Hello Readers!

Thought I would try my hand at a bit of Bethyl. I think they would make a great couple as they are both broken in their own ways, trying to find their place in the world. The song "The Best of Me" by Josh Kelley (from the Act of Valor soundtrack) totally makes me think of Beth and Daryl. Please leave me a little love in the box at the bottom, I look forward to hearing from you!

Enjoy!

"Come on, don't you give up on me girl! Run!" Daryl yelled at the footsteps beating behind him as he ran for the woods. He turned to make sure she was still running behind him; the last thing he wanted to see was her going down after the attack they survived through. The one thing that stood out in his mind was something Rick said before the Governor burned them out of the prison. It was the sole thought on his mind at the moment; the words burning into his heart.

'Daryl you grab who means the most to you and you run. Don't look back, just keep running. You got to take care of your own.'

Rick's voice echoed in his ears over the thrum of blood coursing through his veins. Now it was flight; adrenaline from the fight kept them moving farther from the prison; from the only home they knew for the last year. Daryl could hear her labored breathing; he knew she had been running every day to prepare for what they knew was inevitable. But this distance at such a fast pace was taking its toll on her, he knew her legs were burning just as his were.

"Just a bit farther honey, come on you can do it. We just gotta make it a bit past the tree line and we can rest for a minute. It will give us cover so no one can see us. I promise. Keep going." Daryl did his best to keep her going; hope was all she had left after seeing her world crumble down around her.

Beth bit her lip; biting back the profane words that threatened to escape her throat. Her lungs and legs burned from the run, even though she knew she had to get away from the prison before she became another casualty. Her faith, hope and determination kept her pumping her legs chasing after Daryl. Why he had tracked her down in the smoke and fire she had no idea; but she was grateful for Daryl coming back for her when everyone else left her for dead. Beth could see the tree line just ahead of her; it wasn't much farther. She trained her eyes on the angel wings covering Daryl's back hovering in front of her. Focus would get her where she needed to be until she could rest.

Daryl jerked Beth to the ground next to him; laying down next to a felled tree. Her breath left in a rush as her body hit the solid ground. Daryl checked how many bolts he had, as well as the number of shotgun shells in his pockets. It wasn't much, but he could make it work as long as he still had his knife. He'd made due with less before; but then it was just him out there hunting for Sophia. Now he had Beth to worry about; and by the look in her wide blue eyes it was more a case of take care of plus worry about her. The girl had just seen her father decapitated at the hands of the sadistic sonofabitch that was the Governor. Daryl hadn't been witness to the event itself; but it wounded him deep. He couldn't imagine what Beth was going through inside her slim frame. Sure he'd been through the loss of Merle, but that was different than Beth seeing her father die right before her eyes.

"We're gonna lay here and rest a minute, I've got a stash of supplies down the road in an old feed trough. We'll probably be safe enough to stay in the loft for the night. Can't see the walkers climbing a rope to get up to us to be honest with ya. It's another three maybe four miles away. You can do it Beth, I got faith in ya." Daryl kept his voice low as he loaded the shotgun with half of the shells he had in his pockets. "Ya remember what I taught you about using one of these right?"

Beth's eyes darted to the shotgun Daryl was handing over to her; brain wracking to remember how it worked. She nodded slowly, taking the gun into her hands. "Yes, load it here, pump it, point and pull the trigger." Her voice sounded raw even to her own ears, she had choked on the smoke and ash crawling her way through the wreckage of the prison. Her throat felt like it was on fire, Beth tried to swallow to quench the flames but it was useless.

"Good enough for me. Make sure you have a good shot lined up, I ain't got too many shells in my pockets. Make 'em count. Watch my back and I'll watch yours. We'll be ok." Daryl stood up, not bothering to brush the dirt and mud off, it would make good camouflage in the woods. He offered his hand to Beth, giving hers a gentle squeeze as she came up. For a moment Daryl saw hope flash in those eyes, a spark in the darkness. It made him that much more determined to take care of her.

Beth felt the warm roughness of Daryl's hand wrapped around hers as he pulled her up from the ground. She had always trusted him from their days at the farm to the nights in the prison. Now, she had to trust him completely, he was her only lifeline in the world at the moment. The touch lasted a moment longer before Daryl let go; the touch of another human before all this would make him flinch, turn tail and walk away. Beth didn't know why, but the scars on his body told another story.

They carefully picked their way through the woods; it may have been slow going but it was better to be careful than come up on a handful of walkers. Beth kept a safe distance of two feet between her and Daryl, she didn't want to make him too uncomfortable by being too close or too far away. She kept her thoughts on the task at hand; concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other while keeping an eye out for danger.

"There's the barn. The trough is just inside the corral. We're gonna get the bag and then it's a good 40 foot climb up the rope into the hay loft. If you think you can't do it, I can haul you up. We'll be safe up there for the night, those fuckers can't climb when there's nothing to grab onto. We'll figure out in the morning where we're going to go." Daryl had squatted down in a ditch not too far from the barn; pointing out the lay of the land to Beth.

The barn was a hand hewn relic from the middle of the last century, sitting out in the field by itself. It looked like no one had used it since before the world went to shit ; it smelled like hay, dust and grease. Daryl gave a good pull on the rope hanging from the rafter, the rope easily supporting his weight as he lithely climbed hand over hand up into the hay loft.

