It was about a day and a half before Glenn finally approached her again. Beth wasn't sure if it just took him that long to work up the nerve, or if maybe Maggie had been holding him back until then. Maybe it was both. Whatever the reason, he'd been avoiding her (and Daryl) since his teasing had caused that brief tension between them, and she guessed she understood why. A part of her had wanted to lecture him after, or maybe get him to apologize, but in the end she'd give him the same space. The truth was she wasn't even really mad at him; it wasn't like he'd been a dick on purpose to try and set Daryl off.

Things had been good between her and Daryl since then, since he'd unburdened himself about his past and his fears about marriage and his mother and father. Things felt somehow even better between them now than they had been before. Every time she thought the two of them were as close as they could get, something happened to bring them even closer. That was something she'd never complain about, even if it did amaze her a bit.

They were still working their way through North Carolina, but Daryl reckoned they'd reach Georgia again probably in the next couple days. It still felt ironic, going back after all this… but maybe it was right, too. Maybe they had to go home, to find a home. Or something poetic like that. Whatever the case, they had stopped for lunch off to the side of the mountain woods, at one of the little picnic rest-stops that dotted the roads; really nothing more than a few rotted picnic tables, a fire pit, sometimes a spigot for water that worked about as often as it didn't.

For once, the spigot they found did work, and Beth was in the process of filling up their water-bottles with the water (it had to have come from an underground spring, maybe, or a well, she figured), when Glenn ambled nervously up to her. She could tell he was nervous by the way he was holding his hat, twisting it and clenching it in front of him until she shaded her eyes against the sun and peered up. "If you're gonna stand there, you should help, too. Fill some of these bottles with me?"

They worked in silence, but only for a few moments. As the water splashed over their hands, Glenn broken the silence to clear his throat and then began, "I just wanna apologize, Beth. For upsetting Daryl the other day, and you… I didn't mean for any of that to happen."

Beth waited until the bottle in her hands was full and then, as she screwed the cap on, she replied softly, "I'm not mad at you for that, Glenn. Honestly." She set the bottle aside and reached for another, the water on her fingers making the plastic slippery in her hands. "You were just playing around. I mean yeah, sometimes I wish maybe you'd ease up a little bit, but you had no way of knowing that what you were saying would affect him."

"I honestly didn't," Glenn replied, plaintive with honesty. He was almost always like that, though. So open and honest, almost to a fault. It was how their secret in the barn had gotten out, all that time ago. Glenn had never been able to keep a secret, let alone lie.

"I know. You couldn't have. And look…" Her brow furrowed faintly as she shifted another open bottle under the steady stream of water. "It's not my place to tell you why it upset him so much. That's private. But maybe just… ease up on any teasing about his family, or his past, or anything like that. He has a sense of humor-" She smiled. "-I know you see it like I do, it's hard to notice at first, but it's there. But not when it comes to things like that." Beth was quiet for a few seconds as the water bottle filled up, and this time when she turned to look at him, her eyes were steely. "Cause now that you know, if you push him again after I've told you the sore spots, then I'm gonna be mad."

To her surprise, Glenn almost looked briefly startled, maybe even a tiny bit worried. He stepped back and cleared his throat, but when he ran his fingers through his dark hair he gave a chuckle. "You know, I swear you looked at me just like he does sometimes. You've got that scary look down, Beth." He settled his hat back onto his head, and as he tugged down on the worn brim, Glenn joked, "Hey, aren't I supposed to be the one trying to joke with him about being good to you? Not you doing it to me?"

Beth smiled faintly. "Shawn would have. He could be so protective sometimes. When I first starting dating Jimmy, I saw him corner the poor boy in the back of the barn and give him this whole long lecture about being good to me. Jimmy looked so rattled by the time he was done, it was kinda funny. I never told either of them I saw it. Didn't want to hurt Jimmy's pride or whatever, and Shawn… well it was annoying, but it was also sweet. I never needed him protecting me, not from Jimmy anyway, but… I dunno, it was nice in a way, how much he cared. I think he'd have done the same with Daryl. Or maybe not. I think he might have tried to, anyway, but then he'd have just… decided Daryl was his new best friend, you know?" She stood up and turned just enough to catch sight of Daryl, who had somehow ended up with Judith in his lap, though he didn't seem to mind gently bouncing her. His eyes met hers for just a moment as if he sensed the weight of her gaze, and Beth smiled. "Shawn would have liked him." She turned, giving Glenn a measured look. "He'd have liked you, too, I think."

