Hello everyone, sorry for the long time it took to get this chapter out. SPOILER ALERT! After that last episode, I got a major case of writer's block, probably due to the fact that I didn't even want to think about Daryl or Beth after how the writers made their story turn out. I really feel that they shouldn't have killed Beth off the way they did, she had so much potential and room for character development. Not only is Beth gone, but I fear that after her death, Daryl will never show that soft sweet side of himself that I love so much. I felt like together they both really brought out the best in each other. However, despite the fact that they will not end up together on the TV show, I have decided I want to continue this story, if only to give myself a happier ending. They are great together and I hope I can do them justice now that the writers have decided not to.

Maggie's POV

Maggie groaned internally when she caught sight of her little sister holding Daryl Dixon by the hand and leading the rough redneck to the edge of the campsite. As expected, the hunter slipped his hand out of hers and gave her a small shove, which considering his usual people skills, meant he was putting up with Beth's antics exceptionally well. Maggie watched as her little sister did some sort of mock salute to the man before heading into camp. Beth was just asking for it. The older Greene sister made a mental note to have a talk with Beth.

Ever since Beth had been a child, she had shown her affection for people through physical contact such as hugs and hand-holding and other little gestures. However, Maggie knew from past experience, that Beth was so comfortable with physical contact and closeness, that she often didn't know how to respect other people's space bubbles. Maggie herself wasn't one for big hugs except with a select few people, so she could understand how Beth might make some uncomfortable.

Obviously, in their time alone, Beth and Daryl had bonded, just like Maggie had bonded with Sasha and Bob. Ever since Beth had been reunited with the group, she had been trying to follow Daryl around. It reminded Maggie of when she used to bring her friends or boyfriend home and at some point she would realize they were missing. Maggie would always find them caught in Beth's room with her little sister painting their nails or having them play with her. The guys especially would be uncomfortable but obviously had no clue how to say no to the sweet little girl who adored them. As if that wasn't enough, the family also had to save Hershel's friends from having their hair put up in pink bows.

Beth had good intentions and none of the people had minded too much, but Maggie felt that Beth needed to learn that she couldn't just act familiar with everyone, especially Daryl Dixon. Considering how much Beth seemed to be trying to push his buttons, he had remained fairly calm in his reactions towards her sister, minus the yelling earlier in the day. For Daryl, he was almost on good behavior. But Maggie wasn't sure how long that would last. Daryl was a good guy and he had become a lot calmer since Maggie had first met him, but he was known for having a harsh temper and liking to keep to himself. If Maggie let Beth keep pestering him, she was sure that the archer would give her sister a piece of his mind at some point. As Beth's sister, it was her job to tell Beth that it was best to give Daryl some space unless she wanted to get shish-kabobed by a bolt.

"What's bothering you sweetheart," asked Glenn as he came up behind her and gave Maggie a hug.

"Nothing, it's just Beth," Maggie said, "She is provoking the tame mountain lion."

Glenn raised an eyebrow at Maggie's vague answer.

"She is tagging along with Daryl everywhere and I think she is going to start irritating him at some point," Maggie explained.

"Daryl isn't one to not say what is on his mind," Glenn pointed out, "I'm sure if Daryl were bothered by Beth, he would just yell at her or shoot an arrow in her direction or something."

"Well, it ain't like he hates Beth and he is a lot cooler-headed these days," Maggie said, "but maybe he doesn't have enough people skills to know how to nicely tell people to leave him alone. When he reaches his limit and gets tired of her following him around like a puppy, he is going to yell and Beth is going to be hurt and she will come crying to me. My sister is sweet and has such a big heart, but she doesn't always know when she has overstepped people's personal space boundaries."

"That's true," Glenn agreed, "Beth is definitely the touchy-feely type, the exact opposite of Daryl. I would bet that if Daryl hasn't already, he is going to chew her out at some point. But, I remember a day back at the prison when you, me, and Michonne were all fighting with Merle. Beth came out of nowhere and fired a gun in the air, demanding that Merle quit causing such a ruckus. The man could have easily snapped her in two, but he didn't, he just seemed amused by her confidence. Beth may be sweet, but she can also handle it when other people aren't sweet back. She sure seems to have a way with getting those Dixon men to behave though."

