Sorry for the wait! I had a difficult time writing this chapter and I'm not sure why. I'm not happy with the way it turned out. But I don't want to keep you waiting for an update any longer, so I decided to stop trying to revise it and to just publish it. The next chapter will be better!

The rest of the afternoon was hard on Beth. After she managed to get Cara to eat some soup, she and Daryl had also eaten, and he had gone outside to start working on the barbed wire fence. Beth got the impression that being around Cara made him feel uneasy, as if she was a constant reminder of what could happen to Beth if Cara's assailants were to find them. Beth couldn't blame Daryl for not wanting to be around the girl, but it meant that Beth had to stay by her side instead. She tried her hardest to keep Cara in good spirits, but it was easier said than done. She had tried reading some Jane Austen aloud, hoping the nineteenth century romance would distract Cara from the horrible pain she was in, but her frequent coughing and resulting pain made it hard to get through even a single chapter. Eventually the girl fell asleep, and Beth stood from the second couch and went outside to stretch her legs while Cara rested.

She paused for a moment as she came out onto the porch and watched Daryl at work. He was digging holes to put fence posts in, which he would then wrap the barbed wire around. Beth admired the way his muscles flexed as he worked and the way the sweat shone on his skin. Even though danger was lurking around the corner and it was possible that they could lose everything they had, Beth couldn't help feeling thankful for Daryl. If anyone could keep her safe, it was him, but she was thankful for more than just the feeling of safety and security he gave her. Beth had always been a pretty positive person, but Daryl made her love life even more.

After getting her fill of watching Daryl laboring in the late afternoon sun, Beth descended the porch steps and made her way over to him. He looked up as she approached and wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.

"How's she doing?" he asked. Beth shrugged.

"I tried reading to her, but she kept coughing and we barely made it through a chapter. She's in a lot of pain, but she finally fell asleep."

Daryl frowned. "That's not good."

"What's not good? That she's sleeping?"

"No, that she's coughing," Daryl sighed. "She's got a couple of broken ribs. It's possible that one of her ribs punctured her lung. That would explain the coughing."

Beth's eyes widened. "How is that treated? Is there anything we can do?"

Daryl shook his head. "If it's minor, it could heal on its own. But if it ain't . . . I dunno, Beth. We just gotta keep an eye on her."

Beth nodded and bit her lip. Daryl could see that she was distraught, but there really was nothing they could do.

"I told you before we got back here that she might not make it," Daryl said quietly. "If she does have a collapsed lung, she could go at any time. I just need you to be ready for that, okay?"

Beth nodded again and blinked back tears. She had to be strong.

"Can I help you with the fence?" she asked. "I need to put my mind on something else."

"Sure," Daryl replied. "I've already dug a few holes for the fence posts, so you could hold the posts in place while I shovel the dirt back in around them."

"Sounds good."

Beth grabbed one of the pieces of lumber that Daryl had propped against the side of the cabin and dropped it into the first hole. She held it steady while Daryl filled the hole in around the post with dirt.

"So glad I grabbed this shovel today," he said offhandedly.

"Yeah," Beth agreed. "I'm also glad we got those books. I can't wait to start reading the ones by Anne Rice."

"What are they about?"

"Vampires, mostly. But there's one about witches, too. Maggie used to read them, but she always told me I was too young to read them. I can't wait to find out what she was trying to hide from me."

Daryl gave her a half smile and shook his head. Her comment made him realize how young she was; she reminded him of a teenager who couldn't wait to watch dirty movies when her parents went out of town. He tried not to think on it. Beth had proven time and time again that she wasn't a kid, but it didn't mean she wasn't young. Daryl had been slowly letting go of his sense of right and wrong when it came to her age, but he still didn't like to think about how young Beth was. The world they lived in was rough enough to make anyone grow up fast, and Beth was clearly a woman, but sometimes, in moments like this one, her youth made itself known and reminded Daryl that just a few short years ago, Beth had been a naïve, suicidal teenager. The woman standing next to him was a completely different person than the teenage Beth had been, but she was still young, and Daryl felt his protectiveness of her increase.

"It will be good to delve into those books on plants, too," Beth was still talking, and Daryl pulled himself out of his thoughts and tried to listen.

"Yeah," he agreed, packing down the dirt around the fence post and moving to the next hole. Beth grabbed another piece of lumber and placed it in the hole as Daryl began to fill it in around the post.

"What month do you suppose it is?" Beth asked, seeming as though she were talking just for the sake of distracting herself.

"Uh . . . October? Maybe November?" Daryl guessed. The nights were definitely cold now, and the leaves had changed colors a few weeks prior on the trees. Winter would be upon them very soon, which made Daryl curse the timing of the arrival of danger.

"Maybe in a few weeks we should pick a day to be our Thanksgiving," Beth suggested. "We could prepare a special meal and make a thing of it."

Daryl scoffed. "What do we need to do that for? We should be savin' our food, not makin' special meals."

