A short one-shot I wrote this morning after the idea popped into my head on the drive to work.

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For the first week she was back, Daryl made sure to always keep his distance from her, figuring that that was what she would want.

He would watch her constantly but he approached her only a couple of times and that was usually only to ask her in a gruff manner if she was alright when he saw her rubbing her forehead. She wouldn't even look at him as she nodded and said quietly that she just had a headache. He supposed that was understandable seeing as how she had gotten shot in the head and all.

For the first week she was back, Maggie never left her side and Daryl wondered how he was the only one who could see how uncomfortable Beth was around her. Always tense and rigid and she didn't smile anymore. It hurt something in his chest to know that she wasn't smiling anymore; that what had happened to her had snuffed something out and maybe it was gone forever and there wasn't a damn thing he would be able to do about it.

Daryl would sit on one end of the camp at night and she would be sitting on the other with Maggie and Glenn and Tara always with them now – having taken Beth's place when they had all gotten separated and Maggie hadn't thought of her sister once. Beth sat there and would stare blankly into the fire, never talking, never looking at anyone, and Daryl sat, watching her and clenching his jaw because he didn't know what else to do. He never approached her though. It seemed like she wanted none of them to be near her anymore.

Carol sat with him and talked with him but Daryl never heard a word she said. Rick sat beside him but he never talked to him, understanding Daryl was never in a talking mood anymore. Rick would look at Daryl watching Beth and then look to Beth staring into the fire but he never said anything. They all knew that Daryl and Beth had gotten out of the prison together and had been together – just the two of them for some time – but no one knew anything past that and neither were offering any information or details about it. Even all of this time later, Daryl still wasn't quite sure what had happened. Only that it had been something. He wouldn't talk to Beth about it though. He couldn't. Especially with the way she was now.

They headed north because even though it was found out Eugene was lying – big fucking surprise, Daryl thought to himself – they still figured that DC was as good a place as any to try and find sanctuary. Sanctuary. Daryl had nearly shuddered when Rick had used the word and Rick had caught himself, swallowing as if the word had caused bile to rise in his throat. Daryl's eyes caught sight of Beth, standing on the outside of the circle as she always did now, staring into the woods, not listening or paying attention to any of them. And no one else was paying attention to her.

After the first week, she had faded into the background again as she had been back in the prison and even before that, back at the farm. She was silent and they all treated her like glass. Not because she was just some little girl to them. They all knew better now. But because she had been shot in the head and lived to see another day past that and they were handling her as if any moment, a bullet could still rip through her head and really kill her this time.

One night, two weeks after she had been back and hadn't uttered one word except to tell Daryl she had a headache when he asked, everyone was asleep and Daryl stood guard on one side of camp and Abraham was on guard on the other side. Daryl didn't necessarily like the burly man but Daryl admitted that the man knew how to fight and therefore, he was a good man to have around. Ever since Eugene's lie had been exposed, Abraham had been quiet, too. It seemed like their camp now was filled more with people who didn't want to talk or who liked to talk than those who did.

His eyes slid over everyone as they slept, silently counting off in his head that they were all still there. Especially her. He was almost afraid to go to sleep at nights because a part of him was afraid he would wake up and find out that she wasn't back at all; that she was really dead. And the instant he woke up at down, he sat up and the first thing his eyes found were her, always there. In their time together, he had gotten so used to sleeping right beside her but they were with the others now and he doubted she'd want to sleep anywhere near the man who had let her get taken and hadn't been able to know that she was still breathing; who had buried her and left her behind and hadn't done a damn thing to keep her safe.

But on this night, he could hear Judith start to fuss a little and almost immediately, as if she was acting on some sort of instinct, Beth stood up and Daryl watched as she crossed to where the child was. With a soft murmur of words, she lifted Judith up in her arms and just like that, Judith's whimpers quieted and she nestled herself against Beth, her slim arms holding her securely and Daryl could see the faintest of smiles brush across Beth's lips.

He had heard of therapy dogs before. Dogs who went to prisons and nursing homes and hospitals to help those around them in cheering up. It seemed like Judith was Beth's therapy dog because after that, it seemed like Judith wanted to only be held by Rick or Beth and Beth would only smile faintly when Judith was near. Judith was the only one to hear Beth's voice, words being whispered into her ear that made Judith smile and Daryl couldn't believe that he was feeling jealous over a baby for being able to hear Beth's voice.

Her voice used to grate on his nerves and then slowly, it became something that could soothe and comfort him and now, after having not heard it for so long, he realized that it was the only thing he really wanted in this world.

Judith was with Rick as they walked and when she didn't have her, Beth walked at the back of the group, always a few feet between herself and them, and Daryl found himself walking at the back, too, rather than at Rick's side as he always used to do. He didn't walk next to her, figuring she wouldn't want that, but he walked near enough where he would be able to keep sensing her behind him. His crossbow was in his hands and he listened to the quiet chatter between Glenn, Maggie and Tara and he frowned to himself, wishing they would just shut the hell up. He still had so much anger towards Maggie and the thing that pissed him off even more was she didn't seem to notice. And if she did notice, she didn't care.

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his arm and he instantly turned, seeing Beth standing there. He stared at her as her hand slowly dropped from his sleeve and she looked up at him. He couldn't help but sweep over the scars on her face and it only made him more angry because she wasn't supposed to have those. If he had done his job and kept her safe, she never would have had them.

At first, she didn't say anything. She just held up her hand and he saw what she held. An apple. An actual red apple.

"Where'd you find this?" He asked.

"This way," she said softly.

Daryl didn't even hesitate. He let out a sharp whistle that Rick would hear and bring the group to a halt but he didn't take his eyes off of Beth.

"Show me."

She didn't say anything else. She just turned and stepped off the road, Daryl right behind her. He couldn't help but frown as she walked them through the trees. How had she found this? Had she slipped away from the group and he hadn't noticed? It was amazing to him. He could keep everyone in their group safe but the one person he wanted to keep safe more than anyone, he never could seem to.

She stopped and he saw that in the middle of the woods, there was an apple tree, several of the red fruit still hanging on the branches, probably planted by a squirrel or bird who had dropped a seed. Animals had always been the best planters. He walked closer to it, inspecting it, plucking an apple down for himself. He held it, looking at it closely, amazed that he was looking at an actual apple and he couldn't remember the last time he had. He then looked to Beth as she stood behind him by a few feet, watching him.

"Why don't you come near me anymore?" She asked then, suddenly, softly as ever. It seemed as she was never able to talk louder than that.

Daryl looked down to the ground, not too sure how to answer. It wasn't as if he wanted to stay away from her but he supposed it was just easier. For her and maybe for him, too. Maybe for him more. Being around her was hard as it made him replay that last night in the funeral home over and over again, wondering what he could have done differently. But he reminded himself, he wasn't the one taken and beaten and shot in the head. This wasn't about him. This was about her.

He shrugged and finally looked at her again. "Didn' think you'd want me around."

Beth looked at him and didn't say anything and he had nothing else to say. He watched as she took a step towards him followed by another and another, the space between them closely and he felt himself holding his breath as he never moved his eyes from her.

And still, without a word, Beth stopped in front of him, pushed herself upwards and slid her arms around his shoulders, hugging him.

This time, unlike every other moment he had had with Beth, Daryl didn't hesitate. His own arms wrapped around her and he hugged her as tightly as he could, releasing the breath he was holding in a shudder as he did.

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