Another fight. This time in the parking lot of the hospital. He wasn't sure what it was over but he knew that it wasn't worth the shitstorm it had turned into. Inside, he knew that he was stressed, that Carol was stressed, that they didn't know what to blame for taking Sophie away except each other. She hadn't passed yet. But she would. The doctors kept giving Daryl the look, they same one he'd seen a few years back when he was in this same hospital comforting his friend, Rick. When Rick's wife, Lori, had passed due to complications during birth, Daryl had been in the room with Rick and that dickhead cop Shane.

Daryl and Shane didn't exactly get along. The mechanic had had a lot of run in's with the officer in his younger days when Merle was still around, more than a few coming to blows, but that wasn't what unnerved Daryl. Shane just had a shifty personality. Carol and Daryl had gone to plenty of barbecues at Rick's place in the past and Daryl saw the way Shane looked at Lori. Even swore he saw a few looks back a few times if Rick and Lori had argued previously.

In the end, Daryl didn't stick his nose in too much. Not his marriage, not his problem. But Rick was his best friend and Daryl had been in that waiting room after Rick had called him breaking down. Daryl had picked up Carl from school and dropped him off at his house to play with Sophia (back before she got sick) and rushed to the hospital. He saw the look on the doctor's face when he told Rick he needed to call the family because Lori wasn't going to be able to hang on much longer. Time had seemed to go in slow motion after that. He watched as Rick broke down, offered comfort but felt like he was outside his body, not witnessing this awful moment in time. It stayed like that until he met Rick at his place and watched Carl ran outside and Rick knelt down to tell him that his mom wasn't coming home again.

Somewhere in the dark parts of Daryl's mind, he felt like his indifference was the reason why his family was falling apart like it was. The rational part of him knew it wasn't but he couldn't get rid of those small little hateful things that whispered that all of this was his fault somehow. He should've done better somehow, known the right words, the right things to do. He was a failure the dark parts said. And after the parking lot fight, he'd stayed in Sophia's room until dawn. Sitting perfectly still, he realized that she was looking less and less like her old self. The pink of her cheeks had faded as they grew hollow, lines of exhaustion marked her small face and as Daryl held her hand, he tried so hard not to break down. He knew she couldn't see him but maybe she could hear him and with a shaky voice he told her how much he loved her and how she was the one bright light in this world.

He talked to her about the cartoons she used to watch, read chapters from Alice in Wonderland to her, told her how when she woke up he'd take her anywhere she wanted. When Carol came in to relieve him, he stay there a bit longer. They talked about Sophie for a bit and what the doctor had said last night.

"Carol," Daryl started, his voice raw from straining to keep it from breaking all night, "I…I'm sorry. For all this. I'm sorry for the shit I've said. I know it's not going to fix anythin' but I want you to be happy. Even if it's not with me."

Carol kept her eyes trained on him from across the room and the tension she'd been holding for so long seemed to drain from her. She was so tired. Tired of fighting, of being scared, of everything. She moved to sit in the chair beside her. "I'm sorry, too. I know the marriage didn't work but you helped give me one of the most precious things I've ever loved," she said, her voice cracking as her vision blurred from tears. "You've been an amazing father and husband. Some things just don't work out and sometimes terrible things happen without any explanation. Thank you…for all that you've done for us."

Daryl moved across the room to pull his soon-to-be ex-wife close. They were friends before any of this had happened and Daryl hoped they could at least part on decent terms after everything was said and done. He knew the divorce would go through, he wouldn't fight, she could have everything if she wanted. But this moment felt like everything was not forgiven but understood.

He'd stayed for a little while longer before going home to get 3 hours of sleep before heading to the farm. The man was emotionally and physically exhausted. In the months that Soph had been in the hospital, Hershel had given him a few extra days off, telling him that Beth and Maggie could handle things on their own. But somedays it was easier for Daryl to work off his thoughts. Today was one of them.

