A/N: I promise, I don't hate Maggie…but her only hunting for Glenn really kinda peeved me off. Things will get better from here with her, I promise.

Chapter 11 –

The group met up a way down the highway and Maggie threw herself out of the other car before it had even come to a stop and ran towards the one Michonne, Rick, Daryl, and the sleeping Beth were in.

"Did you find her?! Is she in there?!" she was screaming and Daryl frowned as he climbed out of the car and closed the car door behind him.

"Yea, we did and she is, but she's sleepin'. It don' look like she got much of that while she was there," Daryl mumbled before stepping in Maggie's way as she tried to get to the vehicle.

"Daryl, let me see my sister!" Maggie screeched, surprising everyone around her. Rick visibly flinched at the sound, his eyes going wide as he looked at her and then at the area around them. Daryl glared at her.

"No," he growled, "she's sleepin'. Unless your screeching like a damn banshee woke her up. It was loud enough to pull all the damn walkers our way, that's for sure. An' besides, I don' think you got the right to do so righ' now." Maggie's hand shot up to slap Daryl across the face but he grabbed her wrist before her hand made contact with his face. Maggie's eyes went over his shoulder and she let out a pained gasp. Daryl turned to see what she was looking at and saw Beth sitting up in the back of the van, watching them with wide eyes. The sunlight brightened the bruises and blood on her face and in her hair. Daryl froze as guilt roared and clawed in his stomach like a dragon.

"Bethy!" Maggie exclaimed as she ripped her wrist out of the hunter's grip and shoved past Daryl. She opened the car door with tears streaming down her face as she threw herself into the car to hug Beth. Daryl watched as Beth's eyes widened even more in fear and she scooted away from Maggie as best as she could with her injuries. She pushed herself back until she hit the rear window of the van. When Maggie didn't stop, Beth curled her uninjured leg into her chest and screamed in terror. It took Daryl a second to realize she was screaming his name.

"Daryl!" she cried out and he moved quickly, pulling Maggie out of the van and away from her, practically throwing the older Greene sister on to her ass on the ground. Glenn ran up and did his best to comfort his wife while glaring angrily at Daryl. Daryl shrugged off the glare and turned to take care of Beth. Maggie sat there in shock as Beth moved herself in to a corner and sobbed, her breathing coming in hurried gasps.

"What the…Beth, it's me, Maggie! I ain't gonna hurt you!"

"She's been through a lot, Maggie," Rick said calmly. "We only just saved her and we're not really sure what they did to her."

"But she let you, Michonne, and Daryl near her?! I'm her sister! She should trust me," Maggie cried out and Rick shrugged slightly.

"Maybe she let us close because we were the ones to save her or maybe it's because she thought she was hallucinating." Rick paused as he looked into the van and watched Daryl crawl slowly to Beth while talking to her. She immediately began to calm down and focus on her breathing under Daryl's guidance as he brought her hand gingerly up to rest on his chest and feel his deep breathing, "maybe it's only because Daryl was with us. I'm not sure. They traveled for months together, Maggie. There's a bond, a trust that is in place between the two of them now.

"Also, you need to take into account their feelings for each other before we lost the prison. I find it more believable that she would only really want to be around Daryl after knowing how she feels about him. The strength he exudes is something she'll be needing right now. Think about it, Maggie, if you were in her shoes, would you want people rushing up to you, screaming and crying? Just…give her time, alright? She'll get there but you need to give her time to accept that she's with her family now. That she's safe." Rick put a hand on Maggie's shoulder as he walked by her and she nodded sadly.

Daryl looked out the van door and saw Michonne leaning against the driver's side door, watching them with a soft smile on her face.

"Hey, could you get her a pillow and some blankets?" he asked her. She nodded and walked off to find some.

"Bob, she needs to be looked at," Rick said quietly as he approached the medic. "She looks like she took one hell of a beating. The two men who took her told us they hit her with their car and she said she thinks her leg is broken. Also," Rick looked at the ground and put his hands on his hips, "they kept her chained up. The cuff looked really tight on her wrist. They also said she refused to eat while they had her so she's gone possibly the entire two weeks without food, and probably hasn't had enough water." Rick thought about telling the medic about some of the other things the men said about what they did to her but decided against it. They didn't know for certain that the men had done anything and he didn't want to spread that information around if it wasn't true. And even if it was true, it wasn't his place to tell anyone. Only Beth's place. Bob nodded and went back to the other vehicle to get the first aid kit and any other supplies he had.

