A/N: Enjoy!

Silence fills the beat up car as Glen and Daryl drive the hour or so back to the church. Despite the unsavoury events that have passed in the last eight hours, Daryl finds that he is looking forward to getting back to his family and their temporary home. All in all, he deems their run a success. He and Glen had managed to acquire the weapons and medicine the group will need when they leave for D.C.; And although it is difficult, Daryl suppresses the thoughts of Noah into the back of his mind. The threat that these cannibals present will be dealt with once he and Glen have a chance to talk with Rick. Rick will make the right call, he always does. Most likely they will simply change their route to Washington so as to avoid any further confrontation with these so called Termian's.

It has taken him longer than he would have liked to come to this conclusion though. If he is to be honest with himself, just knowing those people are out there is enough to make him want to hunt them down. Daryl never did like loose ends. They always had a way of coming back around to bite him in the ass the second he let his guard down. Just like it happened today, so too did it happen with his mom when he was seven. She had finally decided to leave his dirt bag of a father and take him and Merle away to a safe house while she attempted to clean up her life. She told Daryl of her plans and even packed two suitcases full of clothing. It wasn't the first time she had promised her son a better life. It was however the first time she had said it while sober, and also the first time she put the calls in place to make that promise a reality.

Daryl thinks back to how his father promptly turned his hopes to ash with a few threatening words and a promise. His dad had come home earlier than expected that day. When he saw the packed bags the shit-head grabbed Daryl's mom by the arm, and promised to unleash a beating so severe upon her baby boy if ever she stupidly thought herself capable of surviving the world without him. It was enough to send her straight to the sleeping pills that she kept hidden in the closet behind a beat up old fan. She then washed it down with a bottle of wine that lived in the top drawer of her nightstand.

Daryl tried like hell to stop the venom that spewed forth from his father's mouth, and he remembers the punch to his ribs that he received for the effort. To this day he is still haunted by the sounds of his mother's sobs that echoed through the walls of his room when he hid under his bed to get away from his dad; nor can he forget the shame he still feels for hiding there in the first place.

A week later his mom set the Dixon home a blaze when she fell asleep from a pill induced coma with a light cigarette still in her mouth. It is a loss for which the hunter has never truly gotten over. He should have stopped his dad somehow. |He should have tried harder.

Merle was yet another huge disappointment for the youngest Dixon boy. Older than Daryl by more than a few years, Merle was all the hunter had growing up. He was the only male figure to ever take an interest in him, and Daryl looked up to his big brother for friendship and guidance. Unfortunately for Daryl these encounters were rare and only when it served his brother's interests between stints in jail or court ordered rehab. It was because of Merle that Daryl wasn't able to hold down a decent job for longer than a few months before the turn. Inevitably a situation always occurred in which Daryl would be forced to choose between his job or his brother.

With Merle it was always the same. An endless cycle of drugs, debt, bail, and then hitting the road in a timely fashion to avoid the consequences of his brother's underhanded dealings. Daryl loved Merle, would have done anything for him, but it was a love that more often than not was one sided and would find the hunter without two nickels in his pocket to rub together. Either that or it would see him eat the end of a hard right cross after Merle ran his mouth in some dingy bar, and Daryl instinctively felt the need to intervene.

Each disappointment was another brick added to the wall that Daryl ever so carefully built around his heart. He let people in, but only so far. After the turn Daryl discovered that having an acute awareness for his surroundings, along with the unique ability to track and hunt, somehow made him a valuable asset in this new world. In spite of his redneck up bringing and his dumb ass brother (maybe because of it) Daryl started to carve out a life for himself. He made friends on his own merits, and the relationships he formed with those people were and still are more important to him than his own life. This has never been more true than with a certain blonde Greene girl who stole his heart all those many months before.

It started with a hug that he could only half reciprocate. It was the day Beth's new boyfriend Zack died at the Big Spot. He had expected the girl to be upset, maybe even cry some, although he hoped against hope she would seek her sister out for that. Truth was the only reason he volunteered to tell Beth the tragic news in the first place was because he felt he deserved to be punished for letting the poor boy die. He never could have expected that she would concern herself in any way with his own grief.

Daryl can't help the smile he knows must be creeping onto his face. "Are you ok?" It was such a simple question really, and one nobody had ever bothered asking him before. "Just tired of losing people is all," he answered truthfully. Beth startled him then when she softly began weaving her small arms around his body in an all encompassing hug. And that was the moment... The moment that Daryl Dixon let Beth Greene into his heart.

Daryl chuckles to himself, remembering how Beth could make his head spin in those early days.

"Something I missed?"

"Huh?" Daryl turns his head to see Glen cocking an eyebrow at him. Shit! He had completely forgotten he wasn't alone in the car. Quickly he wipes the smile from his face and narrows his eyes. "What are you going on about?" he states in his surliest tone.

"Daryl, you laughed...out loud. Doesn't happen that often, especially after days like these. Wondered what's up?"