When Daryl arrived at the farm, he noticed a strange car in the lot. The air had a chill to it now and Daryl pulled a vest over his flannel, eyeing the silver BMW that looked completely out of place next to Otis' truck and the farm truck. As he was parking his bike in the barn like he usually did, he saw Otis and gave him a nod. Otis nodded back; his plump face grim before glancing towards the house as the sound of the screen door slamming reached them. Daryl's eyes darted over to Maggie and Hershel on the porch, the oldest Greene daughter animatedly waving her arms in frustration as Hershel held up his hands in attempt to calm her. Glenn came out soon after, trying to help Hershel. Daryl couldn't hear what they were talking about but a glance back at Otis kind of helped him piece it together.

"Beth has a boyfriend. He just showed up outta nowhere today. Some rich city kid from Atlanta. Her daddy and Maggie just found out," Otis said in a low voice, his eyes lingering only a little bit longer on the trio before burying his head back into the old round baler he was pretending to fix.

Daryl's brow furrowed. He'd been spending almost every day at the farm with Beth and she'd never mentioned a boyfriend from Atlanta. He dropped his eyes from the family when Hershel had glanced up towards them. Daryl went seamlessly into work, glancing out to the house every now and then without realizing it. Beth hadn't come out to help like she normally did. Which was fine, Daryl could manage everything on his own.

Pfft, if anthin', I can get more done without havin' to worry about what she's off doin'.

But that seemed to just make him think about what was going on inside the house even more. Around 12 he saw Maggie and Glenn leave. A couple of hours later and he saw Beth come stomping out of the house, a brown-haired guy trailing out after her. Daryl was sitting on the second tier of some round bales in the barn, his back against the wall taking a break and trying to get his head clear. He looked down to see Beth stomp into the barn and look around as the stranger followed her in.

"Beth, stop-"

"No, Zach, you stop," she hissed, turning on him with a face Daryl had never seen her pull before, "I told you not to come here. I told you my Daddy and Maggie didn't know about you and it would cause problems if you just showed up."

"Well, I'm sorry I was attempting to see my girlfriend who has been ignoring me for weeks," he spat back as he stepped towards her. Daryl tensed, not making a sound as he leaned forward on the bale in case the guy decided to try anything. Beth didn't seem afraid and didn't back down so Daryl waited.

"I 'ignored' you because you were being a jerk," she replied, her fists clenched at her side.

Zach side and threw his hands up. "How should I react when my girlfriend refuses to touch me? We've been together for months now, Beth?"

"I don't care. I told you I wasn't ready and I meant it. You can't guilt me into just giving in on this, it won't work," she said in a stern voice, taking a step back and looking around the barn, "Just go Zach. I have a ton of stuff to do and I don't want to do any of this anymore today."

"Fine, be a bitch," the younger man snapped before turning on his heel and making his way back towards the drive.

Beth stood silent, watching him. Daryl could see the hurt from the words he'd spat at her, but he sat still, thinking it was best for Beth not to know that this private moment was witnessed by another person. That was until she turned and happened to glance upwards. The small blonde froze and turned all her attention to the man sitting above her.

"I…I'm sorry you saw that," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, "I didn't know you were in here. I thought the barn was empty."

Daryl chewed on the inside of his cheek and gave a shrug. "Ain't nothin' to apologize about. Guy's a dick."

Beth gave a small huff of a laugh and drug her arm over her eyes as she ducked her head, walking a small circle. "Yeah, he's a dick."

Daryl slid off the bales, a muted thud as he landed on the dirt floor and took a couple of steps towards her. He heard the soft sound of her sniffling and looked around nervously. He'd never really comforted anyone besides Carol. An odd feeling was blooming in his chest and he rubbed at it, trying to get it away. He wanted to do something to comfort her…

"You okay?" He asked, immediately feeling like an asshole. Of course, she wasn't okay. Daryl's eyes darted to the ground then back to the younger woman only to see her turn towards him with one last wipe across her face and a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Yes. I'm okay," she answered. Beth stood there for a moment in the silence, Daryl holding her gaze for a moment. Suddenly Beth stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist, tucking her face against his chest, her eyes closing and her hands gripping at the back of his shirt. Daryl was used to the hugs by now but this one was new. Hesitantly, he raised one hand to cup her elbow and the other went around her shoulders in a loose grip. He didn't say anything when he felt the trembling in her frame or the dampness on his shirt.