"I guess you are right," Maggie conceded.

"Besides," Glenn continued, "you saw the way Beth and Daryl argued the other day, it didn't seem like Beth was intimidated in the least, although maybe she should have been. Even I would have been hesitant to argue with Daryl when he was in a mood like that. But, if it is worrying you, I can check with Daryl just to make sure that he doesn't mind and if you are still worried after that, just talk to Beth, she is your sister."

"Thanks Glenn," Maggie said, feeling better after Glenn's peptalk and offer to talk to the archer. "You are the best," she said, as she planted a kiss on Glenn's cheek."

Abraham's POV

Abraham stood back and evaluated the camp site. Everyone was running about setting up makeshift tents or trying to patch up the wounded. He wanted to scream at his misfortune. He couldn't have picked a more time consuming and dangerous scenario than being with a group that was being hunted by a strong enemy and had a good number of people wounded. Maybe he should grab Rosita and Eugene and they could strike out on their own again. However, if this enemy could be taken care of, Eugene would be well protected within such a large group.

A warm hand landed on Abraham's shoulder, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"You have such a serious face," Rosita commented, "what are you thinking about."

"We need to get moving," Abraham said, "we are being slowed down far too much."

"Abraham," Rosita practically groaned, "There is no way we are going to move any faster than this, we can't really control other groups attacking us."

"Well maybe we would be better off without this group," Abraham suggested, "that enemy group doesn't want anything from us anyway. If we were to split off, I can promise you that they would follow Rick's group."

Rosita just glared at Abraham until he backtracked.

"Okay," Abraham said, holding his hands up in surrender, "just a suggestion, but we can also stay with this group as long as things get moving. Rick isn't moving fast enough for my liking, but everyone around here listens to him."

"Well," Rosita advised, "Then maybe you should talk to some of the other people and explain what is going on. You know, get them on your side. But don't push it too much, you tend to turn people off when you start demanding that they pack up this instant and lay down their life for the mission."

"I don't ever do that," Abraham countered defensively, "They just need to understand that we are on a mission that is more important than anything else they are doing. It is absolutely crucial that we get to Washington."

"Yes, yes," Rosita assured him, "I know we need to get to Washington. Hey, look it is that redneck, Daryl I think his name is. Rick seems to listen to him so why don't you go talk to Daryl about your mission."

Abraham looked around to find the gruff archer coming back from the woods. The man was a loose cannon. Abraham had known that from the moment Daryl defied him in the middle of Terminus and had started an unnecessary commotion. Not many people directly defied Abraham, but Daryl had not only done that, but hadn't even seemed to notice Abraham's orders. The army man highly doubted that the redneck would care to listen to him, but Rosita was right, Daryl seemed to have sway with Rick.

"I'll be back," Abraham told Rosita, leaving her to watch Eugene.

"Hey, Daryl is it," Abraham called to the hunter. The man swung around and glared at Abraham.

"What do you want," the man snarled.

"Hold up partner, I am not trying to start anything, just wanted to talk," Abraham promised placating.

"Oh," the man mumbled, looking around and then back at him. Abraham's first impression had been right, the man was like a ticking bomb, set to go off at any second. Abraham felt that his description of Daryl was slightly unfair, since many people had described him the same way.

"It's about Eugene," the burly man explained, "the guy I have been protecting since long before Terminus. He is a scientist and knows how to fix this whole apocalypse, I just need to get him to Washington. Then, he is going to make everything right again. I am looking for some people to get on board."

Daryl just stared at him for a second before responding, but when he finally did, it wasn't pleasant.

"You think that mullet-haired mother's boy has a way to save us from the apocalypse," the archer asked incredulously, "gosh you must have been dropped on your head too much as a child."

Abraham's temper instantly flared.

"Hey," he barked, "don't patronize me. I am here to offer you an end to this suffering, a mission that could save the entire world, and you don't even want to be a part of it. What kind of selfish son-of-a-bitch are you?"