"Just thinkin' is all."

"I could use a good laugh," Glen pries.

"S'nothing," Daryl snaps back, shooting the request down flat. He would just as soon toss Glen's ass out of the car before continuing this conversation any further.

Taken back by the sudden change in his friends posture, Glen side-eyes the hunter from the driver's seat. He is curious for sure, but can tell from Daryl's curt reply that it'll be pointless to press the issue.

Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, Daryl lets out a sigh when it appears Glen has decided to let the matter drop. Then leaning back on the head rest, the hunter's mind begins to slowly drift into his memories once more. His thoughts completely absorbed in blonde hair and blue eyes.

After their first initial contact that day in her cell, Daryl didn't know what to make of the girl. Beth was just so open and honest and helpful. He'd never met anyone like her before. She wasn't afraid to step up to a challenge even when it was out of her depth, and no matter the capacity, be it fighting walkers at the fences, or taking care of Ass-kicker, if Beth was needed she graciously lent a hand. When called upon by her daddy to lift the group's spirits with a song (not that Daryl particularly enjoyed Beth's musical choices mind), she projected a certain level of confidence that intrigued him to no end; Even when the scar on her wrist spoke volumes to the contrary. Beth was an enigma wrapped in a riddle, and Daryl became hell bent on figuring her out.

He found himself drifting towards the library on quiet nights when he wasn't expected on watch duty. It was in that place that Beth spent most of her nights reading any number of the endless books that lined the prison shelves. Daryl remembers the sweet smile that lit up her face the moment he entered the room, and how Beth always made a point to ask how his day was. He would nod or shrug his shoulders uncomfortably in response, then find a spot on the opposite side of the room where he could still see her, but pretend to be engrossed in a book so as not to have to talk to her. There was just something about her. Beth was calm and peaceful. This beautiful flower that somehow managed blossom amongst the weeds.

Sometimes when he would find her, Beth would ask him an unexpected question about some project going on within the prison walls, upon which Daryl would curtly respond with the first thing that popped into his head, then turn on his heel and march away, avoiding any further conversation with the blonde. He was always so stupid when it came to girls. Lord knows what she must of thought. Left to wonder why he would seek her out, only then to be so rude.

A few weeks later illness struck the prison, and Hershel deemed it an epidemic serious enough to issue a quarantine. Beth was separated with the youngest of the group into a different building within the fences. To Daryl it was a line drawn in the sand. He was much too old, too damaged, and Beth, too sweet for anything more to come of whatever it was that stirred in his gut whenever she entered his thoughts. The events that followed only solidified this for him. Daryl knew he would protect the nineteen year old with his life if need be, but he would be careful to remain at a safe distance so as not to cause her emotional pain.

When the Governor attacked, Daryl knew Beth needed his help. What he didn't know then was that the youngest Greene girl whom he had sworn to protect would eventually be the one to save his soul.

Beth was a constant source of light for Daryl in those first dark days following the prison. She had been through so much. Witnessed the slaying of her beloved father and lost a sister (the only family she had left), and yet she never surrendered her hope for a better tomorrow. Beth believed it with all her heart that they would eventually find their family, and her shear determination challenged Daryl to hope and believe it with her. His strong need to protect this girl and honor her late father, found the hunter unable to argue about the realities of their current situation. So with nothing better to offer, Daryl stayed silent.

He would listened to Beth as she prayed late at night for Judith's safety and protection; And sometimes when she prayed she would break down and cry. Not knowing what to do to ease his hope's heart, Daryl was left with little option but to scowl in frustration or walk away. He hated when she cried, and for a girl that said she didn't, Beth cried a whole hell of a lot. Daryl just wanted to see her smile. To know she was still capable of it, but comforting someone was never his thing and so he very nearly gave up. That is to say until they inadvertently stumbled upon a place they would end up staying for the next week.

It was a small Christmas gift shop. One of those specialty stores that sold Christmas ornaments all year round. The kind rich folks visit in July because they have nothin' better to spend their money on than over-priced decorations for a holiday months away. Beth needed a break from the woods and truth be told Daryl just need a break. A place to hold up and think things through. Allow him some days to sleep and address how the two of them would move forward in searching for their family. It would also afford him the time to gather some much needed supplies. Maybe even hunt.

They cleared the shop quickly, and split on a meager can of peaches. Then Daryl gave Beth what she has since referred to as a miracle. To him it was a rusted old generator behind the counter that let off a spark when he flipped the switch. A toy train started to move around a track that wrapped the inside perimeter of the store, and in the center of the room, a Christmas star that sat on top a fake fir tree lit up. He remembers how the dim light it cast reflected off Beth's golden locks, and produced a luminous halo that surrounded her features.

His words got stuck in his throat, and he thought his heart had stopped beating in that moment. The reality however, was that Beth Greene was just starting it up for the very first time. Daryl felt the need to look away, but every time he tried his eyes would find their way back to her. Never will he ever forget the single tear that streaked down the side of Beth's happy face, or that damn eternal light that shone out like a beacon through her beautiful eyes. She stole the breath from his lungs. She was so pretty.

