This my biggest update ever! Kind of any apology for taking so long! I tried to change the rating but there is no 'explicit' here. So be warned, it does go there. Finally. Thank you all for reading and reviewing! I appreciate it so much! Enjoy!

The sun continued to rise and Beth wondered if a day would ever come again where she would welcome all the possibilities a sunrise brought with it. Obviously now any day they woke up alive was in it's own way a blessing, but what they woke up to was a battle to just keep surviving and that got tedious. Sometimes it was so hard to have faith. She wanted to have that faith back. She wanted to be that girl that she used to be, but she'd changed. She'd wanted that too at one time. 'I wish I could just.. change.' The problem with wishes is they didn't always turn out how you'd expect. Some might say she was better equipped to live in the world the way it was now. 'You gotta be who you are, not who you were.' Was this who she was now?

She stretched out her legs and surveyed the hand drawn map spread on the floor in front of her. Her heart ached for the woman that had sat beside her the last time she was here, drawing maps and eating stolen chocolate. She smiled a little at the memory. The door to the infirmary creaked and Beth's hand automatically went to her knife. She hadn't had any nightmares the last two nights, not since everything had come out, but the anxiety was still there, that feeling of waiting for the inevitable. That never really went away. It eased up when she was with Daryl, but even he was on edge. She felt it in how his body tensed beside her and she saw it in his eyes every now and then. Nightime in her room at Rick's was probably the closest to normal that they had now. Daryl hadn't taken a night watch purposely to be with her. She knew that, even if he hadn't come right out and said it. He'd come in drop his stuff on the floor and kick off his boots and head into the bathroom. After he showered, they'd brush their teeth side by side. Almost like normal. They both slept with their clothes on just because of all the uncertainty right now with the situation, but curled up in Daryl's arms made her feel sane for a few hours.

"Beth?" Michonne's voice.

"In here."

Michonne settled on the floor beside her and looked over the maps. She nodded when Beth glanced at her. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes and Beth got the distinct feeling that Michonne hadn't necessarily come to look at maps.

"No nightmares lately," Michonne said gently. So this was where this was going. Beth had been expecting this to happen. She wasn't sure how she felt about having this conversation about what happened in her bedroom the other night. A part of her just wanted to move on. She shook her head.

"That's good." Michonne fidgeted with the lace on her boot. "You asked me if I'd ever been raped and I said yes.. I guess I just wanted to tell you what happened. Let you know you aren't completely alone." Beth looked over at her. She swallowed hard trying to get rid of the lump in her throat.

"I remember, you saying yes when I asked you that," Beth spoke softly. "I started talking and it all just came out and I know Daryl, he didn't know what to do, he didn't know.. I think that I saw this look in your eyes, so I asked." Beth rocked gently back and forth. Her stomach was in knots and she didn't want to fall back down into that dark place she'd been before. Rubbing her palms on her jean clad thighs she took a deep breath, she could do this, hell she'd come back from the dead. And this, this was healing, maybe. Michonne laid a hand on Beth's arm.

"If you're not ready to hear this, or you don't want too…"

"I do. I… What happened?" Beth sat up straight and clasped her hands in her lap. How does one prepare themselves to hear this kind of story? Possibly the same way one prepares themselves to tell it. She didn't want to hear, but she needed to.

Michonne had been young, in early 20's. She went to a party with friends and was planning on meeting a guy that she knew from school. The guy was there, had been there quite awhile and was already been drinking. Michonne thought maybe it was nerves and gave the guy the benefit of the doubt. She was nervous too so she had a couple of drinks of her own. At first everything seemed to be going good. They talked and laughed and she pretended not to notice how many times he lost his balance even though he was leaning against a tree. She wasn't sure how long they stood there talking before he convinced her that she needed to see the pond beyond the woods. The one the guys made new initiates into the fraternity skinny dip in. She went and looking back she knew it was the alcohol that lowered her inhibitions. Wandering alone into the woods with a drunk guy she barely knew wasn't something Michonne would do. But she did.

