A/N: No I didn't abandon this story:) I wrote a chapter months ago that was supposed to go here. Just jump right into the meat of it, right off the hop, but when I went to publish I couldn't. I wanted a some conversations to take place before they left the church... and once its out there you just can't go back you know. That's when the trouble started. I wanted those conversations to organically fit within the confines of my story, but didn't know how, and alas I developed a crippling case of writer's block. I started two other stories, one under a different account in hopes to fuel my muse for this one, but it only made it worse. AHHHH! (LoL). To those who have favorite/followed, especially during this time have meant so much to me. Thank-you. I will cross my fingers and hope you all approve - mel

Enjoy!

As Beth opens her eyes she no longer feels the hunter's strong form folded around her small frame, and for a fleeting moment the memories of last night seem but a dream to the youngest Greene girl.

A wonderful dream where Daryl's body collided with her's, mashing together in a frenzy of tangled limbs and sweat soaked skin. Where his striking blue orbs burned straight through to her soul. His trust in her expanding, and their hearts connecting, as she tentatively trailed soft fingertips over the textured flesh on his back.

Daryl shivered when she'd done it, and for a split second Beth thought she had over-stepped her bounds. But then he moved closer and threaded his fingers through hers; Holding her hand as he buried his head in her breasts... her hair... her neck, and then lower... Oh, so much lower. Devouring every inch of her for a second time before finally they both collapsed on the bed from shear exhaustion.

Beth's eyes roll back and her skin heats up. Just thinking about it gives her goose-bumps.

There's no hiding the goofy grin she knows is spreading fast across her flushed cheeks, and she's pretty sure it will permanently be etched there for ever more. Maggie will know. They all will the second they look at her, but she doesn't care. How could she when last night had been the best of her life.

The tiny blonde yawns and sits up on the bed, taking the thin blankets with her as she scoots back against the headboard. She wraps them around her bare shoulders, breathing in the hunter's alluring scent that floats up through the fibers; And it's almost as though Daryl himself is wrapped around her. His aroma is intoxicating. A delicious mixture of campfire and pine-needles and moss and wood and everything Dixon. A fragrance so exquisite it makes her mind fuzzy and her heart swoon.

With the hunter gone, Beth longingly gazes out the window and watches as the sun begins its slow ascent above the horizon... It's breathtaking really. The firery ball hangs low in the air as though it hangs by a string; Painting the sky in vibrant hues of oranges and yellows that burn through the atmosphere and gleam through the glass in shimmering fractals of bright light. Beth turns her head to avoid the glare and that's when she spots it...

A single white daisy that rests on the pillow where last night Daryl rested his head. Perfect in it's simplicity, with a wild nature and quiet understated beauty that Beth thinks a good fit for the man that picked it. She'll keep that thought to herself though, as she knows full well Daryl would not apprieciate the sentiment. No matter how in love with her he claims to be.

Her goofy grin grows wider, and she feels herself melting into a puddle of goo as she brings the soft petals to her nose, not quite believing how Daryl just gets her.

Beth loves daisies. Always did. As a small child she remembers gravatating to the field where they grew just beyond the farm. There she'd play make-believe. Pretending to be a powerful pirate princess set forth on a grand quest to rescue her family from some evil titan king, or the horrible goblins that would sell them for coin. Her field of flowers providing an endless backdrop for her imaginary games.

And as she grew older she sought comfort in that place, losing entire days buried in a book while laying out amongst the blossoms; Watching the clouds float by as she daydreamed of a future beyond the farm.

Beth smiles at the memory and stores it in the forefront of her brain to share with Daryl at the first opportunity. That way he will know what this small flower means to her. Not only for the past it represents, but also because he is now a huge part of that future she had dreamed.

On the night-table beside the bed sits a small bowl of blueberries with a piece of folded paper poking out the top. Beth's stomach growls loudly as she stares at the paper with a quizzical eye. She is curious for sure, but hunger wins out and she pops a blueberry into her mouth (cringing at the slightly sour taste of it), before unfolding the note and reading his words.

"Beth..."