He stood there frozen to the spot as Beth made her approach. "It's beautiful," she said. "Thank you for this." Thinking she was going to hug him again, Daryl braced himself for the contact, determined that he would hug her back proper this time, but once again she surprised him. Standing on tiptoes Beth placed a light kiss to his chapped lips, then looked up at him with the bluest eyes Daryl had ever seen. Then she kissed him again.

It happened so fast he could barely process it. Electricity surged out of every nerve ending in his body and the tight sensation in his pants seemed to render him helpless. He lost all rational thought.

"Beth." Her name left his mouth sounding low and rough, like a breeze moving through the leaves of a tree.

"Beth..." he repeated. She looked nervous, but acted remarkably confident, and it was her confidence that scared him shit-less. Beth tentatively placed her soft hand to the side of his scruffy face, then slowly moved it up to brush back the hair away from his eyes. "Was that ok?" Daryl couldn't move let alone run, and for once in his life he didn't want to. All he wanted was to continue staring down at the beautiful creature before him.

A long silence followed, and Daryl inwardly cringes when he thinks of the rejected look on Beth's face as she began to retreat away from him. It was his fault. He had been so captivated by her presence in that moment, he had failed to respond in any way to her question or her action. It near about killed him to see her like that, and unable to bare the sadness in her eyes a moment longer, he did the unthinkable. Daryl swallowed down all of the inadequacies that he believed made him unworthy of her, and then Daryl Dixon made the first big move in his entire life.

He cleared his throat and nodded his head, and even though he was terrified to think on what she might or might not do, Daryl forced out each syllable. "Yeah, it's ok."

His words came out barely a whisper, but she heard them and smiled.

Daryl gently placed a flat palm to the side of Beth's hip. He shuddered at the contact and Beth let go a shiver, instantly causing an blush to attach itself to her normally pale cheeks. The hunter then carefully lowered his hand from her hip to her belt loop, pulling her closer. Beth placed both her small hands flat to his chest and used his body for support before reaching one hand back into his shaggy dark hair. Beth stood on tiptoes and Daryl tilted his head down to meet her halfway. Their bodies so close that a piece of paper could not fit between them. Daryl nervously licked his dry lips, wrapping his arms tighter around her tiny waist as he closed the remaining distance to meet hers. Beth didn't hesitate. She opened her mouth, and slid her tongue across his lips while Daryl cautiously nibbled the flesh at bottom of hers and drew her tongue deeper into his mouth. It wasn't a perfect kiss. It wasn't even close. It was wet and sloppy. At one point their teeth clinked together and in his haste, Daryl accidently bit her lower lip too hard, causing it to bleed. No, it wasn't perfect, but it was honest, and it was real. And it was there in that moment that Daryl Dixon felt the walls around his heart begin to crumble.

For a short time he was happier than he had ever been.

A week later the generator caught fire and forced them to flee the store and head back to the glum realities of the world for which they lived.

A week after that, she was gone.

/

A solid bump in the road draws Daryl's attention back to the present as Glen drives around the final bend and pulls onto the dirt path that leads to the church. Instantly they can see that things are drastically wrong. A bonfire blazes at the far end of the building, opposite the rectory on the outer stone wall, and the putrid stench of burning flesh begins to waft up through the air and hang like a dark cloud around them. Daryl feels his heart pound harder in his chest as he prepares for the fallout of what he is sure will come next. "Look at that," he says, pointing to the bodies that are stacked against the wall. "Herd must have rolled through."

He presses his face flatter against the glass, and can barely makes out Rick's form in the distance. From what he can gather their leader appears to be dragging two dead walkers behind him. Abraham and Rosita following closely behind, dragging four more towards the flames.

"Do you see Maggie?" Glen asks urgently.

Unable to ignore the frantic undertones in his friends voice, Daryl peers harder out the window, catching sight of the brunette as she comes around the corner of the building, dragging a walker of her own.

"Relax Korea, I see her. She's walking towards the fire."

Daryl desperately scans the grounds amidst the chaos while Glen begins to rattle off names, but most of their group are too covered in ash and soot to distinguish between. Dirt and Grime cake their flesh as testament to a battle hard fought. Their appearance in stark contrast to the rosy pink blush of sunset that now paints the sky. These people... their people... they are coming back from war.

Anxiety bubbles within the hunter's gut, his worry threatening to overtake him entirely, until finally he spots her. Beth... his Beth standing on watch duty with a riffle in her hand. A wave of relief unlike any he has ever known washes over him, baptizing him and making him new. She is blood spattered and covered in filth, yet to Daryl's eyes she is the most beautiful sight he has ever beheld. His shining pillar of light. His paper bag princess, still armed and still strong, and somehow she believes him worthy of her.

"Stop the car!"