Chapter 2

"What is wrong with this group of people?!" Abraham yelled, frustrated. They had just gotten back to the camp and Daryl had told everyone about the group's discovery and his decision. If they wanted to go ahead to Washington without him, he had said. He would catch up. With Beth. Of course Michonne knew that Rick wasn't going to leave without Daryl. They needed Daryl. Which meant Washington would have to wait. Again. And that's why Abraham was yelling. "First it's Glenn, then it was Terminus, now it's this guy! What part of 'we gotta save the world!' don't y'all understand?!"

"How long do you think it would take you to find her?" Rick asked Daryl.

"He may never find her!" Abraham yelled.

Ignoring Abraham, Daryl responded. "Not long. Whoever she's with will probably move out tonight since they know we're looking for her. But I think I could track them. Especially now that they may be on foot."

"They may not be on foot at all," Abraham said. "They may have found another vehicle just like us and let out even before we got there."

"No, I don't think so," Daryl said, finally acknowledging Abraham's presence. "The blood on the backseat was still warm. They were still around."

"Who do you think even took her?" Maggie asked, holding onto Glenn. "And why?!"

Daryl shrugged. There was only one reason he could think of that someone would want to kidnap a pretty, young girl like Beth. And he didn't want to think about that for too long. He shook his head. "I have no idea. But I'm sure gonna find out. Then I'm gonna kill the som'bitch who did it."

"What if they're a group?" Rick asked.

"I don't think so," Daryl said. "Maybe two at the most. But not a group."

A moment passed as Rick thought about it. "Okay," he finally said.

"Oh, come o-" Abraham kicked a twig across the ground.

"We'll head out after they find Beth," Rick said. His voice warning Abraham not to question it. "In the meantime, we'll stay here and continue to gather supplies for our trip. Carl and I think we found a good path to stay on until we're out of Georgia. We can continue to scout it. Maggie, I want you to stay here and help watch the camp."

"But I wanna go help find Beth!" she cried.

"I know," Rick said. "But I need you here."

Not liking it but knowing arguing would do no good, Maggie gave a short nod. Rick looked up at the sun high in the sky. "You wanna go back to the town and look for her now?" Rick asked Daryl.

Daryl nodded. "Damn right." He was taking steps back and forth. A tell-tale sign that he was antsy.

"Michonne?" Rick said. "Will you go with him?"

"I will," Michonne said.

"If you ever feel like the trail is gone," Rick said to Michonne. "You two come back here. You hear me?"

"Yeah," Michonne said with a nod.

Daryl gave a reassuring nod to Maggie then Michonne and he set off on their way.

"The sun's prob'ly gonna go down while we're tracking," Daryl said as they were halfway down the tracks. "We may have to set up camp somewhere for the night." He spoke with his eyes focused ahead. Michonne followed along behind him.

"That's fine with me," Michonne said. "As long as you can keep up." She was trying to lighten the mood but the look that Daryl shot her way told her that he wasn't in the mood. "So do you really think that we'll find her?" Michonne asked.

"Yeah!" Daryl said defensively. "What? You don't? If not, you can just turn around right now and go back to camp."

"Hey, I'm not saying we won't find her," Michonne said. "I'm here to help you. I just wanted your honest opinion."

"Well, that's my honest opinion," Daryl said forcefully. "We're gon' find her!"

"Okay," Michonne said. She raised her hands to show surrender. Even though she hadn't been fighting him in the first place. "How long do you think it's gonna be before we get back to that town? Probably another hour and a half, don't you think."

"Maybe. Just an hour if we hurry." He quickened his steps with the statement.

Michonne let Daryl walk ahead of her. He didn't seem to be in a talking mood. Well, he wasn't usually in a talking mood, but now he seemed worse than ever. It made her wonder just how close he and Beth had gotten during their fight alone against the walkers. She knew that her bond with Rick and Carl had grown stronger. It was probably the same with Daryl and Beth. She wondered if anything happened. Knowing both Daryl and Beth, it didn't seem possible. But they were living in an apocalypse. Anything that didn't seem possible before was definitely possible now. Especially when everyone was fighting for their lives every single day. "Beth was a sweet girl," Michonne said, breaking the silence.