Glenn hesitated for just a moment, and when he spoke again his voice was soft. "Even if I haven't been doing such a good job of taking over his job, and being a big brother to you?" At the slight shrugging lift of her shoulder, Glenn shook his head. "No, seriously Beth. I'm… I'm sorry. I don't mean for the other day- I mean yeah, for that too, you know that. But I mean…" He sighed, his fingers beginning to twist around the bottle he held before he smoothed them out. "I'm sorry for not looking for you, after the prison. I'm sorry for going with Maggie on that bus to DC, when we should have been looking for you. I didn't-" He hesitated a moment, tripping over the words, "Maybe I should've pushed her, I dunno. Maybe I should have taken the initiative myself, when I heard Daryl tell her in the boxcar that you were alive. And I definitely should have apologized long before this, I just couldn't get up the nerve I guess."

Beth let the silence linger between them for a long moment before she reached out and gently squeezed his arm. It wasn't a hug, though she would have liked to give him one if she'd been able to. It was something though, as was her gentle voice as she replied, "Thank you. I know we can't change what happened. But… but it's good, to hear that from you."

A hint of a smile crossed his lips again as if just begging to come back out as he joked, "So you think Shawn would have forgiven me for my lapses as a brother?"

"Maybe not yet." She stuck another bottle of water under the spigot as she flashed him a smile. "But he'd give you a chance to try and make up for it. And so will I."

"Thanks, Beth." Glenn's teasing tone faded to something more earnest. "That's all I'm asking for."

...

Later, once she and Glenn had finished filling up the water, she brought a bottle of it back to Daryl. Droplets of water clung to the plastic, glistening in the light of the sun above as she dangled it in front of him. He was sitting on a picnic table bench with Judith half-asleep in his lap, curled against his chest with her thumb in her mouth, and he looked up at her with a smile when she offered him the bottle.

"Thanks," he murmured, unscrewing the cap with his free hand and bringing it to his lips while the other hand gently cradled Judy to his chest.

Beth smiled and crouched down, running her hand over Judith's soft fuzz of blonde hair. "She looks so comfy in your arms. I know that feeling." A flash of amusement went through her eyes for just a moment before she ran her fingers lightly through the baby's hair again. "It's getting so long. Pretty soon we'll be able to tie it up, maybe. Speaking of which…"

When she tipped her head to look up at him, her eyes fixed on his long hair, falling into his eyes. It had been growing even longer since she'd cut it, all those weeks ago back at the hospital. She was half convinced that cutting it had actually only made it grow faster, and these days if he didn't push it back it was always in his face. With a little smile s she stood back up and shifted to stand behind him, straddling the bench of the picnic table as she used her height advantage (the only time she ever had one with him) to play with his hair.

"I bet you could manage a ponytail now. Maybe even a bun." Beth combed her fingers through the dark strands, pulling them all back to play with them.

"You takin' advantage of me havin' my hands full with Judith, Greene?" Daryl's voice rumbled in his chest but the amused tone in it made Beth smile.

"Maybe a little. Maybe I just like playing with your hair, hm?" She took her time, gently running her nails over his scalp to see if he'd like that, and sure enough Beth soon had him tipping his head back with a gentle hum. It was all she could do to resist the urge to lean in and kiss his forehead from behind like this, and lord knew she'd have done it if there weren't so many people around. Even then, it was still tempting.

"Glenn wasn't botherin' you, was he?"