Beth watched as Michonne, a woman of very few words, articulated her horrifying experience. Michonne hadn't cried while listening to Beth, but Beth couldn't help the tears that silently rolled down her cheeks. Everything Michonne said hurt. She hurt for her friend and she hurt for herself. Crying didn't mean she was weak. She'd learned that lesson a long time ago when she had decided she wouldn't cry anymore. And she hadn't. Not for a very long time. Until she came home and she felt safe and once she let go she realized that for her crying was a way to let go of the things that made her feel helpless and lost.

"Did you tell anyone? The police?" Beth wiped her face with the back of her sleeve.

"My uncle. He took care of it. It was better that way. Guy got busted for raping another girl a year later. I'll carry that guilt with me forever." Michonne wrapped her boot lace around her finger and didn't look up at Beth.

"Thank you, for being there with Daryl and for being here now." Michonne shrugged her shoulders and Beth saw a slight smile. The silence between them wasn't awkward. It's just quiet.

"I'm gonna go find Rick. He was going to take inventory of what we have, so we're ready." Michonne pointed to the maps. "They look good."

Alone again and the quiet that she took comfort in earlier had gone. Maybe it's the fact that there's so much on her mind. Sometimes those voices in her head that she heard at the Hilltop come back to haunt her. Little whispers trying to get her to doubt herself, to drag her down a bit closer to the darkness. They come when she's alone, so she'd been trying her best to avoid being alone when she's feeling a certain sort of way. Like she's feeling now. The door creaked again, but she saw the shadow in the hall and released the breath she was holding as Daryl walked in. His eyes met hers and dropped to the maps.

"They're done. I just finished." He nodded and knelt beside them fingering the corner of the one closest to his boot.

"Looks good." His eyes traveled around the rest of the room and she saw his jaw tighten. It was like she could read his thoughts, she felt it when she came into the infirmary earlier, the person who should be here wasn't here anymore. The bin that held the pencils was at her feet and she stooped and grabbed it along with a couple of pencils on the floor beside it. Daryl rolled up the maps and his eyes were on her again when she turned to him. It made her stomach flutter. She recognized the heat low in her belly for what it was. When he held out his arm, she stepped into his embrace instead of just taking his hand. She pressed herself up against him and felt his arms come down around her. The warmth of his breath at her temple.

"Ya' ok?" His voice rumbled in his chest and Beth nodded. He pressed his lips to her skin and she sighed leaning back a little so that she could look up at him. She shouldn't be standing here, aching because she wanted Daryl to kiss her, and not just kiss her, but scoop her up and take her back to her house and strip her, strip them both so they could have their mouths all over each other. She shouldn't feel that right now. But she felt it anyway and accepted that it was good.

"We should check with Rick, about inventory." Beth leaned back in against him. Just for a second, she thought to herself. Daryl murmured an agreement and cupped the back of her head pressing her against him.

"Gotta go over to the church for Abe's funeral too." His flannel was soft and it brushed her cheek. She hadn't paid all that much attention to how it felt to have to pull away from Daryl. It had always been about what it felt like to make that first contact, whether it was with their eyes or by touch, that rush she felt. She let herself feel it, the opposite, the parting, letting go, moving on to whatever it was they needed to do. Coming home wasn't returning to the life she'd had before the kidnapping and the shooting. It was a completely different life now. Nothing was the same except some of the faces and even those had changed. What grounded her was Daryl. And maybe that was too simple, cliche even, to come back and have love be the thing that makes everything else bearable. But it was, kind of, in a way. She came back and they finished what they started in the funeral home. Everything else she did was a new beginning. Even her reconciliation with Maggie, her own sister, was kind of like starting over. But Daryl, he was like returning.