"I don't have much as far as medication goes," he told Rick as he approached him. "I have a couple Aleve and some antibiotics we found on the last run. Since it's only been two weeks, there isn't much of a concern for the lack of food. We'll give her some and make sure she doesn't overeat. It could make her sick. The lack of water is a major concern, though, even with it cooling off and being fall. I'll take a look and let you know what she'll need."

"Alright," Rick nodded before whistling and gesturing for everyone to load up as a couple walkers began to approach the road. "Abraham, follow me. We need to find a place to camp for a few nights and gather supplies.

Daryl watched from his seat next to Beth as Bob made his way to their car. He felt Beth shift slightly, a grimace on her face as the small movement jostled her injured leg.

"I feel awful…" she told him hoarsely. His blue eyes met hers and he frowned. "I knew it was Maggie approaching me…but I just felt…this panic…" She wiped angrily at her eyes with her right hand, wincing slightly as she put pressure on the bruises on her face. A soft knock on the van's door pulled Daryl's attention from the injured blonde to Bob who stood outside the van.

"I'm gonna ride in here with y'all if that's okay?" Bob asked and Daryl looked at Beth. Apprehension filled her eyes and she looked at Daryl.

"He needs to look at your wounds, Beth. He ain't gonna hurt ya, and I'll be right here the whole time," he told her as Rick, Michonne, and Carl squeeze into the front two seats to give the three in the back plenty of space. Michonne threw back two pillows and a wad of sheets, which Daryl began placing in a makeshift bed for Beth on the lowered seats. The van started moving and Beth squeezed her eyes shut before nodding and scooting closer to Bob. Daryl sat and watched as Bob inspected her leg and announced that it was dislocated at the hip.

"Normally, we would have to knock you out to put it back in its place…but I don't have any anesthesia or sedatives…it's quite painful to reset this," Bob said loud enough for everyone in the car to hear. Beth whimpered and nodded her understanding.

"It's quite painful to have it out of place too," she replied through clenched teeth. Her breathing was labored and Daryl closed his eyes as guilt washed through him.

No wonder she was in so much pain when I picked her up…You really are a dumbass redneck, Dixon.

"Daryl?" Beth's voice was weak but it gained his attention anyways.

"Yea, Sweetheart?" he replied as he brushed a strand of hair off her forehead.

"Shut up," she ground out as the car hit a bump and it jostled her injured hip, earning her an apology from Rick. Daryl stared at her, concern and surprise on his face.

"Babe, I wasn't saying anything…" he looked at Bob and gestured to his forehead, his finger touching the area on his forehead where Beth had her head injury. Bob frowned and shook his hand as a "maybe" type response to Daryl's unspoken question of whether or not the head injury was causing Beth to hear or see things.

"My head's fine, jackass," Beth growled. "I told you to shut up because I can practically see your thoughts on your face. You pickin' me up helped get me out of that house faster. I couldn't have walked out, even leaning on your shoulder. You're not a dumbass redneck, so stop calling yourself that. Now focus!" Daryl's eyes widened and he could hear Rick muttering something along the lines of "you tell 'im" which earned the sheriff a glare from the hunter. Bob looked between Beth and Daryl for a second before clearing his throat and continuing.

"We'll take care of that last, okay?" Bob asked Beth as he continued his inspections. He Okayed the shoulder, saying that Daryl had done a good job of getting it back into place. He told everyone that the wrist was a concern but since her fingers were returning to their natural color and she could feel and move them that it might heal okay after all. He wrapped her wrist after cleaning the cuts the cuff had left behind. Bob worked quietly for the next few minutes, cleaning the various cuts on her face, arms, and legs. Beth talked to him softly about her ribs hurting and she lifted her shirt enough for Bob and Daryl to see the bruises on her back, sides, and stomach. Daryl had to take deep breaths at the sight of the black and purple on Beth's pale skin.

