Sorry for the delayed post. I wasn't sure how/what to write for this chapter and then I bought Diablo 4 and gamed for a few days. So, I just took a break and hashed out how I wanted this chapter to go. Thank you for being patient.

Light Switch: You won't have to wait long.

Queen21: It's been my crackship since I first watched season 4 and was so looking forward to the two meeting and then falling for each other, but it never happened, because there had to be a reason for Daryl to go all broody again...T.T Well, I'm making it happen here, dammit! Lol

DarkWorld67: I do, too. Honestly, I love writing their interactions because it allows me to paint a picture as to why Merle is the way he is and how he behaved in the show and then also allows him to grow by realizing his own mistakes. I also love how Merle is willing to die for Ani and vice versa, but he's not going to change how he speaks and she's not going to let him get away with his shit.

KEZZ 1: Thank you. I'm glad you're still enjoying it.

Top Story: I wish I had a ton of heart emojis, too.

"Are you okay? Your face is red. Are you sure you're not sick?" Tara asked Beth while checking her forehead again.

"I told you. I'm fine. Just a little under the weather," she answered. "It's nothin' major."

"Like the flu that killed half your people last time it hit?"

"Obviously it ain't like that. We've only got a few people sick. It's fine."

"I'm gonna go get a cold cloth. You feel hot."

"Tara, I'm okay. There are others who need help more."

"Look, it's pretty plain as day you're not feeling good, and you've been on your feet half the day trying to help Maggie and treat the others. You need your rest."

"Maggie's pregnant and needs my help, though," Beth told her.

"No, she doesn't," Tara argued. "Especially when you're sick. If she gets sick, it could hurt her baby. Carson himself told her that when she wanted to help with the sick. Come on, you need to go to bed. You need to rest. You're no good to Maggie sick."

"She powers through. So does everyone else."

"Really? Because Ani's on bedrest, Michonne's been puking for days, and Abraham is being a man-baby due to the flu. God, why do men do that?"

"Daddy didn't. Neither did Jimmy, or Glenn..." Beth said, fading out at the memory of the men she'd lost in her life. "I can't just sit back and watch everyone suffer."

"They're not suffering," Tara assured her. "You are. Both Enid and the doctor from the Sanctuary are here to help everyone get better. Well, Enid will be as soon as she gets back with the next batch of elixirs and tonics. One good thing about the Sanctuary; they had a lot of booze to make some good medicine from."

"Yeah. And Ani already had a huge cache of medicinal herbs already dried and ready to make the stuff. Only thing we're really gettin' from there."

"Well, it's not like they had anything to begin with. Go lay down," Tara told her. "I'll get you some medicine and water. Do you want anything else?"

"No, it's fine. I'll just go get some rest. Help take care of the others."

Beth left her standing there as she started up to her room just to get a nice rest considering she really wasn't feeling the best. Her muscles were sore and tired and she really did feel quite warm and warn out after barely doing anything that morning. She had attempted to help Maggie with the logs, but had been told by Sasha that she looked like crap and needed to rest much the same as Tara. It was beyond annoying that everyone seemed to be treating her like a teen all over again when she was nineteen already and hadn't acted like a teenager since Atlanta. The last time she'd even felt like a teenager had been when they were at the prison and she was able to date and act like her age. Ever since then, Beth felt like she had been forced to grow into someone who was on the same level as Maggie. She'd gone so far as to learn how to fight properly to make sure she would never be caught off guard like she had been at Grady. She'd learned as much as she could to help Ani with the psychological issues many had been having, going so far as to take the Hilltop off the woman's hands after she had been put on partial bedrest. Beth thought about that the entire time she was making it to her room, practically falling onto her bed and passed out as soon as she opened the door.

"-sleepin' so peacefully," she heard Maggie say as she began to wake up.

"She needs it," Tara replied. "It seems like she's trying to take over everything Ani did while she was here."

"She thinks that she needs to step up 'cause of Enid and Sophia. It's ridiculous. I don't think she realizes how much she's been doin' for everyone and how often I hear people talk about her. She's been trainin' Kal, Eduardo, and some of the others how to fight like she can. We're a lot better off because of it, too."

"Yeah, the guard on the wall is a lot more reliable now. Have you seen her when she's working with them? She's got a lot of moves."

"You like her, don't you?" Maggie asked, seeing the flustered look on Tara's face. "I had a feelin'."

"Don't tell her," Tara begged. "I don't want things to get weird between us."