Later on, before Daryl left for the night, he saw the silver BMW pulling back into the drive. Beth, who was holding the roll of barbed wire, tensed and narrowed her eyes at the car.

"Back for round two?" Daryl grunted as he took the roll from Beth and started to finish wrapping the excess of it up, barbs catching on his gloves, sharp blue eyes watching as Zach got out of the car, carrying something behind his back and giving Beth a cheeky smile as he approached.

"What are you doing?" Beth asked, her voice carrying exhaustion as the young man approached. Zach huffed a laugh and finally noticed Daryl standing by, a thousand-yard stare on his face. He gave a smile and offered his free hand out to the older man.

"Hi, I'm Zach. I'm Beth's boyfriend," he said, blatantly ignoring Beth's question. Daryl's eyes darted down to the extended hand and then back up to Zach's face, continuing to fix the barbed wire. Zach held his hand out for a moment more before giving a small shake of his hand and taking back his hand, deciding that Daryl wasn't worth the time now as he turned his attention back to Beth.

"I'm sorry, Beth. About everything," he said softly, giving her a soft smile as he pulled his arm from behind his back revealing a bouquet of bright purple lilies and red roses. Daryl ducked his head, glancing up through his hair to keep an eye on the blonde. Beth was hesitant, swallowing as she slowly took the flowers.

"I want to make it up to you…can we have dinner tonight? We could grab a movie afterwards or something," Zach offered, stepping closer and his hand coming up to rest on Beth's arm. Beth fought the urge to pull back. She wasn't sure what was happening but she didn't want to be touched by him, didn't want to do anything with him. But he was apologizing, he was making an effort, right? Shouldn't she give him one more chance? But hadn't she given him several chances already?

"Alright…" Beth found herself saying before she could stop herself. A bright smile spread on Zach's face.

"Great, I'll pick you up in a couple hours, that'll give you enough time to take a shower and get ready?" Zach said as he went in for a kiss, Beth turning her face at the last minute and his kiss landing on her cheek. He didn't seem to be bothered as he started to retreat.

"See you in a bit?" He said before glancing at Daryl, giving him a quick once over, "Super nice meeting you too, Farmhand." He smirked a bit before turning and jogging back to the car.

When the BMW pulled away in a cloud of dust, Daryl looked at Beth, standing there with the overly expensive bouquet, looking less than happy. He didn't say anything as she looked over at him. He didn't say anything but Beth felt an odd wave of guilt.

"I have to go get ready…" she said quietly before turning and walking quickly into the house. Daryl simply watched her, an odd anxiety blooming in his chest. Quickly, he finished the roll and said goodbye to Otis and Hershel. The tires of his bike squealed as they hit the pavement.

The next few days went as well as they could. Carol and Daryl met with the divorce lawyers, went over the things they'd talked about and signed the papers. Carol took only her car and her belongings along with half the savings account. She said she couldn't live in a house where she would correlate Sophia's illness with. She hadn't wanted any of Daryl's items and only took the savings so she could get on her feet.

Daryl was fine with anything she wanted. He viewed the house a little different. He saw it as a place where he was lucky enough to see Sophia take her first steps and where he saw her first smile. This was always going to be Sophia's home and Daryl would keep it. A few days later and they were officially divorced. They agreed to stay in the house together for now. Daryl didn't get to see much of Beth seeing as Zach was now at the house every day he worked now. He'd gotten used to talking to her which is why he supposed he was getting more irritated by the day. On top of the fact that Beth didn't look happy. She clearly didn't want to be in the situation she was in but refused to do anything about Zach's passive-aggressive attitude.