"Hope you slept well. I wanted to wake you, honest I did, but you looked so peaceful I couldn't bring myself to do it. I'll be back soon. Glen and I are just headed over to the church with Rick and Abraham. Needed to discuss some stuff, sort out the final details of the run and what-not, before we head to D.C.

Hope you like blueberries. Found a bunch of them growing not far from here, so eat up! Then if you want, throw some jeans over that sexy ass of your's, 'cause I thought maybe we could spend the afternoon together. Forget all the shit and get out of here for a while.

And listen... I left somethin' for you in the top drawer of the nightstand. I know it's nowhere near as nice as the one you lost, but...

I just thought... well... Don't be mad ok, but I thought it might help. See for years I believed I was nothing 'cause of how I was raised, and I carried that around with me a long while. Buried it under the shell of and asshole. But every day you show me different Beth. You make me believe that I can be different. So don't let the bad things that happened change who you are. 'Cause you are so much stronger than that.

- Love Daryl"

Beth tentatively opens the drawer and pulls out the journal that sits inside. She is touched beyond measure, not understanding (even for a moment) how he could think she'd be angry. This has to be the kindest sweetest gesture anyone's made for her since long before the world ended.

She blinks back tears and clumbsily flips open the cover to first page.

"For Beth," she reads.

"A place to quiet your thoughts when they are to loud, share your secrets when I am not enough, battle your demons when you are ready to do so, and most importantly to hold on to your dreams, because they are beautiful -Daryl

Beth gulps back a lump in her throat so large she can barely breathe. The hunter's eloquent words unleashing a vast well of emotion that bubbles up from the very center of her being, then transforms into happy tears that stream down her face in uncontrollable waves. She can't define it, barely understands it herself, but it's like the man has radar when it comes to her. He's so instinctually tuned in to the pieces of her heart that she doesn't let others see. Seeming to intuatively know what she needs, quite often before she knows it herself.

Pushing the blueberries out of the way, Beth lays the journal open to the very last page and carefully places the daisy inside. When she has the flower just as she wants it, she closes it up and stacks another book on top. In a few days time, when the daisy has had a chance to properly dry, she will revisit the page and write an extensive entry beneath it. Wanting always to remember the love she feels for Daryl now, in this moment... and how strongly she feels it.

When she is done Beth uses her fingers to brush away the curliest strands of hair that are stuck to her face, fastening them back into a messy ponytail and weaving a braid through the center before she gets dressed. Then she adjusts the locking knife into a safer position at her hip, and grabs the bowl off the nightstand on her way out the door.

Hoping not to wake the others, Beth tip-toes quietly down the hallway toward the kitchen, intent on switching the slightly bitter berries for some left over peanut butter. As she rounds the final corner, shock paints her face a ghostly white when she discovers her sister sitting alone at the table with a basket of laundry sitting at her feet.

"Maggie!" the younger sibling squeaks.

Stay calm, Beth tells herself... Breathe... You are an adult, and she is your sister. She holds no power over you. Act normal and Maggie needn't to know a thing." I didn't think anyone but Daryl got up this early. Glen wake you," Beth asks in her most casual tone. At least she hopes it sounds casual. Inside her stomach is doing flip-flops, and she swears she can feel her sister's eyes burning into the back of her head as she searches the bottom cupboard for the tasty goodness she craves.

The brunette watches her sister with immense curiosity, a crease knitting her brow as she slowly replies "Ya sort of." Beth turns around and the sight of what she holds in her hand has Maggie's eyes expanding to the size of saucers. It's been so long she can barely believe what the label is telling her, yet eagerly accepts a spoon when the younger Greene offers it. Beth places the peanut butter in the center of the table and motions for her sister to go first, laughing out loud when Maggie's eyes roll back in her head. "My God that's good," Maggie says, sliding the jar across the table.

Beth giggles. "I know right. Sooooooo good!" Dipping her own spoon in, Beth slides the jar back. "I nearly died when Daryl pulled it out of the cupboard last night."

Maggie pauses, spoon half dipped. "This is Daryl's?"