Daryl watched her closely, the girl he thought he'd lost. The guilt he'd carried like a weight on his shoulders. He saw a certain strength in her that she hadn't had out there in that meadow where he'd seen her for the first time again. It was as if she was taking something from being here now and using it to buoy her up, to help chase away her demons and if not put them to rest at least put them away. He never once thought that he personally had anything to do with that. He'd never imagined that someone could draw strength from the likes of him. He didn't really think to hard about where the strength to move forward was coming from, just that it was. All he wanted was for Beth to be here, now. She had scars, that was a given, but she didn't need to fold under the weight of those scars. She needed to carry on, beside him, here with their family. Because he loved her, more than he ever imagined he could love someone, more than he would ever understand. He just loved her. He reached out and took her hand lacing his large calloused fingers through her small soft ones. She looked down at their joined hands and then up at him and smiled and for once the smile made it to her eyes, even amidst all that was going on here, his touch could reach her. That filled him with something. It made him feel complete.

The majority of the residents of ASZ were gathered at the church. Only the people on watch hadn't come and Daryl saw Spencer in the look out by the gate. Rick and Michonne were waiting out on the street.

"How's inventory look?" Daryl could tell by the expression on Rick's face that it wasn't good. Rick shook his head and confirmed that.

"We give out half of what we have and our people suffer. We're gonna have to make a run," Rick said as he nodded at ASZ residents as they walked by. "And we're gonna have to do it soon." The crowd in front of the church was dwindling as everyone made they're way inside.

"We leaving tonight?" Daryl asked as they made their way into the church. Rick nodded. He glanced at Beth.

"You're coming too. We can't risk leaving you and having any of the Savior's show up." Daryl felt her tense beside him when he mentioned leaving and then she visibly relaxed at Rick's words. Did she think he'd go without her? He didn't much want to take her either, but the way things were now it was best to keep her as inconspicuous as possible. He accepted the fact that he'd function better if she was with him.

The funeral went as well as a funeral can be expected to go. It just meant losing someone else. Daryl figured he should be used to it by now. He shouldn't feel so helpless when another one of theirs was taken or lost. He rolled his shoulder and winced at the dull pain. He wasn't going to be any help digging the grave, but he trailed behind Rick anyway. He would stand there and witness it. Abraham had been a good man. He had been a friend.

A sharp whistle from Spencer alerted them and Daryl watched as an unfamiliar vehicle approached the gate. Instinctively his hand went to his crossbow. Rick and Michonne both had weapons in their hands. Beth was reaching behind her back for the pistol she carried tucked in her jeans and when their eyes met he nodded his approval. She didn't need it, that approval, but it was a bit more than that. He wanted her to know that he saw her, that he realized she was doing her part too, she could protect this family. Spencer waved to the person on the ground manning the gate, giving him the signal to open it. Glenn was behind the wheel. When he got out Daryl heard the sharp intake of Beth's breath.

"Maggie!" she whispered and she sprinted towards the car and her sister. The sisters hugged and shared a quiet conversation. Glenn walked up and Daryl could see the stress in the planes of his face.

How'd it go?" Rick asked. Glenn just shook his head. Daryl glanced over at Beth and realized she must have been told the same thing as she had her arms around her sister.

"We don't know for sure, but it's not promising. We have to wait and see. Another month or so and Dr. Carson will do another ultrasound." Rick and Daryl just nodded, shuffling their feet nervously. What do you say in a situation like this? Rick clapped his hand on Glenn's shoulder in a show of support.

"We gotta figure some things out. Meet at Rick's in a half hour? That enough time to get settled?" Daryl didn't want to take away from the moment and the need to hear and feel Glenns pain, but there were things that had to be done now. Glenn eyed them both and nodded.

"Yeah. We'll be there." He walked back over to the girls and Beth gave Maggie one last hug before she made her way back to Daryl's side. She slipped her hand in his and he saw the strain on her face and knew Maggie's situation was weighing heavy on her mind.

Daryl tugged gently on her hand and Beth looked up at him, her big blue eyes swimming with tears. Lowering her head she tried to brush them away, but gave up and just leaned into Daryl. His body seemed to loosen, shoulders relaxed and he leaned back into her. Holding each other up, that's what they were doing now.