"Why would it get weird?"

"Well, I mean, we're getting pretty close as friends and I don't want to mess that up by her knowing I like her."

"You really think that would change things?"

"I've had a lot of experience that says it would. I don't want to lose another friend just because they're girls and I like them."

"That must've been hard."

"It sucks. Thinking someone is a close friend and then they pull away just because I start crushing on them."

"I'm sorry you've gone through that. I don't think Beth would do that, though. She seems happier around you then I've seen her in a long time."

"I don't know."

Beth was taking deep breaths to calm her racing heart after listening to her sister and Tara speak about her and Tara's feelings. She couldn't believe what she had heard and wasn't entirely sure how to take it let alone whether or not she should even address what she'd heard. There was no way she was about to turn her back on Tara, but how could she really look at their friendship the same way now that she knew Tara liked her? Worse yet, how was she supposed to act normal around the older woman knowing she had a crush on her when Beth, herself, had already been confused about her? It was like she was being thrown into a world that she never thought she would be in and wasn't even sure how she could bring it up. After listening to Maggie and Tara's conversation, if she did bring it up, would Tara even be willing to talk about it? She didn't have any real relationship experience; a high school boyfriend, Jimmy, and Zack made up what she knew a relationship to be. Maybe talking to Maggie or Sasha would be able to help her sort out her feelings and put things into perspective, especially when she wasn't even sure how she really felt about Tara. The biggest problem she was having was how to make it seem like she was only just waking up and hadn't been laying there for the last five minutes eavesdropping.

~x~

"Do you think we could skip sparring today?" Beth asked Jesus a couple days after she'd recovered from her cold. "I kinda need someone to talk to."

"And you don't want to talk to Maggie about it?" he asked, receiving a sheepish look in return. "That serious, huh?"

"I...how...When did you realize you liked boys?" she asked before she had a chance to chicken out.

"I always knew. There was this boy in my group home," Jesus said. "He was probably the most handsome guy I'd seen at the time. We became friends for a little while, then we were more, and then we weren't."

"What happened?"

"Life," he answered simply. "I was sent to another home and then he got adopted. It just didn't work out. I had a few different boyfriends over the years, but he was the first. I can guess why you're asking about this," Jesus told her with a knowing look.

"I've never...I mean...I've always liked boys, but I'd get a few crushes on my girl friends, too. I never thought anythin' about it," Beth admitted. "But I...I think I like Tara. As more than just a friend."

"I've noticed," he told her, chuckling at her shocked face. "Everyone but Tara has noticed."

"I'm that obvious?"

"No, it's not that you're being obvious. It's just how you are around her. I know the look. The one where you're trying everything in your power to not show what you're feeling while pretending nothing has changed."

"What do I do?"

Jesus looked at her with a knowing and sentimental smile, recalling the times he'd been in the same predicament. His life growing up hadn't been the best from having to deal with bigoted and homophobic grown ups trying to 'fix' him and bullies at school who would beat him up any time he'd started showing signs that he liked a boy. There had been plenty of friends and those he would grow to call family that had been supportive of him for the better part of his life. It took away the first few years' worth of sorrow and depression that he'd felt until just before he was a teen and started practicing Krav Maga. Beth was already a skilled fighter, though, so learning a skill to boost her confidence wasn't what she really needed in that moment, unlike what he'd needed. She needed someone she could confide in that knew her predicament well enough to offer solid advice. Maggie wouldn't care whether or not her sister was in love with a man or a woman, and he was pretty sure Beth knew that just as much as he was. Jesus could also understand why Beth had come to him rather than her or Tara considering she didn't go back to Alexandria any more than Maggie did. He had his suspicions, though, that the reason Beth didn't return wasn't just because of Maggie or Negan, but also the fact that Tara wouldn't go back, either.

"Have you spoken to her?" he asked the older teen.

"What would I even say?" she responded.

"What would you say to a boy?"

"I...well...They're the ones that always asked me out. I'd say yes if I thought they were cute or I liked 'em, but I never really tried to say somethin' to the ones I liked. And I've never been the first to talk to someone I like, let alone talked to a girl about likin' her. I just don't know where to even start."

"Well, you could start with just telling her the truth," Jesus suggested. "Do you know if she likes you?"

