I'd like to apologize for the insane long wait! Weekend before last I spent with my friends, leaving my laptop at home and for the past week my muse had abandoned me.

Huge thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. And hugs to all my new followers and to those who have Favorited this fic I can't begin to tell you how much it means to me.

Ive also been working on some new AUs for Bethyl, Ive got 3 in the works(forcing myself not to post anything yet till these fics are about finished).

This is Beta'd! Yay *claps hands* huge thank you to Amy who doesn't even watch TWD but still read this and fixed my horrible typos, bless her soul.

I hope you enjoy it, I'll try to update again this weekend.

Rick woke Daryl early the next morning. Daryl was sure it wasn't on purpose, the other man didn't quite grasp the meaning of stealth or quiet. Also, Daryl was more on edge as of late than ever before. He was sure that a pin dropping would jolt him awake from a dead sleep. The sound of the sheriff's pacing and heavy sighs had roused Daryl from a fitful sleep. When he had first pried his eyes open, the light outside his tent was a dim grey, a morning chill lacing the air, it was silent aside from the sound of Rick's pacing. Daryl was all too familiar with mornings such as these from years of hunting with Merle. With a muttered curse, the hunter threw back the poncho he used in lieu of a blanket, tugged on his boots, picked up his crossbow and exited his tent.

Daryl drew himself to his full height, he scanned the rest of the camp, it appeared as though no one else had risen yet. Daryl found his gaze drawn to Dale's RV, wondering if the little blond girl had managed to get any sleep, or if anymore nightmares had visited the young woman during the night. Daryl caught himself as he began to move towards the RV, letting out a vehement curse. He was acting like a damn pussy whipped teenage boy. Why the fuck did he care if some girl got any sleep? Why did he feel so damn protective of Beth Greene? It didn't make any sense to him.

Daryl recalled the first time he had ever laid his eyes on the girl. He'd spotted the smoke of a fire about a mile off from where Merle and him were tracking a buck. Merle had made the decision that they investigate the source of the flames. What neither of them had expected to see were so many people. Not just people, though, kids and women. Merle's gaze had zeroed in on the supplies that occupied the trunks of their vehicles. Merle also took note of the rifle the angry looking man with the roman nose had trained on them as they approached the group.

Daryl scanned the group, eyeing the men who were armed with a variety of weapons-a little Chinaman held a baseball bat a mixture of uncertainty and fear on his face. Daryl's eyes slid over to measure up the big African man, had a shovel. The man next time, wiry guy with dark hair had a crowbar, and the Mexican next to him was gripping a heavy looking branch. There were over a dozen people surrounding Daryl and his brother. Daryl's gaze continued to wander over the faces staring back at them in disbelief, his eyes stopping at the three-two women and a boy-standing behind the angry man holding the gun. The first one, a woman in her late thirties with long brown hair, clutched a boy with features mirroring her own to her side, his cobalt eyes staring up at him with fear. Dismissing the boy, Daryl's attention was drawn to the girl, young with wide blue eyes like sapphires, a picture of innocence. The first time Beth had looked at him, Daryl had seen the uncertain terror in her gaze-the distrust at two strange men invading her camp in the middle of apocalypse could do that-as she huddled closer to the man with the rifle.

Merle had chuckled, a crooked smile on his face as he turned slowly, taking in their surroundings. "Well, looky here, y'all got yourselves a real nice set up here."

"Who the hell are you?" the man with the rifle barked.

"Calm down now, 'M Merle Dixon, and this here's my little brother Daryl. Say hello Darylina."

Daryl threw his brother a look that could have frozen water. "Fuck off, Merle."

Merle smirked with a chuckle. "He's friendlier than he looks. You the leader of this party?"

The man eyed Merle with a hard look as he adjusted his grip on his rifle. "You could say that."

Merle's smirk twisted into a grin. "Me n' my baby brother, we're hunters. Let us join ya, say we'll give you some of whatever we kill."

Daryl caught the small flicker of desire flare in several of the men's eyes. Daryl wasn't the least bit surprised not a one of them knew a thing about hunting or trapping.

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" the man snarled, his dark eyes moving from Merle to Daryl.

