I am SO sorry for the wait on this chapter! I've been very busy lately, and when I had free time, I just wasn't in a writing mood. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Beth could see her breath in the cold cabin air when she woke. Daryl's arm was slung over her waist, holding her body close to his with her back pressed against his chest. She was cozy under the covers, particularly with Daryl's warm body pressed against hers, and she dreaded leaving the warmth of the bed to start their day. Sometimes, the moments just after waking up next to Daryl were her favorite part of the day.

Beth listened to the even sound of Daryl's breathing, knowing it meant that she had woken before him for once. She shifted a little in an attempt to get closer to him. He was shirtless, and the warmth from his skin against her was wonderfully comforting. Even though temperatures had risen recently, melting the snow that had fallen a few days prior, the cabin was still always so chilly in the mornings. Daryl seemed to sense Beth's need to be closer to him, and his arm tugged her further into him in his sleep. Beth grinned to herself at the gesture, loving that Daryl could make her feel wanted even when he wasn't conscious.

Beth's grin grew wider when she felt something hard pressing against her backside. It amused her to think that even approaching 40 years of age, Daryl still often got morning wood. She couldn't stop herself from pressing her ass harder against him. His hold tightened on her, but he seemed to still be asleep. Grinning deviously to herself, she ground her backside against him. She heard a sharp intake of breath and turned her head to meet Daryl's now-open eyes. She pressed her ass against his erection again and eyed him with an impish grin.

"Good morning," she said lightly.

Daryl growled a little in response and nuzzled his face into her hair. His hands firmly grasped her hips and he ground himself against her. Beth wriggled against him, and her movements prompted him to slide one of his hands down her abdomen and beneath the waistband of her sweatpants. She bit her lip as his touch moved lower, her fingers gripping the blankets tighter as his rough fingers reached the spot between her legs. Daryl grinned into her hair when he found that she was just as wet as he was hard.

Beth drew in a sharp breath when Daryl slowly pressed his middle finger inside her. He slowly moved the digit in and out a few times before gliding her wetness up to her clit. Beth moaned quietly as he moved his moistened fingertip in tight circles. She loved that he knew just the right way to touch her, and she quickly spread her legs to give him easier access, throwing her top leg over Daryl's legs so that she could still feel his hardness pressing against her backside. He increased the speed of his touches, and although Beth knew she would quickly reach orgasm if he continued, she wanted more. She reached behind her and palmed his erection through his pants. Daryl knew what she wanted, and he quickly unfastened them and freed himself from the confines of his pants. Beth tugged her sweatpants down and reached behind her to seize his cock, giving him a few slow strokes before guiding him to her wet entrance.

Daryl didn't stop circling Beth's clit as he slowly entered her from behind. Both of them moaned at the feeling. Daryl couldn't believe how wet and tight Beth always was; it never failed to turn him on beyond belief. He set a slow, steady pace, plunging his length into her as deep as he could go with each thrust. The feeling of his cock bottoming out inside her was almost painful, but the combination of the near pain mixed with the waves of pleasure she was receiving from his touch on her clit was enough to soon send her spiraling over the edge.

"Daryl," Beth gasped, her back arching and her toes curling as her orgasm crashed over her.

Daryl groaned as he felt her tightening around him while she came. He continued to thrust into her until she had ridden out her orgasm before regretfully pulling out of her slick warmth. He quickly reached over her and grabbed a condom from the bedside table drawer. As much as he loved fucking her bareback, he knew he wouldn't last much longer, and even with Beth taking birth control, he didn't want to risk it. He rolled the condom on and flipped Beth onto her back. She yelped and giggled at the sudden movement, but her amusement quickly vanished when Daryl aggressively seized her wrists and pinned them above her head. The dark look in his eyes made her physically shiver and throb between her legs.

Daryl kept Beth's hands pinned down as he roughly thrust into her, causing her to cry out in a mixture of pain and pleasure. He held her gaze as he slowly withdrew and thrust in again hard. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were dark with desire like his own, and Daryl couldn't stop himself from increasing his pace. He drove himself into her ruthlessly, his dominance and pace rapidly bringing Beth to another orgasm. She cried out his name again, which quickly sent him over the edge as well. He buried himself as deep as he could inside her as he came with an animalistic groan before collapsing on top of her, both of them panting for breath.

Beth ran her hands through Daryl's hair and sighed contentedly.

"A good morning just turned into a great morning," she said. "I love waking up this way."

"Absolutely," Daryl agreed, still a bit out of breath. He raised his head and leaned down to give Beth a soft kiss before heaving himself off of her and removing the condom. He tied it shut and stood from the bed to toss it in the trash can across the room. The cold air of the bedroom caused goosebumps to arise on his skin, and he resisted the urge to scurry back in bed with Beth, instead opting to get dressed. She sat up in bed, holding the covers against her chest.

"Can I convince you to toss me some fresh clothes?" she asked sweetly, batting her eyelashes in an exaggerated manner. Daryl snorted a little, but went to the dresser anyway and tossed her some clothes. Beth grinned at him in thanks and dressed under the covers before resigning herself to getting out of the warm bed.