"Don't fucking yell at me," Daryl snarled, his eyes flashing. Although the hunter was shorter and didn't have as much muscle as him, Abraham realized that Daryl was a worthy opponent. If they were to get into a fight, Abraham might not even come out on top.

Before it could go any further, Rosita barged in and began pulling him away.

"Come on you hothead," she scolded, "You would think you could manage just talking to people without almost getting in a fistfight."

Abraham looked back over his shoulder to see the redneck looking amused by the intervention. The army man wanted to storm over and wipe that satisfied smirk off the hunter's face, but Rosita was having none of that. She sat Abraham down and immediately let him hear it.

"You were literally gone for two minutes and now you already have someone mad at you," she reprimanded, "You know I love you but you drive me fucking crazy sometimes."

Abraham lowered his head while Eugene smugly watched the drama that was going on.

"What's so funny you little brat," snapped Rosita, giving Eugene a good thump upside the head.

"Ow," Eugene whined, even though there was no way she had seriously hurt him.

"Come on," Rosita ordered both of them, "Let's go get food and be fucking civil about it."

Daryl's POV

Daryl watched as Rosita dragged Abraham away. Sure the apocalypse had made some people pretty crazy, but the army man must have really gone mad if he thought that wimp, Eugene, had the answers to the apocalypse.

"And these are the people you are living with and depending on," Daryl muttered to himself as he turned around to look for Rick. Before he could do so, Glenn appeared.

"Hey man," Glenn greeted, far too cheerfully. Daryl immediately cocked an eyebrow, suspicious of what his comrade was up too. He figured it would become apparent soon enough, Glenn was horrible at keeping secrets.

"So what was going on with you and Abraham," Glenn asked when Daryl didn't respond.

"Nothin," Daryl responded, but then he decided to see if Glenn knew about Abraham's crazy scheme, "just wanted me to join his wild goose chase to save humanity."

"Oh," Glenn responded, "yeah, Abraham is like that."

"Mmm," Daryl muttered, wondering when the Asian would spit out why he was really talking to Daryl. Several times Glenn had tried to get him to 'bro-bond' and after it had gone badly, he had mostly given up on that idea. However, Daryl wouldn't put it past him to try again, especially if he and Maggie got into a fight or something and Glenn wanted a guy to hang out with.

"Soooo," Glenn said in a tone that was meant to be casual, "how are you and Beth."

Instantly Daryl froze. How much did Glenn know? He hadn't done any of the things he wanted to with Beth since they had been reunited. Daryl didn't hug her every five minutes or follow her steps to make sure she was safe. Was it still obvious how he felt? He didn't peg Glenn as being that perceptive. Unsure of what Glenn was getting at and how much the man knew, Daryl decided to go with the vaguest answer.

"Fine," Daryl replied, unintentionally glaring at his friend.

"Oh, that's great then," Glenn answered uncomfortably. He had a great deal of respect for Daryl and had gotten to know the man much better after their years together, but Daryl's social skills would make almost anyone feel awkward. However, Glenn knew the redneck to speak his mind, if he said everything was fine with Beth, then it was.

"Anything else you need to say," Daryl asked, wanting nothing more than to change the topic, "I got stuff to do."

"No we are good," Glenn answered before leaving.

Daryl watched him go, unsettled by the random conversation. When he was with Beth, everything felt right and natural, but when he was around other people, he automatically felt ashamed at the very thought of them knowing his feelings.

"Because you shouldn't be feeling such things, she is practically half your age," Daryl told himself in frustration. He had just barely found a place within this group. He was accepted and not treated like the trash he was used to being. As much as he enjoyed being with Beth, he didn't know if he could stand seeing the shame in the group's eyes if they ever found out. Before the apocalypse, Daryl never had anyone expect anything of him other than failure. Now that they did, he was terrified of letting them down. Rick had even accepted him as a brother, which was one of the biggest honors he had ever been given, even if he would never tell Rick that. He couldn't stand the thought of doing anything that would cause Rick to regret the trust he had put in him.

