"Daryl, it's not your-" Beth cut herself off. She had wanted to insist the past 6 years weren't his fault. She had wanted to insist he didn't know or couldn't get to them. But in reality, she didn't know why he didn't meet the group in the ASZ. For years, she had held the belief that Daryl wasn't with her and Ella because he was dead, that there wasn't even a possibility they could be a complete family. She had never considered another option because thinking he was out there, alive without her, would have been too painful to consider.

Beth took a deep breath, asking the question burning in her mind before she could second guess herself any more. "Daryl… Where were you?"

Daryl winced. Beth couldn't be sure if it was at the memory itself or at having to tell the truth. He took a moment before replying, squeezing his eyes shut as he put together his thoughts. He still looked like himself, but Beth could clearly see the effect of the difficult past few years: his hair was a little more unkempt, there were sprinkles of grey throughout his ever present stubble and Beth could see the creases radiating from the corners of his eyes.

"Wandered. I just.. I wandered." Daryl answered tentatively.

Beth didn't push for more. She knew it would come on its own, she just had to wait. And after a moment, Daryl took another deep breath.

"After our… after our argument." Daryl started off slowly, digging one hand into his pocket, "After I was an ass, I went out to hunt. I wanted to calm down, do something productive, make sure I didn't lose you just because I couldn't keep my shit together." Daryl used his free hand to move his hair from his eyes and Beth suddenly felt a need to grab a pair of scissors and fix it for him, as if that haircut could help to bring their relationship, or whatever was left between them, back to normal.

"I went further than I should have. I know it now. I guess I just wanted to be far enough that Rick or someone wouldn't come after me. If one of them showed up... if they had shown up I wouldn't have been able to hold it together. They didn't know-" Daryl cut himself off, looking inquisitively at Beth.

She easily predicated his question and nodded affirmatively, "Yes, they know Ella is yours. I had to tell them… I… Well I didn't quite hold it together as much as I should have those first few days… We waited for you but we kept finding bodies of the others… Walkers kept showing up… Rick finally made the call to move on…"

Daryl nodded and Beth knew he didn't blame Rick. Rick did what he could to keep everyone safe, Rick did what he could to keep Beth and Ella safe when Beth couldn't focus on herself.

Daryl continued, "I heard the herd, could hear screaming and shots in the distance. I was dumb, fuckin' dumb. Lost my footing trying to make it back and hit my head. Hard. Honestly, I don't know how long it was. I kept wandering, knowing I needed to do something but unable to place what it was. I found an old campsite and… well I guess I slept it off. By the time I made the connections, and got back to camp… it was a blood bath."

Beth grew concerned as Daryl closed his eyes, turning his face toward the ceiling. The veins on his neck strained and she kept waiting for him to take a breath.

"I looked for you." His words were labored, "I turned every corpse over, cut open every walker. I screamed your name. I screamed everyone's names. But… then I found you. Well, clearly not you… but they had your coat… I thought it was your hair… It was my nightmare coming true. I lost it, I fuckin' lost it." Daryl trailed off at the end of the sentence and Beth knew he probably hadn't admitted this failure before.

"Emma…" Beth gasped, remembering the petite teenage girl that was traveling with them to the safe zone. Rick had met up with Emma's larger group and combined forces. That group had food, ammo, a medical kit, all supplies Rick's group had been running out of. There was a clear divide in loyalty, but Beth did her best to keep everyone civil, constantly trying to make peace. "Emma was freezing. She was so underweight, she never did eat enough. I gave her my green coat… I guess I planned to take yours when you got back…"

"If I had known Beth.." Daryl's voice was rough and she knew he was berating himself internally, "I swear if I had known… I would have come here… I would have done anything… just to get to apologize."

Beth had almost forgotten about their fight that night. She had wanted to tell their group about the romance, she was tired of pretending she didn't want to be around him, be touching him every moment. But Daryl wasn't ready, he was barely comfortable sharing his emotions with her, let alone with two groups of survivors watching their every move. After the attack, Beth was convinced Daryl would have found her if he was alive, and once she assumed he was dead, she forgot the fight and focused on all the things she had grown to love in him. Clearly, he had done the opposite, focusing on all the things he had done wrong.

"I know." Beth assured him, reaching to his free hand and allowing herself a moment to just appreciate that she could touch him again.

"I was so sure you were gone. So sure I failed you…" Daryl took a deep breath. Beth suspected he hadn't opened up like this in years, and the sharing would take getting used to again. "I was so sure I failed you… I just couldn't take the guilt of making it to the safe zone without you. I thought I didn't deserve it."

