I have to admit that I am loving your reactions to the past few chapters! :D

I wanted to spend more time revising this chapter, but I know you were all anxiously awaiting an update, so here it is! Enjoy and please review! :)

Beth's eyes fluttered open, and she sighed contentedly as she heard the sounds of birds chirping outside. She stretched, wincing when the movement pained her shoulder. She looked behind her to see Daryl watching her intently, his head propped up on his hand as if he had been watching her for some time.

"Good morning," Beth murmured. "How long have you been awake?"

"A while," Daryl grunted in return. "You still ain't got a fever."

Beth gave him a soft smile, realizing that she still felt just fine. She sat up and gingerly touched the gauze on her wound. It was sore, but no more blood had seeped through the bandage that she could see.

"It's been almost twenty-four hours now," she said. "And I still don't have any symptoms."

Daryl nodded once, still watching her intently.

"I couldn't sleep much," he admitted. "Kept checkin' on you. But you never got warmer than you should."

Beth bit her lip as she considered the circumstances. As far as she and Daryl knew, most people came down with a fever or at least some kind of symptoms mere hours after being bitten. At first, Beth had thought that perhaps her immune system had delayed the onset of her symptoms, but their continued absence made her wonder. She should have been sick, or maybe even dead, by now.

"Do you think it's possible that I wasn't infected?" she wondered. "You shot the walker down before its bite got too deep. I mean, I know it definitely bit me, but maybe because the bite wasn't so bad, I didn't get infected?"

"It don't work like that," Daryl shook his head. "You can get infected even if one of 'em just scratches you. That bite was plenty deep enough to pass on the infection."

Beth's mind was racing as she considered the possibilities. She didn't want to get her hopes up too much, but she couldn't help considering that this wasn't the end for her. She stood from the bed and began slowly pacing.

"We're all already infected though," she stated. "When we die, we turn no matter how we die. So if we're already carriers of the virus, how would getting bitten be a death sentence? We should already have the virus in our blood, so coming into contact with it from a walker bite shouldn't matter, right?"

Daryl sighed and shrugged.

"I dunno why it works like that, Beth. I ain't no scientist. I just know that if you get bit, you die. End of story."

"Okay, well, even if that's true, it's possible that some people are immune, right? I mean, out of the almost 7 billion people who were on the planet when this outbreak struck, there has to be some of us who are immune for whatever reason."

Daryl was frowning at her, his expression unsure and hesitant. He looked like he had just swallowed something unpleasant, and Beth could tell he was far from convinced.

"I'm just saying, what if I'm immune? It's a possibility, you have to acknowledge that. It's been twenty-four hours since I was bitten, and aside from the actual wound, I have zero symptoms. There has to be a reason for that, and maybe me being immune is it."

"Beth . . . just stop, please," Daryl said suddenly. Beth frowned in confusion.

"Why? I'm just speculating."

Daryl was quiet for a moment, and Beth sat back down on the bed next to him. His eyes showed the pain he was in, but Beth didn't know why. He seemed reluctant to discuss this newfound hope.

"I just spent the past twenty-four hours tryin' to accept the fact that you ain't gonna make it. I've been holdin' you in my arms recognizin' that it would be the last time I could do that. I came to grips that I gotta make the most of the time left I have with you, and I still wanna do that. But I just can't get my hopes up that everythin' will turn out okay."

"Why not?"

"Dammit, Beth, can't you see what this is doin' to me?" Daryl snapped, his voice cracking a little. "I can't go through this again. I can't suddenly start hopin' that everythin' is fine only to have it yanked away when you finally do start showin' symptoms. I just can't handle it."

"Oh," Beth said softly, suddenly understanding. She knew how hard this had to be for him, especially since he had never let anyone in as he had with her. She had to try to understand his point of view, and as much as she wanted to consider the possibility that this wasn't the end for her, she had to remember that Daryl's emotional state was extremely fragile. She rose to her knees and moved behind him on the bed, gingerly wrapping her arms around his middle and pressing her torso against his back. She felt him slowly exhale a deep breath.

"I'm sorry for getting ahead of myself," she said quietly. "We'll take it one step at a time. One hour at a time. And we'll see how things go."

Daryl nodded once, placing his large hands over hers and holding them tightly. Beth wasn't letting go of her hope, she was just going to avoid discussing it out loud until more time had passed. But one thing was for sure: she desperately wanted to prove to Daryl that having hope wasn't a bad thing, and that miracles were possible.

With each hour that passed, Beth grew more and more hopeful that her symptoms weren't just delayed, but that they would fail to appear completely. She didn't voice her hopes aloud, as Daryl was still watching her warily, waiting for the event he dreaded to begin. Beth could almost see the walls he was constructing around himself, steeling himself for what he thought was to come. It pained her to see him in such a state, but she wasn't sure what she could do to help him. She understood that he was trying to protect himself and to prepare himself for the tragedy he was expecting. She just wished he could have more hope like she did.

