"Beth, you feelin' alright? Your face is flushed." Maggie had me sit down next to her, offerin' me some bread that Sasha an' Bob had taken from that cafeteria. But I turned it away, not wantin' to stir the butterflies still in my stomach.

"Yeah, I feel better. Sleep definitely helped." That wasn't entirely a lie. I was still sore an' my head pounded every few minutes. I wasn't goin' to tell her why I was blushin'. I peeked over an' saw him starin' at me, one side of his mouth turned up. My heart jumped in my throat.

"Those bruises look awful. How's your head an' side?" My sister has always been one to peck away at me, like a nervous mother hen. But, given our recent struggles, I warm up to it. I know she only cares about me, an' you always worry over the things you care about.

"I'm okay, really. A little sore, but I'm better than I've been in days." Her eyes tear up, an' I remember what she's gone through over the last week or so. First, watchin' our dad get murdered, gettin' separated from Glenn, then not knowin' how she'd find me in that basement. I have to keep in mind that I wasn't the only one who suffered.

I tell her that I'm gonna go back to my tent an' rest some more. We head out to D.C. tomorrow so I'm gonna need to store up all my strength for the trip. I don't wanna be the one holdin' everyone back. I send Daryl one final look, a big, stupid grin plastered on my face. But he returns it with a real smile of his own an' the butterflies turn to eagles.

I think back to what happened between us tonight. He had told me that I was the reason he changed his mind about good people. The way his eyes shone as he talked about how I made such a difference. Then he actually told me that this was new to him. I feel lightheaded at the notion that he's doin' this for me. I'm not so sure he's ever had a girlfriend. I think about what Daryl would've been like to date before the turn. But I know he woulda never given me notice back then. I tuck that thought away.

An' then I think about his lips on mine. My skin heats up at the memory of that first kiss. I almost feel ridiculous. It ain't like that was my first kiss ever. I'd kissed Jimmy an' Zach. But this was different. Kissin' them for the first time was sweet an' slightly awkward. Daryl only hesitated for a moment before he made his move. An' that was the best kiss I've ever had, like he knew exactly what he was doin'. It wasn't a sweet, polite kiss. It felt like he depended on me to breathe, there was so much passion an' longin'. It was beautiful.

My head's spinnin' at the thought of what this means for us an' it makes me feel like a stupid teenager for wonderin' if it makes me his girlfriend. I have to remember that the two of us aren't like Maggie an' Glenn. I don't even know if we could have that if we tried. I sigh with the realization that a relationship with Daryl Dixon would never be a story book romance. If he even wanted a relationship.

I decide to stop overthinkin' things an' just go to sleep. I quickly realize that the things I had been overthinkin' were what protected me from what awaited me. Away to myself, the memories of my time locked away swarm through my mind like a thousand angry bees. The blood. The screams. I turn over to my side an' wince at the stabbin' in my ribs. My thoughts return to Vic's beatin'.

It was after Travis killed Mitch. My head was still throbbin' from the way the man had hit me when I fought him off. The door swung open, but I couldn't turn to see who it was. Almost immediately after, I was bein' lifted off the ground an' he shook me violently. Terror erupted through my entire body when I looked into his face. Vic was the maddest I had seen him, yet. I remember his hand as it went back. The slap resonated in my skull. He threw me back on the cement an' stood over me. For a split second, I thought he was finished; that he'd leave me there. But that's when he went for my ribs. His foot had connected with my side so many times that I thought he'd broken one or more of my bones. I remember how hard it was to catch my breath, the awful pain I felt when I cried. I don't know how long it lasted, but when he finished he told me he wouldn't stop the next time; he'd kill me.

I open my eyes an' try to catch my breath. I wipe away my tears an' poke my head out of the tent flap. The fire's been put out an' everybody is sleepin'. There's only one way I'll be able to get sleep tonight. I can't be by myself.