The group that Rick had summoned met at his house. They filled the living room and and all looked expectantly at Rick. Daryl listened as he explained the situation with the inventory and what they had done with the weapons and the maps. Every couple of minutes his eyes inadvertently ended up on Beth. Perched on the edge of the couch next to Maggie, she held her sister's hand and Maggie looked tired and a little defeated and Daryl imagined Beth was going crazy trying to think of ways to make Maggie smile. Or not. Beth looked a little defeated herself.

"Why isn't everybody here?" Sasha asked.

"We need to keep this close for now. Trust is fragile. I know that Rosita and Eugene are with us, and Aaron and a few other Alexandria residents, but for now I want us to handle things." This was one thing Daryl agreed with Rick on one hundred percent. There were so many variables that could go wrong. Having too many people carrying around sensitive info was dangerous. Keeping with just their core group felt right to Daryl. They could take care of things better that way. People could get hurt just by knowing what they knew. People could die.

"What about Jesus and the Hilltop?" Maggie asked. The strength in her voice surprised Daryl. But then she was a Greene girl and they seemed to be made of some pretty tough stuff. His eyes once again drifted to Beth. Her eyes met his and she gave him the smallest of smiles, and he felt his own lips twitch, the desire to smile back won out and her smile got even wider.

"Jesus is with us too, but like I said we're keeping it close for now," Rick said. "When it comes down to it, when we are ready to do something, the Hilltop will be with us." Daryl hoped the Hilltop would be with them. It was still too early to trust that group completely. They all wanted the same thing, but not everyone shared the same opinion on how to accomplish it.

"Share it when we have too. We gotta talk about the run." Restlessness was settling in, it always did before a run and Daryl just wanted to get out there and do what needed to be done. He felt Beth brush up against him where he leaned against the door frame. Her small hand slipped into his. This was something that had been happening with more frequency lately. Them touching. Mainly him touching. She had no problem reaching out or closing in and taking what she needed. He had been hesitant before. Not so much anymore.

With the details of the run taken care of there was nothing left to do, but wait for the cover of darkness to head out. Rick went looking for Rosita. Nothing about what they had planned would leave their group yet, but Rosita was part of the larger group and she was good on runs. Beth walked Maggie and Glenn out to the porch. Maggie turned and looked at her, her eyes shiny with tears.

"You'll be careful, be safe.." Beth took her hand and nodded. She didn't trust her voice right now. So much had happened in such a short time and she knew it wasn't over. They didn't get to sit back and breathe yet. She swallowed hard and reached out to hug her sister.

"You rest." she whispered into her sister's hair. It was Maggie's turn to nod. Maggie's hair still smelled like home, the home before everything, before the dead started walking. She wondered if Maggie was thinking of her own mama right now. Being pregnant and unsure of what might happen and having to live in a world that was more of a fight than a life.

"Come back Beth." Glenn smiled at her, a sad smile and he slipped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a quick hug. He reached for Maggie's hand and they headed down the walk.

Daryl's hands slipped around her waist from behind. They grounded her. She felt that sweet ache, the one that had come on so suddenly in the infirmary, earlier. Leaning back against him, she sighed and he tightened his arms around her.

"We need get stuff ready." His breath tickled her ear. It was warm and soft and she shivered in his arms, her cheeks flushed with heat. He must've sensed her reaction and instead of being serious 'were on a mission' Daryl, he leaned in again and ran his tongue along the edge of her ear. She couldn't help it, she squirmed against him and this elicited a soft moan from him. His hardness was proof of what her reaction was doing to him. She'd never felt him hard, their touches hadn't been that intimate yet. She was in awe as she pressed back and he held on letting her make contact, but only a little. She wanted to feel him, needed to feel him. A small, frustrated whine came from her lips and he growled in her ear.

"Girl… what are you doing?" He was breathing heavy and he steered her by her elbow in the direction of the door. She stumbled and he fisted her shirt in his hand and held her upright. She struggled with the hold he had on her, highly aware of the fact that this too was turning her on. The way it was supposed too. This was how it should feel.

