A/N: This chapter was a struggle! Not too sure on why…

Chapter 12 –

Days flew by quickly as the group made their way slowly to Washington DC. The closer they got to the capitol, the more crowded the roads became. This made the group have to backtrack and find alternate routes often. They had to stop and syphon gas and find food. The trip was taking a lot longer than it should have and Beth could feel tensions growing in the group of newcomers. She also felt incredibly restless and grumpy as she was left in the van all the time and wasn't allowed out often. Her leg was still in a lot of pain but she refused to take the pain medication Bob and Daryl had found during one of their earlier runs.

They had also found a hip brace for her to wear and a walker. She had frowned at the sight of it but Bob had told her that the physical therapy she would need would require some form of stability and that the walker would be the best tool she could have. Daryl had given her a slight smirk, a teasing glint in his eyes, when she kept staring at the walker and she had spat some sassy remark that they had best keep it when she was healed since his "old ass would need it soon." The comment had surprised and amused everyone but the hunter who had turned a glare on her quickly.

"Like I need another reminder of the age gap," he had muttered. The look on his face afterwards told Beth he hadn't meant to say it out loud. Surprisingly, the group members (Rick, Michonne, Bob, and Maggie) around them had all told him they didn't see a problem with their relationship – whatever their relationship was. In the days since then, Daryl had relaxed a little more around her. He didn't kiss her or touch her if the group was around, but he stayed beside her in the van whenever he could and slept next to her at night when he wasn't on watch.

Beth sighed and shook her head, looking outside the van windows at their camp for the day. Daryl, Rick, and Carl had gone off hunting while Maggie, Sasha, Bob, Glenn, Michonne and the four newcomers all sat around a small campfire boiling water from what Beth guessed was a nearby stream. Her view from the van was limited and she sighed angrily. She looked the other way and could only see trees, their branches swaying slightly in front of her. There wasn't a breeze at the moment. Beth squinted harder at the trees and grabbed her knife from beside her on her bed. A lone walker stumbled its way out of the trees and Beth crawled as best as she could to open the van door closest to it.

She let out a low whistle and she could hear Maggie call her name. The walker stumbled to the van and Beth grabbed it roughly and stabbed it in the eye. She pulled the knife out and pushed the walker's body out of the van, pain shooting through her leg and hip as she did so.

"Beth!" Maggie screamed as she saw the walker trying to climb into the van. Her fears were alleviated as she watched Beth take care of it but her fear was quickly replaced with anger. She ran to van and climbed in with her sister. "What are you thinkin, Beth?! You're injured, it coulda got you!"

"I knew what I was doin'! I took care of it!" Beth replied tightly as she closed the van door and turned slowly to face her sister, fighting the urge to yell. "Stop coddling me!" Glenn came up and stood outside the van.

"We're just worried about you, Beth. You're the only family we've got left," he told her softly. Beth frowned and looked at the two of them. She had overheard arguments between Maggie and Daryl and had a pretty decent idea of what Maggie had been doing while she and Daryl had been surviving. Beth had mixed emotions about it. She understood that Maggie had considered her to be weak and unable to protect herself. Hell, she knew that about herself at the time too.

"I would have searched for you," Beth started. Maggie looked at her with a confused expression on her face. Beth continued, "I would have wrote Daryl and Maggie, come to Terminus. Beth. On any flat surface I could have. I would have asked everyone from our group, the minute I saw them alive, have you seen Maggie? Do you know if she's alive? And I wouldn't have hesitated to join a search for you…Forgive me if I am confused about how you're acting towards me now compared to while I was missing. From what I've gathered, you didn't do any of those things while I was missing and now you're back to the overprotective, caring older sister?

"I get it, I really do. You thought I wouldn't make it out alive. If I hadn't left with Daryl that assumption would probably be accurate. Your heart was clinching painfully and breathing was impossible at the thought of losing the love of your post-apocalyptic life.

"But if our roles had been reversed, if I was the badass Greene sister with a husband to find and you were the-one-who-wouldn't-make-it-alone Greene sister, I would still put your name on all of my signs. I would still ask people if they had seen you, if they knew what had happened to you." Beth felt a pang of guilt hit her as she took in Maggie and Glenn's faces. The pain and shock that was portrayed made Beth's heart hurt. The old Beth would clamber and apologize.

