Beth turned restlessly in her bed, attempting to find any comfortable position despite the stifling summer heat. But it wasn't the weather that had kept her up the previous night. Rather, she had spent most of the night bouncing back and forth on whether to cancel the plans with Daryl that day. Not only was she nervous for Ella to venture outside the gates, but she herself hadn't stepped foot beyond the fence in over five years. This decision was putting both of their lives in danger. It was sending Daryl back into a danger he had just escaped. But, in the end, she knew it was necessary. Daryl was right, they had been lucky to be in the ASZ so long and there was no knowing how long it would remain a sanctuary. At some point Ella had to learn, and it was better to start early than too late.

"Mornin, mama." Beth's door creaked open as Ella shuffled sleepily into the bedroom. They had repeated this morning ritual shortly after sunrise every morning ever since Beth moved out of their shared room and into the small room off of the kitchen. Glenn and Maggie had offered Beth the master bedroom just down the hall from Ella's, but Beth liked close proximity to the exits. Old habits die hard.

"Morning, baby. How'd you sleep?" Beth rubbed her eyes, accepting that her opportunity to catch a few minutes of rest was gone.

"Good... Where'd you go last night? Uncle Glenn put me to bed." Ella asked curiously, climbing into the bed and tucking herself under the top sheet.

"I went…" Beth paused, considering a lie before deciding against it. "I went out to dinner. With Daryl."

Ella sat back up in the bed, tilting her head toward Beth. "My dad?"

"Yup." Beth confirmed.

Ella paused, biting her lip. "You talk about me?"

"A little. He had an idea actually." Beth tried to sound excited, despite her conflicting feelings.

Ella knit her brows together, "What?"

"He wants to go hunting for the community. Bring the meat to Brenda for Sunday dinner."

"Okay? I like Ms. Brenda… and when she makes candy."

Beth laughed, of course that is what Ella would focus on. "Well… he suggested we all go too."

Ella paused for a moment before her eyes suddenly grew wide, "me too?"

"Only if you listen really well. And stay next to me or dad-" Beth stumbled, catching herself, "Daryl at all times. It can be dangerous out there."

"'Cause of the walkers?"

"Yes. And other things."

Fear flashed across Ella's eyes and Beth quickly found herself backtracking, "Yes, it might be scary, but we'll protect you. And it's important you see it."

"Why?"

Beth sighed, "Just incase we ever have to go anywhere else."

"Will we?"

"I don't think so, but maybe... Remember how we keep those backpacks downstairs? One for each of us?" Beth pulled Ella into the crook of her arm and kissed the top of her head reassuringly.

"In case the walkers ever get in and we have to run away?"

"Yup. Well now you'll know where we'd go!"

"But you'll always be with me, right? Even if the walkers get in?" Ella raised her eyes to her mother.

"Of course, sweetie. Always."


Beth felt a rush of relief as she approached the gates and saw Daryl loading his cross bow and a rifle into the back of an open-air jeep.

"No motorcycle?" She called, readjusting the backpack strap over her shoulder. As if on cue, Ella did the same with her pink bag before reaching for Beth's hand.

"Nah. Decided I'd avoid yer whinin." Daryl teased, "Though I still say the bike woulda been a smarter choice."

"You can hear it from miles away! How is that safe?" Beth made a show of groaning as she and Ella reached the car, eliciting a few giggles from the small girl.

"Faster. Easier to move around walkers." Daryl stated seriously before turning to Ella and adding, "and more fun."

Ella attempted to hold back a laugh but a smile spread across her lips. "We can't all fit on a motorcycle!" Ella argued, shaking her head.

"That's the other reason we didn't take it. But also, yer mom's whinin."

Beth rolled her eyes dramatically. She knew Daryl wasn't serious and assumed he had made the decision to use the jeep rather than his bike for the same reason she had, Ella's safety. But if anything was going to help win back a five-year-old's affections, it would be making her laugh.

Daryl opened the door and Ella crawled rapidly over the front seat and into the back, eager to get moving.

"Seatbelt." Daryl reminded her as he loaded a small duffle bag into the trunk before climbing into the driver's seat.

Ella nodded obediently, taking a few tries before buckling her seatbelt successfully.

Beth paused outside of the car, looking at the empty seats next to both Daryl and Ella. She was taken aback by how a decision as simple as choosing who to sit next to could be.

"Get in the back with her." Daryl directed, pointing to Ella. "I don't need no navigator."

"It's like we have a chauffer." Beth said with a smile to her daughter.

Ella wrinkled her nose "What's that?"