"Daryl, I…." They managed to make it inside the house before he backed her up against the wall and cupped her face in his hands. His calloused fingers brushed her cheeks softly. His eyes searched hers, and she knew what he was looking for, permission, a sign that this was ok. That he wasn't hurting her or scaring her or overstepping any boundaries. He was taking care of her. Like he did. Always. That was a good thing, but it wasn't what she needed. Right now she needed him to push her, to make her feel.

She sighed and grasped his shirt in her small hands and pulled him to her. She felt the tension in his body, she knew he was still holding back being so gentle for her. His lips captured hers in a soft kiss. It made her ache in a different way than her desire for him. She had asked him for this and he was giving it. She nipped at his bottom lip and her tongue found its way between his lips, licking and searching until he opened his mouth over hers. She slid her arms up around his neck and arched her hips into his pushing against the bulge in his jeans, making him moan softly. A sound from the kitchen had them both frozen in place.

"We need to go… upstairs.." Beth whispered, taking Daryl's hand and pulling him up the stairs.

The bedroom was bright in the midday sun and Beth stopped short inside the door. Here they were. She was a tiny bit overwhelmed. After everything, after all of it she was standing here with him in this moment. The world was not a safe place and in a few hours they'd head out that door into the middle of it all, but until then there was this, between them and they didn't need to feel guilty for taking whatever good they could and holding on to it. Daryl's hands came around her from behind and he just held her, waiting for her to take the lead. She turned in his arms and rested a hand on his cheek.

"I love you Dixon.. Thank you for this."

"Ain't done nothing much, yet." He raised his eyebrows slightly and she tipped her head back and laughed at his awkward attempts at flirting. This was good, laughing. She slid her hands under his leather vest and pushed it from his shoulders. Her fingers fluttered at the hem of his sleeveless shirt and he helped her by reaching down and pulling the shirt over his head. It dropped to the floor in a puddle next to the vest. When he reached for hers she raised her arms. He was gentle, so gentle as he slipped it over her head. She appreciated that right now, after everything. She ran a hand over his bicep as he released her hair and it spilled down over her shoulders in soft blonde waves.

"You're beautiful Beth.." his voice was husky and he watched her through half lidded eyes. Without taking her eyes off him she unclasped her well worn bra and let it fall. She could be brave and do this. For him. And for herself. He sucked in a breath at the sight of her bare breasts and when her arms instinctively went to cover them he took her hands in his, stilling their movement. She was small, she knew that and it had always been a sore spot for her. No one had ever looked at her like this, like he was right now and it gave her the confidence to keep her arms down, let him look. He loved her, everything he did was screaming it out to her. He moved them to the edge of the bed and he sat down maneuvering her to stand between his legs. A feather light touch up the sides of her rib cage gave her goosebumps and she shivered when he brought his hands around to cup her breasts. He brushed the rough pads of his thumbs over her nipples and they pebbled at his touch. He looked at them, like they were everything he ever wanted. She tangled her hand in his hair as he leaned forward, claiming one with his mouth. Beth moaned arching her back as she held his head against her breast.

"Oh god.. Daryl.." Her knees buckled and he eased her down onto his lap. She straddled one of his legs and sought relief for her aching pussy, writhing against his knee. She could feel the slickness, her panties were soaked already. She didn't much care because the way he was looking at her was making her even wetter. He rested his hands on her hips, his eyes dark with desire. Their teeth clicked against each other as he kissed her again, stealing her breath and making it his own.

"Get these off.." he fumbled with the buttons and Beth reached down and took over, pushing his hands to his belt.

"You too.." she breathed. Her eyes never left him as he unbuttoned his jeans and pushed them down over his hips. The striped boxers he wore underneath did little to conceal how turned on he was, how much he wanted her and Beth felt an ache in her pussy looking at him. She wanted this, wanted him. He got rid of the boxers and his cock jutted out in front of him. She licked her lips, head tilted up looking at him from where she knelt on the bed.

"Fuck, Beth.. I want you… You're… so beautiful… " he knelt in front of her and lay his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back. She was so small, his body engulfed hers. She felt everything, his heart beating, the way his breathing was fast like panting, his cock between her legs, hot and pulsing against her pussy. She spread her legs enough to let him in, thrusting up against him. Groaning, he whispered hotly in her ear.