Hershel had come out one day and just to check up on Daryl. Daryl told him about the divorce and the doctors saying that Sophia isn't responding to the medication as well anymore. Daryl had continued to work on the chicken coop as they talked, staying focused so his mind didn't go dark again. When silence fell, Hershel sighed and looked towards the house.

"How's Beth?" Daryl grunted out before he could catch himself. Hershel looked over at him for a second, offering a soft smile.

"Oh, you know, she's dealing with her own issues. I can't tell her what to do. She'll have to figure it out on her own. But damn it, I wish she would see it faster. That boy ain't good for her," he said with a sigh. Hershel didn't like Zach anymore than Maggie did but Beth was a grown woman now and Hershel couldn't dictate who she dated even though he would always see her as his baby girl. Daryl kept hammering away at the coop, stopping when he realized the nail was more than in the wood.

"She's going to a party with him tonight," Hershel said, gazing off across the property, "can't say I have too good of a feeling about it. She hasn't said anything but…I just don't have a good feeling." Daryl glanced over at Hershel than. He knew what 20-something year old men did at these backwoods' bonfires. He'd been to plenty when he was younger. He'd watched Merle do awful things at those parties.

Daryl's chest tightened but he kept quiet. Girls like Beth didn't belong at those kinds of parties. Daryl tapped the hammer idly against his leg before pulling another nail from his belt and hammering it in quickly. Hershel watched him carefully. He wasn't a blind man. He saw how close Daryl and Beth had gotten even if Daryl refused to see it. Hershel didn't push him though; he knew the man had enough on his plate. He also didn't know exactly what he thought about the situation but he knew his daughter and he knew Daryl well enough to trust him almost blindly.

Hershel left not long after for his own work and Daryl tried to focus on finishing the chicken coop. At the end of the night, Daryl left the farm without seeing Beth again that night.

He got to the hospital not long after and Carol told him to go home. The doctors were saying that everything was about the same and Daryl looked like death warmed over. Daryl hesitated but thanked her and told her he'd bring her some clean clothes in the morning. When he got home, he took a quick shower and crashed on top of the covers, making sure his alarm was on and his phone turned up before falling asleep quickly.

Daryl's phone blared to life in the darkness of the room. He shot up in bed, alarm clock reading just after 2 AM, wildly looking around for his phone, disoriented as he finally registered the light of it and snatched it up. Not even looking at the screen and fearing the worse, he answered quickly.

"Hello?" He croaked out; voice heavy with sleep as he scooted to the edge of the bed and feeling in the dark for his jeans. A muffled cry greeted him.

"Daryl? I-it's me…"

"Beth? What…It's 2 in the morning…" he said, confused until he remembered that Beth was supposed to be at a party with Zach tonight. His head cleared and he froze. "What happened? What's wrong?" A pit formed in his stomach as he heard her sob again.

"Can you come get me? Zach and I had a fight and I...I want to go home," she said into the phone, the line breaking here and there. The pit grew and familiar anger bloomed behind it as he shoved his feet into his boots.

"Where are you?"

Beth stood in the middle of the dark gravel road. Off in the distance behind her she could see the bonfire blazing and hear the sounds of overly loud music and laughter. She rubbed at her eyes, her running mascara burning as she did and making even more tears come. She looked down at herself, pulling her cardign tighter over her ripped shirt. There was large mud stain on the side of her jeans and the wet material made her shiver in the cold. She couldn't believe she'd let herself get alone again with Zach.

The rumble of an engine in the distance snapped her head up and she felt a small slice of relief as the prick of a single headlight loomed over the horizon. She almost smiled when she felt someone grab her arm. Whipping around and yanking her arm away, Beth saw a very tipsy Zach frowning at her.

"What are you doing? Stop being dramatic and come back to the party," he demanded, rubbing his face with his hand, a bottle in the other.

"No," she said, stepping back away from him. Taking it as some kind of challenge he closed the space between them and grabbed her arm again.

"Stop! Come on, it was an accident! Can't you just loosen up for once in your life?!" He snapped and gave her a shake that made her stumbled just as the roar of an engine almost deafened him, a sudden bright light temporarily blinding him. Beth shielded her eyes and took the moment to break away from Zach.