"Some poor sap stuck drivin rich people around." Daryl explained as the jeep purred to life.

"What's rich people?"

Daryl could help but chuckle, "Ain't everythin bad about this world I guess."

As they approached the gates, a lump rose in Beth's throat. She looked over to Ella, whose eyes had grown wide and her mouth fell open in awe. However, once the gates were closed behind them, Beth's heart unexpectedly soared. It was only then that she realized how trapped she had felt over the past few years. Yes, she had been safe, but what had she been missing?


"Look!" Ella yelled suddenly, causing Beth to drop the rabbit snare that she was fumbling through remembering how to tie.

Beth heard the moans before she could get her eyes to find the walker, slow and moaning, struggling to stumble his way through the bushes and into the clearing.

"You want it or me?" Daryl offered calmly, though Beth could see his fingers tapping eagerly on an arrow.

"Just shoot it Daryl, it's been a while." Beth admitted. She looked over to Ella and watched as the color quickly drained from the little girl's cheeks.

Without another word, Daryl rose to his full height and quickly shot the walker between the eyes. He took a moment to survey around him for any other dangers before moving over to retrieve his arrow.

"Now the thing about walkers is, kid, ya gotta shoot em right between the eyes."

"You hit the brain stem." She added, the technical term sounding foreign on her young lips, "we learned that in school last week." She paused, watching as Daryl wiped the arrow off with a large leaf before placing it back on his bow. "Does it hurt them?" She questioned quietly, taking a hesitant step toward the now lifeless corpse.

"Nah. They're not people anymore. They don't get have feelings and they don't think about much other than gettin to bite something alive."

"Will I get to shoot one one day?" Color had returned to Ella's cheeks and Beth knew the girl was doing everything she could to stay still, despite the adrenaline running through her veins.

Daryl looked to Beth before returning his attention to Ella, "We kill them to keep everyone safe. Not because it's fun. You'll probably shoot one one day. But it'll be 'cause you have to. We don't go lookin to shoot them for no reason."

"Just like the animals." Beth added, picking back up the rabbit snare.

Beth focused on her hands for a moment, finding herself transported back to years ago, when Daryl first taught her to tie this knot. It was during that lesson that she asked him to teach her to track and hunt, to teach her to survive.

"Look at this!" Ella called suddenly, recapturing the attention of both of her parents.

"What is it?" Daryl inquired, his eyes darting around the clearing suspiciously.

"This tree! It has green stuff on it!" Ella slowly approached the tall oak, holding her hand out hesitantly toward it.

"That's moss." Daryl explained, his voice confused over the girl's wonder.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Ella asked, stressing the syllables of each word.

Daryl chucked, a smile spreading across his face as he dropped the trap he was tying and walked over the Ella.

"Ya know, moss on a tree could help you find home."

"Really?" Ella's eye lit up as she looked over to her father.

"Yep. Moss grows mostly on the north side of the tree, like this one." Daryl paused until Ella nodded her head affirmatively. "And north is the direction yer house is in."

"So… when we go home… we gotta go that way?" Ella raised her finger, pointing in the general direction of the safe zone.

"Yeah." Daryl couldn't hide his pride, a wide smile spreading across his face.

Suddenly, Beth saw his attention shift. He raised his bow silently and signaled for Ella to stay quiet. Though Beth did not know what they heard, the smile on her daughter's face told her it wasn't a walker.

"Beth, you wanna take this?" Daryl whispered, looking back at her then pointing into the trees, where Beth could finally make out the shape of a deer.

"I shoul-" Beth started to refuse but Daryl just shook his head, holding the bow out to her.

"Time ta get back in the game." He whispered reassuringly.

Beth didn't bother to argue, the look in Daryl's eyes told her it was useless. And the smile on Ella's lips, at the prospect of seeing her mother do something so "out of character," was a look hard to ignore.

"Take yer time" Daryl breathed into her ear as she took hold of the bow. "Aim for the boiler room. Heart and lungs."

Beth nodded. Her hands were shaking slightly, but she knew she could do this. Daryl had been her teacher. And back when they were sneaking around, crossbow lessons were the best excuse for spending time alone together in the woods.

Beth took one look at Ella, glad the girl had spent so much time with Maggie and Glenn on the farm. Though she loved animals, Ella was fully aware that they were a valuable resource for food.

Beth exhaled once before taking the shot, just as Daryl had taught her to. Just like old times, once the arrow met its target, Daryl rushed over to where the deer dropped, taking out his knife to make sure the job was finished.

