A/N: I am so sorry about how the last chapter ended! I love cliff hangers but I had not intended to leave the chapter off like that! I was at work and it was slow, so I was updating this story and ran out of time. I wanted to post ASAP so I posted what I had. To make it up to y'all, here is the next chapter!

Chapter 5 –

Daryl laid his forehead back on Beth's and he found himself praying. He was never a faithful man due to his horrible childhood and he had spent so much of his life mocking believers that he felt his prayers were landing on deaf ears, but he still thought them. Beth and her family believed, surely that would mean something to the man upstairs and he would answer this one prayer. Just this one. He could practically hear Merle yelling at him, cussing him out, calling him a pussy for crying and praying over a dead girl but he couldn't bring himself to stop.

"Please, Beth…" he choked out and her body gave another twitch. He leaned back slightly to look at her face more clearly and watched as thin bead of blood rolled out of the corner of her mouth, down her cheek, and into her hair. A gurgling sound came from her mouth and he lifted his eyes to her closed blue eyes and froze when he saw movement behind the lids. He moved his hand shakily to her throat to feel for a pulse and felt his eyes widen in amazement.

"She's alive…" he whispered to himself as he felt the soft flutter of her heart. It was weak, but it was there. He found himself letting out a surprised laugh and looked to Hershel and Maggie. "She's alive!" he repeated and the room instantly filled with chaos as everyone began doing whatever they could to keep her airways clear.

"Bob has the medicine and iV's and the other medical jumbo I didn't understand," Daryl shouted for Bob and it echoed loudly in the cellblock, making many people cry out in discomfort.

"Did you find more bags and tubes? We can intubate her again until the antibiotics kick in," Hershel asked right as Bob ran in with the bags of medicine and equipment. Bob nodded in answer to Hershel's question and the two of them quickly intubated Beth. Daryl listened to Hershel's instructions and took the bag in his hands, making sure to squeeze it every few seconds while Bob and Hershel began making the IV of medication for the two sick people in the room.

"We should hook Daryl up too, he's been exposed more than anyone else and after giving CPR to Beth, he may have accidentally ingested some of her blood," Hershel pointed out while handing his bandana to Daryl, who just realized he had blood drying around his mouth and chin. He accepted the cloth and wiped his mouth and chin as clean as he could before he froze and shifted uncomfortably as the two doctors hooked him, Glenn, and Beth up with IV's.

"I have to help get this medicine to everyone else. Maggie, Daryl…you keep going. If you need a break, let me know," Hershel clapped a hand on Daryl's shoulder and squeezed it gratefully. Daryl met his eyes and could see what Hershel was trying to say.

Thank you for not giving up on her.

It made him feel incredibly selfish. During the whole time he was giving Beth CPR, he hadn't thought once about how Hershel and Maggie were feeling at the loss of their daughter or sister, depending on which one you talked to. He fought to bring her back for him. Briefly, during one of the breaths he pushed into her body, he thought about how uncertain he felt about living without the small blonde woman in his life. Daryl's eyes traveled to Maggie's and he saw the defeat and regret in them.

"I shouldn't have given up on her so quickly…" Maggie whispered. "I just…it felt like a decision. Her or Glenn…and when I didn't feel a pulse…I just…" her voice trailed off and Daryl closed his eyes as anger began to creep back into his blood. He squeezed the bag harder than intended and Maggie stopped talking. He knew she could tell he was mad at her. He forced himself to think about it from her perspective. If he had to choose between Merle or Beth, who would he have fought to keep alive?

It was a ridiculous thought, he realized. He would have alternated between the two or yelled for help in hopes that another person would come in and help him keep one of them alive. Why hadn't Maggie done the same? Instead, he had come in to the cell to find Beth laying in her own blood, her skin tinted blue and pale with Maggie sobbing over her while both hands squeezed the bag keeping Glenn alive. Daryl couldn't tell if the vision in his head made him angrier or not.

After a while, Hershel came back into the room, sat beside Daryl, and ran his hand through his daughter's blonde hair. He reached a weathered hand to Maggie and Glenn and smiled at them.

"I think this has restored my faith," he said calmly and a sob escaped Maggie as she nodded. "Daryl it's been over 24 hours since you left for the medicine and you're exhausted. Go get cleaned up and get some rest, I will take care of Bethy." Daryl looked at Hershel like he was crazy and the older man smiled. "I know, but you need to rest and shower."

"You sayin' I stink?" Daryl growled out but he couldn't keep the grin from lifting the corner of his lips as he said it. Hershel gave a tired chuckle.

"Yes, I am. Becareful with your IV in the shower," Hershel instructed and Daryl frowned. He opened his mouth to argue but stopped when he saw the pointed look Hershel sent him.

"A'right, I'll shower but I'm gonna come back here and rest here," he replied, giving the bag one more squeeze before he stood up and reluctantly left. After his shower, he walked sleepily to his cell to drop off his towel and dirty clothes.

"How is everyone? Beth and Glenn?" Rick asked as he approached the tired man.

"Glenn's hooked up with the bag thing, intubated or whatever Hershel calls it. Maggie's helping him breathe at the moment. Beth…she's better now. She apparently saved Glenn's life but it cost her…we lost her for a bit…" Daryl swallowed heavily at the memory of realizing the woman was dead. Rick leaned heavily against the wall and ran his hand through his hair.

"But she's okay now?" Rick asked and Daryl nodded with a small smile. "Thank god, how many did we lose in there?" Daryl shrugged. He had spent the entire time with Beth, he hadn't even thought to investigate the rest of the cellblock. After he had heard the gunshots stop, he had assumed that it was all over. Another thing to feel guilty about. Daryl swayed slightly as exhaustion hit him again and Rick carefully guided him into his cell.

"No, I'm gonna rest near Beth," he mumbled quietly as Rick helped him to lay on his cot.

"Take a short nap here, then go back to her," Rick suggested but it fell on deaf ears. Daryl fell asleep the moment his head landed on his pillow.