With a growl, Daryl turned and began to look for Rick again. He didn't want to think about Beth or his feelings, they just made his head hurt. It was so much easier to just erase his thoughts and focus on the physical things that needed to be done, like hunting or setting up camp.

Beth's POV

Beth found Carol in a makeshift area that was being used for cooking whatever was available.

"Daryl and I found some pecans," Beth told the older woman.

"Oh," Carol grinned, "That's great, where were they at."

"Just a little north of the camp," Beth explained, going into more detail as to where exactly the pecan trees were at.

"I will round up a few people and we will go out and pick pecans. There will be a feast tonight," Carol replied before heading off.

With her first job accomplished, Beth headed off to help Bob check on the wounded, since she had a little medical knowledge from her father. After working together on several patients, Bob left Beth to redress Logan's wound on her own. The blonde walked shyly up to the young man, who was sitting shirtless on the ground with gritted teeth.

"Hey Logan," Beth said in greeting, "I know you don't feel too good right now, but you need to let me redress that wound, wouldn't want it to get infected or anything."

Her old school mate nodded, but Beth could tell he wasn't looking forward to it.

"Lift your arm up," Beth ordered, before she began to unwrap the old bandages. The white material had been deeply stained with crimson blood, but it wasn't as bad as it could be.

"Alright," Beth instructed as she rewrapped Logan's shoulder, "It is looking pretty good considering what you have been through. Just keep it as clean as possible and avoid any excessive movement of your shoulder and you should be good soon."

"Thanks Beth," Logan whispered, "for this and for earlier today."

Beth nodded, knowing he was referring to her shooting the walker that was almost on him.

"That's what a group is for," Beth replied, "we protect each other, it's what we do."

She started to pack up the medical supplies when a hand shot out and encircled her wrist.

"Where did this come from," Logan asked, moving his fingers over the white raised skin on her wrist. Beth instantly snatched her hand away. She had forgotten that she no longer had bracelets to cover her scar and was with people who weren't familiar with what had happened to her. Beth couldn't find the words to say what she had done, it all seemed so wrong. It wasn't who she was anymore but she felt like she would be judged based on her old decisions. Self-consciously, Beth covered her wrist with her free hand.

"Things have happened to all of us," Beth said vaguely, before leaving. Suddenly, she felt worried that everyone could see her scar. She told herself that she was being silly, but she couldn't shake the paranoid feeling. Throughout the day, whenever Beth had conversations with anyone, she would pretend to clasp her hands together in front of her, but she was really covering her scar. For something she hadn't thought about in so long, suddenly if affected her very much. She didn't want to explain herself to any of these new people, not even Logan. Beth met some of the new members, but their faces and names all began to blur together after a while.

When Maggie finally called Beth to come have supper with her and Glenn, Beth was beyond relieved. It felt good to be around people who had known her for a long time and wouldn't ask questions. They passed around a can of beans and a can of corn. Both tasted kind of stale, but no one complained. It was just lucky that enough of the survivors had grabbed food as they escaped Terminus for it to go around and feed the whole group, at least for a couple of days. For desert, there were plenty of pecans, freshly picked.

"So, Bethy," Maggie asked, "what's with you and Dixon."

Beth almost choked on the mouthful of beans she had been about to swallow.

"What are you talking about Maggie," she asked, playing dumb.

"Well," Maggie stated bluntly, "after the prison you spent several weeks alone with him and now you try and follow him everywhere he goes. Back at the prison, you two didn't even talk."

"I can make new friends Maggie," Beth said defensively, "and we would talk, mostly when he checked on how Judith and I were doing and if he needed to pick up anything for her while on a run."

"Yeah," Maggie agreed, "I just didn't picture you becoming friends with Daryl Dixon. Especially now that we have new people in our group like Logan, I just thought that you might enjoy hanging out with people who are more your age and more like yourself."

"What is that supposed to mean," Beth said louder than she intended, "what's wrong with me hanging out with Daryl?"

