He doesn't want to let go of her. It doesn't quite feel real unless he has his hands upon her, able to feel the life pulsing under her skin.
But there's things to do, and they need to get out of there before more walkers arrive, attracted by the earlier gunfire. So reluctantly Daryl climbs to his feet, extending a hand to help Beth to hers. Tara is there by his side then, handing him the crossbow that he'd dropped earlier in his shock at seeing her.
He'd thought it was a dream at first, or that he might be finally losing his mind. Even despite those doubts he'd still run to her, willing the dream to be real, praying for the only miracle he'd ever really asked for. And there she was, real and warm and alive, and it had been too much for him in that moment, too much joy to be able to bear. He hadn't even realised when they'd ended up on the ground, his body too heavy for her to be able to hold up. All he'd known was the pulse in her neck, beating next to his lips, her slight waist beneath his fingers, as he dug them into her skin.
Then that asswipe Sam had to bring him back to reality, too soon, far too soon. Ten years would have been too soon after the days that he's gone without her.
He keeps his hand on her elbow as he nods to Sam, agreeing with the need to move out, before he turns his gaze to Beth's companions. His head is still too full of her to be able to do more than mumble a greeting when Beth introduces each of them, an older man and a young girl who looks to be about Carl's age. Daryl hopes he'll remember their names later, thinks they might excuse him for his lack of attention if he doesn't.
"And I'm Tara," she introduces herself to Beth, having given up on waiting for Daryl to do so, "You don't know me, but I did see you when you were dead."
Tara is staring at Beth as if she's the second coming, which Daryl supposes she very might well be. They'd given her up for dead, hadn't they? He can still see her laid out in that church, still remembers how it felt to leave her. Her skin, he remembers, had felt warm under his touch, but he'd thought he was imagining it. If only he'd waited, if only he'd checked...
Beth gives Tara a small smile though Daryl can see she's clearly overwhelmed, sagging slightly against him as he grabs her around the waist, holding her up.
"C'mon, gotta get you to safety," he addresses all of the newcomers, though his eyes stay on Beth. He knows he'll have a hard time looking away, that if he could get away with it then he never would. He forces himself then, looks at the young girl and the older man, "One of you can ride in the cab with Tara and Sam, the other one can join Beth and I in the back of the truck."
"You take the seat in the cab, Morgan." The girl announces, with what seems to Daryl to be something of a sly grin on her face, "Just give me a minute."
He's about to argue, to tell her they don't have a damn minute and she'd better get in that truck, when the girl jogs across to a vending machine with the front glass broken in, wraps her arm in her jacket and begins to grab the packets and bars, stuffing them in her pack. She throws a couple to Morgan before clambering into the back of the truck, and Beth finally moves to climb in, Daryl's hands at her waist to lift her though she doesn't need it.
The three of them settle near the end of the truck nearest the cab, Beth's thigh pressed to Daryl's, her hand settling gently on his knee, and he can't work out if the gesture is to reassure her or him. The girl sits opposite and tosses a packet of junk food to Beth, who catches it with a smile.
"Been a couple of days since we've eaten," she tells Daryl softly, "We only went into town for food or we might have missed you."
"But you were making your way to us?" Daryl asks, "You were on your way to Richmond?"
Beth nods, even as she puts a handful of chips in her mouth. "We were headed to DC first, after I found the map that was left for Rick, then I remembered Noah talking about his home."
"Alexandria Safe Zone," Daryl confirms, and then gathering his courage he reaches out and takes the hand that lies on his knee, interlacing his fingers with hers. "We're all there, everyone made it. Wasn't much point to DC so we ended up stayin'."
"But Carol said something about a man with a cure?"
"That was a bunch of bullshit, knew it had to be." He looks downwards then, rakes his eyes over her face, her body, the hand that clutches his tightly, both of their knuckles white with the pressure. "But you... You being here... You were dead, Beth, we all thought you were dead. Maggie... she took it hard. Won't know what to think when she sees you, still can't believe it myself."
"And you?" Beth asks, her face tilted up to his, her eyes fixed upon his face, "Did you... I mean..." Her voice drops to a whisper then, her expression so very earnest, "I worried about you, about whether you'd be okay."
He fights against it, the desire to look away, to mumble a reply, a repeat of a candlelit kitchen, unable to force the words from his mouth and a soft 'Oh'.
He's got her back, he's got her back when all of his hope was gone, when he expected to live the rest of his life without her, only half the man he was. He'll find the words, he'll tell her whatever she wants to hear, he'll do anything she wants so that she never leaves his side again.
"Wasn't," he clears his throat nervously, leans towards her and clutches her hand more tightly, "Haven't been since I lost you. I tried... but I couldn't put you away, couldn't forget any of it. Lost you... Lost myself along with you."
She raises their joined hands to her mouth and presses a soft kiss to the back of his hand.
"I won't leave you again," Beth promises, a fire in her eyes as she says the words, "I've changed my mind, I'm not going to be gone someday. I'm going to make it, we're both going to make it. You won't have to miss me again."
His throat clenches, his emotions almost choking him, and unable to help himself, Daryl reaches out to grab hold of her, pulling Beth half onto his lap and wrapping his arms around her, her head tucked into his chest. He kisses her hair then, pulls her tightly against him and holds on.
"I've got you now," he tells her, "I won't let you go."