Beth looked down and fiddled with the hem of her shirt while shifting her weight from side to side as she thought about how to answer. Eavesdropping was wrong in and of itself, but eavesdropping upon such a sensitive conversation was even worse. There was a chance that she could lose everything if Jesus were to tell Tara that Beth knew she liked her or had talked to him about her own feelings. While she knew that Tara was infatuated with her, she didn't know how to broach the subject without making it obvious that she knew that fact. She also had the same fear that Tara felt in regards to how such thoughts would affect their friendship and whether or not it was worth the risk. If she said the wrong thing to Tara, she could lose the best friend she had ever had and be heartbroken in other ways all at once. She didn't want to risk not having Tara in her life and was worried that admitting to having overheard Tara and Maggie talking would cause problems between them. The last thing she wanted to do was start the conversation to change something in their friendship that they couldn't get back just because she had overheard a conversation she wasn't supposed to have. A part of her wished she had never woken up and pretended to stay asleep while they were talking about her when she was sick. She wished that she would have been able to tell herself that Tara was just a really good, really close friend instead of letting reality slap her in the face. Beth was terrified of the implications of having heard that conversation almost as much as she was her own feelings on the matter.

"I overheard her and Maggie talkin'," she finally admitted. "She...I mean, she's been into girls forever! How come she can't just come talk to me? If she likes me, why can't she just tell me?"

"Probably for the same reason you haven't told her," Jesus replied sagely. "If you're scared of talking to her because you don't know how it would change things, do you think she feels any better about it?"

"I don't know."

"I think you do. If you know she likes you, then you know just how hard it is to like someone and not know if it's right to say anything about it. Tara's been dealing with rejection because of her sexuality throughout her life. Her family was fine with it, but there were a lot who weren't. We've talked about our shared experiences. The bullying, the rejection...friendships ruined because crushes were made known."

"See, that's what I'm worried about," Beth admitted. "What if I just think I like her 'cause she's givin' me all this attention and I don't and it ruins the friendship? What if tellin' her messes everythin' up?"

"What if you say nothing and lose your chance?" Jesus asked knowing that it was the one question that always hit the nail on the head; he'd asked himself that a lot for similar reasons. "What if you say nothing and Tara finds someone else?"

Beth could practically feel her heart breaking when she pictured it and sniffled, "I don't know."

"You do know. And you shouldn't hide it from her. Especially if you know she likes you, too," he told her. "And if it doesn't work out, at least you'll know you tried."

"If what doesn't work out?" Tara's voice called out from behind Beth, the younger girl's eyes going wide as the color drained from her face.

"Why don't you ask Beth?" he said, holding the girl's shoulder as he leaned in and quietly told her good luck before standing up and walking off.

Tara watched him for a moment before turning back towards Beth, a pit forming in her stomach based on how Jesus just walked away and Beth looked like she'd seen a ghost. She'd been a little standoffish ever since she'd gotten better, though it wasn't completely obvious to anyone who didn't spend a lot of time with her. Tara had come to know her really well, though, and the lack of Beth being able to look her in the eye the last few days had her worried about what was to come. She had even gone to Maggie and asked her if Beth had said anything about her after the second day of things being off between the pair. All Maggie had been able to say was that she hadn't seen any indication that something was wrong with Beth other than still suffering from being sick. Beth had always been a little slow on recovering from being tired when she was sick before the world had ended, so Maggie didn't think anything was truly wrong. What Tara was seeing on Beth's face at the moment, though, was telling her a very different story and that there was something very wrong. And it scared Tara to think that Beth might have heard something she didn't want her to hear and she was about to lose her best friend all over again. It was the exact reason she had asked Maggie not to say anything to Beth about how she was starting to feel about her. They both waited with baited breath for the other to start talking, neither knowing what to say to the other until they both started talking at the same time.

"So..." Tara started when Beth said, "I..."

"Go ahead," Tara said, motioning for Beth to continue.

"No, no...you started first," she replied.

"Look...I...Is everything okay? With us I mean?" she asked as Beth started squirming again. "You haven't been yourself lately."

"Yeah I have!" Beth defended, finally looking at Tara's face before blushing and looking down. "It's just...it's just..."

"You overheard Maggie and me, didn't you?" She couldn't even answer, just sighed and nodded her head, confirming Tara's biggest fear, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything. I'll go to the Sanctuary if you want. I don't have to stay here."

"No! I...I don't want that."

"Then why can't you even look at me anymore?"

"It's just...I don't know what to do or what to say," Beth finally admitted. "I've never...I mean...What am I s'pposed to do knowin' somethin' like that?"

