Authors notes

Two chapters in one night?! Hope you all like it

Daryl's mouth felt as though it had filled with sand as panic began to set it, he swung around – staring hard at the motionless foliage around him, searching for any indication of Beth's whereabouts. His hands shook as he pulled his crossbow down into his arms, clutching at the weapon he crept forward to examine where her tracks stopped dead, crouching down he poked at the scuffle marks with a small twig, a glint caught his eye and turning he saw Beth's small knife lying a few feet away from where he was, nearly falling over in his haste to reach the item he noticed the heavy footprints that were dug into the soil, Daryl scrambled to his feet and staggered to the tracks. His heart was in his mouth; Beth had been taken, retching at the thought of Beth scared and alone; at the mercy of someone dangerous made him feel sick. Slipping her little knife into his pocket, he took off in the direction of her abductors.

.-.

Rick prodded at the fire, causing small embers to rush up into the night air. "They've been a long time," He frowned.

Sasha, Glenn and Michonne were all sat around the fire on the wide logs, the silence lingered in the air as they all inwardly agreed with Rick's remark, Daryl and Beth had been gone hours. Surely it didn't take that long to catch a few squirrels or rabbits? Especially at night. Daryl was usually back before night fall, they'd seen him bring back fully grown deer before now - deer that he'd stumbled clumsily through the gates with, and still have them gutted and ready to cook before the stars came into view. Now though, the four of them were tired and hungry, and long after the stars shone through the thick blackness of the night, they had started to worry.

"I'm gonna go look for 'em in a minute," Michonne said quietly, her fingers playing along the handle of her katana, "They might be in trouble,"

Glenn glanced at Rick as he paced the campsite, "Daryl can handle himself, they'll be fine," His voice wavered with uncertainty.

"What if it's not Daryl in trouble?" Sasha murmured, she'd pulled her knees to her chest and stared intently at the burning embers as they escaped the fire and sizzled out.

Michonne's head jerked up, she stared at Sasha before turning to Rick, "I have to go find 'em,"

Rick smiled sadly at her, "G'wan then, be careful" picking up her sword, Michonne disappeared into the thick woods silently.

"I'll be back in a second," Sasha said, getting up and heading out towards the undergrowth, she needed to pee badly, her bladder was pressing against the band of her trousers and causing her discomfort. She hadn't wanted to get up and move whilst they were waiting for Daryl and Beth, she hated to admit to herself that she was freaked out about the pair not returning from a simple hunt. These were unfamiliar grounds they were treading, she needed Tyreese's pigeon instinct and reassurance to calm her down.

Squatting down, she fumbled with the button of her trousers in the darkness, her fingers clumsy as she wobbled on the balls of her feet. A leaf crumpled behind her, she fell back as two pairs of heavy hands grabbed her in the darkness, she managed a short scream before the calloused flesh silenced her. Sasha's attackers pulled her to her feet by her hair, one of them restraining her flailing hands, and other grabbing for her trousers, Sasha panicked; lashing out wildly, a vain attempt to shake them off. These weren't walkers. A loud swish cut through the air as Sasha and the two men fell to the floor in a crumpled heap of blood, one of them knocked the wind out of her as he landed heavily on her chest, she tried to let out a scream but she was hushed by another hand.

"Sasha, it's me, don't scream," Michonne's breath tickled her ear, "Where are the others?" Sasha let out a sob against Michonne's hand and pointed in the direction of camp, "Come on, it's alright,"

Pulling her up from the floor Michonne wrapped a arm around the trembling woman's waist, holding her upright as they stumbled back to the campsite.

Daryl hurled himself through the trees, his heart thudded against his ribs and his throat burned. His feet pounded against the soft soil and heavy undergrowth, barely avoiding the sharp branches that tore against his skin, his legs gave way as his feet collided with a large object in the fauna, Daryl's body slammed into the soil, immediately he scrambled to his feet; knife out ready to attack the potential threat. His heart dropped as he saw the crumpled body lying in the leaves. Beth. Dropping to his knees on the floor next to her, he frantically searched for a pulse. She was alive.

"Beth?" Daryl said gently, his voice cracking, "Beth, wake up,"

He clutched her into his lap, brushing her hair out of her bloodied face with her fingertips to assess the damage. Beth's lip was split and her face was covered in bruises, her clothes were torn badly – her tshirt in tatters around her torso, her lace bra was ripped apart and nasty bruises stood out harshly around the pale skin. Daryl nearly retched again.

"Daryl?" Beth's voice croaked, he stared down at her; lifting her up slightly, "Wha' happened?"

"Hey, it's okay," Daryl whispered, rocking her gently, "You were attacked, but I'm here now,"

Beth's eyes flickered open, meeting Daryl's scared gaze, she winced as the pain in her legs flooded to her senses.

"M'sorry, I fell over 'ya," Beth managed a small laugh at his retort, "C'mon, let's get 'ya up," Daryl pulled her to her feet, holding onto her tightly in case her legs gave way, "Y'alright?"

She nodded uncertainly, looking up at him, "M'sorry I ran away," she winced again as she put weight on her legs.

"S'fine," Daryl mumbled, his trembling hand reaching up to touch her cheek; emotion threatening to overspill, without thinking, he ducked his head down and pressed his lips against hers. Beth's little hands grabbed into his shirt as she tentatively responded to his kiss, his arms wrapped gently around her waist as he pulled her closer. Daryl pulled away from the kiss reluctantly, staring down into Beth's equally confused eyes; his arms not loosening around her, his forehead rested against hers.