"Don't worry, he won't be mad." Beth can see the uneasy expression on her sister's face and so quickly adds. "Daryl hates the stuff. It was me he saved it for."

"Saved it?"

"Um hum," Beth nods. "Daryl came across it before he found you guys. He knew it was my favourite and so he picked it up and carried it with him all that time. Guess he worried I might be hungry. Isn't that amazing! He never gave up on me Maggie. He never stopped searching."

Beth doesn't have to remind her. Maggie was there. She remembers... And it was amazing! In the weeks after rejoining the group, Daryl made it his singular mission to find Beth alive. It was Daryl that pushed for them to stay motivated, and Daryl that kept them moving. The redneck was prickly and abrasive during that time (even more-so then usual). Constantly barking out orders (even to Rick) and making excuses on why it would be better for them to go this way instead of that. Daryl refused to give up. He wouldn't accept no as an answer.

What Maggie remembers most clearly though, causes tears to form at the corners of her eyes. At the time it very nearly broke her heart. During the coarse of the day...everyday, Daryl would make a special point to come over and reassure her personally. Telling her how strong Beth was. How he taught her things that would keep her alive until they found her, and that Beth would be looking for them too. "Yah just have to keep believing it Maggie. She's out there, and I promise yah I'll find her. I'll bring Beth home."

Maggie kind of just figured after that... You hear about it you know. People forming attachments when thrown together in extreme situations... and Beth and Daryl had been out there a while. But looking at her younger sister now, Maggie realizes Beth's feelings for the man run much deeper than she origionally thought.

She hears it in the soft flutter of Beth's voice when she speaks Daryl's name. Sees it in the far-off look Beth gets when she thinks about him. The same look Annette had for their dad every day of her life... And if Maggie hadn't already known, she most certainly would have the second her eyes fell upon the stupid grin stretched across Beth's face. Her ridiculous smile that screams from the rooftops I just got laid! ...Maggie knows that grin, hell, she invented it. She also knows that in all their years as siblings, she has never seen Beth so happy. "You love him don't you?"

Staring down at the jar, Beth wistfully sighs. "Yah Maggie, I do. I really do!"

"I can tell. Listen Beth, I wanted to talk to you about something, but what I had to say doesn't really apply if you love him. So just take these ok." Never being one to beat around the bush, Maggie slides three foil packets across the table, catching the younger Greene off-guard. Beth's eyes widen as it suddenly sinks in that she and Daryl hadn't used anything. Wrapped in each other and lost in the moment, she can't even remember if he pulled out the second time. Oh my God!

"Don't look so suprised that I know Bethy. I'm sure the walkers in the next state heard you two last night," the older Greene teases. "And don't feel shy about asking for more either. Glen's been stashing 'em away since the farm, so we've got plenty!" Maggie reaches for Beth's hand across the table, and is suddenly very serious. " I just want you to be safe, that's all. The world's not what it was before Bethy. Us women... we gotta be careful, you know."

Beth nods sheepishly, and puts the condoms in her pocket.

"Common Dew Drop. Now that that's settled you can help me with the laundry."

Beth rolls her eyes as reaches for the basket. "Sure thing Maggs... and Maggie...

"Yah?"

"Thank you."

/

The hunter leaves the church down-trodden and dragging his feet. In no way eager to go back and tell Beth what the four of them have decided. He knows it's the right call. The best chance at keeping the group safe. Hell it was his idea, and given the circumstances he's pretty sure Beth will see it that way too. But knowin' and tellin' are two different things, and he dreads the sad look that she will try to hide from him when she realizes her and Maggie will once again be separated. Daryl has already resigned it within himself that if Beth wants to stay with the rest of the group, then he will stay too, no questions asked. Let Rick and Abraham sort out the run.

All things being equal, Daryl hates the prospect of leaving this place. This home that wasn't a home until Beth was here... and he just needs time. Time to gather his thoughts and clear his head. Time to spend curled around her in a warm bed for the next year, and then maybe the year after that. The kind of time that doesn't exist anymore for survivors like them, and so he pauses...

