth connected with Lori. She felt kind of like the mother Beth so desperately missed, and the friend Beth so desperately wanted. She enjoyed her company and felt at ease around her. Lori obviously felt comfortable to share with Beth over the past few weeks and it was nice to feel like she wasn't alone.

Beth heard the door to the barn swing shut and close with a loud clatter. She wiped her brow before calling out. "Maggie, is that you?" She frowned when she got no response. "Lori?" the hairs on the back of her neck stood up and Beth set the broom down. She turned to the stall door and froze when she spied Shane standing there, dark eyes trained on her. She swallowed thickly. "Sh-shane? What are you doin' here?" She stammered, wishing with all her might that she'd locked the door to the barn. He stalked towards her and she felt herself stumble backward until her back pressed against the wooden wall. She tried with all her might to hold on to her righteous fury, but felt it all turn into a cold lump of fear in her tummy. Shane stalked ever closer, invading her space until she could no longer smell the moldy hay, just him. She trembled.

"You got some nerve, girl." He seethed at her, bending down to place his face in hers. "Thinkin' you can lay hands on me and get away with it." She watched as his hand came up to grip her chin in a bruising grasp. "You ain't the brightest bunch out here, but you...now you take the cake. Can't leave well enough alone." She reached up to try to pry his hand from her face, but let out a quiet cry as his free hand wrapped itself in her long hair, yanking back until she could do nothing but look up at the roof of the barn. She whimpered as her hands came up to his wrist to try to tug herself free.

"Anything happens to me, and everyone is gonna look at you. It ain't a secret you've been stalking and glaring at me since you killed my brother." Shane smirked at the quiver in her voice. "Let me go and I'll make sure they let you off easy." She tried and felt her insides shrink when he let out a dark snicker.

"You think you have any kind of pull with these people. These are my people. I've seen them through hell, and I see them through this. They'll take my side every time. Hell, look at how quick they were to believe that your stupid brother was so willing to make the ultimate sacrifice." He snickered again. "None of them would believe that I did anything to that stupid idiot. They're like sheep, willing to follow the strongest leader."

"Rick is the leader of your group, and you know it, you sorry excuse of a human being." She grit out through her teeth before letting out a shocked cry when he viciously yanked at her hair.

"Rick ain't nothing to my group. I saw to them in hard times when he was still laid up in a bed."

"Oh I heard all about that." Beth seethed, proud of herself for the anger that mounted in her and gave her the courage to challenge him. "About how you left him in that hospital for dead. How you told Lori you'd watched him die, and then turned around and took her to bed. I heard all about how when he came back you damn near lost your mind with jealousy, and how it's been nothing but hell on Lori trying to keep away from you because you don't take no for an answer." She glared at him. The sneer that came to his face made her heart slam to a stop in her chest. He wouldn't…

"Well, since I don't take no for an answer," her hands came forward to try to push him away from her.

"No…" she whimpered as his face neared her. "No!" she yelled as she fought in earnest to get free.

Daryl watched as Beth flitted around the house like a girl on a mission. Carl had woken up a few days ago and she was put in charge of making sure he was tended and cared for. Honestly, it had probably been the reason she'd survived the past couple weeks since she'd smacked Shane in the face.

Daryl had noticed, on more than one occasion, Shane glaring daggers in her direction and giving her dark looks that just spoke of evil. One morning, after Daryl had gone out clearing with Maggie, he'd found Shane following Beth down to the barn. When questioned Shane hadn't had a good answer for what he was doing there. Beth had scurried into the barn, shutting and locking the doors behind her, and Shane had turned on his heel and stalked away. He'd canceled his morning sessions with Maggie after that. Maggie had shrugged it off and Daryl would have been hard-pressed to say he was disappointed she didn't put up more of a fuss.

As soon as Carl had woken up Beth had been a flurry of activity in the house, making sure he was fed and watered, that his bandages weren't seeping or in need of changing. She'd also been spending a lot of time around the boy's father, asking him questions, and talking to him. She was awfully interested in Rick, and while Daryl wouldn't say he was jealous, he knew she had no business being so interested in a married man. Daryl thought briefly about talking to her father, but the grey old man didn't seem to mind all the time his youngest daughter dedicated to Rick.

