A/N: Thank you all so much for all the reviews! Here's the chapter you've all been waiting for – the reunion! It's a rather short chapter, but I hope you enjoy this. It's not going to be all plain sailing though – so get ready for a bumpy ride! ;)

A Case of the Blues: Chapter 5

She entered the cabin not long after Merle left to find Daryl sitting on the ground and staring at the music box in his lap. Tears began to pool in her eyes, and then he spoke.

"Merle, it's okay, I'll meet'ya back at the house," he grumbled, clearly unaware that it was her standing before him.

"Look again," she whispered, holding her breath.

His head shot up and looked straight at her. His cheeks were wet with tears, and his eyes were intense for a second until they softened, boring straight into her. "I've missed you," the words fell out of his mouth. This caused the tears that were pooling in her eyes to fall, leaving trails down her cheeks. She watched as he stood up and walked over to her. He smiled at her shyly and took a step closer. She froze, heart pounding, as he put one hand on her cheek to wipe away a tear and leaned towards her. Beth swallowed and gazed up at him.

He took a breath before he said the words he'd been waiting twenty years to say.

"What was wrong with me?"

That broke Beth's heart. He blamed himself for her abandoning him. Although it was nobody's fault, they both felt a sense of guilt towards the situation. Beth sighed and placed her palm against his cheek. He leaned into her touch and closed his eyes.

He spoke five words just then, but in the time it took him to speak those five words, her heart was shredded and minced.

"It's okay to feel whatever you need to feel. Just promise me that you will never, ever feel guilty for what happened. Promise me that you'll never blame yourself. It's not your fault," she smiled, another tear escaping her eyes. He didn't reply.

He opened his eyes and she removed her palm from his face, already missing the warmth that it provided. He looked down at his feet and took a step back, removing himself completely from her. "I was more alone than I have ever been in my entire life," he began. "You made me feel like life was worth the fight. But then you must have changed your mind or made a wrong turn, because you left. Why did you leave?" He asked, looking up and searching in her eyes for the answer.

"My parents, they… They refused to let me leave the house without supervision. I managed to sneak out a couple of times to see you, but when I gave you my mom's music box, I knew that would be the last time I'd see you. The maid was going to be watching me 24/7 after that day, and I knew I had to give you something to remember me by. I'm so sorry, Daryl. I really am."

Daryl sighed and shuffled his feet, not able to find a reply. Beth spoke again.

"I meant it, you know."

Daryl looked up at her then, his face filled with both confusion and understanding. "You meant what?"

"I meant it when I said I didn't believe in love at first sight. I can't pinpoint the exact day, the exact minute; the exact second. All I know is that there was a moment, Daryl, a moment in which we became more than best friends."

Daryl stared at her, unable to form words, to form actions.

"But we're not ourselves, are we?" She continued. "I'm certainly not myself, not anymore. And you're not you either. You don't seem yourself. Not as I remember you. You were so much… happier."

"I've been looking for you my whole damn life. I just never realised I was doing it. And now here you are," he said, returning to his spot on the floor and opening the music box again. "It's taken twenty years for me to find you. Why didn't you come sooner? Had you forgotten me?"

"Your heart and my heart are very, very old friends, Daryl," she began. "We were bound to cross paths again, I always knew we would. But you have to understand, I couldn't come back here. I was only a little girl, and I had to abide to the rules that my parents set."

She moved across the room to sit beside Daryl and they looked at the music box together. They sat in a comfortable silence for what seemed like an eternity.

"It's so peaceful. I could go to sleep in here." Beth sighed. His eyes flickered to Beth once more, and for a dizzying second she wasn't thinking about sleep or peace but about pressing her lips to his. She gave her head a slight shake and tried to slow her embarrassingly loud pulse. Beth rested her head on his shoulder and shut her eyes. "I know my dreams will be of you, and I'm not sure how I'll stay away from you in the morning," she giggled, but cringed the second the words left her lips. She was engaged. They both looked at each other, finding serenity in each other's eyes. He looked at her like she was water to a thirsty man.

And without further thought or hesitation he said, "God help me, I am in love with you." He could feel her laughter against his chest, and at that moment he thought that there was nothing that felt better than making Beth Greene laugh. But then she sighed, and held his face in her palm once more.

"Your heart is so beautiful, Daryl, and someday someone is going to love that heart like it deserves to be loved."

What? What was that supposed to mean?

"Beth?" Daryl pleaded. Beth stood up and began walking to the door of the cabin.

"Daryl, I'm different now. I'm not the same person. And neither are you," she absentmindedly fiddled with the ring on her finger as she spoke. "I'm engaged, Daryl."

Daryl's heart shattered at that second. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. He did not own her; he had no right to be angry. But he was. "You said you didn't forget 'bout me," he said with a strained voice.

"Oh Daryl. Just because I blocked the memory of you out of my mind doesn't mean I blocked the memory of you out of my heart." She smiled. What on earth was this girl doing to him?

"What happened to you?" Daryl whispered, refusing to look her in the eye.
"Life happened, Daryl. Twenty years of it. And I can't help the fact that I couldn't come and find you. You must understand that. Promise me that you won't blame yourself. This isn't your fault," she pleaded, still turning the ring on her finger. How hadn't he seen it before? "I tried. I really tried to forget about you. I tried thinking about other things… Other people. But thinking never took away tears. Only time did. And time has changed us both."

"I never stopped lovin' you, Beth. Thinkin' about it now, I never knew it was love back then. I took you 'fer granted. But… But you stopped. You left."

Beth sighed, smiling barely. "I've never stopped; I simply forgot that I love you. Every time I look at you I'm reminded of how I can never stop loving you."

"'Ya can't love two men at the same time, Ms Greene," Daryl spoke half-heartedly, finally meeting her eyes after staring at her engagement ring for what seemed like forever.

"Don't worry, Mr Dixon. My heart has only ever belonged to one man."

A/N: Oooo! I hope you enjoyed this. Don't forget to review!