"Gonna be over before it even starts girl." He pushed a hand down between them and cupped her sex, one finger slipping easily into her folds. He brushed her clit and she keened, bucking up against him.

"Daryl!" She shuddered and reached for his hand to force it against her, grind against until she got what she needed, but he was gone sliding down her body, sucking in a nipple and easing her legs apart gently.

"I wanna taste you.. Yer so wet.." Everything he's saying, words he's never spoken before and Daryl is a man of few words, but he seems to like talking to her this way, his voice husky and rough and fueled by desire. She likes it. A lot. This is what it's like to be wanted and to want back. She's never had this. Thought she never would. It's here though, it's here with him and she loves him perfectly in that moment.

Daryl can smell her, could before she even got her jeans off. It's sex and there's a familiarity in that although it's old and lost in memories. But Beth is different. It's sex yes, and it's musky and heavy, but he did it, he made her like this and that changes everything. He brushed his scruffy cheek against the soft skin of her inner thigh and relishes in her violent shivers and the little whine he hears coming from her because she knows where he's going with this, what he's gonna do. He pushed his hips into the mattress easing the ache in his cock and balls, refusing to imagine exactly how good its going to feel when he's buried deep in Beth's pussy. Trailing little kisses from her knee to where her leg meets her torso he bites gently in this sensitive spot and she bucks her hips and a nervous giggle bubbles out.

"God Daryl.. stop teasing.. just, please.." she's all breathy sighs and her begging turns him on even more.

"Tell me what to do Beth.. Tell me what you want.." He can barely believe the words that are coming out of his mouth. Things he only says to her in his head, never to her face, but she's moaning and trying to touch herself so he knows with complete certainty that she likes it, she likes him talking to her like this.

"Oh.. I want.. I want your tongue on me." Shy, she whispered the words and Daryl smiled against her thigh cause it's cute how she has a hard time saying it.

"Where Beth? Come on girl tell me.." he keeps his voice even and his mouth close to her sex so she can feel the heat from his breath.

"My pussy Daryl, I want your tongue in my pussy. Lick my clit… oh god please…" He's driving her crazy and he thinks he might come just listening to her. He doesn't want to come yet, not until he feels her tight around him and he makes her come again cause right now he's gonna do what she asked and lick her clit, make her come with his mouth on her. She's warm and so wet and he drags his tongue from her opening to the hard nub nestled between her lips. He gets his mouth over it and sucks gently flicking his tongue back and forth. She's slippery and he almost loses contact as she grinds against his face. He grips her hips in his hands and holds her down against the mattress. Nosing his way back into her he circles her clit with his tongue and she loses it completely, he feels the muscles of her cunt contract and try and draw him in, his tongue or lips, anything that's touching her sensitive pussy. And she's crying out and has her hands in his hair and her orgasm is beautiful and it's his too. He did this and he'll kill anyone who ever tries to take this and make it hurt her. She's his. He's hers.

"Beth.. " he rests his head on her thigh, but only for a minute and then he's climbing back up her body, over her and one small hand slips behind his neck pulling him down to her where she can kiss him and lap at his beard and cheeks, tasting herself on him. He feels her other hand flutter against his stomach and then grip him, cock hard in her fist she arches up and rubs her open lips against his swollen cock head.

"I don't.. we don't.." he remembers he didn't bring any protection. He has some back at Aaron's, in a bag in his closet because he wanted to believe that someday this would be a reality. Lot of good those condoms are doing him now.

"On the floor next to the bed. I, I wanted this so bad Daryl… I wanted to be ready." He reaches and stretches and laughs at her serious tone, but he's thankful for it, cause he doesn't think it would be possible to stop, not now when they are pressed so close together they might as well be one and he can feel how hot and wet she is sliding on his thigh and brushing the head of his cock. He leaned back on his knees and slipped the condom on. He'll do it this time. Better this way because of what she said the other night, his mind can't go there. This is them and it's right and so good and he loves her so much, he wants her to know that this never happened for him before. This wanting. He never cared about getting laid. Just did it cause he thought he was supposed to and because Merle was a relentless bastard. But with Beth, he wants it, wants her. He wants to come and feel that clench and release that used to make him feel ashamed, he knows it won't. Not anymore, not with her. He wants her to come again, underneath him, he wants to be the reason this feels good for her.