Quietly as I can, I unzip the tent. He's completely passed out, layin' on his side. I pause for a moment, wonderin' what limits we have now. I push the idea deep back in my mind when I think of turnin' back to my own tent. I can't be alone. On hands an' knees, I crawl as quietly as I can to his side. I pull up the old sheet he uses as a blanket an' carefully tuck myself under. I feel mended already as I curl up next to him an' place my head on his arm.

"The hell?" He slurs as his eyes open. When he finally focuses on me his features soften.

"Hey. Couldn't sleep?" I shake my head. His arm wraps 'round me an' pulls me tightly to him. I think back to how much I wanted this before, to how I would lay on that cement an' imagine him there at my side. My protector. I feel his lips touch my forehead, when he speaks it's a rough whisper.

"S'okay, sweetheart." Sweetheart. My stomach twists in knots at the memory of Travis callin' me that. I start to pull away from Daryl, I feel like I'm gonna be sick.

"What is it?" His arm holds me still, but I try to break away. "Beth, stop. What's the matter?" Words can't begin to explain what is wrong with me. I should be thrilled to hear him call me an endearin' name. But the nightmare associated with that word tears me to pieces. He still won't let me go an' I begin to sob into his side. He lets me lay in his arms an' rubs my back as I cry. The roles have been reversed: The healer is broken an' the broken man tries to hold her together. As I drift to sleep I hear him whisper.

"S'okay, Beth. I'm here." An' it was okay.

My first thought when I hear the screams is that I'm dreamin' about that basement again. I try to think of somethin' else. Someone' pulls me off the floor.

"Beth! C'mon, we gotta go!" On my own feet I feel dizzy, but I realize the screams weren't from my nightmare. I'm seized with panic, stuck to the spot. It's all a blur, then. Daryl grabs my hand in his an' pulls me outta the tent. I don't have time to register the chaos in our camp. I hear Maggie shout for Glenn, then for me. I hear the gunshots, but I can't see anything. That's when I hear them, too.

Walkers.

Daryl pulls me behind him, his bow at his side. I hear the same woman screamin', someone else shouts to save her. I don't have time to look back. I hear him fire the crossbow an' he lets go of my hand to get the arrow back. I step ahead to get closer to him when my foot snags on somethin'. I couldn't help the scream I let out when I saw the walker holdin' onto my leg. Someone had knocked him down an' now he was tryin' to pull me to him. I shouted out again, aware that my knife was back in my tent. I kick it in the face hard, it's grip loosens. Steely arms wrapped 'round me an' pulled me up. When a hand laced fingers with mine I knew it was Daryl.

Rick cried out for everybody to run to the road. The light of day was just kissin' the horizon as we broke through the brush an' trees. Maggie an' Glenn were ahead of us, but I couldn't see anyone else. I didn't dare to turn back. We tore through the line of trees an' I fell over. Daryl had his hands on his knees, bent down an' tryin' to get his breathin' corrected. Maggie an' Glenn stood next to me.

We stared into the trees, waitin' on bated breath for the rest of our family to come out. After us it was Carl an' Rick, Michonne was just behind them. Bob an' Sasha ran out a few minutes later. I heard stumbles an' cries from the woods. Just when I thought I'd take off to help them, Rosita, Abraham an' Eugene appeared. I let out a sigh. We were safe. My family was ok.

"Where's Tara?" Glenn's voice was unusually high. He ran to the last three that came out.

"Sh-she didn't make it. Walker. Grabbed leg. Bitten." Abraham was out of breath, doubled over. Speakin' was difficult as he tried to calm hisself down. That's why I thought I had heard him wrong. But I looked to Rosita an' Eugene. She was cryin' an' he wouldn't look up. This was real. Tara was gone.

"No!" Glenn fell to his knees. Maggie ran to his side, slid down next to him an' cried on his shoulder. Tara had been the one who helped Glenn find Maggie. She was their friend. She was a friend to all of us.

The sunrise was bloodstained, eerily fittin' to the horror 'round us.