"Nothing," Maggie said, trying to placate her younger sister, "I just never would have pictured you two as buds. I am just a bit worried that maybe you are getting too close to Daryl, and you need to remember that he doesn't always like getting close to people. He isn't an easy person to be friends with."

"Yeah no kidding," Beth muttered, as she began digging around in the bean can and ignoring her sister, "he can be a real pain in the ass."

The blonde looked up to see both Maggie and Glenn staring at her.

"I think he is rubbing off on you," Glenn announced, "you are starting to talk more like him."

That got all of them laughing. After they calmed down, Maggie reached over and grabbed Beth's hand.

"It's fine if you are friends with Daryl," Maggie told her, "I was just surprised to see that you have become close to him. And since I know he isn't the easiest person to get along with, I just want to make sure everything is alright."

"Thanks Maggie, but he is easy to get along with once you get used to him," Beth said.

Glenn snorted at that last comment.

"Well I guess several years and countless runs isn't enough for me to get used to him yet," Glenn said. Then, Maggie's husband went on to tell a story about how during one run, Daryl and him had been cornered by walkers. Daryl and him had fought their way out, but it had been close. At one point, during the highest point of the fight, Daryl had no way to reach any of his weapons and he was out of arrows. He had dug his fingers into the eye sockets of a nearby walker and ripped the head clean off the body before using the skull as a weapon.

"That isn't the worst part. On the ride back home, Daryl decided to keep the skull and set it on the dashboard of the truck," Glenn described, "He kept it there like a trophy or something. As we were driving back, Daryl swerved to avoid some walkers in the road and the skull fell right onto my lap. I screamed like a little girl and then Daryl started yelling at me to quit being a baby and to pick it up and put it back on the dash. After that, we didn't talk to each other for a couple of weeks."

Beth was almost in tears by the time Glenn finished his story. It was all so Daryl Dixon, no one else would do something like that. Just as they were calming down, a shadow fell over Beth. It was Rick, looking ragged and worn out.

"I was wondering if any of y'all would be up for watch duty tonight," Rick asked.

Maggie and Glenn immediately agreed to and Beth waited for them to work out the exact schedule. Beth was used to being left out of such things, so the young woman was surprised when Rick turned to her and asked if she wanted to take watch. The blonde jumped at the chance, ready to pull her weight.

"Okay then," Rick told them, "Glenn and Maggie will have the second watch. Beth, you can help Daryl with the first watch."

Beth nodded, excited to help out in a way other than watching Judith or cooking a meal. After hugging Maggie and Glenn, Beth made her way around to north edge of the camp. Sasha was guarding the east, Rosita the south, and one of the new members was on the west. Beth assumed she had been put with Daryl since people always assumed that she was the weak link and Daryl was one of the strongest members of their group. Although there was the implied disbelief in her own skills, at least she was being included and getting to spend time with Daryl.

She found the taciturn man sitting on the ground with his back on a stump. He was staring out into the woods while his hands fiddled with his crossbow. The blonde couldn't help but smile at how lost in thought he looked. She quietly took a seat beside him, as to not disturb him from his thoughts. They both sat, staring out into the woods, enjoying each other's company.

Daryl's POV

Rick had told Daryl that he was unsure if Beth was ready to be put on watch. Sure, she had kept watch back at the prison, but out here in the open, she would have to be ready to fight intruders at a moment's notice. Daryl had told Rick that he thought the girl was more than capable of taking care of herself. However, his protective side had been relieved when Rick had decided to pair Beth up with him, at least for the first night.

The blonde sat only a foot away from him and was staring up into the night sky. Her hand was unconsciously tracing the raised skin on her wrist.

"Not going to notice someone sneaking up on you if you are staring out into space. The whole point of being put on watch is to be attentive," Daryl commented.

"I know," Beth replied, scrunching her nose.

"Well then," the archer questioned.

"Cuz," Beth replied as if it were obvious, "it's not like anything is going to sneak up on me with you here."

Daryl was amazed that even after he had been such an idiot opening that door back at the house, Beth still seemed to completely trust him.