They walked a few more steps in silence and Michonne became sure that Daryl hadn't even heard her until he spoke. "Yeah?" he said. "What do you know? You don't even stay around long enough to get to know people."

Michonne sighed. "What about you?" Michonne asked. She usually tried to keep a level head but Daryl's offense-is-the-best-defense method was bringing her own defenses up. "At least I'm not always pushing people away because I'm too afraid."

"I ain't afraid of nothin'!" Daryl said, stopping to look at her.

"Oh no..." Michonne said, looking him in the eye. "You're afraid of everything."

Anger flashed across Daryl's green eyes as he squinted against the sunlight. "What?" Michonne asked after a moment of tension-filled staring. "You gonna hit me?" Daryl's gaze shifted to the side. "If not, I suggest we keep moving. We're losing sunlight." Michonne walked ahead and with a huff, Daryl trailed after. Soon, he pulled in front of her to reach the town quicker but there was no way in hell he was going to walk beside her. The quicker they got in, got Beth, and got out of town the better.

"The car is right there," Daryl said, as they moved back into town and saw the same car. "They done prob'ly left by now, but if we trail 'em in the morning, we can prob'ly catch up." Daryl looked up at the darkening sky. "We would prob'ly be safe to find a high-up place and catch some sleep. What'chu think?"

"Are you sure you don't wanna keep tracking through the night?" Michonne asked. "I can handle it."

Daryl gave Michonne an appraising gaze and then shook his head. "I cain't," he said. "I might miss somethin'. Better to be safe by using the full light of day."

"Alright. Whatever you say."

They worked their way to the roof of an abandoned hospital to get some sleep. "Of course you had to pick the most difficult building to try to conquer," Michonne said as they laid down some blankets they happened to pick up from somewhere dim in their brains now. It had taken them forty minutes to clear a pathway up to the roof and bombard the door that led out to them. "And we'll probably have to deal with a new set in the morning."

"Well, I didn't hear any of your bright ideas," Daryl said. "You didn't have to follow me up here."

"I did," Michonne said. "You're in charge on this mission. I'm just following your lead."

Michonne pushed herself against a wall of the roof of the building, one facing the doorway they had just locked up. Sitting with one leg stretched out and one bent at the knee, she pulled a can of sweetened corn from her backpack and placed her sword off to the side. "I ain't never been in charge before," Daryl said as he sat beside her. "This so you don't get any of the blame if things go wrong?" He took the can from her and used one of the hunting knives in his belt to cut the top open for her.

"No," Michonne said with a shake of her head. She took the open can of sweetened corn back. "I just know this is how it has to be."

Daryl looked at her questioningly, not knowing what she meant by that. "You know I ain't racist, right?" he said. "That was my brother. So if that's why you're taking a backseat, I-"

Michonne chuckled. "No," she said. "That's not it."

Not getting a further explanation, Daryl just looked ahead. "Hm," he said.

"What?" Michonne asked. She brought the can of corn to her mouth and tipped it back to fill her mouth with the flavor. It was sweet. She liked sweet.

"I just assumed you would be the type to never follow anybody." Daryl shrugged. "I guess I should've knew better since you follow Rick without question, but I just figured...It's 'cause it's Rick. The man is just...a leader. I'm no leader."

Michonne ate another mouthful of cream corn. She found it slightly amazing that Daryl didn't even know his worth. "Yeah, well..." she said. "Don't expect this kind of treatment all the time. It's just for the sake of this mission." She offered her can of corn to him. "Want some?" Daryl held his hand up and shook his head to refuse. With a shrug, Michonne finished the can off. After a few minutes of silence, she spoke again. "You're not even going to apologize are you?"

"Apologize for what?" Daryl asked. Michonne could already hear the defenses creeping up into his voice. He was getting ready to lash out and hurt.

"For what you said earlier," Michonne explained. "About me never being around."

"I ain't gotta apologize for that," Daryl said. "It's the truth. Besides, you won that one anyway."

"I won?"

"Yeah. You got the last word, didn't you?"

Michonne found herself smiling again. In a lot of ways, Daryl Dixon was still just a little boy. "Okay. Fine then," she said. "I won. No apology necessary. I'll let you off the hook. But there's something else I won today that you ain't gettin' off the hook from."

Daryl gave her a questioning glance for a moment and then his face cleared up as he remembered.