Daryl's question had her humming in response, but as she began to carefully draw his hair back into a little ponytail, she replied softly, "He was just… trying to be a brother-in-law. Maybe a bit late to the game, but he's trying and that's what matters." As she slipped a spare hair band off her wrist, she went on, "We were talking about Shawn, a bit. How protective he was. I think he'd have tried to give you the talk, you know, about being good to me. But I also think he'd have decided you were a totally badas-"

Beth looked down at the sleeping baby and broke off just in time; the last thing she wanted was for that to be Judith's first word. "-He'd have thought you were very cool, anyway, and probably just wanted to be your friend."

He was quiet beneath her hands, and though she had the hair-tie ready, she didn't tie his hair off just yet. She kept playing, twining her fingers through it, gently scratching at his scalp and enjoying the way he softly hummed at her touch. After a moment, she heard him ask, "D'you think I'd've liked him?"

"Shawn?" She let her fingers twist in his hair for a moment and looked down to see Judith shifting and yawning against Daryl's chest. "Everyone liked Shawn. He was just… he was just like that, you know? Friendly and open and funny. He was so protective of me and Maggie, too, but not just of us, of anyone he cared about; Mama, Daddy, Otis, Patricia, the farm, the horses, his friends…"

"Sounds familiar." Daryl chuckled and tipped his head back to look up at her. "Sounds a lot like you, Beth."

"Yeah?" A pleased smile curved up her lips and she nodded. "I'd be happy, knowing I was even a little like him. We only had our Mama in common, you know, but people said we looked like siblings anyway. More than me an' Mags, anyway. Probably because we both took after Mama, same blonde hair and all." She trailed off for a moment, remembering things they'd left behind, back on the farm. Not just people but memories and things, too. If she closed her eyes she could remember one thing so clearly; that picture held on their fridge by a strawberry-shaped magnet. Her Mama's blonde hair blowing in the breeze, her Daddy's arm around her, and Beth, about ten years old and all gangly legs, with her arms wrapped around Shawn's middle as Maggie stood next to her, trying to pose perfectly while Beth had just fooled around.

A part of her wished she had the real thing, the real picture… but Beth knew she'd always have it lingering in her mind, and that was good, too. Despite her worries, she would do her best to never forget how they looked, or how happy they'd be.

Perhaps sensing the thoughts behind her quiet, she felt Daryl's head tip back and when she opened her eyes, she looked down into his and felt the reassurance instantly. "Just remembering," she murmured softly. As her fingers began to play with his hair again and try to twist it into a bun, she went on, "Sometimes I worry that I'll forget too much. Or that my memories of them will get too hazy, and that I won't be able to close my eyes and remember what they looked like, you know? I haven't yet, though. I really don't want to."

"You won't." Daryl shifted for a moment, reaching his free hand back to gently squeeze her leg where she stood behind him. He lingered there for a moment, before his hand came back to cup Judith's back where she'd drifted almost completely to sleep. "It's been… more than 20 years, since my Ma died. I still remember her face."

For a second she thought he'd say more, but he trailed off and this time Beth didn't care if anyone was watching. She leaned forward over him and pressed her lips down to his forehead for a few seconds, before pulling back with a soft hum. "What about your brother?"

"Y'mean, do I remember him?" Daryl shrugged. "Course I do. Sometimes I find myself thinkin' it'd be better, if I could forget, but that ain't true. Not all of it, anyway."

When her attempts at a bun failed, Beth let his hair fall, but only for a moment. Only long enough to give her the excuse to start running her fingers through it again and drawing it slowly back into another ponytail. As her nails lightly scratched at his scalp, she said softly, "Well I actually meant… do you think he'd have liked me? I mean, if we ever really talked longer than we did at the prison." Which wasn't really ever, to be honest. Most of the time people had kept her away from him rather pointedly, and the one time she'd had the most interaction with him was when she'd raised her gun and shot the ceiling to him to stop fighting with Glenn.