"Come on Daryl.. Fuck me." Her hot breath in his ear and small sharp teeth nipping.

"Damn Beth.. you can't.. goddamn…" He takes his cock in his hand, pushed between her legs, and rubs her once, up and down and then sinks into her moaning and feeling like he's flying and falling until they find a rhythm and her hands on his biceps and her eyes are big and blue cause she's looking at him, right at him.

"I love you Daryl.."

He can't help the tears that blur his vision for a second as he thrusts a couple more times before pressing his mouth to hers and breathing into her and coming into her, waves of pleasure wracking his body. Her thighs are around his waist and her can feel her pussy tighten around him as she comes too. It's an amazing feeling being held that way. She's holding him inside of her.

"Oh girl, my beautiful girl, I love you too." And he does. He does. She was gone, he lost her, but for some reason this fucking universe gave her back. He got a second chance. He's never been given anything like that. He's a lot of things, but he's not stupid. This is a gift. She's everything now. If he's gonna be the last man standing, like she said, he's gonna make sure she's the last woman standing right beside him.

Daryl forgets that it's not morning, that they came up here earlier that day so he's thrown off by the darkness when Rick's voice at the door wakes him up. He mumbles a reply letting Rick know he heard and then he sinks back down on the bed and wraps his arms around Beth. She stretches and rubs against him.

"We gotta go Beth." This is whispered and she stiffened against him remembering the last time he said this to her and everything that followed. His lips in her hair, on her ear. "Not going down that way this time girl.. I ain't gonna lose you." Husky with emotion, his voice shook and she pushed herself against him as close as she could get.

"I'm not gonna leave you. Staying where I belong, no matter what." There are tears on her cheeks and she drug her hands over her face. He can see her anger and fear, knows this run scares her. It scares him too, but they'll do what they have to do. They'll get it done quick, the four of them, and come back. But if something goes wrong… He's not gonna think that way right now. Her hand on his chest brings him back and they get up and get dressed, checking each other's weapons.

"We good?" Daryl asked. She nodded and slipped her arms into her backpack. She held his out to him. He pushed her hand aside and wraps his arms around her because he can sense it, the change in her and he knows it was what he said, how he said it. Words that took them both back. A funeral home and oh.

"Don't go back there Beth." They can't do this now. They need to be all here. If she's lost in the past she isn't going to be thinking straight.

"I wanted to walk out those gates tonight knowing that he didn't take that. And I am. He didn't take away what we started. We got to make it real Daryl." He knows what she's getting at even if she's having a hard time conveying it. Her hair is soft against his lips.

"If we don't come back.. Or I don't.." This is like a fist to his chest and he pulled back his hands still on her shoulders.

"We ain't doing this, told ya it ain't going down like that. I can't lose you again. Stop." He turned away and picked up his pack forcing his arms into it and he can feel her behind him, waiting.

They beat the odds, her in this world, him in the other world. Surely that means something. How many fucking times are they gonna have to prove themselves? When is the debt paid in full? 'Never little brother.' Fuck you Merle. Fuck you. He turned and looked at her standing there, still waiting cause she knows he's not done.

"We're survivors girl… And when we get out there you better damn well act like one. You hear me?" And he's walking towards her, trying to be the tough, angry, Daryl but it's hard to be tough when the other person can read you like a book and he's sure she sees the tears, cause he can feel them. She meets him halfway, hurling herself into his chest.

"Ok.. ok Daryl. This isn't that story, in this one we come back together." She's using that voice, the one she used at the cabin when he was on the edge, when he was lost and broken and she pulled him back. But he hears the conviction in that voice and he feels it in her arms around him. As long as she's there beside him, fighting if they have to, he knows they will be ok.

