She wanted to be with more people than less. She wanted to be surrounded. That's why she jumped aboard the fire truck before any decision was made about who was leaving with whom.

She sat next to Carl, who had Judith on his lap. She was relieved to see that she looked healthy. Maggie climbed right after her and decided to sit next to her.

The back of the truck was kind of like the back of an ambulance. The seats were placed around in a circle. There was an empty seat across from her. The second she noticed it, she wondered where Daryl went. Even if it has been weeks since they've been separated, she instinctively expected him to be around. Every empty seat was a seat without Daryl. Like it was a natural thing, like he was always supposed to be near. Maybe…probably…things will be different now that everybody was back in their lives. Everything will probably go back the way it was before.

"Beth?" Carl was talking to her and brought her back from her thoughts. He was actually handing her Judith.

"Uh? Sorry, what?"

"You wanna hold her?"

"Yeah, sure… Of course!" She smiled to him. She was grateful that he thought she might like to hold her since it's been so long.

"Thank you."

"No problem." He still looked shy, but a bit more confident than before. "She's happy to see you."

She fell silent. She didn't feel like crying. She was simply tired, but peaceful.

A car from their group started to drive faster and went in front of the truck to lead the way. She almost didn't have the time to notice who the driver was, but she could so easily recognise that figure. Not only because, for a while, she was next to it 24 hours a day. But because in the last weeks, trapped in that hospital, it appeared so many times in her imagination…turning the corner of the hallway, in front of her…or standing in her door frame...or running towards her.

It's strange how she never really felt that Daryl was gone. For he was always on her mind, there, somewhere, in thoughts, giving her strength, making her feel safe. It was very unusual how convinced she was that one day she would find him again. She never panicked; she was particularly calm about it. Maybe it was the way she never allowed herself to miss him.

They drove for a couple of hours. When they came across what looked like a very small and deserted village, they stopped. All the passengers in the truck waited for any kind of signal before getting out. They heard 2 strong knocks on the door. They always needed to be careful. They didn't move until they heard Abraham's deep voice.

"All right, folks, let's meet out here."

They all got out of the cars and truck.

"Is it me, or it's pretty strange how calm it is, out here?" Carol was always the one with more doubt. She had all the reasons to be that person.

Eugene explained that the walkers were more and more moving in groups, in herds. That it was mostly all or nothing, now. Since he lied about Washington, the others were half listening to his theories. That's what she heard on the way there.

They gathered around Rick. Like old times, she thought.

"Ok, we should stop here and find out a house we can clear and sleep in for the night. We'll split into 3 teams only; we don't wanna separate again…well not for a long distance anyway. Glenn, Daryl, Tara, Eugene and Michonne, you can go out and look for a store for supplies. Food, meds, at least water, or anything useful you can find. Short perimeter, don't go too far. You wanna get back here in no time if something goes wrong. Maggie, you can also go along with Glenn. Abraham and Rosita, you can stay here, watch the cars and truck. Uhm…Carol, Ty, Sacha… me and the kids, we'll go find a house. We can meet again right here, in an hour. We don't want to meet when it's dark, it'll be too late."

"Where do you want me to go?" Beth asked. She didn't want to be overprotected. She wasn't a kid anymore. She was good at defending herself and others now.

Rick looked at her. He hesitated for a moment before answering.

"Yeah… I guess I'm not used to the fact that you're back. It's still a bit surreal for me… I'm sorry. You can stay with Judith while we look for a house. You can follow our team."

"I can take care of the little one. I don't mind." Carol took Judith from Beth's arms. "She'll be more useful out there. Besides…I think Maggie would prefer staying with her."

Maggie gave Carol a warm smile and put her arm around her sister's shoulders.

"Y'sure that's ok with you, Beth?" Rick looked a bit worried.

"Yeah, I'll be glad to help."

Beth took a look around to see if everyone agreed with her going along on the run. Michonne gave her a little nod. The girl next to Glenn sent her a big smile. She was being really nice and friendly for someone she has not even properly met. Daryl was looking away. Feeling her eyes on him, he slowly looked back at her, but quickly looked away again. He looked preoccupied.

"All right, then, that's settled. So remember to come back here in about an hour. If one of the group's not back in 2 hours, we'll split and send a search team, but we don't want that. Stick with each other."

"Com'on, let's go, we're losin' daylight." Daryl leaded the way and started walking towards the stores down the road. The other team took another street that looked more residential.