The last of their food is gone, finished the day before, and Beth knows that even if it is only two days journey away, they'll never make it to Richmond unless they find some. They can't afford to grow weak when it's only the three of them, when they might need to run or to fight at any moment.

They've avoided towns for the most part, bypassing them entirely when they can, or cutting through as quickly as possible. Towns mean walkers, towns mean people, neither of which they particularly want to encounter. With game scarce and the last of the tinned food gone, towns also mean food and so they find themselves making their way cautiously into the next town centre that comes in their path.

"What if there's someone there?" Ash asks anxiously, "What if there's men like..."

Beth knows what she's thinking - men like the ones in the forest, the ones who killed her brother and would've done worse to her.

"Then we'll handle them," Beth replies, her voice promising a confidence that she can't quite match.

She can see that Ash is almost petrified at the thought though, and she reaches out to squeeze the young girl's hand. "We won't let anything happen to you."

"But what if something happens to you instead? My brother... He died because he was trying to protect me. If I hadn't been with him..."

"Then they probably would've killed him anyway." Beth breaks in, her tone decisive. "It's not your fault that they did, never think that. Men like that... they believe they can take whatever they want, that they're entitled to it. If your brother was in their way then they would've killed him just for his food and weapons even if you weren't there."

Ash takes in a deep breath and nods, though Beth can still see the doubt in her eyes. "Men like that... Did you... I mean, did something..."

Beth shakes her head once before changing her mind and nodding slightly. "There was a man at the hospital, and he wanted... Well he thought that he should be able to do whatever he wanted to me, like he'd done to other girls. Thought because he was strong that he was owed it, owed it for protecting us. But what sort of protection is that?" Beth squeezes Ash's hand once more then before letting it go, "I killed him, if I hadn't then he would've raped me, he would've kept hurting other girls too. I'd never killed anyone before, never believed I could, but I did it when I had to. Men like that, they need to be put down, and you need to be strong enough to do it. We'll protect you, Ash, and one day when you're older, you'll be strong enough to protect yourself too."

It's the first time she's spoken of it to anyone, the first time she's allowed herself to be absolved of the guilt of taking a life. Just as she's said it, Beth knows that it's true - she did need to kill him, she has protected the girls that he would've otherwise harmed. Her father's bible would say that killing is never justified, but Beth has come to realise that things are not that simple anymore. Even Dawn... Beth had understood in the end that whatever Dawn had done, or allowed to happen, was never for the greater good, but only to hold on to her own power. It was at that moment of realisation that the rage had risen in Beth, as she thought of Joan and all the other girls who must have come before.

I get it now

She truly does. There may still be good people in this world, but there's also evil, and the line between the two isn't quite so clear as Beth once allowed herself to believe.

Looking towards the town, Beth sees Morgan reappear from where he's been scouting, signalling them to join him.

"So let's go in there, grab some food, and then be on our way to Richmond." Beth reassures Ash with a smile, glad when the girl gives her a hesitant one in return.

Morgan explains the layout of the town as they make their way in, suggesting possible escape routes and hiding spots should something go wrong.

"We get what we need and we get straight out." Beth reaffirms, looking at both of her companions who nod their agreement.

They make their way into town cautiously, to a small grocery store that stands on the corner. The front door has been long since shattered, and Beth hammers the hilt of her knife on one of the windows to attract any walkers to the front, relieved when none appear.

Most of the store appears to have already been cleared out, very little of use remaining on the shelves. They do find two bottles of water, and a can of beans that had rolled under one of the shelves. Morgan finds a lone jar of grape jelly, and for a moment Beth is taken back to another time, to sitting in a darkened kitchen, candles flickering as Daryl had dug a spoon into his jar, focusing on it intently if it was an excuse to avoid meeting her eyes after he had dragged his chair around to her side of the table, close enough to reach out and touch.

"We need to search some of the houses," Morgan states, "Won't get far on this."