She shuffled out into the living room, where Daryl had gone to light a fire in the fireplace. She went to stand beside him and reached her hands out toward the flames for warmth. She couldn't help admiring the sparrow ring on her right hand. Ever since Daryl had given it to her a few days before, she couldn't stop looking at it whenever she had a chance. The sight of it always gave her a jolt of happiness, but it also reminded her of her feelings for Daryl. She wished she had the courage to outright tell him that she loved him, but she was still working up the guts to do it. The last thing she wanted to do was scare him away, especially when things had been going so well between them.

Daryl left her side and went into the kitchen to fetch some dried rabbit meat for their breakfast. He made his way back over to her and handed her several pieces, which she accepted graciously. The dried meat wasn't very tasty, but it was a good and easy source of protein.

"Wanna head out huntin' soon?" Daryl asked as they chewed on their small breakfast.

"Sure," Beth agreed. They hadn't gone hunting the previous two days, as their hunt three days prior had yielded three fat rabbits that had lasted them until the night before. Daryl usually preferred to hunt in the morning; he liked knowing they had meat for a meal later in the day. It eased his mind.

After they finished breakfast, they donned their shoes and coats and made their way outside. The melted snow had left the ground muddy and wet, and Beth grimaced at the mess the mud was making of her shoes. They had barely left sight of the cabin before Daryl released an arrow into a squirrel scurrying up a tree next to Beth, startling her a bit. Daryl gave her a bit of a smirk and went to retrieve his kill.

Beth shook her head at him and took the lead, her eyes trained on the ground looking for animal tracks. The mud made tracks easier to see, but she hated the slimy feeling beneath her boots. She moved slowly and quietly, careful not to lose her balance in the slick mud. She couldn't hear Daryl moving behind her, but she could sense him. Suddenly she stopped, her eyes landing on some tracks that were unmistakable. She looked back to Daryl, who was also eying the tracks with a deep frown on his face.

"People," he grunted. He moved past her and approached the clear human footprints in the mud. They were headed north, toward the direction of the road. "Looks like three sets of prints."

Beth's heart was pounding as she looked at the tracks. Daryl looked up at her, worry lining his face.

"We should head back. Cover our tracks. Maybe not head out here for a day or two. Hopefully whoever made these won't find us."

Beth frowned. "What if it's our people? How do we know it wasn't them who made these tracks?"

Daryl shrugged. "We don't."

"Then . . . then why don't we follow them and find out?" she asked. Daryl's expression hardened.

"Cause I really don't want to follow 'em to find out it ain't them. What if it's the people we've been hopin' to avoid?"

"But what if it isn't? What if it's people from our group? What if we miss them because we're too busy hiding from something that might not even be a threat anymore?"

Daryl stalked over to Beth, his brow creased with worry. "Other people are always a threat, Beth," he growled. "I know you'd like to think these tracks might be from people in our group, but chances are, they ain't. I'm not riskin' putting ourselves in harm's way just to find out."

"If that's the way you're going to be, then we'll never find our group," Beth snapped. "If you're so set on avoiding all other people, how will we ever find them?"

Daryl gave a one-shouldered shrug.

"Do you even want to find them anymore?" Beth asked.

"Course I do," Daryl sighed. "But I ain't about to put you at risk to do it. I'm sorry, Beth, but that's just the way it is."

Beth narrowed her eyes. "Since when is your word final? You are not in charge of me, Daryl. I have just as much say in this as you do."

"Not in this," Daryl argued. "We ain't followin' these tracks. We're goin' back to the cabin, and if I gotta tie you up to keep you there, so be it."

Normally, Beth would have made a sexual joke about Daryl's comment, but she was too upset with him to do so. He wasn't her keeper, they were in this together as partners in survival and life. She couldn't believe he had the gall to try to make decisions for the both of them without even considering her input. She was her own person and a grown adult, not a child in Daryl's care. And the fact that he wouldn't even consider the notion that the footprints could have been made by their long lost family was beyond disappointing for her. It was as if he had given up on them completely, and it made her feel lost and sad.

Beth knew they hadn't exactly been making any efforts to find their group while spending the winter at the cabin. She also knew that she had been selfishly enjoying living with Daryl on their own, and she wasn't sure she was ready for how things would inevitably change if or when they were reunited with their group. But regardless of these facts, she still wanted to find them. In her naïve and hopeful mind, she had imagined that they would safely spend the winter in their secluded cabin and then somehow reunite with their group when spring came. Such a dream was ridiculous if she really thought about it, but her hopeful side couldn't let it go. She wasn't ready to let her family go, and it seemed as though Daryl already had.

"You think we'll never see them again. Don't you?" Beth asked. Her angry tone had softened and now just sounded sad. Daryl sighed heavily.

"I dunno. We been separated from 'em for months now, Beth. Who knows where they are now, or even if any of 'em even made it out of the prison. We got no idea. I know you still wanna find 'em, but the chances that these tracks were made by any of 'em are pretty slim. You gotta know that."

Beth said nothing, her gaze drifting back to the tracks leading north. She knew Daryl was probably right, but the hopeful side of her couldn't let it go so easily. Tears pricked her eyes as she thought about the reality of what Daryl was saying. The chances of the tracks being from their group were low, as he said, but there was still a chance. However Daryl's determined expression and stubborn stance made it clear to her that she would never know. She sighed heavily and turned away from Daryl and the tracks, making her way back toward the cabin without a word.