Daryl had had enough of the asshole looking at him and Merle like they were diseased or something. He stomped forward, anger churning in his belly as he growled; "You know what fuck y-"

"Daryl," Merle snapped, stopping Daryl in his tracks. "Calm your damn tits, n' stop acting like a fool."

Merle reached over to his pack, pulling out the string of squirrels. "Ain't much to look at but cook these babies right and ya got yourself some good eating."

Daryl smirked as he watched the little blond blanch at the sight of the squirrels. Wildest thing a girl like her probably ate was a Butterball turkey from the store. Merle walked past the stretch of empty space of no-man's-land, offering the squirrels to the man. His dark eyes moved from Merle to Daryl and back, his jaw clenching before he said;

"Y'all can stay. But you gotta help out here, pull your own weight, and don't cause no trouble."

Merle grinned, showing off his teeth. "I think Daryl n' I can play nice with ya. Didn't catch your name though."

"Shane," he offered before turning his back to the brothers and began whispering to the woman, the little blond and the kid.

Daryl moved to stand beside Merle, his eyes never straying from Shane as he and the others slowly began to move about the camp, throwing the Dixons shaded looks.

"Why the fuck you go and do that Merle? That's our dinner," Daryl hissed.

"Aw, cool your tits Darylina, we ain't staying long-just long enough to take everything these bastards got n' make our way north." Merle said with a smirk. "You with me little brother?"

Daryl tore his eyes away from the group, meeting his older brother's gaze.

"Yeah, Merle. 'M always with ya."

"Daryl?"

Rick's voice snapped Daryl from the memory. Daryl blinked at Rick as he approached.

"What you want now?" Daryl growled, his tone coming out sharper than he intended.

"Wanted to talk to you," Rick said a slight smile tugging at his lips as though Daryl's behavior amused him.

"So? Talk," Daryl said as he began moving towards one of the cars that held drinks.

"I wanted to discuss what you thought about going to Fort Benning," Rick explained as he followed the hunter.

"Why it matter what I think? Just a damn redneck," Daryl scoffed as he unscrewed the cap to a bottle of water, bringing it to his lips and taking a deep swallow.

"You know that ain't true. You do a lot for the group-"

"Yeah, like put meat on the table," he growled. "All I am to y'all is a meal ticket n' I know it so ya don't gotta go butterin' me up tryin' to make me feel special or somethin'."

"Daryl," Rick said loudly, stopping the man from continuing on with his rant. "I just," Rick took a moment, calming himself. "I just want to know your opinion. Should we or shouldn't we go? Do you think it's worth the trip?"

Daryl looked around the make shift camp, heaving a heavy worn out sigh. "Honestly, I don't see the point in staying here. Best thing we can do for everyone here is just keep goin'."

Rick nodded as he bit down on his bottom lip. "That's what I thought you'd say."

"Hey," Daryl said, stopping Rick as he had begun to move away towards his and Lori's tent. "Ain't nothing back there for any of us. We've all lost people. S'no point in going back, ya can only go forward."

Rick said nothing, just nodded as he lowered his gaze to the ground and made his way back to his tent. Daryl watching him go, his hands tightening around the bottle in his hands.

If only Daryl could take his own advice.

When Beth roused from sleep the next morning everyone was already up, the activity outside the RV animated. Beth sat up slowly, her back protesting as she stretched with a silent yawn. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes with the back of her hand, Beth slowly rose from the couch, leaning across the table to peer outside. She spied T-Dog, Glenn, Andrea, Dale and Lori packing up the tents and other supplies. Frowning, she straightened, making her way towards the door, stepping out into the humid Georgia day.

Beth scanned her surroundings, taking in the activity with mild apprehension. Beth scanned the bustling people, searching for one who didn't appear too busy. Beth's gaze fell on Glenn. Her mind made up, Beth made her way towards the young man, placing a hand on his arm, drawing his attention to her.

"Beth," he said with a smile as he shoved the tents into the trunk of the car. "Morning."

"Morning, Glenn," Beth said as she glanced around once more. "What's going on?"

"Rick said we're moving out. Said we're gunna hit Fort Benning, see if there's any help there."