"You could at least be slightly attentive, I'm not always going to be there when you are spacing out," the redneck argued.

She shrugged dismissively, as if the problems they faced every day were far away.

"But would it be worth it to be alive if I never stopped to admire what was so great about living," Beth asked. Daryl didn't know what to say, so he just watched her face, tracing every line and curve. Suddenly, the blonde turned and Daryl found himself looking into two deep blue eyes that were threatening to drag him in.

"I'm glad I didn't die back at the house, that time I cut myself" Beth told him suddenly, "I would have never gotten to see the stars tonight, I never would have gotten to hold baby Judith, I never would have meet all of y'all, I never would have meet you Daryl."

Daryl's mouth felt dry, he didn't know if he was expected to respond or not, but luckily, Beth continued on.

"Logan asked me about the scar on my wrist today and I didn't know what to tell him," Beth admitted abruptly.

"What did you say," Daryl asked, he had no clue who Logan was but he understood how uncomfortable it was to be asked about scars.

"I did a real Daryl Dixon and muttered some vague answer," Beth teased, trying to lighten the atmosphere, but it wasn't working. Daryl thought about how he always hid the scars on his back with a shirt. He remembered that Beth used to always wear bracelets on her wrist, he doubted that was just coincidence.

"What happened to your bracelets," Daryl asked.

"They came off here and there," Beth explained, "Some I used for things, others just broke while I was doing stuff. They were all pretty cheap bracelets. Renee has one, she was one of the girls being held captive with me. I wonder what happened to her."

Daryl nodded not knowing what else to say. He wanted to help Beth, but he didn't even know how to talk to people about his own scars. Finally, he reached over and took Beth's hand in his. He flipped her hand over so that her wrist was up. Slowly, he reached out and ran a finger along the scar, just like Beth herself had been doing.

"A wise person told me that we had to put stuff away or it killed us," Daryl said as his fingers memorized every inch of raised skin, "I'm starting to think that she might be right."

Beth just stared at Daryl and he began to feel embarrassed. Self-consciously, he removed his hands from Beth's. However, the young woman scooted closer to him and leaned against his shoulder. He immediately froze, unsure of how to handle the situation.

"Daryl, will you tell me a story," Beth asked, her blue eyes big and begging.

"Don't know many stories," Daryl told her, his chest tightening at how close she was.

"Then tell me a story about your childhood," Beth requested, and Daryl knew he couldn't refuse her. He dug through his memories and tried to find something that was not horrific that he could tell Beth about. The redneck thought back to Beth talking about the stars and a memory came to mind.

"What you doing there little brother," asked Merle.

"Homework," answered Daryl.

"Well aren't you a goodie two shoes," Merle taunted, "what those teachers got you slaving away on?"

"Constellations," muttered Daryl, feeling defensive against Merle's jibs. For once, he was actually interested in something he was doing at school. All the numbers and equations were too vague for Daryl to care about, but the stars were something he felt close to after spending so many nights sleeping outside.

"Constellations," Merle said, "Isn't that the one about horoscopes and stars. That shit ain't hard at all, you just look up in the sky and make some bullcrap up. The teachers will eat it right up as long as you sound like you know what you are talking about."

"I'm pretty sure it doesn't work like that," a young Daryl had dared to argue.

"Sure it does baby brother," insisted Merle, "if you would just listen to me, you would learn a thing or two. Here come outside and I will give you a little bit of my wisdom."

Like always, Daryl obeyed and followed his older brother outside.

"Okay, look up there," Merle directed, "see that cluster of stars, looks like a squirrel to me. That means you are going to live off squirrels for the rest of your life. Hey, you paying attention? You should be writing this stuff down, it is pure gold. Now, that group of stars over there is a jar of moonshine. That means you will be having a lot of fun in your future. Lastly, those stars right above us could either be skull, which would mean you will die soon, or they could be a turtle. There, that wasn't so bad. Don't say I don't ever do anything for you, look at me helping you with your homework, I should win the Noble Prize."

"Umm, sure Merle," Daryl muttered, before turning to go back inside.