This new Beth, the one who had survived twenty four hours by herself, slaying walkers as they trickled into a small room where she was chained and injured after going two weeks with terrible men and no food, she was not going to apologize for speaking her thoughts.

"The rational part of my mind gets it, Maggie. It understands and accepts your actions. The emotional part of me, though, is hurt. I feel like you don't give a rat's ass about me. That you, once again, underestimated me. I'm a jumble of hatred and pain when I think of you or when I even see you. How do I get over that, Maggie? How can I forgive you? Please, help me to understand so that I can look at you and see my sister and feel happy." Maggie bit her lip as tears ran down her face and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Bethy. I really am," Maggie choked through her tears. Beth closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her emotions tumbling around and confusing her even more. Maggie got out of the car and walked off. Glenn looked between the two sisters before walking off to join Maggie, his eyes moving to Daryl's as he emerged from the woods with Rick and Carl. They had a deer and a couple of rabbits with them. Daryl's face lit up as he showed the deer to their camp members but his face darkened when he saw Glenn comforting the crying Maggie.

"What happened?" Rick asked with an edge to his voice, his eyes searching to make sure everyone was still alive and unhurt.

"There was a walker but blondie over there took care of it," Abraham explained and Daryl's eyes shot to Beth as she adjusted her body to sit at the open car door. Her face contorted with pain at the movement before she settled, her weight sitting mostly on her other leg and hip. Beth slowly lowered her foot to the ground and eased herself to stand. Daryl dropped the deer beside Sasha and walked quickly over to her.

"I'm fine, Daryl," she told him through clenched teeth and he nodded.

"I can see that," he told her quietly. He glanced back to the group and watched as they settled around the small campfire to skin and cook the food they had brought back. "What do ya need?" he asked her softly. She let out a bitter chuckle and shrugged.

"I'm so confused. I'm sad and angry. Frustrated and in pain…I'm tired of sitting in that van all day. I want to get out and walk around, go hunting, continue my lessons with you…if you still want to do them, that is." She paused, uncertainty in her eyes and Daryl nodded.

"'Course I do. You need to learn to fend for yourself," he answered. Beth nodded and leaned against him slightly. His eyes roamed her face, taking in her paleness and the pained expression on her face. "How can I help?" Beth snorted and shrugged, her eyes moving to the ground or the area around them instead of his face.

"Don't do that, Beth. Don't close me out. Talk to me. What can I do?" Beth sighed and shrugged.

"I dunno…I need to get out of that van more or I'm gonna lose my mind," she told him and Daryl nodded before reaching into the van and grabbing the hip brace and walker. He eyed the brace for a minute before adjusting it and putting it carefully on her injured hip, fastening it around her waist and thigh. He set the walker up in front of her and placed her hands on the handles.

"We're gonna walk as much as you can," he told her and that's what they did. Beth managed three white knuckled steps in what she was sure was hours of struggling before she broke down in tears. Daryl helped her back to the van and sat her down.

"I can't…" she sobbed and Daryl leaned her against his chest. Rick approached the two with two plates of food and bottles of water.

"It's not going to be easy," Rick told her and Daryl looked at the sheriff, his eyes portraying how useless he felt. "You did very well, Beth. A fellow cop was shot in the leg and it took him weeks to get the strength to try walking," he informed her. Beth looked at Rick as he talked and Daryl watched as her eyes lit up slightly with his words.

"Really? It doesn't feel like much of an accomplishment," she mumbled, her eyes turning dark again. Rick gave a soft laugh and nodded.

"Yea, it is. Standing up and walking that distance is amazing after it only being a couple of days. Don't worry, you'll get there," he encouraged before leaving the two of them alone to eat. Daryl watched as she took a couple of bites of the deer meat before he handed her the bottle of pain medication.

"You need these."

"They make me sleepy…I'm no good if I'm drowsy, Daryl," she told him as she turned back to the group eating in front of them and he looked at the bottle in his hands.

"I'll keep you safe. You know that righ'?" He could see Beth whip her head to look at him from his peripheral vision.