"So what'd you do?" Beth questioned, rubbing his calloused hand with her thumb. God, she had missed those hands.

"Wandered. It was… it was the easiest option. I knew how to move. I knew how to be unattached. Hell, I was good at that. I stayed with some groups, even pointed them toward here, but I always left. Once I knew they were safer, had some provisions, I always left."

Daryl was now looking down at her, overwhelming pain filling his eyes. As he started to open his mouth to continue his story, Beth cut him off doing her best to add positivity to her voice, "You know what? We'll have time to talk about this later. About now I bet there's a house full of people really excited to see you."

Daryl breathed a sigh of relief, pulling his other hand out of his pocket and pulling Beth into a silent hug, wordlessly thanking her for allowing him to save some face.

"Who's there?" He asked, hiding the pain of his memories with a smile. Beth couldn't help but notice that he chose to ask who was there, not who didn't make it.

"Rick, Carl and Judith, Michonne." Beth stopped, smiling, "I think somethin's goin on there, but they haven't said anything yet. Glenn and Maggie also made it, Ella and I live with them. We have a nice house for the four of us. Kerry, Lucas, and Andy from the other group. Sasha had made it here with us too, but she got sick a few years ago, we think cancer."

Though it had been hard to lose Sasha, there had been something refreshing about experiencing a death untouched by walkers. Sasha had gone peacefully, surrounded by people who loved her. There had been a funeral, casket, flowers, a dinner. The only change in the old world's procedures was to make sure the dead's brain was taken care of, to avoid reanimation.

Daryl didn't react much, but Beth knew there was relief at finding out more of his adopted family were alive.

They walked quietly at first toward the residential part of town, but Beth quickly decided she couldn't take wasting any more time with Daryl. Fearlessly, she grabbed his hand, and though he didn't verbally respond, his fingers immediately curled around hers.

"I work with the doctor now." Beth began, picking up their awkward conversation from earlier, "At first, it was hard. Reminded me too much of my dad. Of the hospital. But I'm good at it. I like working with patients. We can't do everything, but we can do a lot."

A proud smile flashed across Daryl's face before he realized people on the street could see him and the smile immediately disappeared. However, a rush of victory went through Beth as she realized his hand tied more tightly around hers.

"I ain't gonna meet some husband, am I?" Daryl tried to cover any nerves by dripping his voice in cynicism, but Beth could tell that question had been weighing on his mind.

"No. No husband. I tried dating a few times." Beth admitted, pausing to see a reaction, but she could only see Daryl's lips draw into a straight line and decided not to go into more detail. "But surprisingly we're short on redneck archers with a tough exterior. And apparently that's my type."

Daryl just nodded, keeping his thoughts to himself. Even though Beth knew no one was listening, Daryl always kept his "weak" emotions subdued when in public.

"I have anythin' to worry about?" Beth ventured the question. She knew it was bold to imply they would pick up where they left off. So much had changed. Heck, with Ella, it was like a 3rd person would always be in the relationship so nothing could be like it was. And Beth was okay with that, Ella getting to know her father was Beth's top priority. But Beth had to know if there was anyone else, she had to ask.

"Got my bike back." Daryl answered off topic. Beth couldn't be sure if he was purposefully avoiding the question, or just sharing news he was excited about. That bike was almost a family member to him.

"At… at the prison?" Beth took a deep breath. Though the prison shared many positive memories, she never wanted to go back, not after her father, not after the attack.

'Yeah. It was dumb, I know. But I needed my bike back. Merle would be pissed if I left it behind. Damn, he loved that stupid thing."

Beth smiled, looking to Daryl as they turned onto her street, her two story grey house at the end of the block and the makeshift playground just out of sight behind it. "Merle was always pissed." Beth replied. Though she had never met Daryl's brother, a fact Daryl often claimed he was happy about, she knew enough about him, including how much he was missed by the man he helped raise.

As they stopped in the front yard, staring at the closed maroon door, Beth took a moment to pause, looking over at Daryl. "I bet the guards took your bike to the garage. They won't want it used near the fences since a lot of people here get freaked out that we'll attract walkers. But I bet we can get it back." She smiled, "And no, before you ask, there is no way Ella is going for a ride."

A/N- Sorry for all the dialogue, guys! Just wanted to get you some more background before we get onto some of the other important reunions! Hope you enjoyed!