To her surprise, the question made him laugh. Not just a chuckle, but a genuine laugh that bubbled up in his chest, the rumble of it making Judith stir for just a moment before she sucked her thumb more firmly into her mouth and pressed her little cheek against his flannel shirt. Once his laughter quieted, Daryl remarked, "You'd have knocked him right onto his ass, Greene. Honest. He'd have teased you at first, but you'd 'a come at him when he wasn't even lookin' and bowled him right over. Not for real, I don't mean, you know-"

"Figuratively?" Beth smiled as she began to pull his hair into a low ponytail again.

"Yeah, that. You'd have seen right into him the way you do me, and known just how to handle him. Like y'did even back then, but more. An' before he knew it, he'd have loved you like a little sister. Especially if y' fed him, Merle was always a sucker for a home-cooked meal, I reckon cause we got them so rarely as kids."

"Well then," Beth remarked as she shifted the hair-tie to wrap it gently around his hair. "I'd have cooked something up special for him and had him on his best manners."

"You would've. Probably could've gotten him on the straight and narrow, too, if you'd had a chance." The amusement in his voice faded for a moment as he exhaled a long, drawn-out sigh, and repeated in a near-whisper, "If you'd had a chance, anyway."

As she gently secured the hair-tye, Beth leaned in to rest her lips lightly against his temple. "If I'd had the chance," she whispered softly, "I'd have done my best to get to know your brother and care for him like my own, if I could."

For a few seconds they just stayed there like that; her hands on his shoulders, her cheek resting against his temple, both of them forgetting for a few moments that the group was all around them and chattering away. But eventually she felt Daryl shift beneath her, and as she pulled back with a soft smile she heard him ask, "Alright, now what exactly did you do to my hair, Greene?"

Giggling, Beth reached back and tugged lightly on the little ponytail she'd made for him. "I pulled it back, see? Isn't it nice, having it out of your face? I couldn't make it into a bun, but with the way your hair grows, it should be there in a few weeks!" She stepped back over the bench and came around to look down at him from the front. "Oh, yeah. Very handsome. Let it grow a little longer and maybe I can give you a braid like mine."

"Oh, is that what you'd like?" Daryl snorted and reached out to tug at the little braid that dangled from her own ponytail. "Matching hair styles?"

"Maybe that'll be our thing. You know, crossbows, motorcycles…" She reached around and tugged at his ponytail with a grin. "Matching hairstyles." When he chuckled again, she coyly asked, "What? You don't want to have a matching braid with me?"

Darl just shook his head, but his expression was full of the sort of affection that was becoming more and more open on his face when it came to her, affection that only showed even more as he teased, "You're silly, girl."

"Yeah, but I'm your silly girl, so that's alright." Beth grinned down at him. "Right?"

"Yeah." He shifted both hands around, holding Judith to his chest as he rose slowly to his feet. As he stood there cradling the baby close with one hand, he reached out with the other and gave her braid one more slow tug. "You're my silly girl."

...

Daryl had been right. It was about two days or so later that they found themselves nearing the border of Georgia. He'd told her this morning that they were getting close, and she'd made him promise to let her know when it happened.

Her first sign was the faint slowing of his bike beneath her, and the second the slide of his hand free of the handlebars to rest over hers where it was pressed to his stomach. When he gave her hand a gentle squeeze, she looked up and saw the small sign up ahead on the tree-lined road: "Welcome! We're glad Georgia's on your mind."

An unexpected thrill went through her that had Beth wrapping her arms a little tighter around him, sliding close to press against his back as her mouth found his ear. They weren't going too fast, so she only had to raise her voice a bit to be heard, "I've never left Georgia, and then come back," she joked, pressing a kiss to his ear.

She couldn't hear if he tried to reply, but she could feel his laughter vibrating through his back, and Beth just smiled happily as she shifted to press her cheek to the sun-warmed leather of his vest. They were home, again. Or closer to home than she felt like they'd been in a long time.

...

They only drove a short distance over the Georgia line before Daryl was pulling off the road at a little scenic viewpoint. As the RV and the truck-pulled trailer pulled to a stop behind them, Beth dismounted slowly and stretched her arms above her head. The movement pulled up her t-shirt, revealing a hint of her belly that had Daryl smirking faintly as his gaze drifted down for a few seconds.

