He barely managed to catch Beth's arm before she walked over to the cop. The light of fire was in her eyes and Daryl could tell just by looking at her that she had been about to do something incredibly dangerous and more than likely incredibly stupid.

"We're going." he spat at the woman who turned her cold gaze onto him as he pulled Beth away from her. "And the boy's coming with us." He motioned for Noah to follow him back to the others and he did so after a pause, casting a terrified look over his shoulder at the cop as he did so.

"He's not going anywhere with you." the woman repeated, taking a step forward. Daryl shoved Beth closer into the group before turning back to the cops, Rick close to his side.

"He's comin' with us." Daryl growled, his voice sounding as feral as he felt as he stared down the hallway. "Or we'll kill you all."

They fell into a stalemate, both sides with guns raised and fingers poised on the trigger just waiting for the first shot to fire. Daryl had enough time to hope that Beth would be able to get out of the line of fire before another man spoke at the end of the hallway.

"Just let him go Dawn." a white coated man pleaded, pushing his glasses further up his nose. "Noah's very easily replaceable." Daryl heard Beth draw in a deep breath behind him before the man continued. "He's not worth our lives."

Silence stretched on as no one moved, not a single gun wavering until finally the woman in charge dropped her gun to her side with a shake of her head.

"Leave. Now." she barked before turning her back on them.

They did not have to be told twice and within seconds they were heading down the stairs like a rampant stampede. Seeing that Tyreese was already helping Carol who looked like she was barely managing to walk Daryl pushed to the head of the group with Beth close to his side. Their arms brushed every few steps and Daryl was struggling to fight off the urge to swoop her up into his arms and carry her out of the hospital.

He managed to last until the second floor before he could wait no longer. The staircase behind them remained empty and the lobby was looming when they turned onto the landing to the start of the first floor. Beth and him were the lead but he grabbed her arm to get her to stop, her blue eyes wide on his as he shoved his crossbow at Rick.

The other man took the bow in shock, barely able to balance his gun and the bow in his arms as Daryl grunted at him.

"Five seconds."

Before any of them could ask what he meant or tell him to keep moving he turned to Beth and pulled her to him at the same time as she nearly fell into his arms.

One.

Their arms wrapped tight around each other and Daryl blocked out the thoughts of the people huddled on the staircase behind them, shoved away thoughts of danger and the cops following after them. All he let himself focus on was the woman he was finally holding in his arms again.

Two.

"Don't you ever do that again." he whispered into her ear, his arms tightening around her waist at the mere thought of the move she had almost made. He had seen the flash of steel in her eyes before she took a step towards that cop, he knew that whatever she had been planning it had not been good. And while he knew that Beth was more than capable of taking care of herself he also knew that in this world one needed to pick their battles very carefully. Daryl knew somehow that the battle Beth had almost started would have been one she would have lost.

Three.

"Do what?" Beth questioned in a whisper as she curled her fists into the material of his vest. Daryl felt a pang of disbelief that she was actually asking him that question, how could she not already know?

Four.

"Risk your life for nothin'." he clarified, his voice coming out rough as he thought about all the possible ways things could have gone bad up in that hallway. He imagined Beth dying a thousand different ways and he felt his throat tighten at the very idea.

Five.

"I can't loose you again." Daryl whispered into her hair before pulling away. Their five seconds were up and they needed to move. Daryl turned to take his bow back from Rick who was looking between him and Beth with eyes wide in realization. Daryl chose to ignore him, they could talk later about whatever conclusion he had just come to from their hug, before heading back down the stairs with Beth at his side.

They were almost to the doors of the lobby when Beth reached down to intertwine her fingers with his "You're not gonna lose me." she promised before pushing open the door to the mid-afternoon sunshine. "You're stuck with me Dixon."