"Brenda's gonna be a happy lady." Beth said, exhaling loudly in relief. Some days in the safe zone she had wondered if she would still be able to survive in the woods. She had worried she had lost the skills she had works so hard to build up.

"Imma go grab supplies to dress it here." Daryl decided, standing back up. "That way we can fit it into the trunk, rather than givin Ella a seatmate in the back."

Ella paused, processing the joke before letting out a loud "ewwwwww."

Daryl shot Beth a supportive smile before grabbing his crossbow and heading back to the jeep, parked just in sight along the dirt road.

"You havin fun, baby?" Beth asked quietly, turning to Ella.

"Yeah. Daryl is really smart. And it's pretty out here."

Beth smiled, despite her heart dropping at Ella continuing to use the name Daryl rather than dad. But at least, throughout the day, she seemed to be warming up more and more to her father. "He is, isn't he?"

"Beth." Daryl called suddenly, his voice low. She looked up to see him standing tensely, just a few feet from the truck, gripping his crossbow in both hands.

Beth started to call back but froze when she read his grim expression.

"It's time to get back in the car." He called again through gritted teeth.

"What about your deer?" Ella questioned, clearly oblivious to the change in mood around her.

"We'll get it later, sweetie. We need to go back to the jeep. Quickly, now."

Beth rushed back to the jeep, glancing down the road to see the figures of what had to be over one hundred walkers, stumbling toward them from the north.

"They musta heard the gunshot…" Daryl groaned, picking up Ella and plopping her into the back seat.

Beth didn't bother replying, there was nothing to say. They just had to move.

She climbed into the front seat as Daryl stepped into the driver's and started the engine.

"Gonna have to find our way round 'em." He muttered, hitting the gas and heading down the single lane road.

Beth heard the engine roar as Daryl tried to maneuver around the three walkers in the road ahead of them.

"Stay seated Ella!" She yelled over the engine, pulling her handgun from the holster on her thigh. The metal was heavy yet strangely familiar in her hands and sent a wave of reassurance up her arm.

Suddenly, Beth felt the car jerk to the right as Daryl swerved around another walker and the three tires suddenly caught in deep mud, sending a desperate whine through the air as they tried to find traction and the jeep began to sink into the saturated ground. Daryl looked at Beth apologetically and she knew what he was going to say.

"Try again!" Beth ordered as she heard Daryl lay off the gas, allowing the moaning of the walkers on the road to sound louder.

"We ain't movin, we gotta go on foot!"

"Try again!" She repeated, glancing back at the walkers they had just clipped moving closer, their mouths open in desperate cries. The rest of the herd could be heard approaching down the curved road, even though the trees obscured them for the time being.

Beth heard Daryl hit the gas again, but there was no movement aside from mud being kicked further out behind them.

"Damn it, Daryl!" She yelled before looking back to see Ella's eyes fill with tears.

"Mama… Daddy…." Ella called, turning to look behind her.

Beth took a deep breath, it had never been more important in her life not to panic.

Suddenly Daryl spoke up, his voice calm but stern. "Ella, don't look back there. We're gonna have to run now, can you do that? Just follow me and yer mom."

Ella didn't reply but she did turn back to face her parents, grabbing the seat beneath her so firmly her knuckles turned white.

"Ella?" Beth prompted, reaching into the back and unbuckling the seatbelt from her daughter's lap.

"Yeah…" Ella replied, still staring straight ahead.

Within seconds Daryl was out the car door, raising his crossbow and taking out the three closest walkers. Wordlessly, he threw a duffle bag over his shoulder and passed Beth the rifle from the trunk.

"Ella?" He asked, his voice still composed but his face tense. Again, the girl gave no reply.

Knowing she couldn't waste anymore time, Beth climbed out her door and immediately reached over the side of the jeep, pulling Ella onto her hip. "I'll just carry her."

"Let me." Daryl said, holding out his arm, "We'll be faster. You keep your gun out. We'll head south."

"The safe zone is north…" Beth pointed out, even though she knew the answer.

"So is the herd. We'll find a place to camp out. Make our way back after the herd has passed." Daryl reached out, pulling Ella to him.

Beth heard from moans as the tip of the herd moved around the bend in the road, coming into sight. Daryl immediately pulled Ella's head into his shoulder, shielding her eyes so she could only see Beth next to her.

"Trust me." Daryl pleaded, casting a glance at Ella, who looked to her mother for reassurance under Daryl's hand.

Beth took a deep breath. Here they went again. "Okay, let's go."


A/N- I really enjoyed writing this chapter so please let me know what you think!