"You don't have to do anything. I just don't want to lose another friend."

"That's not what I want, either," she sighed. "I...maybe we...I mean...I like you too!" Beth blurted out.

To say that Tara was shocked and staring at the younger woman slack-jawed would have been an understatement. Out of everything she expected Beth to say, from calling her a sicko to disgusting to even worse and downright heartbreaking names, the last thing she expected was a confession. Tara could see just how scared Beth was with how her eyes were wide and her face was pale everywhere but her cheeks. She was fidgeting and shifting her weight back and forth while playing with her hands in front of her. It took a lot of determination and holding herself back for Tara not to walk over and hug the girl, but she was terrified she would scare her off. Beth was also staring at Tara with her own shocked expression, not quite believing that she had just come out and said the thing that had scared her the most. She'd barely been able to talk to Jesus about it all and how scared she was before she just blurted out her dilemma to the person she was having the problems about. Her shocked look had Beth worried that she had just ruined any and all possibility of salvaging their friendship if nothing did happen between the two. The last way she wanted the older woman to find out about her crush was to just come out and say it in a situation where they were both nervous about how the other would feel. Neither of them really knew what to do with the new information that had been brought to light and simply stood there staring at each other.

"So, uh, you like, like like me or...?" Tara asked.

"I...I don't really know, but I think so," Beth replied shyly. "I...I've never...been with a girl before."

"You're just curious?"

"I don't know. I...I don't really think so. I've liked guys before, and it feels like that, but different. Not bad different, you know? Just...different."

"How so?"

"I don't...it's just...I know you. And we've been around each other for so long, you know? What if things don't work out? You saw how awkward it was with Rosita and Abe when he left her for Sasha. I don't want that with us."

"I don't either."

"What do we do?" she asked quietly, looking downtrodden and like she was about to cry.

"Um...do...do you want to try going on a date?" Tara suggested. "Like, maybe...I don't know, meeting up for dinner?"

"Is...would that be okay? I mean...I don't really know...I mean, I'd like to...but what if things don't work out?"

"We can always try going back to being friends. I mean, that is an option," she said with a shrug.

"Uh, yeah, okay. Let's...let's have dinner," Beth said, the fear and doubt giving way to shy hopefulness.

"Okay. Dinner," Tara repeated, awkward shyness creeping into her as well. "Uh, see you then?"

"Y-Yeah. See you then."

"Okay," Tara said with a chuckle.

"Okay," Beth responded, both walking away from each other with shy smiles on their faces.

~x~

Sophia was sitting next to Carl in a little crevice she had found in the Sanctuary's library that was far enough out of the way that they couldn't easily be seen. It was easy enough to find if someone knew where to look for them, but it offered them privacy from others they rarely had anywhere else. Most of the places they found in Alexandria had also been found by Merle long before they had even found them on top of the fact that he had helped rebuild the Sanctuary. It was like he had a nose for where they would be at any time of any day and the only reason he hadn't found them in the couple hours they'd been missing so far was because he was out hunting. Ani had practically begged him to go hunting when everyone else had come back empty handed and Daryl refused to go himself due to her predicament. He was very, very reluctant, but after Sophia said she'd go if he didn't want to, he'd relented only so that she could be there in case Ani went into labor. Carson had still been training her on being a midwife and what would be expected upon the birth and what she would need to help with, even with the doctor there. He wasn't sure what complications would arise with Ani being ready to deliver at any time now as she was beginning to dilate even more. They were waiting for her water to break before they worried about labor starting in earnest, but it was only a matter of time when it would happen.

"Are you worried about Ani?" Carl asked her all of a sudden.

"Well, yeah, but we're all worried about her."

"But you're not just worried, you're scared for her. You keep biting your lip and tucking your hair behind your ear."

"So?"

"You always do that when you're really scared."

"Do not!"

"Do to," Carl countered. "You've been doing it for a while. Since Aaron brought us to Alexandria. You started it then and you're doing it right now," he said as Sophia tugged on her hair and moved it behind her ear, even though that had been where it was to begin with. "Everything's going to be okay. Even Carson said so."

"It's not just that," Sophia admitted. "I don't know what I'm doin'. What if I do somethin' wrong durin' the delivery and make things worse? What if I hurt the baby or if I hurt Ani? Or if I drop Lou? Or-"

Carl interrupted her by grabbing her hand and kissing the back of it, "You're gonna do great. You've already learned a lot to help Ani give birth. You've been helping raise Judy since she was born. If anyone can help Ani and Daryl with Lou, it's you. Don't be so hard on yourself."