I wish I could kill them again, and again, and again…I'd beat the…

"Daryl…" Beth's soft voice interrupted Daryl's thoughts and he met her eyes briefly before looking away again. He watched from the corner of his eyes as Beth lowered her shirt and laid flat on the makeshift bed as Bob prepared to reset her leg. "Daryl, please…" Beth held her right hand out and Daryl grabbed it tightly in both of his. Bob took a deep breath and looked at Beth and Daryl before glancing up to Rick, Carl, and Michonne. Rick met his gaze through the rearview mirror and nodded, his knuckles turning white on the steering wheel from his tight grip. Michonne tensed and put her arm around Carl as he covered his ears.

"Alright, Daryl and Beth…there are three ways we can do this, we're gonna try one and hopefully it'll do it…if not, we'll have to try another. I need your help though, Daryl. Just place your hand on her pelvis and keep it straight. Beth, pardon my hands," Bob explained as he placed one hand on the inside part of Beth's injured leg's thigh. Daryl flushed slightly at the idea of putting his hand on her lower stomach but did as directed. "On three…" Beth's grip tightened on Daryl's other hand and she took deep breaths. "One…two….three!" On three, Bob rotated Beth's leg longitudinally, which forced the ball of the hip joint back into its socket. Beth bit her bottom lip until it bled and screamed through her clenched jaws, her hand holding Daryl's in a painful grip. Rick did his best to not let the sound of her scream affect his driving but Daryl could see the three up front tense and flinch at the sound. Beth's scream muffled down to whimpers and the sound of her taking deep breaths as her eyes watered.

"Is it…fixed?" she asked through her clenched teeth and Bob sighed.

"I'll be honest, I can't know with one hundred percent certainty. Normally, we would use x-rays to help us see if it's in its proper place if we couldn't get to surgery to fix it. From what I can feel," Bob probed gently along her hip, "it seems to be but again, I'm not sure. There's a risk of nerve damage after doing this, so we'll have to monitor how your leg and foot are doing with time."

"It hurts like hell right now," Beth ground out, anger at the medic's information evident in her voice. Daryl smiled slightly at her before running his free hand over her hair, his other still clenched tightly in hers. Bob ignored her outburst and continued with his speech.

"What we can do, if we can find one…there's a special kind of brace we can get that'll help keep it in place while it heals. Normally, there's all sorts of physical therapy that has to be done so you've got a road ahead of you as we will have to make do with what we've got. I'm not too sure on what kind of therapy is normally used, to be honest, it wasn't really my area," Bob said with a sigh. Beth nodded and loosened her grip on Daryl's hand to shake her own out after squeezing so tightly. The medic pulled a granola bar out of his pocket and handed it to Beth.

"Here, you need to eat something." Beth shook her head and handed it back.

"I'm not hungry."

"You need to eat," Bob pushed and Daryl rolled his eyes.

"She just got done having an operation performed on her while not under sedation or anesthesia. She's been in hell for two weeks. Chill, she'll eat when she's up for it. Hell, I wouldn't wanna eat right now either." Daryl said as he flexed his hand to help return some of the feeling Beth's grip had taken from it.

"And you have as much tact and grace talking about the subject as an elephant does trying to perform a ballet," Beth spat at Daryl. Soft chuckles came from the three passengers in the front of the car while Daryl stared down at Beth in surprise. Bob snorted but stopped when Beth's glare was turned on him. He ducked his head and dug out the bottle of Aleve.

"There aren't many, but it'll help. We also need to focus on rehydrating you," Bob pulled out a couple of water bottles and set them down around Beth. Once everything was out and accessible for Beth, Bob moved to sit closer to the front of the van and began talking softly with Rick, Carl, and Michonne. Daryl helped Beth get some water and pain relievers down before lying down beside her on the blankets. He had given her both pillows, one of which she tucked carefully under her hip and the other was tucked under her head. Beth turned her face to look at him, her eyes never straying from his. The constant staring really unnerved Daryl but he didn't want to look away from her either.

"You need to get some sleep, girl," he told her softly. Beth shook her head and tears filled her eyes.

"If I go to sleep, I'll wake up and I'll be back in that house," she whispered.

"No, you won't. It doesn't seem real, that you're here and safe, I get that. I really do…I was…" Daryl closed his eyes tightly. Beth watched him for a moment before she nodded and gently brushed his chin with her right hand, giving his goatee a slight pull.

