Hey everyone :) Thanks for the reviews! This chapter may get a little boring towards the end but the next chapter will be better :)

Beth leaped out of bed and grabbed Daryl by the arm, trying to pull him up.

"Come on we gotta go!" Daryl stood up, still disoriented and in shock. There had to be at least ten walkers in the room now, cornering them. Daryl picked up his crossbow and shot them down but they continued to come from the ceiling. How the hell had they not been aware of them up in the attic this the whole time? Danger had been above their heads and they hadn't even known it. When the crowd got to big for Daryl to take he yelled

"Just go!" Beth followed his orders, feeling adrenaline rush through her. She and Daryl slashed through the crowd and made it to the door. Before going into the hallway Beth grabbed one of the bag sitting in the corner, they needed supplies to survive and she had a feeling they wouldn't be coming back. They ran out into the hallway only to find three more walkers blocking their way.

"Fuck!" he said, "Where the hell are they all comin' from?!" Beth didn't answer him and in cold fear she ran forward and knocked them all to the ground, she just wanted to get out as quickly as possible. She let a cry as she turned the corner and looked down the stairs to see a whole bunch of them looking up at her with their disgusting, cold, decaying eyes.

"What do we do?" asked Beth. Daryl looked pissed. They had to make a decision quickly, the walkers were starting to slowly ascend the stairs.

"We'll go out the window," he said.

"Are you crazy?" she said. He grabbed her arm and pulled her into the front bedroom facing out at the car. He shut the door, locked it and moved the bed in front of it. She looked out the window and wasn't surprised to see there were walkers lurking around outside as well. It was only one story down but Beth had never jumped from such a distance before.

"You're going first," she said, "You better catch me when I get down there." He shoke his head and said

"You gotta get out of here, there may not enough time for both us to make it out." He quickly went over to the bed and pulled the mattress off.

"You can land on this," he said. It was a twin mattress and the window looked wide enough to shove it out. Daryl quickly unlatched the window. Beth could here the walkers beating at the door and she helped him lift it up and pushed it through the window. It landed with a thud on the ground below. "When you land get up and run for the car." He took the keys out of his pocket and handed them to her. "If I'm not down soon after leave without me." Beth didn't know if she would be able to do that but she just nodded and stuffed the keys in her pocket. She slowly put herself halfway out the window and looked down. The more she looked the longer the jump seemed. She brought her other leg over so she was sitting on the edge. She looked back at Daryl who was right behind her. Instead of roughly telling her to go he softly said

"Don't worry darlin' I'll meetcha down there," and to her shock he leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. And then she was falling through the air. She didn't know if he had gently pushed her off or she had done it herself. Either way she hit the mattress a second later. She felt the kiss still burning on her forehead and if she wasn't in immediate danger she would have savored the moment. She had never seen Daryl kiss anyone. Not even Carol. It wasn't on the lips but it was something. The hisses of the walkers brought her back and she got up and sprinted to the SUV sitting in the driveway. She quickly got in and shut the door. She waited for him but he wasn't coming. Walkers were starting to gather around the car and beat on the windows. She heard the glass in the back break and screamed a walker grabbed at her. Soon it was surrounded and she couldn't see Daryl anywhere. Was he dead? Tears pouring down her face, she put the car into reverse and stomped on the gas pedal. She felt the car lurch backwards, running over several walkers. She then sped down the dirt road, leaving them behind her. At the end of the road she stopped and turned around. He had to still be alive. He had too, Daryl Dixon didn't die he would fight till the very end. She anxiously waited, her hands gripping the steering wheel. She listened quietly, the night air thick with the sound of grasshoppers chirping. When she heard a gun shot she knew it was him, coming down the road. He appeared out of the darkness in her headlights. Behind him was a crowd of walkers. He ran up to the car and jumped in, sweating and breathing heavily he yelled out

"Go!" She didn't need to be told twice. She put the car in reverse and sped out of there, her eyes glued on the road, her hands gripping the wheel.