He watches Beth from the edge of the path near the back doors of the church while she engages Maggie in a deep conversation at the clothes-line. The insurmountable heavyness growing within his heart for every second that passes.

Beth feels it too. Daryl's blue eyed stare that lingers on her body like a second skin, alerting her to his presence even before she glances above the bed-sheets she is helping Maggie to hang. When she finally does, her heart suddenly sinks. It's clear somethin's bothering him, and Beth suspects from the pensive way Daryl is looking at her now that she is not going to like what it is. His jaw is hard set and his shoulder's slightly hunched as he kicks up dust with his boot, seemingly content to hang back from the others.

As the men walk toward them Maggie sees it written on the stoic resolve set in Glen's features. Her husband's thin lips, tightly together as he walks with purpose behind the red-head who is grinning from ear to fucking ear. Rick's peaceful expression is the most telling however. The lines of hardship and worry that normally crease his brow have all but vanished. Informing the sisters that he has made his decision, and that he is good with it.

"If you don't mind Maggie, I'm gonna go talk to Daryl."

"Not at all," Maggie worriedly responds, reaching for the last of the clothespins in her sister's hand. Then staring down the path, her eyes stay focused on her husband as he parts present company and veers toward her. Beth throws him a small smile as they pass on the path. Glen heading for his wife, and the blonde for the church.

The hunter's sad eyes draw the younger Greene closer as she walks toward him. Her heart sinking further with every foot step she takes until she in standing only an arms length away. Confident now in what he will tell her. "We're leaving aren't we?"

Daryl releases a puff of air he didn't even know he was holding, then closes his eyes and silently nods Beth his answer. Relief washing over him as he consentrates on the feel of her fingers dragging through his thick locks that so desperately need to be trimed. Her hand dropping down to the nape of his neck, one arm looping around him there, pulling him closer, so as to place her other hand over his heart.

"When?"

"First light," Daryl replies in a voice so quiet she can barely hear him.

"That soon."

"Has to be."

"What about the run?"

"Run's still gonna happen Beth. We leave at first light. Rick and Abraham will lead the group north to the Chattahoochee forest, and you and I will gather what we need and meet up with them there. It's a good chance the two us will actually make it there first depending on how things go."

Beth stands silent as she absorbes the news. It kills him to see what this is doing to her. To see her trying so hard to be strong even as tears well up in her eyes, causing her beautiful sky blue orbs to take on a vibrancy he had never seen there before. "If you want us to stay with the rest of the group we will. Rick will understand. He can find someone else Beth. I mean it. After everything that happened I'm sure..."

"Shh," Beth whispers, her finger lightly pressing against the hunter's lips. "It's ok, I'm fine. I just thought we'd have more time here is all. It's like Daddy always said... Everything that happens, happens for a reason, we just don't always get to know what it is. I trust you Daryl. You're my family too, and if you think this is our best chance then of course I will stand behind you on it."

"Yah Beth, I do. Glen and I met someone yesterday. It's not safe anymore."

Beth quietly nods, tugging the hunter closer so as to lightly kiss his lips before wrapping herself around him like she's wanted to do all morning. "Tomorrow then."

"Tomorrow," he agrees, clinging to her embrace. It isn't long in that position before a playful smirk forms at the corners of Daryl's mouth, and with relaxed southern drawl he quietly speaks into her shoulder, "You know... If you want to... We still have today."

Instantly Beth smiles, suddenly remembering the note he had written. "And it's a beautiful day. Be a shame to waste it. What do you say we forget all the shit and get outta here for a while."

Daryl lightly pushes her out of the hug to see for himself that she means what she says. "It's a two hour hike Greene, you sure your up for it. Thought after I told yah, you'd want to spend your time with Maggie and the rest."

"And miss and adventure with you.. Never. Besides, Maggie has Glen. She'll be fine."

"We best get our asses moving then," Daryl says with a wink. Beth winks back and starts walking up ahead, while Daryl swings the crossbow off of his shoulder and follows slowly behind. His steel blue eyes drifting down to her ass as Beth moves, watching her with an almost evil expression as her round little bottom sways back and forth in those tight little jeans.