"Of course I do, Daryl. I'm…I'm tired of burdening you and the others. That's why I killed that walker earlier. I wanted to prove I can still take care of myself…"

"I get that but Beth, if you're in pain…do somethin' about it." Beth sighed and nodded, holding her hand out for a pain pill from the bottle. "What happened with Maggie earlier?" he asked and Beth stiffened slightly before swallowing the pill and taking another bite.

"I explained how I felt about everything I've heard. About what eavesdropping on y'all's arguments 'bout how she didn't ask about me or leave notes for me…About how that has left me confused emotionally…she didn't like what I had to say is all." The two finished eating and watched as everyone packed up their camp and put out the fire. Beth sighed and leaned her forehead against Daryl's as she began to feel the pain medication kick in.

"Come on," Daryl mumbled before helping her get back to her pillows and laying down beside her. The other members of the group began filtering into the three vehicles the group now had to sleep or keep watch for the night. It was an unspoken idea they had all shared. That way everyone and everything was in the vehicles and they could leave in a hurry if needed. Rick closed up the doors and locked them once everyone was piled into their vehicle.

Beth passed out rather quickly from the pain killers while Daryl and Rick sat up keeping watch. Hours ticked by with nothing happening before Daryl's ears picked up the faint sound of the tree limbs rustling near the van. He tapped Rick on the shoulder to wake him up and the two looked at the dark forest beside them.

"Go ahead and flip the signal, just in case," Daryl whispered. Rick nodded and flipped the blinker so that the light on the right side of the car, the side closest to the trees, would light up and flash once before he flipped it back down to turn it off. The cars in front of them repeated the signal and they could see the shadows of people rousing and watching the trees inside the other vehicles. A walker stumbled out of the trees and Daryl held his breath.

"We should go," Rick whispered and Daryl nodded his agreement. More walkers burst from the tree line and Daryl's eyes widened at the sheer number of them.

"Now, Rick," he said as Rick turned on the car and let out two short honks on the wheel. The other two cars started and shifted into drive right as the walkers started hitting the doors. Beth snapped awake and sat up as walkers quickly engulfed the right side of the car. Rick put the van into drive right as several walkers wrapped around the front and the back of the vehicle.

"Hold tight!" Rick yelled as he pushed on the gas and rolled over some of the walkers in front of the vehicle. Daryl could feel the van struggling to roll over the bodies underneath it and cursed. "Come on," Rick mumbled. Beth grabbed Daryl's arm tightly in hers, fear apparent in her eyes.

"If y'all have to jump out…" she started but Daryl interrupted her.

"We've told ya once, I ain't gonna repeat it after this time so listen close, girl. We. Ain't. Gonna. Leave. You." Beth slapped him hard across the face.

"If it means you, Rick, Carl, and Michonne survive, you'll do it. There's a gap right now, you should all take it." Daryl growled. He looked at Rick, Carl, and Michonne in the front seats. The van was becoming surrounded by more and more walkers and the van seemed stuck no matter what Rick did. Jumping out and running for the gap was the best idea but he couldn't leave her. The looks the other three had told him the same thing. Rick turned his eyes back to the front of the van as he put more pressure on the gas pedal while turning the wheel.

"You're runnin outta time!" Beth yelled at them, tears in her eyes. "Go!" Daryl grabbed Beth's face and slammed his lips onto hers, pouring everything he felt into the kiss. She reciprocated, pulling him flush against her body and wrapping her arms around his neck. She broke the kiss and put her hands on his chest, shoving him as hard as she could. "Go…" Daryl leaned his forehead against hers for a moment before looking into her eyes. Beth could see rage building in his eyes.

"I just got you back, Beth. I ain't gonna lose you again."

All of a sudden, the van shot forward, finally free of the bodies stuck under it and a collective breath of relief was heard throughout the van. Daryl leaned away from Beth. He was pissed and she could tell.

"As soon as we're clear, Michonne and I will swap places." He announced to everyone. Beth's eyes filled with tears and Daryl moved away from her. "I'm too pissed at you right now, Beth." She nodded slightly before laying back down and curling as best as she could into her blankets and crying.