"Stop that," she teased, taking advantage of their relative privacy for a moment to run her fingers down his arm. "We've gotta be serious and figure out what the plan is next, and I can't concentrate when you're looking at me like that. It's distracting."

"Is it?" Daryl raised an eyebrow and looked her over slowly again. Through her amazement at how even a simple gaze like that from him could make her feel all flushed, Beth managed to reach out and lightly swat at his arm.

"Yes it is, and you know it. Tease." But she was smiling as she leaned in and stole a kiss to his temple, pulling back just as she heard the sound of car door opening behind her.

Daryl climbed off her bike and followed behind her as the group gathered near the RV. Rick had the now-familiar map in his hands and was spreading it out on the ground as he crouched in front of it. The group shifted around him; Daryl and Beth coming up on the left side of the map and Michonne looking down from the right as the other's drew near as well, including Carl holding a half-asleep Judith in his arms.

"Alright," Rick remarked, resting his hands on his thighs as he looked down at the map. "So where to next, then?"

"Before we left," Daryl began, crouching down beside him to gesture at the map, "We were mostly around here. We know there ain't much there that'd be a good place for us, and a lot of it is picked clean for now. I reckon we should try for somewhere new."

Beth hesitated a moment, and then chimed in, "The people at Grady… they had a lot of routes they used, places they used to use as traps, caches and things like that." She looked up briefly, catching the gazes of Noah and Ivy and Hank, who had drifted closer to them from the edges of the group, and after a second she glanced back down at Rick and finished, "We should avoid those, if we can."

"I don't think any of us want to run into them again," Rick said firmly. Beth sighed in relief, but she couldn't quite rid herself of that niggling tension within her, the sudden realization that in a way, by crossing over the Georgia border again, she'd brought herself closer to that hell hole once more. She had no doubt it was still standing, despite their losses. The last thing she wanted was to run into a single one of those cops, corrupt or otherwise.

Luckily, the four Grady survivors had heard plenty of things in their time there, especially Noah and Hank, who had been there the longest. Together they managed to mark out places they knew the cops had favored from eavesdropping and overheard communication on their walkie-talkies.. All of their routes spidered out from Atlanta for obvious reasons, and in the end that was what had Daryl suggesting, "Maybe we should avoid this whole area entirely, to the west and near Atlanta. Gonna have to stay North if we wanna stick to the mountains anyway, but if we keep to the East, should avoid them entirely, right?"

Beth crouched down with Daryl after a moment, her knees bumping his as he reached out to trace a route across the map and went on, "Up here, near Clayton and Lakemont, s'all woods, state parks, mountains… Got a few lakes, it'd be good to be near a lake, or anythin' that flows out of 'em."

Nodding along with him, Beth added, "Plus we might find just the kind of location we need. Places like this, wouldn't they be filled with cabins? If we could find a group of them all together, you know, a little vacation spot… that'd be perfect, wouldn't it?"

"Good thinking," Rick remarked as he looked over both of them. It wasn't the first time he'd complimented her, but Beth still got pleased every time. "So we'll head east, this way," Rick went on firmly, tracing the path Daryl had marked on the map. "Then once we get up around Clayton, we start looking for signs for vacation rentals, or cabins." He chuckled after a moment and glanced up at Daryl, who was peering up at him through a few strands of loose hair. "Or we let Daryl's instinct here guide us to one. And hey, that's not a joke, I trust that instinct of yours more than a map any day."

With a pleased smile, Beth rested her hand on Daryl's shoulder; ostensibly to help herself up but really just to give it a gentle squeeze as she said firmly, "Me too. Any day."

...

"Pickles."

Beth turned to look at Michonne at the woman's pronouncement, and raised her eyebrow. "You miss pickles? Why- Well… you know, I kinda miss pickles too. Oh no. Hamburgers. With a nice fluffy bun and tomato and lettuce and pickle slices. Lord, but I could go for a burger, with a side of fries and an ice cold pepsi..."

