A/N: Good day my lovelies! Wow, I think I've been watching too much Downton Abbey. I'm starting to sound like Rose, and I don't even like her much:-[

So, I found out recently that Peta2 (who is an amazing writer herself) was my 100th reviewer (YAY!) and has also been asking her readers to check out my story. For this reason and many more, I have to recommend the same to any readers of mine who have not checked out her work. Trust me, she's got PLENTY of stuff to choose from, so dig in folks! Love you Peta2!

This comes as a pretty big shock to me honestly because I would never think to ask people to promote my stories (not that I'm not grateful if you do) and I know this community does stick together so it's completely awesome that I'm getting to know more of you as you write to me and tell me what you think of the story. If anyone else knows of someone who is promoting the story, please let me know because I'd like to thank them personally. I'm going to admit right now that between school, tutoring, and working a part-time job, I really don't have a lot of time for anything except homework and writing my own stuff, so please don't think I'm being rude if I don't read other stories every week and review them. I totally respect everyone out there who is trying to be creative and put their mark on the world. It's not easy some days, but even on my worst day you guys make it better

Also, thank you to everyone for their support on the Beth front…I'm glad you guys understand that I have a purpose in doing the things I do and it's not just a random afterthought to put a character in a dangerous situation over something silly. Unfortunately, you're going to have to wait a little bit longer for the big build-up of events to come, but I still think you'll enjoy this chapter anyway…lots of talking going on and some realizations being made on both ends. I will make a promise like I did for the kissing scene as well that if you guys respond strongly enough, I will release the next chapter as soon as I can. Something tells me that with supporters like you guys, I won't have any problems hearing you loud and clear :D

You guys are usually on top of the latest things to hit the internet too, so if anyone wants to comment on the deleted scene with Lori as a zombie (shudders) please feel free…I'm really glad they didn't put that scene in the show personally because I don't think Rick would've ever recovered from making out with a corpse! Anyway, that's all my rambling for the moment, so off you go!

Disclaimer: I'm still thoroughly pissed off about what happened on Downton…I mean really? What were they thinking?

Oh right…and I don't own The Walking Dead either…

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Ch14.

"All right…you gotta concentrate. What'd you see?"

Daryl and Carl were about a mile from the prison, deep in the forest. They were currently residing by some large shady elm trees that were blocking most of the sunlight. Daryl had done this for two reasons. One, it was less humid this way, and two, it was harder to track animals in the dark. Carl was already getting so good that he was looking for ways to extend his training by making it harder on him.

Carl looked around, searching the ground in front of him. "I see…two sets of tracks."

"What kind?"

"Mmm…looks like raccoon. Or maybe possum."

"I think you were right the first time." Daryl looked harder. "Which way'd they go?"

Carl paused. "Northeast?"

"You askin' or tellin'?"

He solidified his response. "Northeast."

Daryl nodded. "Good. Let's see if we can catch up to 'em."

They went further into the forest; Daryl ready with his crossbow at the first sign of a furry hide. He'd missed this more than he'd even realized. It was second nature to him to be out here hunting for wildlife. Ten minutes went by, and still no sign of them. Carl was being very patient considering. Daryl probably would've thrown a fit if things hadn't gone his way at that age.

"By the way," Carl spoke quietly. "Thanks for not letting Beth come along. It would've been really awkward."

Daryl nodded. "Figured as much. Best to keep you two apart for now."

"I hope it won't always be weird though."

Daryl looked at him. "Life is what you make it. Don't want it to be weird no more? Gotta talk it out."

"Or just avoid her for the rest of my life."

He chuckled. "There's that too."

Carl looked around a tree for any signs of life. "Anyway, I kinda like someone else now."

"Oh yeah? Who's that?"

"It's this girl in my class. Her name's Julie."

"She got any family?"

"Yeah, her mom's still alive."

"How old is she?"

"Fifteen."

Daryl threw him a look. "That's still a lil' old ain't it?"

"No." Carl defended. "I turn thirteen next month. It's only two years."

He wasn't about to talk the kid out of it. "Whatever floats your boat, man."

"You're younger than Carol right?"

Daryl shrugged. He figured she was at least a little older than him, but he wasn't even sure by how much. He should probably find out when her birthday was too.

"Yeah, I guess. It don't really matter when you get to be as old as us."

Carl looked irked. "Why should it matter at my age?"

"It don't really. Those rules don't apply no more anyhow." He walked a little further up. "I say as long as ya like each other, that's what counts."

"Well I definitely like her."

"She like you back?"

"I think so, but I don't know yet." Carl smirked. "I'm trying to play hard to get."

Daryl sputtered comically at the boy. "Well good luck with that."

Carl stopped, and Daryl thought he was mad, but then he realized he'd picked up the trail again. "They're going due east now. I think I see them."