"Whoa now," Merle said, grabbing Daryl's shirt, "now just hold up. I didn't do your homework for nothing. Why don't you do your big brother a favor and just grab paw's wallet off the couch for me. You are so small and quiet he won't even notice. What do you say to that little brother?"

"Okay," Daryl told Merle, because he always did what Merle told him to do. He didn't have anyone better to listen to anyways.

Daryl had snuck into the house, while wondering why he had ever been doing his homework where Merle could see him, and had stolen the wallet right off the armrest. His paw had shifted in his drunken stupor, but other than that he didn't wake up. Then, Daryl had snuck back outside and handed the wallet over to Merle.

"That's a good boy," Merle said as he grabbed a few bills out of the beat up piece of leather, "Now go put this back and maybe I will let you have one of the beers I buy."

Daryl didn't want anything to drink, but he didn't want Merle to tease him either, so he just took the wallet back without saying a word. Right then, one of Merle's buddies had pulled up to the house and honked the horn, just as Daryl was placing the wallet back beside his father. His paw's bloodshot eyes had popped right open and he had caught Daryl red-handed. Without another thought, Daryl had hightailed it out of there, his father's angry voice following him. He had hid in the woods for a couple of weeks, until Merle returned and made things right, or at least as right as they ever were in that house.

The memory was painful and sweet at the same time. The painful part was obvious, but the sweet part was a little harder to see. Despite Merle's constant derision of Daryl and bad life choices, Daryl still cared about his brother and thought of him fondly. Merle had tried to raise Daryl the best he knew how and most older brothers wouldn't have even bothered.

Daryl described to Beth Merle's horribly inaccurate lesson in constellations, enjoying the way she smiled when he repeated Merle's comment about the moonshine. After he finished, Beth gave him a much more accurate lesson about the big and small dipper. She talked about a warriors and humans turned into bears whose memory was preserved in the stars. He was so content just sitting there and listening to her talk. He liked the way her face lit up when she got excited about something.

All too soon, Tara came to relieve them of their watch. Daryl heard the woman before he saw her and made sure to move away from Beth. He could see the hurt look in Beth's eyes, but the young woman didn't say anything, which made him feel like a jack-ass. They headed tiredly into the camp. Daryl preferred to sleep on the outskirts of their camp, but he didn't want to be too far away from Beth, in case something happened. They stopped a few feet from Maggie and Glenn's sleeping bodies. There were no tents, but some makeshift pillows and a thin blanket.

Both of them stood, unsure of what to do. Daryl's mind flashed back to the night in the house, when they had slept in the same bed. He wished he could pull Beth into his arms and even though they would just be lying on the dirt, it would be like heaven. However, there was no way he was going to do that. At the time she had been scared and hadn't had anyone else to comfort her. Now that she had Maggie and Glenn, there was no need for Daryl to be so protective. Even though Daryl told himself that, he couldn't make himself leave.

"Don't go too far," Beth whispered. Daryl felt himself tense at her request. She wanted him near her even though she had her sister back and didn't need to depend on him anymore. He couldn't say no, something he was becoming used to lately. The redneck nodded and Beth smiled. The young girl lay down next to her sister and Daryl made himself comfortable a couple feet away. His closeness wouldn't be questioned, since the camp was so small and there was no official sleeping spaces. The hunter looked over to find Beth sleepily staring at him. It was one of the cutest things he had ever seen. Then, her eyes shut and a calmness washed over her face. Daryl tried not to stare at her but he couldn't help it. Lying there in the dirt, covered in bruises and walker blood, he was far happier than if he had been clean in a nice house all by himself. Although the world they lived in was tough, for the moment it was enough knowing that Beth was right by him and that they were both safe for the moment. For the first time in a long time, he fell into a deep sleep.

Thanks to all my readers for your sweet comments and support. I would have probably given up on finishing this story a long time ago if it weren't for the encouragement I have received. I really enjoyed writing this chapter because Daryl and Beth are just so sweet and shy and I love it when Daryl is able to open up. Hope you enjoyed!