The sound of cracking branches behind them caused Daryl to clutch Beth to his chest and swing his cross bow in the direction of the noise, he lowered his weapon slowly as the silhouette of Michonne appeared through the thick trees. Beth turned around in Daryl's arms to see who it was, she managed a weak smile at the older girl, Michonne took in her appearance; bloodied and torn clothing, her pale face bruised and cut. Daryl looked terrified, an expression the woman had rarely seen haunt his sharp features. Her eyes flicked up to his, "They got Sasha too," her voice was morose, "I got 'em before they could do any real damage,"

Daryl nodded at her, their expressions emotionless as the potential severity of the situation hung in the air, Michonne moved to support Beth as the three of them began the wary walk back to camp.

-.-

Sasha's shoulder's quivered as Rick tried to reassure her, he had his arm around her and was whispering words of comfort to her, she sniffed and nodded as he spoke. Glenn traced the perimeter of the campsite, he had been shaken up when Michonne pulled Sasha's trembling form back through the woods. It had been at least another hour since she'd vanished off into the trees in the hunt of Beth and Daryl. What if those men had got to them before they'd attacked Sasha? He'd panicked and began pacing the campsite, anxiously awaiting their friend's return. The sound of breaking twigs and leaves spooked Glenn, he swung his gun up at arms length, it shook in his hands as he pointed it towards the location of the sound, he exhaled sharply as Michonne, Daryl and Beth stumbled through the undergrowth.

"What happens?!" Rick exclaimed, rushing to the trio's assistance.

"Same guys that attacked Sasha," Michonne said gravely, "Can't do no more damage now though,"

Rick grimaced as Daryl began to attend to Beth's injuries, "We have some tinned food in the bags somewhere, as long as we hunt t'morra then we'll be fine,"

Daryl nodded appreciatively at the man, Rick turned away and began to rummage through his large rucksack, pulling out several silver tins and a knife. Beth squirmed as Daryl wiped her face with a rag; trying to gently remove the dried blood, her eyes watched his face as he concentrated intently, making sure that he didn't make her cuts bleed again.

"Daryl," She whispered, he stopped his ministrations and slowly looked down at her, their eyes locking in silence. His gaze was confused and wary, he didn't make any move to speak, just stared into her eyes. Beth didn't make a sound, worried that if she did then he'd scramble away like a frightened animal.

Rick's voice interrupted the moment, "We gots some canned food, we'll eat that now and then y'all better go to sleep; stay in your pairs, we need to keep safe,"

The group ate their meals in silence, Rick was taking up the first guard duty with Michonne and one by one they began to retreat to their tents for the night, it had been a stressful and long one. They'd be happy leaving this place in the morning, they'd get their goods and head back to the prison.

Beth tossed and turned in her sleeping back, the cold nights air had crept into the thin tarpaulin and chilled her to the bone, it had been a few hours since she'd finished her can of tinned spaghetti and hobbled over to her tent. She listened to the quiet noises outside of her tent, hushed conversation between Rick and Michonne could just be about heard in the stillness, they'd still be on guard for at least another hour or so, Glenn and Sasha were up next; so she'd need to get some sleep soon before it was her and Daryl's turn, they had a busy day tomorrow and they couldn't afford for her to be a tired burden on them all. Beth squeezed her eyes together and tried to induce slumber, but to no avail. Her body ached like nothin' else, Rick had given her one of his spare shirts to wear after hers had been destroyed, the scratchy material was cool against her chest. She could hear a scratching outside the tent, she knew Daryl was sat outside – he hadn't come in at all since she'd zipped up the exterior. Maybe he was avoiding her, after all he'd only gone and kissed her again; after telling her it was a mistake hours earlier. Her heart fluttered at the memory of his surprisingly soft lips moving against hers, she didn't think there was a gentle side to Daryl Dixon, he was the rough-around-the-edges redneck with a harsh temper, but that opinion faltered when he'd gazed into her eyes, his timid expression burned on the inside of her eyelids – nobody had ever looked at her like that before.

"Daryl?" Beth whispered, biting her lip. "C'mere," She heard the rustling outside stop for a moment. "Please?"

The zipper on the tent slowly came apart as Daryl's face came into view, "Wha's up?" concern was etched on his features.

"I can't sleep," Her voice sounded more pitiful that originally intended.

His lips pursed together as he hesitated in the doorway.

"Come inside now?"

After a few moments Daryl slowly climbed into the tent, trying not to attract too much attention from Rick and Michonne – they were too busy in conversation to hear him anyways. Pulling the zipper back up, he sat awkwardly in the corner of the low-hung shelter. Beth gestured to the spot next to her, he sighed and looked at her, "Beth..." He began.

"Don't," She whispered, "Stop thinkin' about it,"

Daryl visibly shook as he lay down next to the young blonde, wrapping an arm around her hesitantly, he'd seen a goddamn chupacabra and fought countless walkers, but lying next to a woman terrified him. Goddammit Daryl, pull yourself together. Beth snuggled up into his side, clutching a handful of his shirt with her tiny hand; her eyes flickered shut as the warmth of their bodies lulled her to sleep. Her breathing started to regulate, soft and shallow against Daryl's chest; he lifted his head slightly to see if her eyes were closed, sighing he pressed a kiss into her hair and joined her in a peaceful slumber.