"Too bad all the cows have prob'ly long been eaten," Glenn cut in as he ambled up next to them.

"Could probably make venison burgers," Daryl remarked from up front where he was leading the small group through the woods.

"Yeah, 'cept it'd just be venison patties, since you know… there's no lettuce or pickles, and none of us have had bread in two years, let alone buns." When they all turned to glare at him, Glenn gave a shrug, pretending to be baffled as he asked, "What?"

"You're such a fun ruiner, Glenn." Beth looked over her shoulder to where he was walking with Maggie, and stuck her tongue out at him so he'd know she was teasing.

Beside her, Michonne gave a little chuckle. "Remind me again why I decided to be the fifth wheel on this little family excursion?"

"Because we all like you havin' our back," Daryl remarked seriously for just a moment, before a faint hint of a smile tugged at his lips and he added, "And you're a good buffer to keep me from givin' Glenn over there a good punch."

Glenn's 'hey!' was covered by Beth and Maggie's soft laughter as the five of them kept ambling through the woods, paralleling the road down out of the forest and into the nearest town. The plan of course had been to take the best route to Clayton. Of course these days, a route anywhere was never direct. According to Daryl it would have taken probably an hour or so by car to get to Clayton back in the day, but they were up in the mountains following narrow rpads sometimes blocked by trees or abandoned cars, and doing their best to drive as carefully as possible so they didn't damage their vehicles in a way they couldn't repair.

Even if they had been able head straight towards Clayton without anything blocking their path, they were running low on supplies (as always, these days), which meant they needed to stop where they could along the way. The forests were safer when it came to avoiding herds, but unfortunately they were far fewer cars to siphon gas from, and less homes and stores to raid for any remaining supplies.

The group had made the decision together that some of them would have to risk leaving the woods to head towards a town; none of them were happy about it, but they knew it needed to be done. The first priority had been finding shelter for those not going on the run; in the end Daryl's gut instincts led them up a small steep road to an abandoned cabin. With the rest of the group safely tucked away, a small group including Maggie, Glenn, Beth, Daryl, and Michonne had grabbed as many of the groups gasoline canisters as they could carry while still keeping their hands free for weapons, and headed out to find a town.

By Daryl's reckoning they'd probably have to stop wherever they ended up overnight; by the time they got there the sun would be setting, and even with less walkers around these parts none of them wanted to risk walking back in the dark with nothing but the moon to light their way. On the way through the woods, in between playing their 'food I miss most' game (a favorite past-time), they discussed all the possible ways this could go bad; the town could be filled with walkers, it could still be occupied by people somehow, it could have been completely picked through… they'd not only gone through every possibility, but also come up with plans and contingencies and escape routes.

When they got to the town though, it was almost eerily quiet. The buildings stretched out along either side of the main road, doors hanging open and shutters hanging loose. Nothing made a sound. Of course, everything these days was quiet, but this… there was something about this that had Beth's hackles up and when she came up beside Daryl, she could tell he felt on edge, too. She glanced up at him in silent question, but his head shake just confirmed he felt the same as her; something wasn't right, but he wasn't sure what.

The cause of their worry didn't take long to reveal itself. Beth had half been expecting the groan of a walker, or maybe the shout of people defending their sanctuary, even though the place didn't have the look she'd associate with being occupied. What she hadn't expected at all was a low rumbling growl.

It came from behind them, and the group of five spun around to face it with their weapons raised, only to instantly freeze as the source of the growl revealed itself. It was an animal that slunk out from an open house door. It's fur was reddish with a hint of black around it's face and neck and upper back; it's frame sleek and lean, and it stood a little over two feet at it's shoulder. But it was the head that was most mesmerizing right now, considering the way its large ears were pointing back as it bared its teeth and let that threatening rumble issue from low in it's chest.

In front of her, Glenn bit out a strangled, "Is that-"

"Wolf." Daryl stood stock still beside Beth, reaching his hand out slowly to stop her, too. "Everyone stay very still. If there's one, there's a good chance-" Before he could even finish, Beth heard growls from either side as a second and third wolf, both with the same reddish fur, came slinking up on either side; one came from an alley, while the other came from the side of a building. "-there's more. Or a pack."