"But what if-"

"Sophia," he said in a hard tone, grabbing her shoulders and turning them both to face each other, "you're going to be amazing. You are amazing. Not only are you a better fighter and shot than me, but you're a great hunter and tracker. You've learned almost everything Ani knows about making the tonics and stuff. If Carson had to go back to the Hilltop today, you could probably deliver the baby on your own. I hope that doesn't happen, but you could. And she's far enough along Carson says it should be alright."

"She's only thirty seven weeks," Sophia lamented. "And she's three centimeters dilated! How is it okay for her to give birth?! Everyone always says forty weeks! How do we know it's gonna be alright?"

"Phia," Carl said as he made her look at him, "you are the smartest person I know."

"What about mom?"

"You know a lot more medical treatments than she does. She can't sow or do stitches at all and she's super scared of so many things. Do you remember how freaked out she got when that syrup on her hands?"

"She doesn't like sticky stuff. Even when she has to deal with stuff like honey and stuff, she has to wash her hands off right away. She says it's a sensory thing. She doesn't like bugs too much either, or hair on her skin. I don't know how she does it, but every time a strand of hair falls from her head she knows it. Mom's weird like that. Doesn't mean I'm smarter than her."

"Still one of the smartest people I know," Carl told her cheekily, giving her a quick peck on the lips to keep her from replying. "You've got me and everyone else to lean on. You're not alone and I'm sure Ani's happy you're here for her."

Sophia just gave him a small smile and let him kiss her again as she melted from both his words and the comfort he was giving her. She really was worried about everything to do with Ani, but Carl had been really trying to make her feel better every time they hung out together. He'd really become a really good boyfriend and she was happy that they had figured out their feelings for each other before his feelings for Enid grew. Carl had been honest with her and admitted that he had had a small crush on the girl, but it had dissipated when the girl had kissed him. He assured her that it was just a simple peck on the lips right before he'd gone to the Sanctuary and that Enid had initiated it because she wanted him to stay with her. Sophia was thankful that he had cleared that up and had actually been able to become somewhat friends with Enid during her time at the Hilltop. Without Carl there all the time, she and Enid had been able to hang out, just the two of them, after they were done in the medical trailer. She'd taught Enid a few holds that Beth hadn't learned from Ani yet and taught her a couple new knife techniques that she hadn't known. The girl had barely been able to do a basic throw and definitely couldn't throw it very far on top of the fact that she took a while to aim. Thanks to Sophia's teachings, Enid could now grab the knife out of its sheath and throw it with barely a couple seconds' thought.

"Everything will be okay," Carl told her when he pulled back, placing a hand on her cheek and getting her to give him a small smile.

"I hope so."

"I know so. Come on, let's go," he said, standing up and extending a hand to her.

"Go where?" Sophia asked as she took it.

The only reply she had gotten was a small smile and him pulling her up and walking out of the library and heading towards the roof. There was nothing up there when they got there, but it was a beautiful sight that neither of them had gotten used to. It was snowing rather heavily and neither of them had seen anything close to the white blanket that covered the surrounding area. Sophia still hadn't gotten used to Carl's attention outside of a bit of kissing and cuddling inside their rooms. He stood behind her with his arms wrapped around her middle to help them stay warm even though they were bundled up in heavy winter gear. Even if it felt a little weird, it was still nice and made her sigh and lean further back against him as they watched the snow fall. The entire world seemed to be covered in a blanket of white as they stood there and talked about the last time they'd seen such an amount of snow. Carl remembered the same storm Sophia had and how everything had been closed because the roads couldn't be cleared fast enough. It had closed the roads down for almost two days and the schools down for an entire week and had been the worst storm they'd ever known outside of the tornado at the horse barn. But, where they were now, the snow seemed to fall for days on end and stuck around, currently reaching the middle of Sophia's calf. The beauty of the snow was only marred by the dirty tracks from what few vehicles they were still able to use and the horses they had become increasingly reliant on. All in all, they had a very peaceful time watching the snow fall until they got too cold and went back inside to cuddle by one of the fire barrels. They enjoyed the warmth of the flames for only a few minutes before Laura ran into the open space of the floor of the factory and looked around, spotting the pair and running towards them.

"Ani's gone into labor."