Beth's spirits were high, and her continued lack of symptoms kept her in a good mood. She tried to joke around with Daryl, to try to get him to loosen up a little, but her efforts were mostly in vain. He only offered small half-smiles that didn't reach his eyes. She tried suggesting that he go on a hunt to clear his head, but he refused to leave her side, and he wouldn't concede to her going along on a hunt either. He grew more closed off as time passed, and the pain behind his eyes never faded. By the end of the day, he seemed almost as if he had already lost her. He seemed hollow and defeated. It broke Beth's heart to see, but it was also starting to wear on her. Why was he so convinced that she wasn't going to make it? Why couldn't he share her hope even a little bit?

She tried to remind herself of the position he was in. Not knowing whether she would make it had to be torture for him, and the waiting was likely the worst part. The longer Beth went without symptoms, the longer he had to wait for certainty over what would happen. And with Daryl's defensive tendencies, his instinct probably told him to prepare for the worst. He never was very good at being positive, especially in situations like these. Beth continued to keep her private hopes and questions to herself for his sake, instead showering him with her usual brightness and happy demeanor in hopes that he would see that she really was okay, at least for the time being.

As day faded into night, and morning rolled around once again, now marking forty-eight hours since she had been bitten, Beth found herself unable to keep her hopes to herself any longer. There had to be a reason for her lack of symptoms, and Beth was becoming further convinced that she was not going to get sick or turn. Her wound was even doing better, since she had insisted on caring for it as if she wasn't going to pass. After Daryl had finished changing the bandage that morning, she made up her mind to make him talk about the situation.

"We should think about getting on the road again," she said casually, delicately pulling her shirt back on over her fresh bandage. Daryl looked up at her sharply and frowned.

"Don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Campground's safe, or at least sorta safe. Think we should stay here until . . ."

He trailed off, and Beth sighed a little impatiently.

"Until what? Until I get sick and die?"

Daryl dropped her gaze and stared down at his hands.

"What if that's not going to happen?" Beth asked. "It's been two days, Daryl. I understand your unwillingness to believe that I won't get sick, I know how hard this is for you. But you have to admit that it's a possibility."

He eyed her with uncertainty and began chewing on his thumb nail anxiously. He shrugged once.

"I can't . . ."

"Yes you can, Daryl. The only reason you won't consider it is because you're too busy preparing yourself for the worst. What if the worst never happens? Two days and not a single symptom has shown up. It has to mean something. There has to be a reason that I'm not getting sick. I need you to acknowledge the possibility."

Daryl shrugged again, and Beth continued on despite his lack of response.

"I'd like to find a library," she said. "I want to do some research to see how likely it is that I may be immune to the virus, or at least figure out if there is a reason my symptoms might not have shown up yet."

"You ain't gonna find any info at a library. The outbreak happened too quick for anyone to publish a book on it. Besides, you know what we found out at the CDC before we came to your farm. Even the experts didn't know much."

"Well I know I won't find any information directly about this virus. But I can research other outbreaks of infectious diseases throughout history and maybe learn something from that."

"I dunno, Beth. The last time we went into a town didn't exactly turn out well," Daryl sighed, his eyes darting to her wounded shoulder.

"So we won't go back to Ellenton. There are plenty of towns we can visit instead, and we can be extra careful about it. Just because we had a bad experience doesn't mean all towns will be like that—"

"A bad experience?" Daryl cut her off. "I'd say this was more than just a bad fuckin' experience. This was pretty much the worst fuckin' thing that could have happened. Fuck, Beth, I don't even know if you'll be here tomorrow as it is, and now you want me to put you at risk again so you can fuckin' research?"

"Yes," Beth said simply. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to downplay what happened, and like I said, I understand how hard this must be for you. But I need you to try to understand what this is like for me. Like you said, we don't know if I'll even be here tomorrow, but for some reason, I'm still here now. And I need to know why. I need answers. This is my life that's on the line and I need to know why I'm still here. Even if I don't find the information I need, I have to at least try. Can't you understand that?"

Daryl sighed heavily, but Beth could see the resignation coming over him. He looked to the floor and nodded.

"Okay," he said quietly. "But I don't like this."

"I know. Like I said, we'll be extra careful. We'll sit down and look at the map and pick a place, and we'll make sure to scout it out well before we ever get out of the truck."

"And you better stay next to me the whole time," Daryl demanded. "Gotta protect you. I hate thinkin' about how I might not lose you, but then end up losin' you tryin' to find out why, you know?"

Beth gave him a small smile. "Does that mean you're admitting that me not getting sick is a possibility?"

Daryl shrugged. "I ain't sayin' it is, but I ain't sayin' it's not, either. I still don't wanna get my hopes up till more time has passed I guess."

Beth sighed, wishing that he wasn't still in such a self-protective state. But even so, it was progress, and Beth was happy to take any progress she could get. She was anxious to be able to possibly learn more about her situation, but even if she wasn't able to find out the information she sought, she was happy that Daryl was willing to let her try. She gave him an understanding smile and moved to sit down at the kitchen table.

"Why don't you go grab the map from the truck?" she suggested. "Let's start planning."

Daryl nodded and made his way outside. All they had to do now was pick a town and they would be on their way to hopefully find some of the insight Beth so desperately wanted.

Thanks for reading! Please review! :)