Daryl just sniffed and turned his attention back to the tree-line on the edge of the property. He heard Rick's voice sound in response to something Beth said and he had to grit his teeth. He heard the screen door give a squeal as it closed and saw Rick walk up towards him out of the corner of his eye while Beth moved down the stairs, across the small patch of grass and down the way towards the barn on the edge of the property.

"Daryl." Rick commented in greeting. Daryl grunted. "I know you've been takin' Maggie out clearin', or at least you were. Have you found anything? Any sign of Sophia?"

"Nothin' yet, but seein' as how I'm the only one lookin' it ain't like I'm gonna find something right away." Daryl snarked. "It's a lot of forest to cover."

Rick caught Daryl's eye, a concerned look on his face. "You got something to say, Daryl?"

"Nah, nothin' at all. Just thinkin' maybe, if you weren't too busy playin' footsies with the farmer's daughter you might be out there lookin' for that lost little girl." He stood up, walking into Rick's space. Rick eyed him thoughtfully.

"It ain't like that. There ain't nothing going on 'tween me 'n Beth. She's just takin' care of Carl. She hasn't seen many new people and she's just friendly." Rick gave a shrug. "She spends a good amount of time talkin' to Lori and Carl too." He offered, and Daryl was horrified to note that it took the edge off his angry feelings to hear that maybe she was just friendly. Daryl watched as Rick squinted in the direction of the barn, and Daryl jerked his gaze in that direction, not noticing anything suspicious. "Why don't you go get some supplies and you and I will go out and search for her? Let Carol know we're going to stop by the highway and see if that food has been touched. We'll swing back around the forest and search on our way back here." Daryl gave a nod. "I'll meet you down by the tree line." And with that Rick started down the stairs towards the barn without a backward glance.

Daryl cast a funny glance at the man's back but turned to go grab his things. The urgency in Rick's voice and the abruptness with which he ended the conversation had Daryl on edge. That wasn't like the man, and to watch him march down to the barn with so much purpose told Daryl something was happening at the barn and they needed to get down there and fast.

Beth struggled against Shane's grip. "No!" She yelled again as he yanked viciously at her hair. Before Beth could do anything, Shane was being ripped away from her, dragging her by his grip in her hair. She stared wide eyed as Rick dragged them both out of the barn. He whirled around and slugged Shane in the face.

Beth breathed a sigh of relief as Shane released her hair and watched as he dropped to his knees in the grass outside. Rick grabbed his shirt once more, dragging his face back up to him. "What the hell do you think you're doin'?" He growled before slamming his fist into Shane's jaw. He reared back and hit him again, the resounding crunch of the man's nose making Beth's stomach revolt. She watched as Rick beat Shane down, her fearful eyes frozen to the sight as she barely registered someone else running up.

Her eyes flicked up to stare at Daryl as he lunged for Rick, pulling him off of Shane. "Rick, you gotta stop, man." Daryl rumbled as he pulled Rick away.

"You stay away from her. You stay away from all of 'em." Rick threatened. "I don't care what happened before. I don't care what you did or what she did. You gotta straighten yourself out…"

"Or what?" Shane roared.

"Or I'll end you myself." Rick countered, the hard edge in his voice telling Beth that he was completely serious. Beth's eyes jumped between Rick and Daryl before landing on Shane's face, and she let out a gasp. The red that blossomed on his face from the cut on his nose, accompanied by the purples and blues that were already starting to form under his skin, made Beth pause to marvel at the world of color around her. "Beth," her eyes jerked up to Rick, "I want you to head back up to the house. Daryl and I will take care of him." She gave a nod before scurrying back up to the house. She wanted to protest and keep them from killing him (assuming that was what was going to happen.) She wanted to ask them to just leave him be. But the bigger part of her, the part that had kept her mercifully silent, feared that if he was left to his own devices he'd finish what was just interrupted and Beth knew she didn't want that.

She turned to look over her shoulder, catching one last glimpse of the three men before darting into the house. She reached her room before she gave herself a moment to analyse what had just happened. Her mind floated back to Rick and the fierce protectiveness in his eyes that you'd caught when he'd ripped Shane away. It made her tummy flutter and her heart beat rapidly in her chest. She gave herself a small secretive smile before letting out a breath. She liked Rick. He made her feel safe and protected and that was so important in this world. He was with Lori, and Beth knew that, and she knew she'd never do anything to get between them. She could wait. She was patient. With a decisive nod she straightened her hair. Rick must be her soul mate, and even if it took her whole life, she'd wait. She'd wait until he realized she was his.