"Three to two," Michonne said with a smirk. Just in case he still needed reminding.

Daryl's eyes shifted around for a moment. As if he was looking for an escape. "You want me to do it here?" he asked.

"Not really," Michonne admitted. "I wanted you to do it in front of everyone at the camp, but here is as good a place as any. Might as well get it over with, right?"

Daryl looked for nonexistent exits with his eyes again before he gave in. "Fine!" he said. "Look forward!"

Michonne did as he asked. "Yes, sir," she said sarcastically. She even did one better by closing her eyes. But that was more for her sake than his. This was actually kind of uncomfortable for her too. She was starting to wonder why she even requested this.

"Man, this is a stupid game," Daryl mumbled.

"Hey, you're the one who wanted to play," Michonne said with another chuckle.

"Since when did you start smilin' so much?" Daryl asked, irritated.

"Why? Does my being in a good mood bother you?"

"Yeah!" Daryl said. "First Bob. Now you. What's wrong with you people? We're living in a damn apocalypse for Christ's sake. It's the end of the world."

Michonne opened her eyes and turned to face Daryl. "The world hasn't ended for us yet," she stated. This was the closest Michonne had ever been to Daryl Dixon and she had to say...She didn't like it. His eyes were so green. And piercing. It made her uncomfortable all over again.

"Close your eyes," Daryl said. Michonne did so with pleasure and faced forward again.

"You gonna do it?" she asked.

"Maybe if you stop talkin' so damn much." There was silence and Michonne waited for contact. She could tell when he got close because she could feel his breath on her cheek and her neck. She even felt the brush of his nose. And her heart actually picked up its pace. But then Daryl spoke again. "Why'd you even ask for this anyway?" he asked. "You horny?"

Michonne's eyes opened and her head snapped around. She hadn't been expecting such a blunt question. But then what did she expect from someone who barely walked ten steps away from the campground to take a piss. Not bothering to go behind a tree or anything...She shook her head and chuckled again. The sincere look of curiosity on Daryl's face making the question all the more amusing. "If I was horny," Michonne said. "I would have asked for way more than a kiss on the cheek."

Daryl gave a crooked half-smile and finally emitted a chuckle of his own. With a nod he said, "Yeah, I guess that's true."

"So, you gonna do it or not?"

"I don't know," Daryl said. "I gotta wait 'till you're not expecting it or somethin'. It's weird right now."

Michonne sighed and scooted down to lie on her back. "Pussy."

Knowing he wouldn't take that insult, Michonne wasn't surprised when she felt a quick kiss land on her cheek as Daryl moved to lie down himself. To cut off any further conversation, he turned with his back to her and lay on his side. Michonne smiled. He really was just a little boy. She touched the place where his kiss had landed and sighed. It was strange...but sweet. She liked sweet.

They awoke the next morning and found that they did, indeed, have to fight their way back down to the street. But it was a measly twenty-minute clearing sweep compared to the forty minutes they suffered through last night.

"Abraham or Eugene." Daryl put an arrow through the head of a straggling walker as he gave Michonne the options. They were heading out of town, following whatever trail Daryl saw and they had entered into a silly game of who they would rather pair off with if the choice ever came about and if no prior relationships had been established. Michonne found it rather surprising and pleasant that she could play these silly games with Daryl. It passed the time and she found that it kept them from being too defensive and closed off with each other. Because she had to admit that they were two defensive and closed off people to begin with.

"Abraham," Michonne said without hesitation. Her eyes scanned the landscape to make sure she didn't see any approaching walkers. Though she was sure that she would hear them before seeing them. "Rosita or Maggie."

"Mmm..." Daryl thought for a moment. "Rosita. It's the name mostly."

"Mm-hmm." Michonne didn't believe that for a second.

"Tyreese or Bob."

"Tch. Please," Michonne said, wishing that he would give her something harder. "Tyreese."

"Why not Bob?" Daryl asked, curious about her immediate response.

"He's weak," Michonne said. "Not physically, but mentally."

Daryl nodded. He could see that. His father had been the same way. "Okay," Michonne said. "My turn. Carol or Beth?"