Beth's heart sank in her chest. Fort Benning was a long way out, while she understood the appeal of it-guns, sturdy walls, people who might know what the hell is going on with the world-the idea of going out into the world like it was now scared her.

"What about supplies? Gas? Do we have enough to make it that far?"

Andrea had walked up at that moment, hefting a cooler in her hands, the older blond smiled slightly as she shoved the cooler into the trunk. "Rick sent Daryl ahead to find a gas station, with any luck we'll be able to siphon enough gas to make it there."

Beth bit her lip as she turned this new information over in her head. "You seen Carl and Sophia?"

"Carol has them, honey," Lori said, coming up behind her the young woman, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You sleep okay last night?"

Beth was a bad liar, so she simply nodded and offered Lori a smile. The brunette hmmed softly, as she turned Beth away from the other's, guiding her towards the chairs. Lori released her and set about folding the chairs up and returning the chairs to their sacks.

"Nightmares," she said lightly with a shrug.

For those first handful weeks of after the terror of the Turn, Beth had shared a tent with Lori and Carl while staying at the quarry, and both knew just how bad her nightmares could get.

"Honey, why didn't you come get me? You didn't have to go through that alone," Lori said gently, stopping what she was doing to place a hand on Beth's shoulder.

Beth just shook her head, quickly trying to dismiss the older woman's feeling of guilt. "I wasn't alone. I guess Daryl heard me crying out; he woke me up and sat with me a bit. We talked. He even offered to teach me how to defend myself against walkers if I wanted."

Lori let out a surprised chuckle as she returned to folding up the remaining chairs. "That Dixon is just full of surprises."

"He's a good guy," Beth agreed as she finished with her chair.

Lori grinned as she lifted three of the sacks containing chairs into her arms. "I gotta say, I didn't think a man like him had that kind of kindness in him. Don't get me wrong, I actually enjoy being proven wrong about that."

Beth chuckled lightly as she lifted her own chairs and followed after Lori towards the SUV. "I guess the zombie apocalypse brings out peoples' true nature."

Lori just grinned as she handed off the chairs to Glenn, who took them with a smile, loading them into the back of the car. Beth followed suit, thanking Glenn as she moved to flank Lori as she leaned against the side of the SUV. Beth braced her back against the car, staring off into the distance quietly. Lori watched the young woman, her eyes roaming her expression and finding something haunting in her sapphire eyes.

"It isn't just nightmares bothering you, is it Beth?" Lori asked quietly, shifting to her side so she faced Beth, watching as the young woman heaved a heavy sigh.

Beth would never argue with anyone that Lori was nothing if not perceptive and observant. Beth took a moment, struggling to find the right words and when she finally spoke, she still felt uncertain.

"I feel like us going to Fort Benning, well me going with y'all . . . I feel like me leaving with you guys is me giving up hope of ever finding my family. Like I'm abandoning them," Beth finally met Lori's dark gaze, her blue one shining with tears. "It's like . . . I'm choosing to never see them again."

Lori wrapped her arms around the girl, pulling her close, laying her cheek against her soft golden locks.

"Beth, sweetheart, I can tell you, that as a parent, if it was Carl out here all alone in all this . . . and he found a group full of good people like we have here . . . I would want him to do everything he could to survive. Even if that meant I'd never get to see him again," Lori swallowed hard, struggling to keep her own tears at bay. "And I know, without a doubt, that your momma and daddy would want the same for you."

"Really?" Beth asked, her voice catching on the word. "You really believe that?"

Lori nodded as she pressed a kiss to Beth's fore head. "I do, honey. I really do."

Beth squeezed her eyes shut and hugged Lori tightly .

In her mind she saw the best memories of her family-their vacations out on the lake, Maggie and her playing fashion show using all of Momma's best make up and clothes, chasing after Shawn through the field, and sitting with her Momma and Daddy on the couch, listening as Otis played his guitar.

Beth swallowed hard as her tears fell free. She gathered all those precious memories, locking them away in a box in her mind, setting it aside. She had to put it all behind her. Beth knew that she wouldn't make it if she held on to what had been.

In this new world she could only move forward.

Please review! Cant wait to hear what you all think :)

More action to come in ch5 I promise, this was a pretty chill update but we'll have some Bethyl next time ;)