Daryl cut the engine off but left the light on. In front of him was a scene he didn't want to see. Beth's shirt and jeans were tore and she was covered in mud and dirt. Across from her was an obviously drunk Zach who apparently could finally see who he was looking at. His brow furrowed in confusion.

"Farmhand?" Zach asked incredulously. But Daryl pushed past him straight to Beth. The blonde flinched back a little from Daryl, the look on his face scaring her a bit. He reached out and almost touched her face but hesistated. His hand dropped and he pushed his messy hair out of the way.

"You okay? You hurt anywhere?" his voice a low rumble. She shook her head and swallowed, wiping at her eyes again.

"No, no, I'm okay, Daryl. A few scratches but I'm alright. I just want to go home," she said, trying to make her voice steady. Behind him Zach laughed loudly.

"Are you kidding me? Is this what's really going on? You're fucking the farmhand?" He stepped forward and shoved Daryl, "Does her Daddy know you're dipping into the company ink, Daryl?"

Daryl didn't hold anything back when he hit him, knocking the younger man in a half-circle before he dropped to his knees. The redneck grabbed Zach's hair then and drug him backwards out into the mud by the road side. Daryl let him go and hit him again as Beth came up.

"Daryl! Daryl, no, stop! He ain't worth it. Please, let's just go!" Beth pulled at his arm as Zach scrambled back, a hand up cupping his bloodied face. He glared up at Daryl and spat at him.

"You'll fucking pay for this. Do you kno-"

Daryl cut him off as he dropped down to get eye level with the boy, yanking his arm free from Beth.

"You so much as come within Beth's eyesight again, I'll shatter your whole damn jaw. Take your useless rich boy ass back to Atlanta," Daryl growled, shoving Zach backwards into the mud before standing. He turned, looking at Beth and jerking his head towards the bike. Beth nodded and moved over to it, glancing back at Zach as she waited for Daryl. He shrugged off his leather jacket and held it out. Beth slipped her arms into it, the warm material a welcome feeling. It left Daryl in just a plain black long sleeve sleeping shirt but he didn't seem to mind as he looped his leg over and the bike roared to life.

Beth slipped on behind him and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, pressing her cheek against his shoulder. Daryl kept his eyes on Zach as he turned the bike and took off back down the dirt road.

The drive back to the farm went by faster than Beth thought it would. Daryl rode the bike as close as he could before killing the motor. The two sat in the dark of the driveway, Beth's arms still tight around his waist. He broke the silence first, his hand resting on her arm as if to keep it against his stomach.

"Did he…did he do anything?" Daryl finally asked, his voice quiet in the dark. Beth shook her head against his shoulder.

"No. He tried and I told him no again. He doesn't like being told no. I tried to pull away and he shoved me real hard. That's when the mud got on me and I ripped my shirt on the fence post. Thank you for coming to get me…I had a drink and I didn't want Daddy to know what happened," she answered, her words muffled against his shirt, "I…I feel like an idiot for letting it get this far."

A sigh pushed past Daryl's lips as he let his head fall bad, narrow eyes closing. He was worried the worst had happened when he saw the state she was in. If something had, he'd be going back right now for the rest of Zach.

They stayed there for a few more moments before Beth loosened her arms and slid off the bike, moving to take his jacket off and give it back to him. When he tried to refuse it, she pushed harder.

"It's too cold to drive home in just a sleep shirt. You've already done more than enough for me, Daryl." Beth waited till he slipped the jacket back over his shoulders and then wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug. Daryl froze for a moment before lifting his arms to enclose her. Her hair surrounded his face as he closed his eyes and all he could smell was honeysuckle. She leaned back finally, her breath puffing up in front of her and brought her lips quickly to his cheek in a chaste kiss.

"Thank you, Daryl. You've saved me twice now. Please be safe going home," she said as she turned and quietly made her way into the house, not knowing if he could see her red face in the dark.