"...Beth," Daryl answered. "Carol's my friend." Michonne nodded. "Hey, look," Daryl said. They were going deeper into a forest. A small trail ran through. He touched a broken tree limb. "Someone came through here. We're getting closer." He gripped his crossbow and walked with more of a purpose. Michonne matched his steps.

"Your turn," Michonne said.

"Uhh...Rick or Carl."

Michonne shot a questioning glare at the side of Daryl's head and his steps slowed for a couple of steps. "Sorry," he said. "First two names that came into my head."

"Rick," Michonne answered. "Sasha or me?"

"..." Twigs and leaves crunched underfoot as they walked. "Sasha," Daryl finally said. "No offense."

An odd twist happened in Michonne's gut. "None taken," she said. 'Why?' she wondered.

"Uhh...Okay. Glenn or me."

"You," Michonne answered. She wished she could take revenge and say Glenn but she decided to answer honestly in order to protect the integrity of the game. Daryl just kept walking as if the answer didn't affect him one way or the other. Only a slight widening of his shoulders showed that he heard her at all. "Okay. Let's have a battle among the winners now."

"Okay." Daryl signaled for her to go slower. More signs of people walking through began to show. Even Michonne could see them now. She pulled out her sword as well and held it at the ready.

"Rosita or Beth?" Michonne whispered.

"Beth," Daryl responded back. "Abraham or Tyreese."

"Tyreese. Beth or Sasha."

"Beth. Tyreese or Rick."

"..." Michonne thought for a moment. "Rick," she finally answered. Daryl nodded. He couldn't say he was surprised. Rick was the alpha male after all and Michonne seemed to be drawn to strong men if her responses were anything to go by. "There's no one left for you," Michonne said. "Beth ended up being the one you chose."

"Huh," Daryl said, again pretending that nothing affected him. "So who's left? You gotta choose between Rick and me."

Thinking about it, Michonne found that it was a more difficult question than she had expected it to be. But after consideration, she found with satisfaction that she could actually get revenge this time and have it be an honest answer. "Rick," she said.

"Figures," Daryl muttered, before raising his weapon and moving forward. "Get ready," he said. Pointing, he brought Michonne's attention to smoke, rising from an area about twenty feet ahead. It looked like it was coming from a campfire. As they approached, they saw that it was, indeed, a campfire. What they saw brought them to a pause.

Beth. Beth was there. She was really there.

But she didn't seem to be hurt or in any kind of disadvantageous position that they imagined they would find her in. She was actually in a white dress, which would be pretty if it weren't so old and ripped in some places. And her hair was down, falling around her face and past her shoulders in pretty waves. Michonne couldn't help but to think that she looked like the kind of angels you picture in your mind. She was sitting very still and staring at the person adjacent to her.

It seemed to be a man. But it was hard to tell because a cloak was covering him so Daryl and Michonne couldn't make the figure out from the back. "What do we do?" Michonne asked. "It only seems to be the one guy, but who knows?" She cast her eyes around the woods to see if she could find traces of any other people that might be laying in wait.

"Only one way to find out," Daryl said. Before Michonne could stop him, he stepped out of the woods with his bow trained on the figure. "Make one move and you die," he said warningly.

"Daryl!" Beth's blue eyes widened and immediately filled with grateful tears. "I knew you would come!"

Michonne stepped out of the woods to cover Daryl. Poised with her sword at the ready, Michonne focused on the man in the cloak. His hands had gone up to show surrender. "Jill, honey, who are these people?"

Michonne and Daryl cast glances at each other. 'Who is Jill?' they wondered together. They got their answer when Beth spoke. "They're my friends," Beth responded.

"Friends, huh? Well, you gonna tell your friends to come and sit down?"

"I ain't sittin' nowhere," Daryl started but Beth cut him off.

"Daryl-!" she said warningly. With a glance at Beth and then a look at Michonne, he moved over to the other side of the fire and sat slowly, his bow still trained on the man. Michonne followed him. When she was on the other side of the fire, Michonne could finally see the man's face. His hair was gray and matted and hung to his shoulders. He had a full beard and sagging skin. The blue of his eyes was so blue that he almost looked like a walker. If it wasn't for how his eyes kept darting back and forth and the fact that he was speaking, Michonne would have thought he was a walker for sure.

Michonne looked at Beth. "What's going on?" she asked.