"I know," she said softly. Daryl's eyes opened, appreciation for her understanding what he couldn't find the words to say shining in his eyes. "I was scared too. Terrified that you had died in that funeral home. Then I remembered something from that night. It was hazy, the pain kept trying to lull me to darkness but I fought to stay awake. I heard you, I think, screamin' for me," she told him. Daryl nodded softly.

"I chased the car til mornin'. I came across a fork in the road and I couldn't…I couldn't tell which way the car went..." Daryl swallowed the lump in his throat and looked down at the blankets they were laying on. "I gave up, Beth. I gave up right then, at the first obstacle. I gave up when you were needing me most; when you counted on me the most."

"How did you find me, then?" she asked softly, her hand tapping his chin and making him look into her eyes again. The car kept moving and the other four passengers kept talking, so he told her about joining Joe's group, how he met up with Rick, Terminus and their complicated, terrifying escape. How he had suddenly felt determined that he could find her and how Rick helped him search for any sign of her or her kidnappers. He told her of the fight and torture of her kidnappers, admitted everything they had said and he had done. Beth's eyes were shining with tears by the end of it and Daryl felt a weight come off his chest when his story of the past two weeks was over.

"I'm sorry, Beth. So sorry, but I'm not the good man you think I am. Look at what I let happen to you…"

"No," Beth interrupted forcefully. Daryl's eyes met hers and he felt her simple interruption like a punch in the gut. No, I'm not the good guy she thought I was. Daryl sighed and sat up, fully intending to swap seats with Michonne and letting Beth be angry at him for his failures. Beth's hand grabbed his bicep and she tugged on it to make him lie back down beside her. He did, reluctantly, not wanting to hear what she was going to say. "Daryl Dixon, you are the good man I thought you were. Too good, remember?"

Daryl's mind flashed back to the first time they had had this conversation, when Beth was laying on the prison cot with an IV in her arm.

"I seem to get into trouble a lot, Daryl," she told him softly as she recalled the numerous times the man in front of her had to save her life or help her through an illness or injury. "But there is always one person who is there to pick me up. To save my life. This man sees the world as it is. If he can't see the hope in a situation, he recognizes that and bears through it. He doesn't dream or get lost in what could be. And this frustrates me, because I don't see the world that way. I can't see it that way. If I do…I'm scared of what I'll do." She sighed and shook her head and Daryl could see by the look on her face that she was changing topics.

"Everything you just told me proves to me that you are a good guy. You lost hope in the beginning and that's okay," Daryl scoffed loudly and Beth frowned. "It is! But after everything you went through, after realizing how long it had been, you found that hope again. You started searching again. You got the answers you needed."

"I tortured two men, Beth, three actually. Randall back at the farm," Daryl interrupted and Beth gave a cold laugh and Daryl didn't like it coming out of the blonde next to him.

"The two of them, Mike and John, the two who took me; they deserved it. Every single part of it," Beth told him. Daryl tensed hearing that, realizing that Beth would never have said those words about someone before she had been taken. "They took me from you," she continued, "they hit me when I fought back. They teased me relentlessly about your death. They deserved what you did to them." Daryl closed his eyes but found the question he didn't want the answer to burning its way from his mouth and into the open.

"Did they…touch you?" Beth was silent for a moment as she chewed on her lower lip before shaking her head no. Daryl breathed a sigh of relief. He watched as apprehension and something else crossed Beth's face.

"They…" she started before swallowing and looking away from him. Daryl lay there silently, his hand holding hers tightly and rubbing his thumb in circles against her smooth skin. He couldn't think of the words to comfort her and hoped that his presence and touch could do what his words were failing to do.

"You don' gotta tell me right now, Beth," he told her softly. She nodded and looked back at him.

"You've given me the courage, if I don't say anything now…I'm not sure I ever will," she told him honestly. Her eyes glanced briefly at their hands as he gave hers a gentle squeeze and she took a deep breath.

"No, I never let them close enough to do anything like that," she answered and Daryl nodded. "They tried, once each on the day they left, yesterday I guess it was…" she continued and Daryl felt rage building in him again. "Mike, he tried first. I hope I nearly dislocated his knee cap but I know I managed to cut him really good with that machete. They were stupid and had left it on the edge of the table. After dislocating my shoulder, I was able to stretch enough to knock it off and drag it close enough to grab it.