For the moment the wolves held their ground, staring down the group of five with their hackles raised and their teeth lightly bared. "Just stay still," Daryl said softly, slowly adjusting his crossbow in his hands. "And don't make eye contact, or they'll think it's a threat, alright? Now, we're all just gonna back away, nice an' slow… don't run, whatever you do."

As the group began to take it's first steps back, Beth whispered, "How? I didn't even think there were wolves in Georgia?"

"Could've come from elsewhere; up North, or from the West. Might've escaped from a zoo. Plenty of zoos 'round Georgia got wolves, I reckon. Or had." She saw him swallow and gesture faintly at them with his bow. "But see their coats, how red they are? Prob'ly red wolves. Bunch of released in North Carolina, awhile back I think. Bigger'n coyotes, smaller'n grey wolves, so we're lucky about that anyway."

"Oh yeah, I feel so lucky," Glenn murmured sarcastically under his breath.

They all took another step together as Beth kept her eyes on the wolves feet, watching them without looking in their eyes. From the corner of her own gaze she could see Michonne clutching her katana and Glenn and Maggie holding their guns, reading to fire if needed though none of them wanted to make too much noise. Beth had her crossbow in her hands, but she was worried. Wolves moved a lot faster than walkers, when they put their minds to it.

"What're they doing in a town, though?" That was Glenn again, his voice tight with a nervousness now that Beth hadn't heard from him in awhile.

"Why not? Ain't like towns belong to people, anymore," Daryl replied, his voice hushed.

Beside them, Michonne chimed in, "Walkers must be eating all their game; what they don't get, the rest of us do. No wonder they'd be driven to towns, tryin' to scavenge, or…"

"Or what?" Glenn's question was strangled and just a bit too loud, and the first wolf seemed to tense at the sound of it and take a step forward.

"Or find survivors to hunt. Wolves're smart. They'd know by now not to go after walkers, but us… I reckon they can tell the difference. Can probably smell it." Daryl's voice was so soft that Beth could tell he was trying to stay quiet and calm and not make Glenn panic, but unfortunately it didn't work. Fear must have over-rode instinct for just a few seconds, but that was all it took.

"Hunt? Us?" Glenn spun around sharply and the wolf behind him- the first and the biggest- moved in a sudden blur of bunching muscles and long, leaping limbs. Beth had just enough time to see a flash of red fur and the sharp white of teeth and then Glenn was falling to the ground in front of her in a tangle of limbs.

His pained cry cut through the snarling growls of all three wolves, and suddenly everything was fur and teeth and the red of blood and Maggie, crying out in a panic through it all, "Glenn! No!"

Beth lifted her bow in a panic, trying to sight on something, anything, trying to hit the wolf without hitting Glenn pinned beneath it… and then from behind her came another low, threatening growl.

There were more than just three wolves in the abandoned town they'd walked into. And they were surrounded.

**A/N: Are you all screaming that I ended it there? Whoops! Sorry! (You can blame my friend Connor, who suggested a cliffhanger ending. This is dedicated to her!) Anyway, I'm sure some of you are like, gasp, wolves? Well I wanted to try something different! TWD never really addresses animals except for food and occasional horse-riding, which I assume is because of their budget or something. But just think about all those carnivores with suddenly far more space and no one hunting them, but their own food dwindling thanks to the walkers... you'd think they were bound to run into them eventually, right? Yep! (By the way if you're curious, you can read more about North Carolina's red wolf recovery plan if you google it!)

I will do my best to have the next chapter up soon, however it may be longer than usual again. The return of TWD this weekend has me very anxious and so it makes it harder for me to work on this piece. I assure you, I will never 'forget' about this story, it just may take me a bit to update until my anxiety gets better. I am, however, writing a very fluffy new non-zombie AU called Peach Pie and French Fries, which I'd love you all to check out if you're interested.