"No, we won't," Beth agrees reluctantly, knowing that now they'll lose another day in getting to Richmond, "We should be able to find something, maybe if we check some of the houses that are on the edge of town?"

They're all keen to move on from the town centre, and so both of her companions nod. They're preparing to move out when two things happen - the first is that Beth hears the rumble of a car engine in the distance, glancing at Morgan she sees that he's heard it too. The second is that Ash excitedly exclaims before darting over the road towards what Beth realises is a vending machine. Lifting her gun, she uses it to smash through the glass.

"Ash, come back!" Beth calls out, panicked, realising that at any moment the approaching car will be upon them.

The younger girl seems to realise her mistake then, turning back towards Beth even as five walkers round the corner, drawn by the noise they've made.

Cursing, Morgan and Beth both begin to run, even as Beth spots more walkers headed towards them. She raises her gun, aiming and shooting the nearest walker to Ash through the eye. Then Beth's knife is drawn and she enters into the fray, trying to ensure that her back is never unguarded, drawing the other two to her so that they're fighting in formation.

Ash is terrified, but she does her best, killing two walkers even as Beth and Morgan work frantically against the others. Beth knows that there's a good chance that they could die today and she slashes desperately at walker after walker as they approach. She refuses to die, not when she's so close to her goal. She can't, she won't.

Beth is just raising her knife to stab the next walker when it suddenly falls, an arrow piercing it's skull. She doesn't have time to wonder at it, as she prepares for the next incoming opponent, even as she hears the short bursts of automatic gunfire that means others have joined the fray.

When the last of the walkers falls, Beth lays a reassuring hand on Ash's arm as the young girl breathes heavily, nods at Morgan, and then turns to face their rescuers, praying that the other group's motives in saving them are only altruistic.

Beth has only just turned to face them, eyes squinting against the late afternoon light, noting the large truck they've arrived in before she sees their faces, when a loud clatter claims her attention, the sound of a weapon being dropped to the ground.

Her breath catches in her throat as she spots him, even as her name falls from his lips as a strangled cry.

"Daryl," she takes a step forward, unable to stop the tears that come to her eyes, needing to make her way to him as soon as possible, to feel the warmth of his skin under her hands. He doesn't wait for her to move, is in front of her before she can take another step, his hands raised to her head, hesitating for only a moment before he grips the sides of her face tightly, his gaze darting from her eyes, to the scars, and trailing down her body.

"You're real," Daryl murmurs, his voice coming out choked, "You're real? Tell me you're real."

Beth places her hands above his, holding them as he grips her tightly, his fingers digging into her scalp, almost painful in his intensity. "I'm real, Daryl, I swear it. I'm here, I made it."

That's all it takes for him to collapse into her, his arms moving to wrap around her, his face falling to her neck where he buries it, sobbing against her. His sudden weight is too much and Beth stumbles to her knees, bringing him with her. She brings her own smaller arms up to wrap around him, gripping his shoulders. With Daryl's head still buried in the crook of her neck, Beth brings her face to the top of his head, laying her cheek against it, crying her own tears as she holds him.

She doesn't know how long they remain in the embrace, his body trembling against hers as she murmurs reassurances into the crown of his head, her cheek against his hair. It is too short a time before Beth hears one of Daryl's companions clear his throat then call Daryl's name to get his attention.

It takes several tries before Daryl pulls back from her, his arms still clutching her waist, fingers digging into her hips, and glances back at the man, a quick glance before he looks back to Beth as if to check that she's still there. Unable to help herself, Beth raises a hand to his face, cups his cheek to reassure him that he's not dreaming, that she is really there.

"We need to get out of here," the man tells Daryl, "We've got what we came for," he smirks then, "Looks like you got more than you came for."

"Shut up, Sam," a young woman with short, dark hair tells him. "You have no idea what just happened here."

"Oh yeah, and what did happen, besides Daryl losing his shit in the middle of the road?"

"Beth Greene," the young woman says with a trace of awe about her voice, "Back from the freaking dead."

A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed, always makes me look forward to updating :)