Beth woke up in on a bed. She was in a wide open room. There were several other beds against the walls but they were empty. She tried to sit up but something was wrapped tightly around her midsection. She flew back the covers to see bandages covering her torso. She pushed back the covers further to see they were wrapped around her legs as well. She remembered falling through the glass and feeling the walker tugging her down. Were the bandages covering bites? Where was Daryl? Had he left her here to die? She struggled to get out of bed, feeling stiff with the heavy padding of the bandages. She limped over to the nearest door as she was about to grab the handle it opened. It took her brain a moment to process that it was Carol standing in front of her.

"Beth!" she said, sounding concerned, "What are you doing out of bed?"

"Where I am? What's going on?!"

"Let me take you back to bed," said Carol. She wrapped one of her arms around Beth's shoulders, supporting her as they made their way back over to the bed. When Beth sat down she began frantically questioning her again. "

"Where's Daryl?"

"He's here," said Carol, "He's fine and you're going to be fine."

"I wasn't bit?"

"No," said Carol, "Just pretty cut up. But you're going to be fine." Carol leaned in and pulled Beth into a hug. Beth hugged her back, she needed it. Carol had always been a motherly figure and taken care of her and the kids.

"Where's Daryl?" she asked. Carol smiled and said

"He's been worried sick about you, I'll go get him for you." Carol got up and walked out of the room. Beth looked around again. Where was she? The shades on the windows were drawn and she wasn't going to limp over and try to open them herself. A second later Carol reappeared with Daryl behind her. He looked exhausted with heavy bags under his eyes. She got up off the bed again and pulled him into a tight hug. He carefully hugged her back. Beth wasn't sure whether it was to avoid crushing the bandages or because Carol was there.

"You need to lay back down," he said, leading her back to the bed.

"Where are we?" she asked. Carol spoke up

"You're safe, we're in a secure town." She remembered everything Daryl had said about Carol being banished and she was sure it wasn't her place to ask about it. "We have a doctor here who will be coming to check in on you and make sure you're healing well."

"When can I come out?"

"When you feel well enough too."

"Well I feel fine now."

"Just wait until the doctor comes back and changes your bandages," said Carol. Part of Beth wanted Carol to leave so she could ask Daryl what was really going on.

Daryl watched as Carol continued to comfort Beth. She was going to be ok, thank God. They were safe here. Carol stood up from Beth's bedside and said

"We have some things we have to take care of, we'll be back later to check on you." For a brief moment he thought he saw a flash of annoyance in Beth's blue eyes. He went over to her and said

"Don' worry I'll be back," He smiled reassuringly. When she smiled back he took that as an ok for him to leave. He followed Carol back out into the hallway.

They walked down the road that ran through the center of the town.

"So you found this place," he said, breaking the silence.

"Ya," she said, "After Rick kicked me out, I wandered around for a week or so and then found my way here. It's been great. It's about the same size as Woodbury."

"The Governor took the prison, a couple weeks ago, me 'n Beth have been on the run ever since. We all got separated." Carol looked horrified and said

"He's still alive? Did the kids make it out?"

"No we killed him and most of his group. I'm not sure about the kids," said Daryl.

"Mika and Lizzie?" she asked, pressing him for information. He shoke his head

"I'm ain't sure, I didn't see them." Carol unexpectedly pulled him into a hug, he awkwardly put his arms on her shoulders, not sure exactly what to do. It was weird for him and he wasn't sure why. It didn't take him long to get used to the physical contact with Beth. When she hugged him he hugged her back as tight as he could without hurting her, like he was afraid of loosing her. He'd been close to Carol for a long time and he still couldn't properly bond with her. She stepped back, tears in her eyes.

"Do you think they could be alive?"

"I think so, they're strong kids," said Daryl, "I saw others runnin', the bus left with the Woodbury people." To be honest, he wasn't sure but he wasn't going to tell her that and upset her more.

"Beth seems different," said Carol, "More outspoken. If she had been injured badly back in the prison and I had told her to stay in bed she would of listened."

"The Governor killed her daddy, right in front of her 'n Maggie. Sliced his head off at the neck."

"Poor Hershel," said Carol, "What about the sickness?" Daryl knew where the conversation was going.

"It was clearin' up," he said, "Everyone was gettin' better." Carol was looking down at the ground, not speaking. Daryl had to ask her

"Did you really kill Karen 'n David?"

"Yes," said Carol, "I did."

"Are you coverin' for someone? If you are you can tell me, Rick's not here, Tyreese isn't either, you have nothing to worry about."

"I did it," said Carol, "I thought I was protecting the group but," she paused and took a deep breath, "I guess I was wrong."

"Someone was feedin' the walkers rats at the fence," said Daryl, "We also found a mutilated rat that someone had done an autopsy on. I figured maybe the same person who killed Karen n' Dave had done that too and you were coverin' for them." Carol shoke her head and said

"I have no idea about that, but I did kill them Daryl. I wouldn't lie to you." She looked up into his eyes and said "I've missed you."