Beth is crying, tears streaming down her cheeks, and he holds her as she once held him, trying to pour his strength into her, to be whatever she needs him to be. She's murmuring, words he can't quite understand, and he lowers his head to be able to catch them.
"I'm home," Beth whispers, over and over again, "I'm home."
By the time they've reached the safe zone, they've both pulled themselves together, and Beth once more sits at his side, their hands joined, her head on his shoulder as she dozes.
Daryl catches Beth's companion giving him an appraising look, and he quirks an eyebrow, daring her to say anything after all she's witnessed.
"Nothing." The girl smirks as she says it.
"Ash..." Beth says sleepily, a warning in her tone, looking across at the girl who grins at her, unrepentant.
"I have to say, that was much better than what I'd imagined," the girl comments, still grinning.
"Shut up," Beth retorts, clearly embarrassed, and Daryl knows without having to be told that they've discussed him at some point. It's a strange feeling, and it takes him time to work out exactly what it is, a type of pride, that she would want to talk about him with her companions.
They haven't spoken much during the ride, Beth has mainly dozed on his shoulder, clearly exhausted after too many weeks on the road. She'll talk when she's ready to, and Daryl will be ready to listen. She'll need to tell her story to the others as well, no sense in needing to repeat it. He doesn't know what she's been through to be here, to make her way back to them, but whatever it was, he'll be there for her, he'll be what she once was for him.
It's evening when they finally pull up to the Alexandria Safe Zone, the light fading as the sun falls behind the horizon.
"All well?" A voice that Daryl recognises as Michonne calls out from the wall as they halt in front of the gates, and Daryl remembers that she'd picked up a shift today to cover one of the regulars that's sick.
"Better than well!" Tara hollers back from the front of the truck, "Let us in and you'll see."
Beth straightens up, lifting her head from Daryl's shoulder as they hear the gates being opened, the truck moving forward. She picks up her pack with her free hand, shrugging it onto her shoulder as the girl, Ash, does the same across from them.
"Wait till they all see you," Daryl murmurs, still clutching her hand tightly as the truck pulls to a stop. "Ready?"
He jerks his head towards the back of the truck and Beth nods, before turning to Ash. "Ready to see our new home?"
"Ready as I'll ever be."
The girl climbs out first, followed by Daryl, who reaches back to give Beth a hand, despite knowing she doesn't need it. If he's honest with himself then he simply doesn't want to stop touching her, worries that the moment he takes his hands from her that she'll disappear. He brings his hand up to touch her hip, nudging her forward and around to the other side of the truck, where Michonne stands, hand on her hip as Tara stops mid sentence, grinning as she sees them round the corner.
"Oh my lord," Michonne exclaims, taking a step forward and then seeming to doubt what she's seeing, "Beth, is that really you?"
"It's me," Beth says simply, and Michonne strides forward to embrace her, before pulling back, her hands holding Beth's arms, to look at her once again.
"Tara, we need to call the others, go and round up as many of them as you can. Maggie's on the South Wall, the rest will all be at home."
Tara is off, sprinting towards their accommodation, as Michonne looks over to Daryl, her expression one of amazement. "You found her."
"She was coming to find us, would've made it in a couple more days if we hadn't happened upon them."
It's a matter of only minutes before the first of their family arrive, Rick sprinting up, the others following them at a slower pace.
"What's happening?" Rick asks, "Tara said there was someone..." He spots Morgan first, making his way towards the other man with a laugh of astonishment, exclaiming over him having made it there, when Daryl clears his throat, grabbing Rick's attention.
Rick stares at her for a moment, before he steps forward, raising a hand to touch her cheek before he quickly pulls her into a hug. There are tears in his eyes, and Daryl thinks that maybe in that moment Rick is thinking of all those they couldn't save - of all the people who never came back.
The others spot them quickly as they approach, and in a moment they're all upon her, laughing and hugging and exclaiming over her, unable to believe it. Glenn is half laughing and half crying as he embraces her, before looking around, "Maggie? Where's Maggie?"
"Tara's getting her." Daryl tells him, and then Carl is stepping forward with Judith in his arms, and it is Beth's turn to shed tears, gathering Judith to her and kissing her small face repeatedly, one arm around Carl as she does so.
Finally Tara comes into view, dragging Maggie by the hand, a grin on her face. "See what we got for you on the run?"
Daryl watches as Beth passes Judith back to Carl with one more kiss to her forehead, and steps forward to meet her sister.
"Bethy?" Maggie breathes, sagging against Tara as the shock hits her, barely able to believe her eyes. "Beth?"
It's Beth that steps forward and takes Maggie in her arms, as Maggie stares at her, fingertips digging into Beth's arms, then hands rising to hold Beth's face between them.
"My little sister, my little sister." Maggie weeps, repeating the words over and over again as Beth holds her, crying tears of her own.
"It's okay Maggie, I'm here. I made it, Maggie. I'm home." She looks over her shoulder, back towards Daryl as she says it, her eyes locking with his.
He stands there, a few steps away from her, and watches as Beth is welcomed and hugged and exclaimed over. He watches, and thinks that maybe, finally, he's home too.
A/N: I'm sorry about the length of time it took to post this one, I'll try to be quicker with the next! A big thank you to all the reviewers, you are my personal heroes :) special shoutout to Natercia as I can't reply personally to her!