"When Mike came in, I kept it hidden behind me in my right hand. As soon as he was close enough, I kicked as hard as I could against his knee cap and slashed out with the knife. His head was too far away, so I tried aiming for the artery in his leg but he moved too quickly. I guess I hadn't hit his knee hard enough…or maybe I didn't hit it in the right place because he limped out of the room, yelling for John's help. Then John came in to "punish" me…Moron forgot that I still had the machete. I nearly castrated him when he tried," she explained. Daryl flinched at the idea of it but remembered the way one of the men had limped and complained that the blonde had really injured him. He felt a smile form on his face and he gently placed a kiss on Beth's cheek.

"That makes me cringe ta think about, but I'm proud of ya, girl. Ya did good," he complimented and Beth blushed slightly with a chuckle.

"The first week I was with them, they kept trying to make me believe you were dead and that everything had been an accident. That they had only taken me to save me from the walkers at the funeral home. I kept trying to escape. It was painful; I couldn't really remember what had happened to my leg but I tried to run away. I never got far, my screaming and crying would instantly alert them to my location every time but I never gave up. The last time I tried to escape, they kicked me around some. I managed to grab something, I can't remember what now…and I hit one of them with it. The other hit me in the head with the butt of his gun. That's when they confessed that it had all been a trap, that they were only wanting me for pleasure, and chained me to the wall. I guess my constant attempts to escape pissed them off.

"After I had injured them both, they decided to leave the car behind with the radio playing as loud as it could go. Walkers began filtering into the house and I did my best to keep them back, fighting through the night as walker after walker would stumble into the house. Slowly at first, one every once in a while. After they started to make noise and after I cried out in pain when one managed to get too close and knock me off my uninjured leg during the night, they started to come in more frequently." Beth let out another breath.

"The entire time I was with them, I ignored their food. I didn't know what it was, if it was drugged, so I didn't want to risk it. I tried to do that with their water but I couldn't. I needed to try and stay hydrated. Lack of food hit me while I was fighting those walkers. I hurt all over and I could feel my energy was drained." She swallowed and turned her eyes away from Daryl's again and he could see shame in her eyes.

"I gave up. There was one walker left in the room and I gave up. I let myself fall to the floor and let her come to me. I thought I was hallucinating when it was killed and I saw your bolt sticking out of its head. I had…dreamed during my brief moments of sleep that you had come in to rescue me. I knew you were coming, but I was so worried it was another dream that I didn't want to get my hopes up…"

The two lay in silence for a moment before Daryl leaned forward and put his face in the space between Beth's shoulder and her head. He put his chin on her shoulder and laid his head on the pillow next to her.

"You're the strongest woman I know, Beth Greene," he mumbled to her. He could feel the tension leaving Beth's body and she tilted her face to lay on top of his. She "hmm'd" in response, the tone of it making it seem like she didn't believe him. "You told me at the moonshine cabin that you hadn't changed enough to survive this world. But you have, Greene. Think about what you just told me, how you survived. How you fought against those men. How you took down walkers for close to twenty four hours by yourself. And now, you're laying here talking about it…I've heard it takes people days, weeks, maybe even longer to come to grips and talk about what happened to them…" Daryl sighed, his air hot against Beth's neck and ear, making her shiver at the feel of it. "I…I'm struggling to explain it, Beth…" Daryl pressed a soft kiss to the edge of her cheek, almost on her ear. Beth sighed and Daryl could feel her cheek move as she smiled.

"Promise me one thing, Beth," he whispered to her.

"What?" she asked softly, sleep tugging at her consciousness.

"Don't let this get between us. If you need to cry, cry on me. If you need to talk, scream, punch, whatever…I'm here. Don't shut down on me, girl," he said softly, voicing the fears that had begun to creep in on him as they laid there. Beth still for a moment before leaning her head back enough to meet his eyes. He could see the exhaustion, the apprehension and fear in her eyes. "I mean it, Beth."

"Okay," she replied. "I promise." Daryl smiled softly before gently guiding her face closer to his and placing a chaste kiss on her lips.

"I love you, Beth Greene." His words and kiss brought the brightest smile he had seen on her face since before she was taken. Her eyes lit up with it and Daryl found his own lips returning the gesture.

"And I love you, Daryl Dixon." She replied softly. The two tucked back into the pillow and fell asleep quickly, missing the soft smile on Rick's face at their whispered affections and kiss.