"I missed you too," he said, feeling slightly uncomfortable again.

"I'll show you around."

"Shouldn't we wait for Beth?" he asked, looking back towards the hospital.

"I can show her later, she'll get along great here. There are other girls her age and plenty of guys she can meet. I'm sure the poor girl hasn't gotten over Zach and for her dad to be killed right after, meeting some new people might be good for her." Daryl felt a sharp twinge of anger. He wanted to tell Carol that Beth never had to get over Zach, that she had kept herself ready for his death long beforehand. He also wanted to let her know that Beth didn't need any other guy in her life, she had him to take care of her. But he kept his mouth shut and followed her down the street.

Beth couldn't help but feel angry Daryl had left her here alone. She was in a strange new place, nearly naked and covered with bandages. As mad as she was at him for leaving with Carol it had been good to see her again. Carol had always been around to help her out with Judith. She watched out for her, did laundry with her, she was one of the people she got along with best in the prison.

The door opened and she expected to see Carol again but it was a woman. She smiled at her and said

"Hi Beth, I'm Doctor Anna." Beth smiled and said

"Hi,"

"I'm just gonna take off you're bandages, check you over and put new ones on."

"Will I be able to leave after?" asked Beth, desperate to get back to Daryl.

"As long as nothing looks infected you can," said Anna.

Beth lay still as the doctor checked her over.

"All your injuries look clean and they're healing nicely, but I'm worried the one on your left side. Anna uncovered the wound. It was a long deep slit that stretched from under her rib cage to the top of her hip. It still oozed blood and looked nasty. "I pulled a pretty big piece of glass out of there," said Anna, "I'll clean it and give you some medicine to fight infection, then you can go."

Daryl stood inside the town hall, waiting for Carol. She had gone to get the supposed leader of the town. Daryl knew to be cautious. If the man even showed one sign of being like The Governor he'd grab Beth and leave as quickly as possible. She came out of the backroom with a man. He was tall and bald with graying facial hair. He looked to be in his 40's and had a slight limp in his step.

"This is Richard, he is the one who found the town." Richard held out his hand to Daryl who didn't take it. He awkwardly lowered his hand back to his side. Carol knew Daryl was thinking of the Governor so she said "He's kept this place running since the rise of the walkers." Daryl wasn't about to trust the guy right after meeting him.

"I've watched this place grow from twenty people to eighty," he said. "I'm only the one who presents ideas, it's a democracy here, everyone has a part in making the decisions." Daryl nodded, still not completely trusting the man.

"The last man I met who ran a town like this killed almost all his people."

"I'm nothing like that," said Richard, "The survival of everyone here is my number one priority. You and the girl you came here with are welcome to stay if you like," he said. Daryl was unsure about taking the offer. He looked up at Carol, her face hopeful, silently pleading with him to agree.

"I dunno," he said, "We've been searchin' for the others and we can't stop now."

"But they might find their way here," said Carol, "It's safer then being out on the road by yourself. Please Daryl." He shoke his head and said

"I've gotta talkta Beth first." He was done talking about it so he turned to Richard and said "Thanks for taking us in and helpin' Beth, I'll think about your offer."

"You can stay the night while you make your decision." Daryl nodded and said

"That would be best with the condition Beth is in."

Beth walked out onto the street. People walked around on the sidewalk and street like the world was back to normal, like nothing had changed. She smiled and looked up at the buildings. The highest they went was three stories. The building looked like they had been store fronts once but now it was clear people had turned them into their homes. The whole thing made her feel happy again, it helped her forgot the terrible world on the outside. She saw Daryl crossing the street coming towards, closely followed by Carol. She remembered how mad she was at him.

"What are you doin' out of bed?"

"The doctor said I could leave," she said coldly, "What have you been doing?"

"We needa talk," he said.

"We can go to my apartment," said Carol from behind them, "It's just up the road."

A few minutes later they stood in the kitchen of Carol's apartment.

"It's great here," she said, "They gave me this place when I moved in."

"How do you know this guy ain't like The Governor?"

"Because he's not," said Carol, "He's kept this place going for a long time, if he was like The Governor it would of all collapsed by now. I've gotten to know him, there's nothing wrong with him. He never had any children but lost his wife to the walkers."

"That doesn't mean anything," said Daryl stubbornly, "He could be hiding something." Beth sat at the table, listening to them go back and fourth.

"Please just trust me on this," she said, getting closer to him and putting her hands on his shoulder. Beth couldn't help but feel annoyed. She didn't have to touch him like that. She spoke up and said

"I like it here," He didn't seem to being paying attention to her, his attention was still on Carol. She already felt like she was being treated like a child again.

"I'm not gonna trust this guy until I see a reason why. We'll stay here while Beth heals up but after that we're gone."

Thanks everyone for the reviews :) My flight got delayed until Saturday morning thanks to the snow so I'll be able to post a bit more.