Beth watched Daryl's muscles bunch under his skin as he climbed. She had seen him climb trees to gather fruit; it was evident he'd been climbing since he was young. Beth had climbed a few trees when she was younger; back when Maggie used to baby sit her. It was a game then, to play hide and seek. Her life now depended on the game of hide and seek more than ever.

"Grab hold and come up. When you're close enough to the landing swing over just like I did." Daryl's voice echoed down from the loft, startling Beth out of her memories.

She grabbed the rope in both hands; jumping to put distance between herself and the dirt floor. Hand over hand she pulled herself up the rope, gaining momentum for the swing as she climbed. Beth surprised herself by landing in the loft; a pile of arms and legs but still holding the rope.

"Ya did good girl. I knew ya could do it. Hand me that rope so I can tie it off. That way no one can get up here tonight." Daryl had the rope tied off in short work before he dug into the corner of the loft underneath the loose hay.

Blankets appeared; which Beth promptly took, shaking them out onto the bed of hay. It wasn't much but it would do compared to sleeping on the wood floor. It looked like the most comfortable place in the world to Beth at that moment; her body finally running out of adrenaline. Daryl sat in front of a hay bale; emptying the contents of the bag he collected from the feed trough, taking stock of what supplies they now had.

Beth sighed as she sat down in front of Daryl at the hay bale, her stomach biting hard enough to make her wince. "Don't suppose you've got a bacon cheeseburger and fries stashed in that bag do ya?"

Daryl smirked at her joke, "Nah, but this will help take the edge off. It ain't much but we can make work till we get something else. Knew there was a good bit in this bag, it's my bug out bag. Had a feeling something like this would go down. Better safe than sorry." He handed a bag of jerky to Beth while setting things on the bale.

Beth started counting up what they had as she chewed thoughtfully: another Glock .40 similar to the one tucked in Daryl's back. Two boxes of bullets for the Glocks, a box of shotgun shells, four bottles of water, two bags of jerky, a bag of jerky made from peaches Carol had dried, a first aid kit, a hatchet, a length of parachute cord and a canister of lighter fluid. Daryl was right; it wasn't much but she had faith in him to keep them going on it until they located more. Beth picked up one of the bottles of water; drinking slowly so that she didn't throw up the contents of her stomach and make herself feel even worse.

Daryl dropped the clip out of the Glock; checking to ensure it was fully loaded then passing it to Beth. He grinned to himself when he saw her pull the slide back, chambering a round. She had learned to use guns from him, as well as Rick. Beth was a curious but quick student. If Daryl could keep her focused she would be a formidable ally in the field. He wouldn't have to worry so much about her; except getting her skills with a knife up to snuff. He could continue teaching her to survive; building on the skills she already knew.

"Tomorrow is a new day; we need to get some sleep. First thing we need is to get a car. Possibly swing back by the prison to see if there's anything left. Might be overrun though. Have to make that decision then. Get ya some sleep Beth. We'll be alright tonight." Daryl rubbed his face; the ache in his bones ran deep.

Beth glided up from her place at the floor; cupping a hand on Daryl's shoulder. "You should sleep Daryl; you can't keep going on like this." Her voice sounded tired to her own ears; Lord only knew what Daryl heard with his keen sense of hearing.

Daryl looked up into the soot smudged face with the exhausted eyes. "I'll get there. Just gonna get this stuff packed up and some of these bales moved around. You go on." Beth forced a half smile; just enough to let Daryl know she was giving into him. She knew he was tired, but he wouldn't go to sleep until he knew she was safe, settled and even asleep. At the prison it seemed like he was always watching, always on guard to keep the family safe. Beth couldn't recall a time she had ever seen him sleep, at either the farm or the prison.

Beth settled down on the pallet of blankets she had laid out on the floor. Where Daryl had located the pile of blankets she had no idea; but was thankful he had the forethought to stash them in the barn. She watched his hands as they repacked the bag; being careful to keep the lighter fluid away from the small amount of food. Beth could feel her eyelids drooping; even as the light was slowly fading into darkness. Sleep would help heal her body; but it wouldn't heal her soul.

Daryl's head snapped over to follow the sound that was just loud enough to drown out the night noises of the crickets and cicadas. Setting the hay bale down as gently as he could, Daryl crept silently over the hay as to not scare the absolute shit out of her. He stood over Beth as she cried in her sleep; rubbing his hand over his face. He didn't know what to do; the turmoil evident on her gentle features tore at his heart.

"Shit baby girl, your Daddy'd want me to do right by him and take care of ya. I just hope I can live up to it and keep you alive. Inside and out." Beth's features softened at his whispered words. He would never say something like that with her awake; he wasn't supposed to have feelings, emotions or the like. But since the farm, something came alive inside him when his eyes fell upon Beth. Something that felt foreign; something he couldn't broach with the others, but that something gave him a will to live, a reason to stay.

Daryl lay down next to Beth on the blankets; close enough to share the blanket with her, close enough to feel her body heat. His eyes centered on the gentle curve where her neck met her shoulder; his breath evened out as thoughts circled the drain. The crickets and cicadas night song lulled Daryl into a deep sleep, his heart heavy for the woman lying next to him. Tomorrow was a new beginning; they could only go forward from here, where ever the road led them.