"No...This isn't right," the man said, looking between Daryl and Michonne. "This isn't right. Jill, where did you meet these people? I always told you to hang out with the right kind of people. These people ain't right."

Michonne and Daryl shared another glance. The way this man's eyes were constantly moving back and forth and the way that he kept calling Beth by the name of Jill made it clear to the two that he wasn't in his right mind. "We're gonna be taking 'Jill' with us," Daryl said, not knowing what was going on and not caring.

The man's reaction was instant. He stood up, moving faster than either Daryl or Michonne expected him to. His standing caused the both of them to stand again as well. They were more alert now, too, since they knew how fast he could move. "Nobody's taking Jill from me," the man said. "Nobody."

Also on her feet now, due to the tension, Beth held her hands out, trying to calm both sides down. "They're not trying to take me from you, Daniel. You're coming with us. We can all go together." She looked at Daryl and Michonne. "Right guys?"

"I thought we were going home," Daniel said suspiciously.

"There's probably nothing of home left," Beth replied. "Remember? We talked about this. It'll just be safer to go with my friends."

"I can keep you safe!"

Beth held up her hands. "I don't doubt it. But my friends are nice people. They'll help us."

That was obviously the wrong thing to say. The man's brows drew downward and his hand went to his waist. "I don't need any help," he said. "Especially when it comes to taking care of me and mine." He brought his hand from his waist to reveal a large hunting knife clenched in his fist. With that, he charged toward Daryl. Daryl was about to bring his finger down on the trigger of his bow and arrow but Beth moved faster. She grabbed a log from the fire and smashed it across the back of the charging man's head. He fell to the ground, unconscious.

With their obstacle out of the way, Daryl dropped his crossbow and went to Beth. "Beth," he said. "Beth, you're okay." He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her tight against him.

"I knew you would come for me," Beth said, hugging him back. "I was just trying to slow him down. So you could come. I managed to get his knife and slit the tire on his car."

Michonne looked away, feeling as if she was invading their privacy.

"You did good," Daryl said. "You're a little badass." Beth's face lit up as she looked up to see Daryl's eyes. She must have stared too long and made him uncomfortable because he stepped away. "Okay," he said. "What do we do with this asshole?" He roughly flipped the man over. "Should I shoot him?" He aimed his crossbow at the unconscious man.

"No!" Beth placed herself between the two. "No," she said. "He's just confused. He thinks I'm his daughter." She cast her eyes downward. "She died a few months ago. It must've broke him. Understandable... 'cause you only have each other during these times..." She stared sympathetically at the man at her feet.

"Well, we can't take him with us," Daryl said. "For one, ain't nobody gon' carry his big ass and two...Rick's not gonna want some nutjob at the camp." At Beth's questioning gaze, he explained. "Rick's kinda in a bad spot again. He's gone all 'it's us or them' after Terminus turned out to be a crock o' shit."

"Terminus?" Beth lifted her head. "I saw signs for that place. Y'all went there?" She looked between Michonne and Daryl.

"Yeah," Daryl said. "And it was no good. We destroyed it."

The small hope that was in Beth's eyes died. "Oh," she said.

"Yeah..." Daryl said again, not knowing what to say. He never knew what to say when a girl felt down. "Anyway, Rick's not gonna want that asshole there."

"What do you thnk, Michonne?"

'Oh, so I'm not invisible,' Michonne thought derisively. "I think we should just leave him here," she said. "It's the easiest thing."

Daryl shrugged but Beth grew indignant. "No!" she said. "Leaving him here is just like killing him! We gotta take him with us! Somehow! I don't care what Rick says!" Her eyes grew bigger. "He's all alone out here." When she still didn't get an agreement from Daryl and Michonne she stated forcefully, "We're taking him with us!" With that, she leaned down and began to try to lift the man, "Daniel" she had called him, by herself. Of course, that caused Daryl to move in to help. Michonne sighed and sheathed her sword.

"Alright," she said. "Where are we taking him?"

"Maybe we can find another car in town," Daryl said.

"Maybe." After helping to get him up, Michonne took her sword back out and walked in front. "Beth," she said. "Daryl or Rick?"

"Huh?" Beth asked.

"Shut up," Daryl grumbled, embarrassed. Michonne walked ahead, smiling to herself.