He ran ahead and Daryl stayed back for a moment to let him have his moment of glory. He'd never gotten to do this kind of thing with his own dad, but this sort of felt like a bonding moment for him.

I may not be a daddy, but I'd be a damn good uncle.

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"Beth? Beth please answer me!"

Carol had gone in the direction that she'd been told Beth had run off to, but she still hadn't managed to find her. She needed to try and talk things out with her and make her understand. It had to have been so hard for her at this age, feeling like she might never find someone of her own to love. Carol had all but given up hope that she'd ever have this type of feeling again, and the last thing she wanted to do was use it to make someone else feel bad about themselves because of it.

She turned to go down into the restricted area. There were a few areas that it branched off, and it felt almost like a maze trying to get back out again. It was horrible enough to think that Beth might be lost down here, let alone both of them. It suddenly occurred to Carol that she didn't have a weapon on her either. She'd left Daryl's knife back in her room, thinking they were just going to be grading some papers. As important as Beth was to her, she was seriously contemplating turning back to get some assistance from one of the men, and at least a blunt object or two.

"Beth! Please just let me know if you're down here!"

She heard something making noise up ahead, but she couldn't tell whether it was human or monster. Her flight senses were kicking into high gear at the thought of her last encounter down these long hallways with walkers. T-Dog had sacrificed himself for her just so she could get to safety, but that wasn't an option now. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as her adrenaline kicked into survival mode. This time, her fight-or-flight reflexes were telling her to run in the other direction.

"Carol?"

It was Beth's voice, and it sounded wobbly but alive. Carol let out the breath that she had been holding in.

"Where are you?"

"Down here."

Carol walked down to the end of the hallway and turned the corner. She saw light peeking out from a door halfway down the row. Peeking in, she found Beth sitting in the room all by herself. She'd definitely been crying, and Carol saw a gun sitting on the table. Beth had tried to end her life once before, but she'd come out of it with the help of her family. Carol's heart broke at the thought that she might be contemplating those thoughts once again.

"Honey, are you okay?"

"Yeah." Beth said quietly, staring at her feet. "Guess it was pretty stupid coming down here, but I just wanted to be alone."

"Is this about me and Daryl?"

She nodded. "I know it's silly to be upset over a crush, but I just wasn't expecting him to kiss you like that."

Carol raised her eyebrows. "Trust me, neither was I."

"He obviously cares a lot about you."

"He cares about you too, you know. He'd be really angry right now if he knew you were down here by yourself and got hurt."

"I know." She sighed. "I don't know why, but it just hit me so hard. I guess I finally know how Carl felt when I told him I just wanted to be friends."

Carol walked over to her cautiously. "Beth, are you….feeling suicidal?"

Beth's face changed from sorrow to shock. "What? Oh no, that's not why I came here."

"It's not?"

"No." She shook her head. "I came down here to prove that I was tough like you."

"Tough like me?"

"Daryl told me how you took on those four walkers on the trip. He was so proud of you."

Carol gasped. "He told you that?"

"Well, not in so many words, but it was obvious on his face. I think he was more angry that he couldn't be there to see it than anything. I heard Tyreese talking about it too." Her shoulders slumped. "Everyone in the group is so impressed by what you did. I just wanted to feel that special for a minute."

Carol couldn't believe her motives. "What were you going to do? Pick a fight with a walker?"

"I was working up to it."

She came up to grasp the girl's shoulder. "I wasn't trying to be a hero Beth. I got cornered, and my instincts just kicked in. I've been in plenty of other situations where I panicked and ran the other way. I almost did it before I found you. You don't need to prove anything to me or to anyone else by coming down here to put yourself in danger."

Beth nodded, wiping a tear away. "I just wish I could do the things you do. All of the women in this group are so strong. I feel like all I do is watch Judith and clean clothes."

Carol laughed internally at her words. Up until a month ago, she'd felt exactly the same way.

"You are a very important part of this group. I know your dad doesn't like you working with the guys and knives unless you have to, but that's because he's scared something will happen to you. I know he's not happy that Maggie does it either."

"But if he doesn't let me learn, I'll be killed just as easily by not knowing how to protect myself!" Beth argued. "He almost did down here in these tombs, and it was Rick's quick thinking that saved him."

"Rick's saved all of us at one time or another with his quick thinking." Carol acknowledged. "But think about how you felt wondering if your dad would live or not. Could you put him through something like that if he let you go out and you got injured?"

"It could happen just as easily in here as it could out there."

"Not if you stop coming down to the tombs yourself and provoking the walkers."

Beth sighed in understanding. "Okay, I'm sorry. I won't do it again."

"Good," Carol laughed jokingly. "Or I'll have Daryl lock you in a cell for three days."