They didn't stop until they saw light in the sky. Daryl was exhausted. He could of easily been killed back there. He was so fucking lucky. When Beth stopped and pulled over to the side of the road he finally got a good look at her. She was a mess. Her face was streaked with dirt and tears. She had the splattered blood from the walkers she had stabbed across her neck and chest. She was still hyperventilating, her blue eyes wide with fear.

"Beth," he said, "Come on now everthin's gonna be ok, we're both alive." She didn't seem to hear him. He got out of the car and went around to the drivers side and opened the door. He gently pried her fingers of the wheel and took her into his arms. It was then she broke from her trance and wrapped her arms around his neck and started sobbing into his jacket. He smoothed her hair and tried to comfort her.

"It's alright," he said, "I'm ok, you're ok," He sat up in the drivers seat and let her cry, her little body shaking with each sob. She was so fragile and small in his arms and he pulled her closer.

"Where are we supposed to go now?" she asked, her soft voice cracking with emotion.

"We'll find somewhere to go," he said, managing a smile, "You don't haveta worry, I'll keep you safe." She looked up at him and said

"I did grab a bag on the way out, but I'm not sure what supplies were inside." He carried her to the other side of the car and sat her down in the passengers seat. She turned around and pulled the bag from the backseat and unzipped it. Inside there were a few bottles of pills, and a few cans of soup, it was enough to keep them alive for a week or so. For weapons they had Beth's knife, his crossbow, and a gun with limited ammo, they would definitely need to find somewhere safe.

Beth dug through the bag and pulled out all the medicine and soup showing Daryl but then she spotted something at the bottom. It was the blue dress she'd taken from the store. She didn't tell Daryl, thinking he'd tell her to get rid of it considering it was useless to them. She put all of the stuff back inside. He went around to the drivers seat and turned on the car, checking the gas.

"Fuck, we're almost out of gas," he said.

"How are we gonna get more without something to hold it in or get it out with?" Daryl tried to think creatively, but there was no way of getting the gas out without a tube and a can to hold it all in.

"We have a bit left," he said, "Let's drive ahead and see if we can find a town. We can find everythin' we need there." He shut the door and said "You sleep, I'll keep drivin'." Beth closed her eyes and she was out like a light.

"Beth wake up," she felt someone shaking her gently. When she opened her eyes she was looking out the windshield. The sky was a deep pink color and it was clearly dusk. Daryl sat next to her, his face twisted in anger. Her eyes stung from crying earlier and she rubbed them and tried to wake herself up more.

"What's wrong?" she asked groggily.

"We're out of fuckin' gas and I haven't seen a town for miles," he said, "There ain't nuthin' out here but trees." She sat up straight,

"So what are we gonna do?"

"We're gonna have to stay here for the night, can't risk walkin' around in the dark." While Beth was nervous about the broken back window and the possibility of walkers breaking in on them she knew they had no option. Her stomach growled painfully and Daryl reached in the back, taking out a can of soup.

"Here," he said, "Eat up." She tore the can open and dug in. She had just been getting used to eating cooked meat and now they were back to cold, uncooked soup.

"Aren't you gonna eat something?" she asked.

"Nah," he said, "I don' need it." Beth realized what he was doing.

"You don't have to give up meals for me," she said, "You need to keep your strength up."

"I told you I'd protect you," he said, "I'd rather you stay full." Beth reached for another can of soup and said

"Daryl please just-"

"You ain't gonna convince me Beth," he said, giving her a stern look. She pulled the soup out and set it down in the cup holder.

"Well if you want it, it'll be here for you." He didn't reply and instead reclined his chair so he was lying down. She threw the empty can out of the broken window.

"We're never gonna find them are we," she said, "We can't even find ourselves."

"I wanna find them as much as you do," said Daryl, "But you're my first priority right now." Beth felt the familiar twist of utter hopelessness and complete misery. Not wanting to talk anymore about it she reclined her seat and shut her eyes hoping too get some sleep.

When Daryl woke up, looking up at the clear blue sky. He heard birds singing and everything seemed to be alright. But when he sat up and noticed Beth wasn't in her seat he felt a rush of fear. Where the hell did that girl get off to now? He got out of the car with his crossbow and looked around. He didn't see her.

"Beth?!" he called out. He heard an answering voice.