Going out at night puts Beth on edge. It brings back too many memories and she knows it won't go any good to think about that night. Rick is talking and Beth tried to listen, tried to focus on what he was saying, but Daryl had her hand and is holding on tightly. Too tightly. And everything about this run feels off in a way she can't even make sense of. They'll go and find what they can, hopefully enough to take care of their own people and appease Negan. And then what? This isn't them, they aren't weak, they don't back down. Beth knows first hand what Negan and the Saviours are like, and maybe they've finally met their match, but there has to be a way out of this, a way to end it and end Negan's reign.

The car jerks to a stop and Daryl squeezes her hand. She squeezes back.

"Hey, where ya at?" It's dark and everything is shadows, she can't see Daryl's expression, but she knows his face. He's making sure she's okay.

"I don't know." Before she even has time to explain they are out of the car weapons ready and moving in slowly. She doesn't need to explain it though. Daryl already knows.

"Split up. You two take the left, meet around back." Rick and Rosita dissolve into the darkness.

"You lead." Daryl's hand on her back guiding her forward and she knows what he's doing. Making her focus, pay attention and putting her in front of him. Smart man. She can do this though. She's changed, grown, and has become more of this world than the last. Him beside her, it's so easy to fall into what they were out there before, just the two of them. Stepping lightly, barely making a sound, even in the dark when they can't see hardly a thing. It's instinct. The shadow of a building looms in front of them and Beth leads them to a door and they fall into sync.

It's a storage room that hasn't been depleted of all that's there and they take what they can back to the car. It's gonna take more than one trip, but they do it together side by side. An unspoken agreement. Rick and Rosita are doing the same thing. Back in the car less than 30 minutes later they've found some, but not much.

"Been here before, with Aaron. There was more than I thought." Daryl leaned over the front seat as Rick back the car out to the road.

"It's a start," Rick said.

"There were no walkers. Not even one. That seemed wrong," Rosita said settling back in the seat.

It might be wrong, but they're still close enough to ASZ that the walker population is being managed and eventually it will have to start to decline. Not only because of organic reasons, but the fact that the living have learned how to deal with their dead. Whatever the case may be, the world is moving on and it's pretty evident that dealing with the hordes of walkers is much easier than dealing with evil men and their quest to take over and best each other.

They make two more stops along the route the Rick mapped and out and Daryl is relieved when daylight comes even though they haven't come across enough supplies to really make a dent in what they actually need. Somehow daylight is safe in Daryl's mind.

Sitting back to back on the roof car, Daryl and Rick took first watch and let the girls sleep. Daryl'd rather be down there with Beth. She's probably warm, wrapped up in his flannel. He's been thinking through everything that happened yesterday and how it was so damn good. He didn't realize that it could be like that, more than just sex. Never been a big deal before. But now, now it is.

"Beth good?" Rick's voice pulled him out of his reverie. And what he said throws Daryl off for a minute.

"Oh.. yeah. Yeah she's okay." He's glad Rick can't see his face because he can feel the heat on his cheeks and he's sure he's blushing. And there's no way he can explain it.

"We're gonna make him pay for what he did to her. Make him pay for everything, but for her, he's gonna suffer." The words are quiet, but Daryl knows that tone. He knows Rick. His hands still where they were whittling at a stick and he takes a deep breath and leans back slightly into Rick. That gesture says more than Daryl can say in words.

A loud crackle from the two way radio at Rick's hip breaks the silence. Daryl forgot he had it. Brought along just in case. They must be barely within range because the static makes it almost impossible to hear anything coherent. It's a voice but they're almost whispering,

'Dad? Can you hear me..' More static. Rick left the other radio with Spencer and told him to have whoever is on look out keep it with them. Carl isn't scheduled as a look out. Daryl knows this.

"Carl?" Rick's trying but the connection isn't good. Daryl slides off the car and the backdoor is already open. Beth is crawling out trying to pull her hair back in a ponytail. Rosita followed behind and the three of them stood looking up at Rick.

'Dad if you can hear me you need to come back. He's here.'