Beth and Daryl had come back from patrol the day before without a word said about what they'd discovered, about anything at all. Total silence had fallen between them. Daryl's body language alone told Beth to just leave him alone for a bit, and she did just that. She'd had so many questions for him, but they would just have to wait until he was feeling a bit more communicative. She had to remind herself that she had only just started to get to know the rather private man, but the way he was with his brother shook her. He wasn't the confident man she'd always seen. When facing Merle, he seemed uncertain of himself, almost timid. She had decided to chalk that up to shock. After all, he'd assumed his brother was gone forever, and yet there he was, living in the woods just outside of the settlement they'd been in for nearly two months. It was only reasonable that would come as a surprise to him. It certainly came as a shock to her.

She'd not said anything to any other member of their group. She didn't think it was her place. And Daryl hadn't said anything either.

She found herself heading into the back yard where she found Daryl putting the finishing touches on a park bench. "Where'd that come from?" she asked as she approached.

"Mitchell 'parently had it sittin' in his basement, didn't want it, so he asked if we did." he answered, not looking up as he fastened the last screw into place.

"Looks like it could more comfortable than those little plastic lawn chairs." she smiled, wanting to broach the subject of his brother, but biding her time.

"Yeah." he nodded, setting the bench up on its four feet. "Seems it'll hold weight." he said as he took a seat. "What's wrong with you?" he asked, looking back at her.

"Nothin'." she shook her head as she stared at her feet.

"Don't say nothin' 'bout yesterday." he gathered the tools he'd just used.

"I haven't." she promised. "I won't."

"Good." he nodded quickly as he headed inside to put the tools back in their spot. "You gonna just stand there?" he asked as he emerged from the house, getting ready to light up a cigarette.

"Sorry." she said as she watched him sit down, following to sit beside him on the bench.

"I never said you could sit here." he eyed her as she approached.

"What?" she asked, eyes wide and trying to think of why he'd suddenly ban her from the yard.

"Just messin' with ya, princess." he smiled. "That look on your face though.."

"You're just mean." she slugged him in the shoulder as she took her seat. "You gonna look for him when you go out next?" she asked, not being able to stop herself from asking.

"Yeah." he nodded, his smile fading and he began staring off as he smoked.

"Would it be bad for you to tell the others?" she wondered out loud.

"If I let them know, Rick and T are gonna wanna go look for him, try to help him out because they feel guilty for leavin' him in Atlanta."

"Would that be a bad thing?" she sounded like a broken record and she was aware of that fact, but the question just slipped out.

"They'd probably try to convince him to come here." he laughed.

"He wouldn't like it here?"

"Oh yeah, princess, I'm sure my brother would love it here in Mayberry, maybe marry one of those widows, become a daddy to their kids...mowing the yard on Sunday..."

"Okay, okay, I get it!" she sighed, feeling like a bit of an idiot, and slightly annoyed at him for not giving her a simple 'no'.

"Merle don't get on well with others, and he's pissed at all of us." he glanced at when he felt her staring at him. "Well, all of us who were in that camp at least."

"So, what are ya gonna do?" she asked, wrapping her arms around herself as a breeze picked up.

"Try to talk to him, see he's taken care of." he shrugged as he took one last drag from his cigarette.

"You won't leave us, will you?" Beth asked the one question she was most afraid to hear the answer to.

"Don't know." he leaned forward, propping his elbows on his legs.

"Oh." she whispered. She'd grown fond of him and didn't want him to leave. It would be like a member of the family going away and she couldn't stand to lose anyone else, even if it was for that person to go be with his own brother.

"Don't know if he'll even talk to me." he picked a withering dandelion from the ground in front of him and began to pick it apart. "Don't know nothin' right now, princess."

Beth suddenly got to her feet and headed into the house, Daryl staring after her in surprise. Had he said something to upset her? "Where ya goin'?" he called after her.

"It's gettin' cold." she said, coming back out carrying a folded blanket. "I think winter'll be here early." she sat down again and covered herself, offering him a bit of the blanket.

"No thanks." he said as he eyed her. "Coulda said you were cold." he grumbled. She'd scared him, truth be told, just suddenly walking away like that. He didn't want her to stop talking to him just because he might go and join his brother. He had stuff he wanted to talk out, even it was slowly over a long period.

"I don't want you to go." she took a deep breath and looked at him.

"What?" he looked back at her. "Never said it was for sure."

"I know." she fiddled with the corner of the blanket, breaking eye contact. "I just...I don't want you to go. I know he's your brother and all, but...I don't wanna see you go." she could feel her eyes stinging with tears at the thought.

"He's family." he watched her, wanting to smack her hand away from the damned blanket she insisted on playing with.

"Aren't we?" she asked, looking at him suddenly, eyes becoming red.

"I guess." he shrugged, it was his turn to look away, not being able to handle the look on her face.

"You guess?" she asked. "I..." she shook her head. "Never mind."

"It ain't so simple, princess." he forced himself to look at her again. "He's the only blood I got left."

"The way you were out there...was it just shock in seein' him alive?" she was dying to know if it was just shock, or if he had always been like that with Merle.

"What do you mean the way I was?" he knew he acted differently when his big brother was around, but there was a part of him, silly though he knew it was, that hoped other people didn't really take notice of it.

"You seemed...scared..intimidated."

"I ain't scared of Merle." he defended himself. "I got to the point, I figured he must be dead, I wasn't expectin' to see him out there."

"Okay." she nodded, not really believing him.

"There ain't no point in talkin' about this, princess. Not right now." he wanted eagerly to change the subject. He knew he would have to decide what he was going to do, but for the moment he would rather to sit with her and have one of their regular chats. They got a bit silly at times, usually on her part, but he found them to be enjoyable.

The idea of leaving them behind didn't sit well with him, but he had also been separated from Merle for so long, he didn't know what he would do when Merle would, without doubt, ask him to head off with him. The Dixon boys, together again. At the same time, he'd built friendships, earned the trust and as Beth was quick to point out to him, the love of their group. He still wasn't convinced about how loved he was by the others. Beth was the only one to that point to actually say the words to him. It was still a new feeling, being accepted and needed. And the look on Beth's face at the prospect of his leaving hit a nerve. Not only did he feel he would be hurting her, but also disappointing her and he didn't know if he could bring himself to do either.

"We can just drop it for now." she sighed, bringing her legs up onto the bench and to her chest as she huddled under the blanket. Shifting over towards him, she rested her head on his shoulder and watched as the sun began its descent into the horizon. "Sure you don't want some of the blanket?" she asked again.

"Nah, I'm good, princess." he said as he sat rather stiffly watching the sunset with her.