"Hey, don't worry I'm here!" She came out of the woods across the street, a rifle slung up on her back.

"Where the hell you been?" he asked.

"I just went off for a walk, no big deal," she said defensively.

"Why?" he asked. He saw her face turn red. She kicked a rock with her foot as she looked down at the ground.

"I tried to hunt," she said, "But I didn't catch anything."

"Why didn't you just wake me up?"

"I wanted to so something nice for you, you've been supporting me this whole time and I thought I'd get some breakfast." He softened a bit at her answer but still felt angry.

"Well don't be wanderin' off without me again,"

"I can handle myself you know," she said, "I can go on runs by myself while you're out hunting."

"Ya," he said, "Well I'll teach you some things first and then I'll think about it."

"Well you can start by teaching me how to to track and hunt," she said. Daryl was perfectly content with being the only one hunting and providing for them but he knew he couldn't keep her cooped up all day long while he went out and worked.

Beth stood next to Daryl in the forest. In front of them were four targets Daryl had made out of wood, scrap metal and whatever else they could find lying around.

"If you wanna learn to hunt we gotta work on your aim," he said. "You did pretty good with the crossbow but the gun could be different for you." He stood behind her and said "Get in fighters stance." She looked around at him confused. "Open your legs so they are triangular, stand up straight and hold the gun out with both hands." She did as she was told. "Now keep your shoulders forward." He looked at her stance and said "Spread your legs a little more." Beth blushed instantly as dirty thoughts entered her head. She knew he hadn't meant it in that way but it had sounded dirty. "Pick a target and focus on it," he said. She chose the middle target which was an old bucket in which Daryl had scratched on an X in the middle of the bottom for her to hit. She took the first shot and was embarrassed when it didn't even hit. He came up behind her again and said "Really focus on it, don't take the shot until your sure you got it." It took her a few more shots to finally get near the X. After that Daryl took her further into the woods to hunt.

She sat next to him, leaning against a tree. They'd been out there for awhile now. Daryl had told her while squirrels were easier to find than deer, they were harder to shot because of their small size and how quickly they moved so they had found signs of a deer nearby and waited there.

"Are we gonna be staying in that car again tonight?" she asked.

"Either that or we continue on foot," he said.

"Well we could start walking tomorrow?" she said.

"That's what we'll have to do," he said, his eyes still out on the forest in front of them. Beth was quiet for a moment before she said

"And what if we don't find any shelter by nightfall the next night?"

"We'll have to make a fire and stay somewhere in the woods," he said. Beth didn't like being out in the open. The first few nights after leaving the prison the two had camped out in the open and they had had some close calls. Without walls there was no protection.

They stayed outside till dawn and then headed back to the car. They hadn't seen any deer and would have to eat soup again. They got in the car and locked the doors. This time Daryl accepted a can and ate with her. As they finished up and leaned back in their seats Beth looked up into the stars. Was her daddy up there somewhere looking down at her and watching over her and Maggie? She wouldn't let her mind think about the way he was killed and instead thought about how he had helped all those sick people the last couple weeks of his life. Why would God take away such a good man? Did he need another angel in heaven? She felt tears flood into her eyes. She quickly wiped them away before Daryl could notice. They all were mourning somebody. In Daryl's case she guessed it was Carol. Carol had been a mother to all of them, but she had seemed to have been something special to Daryl. Whatever it was Beth didn't want to know about it. She thought of Judith next. Had somebody grabbed her before they fled? Or was she dead? Judith had been her light in the darkness of the prison. She remembered Carol telling her Judith would grow up to think Beth was her mother. She had definitely loved Judith, but being so young Beth hadn't felt like Judith was her daughter. Maybe eventually the feelings would of blossomed once she got older but Beth wasn't ready to be called mom just yet. She looked over at Daryl who was fast asleep.

The last twenty-four hours had moved so quickly she hadn't given much thought to the way he'd kissed her on the forehead before she jumped from the window. It couldn't of mean't anything. Maybe he saw her as a little sister.

She rolled over in the seat so she was facing the window. They had a long day tomorrow she had better get some sleep.