"We should do it because we have a lot to be thankful for," Beth said. "This cabin, all the supplies we've found, the truck . . . each other." She smiled softly at him. "I'm most thankful for you. For what we have together. I think we should celebrate it."

Daryl felt his chest get a little tight as he looked at her, and he gave her a single nod.

"Okay," he agreed. He turned back to filling in the dirt around the fence post they were currently working on. "Ain't never had a Thanksgivin' before," he admitted after a few moments.

"Well then I'll make sure you have one, and a good one worth remembering at that," Beth said with a warm smile. Daryl felt his chest tighten again and he couldn't help returning her smile.

They worked silently side by side for a while, both of them already thinking about their Thanksgiving. His family had never celebrated the holiday growing up, and until the world went to shit, Thanksgiving had only been a reminder of what he had never had. He had to admit that he was looking forward to finally being able to celebrate the holiday. Daryl hoped he would be able to get a deer for the meal. They could eat as much of the deer as they pleased and then they could dry the rest of the meat.

Beth was excited, too. Thanksgiving was always a pleasant time around her house growing up, when all the kids were home from college and their family got to be together. She found herself missing her father and Maggie more than ever, but she was glad she had Daryl. Despite all the difficulties and loss they had experienced, he was still able to make her happy. He was definitely worth celebrating.

After a while, they had filled in all the fence post holes that Daryl had dug before Beth came outside. She sighed and wished they had grabbed a second shovel, but Daryl seemed content to finish the digging on his own.

"I'm gonna go check on Cara and then put some supplies away," Beth said. "I'll be back out in a little while."

Daryl nodded and Beth made her way back inside. Cara's breathing appeared to be a little shallow, but the girl was sleeping soundly and Beth didn't want to wake her. She went to the kitchen where Daryl had put the bags of their loot from that day on the counter. Resisting the urge to hum so she didn't wake Cara, Beth quietly moved about the cabin putting away their supplies. She grinned to herself when she came to the hefty supply of condoms Daryl had taken from one of the pharmacies. He had taken so many boxes that they wouldn't all fit in the bedside table drawer, and Beth had to stash a few of them under the bed.

Deciding to do a little laundry, Beth gathered up her dirty clothes and the laundry soap and went into the bathroom to wash them in the tub. The bathroom was growing dark, as the sun was now setting outside, and she quickly scrubbed her clothing before all the light vanished and left the bathroom in total darkness. She knew Daryl would have to come inside soon once he no longer had light to work by; they would have to finish the fence tomorrow.

After hanging her clothes to dry, Beth went back out in the living room and went to the fireplace to light a fire. She fumbled around in the dim lighting for the Bic lighter they had been using for the fireplace, but before she could find it, a rattling moan came from behind her. A chill ran through her and she whirled around, seeing Cara reaching for her on the couch.

"Cara?" she asked hesitantly.

The moan grew louder, and Cara lurched herself off the couch and toward Beth. Beth's heart sank as she realized what was happening, and she scrambled away from Cara as the girl clawed her way across the floor toward Beth. Through the dim light of sundown, she could see that the girl's one open eye no longer held the spark of life. Beth's eyes flooded with tears and she reached for her knife that was in her pocket, fumbling with it in her distress. She struggled to open the Swiss army knife, and Cara's dead hands suddenly latched on to Beth's ankle and began tugging her toward her gnashing teeth.

"Daryl!" Beth shrieked, still unable to open the knife due to her shaking hands.

She tried to kick the dead girl away from her, and she heard the sound of Daryl's heavy footsteps as he ran inside. Cara was abruptly pulled off of her and Beth squeezed her eyes shut as Daryl unsheathed his own knife. She heard him put Cara down and the girl's snarling stopped, leaving only the sound of Beth's tears that were now spilling down her cheeks. Daryl rushed to Beth's side and began looking her over.

"You okay? Did she get you?"

Beth shook her head, letting her tears fall freely. Daryl had warned her, not even a few hours ago, that this could happen, but she was still in shock that it had happened so suddenly. She pulled her knees to her chest and hugged herself, and she felt Daryl wrap his arms around her and pull her into his chest in a tight embrace.

"She was fine not even twenty minutes ago," Beth choked out. "She was sleeping. I put our stuff away and washed some clothes, and when I came out here to light a fire she was suddenly gone and came after me."

"There was nothin' we could've done, Beth," Daryl said quietly. "We did everything we could."

Beth nodded and wiped at the tears on her cheeks.

"Look at it this way," Daryl continued. "At least she didn't die alone. We got her out of there and she got to feel your kindness before she went. She at least felt safe and taken care of."

Fresh tears spilled down Beth's cheeks, but she nodded. "Yeah. I just wish we could have done more."

Daryl hummed in agreement, the sound vibrating in his chest. Beth took a deep, shuddering breath and tried to allow herself to be calmed by his scent and his embrace. He held her tightly against him and made no moves to let her go. They clung to each other as the sun dipped below the horizon and darkness fell around them, each taking comfort in each other.

Thanks for reading! The next chapter will be happier (and it will probably be sexier, too; I'm having smut withdrawals). Please review! :)