"I promise." Beth looked up at her. "I'm sorry I made you worry."

Carol pulled her into a hug. "You and Daryl have one big thing in common. You both underestimate yourself."

"How?"

"Neither of you know what you mean to this group. As much as I tell Daryl how much people care about his opinions, he never values himself enough to think that it could ever be true because of how he was brought up. He'd hate it if he thought he'd rubbed off on you like that." She smiled down at her. "You've always been such an assertive person. Don't let a man dictate how you feel about yourself. I did it for too many years and it took the world coming to an end to finally realize that I'm worth something."

Beth smiled. "Are you glad that you went out and proved yourself?"

"I am, but I think that I'm also ready to go back to being my old self again too." Carol laughed. "I'm not saying that I want to go back to being scared of my own shadow, but right now, sitting in a room with a bunch of kids talking about books is sounding pretty exciting."

Beth laughed too. "You don't think Daryl's going to want you to keep being assertive?"

She sighed. "It doesn't matter if he does or doesn't. It's still my decision. He knows he doesn't own me, and I don't own him. It's a mutual respect."

Beth smiled sadly. "It sounds like you two are perfect for each other."

"Beth, I know it seems hopeless right now, but you will find someone eventually." Carol patted her arm. "Now that the group has expanded, there's a much better chance of being able to finally set down roots and make lives for ourselves. Maybe someday you'll even get to be a mother of your own."

She nodded. "Even if I don't, I'll watch out for Judith like she was my own daughter."

"You know, I think I understand why you fell for Daryl so hard."

"Why?"

She chuckled. "He is pretty damn cute around a baby."

"Yeah, he really is." Beth agreed. "We should probably get back before he finds out either one of us was down here. He'll throw a fit, and it won't be a cute one."

"You're right about that."

Beth got up from the stool and they walked out of the cell together and headed back the way they'd come. She was glad that she'd been able to work things out with the young woman. She just hoped that things would get easier for her down the line. Even in the world they were stuck in now, Beth deserved to have as much as it could offer her. Carol just prayed that she'd live long enough to see it.

They walked silently down the very dimly lit hallway, trying to retrace their steps. Carol was surprised how far down she'd come into the restricted area. She was trying to count how many turns she had made on her way down, but there were a few times that they had come up to an intersection and weren't exactly sure which way to go. A little further down, Carol found a mark on the wall that someone from the group had obviously used as a reference point. Breathing a little bit easier now, she continued forward, but stopped when she realized that she could only hear her own footsteps moving. When she turned back, she noticed that Beth was still further down the hall, and she looked confused.

"Did we go the wrong direction?"

Beth shook her head. "No I remember coming this way because I saw that mark on the wall, but I'm almost positive that door wasn't open when I was here before."

She pointed to a door off to their left, which was open maybe a foot out into the hallway. Carol hadn't remembered seeing any doors open either, come to think of it.

"Beth, where's the gun?"

Beth gasped in realization. "I left it in the room on the table."

"We need to go get it…now."

"Right." Beth had already turned and started to walk back, but Carol yelled for her to stop.

"Wait! We need to make a note of where we are so we know how to get back."

Beth pointed up at the corner of the wall. "There's a notch right here. We can-"

Carol saw the walker before Beth did, but it was still too late to reach her. It came up from behind her, grabbing her outstretched arm and sinking its teeth into the flesh of her bicep. Beth screamed at the shock of what was happening, and tried desperately to pull her arm away. Carol gasped in agony as she saw the walker rip off a large quantity of skin, followed by an enormous gush of blood that flowed out from the wound.

This couldn't be happening. It was her worst nightmare come true.

"NOOOOOOO!"

A/N: All right guys…you probably have a LOT of feelings going on right now, so please let me explain my thought process…

Beth's obviously in some big trouble right now, and it's far from over. I obviously can't tell you what's going to happen yet, but I will say that things are going to get a lot more intense before it's all said and done. Also keep in mind that I don't like harming any of these characters, but we all know that this is not a safe show. At some point, all of us have been affected by a character's sudden life change and/or demise, so even though it's hard to do, I don't think that this choice was too far off the mark either. It's a violent world they live in, and unfortunately it tends to come out at the worst times.

I will keep my promise if you guys make enough noise about the reveal of the next chapter, so let me know either way what you think. You guys haven't let me down yet, so I trust that you will all be respectful of each other's opinions and be adult in your discussions. Remember…you guys make this story what it is, and I will keep writing as long as I have a story to tell...I'm also happy to announce that my grandmother and I got through season 2 of TWD on DVD last night, and she's all ready to start season 3 next week when it comes out! Watching a matured woman sit down actually enjoy a show where people kill zombies every week is just the coolest thing ever and I'm super happy that she's stuck with it as long as she has. Now the fun starts!